When Apple announced their World Wide Developer Conference they announced that information about their scholarships would be announced later. Apple has now announced the Scholarship information.
Apple's WWDC Scholarship program is designed for those that are 13 years old, as a registered developer and enrolled in a course of study, or an alumni of STEM organization.
There are a few requirements for applying. They are as follows:
Personal Information
School Information
Create a Swift Playground
The Personal Information must include your Apple ID, and a PDF, PNG, or JPG, that includes your membership information.
If you are a student, you will need to provide a current copy of your schedule in PDF, PNG, or JPG. If you are a member or alumni of a STEM organization, you will need to provide a PDF, PNG, or JPG of your membership information as well as your local leader's information.
The biggest requirement is that you will need to create a visually interactive scene in a Swift playground that can be experienced within three minutes. This could be just about anything, but it is a requirement to be awarded a scholarship.
The requirements for the Swift Playground are:
The Swift playground you submit should be created entirely by you as an individual. Group work will not be considered.
The Swift playground should be built using Swift Playgrounds on iPad or Xcode on macOS.
The Swift playground should function properly and run on the latest releases of Swift Playgrounds and iOS or Xcode and macOS.
All content should be in English.
The .zip file size should not be more than 25 MB.
Any resources in the project should be included locally in the zip file that you provide, as your Swift playground will be judged offline.
Scholarship recipients will receive a free ticket to Apple's WWDC 2017 conference as well as free lodging. Applying for a WWDC Scholarship will be available on March 27th, the same day that entry into the WWDC lottery will begin.
I, like many people, am constantly using my iPhone. The most common thing that I am doing with my phone is listening to audio. I can be listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or even just music. If you encounter me out and about, there is a 90% chance that I will have headphones in my ears. Headphones are one of the things that I will most likely have on me at all times. This has been the case since around 2005 when I got my first iPod; the iPod Mini.
That is not to say that I did not use headphones before, far from it. I used to listen to cassettes as well as CDs, and I even had a 32MB, yes, 32MB, Diamond Rio MP3 player. Since cassettes, CDs, and the Diamond Rio MP3 player were all around well before smart phones, I had to use wired headphones in order to listen to my music. Given that I am constantly listening to something, a good and comfortable set of headphones is an absolute must for me.
I should go without saying that I have had a slew of different headphones over the years. This does include a couple of bluetooth headphones as well. As with many people, once I find a pair of headphones I like, I will continue to buy them until they are no longer available. Luckily, my headphones of choice are Apple’s EarPods. Even though I have always had a phone that has AppleCare with it, I have not always gotten my headphones replaced under the warranty and instead opted to buy additional pairs.
History
One of the items that almost any Smart Phone needs is a way to listen to audio. All Smart Phones have at least one speaker in order to provide audio feedback. Most Smart Phones include a pair of wired headphones in with the phone. Apple’s iPhone is no exception. Apple has been including headphones with some of their products since 2001 with the introduction of the first iPod. Apple has modified their headphones in the intervening 16 years.
The second set of headphones that had a different shape were the Apple In-Ear Headphones that were introduced in September of 2008. The In-Ear Headphones consisted of three different size inserts that would allow the user to determine the best fit. The In-Ear headphones differ from the Earbuds by being ones that provide a seal inside the ear.
The shape of Apple’s earbuds remained the same from 2001 until September 2012, when they introduced the EarPods. The EarPods were developed by scanning thousands of ears and creating what is a shape that would fit the largest number of ears. It does not fit every year, but they do fit most.
With the release of the iPhone 5, Apple introduced a new connector, the Lightning connector. This connector is the one that is still on the iPhone, as well as the iPad, iPod Touch, and iPod Nano. With the release of the iPhone 7, Apple announced a radical change, the removal of the headphone jack; a staple that had been there since the release of the original iPhone in 2007. Headphones are still included in the box, as they have been since 2007. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus now include EarPods that have a lightning connector instead of the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack.
AirPods
At the same event as the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus introduction, Apple also introduced their first Apple-branded wireless headphones, the AirPods. The AirPods have the same shape as the EarPods, just without the wires. This is actually a bit of an understatement, the AirPods are actually much more than just a simple pair of wireless headphones.
Wireless
Traditionally, when one thinks of wireless headphones, they picture a set of headphones that do not connect directly to a device with wires, but still have a wire connecting the two different earbuds. That is not the case with the AirPods. Many headphone manufacturers provide Bluetooth headphones, but they have a wire connecting the two ear pieces together. This is not the case with the AirPods. There is not even a charging cable that connects to the AirPods. The AirPods are truly wireless.
The Wireless aspects to the AirPods are provided by a custom chip that Apple has designed; the W1.
W1 chip
The AirPods incorporate some proprietary hardware, Apple’s W1 chip. The W1 chip, as I explained in my review of the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones:
The W1 chip is an Apple designed chip that is specifically for being able to quickly pair with any iOS 10 or macOS Sierra device. The W1 chip also enables is the syncing of the pairing information between all of the devices using the same iCloud account.
The synchronization with iCloud is designed to allow your devices to automatically switch, without having to go through the tedious, “un-pair”, “re-pair” dance that is typical of Bluetooth enabled devices.
And this is entirely the case for the AirPods as well. Both the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones and AirPods use the same W1 chip; as does the Power Beats 3, and the Beats X will as well, when they are released. As mentioned, the W1 chip is more than just a standard Bluetooth chip. The W1 provides some new functionality; particularly the ability to more easily switch between devices.
The W1 Chip does more than just provide easy syncing. The W1 Chip is also able to relay to an iOS device how much battery power is left on each individual AirPod.
The W1 Chip is responsible for the ability to take an AirPod out and have the audio that you are listening to pause. This functionality is not possible if using the AirPods as a traditional set of Bluetooth headphones. However, the double-tapping of Play/Pause does work while using the AirPods as traditional Bluetooth headphones.
The AirPods are still traditional Bluetooth headphones and can be used with devices that are not running iOS 10 or macOS Sierra. As a matter of fact, they can connect to anything that supports Bluetooth. In order to sync with a non-iOS 10 or macOS Sierra device, perform the following steps:
Enable Bluetooth on the device.
Open the lid on the AirPods case.
Press the synchronize button on the back of the case.
On your device tap on the AirPods.
The AirPods should connect to your device.
The Case
One of the things that is most needed for any pair of wireless headphones is the ability to charge. How would you charge a pair of wireless headphones? With the AirPods, they are charged within their own case. The AirPods case provides more than just charging. It is also the mechanism for synchronizing the AirPods with your device.
The synchronizing of the AirPods with your device. The pairing process is simple.
Place the case within a few inches of the device
Open the lid of the case.
Wait a few seconds, a popup will appear. The AirPods are now paired
The pairing is really that simple. The pairing information for the AirPods is synchronized to all iOS 10 and macOS Sierra devices that are attached to the original paired device.
