Watch Apple’s iPhone 7 event in 15 minutes
Today’s Apple event was jam packed with new gear, new features and more. If you missed any of the details on the new iPhone 7 and 7s, including all of the info on the new camera tech, we’ve got a quick recap for you. Catch up on all of today’s announcements from the stage in just 15 minutes. We’ve done all of the hard work, so if you don’t have time to re-watch the two-hour event, you can still get the low down on Apple Watch Series 2, AirPods and more.
Click here to catch all the latest news from the Apple’s “See You” event.
Apple drops iPad prices while bumping up the storage
While Tim Cook and Co. didn’t make any iPad announcements on stage earlier, Apple’s tablet range did get a few changes today. Like the iPhone line, Apple is bumping the minimum storage to 32GB across the board and keeping the same price as the previous 16GB models. The iPad Pros now top out at 256GB of storage, but you’ll actually be paying less per gigabyte than in the past.
Things get a little more complicated, depending on which model you’re looking for, however: The iPad mini 2 now only comes in a 32GB size for $269 or $399, depending on whether you go WiFi or cellular. The WiFi-only models of iPad Air 2 and the iPad mini 4 now cost $399 for 32GB or $499 for 128GB, but those are your only storage options. (For reference, an iPad mini 4 with 128GB was $599 at launch.)
On those iPad Pros, Apple has actually dropped the price on each storage option. Now, the high-end 12.9-inch, 256GB WiFi version will run you $999, down from $1099 previously. Same goes for the 9.7 inch model, which got a $50 price cut on the middle tier and $100 less expensive on the 256GB.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Apple’s “See You” event.
Via: MacRumors
Source: Apple
After Math: iPhone 7 edition
The newest iPhone is out, well all of it except for the headphone jack. But that’s not all that Apple announced during its press conference in San Francisco this morning. The company also showed off its new Apple Watch, boasted about its wildly popular App Store and Music service, explained the 7’s dual camera system and debuted some fancy new wireless earbuds. Numbers because how else will you know how much it’ll cost to replace those AirBuds you’ve already lost?
Snapchat considers offering public stock
Snapchat is growing fast, which means that it will need more money… and it may be taking the steps it needs to bring in that extra cash. The Information’s sources claim that Snapchat is talking to investment banks about the possibility of an initial public stock offering either in late 2016 or early 2017. It’s not certain what share price Snapchat would set, but it reportedly wouldn’t value its overall worth at significantly more than the $16 billion it does now.
The company isn’t confirming or denying the apparent leak. A spokesperson only says that an IPO would hinge on a “variety of factors,” including some that are “beyond our control.” Chief exec Evan Spiegel has publicly maintained that the company “need[s] to IPO,” though, so it’s more a matter of when Snapchat sells shares than if. It certainly wants to avoid the mess that was Facebook’s IPO, where the share price didn’t pop and many investors felt burned.
And while you’re not necessarily going to invest in Snapchat yourself, an IPO could have a tremendous effect on how the service behaves. Public companies are under much more pressure to turn a profit, and that means both cutting money-losing features as well as finding more ways to earn some coin (just ask Twitter if you have any doubts). Your favorite feature might vanish, or you could see more ads than you did before. To some extent, Snapchat is already preparing itself — it appears to be dropping Local Stories, and it’s introducing behaviorally-targeted ads. While the core messaging and video story features are very likely to stay, don’t be surprised if many other elements change in the months ahead.
Source: The Information
Nintendo loses a little piece of its identity with ‘Super Mario Run’
Today, Nintendo announced Super Mario is going mobile — Super Mario Run will launch on iOS and Android before the end of the year. We knew the company was making more content for smartphones, but for long-time Nintendo fans, this announcement still feels like a shock. For years, Satoru Iwata rallied hard against bringing Nintendo characters to the small screen. “If we did this,” he said in 2011, “Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo.” The company’s leader was adamant: putting Mario on mobile would make good short-term profits, but would ultimately devalue the property. Now that it’s here, we have to wonder — is Nintendo still Nintendo?
The answer to that question might lie in Nintendo’s motivation in taking Mario to iOS. At the 2011 Game Developers Conference, Iwata described Nintendo as a company that makes “platforms designed to demonstrate the high value of high-quality video game software.” Like the seal on your old NES cartridge says, Nintendo means quality. Can that quality persist on a mobile device? At the time, Iwata didn’t think so. “These platforms have no motivation to maintain the high value of video game software.”
On the other hand, innovation is core to Nintendo’s identity. Last year, Iwata told TIME that company’s philosophy is rooted in being unique and different. “That philosophy has been passed down to us,” he said. “For us to be able to do something unique that is different from others, being able to design the hardware in order to create unique software experiences gives us the best option.”
He was reaffirming the company’s focus on building dedicated console hardware — but in almost the same breath he praised smartphones as a platform for innovation, describing the mobile market as an opportunity to bridge the gap between casual gamers and Nintendo’s dedicated game console. Again, the idea was focused on high-quality, innovative games “We will be able to deliver unique experiences to the users of smart devices,” he concluded.
So, let’s recap: Nintendo is quality. Nintendo is innovation. Will Super Mario Run hold enough value in either to keep Nintendo… Nintendo? Without actually playing the unreleased game it’s hard to tell for sure, but at a glance, it fails on at least one count — innovation. Super Mario Run looks fun. It looks well made. It has good graphics and might have some fun hooks to keep players interested. Buyers even get the whole game at once: Nintendo hasn’t priced it yet, but says there are no in-app purchases to nickle and dime you. Sadly, none of that is innovative. Super Mario Run is essentially an perpetual runner game — a title where the main character always moves forward, no matter what. There are hundreds of those.
This puts Mario in good mobile company, but it makes Nintendo’s biggest property a me-too game. Games like Canabalt, Temple Run, Subway Surfers and Jetpack Joyride have already saturated the mobile market with high quality runner experiences. Even Mario’s long-time rival has one: Sonic Dash. Mario’s running down a road well travelled.
We could give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt and assume Super Mario Run will be a high-quality representation of a well tread genre — but it’s hard to tell how innovative it really is. Nintendo says players will be able to change Mario’s direction and perform other movements by hitting special blocks, and i’s levels certainly look more complicated than what you get in your average procedurally generated endless runner title. It’s possible the company could be preparing to launch the magnum opus of running games — the best possible use of the genre. That would be at least a little innovative, if a little less so than we’re used to from Nintendo.
Caption Contest: Tim Cook shows Maddie Ziegler the iPhone 7
Apple unveiled its newest iPhone in San Francisco today and, despite some backlash over its “courageous” stand in removing the handset’s conventional headphone jack, the iPhone 7 seemed well-received by the crowd. Among those in attendance, Maddie Ziegler, Sia’s dancer/mini-doppelganger. After the keynote, Apple CEO Tim Cook showed off some of the phone’s new features, but what was on the screen that has Ziegler so entranced?
Well, that’s for them to know and you to make up because it’s time to play Caption Contest! The rules are simple: Tweet us (@engadget) with the hashtag #EngadgetCaptionContest whatever funny, weird or oddball idea you think they’re talking about and we’ll retweet the best submissions as well as add them to this post. You’ll be internet famous! Unless, of course, you decide to act like a major hoser and engage in personal attacks or lascivious conduct, in which case we’ll mute/ban/ruthlessly mock you. Here are some suggestions by our staff to get your creative juices flowing.
Aaron Souppouris: “We actually have a headphone port we just covered it up for kicks”
Andrew Tarantola: “Here you can see the precise moment that Harambe was assassinated. Back, and to the left. Back, and to the left.”
Nathan Ingraham: “That PS4 Pro footage looks DOPE!”
