Video Depicts iPhone 7 Mockups in Gold, Rose Gold, and ‘Space Black’

Another video has emerged online showing probable mockups of iPhone 7 units, but this time viewers are given a better idea of what the new handset might look like in three colors that Apple may offer this September.

The video was posted to YouTube channel ConceptsiPhone yesterday and shows the iPhone 7 in Rose Gold, Gold, and what the titling calls “Space Black”.

The mockups depict the now familiar design expectations such as protruding camera, repositioned antenna bands, and no headphone jack, but it’s the “Space Black” reference that stands out as a curiosity this time around.

Rumors in June pointed to the possibility that Apple was readying a darker variant of its traditional Space Grey color, described by one source as “close to black, though not quite black”. This so-called “new, darker shade” was thought to more closely resemble the look of the “space black” stainless steel Apple Watch, which is darker than the “space gray” aluminum Apple Watch Sport.

However, earlier this month, alleged photographs of Apple’s proposed iPhone 7 colorways stuck to showing the company’s typical four variants of Rose Gold, Space Gray, Gold, and Silver, similar to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

The “Space Black” variant depicted in the latest video does look darker than a typical iPhone 6s Space Grey unit, but the poor lighting makes identification a guessing game, and it could be just as likely that the unusual naming convention is simply a botched amalgam of previous rumors.

On the other hand, Apple has used different shades of “space gray” and “black and slate” across its device lineups over the years. The iPhone 6s and iPad Pro, for example, each have a lighter shade of “space gray” compared to the iPhone 5s and original iPad Air respectively.

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are expected to be officially unveiled by Apple in the fall. In addition to the aforementioned features, the smartphones are expected to have faster Apple A10 processors, 32GB of base storage, improved waterproofing, and faster LTE and Wi-Fi.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Discuss this article in our forums

Tesla’s Master Plan part two involves self-driving trucks, busses, and cars that make money for you

For the first time in ten years, Elon Musk has published the first major update to Tesla’s master plan, which includes a number of key areas the company is working on for the short-term and long-term future. In Musk’s Master Plan, Part Deux, Tesla will evolve the home energy market, large public transport and load-carrying vehicles, as well as self-driving cars. 

Tesla Master Plan part II: Solar and battery integration

Although it was given only the briefest mention, top of Musk’s pile was the home energy business. With the company in the process of buying SolarCity, the roof panel company, Tesla will eventually create a solar roof panel system that incorporates the battery for power storage.

In the short-term, it seems the most logical way to achieve that is to sell roof panels and the Tesla Powerwall together as a package. To make this happen, Tesla and SolarCity need to be the same company to “break down the barriers inherent to being separate companies.” 

Tesla Master Plan part II: Large vehicles

Having virtually reached the end goal of the first part of its master plan, i.e. building a low cost, high volume car, Tesla can now look forward to other areas in the vehicle space. For consumers, that involves releasing the Tesla 3 as well as a “new kind of pickup truck” and a compact SUV. With those three, Tesla will have most sectors of the consumer market covered. But it’s arguably in the large vehicle sector that Tesla will make its most exciting moves. 

Tesla wants to build both heavy-duty trucks and “high passenger-density urban transport”. In other words: Lorries and busses that can drive themselves. Both are already in development, and will be ready for unveiling by some time in 2017. Musk claims the Tesla Semi truck will both be fun to drive and can significantly reduce the cost of cargo transport. 

As for the bus, Tesla thinks it makes sense to make busses smaller. With the rise of autonomy, busses can be made smaller and can – with a redesign of the seating – still hold a good number of passengers. Eliminating the centre aisle and putting seats where there are now entry ways will make this possible. 

Using Tesla’s electric motor tech along with the autopilot system will mean the busses can match acceleration and breaking to other vehicles, ensuring that traffic continues to move smoothly. 

The bus could take people right to their destination for those with the app on their phone, otherwise people will be able to get on and off at existing bus stops, summoning them using a button in the bus stop. 

Tesla Master Plan part II: Ride sharing

Returning to cars, and a big part of the future of driving, in Tesla’s eyes, is that an autonomous car can potentially make you enough money that it covers the monthly loan or lease cost. With a fully-autonomous car, you could make it available for sharing with others as part of Tesla’s shared fleet. That means when you’re working or on holiday, other people can summon the car and pay to ride in it.

In big cities where demand outstrips supply, Tesla will be operating its own fleet, so customers will always be able to hail a ride from a Tesla. 

