iPhone 11 Pro Max review: salvaged by epic battery life

A great camera, screen and performance can’t save horrendous ergonomics, but at least it’ll last two days on battery

The biggest, most expensive new smartphone from Apple is the iPhone 11 Pro Max, and you’ll need a small fortune to buy it.

The new 6.5in iPhone 11 Pro Max costs from £1,149 and is in effect its smaller 5.8in iPhone 11 Pro sibling put in a photocopier with a 12% magnification applied.

It has the exact same aluminium and glass design, the same notched screen with Face ID, the same camera arrangement on the back and the same Lightning port in the bottom. It is the same phone. Except that enlarging everything (apart from thickness) by 10%-12% creates a very different experience.

Like the iPhone XS Max it replaces, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is really difficult to use with one hand. At 77.8mm it is hand-stretchingly wide, wider still than the already massive OnePlus 7 Pro (75.9mm) and even the positively gigantic Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ (75.9mm), and at 226g it is heavier than competitors by a full 20g. But more than that, the rounded stainless steel sides provide no grip at all, meaning your fingers simply slip off them when you stretch across to reach the other side of the screen or the top left corner, which you frequently need to do in iOS.

It’s a combination that either results in hand pain or wallet pain, as it slips out of your fingers and plummets on to the unforgiving floor below. You then stick it in a case, which makes it even bigger. If there was ever a phone to benefit from a grip accessory of some kind, this is it.

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So unless you have giant hands, the iPhone 11 Pro Max is exclusively a two-handed phone. But I’d argue that there are always times when you need to use a phone one-handed: public transport, carrying a bag, taking a selfie and so on.

The 6.5in Super Retina XDR “Pro level” OLED screen is just as wonderful as the one on the smaller iPhone 11 Pro, although it isn’t a massive leap over that fitted to significantly cheaper rivals such as the OnePlus 7 Pro. Flip it over and the frosted, almost metallic-like glass and square camera lump with three lenses poking out is new.

Specifications

• Screen: 6.5in Super Retina XDR (OLED) (458ppi)
• Processor: Apple A13 Bionic
• RAM: 4GB of RAM
• Storage: 64GB, 256GB or 512GB
• Operating system: iOS 13
• Camera: Triple 12MP rear cameras with OIS, 12MP front-facing camera
• Connectivity: LTE, wifi 6, NFC, Bluetooth 5, Lightning, Ultra Wideband and GPS
• Dimensions: 158 x 77.8 x 8.1 mm
• Weight: 226g

A13 Bionic

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has the same A13 Bionic chip, 4GB of RAM and at least 64GB of storage as the rest of the iPhone 11 line, and performs similarly. Everything happens promptly, including intensive tasks such as video editing and gaming, and it should be a top performer for years to come.

The use of Lightning over the newer, more adaptable and useful USB-C is disappointing, as is the 64GB of starting storage. If you want to use your massive phone screen to watch video or play games, or you shoot any number of photos or 4K videos, you’re going to fill that up in no time.

Apple says it has managed to make the iPhone 11 Pro last five hours longer between charges than the iPhone XS Max, which managed 27 hours in my testing.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max beats that estimate by some margin, lasting just minutes shy of a full 48 hours between charges. That means the phone lasts from 7am on day one until about 6.50am on day three, propelling the iPhone 11 Pro Max into the two-day battery club previously only populated by a variety of Huawei’s top phones.

That was after the iOS 13.1.2 update, while using it as my primary device without a smartwatch attached, sending and receiving 100 emails and messages, 80 push notifications, listening to five hours of music on Bluetooth headphones, watching an hour of Netflix, and shooting about 10 photos a day.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max ships with an 18W USB-C fast charger and a USB-C to Lightning cable in the box. A full charge from flat took two hours 20 minutes, but hit 50% in 31 minutes and 70% in 46 minutes, slowing charging to a trickle above 95%.

The phone also gets pretty hot when fast charging. It can wirelessly charge too, but can’t charge other devices.

It’s also worth noting that iOS 13 includes a battery optimisation feature, which is designed to learn your habits and only charge the battery past 80% when it thinks you need it to extend its longevity.

iOS 13.1.2

The iPhone 11 Pro shipped with iOS 13 but was quickly updated three times to iOS 13.1.2, following the same issues suffered with the iPhone 11.

Dark mode, swipe typing on the Apple keyboard, improved quick setting access and menstrual cycle tracking are all new highlights of iOS 13.

