As I noted in my review of the Apple Watch Series 2, I’m a fan of the new watch. I see from other reviews posted this week that I’m not alone. For example, I agree with everything that California attorney David Sparks says in his review of the Apple Watch Series 2. Also, if you are trying to decide if it is worth spending the extra $300 for the stainless steel version of the Apple Watch over the aluminum version, Sparks explains that he used the aluminum version of the original watch, but this time decided that it was worth spending more money for the stainless steel version. That’s my preference as well, for the reasons noted in my review. And now, the news of note from the past week:
New York attorney Nicole Black recommends some apps for lawyers that she recently discovered.
If you have an iPhone 7 Plus — I just have the regular iPhone 7 — you are probably wondering when each of the two cameras is being used. Glenn Fleishman tackles this question in an article for Macworld.
Reggie Ugwu of BuzzFeed News interviewed several Apple executives to discuss Apple Music.
Software developer Alexei Baboulevitch wrote an interesting review of GoodNotes, my favorite app for taking handwritten notes using my Apple Pencil and my iPad Pro.
Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reviews Lutron’s Caséta in-wall dimmer, which is one of my favorite HomeKit devices. (My review from 2015 is here.) In fact, I like that product even more now than when reviewed it in 2015 because HomeKit works even better with iOS 10.
I haven’t yet had a chance to test the Series 2 Apple Watch in a swimming pool, but Eric Slivka is a serious swimmer and wrote about using the Apple Watch while swimming in an article for MacRumors.
And finally, when I reviewed the Apple Watch Series 2 earlier this week, I included a link to a review of the watch by Serenity Caldwell for iMore. It really is a good review, so you should check it out. But in addition to the written review, she produced a really nice video showing off the new Apple Watch features. Definitely worth watching if you own an Apple Watch, are planning to buy an Apple Watch, or are just Apple Watch curious:
I started using an Apple Watch on April 24, 2015, and I have worn one every single day since. I loved my original Apple Watch for its basic functions that were built-in by Apple: receiving notifications such as new emails or messages, quick responses to text messages and emails, the fitness and activity functions, a quick way to glance at my calendar appointments and the current time, etc. But I didn’t like the way that my original Apple Watch worked with third party apps. They were so slow to launch, and slow to update data, that I found myself rarely using them.
Apple addressed the major shortcomings of the original Apple Watch in a one-two punch this month. First, Apple released watchOS 3.0, which made every Apple Watch faster when working with third party apps. Second, Apple released the Series 2 version of the Apple Watch, adding even more speed and other cool new features such as GPS, a brighter screen and being waterproof. I’ve been using the stainless steel 42 mm Apple Watch Series 2 ($599) for about a week now. Here are my thoughts.
What’s new
I’ll start with the new features in Series 2. There are four key differences: speed, brightness, GPS and waterproofing. Battery and size are also worth mentioning.
Speed. The original Apple Watch was begging to be faster. The software upgrade in watchOS 3 improves things by letting you keep your most commonly used apps in memory, even apps from third parties, making it faster when you launch those apps. That’s great, and certainly better than before, but the original Apple Watch running watchOS 3 is still no speed demon. To get more speed, you need updated hardware.
The 2016 version of the Apple Watch features a hardware processor that makes the watch 50% faster, plus a new GPU that makes graphics twice as fast, plus a dual-core processor. Put it all together, and both 2016 models of the Apple Watch (Series 1 and Series 2) are more responsive. When I go to start a workout with my Series 2 Apple Watch, the Workout app pops up with virtually no delay. Third Party apps that I have placed in the dock launch instantly, and while sometimes for some third party apps I need to wait a few seconds for data to load, and a few apps take even longer than a few seconds, it is much faster than when I try the same thing on my original Apple Watch updated to watchOS 3.
Launching a third party app that is not in your dock is still slow, but better than before. Launch times vary from app to app, so rather than a quantitative analysis I’ll provide a qualitative one: on my original Apple Watch, launching a third party app is slow enough that I often just lose interest and go on to something else. But on the Series 2 Apple Watch, the wait for an non-dock app to open is annoying but not so annoying that I give up. And of course, whenever I find a third party app that I want to use often, I just add it to my dock, which turns that app into a fast-loading app.
