Tim Cook explains why Apple didn’t make a 5-inch iPhone – puts down phablets

At the AllThingsD conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook explains why Apple didn’t make an iPhone sporting a 5-inch display. He also put down large-screened phablets.

Cook said, “A large screen today comes with a lot of tradeoffs. Customers clearly are looking at size, but they’re also looking at do the photos show the proper colour, the white balance, reflectivity, battery life, brightness, the longevity of the display — so there’s a whole bunch of things that are very important to the display.

“What our customers want is for us to weigh those and come out with a decision. At this point we felt that the retina display we’re shipping is overwhelmingly the best. In a hypothetical world where the tradeoffs didn’t exist you could see that being one of the things that differentiates.

“We haven’t so far, that doesn’t shut off the future. It takes a lot of really detailed work to do a phone right when you do the hardware, the software and services around it. We’ve chosen to put our energy in getting those right and have made the choices in order to do that and we haven’t become defocused working multiple lines.”

It’s pretty clear that Cook was criticising Samsung. The Korean tech giant, unlike Apple, has a variety of sizes of smartphones in its roster. From entry-level smartphones to the high-end Galaxy S4 and from small screens to the large-screened Galaxy Note 2, it has everything any type of customer may need. Since the Korean firm is the biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world, we’re sure they disagree with Apple’s CEO.

Is Apple right not to make iPhones sporting 5-inch screens, or should it take a page out of Samsung’s book? Let us know what you think through a comment on our Facebook page.

Tags: apple, Apple iPhone, display, iphone, phablet, Retina Display, screen, Tim Cook, touchscreen
Category Phone News |

Tim Cook apologises to the Chinese over warranties

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, apologises to the Chinese over its warranty policies  of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S in China, CNET reports.

The site reports, “Following weeks of scrutiny over its warranty policies in China, Apple now says it has improved services in the region.

“That message came from the top, in an apology note from Apple CEO Tim Cook, posted in Chinese on Apple’s Chinese site today.

“In it, Cook apologized for a lack of communication on the matter, and said that the company is implementing improvements in three areas of its warranty policy and related services.”

It adds, “The note comes after weeks of criticism of Apple’s warranty practices in the region, most of which came from state-run media outlets. Those issues initially came about during a TV segment on state-run network China Central Television Station last month, which claimed Apple repaired only broken or otherwise faulty parts within its products for customers in China, versus providing new replacements in other countries.

“In its initial online response to the matter, Apple said it highly respected China’s customers and fully complied with local laws and regulations. Though when the company refused to do interviews or speak further on the matter, it was viewed as arrogance by local media.

“The issue was also enough to pique the interest of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, which — according to local a report on China National Radio’s Web site — last week began urging local authorities to increase supervision of Apple’s policies.”

This is the second time Cook has issued an apology.

What do you make of Cook’s latest apology? Share your thoughts through a comment on our Facebook page.

Tags: apology, apple, Apple iPhone 4, Apple iPhone 4S, China, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, Tim Cook, warranty
Category Phone News |

Beats music streaming to be a feature of the iPhone 5S?

It seems Apple is planning to integrate a music streaming service from Beats into the iPhone 5S, if a report is to be believed.

The report comes to us via Reuters. According to the news site, “Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook met with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine during a visit to Los Angeles in late February to find out more about Beats’ “Project Daisy”, a music subscription service the company announced in January but with scant detail, the sources said.

“Apple’s Internet products chief Eddy Cue, a key player in setting up its iTunes Music Store, also joined the meeting, at which Cook expressed interest in Daisy’s business model and its rollout plans, although the two did not discuss specifics of a deal, the sources said.

“The meeting between Cook and Iovine, who is also chairman of music company Interscope-Geffen-A&M, was “informational” and covered a broad range of music-related topics, the sources said.”

Of course, when Apple was asked about the rumoured new service for the next version of the iPhone, it “declined to comment”.

So why is Beats suddenly so interested in partnering up with Apple? According to the report, “The music recording industry has languished through more than a decade of declining revenues and sputtering growth. Industry sources say many of the largest companies are beginning to warm to the idea of collecting fees on music streamed over the Internet, as the use of smartphones and tablets explodes around the world.

“It remains a nascent market, dwarfed by music sales via outlets such as iTunes, but one that is attracting investment.

“The meeting between Apple and Iovine was set up in January, immediately after Beats announced Daisy without explaining the upcoming project’s business model or how it plans to differentiate itself from existing services such as Spotify and Pandora, one of the sources said.”

Do you think the iPhone 5S will sport Beats’ music streaming service? Let us know what you think through a comment below.

Tags: apple, Apple iPhone 5S, Beats, iPhone 5S, Jimmy Iovine, Project Daisy, Tim Cook
Category Phone News |