An Apple patent application has surfaced that details a new method for laser cutting sapphire into cover glass for portable electronic devices such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple Watch. The patent is entitled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LASER CUTTING SAPPHIRE USING MULTIPLE GAS MEDIA.”Apple notes that sapphire is a hard material with a hardness of 9.0 on the Mohs scale, making it an attractive alternative to glass or polycarbonate. However, it’s also very brittle, and susceptible to dramatic strength reductions if there are small defects in the surface or edge.Manufacturing a near defect-free sapphire part may present unique challenges. The strength of a brittle material, such as sapphire, is limited due to flaw population on the surface or edges of the part. An inconsistent or inadequate surface or edge finish can lead to the propagation of micro cracks and result in a weakened part. Traditional translucent materials like silicate glass are able to be chemically strengthened to a significant depth to minimize the effect of these flaws, but on extremely hard materials such as sapphire, a similar process is not readily available. Additionally, sapphire’s hardness makes cutting and polishing the material both difficult and time consuming when conventional processing techniques are implemented. Further, conventional processing tools, such as cutters, experience relatively rapid wear when used on sapphire. This further increases the resource demand when surface finishing sapphire parts. Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Apple Patents New Method for Laser Cutting iPhone Sapphire Glass Covers

Apple has reached an agreement to lease its first major office space in San Francisco, according to the San Francisco Business Journal.Apple intends to sublease about 76,000 sq ft in the South of Market neighborhood’s 235 Second Street. The space is modest for company of Apple’s size; however, it represents the company’s first push into the city.The SoMa building – on Second Street between Howard and Folsom Streets – has been marketing a two-floor sublease through 2022 from tenant CBS Interactive. The space, which has been marketed for seven months, could hold between 400 and 500 employees, based on industry standards for employee-per-square-foot.Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Apple Reaches Agreement to Lease Its First Major Office Space in San Francisco

Apple’s share of the global mobile phone market increased to 10.9% in Q2 2015, even as the market grew a lackluster 2% annually to reach 435 million units in the quarter, reports Strategy Analytics. Notably, Huawei saw the biggest just in market share capturing 7% and overtaking Microsoft to become the third largest mobile phone vendor. Smartphones now account for 8 out of 10 mobile phones shipped.Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Apple's Global Mobile Phone Market Share Increases to 10.9% [Chart]

Intel and Micron have unveiled 3D XPoint technology, a major breakthrough in non-volatile memory and the first new memory category since NAND flash was introduced in 1989.The explosion of connected devices and digital services is generating massive amounts of new data. To make this data useful, it must be stored and analyzed very quickly, creating challenges for service providers and system builders who must balance cost, power and performance trade-offs when they design memory and storage solutions. 3D XPoint technology combines the performance, density, power, non-volatility and cost advantages of all available memory technologies on the market today. The technology is up to 1,000 times faster and has up to 1,000 times greater endurance than NAND, and is 10 times denser than conventional memory.”For decades, the industry has searched for ways to reduce the lag time between the processor and data to allow much faster analysis,” said Rob Crooke, senior vice president and general manager of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group. “This new class of non-volatile memory achieves this goal and brings game-changing performance to memory and storage solutions.”Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Intel and Micron Announce New 3D XPoint Memory That is 1,000X Faster Than Today's SSDs

Apple has reportedly begun production of the next generation iPhone and we’re now seeing the first part photos leak online.As you can see in the photo below, the power, volume, camera and LED flash, have allegedly been combined into one new flex cable.In addition, leaked rings reveal the iPhone 6s will still have a protruding camera and a leaked home button confirms the gold color option.Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: iPhone 6s Parts Leak as Production Begins [Photos]

Rovio has just released Angry Birds 2, the sequel to its popular game for iOS.The Angry Birds are back in the sequel to the biggest mobile game of all time! Angry Birds 2 starts a new era of addictive slingshot gameplay with stunning graphics, challenging multi-stage levels, scheming boss pigs and even more destruction.Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Rovio Releases Angry Birds 2 for iOS [Download]

Apple Campus 2 will feature a visitor center with a rooftop observation deck, according to city documents filed this spring. The Silicon Valley Business Journal notes that Apple’s approvals in 2013 mentioned a visitor center but a detailed project description wasn’t filed until April.The plans show a super-modern glass-walled structure topped by a carbon-fiber roof with extended eaves, punctuated by large skylights. On the ground floor: A 2,386-square-foot cafe and 10,114-square-foot store “which allows visitors to view and purchase the newest Apple products.” Stairs and elevators take visitors to the roof level, about 23 feet up. There, they’ll be able to behold the multi-billion-dollar campus, a kind of monument to the late co-founder Steve Jobs and Apple’s tremendous money machine.Apple says the project will “give visitors of Apple Campus 2 the opportunity to see the Main Building from the rooftop observation deck.” It also intends for the visitor center at 10700 N. Tantau to “create a public face of the Apple Campus 2 that reflects Apple’s business and design practices, and allows for a long-term presence in Cupertino.”Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Apple Campus 2 to Feature Visitor Center With Rooftop Observation Deck

Google has updated its ‘Inbox by Gmail’ app with an improved snooze feature that will snooze to the exact right time an email is needed.Your email inbox should help you live and work better, but instead it often buries the important stuff and creates more stress than it relieves. Inbox, built by the Gmail team, keeps things organized and helps you get back to what matters.FEATURES:• HIGHLIGHTS – Get the most important information without even opening the message. Check-in for flights, see shipping information for purchases, and view photos from friends right up front.Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Inbox by Gmail Gets Improved Snooze Feature

Apple today released a third beta of OS X El Capitan 10.11 to public beta testers. The releases follows the fifth beta release to developers on Monday.Public beta testers can update their OS via the Mac App Store. If you haven’t already joined the Apple Beta Software Program, you can do so here.Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or RSS for updates.Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Apple Releases Third Public Beta of OS X El Capitan 10.11

Google has updated its Translate app expanding instant visual translation to 20 more languages (for a total of 27) and making real-time voice translations a lot faster and smoother.The visual translation feature initially started with seven languages—English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Today Google is adding 20 more. You can now translate to and from English and Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Filipino, Finnish, Hungarian, Indonesian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish and Ukrainian. You can also do one-way translations from English to Hindi and Thai. (Or, try snapping a pic of the text you’d like translated—there’s a total of 37 languages that work in camera mode.)To try out the new languages, go to the Google Translate app, set “English” along with the language you’d like to translate, and click the camera button; you’ll be prompted to download a small (~2 MB) language pack for each. Share Article:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Email,   Reddit,   Digg,   Delicious,   StumbleUponFollow iClarified:Facebook,   Twitter,   LinkedIn,   Google Plus,   Newsletter,   App Store,   YouTubeAdvertise Here

Source: iClarified Read More: Google Translate App Now Supports Instant Visual Translation of 27 Languages [Video]