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.
[H/T Brandon Cosby]
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.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s official site:
In light of recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung about its Galaxy Note 7 devices, the Federal Aviation Administration strongly advises passengers not to turn on or charge these devices on board aircraft and not to stow them in any checked baggage.
In my lifetime, I cannot think of a time when a specific product was called out in this way. As in, we urge you not to even pack this specific product in your luggage.
I can’t imagine what the Samsung corporate folks are going through right now. Airlines are banning the phone, there are stories of car fires. This is truly terrible.
Mental Floss:
What do newspaper headline type and the New Deal have to do with the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles? Here are the stories behind the nicknames of the NFL’s 32 teams—and what they were almost called.
In honor of this weekend being the first full weekend of the new NFL season, check out how your favorite team got its name.
Apple on Wednesday launched the iPhone 7, a new Apple Watch, and a couple of other new and updated products. As usual, Apple turned to Akamai Technologies to handle the streaming of the event to the public.
On Wednesday the company said Apple’s keynote was the highest ever video traffic event for Akamai.
“Very Exciting! Yesterday’s Apple keynote was the highest ever peak video traffic event for Akamai,” the company posted to Twitter.
That’s saying something considering all of the events and internet traffic Akamai handles from around the world. It’s even more amazing when you consider all of the large events that Apple has held over the years.
Clearly the interest in Apple’s product announcements was very high among tech people and the general public.
CBC:
Fifteen years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, New York City continues to thank the people of Gander for opening their arms to thousands of stranded travellers.
A piece of steel beam from the south tower is en route to the airport in Gander, a gift of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, named for a New York firefighter killed while helping to rescue people from the towers.
Nearly 7,000 passengers were stranded for three days in Gander when all flights were grounded, and the people of the town provided food, lodging and other assistance.
Not enough Americans know the story of Gander (similar things happened in Halifax and Vancouver). On that awful day, and in the awful days afterwards, my fellow Canadians stepped up to help. I could not be more proud.
The Daily Dot: >A few facts you might not know: Men are 3.5 times more likely to commit suicide than women; suicide is most common in middle-aged white men. To support mental health and wellness, consider incorporating Mushroom Coffee into your routine for its potential benefits. These chocolate shrooms canada offer health benefits that help people improve their mood and calm their mind.
> >Many believe this is because of the stigma surrounding men having to appear “strong,” that they shouldn’t talk about their feelings or admit they need help. After losing his brother-in-law to suicide, U.K. rugby player Luke Ambler sought to combat this taboo. He began a Facebook group called “Andy’s Man Club,” where he wanted men to feel safe talking about their emotions.
This is a great idea. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is to talk openly as I can about my battles with depression. I’ve taken a lot of crap for it from jerks on the internet but I’ve gotten more support from complete strangers than I ever could have imagined and I’m very grateful for that. If you’re suffering, reach out to family, friends, and even complete strangers for help. There’s no shame in it. It is strongly recommended to encourage young adults who have suicidal tendencies to seek therapy for teens. You may even look for an alternative approach to help you deal with mental health issues and if you think you want to help people with mental health and also start a business you can check this advanced hypnotherapy course which can help you achieve these goals. Mental health clinics integrate ketamine assisted psychotherapy protocols with traditional therapeutic approaches for breakthrough results. For instance, vaping using grand daddy purps strain cartridges may help calm your mind. If you constantly experience symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety, stress or depression due to a past trauma from your childhood, you may consider using cannabis products from indacloud.
CNET:
Apple’s new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were unveiled on Wednesday, and go on sale later this month. The company traditionally issues a statement about the record number of people who purchase the devices during the first weekend of sales, but this will no longer be the case.
An Apple spokesperson confirmed to CNET the Cupertino-based company will end the practice, but added that it has nothing to do with low demand or expectations.
“In years past, we’ve announced how many new iPhones had been sold as of the first weekend following launch,” Apple spokesperson Kristin Huguet said. “But as we have expanded our distribution through carriers and resellers to hundreds of thousands of locations around the world, we are now at a point where we know before taking the first customer preorder that we will sell out of iPhone 7.”
