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As more users spend their days in battery-demanding apps, Apple needs to consider evolving battery life to meet that demand.
So, how can Apple and the iPhone evolve to handle them?
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Monday, July 25, 2016
How to fix iPhone battery life in the age of Snapchat and Pokémon Go ByiiMore
Saturday, April 9, 2016
iPhone SE proves size doesn’t matter [Reviews
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac
I forgot how good it feels to hold 4 inches of magic in my hands.
Spending the past year and a half with the luxurious 5.5-inch screen of the iPhone 6 Plus and 6s nearly convinced me that bigger really is better. But after using the iPhone SE, I’m starting to rethink everything I love about iPhone.
The moment I clasped the iPhone SE it was like reconnecting with an ex-lover. Everything is familiar and yet it has somehow improved in nearly every single way. I’ve been re-captivated by its beauty, brains, and brawn all over again, even though on the outside, it looks like such a boring device.
How can an iPhone that looks so old feel so right?
Iconic design
If you like the classic design of the iPhone 5 and 5s you’ll love the iPhone SE. The chamfered edges don’t change the feel much. While the curved body of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s is elegant, the design of the iPhone SE is perfectly iconic.
The first thing I noticed when picking up the SE is how much I’ve missed the flat edges and it’s sturdy build. Having the power button back at its rightful place at the top is nice. I also love the round volume buttons, which are more distinctive than the set on the 6/6s that sit more flush with the case.
The very best thing about the iPhone SE design though is that it fits in my Donald Trump-size hands. Typing with one hand feels so damn good. The SE body also doesn’t come with a camera bump, which might become a rarity. I also realized this could be the last iPhone Apple makes with a headphone jack.
Oh yeah, and it comes in pink!
Grunt
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
The iPhone SE is screaming fast. The only iOS device that’s markedly faster is the iPad Pro, which is utterly remarkable given its small size and budget-friendly price tag.
Cheap phones are usually underpowered, but with the A9 processor powering the iPhone SE, it can handle practically anything apps throw at it. It’s the Mighty Mouse of iPhones.
Along with the faster processor the iPhone SE has a couple other internal improvements over the iPhone 5s that make it a more modern device. Apple added faster WiFi and LTE speeds. It also packs Bluetooth 4.2, NFC and Touch ID, bringing Apple Pay support.
There’s something amazing about having a small phone that’s wicked powerful. Since reviewing the iPhone SE I haven’t had any problems with apps freezing. Multitasking has been a breeze. Editing pictures and playing games has been just as fast as on my iPhone 6s, and I’m starting to find that I prefer to do most tasks on the smaller device.
That screen
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac
No other company makes a decent smartphone with a 4-inch screen anymore. The iPhone SE isn’t just a decent phone though, its a great iPhone, and the tiny screen is actually a delight. Sure, you won’t really want to read a novel off it like the iPhone 6s Plus, but I find it’s perfect for everything I want to do on my iPhone.
The smaller size means most people will be able to reach from the bottom corner to the top without contorting your hands into some franken shape. I’m always dropping my iPhone 6s when trying to use it one-handed. The iPhone SE hasn’t slipped from my grasp once.
There are some drawbacks to the little screen though. The contrast-ration is slightly worse than the iPhone 6s. There’s also no 3D Touch, but that’s not much of a loss. I’m also not going to be able to turn it into a VR headset, and some websites and apps don’t display as nicely. However, I feel like it’s a less-distracting device.
My attention doesn’t get swallowed up by a giant screen that begs me to watch just one more YouTube video. I pull it out, check my apps, send messages, take a picture, and then it’s back in my pocket. It’s so small I almost forget it its there, unlike the 6s Plus which causes some pinching in the trousers.
The camera
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac
If you’re upgrading from an iPhone 5s or lower, the camera alone on the iPhone SE is worth the price tag. For $399 you essentially get a great point-and-shoot camera, that is also a kickass smartphone.
One reason I love the iPhone SE design is it feels so much better using it as a camera than the iPhone 6/6s. Now that Apple has added a 12MP rear-camera sensor to the 4-inch device, it seems like it could be a favorite among photographers.
The only drawback to the iPhone SE cameras is the front-facing Facetime camera. Instead of bumping up the sensor to 5 mega-pixels, Apple kept the same 1.2 mega-pixel sensor from the iPhone 5s, so your selfie-game will take a serious hit.
The pictures coming off the iPhone SE iSight camera though are just as good as the snappies you’ll get on the iPhone 6s. Low-light photos are still pretty grainy and pixelated, but it also shoots 4K video and LivePhotos. The SE actually fits comfortably in my running shorts too, so I’ll be more likely to take it with me everywhere, and pull it out more.
