For all of the recent hand-wringing over whether the iPhone X is or isn’t selling, it still has an enormous impact on the smartphone market. First, we saw all but three or four Android manufacturers blatantly rip off the X’s signature notch earlier this year, but without the Face ID tech that truly sets it apart. Now we have a new survey from market research firm Creative Strategies that shows the iPhone X holding up quite well among those who have purchased one.
The only thing the tech press loves more than good Apple news and device rumors is bad Apple news. I guess this just is the tech equivalent of “if it bleeds, it leads.” And when it comes to bad news about Apple sales, it is usually an analyst of one sort or another that is lighting the match that starts the fire.
The rumors of a new iPhone SE 2 have reached the point where its release seems to be a foregone conclusion. According to Japanese website Mac Otakara and known leaker Benjamin Geskin, the new phone should appear sometime between early May and the WWDC Keynote on June 4th. All of the reports rolling in seem to agree that the SE 2 will include a bump to the A10 Fusion processor, and will keep its current form factor and four inch screen. Based on that, a modest press release rollout next month ahead of WWDC seems more likely.
In a digital world overrun with hacking and identity theft, personal data security has never been more necessary. We need to be able to access our important data and passwords and keep it all in sync securely between our devices. A password and data manager that works on computers, the web, and mobile devices is increasingly becoming less of luxury and more of a necessity.
An interesting entry detailing exactly how Apple’s “Hey, Siri” feature works appeared in the Apple Machine Learning Journal yesterday. It definitely is NOT light reading (especially as late in the evening as I read it), but it is definitely a fascinating look under the hood of a feature than many people use quite often. The article also details possible machine learning techniques that may be used in the future to improve this feature.
As for me, I rarely used “Hey, Siri” when it was released with the iPhone 6, but find myself taking advantage of it much more often since the release of the original Apple Watch. I also use it anytime I fire up the HomePod to listen to music at home, and I do use it with my iPhone when I am in the car, as well. When and where Apple customers choose to use “Hey, Siri” will vary based on personal preferences, but its convenience means that most of us will in some way or another. This makes it both a crucial part of how Siri works, and of how effective we perceive Siri to be.
It may not feel like it in many places, but Summer is not far off here in the US. That means lots of time spent at pools, beaches, out on lakes, or even sailing the ocean. No matter where we are, our devices usually follow. However, electrical outlets are pretty hard to come by in and around the water, making it awfully hard to re-charge a phone. Even if you bring a rechargeable battery along, how do you recharge it when it gets low?
Is your alarm clock taking up a valuable electrical outlet? Have you, like me, just gotten rid of an alarm clock for just this reason? How would you like one that gives back more than it gets? The Sandman Clock does exactly that.
Piper Jaffray has released the results of its Spring 2018 Taking Stock with Teens Survey, which contains some very good news for Apple. According to this general survey of 6,000 US teens with an average age of 16, 82% of those surveyed own an iPhone, and a whopping 84% plan to make an iPhone their next smartphone purchase.
I can remember driving over to Apple’s Maiden, NC Data Center just after it was completed in 2011. I was working on a project not too far away and thought I would try to get close enough to snap a couple of pictures. Nope. It was basically invisible from the road, hidden by trees and earth walls out front. It was also not inviting, from a security perspective. You can read about my little joyride almost seven years ago here.
However, one thing I did see that day was one of Apple’s first forays into Green Energy. Or at least the humble beginnings of it. They had already begun construction of a large solar farm to power the data center just across the street. Unlike the data center, the few already-installed solar panels were clearly visible from the road.
In the grand scheme of Apple releases, today’s is merely a blip on the radar. However, the release of the PRODUCT(RED) iPhones 8 and 8 Plus do extend the pattern of mid-year color additions to the iPhone line to a second year. If you recall, Apple released RED versions of the iPhones 7 and 7 Plus around the same time last year.
As many major smartphone brands trend away from including headphone jacks in the pursuit of smaller, thinner, and lighter designs, we are faced with the challenge of keeping our older audio gear connected to our newer phones. This is definitely an issue when it’s time to listen and charge at the same time.