Top iOS news of the week: New iPads, iPhones big in China, new Skype for iOS

Summary: The news of iOS was all about the new iPads this week, including a rare leak from none other than Apple.

Apple leaks details of new iPads ahead of launch event

The folks in Cupertino are known for the absolute secrecy about upcoming products, but committed a major faux pas ahead of the iPad press event. The iPad user guide on iTunes had pictures and details of the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 the day before the launch.

The timing of the slip has some wondering if this wasn't intentional on Apple's part, given this advance information appeared the day Google unveiled its new Nexus 6 and Nexus 9.

Source: ZDNet from 9to5mac

20 million iPhone pre-orders in China

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have arrived in China, and reports estimate pre-orders at a whopping 20 million. The estimation covers orders from retailers and carriers in China.

Apple has announced that 10 million iPhones were sold in the first three days of availability in the US. The huge China market may end up being Apple's biggest if these reports are accurate.

Source: iClarified

Skype optimized for bigger iPhones

Microsoft released a new version of Skype optimized for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The new Skype app is designed to take advantage of the larger displays of the new iPhones, especially the interface.

The new Skype displays more of a user's chat conversations and scales the display to properly handle the screen on any iPhone.

Source: Skype

New iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 unveiled

Apple CEO Tim Cook launched two new iPads this week at a press event. The iPad Air 2 is thinner and more powerful than the previous iPad Air. It gets a Touch ID sensor like that on the iPhone, too.

The iPad mini 3 gets the Touch ID sensor but not much else. It is otherwise identical to the previous model, now called the iPad mini 2. There is a new gold option, but that's it.

Source: ZDNet

Apple Pay, iOS 8.1 coming Oct. 20

Apple's next version of iOS goes live Oct. 20 and along with it is the activation of Apple Pay. The impending update should take care of any lingering problems users have with iOS 8, and bring tight integration between OS X Yosemite and iOS.

Apple Pay is the mobile payment system that the company hopes will become a major player in that space. Apple has signed up 500 financial institutions to use Apple Pay according to information shared at the iPad press event.

Source: ZDNet