Apple

“Even if you uninstall Google Maps, Google Play’s background service is tracking your location 24/7”

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Mustafa Al-Bassam tweets:

Yesterday I almost had a heart attack when I entered McDonald’s and I had a notification on my phone asking me to install their app.

And:

It seems that with the latest versions of Android, Google Maps is on 24/7, waiting to send you notifications, with no way to disable it.

And:

Even if you uninstall Google Maps, Google Play’s background service is tracking your location 24/7.

As proof, that last tweet includes some screen shots with the details.

Is this a bug? Intentional? Is this info saved on your phone? Does your location data ever leave your phone, headed for Google’s servers?

On the flip side, Apple exposes Location Services with a switch in Settings > Privacy > Location Services. That switch controls location data for my iOS device and my tethered Apple Watch. According to Apple, if that switch is off, the only time my location is used is when I place an emergency call.

Interestingly, the tweet above was retweeted by Edward Snowden.

Watch tonight’s NFL game on Apple TV, via Twitter

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17 Orbits:

Tonight’s Thursday Night Football game features the Buffalo Bills hosting the New York Jets at 8:25 Eastern time. For the first time you can watch an NFL game on Twitter via Apple TV (4th gen) or other set top box.

And:

Just yesterday the Twitter app became available for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and xBox. The app does not require an account and therefore no log in is necessary. It allows one to view the original CBS broadcast of the game alongside curated Tweets – but you cannot Tweet, Like, Follow or view your own timeline. Its like a “second-screen experience” without the second screen.

The cord-cutting wheel is turning.

Apple’s packaging game still good

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In the middle of Jason Snell’s iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 writeup is this nugget:

One pulled tab and the plastic wrap around the iPhone box unravels. Inside there’s a little paperboard package that features the shockingly tiny Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter, pinned like it’s smiling at you, and on the flip side of the same bundle, your Lightning EarPods. It’s adorable, compact, and plastic free.

Follow the link (Jason’s writeups are always worth the trip), check out the image. Just look at that packaging design. And it’s all made out of recyclable cardboard. Apple is the Steph Curry of packaging.

Apple’s iPhone 7 will be super limited in stores and all jet black and Plus models are sold out

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Someone better go let all those folks camped out in front of the Apple Store know. And if someone paid them to camp out, do they still get paid?

Apple’s official statement:

We couldn’t be happier with the initial response to iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and we are looking forward to beginning sales through our retail stores and partners around the world.

Beginning Friday, limited quantities of iPhone 7 in silver, gold, rose gold, and black will be available for walk-in customers at Apple retail stores. During the online pre-order period, initial quantities of iPhone 7 Plus in all finishes and iPhone 7 in jet black sold out and will not be available for walk-in customers. Availability at partner locations for all finishes may vary and we recommend checking directly with them.

Customers can continue to order all models in all colors on apple.com. We sincerely appreciate our customers’ patience as we work hard to get the new iPhone into the hands of everyone who wants one as quickly as possible.

I can’t ever recall Apple releasing such a statement before an iPhone launch. Walk-in stock was always limited, but I don’t remember there being zero stock in the most popular models. Wonder if this is the new normal. It certainly will drive a lot of on-line orders as word of this gets out. And that will give Apple a lot of valuable sales information.

tvOS adds Dark Mode and more

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Josh Centers digs into the latest tvOS release. One notable addition:

Those of us blinded by the bright-white look of tvOS 9 will appreciate the new Dark mode, which you can enable in Settings > General > Appearance. Dark mode not only turns the Home screen dark, but also darkens the user interface elements of many apps.

I’ll definitely be switching to Dark Mode.

Callblock: block calls from telemarketers

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Callblock represents the start of an interesting new app category. Apple supports something called CallKit, similar to the content-blocking API that allows ad-blocking in Safari. CallKit allows you to build filtering rules to block calls by name and number.

The team that built Callblock spent most of their development time compiling a directory of telemarketers and setting up the infrastructure to keep the directory up to date.

So far, since I’ve had this installed, I have not gotten a single telemarketing call. Coincidence? Perhaps. But I’ll keep Callblock enabled, just in case.

28 hidden iOS 10 features

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Serenity Caldwell presents her list of under-the-hood iOS 10 features. Worth a look.

Just Press Record

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My review of Just Press Record. Read the review, try out the app. I think it’s a fantastic app.

Apple’s new iPhone 7 ad

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[VIDEO] This is a bit of a departure for Apple. The ad does a lot of visual hinting, without being specific. More of a dark, impressionistic painting than their usual bright, airy on-the-spot ads.

See for yourself.

The iPhone 7 and cellular speeds

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Yesterday, I posted an article about the cellular radios inside the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and the fact that there are two distinct models (Intel and Qualcomm) with two different sets of capabilities.

This article from iMore digs into this from a slightly different angle:

The iPhone 7 now supports maximum speeds of up to 450Mbps, which is a 50% jump over the iPhone 6s. Specifically, the new iPhone is a Category 10 device, which means that in addition to being able to reach those astronomical speeds of 450Mbps in the downlink (downloading data from the internet), it is able to reach speeds of 100Mbps in the uplink.

To reach these speeds, the iPhone uses a technology under the LTE standard called carrier aggregation, which combines several wireless channels, or bands, to transmit data to and from a phone. The iPhone 7 supports 3x CA in the downlink — up to three distinct bands carrying data — and 2x CA in the uplink. Unfortunately, those uplink speeds can only be achieved using a combination of Band 7 and Band 41, which currently precludes all U.S. carriers, since none of them currently operate on Band 7.

And:

Oh, and another thing: it is expected to be revealed (through upcoming teardowns) that this year’s iPhone has a baseband chip designed and manufactured by Intel, a company that has been trying to get its components into Apple’s smartphones for some time. While Qualcomm is still likely designing the baseband inside the CDMA variants of the iPhone, due to ongoing patent exclusivity, the GSM variants of the phone have likely transitioned to its Portland-based rival.

Bottom line, the value in getting the Qualcomm chip only arises if you plan to switch carriers.

Mixpanel’s up-to-the-minute numbers on iOS 10 adoption

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Click the headline link to jump to a chart showing Mixpanel’s take on iOS 10 adoption. As of this writing, iOS 9 has 83.86%, iOS 10 has 11.09% and older has 5.06%. Those are remarkable numbers, especially when compared to Android’s fragmented adoption rates.

It’ll be interesting to see that iOS 10 number in about a week.

Wired: Here’s what you need to know about ceramic, the fancy material in Apple’s fanciest watch

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God I hate these headlines. But. This is a solid article and ceramic is an interesting new direction for Apple. Lots to learn here:

“Ceramics are much more durable than metals,” says Julia Greer, a materials scientist at Caltech. To understand what she means, consider your MacBook. That anodized aluminum casing provides a handsome sheen, but drop it and you run a good chance of denting a corner. Stick it in your bag unprotected, and your keys almost certainly will scratch it.

And:

The back of each Watch uses zirconia ceramic where the magnetic charger attaches. Ceramics are non-conductive, and don’t interfere with wireless charging.

And:

Ceramics, on the other hand, are virtually scratch-proof. “They deform in an elastic way,” Greer says. “You’ll never see the deformation, until they crack.” Unlike an aluminum or a stainless steel case, a ceramic one can take a licking and keep on ticking. The rub with ceramics is that, while they’re tough to scratch, they’re more prone to cracking compared to metal.

Want the new gorgeous? It’ll cost you. The ceramic Apple Watch is the new high end, selling for $1,249 for the 38mm case and $1,299 for the 42mm case.

John Gruber’s iPhones 7 review

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There’s just a ton of chewy goodness here. And that plural in the title, mwah, love it!

