Today is the day that the new iPhone officially goes on sale, but if you had planned to stroll into an Apple Store today and pick one up, you may want to change those plans. For the first time that I can recall, Apple issued a press statement yesterday essentially saying that it has sold out of its first run. As Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch reports, during the pre-order that began a week ago, Apple sold every single one of its iPhone 7 Plus models, and Apple sold out all of the Jet Black iPhone 7 models. A limited number of iPhone 7 models in silver, gold, rose gold and black will be in stores today, but I suspect that number is very limited. Is this an issue of supply or demand? I suspect both are at play, but I can tell you that I ordered a Jet Black iPhone 7 just a few minutes after they went on sale at 2am Central last Friday, and I was immediately told that my device would not ship until Oct. 7 to Oct. 14. Maybe a few folks will receive Jet Black models tomorrow, but I suspect that number is very, very small. I thought about changing my order just to try to get a different color a little sooner — for example, the regular black with a matte finish also looks very nice — but the Jet Black model looks amazing in the pictures and I think that is the one that I’ll enjoy usnig the most. So I’ll wait.
The new Apple Watch also goes on sale today. I was also one of the very first to pre-order the new watch, but my Series 2, 42mm, Stainless Steel Case watch isn’t scheduled to ship until Sept. 26 to Sept. 28. So I’ll wait.
Hopefully some of you will be fortunate enough to get the new iPhone or watch that you want today, and if so, I’d love to hear what you think about your new device … although I reserve the right to be a little jealous. As I wait. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- California attorney David Sparks discusses some of the new features in iOS 10, and in another post explains the improvements to Messages in iOS 10.
- New York attorney Neil Squillante, publisher of the TechnoLawyer newsletters, discusses the new iPhone 7, Apple Watch Series 2 and AirPods.
- Florida attorney Katie Floyd shares some slides that she used for a presentation on tech tips for attorneys. Quite a few of the slides provide iPhone/iPad tips.
- South Carolina attorney Justin Kahn notes that the Microsoft Word app added a Smart Lookup feature.
- Kahn also explains how to create key docs and witness folders in the TrialPad app.
- New York attorney Nicole Black recommends nine iPhone apps for lawyers.
- Apple gave us lots of new software and hardware this week. On Tuesday, Apple released iOS 10 for iPhone and iPad, which I really like. Early this week, I linked to the comprehensive (and long) review by Federico Viticci. For a shorter, although still very packed review, I highly recommend the review by David Pogue for Yahoo Tech.
- Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal wrote a helpful review of iOS 10, but even better than her written review is the video that she created. The video is meant to be watched on an iPhone screen (in the normal portrait orientation) and does a fantastic job of visually walking you through some of the improvements.
- Geoffrey Fowler of the Wall Street Journal tested iOS 10 on older iPhones and found that it adds new features without slowing down those older devices.
- Messages in iOS 10 gives folks the ability to place a sticker on top of a message. What if you want to read the message but are having trouble because it is covered by a sticker? Dan Moren of Six Colors has the solution.
- iOS 10 has a built-in magnifying glass that has some nice features. Sal Conigilaro explains how to activate it using the Accessibility options in the Settings app.
- iOS 10 changes the way that you unlock the phone — no more slide to unlock. Jason Snell of Six Colors explains the new approach.
- Snell also explains some of the new features in Photos in iOS 10.
- iOS 10 is great for more folks, but not so much for T-Mobile customers. Buster Hein of 9to5Mac reports that T-Mobile is advising its customers to hold off on upgrading until a connectivity issue is fixed.
- Lory Gil of iMore explains that in iOS 10, when you get a voicemail, your iPhone can provide you with a transcript of it so that you can read the voicemail instead of listening to it. It’s a neat feature, because many of the times that my phone rings and I cannot answer it, I am in a situation in which I cannot easily listen to the voice mail — but I can often read a transcript.
- watchOS 3 for the Apple Watch was also released this week. Alex Guyout of MacStories wrote a comprehensive review, full of lots of tips and tricks that I didn’t know about.
- Quite a few members of the press got early access to the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and wrote reviews. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Matthew Panzarino of TechCrunch did a nice job writing a comprehensive review of the new iPhone 7.
- David Pogue of Yahoo Tech explains that in the iPhone 7, Apple improved just about every part of the iPhone that could be improved.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball discusses the major new features and explains why he likes the new Jet Black color.
- That new Jet Black color is either popular, hard to manufacture, or both because those models seem to be the hardest to get right now. Roger Fingas of AppleInsider explains how Apple achieves the high-gloss Jet Black finish on the iPhone 7.
- Quite a few members of the press got early access to the new Apple Watch and wrote reviews. Here are a few of my favorites:
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball believes that Apple has finally figured out what the Apple Watch is good at — a stylish timepiece, a notification display and quick response extension of your iPhone, and a comprehensive health and fitness companion — and is now correctly focusing on those features.
- Jim Dalrymple of The Loop likes the built-in GPS and other exercise features.
- Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal likes the new features, but notes that using the GPS can use a lot of battery life, and has trouble loading songs onto the watch. (I agree that Apple really needs to make it easier to transfer music onto the watch so that you can run without carrying your iPhone.)
- You can get the new Apple Watch Series 2 with a white ceramic finish. Liz Stinson wrote an interesting article for Wired about the use of ceramic in the Apple Watch.
- Apple has not yet released its new AirPods, the wireless earphones, but some folks are already worried about them falling out of ears and getting lost. This led Conan O’Brien to create this funny video.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors provides some early thoughts on AirPods based on his initial limited use of them.
- Last year, I reviewed the Spigen Apple Watch Night Stand, a fantastic device that you can place on your nightstand next to your bed to charge your Apple Watch at night. I have been using mine every night for over a year. When I reviewed it, it cost only $10.99, but I see that it is currently selling on Amazon for only $6.99 with free Amazon prime shipping. That’s a great price for a very useful product.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors reviews the Logitech Create Keyboard for the 9.7″ iPad Pro.
- Kit Eaton of the New York Times recommends note-taking apps.
- And finally, it is no surprise that Apple created a commercial for the new iPhone 7, but I am surprised with the direction that Apple took with the ad. It is unlike any other Apple ad that I’ve ever seen. Check out the 30 second video if you haven’t seen it yet: