Lumion is giving an Android Central reader a Galaxy Note 8! Enter here!

Win a Galaxy Note 8 from Lumion and Android Central!

The release date for the new Galaxy Note 8 is fast approaching! We’re excited to announce that Lumion is sponsoring this giveaway and a super lucky Android Central reader is going to win a new Note 8.

Lumion is dedicated to creating practical and useful products for any lifestyle. The company is guided by a simple philosophy: to offer the best quality products at a great value. All Lumion purchases come with free standard shipping, Lumion lifetime warranty, and if you’re not satisfied, your purchase is protected under the 30-day money back guarantee so you can return for a full refund. To see current products visit the Lumion USA Amazon storefront and for more information about the company, check out the Lumion Website.

Now on to the giveaway!

THE PRIZE: One Android Central reader will win the new Samsung Galaxy Note 8 in midnight black or orchid gray and a Lumion case bundle! One runner up will receive a Lumion Galaxy Note 8 case bundle!

THE GIVEAWAY: Head down to the widget at the bottom of this page. There are multiple ways to enter, each with varying point values. Complete all of the tasks for maximum entries and your best shot at winning! Keep in mind that all winning entries are verified and if the task was not completed or cannot be verified, a new winner will be chosen. Service is not included with the phone and is the responsibility of the winner. We also can’t guarantee the phone works with your carrier, so make sure you check that before you enter. International winners will be responsible for any customs fees incurred during shipping. Please not that due to sponsor restrictions, this giveaway is only open to readers in the US and Canada.

The giveaway is open until September 25, 2017, and the winner will be announced right here after the closing date. Good luck!

Lumion is giving one Android Central reader a Galaxy Note 8!

A week with Hasselblad’s agile medium-format mirrorless camera

Paris is a magical place if you have the right partner, and who better than Hasselblad’s X1D? The first-ever medium-format mirrorless camera (available in silver or black) is slim, stunning and easy to bring anywhere. Yes, it’s costly as hell, but for the right kind of buyer, $9,000 (plus thousands more for lenses) is actually a bargain. I took it for a spin to see how it handled on the streets, and it was both a breeze to use and produced phenomenal images in all kinds of conditions.

The X1D came along just before rival Fujifilm’s $6,495 GFX-50S, and to me, the sleeker Hasselblad has more allure. The tight all-aluminum body is built in Sweden, and has unique details like a battery cavity with no cover. Instead, the battery forms its own “door,” via a built-in weatherproofing gasket. Another quality touch: The dual-SD card (UHS-I) ports and HDMI/USB 3.0/Headphone/Mic inputs have solid, precise aluminum doors, unlike the flimsy ones found on many DSLRs.

While the X1D is about the same weight as a full-frame DSLR, it’s a relative featherweight in its category. Another Hasselblad model, the H6D-50C reflex camera, has the same sensor as the X1D, but weighs 2.1 kilograms (4.7 pounds!) compared to the X1D’s 725 grams (1.6 pounds). That means you can easily carry it on location and still get the benefits of a huge sensor.

The 50-megapixel X1D has about the same resolution as Canon’s 5Ds, but can theoretically gather more light thanks to the medium-format sensor. That also gives it a shallower depth of field, but unfortunately, that’s limited by the current lens selection (more on that shortly).

The X1D uses a leaf shutter with 1/2000th of a second max speed, which sounds slow, but is faster than other medium-format cameras. You can sync a flash to any shutter speed, rather than being limited like most DSLRs — a key feature for portrait shooters. A recent firmware update introduced an electronic shutter, which reduces vibration and allows up to 1/10,000th of a second speeds.

There’s a pair of physical dials to adjust shutter speed and aperture, a mode selector dial, an ISO/white balance button, and a manual/autofocus button. The rear 3.0-inch TFT touchscreen, while a bit laggy, has nice image quality. It lets you set the camera’s controls via an intuitive menu system that puts more established mirrorless camera makers (ahem, Sony) to shame. The electronic 2.36-megapixel viewfinder (EVF) is bright and clear.

Hasselblad only gave me one lens with the X1D, the f/3.5 45mm prime, equivalent to about 35mm and f/2.9 (for depth of field) on a full-frame camera. The lens produces some vignetting (correctable by Hasselblad’s Phocus software) but is otherwise sharp.

The lens was a bit slow and had less depth of field than I want for low-light urban shooting. Hasselblad has three other lenses for the X1D — the XCD 30mm f/3.5, 90mm f/3.2 and 120mm f/3.5, but nothing faster yet. It also has three more coming, including a zoom and macro, but has yet to release the full specs. For now, the extreme depth-of-field and low-light potential of its medium-format sensor is hampered by the available lenses.

Taking $11,290 worth of camera equipment (including the lens) into Paris was nerve-racking, but I got used to it quickly. It’s simply a wonderful camera to carry around — it weighs a less than my Canon 7D and the rubberized grip is fantastic.

The startup time is around 11 seconds, which is, frankly, terrible. If you want to be spontaneous, you can reduce that by putting it into sleep mode, but that drains the battery quicker. And battery life is not great to begin with — after four or so hours of intense shooting, it died on me. The camera also gets quite hot after extensive use.

I usually stress about learning settings on new cameras, but I was quickly shooting on the X1D with no issues. The main controls (aperture, shutter speed, ISO and white balance) are handled by the dials and buttons, and everything else can be accessed quickly on the responsive touchscreen.

You can shoot at 3 fps, reasonable for a camera that produces 105MB images, but far from Canon, Nikon and Sony full-frame models (it’s comparable to Fujifilm’s GFX 50S, but the latter camera starts much quicker). The LCD/EVF blacks out for about a second while shooting, and the leaf shutter makes two dramatic clicking sounds, once to take the image, and again to reset. That means it might not be appropriate at sensitive events unless you use the quieter electronic shutter.

RAW images average 105MB each, and JPEG’s are limited to previews. You’ll need to have a decent computer and fast SD cards, but the payoff is 16-bit RAW “3FR” files with more tonal values than most DSLRs. Hasselblad claims a stellar 14-stops of dynamic range.

One thing I didn’t expect was running out of space on the (skimpy) 16GB card that Hasselblad supplied with the demo unit — it can only hold about 150 of those crazy large images. I found myself deleting photos while shooting like it was 2007, but it did force me to be more choosy about shots.

Low-light capability is excellent, despite what seems like a fairly limited maximum ISO (100-25,600). Hasselblad must have been conservative with those figures, because the top one or two settings are still usable, in my opinion. At anything up to about 3200 ISO, noise was not an issue.

The contrast-detection autofocus is reasonably fast and accurate, though nothing like systems from Sony or Canon. It can fail in low-light situations and is not great at tracking fast-moving subjects, so this is not a sports camera. On the plus side, you can select numerous points using the touchscreen, making it easy to control focus. The auto white balance worked well, whether indoors or out.

I deliberately shot from dusk until dark, both to test the X1D’s low-light capability and because that’s the best time to shoot, in my opinion. I was soon confidently snapping scenes with both bright lights and dark shadows, knowing that the RAW images had the latitude to deal with it. I was particularly impressed how it handled a shot of Paris’ brightly-lit Pantheon, with tourists in the much darker foreground.

I did take some video, and unfortunately, the X1D can only shoot at 1080p/25fps. However, at least it has microphone and headphone inputs, unlike most mirrorless cameras (Sony’s A7 models being a notable exception). You can’t compare the video quality to, say, a 4K GH5 or Sony A7S II, but the larger sensor does give the footage an interesting look. For instance, at f/3.5, people in the foreground were pin sharp while the background was lightly blurred, creating a mild tilt-shift look.