If you are at all wrestling with the jet black versus matte black finishes for the iPhone 7, your answer lies within this review. Personally, I find the micro-abrasion issue inviting, in the same way I think of a new leather pair of sandals, jacket, or guitar strap. I prefer a worn in look and feel. It makes the leather feel like part of my life.

If you are anal about the finish of your iPhone, steer clear of the jet black or get a case. Me, I went right for the jet black, no regrets, no looking back.

The new iPhones and the newer, AWS-3 spectrum bands

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Aaron Pressman, writing for Fortune:

Apple made several choices in the wireless capabilities of its new iPhone 7 that could complicate life for some of the phone’s owners.

None of the new iPhones will be able to go online using a spectrum band known as AWS-3, according to Apple’s specifications page. Carriers spent almost $45 billion last year at a federal auction for the rights to use the AWS-3 band, also known as LTE band 66, and are starting to put it in service. The carriers all also operate on other high-speed bands that will be iPhone 7 compatible, but they won’t be able to connect to the new phone with the additional AWS spectrum.

Here’s a link to Apple’s iPhone 7 specs page. Scroll down and see for yourself.

Continuing:

For consumers, that means their new iPhones may not be able to jump onto a band that is apt to be less crowded, and possibly faster. And Apple also made a choice that limits the ability of some new iPhone 7 models to connect to all four major carriers.

That’s because Apple split the manufacturing of iPhone modem chips between suppliers Intel and Qualcomm. Modems from the two companies aren’t interchangeable, effectively eliminating the ability of some iPhone 7 models to connect to all four major carrier networks. Although the two modem chips have many of the same features, Intel’s chip can’t connect to older CDMA wireless networks still in use by Verizon and Sprint for voice calling.

And:

The problem caused by the split between Intel and Qualcomm can be avoided by savvy phone shoppers. Customers who want to be sure that their iPhone 7 will work on any of the big four networks, preserving their ability to switch carriers, should opt for a phone with a Qualcomm chip, which encompasses the models being sold on the box as Verizon or Sprint compatible. They are labeled as models A1660 for the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and A1661 for the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.

Is this much ado about nothing? Is this only an issue if you intend to unlock your iPhone 7 or 7 Plus and switch carriers? Hard for me to get my head around this issue. It’s certainly interesting. Just not sure how big an issue this is for consumers. If you’ve got a detailed understanding of this, please ping me. I’m all ears.

Apple launches iMessage App Store with various iMessage apps, games, and sticker packs

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Jeff Benjamin, writing for 9to5Mac:

Let the deluge begin… Not long after the Super Mario Run iMessage sticker pack was made available to iOS 10 users, Apple has unleashed the entire iMessage App Store. The iMessage App Store, which is available for iOS 10 users, features sticker packs from companies like Disney, Bandai Namco, Sanrio, and others.

In addition to the sticker packs, the iMessage App Store features full-fledged iMessage apps and games. Several of the apps that were demonstrated during the WWDC 2016 keynote are here, such as Square Cash, OpenTable, and JibJab.

I’ve been seeing a steady stream of new iMessage content, similar to what we saw when Apple opened up the Apple Watch to third party complications.

I found this interesting:

Some of the apps are standalone iMessage apps, while others are extensions of already existing apps in the main App Store. You can tell which apps are extensions when the regular app is downloaded on your Home screen. Standalone apps have no primary app, and live solely in the iMessage App Store.

Time will tell if the iMessage app store catches on, gets the same kind of traction as the regular app store. The iMessage App Store will go mainstream when Apple rolls out iOS 10 to the public this afternoon (should be around 1p PT).

A strap for your AirPods

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If you haven’t already, read Jim’s excellent, hands-on review of the AirPods, Apple’s wireless earpods.

Seems to me, the AirPods should stay in your ears just fine. As Jim says:

The AirPods actually fit my ears better than the wired EarPods. One explanation for this could be that the wires create a tension point using the EarPods to be pulled out of your ear a little bit.