There is one thing to note, the case itself is not enough to be able to check the charge of the AirPods. At least one AirPod must be in the case for the charge of the battery case to be visible. This is true whether the AirPods are connected to an iOS device or a macOS device.
The AirPods case has a few magnets inside of it. Two of them are to pull the individual AirPods into the case to allow for charging of the AirPods. The second magnet is on the front of the case and is used to close the case, and doubly secure the AirPods inside of it. When you snap shut the case, it makes a satisfying click.
Battery Life
Besides being the pairing mechanism, the case is also how you recharge the AirPods. The headphones have up to five hours of charge. The headphones can be used independently. Once the AirPods reach 10% of battery power left, they will chime to indicate that they are low on power. When they are low on power, you can put the headphones in their case for fifteen minutes. When this is done, the AirPods will get another three hours of charge time.
During my usage, I was able to get about four and half hours of listening time out of the AirPods before needing to recharge. Since I keep the charging case with me at all times, it is not an issue to be able to quickly charge them up.
The total time need to fully charge the AirPods is approximately an hour. The case is capable of charging the AirPods for a full 24-hours of listening time on a single charge of the case. If the AirPods are inside the case when charging the case, the AirPods will also be charged at the same time.
At any point, you can check the charge of your AirPods. On your iOS device, simply use the battery widget to see the current charge. On a device running macOS, you go to the Bluetooth settings in System Preferences, or the menu bar if you have Bluetooth in the menu bar, and the charge should be visible.
Alternatively, if you have an Apple Watch, you can also check the battery levels of the AirPods with your Apple Watch. If you have the Battery complication and if the AirPods are connected to a paired iPhone, you can tap on the Battery complication and the AirPod battery life should be shown.
Switching Devices
In order to switch devices with the AirPods, you simply go to the Bluetooth menu, and select the AirPods, they should connect. During all of my usage, there were a few times that the AirPods did switch between devices. This includes going between an iPhone 7 Plus, 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 2016 MacBook Pro, and 2011 iMac. The only time that the AirPods did not switch was trying to connect to my Apple Watch Series 2.
It should be noted that you do not have to pair the AirPods to other iOS and macOS Sierra devices, provided all of the devices are on the same iCloud account. Once they are paired, the AirPods should be available on your devices.
Controls
One of the aspects of the AirPods is that they have no wires. The lack of wires means that you have limited control. There is actually only one function; double-tapping on one of the individual AirPods. With an iOS 10-enabled device, you can set what action the double-tap gesture performs. To select which action the gesture initiates perform the following:
Open Settings.
Tap on to Bluetooth.
Click the information button next to the paired set of AirPods to open the settings.
Here you have a few options that you can set.
You can set the name, the double-tap gesture, enable or disable the automatic ear detection, and you can set some microphone options.
For the double-tap gesture you have three options:
Siri
Play/Pause
Off
The default action is to use Siri, but if you want to change the double-tap gesture, simply tap on the one that you want to use.
The Automatic Ear Detection is an option that allows the AirPods to automatically pause when they are removed and resume playing when they are put back into your ears. The play/pause functionality of ear detection can be triggered by removing just one AirPod. The microphone settings are the last option. On this screen you can choose which AirPod is used for the microphone. The default option is “Automatically Switch AirPods”. You can also choose to always use the left or right AirPod, depending on your preference.
Issues
As mentioned above, my experiences with the AirPods has not been 100% perfect. I have experienced a few issues with them. The biggest has been that they will not, no matter what I do, pair with the AirPods. After messing around with the AirPods for a while, I was able to the AirPods to Connect. The only way I was be able to do this was by disconnecting the AirPods from every device and then pairing with the Apple Watch Series 2. At this point, they were finally able to connect.
The most common issue that I have experienced has been the few times that the sound has cut out entirely. This happens for no explicable reason. I was listening to some music when out of the blue, the AirPods disconnected. They were not low on power, they had plenty of charge left.
While listening to a variety of audio, I sometimes get distortions in the audio. During these times, I am not more than a few feet away from my iPhone when this happens.
Feature Requests
There are a couple of things that I would like to see for a future software or hardware upgrade of the AirPods.
Additional gestures. Besides the current double-tap, a triple-tap gesture could be implemented. The only possible downside is that sometimes the current double-tap gesture is not always recognized.
This request is one that could be implemented a bit more easily; Next track. This could be added as an additional option, even with the existing double-tap gesture. Some might wonder what would happen with the Play/Pause option. Well, the Play/Pause function is already taken care of by removing an AirPod. This option could be easily added with just a software update.
Final Thoughts
The AirPods have actually made listening to audio much easier. Instead of having to worry about getting wires tangled wherever I am, I am able to leave my iPhone in one place, and walk all over the house without needing to have my iPhone on me.
Overall, the AirPods are the best earbuds that I have ever used and easily the best Bluetooth-enabled earbuds as well. I have not compared them to the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones yet; that may be another comparison post in the future. If you have any mobile device that can support Bluetooth, the AirPods will work. You will not get some of the benefits, but they are still some of the best wireless headphones that you can buy.
Back at Apple's September 2016 event, where they announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Apple unveiled a couple of new products. The first, was a new set of wireless headphones; the AirPods. These have the same shape as the EarPods, however they are entirely wireless. This was not the only new headphone announced by Apple. the second is the Beats Solo 3 Wireless Headphones. These are the focus of this review.
Backstory
Beats was originally started by musical artist Dr. Dre and music industry producer Jimmy Iovine in 2006. Beats was created to make headphones as well as a streaming music service. In May of 2014 it was announced that Apple had purchased Beats for $3 Billion. The streaming music service was folded into Apple Music in July of 2015.
The Beats line has a variety of different headphones, from the Beats X, in ear headphones, to the Beats Studio, over the ear headphones. The Beats Solo line has both wired as well as wireless versions. The Beats Solo 3 Wireless and AirPods have something unique in them, a custom chip. The chip Apple has dubbed the W1.
W1
The W1 chip is an Apple designed chip that is specifically for being able to quickly pair with any iOS 10 or macOS Sierra device. The W1 chip also enables is the syncing of the pairing information between all of the devices using the same iCloud account.
The synchronization with iCloud is designed to allow your devices to automatically switch, without having to go through the tedious, "un-pair", "re-pair" dance that is typical of Bluetooth enabled devices.
Solo 3 Wireless
This is my first pair of Beats headphones, but definitely not my first pair of headphones in general. The Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones come in a decent size package and includes as number of items. These items include: a Carrying Case, micro-usb charging cable, a 3.5mm headphone with Microphone cable, and a carabiner, to attach the case to a bag.
The 3.5mm headphone with Microphone cable is to connect the Beats Solo 3's to any device that has a standard 3.5mm connection. When you connect the 3.5mm cable, the Beats Solo 3's headphones will automatically power off, but the music will continue.