Of course, in order to make this possible, much needs to be done in the entire area of self-driving vehicles. Hardware doesn’t need much improvement, it’s the software making sense of all the sensor data and controlling the car that needs the most work.

Tesla Master Plan part II: Autopilot

In its current state, Tesla’s autopilot system is twice as safe as a human driver (according to a 2015 NHTSA report), but it will remain in its “beta” state until that number reaches 10x. 

Then there’s the regulations that need to be drawn up in each region and market to make it legal to be in a self-driving car. Currently, drivers need to be in control of their vehicle at all times. But in future, we’re going to be able to just sit, relax, sleep, read a book or sip tea, while our cars do all the work for us. For that to be possible, legislation needs to be made. 

In short, the future that we’ve been dreaming of since we were kids is closer than ever, and it’s Tesla driving that dream in to reality. 

OnePlus starts teasing soft gold color variant of the OnePlus 3

Last month, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei revealed that the soft gold color option of the OnePlus 3 will be launching in the second half of July. As we approach the last week of the month, it looks like the company is getting ready to launch the color variant, based on teasers shared on its Weibo account.

With a launch likely imminent, who’s interested in the soft gold color variant of the OnePlus 3?

OnePlus 3

• OnePlus 3 review: Finally, all grown up
• OnePlus 3 specs
• OnePlus 3 vs. the flagship competition
• Latest OnePlus 3 news
• Discuss OnePlus 3 in the forums

OnePlus

Moto Turbo finally picks up Marshmallow update in India

Motorola has done a commendable job of rolling out quick platform updates to its phones, but a few notable exceptions include the Moto E in select regions and the Moto Turbo. The latter is finally making its way to Marshmallow, with the Android 6.0.1 update now rolling out to users in India.

The update (as spotted by Best Gadgetry) weighs in at 965.2MB, and includes the latest security patch as well as all the features introduced in Marshmallow including Doze battery-saving mode, granular permissions, Now on Tap, and much more.

If you’re using the Moto Turbo in India, now would be a good time to head into the phone’s settings to download the update.

Thanks Steven!

Quik and Splice: Edit your GoPro videos on your iPhone in a jiffy

While many see GoPro’s success as being entirely hardware based, the company itself envisions a future where both its software and hardware are the key pillars of its business. Its tiny mount-everywhere cameras are market leading, thanks to being feature-rich, easy to use and having a strong portfolio of mounts and accessories. But are the apps up to snuff?  

Quik: Video edits in minutes

The first – and most user friendly – app in GoPro’s arsenal is Quik. It’s an app that automatically builds fully edited videos in just a few minutes. The process is as simple as you could hope for and involves just selecting the photos and videos you want to appear in the movie from you library and letting the app do the rest for you. 

As long as the images and video are in your phone’s library, you can use them. So, if you want to, you can mixed up footage from your GoPro with those snapped on your phone camera. 

Once you’ve chosen the content you want, you hit next and choose from any of the themes on the bottom of the next screen. The themes include preset transitions and a backing track, as well as font styles and animations. Your videos and images are then cut in time with the music automatically. If you’re happy with it, you can save it as it is or share it to social. If not, there are a number of ways to fine-tune your finished product.

Tapping the musical note icon beneath the video preview lets you choose which backing track to use and when it comes in. Pressing the pencil icon lets you re-order the images and videos as well as add text to them. You can change the focus point to so that when images zoom in or out, they aim for the right area. By default it does a decent job, especially with faces, but sometimes it aims for completely the wrong part of the image.

The last change you can make is changing the length of the video. Quik chooses what it thinks is the best length, but you can choose to have a shorter or longer video. Once you’re done, you can save it and share it on all of your social media handles. The entire process takes just a few minutes.

Splice: Simple control

If you need more control, there’s an app called Splice, which is similar but is much more like a traditional movie editing app that allows you to choose more than one backing track, adjust transitions manually, record voice overs and add filters to any of the images or videos in the timeline. 

In the beginning, selecting images and video to go in the movie is pretty much the same as the Quik app, but after that, everything is different. The next stage is choosing music, which can be selecting from the huge library of royalty-free tracks available in the app, or choosing something from your iTunes library.

After that, the project settings screen lets you choose a name, background colour, default transition, photo and transition duration and whether you want the Ken Burns (zooming in/out movement on photos) on by default. You can also choose to have Splice’s outro switched on or off.  