Amazing battery life
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac
Smaller size doesn’t mean weaker battery life. In my brief testing I’ve found the iPhone SE has way better battery life than my iPhone 6s, even though I’m using it just as much, if not more.
The iPhone SE’s pared-down features allow it to sip battery life slower while giving essentially the same performance. I can actually make it through a full day of heavy usage without needing to recharge it.
Friendly price
For the first time in my life, I bought a new Apple product without having to worry about it destroying my bank account. The $399 starting price is great for people on a budget, teens or anyone who just wants an affordable phone. The 64GB model is pretty much a no-brainer $499 upgrade though if you do anything more than surf Safari and Facebook.
Secret loves
I don’t know if I’m going to go back to my iPhone 6s.
Despite its diminutive stature, the iPhone SE is a good size with a lot of power and a perfect design that will make you fall in love all over.
The iPhone SE’s greatest feat is that it will make you question whether or not you really need an iPhone 6s. Sure the 6s is bigger. It’s got a sleeker body, and a couple new tricks. But the iPhone SE is a classic reincarnated for a farewell tour that demands your attention.
And I can’t let go.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
iPhone SE unboxing!
Rose gold iPhone SE Unboxing
Watch as we take the rose gold iPhone SE out of the box, comparing it to an iPhone 5, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus.
Friday, February 19, 2016
iPhone and iPad Apps for the Blind And Visually Impaired : Should Applecomply with the order to unlock San B...
News broke yesterday that a United States magistrate judge in California ordered Apple to comply with the FBI’s request for assistance in bypassing the passcode lock of the San Bernardino gunman’s iPhone. Hours later Apple published an open letter by Tim Cook explaining that creating a tool to bypass this specific iPhone would jeopardize the security of all iPhones.
The battle between personal privacy and information gathering as it relates to Apple and security has been building up for years now, and the government narrowing it down to one specific iPhone used by a terrorist in the U.S. has caused the debate to reach new levels. This may be Apple’s battle to lose, but it will be a very public one nonetheless.
Since Apple’s response to the FBI and court order, the White House has stood by the Department of Justice and argued that it’s not about a backdoor for all devices but just a single device, which Tim Cook’s argument already addressed.
Tim Cook’s open letter is on Apple’s homepage and headlines about the government’s demands are all over the news.
Tim Cook’s open letter is on Apple’s homepage and headlines about the government’s demands are all over the news. From my view, Apple customers seem to be overwhelmingly in favor of Tim Cook’s position, while presidential candidates are unsurprisingly siding with the FBI. Where do you weigh in? Here’s what we know so far.
iPhones with passcode locks are currently disabled after multiple failed attempts to guess passwords. Try too many incorrect passcodes on an iPhone and you’re temporarily only allowed to place emergency calls for 1 minute. Try again after that and it extends to 5 minutes, then 15 minutes, and so on. Optionally, iPhones can be set to erase all data after just 10 failed attempts.
In Cook’s words, this is how he describes the government’s request:
The government would have us remove security features and add new capabilities to the operating system, allowing a passcode to be input electronically. This would make it easier to unlock an iPhone by “brute force,” trying thousands or millions of combinations with the speed of a modern computer.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Monday, October 5, 2015
Apple iPhone 5S
Apple's new iPhone 5s will feature Touch ID, a fingerprint sensor whcih will be used for security and authentication. This new feature will greatly aid blind and visually impaired users who currently struggle with or ignore the passcode ID security feature on the iPhone. Also, buying Apps from the App Store and music and videos from iTunes will no longer require users to enter their passwords if they have an iPhone 5s. Simply place your thumb over the home button and your transactions will now be authenticated and executed. NICE!!!by Apple, the 5C is certainly more colorful than any other Apple phone, perhaps even more colorful than any iPod. Instead of the metallic finishes that usually adorn Apple products, the 5C's color scheme looks like it was designed by either a candy manufacturer or an elementary school art class.
However, Apple emphasizes that though it looks playful, it is still a phone equal in power and performance to the iPhone 5. Phil Schiller, Apple's VP of marketing, said that the company also hasn't skimped on its structure, saying that the 5C is reinforced with steel. "You are going to be blown away by how rigid and great it feels in your hand," said Schiller.
Friday, October 2, 2015
An Overview of iOS 8′s New Accessibility Features
An Overview of iOS 8′s New Accessibility Features
An Overview of iOS 8′s New Accessibility Features
we will cover each feature as it comes available.
Since this year’s WWDC keynote ended, the focus of any analysis on iOS 8 has been itsfeatures — things like Continuity, Extensions, and iCloud Drive. This is, of course, expected: iOS is the operating system that drives Apple’s most important (and most profitable) products, so it’s natural that the limelight be shone on the new features for the mass market.
