MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Sena Snap-On Wallet for iPhone 7 or 7 Plus

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with Sena to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win one of the company’s Snap-On Wallet cases for the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7 Plus.

Priced at $49.95, the Snap-On Wallet is a thin high-quality leather case that’s wrapped around a flexible DuroFlex frame to protect the iPhone while also offering two slots that can house credit cards or a driver’s license. It’s Sena’s thinnest, most minimal wallet case.

The Snap-On Wallet is made from full-grain leather and comes in five rich colors: Gray, Toffee, Cognac, Black and Denim. It includes precision cutouts that leave all ports accessible, plus button covers for the volume and power buttons.

Inside the Snap-On Wallet is a herringbone lining that keeps the iPhone safe from scratches and there’s a lip around the front that protects the display when it’s placed face down on a surface.

Sena is providing 10 Snap-On Wallet cases to MacRumors readers, for either the iPhone 7 or the iPhone 7 Plus. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

a Rafflecopter giveawayDue to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (October 14) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 21. The winners will be chosen randomly on October 21 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Tags: giveaway, Sena
Discuss this article in our forums

iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black Now Widely Available at U.S. Apple Stores

Since launching nearly one month ago, the iPhone 7 Plus in Jet Black has been challenging to find at Apple Stores in the United States — until today, that is. A spot check of iStockNow reveals the popular model is now at least temporarily available at a number of Apple’s retail locations nationwide.

Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus stock as of October 14 at 11:45 a.m. Pacific Time
Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus models are currently in stock at a number of Apple Stores in several states, including major cities such as Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, and San Francisco, at the time of publication. Availability varies based on carrier, color, and storage capacity.

iStockNow uses Google Maps to visualize the real-time status of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus availability at Apple Stores in the United States and other countries, likely based on Apple’s reservation system backend. Nevertheless, placing an online reservation or calling your local store ahead of time is highly recommended.

Apple Stores with Jet Black iPhone 7 Plus availability will display a green marker upon setting search filters for that model. Clicking on an individual marker opens a window with an expanded model-by-model breakdown of availability, and the time that stock was last updated at that location.

Jet Black iPhones have faced a global shortage as the new high-gloss finish has proven challenging to manufacture. The models suffer from a low casing production yield rate of 60-70%, meaning that 30-40% of units do not pass Apple’s quality standards and must be reworked, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Apple says the high-gloss Jet Black finish is achieved through a precision nine-step anodization and polishing process.

When pre-orders began on September 9, shipping estimates for Jet Black models quickly slipped to November, but some iPhone 7 Plus models in the new color shipped sooner than expected. Apple’s current shipping estimate for Jet Black models is 6-8 weeks for both carrier-locked and newly released SIM-free models.

While in-store stock is available in the U.S. at the time this article was published, supplies will likely be depleted very quickly.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: Apple retail
Discuss this article in our forums

Macy’s Becomes First U.S. Department Store With Dedicated Apple Section

Macy’s today opened a new hub dedicated to Apple products at its flagship Herald Square store in Manhattan, becoming the first U.S. department store with a shopping area devoted to the brand, reports The Associated Press.

The store-within-a-store concept, similar to those found in Best Buy and Walmart stores, has four light wood tables featuring a wide range of Apple products, including the Apple Watch, iPhones, iPads, iMacs, and MacBooks.

“This is one of the most sought-after products,” Terry Lundgren, the outgoing CEO of Macy’s, told The Associated Press. “We really cater to women better than most retail stores do. I do think that we are going to end up creating a business that is more female-friendly.

Macy’s new Apple partnership, in the works for years, comes as the department store chain aims to reverse six straight quarters of declines for a key sales measure. Macy’s is collaborating with other brands to create a so-called mini-mall.

The dedicated Apple section, located near the main 34th Street entrance, will be densely staffed to accommodate the 35,000 to 40,000 customers, and up to 75,000 during the holidays, that visit Macy’s Herald Square location each week.

Tags: Apple retail, Macy’s
Discuss this article in our forums

Google Pixel: Why controlling both software and hardware matters

Having control of all things is an important part of the Pixel. It puts the phone’s future, as well as the future of Android itself, in Google’s hands.

The Pixel and Pixel XL are not the first phones from Google. The very first Android phone — the T-Mobile G1 was a Google phone. The Nexus One started a run of phones from Google that lasted up until the Pixel launch, where we found out that the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X were the last Nexuses. The idea of Google having phones built for one reason or another just isn’t new. But the Pixel is an entirely different strategy.

Previous phones like that G1 or Nexus 5X were sold to be the reference device so people knew what worked and what didn’t with the latest version of Android. Developers needed a phone they could test the different ways to do the things that make their apps great. When we say the Nexus phones were developer phones (which has been debatable for a while) what we mean is they are a bare-bones conduit for application developers to make their stuff work best with Android. You need things to work with the operating system before you try and make things work with the ways other companies have changed it. But the Pixel is not a reference phone.

I’m not entirely sure what Google expects developers to do when they need a platform reference to test new platform APIs and features. Maybe the Pixel brand will always incorporate them with no changes and can be used as such. That makes sense, but it’s not why the Pixel exists. The Pixel is Google trying to be a phone manufacturer. They worked with HTC (and no, we don’t know the exact details) but the phones themselves are Google’s product and design. The software is no longer that bare-bones reference flavor and has a number of features that aren’t part of Android for anyone else to use as they see fit. The Pixel is Google’s baby, for good or bad.

That means they have complete control, and that can be an important thing. Let’s look at why.

Support

Supporting a thing you sell — especially a $1,000 thing — is important. When a part goes bad or something gets broken, someone needs to be able to get it fixed and back in working order. If you break the screen on your Nexus 5X, LG will be happy to quote you a price to get it fixed. Same goes for Huawei and the Nexus 6P. But the Pixel will have Google taking care of hardware support themselves.

Support matters more when you’re making phones for the mainstream.

I doubt they will be fixing phones at desks or Fruit Smoothie stands at the Mountain View campus. They’ll probably ship it back to HTC if it needs any hardware issues taken care of. But the important part is that it’s all done on their terms instead of another company deciding when to offer support or how much to charge. This isn’t automatically a good thing. Google doesn’t have a lot of experience fielding hardware warranty issues on a large scale. But it’s theirs to do well with or screw things up.

The same goes for software support. The Pixel has a built-in support client in the settings where you can ask for help from Google if you have questions or issues. With Nexus models, they had a support channel that started with a Python script questionnaire and weaved through mailing lists and Google Groups. That doesn’t work when the phones you’re selling are designed for the mainstream. Once you go full retail, you’ll have plenty of questions to answer and bugs to look into. Especially if you sell a lot of phones. Google needs to have complete control over the process if they hope to handle it well.

Having someone else build your phone and sticking their name on the back, then selling them alongside you makes it tough to do it your way. Controlling everything about the Pixel lets Google decide what they think is best when it comes to supporting them.

Security

Security on your phone might not be important to you but’s it’s very important to Google.

Every time there is a high-profile incident surrounding Android phones, Google takes one on the chin. Android is their product, and if some company gets lax and malware or hacking hits the news cycle, Google doesn’t have to be at fault to take the brunt of the outrage. Google was never shy about “owning” the software on the Nexus line. Good or bad, no matter what came up they addressed it and provided a solution. Even when it took multiple solutions, we knew it was being addressed. They’ll do the same with the Pixel and Pixel XL. The phones will be kept up to date (even Verizon has promised as much, though we’ve heard that before) and get monthly patches to address exploits both current and future. Nothing changes there.

Google takes security very seriously. More control means they can do a little more.

As a hardware partner — yes Google Hardware is a client and partner of Google Android as a separate entity — which builds their own phones they also have some say into support contracts with the people who made the components. Huawei was involved in getting security issues with the Qualcomm processor in the Nexus 6P resolved. Now there is no middleman and Google has to make sure they made the right contract and work with Qualcomm in a greater and different capacity to get things sorted if it were to happen again. The same goes for any and all software that is needed to support the hardware — if it gets exploited, Google can work directly as a licensee to help sort it out.

Like supporting customers, we have no guarantee that these changes will make things better. We assume Google has a plan and has thought long and hard about becoming a company that makes Android phones and will be able to offer the same, or a better, level of security for our private data.

Experience

This is an important — maybe the most important — reason Google benefits from having control over everything about the Pixel line. Google has always been a company that makes money from services, not from hardware sales. Google develops Android because having $100 phones means ever-more people can afford them and can use Google’s services. Before the Pixel, it’s not a stretch to think that Android was an operating loss for Google but happily continued because it supported the balance sheet in other ways. They don’t appear to feel the same way about the Pixel.

