iPhone 7 Hands-On: Improved Cameras, New Jet Black Color, AirPods, No Headphone Jack, and More

Immediately following its media event today in San Francisco, Apple invited members of the press to a special hands-on area to get a closer look at the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The first real-life photos and videos of the smartphones are now beginning to surface around the web, showcasing the improved cameras, new black colors, no headphone jack, and more.

The Verge shared pictures of the iPhone 7 in both the new Black and Jet Black colors, providing a glimpse of the new matte and glossy finishes in action. The two new colors complement the existing options of Gold, Silver, and Rose Gold. Jet Black in particular will be limited to 128GB and 256GB models of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, while the other four colors will be available for all storage capacities.

In the article, the website described the iPhone 7’s capacitive home button as “awful,” adding that “it doesn’t feel like a button at all.”

Another thing I tried: the new home button, which uses a “taptic engine” to give you physical feedback when you press it — it’s pressure sensitive too, so it can tell if you really mean to press it or just tap it. And it’s awful. On a MacBook trackpad, you get this uncanny feeling that you’re actually hitting a button. On the iPhone, the whole bottom of the phone just sort of “kicks.” It’s not bad haptics like you remember, with weird vibration, it’s just a new kind of bad haptics. It doesn’t feel like a button at all. It’s a bummer.

CNET prepared a quick hands-on video with the iPhone 7 Plus in Rose Gold, showing off its dual cameras, no headphone jack, stereo speakers, repositioned antenna bands, and capacitive, force-sensitive home button.

SlashGear, meanwhile, provided a hands-on look at Apple’s new wireless AirPods with charging case and Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter. AirPods will be available for $159 in late October, while the Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter is included in the box with iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The adapter is $9 as a standalone purchase on Apple’s online store and retail locations.

More hands-on videos and first impressions should follow in the coming hours and days.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: AirPods
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Apple Adds New $29 Screen Repair Option to AppleCare+ for iPhone, Increases Service Fee to $99

Apple today quietly updated its AppleCare+ repair program for the iPhone, introducing a new $29 screen replacement option and raising the incidental repair fee to $99 for all iPhones.

With AppleCare+, iPhone users receive no-questions-asked coverage for two incidents of accidental damage, subject to a service fee. Previously, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users had to pay a $99 fee for each replacement, while iPhone SE and iPhone 6 and earlier replacements were priced at $79.

Apple is now charging a $99 service fee across the board for repairs regardless of device, but at the same time, there’s a new option that will save many iPhone users money — screen repairs for a service fee of just $29.

Repairs for iPhones that need to be replaced or repaired due to a damaged screen will now be more affordable, while more significant repairs for the latest devices will continue to cost $99. Those with an iPhone SE or an iPhone 6 and older will now need to pay $79 instead of $99 for major repairs, but will also save money with the cheaper screen repair option.

AppleCare+ continues to be priced at $99 and extends iPhone coverage for two years. AppleCare+ for the iPad is unchanged.

Tag: AppleCare
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Best replacement watch bands for Samsung Gear S3

What are the best third-party watch bands for Samsung Gear S3?

The Samsung Gear S3 was just recently announced, but its official release won’t be until later this year in 2016.

Thankfully, if you’re like us, you’re probably already pretty excited for the new smartwatch, and are eager to customize the new gadget with some sleek and stylish, functional watch bands. The Gear S3 supports standard 22mm watch bands, making it really easy to upgrade with something new.

Here are a few of the best third-party watch bands to consider once you pick up your brand new Samsung Gear S3!

• Rerii leather band
• TRUMiRR Milanese stainless steel band
• Barton silicone band
• Ritche stainless steel watch band
• ArtStyle nylon strap

Rerii leather band

There’s nothing more simple and stylish than a classic leather watch band, and Rerii nails it with their affordable 22mm leather band that the Samsung Gear S3!

Made from a high quality and sturdy yet lightweight and soft leather, the Rerii watch band comes with an easy-to-buckle stainless steel clasp, making it the perfect day-to-day band. Unlike some other watch straps, the Rerii’s design is super simple and void of all logos, so it’s perfect for people who want a classic-looking smartwatch accessory.

The Rerii leather band also comes in a number of vibrant, eye-catching colors, like black, brown, coffee, black with white stitching, brown with white stitching, or coffee with white stitching.

See at Amazon

TRUMiRR Milanese stainless steel band

The Milanese look has been a staple with traditional watch designs for decades, so incorporating the TRUMiRR Milanese stainless steel band might be the perfect fit if that’s the particular style you’re after.

This 22mm watch band is designed with a mesh, woven, stainless steel wire, and is adjustable for a variety of wrist sizes, so you never have to be uncomfortable while sporting your Samsung Gear S3.

To attach and detach your watch band, all you need to do is release a small spring bar, minimizing annoying tools. The TRUMiRR may not come in a ton of colors, but it does come in a shiny silver or a clean, classic black design.

See at Amazon

Barton silicone band

After garnishing its fair share of positive reviews online (nearly 522 five-star reviews, to be exact!) and coupled with an easy-release design, vibrant colors, comfortable feel, and much more, the Barton silicone band is a great option to check out while you’re customizing your Samsung Gear S3.

The Barton silicone watch band is designed with a textured back, making the slipping and sliding of most smooth silicone bands a thing of the past. The silicone design also makes it a great tool for working out, as you can easily remove and wash it if it starts to look dirty or stink. To change your watch band, simply turn the band over and flip the switch – no tools are required!

You can pick your Barton band from a number of vibrant colors, including black, white, turquoise, forest green, brown, gray, burgundy, yellow, navy blue, orange, peach, dark gray, and baby blue.

See at Amazon

Ritche stainless steel watch band

The Ritche 22mm stainless steel watch band is an affordable, high quality strap that keeps your Samsung Gear S3 looking classic and clean without any clutter or useless accents of other watch bands.

Unlike some other straps, the Ritche cannot be adjusted to fit individual wrists with a simple tightening system; rather, users will have to remove the links near the band’s clasps in order to make the stainless steel Samsung Gear S3 accessory smaller.

To remove the Ritche, you will have to use a small tool which comes with the band. The Ritche only comes in one color, silver, but if you’re looking for a watch with a similar style in a different color, then we suggest taking a peek at the Vetoo.

See at Amazon

ArtStyle nylon strap

Keep things simple, fun, and functional with the ArtStyle watch band made from a sturdy nylon material and a durable metal buckle!

The ArtStyle nylon strap is easily adjustable and is hypoallergenic, making it the perfect band to wear if you have sensitive skin. The material is also breathable and waterproof on top of being extremely comfortable to wear day-to-day.

On top of the ArtStyle’s practical design, the watch strap comes in a ton of different, bright colors, including red, blue/yellow, black, black/gray, navy blue, gray, khaki, orange, army green, black/blue, black/green/red, black/gray/blue, black/gray/orange, black/gray/green, black/red.

See at Amazon

What’s your pick?

Is there a third-party watch band that you think would be perfect for the Samsung Gear S3? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll be sure to check it out!

Company to announce new telephones

Incredible, amazing, magical, groundbreaking, our best yet, and we think you’re going to love it.

Hold onto your butts: It’s time for another iPhone launch event.

The iPhone 7 (and 7 Plus) will be the tenth major refresh of Apple’s smartphone, and if the rumors are to be believed, the third generation to use the same basic design as the iPhone 6. But there’s still plenty of new things to get excited about. Stuff like:

• Dual cameras in the biggie iPhone
• Water resistance
• A design thinner than angel wings
• No more headphone jack
• Modular add-ons via a Smart Connector
• An anodized black color option
• A base storage level of 32GB

As well as things Android phones have been doing for years, there’ll be room for some surprises: Hitherto unknown software features, a new Apple Watch, colorful shirts and great hair — and probably the odd jab at exploding batteries.

Our pals at iMore will have all the live coverage you need in the run-up to the arrival of the feverishly anticipated telephone — so that’s your destination for (non-sarcastic) commentary from the top Apple experts out there. The excitement begins at 10 a.m. Pacific time — that’s 1 p.m. on the East coast.