The iPhone 11 Pro Max also has a few additions for the large screen such as a split-screen view in Mail, Calendar, Messages and others that aren’t present on the smaller iPhone 11 Pro. It also supports a few tricks to help with one-handed use such as bringing the top of the screen down or moving the keyboard to one of the sides, which itself is difficult to do with your right hand as the button to activate it is in the bottom left corner of the screen.

It’s the back gesture, which is a swipe in from the left edge of the screen, that’s a killer for a right-handed user. Trying to do that with one hand is equal parts frustration and dread.

Apple leads the industry in software updates, providing at least five years of support from release, where other manufacturers cap out at about three years, and has recently shown a surprising ability to rapidly push out bug fix updates in quick succession.

Camera

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 The new triple camera system is a massive step up for Apple’s smartphones, finally matching or exceeding the best of the rest in photography. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

The iPhone 11 Pro Max has Apple’s new triple 12-megapixel camera setup – the same as the smaller iPhone 11 Pro. The combination of ultrawide, wide and telephoto cameras gives you the ability to shoot at 0.5x, 1x or 2x optical zoom, then up to 10x digital zoom.

Overall, it’s a massive step up on previous iPhone cameras, and better still than the cheaper iPhone 11. Apple’s new night mode brings it up to par with the best rivals on very low-light photography, while the new deep fusion technology rolling out with iOS 13.2 is getting closer than ever to the clarity of fine detail of an SLR with a large lens.

The photos used for this review were all shot on an iPhone 11 Pro running iOS 13.2 beta.

After lagging the ultra-competitive camera competition for some time, Apple is firmly up with the best with the iPhone 11 Pro line.

Observations

• The iPhone 11 Pro Max is water resistant to IP68 standards of up to 4m for 30 minutes – which is 2m deeper last year’s iPhone XS Max
• Bluetooth performance is much improved, with stronger connections to even the weakest of headphones
• Face ID is still best-in-class, now slightly faster and working at slightly wider angles
• The new U1 chip enables enhanced location abilities, but so far it’s only used for directional AirDrop file sharing
• The highly polished stainless steel is easy to mark and dull in even careful general use
• The pressure sensitive screen of previous iPhones is gone and with it 3D Touch, so you can’t press harder on things any more

Price

The iPhone 11 Pro Max costs £1,149 for 64GB of storage, £1,299 for 256GB or £1,499 for 512GB in black, green, silver or gold.

For comparison, the iPhone 11 Pro costs £1,049, the iPhone 11 costs £729 and the iPhone XR costs £629.

The OnePlus 7 costs £499, the Samsung Galaxy S10 costs £799 and the Huawei P30 Pro costs £799.

Verdict

There’s an excellent super-sized smartphone within Apple’s grasp, but unfortunately the iPhone 11 Pro Max isn’t it.

A design that works at the much smaller size of the 5.8in iPhone 11 Pro simply doesn’t at the gargantuan 6.5in iPhone 11 Pro Max, meaning Apple’s biggest phone suffers from terrible ergonomics.

I get that uniformity is Apple’s schtick, but in this case it actively makes the product worse. Of all the massive phones I’ve used across the years, the heavy, slippery iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone XS Max before it are the only ones to give me serious hand pain. It’s literally a crying shame, because everything else about it – from the camera, the screen and the performance – is great.

When it comes down to it, only the genuinely epic Huawei-level battery life salvages the iPhone 11 Pro Max from being a three-star product, and even then this is a four-star phone that is extremely expensive.

There are certainly better, easier-to-use big-screen smartphones available that cost significantly less than the jaw-dropping £1,149 and up Apple wants for the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

But if you must have an iPhone and the wonderful 5.8in iPhone 11 Pro doesn’t quite cut it, do yourself a favour and save £420 and buy the 6.1in iPhone 11. Only those that genuinely need two-day battery life should buy the iPhone 11 Pro Max, and even then I wouldn’t.

Pros: brilliant camera, night mode, water resistant, wireless charging, Face ID, good battery life, good performance, brilliant screen, long software support

Cons: hard to hold, heavy, super expensive, no headphone socket, no fingerprint scanner, no headphones adapter in the box, low starting storage

Mark Zuckerberg rules out selling Instagram and WhatsApp

Mark Zuckerberg rules out selling Instagram and WhatsApp


Facebook has repeatedly been confronted by calls, including from one of its own co-founders, to split Instagram and WhatsApp off from the social network. But it seems the chances of that happening keep getting slimmer.

US Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said Thursday in a tweet that he met with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and asked the tech mogul to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. Not surprisingly, Zuckerberg shot down the idea.

