Monthly Archives: September 2016

Why Apple Killed the Headphone Jack →

September 9, 2016 · 13:06

John Paczkowski:

A tentpole feature of the new iPhones are improved camera systems that are larger than the cameras in the devices that preceded them. The iPhone 7 now has the optical image stabilization feature previously reserved for its larger Plus siblings. And the iPhone 7 Plus has two complete camera systems side by side — one with a fixed wide-angle lens, the other with a 2x zoom telephoto lens. At the top of both devices is something called the “driver ledge” — a small printed circuit board that drives the iPhone’s display and its backlight. Historically, Apple placed it there to accommodate improvements in battery capacity, where it was out of the way. But according to Riccio, the driver ledge interfered with the iPhone 7 line’s new larger camera systems, so Apple moved the ledge lower in both devices. But there, it interfered with other components, particularly the audio jack.

So the company’s engineers tried removing the jack.

In doing so, they discovered a few things. First, it was easier to install the “Taptic Engine” that drives the iPhone 7’s new pressure-sensitive home button, which, like the trackpads on Apple’s latest MacBook, uses vibrating haptic sensations to simulate the feeling of a click — without actually clicking. (Did we mention that Apple killed the physical home button too?) Taptic Engine vibrations will also be used to deliver feeling specific notifications — hitting the end of a scrolled page, for example. And because Apple has given developers an API for it, an awful lot of other stuff as well — particularly in games.

“You can’t make it feel like there’s an earthquake happening, but the range of customization lets you do an awful lot,” Apple SVP Phil Schiller explains. “With every project there are things that surprise you with the meaning they take on as you start to use them. The Taptic Engine API is one of them. It turned into a much bigger thing than we ever thought it would be. It really does transform the experience for a lot of software. You’ll see.”
Second, there was an unforeseen opportunity to increase battery life. So the battery in the iPhone 7 is 14% bigger than the one in its predecessor, and in the iPhone 7 Plus, it’s 5% bigger. In terms of real-world performance gains, that’s about an additional two hours and one hour, respectively. Not bad.

Daniel Craig Offered $150 Million for Two More James Bond Films →

September 6, 2016 · 18:04

Radar Staff:

RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that Sony is offering James Bond star Daniel Craig a whopping $150 million to reprise his role as 007 for two more of the popular franchise’s films.

“The studio is desperate to secure the actor’s services while they phase in a younger long-term successor,” a source told Radar.

Daniel Craig is my favourite James Bond, with Sean Connery coming in second. I have no sensible reasoning behind this — I just like to watch him play the part. If he takes the money, I do expect him to put his heart into it.

David Smith’s Indie Life in the App Store →

September 6, 2016 · 08:33

David Smith:

I am living proof that it is still quite possible to make a solid and reliable income from the App Store. The way in which I have been able to do that, however, has been to change with the times and constantly adapt to the changes in the market.

David’s apps aren’t perfect, but what he doesn’t mention is that he’s a nice guy and very respectable online — I unfortunately haven’t met him in real life. I buy his apps because, while not perfect, they’re solid problem solvers and appeal to my needs. I know that the fact that he has an online presence makes a difference for me — he won’t disappear tomorrow and leave me looking for alternatives.

Good luck on another eight, David!

New Beats Products to Debut Alongside iPhone 7 →

September 5, 2016 · 06:36

Juli Clover:

Apple plans to unveil new Beats by Dre products at its upcoming event set to be held on September 7, reports iGeneration. The news comes courtesy of an email that was mistakenly sent to the site from the Beats PR team, which iGeneration originally provided a screenshot for but was asked to remove.

I did expect the lineup to be refreshed with Lightning connectors, but I didn’t think the new models would be presented during the keynote itself.

Bizarre Ant Colony Discovered in an Abandoned Polish Nuclear Weapons Bunker →

September 5, 2016 · 06:34

Annalee Newitz:

For the past several years, a group of researchers has been observing a seemingly impossible wood ant colony living in an abandoned nuclear weapons bunker in Templewo, Poland, near the German border. Completely isolated from the outside world, these members of the species Formica polyctena have created an ant society unlike anything we’ve seen before.

Fascinating nature. Intruiging headline.

Apple: ‘We Have Lots of Serious Developers Who Don’t Want Their Quality Apps to be Surrounded by Amateur Hour’ →

September 5, 2016 · 06:33

Updated App submission guidelines:

  • If your app looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you’re trying to get your first practice app into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection. We have lots of serious developers who don’t want their quality apps to be surrounded by amateur hour.
  • We will reject apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, “I’ll know it when I see it”. And we think that you will also know it when you cross it.

Surprising, strong wording.

Dropping MacBook Airs Would Create a Hole in Apple’s Lineup →

September 4, 2016 · 08:40

John Gruber:

We might be getting that speed bump update (along with USB-C ports), but I would be very surprised if we get a major update with retina displays. I still think the future is just MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

I held the same view as John for quite a while. The MacBook Airs seem to be going the way of the 2012 non-Retina MacBook Pro. But this does create a hole in Apple’s lineup. The MacBooks have the slowest CPUs, which don’t need fans, while the MacBook Pros are getting the faster mobile units. The series of Intel chips used in the Airs would be missing if they were dropped.

What Apple could do:

  • leave the 12″ MacBook as is — fanless and ultraportable,
  • create new Retina MacBook Airs in 13″ and 15″ sizes, with dual-core fan-needing CPUs of the ULV variety,
  • switch both the 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pros over to quad-core CPUs — the 13-inch models have been using the more powerful dual-core Intels exclusively.

