Beijing authorities have banned the sale of Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus phones because they apparently too closely resemble handsets from a little-known Chinese manufacturer.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a company that owns the exterior design for a 5.5-inch Android device called the 100c claims Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus copy its intellectual property.
The Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau apparently agreed with Shenzhen Baili, the company that owns the 100c design, and handed down an order late last month. TheWall Street Journal notes that the Bureau posted the order late last month.
Apple sent Mashable this statement and update:
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as iPhone 6s, iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone SE models are all available for sale today in China. We appealed an administrative order from a regional patent tribunal in Beijing last month and as a result the order has been stayed pending review by the Beijing IP Court.
The court's earlier action isn't surprising when you consider how often Chinese manufacturers copy American designs and how difficult they make it for U.S. companies to operate in China.
It's also likely that the 100c shipped after Apple's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launched in September of 2014.
A video walk-through of the then-new 100C from November 2014, shows an Android device with a design somewhat similar to the iPhone 6. It's thin, offers an edge-to-edge screen, and has a similar-looking speaker slot on the screen. Aside from that, though, these phones have little in common. The back of the 100C appears to be plastic. There's no physical home button and the camera lens, flash and speaker grill placement are considerably different.
Another video shows the device with an alloy back and maybe a little bit more of an iPhone 6 look, but it is otherwise the same as the 100C. A hands-on video of the device was posted in December 2014.
Beijing's actions may have little impact on iPhone sales (which have been slumping in China), since it targets a pair of near two-year-old designs. Most Apple retailers are currently selling the newer iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
I'm in love with an iPhone battery case. Yeah, I still can't believe it either. But hear me out.
There are tons and tons of iPhone battery cases to pick from. Last year, I highlighted the seven best ones for any situation. iPhone battery cases usually forsake form for function. After all, they exist to keep your iPhone powered up, not to make a fashion statement.
That's why Mophie's popular Juice Packs are thick and bulky. Tylt's Energi Sliding Power Case and the Boostcase are good compromises since they're two-piece battery cases, but they're still on the big side.
The closest "slim" iPhone battery case is Apple's own Smart Battery Case. While it's not nearly as chunky as some others, the battery bump made the company the butt of a million online jokes. Critics and fans slammed Apple for losing its design chops with such an ugly accessory.
The Air Case by Innoant, and currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo, is quite possibly the best battery case I've ever used that balances thinness and power.
The Air Case (left), Boostcase (center) and Apple Smart Battery Case (right).
I've been testing this ultra-thin battery case — the world's thinnest according to the company, as it's a hair thinner than the ThinCharge — for the past week and I didn't once feel the urge to take it off.
With the Air Case on my iPhone 6, it only adds an extra 0.15 inch of thickness. That's thinner than some regular iPhone cases. With other battery cases, you're looking at adding two to three times the thickness of the Air Case and some significant height as well.
The Air Case for the iPhone 6 and 6S has a 2,400 milliamp-hour battery (mAh) — the Air Case for the iPhone 6+ and 6S+ has a larger 2,800 mAh battery — inside its super-slim design. The case holds 1.3x a full charge for an iPhone 6.
It's not quite the 2x Innoants advertises on its Indiegogo page, but it was more than adequate for even my heaviest usage days.
The Mophie Juice Pack Air has a higher 2,750 mAh capacity battery and the Tylt Energi Sliding Power Case has an even larger 3,200 mAh battery capable of charging an iPhone 6 about 1.5x and 1.75x. Apple's Smart Battery Case has the smallest battery: 1,877 mAh, or just enough for an extra full charge with very little left over.
The Air Case has a 2,400 mAh battery compared to the 2,700 mAh in the Boostcase and 1,877 mAh in the official Smart Battery Case.
IMAGE: BRITTANY HERBERT/MASHABLE
Again, the tradeoff for the larger batteries is the extra thickness and weight.
I'm not writing off the benefits of battery cases with higher-capacity batteries, but I think if I, a power user, can get through 16-20 hours of heavy iPhone usage with the Air Case as a lifeline, then most people will be able to, too.
Obviously, if you're Snapchatting (the app is a notorious battery guzzler) or literally using it non-stop, a larger battery case is more useful and pocket-ability is probably not as high on your checklist. For the very, very active iPhone user, a higher-capacity case is probably called for. But that is, if you'll excuse the pun, an extreme case.
The Air Case only adds 0.15 inches to your iPhone.
Putting on the Air Case is easy. Pop the metal frame over your iPhone and then slide the slim battery through the frame's rails. That's all there is to it.
There's a button on the back. Press it once and it'll illuminate the LED indicator to its right, letting you see at a glance how much power the battery case has left. Press and hold the button and it'll start charging your iPhone; to disable the charging, press and hold the button once more.
The Air Case has a Lightning pass-through port.
The case also has another nice feature many other battery cases don't: Lightning port pass-through, which means you can charge the case and the phone at the same time, via a single cable. The Mophie Juice Packs and Tylt's Energi case both plug into the iPhone's Lightning port, but they charge through the Micro USB port, which means you'll need another cable.
The pass-through Lightning port also means it'll play nicely with charging docks like Twelve South's adjustable Hi-Rise; no need to remove the case at all.