Hawley, one of Facebooks toughest critics, is among the several US lawmakers from both parties whove been rubbing shoulders with Zuckerberg this week.

Its Zuckerbergs first known visit to Washington, DC, since April 2018 when he testified before lawmakers in the wake of a major privacy scandal. Cambridge Analytica, a UK political consultancy, harvested the data of up to 87 million Facebook users without their permission. In June, Hawley introduced a bill that would make tech companies like Facebook liable for political bias.

Facebook has repeatedly said it doesnt plan to split Instagram and WhatsApp away from the worlds largest social network. The company has argued that doing so wouldnt hold it more accountable for its privacy mishaps and other woes. Instead, Zuckerberg has called for more internet regulation around harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability. The company is also working on a way to make it possible for Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram users to send messages to one another without switching apps.

Facebook didnt immediately have a comment about Hawleys meeting with Zuckerberg.

On Wednesday night, Zuckerberg met with a group of senators as part of a dinner that Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, helped organized after he was asked by Facebook to do so.

"The participants had a discussion touching on multiple issues, including the role and responsibility of social media platforms in protecting our democracy, and what steps Congress should take to defend our elections, protect consumer data and encourage competition in the social media space," Rachel Cohen, a spokeswoman for Warner, said in a statement.

Warner also told The Washington Post that Zuckerberg was questioned about the companys plans to launch with partners a new cryptocurrency called Libra. "He heard the concerns, but I still dont have 100 percent clarity on whether they feel like they can launch short of US regulatory approval," Warner told the Post.

Zuckerberg also spoke with Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat representing the state of Washington, during a separate meeting on Wednesday night focused on data privacy and election security, Reid Walker, a spokesman for Cantwell, said in a statement.

Zuckerbergs conversation with lawmakers included a wide range of topics, including allegations that the social network suppresses conservative speech, which Facebook has repeatedly denied doing. Hawley said in a tweet that Zuckerberg admitted there "clearly was bias" surrounding a fact-checking dispute between the social network and videos published by anti-abortion group Live Action. 

Conn Carroll, a spokesman for Sen. Mike Lee, Utah Republican, said Zuckerberg met with the lawmaker and talked about "bias against conservatives on Facebooks platform, government regulation of digital platforms, antitrust enforcement, Section 230 liability, and data-privacy issues."

Rain, Huawei jointly launch 5G network in South Africa

Willem Roos (left) CEO Rain and Shi Jilin (right), President of Huawei Cloud Core Network Product Line, toast to the partnership launch of first 5G Mobile Data Network in South Africa. Provided to China Daily.

A South African mobile data-only network operator has beaten Kenyan and Nigerian operators in the 5G network rollout race, according to reports from the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

At the 2019 Mobile World Congress, Rain, South Africa's mobile data-only network operator, announced it had launched the first 5G commercial network in South Africa in partnership with Huawei, the leading global ICT solutions provider. This move has made South Africa one of the first countries to launch 5G.

On the continent, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria have been leading mobile network innovators, maintaining head to head rollout of 3G, 4G and related high-speed network solutions.

With Huawei's end-to-end 5G solutions, Rain has been able to build the 5G network using its 3.6GHz spectrum. In the first rollout phase, Rain has deployed a number of 5G sites in key areas in Johannesburg.

Willem Roos, chief executive officer of Rain, said the network will provide fiber-like speeds without the installation complexities, time delays and cost of laying fiber in under-serviced areas.

Huawei launched a full range of 5G end-to-end product solutions, from core network, bearer network and base station to terminals in the beginning of 2018. The company also launched 5G phones at MWC 2019.

Apart from deploying new base stations, Huawei's solutions enable Rain to fully leverage its existing LTE network and allocated spectrum for 5G deployment. This approach of sharing facilities and leveraging existing infrastructure will enable Rain to roll out the 5G network in a quick and cost-effective manner.

Shi Jilin, president of the Huawei Cloud Core Network product line, said it is an important step to work with Rain in bringing the first 5G network construction in South Africa.

"With our solutions, we are committed to working with operators with innovative solutions to build future-oriented networks for smooth evolution and migration for the maximum value out of their investment and the best user experience," she said.

According to the plan, Rain will continue to expand the 5G network to cover all the major metropolitan areas in South Africa with 5G networks to provide ultra-broadband services to homes and enterprises.

Roosfurther noted Rain was excited to build South Africa's first large-scale 5G network, which can provide fast wireless internet to more citizens.

"We are supportive of President Ramaphosa's investment drive in the country and hope to contribute to readying South Africa for the Fourth Industrial Revolution," he said..