Speed on an Apple Watch is important for the same reason that it is important on an iPhone or iPad: it improves responsiveness. Whenever you press a virtual button on a screen and have to wait for something to happen, you get at least a little annoyed. On the other hand, when pressing virtual button yields immediate results, you almost forget that the button is virtual, and instead just focus on the task that you were triggering by pressing the button.
I presume that the Apple Watch will get faster every time that Apple updates the hardware. (At this point, we don’t know how frequently Apple will update the Apple Watch. This update took almost a year and a half. I suspect the next update will be in the Fall of 2017, but maybe not until 2018.) A future, Series 3, Apple Watch will surely be faster, but the speed upgrade this year is a significant one, enough to make the Apple Watch noticeably more pleasant to use.
Brightness. The original Apple Watch is more than bright enough when you are inside, when you are outside at night, or when you are outside in the shade. But in the sun, it can be hard to see.
The screen on the Series 2 Apple Watch is twice as bright. I thought that would mean that it is much brighter when I am inside, but frankly I don’t see any difference between the original Apple Watch and the Series 2 Apple Watch. Look at this picture taken inside and tell me if you can see the difference:
The original Apple Watch in the above picture is on the left with the white band; the new Series 2 Apple Watch is on the right with the black band.
On the other hand, when I’m outside, the brighter screen is a noticeable improvement. Let me show you what I mean. There is a watch face called X-Large which I like to use when I am outside on a sunny day. It makes the numbers as large and bold as possible to give you the best chance to see it in direct sunlight. In the following pictures, for both watches, I have brightness turned up to maximum (which is the setting that I always use). In this first picture, it is a sunny day but I waited to take the picture until the sun was behind a cloud, so it wasn’t as bright. I can see the X-Large display on both the Apple Watch Series 2 (left, with black band) and the original Apple Watch (right, with white band), but it is much easier to see on the newer Apple Watch:
Of course even in the above picture, you can read both screens. That’s what I like about the X-Large display, with its large font. But if you are outside at the park or a concert, and you are trying to read a text message from a friend on your watch, the additional brightness in that smaller text message is a big improvement and makes things much more legible.
What if you are in direct sunlight on a hot New Orleans day with no shade? This is a very difficult condition for an Apple Watch (or an iPhone screen, for that matter). With the sun beating down on the watch, the original Apple Watch is just barely visible, even with this X-Large display watch face. The display on the newer Apple Watch is somewhat hard to see in the direct sunlight, but it is a big improvement over the original Apple Watch:
I like this feature of the Series 2 Apple Watch. The Apple Watch often works best when you can glance at it for a half a second and get the info that you need. The brighter screen means that, even on a sunny day, you can still do so in that half a second, without needing to hold up your watch closer to your face and squinting.
GPS. When you are walking or running outside, you can improve the accuracy of your distance, pace, and calorie measurements by using GPS. These accuracy improvements are helpful not only for that specific outdoor workout, but also for calibrating your watch to help it to learn your fitness level and stride, which improves your distance, pace and calorie measurements when you are exercising inside on a treadmill.
With the original Apple Watch, getting the added accuracy that GPS provides meant carrying your iPhone with you while you were exercising. Often, that is not ideal. Because the Series 2 Apple Watch has a built-in GPS, you get the accuracy that GPS provides without the hassle of carrying your iPhone with you. If you have a playlist with songs that you like to listen to when you workout, you can sync those to your Apple Watch. That way, all you need is your Apple Watch and a pair of Bluetooth headphones to walk or run outside. On the other hand, if you want to listen to a podcast while you are outside, there is not an easy way to sync those episodes to the Apple Watch, so it is easier to carry your iPhone with you.
An added bonus of GPS is that the watch gives you a map after your walking or running workout is over so that you can see where you have been. For example, I recently took a walk up and down St. Charles Ave., the beautiful street in New Orleans where the streetcars operate. I started the Outdoor Walk function in the Workout app on the Apple Watch. Then I walked one direction on one side of the street, and the other direction on the other side of the street. When I was done, I could launch the Activity app on my iPhone and see exactly where I had walked, with green areas indicating where I had walked a little faster, and red areas indicating where I had walked a little slower — because, for example, I had to wait for cars to pass before I could cross an intersection.