IMAGE: BRITTANY HERBERT/MASHABLE
The metal frame recesses the headphone jack a little but not as much as other battery cases. Apple EarPods will still fit perfectly, but the enclosure around my OnePlus Icon earbuds' jack are just a millimeter to thick. It's something to be mindful of, or just go with Bluetooth headphones.
I don't normally nerd out about iPhone accessories, let alone a battery case. But color me impressed with the Air Case. The case is going for $39 for early backers on Indiegogo, but once those run out, it'll cost $49. It's supposed to come out in July.
Like the company says, the Air Case is the battery case Apple should have created. If I was running Apple, I'd buy Innoants and rebadge this baby as an official Apple product.
Air Case (iPhone 6/6S)
The Good
So thin • Easy installation • Looks hot • Lightning port pass-through
The Bad
Headphone jack is slightly recessed
The Bottom Line
The Air Case is the thinnest, sleekest iPhone battery case on the market.
SINGAPORE — Apple has launched Apple Pay in Singapore, but it's just for American Express-issued cards for now.
The company announced Tuesday the mobile payment service has gone live here, becoming the sixth country after the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia and China to have it. Amex confirmed in October last year it will follow with Hong Kong and Spain to roll out Apple Pay there within the year.
For now, only American Express-issued cards will work, and American Express cards from other banks like DBS Bank, UOB and Standard Chartered will start getting accepted "soon," says Apple's site.
Users can also expect Visa to be onboarded, but Apple wouldn't say exactly when this would be.
Apple Pay works with the Apple Watch, iPhone 6, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro and iPad Mini 3, and is compatible with existing contactless payment terminals in stores.
Like other tap-to-pay modes such as Visa PayWave and MasterCard's PayPass, Apple Pay transactions are capped at S$100 ($75) each.
The Apple Pay service first debuted in the U.S. in October 2016
Is Amex-only crippling the service?
Apple Pay's Amex-only debut in Singapore echoes its operations in Australia, where it only works on Amex, and with none of Australia's big four banks.
Avoiding that, Apple went a much broader route in China for its February debut in the important market, which is the world's largest smartphone base. It tied up with the country's sole interbank network, China UnionPay, allowing access to the vast majority of cards in the country.
It worked; the first day of Apple Pay in China proved so popular that the service couldn't accommodate everyone jumping on, and Apple said it had to stagger the number of sign-ons. According to Apple, 3 million cards were added in the first 72 hours of the service going live in the country.
Given that Amex has a far lower penetration rate in here compared with Visa and MasterCard, it's not likely that Singapore will experience anything close to that rush of sign-ups.
According to data from research firm IDC Asia-Pacific, Amex is estimated to be on fewer than 5% of the total credit and debit cards in circulation in Singapore. Merchants are generally less keen to support Amex as well, because its fees are known to be higher than that of the competition.
Chris Anderson, head of mobility at research firm IDC Asia-Pacific, told Mashable: "I'm not convinced (the Amex launch) will lead to an influx of applications for Amex cards in Singapore, since customers know that other options will be available soon."
Apple launched two new iPhones, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, in September of 2014. Along with larger screens and a completely new iPad-style design with an ultra thin body and rounded corners, the two new phones offer faster processors, better cameras, and NFC for Apple's Apple Pay payment system.
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus originally came in Gold, Silver, and Space Gray in 16, 64, and 128 GB capacities. The iPhone 6 pricing started at $199 on contract or $649 without contract, while the iPhone 6 Plus pricing started at $299 on contract or $749 without contract. With the release of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in September 2015, Apple reduced prices on the older iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models by $100 and eliminated Gold as a color option. Only Silver and Space Gray remain available.
While both models include the same 64-bit A8 chip and the same general design, there are several differences between the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 measures in at 6.9mm, while the iPhone 6 Plus is slightly thicker at 7.1mm. Apple's iPhone 6 Plus also has three major differentiating factors: optical image stabilizationfor the camera, and a longer battery life, and an iPad-style landscape mode that displays more content on the screen.
Though the iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilization, both phones got some major camera improvements in form of sensor upgrades, improved tone mapping, better noise reduction, and new "Focus Pixel" technology, which improves the phone's ability to select autofocus points. For videos, there's a new240fps slo-mo option, along with support for shooting in 1080p at 60fps. The front-facing camera was also upgraded, with anf/2.2 aperture that lets in more light and new burst mode capabilities.
Both phones have an impressive "Retina HD Display," with the iPhone 6 featuring a resolution of 1334 x 750 (326 ppi) and the iPhone 6 Plus featuring a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (401 ppi).
Design wise, the phones more closely resemble the iPad and the iPod touch than the iPhone 5s. Both models have soft, rounded corners and a curved glass screen that melds smoothly into the thin metal body of the device. The volume buttons on the left side of the device are pill-shaped, and the power button is located on the right side of the device for easier one-handed use.
To further make its devices easier to use one-handed, Apple added in a double tap (not press) home button gesture called "Reachability," which moves items from the top of the screen to the bottom of the screen for quick access.
Other new features in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus included Wi-Fi calling support, faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and support for Voice over LTE (VoLTE).
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