Tap “done” and you have a movie waiting for you showing a basic video timeline. You can drag and drop each clip to re-order them, or tap on an individual clip to edit it. In edit mode you can choose an instagram-style filter for that clip, set the time the photo should appear or add text as well as adjust the ken burns animation. 

There’s also an audio timeline which lets you select where the tracks come in, as well as add a secondary track which can be music (again) or ambient noise. You can even record a live voiceover on to the video as it plays. Then you’re done and you can save or share the video. Despite the level of control, it’s still an incredibly simple application to use.

Even if you don’t have a GoPro, you should try out the apps if you’ve found smartphone video editing daunting in the past. With these, anyone can make a good video without needing to be a pro, and without a laptop. 

Pokemon Go the Movie planned, live-action film rights snapped up

After the unbelievable success of Pokemon Go, Legendary Entertainment has reported snagged the rights to make a live-action movie starring the cute cartoon monsters.

Although there have been plenty of feature length Pokemon films in the last 20 years, they were all fully animated, much like the anime TV series. The idea for the new movie is that it will feature Pokemon in the real world, much like the app sensation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, details “on the plot and story of the character” are “under wraps”. However, it is known to focus on Detective Pikachu, who recently made his bow in the eponymous Japanese-only 3DS game.

• Pokemon Go: How to play and other tips and tricks
• Help! Pokemon Go isn’t working: How to fix common Pokemon Go problems
• Can’t get Pokemon Go in your country yet? Here’s how to download it now
• What is Pokemon Go and why is everyone talking about it? 
• Pokemon Go: Best, worst and craziest places people have found Pokemon
• London through the eyes of Pokemon Go
• Pokemon Go top tips: Master the Pokemon mayhem

The movie site also claims that Legendary moved quickly to secure the rights after the Pokemon Go craze started because Netflix was hovering in the background. The streaming service is said to have also been “very hot on the property”.

No casting options have been released, but Danny DeVito has been cited by fans to voice over Pikachu. 50,000 people signed a petition in April to have DeVito play Pikachu in a forthcoming movie.

DeVito’s response, however, suggests it might not happen: “What the f*** is Pokemon?” he asked at the time.

Harman Kardon Go + Play review: Post-retro design, powerful audio

Can a wireless speaker already be retro? Weirdly enough, that’s what the Harman Kardon Go + Play feels like. There’s something refreshing about how out-of-step it is.

As a large wireless speaker it totally ignores the trend for every speaker larger than a matchbox to have Wi-Fi and Sonos-impersonating multi-room chops. So while such feature absences make it a wireless speaker dinosaur, it’s exactly this style that lets it pack in an 8-hour battery and sound much larger than you otherwise tend to get at the price.

Harman Kardon Go + Play review: Design

The Karman Kardon Go + Play isn’t a brand new line. Its daddy was released years ago, back when speakers used to have physical docks you’d plug your iPhone or iPod into. Those were the days, eh?

As you’ll only usually find such a dock on the bedside table of a hotel room nowadays, Harman Kardon has ripped it out of the new model. This is a Bluetooth speaker, pure and simple.

Pocket-lint

It’s far larger than the average Bluetooth speaker, though. The Harman Kardon Go + Play is a modern boombox, with an oversized aluminium handle that’s a central part of the design. It makes this box portable even though it weighs a forearm-bulging 3.5kg.

Portability is key here (if you’re strong enough). If you don’t care about moving the Go + Play, it loses much of its appeal. The appeal is real, though.

The battery lasts for up to 8-hours, and if you want something to provide tunes for an outdoor BBQ, this will beat a Bose SoundLink in terms of bass depth and sound scale.

Harman Kardon Go + Play Wireless review: Features

Being so simple means the Harman Kardon Go + Play doesn’t have loads of extra features. There’s no NFC, no aptX and definitely no Spotify Connect, but there are a few bonus bits. A USB port on the back lets you charge a phone using the speaker’s battery, there’s a 3.5mm aux input and buttons on the top give you direct control over volume and playback, with the usual slight Bluetooth delay.

Pocket-lint

There’s also a little 5-pip LED indicator on top that tells you how much juice is left in the battery, while dual microphones let you use it as a speaker for calls. As unlikely as that seems.

Two speakers can be hooked up wirelessly and turned into a stereo pair, but with only one to hand, we’ve not tried this first-hand.