Roberto Baldwin: “See, we have a money vault just like Scrooge McDuck”
Cherlynn Low: “That’s where we kept Craig Federighi and his hair today”
Terrence O’Brien: “Here’s ones of me and Bono, and here I am with Ryan Tedder, and here’s one of me in a car with Pharrell and James Corden, oh and did I tell you about the time I met…”
Richard Lawler: “…and with this button I can put a U2 album on any iPhone”
Kris Naudus: “And this is what Nintendo stock looks like today”
Jessica Conditt: “Let me show you how messaging works by opening this text I just got from Anthony Weiner”
The new Apple Watch mostly looks like the old one
There are two ways to let the world know you have the next-gen Apple Watch, the Series 2, and not the original which came out last year. You could buy the new Nike-branded one, but well, that probably won’t go with your work outfit. Or you could take it for a swim: The new version is fully waterproof up to 50 meters, whereas the original was merely splashproof. Otherwise, the new version looks a lot like the old one, complete with the same two screen sizes and support for the same wristbands. The screen is brighter, sure, and the watch is also now offered in a durable white ceramic that doesn’t look quite like the aluminum and stainless steel versions that came before it. With these few exceptions, though, it’s the performance that makes this a different watch.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Apple’s “See You” event.
Instagram will take advantage of your iPhone 7’s camera
You won’t have to wait long to find apps that take advantage of the iPhone 7’s upgraded camera system. Instagram has revealed that an updated version of its iOS app will take and share photos using the wider color range captured by the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus’ image sensors. You should see more vivid colors than you’d get from a phone taking photos in the usual sRGB color gamut. Instagram’s update will arrive sometime later this year.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Apple’s “See You” event.
Apple unveils its quad-core A10 Fusion chip
You know how this works: Another iPhone, another entry in Apple’s mobile processor lineup. The company just unveiled the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which are powered by its new A10 Fusion mobile processor. While last year’s A9 was an astounding 70 percent faster than its predecessor, the gains this time are less about speed and more about efficiency. The A10 Fusion is just 40 percent faster than the A9 on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but packs two sets of dual-cores that are designed to handle specific tasks better.
Two of the cores are what Apple calls “high-performance,” which likely handle more intensive tasks such as video editing and gaming. The other two are “high-efficiency,” and perform their duties at a fifth of the power the other pair does. An Apple-designed performance controller decides which cores should execute specific processes.
This new system should also translate to better endurance, which Apple predictably describes as the “longest battery life ever in an iPhone.” According to Apple exec Phil Schiller, The iPhone 7 lasts two hours more than the iPhone 6s.
As it does every year, the Cupertino promised that the new processors will deliver seriously improved performance both on day-to-day and graphics-heavy tasks. We’ll wait till we get the new iPhones in for testing to see for ourselves, so stay tuned for the full review.
Click here to catch all the latest news from the Apple’s “See You” event.
Devindra Hardawar contributed to this report.
Apple rolls out new Beats headphones with AirPod tech built-in
Apple just confirmed it’s ditching the old headphone jack, and also rolling out upgraded wireless headphones called AirPods. Naturally, its Beats brand is getting in the game, announcing headphones with the same W1 chip inside and slick wireless capabilities when used with an iPhone 7. All three models announced today include Class 1 Bluetooth to work across all kinds of media sources and some form of Fast Fuel charging. On the new BeatsX earphones, that means a promised 2 hours playback based on just five minutes of charging via Lightning cable, or eight hours on a full charge. They’ll be available this fall in black or white for $150.
Click here to catch all the latest news from Apple’s “See You” event.
Otherwise, there are newly enhanced Solo3 Wireless cups and Powerbeats3 wireless earphones. The Powerbeats3 Wireless promise an improved fit, plus an hour of playback after 5 minutes of charging via microUSB, or 12 hours from a full charge, at a price of $200 when they arrive this fall.
The Beats Solo3 Wireless can apparently run for up to 40 hours on a full charge thanks to the W1 chip, and play for three hours after five minutes of charging via microUSB. Preorders for those start today, at a price of $300. For more info check out the website here, or video previews of the new audio devices below.
Source: Beats
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