Source: Chinadaily

Tech entrepreneurs call for more government regulation

The tech community, once known for being insular and resistant to outside interference, is facing an existential crisis as its members have begun to break ranks and call for fundamental changes at global companies like Google and Facebook.

Roger McNamee has been a Silicon Valley insider since Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg was in nappies.

The venture capitalist has built a name for himself as a big-thinking investor and a kind of sounding board for some of the valley's biggest names in the '80s and '90s, including Bill Gates.

McNamee remembers this period in Silicon Valley fondly, recalling how people like Steve Jobs promoted a kind of "hippie-libertarianism" that believed in tech's ability to make the world a better place.

But starting around the turn of the millennium, these Utopian goals began to be usurped by greed, he says. So he was slightly taken aback when he met Mr Zuckerberg in 2006, and the then-22-year-old impressed him with his sincere belief that Facebook could help connect people all over the world.

"I wanted to believe they were different - and they really were different at the beginning," he told the BBC's Jane Wakefield.

Now, not so much - according to Mr McNamee.

Mr McNamee, who served as a mentor to Mr Zuckerberg for three years and was an early investor in the company, made headlines last year when he wrote a number of opinion pieces criticising Facebook for its role in the spread of misinformation in the lead-up to Brexit and the 2016 US presidential election.

"All the internet platforms are deflecting criticism and leaving their users in peril," he wrote in the Guardian in January 2018, just months before the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke.

Since then, he says, little has changed.

"I don't believe there's anyone around [Mr Zuckerberg] who tells him what he needs to hear at this moment in time," he says.

It's not just Facebook, he says. Companies like Google, Amazon and Apple have all neglected their civic duties in pursuit of bigger profits. From Cambridge Analytica's alleged election interference to YouTube's role in spreading footage of the Christchurch mosque attack, a number of industry insiders have expressed concern about how today's tech is impacting democracy.

At the heart of the problem is search and social companies' reliance on advertising, which rewards content creators who shock and awe, says Mr McNamee.

"We need to understand that the business model that is shared by all these internet platforms encourages the worst elements of society," he says.

Former co-CEO of BlackBerry, Jim Balsillie, says he is "surprised" by the lack of ethics he sees at companies today.

"We were aggressive, but we weren't immoral or amoral," he says.

"How can you be a tool for genocide? How can you live with yourself?"

Higher ethical standards

It is not just the old guard that is demanding changes inside tech. Young employees at companies like Google and Amazon are staging protests and even quitting over issues like the treatment of women in the workplace and engineering ethics.

When Jack Paulson quit his job as a senior engineer at Google in September 2018, due to the company's decision to enter the Chinese market, his resignation went viral.

"I view our intent to capitulate to censorship and surveillance demands in exchange for access to the Chinese market as a forfeiture of our values and governmental negotiating position across the globe," his letter said.

A year later, he told the BBC he feels a part of a worldwide movement of tech workers demanding higher ethical standards across the industry.

"Making sure that people know there's others with similar backbone is critical if you want to help," he says.

Paulson learned of Google's plans in China after tech news outlet the Intercept published a report leaking details of Google's Chinese search engine plans, Project Dragonfly, in August 2018.

This summer, Karan Bhatia, Google's vice president of public policy, said Project Maven has been terminated. Google also agreed not to renew its contract with the Pentagon for Dragonfly.

But Paulson says the company's handling of internal dissent, and the way it addressed employees' ethical concerns, leave much to be desired.

When he asked management about their project with China, and the effect it could have on human rights activists, he says they told him "human rights organisations don't know anything. They don't work at the company, so we don't listen them".

This kind of insider vs outsider mentality makes the tech industry resistant to criticism and change, he says.

This lack of ethics is proof companies need to be regulated by the government, says Mr Balsillie, who was co-CEO at Blackberry from 1992-2012. Although it seems odd for a tech entrepreneur to call for more regulation, he says we need to have firm rules around things like data collection - and hefty fines for companies that break them.

"I'm not against tech. I'm for tech, and I'm for entrepreneurship and I'm for capitalism, all the way," explains Mr Balsillie.

"But ultimately the job of government is to regulate for the public good."

But instead of regulation, he says governments have allowed companies to draft their own codes of conduct, courted them to build headquarters in their cities, and allowed them to use their citizens' data.

He has been vocal in his opposition to Google parent-company Alphabet's plans to build a "smart city" on Toronto's waterfront, telling Toronto's city council the project was a "colonising experiment in surveillance capitalism attempting to bulldoze important urban, civic and political issues".

