Tag Archives: featured
2016 Apple iPhone Keynote, Recap
- All new jet black and black colors (Apple notes that the Jet Black color option may scratch easily and promote the use of a case)
- Home button is changed from a physical button to a Force-touch button, similar to the trackpad on the MacBook and MacBook Pro line that works based off of the patented Taptic engine (see below, the removal of the headphone jack allows for this innovation)

- Water and dust resistant (IP67 certified) with gaskets throughout the housing
- Camera features OIS on both 7 and 7 Plus models (additional camera features below)
- F 1.8 aperture
- 6 element lens
- 12 MP sensor that is 60% faster than the previous model
- Quad-LED true tone flash
- Wide color gamut photos
- RAW image capture
- 7 MP facetime HD camera
- 7 Plus features two 12 MP cameras, one wide-angle and another is telephoto so that the focal length can be manipulated and achieve the bokeh effect — these features will come as an update to iPhone 7 Plus users

- Stereo speakers (one on top another on bottom)
- Improvements to the Retina HD display that make it 25% brighter and support for a wide color gamut
- No headphone jack, lightning ear pods are included (additionally a lightning to 3.5mm adapater comes with every iPhone 7 device)
- Wireless AirPods, which feature the Apple W1 chip, are wireless buds that require one time setup and sync across all devices through iCloud

- Apple Pay support in Japan
- Performance improvements through the newly design A10 Fusion chip, which is a 4 core 64-bit CPU that contains 2 high performance and 2 high efficiency cores (these can help save battery life when doing less intense tasks such as Email, calculator, light web-browsing and more)

Bottom line and takeaways: This is a very solid announcement for Apple and a leap forward for the iPhone and Watch lines. The camera is certainly the biggest selling feature on this device and with pictures becoming more and more important in our lives — it should be a focalpoint. The removal of the headphone jack may make some upset, but it’s 2016 — get over it and use wireless devices. Why tether yourself to a device that is meant to be mobile? One note is that the AirPods are absolutely disgraceful — they are hideous, if you don’t get the point. One of the newly released pairs of Beats wireless headphones seem to be a better choice here. Additionally, revamping the home button is something much needed as that is the primary button on the device and it is known for collecting dust and sometimes becoming inoperable on older devices — this is huge.
Apple Watch Series 2 simply builds on the great foundation that was laid out by the first-generation device. Now with better waterproofing, a new ceramic case and a faster processor — these updates bring it into 2016 with a bang.
Of course with any update, this is the best iPhone to date, with better storage options, same pricing scheme, snappy A10 Fusion chip — what more could we ask for?
Let’s end with a quick hands on of the newly announced iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 devices below, Enjoy.
iPhone 7 Hands on.
Apple Watch Series 2 Hands on.
Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7
Samsung’s latest flagship device is here, the bold and beautiful Galaxy Note 7 and I’ve had the chance to spend some time with it. Starting at $850 this is one of the best Android devices that money can buy. With that being said, I will break it apart and highlight the good, bad and potential pitfalls that I see in the device. We must remember, that no device is perfect, but it can be “perfect” for us.
Let’s get reviewing, shall we!?
Google I/O 2016
There are numerous beneficial things that came out of this years Google I/O. Usually there is a large Android release; however, this year, as with last year, we were given a solid preview for developers. There was so much to cover, so for this particular write up I will focus on main “Top 5”.
Google Home, the voice assistant that we’ve all been waiting for (at least I have) is finally here to help us in our daily lives. Essentially the Google Home product is powered by Google Assistant, which is a beefed up, more conversational version of our beloved Google Now. To paint the picture more clearly, picture an Amazon Echo, with all the power and integration of Google. Scary right? Well, let’s dive a little deeper. When we speak of a conversational piece is is seriously good. From being able to order movie tickets and drill down to determine movies that are appropriate for kids, this thing simply does it all. Furthermore, it also integrates seamlessly with Google Cast — think of the possibilities with all of the other Google products and future products.
Allo is the newest messaging service from Google that is tied to your phone number, basically this is an open iMessage. With the ability to “whisper” and “shout” by dragging up or down on the send button, could this finally be the messenger from Google that we’ve all been waiting for? Although, this is a big deal and a huge potential win for Google, it also proves how far they are behind in the messaging space. We have iMessage, WhatsApp and others, why do we even need this? One important thing to note is that Google already has Hangouts and Messenger. So a chat and an Internet messenger. The question is quickly raised, what happens to these other products? (Especially Google Hangouts) Hangouts has ties to Google Voice, so the hundreds of thousands of Google Voice users are left wondering, once again, what is going to happen as we have seen other apps and services go down in flames in the years before.
Duo is the FaceTime equivalent from Google that is tied to your phone number. Incoming calls are presented to the receiver by a preview that automatically appears on the screen (this could be problematic). The new service also features end to end encryption, which is becoming more and more of a need in a digital age where privacy is getting muddier and muddier. Note that both Allo and Duo will be released for Android and iOS.
The Google Play Store is finally coming to Chrome OS! You’ve been waiting for it and so have I. This is probably the second biggest news behind Google Home, in my opinion. This will be rolled out slowly to to specific Chrome OS devices then hopefully progress to a larger device take up. The reason why this is a big deal is because picture the Chrome App Store, paltry at best, right? Google Play Store has millions and millions of apps, games, movies and more — this is a BIG deal.
Android Wear 2.0. When Google first unveiled Android Wear, it was simple, focused and intuitive — this time it adds a few minor tweaks and a kludgy keyboard — yes a keyboard, I don’t like it at all. Android Wear is the best choice for an Android user that wants to stop constantly taking out their smartphones for updates and receive them right on their wrists. Any update is a good update — except the keyboard, take that out, Google.
All in all, it was an excellent time for developers, contributors and technology enthusiasts alike. For the entire 2016 keynote, take a look below:
Bottom line: There are a lot of great things to look forward to from Google this year, just note that most things are coming in the Fall, so be on the lookout!