In the end, I found that the X1D has fewer tradeoffs than possibly any other medium-format camera. Still, why get it instead of more capable full-frame models like the Sony A7R II or Canon 5Ds? The payoff is in the images. With shots I originally thought were too dark, I was able to fully recover shadow details. Over-exposed shots can also be pulled back with details that you thought were blown out (see the images at the end of the gallery, above).

The relatively high resolution makes it possible to crop images down to a quarter of what I shot and still blow them up to poster sizes. Colors and skin tones render accurately right out of the camera and require little, if any, tweaking. The transitions between tones and colors are gentle and natural. In short, the images are stellar right out of the camera, and skilled art, fashion and landscape shooters can get even more out of them in post-production.

Neither you nor I will likely buy this camera, so why look at it? It’s simply an interesting, groundbreaking product with features that may wind up in more affordable consumer cameras. Thanks to smartphones, photography is evolving at the fastest rate in its 180-year history, and bleeding-edge models like the X1D can give us clues as to what’s next.

Facebook fined in Spain for allegedly misusing personal data

Facebook has been fined €1.2 million (roughly $1.4 million) for several instances where the social network may have collected Spanish user data without fully informing people how it would be used. Retuers reports that Spain’s Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD; Spanish Data Protection Agency) found three instances of Facebook not “sufficiently” informing users how their gender, religious beliefs, personal tastes and browsing history would be used.

More than that, Zuckerberg and Co. apparently didn’t tell people how data collected from cookies on websites containing the ubiquitous “Like” badge would be used, either. Even if you aren’t one of the two billion account holders, Facebook still allegedly collects your browsing information through that thumbs up emoji. The AEPD also found that Facebook kept user information for over 17 months after people closed their accounts.

The AEPD’s fine isn’t a ton of money — especially compared to the €110 million fine related to WhatsApp — but it proves that Spain won’t sit back while a company might be illegally using its peoples’ data. The main claim that Facebook’s privacy policy contains generic and unclear terms follows investigations that Google’s privacy policy wasn’t exactly up to legal par in 2012, as well. While the fine amount might be symbolic, any resulting changes made to Facebook’s policy on user data likely won’t be.

Source: Reuters

Mercedes’ Smart Vision EQ is a tiny urban autonomous concept

During a series of song and dance numbers, Mercedes-Benz introduced its Smart Vision EQ concept vehicle. The pure electric completely autonomous car is built for personalization without actual ownership. Based on the Smart fortwo, the car is the company’s vision of mobility and EVs.

The tiny autonomous EV will have inductive charging and lack a steering wheel or pedals. But what it’s missing in controls, it makes up for utility. The car will be shared not only with individuals via ride hailing; when it’s not being used to shuttle people around it can double as a rolling display showing off sports scores, the weather and time. According to Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, when idle the Vision EQ can be used to display sports scores, the weather or the time in a city center.

Zetsche noted that the Vision EQ along with the company’s first Hypercar, the Mercedes-AMG Project One are built with two types of customers in mind. The urban dweller that needs to get around but doesn’t want the hassle of car ownership and the hard-core enthusiast with a huge pile of cash that’s looking to go fast and turn heads while still being on the bleeding edge of automotive technology.

Developing…

The iPhone 10 years in: Everything that’s changed from 2007 to 2017

Few times of the year are as thrilling for gadget buffs as an Apple launch event, and tomorrow the company is expected to pull back the curtain on a trio of new iPhones. While some incredibly specific leaks this weekend might have spoiled the surprise, there’s no denying just how important the iPhone is to Apple’s business; Apple is the most valuable company in the world thanks mostly to this product line. With new iPhones upon us, we thought we’d take a look back at Apple’s history in smartphones to remind ourselves how they’ve matured into the market-leading machines they are now.

iPhone (2007)

Smartphones have essentially looked like glass-and-metal slabs for years now, so it’s easy to forget how distinct the original iPhone looked. Remember, 2007 was the year the BlackBerry Curve debuted to rave reviews, and people were thrilled about the dual-sliding powerhouse that was Nokia’s N95. Suffice to say, the iPhone was nothing like them. It was a device with a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, a rounded aluminum body, a plastic butt and very few actual buttons to speak of. At the time, you could pick up a model with either 4GB or 8GB of internal storage for $499 and $599, respectively. Considering most phones in the US were sold on-contract, the iPhone was much more expensive than its competitors, and Apple later tried to address this by dropping the 4GB model altogether and making the 8GB model $399.

Apple’s engineering prowess meant the phone was as well-built a smartphone as you could get at the time, and that aesthetic would soon drive other OEMs to embrace multi-touch displays. Still, some of the original iPhone’s design and engineering features were pretty questionable. Remember the recessed headphone jack? The one that required people to use an adapter with existing headphones they liked, or use the lousy pack-in earbuds? Yeah, not great. What’s more, the cellular radio inside the phone only supported Cingular’s EDGE data network, and not its newer, faster 3G network. Steve Jobs defended the decision by claiming that those early 3G-capable chipsets were bigger, with a tendency to drain a phone’s battery.

Where the iPhone really shined was its software. Even in its infancy, iOS felt remarkably different from any other smartphone OS. Its early, WebKit-based browser was a joy to use compared to the alternatives found on other devices, and the way the phone allowed for multi-touch gestures effectively changed the way people expected to interact with their smartphones. That’s not to say the software was perfect: It couldn’t connect to most corporate email servers, which meant business users got burned. And that seemingly lovely virtual keyboard? You had to make sure you didn’t accidentally type too fast because it could only recognize one finger tap at a time. The iPhone didn’t have the ability to send rich MMS messages either, so sending pictures to friends only ever worked through email, or unofficial apps available to jailbroken iPhones.

The original iPhone remains an icon in the annals of computing history, but there was much more to come.

iPhone 3G (2008)

After the first iPhone launched, Apple pursued progress on two fronts: It had to build a second-gen phone, and also make sure people could get more done with it. In March 2008, nine months after the first iPhone went on sale, Apple released a software development kit, while a prominent Silicon Valley VC firm announced a $100 million fund to help spur iPhone software development. Four months after that, the iPhone 3G debuted with iOS 2.0 and the App Store, which only contained around 500 apps at launch. While users were pleased with the prospect of squeezing new features out of their new phones, one of the most notable changes about this new phone was how it looked.

With the 3G, Apple ditched its original, mostly aluminum chassis in favor of glossy polycarbonate. The 3G was available in black and white, and both versions could be had with either 8GB or 16GB of storage. While that change in materials was meant to improve signal strength and reception, the polycarbonate shells were prone to cracking, particularly around the 30-pin dock connector. The iPhone 3G’s modified curvature was more comfortable to hold, but it also meant all those docks that came with the original iPhone were essentially junk. Otherwise, the phone’s key features, including its screen and camera, remained the same.

Apple gave the phone its name for a reason, though: The addition of a 3G radio meant AT&T customers could finally use the carrier’s higher-speed data network. This paved the way for snappier browsing, not to mention the ability to talk and browse at the same time. The 3G also included a GPS radio, though it was still fairly limited; while it could locate you with help from a cell tower triangulation scheme, it would be a while before the first apps with true turn-by-turn navigation appeared.

Although Apple and its carrier partner sold the original iPhones at full price, the 3G was the first to be sold with contract subsidies — remember the days when signing two years of your life away meant hefty discounts? In this case, the 8GB 3G sold for $199 and the 16GB model went for $299, both dramatic drops that helped spur mass iPhone adoption.

Pricing	$499, $599 (on contract)	$199, $299 (on contract)
Dimensions	115 x 61 x 11.6mm (4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches)	115 x 62.1 x 12.3mm (4.55 x 2.44 x 0.48 inches)
Weight	135g (4.8 ounces)	133g (4.7 ounces)
Screen size	3.5 inches (88.9mm)	3.5 inches (88.9mm)
Screen resolution	480 x 320 (163ppi)	480 x 320 (163ppi)
Screen type	18-bit LCD	18-bit LCD
Battery	1,400 mAh	1,150 mAh
Storage	4 / 8GB (16GB released 2008)	8 / 16GB
Rear camera	2MP	2MP
Front-facing cam	None	None
Video capture	None	None
GPS	None	Yes
NFC	None	None
Bluetooth	v2.0	v2.0
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 900, 1800, 1900	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA: 850, 1900, 2100
SoC	Apple APL0098	Apple APL0098
CPU	412MHz	412MHz
GPU	PowerVR MBX Lite 3D	PowerVR MBX Lite 3D
RAM	128MB	128MB
WiFi	802.11b/g	802.11b/g
Operating system	iPhone OS 1.0	iPhone OS 2.0
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector

iPhone 3GS (2009)

One year later and the iPhone 3G was back, more or less. Apple announced the new iPhone 3GS in June 2009, where Phil Schiller casually mentioned the “S” stood for “speed” — he wasn’t kidding, either. The iPhone’s fundamental performance hadn’t changed in two years, so when the 3GS showed up with an updated processor and double the RAM of its predecessors, it ran roughly twice as fast. That improved performance was great to have, but it didn’t change the fact that the iPhone 3GS looked exactly like its predecessor. As you might’ve guessed from the name, this is the phone that inaugurated Apple’s “tick-tock” update schedule. One year you’d get new features wrapped in a new design; the next, a phone with the same body but with better performance.

Performance isn’t the only improvement, though. Among the biggest additions were an improved 3-megapixel camera with autofocus that could finally shoot video, and, err, a compass. Software additions like VoiceOver (which read on-screen elements as you dragged your finger over them) helped make the iPhone a more suitable device for the visually impaired, but the rest of the improvements were modest. Consider the 3GS’s 3.5-inch screen: It ran at the same resolution, but Apple fitted it with an oleophobic coating to help prevent the display from getting too smudgy. Bluetooth performance also improved slightly, and the battery got a minor bump in capacity to help the phone cruise on 3G networks for a little longer. There’s no doubting that the 3GS was a solid phone for the times, but since many purchased the iPhone 3G with a two-year contract, the 3GS could be easily skipped.

Pricing	$199, $299 (on contract)	$199, $299 (new customers on contract) $599, $699 (existing customers on contract)
Dimensions	115 x 62.1 x 12.3mm (4.55 x 2.44 x 0.48 inches)	115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm (4.55 x 2.44 x 0.48 inches)
Weight	133g (4.7 ounces)	135g (4.8 ounces)
Screen size	3.5 inches (88.9mm)	3.5 inches (88.9mm)
Screen resolution	480 x 320 (163ppi)	480 x 320 (163ppi)
Screen type	18-bit LCD	24-bit LCD
Battery	1,150 mAh	1,220 mAh
Storage	8 / 16GB	16 / 32GB (8GB released 2010)
Rear camera	2MP	3MP
Front-facing cam	None	None
Video capture	None	VGA (640 x 480) at 30fps
GPS	Yes	Yes
NFC	None	None
Bluetooth	v2.0	v2.1
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA: 850, 1900, 2100	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA: 850, 1900, 2100
SoC	Apple APL0098	Apple APL0298
CPU	412MHz	600MHz
GPU	PowerVR MBX Lite 3D	PowerVR SGX535
RAM	128MB	256MB
WiFi	802.11b/g	802.11b/g
Operating system	iPhone OS 2.0	iPhone OS 3.0
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector

iPhone 4 (2010)

While the iPhone 3GS was busy racking up sales, Apple was working on a radical iPhone redesign behind closed doors. Then some guy lost a prototype in a bar, and the internet exploded as the leak of a lifetime gave us our first look at Apple’s vision. Up until 2010, iPhones were known for their contoured plastic shells, but no more. The iPhone 4 was covered with flat glass on both the front and back, separated by a stainless steel band that ran around the phone and acted as its antenna. The aesthetic was a stunning departure from earlier iPhones, but Apple’s design had a serious flaw: Holding the phone just right (or wrong) would cause cellular coverage to plummet. Welcome to Antennagate.

Apple remedied the issue by offering free bumpers and cases to iPhone 4 owners, but critics had a field day with the company’s massive blunder. Though Antennagate’s cultural pervasiveness was difficult to avoid (“you’re holding it wrong” became a catchphrase unto itself) the iPhone 4 still offered several major improvements to the long-standing iPhone formula. In fact, the most important was impossible to miss: Though Steve Jobs might have overstated exactly how crisp it was, the iPhone 4’s 960 x 540 Retina display was essentially unmatched in clarity. It didn’t just blow away older iPhones, the screen blew away all other phones, period.

To this point, iPhones never had particularly great cameras, but the iPhone 4’s 5-megapixel rear shooter was the best Apple had made to date (it helped that our prayers for a LED flash were answered). Apple also saw fit to include the iPhone’s first front-facing camera, a must for vain selfies and the new FaceTime feature built into iOS 4.

The new A4 chipset (the first mobile processor Apple designed itself) with 512MB of RAM was another huge step over its predecessor, and this jump in performance was absolutely necessary. The launch of iOS 4 also meant the introduction of true multitasking on an iPhone; even after all these years, it’s still surprising that it took Apple as long as it did to cook up a solution that worked. A quick double-tap of the home button would bring up your running apps, and that was that. The updated iOS also added folders for better app management and finally let people leave audio running the background while they used other apps. While the iPhone 4 was the most powerful smartphone Apple had built up to that date, it almost paradoxically had better battery life than before thanks to a more capacious cell stuck inside.

Other new inclusions were more subtle, like a second microphone for improved noise cancellation and a gyroscope that allowed for (among other things) more precise motion controls in games and apps. Apple stuck with the standard 8GB, 16GB and 32GB storage variants, and they only came in black at first; it took time for Apple to ensure the white finish offered enough UV protection, so white iPhone 4s weren’t available until April 2011. Color choices may have been limited, but at least carrier choice wasn’t. After years of AT&T exclusivity, the 4 was the first iPhone available on a carrier other than AT&T — in this case, Verizon.