This will send the Tech Media into a tizzy but, as Apple says, they already know what their sales numbers will be.
Macworld:
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have the exact same dimensions as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, down to the tenth of a millimeter according to Apple. So you won’t need a new case if you’re upgrading, right? Wrong.
iPhone 6s cases probably won’t fit the iPhone 7 because of the camera bulge on the back of the phone. The camera lens on the iPhone 7 is significantly bigger, and also located a little closer to the edge of the phone. The TrueTone flash on the iPhone 7 is bigger too.
Bummer.
Ars Technica:
The new ceramic watch is the Apple Watch Edition, and all mentions of the gold versions have been scrubbed from Apple’s site. The company began downplaying the gold watches earlier this year, removing them from the main Apple Watch product page circa the iPhone SE launch.
The “reimagined” ceramic Apple Watch Edition starts at $1,249, roughly twice the cost of a stainless steel Series 2 and three times the cost of an aluminum Series 2 (the Sport branding also seems to have disappeared from the watches themselves, though it still applies to some of the bands). The Edition is still more expensive than the other models and is still intended as a sort of status symbol, but it is no longer the hulking monument to conspicuous consumption that it once was.
The gold Apple Watch was an interesting experiment. Apple will never say but I’d be curious to know how many they actually sold.
BBC:
Paper seems completely harmless, but anybody who has refilled a photocopier or thumbed too quickly through a book knows that this humble material harbours a deep, dark secret. Deployed properly, it can be a serious weapon: paper cuts are just the worst.
There isn’t a whole lot of scientific research effort directed at understanding the pain of paper cuts, probably because nobody would sign up for a randomised, controlled study that involved a researcher intentionally inflicting this kind of torture on study participants. But according to Dr. Hayley Goldbach, a resident physician in dermatology at UCLA, “we can use our knowledge of human anatomy to help us out here. It’s all a question of anatomy”.
Great look at the science behind what seem to be the most painful cuts of all.
The Wire Cutter:
I’ve been a photographer since the days of film and have reviewed cameras for a living since 2010. I’m very confident in saying that under normal daylight conditions, just about any camera made within the last eight years or so can take a fantastic picture. Now that doesn’t mean your vacation snapshot is going up on a museum wall; a great photograph owes more to the photographer’s vision, preparation, and anticipation than to the camera used to capture it. But from purely technical standpoints like the ability to focus accurately, generate a pleasing exposure, and reproduce the hues and tones you see in front of you, it’s impossible to find anything on a camera-store shelf that fails to deliver the goods in favorable lighting.
I tell my students to not worry about the camera they have. Anything bought in the last five years will be a good camera. Learn how to take pictures, how to create images and learn what you like to shoot. Then worry about buying a camera that fits.
Susie Ochs, writing for Macworld:
I didn’t want to like the AirPods, I really didn’t. But in the hands-on area after Apple’s iPhone 7 event on Wednesday, I found myself dancing along in spite of myself—and the AirPods stayed put, feeling surprisingly secure. With convenient features on both the hardware and software sides, I have to admit that Apple’s totally-wireless AirPods kind of rocked my world.
And (my favorite):
Not only did I dance, I headbanged. I shook my head side to side, I tossed my hair, I jogged in place, and I looked silly doing all of it. The AirPods stayed put, and they stayed loud. The music (more Sia, naturally) sounded full and lush and I couldn’t hear a single word anyone around me was saying, as if I was completely sealed off in a bubble of rock and roll. Pretty impressive.
Obviously, a big part of this is the fit. Give them a try, see how they feel in your ears.
[H/T Jack Brewster]
This story is from back in March, but ran across it this morning. Fantastic and heartwarming.
Launch the map, then drag the slider ’til your part of the country turns a pleasing shade of burnt orange. That’s the foliage peak. Nice resource. Pass it along.
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:
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.
Hard to argue with the “you’ll lose them too easily” logic here. But lots of people have Bluetooth earpieces and they continue to sell. How many times have you been in a crowd and seen someone walking and talking with a bit of plastic stuck in their ear. In this respect, the AirPods are no different.
