Apple activates official Twitter account ahead of Sept. 7 event

It seems Apple has finally decided to curate an official corporate presence on Twitter, as evidenced by the activation of a long-dormant verified account bearing the company's name on Friday.

The account, @Apple, has yet to post tweet, but already boasts more than 43,500 followers as of this writing. Apple registered its handle in September 2011, leaving it untouched until today.

As seen in the screenshot above, Apple’s profile photo has been updated to display a simple black Apple logo, while the larger header photo contains teaser art created for the upcoming Sept. 7 media event. Judging by the cover graphic, @Apple’s first post might be a live-tweet from next week’s keynote.

Long averse to promoting its products and services on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms, Apple more recently has taken steps to up its social media game. Alongside customer support portals like@AppleSupport, which launched earlier this year, and regional accounts dedicated to promoting App Store and iTunes releases. Another account, @AppleNews, debuted last year and surfaces fresh content featured in the Apple News iOS app.
The @Apple account comes just in time for next week’s special event, at which the company is expected to introduce next-generation iPhone models and Apple Watch hardware. Also rumored to debut are new headphone models marketed under the Beats brand.

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Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime launched with octa-core CPU, 5.5-inch display

The Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime, images of which leaked over a week ago, has been officially launched. The device is now listed on the South Korean company’s Vietnam website, revealing its design as well as key specifications.

The listing reveals that the device is powered by an octa-core 1.6GHz processor, and sports a 5.5-inch full HD display. It comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB expandable internal memory, and packs in a 3,300mAh battery.

In terms of camera, the handset features a 13MP rear unit and an 8MP front sensor. It measures 151.5 x 74.9 x 8.1mm and comes with connectivity options including WiFi b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, Glonass.

As for price, the Galaxy J7 Prime carries a price tag of VND 6,290,000, which translates into around $280 at current exchange rates.

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Report: ‘iPhone 7’ packaging leaks emerge, also list bundled Apple ‘AirPods

More questionable photos alleging to show the back of Apple's "iPhone 7" packaging have popped up, with the most recent boxes out of Russia suggesting that Apple's as yet unannounced Bluetooth "AirPods" will be included with some models.

The alleged “iPhone” box pictures were sent to AppleInsider on Thursday, and show details for a 256-gigabyte “iPhone 7.” Like Thursday’s leaked packaging, the new pictures claim that wireless “AirPods” are included with the phone but this time included with the smaller “iPhone 7,” instead of just with the “iPhone 7 Plus.”

Only one of the pictures has a clear focus. While the “AirPods” are listed as included, the Lightning to headphone jack adapter depicted on other box picture leaks is not listed.

 

Casting some doubt on authenticity, the label on the back of the box is also clearly a sticker. Apple has recently been printing directly on the box backs, with the shift to printed packaging and away from a sticker on the box taking place with the launch of the iPhone 6.

The text is centered on the sticker, also in contrast to iPhone 6 and 6s packaging having left-justified text. And recent iPhone models have not printed the product name large at the top of the box, like is shown in the latest Russian leak.

However, some Apple products in the past have had centered text and a large product name printed on the back of the box, including the iPad mini 2 and Apple Watch.

Despite the images appearing to be from a shrink-wrapped pair of retail boxes for the device, paper “proof” listing box contents is easy to forge. The images, if legitimate, could indicate Apple will have a staggering amount of individual model numbers, spanning not just models, but colors, capacities, and now the choice of wired or wireless bundled earbuds.

The company has been rumored for some time to have completely wireless earbuds in development, with no tethering wire spanning the two buds. A recent regulatory filing confirmed the rumors that the wireless earbuds are called “AirPods,” in a slight alteration of the original wired “EarPods” name.

The new “iPhone 7” is expected to be revealed during Apple’s Sept. 7 event. New models are rumored to be slightly thinner design than the iPhone 6 family, made possible by removing the analog headphone jack, necessitating wireless or Lightning earbuds. The larger 5.5-inch “Plus” variant has been said for some time to feature a dual-lens camera design, and 3 gigabytes of application RAM.

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