Pricing	$199, $299 (new customers on contract) $599, $699 (existing customers on contract)	$199, $299 (on contract) $599, $699 (off contract)
Dimensions	115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm (4.55 x 2.44 x 0.48 inches)	115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm (4.54 x 2.31 x 0.37 inches)
Weight	135g (4.8 ounces)	137g (4.8 ounces)
Screen size	3.5 inches (88.9mm)	3.5 inches (88.9mm)
Screen resolution	480 x 320 (163ppi)	960 x 640 (326ppi)
Screen type	24-bit LCD	Retina IPS LCD
Battery	1,220 mAh	1,420 mAh
Storage	16 / 32GB (8GB released 2010)	16 / 32GB (8GB released 2011)
Rear camera	3MP	5MP
Front-facing cam	None	0.3MP
Video capture	VGA (640 x 480) at 30fps	720p at 30fps
GPS	Yes	Yes
NFC	None	None
Bluetooth	v2.1	v2.1
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA: 850, 1900, 2100	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA: 800, 850, 900, 1900, 2100
SoC	Apple APL0298	Apple A4
CPU	600MHz	800MHz
GPU	PowerVR SGX535	PowerVR SGX535
RAM	256MB	512MB
WiFi	802.11b/g	802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz)
Operating system	iPhone OS 3.0	iOS 4
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector

iPhone 4S (2011)

Apple’s press fete for the iPhone 4S was unlike any other — for one, it was the first hosted by then-new CEO Tim Cook, a supply chain whiz picked by Jobs to take over. (Jobs, sadly, died the day after the announcement.) It was also one of the first iPhone announcements that really seemed to disappoint some, thanks to endless rumors about a thinner, redesigned iPhone 5 coming in 2011. While that sleeker, slimmer iPhone was still a year off, the iPhone 4S offered up plenty of helpful and notable updates.

The iPhone 4’s A4 chipset gave way to the dual-core A5 (first used in the iPad 2), which kept the same 512MB of RAM but still made for a nearly two-fold improvement in general performance. Meanwhile, the rear camera was bumped to eight megapixels and gained the ability to record 1080p video. To help store those larger files, Apple introduced a new 64GB storage tier alongside the standard 16GB and 32GB options. And while Apple recycled the iPhone 4’s design, it used the CDMA version of the device as a template for the 4S; its improved antenna setup eliminated lingering Antennagate concerns.

The iPhone 4S launched with iOS 5 on board, making it the first new iPhone to pack support for Apple’s new iCloud storage system and iMessage’s now-ubiquitous blue bubbles. We can’t talk about the 4S without talking about Siri, though. Originally a voice assistant app spun out from research at SRI International, Siri came to the iPhone 4S by way of a multimillion dollar acquisition before its creators could build versions of the app for rival platforms. At launch, users could ask it to make calls, create reminders, interact with calendars and more, all with conversational language instead of specific commands. Siri felt novel and capable in ways other apps at the time didn’t, but it would take time before Apple’s first digital assistant became more than just an interesting gimmick.

Pricing	$199, $299 (on contract) $599, $699 (off contract)	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)
Dimensions	115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm (4.54 x 2.31 x 0.37 inches)	115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm (4.54 x 2.31 x 0.37 inches)
Weight	137g (4.8 ounces)	140g (4.9 ounces)
Screen size	3.5 inches (88.9mm)	3.5 inches (88.9mm)
Screen resolution	960 x 640 (326ppi)	960 x 640 (326ppi)
Screen type	Retina IPS LCD	Retina IPS LCD
Battery	1,420 mAh	1,430mAh
Storage	16 / 32GB (8GB released 2011)	16 / 32 / 64GB (8GB released 2012)
Rear camera	5MP	8MP, f/2.4
Front-facing cam	0.3MP	0.3MP
Video capture	720p at 30fps	1080p
GPS	Yes	Yes
NFC	None	None
Bluetooth	v2.1	v4.0
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA: 800, 850, 900, 1900, 2100	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA: 800, 850, 900, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A: 800, 1900
SoC	Apple A4	Apple A5
CPU	800MHz	1 GHz
GPU	PowerVR SGX535	PowerVR SGX543MP2
RAM	512MB	512MB
WiFi	802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz)	802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz)
Operating system	iOS 4	iOS 5
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector

iPhone 5 (2012)

When the iPhone 5 was revealed in 2012, people got the design overhaul they were waiting for. Apple traded stainless steel for aluminum and shaved nearly two millimeters off the existing iPhone 4S design. The end result: the thinnest, sleekest and arguably most beautiful iPhone to date. More importantly, Apple finally saw fit to pack a taller, 4-inch Retina display into the iPhone 5, a move meant to counter the rapidly growing screens found in popular Android devices. Building a bigger, thinner iPhone came at a cost, though: Apple ditched its classic, 30-pin connector in favor of the reversible Lightning connector. The decision meant generations of existing iPhone docks and accessories became obsolete almost instantly, but the world eventually moved on.

Also new to the iPhone 5 was Apple’s dual-core A6 chipset and 1GB of RAM — double the amount of memory found in the iPhone 4 and 4S. As usual, the new phone generally exhibited performance that was around twice as fast as the previous model, and in certain benchmarks, we saw even bigger performance gains. The iPhone 5’s camera didn’t change dramatically along the way, but its 8-megapixel sensor was swathed in sapphire crystal rather than glass for extra protection. Thanks to the A6’s increased horsepower, the camera was noticeably quicker too — photo capture speeds were faster than in earlier iPhones. And speaking of speed, Apple built an LTE radio into the iPhone 5, making it the first to support the next generation of high-speed wireless data networks.

The iPhone 5 was a big step forward in terms of design, but changes on the software side weren’t as dramatic. iOS 6 officially went live just days before the iPhone 5 went on sale, making the 5 the first new iPhone to support digital tickets in Passbook and the new, oft-maligned Apple Maps. A handy Do Not Disturb mode was also added to the fold, as well as the ability to make FaceTime calls over cellular connections and native Facebook integration. All told, it felt like Apple was going back and ticking software feature requests off a checklist, but that makes sense — the company was working on a big redesign behind the scenes.

Pricing	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)
Dimensions	115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm (4.54 x 2.31 x 0.37 inches)	123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches)
Weight	140g (4.9 ounces)	112g (3.95 ounces)
Screen size	3.5 inches (88.9mm)	4 inches (101.6mm)
Screen resolution	960 x 640 (326ppi)	1,136 x 640 (326ppi)
Screen type	Retina IPS LCD	Retina IPS LCD
Battery	1,430mAh	1,440mAh
Storage	16 / 32 / 64GB (8GB released 2012)	16 / 32 / 64GB
Rear camera	8MP, f/2.4	8MP iSight, f/2.4
Front-facing cam	0.3MP	1.2MP
Video capture	1080p	1080p at 30fps
GPS	Yes	Yes
NFC	None	None
Bluetooth	v4.0	v4.0
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 800, 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA: 800, 850, 900, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A: 800, 1900	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1900 LTE: 1, 3, 13, 25
SoC	Apple A5	Apple A6
CPU	1 GHz	1.3 GHz dual-core
GPU	PowerVR SGX543MP2	PowerVR SGX543MP3
RAM	512MB	1GB
WiFi	802.11b/g/n (2.4 GHz)	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n
Operating system	iOS 5	iOS 6
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, 30-pin connector	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector

iPhone 5s (2013)

As usual, Apple largely left the iPhone 5’s design alone when it built the iPhone 5s in 2013. Its home button looked a little different though — it lost the trademark squircle and gained a shiny metal ring instead. That signified the inclusion of Touch ID, Apple’s first fingerprint sensor, for unlocking the phone and authenticating iTunes purchases. Oh, and it was hard to miss the new gold and slate gray color options, the first changes to Apple’s hardware palette since white iPhones hit the scene years earlier.

The rest of the 5s’s hardware changes are harder to see: The faster A7 chipset inside was the first 64-bit sliver of silicon in an Apple smartphone, and next to it was a new motion coprocessor called the M7 to help manage data from the phone’s myriad sensors. The 8-megapixel camera was updated with larger pixels and a larger aperture, too, though people were more likely to notice how the camera could record video slow-motion footage at up to 120 frames per second.

The iPhone 5s’s software, meanwhile, looked hardly anything like the versions that came before it. iOS 7 traded Apple’s classic skeuomorphic design elements for a flatter, cleaner aesthetic that persists to this day. Beyond that, iOS 7 saw the addition quick settings shortcuts in the Control Center, as well as a revamped Notification Center and AirDrop for rapidly off-loading files from iOS devices.

iPhone 5c (2013)

When Apple launched the iPhone 5c alongside the 5s, it effectively drove a nail into the iPhone 5’s coffin. Reports suggested that Apple whipped up this model to keep costs down — the colorful polycarbonate bodies were less expensive to manufacture at scale than carefully chamfered aluminum.

Aside from this major cosmetic change, the 5c is essentially the same phone as the standard 5, from the A6 chipset to the screen. The camera assembly was tweaked somewhat and the 5c supported more LTE bands, but the real reasons to own this phone were its modest price tag and its five color options. Popular perception of the 5c was that it was a flop, but it went on to sell more than 24 million units in its time on the market. It wasn’t quite the loser people expected, and it’s not hard to see how the 5c influenced devices like the iPhone SE.

Pricing	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$99, $199 (on contract) $549, $649 (off contract)
Dimensions	123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches)	123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches)	124.4 x 59.2 x 8.97mm (4.9 x 2.33 x 0.35 inches)
Weight	112g (3.95 ounces)	112g (3.95 ounces)	132g (4.66 ounces)
Screen size	4 inches (101.6mm)	4 inches (101.6mm)	4 inches (101.6mm)
Screen resolution	1,136 x 640 (326ppi)	1,136 x 640 (326ppi)	1,136 x 640 (326ppi)
Screen type	Retina IPS LCD	Retina IPS LCD	Retina IPS LCD
Battery	1,440mAh	1,560mAh	1,510mAh
Storage	16 / 32 / 64GB	16 / 32 / 64GB	16 / 32GB (8GB released 2014)
Rear camera	8MP iSight, f/2.4	8MP iSight, f/2.2	8MP iSight, f/2.4
Front-facing cam	1.2MP	1.2MP	1.2MP
Video capture	1080p at 30fps	1080p at 30fps	1080p at 30fps
GPS	Yes	Yes	Yes
NFC	None	None	None
Bluetooth	v4.0	v4.0	v4.0
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1900 LTE: 1, 3, 13, 25	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1900 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25 (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1900 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25 (bands vary by model)
SoC	Apple A6	Apple A7	Apple A6
CPU	1.3 GHz dual-core	1.3 GHz dual-core	1.3 GHz dual-core
GPU	PowerVR SGX543MP3	PowerVR G6430	PowerVR SGX543MP3
RAM	1GB	1GB	1GB
WiFi	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n
Operating system	iOS 6	iOS 7	iOS 7
Ports

iPhone 6/Plus (2014)

Beset by the popularity of big Android phones, Apple launched two new, larger iPhones in September 2014: the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. The former featured a 4.7-inch display with a 1,334 x 750 resolution, while the super-sized Plus model instead used a 5.5-inch screen running at 1080p. Apple aficionados had long suspected the company would split its most important product line up like this, and many welcomed the seemingly overdue change. Unsurprisingly, the smaller of the two iPhones was easier to hold and use for long periods of time — the larger Plus model could be difficult to grip compared to its big-screened contemporaries.

The design modifications didn’t end there, either. If the iPhone 5-series looked like sleek slabs, the 6 and 6 Plus were rounder and friendlier in a way that evoked Apple’s first phones. Since both devices were notably longer than the iPhones that came before them, Apple moved the power button to the devices’ right edges for easier access and trimmed a few fractions of a millimeter to make both versions of the iPhone 6 slimmer than the iPhone 5s. Apple’s focus on crafting trim bodies took its toll, though: Both versions of the phone were supposedly susceptible to bending under pressure. Apple only received a handful of reports about bent units in the wild, but no matter: Bendgate became a thing regardless.

Inside, both devices were nearly identical. Each sported improved A8 chipsets and 1GB of RAM, and Apple chose this year to drop the 32GB storage option in favor of a more spacious mid-range choice. While the most basic iPhone 6 and 6 Plus still came with 16GB of storage, customers could step into 64GB and 128GB for $100 and $200 extra, respectively. Naturally, both phones shipped with iOS 8, which added third-party keyboard support, cross-platform features like Continuity and a handful of new health-focused features. With so much crossover when it came to performance and software, most would-be iPhone owners made their choice based on size.

Of course, that isn’t to say that size is the only area where these phones differed. Both phones packed updated 8-megapixel rear cameras, but only the Plus’s shooter came with optical image stabilization (another first for iPhones). And while both phones used what Apple called “Retina HD” displays, the higher pixel density found on the bigger display meant text and images appeared crisper.

Pricing	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$299, $399, $499 (on contract) $749, $849, $949 (off-contract)
Dimensions	123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches)	138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 inches)	158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches)
Weight	112g (3.95 ounces)	129g (4.55 ounces)	192g (6.77 ounces)
Screen size	4 inches (101.6mm)	4.7 inches (119.38mm)	5.5 inches (139.7mm)
Screen resolution	1,136 x 640 (326ppi)	1,334 x 750 (326ppi)	1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)
Screen type	Retina IPS LCD	Retina HD, IPS LCD	Retina HD, IPS LCD
Battery	1,560mAh	1,810mAh	2,750mAh
Storage	16 / 32/ 64GB	16 / 64 / 128GB	16 / 64 / 128GB
Rear camera	8MP iSight, f/2.2	8MP iSight, f/2.2	12MP iSight, f/2.2
Front-facing cam	1.2MP	1.2MP, f/2.2	5MP FaceTime HD, f/2.2
Video capture	1080p at 30fps	1080p	4K at 30fps
GPS	Yes	Yes	Yes
NFC	None	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	v4.0	v4.0	v4.2
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1900 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25 (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)
SoC	Apple A7	Apple A8	Apple A9
CPU	1.3 GHz dual-core	1.4 GHz dual-core	1.8GHz dual-core
GPU	PowerVR G6430	PowerVR GX6450	PowerVR GT7600
RAM	1GB	1GB	2GB
WiFi	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Operating system	iOS 7	iOS 8	iOS 9
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector

iPhone 6s/Plus (2015)

By the time the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus rolled around in 2015, Apple’s tick-tock update cadence was well understood. It was no surprise, then, that both would use the improved A9 chipset with 2GB of RAM and look exactly like the models that came before them. Thankfully, Apple didn’t just carry over the original iPhone 6 and 6 Plus bodies — the 6s and 6s Plus were reinforced to prevent the possibility of bending under pressure (it definitely didn’t need another Bendgate-level debacle to deal with). This was also the year Apple added rose gold to its list of standard phone finishes, and we haven’t been able to escape it since.

Apple also ditched its stockpile of 8-megapixel sensors and instead built 12-megapixel cameras into the 6s and 6s Plus. The added resolution was a welcome touch, and so was the ability to record video in 4K — after all, Android phones had been able to shoot at this super-high quality for some time. Also new to the photographic fold: Live Photos, which sprung to life as you swiped through your camera roll. The marquee feature this time was 3D Touch, which took advantage of the 6s’s new pressure-sensitive screens to offer users shortcuts and context with a forceful press. In its early days, the feature didn’t always feel that useful, but seeing a company implement a novel new way for us to interact with our smartphones without too many hiccups was impressive nonetheless.