Verizon 5G will launch in New York City on September 26th

Verizon’s 5G millimeter wave network will face perhaps its biggest coverage test yet when it launches in “parts of” New York City on September 26th. Today the carrier announced that 5G service will reach areas of uptown, midtown, and downtown Manhattan, along with select parts of Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens.

With NYC included, Verizon will have rolled out mobile 5G service to a total of 11 cities. The company aims to reach over 30 cities by the end of this year. “Our goal is to provide 5G network coverage to more than 50 percent of the US by the end of 2020,” Verizon said in a press release.

However, as with its other 5G markets, Verizon isn’t yet providing a coverage map that outlines exactly where customers will be able to get its incredibly fast mmWave speeds. Rival carrier T-Mobile has relentlessly mocked Verizon over this, most recently launching a “VerHIDEzon” ad campaign (complete with a Squarespace-made website) that blasts its competitor for a lack of transparency. “It’s about underscoring just how crazy it is to ask customers to pay more and then guess where they can use the thing they’re paying more for,” T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray wrote in a blog post. (Some of Verizon’s unlimited data plans are currently waiving the $10 5G fee.)

Millimeter wave offers blazing-fast mobile data speeds, but it has extremely limited reach, requiring nodes on pretty much every street block where service is available — especially in cities with many high-rise buildings.

T-Mobile has already rolled out mmWave service in New York City (with a coverage map.) As they’re built upon the same technology, you can bet we’ll be trying to gauge how the two 5G networks compare.

T-Mobile executives including CEO John Legere have also accused Verizon of having an incomplete, doomed 5G strategy. “I’ve said all along that 5G requires a mix of all spectrum types: high-band (mmWave) for massive capacity over short distances in dense urban areas, mid-band for coverage and capacity depth, and low-band for broad nationwide coverage, including rural America,” Ray wrote, using the opportunity to further hype the T-Mobile / Sprint merger and combined spectrum pool the new company will gain.

Verizon has insisted that it knows exactly what it’s doing with 5G over the long term, but the company refuses to go into detail about how it will expand upon the millimeter wave technology it’s currently building out. Network VP Heidi Hemmer has said Verizon has a “multi-spectrum strategy,” but claims it’s not offering specifics to avoid AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint from gaining a “competitive edge.”

What 5G phones does Verizon have?

Verizon currently offers three phones that can tap into its 5G millimeter wave network.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G: $1,299.99
• Samsung Galaxy S10 5G: $1,299.99
• LG V50 ThinQ 5G: $999.99

Huawei announces flagship Mate 30 Pro under cloud of Google uncertainty

After a week that saw renders, photographs, and even a couple of hands-on video reveals much about Huawei’s latest flagship phones ahead of their announcement, the Mate 30 series is now official, starting with the Mate 30 Pro and the Mate 30.

Both phones have a Leica-branded rear camera array contained within a circular camera cutout that Huawei is calling a “Halo ring design.” However, the Mate 30 Pro has a 6.53-inch screen which curves around the edges of the device, while the regular Mate 30 has a more traditional flat display that’s slightly bigger at 6.62-inches in size. Battery sizes also differ between the two phones; the Mate 30 Pro has a larger 4,500mAh battery, compared to 4,200mAh in the Mate 30. Both phones support fast-charging up to 40W wired, or 27W when wirelessly charging.

Since the Mate 30 Pro’s display curves around the edges of the device, Huawei has ditched the physical volume buttons on the side of the device, in favor of a new touch-sensitive solution. It’s a similar technology to what we’ve seen on Vivo’s Nex 3.

The Mate 30 Pro is available in six colors in total, including two vegan leather options; green and orange. Other colors include silver, green, purple, and black. There’s also a new Porsche Design edition of the Mate 30, which uses a genuine leather finish on the rear of the device. The Porsche Design Huawei Mate 30 RS is available in red and black, and eschews the circular camera bump in favor of a more integrated quad-sensor array.

Internally, the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro phones use Huawei’s Kirin 990 chip, which the company announced at IFA back at the beginning of the month. The chip is the first from Huawei to include a built-in 5G modem. Along withe the 5G modem, Huawei also says that the phone includes 14 antennas for 5G, and 21 antennas in total.

The rear camera array is probably the most distinctive part of the design of the phones, with a circular camera array that contains the phone’s four sensors. In the Mate 30 you’re getting a main 40-megapixel camera with a f/1.8 aperture, an ultra wide-angle 16-megapixel f/2.2 camera, an 8-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto camera, and a “laser focus” sensor. Meanwhile, the Mate 30 Pro bumps the resolution of the ultra wide-angle camera to 40-megapixels, with an aperture of f/1.8, and swaps the laser focus sensor for a 3D depth sensor.