You can also bet your favorite AC editors will have insightful snarktweets to offer throughout the entire presentation. The best tweets you’ve ever seen. They’ll be big, bold, game-changing and industry-leading.

And we think you’re going to love them.

Check out real, actual iPhone 7 coverage at iMore

Where to buy the LG V20 in the U.S.

The LG V20 is coming to carriers in the U.S. — here are all the details.

After seeing the V10 come to AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in the U.S. last year, LG has worked with more carriers this time around with the V20. At the same time, it added B&H and Best Buy to the list of retailers that will be selling the phone as well. Together with the design and features of the V20 that are more widely appealing, it’s important that the phone is also more widely available.

Immediately following the announcement details are pretty sparse, but we do know which carriers and retailers will sell the V20. You can keep it locked here to see the latest information on where you’ll be able to buy the LG V20 in the U.S.

Verizon

Verizon has announced that it will carry the LG V20, but hasn’t given us any details beyond that. The carrier is simply touting the LTE-Advanced technology being used on the phone.

AT&T

AT&T will carry the V20 just like it did with its predecessor. Pricing and actual store availability will be coming at a later date.

T-Mobile

Very much the same story from T-Mobile, which will offer the LG V20 later this year. No availability or pricing hints.

Sprint

LG announced at its V20 unveiling in San Francisco that Sprint would be a launch partner for the phone. Sprint itself hasn’t dropped any details on us.

U.S. Cellular

The V20 isn’t just coming to the “big four” carriers in the U.S. — you’ll also be able to get it at U.S. Cellular. No details just yet, but it’s good to see an affordable regional carrier get in on the launch of a big phone.

B&H and Best Buy

Both B&H and Best Buy were listed as official retailers for the V20, but unfortunately this isn’t likely to mean that there will be an unlocked version sold in the U.S. Our best guess here is that the retailers will be selling carrier versions of the phone. That’s still good news, though — everyone likes to buy their phones from different places.

LG V20

• LG V20 preview
• LG unveils the V20
• LG V20 specs
• LG V20 vs. Galaxy Note 7
• Discuss the V20 in the forums!

Save $70 on the ASUS OnHub router for a limited time!

Amazon is offering a $70 savings on the ASUS OnHub router for a limited time, bringing the price down to just $130. If you’ve been eyeing this router, you won’t want to wait long to place your order since this deal is only good for today, September 7.

Using the Google On app, you can easily set this router up right from your phone, and its high-performance internal antennas will make sure that you have a wide range of wireless coverage in all directions. The firmware will automatically update, keeping your router up to date and as secure as possible at all times.

Whether you need a new router or have been looking to try something different, you won’t want to miss this deal. At just $130 this router packs quite a value, so you won’t want to pass up these $70 worth of savings.

See at Amazon

BlackBerry DTEK50 review: The phone with no name

The DTEK50 finds BlackBerry at its most versatile — because it has nothing to lose.

Quick take

The BlackBerry DTEK50 is a solid entry-level Android phone that puts security front and center without overshadowing the core Android experience. What it lacks in power it makes up for in a vibrant set of BlackBerry-branded apps that enhance and almost singlehandedly justify its purchase to the average consumer.

What’s a BlackBerry with no keyboard, designed and built by another company, running Android? It’s the DTEK50, a $299 phone that makes the argument for keeping the Waterloo company’s handset division open by offloading as much as possible the work of actually making a phone.

The Priv this isn’t. That phone, for all its quirks, is still one of our favourite Android phones, and proves that, in 2016, there’s still a place in the market for a hardware keyboard. The DTEK50 is… well, I’m not quite sure. After using it for a couple of weeks, I know enough to say it is a solid phone that, despite its security focus, may be a bit expensive for a budget user, and too slow for a power user. But that doesn’t take away from its promise, nor my recommendation.