Google will still make money from every iPhone sold (from its search deal and ads) and by keeping Android as a compelling lure for other companies that can’t or don’t want to spend the money to make their own software. But they seem to want to make money from Pixel sales, and that means they have to nail the experience so we have a reason to buy them.

The Pixel is Google’s iPhone. It’s what they think you’ll love in the package they want it to be in.

They way they’re doing it is in stark contrast to other companies who make Android phones. Samsung and LG make phones that deliver unique experiences through features not available elsewhere. The Note series may have taken some very hard knocks recently, but for years it was the phone to buy if you wanted the S Pen and all the features that came with it. The LG V10 was one of the best phones you could buy if you wanted to get more serious when you were creating and consuming media. Sometimes, the features weren’t such a hit. S Voice never was as popular as Google’s solution with Google Now, and the G5’s modular idea failed to gain any traction at all. But Samsung and LG continue to push the envelope when it comes to the feature set.

Google isn’t offering S Pens or HDR microphones or software that uses either. The Pixel isn’t water resistant like phones from Samsung and Apple. It doesn’t track your eyeballs to keep the screen from shutting off while you’re looking at it. Instead, Google is offering a very specific set of features — including a Pixel-only Google Assistant — and focusing on making them work the way they think is best. They are selling you the Google Experience, and they think it’s the best experience available. Tailoring both the software and the hardware, take the camera as an example, to bring it to you in a way they think is better than anyone else is doing it is only possible if they have control. Without the Pixel’s camera-specific software and the image processing features and sensors of the Pixel hardware, that isn’t possible.

Yes, this is what Apple does with the iPhone. In fact, the Pixel is Google’s iPhone. Simple, powerful and wonderful — at least in their opinion — all at the same time. Whether or not we agree after using it remains to be seen.

This is how Google gets control of Android

Plenty of us wants to see Google force the companies making Android phones to do better. That’s just not possible. Android is freely given to anyone who wants it and Google has no way of taking it back. They can’t very well deny access to services they already agreed to give, like Google Play or Gmail, nor do they want to because that’s how they make money from Android. Having companies do things their own way sometimes proves to be a PR disaster.

Controlling the experience is how Google wants to show how great Android can be.

Early in 2016, there was a rumor that Google was preparing to shame Android phone makers that didn’t update their phones or that ruined the experience. On the surface that was — and is — a crazy idea. Throwing your partners under the bus will only make them unhappy, and unhappy partners are less willing to give into suggestions. Building a phone that showcases Android at its best, though, is an easy way for Google to separate themselves from companies who don’t do enough to improve Android’s image problem. They don’t need to shame anyone if they can show how good it can be.

With the Pixel and Pixel XL, Google has complete control of an Android phone and the user experience that comes with it. There are some very legitimate concerns over the future of the “open” Android and a widening gap between what Google can do and what other companies can do, but the Pixel line is something Google has needed to do for a long time. If their experience is as good as they think it is, and if they haven’t priced themselves into obscurity, the Pixel is great for their image when it comes to Android.

Any other effects they may have, good or bad, remain to be seen.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL hands-on preview
• In pictures: Google Pixel and Pixel XL
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Verizon is the exclusive U.S. carrier for the Google Pixels
• Join the discussion in the forums!

Google Store
Verizon

Save 50% on a Gear VR headset right now!

Right now you can score a Samsung Gear VR for half price at Amazon, dropping the price to just $50. This is the version that was launched along with the Galaxy S7, not the most recent one that Samsung announced with the now-recalled Galaxy Note 7. If you have been on the fence about grabbing a Gear VR to try out but had trouble with the $100 price tag, this is your perfect opportunity.

Read more at VR Heads!

How to watch NFL games on your Android phone or tablet

What are the best way to watch football on my Android devices?

With the NFL season upon us, we want to make sure you’re fully set to not miss a second of the action. We’re going to run down how you can watch the big games live from your Android phone or tablet, and keep up to date on the latest developments.

This year, CBS is streaming various for free in the United States for subscribers of certain cable networks, whether you watch it directly on their site through your browser, or streamed to your TV, or download their CBS Sports app for Android onto your tablet. All methods are easy and free, so take your pick!