In terms of video, Huawei claims that the phone can record in up to 4K 60fps, or else record in slow-motion at speeds of up to 7680fps when filming in 720p. Huawei showed off this ultra slow-motion camera in action with footage of a hummingbird in flight, where its wings were still visible despite the speed at which they were moving.

The Mate 30 series runs on EMUI 10, which Huawei’s consumer CEO Richard Yu says is based off Android 10. Features of the software include a dark mode and gesture control via the sensor in the phone’s notch. Huawei also advertises that the Mate 30 will support both face unlock, as well as featuring an in-display fingerprint sensor.

The announcement of Mate 30 series comes at a difficult time for Huawei, whose presence on the USA’s entity list prevents US companies from doing business with the Chinese firm. Google said last month that these phones won’t ship with Google’s apps and services, nor will they come with the Play Store pre-installed, which is how most Android users outside of China download their apps. We’re still waiting for Huawei to tell us how it’ll address this for Mate 30 buyers outside of China. Stay Tuned.

The Best Accessories to Help Improve Your Mac's Performance

New Macs can be expensive and come with unfamiliar design changes: Chances are, you may prefer the analog feel of the four-year-old MacBook Pro keyboard you already have. If that's the case, spending less money to improve your computer's performance probably sounds more appealing than buying a completely new one.

Maxed-out memory and storage are typically the main culprits behind a poor-performing computer, but fortunately, some hardware on a Mac can be replaced and upgraded. Thanks to companies like OWC, there are a bunch of different accessories you can buy to bring new life your beloved Mac. Here are eight of the best ones.

OWC Aura Pro X2 SSD

Upgrading to a solid state drive (SSD) is a no-brainer. An SSD will instantly increase the performance and reliability of your Mac for a fraction of the cost of a new laptop.

There are no moving parts, so there's less heat and a lower rate of hard drive failure. Your Mac will boot up to twice as fast with this drive, and you’ll see apps load almost instantly.

95W NuPower Battery Replacement Kit

Batteries have a finite number of charges, so when you hit the three-year mark and your battery has been recharged 300-500 times, you may notice that it barely holds a charge. This battery replacement kit is a great DIY solution that'll have your Mac running like new in no time. 

RAM Upgrades

Memory upgrades can provide the most bang for your buck when it comes to improving the performance of your Mac. OWC has an easy memory performance test optimized for Mac that will tell you exactly what you need to upgrade your computer. They also provide DIY videos that walk you through installation.

OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad RAID

This hassle-free backup system is for users who move lots of data. It provides up to 56TB of storage and works with all types of USB systems and is Thunderbolt 3 compatible as well. 

Invest in a RAID system to move data off your computer knowing that it will be safely backed up.

OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock

A dock is a great way to expand the usability of your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. With a dock, you can connect two 4K monitors and multiple external drives. Plus, there are plenty of ports for headphones, microphones, audio gear, and charging your notebook. 

iFold Portable Stand and Cooling Pad

A cooler computer can extend battery life and the overall life of your Mac. Simply plug in an external keyboard and mouse and you’ve converted your laptop to a desktop.

The best way to stop slouching at your desk is to raise your monitor to eye-level. This iFold stand not only helps your posture and alleviates neck and wrist pain, but it also creates an open-air platform for your MacBook to rest on to assist in cooling. 

NewerTech Keyboard Cover

If you are prone to spilling drinks or crumbs on your keyboard, then it’s time for you to get a keyboard cover. They provide a silky texture that protects your keys from wear and tear, and also prevent moisture, hair, and particles from falling behind the keys.

External Graphics System

The Mercury Helios FX is an external eGPU expansion chassis —meaning if you plug this into your MacBook (Pro or Air), you’ll be able to use an additional graphics card to increase performance over what is inside the computer.

MTN and AIRTEL Welcome Back Data Offer: 1gb @ N200 for a week, 4GB At N1000 For 30 Days

Data is equally, or even more important as Talk time for mobile users in recent years. Maybe why MTN has chosen to lure back inactive users back to the network with a huge data reward. MTN Welcome Back Offer is now revamped with unbelievably-cheap data.

MTN Welcome back offer is not entirely new, it has been available on the network for years. But we can say it just became a whole lot special with the data bonus inclusion now.