	5.79 in147mm
2.85 in72.5mm		0.29 in7.4mm

• Display:
  • 5.2-Inch FHD display
  • 1920×1080 (424ppi)
• Camera:
  • 13MP rear camera
  • ƒ/2.0, Phase Detect Auto Focus, Dual-LED flash
  • 1080p 60fps video
  • 8MP ƒ/2.2 front camera
• Battery:
  • 2610mAh fixed battery
  • Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0
• Chips:
  • Snapdragon 617 Octa-Core 64-bit processor
  • Adreno 405 GPU
  • 3GB RAM
  • 16GB internal storage
  • microSD expansion
• Software:
  • Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
• Keyboard:
  • On-screen BlackBerry keyboard
  • Contextual auto-correct, word prediction, and learning engine
  • Touch-sensitive gesture control

BlackBerry DTEK50 Hardware

Over the month I’ve spent with BlackBerry’s latest smartphone I’ve vacillated between hearty recommendation and near despair for the company that almost singlehandedly began my adventures in smartphone journalism. When I upgraded from an LG Shine to a BlackBerry Pearl in the heady days of early 2008 I recognized in the company an overly confident tech giant operating at its peak, one that commanded the attention of consumers and professionals alike in a way that no company has been able to do since. (That the industry has ballooned to 10 times its size since then is the primary cause for that irretrievable status quo.)

The BlackBerry of today is not that company. First, it is not a hardware company, and builds handsets only to further its software business. Second, it is run by people who understand that the consumer market is no longer friendly to newcomers, especially those commanding high prices.

And yet it is my mandate to review this handset from the perspective of a consumer hardware enthusiast, an inauspicious job that will leave people inevitably disappointed with my ambivalence.

At its core, the DTEK50 is, as many others have stated, a repurposed Alcatel Idol 4, built by the relatively unknown but masterful white label pros at TCL. But it is also a capitulation, BlackBerry’s first truly mercurial smartphone; it can and will be anything you or your company wants it to be. Even unassuming products like the Leap, by virtue of running BlackBerry 10, called attention to itself. And the Priv, with its imperious frame and almost decadent keyboard, attempted to justify its existence with gleeful nods to the company’s past successes.

The DTEK50 is as much a clean slate as the company has ever been awarded. Buoyed by the warm reception of its app suite’s transition to Android, BlackBerry is positioning its latest phone as the cheap phone that does the fewest things badly. And to that end, it is wholly successful.

The first thing you’ll notice is that this thing is light. It is so light, in fact, that it often got forgotten in my pocket until the damn thing buzzed like BlackBerrys are wont to do. It’s also thin, at 7.4mm, and compact for a 5.2-inch phone. These are all good things. Despite the odd placement of its power button, on the top left of the plastic frame, I grew to appreciate its usability over the month I spent with it.

You may have heard about the phone’s Convenience key, a button on the right side you’d be forgiven for thinking was its power toggle, and that it opens any app of your choosing. Yes, it’s convenient. Yes, I, in my addition to my job, made it a Slack button. You’re welcome.

But other than that there isn’t much to say about this phone’s hardware. The backing takes a turn from its Idol forebear with a soft, rubberized grip that reminds me of a soft-bristle toothbrush — in a good way. I also find it amusing that even as BlackBerry slowly retreats from hardware it continues to spend time crafting rear covers that at once impress and confound.

The DTEK50 is as much a clean slate as the company has ever been awarded.

I feel like I should reiterate, for the first of likely a few times, that I like this phone. It’s become a well-worn Canadian refrain to feel the need to reinforce this fact, lest I be accused of an innate bias against my country’s former tech darling. (At this point, it should be safe to bring up the fact that BlackBerry’s internal structure these days is as Canadian as Tim Horton’s and The Hudson’s Bay Company.)

What about using the phone? Well, the screen has ample sharpness and gets bright enough in most use cases, except for under Waterloo’s imposing summer sunshine, where it seems to fall short. And its battery life, given the power-sipping nature of the Snapdragon 617 chip, is sufficient to last an entire day of emails and BBM (bless the continued existence of that red LED, the North Star of smartphone addiction).

But — getting serious for a moment — it is that Snapdragon chip that is this phone’s biggest source of disappointment. BlackBerry is good at eking out its best nature, but a Sisyphean battle this is — for anyone using this chip. We’ve seen considerably better results from the newer, more power-efficient Snapdragon 625 in devices like the Moto Z Play, and though its presence likely would have pushed the cost to $349, the tradeoff would have been worth it.

