On October 11th, Apple announced their "It's been way too long" event. Tomorrow is that event. You can watch it live at Apple.com at 10AM Pacific, or 26 hours from the time that this was posted. With that, I thought I would share my predictions for what we will see.

iPads

Just like with iPhones, new iPads have become a yearly occurrence. This year should not be any different.

iPad Air

I am thinking we will see an updated iPad Air that encompasses Touch ID, is slightly thinner, has the same A8 and M8 co-processors and incorporates the same 802.11AC wireless chipsets, along with the same Retina HD screen as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Right now, the iPad Air only comes in two colors, Black and White. It is possible that the new iPad Air may come in Silver, Gold and Space Gray, much in the same manner as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Outside of these slight improvements, there may not be much for the iPad Air.

iPad with Retina Display

This line is currently the 4th Generation iPad. My prediction is that this model will disappear and is replaced with the current iPad Air; all at the same price point.

iPad Mini

The iPad Mini was originally released in November of 2012 and received an update in 2013 with the introduction of the iPad Mini with Retina. It is my prediction that the iPad Mini will disappear and be replaced by the current iPad Mini with Retina. The new iPad Mini with Retina 2, will mimic the iPad Air, except that it will be smaller. The possible new features include Touch ID, a thinner form factor, 802.11AC wireless, and Retina HD Screen. The iPad Mini may also come in the same three colors, Silver, Gold, and Space Gray, as the other devices.

Apple TV

The current Apple TV was last released in March of 2012 and has not been appreciably updated since then. There was a slight upgrade called 3rd Generation Revision A. The only change The 3rd Generation Apple TV uses Apple's A5 Chip. This is chip that was released with the 3rd Generation iPad, iPhone 4S, 5th Generation iPod Touch and original iPad Mini. The Apple TV presently supports 1080p playback. It is my prediction that Apple will release a new Apple TV, running an shrunken down A7 chip that supports 4K playback and 802.11AC wireless, and has Gigabit connectivity. I know that adding 4K playback is a stretch, but given the future capabilities of 4K, it is not inconceivable that Apple may introduce this. The 4K version of the Apple TV may be considered a new product, like the Apple TV Pro and may also be at an increased price point.

OS X 10.10 Yosemite

Every year Apple releases a new version of OS X, at least this has been the case since 2011 when Apple introduced Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. As I am writing this, OS X 10.10 Yosemite was at Golden Master 3. It is almost 100% certain that we will see the release of OS X 10.10 Yosemite. It will almost certainly be a free upgrade for existing OS X users whom are running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later.

OS X 10.10 Yosemite Server

In a similar fashion to OS X 10.10 Yosemite, we will see OS X 10.10 Yosemite Server. Apple has had a habit of reducing the price of OS X Server. Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Server was $499 for the unlimited-client version, OS X 10.7 was $49.99, and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and OS X 10.9 Mavericks were both $19.99. I have a suspicion that Apple may reduce this to $9.99, or, as a bold move, make it entirely free. Honestly, I do not see Apple making it free, but it would be a nice change.

Macs

With a new version of OS X there are typically new Macs to go along with the new Operating System. Any new Mac purchases will likely have OS X 10.10 Yosemite on them.

MacBook Pro

The non-retina MacBook Pro has not seen an update since June 2012. It is possible that Apple would update this line, but it is not likely. This is the old MacBook Pro, and last model, that includes an optical drive built-in. This is legacy way of doing things, and once the sales diminish to a point where Apple does not think this is a viable option, they will kill off this model entirely. It may be this event where this occurs. I do not expect any update to this model.

MacBook Pro with Retina

I do not foresee the MacBook Pros with Retina receiving any update, besides having OS X 10.10 Yosemite installed by default. These just received a minor speed bump and a default memory increase and a price reduction in July. It is not impossible, but it is not likely at all.

MacBook Air

The MacBook Airs last saw an update in April of 2014. That's about 6 Months ago. It is not likely that Apple would introduce a new model of MacBook Air. However, what Apple could do is increased the default memory from 4GB to 8GB. This would provide a minor refresh, but would not warrant a big model refresh.