As was often the case with S-series iPhones, software provided much of the excitement. The 6s and 6s Plus shipped with iOS 9 onboard, and with it came a smarter, more contextually aware version of Siri and a whole new portal for Apple’s News. Search was dramatically improved too, as it could peer directly into apps installed on the 6s and 6s Plus, and Apple’s Maps finally started to understand how the subway worked. While the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were huge sellers, the 6s and 6s Plus were proof that biennial refreshes didn’t need to be dull.

iPhone SE (2015)

Apple faced a bit of a conundrum after launching two bigger smartphones — what would it do for people who still liked compact devices? The answer was straightforward: The company essentially took the guts of the iPhone 6s and squeezed them into an iPhone 5s’s body.

That didn’t sound like it would work very well, but to our surprise, the iPhone SE was a remarkably capable little machine for small phone fans. The A9 provided excellent performance, and battery life was generally impressive, but our biggest gripe had to do with the limited storage options available at launch. Originally, Apple produced the SEs with either 16 or 64GB of internal storage; It has since shifted to selling 32GB and 128GB models instead.

Pricing	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$299, $399, $499 (on contract) $749, $849, $949 (off contract)	$299, $399, $499 (on contract) $749, $849, $949 (off contract)
Dimensions	138.1 x 67 x 6.9mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 inches)	138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 inches)	158.1 x 77.8 x 7.1mm (6.22 x 3.06 x 0.28 inches)	158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches)
Weight	129g (4.55 ounces)	143g (5.04 ounces)	172g (6.07 ounces)	192g (6.77 ounces)
Screen size	4.7 inches (119.38mm)	4.7 inches (119.38mm)	5.5 inches (139.7mm)	5.5 inches (139.7mm)
Screen resolution	1,334 x 750 (326ppi)	1,334 x 750 (326ppi)	1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)	1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)
Screen type	Retina HD, IPS LCD	Retina HD, IPS LCD	Retina HD, IPS LCD	Retina HD, IPS LCD
Battery	1,810mAh	1,715mAh	2,750mAh	2,750mAh
Storage	16 / 64 / 128GB	16 / 64 / 128GB	16 / 64 / 128GB	16 / 64 / 128GB
Rear camera	8MP iSight, f/2.2	12MP iSight, f/2.2	8MP iSight, f/2.2	8MP iSight, f/2.2
Front camera	1.2MP, f/2.2	5MP FaceTime HD, f/2.2	1.2MP, f/2.2	5MP FaceTime HD, f/2.2
Video capture	1080p	4K at 30fps	1080p	4K at 30fps
GPS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
NFC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	v4.0	v4.2	v4.0	v4.2
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)
SoC	Apple A8	Apple A9	Apple A8	Apple A9
CPU	1.4 GHz dual-core	1.8GHz dual-core	1.4 GHz dual-core	1.8GHz dual-core
GPU	PowerVR GX6450	PowerVR GT7600	PowerVR GX6450	PowerVR GT7600
RAM	1GB	2GB	1GB	2GB
WiFi	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac	Dual-band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac	Dual-band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Operating system	iOS 8	iOS 9	iOS 8	iOS 9
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector

iPhone 7/Plus (2016)

Well, this was unexpected. Up until 2016, Apple had only ever kept the same design for two generations of smartphones. With the launch of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple once again kept the iPhone 6’s design language alive, albeit with several few tweaks.

Where to start? Well, neither version of the 7 featured a headphone jack, a move Apple’s Phil Schiller hilariously chalked up to “courage” during the company’s press conference. The physical home button was also replaced with a capacitive button that haptically vibrated when pressed. IP67 water and dust resistance was added, too — a first for iPhones, though Android devices had touted superior water resistance for years. Oh, and Apple added a Product (RED) model and a glossy, Jet Black finish option to its roster. That’s a lot of updates, and that doesn’t even factor in the changes in performance. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus used Apple’s A10 Fusion chipset, a quad-core affair paired with either 2 or 3GB of RAM.

As always, the 7 and 7 Plus were more alike than not, and the most notable difference between the two was in their cameras. The 7 got a perfectly respectable 12-megapixel rear camera with a quad-LED flash and optical image stabilization — quite an upgrade over the prior year’s shooter. The 7 Plus, meanwhile, was fitted with a more impressive dual-camera array that allowed users to optically zoom in and out and add bokeh to the background of a photo in a Portrait Mode released later. This, along with a bigger battery and the inclusion of a little extra RAM, made the larger iPhone a more compelling option than it had ever been before.

Pricing	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$199, $299, $399 (on contract) $649, $749, $849 (off contract)	$299, $399, $499 (on contract) $749, $849, $949 (off contract)	$299, $399, $499 (on contract) $749, $849, $949 (off contract)
Dimensions	138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 inches)	138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 inches)	158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches)	158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 inches)
Weight	143g (5.04 ounces)	138g (4.87 ounces)	192g (6.77 ounces)	188g (6.63 ounces)
Screen size	4.7 inches (119.38mm)	4.7 inches (119.38mm)	5.5 inches (139.7mm)	5.5 inches (139.7mm)
Screen resolution	1,334 x 750 (326ppi)	1,334 x 750 (326 ppi)	1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)	1,920 x 1,080 (401 ppi)
Screen type	Retina HD, IPS LCD	Retina HD, IPS LCD	Retina HD, IPS LCD	Retina HD, IPS LCD
Battery	1,715mAh	1,960mAh	2,750mAh	2,900mAh
Storage	16 / 64 / 128GB	32 / 128 / 256GB	16 / 64 / 128GB	32 / 128 / 256GB
Rear camera	12MP iSight, f/2.2	12MP, f/1.8	12MP iSight, f/2.2, 1.22µm pixel size	Dual cameras, 12MP, f/1.8 and f/2.8
Front camera	5MP, f/2.2	7MP, f/2.2	5MP, f/2.2	7MP, f/2.2
Video capture	4K at 30fps	4K at 30fps	4K at 30fps	4K at 30fps
GPS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
NFC	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth	v4.2	v4.2	v4.2	v4.2
Radios	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 FDD-LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)	GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 UMTS/HSDPA+/DC-HSDPA: 850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B: 800, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 FDD-LTE: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 TD-LTE: 38, 39, 40, 41 TD-SCDMA: 1900 (F), 2000 (A) (bands vary by model)
SoC	Apple A9	Apple A10 Fusion	Apple A9	Apple A10 Fusion
CPU	1.8GHz dual-core	2.34GHz quad-core	1.8GHz dual-core	2.34GHz quad-core
GPU	PowerVR GT7600	PowerVR Series 7XT GT7600 Plus	PowerVR GT7600	PowerVR Series 7XT GT7600 Plus
RAM	2GB	2GB	2GB	2GB
WiFi	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac	Dual band, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Operating system	iOS 9	iOS 10	iOS 9	iOS 10
Ports	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector	Lightning connector	3.5mm headphone jack, Lightning connector	Lightning connector

Image credits: Justin14 (iPhone 3G render); Apple.