Screenshot
Although I try to walk or run just about every day, I virtually always do it using a treadmill in my house, so the new GPS feature isn’t particularly useful to me. However, if you regularly exercise outdoors, either walking or running, and you don’t want to carry your iPhone with you, then you might really appreciate the new GPS feature. I’ve heard many serious runners tell me that they wouldn’t even consider using a smartwatch while running unless it had a GPS built-in.
Waterproof. Even the original Apple Watch was reasonably water resistant. I wore it many times when I was in water and when my arm was only occasionally going under water — such as when I was at the beach with my kids and in water that was only up to about my chest, and several times when I was in a “lazy river” at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans with my kids. But whenever I got my original Apple Watch wet, I was conscious about not getting it too wet, just to be safe.
The Series 2 Apple Watch is waterproof, and it even has workout features designed specifically for swimming laps in a pool or swimming in the open water. I enjoy swimming laps, but I don’t have the opportunity to do it very often. I had planned to test the Series 2 Apple Watch in a pool this past weekend, but unfortunately my schedule didn’t allow for it. I did wear my Series 2 Apple Watch in the shower once and it held up just fine, but the main thing that experience accomplished was to remind me that it is completely unnecessary for me to ever wear a watch in the shower. I mean, seriously, why do people do that?
Even though the hardcore swimming-for-exercise that I do is rare, I know that I will appreciate the peace of mind that comes along with having a waterproof Apple Watch. I can keep my hand underwater for long periods of time, and even keep it on while in a pool with my kids, without having to worry about the water harming the electronics. Thus, any time that I am around water, I just won’t have to worry about the fact that I’m wearing my watch. And since I wear my Apple Watch all day long every day, this is nice.
Battery. Apple doesn’t advertise the Series 2 Apple Watch as having better battery life than the original Apple Watch; the company suggests 18 hours for both. But in this first week of usage, I have noticed more battery life at the end of every day.
Does this matter? For me, mostly no. I charge my watch every night when I go to bed, so whether it has 10% or 50% left at the end of the day is of no real consequence. But if you use the smaller 38 mm size watch — which has a smaller battery — this might matter to you. Serenity Caldwell of iMore wrote a recent review in which she says that the improved battery life is one of her favorite new features for the 38 mm watch. For example, she states that “a morning cross-training workout dropped my battery from 100% to 89%; the same workout on the [original Apple Watch] put it at 53%.”
Size. If you own an original Apple Watch, the new Series 2 is almost exactly the same size, but it is about 1 mm thicker. This is an incredibly minor difference. In the following picture, the original stainless steel Apple Watch is on the left, and the Series 2 stainless steel Apple Watch is on the right. Zoomed in like this, I suppose you can see the slight difference.
In actual use, however, I really don’t think I can feel the difference. The other day, I was wearing a shirt with a tighter cuff, and I thought to myself — aha, I can feel the larger size of the new Apple Watch. But then I put the old Apple Watch on, and the cuff was still tight with the original watch underneath it.
Don’t get me wrong; I’d much prefer for Apple to make the Apple Watch slimmer with each generation, not thicker. I wasn’t thrilled to learn about the 1 mm increase. Fortunately, I really haven’t noticed the difference.
Summing up the new features. The new features of the Series 2 are nice. If you are a swimmer or an outdoor runner, then they will be really important for you. For me, the speed is the main reason that I am happy that I upgraded from the original Apple Watch to the Series 2 Apple Watch, although the brighter screen and being waterproof are also nice.
Note that you can get the speed increase in the Series 1 Apple Watch, which is cheaper than the Series 2. However, the Series 1 Apple Watch only comes in the aluminum model. I greatly prefer the look of the stainless steel model. After all, a watch is not just a useful device, it is also jewelry, and if you are going to wear a piece of jewelry all day long every day, you want for it to be something that you like. Also, the stainless steel model has a Sapphire crystal face, while the aluminum watch uses the not-quite-as-good Ion-X glass. I suppose I’m a clumsy oaf because I cannot even count the number of times that I accidentally hit the face of my original Apple Watch on an object — wall, fence, lamp, chair, table, pretty much you name it. But after almost a year and a half of abuse, there isn’t a single scratch on the face. Would the Ion-X glass have held up as well? Who knows, and I don’t want to find out.
