Friday 17 August 2018

The App Stores 10th Birthday!

Did you know that the Apple App Store is now 10 years old? For this weeks Appy Friday, we thought we’d give you some of its highlights from the past decade to celebrate its birthday!


The App Store was introduced on July 10th 2008, and it launched with just 500 apps. The Apps Store’s release was revolutionary for Apple and helped to join together the process of finding an app you want, to buying it and then downloading it. Ten years on from its launch, it's hard to imagine phones without Apps and an App Store. Without it, we’d still all be using our smartphones for just phone calls, and maybe emails and internet browsing. So, here’s our list of some memorable milestones that the App Store has achieved in its first decade.

1.
On December 11th 2008 Apple introduced the charts in the App Store. This meant people could find the top apps of that week or month.

2.
On June 17, 2009, Apple released the iPhone OS 3.0 and along with this came the App Stores next feature which was in-app purchases. To start with Apple limited in-app purchases just to paid apps and games only. Initially they didn’t want consumers to download an app, and then find out they had to pay for upgrades, however, later on, this changed. And as we’ve seen, there are lots of free Apps out there, that now include upgrades paid for by in-app purchases.

3.
In 2010 with the release of the first iPad the App Store got another update, in that the App Store now featured iPad specific apps and universal apps. This included the first iBooks and Netflix apps.

4.
After the success of the iPhone and iPad App Store. On January 6th 2011 the Mac App Store was launched and in the first day alone there were around one million app downloads.

5.
In June 2015 Apple released iOS 7 and with this came a whole new look for the App Store along with automatic app updates.

6.
In October 2015 the App Store also came to watches and TV’s with the release of the Apple Watch and Apple TV.

7.
Now, in 2018 the original iOS App Store has over 2.2 million apps and over 130 billion downloads.

So, that was this weeks Appy Friday. The App Store has made such huge differences in the way we use our mobile phone and revolutionised smartphones for the better. So, happy 10th birthday App Store!

Friday 10 August 2018

Top 5 Budget Headphones!

For this weeks Appy Friday we’re giving you a list of our top 5 best headphones on a budget. Whether you want some headphones for going to the gym or need some for travelling with. There is a range of different types of headphones in here, depending on what you need them for.


Affordable earbuds:
RHA S500
Price: £29.95
These affordable earbuds have great quality all-around balanced audio with great bass. The earbuds themselves include a remote and microphone for voice control through Google Assistant and Siri. Also included in this price is 3 years warranty and 7 extra noise isolating silicone ear tips and clothing clips for when you’re at the gym or doing sports. Overall these are a great set of earphones for the price.

Affordable wireless earbuds:
Anker Bluetooth Headphones
Price: £22.99
The Anker Bluetooth Headphones are a great option for small, wireless earphones and they last up to 7 hours from a single charge. These earphones have a great lightweight design but also have customisable EarTips and InEar-Hooks making them a more comfortable fit for you. These earphones are also water-resistant, having both a IPX5 water-resistant shell and internal nano-coating so there is a double layer of protection. For this price, you get 4 different size EarTips, 3 different types of InEar-Hooks, a FitClip, Shirt Clip, Micro USB Cable, Travel Pouch and 18-month warranty. So, you definitely get a lot for your money with these earphones.

Affordable noise cancelling headphones:
CB3 HUSH Noise Cancelling Headphones
Price: £69.99
Noise cancelling headphones can come with quite a hefty price tag however these CB3 HUSH headphones have a pretty reasonable price tag compared to other similar headphones. Another great thing about these headphones is that they are wireless as well as noise cancelling so there are no wires to get in the way. However, also included in the price is an aux-cable so it’s up to your personal preference. There is also a little built-in microphone on these headphones. Overall these headphones are great quality for the price as they include the headphones, a carrying pouch, a micro USB, audio cable and an in-flight adapter for aeroplanes too.

Affordable on-ear headphones:
Skullcandy Grind Headphones
Price: £21.99
These are the most affordable headphones on this list and the most bass heavy on here. These headphones do have a built-in microphone, but unfortunately no sound controls. That’s a shame, but for the price, this may be as expected. The Skullcandy headphones are very light but strong so a good option for travelling.

Affordable on-ear wireless headphones:
Creative Sound Blaster JAM
Price: £38.90
These Creative Sound Blaster JAM are very lightweight with great sound quality. However, they seem a little bit fragile and apparently don’t have very good noise cancelling properties as they do let noise in from your surroundings. However, these may be great in an office environment where there may not be too much background noise.

So, there's this weeks Appy Friday. Personally, I think the best on this list is the Anker Bluetooth Headphones as I think that for the price these are the best quality and the easiest for travelling with. Let us know if you have any of these headphones!

Friday 3 August 2018

Rumours of the new 2018 iPhone and other Apple Releases!

For this weeks Appy Friday, we are giving you all the rumours surrounding Apple’s upcoming releases this year, usually announced at their September event. The most anticipated being the new iPhones, however, there are also a few other exciting rumours flying around at the moment that we will go into.


This year, Apple is rumoured to be releasing another 3 phones. The first being the second- generation of the iPhone X, it’s said to have the same 5.8- inch OLED screen. The second phone rumoured to be released is the iPhone X Plus with a larger 6.5- inch OLED screen. The third phone is slightly different for Apple, they are rumoured to be releasing a more affordable phone. This is said to have a Full Active (which allow much smaller, tiny bezels) 6.1 inch LCD screen which is improved technology over the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus’ display.

All three of the new iPhones will have an edge-to-edge display and they will all have a TrueDepth Camera system with Face ID, meaning this will probably mark the end of the traditional look of Apple’s flagship phones with the Touch ID. The new devices will be likely to have A12 processors.

The two main OLED phones with be fully kitted out with all the usual cool features, it’s rumoured that the 6.1- inch phone will have fewer features in order to keep the cost low. This device will have an aluminium frame instead of the usual stainless steel frame, it also may not have wireless charging and may only have a single lens rear camera.

The 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch OLED phones are assumed to have the same dual-lens rear cameras and may have 4GB RAM. It’s predicted that at least one of the new releases will have a dual-SIM functionality. Another thing that could be slightly different about the new iPhone releases is that the colours will be of a much wider variety. Potentially offering the usual silver, space grey and gold but for the 6.1-inch device could come in grey, white, blue, red and orange.

Some other devices that have been rumoured is a new Apple Watch with a larger screen. The new redesigned screen is wider, and the bezels on the edges aren’t as thick as the previous model. Also, this new release is said to have a larger battery and therefore a longer battery life. Another couple of things rumoured to be released, is a budget laptop, an upgraded Mac Mini and new iPads. However, there isn’t much information on these potential releases yet.

So, there was this weeks Appy Friday. Personally, I am most excited to see what the more affordable iPhone will look and perform like, as this could be quite different for Apple. Let us know what you’re most looking forward to and if you’ll be buying any of these potential releases? If the rumours are true of course ;)