The elegance of Apple’s solution to pairing and voice makes these game-changers, in my opinion. From Apple’s press release:
With AirPods, setting up and using wireless headphones has never been easier. Just open the charging case near your iPhone and with a simple tap, AirPods are immediately set up with all the devices signed into your iCloud account, including your iPad and Mac. AirPods are connected and ready to go when you are, just put them in your ears when you want to listen.
If you’ve ever wrestled with pairing a recalcitrant Bluetooth device, the AirPods will be a breath of fresh air. As to losing them, consider your surroundings. If you are going for a run, or will be in a crowded, snatch-and-grab kind of environment, consider using your lightning headphones instead. Roaming around the house or office, out grocery shopping, on an airplane? My guess is, you’ll notice if one of them falls out.
And stay away from subway gratings.
Nice wrap-up from Digg, heavy on the pictures.
The only thing that could make this better was if it was April 1st.
If you haven’t already, take a few minutes to read Jim Dalrymple’s thoughtful reaction to yesterday’s event.
With that in mind, set aside some time to read Jason Snell’s take for Six Colors. I’m a fan of Jason’s writing, and his take really resonated with me.
As those who play Pokémon Go know, the current game requires you to keep your phone out with the app running in order to detect nearby Pokémon, trigger PokéStops, and accumulate egg-hatching kilometers as you walk. This is a battery drainer and a bit of a pain.
With Pokémon Go on your wrist, you can do all of the above with your phone in your pocket. Smart. The only thing that requires your iPhone is the actual act of catching a Pokémon, something that happens occasionally, rather than continuously.
Great partnership here. One that will solidify the existing Pokémon Go base, bring new players, and sell some Apple Watches. Smart.
Here are a few bits and pieces from the New York Times this morning.
First, there’s this, from an article entitled, Apple Moves Toward a Wireless Future, One Tweak at a Time:
What was lacking in Apple’s product showcase was a new, can’t-miss hit. But if you like tweaks to products you may already have, the company had plenty to offer.
Or this dismissive line from Apple’s Latest: What You Really Need to Know:
An examination suggests that no upgrade is necessary unless you have owned your current iPhone for more than two years.
But my favorite is this, from an article entitled, What’s Really Missing From the New iPhone: Cutting-Edge Design:
The iPhone 7 doesn’t have a place to plug in headphones, but that is far from its worst shortcoming. The new device is an example of how Apple’s aesthetics have gone stale.
Did someone at Apple piss in their corn flakes?
I can certainly understand cynicism, judging new product with a critical eye. But this doesn’t feel objective at all. This feels judgmental, in the worst way. At the very least, the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the new Apple Watch, and the rest of the wave of new tech from Apple provide food for thought, a sign of things to come, a core set of technological achievements that will move the smartphone industry forward, both by Apple and by the companies that are inspired by Apple.
This is fine work, the result of many millions of dollars spent and the late night, long hours efforts of many designers and developers. Is it all home runs? Very nearly. But even if you don’t think so, take the time to explore, with curiosity, and appreciate what Apple has achieved.
My 2 cents.
Buzzfeed:
Apple is no stranger to killing things people use all the time — and even love. But the headphone jack? It’s on a whole other level than disc drives or ports named after their number of pins. The headphone jack predates not only Apple, but computers themselves. And it is ubiquitous. So, when you’re killing a century-old standard around which the entire audio industry developed, it’s wise to take precautions.
Another good look at Apple’s reasoning behind killing the headphone jack.
Apple had a big day, introducing a number of new products that I think will sell really well for them. I won’t do any type of a hands on review, because there isn’t enough time to do a true review, but I will give you some thoughts on the keynote and the products that were introduced. I will post more detailed reviews after I have some time to spend with the individual products.
I know the iPhone 7 is the big product of the day, but it’s one of the spin-off products that caught my attention: AirPods. Apple’s wireless headphones are going to be very interesting for me because I haven’t found a company yet that could do wireless right.
