The iPhone SE, with its iPhone 8 form factor, proves that you can teach an old dog new tricks. With the first reviews for the new handset having hit the internet, pundits are in agreement that, well, the iPhone SE is pretty darn great.
In fact, if Apple’s made any kind of misstep it may have been showing us that you can get a pretty amazing iPhone for the price of a mid-level handset. Here’s what the initial reviewers are saying:
Apple is promising us a lot of iPhone for the price. The new iPhone SE is a bargain with expensive specs for $399.
But with a little shopping, a bargain can be more of a steal.
More than developers can test iOS 13.4.5 and the iPad equivalent. Starting Thursday, the general public can download a beta version if they’re brave enough to run pre-release software.
Just be aware, these updates are almost entirely about fixing bugs in the iOS and iPadOS versions released March 24, not new features.
Juicy Realm, the action-packed dual-stick shooter that has proven popular on PC and console, is on its way to iOS. You can preorder the game through the App Store today (and enjoy a preorder discount) ahead of its debut on May 4.
3D Touch, the pressure-sensitive screen tech ushered in by Apple, has officially met its end.
Introduced as one of the major new features on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, Apple said 3D Touch was going to take multi-touch into a whole new dimension. Jony Ive waxed poetic about the new peek and pop gestures 3D Touch would enable in an Apple video explaining the feature. With the unveiling of the iPhone SE this morning, 3D Touch is as good as dead and we can’t say we’re really going to miss it.
The iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and … Apple Blanket and iMattress? That might not sound like the next logical step for Cupertino, but an Apple patent application published Thursday describes a blanket, mattress and, err, camera setup that would monitor users’ vital signs as they catch forty winks.
In addition to sleep-tracking, this could measure users’ movements during sleep, their heart rate, and their body and room temperatures during the night. It could then heat up or cool down accordingly.
Apple is shipping out replacement AirPods buds with unreleased firmware that makes them unusable for now.
Some users have been holding onto new AirPods that they cannot use for more than a week. They will remain useless until Apple makes its version 2D3 AirPods firmware available to the public.
If you’re a stuck-at-home musician, or just someone who would like to learn to make music with their Mac, then maybe you’ve just downloaded the generous, lockdown-era, three-month free trial of Ableton Live. And if you’re a GarageBand (or Logic Pro X) user, you may be feeling a little lost.
Fear not. I did the same thing last year. At first I was overwhelmed just trying to do basic stuff, like routing my guitar into Ableton or trying to work out why the app offers at least three record buttons.
So, as a relatively fresh Ableton user, I thought I’d make a list of handy tips for new users coming from Apple’s music apps.
Apple’s Information Systems & Technology division (IS&T) has come under scrutiny in a new book that analyzes the business practices and cultures of America’s biggest tech companies.
Scoring a coding job at Apple is a dream gig for most developers, but an excerpt from Alex Kantrowitz’s book, Always Day One, reveals that if you accept a job on the IS&T team, you better be ready for “a Game of Thrones nightmare.”
Appropriately enough at a time we’re worried about touching any surface without immediately washing our hands, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has published an eye-tracking patent application from Apple describing a method of letting users control an interface with nothing more than a simple glance.
The application possibly sheds light on one of the features of Apple’s rumored head-mounted display for augmented and virtual reality.