If you own the original Apple Watch and you are thinking of upgrading, you’ll need to decide whether the cost of the Series 1 or Series 2 makes sense for you. If swimming and the GPS features are not particularly important for you, then speed is the main reason to upgrade. The Series 2 (and I presume also the Series 1) speed increase is noticeable and very nice. But to be fair, it is not Earth-shattering. For me, every noticeable speed increase is a welcome speed increase. If I am holding up my arm to look at my watch, the last thing I want to do is hold up my arm even longer to wait for something to happen. But if you are satisfied with the speed increase that watchOS 3 brings to your first generation Apple Watch (the Series Zero?), then perhaps it makes the most sense for you to put off a watch upgrade for another year or so when the Series 3 is released.
What’s old, but still great
Those are my thoughts if you are interested in what is new in the 2016 edition of the Apple Watch. But if you don’t currently own an Apple Watch at all, feel free to pat yourself on the back for waiting for Apple to work out the kinks in its first generation watch. You now have some great options with the Series 1 Apple Watch (if you want aluminum and don’t care about GPS or being waterproof) or the Series 2 Apple Watch that I have. (Or you can be even fancier and get the white ceramic “Edition” model, which is even more expensive.)
The Apple Watch is a fantastic iPhone companion. When notifications come in, you no longer have to locate and look at your iPhone. Just glance at your wrist. Better yet, you don’t have to listen for a beep or feel for a buzz on the iPhone; the Apple Watch silently taps on your wrist when it wants your attention. Nobody else will ever know.
Sometimes, a notification of a new message or email or other item will prompt you to reach for your iPhone. But often, the notification itself was sufficient. Or if a response is required, it is easy to send one from the Apple Watch by tapping on one of the suggested responses, or using your finger to draw a few letters. Or, if you are in an environment where you can make noise, it is easy to dictate a response on the watch using Siri.
I also love that I can glance at my wrist to quickly get the information that I need. When I’m at work, I use a watch face that shows me the time, date, and my next appointment, plus shows in a small circle my activity for the day. On the weekend when I’m being active with my kids, I switch to a watch face that has a larger activity circle — or, if I’m feeling silly, to a Mickey Mouse watch face. Thanks to watchOS 3, I can press the button on the side of the watch to quickly get information from, or use the features of, other apps. For example, I love that when my iPhone is playing music or a podcast, I can use the Now Playing app to play, pause, skip forward or backward, etc.
With the Apple Watch, I don’t even have to worry about having my iPhone in my pocket. Sometimes my iPhone is somewhere else in the room. Or, my iPhone can be in my house while I am doing work outside, and my watch will let me know if I get a call, an email, etc. (because the Wi-Fi at my house extends out far enough).
I also love Apple Pay on the Apple Watch. Being able to pay for a sandwich just by moving my arm closer to the little machine next to a cash register is both fast and fun.
If you use devices in your home compatible with Apple’s HomeKit, it is really nice to be able to tap a button on your watch, or speak to Siri on your watch, to turn lights on or off, dim lights when you are ready to watch a movie, etc.
And finally, I love that the Apple Watch motivates me to be more active. Thanks to my Apple Watch, I have been using my treadmill or otherwise been active virtually every single day.
Conclusion
If you have been thinking about getting an Apple Watch but were waiting for a second generation model, your wait is over. I encourage you to get one. You’ll get all of the advantages of the original Apple Watch, plus the new bells and whistles, plus much less of the aggravation associated with the slower hardware and less refined 1.0 software.
If you already have an original Apple Watch, you don’t need to upgrade — unless you are a swimmer or an outdoor runner, in which case this new watch is made just for you. Having said that, even if the GPS and waterproofing are less important to you, if you upgrade anyway, I’m sure that you’ll still appreciate the increase in speed, and the brighter screen will be nice when you are outside.
Thank you to Drobo for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month. Drobo appears to your computer to be a single external hard drive, but it actually has multiple hard drives inside of it and your data is always stored on multiple drives. Thus, when one of the hard drives fail — and remember, all hard drives will fail at some point — your data is still safely stored on the remaining drives. Just eject the dead drive and replace it with another drive, and you are back in business. You can also swap out the hard drives to larger versions, making it easy to expand your storage.