ARKit artist transforms the world into a Cubist nightmare

Every new form of technology gets re-purposed for art and nobody is doing that better with augmented reality right now than educator and “code poetry” researcher Zach Lieberman. In a recent experiment called “exploded camera,” he used Apple’s augmented reality framework ARKit to map objects and textures in a room. “I kept thinking about ways of pushing it in different directions,” he told Engadget. “The idea was that the image would look fine from one vantage point, but as you rotate the camera, you’d see the pieces floating in space.”

The technique reminds his Instagram fans of Cubism, but ARKit’s sensor and camera capabilities take it in another direction. At first you believe you’re looking at a 3D plant, but when the camera pushes in, it turns into a bunch of 2D planes stacked to look like a plant. “This threshold of perception seems interesting,” Lieberman notes. “I am really fascinated with how we can create images that look fine from one direction but totally broken from another.”

It’s also an apt metaphor about how we’re fooled by pop culture: Popular comic-based and other VFX-heavy movies, for example, simulate realism by adding animated characters, crowds and dramatic backgrounds in 2D layers. With the VFX breakdown of a film like Logan, however, the illusion is destroyed when each element is seen in isolation.

More exploded camera – fixed some depth issues. #openframeworks

A post shared by zach lieberman (@zach.lieberman) on Sep 1, 2017 at 6:33pm PDT

Virtual and augmented reality are themselves forms of trickery, messing with your depth and visual cues to create the illusion of virtual objects inside of reality. Lieberman’s “exploded pictures” deconstructs that, while enhancing it in another mind-bending project that leaves a trail of 3D audio waveforms through am iPhone-shot video.

Apple’s ARKit, which we’ll likely get a good look at during its big iPhone X reveal, uses something called SLAM, or simultaneous localization and mapping. In effect, it controls the iPhone’s sensors and camera to map a room’s boundaries and objects, while determining exactly where it is. Developers can then insert game characters and other virtual objects, much as Microsoft does with Hololens.

Lieberman’s technique is nearly seamless, except for when the scene is first broken into elements. “I may work to thread the segmentation since the app freezes on taking the picture,” he points out. However, the roughness is part of what makes it fun and separates it from slick commercial projects by companies like IKEA. “I love the whimsical, ridiculous side of AR,” he adds. “I know a lot of companies and brands will explore how to use this stuff practically but artists are great for imagining different possible futures.”

Via: Prosthetic Knowledge

Source: Zack Lieberman (Instagram)

Mercedes puts Formula One tech in an electric hypercar

More and more supercars from the likes of Ferrari and Porsche are using electric motors to juice their torque. Mercedes-Benz wasn’t about to be left out and has just introduced the 1,000 horsepower AMG Project One ahead of the Frankfurt Auto Show. The vehicle was built with the cooperation of Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport Formula 1 team.

The hypercar pumps out 1,000 horsepower and has a top speed of 217 miles per hour using a turbocharged 1.6liter V6 gas engine and four electric motors. It does zero to 200 kilometers per-hour (124 miles per hour) in under six seconds (wow). But all that power does do a number on the battery. It only has an electric range of 25 kilometers (15.5 miles).

And while it looks likes the driver will be flying solo like a Formula One vehicle, it actually has room for two. Because what’s the point of a hypercar if you can’t impress your friends with it.

Source: Mercedes-Benz

Setting fire to teenage souls in ‘Life is Strange: Before the Storm’

There are plenty of reasons to be wary of Life is Strange: Before the Storm — it’s the prequel to a highly successful, influential series, but it isn’t being handled by the same development team. This time around, Deck Nine is in charge of a three-episode arc featuring two of the most mysterious characters from the full series. Even the voice actor for Chloe, the game’s main foil, has been swapped out for someone new. The circumstances are ripe for Before the Storm to become a flimsy parody of Life is Strange, full of shallow awkwardness and referential quasi-humor.

Luckily, that’s not what happened. Before the Storm slides into the Life is Strange library like butter, opening up storylines that were only hinted at in the full game. Part of this insight surely comes from Chloe’s original voice actor, (the Emmy-winning) Ashly Burch, who stayed on as a writing consultant for the prequel.

But, just because Before the Storm isn’t an embarrassment to the Life is Strange brand doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Engadget associate writer Timothy J. Seppala and senior reporter Jessica Conditt found different delights and drags in the first episode of Before the Storm, largely influenced by their own experiences as teenagers.

Spoilers for the entire Life is Strange series, including Before the Storm, reside below; you’ve been warned.

Jessica Conditt, former teenager

I’ve never related to a video game character the way I do to Chloe Price. She’s a passionate, unapologetic teenager filled with rage, but at the same time, she craves love. And, despite her propensity to piss people off, she isn’t afraid to chase that feeling when she finds it. When Chloe runs into Rachel Amber — her school’s prima donna — at a late-night concert in an abandoned mill, she’s thrust into a whirlwind of attraction, confusion, day drinking and train-hopping. She runs with her feelings, completely. Chloe contains multitudes, and in its first episode, Life is Strange: Before the Storm isn’t afraid to show the depths of her disparate sides.

But maybe that’s just how I’m playing her. Maybe one of the reasons I relate so much to Chloe (despite the fact that she’s essentially the cool kid I thought I was in high school, down to the Illuminati-branded tank top and black bra) is because I get to choose how she responds to the most important moments in the game. I get to choose what kind of love she feels for Rachel Amber and whether she plays a round of D&D with some acquaintances before class — Chloe’s story is mine to mold.

However, shaping her story would not be nearly as satisfying if the choices presented felt inauthentic to the experiences of a suburban teenage girl. This is where developer Deck Nine hits gold — in shaping Chloe’s attitude, internal monologue and actions, they’ve built a truly believable person. A relatable one, even.

Tim, I’m curious how you feel playing Chloe, without the baggage of actually having been an angry, mosh-pit-diving teenage girl yourself.

Timothy J. Seppala, former teenager

Well, I was more of a mosh-pit-avoiding guy because I wear glasses and was going to Slipknot and Slayer shows in high school, but I digress. When I started the game, I was thrown off a bit by how awkward everything felt. The way Deck Nine wrote Chloe in the first half just felt hollow. Hopping a gate with a “no trespassing” sign and then giving it the finger, scrawling Sharpie graffiti for her favorite band on a high school wall and somehow being $175 in arrears with her weed guy all felt like a paint-by-numbers picture of teen angst, telling rather than showing in those early moments.

Let’s be real though: The first game was awkward too, especially in its opening moments with Max reciting dialogue about DSLRs and plasma TVs. But it was an adorable sort of awkward. Here it felt like a cringey type of awkward. Max and Chloe aren’t the same person, however. The former is meek and mild, and as you said, Chloe is a badass.

Maybe it’s because I tried not getting in trouble with my parents on a regular basis, but Chloe’s heated interactions with hers didn’t feel genuine or believable either. So, I made amends with her mom (while speaking my mind about her boyfriend) and offered an olive branch to said boyfriend on the ride to Blackwell. That’s when Chole started to feel more genuine.

Further empathy came when I was guiding her around her living room and I stumbled upon a wilted plant. Her only job around the house was to water the plant, and she wistfully recalls that it was her dad’s job to remind her to do it. After her dad died, she forgot and it started to shrivel. I was really young when my grandma passed and as such, the plant I brought home from the funeral perished in short order because I forgot to water it for a week. To this day I feel awful if one of my houseplants dies.

The relationship between Chloe and Rachel didn’t feel like something real until I hopped in a northbound boxcar. Did you notice any sort of clear dividing line, or was that just me?

Jessica Conditt

All teenagers are hollow, banal shells of the humans they might one day become.

