Apple to Debut 3 New iPad Models in 2017 : Reports

The last earnings report from Apple indicated how important the tablet business still is for Apple. The last quarter saw Apple selling 9-percent less iPads, yet the revenue grew 7 percent thanks to a higher selling price. Now, it seems it could be bringing new models to attain whatever market share’s left in the tablets space.

A new report, courtesy of MacRumors via noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, indicates that three new iPads could be coming in 2017, including the first ever 10.5-inch iPad that can occupy the middle ground between the larger models. Other variants include a new, cheaper 9.7-inch model and a 12.9-inch model to sit either side.

There is no word given for the iPad Mini as he thinks the arrival of the larger iPhones could have quashed the demand of the smaller tablet, altogether.

More-important, however, are the big changes that Apple has planned for 2018. The year could see the company revealing a “revolutionary” AMOLED iPad model with a flexible display and “radical” design changes. No further details were given for the same.

As for the near future, Ming-Chi Kui lowered his expectations of the current line-up’s shipments, shunning it from 45-50 million to just 35-40 million tablets, given the lack of models which are to be expected this year.

The market for tablets has for long been considered to be fairly stagnant, but it now appears that we could be headed towards some exciting announcements finally. Or perhaps it could be the final hurrah for the market? Only time will tell.

BoomStick creates room-filling audio in your head

Audio enhancement is never going to be an easy sell. You’re basically trying to sell something people don’t know they’re missing. Sure, the audio coming out of your everyday iPhone earbuds is "meh" at best, but for most people it’s good enough.

BoomCloud 360, though, contends it can fill in that aural gap that you didn’t know you were missing for $99.

The company's device is called BoomStick and, despite the big-sounding name, it’s a relatively tiny, palm-sized device with a 3.5mm output port on one end and a 3.5mm input jack on the other.

According to the manufacturers, it can enhance virtually any audio source with a built an advanced digital signal processor (ADSP) that includes psychoacoustic base adjustment, spatial enhancement and high-frequency contouring. They all combine to, BoomCloud 360 claims, reveal latent audio qualities — things that can get masked in a sound mix

Unlike devices that simply boost audio or even fake 3D sound ("I hear helicopters behind me!"), BoomStick seeks to enhance the spatial quality of music, gaming, movies and spoken audio.

Psychoacoustics, or the study of sound perception, has been around for years. BoomCloud 360 CTO Alan Kraemer, who was formerly CTO at SRS, is an audio expert who is deeply knowledgeable in psychoacoustics. He says it presents audio in a fashion more akin to how we hear it in a natural environment.

Kraemer believes that those chasing lossless audio, like Ponos and Tidal "are wrong." The benefits of higher sample rates are questionable, at best, he told me. Kraemer admitted that bit-depth can help audio quality, but "99% of people can’t hear these things."

Can I hear it

BoomStick has been on the market for almost a month, but now it’s starting to sell in Sprint stores for $79. Seems like the right time to deliver my assessment.

Like any good gadget, BoomStick doesn’t ask you to install special software or twist into knots to complete the setup. It’s simply plug and play. The lightweight device comes with its own carrying case so you can keep it with you and use it with any of your portable devices — at least those that play audio.

The jack plugs into your device's audio out port, and then your headphones plug into the other end of the BoomStick. There’s a small power slider on one side and a mini-USB port for charging. BoomCloud 360 execs told me it can last 15 hours on a charge. Since much of the chassis is filled with battery, it could be an ever smaller device if they dropped the duration to just 8 hours — something BoomCloud 360 has considered.

On the face of the device are a few indicator lights (power, battery and sound) and one large button that turns the audio algorithm on and off. Even with the power off, BoomStick serves as an audio pass-through device and when you turn it on, it doesn’t alter the audio until you hit that big button.

Hit the button

Now here’s where it gets tricky. Yes, when I hit that button virtually every listening device I tried – Apple iPhone ear buds, Beats Audio Solo 2 headphones and Sony Professional Dynamic Stereo Headphones – showed an audible difference.

In general, sound in music, games and video got more spatial presence. The ambient sound, like wind rustling trees and saxophones playing behind Frank Sinatra on New York, New York, moved a little forward. There was also a little sound and bass boost, so the overall sound got louder and there was a little more thump.

Audio quality enhancement on both the Beats and Sony headphones was certainly more pleasant. There’s a warmer sound coming from both those headsets, especially on the Sony’s, which do not seem to add any kind of unwanted signal processing.

The tone on the Apple ear buds could get a bit sharp so that, when I turned on BoomStick, some of the background noises moved into competition with the forward sounds.

While music and games definitely benefited from BoomStick’s audio enhancement, I think the device is a kind of godsend for movie Foley artists.

In film production, they're the ones who create all the sound effects, everything from footsteps to wind to rain drops. BoomStick seems to pluck those sounds out of obscurity and thrust them forward, without overwhelming the voices and soundtrack. This was particularly effective in The Day After Tomorrow: The effect was like watching a big screen movie with digital surround sound, even though I was just using Apple earbuds.

Is BoomStick worth $79 to $99? After all, you can always spend that money on a better pair of headphones. Based on my experience, however, even the sound coming from a pair of headphones costing hundreds of dollars can get a boost from BoomStick.

APPLE Granted a new Patent that places a second screen on IPAD Cover

Despite its name, the iPad Smart Cover is not particularly smart; it folds well and wakes your iPad from sleep, but that's about it. 

Judging by a patent recently granted to the company by the U.S. Patent Office, dug out byPatently Apple, the Smart Cover might become a lot smarter in the future. 

SEE ALSO: Apple filed a patent for a MacBook keyboard without keys

Titled "Cover attachment with flexible display," the patent describes a foldable cover for a tablet device with a "flexible display" built in. 

Apple sees this approach as an alternative to making the actual tablet bigger.

"Increasing the display area could lead to a significant expansion in functionality. Unfortunately (...) device manufacturers generally choose between making the display and therefore the device itself larger, thereby reducing the portability or making the device and display smaller with the result of a less functional device," the patent text explains. 

The advantages of having a second screen are obvious: You could have it display auxiliary info, such as the title of the song or movie currently being played on the tablet, alongside touchscreen controls. It could be used as a full-fledged second display, comparable to that of the main display; alternatively, only a portion of the cover could be a screen, with the rest reserved for solar cells. 

As always, a patent does not necessarily means such a product will see the light of day soon, or ever. 

What's interesting about this patent is that it was originally filed in 2011 (we covered it in August 2012), and though some of the concepts from it actually came to life (the iPad Pro's smart connector is one example), some of them are still quite futuristic. We certainly hope Apple will continue to innovate in the tablet area, despite iPad's steadily dwindling sales.