I’ve written about the Drobo several times before. Last December, I described the Drobo 4 Bay, which is a great basic system and attaches directly to your computer. Last month, I described the Drobo 5N, which has five drive bays and attaches to your network, and which also supports Drobo apps to support lots of different functions such as remote access to files. (See also my posts from March and June of this year.)
Once thing new that I’ve done with the Drobo 5N in the last few weeks is use its large (and expandable) space to create disk images of other hard drives. Using SuperDuper! — which costs $28, and is one of the very best pieces of software for backing up drives on a Mac — I created a disk image on the Drobo 5N. Every night when I’m asleep, SuperDuper! launches and sees what is new on my home computer (an iMac) and updates the disk image on the Drobo 5N accordingly. If the hard drive on my iMac ever fails, I’ll have an up-to-date backup right there on my desk. (I also use BackBlaze so I also have an online backup, so even if my house burns down and I lose all of my local media, I still haven’t lost any files.)
I previously had been using SuperDuper! to backup my Mac to 2 TB external hard drive, but I now have more than 2 TB on my internal hard drive so that wasn’t going to work anymore. Plus I didn’t keep that external drive connected all of the time, which means that sometimes I would go a week or two before I remembered to create a backup. But I always have access to the Drobo 5N on my local network, so my computer remembers to backup every single night without me having to remember.
There are countless ways to use external storage. If you are considering getting an external hard drive for your Mac or PC for any reason, you should consider getting a Drobo instead so that you have external storage that is both safe and expandable.
Demand for Apple’s newly announced products outstripped supply for many of the popular models, but Apple is beginning to catch up. In the last 48 hours, I’ve seen reports from many folks who were originally going to have to wait a long time for a product, but were informed this week that the ship date was moved up substantially. And the Hermés version of the Apple Watch Series 2 goes on sale today. I finally received my Stainless Steel Apple Watch Series 2 just a few days ago (I’ll have a review soon). And while the iPhone 7 Jet Black 256 GB model that I ordered from AT&T was originally not expected to ship until October 7 to 14, I just received notice last night that it is now about to ship. If you ordered a new iPhone or Apple Watch and are still waiting, hopefully the wait won’t be for too much longer. And if you have been waiting for the initial rush to die down before buying something, your time has just about come as well. And now, the news of note from the past week:
I see that a post on Above the Law recommends that you listen to the podcast interview that I recently did with Adriana Linares. I second that recommendation.
Phil Dzikiy of iLounge writes a favorable review of the Simplex iPad stand by Thought Out. I reviewed that stand last month and concluded by saying that I liked it almost as much as a more expensive stand sold by Thought Out. But since I posted my review, I’ve continued to use the Simplex at my desk every day, so much so that I finally moved the other stand off of my desk. The price is right, and I can highly recommend the Simplex.
The shuffle and repeat buttons are a little hard to find in Apple Music in iOS 10. Kirk McElhearn tells you where to look.
If you are the type of attorney who cannot stand common grammar errors and don’t mind correcting others, then the Grammar Snob sticker pack for Messages might be perfect for you. Aldrin Calimlim of AppAdvice shows it off. Its literally amazing what stuff is in their, and I ensure you that your, going too love the affect.
Whenever Apple releases iOS 10.1, it will include support for Portrait mode on an iPhone 7 Plus, the mode that makes iPhone pictures look similar to pictures taken with an expensive SLR camera thanks to the bokeh effect. Matthew Panzarino tried out the beta version of Portrait mode and explains, and shows in pictures, how it works.
Jordan Kahn of 9to5Mac notes that while the iPhone 7 is brighter than previous iPhones, you have to have auto-brightness enabled — and most likely have to be outside — to get the maximum brightness.
Jeff Benjamin of 9to5Mac reviews the new leather case that Apple is selling for the iPhone 7. It has quite a few improvements, which I know first-hand because I ordered one for my new iPhone 7. I may not have my new iPhone yet, but the case arrived earlier this week. I couldn’t stand just looking at it without an iPhone in it, so I did briefly put my iPhone 6s in it — which fits except for the camera hole — and I can already tell you that I far, far prefer the real buttons on this case versus the leather indent “buttons” on the leather case for the iPhone 6 / 6s.
Chance Miller gave up on the original Apple Watch, but explains why he may change his story with the Apple Watch Series 2.