The Beats Solo 3 utilize Bluetooth to be able to connect to devices wirelessly. The Bluetooth protocol used is Class 1, which is likely Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (LE). This means that they are able to be used with any bluetooth enabled device; whether it is an Apple device or a non-Apple device, the W1 chip enables this functionality.
Pairing
As mentioned above, the W1 chip makes it easier to connect to iOS 10, macOS Sierra, and watchOS 3 devices. The pairing of the devices is quite simple:
Make sure bluetooth is on
Turn on the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones
Hold down the power button on the Beats Solo 3 headphones for one second.
Follow the on screen steps.
Those steps are easily summed up in three screenshots.
Once the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones are paired, you can being listening to whatever audio you would like.
Battery Life
Apple rates the Beats Solo 3 wireless at 40 hours of time between charges. I have not thoroughly tested the battery life, but I have not had to charge them more than twice since I received them. Even if the battery life is not 100% as advertised, it is likely close to the 40 hours.
Given that I purchased the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones on Black Friday, I was able to use them in the cold. By cold, I don't just mean around 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It was zero degrees outside while using them. This is definitely not recommended. I went outside when they had 80% battery life remaining. Within 20 minutes the headphones were completely drained.
It should be noted that the Beats Solo 3's were under a hat and covered by a hoodie as well. I don't know if this was just a fluke, or if this is how they behave in the extreme cold.
Wired
One of the benefits of the Beats Solo 3 Wireless is the ability to also use them wired. and not just wirelessly. There is one thing to note about using them wired, besides the headphones powering off when plugged in. The cable is truly designed to only go one direction. While you could plug in to either side, the cable is designed to have the straight plug in the headphones, and the 90 degree angle side plugged into the device. If you switch the two, you will only get mono sound; however, it will be much louder which may be what you are attempting to achieve.
Adjusting the headband
One of the aspects of the Beats Solo 3's is that the controls are on the opposite side of those on the EarPods. This does take some time to get accustom to.
The second thing that the headphones actually collapse, to close. While this is not unique, it is something that you should be aware of.
Sound
One of the complaints that many individuals have of the Beats line in general is that it has more bass than other headphones. I tested a few different headphones in order to compare the Beats Solo 3 Wireless to to other headphones. The Lightning EarPods that come with the iPhone 7, the 3.5mm EarPods, the Xbox One Headset, and the Beats Solo 3 Wireless. The Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones definitely had the most bass, but ultimately did not sound the best, compared to the others. Weirdly, the 3.5mm EarPods with the 3.5mm to Lightning adapter, sounded the best. Even better than the EarPods with native Lightning adapter.
Downsides
One of the downsides of the Beats Solo 3's is also one of its benefits. The Beats Solo 3's are designed to sit snugly right on your ears, and they do. However, this poses a problem for those of us who have glasses. The Beats Solo 3's may ease up over time, but I am not sure if this is the case, given that they are designed to fold, so they are meant to maintain their shape. You can adjust the headband of the Beats Solo 3's, but when this is done, the Beats Solo 3's do not fit as well on one's head.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones work just as advertised. They seamlessly switch between devices. The battery life, provided you do not use the in a super cold environment, is really good. If you wear glasses, the Beats Solo 3's may require some adjustments so your glasses will not dig into your temples. The Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones are not inexpensive, by any means. If, however, you are looking for a pair of on ear headphones and you have the means, the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones may be the right choice for you. You can buy them from Amazon or Apple.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, for all intents and purposes, are the tenth iPhone that Apple has released. The complete list is as follows:
Original iPhone
iPhone 3G
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 4
iPhone 4s
iPhone 5
iPhone 5s
iPhone 6/6 Plus
iPhone 6s/6s Plus
iPhone 7/7 Plus
There have been a couple of others phones, the iPhone 5c, and iPhone SE. These are not in this list because the iPhone 5c had the same internals as the iPhone 5, with a plastic-colored back. The iPhone SE used the same form factor as the iPhone 4/4s/5/5s, but used the iPhone 6s internals. The iPhone 5c was a one-off product, and as of this writing, the iPhone SE is also a one-off product.
One of the items that some may notice is that this is the first time that Apple has used the same general external design for the iPhone for a third year in a row. As Apple has indicated, using the same design for the third year has allowed them to perfect the design. The changes to the design include the moving of the antennas to the top and bottom of the phone's case. One of the benefits of using the same design for three years running means that Apple knows the tolerances of the case extremely well. Knowing the case so well provides two different benefits. The first is that Apple is able to squeeze every millimeter out of the design and provide the best device possible. The second benefit for using the same design for a third year running is that for its 10th anniversary, the next iPhone can have a radical and entirely new design; which is rumored to be the case for next year's iPhone. One of the things that Apple ended up removing from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is the headphone jack.
Headphone Jack and Lightning to 3.5mm
One of the items removed from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus is the 3.5mm audio jack. The reason it was removed is two fold. The first is that one of the that Apple is able to make the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus water resistant, to some extent, by removing the headphone jack. The second The second reason is that Apple believes that the future for audio is wireless, and this is the first step to the future.
Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter
The Lightning to 3.5mm adapter fulfills its purpose and provides a way to connect existing 3.5mm headphones to the iPhone 7 Plus. The adapter requires iOS 10, and will not work on iOS 9 nor any other devices with previous versions of iOS. On iOS 9, you will get the following dialog:
Headphone Jack on iOS 9
However, On iOS 8, you will get no notification at all. No indication that there is even something plugged into the Lightning adapter. After using the lightning to 3.5mm adapter on my old EarPods, I attempted to plug in the lightning to 3.5mm adapter into my iPod touch running iOS 8, and briefly wondered why I did not hear anything coming out of the headphones. Hence, using the lightning headphones, or the lightning to 3.5mm adapter quickly becomes habit.
You can use the Lightning to 3.5mm adapter on any iOS device running iOS 10 that has a headphone adapter. If you attempt to plug in both types of headphones, they will switch between them with the one that was plugged in last being the one that takes over.
One of the side benefits of removing the headphone jack is that there should now be less interference since everything in the phone is digital. While the technology that I own may be advanced, my car, is not. My car is old enough to the point where there is not even an auxiliary jack to plug in a 3.5mm adapter. Instead, I have to rely on an FM transmitter to be able to play anything over my speakers. One of the things that I have noticed is that there has been a significant reduction in interference, as in I have not heard any. This was not the case at all with the iPhone 6s Plus.
Downside
The only downside to having the headphone jack removed is when you need to charge and still want to be able to listen at the same time. This has actually occurred a couple of times in the short while that I have had the phone. I am not opposed to dongles, and would really have liked to have seen Apple come out with a dongle that is capable of charging and listening at the same time. It likely would not be a cheap dongle, but for those of us who could use it, it would be very helpful. Belkin has filled the gap and the Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar dongle is available for pre-order.