This statement really resonated for me. When my Apple EarPods come out of my ears, it is always because of tension on the wires, caused by an unintentional tug from shirt, jacket, or some outside force.

Jim continues:

I walked, jumped, ran, shook my head around, bent down, tipped over, and did every other move I could think of to make the AirPods fall out of my ears—they never did.

That said, if you are in an environment where you need a bit of safety, Amazon sells something called the AirPods strap. I actually think this would be useful in certain environments. For example, if you are moving around and find you need to take one or both AirPods out of your ear periodically. You could drape one AirPod over your shoulder and use the other as a counterbalance. You could even clip the strap to your shirt if you are in an environment where dropping one meant a drop from great height or into water.

Or you could just wear the wired EarPods.

Consumer Product Safety Commission urges consumers to power down Samsung Galaxy Note 7

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CPSC:

Lithium-ion batteries pack a lot of power into a small package. When these batteries overheat and burst, the results can be serious. This is why the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging all consumers who own a Samsung Galaxy Note7 to power them down and stop charging or using the device.

For your own safety, order an iPhone immediately.

The easiest way to rearrange your share sheet

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Brian Sutich, writing for The App Factor, talks you through the process of reordering the icons on your share sheet, the interface that pops up when you tap the share icon (square with an up arrow rising from it). Nice job.

How to get a discount on the Apple Music Family Sharing plan

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A few days ago, I wrote about the $99 offer for a year of Apple Music. This offer was only good on the individual plan.

If you have a Family Sharing plan, read the linked post. It details a $100 iTunes gift card that you buy for $85 and can, supposedly, apply to your Family plan.

The new Apple Watch, GPS, and waterproofing

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DC Rainmaker does a nice job capturing the images and details of the new Apple Watch concerning GPS and water resistance. Be sure to check out the breakout images showing the speaker placement in the original Apple Watch, vs that in the new Apple Watch.

I really like the image of the water testing chamber, too.

MacStories Apple Watch Series 2 overview

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Alex Guyot, writing for MacStories, pulls together a nice overview of the new Apple Watch. My biggest question concerned swimming with the Apple Watch 2. From the post:

The original Apple Watch was rated to be splash proof and mostly water resistant, but submerging it was not recommended. The Apple Watch Series 2 ups the ante, receiving a water resistance rating of up to 50 meters. This means the Apple Watch can now safely be worn for swimming in pools or the ocean, and should generally remove any worry about wearing your Apple Watch into potentially watery situations.

I think swimmers are going to love the new Apple Watch.

Apple’s official iPhone 7 page

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From the official iPhone 7 page:

iPhone 7 dramatically improves the most important aspects of the iPhone experience. It introduces advanced new camera systems. The best performance and battery life ever in an iPhone. Immersive stereo speakers. The brightest, most colorful iPhone display. Splash and water resistance. And it looks every bit as powerful as it is. This is iPhone 7.

Immerse yourself in the gorgeous imagery. I was immediately drawn to the shiniest of the shiny, the jet black iPhone 7 Plus. I’ve gotten feedback that the matte black finish does a better job of hiding scratches and other imperfections, but I just love the look of this phone. I’ll be careful with it, I promise!

Kirk McElhearn: Apple’s AirPod mistake

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Kirk McElhearn:

Yesterday Apple introduced AirPods. What a mistake.

While I appreciate the uniqueness of these headphones, I predict that in a year or two, they’ll have gone the way of the gold Apple Watch Edition.

You know how you’re walking or running and one of your earbuds falls out? You grab the cord, reel it in, and put it back in your ear. And then you go on walking or running. With AirPods, one of them will fall out, and you’ll watch as someone steps on it, or as it falls down a subway grating.

I can also see that, as you get on a bus or subway, someone grabs at one of your AirPods to snatch it, and you’re listening only to one channel of music for the rest of the day.

Click to the main post for my take on all this.