Before now, customers that have spent 30 – 180 days on the network without performing any chargeable activity will be rewarded with a 2000% bonus on their first recharge in a month for 3 months. It is an offer that encourages MTN users with dormant lines to reactivate their SIM cards by getting back on the network, recharging, and in the process, becoming an active subscriber once again.

Benefits of MTN Welcome Back offer:

You will receive 2000% bonus on the first recharge of the month for the period of three (3) months.

So if you recharge with N100, you will receive N2000 bonus (i.e. 500% of the bonus will be used for Voice calls & SMS to all networks in Nigeria and the 1500% will be used for Data) which will be credited to the Welcome Back Bonus dedicated account and no airtime will be credited to your main account.

In addition to that, you will have access to buy;
250mb @N100 (valid for 3 days)
1GB @N200 (valid for 7 days)
4GB @N1000 (valid for 30 days).

How can I check if You’re eligible for the offer?

You can check if you are eligible for MTN Welcome Back Offer by dialling *559*65# on your mobile phone.

How To Get MTN 4GB For #1000

Simply dial *131*65# to get a list of special data from MTN. Once you have confirmed your eligibility, you can proceed with the purchase.

How To Get AIRTEL 4GB For #1000

Simply dial *141*241# to get a list of special data from AIRTEL. Once you have confirmed your eligibility, you can proceed with the purchase.

Osun State Polytechnic (OSPOLY) Iree HND Admission Form for 2019/2020 Academic Session

Osun State Polytechnic (OSPOLY) Iree HND Admission Form for 2019/2020 Academic Session

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for admission into the under listed Higher National Diploma Programmes which would be available in the Institution in 2019/2020 Academic Session.

OSPOLY Iree HND Admission – General Requirements.

HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA PROGRAMMES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

1. Science Laboratory Technology
   • Chemistry option
   • Microbiology option
2. Food Technology
3. Statistics
4. Mass communication
5. Office Technology and Management
6. Computer Science
7. Electrical and Electronics Engineering
   • Power and Machine option
   • Electronics and Telecommunication option
8. Computer Engineering Technology
9. Civil Engineering Technology
10. Accountancy
11. Business Administration and Management
12. Banking and Finance
13. Marketing
14. Purchasing and Supply

National Diploma (ND) in the same discipline with a minimum of Lower Credit obtained from an NBTE accredited programme/Institution plus a minimum of one year Post – National Diploma Industrial Attachment/Work Experience in the field of specialization. However, in exceptional cases, candidates with Pass Grade in the National Diploma with a minimum of 2 years Post-National Diploma Industrial Attachment/Work Experience may be considered.
SPECIAL INFORMATION: There will be qualifying examination and Interview for all HND Programmes Applicants into the HND Programmes.

OSPOLY Iree HND Courses and Requirements.

(A) HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA PROGRAMMES IN THE FACULTY OFSCIENCE
(i) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Science Laboratory Technology: Chemistry Option.
(ii) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Science Laboratory Technology: Microbiology Option.
(iii) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Food Technology
(iv) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Statistics.

Entry Requirements for (i) above

Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ level GCE,SSCE of WAEC,SSCE of NECO or NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings. Credits in English Language, Mathematics and Chemistry are compulsory plus any other two from the following:, Physics, Biology/Agricultural Science, Geography, ICT, Economics/ Commerce and Further Mathematics.

Entry Requirements for (ii) above

Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ level GCE, SSCE of WAEC,SSCE of NECO or NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings. Credits in English Language, Mathematics, Biology are compulsory, plus any other two from the following: Chemistry, Physics Geography, Economics/ Commerce, Further Mathematics and ICT.
Entry Requirements for (iii) above
Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ level GCE,SSCE of WAEC,SSCE of NECO or NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings in English Language, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology/Agricultural Science and any other one from the following: Physics,
Economic/Commerce, Statistics, Food and Nutrition, ICT, Geography and Technical Drawing

Entry Requirements for (iv) above

Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ level GCE, SSCE of WAEC, SSCE of NECO or NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings. Credits in English Language, Mathematics and one of the Basic Sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) plus any other two from: Further Mathematics, Biology, Agricultural Science, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Commerce, Geography, ICT, Government/History, Statistics, Typewriting.
(B) HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA PROGRAMMS IN THE FACULTY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
(i) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Mass Communication
(ii) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Office Technology and Management (formerly Secretarial Studies).
(iii) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Computer Science

Entry Requirements for (i)above

Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ Level GCE,SSCE of WAEC,SSCE of NECO and NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings. Credits in English Language, Mathematics, Literature in English in English and any other two from Literature in English, Economics, Commerce, Government/Civic Education, Geography, History, Principles of Account/Financial Accounting, Physics/Chemistry/Biology/Agricultural Science, CRS/ IRS, ICT, Yoruba or any other Nigerian Language.