Overall the removal of the headphone jack may annoy some, but it is not been a big issue for me, excluding the desire to charge and listen at the same time. The removal of the headphone jack is not the only change that has been made, that relates to audio.
Speakers
Even though the iPhone has always included a set of headphones in the box, there are times that the use of headphones is not always convenient. Often during these times we end up resorting to use the built-in speakers with the iPhone. This could be so we can listen to music with others, or for any other myriad of reasons. The sappers in the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have bene doubled. There is now a second speaker near the ear piece. The dual speakers do make the sound much better, since it is now stereo. Apple states that the new speakers make it twice as loud. Even if it is not twice as loud, it is still much louder than just having one speaker.
While the bottom speaker outputs both high and low levels of audio, the bottom speaker tends to output more of the tones at the lower range of the auditory spectrum, while the top speaker puts out more of the high-end. It is possible that this is entirely due to the capabilities of each speaker cavity. There is more space at the bottom of the phone that could account for this differentiation. One way to test the difference is to cover up the bottom speaker and listen to something just out of the top speaker, and perform the same test with the top speaker covered and only exposing the bottom speaker.
Even though both speakers are at different angles, the sound that emanates from them is pretty good. It is no where near as loud as the iPad Pro, but it is most definitely a vast improvement over previous iPhones. The changes in audio are not the only changes with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. There have been some changes around the cameras as well.
Camera
iPhone 7 Plus Dual Camera
The Camera is one of the biggest selling points to any iPhone. Since the introduction of the first 5.5-inch phone in 2014 with the iPhone 6 Plus, the Plus camera has always had a single feature that differentiated it from the non-plus sized model. That feature has been Optical Image Stabilization. Optical Image Stabilization has allowed 6 Plus and 6s Plus owners to have slightly less blurry photos by providing a way to stabilize photos. The 4.7-inch iPhone 7 now has optical image stabilization as well as the iPhone 7 Plus. Here are a couple of examples of some photos. These are either the iPhone 7 Plus or the iPhone 6s Plus and will be labeled as to which camera they was used to shoot the photo.
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have a whole new camera. Instead of the previous five-lens camera, it now includes a brand new six-lens camera that has a ƒ/1.8 aperture. This is a wide-angle lens. The ƒ/1.8 is an improvement from the ƒ/2.2 aperture that was present in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The iPhone 7 Plus still has a slightly better camera setup, one that includes an entire second camera.
The second camera on the iPhone 7 Plus has a 56mm telephoto lens that provides a feature not seen on an iPhone, optical zoom. The optical zoom allows a user to zoom to 2x. The 2x zoom, being an optical zoom, allows for close up photographs of anything. The second camera has a special mode that is designed just for it. Before we dive into the effect that requires the second camera, here are some examples of photos that have been taken with the digital zoom. These are alongside the non-zoomed pictures.
iPod Touch 6th GenerationiPhone 5 iPhone 6s Plus iPhone 7 Plus
Depth Effect
During my testing, the iOS 10.1 beta was released. This update included the Depth, or Bokeh, effect feature that was announced during the September event, but was not available for the iOS 10 release. This effect will use the 56mm telephoto lens to take a picture and provide blurring of the background. This is similar to what many SLR cameras are capable of doing. This effect does produce some very intriguing and fun photos. The effect is intended to be used for portraits and is designed to look for faces, however the feature is also capable of being used on other objects as well.
To be able to get the Depth Effect, there are a few parameters that are needed. The first is that the subject in the picture needs to be within eight feet of the camera. During my testing, I attempted to get a picture of a squirrel, but I could not get close enough to be able to take a picture of said squirrel, due to it being more than eight feet away.
As of this writing, the depth effect is still in beta. Below are four pictures. Two with depth effect, and two without. Not to toot my own horn, but the ones without the depth effect are probably some of the best pictures I have ever taken with a camera, and I am definitely no photographer. Below are some examples of photos with and without the depth effect. If you click on any of the images, it should open up to the full size.
Example 01 without depth effectExample 01 with depth effect
Example 02 without depth effectExample 02 with the depth effect
As you can see from the pictures with the depth effect, there are still some issues. For example, the leaves along the left side are blurred, when in reality they should not be. For these photos, the depth effect is not really needed, so if I do end up using these images somewhere, I will not likely use the feature all that often.
It is likely that Apple will fix some of these issues before the effect is no longer beta. One way that Apple could, in theory, allow enhancements to information later is to provide an option to save the raw image files along with the depth information, and then provide an option to create a new version of the files with any updated algorithm applied. I do not know if this is actually possible, but if it is, it could go a long way to providing even better pictures later on.
FaceTime Camera
One of the actions that Apple did not really anticipate was that people would want to take selfies. Because of this, the FaceTime camera was available until the iPhone 3GS. But this camera was only a VGA quality camera. There was a minor bump with the iPhone 5, to 1.2 megapixels, The camera on the iPhone 5s and even the iPhone 6 only saw very slight improvements. However, Apple got serious with the iPhone 6s and included a huge improvement to a 5 megapixel camera. The camera in the iPhone 7 and 7 plus is even better. The new FaceTime HD camera is a 7 megapixel camera that takes even bette pictures than before. The FaceTime HD camera has the same a ƒ/2.2 aperture as it had before.
Wide Color
One of the new features that was introduced in late 2015 was the 27-inch iMac that supported the DCI-P3 color gamut. The DCI-P3 color gamut allows for even richer colors than were previously available. At Apple's World Wide Developer Conference keynote, Apple announced that iOS 10 would support this wide color gamut. This would be in preparation for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. These both support the Wide Color Gamut. The downside to this is that the only devices that have the wide color gamut, for now, are the 21.5-inch iMac, the 27-inch iMac, the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, the iPhone 7, and the iPhone 7 Plus. Over time this will change, but fight now, it is a limited set of devices that are able to display the wider color range.
Color example for iPhone 6s Plus Color example iPhone 7 Plus
If you do not have a device that is able to see the wider color gamut, many pictures that have been taken on an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus will appear to be more saturated than other pictures.
Home Button
One of the changes made to enable the water resistance nature of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus has been the new home button. The new home button is not a traditional button. It does not actually physically depress like previous iPhone home buttons did. Instead, there is a haptic feedback engine behind the home button that simulates the feel of a button press. More on the haptic engine in a bit.
With the home button not being a physical button there is a slight change. With the new home button, the Touch ID sensor to detect that a finger is present. What this means is that your finger must be covering a bit more of the home button for it to function. This is in contrast to previous iOS devices where you could press down on a sliver of the button and it would work. It is a minor change, but one that any iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus owner should be aware of.
Haptic Engine
This engine is similar to the one that is present in the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and the Magic Trackpad 2. None of these devices actually has a physical button, and they all simulate the experience of a button press.