Supported devices include Xbox One, Apple TV, Chromecast, Android TV, and Roku. Alas, CBS doesn’t hold the rights to stream NFL games like Super Bowl to smartphones — you’ll have to turn to Verizon for that, where customers can take advantage of streaming game through the NFL App for Android. The carrier also zero-rates all NFL content, so it doesn’t count towards your monthly data cap.

This year, Twitter struck a deal with the NFL and is streaming Thursday night games right to your phone so you can keep up with the action.

If you want absolutely everything, you’ll want to look into DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket, which features live broadcasts of every NFL game. You can add it onto your Select or Entertainment DirecTV packages for $42/month, or upgrade to the Choice plan and get it included at no additional charge. For the cord-cutters out there, DirecTV has a number of streaming-only options available as well, starting at $50/month. This opens up your tablet, phone, Xbox, and Chromecast to NFL games.

• Read more on DirecTV Sunday Ticket
• Download NFL Sunday Ticket (free)

Anyone else going with a streaming option may want to check out the NFL’s own GamePass. This offers streaming broadcasts for phones, tablets, Xboxes, and PCs an hour after the game’s done. You get access to full archives of previous games and additional camera angles. Those plans start $245 for the season. If you happen to be a Verizon Wireless subscriber, you get to enjoy local primetime games on your phone for free.

• Read more about NFL GamePass
• Read more about NFL Mobile on Verizon

NFL Redzone’s main selling point is its name — live coverage of every touchdown in every game (i.e. “they’re in the red zone”). Dish, Cox, Xfinity, and Optimum are just some of the providers that offer RedZone, but check with yours and see if its already there. It’s a good option for those just looking to catch up on the highlights.

• Read more about NFL RedZone

If those aren’t options for you, check your cable provider’s dedicated apps. Cablevision, Comcast, and Verizon FiOS all offer streaming NFL games to your mobile device with an active subscription. If your provider offers NFL games, but doesn’t have an app, you can always get a SlingBox. This will let you shunt live broadcasts from your TV to your phone or tablet.

• Check out Cablevision’s Optimum Android app
• Check out Comcast’s Xfinity Android app
• Check out Verizon’s FIOS Android app
• Buy SlingBox

Hut! Hut!

That’s about all there is to watching just about any NFL game on your Android phone or tablet. You may bump into occasional broadcast blackouts, but on the whole using any of these options will ensure you never miss a second of the action.

Got another great way to watch NFL games? Let us know!

Ken Bone learns about election cycle scrutiny the hard way

Ken Bone became an internet sensation literally overnight following last Sunday’s presidential debate, and as such he’s been making the media rounds in a big way (and trying to cash in on his celebrity). Doing the Reddit AMA is a big part of the cycle for internet celebrities — but Bone made the epic mistake of not realizing that your internet past follows you everywhere you go. He’s under a major microscope right now, and he made the huge mistake of doing that Reddit AMA under the same Reddit profile he’s been using for several years. That turned up some quotes from our red sweater hero that make him look… a little less appealing.

As noted by The Daily Beast, Bone’s Reddit history was available for all to comb through, and he’s unsurprisingly made some unflattering comments over the years. Probably the most egregious is a lewd remark about the nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence that were released in the infamous 2014 celebrity hack.

Some of Bone’s other comments included a disclosure that he committed “felony insurance fraud” in an effort to make it look like he had car insurance and a statement that the killing of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin was “legally justified.” That’s technically accurate, as shooter George Zimmerman was acquitted of any wrongdoing. Bone also called Zimmerman a “big ole shit bird,” so it seems we shouldn’t assume that he’s in favor of excessive brutality.

Beyond the unsurprising revelation that Bone has done some unsavory things online, this shows just how well the average citizen isn’t aware of their online “paper trail.” If Bone had thought for a minute about the kind of scrutiny he’d be under, he likely would have made a new Reddit account for this AMA — but going from completely anonymous, fairly average citizen to massive internet celebrity in the span of a few hours is something that most people aren’t prepared for.

Indeed, some saw this downfall coming a mile away — just take this tweet:

y’all don’t mess up this ken bone thing by interviewing him or finding out anything about him. thanks

— 🇺🇸 (@theshrillest) October 10, 2016

Turns out that Ken Bone isn’t all that different from other citizens of Reddit after all.