Up close the Harman Kardon Go + Play seems almost toy-like simple compared with some wireless rivals, but it looks pretty smart from a distance. The combo of carry handle and stubby metal feet is striking, while the decision to use a fabric weave on the front rather than per-driver grilles like the alien-looking old Go + Play model is sensible – and much prettier.

The Harman Kardon Go + Play feels tough, too, even though the look is clearly desperate to look stylish. Its fabric covering isn’t the kind you’ll easily poke a hole in but a sturdy nylon weave. It’s not begging to be abused, but will take some punishment. The use of a rubbery bung to cover the ports on the back also gives it some water resistance. You’re not going to leave this thing floating in the bath, but it’ll stand being sat on soggy grass, festival goers.

Harman Kardon Go + Play Wireless review: Sound

The Harman Kardon Go + Play’s decent heft lets it pack in a very solid driver array. Pull off the front grille and you’ll see two 3.5-inch drivers, a pair of 1-inch tweeters and, in the middle, a great big circular passive radiator.

Pocket-lint

Harman Kardon doesn’t even mention the radiator on its website, even though it’s the biggest audio change between this and its predecessors, which only had active drivers. The radiator is used to extend the Go + Play’s bass. It’s effectively a woofer that’s powered by the air movement created by the other drivers, rather than directly by an amplifier. Most small and mid-size speakers have one these days.

That extra size, and those larger drivers, push the scale of sound you get from the Harman Go + Play from that of most Bluetooth speakers closer to something like the Sonos Play:5. It’s a room-filler, and the sound isn’t too positional. The tweeters have been angled to face slightly outwards, giving close to 180-degree dispersal of the trebly sound that lets us pinpoint the location of a speaker easily.

This is a big, powerful-sounding speaker that you’d almost certainly have to pay more for if it had Wi-Fi. And even then it probably wouldn’t offer battery-powered operation.

The sound is detailed too, and bass power is very strong without, for the most part, acting as a destructive influence. This is a very good party speaker, one that makes us slightly nostalgic for the golden age of iPod docks.

There are some issues with the sound, though. The tuning of the passive radiator seems pretty basic, designed to emphasise the frequencies kick drums pump out. There’s a reasonably narrow bass spike that, while effective, makes the bass seem a little disjointed and prone to some boominess when bass drums land square in the radiator’s wheelhouse.

Pocket-lint

The bass is also slightly “slow”; not taut, meaning its decay lags a little. This is not a speaker that suits careful, navel-gazing listening.

Tonally the Harman Kardon Go + Play is otherwise very solid aside from a minor fibrous quality to the mids that gives vocals a bit less relative weight than they have in, for example, the Cambridge Audio G5. That “relative” part is important, though, because there’s real satisfaction to a speaker whose larger size gives it greater dynamic range than a lot of the sub-£300 wireless speakers we listen to these days.

Verdict

Those with picky ears can poke holes in the Harman Kardon Go + Play, but it is one of the few new, sub-£250 wireless speakers to offer both the clout of a main lounge speaker and real portability.

Despite being woefully lacking in the supplementary tech elements many of today’s speakers offer, it’s still a solid buy that comes across as fun and vital in use. Not as some sort of tech relic.

ThinkProgress joins Medium’s growing list of publications

When Medium shifted its focus from independent writers to a more full-fledged blogging platform earlier this year, it nabbed an impressive lineup of small, but influential sites. Now Medium can boast its biggest addition yet when the liberal site ThinkProgress moves over to the platform next month.

In an email, ThinkProgress editor-in-chief Judd Legum told CNN Money that the move made sense for a site like his that boasts 6.5 to 9 million unique visitors per month and a staff of 37, but still operates without the product team that larger publications use to build out their own backend systems. “So we had to divert editorial resources to think about the technology and what new tools and features we needed,” Legum wrote. “Now we can let Medium develop the technical product and we can focus on writing stories.”

When it launched in 2012, Twitter co-founder and Medium CEO Evan Williams explained his new project as a mix of a blogging platform and social network. Facing increasing pressure from Facebook’s constantly shifting News Feed algorithm, Legum sees Medium as a way to get in front of more traffic, while preparing the site for future. “Publishers want traffic on their websites and Facebook wants traffic and engagement on Facebook,” Legum said. “On Medium, our interests are aligned.”

The platform also snatched up Bill Simmons’ Grantland replacement The Ringer earlier this year, with Simmons citing similar reasons. While that site is starting fresh in terms of audience numbers, it’s still indicative of a larger trend that allows publications to focus their budgets in the newsroom rather than their backend tech.