As I’ve written, however, the Accessibility features that Apple includes in iOS are nonethelessjust as important and innovative as the A-list features that Craig Federighi demoed on stage at Moscone. Indeed, Apple is to be lauded for their year-over-year commitment to improving iOS’s Accessibility feature set, and they continue that trend with iOS 8.
Here, I run down what’s new in Accessibility in iOS 8, and explain briefly how each feature works.
Alex. Apple is bringing Alex, its natural-sounding voice on the Mac, to iOS. Alex will work with all of iOS’s spoken audio technologies (Siri excepted), including VoiceOver, Speak Selection, and another new Accessibility feature to iOS 8, Speak Screen (see below). In essence, Alex is a replacement for the robotic-sounding voice that controls VoiceOver, et al, in iOS today.
Speak Screen. With Speak Screen, a simple gesture will prompt the aforementioned Alex to read anything on screen, including queries asked of Siri. This feature will be a godsend to visually impaired users who may have issues reading what is on their iPhone and/or iPad. It should be noted that Speak Screen is fundamentally different from Speak Selection, which only reads aloud selected text. By contrast, Speak Screen will read aloud everything on the screen — text, button labels, etc.
Zoom. Apple has made some welcome tweaks to its Zoom functionality in iOS 8. The hallmark feature is users now have the ability to specify which part of the screen is zoomed in, as well as adjust the level of the zoom. In particular, it’s now possible to have the virtual keyboard on screen at normal size underneath a zoomed-in window. What this does is makes it easy to both type and see what you’re typing without having to battle the entirety of the user interface being zoomed in.
Grayscale. iOS in and of itself doesn’t have “themes” like so many third-party apps support — and even like OS X Yosemite’s new “dark mode”. iOS does, however, support a pseudo-theme by way of Invert Colors (white-on-black). In iOS 8, Apple is adding a second pseudo-theme to the system with Grayscale. With this option turned on, the entirety of iOS’s UI is turned, as the name would imply, gray. The addition of a Grayscale is notable because it gives those users who have issues with colorized display — or who simply view darker displays better — another way to alter the contrast of their device(s).
Guided Access. The big addition to Guided Access is that Apple is leveraging its own new-to-iOS-8 Touch ID developer API to enable users to be able to exit Guided Access using their scanned fingerprint. This is a noteworthy feature because it effectively guarantees that students (or test-takers or museum visitors) can’t leave Guided Access to access the Home screen or other parts of iOS.
As well, Apple has added a time limit feature to Guided Access, thereby allowing teachers, parents, and the like to specify the length of time Guided Access is to be used. Especially in special education classrooms, features such as Touch ID to exit and the timer can be extremely powerful in ensuring an uninterrupted learning experience, keeping students on task yet still set the expectation that a transition (i.e., “You can play games now”, for instance) will take place in X minutes. In terms of behavior modification, Guided Access’s new features are potentially game-changing, indispensable tools for educators.
Enhanced Braille Keyboard. iOS 8 adds support for 6-dot Braille input system-wide. This feature involves a dedicated Braille keyboard that will translate 6-dot chords into text.
“Made for iPhone” Hearing Aids. Apple in iOS 8 has improved its Made for iPhone Hearing Aids software so that now users who use hearing aids and have multiple devices now can easily switch between them. Moreover, if a hearing aid is paired with more than one device, users will now be able to pick which device they’d like to use.
Third Party Keyboard API. This topic (as well as QuickType) is worthy of its own standalone article, but the accessibility ramifications of iOS 8’s third party keyboard API are potentially huge for those with special needs.
A third-party keyboard on iOS 8. (Source: Apple.com)
Anecdotally speaking, I hear from several low vision iOS-using friends who lament the default system keyboard, which is essentially the same keyboard that shipped with the original iPhone in 2007. The problem, my friends say, is that the key caps are too small and the glyphs too hard to read. With the new API, though, third party developers such as the team at Fleksycan create entirely customized keyboards that users can use instead of the stock one. This means developers can control key spacing and size, color, and so forth in an effort to create keyboards that accommodate for a wide array of visual — and motor — needs.
They really believe the new Fleksy will benefit a lot of people with special needs.
Miscellany. iOS 8 brings with it a few housekeeping changes to Settings.app, where the Accessibility options are located. For example, the Subtitles & Captioning option — which previously was found under Hearing — has been moved to a new Media section, right next to a new Video Descriptions toggle. Furthermore, the Physical & Motor pane — home to such features as Switch Control and AssistiveTouch — has been rechristened Interaction.
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