OK, that’s not 100 percent true, but I stand by the sentiment — I actually found those cliche moments of teenage angst to be charming, but only because being a teenager is inherently cliche. Flipping off a “no trespassing” sign may not be the most innovative move, but it’s also something a self-proclaimed teenage dirtbag would definitely do. Or maybe it’s just something I would have done (or, did) when I was a teenager. Maybe I’m a cliche, Tim, and you just called me out for the entire internet to see. Thanks, friend.

I didn’t feel the dividing line you’re talking about, but I definitely enjoyed the second half of the episode, once the tense dynamic between Chloe and Rachel Amber really took off. One of my favorite aspects of this first installment is the amount of breathing room Deck Nine gives players, and this really hits home the first time Chloe steps onto the grounds of Blackwell Academy.

As in the original Life is Strange series, Before the Storm incorporates optional moments of contemplation, where Chloe can simply sit on a box, on a bench, in front of a fire pit, and think about her place in the world. This is where Chloe comes alive, for me — her attitude is reactionary and brash, but her internal monologue is thoughtful and introspective. The camera pans around her as she stills, thinking about her mother, Rachel Amber, her father, herself or her best friend, Max, who’s suddenly disappeared from her life.

Not everyone will take advantage of these scenes, which I think is fitting. These are personal, quiet moments that most emotionally fueled teenagers would attempt to hide from the rest of the world, after all. But that’s not where the breathing room ends — Before the Storm invites players to exist in its environments, simply exploring the scenery and talking to people. And that D&D game I mentioned earlier? It’s one of my favorite scenes, but it’s completely optional. If you choose to play, Chloe sits at an outside table with two of her classmates. There’s no music, and nothing else to distract from the game-within-a-game. Wind rustles the trees. It’s immensely peaceful.

Timothy J. Seppala

I really liked those moments of quiet reflection. A ton. Chloe sitting on a crate silently pondering life while a “stay off the stage” sign hangs in the foreground said more to me about her rebellious streak than an argument about spark plugs with her mom’s new boyfriend did. Speaking of squabbles, I want to talk about Storm’s gamey new “Backtalk” conversation system where you can try your hand at winning one by using guile.

Whether the end result was sassing my way into the aforementioned sawmill concert or stealing a bottle of wine from some picnickers, I’m not sure I liked how I got to the end point. Listening for the “right” clues and then picking the dialogue options that they correlated to to advance the conversation felt a little too gamey for me. I love branching dialogue systems in games, but here, I felt forced and constricted. Picking the wrong option meant the segment would end, versus changing and adapting to my response. It kind of killed any sense of experimentation for me, which is the exact opposite of what the first game’s time-rewind mechanic did.

Did you like it? Also, we’ve been dancing around it for a bit now, but we need to talk about that fire. Given that this story is only three episodes long, I was wondering how long it’d take for shit to get real, and man, I did not expect Rachel cathartically burning a photo of her dad to set Arcadia Bay’s forest ablaze. I mean, it didn’t help that she kicked over the garbage can holding the flaming photo, but I didn’t expect the fire to grow how it did. But that’s fire for you.

Jessica Conditt

Arcadia Bay is basically Gotham — it’s always in danger of absolute destruction. I actually enjoyed the Backtalk mechanic and the fact that you could “lose” the conversation at any moment. The game itself leans so heavily on traditional branching-dialogue systems that I thought it was a thrill to up the stakes. And, honestly, I think I only lost one of the conversations.

The first Life is Strange didn’t need Backtalk because the time-control mechanics naturally infused action into the game. Without time travel, I think Backtalk works just fine in Before the Storm.

But, yes, let’s talk about that fire. It’s a dramatic way to end the first episode, but I think Deck Nine did a good job of leading players to such an explosive point. Chloe loses her goddamn mind in the junkyard (and it feels so, so cathartic), and then she confronts Rachel Amber, the physical embodiment of her demons and desires, about her fickle behavior over the past 24 hours. The conversation is fervent and revelatory, and it builds into a crescendo that can only be visualized by a massive wildfire. By the time the flames have consumed the tree, it looks like Rachel Amber’s misery is literally feeding the fire, helping it grow. That kind of supernatural teenage power is par for the course, for Arcadia Bay.

Maybe I’ve read so many young-adult fantasy books that my tolerance for melodrama is higher than most, but the fire feels right to me. Plus, it sets up the next two episodes nicely — there’s now a physical threat burning beneath Chloe and Rachel Amber’s relationship, potentially forcing them into intense situations. Since this is a prequel, we know how it ends — but with just three episodes to tell a profoundly emotional story, the fire can serve as fuel for more action, thrills and deeper conversations.

I think the most satisfying way to play Before the Storm is to really lean into Chloe’s pissed-off, devil-may-care outlook on life. Fight with her wannabe step-dad and revel in his disgust; use her devious cunning to outsmart the principal; tell Rachel Amber how Chloe really feels about her behavior and watch as their conversation sets fire to the city. This is exactly how I remember feeling as a teenager — as if my emotions could burn down the world. I’m excited to see what happens when they do just that.

Equifax’s data breach response has its own security flaw

The Equifax data breach is already unnerving thanks to the sheer scale of sensitive data involved, but it’s not helped by the credit reporting agency’s initial response. Clients have discovered that the PIN codes Equifax is handing out to help lock your credit report (so a thief can’t open a line of credit in your name) are generated by the date and time you made the request. An attacker could determine your code simply through brute force, especially if they have an idea as to when you locked your report.

For its part, Equifax is improving its approach relatively quickly. The company tells Ars Technica that it’s moving to a randomized PIN generation system within a day of this writing (no later than September 12th), and that you can always change your existing PIN. We’ve asked the company for more details as well. However, it’s safe to say that the security flaw is more than a little embarrassing for Equifax. Right now, the company is scrambling to limit the damage to 143 million Americans — the last thing it needs is to create another opportunity for identity theft.

OMG, Equifax security freeze PINs are worse than I thought. If you froze your credit today 2:15pm ET for example, you’d get PIN 0908171415.

— Tony Webster (@webster) September 9, 2017

Via: Ars Technica

Source: Tony Webster (Twitter)

Volkswagen wants 300 EV models by 2030

Volkswagen announced today that it will spend over $24 billion producing electric vehicles by 2030 and will have a zero emissions version of each of its models, just like Mercedes-Benz. While it’s only the latest automaker to jump on the EV bandwagon, VW’s likely investing so much to get out from under the shadow of its diesel scandal.

As part of its bolder investment, VW set a goal of 80 new electric vehicles across all its brands by 2025 (previously, they aspired to put out 30 EVs). Further, the company wants to offer an electric version of each of its existing 300 models by 2030.

Other automakers have been aggressively committing to electric vehicles, with Volvo and Aston Martin both committing to abandon gas-only vehicles by the next decade. So Volkswagen has a competitive reason to keep up with the auto industry’s push toward EVs — as well as national bans on fossil fuel-powered vehicles in France, the UK and China.

But the company is also trying to move beyond its diesel emissions fiasco, which remains topical after a VW engineer got sentenced to 40 months in prison for his part in the scandal. The $15 billion settlement of the case stipulated more investment in electric vehicle infrastructure, which the company already started acting on with a $300 million commitment last April to build charging stations (and robots to plug in your car for you). VW’s already started teasing its next new EV models and plans to bring the ID Buzz from concept to consumer-ready throwback minibus by 2022.

Source: Reuters