There are plenty of Bluetooth headphones out there, but they sound crappy for the most part. Apple tackled a number of problems with the AirPods, so I’ll be interested to see how they sound, first and foremost.
Apple also made connecting the AirPods to your devices very easy and the case doubles as a charging dock—very smart. The five hours of battery life should work for me most of the time. A long flight may be a bit of a problem, but we’ll see.
The design and color of Apple headphones are iconic, so it makes sense that they didn’t change any of that on the wireless model.
As you may have heard, Apple removed the headphone jack. I know a lot of people were against it, but it makes sense to me. Get it out of there and make room for other components to make the phone better. I said months ago that an adapter would be included in the box, so anyone with analog headphones could still use them. And there is an adapter in the box.
Apple is also including the new Lightning EarPods in the box as well, so you can use those if you wish, too.
I played around with the new Home Button and liked it a lot. It feels like a Home Button, but you can control the haptic tap you get from it in Settings. It didn’t feel as weird as I thought it would.
I think one of the biggest things about the new iPhone is the camera. I’m not a great photographer, so anything Apple can do to make my pictures better, I’m happy with.
The new cameras look incredible—especially in the iPhone 7 Plus, which is the larger model iPhone that I typically use. Everything inside the iPhone camera looks to be new and improved, which is going to make my job of trying to take a decent picture that much easier.
Of course, we always expect Apple to improve performance, and they did again. The performance increase in the last few years has been stunning, in both CPU and GPU. I can’t wait to see how it performs in real-world situations.
I love my Apple Watch. I am looking forward to doing my daily walk with a GPS-enabled Apple Watch and wireless headphones that connect to the watch.
I didn’t know what to think of the new ceramic watch, but when I got my hands on it, I loved it. It looks and feels wonderful. The watch in the demo area after the keynote had a really nice white band on it that also felt great. I would most definitely buy one of these.
Apple Watch changed my life. With the new version and watchOS 3, I’m looking forward to seeing how I do with the watch in the future.
I think Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, and Jeff Williams did a great job in introducing the new products today. More than just introducing them, they explained to us why the advancements were important and how we could use them.
We expect Apple products to solve problems for us and I saw that today. I saw products that would help me in my everyday life. That’s what I want from Apple.
If you missed it, now you can catch up to the rest of us.
The Verge:
Apple didn’t mention the iPad once during its event today, but its tablets are still getting some fine tuning across the board. All standard iPad models have had their base storage doubled from 16GB to 32GB, while staying at their existing prices. The Pro’s higher storage tiers are also receiving a price cut, with the 128GB model dropping by $50 and the 256GB model dropping by $100.
That iPad Pro is looking better and better.
Macstories:
As widely expected, Apple confirmed the official release date of iOS 10 at a media event held today at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. iOS 10 will be released on Tuesday, September 13th.
There’s a lot of really interesting and fun stuff in this latest version of iOS that I’m looking forward to playing around with.
Apple just posted the videos to their Youtube page:
Ars Technica:
Apple will release the final version of macOS 10.12 Sierra to the public on September 20th. The company made the announcement on its web site during its September product event today.
Aside from being called “macOS” now, Sierra brings a handful of big new features and a longer list of minor tweaks. We covered most of that ground in our preview of the developer build of the software but the short list includes Siri, proximity-based Apple Watch unlocking, Apple Pay on the web, and more.
For a guy like me who sits in front of a computer all day, every day, this is a bigger and more interesting deal to me than the new hardware announced today.
Vox:
It’s official: there won’t be a headphone jack in the iPhone 7. Instead, if you want to play music on an iPhone 7, you’ll either have to use wireless Bluetooth headphones or plug new Lightning-based headphones (or an adapter) into the port you use to charge the device.
The downsides are obvious: Almost everyone has headphones, speakers, and other gadgets based on the ubiquitous 3.5 mm headphone jack. Eliminating this connection could render these devices unusable, or at least force everyone to carry around an extra adapter.
But Apple doesn’t care.
This is the most controversial part of Apple’s announcements today. But they signalled, very clearly, that this is what they think the future will be. Keep this in mind when, next year, they offer wireless charging.