While I don’t for a moment imagine this will happen, it would create an extremely versatile lineup of MacBooks, which should fill everyone’s needs, while bringing the ‘Pro’ back to the 13″ MacBook Pro, and making the Airs an extremely versatile machine for people who don’t necessarily need the horsepower, but want nice, big screens.

The ‘Nougat’ in Android Is Silent →

September 2, 2016 · 20:43

Vlad Savov:

If we don’t talk about Android, how can we address the failure to release devices with the latest version of Android? I haven’t heard the word “Nougat” uttered anywhere outside of Berlin’s confectionery shops this week. Google’s latest and best software is a complete absentee from this most important of tech exhibitions. I find myself gazing across a wide landscape of future technology and seeing no mention of the most essential piece of future software.

Speaking of which, I still haven’t received my Nougat update on my Nexus 6.

‘Nexus’ Brand Will Be Replaced by ‘Pixel’ and ‘Pixel XL’ →

September 2, 2016 · 08:46

Edgar Cervantes:

Recent rumors have been suggesting the Search Giant plans to end the Nexus legacy, altering the naming scheme. The murmurs were vague and hard to wrap our heads around, but now a couple sources are claiming this is true… and that the next Google phones will be branded under the Pixel series.

To be more specific, these sources claim Google’s new handsets will be named Pixel and Pixel XL. Both are independent and one of them seems to have a great track record of information. The guys over at Android Police swear by them and multiple publications have said similar things now, so there’s a good chance of accuracy here.

As for these phones, the standard Pixel is said to be the 5-inch version, which has been so far code named as Sailfish. On the other hand, the Pixel XL is said to be the 5.5-inch Marlin.

I prefer ‘Nexus’, but ‘Pixel’ seems OK. No idea why they would do this though — Nexus has been a brand for years now and is hard to mistake for anything else.

Samsung Will Reportedly Issue Worldwide Recall of Galaxy Note 7 →

September 2, 2016 · 08:27

Chris Welch:

Samsung is preparing to announce a massive and global recall of its brand new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. The Korea Herald also reported earlier that Samsung is “considering” a recall. The drastic and unprecedented step would be a direct result of Samsung’s ongoing investigation into reports that the Note 7’s battery has exploded while charging, and Samsung could announce a recall as soon as this coming weekend.

Ouch.

Apple Finally Cleansing the App Store →

September 2, 2016 · 07:03

Apple:

We love helping customers discover innovative, useful, and exciting apps on the App Store. With more than 2 million apps available and around 100,000 new and updated apps submitted each week, there’s something for everyone. To make it easier for customers to find great apps that fit their needs, we’re implementing two suggestions from the developer community starting September 7, 2016.

This has been a long time coming.

Siri Isn’t Yet Using the Context Available to Her →

September 1, 2016 · 14:59

Dr. Drang:

So as I was hunting, Siri kept patiently telling me how to get to the airport. When I didn’t see a gas station after a few blocks worth of looking, I gave up and asked her for directions to the closest one.

“Starting route,” she replied. “Head north on Isenberg Street.”

This is why I couldn’t bring myself to read Steven Levy’s new article on how Apple is making great advances in machine learning. The iBrain is already inside my phone? No, not yet.

You see, when Siri told me to head north on Isenberg, I was traveling south on Isenberg. In that circumstance, “head north” is a stupid instruction to give.

Siri knew perfectly well I was going south on Isenberg. Not half a minute earlier, she’d been telling me how to turn off Isenberg to get to the interstate. And she’d been tracking my location continuously since I left the hotel. The context was there, but it wasn’t used.

Siri is still missing a new major motorway from its database in Poland. I reported it months ago. So somehow the above does not surprise me one bit.

Samsung Stops Shipping New Note 7 Smartphones After a Couple of Them Blew Up →

September 1, 2016 · 08:31

Mark Sullivan:

The news comes from the Korea Herald, which states that Samsung stopped shipping the new devices earlier this week. At least two Galaxy Note 7 owners posted images and video of the new device burnt to a crisp after the battery blew up.

“Shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 are being delayed due to additional tests being conducted for product quality,” Samsung said in a statement to Reuters. Samsung didn’t say what it’s testing.

Walt Mossberg Talks About the Night Steve Jobs Called Him About Apple TV →

September 1, 2016 · 08:18

Peter Kafka:

Jobs himself publicly downplayed Apple’s public TV efforts as a “hobby”; in 2010, Jobs told Mossberg and Kara Swisher that Apple couldn’t really get into TV because there was no “viable go-to-market strategy.” The same year, he reportedly said the same thing internally, adding that “TV is a terrible business. They don’t turn over and the margins suck.”

But in 2011, Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson famously wrote that Jobs was working on TVs late in his life, and that he thought he had “cracked it.”

I’ve worked with Walt Mossberg for many years, but I’d never heard him talk about his TV conversation with Jobs before. Then last week, Mossberg wrote a Facebook post referring to a “secret project [Jobs] planned to continue to run” after he left his CEO job.

I called him this week to get the full story. Here it is…

Lack of Android Updates — Enough Blame to Go Around →

September 1, 2016 · 08:11

Andrew Cunningham:

After doing some digging and talking to some people, we can say that it will be either very difficult if not completely impossible for any phone that uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 or 801 to get an official, Google-sanctioned Nougat update (including the Z3). And that’s a pretty big deal, since those two chips powered practically every single Android flagship sold from late 2013 until late 2014 and a few more recent devices to boot.

This situation has far-reaching implications for the Android ecosystem. And while it can be tempting to lay the blame at the feet of any one company—Google for creating this update mess in the first place, Qualcomm for failing to support older chipsets, and the phone makers for failing to keep up with new software—it’s really kind of everybody’s fault.

This is such a cluster-fuck. Still.