Mac Mini

The Mac Mini is Apple's entry-point Mac. It is the Mac that has been on the market, in its current configurations, the longest. The Mac Mini was last updated in October of 2012. It is definitely time to refresh the Mac Mini. The updates to the Mac Mini could be the default configuration of RAM at 8GB, 802.11AC wireless, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, and Intel's Haswell or Broadwell M chipsets.

Mac Pro

The top of the line Mac, the Mac Pro, will probably not see an update. The updated Mac Pro was unveiled at Apple's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June of 2013. It was released in late December of 2013. The Mac Pro does not follow any sort of typical pattern. The Mac Pro is a machine that is designed for professionals and a standard upgrade cycle does not apply.

iMac

The iMac received a "new model" in June. This model created a new low-end model. The model is a 21.5" is running the same internals as the MacBook Air. The remaining 21.5" and 27" iMacs were updated in September 2013. The rumors swirling around the iMac is that the new iMac will have a Retina Display. This may be an exclusive option to the 27" models. It is also possible that the Retina iMac is a new line entirely. The existing iMacs may not be updated at all. They already has all of the same updates that we may see in the MacBook Pro with Retina and Mac Minis.

27" Retina Thunderbolt Display

Apple's Thunderbolt Display was released in July of 2011. This has been the last update to it. One could argue that the Thunderbolt Display does not really need an update since it does serve its purpose of being a display. The current resolution of the 27" Thunderbolt Display is 2560 by 1440. If a new Thunderbolt display was to be released, it would like be a 4K Model. Now, this poses some issues given that to push a Full 4K monitor at an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a resolution of 3840 × 2160, you would need more than a Thunderbolt Display can handle with just one cable. Two cables could possibly support it, but none of Apple's products, except the Mac Pro, have two direct Thunderbolt connections.

Final Thoughts

Overall I think the Apple Event will bring a bunch of new hardware and software. I am hoping that the Mac Mini and iPad Air are updated. These are almost guaranteed to occur. It is 100% likely that OS X 10.10 Yosemite will be released very very soon. I would expect to see a new iMac with Retina. If we do see any of these we will know tomorrow.

Back on September 19th, I posted how the sales of my iOS 8 book were doing. This was after only 2 days, but the numbers included 16 days worth of pre-orders. I thought I would do an update to that post. This chart is comprehensive between both Amazon and Apple. Here are the links for purchase Apple (ePub), Apple (iBooks), or Amazon (ePub). This information is for all of September.

Just as expected, the United States is taking up a majority of the sales. The U.S. has 81 percent of overall sales, followed by the U.K. at 11 percent and Canada at 6 percent. None of the percentages differ greatly from the sales percentage on September 19th. Let us look at Non-US sales numbers by themselves.

The U.K.'s marketshare has increased by 5 percentage to 34, up from 29 percent. Germany's marketshare has decreased by 3 percentage points to 21 percent. Italy has passed by Canada, to take 9 percent, to Canada's 8 percent; these are up 3 percent and 2 percent respectively. Japan's share has dropped by 3 percent to 6 percent overall. While Greece, whom also has 6 percent previously, has dropped to 4 percent.

So there it is, the percentages have remained largely unchanged. The biggest surprise, to me, was Japan. I did not expect such a high percentage of Non-US sales to originate from Japan.

While this video is 6 1/2 years old, it's definitely worth a watch. It has some great advice with reasoning behind it.

Here's a video by @songadaymann that involves Apple's Quick Type completion.

To prepare for The Walking Dead coming back on Sunday, You should familiarize yourself with "Carl Poppa".

I'm sure hope that this officer is reprimanded and strip of his badge. This is no way to "protect" citizens.

Now that OS X 10.10 Yosemite has been submitted to developers as a "Golden Master", now is the best time to pre-order my e-book "OS X 10.10 Yosemite for Users, Administrators and Developers".

You can purchase the ePub from Apple or http://www.amazon.com/OS-10-10-Yosemite-Administrators-Developers-ebook/dp/B00N72V9BM/?tag=sportsenthus-20'>Amazon. You can also order the iBooks edition from Apple. There is also a subset of the entire e-book, entitled "OS X 10.10 Yosemite for Server Administrators", this is available exclusively from Apple in either ePub or iBooks editions. The latest that these books will be available is November 1st.

