Rest of the Day: Apple Quietly Refreshes IPad
Apple added a couple of new products to its lineup without much fanfare this morning. The new red iPhone in partnership with the (RED) charity may be the only cause for concern, but they’ve also updated the most popular size of the low-cost iPad.
- The new 9.7-inch iPad is a slight upgrade from the iPad Air 2, with a starting price of $ 329. This simplifies things a bit; now the entire lineup includes iPad Mini, regular iPad, iPad Pro and giant iPad Pro. Apple also announced a bizarre video app they are developing called Clips that lets you create videos for sharing on other services. It’s like Apple’s version of Snapchat without real chat. You can add emojis, filters, and more, and do simple video editing. The clips will be available in April. [Apple]
- In other news, following the US ban on the use of electronic devices on certain flights from the Middle East and Africa, the UK will move forward with similar restrictions . In their case, British airlines are also affected, including British Airways and EasyJet, although they say airlines should decide for themselves when they apply the new rules. Canada is also considering introducing similar rules . [BBC]
- Reddit is taking steps to behave like a social network. They are testing a new feature that allows people to post to their own profile page without actually posting to any particular subreddit. And other redditors can subscribe to individual messages. This way, you can post and follow people independently of the community, just like on many other social networks. Reddit was probably motivated by famous users with existing subscriptions, but it could fundamentally change the way the site works. [Gizmodo]
- Nintendo is apparently fixing Switch controllers that keep losing signal by adding a small cube of conductive foam. CNET’s Sean Hollister has sent his Joy-Con for repair. The first thing he did when he got it back from Nintendo was, of course, open it. He found that they had added a small block of foam above the antenna to supposedly protect it from interference. Hollister also suggests that they’ve already fixed the issue in the new controllers, as his Joy-Con, just released on Amazon, worked fine. [CNET]