That’s not to say the DTEK50 (that name!) disappoints like the 2015 Blue Jays’ playoff performance against the Royals, but it does manage to hit a few too many foul balls (just to burn that metaphor right into the ground). Even the ample 3GB of RAM cannot save it.

One area in which the phone does excel is in call quality. Like all BlackBerry devices, the tuning here is superb (though the company’s Paratek IP appears to be missing from the spec sheet) and I thoroughly enjoyed the call-making experience. That counts for something these days, doesn’t it? (Doesn’t it?)

Finally, the camera. BlackBerry has fashioned a pretty great camera app, all things considered, and the DTEK50 inherits the Idol 4’s consummate imaging chops. The Galaxy S7 this isn’t, but it’s almost the next best thing: a $299 phone that can take the kinds of colorful, sharp, well-exposed photos you’d expect from a $499 a year ago, or a $699 phone two years ago.

BlackBerry DTEK50 Software

If you spent any time at all with the Priv, you know what you’re getting here: an Android 6.0.1 experience that largely resembles what you’d get on a Nexus device — if Google decided to replace all of its own apps with ones designed by HTC. That’s a compliment, by the way.

BlackBerry has somehow, in just under a year, managed to fashion a suite of Android apps that people will actually be happy using, from the everything-in-one-place consolidation of the Hub to calendar and note-taking apps I actively seek out when I use other phones. (That you can now actually download many of those apps at once undermines and reinforces the attractiveness of using a device like the DTEK50. Weird, right?)

So if you can recreate those experiences on other phones, what’s the big selling feature here? It’s in the phone’s very name: DTEK. BlackBerry’s masterful combination of hardware and software security has, since the day it announced the Priv, been at once its linchpin and curse. Google can’t come outright and say that BlackBerry’s hardware is more secure than its own, nor can Samsung, a vibrant BlackBerry partner in the enterprise, suggest someone buy a DTEK50 over a Grand Prime.

BlackBerry has somehow, in just over a year, managed to fashion a suite of Android apps that people will actually be happy using.

And while the company’s critics claim that processes like kernel hardening and hardware root of trust are merely gloss on top of a fortress, Android has been subject to disruptive and potentially dangerous vulnerabilities that, whether due to foresight or oversight, BlackBerry has jumped in front of. One can make the claim that it is better in that scenario to be safe than sorry, and along with the Priv the DTEK50 is that safety blanket.

To the average consumer merely looking for a good cheap smartphone, the promise of a “hardened kernel,” among other flashy rhetoric, may be enough to move them in the direction of the DTEK50 — or at least that’s BlackBerry’s hope. In lieu of that, the company has its software business to increasingly fall back on, though at this point it is less of a cushion than a bed of blunt nails.

BlackBerry DTEK50 Bottom line

No, this isn’t the definitive review of the DTEK50. For that, check out CrackBerry’s far more thorough, far less evasive attempt to figure out this phone. I am just happy to have come out of this experience with a renewed appreciation for BlackBerry’s stubborn perseverance.

The DTEK50 isn’t a great phone, but it’s not a bad one, either. Despite my ambivalence I recommend you at least seek one out, if only to disavow yourself of the idea that BlackBerry circa 2016 in any way resembles the hardware giant you have been defending or raging against for the past seven years. Under John Chen’s reign, success looks very different — it looks like a phone designed and built by another company, utterly unremarkable and free of affect.

And its best chance at success in some time.

See at BlackBerry

LG V20 Hands-On: The Phone For The A/V Geek

LG hasn’t had the best year when it comes to smartphones, but the LG V20 has a few tricks under its unassuming outer shell. At IFA 2016 in Berlin, the company gave me a quick peek at the successor to last year’s LG V10… and if you’re the kind of kid who hung out in the A/V studio in high school, you’re gonna love it.

From high-decibel microphones to high-resolution cameras, the LG V20 comes packing — but does it bring enough heat to overcome the wet blanket that was the LG G5? Find out in MrMobile’s LG V20 hands-on!

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