I have been using the iPhone 6 Plus for just about 10 days now. If you want to read about why I purchased the iPhone 6 Plus, you can do so here. Instead I will give my opinions, thus far, on the iPhone 6 Plus.

Screen

Overall, I like the iPhone 6 Plus. The larger screen makes it much easier to do some things. When I initially opened the box, it seemed like the choice for a 5.5-inch screen might have been the wrong one because the screen may be too large. However, as time progressed, and it was not a very long time, I became quite accustom to the size and have actually grown to enjoy the additional screen real estate. The screen resolution on the iPhone 6 Plus is 1920 x 1080, which is full HD screen resolutions. This will make viewing videos much more pleasant on the larger screen. The screen is much clearer and much more crisp. The screen size has not been the only thing to change. The screen itself has changed as well. The new screen, dubbed Retina HD, does indeed have better viewing angles. Along with the viewing angles, the ability for the iPhone 6 Plus to focus is insanely fast. During my testing there were no instances where I needed to manually focus the camera, it was all just automatically done without any work.

Viewing Modes

With a larger screen there are actually two modes to choose from. The first is "Standard" view. This view is the typical view that has traditionally been on the iPhone. The second view is "Zoomed" view. The Zoomed view does a couple of things. The first is that the icons are slightly larger. The second is that the text is also bigger. To allow for the application names to fit under the icon, the spacing between the icons is also reduced. As the name implies, the overall view is Zoomed. The Zoomed view is ideal for those who need the larger screen just to be able to see. You can easily switch between the two modes, by going to Settings -> Display & Brightness -> Display Zoom. You can preview how each one will look.

Battery Life

I am a heavy iPhone user. I am constantly listening to music, podcasts, surfing the web, and refreshing Tweetbot. Battery life on the iPhone 6 Plus has been very good. Despite all of my efforts I have not been able to get it to go below 15% after an entire day of usage. Yes, it is a brand new iPhone so this is the peak of its battery life, but as far as I have been able to ascertain, this is the best battery life of any iOS devices that I have used.

Design

Having every model of iPhone since the original in 2007 has made it easier to be able to compare each model of the phone. The design of the iPhone 6 Plus is very reminiscent of the original iPhone. On the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus the glass is rounded and fits so perfectly into the case that one might believe that the two pieces are in fact one. The smoothness of the screen allows users to easily swipe from either side. The glass is not the only aspect that is smooth. The case is very smooth as well. The case is machined to such tolerances that the phone can be a bit too slippery. This means that users will, and honestly, should get a case. Yes, a case will detract from the overall beauty that Apple has set out. Even so, would you rather have to pay for a replacement screen when it breaks, or would you prefer to get a case and be saved the expense. I always opt for using a case.

Pocketability

One of the things to keep in mind with a large screen is where to put the phone. For many females, this will not be an issue because they have a purse or bag with them, and they can store the phone in that. One of the things that I thought about while using the phone was how am I going to carry the phone around. Thankfully, the pockets on my work pants are ample enough to allow me to easily fit the phone in my pocket. As I write this, it is on the cusp of Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. As the temperature cools, I will be wearing a hoodie, and my current hoodie has plenty of pocket space, so that will not be an issue. Yes, Winter is Coming, so there should not be an issue because the hoodie will still be in full use. There is one situation where it may become an issue. There are times that the temperature is at the point where it's too cool for shorts, but too warm to wear a hoodie. Those are the times that might become problematic. My jeans can fit the phone. It is not ideal, but it does work. With a case, it can be a bit more cumbersome to remove the phone from my pocket, but it is doable. If you have small pockets, the iPhone 6 Plus will be a problem. If you have larger pockets, or equip yourself with some Internet Tactical Pants, you should not have any issues.

Sleep/Wake Button

One of the things that has remained consistent, until now, with the iPhone line has been that the sleep/wake button has always been on the top. With the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the sleep/wake button is now on the side. This was done for obvious reasons. The larger screen means that users are not likely to be able to reach the top of the iPhone 6 Plus without using two hands. There are time that you need to quickly check something, like the time, and the easiest way to handle this is to push the sleep/wake button. On the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple has chosen to move the sleep/wake button to the right side to make it easier to reach. A possible secondary reason to do this is to keep a bit more symmetry between the left and right sides. It could be conceivable that in a future version of the iPhone, that the mute/rotation lock switch is moved to the right side and then the device would become almost 100% symmetrical. In combination with such a large screen the ability to reach items that are at the to the top of the screen can, for some, become nearly impossible to do with one hand. To compensate for this probability, Apple has introduced a new feature called Reachability.