Entry Requirements for (ii) above

Minimum of 5 Credit in O’ Level GCE, SSCE of WAEC, SSCE of NECO, NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings .Credits in English Language, Mathematics and any other three subjects from Business Methods, Typewriting, Shorthand, Literature in English, Government/Civic Education, Principles of Account/ Financial Accounting, Office Practice, History, CRS/IRS, Commerce, Economics, Geography, ICT, Physics/Chemistry/Biology/Agricultural Science and Yoruba or any other Nigeria Language.

Entry Requirements for (iii) above

Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ level GCE, SSCE of WAEC, SSCE of NECO or NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings. Credits in Mathematics, English Language, Physics and any other two from the following: Chemistry, Biology/Agricultural Science, Further Mathematics, Statistics, ICT, Economics/Commerce and Geography.
(C) HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA PROGRAMMES IN THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING.
(i) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technology:
(a)Power and Machine Option
(b) Electronics and Telecommunication Option
(ii) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Computer Engineering Technology
(iii) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Civil Engineering Technology.

Entry Requirements for (i -iii) above

Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ level GCE,SSCE of WAEC,SSCE of NECO or NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings .Credits in English Language, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are compulsory plus any other one from the following: Biology/Agricultural Science, Further Mathematics,ICT,Geography,Economics/Commerce,BasicElectronics,Technical/Building Drawing, Basic Electricity/Basic Electronics, Wood / Metal Work and other trade related subjects such as Introduction to Building Construction ,Block/Bricks laying, Concreting, Carpentry and Joinery, Machine Woodwork, General Woodwork, Electrical Installation and Maintenance.
(D) HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA PROGRAMMES IN THE FACULTY OF FINANCIAL STUDIES
(i)Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Accountancy
(ii)Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Banking and Finance

Entry Requirements for (i &ii) above

Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ Level GCE, SSCE of WAEC,SSCE of NECO,NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings. Credits in English Language, Mathematics, and any other three from Economics, Government, ICT, History, Literature in English, Commerce, Geography, Financial Accounting/Principles of Account/Book Keeping, Statistics, Physics/Chemistry/Biology/Agricultural Science.
(E) HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA PROGRAMMES IN THE FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
(i) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Business Administration and Management
(ii) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programmein Marketing
(iii) Two Year Higher National Diploma Programme in Purchasing and Supply.

Entry Requirements for (i) above

Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ Level GCE,SSCE of WAEC,SSCE of NECO,NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings. Credits in English Language, Mathematics, Economics and any other two from Government/Civic Education/History, Literature in English, Commerce, Geography, Business Methods, Principles of Account/Financial Accounting, ICT, Office Practice, Statistics, Chemistry/Physics/Biology/Agricultural Science.
Entry Requirements for (ii&iii) above
Minimum of 5 Credits in O’ Level GCE, SSCE of WAEC, SSCE of NECO, NTC of NABTEB obtained at not more than two sittings. Credits in English Language, Mathematics, and any other three from Economics, Government/Civic Education/History, Literature in English, Commerce, Geography, Business Methods, Principles of Account/Financial Accounting, ICT, Office Practice, Statistics, Chemistry /Physics/ Biology/Agricultural Science.

OSPOLY Iree Special Notice for HND Candidates.

Candidates are advised to ensure that they personally and not by proxy fill-in appropriate information especially with regards to the arrangement of names, examination grades, examination number, examination year and the exact Industrial Training (I.T) date (HND only).

1. Only courses duly accredited by the NBTE will be considered for the admission.
2. Candidates are advised to keep safe their scratch card as any loss will necessitate purchase of another scratch card.
3. Change of course after the payment of acceptance fee is not allowed.
4. Applicants are advised to provide correct and functional E- Mail address and Telephone number while completing application form on-line.
5. Date of Qualifying Examination will be announced in due course.
6. The Institution would not be liable for any erroneous information contained in the filling of forms.

How to Buy Ospoly Iree HND Form.

Applicant should take the following steps:
1. Log on to https://ospoly.edves.net
2. Click Admission Forms link
3. Fill in your basic bio data and click Register
4. Pay application fee of N10,500 only using Debit Card of any bank.
5. Fill in other details as requested, submit and print application form
Our help lines are 07059397105, 08106934345, 08030862530 Email:info@ospolyiree.com
Screening Date to be announced later.