With the new haptic feedback mechanism, you are able to select how intense the feedback is. When you set up an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, you will be given three options. Apple labels these as one, two, and three. However, they are better described as light, medium, and heavy intensities. You can select which intensity setting is best for you. Personally, I chose the most intense. No matter which setting you choose, this is what you will feel when you press the home button.
One of the side benefits of the haptic engine is that developers are now able o incorporate a number of different vibrations into their applications. There are a total of 7 in all. Three notification indicators, Success, Warning, and Error; three "impact" intensities, light, medium, and heavy. The last vibration is a "default" vibration. The "default" vibration is a very slight, single vibration.
The addition of the haptic engine will not only allow better notifications, but will also allow developers to be able to provide even richer experiences for their users, by incorporating feedback within their applications. This could be quite useful for game developers. I am hoping that many game developers add haptic feedback to their games.
Apple has incorporated the vibration in a myriad of ways. For instance, when you tap on a toggle switch, it will vibrate. Similarly, when you pull to refresh, the phone will vibrate as well. Another example is within the keyboard. When you are using the keyboard, if you hold down on numerous keys, a popup for alternatives to the characters will appear, and these will have a very faint haptic feedback effect. All of these are system-wide and provided without a developer needing to do any work.
There are some examples within Apple's own applications, outside of the system-wide . For instance, within the music application, if you bring up the list of songs or artists, you will see the quick jump along the right side. If you move your finger up and down this list you will get some haptic feedback.
While this may be the limit of what Apple has implemented, there are a lot more ways that developers can integrate the new haptic engine into their applications.
Silicon Case
When you are spending multi hundreds of dollars on a device, you want to be able to protect it. The basic way that most protect their device is with a case. Apple sells two of its own cases, the Silicon case, and the leather case. I have always opted for the silicon case and I did this time as well. Even the silicon case has changed a bit. Apple has included a suede or felt interior of the silicon case for the last few years. The case for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus seems to have a bit more lining on the interior. Given how susceptible the Jet Black Jet Black iPhone is to scratching, this is probably a decision specifically for that model more than any other. Even so, it will be a nice addition for all iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models, even if they protect just a little bit more than before.
iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 7 Plus cases
Final Thoughts
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus provide a great upgrade for those who wish to upgrade their iPhone. If you have an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6s, the iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus may not seem like a huge upgrade, however with the new A10 Fusion processor, the speed increase will be extremely noticeable. The removal of the headphone jack has been a boon for being able to make the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus water resistant and dust resistant. The new dual cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus will be a boon for those who do not always want to carry, or those who do not know, a stand alone digital camera. If you own an iPhone 5s, or any prior phone, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are tremendous upgrades that will make your iPhone owning experience significantly better.
I do not recall exactly when I bought my first AirPort Extreme base station. It was probably sometime around late 2009 or early 2010, when I moved into my house. I upgraded from the 5th generation and added a 6th generation model in 2014. Within the last week, with no change in configuration what-so-ever, I began receiving the follow error message when I tried to access usps.com.
Access Denied
You don't have permission to access "http://www.xfinity.com/" on this server.
Reference #18.bda04968.1474239094.10f163b
Let me go through my Network Setup. I have a 5th Generation AirPort Extreme that is directly connected to my cable modem. Connected to this is a 5 port switch in my second bedroom/office. Connected to this is a 6th Generation AirPort Extreme. The two AirPort Extremes are connected via Bridge Mode, where the 6th Generation AirPort does not do any DHCP serving, but still provides services. I have three networks total, my standard 2.4GHz network, a 5GHz network and my Guest Network. To have bridged mode work as well as possible, you need to setup the same network on both AirPort Extremes, so that is what I setup.
At first I figured it might have been a temporary Comcast issue. I hardly ever need to go to the usps.com website, but there were a couple of packages that I wanted to track, and having to turn off wifi to do any tracking, while not the end of the world, was quite inconvenient.
I did the first set of maintenance that one does, I rebooted the cable modem as well as the 5th Generation AirPort Extreme. This did not fix anything, So the next step was to contact Comcast.
I contacted Comcast, and since it worked when directly connected via cable modem, there was not much else that they were able to do. As with most of their other things to test, they asked me to directly connect to the cable modem. When I connected directly to the cable modem, everything worked, so that clinched that it was something on my network.
I began doing some google searching, as one does, and I came across this thread on the Apple Discussion Forums.
I tried a couple of the things that they suggested in the thread. One of the suggestions was to make sure that "Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol" was enabled. That was already checked, so that was not the issue. Another suggestion was to disable the Guest Network. When I did this, it fixed the issue. While this worked, something told me that this was not the issue.
I did some more testing. I remembered that I had not yet rebooted my 6th Generation AirPort Extreme, so I rebooted this and there was no change. I switched the network names on the 6th Generation AirPort Extreme. When I did this everything worked fine. Yet, this is not how it is supposed to work. When I switched the names back to the original names, the original behavior returned.
Since I was back to square one, this is when I decided to use an suggestion from the Apple Discussion thread and decided to disable the Guest Network on the 6th Generation AirPort Extreme. After I disabled everything worked. I left the guest network disabled for 30 minutes, and re-enabled it again. When I double-checked everything, it continued to work.
I cannot explain what caused the contention between the two guest networks, but leaving one of them disabled seemed to fix the issue. I do not know if this is due to clearing out some cache, or some other issue. If that had not worked, my next step would have been to downgrade the firmware to the previous version and see if that fixed the issue.
I will admit that my network configuration is a non-standard one, but it seems to me that the two AirPort Extremes should be able to handle the communications without any issues. However, given the number of wireless networks in my area, it could easily be that they all got confused and needed to be reset. One of the suggestions from the Apple Discussions thread was that it could be an issue with ISP caching. Ultimately, this may still be the case, and it could just be that it is temporarily working and may stop working again in the future.
One of the things I also opted to do was to enable IPv6. When I did this, I noticed a horrendous slowdown in internet connectivity. After having it enabled for a couple of days, I ended up turning it off. The speed decreases were just too much to handle.
The thing to keep in mind is that no matter how good technology gets, it is still bound to have problems every once in a while.
Here is the availability for the evening of 09/19/2016. The biggest change has been Verizon where times have slipped at least a week, but upwards of three weeks
iPhone 7
Apple - Most of the iPhones that were '1 to 2 weeks' are now 7 - 10 business days. T-Mobile is still 2-3 weeks for every model.
Sprint - 32GB Rose Gold has gone from 'Available' to 10/8.
Sprint - 32GB Gold has gone from 'Available' to 10/1.
Verizon - 32GB Rose Gold has slipped a week from 10/5 to 10/12.
Verizon - 128GB Rose Gold has slipped a week from 10/5 to 10/12.