Reachability

There are two aspects to "reachability". The first the hardware aspect, which was mentioned above. The second is the software feature called "Reachability". Reachability is enabled by simply tapping, not pressing, the Touch ID sensor twice. This will bring the view halfway down the screen and allow the user to easily tap elements that are at the top of the screen. This feature only works when the iPhone 6 Plus is in portrait orientation. Reachability does not work while the phone is in landscape orientation and one should not expect this to be the case.

Keyboard

I'my typing this section of this review on my iPhone 6 Plus in landscape mode. Why you may ask? Well the answer is quite simple really, the iPhone 6 Plus has a larger screen and while Apple could have chosen to just make the key's on the keyboard wider, they chose instead to add some additional keys to the keyboard. On the left side there are some quick buttons. These include cut, and paste. Along with this you have bold, undo, dictation and a sixth button that I'm not entirely sure of its purpose. Similarly, on the right side you have a set of left and right arrow keys, an exclamation point, a question mark, a period and a comma button. Some of these buttons will be very useful to those who type in landscape orientation often, however for the rest of us these buttons are not useful. It would be a better option if users could choose which buttons are showing on the left and right sides. Even if the options were a group set by Apple it could prove to be handy and beneficial to users in the long run.

Downsides

Even with everything that is positive with the iPhone 6 Plus, there are a couple of downsides that you should be made aware of.

Software Optimization

The first downside is not the fault of Apple, per se, but it is a side effect. Some applications are not optimized for iOS 8. A good example is Tweetbot, my preferred Twitter client. On the iPhone 6 Plus, the font is entirely too large. This is because of the way that Apple is handling older applications. When the iPad was released, it could support iPhone applications. At the time though, applications that were designed for the iPhone could be scaled at 2x the size and they would function as expected. This is also the case with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. However, on the iPhone 6 Plus, it is 3x and not 2x. This even larger scaling factor makes the applications look too large.

iOS 8

The second downside is that iOS 8 is still quite buggy. While Apple has issued two updates, there are still some rather strange aspects. One of the bugs is that when playing music, and the phone goes into sleep mode, there are times that the status bar will appear on the left side while the currently playing music will appear properly. It will look like this:

This is not the only bug. Not by a long shot. Some users are reporting that when they finish a phone call, the last audio item begins to play even if there was nothing playing prior to the phone call.

It may just be that I've been using the iOS 8 betas on an iPhone 5s since June 2nd that I have become accustom to the bugs, but none are as devastating as what happens with Apple's release of iOS 8.0.1.

Needing a Case

Despite every attempt by Apple to the contrary, I think the iPhone 6 Plus needs a case. The phone, while absolutely gorgeous, is entirely too slippery. The first night I had the phone it managed to slip from my hands. Luckily it landed on carpeting, but I have had more than one iPod suffer an untimely demise because it fell and hit on just the right spot. As mentioned above, when I have a choice I do not fool around and I get a case. For my iPhone 5s, my case was a knockoff Mophie Juice Pack Air (that's a whole other story).

Final Thoughts

Overall, the iPhone 6 Plus is a good phone. While it may be a bit larger than first anticipated but the size will grow on you as time progresses. The design of the iPhone 6 Plus is very similar to that of the original iPhone, albeit a bit more slippery than the original iPhone. The larger screen on the iPhone 6 Plus warrants purchasing Apple Care. Yes, it is an extra charge, but with a larger screen it is possible that the screen will break at some point. It is definitely not a necessity, but since I give my phones to somebody every year, it makes sense that I have Apple Care. The iPhone 6 Plus is a good phone. If you like Apple products and possibly want the ability to do a bit more with the keyboard in landscape, then this might just be the phone for you. If you know that you do not want a phone with such a large screen. The best thing to do is to go into a store and physically look and touch the iPhone 6 Plus to determine just how large the screen actually is and, more importantly, whether or not you are able to have a comfortable enough grip to use the phone over an extended period of time.

via Joel Housman.