Walt Mossberg of The Verge explains why watchOS 3 is an even bigger deal than Apple Watch Series 2.
One of the new features of watchOS 3 is that the Apple Watch encourages you to take a 60 second break to breathe. Georgia Dow, who is a practicing therapist, explains why this breathing exercise is helpful in an article for iMore.
And finally, Apple produced a funny commercial in which late night TV host James Cordon pitches ideas for an Apple Music commercial to three Apple executives (Jimmy Iovine, Eddy Cue and Bozoma Saint John). Silly premise, but it works because Cordon is funny. Here is the video:
Apple tells us that the future is wireless, and that is one reason that there is no traditional headphone port on the new iPhone 7. I say, bring it on. Wires on headphones always get in the way for me. Bluetooth headphones have been around for a long time now, but I’ve had a very mixed experience with them. Many of the cheaper models are complete junk, fall apart, and have clicking or other noises that distract from the experience of listening to your audio. Of course, Apple aims to solve this with its AirPods which will debut in late October. That device has a ton of features, but with a $159 price tag, you pay for the quality.
Over the last year or so, I’ve tried out a lot of inexpensive (under $50) headphones, some of which were sent to me (for free) to review, and some of which I’ve purchased on Amazon. For one reason or another — typically sound quality, but sometimes build quality — most of those products have been a disappointment for me so I haven’t written about them. But a few weeks ago, iClever sent me a free review sample of its IC-BTH06 Wireless Stereo Headset Bluetooth headphones, and I’ve been really impressed. This is now the device that I prefer to use when I work out on the treadmill, when I’m doing doing yard work, or when I’m taking a long walk and want to listen to music or a podcast.
The ear tips on these headphones are small and fit very well in my ear, with a shark-fin-style ear hook to keep it in place. I realize that everyone has different ears so what works well for me will not work well for everyone, but I find these very comfortable. Also, they stay in my ears and don’t accidentally fall out of my ears, even when I am jogging.
The ear tips are connected by a cord that goes behind your neck, and it works well for me. That hasn’t been the case for me with similar devices. For example, iMore recently named the Soundpeats Qy7 its favorite budget Bluetooth headphones, and with a price of only $16.99 on Amazon, I bought a pair to try them out. But I found that the cord in the back would often catch on the back of my neck or my shirt, and the resulting tug on the ear tips would really mess with the quality of the sound. This same problem has not occurred with the iClever headphones.
You get an assortment of replacement tips in different sizes. The medium size ones that are installed out of the box worked best for me.
I’m glad that you get extras because one complaint that I have is that the rubber tips can come off from time to time — not while have been wearing them, but instead when I am just holding them in my hands or I move them on a desk. So far, whenever it has happened, I have found the rubber tip and replaced it easily, but chances are, one day I will lose one in the grass or somewhere that I cannot find it. If that happens, I’ll have to use one of the extras that are provided.
I also like that there are play/pause, volume up and volume down buttons on the cord. Some other Bluetooth headphones have these controls in small buttons on the side of the ear tip, and I always have trouble finding and pressing those buttons. But the iClever controls are easy to find and use. (I haven’t used the AirPods yet, but I already regret that they don’t have these buttons.)
There is a microphone on the controller, so you can talk on the phone using this device. If you press long on the play/pause button, you can trigger Siri and speak a command. Just don’t hold down for too long because that is how you turn the device off.
The sound quality is fine, although admittedly not amazing — exactly what I would expect for the $28 price (on Amazon). Music sounds good, and podcasts sound great. I spend far more time listening to podcasts than music, so this was fine for me. But don’t get me wrong, I also enjoyed listening to lots of songs on Apple Music.
One minor complaint is that I wish that the volume was louder. I find myself always using them at maximum volume. The maximum value is enough for me, even when in a noisy environment outside, so I suppose that is all that matters. Nevertheless, it seemed strange to me that there was no way to make them even louder if I wanted to do so.
The charge lasts about five hours of listening time (or 155 hours of standby time). They charge using a standard Micro USB cable.
If you are looking for an inexpensive set of Bluetooth headphones that get the job done with no nonsense, I recommend this product. I’ve enjoyed using them, and I suspect that it is the device that I will continue to use every day until I have a chance to try Apple’s upcoming AirPods.