Verizon - 128GB Gold has slipped a week from 10/5 to 10/12.
iPhone 7 Plus
Sprint - 32GB Rose Gold has slipped a week from 10/12 to 10/19.
Sprint - 128GB Black has slipped from 10/10 to 10/23.
Sprint - 256GB Black has slipped a few weeks from 9/23 to 10/16.
T-Mobile - 128GB Gold has slipped about a week from 10/4 to 10/10.
T-Mobile - 256GB Black has improved from 10/16 to 10/3.
Verizon - 32GB Gold has slipped three weeks from 10/5 to 10/26.
Verizon - 32GB Silver has slipped two weeks from 10/12 to 10/26.
Verizon - 32GB Black has slipped a week from 10/26 to 11/2.
Verizon - 128GB Rose Gold has slipped two weeks from 11/2 to 11/16.
Verizon - 128GB Gold has slipped a week from 10/26 to 11/2.
Verizon - 128GB Silver has slipped a week from 10/26 to 11/2.
Verizon - 128GB Black has slipped two weeks from 10/26 to 11/9.
Verizon - 256GB Gold has slipped a week from 10/12 to 10/19.
When Apple introduced HomeKit back it 2014 at its World Wide Development Conference (WWDC), the idea of an internet connected home intrigued me. The idea of a connected home is definitely not a new concept. It is one that has been dreamt of by Sci-fi authors of the 1950's, and possibly even earlier than that, but is just now emerging as one that might be plausible, should someone truly want to attempt it.
There are many different problems that could arise from creating an internet-connected home. Besides the cost, which would not necessarily be an insignificant amount, the second biggest issues would be the competing standards. Right now, there are three competing standards, ZigBee, Z-Wave, and HomeKit. This article will focus on HomeKit.
There are times that we are looking for a solution and we find one, we tend to want to implement the solution everywhere. While writing my Hue Lights Starter Kit to work with the new Home app in iOS 10. One of the things I contemplated was where to put the lights. I opted to put one in the master bedroom and one in the living room. The reason for choosing these is because these where the only two locations where I could feasibly add connected lights. Let me explain,
After a couple of weeks of using the lights, it crossed my mind to go ahead and replace all of the lights in my house with connected light bulbs. The total number of light bulbs would be 55 bulbs total. Of these, I am sure that I could replace 46 of these with the same type of light bulbs that I have now. The Philips Hue hub would be able to handle all of these bulbs, so that would not be a problem. There is one problem that is not necessarily insurmountable, it would just require time. But, before that, there may be other issues as well.
The first issue is dealing with power. Not necessarily power being removed from the home, however that is an issue for anyone, even if they use non-connected lights. No, the issue that I am referring to is the light switches. The issue with internet connected devices, and in particular light bulbs, is that if power is removed, even through the act of flipping a light switch, the connected light bulbs will not operate.
As you might have guessed, this is the issue that would take some time to overcome. The act of flipping on and off a light is one that has become second nature to almost everyone in modern society. Let us presume that one would take the initiative to replace all of their standard lights, and just go ahead and decide to keep all of their light switches in the "on" position. There is another issue, others.
An alternative solution to this would be install the lights, and remove the light switches entirely. This solution, while doable and for all intents impractical today, would be the solution that Sci-Fi authors predicted in the 1950's and in all likelihood, may be a solution that is feasible in the not too distant future.
As one might be aware, not everybody is the most technologically savvy. There are some that do not like to use a technological solution for what many might consider a simple process. These individuals may not be willing to embrace the new functions of HomeKit, when their existing solutions suffice for their needs.
The last issue is more of a theoretical one. The Home app allows you to invite anyone to be able to adjust the settings on a home that you have configured. If your family is one that is more willing, technologically speaking, to use their iOS devices to control the home, they will have full control. If you have any tricksters in your family, you may want to limit their ability to have access to the lights, unless you want the lights to be turning on and off whenever they fancy. This could be particularly unnerving if they start messing with the lights remotely.
While iOS 10's new Home app will make it simple to go ahead and create elaborate setups of internet connected devices, replacing all one's lights with HomeKit-enabled ones, it may not always be best to do so. While internet-connected lights can make some things convenient, it may not be best to be all gung-ho and replace all of your current lights. However, adding them strategically may be able to make life just a tad bit easier for everyone. Despite all of this, if it makes sense for you to add lights, do so in a manner that makes the most sense for you.
Apple held their annual Fall event earlier this week. The event was filled with both the expected, and a couple of very unexpected items. We'll go over each of the items announced.
iPhone 7
Apple unveiled a slew of new features for their next iPhones, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The first thing that most people notice with any iPhone is the color. This year's iPhones have two new colors, but one color is being retired. The new colors are Black and Jet Black. The remaining colors are Silver, Gold, and Rose Gold. This means that Space Grey is no longer in the line up. The Jet Black iPhone 7 is polished to a high gloss finish, and is very reflective. The standard Black iPhone 7 provides a more matte finish.
The next thing that many would like to know about is the storage sizes of the iPhone. This year Apple's has doubled the storage sizes. They are now 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB. All iPhone 7 colors are available in these sizes, except the Jet Black. That is only available in 128GB and 256GB models. The pricing for the iPhone 7 is the same as the 6s and 6s Plus. They start at $649, if paying full price, or about $37 with Apple’s Upgrade Program.
One thing that most iPhone users have in common is that we have all dropped our iPhones at one point or another. Sometimes these drops are on a carpet and the dropped iPhone is no worse for wear. However, all to often the iPhone comes into contact with a water source. To help protect users, Apple has made the iPhone 7 water resistant. This has been done by re-engineering the seals that help protect the internals of the iPhone. This also comes from the design and being able to minimize the inputs on the iPhone 7.
The second new feature is the new processor, the A10 Fusion. This goes above and beyond what was already done with the A9 processor. The A10 combines four processors, two of these are high performance processors, while the other two are lower performance. Apple's own processor engine determines which processor is needed for which tasks. Applications like games, 3D Rendering, or any intensive application will be able to use the high performance processors. At the same time, applications like email, and Siri can use the lower performing processors. This is all handled by Apple's own performance controller which will determine whether the application needs performance or battery life.
Similar to the processing power is the graphical performance. The iPhone 7 has a six-core graphical processor that is capable of performing 50% faster than the A9, or even 3 times faster than the A8. One of the things that the graphics performance is needed for is the Camera. The iPhone 7 has a whole new set of cameras.
The iPhone 7 now has optical image stabilization on both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. Besides this, there is a whole new camera assembly. The new camera uses an f/1.8 lens, that can take in even more light to create even better images. It is still a 12 Megapixel camera, however it is now 60% faster and consumes 30% less power. The two tone flash now has four LEDs to provide 50% more light. This is particularly useful in low light situations. The other new feature is a flicker sensor. The flicker sensor will be able to detect any errant light in the frame and will match that light so you will not end up with wavy lines in your photos. This is most useful if you try to capture an image off of your TV.
On the iPhone 7 Plus, there is now a dual camera system. The camera mentioned above is the first the second lens is for telephoto pictures. The second camera has a 56mm lens that will allow you to zoom in. This is very simple to do. On the iPhone 7, there will be a software button, just above the sensor that will allow you to zoom in to 2x. This button will use the second lens to optically zoom. There is also software zoom available. This is accessible by holding on the software button and sliding to the right. This will zoom up to 10x. Anything above 2x is software zoom.
One thing that many photographers want to be able to do with their iPhone is accurately capture and display the colors that are represented. The best way to be able to do this is to use the latest color display. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus do just this by utilizing a new display that will show the DCI-P3 color gamut. This color gamut I'd already present on the late 2015 iMac as well as the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. With the camera being able to take even more vivid colors, you will be able to get even better representations directly on your iPhone. These upgrades should also help if you are taking videos.
The rear cameras were not the only ones to get upgraded. The FaceTime HD Camera has also been upgraded. It now is a 7 megapixel sensor that supports the same color gamut as the rear cameras, DCI-P3. The FaceTime HD camera also supports Auto Image stabilization to make sure that you can take the best pictures. Along with the 7 megapixel upgrade, the camera is now capable of recording in 1080p. This is up from the 720p recording capabilities on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
The third new feature is actually the Home button. The Home button has been present since the original iPhone, but the Touch ID sensors within the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus now features a new taptic feature, similar to the Apple Watch. The new taptic feature allows feedback to be given for different actions. In conjunction with this, developers now have a new API for customizing the feedback given.
One aspect to the iPhone that many take for granted is the audio. Many users end up having to use the speaker in their iPhones There have been two significant changes to audio. The first revolves around the speaker. The iPhone 7 now encompasses two speakers. One on the bottom and a second one on the top. This is the first time that an iPhone has had stereo speakers. The dual speaker setup means that users will now be able to hear even more from their iPhone. This is primarily due to the speakers also being twice as loud. The new speakers also have improved dynamic range which should improve the audio output of the iPhone 7.
Many users use the EarPods that are bundled in with their iPhone. Apple is making a slight change to the EarPods. They will now have a lightning connector. With this change, the 3.5mm headphone connection has been removed. Do not fret too much though, included in the box is a lightning to 3.5mm adapter for those who will continue to need the connection. With the headphones now being lightning, the quality of the output should be even better. However, this setup still requires wires. Apple is bullish on a wireless future. To help usher in this new era they have created a new type of headphone, the AirPods.
The Apple AirPods take Apple's work with the EarPods and brings them forward. The AirPods look just like EarPods sans the wires. The AirPods are able to hold a five hour charge. This may not seem like much, and it may not be. But, the AirPods come with a charging case that can charge the AirPods for up to 24 hours. The AirPods can be charged in the charging case via a lightning cable. A fifteen minute charge will give you three hours of battery life with the AirPods.
The AirPods have a brand new chip inside of them, the Wireless1, or W1. The W1 chip has some features that many users will find compelling. The W1 chip contains an accelerometer so it can sense when it is being used and only play sound when it detects it is in use. Alongside this, there is also a voice accelerometer to be able to recognize voice as well as beam forming microphones to be able to reduce outside noise so if you are on a call, you will sound clearer.
The last piece to the W1 chip, and the AirPods, is pairing. If you have tried to use Bluetooth with multiple devices, you know that switching between the two devices can be a painful process. Apple has decided to take this method and make it easier. When you place the AirPods near your iPhone 7, and open the top to the AirPods you will be presented with a dialog asking if you want to pair. You simply tap “Pair” and the two items are paired. That is it. The AirPods will also be paired with your Apple Watch, if one is paired with your iPhone. That s not all, all of your pairing information will be synchronized over iCloud to your Macs as well, meaning that you will be able to seamlessly switch between your Macs, iPhone and Apple Watch.
The AirPods are not the only headphones to get this technology. The new Beats Solo 3 Wireless, Powerbeats 3, and the new Beats X lines will all have the W1 chip built right in. This means that you will be able to seamlessly pair and switch your Beats between your iPhone, Apple Watch, and Macs.
Apple is keeping the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in the iPhone lineup as well. These prices are now $549 for the iPhone 6s and $649 for the iPhone 6s Plus. The storage for these starts at 32GB, this is double the previous base of 16GB. There is only one other storage option for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, that is 128GB. These cost $649 and $749 respectively. This means that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are no longer in the lineup.
The iPhone 7 will be a fantastic upgrade for all users. That is not the only new product announced by the Apple. The next product is the Apple Watch.
Apple Watch
The Apple Watch was introduced 18 months ago. In that time it has become the number one selling smart watch and the second best selling watch by revenue. Apple has improved the Apple Watch, with the new Apple Watch Series 2.
The Series 2 includes a brand new processor, the S2. The S2 chip is now dual-core and allows for even faster processing. Besides being dual-core, the S2 now also includes a GPS. The GPS will be very beneficial for users who want to track their exercises. The GPS can be used without an iPhone accompanying it. The Apple Watch Series 2 also has a brighter screen. In fact, it is twice as bright as the previous Series 1 screen. The brighter screen will make it even easier to see in a brightly lit area. This was not the only change to the Apple Watch Series 2.
Just like the iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 2 is also water resistant. The Apple Watch Series 2 is water resistant up to 50 meters. This makes it great for swimming, snorkeling, or even just tooling around the pool. Being water resistant meant that Apple had to redesign the seals and internals in order to protect the watch. The one area that had to remain opened is the speaker. Apple took a clever turn with this. the speaker itself is designed to the water out of the Apple Watch when you are done in the water.
With the water resistance of the Apple Watch, this also allows for two new exercises to be added. These do relate to the water. There are now two swimming related, one for pool swimming and one for open water swimming. The difference is that the pool exercise will take into account laps.
The Apple Watch Series 2 will cost $369 for the 38mm version and $399 for the 42mm version.
Apple has partnered with a couple of companies, Nike and Hermes to bring some new products. The Nike+ Apple Watch comes in four colors, and is designed for those who really want to exercise. The cases consist of an aluminum case and perforated bands and come in two colors, Space Grey and Silver. The Nike+ watches cost the same as the Apple Watch Series 2 watches, at $369 for the 38mm and $399 for the 42mm version. The Hermes partnership bring two new bands, a new Single Tour and Double Tour bands.
There is also Apple Watch Edition Series 2 watch. It is no longer the Yellow and Rose Gold. Instead it is made of White Ceramic. The Apple Watch Edition is only available in White, and will cost $1249 for the 38mm version and $1299 for the 42mm version.
The Apple Series 1 watch also received a slight upgrade, only to the processor. It now has the same dual-core processor that is present in the Apple Watch Series 2. The price for the Apple Series 1 is $269 for the 38mm and $299 for the 42mm watches.
The Apple Watch Series 2 is a solid upgrade, particularly for those that are focused on fitness. The addition of the GPS to the Apple Watch Series 2 will be much needed to alleviate the need to carry and iPhone while out exercising.
Nintendo
The biggest surprise of the event was that a Nintendo executive appeared on Stage. The executive that appeared on stage was not just ANY executive, Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on stage. Miyamoto is the brains behind iconic games like Donkey Kong, the Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Brothers. At the event Miyamoto announced a new application coming to iOS that includes a Nintendo property. That application is Super Mario Run. Super Mario Run is a side-scroller, just like the Classic Mario games, except that it is an endless runner.
Super Mario Run is able to be played with one hand. The game play consists of tapping to make Mario jump, or tapping and holding to have Mario jump higher. The goal is to get to the flag before time runs out, just like in the classic Mario games.
This is not the only mode. There is also a battle mode, where you can face off against other players. You can try and beat their time, and there will be a ghost of their run to see how they completed the run. The coins that you collect will help you add items to your own Mushroom Kingdom.
Mario Super Run will be available in December. The game will be free with one in-app purchase to unlock all of the content. Once you buy the in-app purchase, you will have the entire game.
This was not the only announcement that was made that involved Nintendo. Niantic, the company behind the popular Pokemon Go application also had an announcement. Their announcement was that Pokemon Go was coming to the Apple Watch. This change means that those who are out hunting Pokemon no longer have to have their phone open all of the time. Users are now able to be notified on their watch that there are Pokemon to catch along side being notified that their eggs are hatched. This change should make it easier for people not only to pay attention to their surroundings, but also save some battery life.
Final Thoughts
Apple's September 7th Event was one that provided a solid update with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The dual cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus will be a boon for those who enjoy using their iPhone as a camera. The increased battery life, while maintaining the same form factor will be great for all users.
The new AirPods are just the beginning of a new era in technology for Apple. The ability to charge the airPods quickly and provide an additional 3 hours of battery should help some get through an entire work day with their AirPods.
The surprise of having Nintendo and Niantic both appear on stage brought audible gasps and claps, and may just be the beginning of a very fruitful collaboration between Nintendo and Apple. Pre-orders are live now, but you will end up having to wait to get a device.
iOS 10 for Users and Developers explores the myriad of new features in iOS 10 across all of Apple’s iOS-based devices: iPhone, iPad, tvOS, and watchOS. Some of the topics covered include Widgets, HomeKit, Payments, Unlocking your Mac, Notifications, Messages and the Music Redesign.
For Developers, the biggest changes occur within Xcode and Swift. Swift 3 is covered extensively as well as some of the new frameworks, and the updates with Xcode.
As with previous years, iOS 10 for Users and Developers is now available for pre-order from Amazon. It costs $3.99, or the equivalent around the world.
macOS Sierra for Users, Administrators, and Developers is a book that covers all of the new features of macOS Sierra. For users, some of the categories covered are the new name, Siri, changes to Photos, the Apple Watch and your Mac, Storage updates, Messages, Safari changes, and the Apple File System (APFS).
For Server Administrators, some of the items include updates to permissions, Apple Classroom, security updates, and other supported changes.
For developers, the changes in Xcode as well as Swift 3 are covered. Along side these, the new frameworks that have been unveiled by Apple are discussed.
No matter what your level of expertise, macOS Sierra for Users, Administrators, and Developers has something for everybody.
Just like the iOS 10 book, macOS Sierra for Users, Administrators, and Developers is available for pre-order Amazon. It will cost $3.99, or nearly that around the world.
One of the things that is most needed for any pair of wireless headphones is the ability to charge. How would you charge a pair of wireless headphones? With the AirPods, they are charged within their own case. The AirPods case provides more than just charging. It is also the mechanism for synchronizing the AirPods with your device.
The synchronizing of the AirPods with your device. The pairing process is simple.
The pairing is really that simple. The pairing information for the AirPods is synchronized to all iOS 10 and macOS Sierra devices that are attached to the original paired device.
There is one thing to note, the case itself is not enough to be able to check the charge of the AirPods. At least one AirPod must be in the case for the charge of the battery case to be visible. This is true whether the AirPods are connected to an iOS device or a macOS device.
The AirPods case has a few magnets inside of it. Two of them are to pull the individual AirPods into the case to allow for charging of the AirPods. The second magnet is on the front of the case and is used to close the case, and doubly secure the AirPods inside of it. When you snap shut the case, it makes a satisfying click.
Besides being the pairing mechanism, the case is also how you recharge the AirPods. The headphones have up to five hours of charge. The headphones can be used independently. Once the AirPods reach 10% of battery power left, they will chime to indicate that they are low on power. When they are low on power, you can put the headphones in their case for fifteen minutes. When this is done, the AirPods will get another three hours of charge time.
During my usage, I was able to get about four and half hours of listening time out of the AirPods before needing to recharge. Since I keep the charging case with me at all times, it is not an issue to be able to quickly charge them up.
The total time need to fully charge the AirPods is approximately an hour. The case is capable of charging the AirPods for a full 24-hours of listening time on a single charge of the case. If the AirPods are inside the case when charging the case, the AirPods will also be charged at the same time.
At any point, you can check the charge of your AirPods. On your iOS device, simply use the battery widget to see the current charge. On a device running macOS, you go to the Bluetooth settings in System Preferences, or the menu bar if you have Bluetooth in the menu bar, and the charge should be visible.
Alternatively, if you have an Apple Watch, you can also check the battery levels of the AirPods with your Apple Watch. If you have the Battery complication and if the AirPods are connected to a paired iPhone, you can tap on the Battery complication and the AirPod battery life should be shown.
Here you have a few options that you can set.
You can set the name, the double-tap gesture, enable or disable the automatic ear detection, and you can set some microphone options.
For the double-tap gesture you have three options:
The most common issue that I have experienced has been the few times that the sound has cut out entirely. This happens for no explicable reason. I was listening to some music when out of the blue, the AirPods disconnected. They were not low on power, they had plenty of charge left.
While listening to a variety of audio, I sometimes get distortions in the audio. During these times, I am not more than a few feet away from my iPhone when this happens.
The AirPods have actually made listening to audio much easier. Instead of having to worry about getting wires tangled wherever I am, I am able to leave my iPhone in one place, and walk all over the house without needing to have my iPhone on me.
Overall, the AirPods are the best earbuds that I have ever used and easily the best Bluetooth-enabled earbuds as well. I have not compared them to the Beats Solo 3 Wireless headphones yet; that may be another comparison post in the future. If you have any mobile device that can support Bluetooth, the AirPods will work. You will not get some of the benefits, but they are still some of the best wireless headphones that you can buy.
Color example for iPhone 6s Plus
Color example iPhone 7 Plus