Clio offers web-based practice management, time & billing and client collaboration services (including document management) for small and mid-sized law firms. Because Clio is web-based, you always had the ability to access Clio using Safari on an iPhone or iPad. In September of 2013, Clio introduced an iPhone app to provide a customized interface for using Clio on that mobile device. In April of 2015, Clio introduced an iPad app. Yesterday, during Clio’s Clio Cloud Conference 2016 in Chicago, Clio introduced a new version of its iPhone and iPad app. The new app reflects a complete rethinking of the app. I got to see a preview of it last week, and I was impressed.
Clio says that it learned from direct user feedback and from monitoring how attorneys used the app that most attorneys use the Clio app for quick access to data. Attorneys spend more time when they are using the full Clio web interface, but for the app they just want to quickly get in, get the information that they need, and then get out. Thus, they tell me that the goal of the new app was to have a Home Screen with all of the key functions in one place.
The new Home Screen shows you your upcoming events, your tasks due, and your recent matters.
If you want to access matters that are not already on the home screen (because, for example, you haven’t been working on them recently), the app now features a global search at the top right. You can type and quickly find anything, such as matters, contacts, documents, notes, bills, expenses, tasks, etc.
The old version of the app had a menu that you accessed at the top left. Now the app puts buttons at the bottom to jump to the calendar, matters, and other functions.
The app also features persistence; the app remembers where you have been. For example, if you are in a matter view and then go to the calendar, when you return to the matter view you will still be looking at the same matter that you were looking at before.
The Tasks screen is per-filtered with easy to tap selections like today, next seven days, overdue, no due date, etc.
Finally, the Global Create button at the bottom right (the button that looks like a plus in a circle), allows you to create pretty much anything from anywhere. For example, while you are looking at a document, you can tap this button to create a new calendar entry.
We don’t use Clio at my own law firm — I work for a large law firm, which is not the target audience for this service — so I haven’t had the opportunity to use the Clio app in my own law practice. But I’ve heard from many other attorneys who are happy Clio users, and I was impressed when I saw the demo last week. I suspect that Clio users will greatly appreciate the new app because it lets them get what they need more quickly.
Thank you to Lit Software for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month. My guess is that many of you know about this company because it produces three of the very best iPad apps designed for attorneys: TrialPad, TranscriptPad and DocReviewPad. TrialPad was first released in 2010 — the same year that the iPad itself debuted — and has seen numerous major updates over the years. I reviewed the most recent version just a few months ago, and it is an incredibly powerful app. If you want to present evidence to a jury, judge, or other audience, the app gives you powerful tools for displaying and annotating documents, including the Callout tool that most jurors expect to see nowadays.
In my own litigation practice, I spend a lot of time working with deposition transcripts, such as preparing for a motion for summary judgment. Thus, TranscriptPad is the Lit Software app that I use the most. My last major review of the app was in November of 2014, and that review still gives you a solid overview of what the app can do. But the app has had many updates since then and is now even more powerful. Whether I am drafting a motion, or I am in a subsequent deposition and I want to quickly see all of the relevant testimony on a subject during prior depositions, TranscriptPad does exactly what I need. On several occasions, other attorneys have watched me use TranscriptPad and then remarked that they need to get an iPad. When an app is so useful that it is a reason for attorneys to buy an iPad, you know it is a good app.
DocReviewApp is the newest app from Lit Software, and I reviewed it in October of 2015. This is an app that you can use to review and annotate documents on your iPad, so this app is especially helpful as a part of the request for production of documents process.
Thanks to Lit Software for sponsoring iPhone J.D. this month, and more importantly, a big thank you to Lit Software for creating software that allows us to use our iPads to be better attorneys.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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:
Yesterday, Apple released iOS 10, the 2016 update to the operating system software on the iPhone and iPad. I provided an overview of the major new features in iOS 10 in this post, but if you want to know all of the details, I highly recommend the comprehensive review of iOS 10 by Frederico Viticci on his MacStories website. There are 31 different parts of his review, and it is full of images and animations that make it easy to understand everything that is changed. Yes, the review is very long, but that is because it covers everything, and you can easily skip through the parts that don’t interest you. I enjoyed using my iPad to read the review last night while I used my iPhone to try out the new features that I was reading about.
Today is the day that Apple will release major software updates, including the new iOS 10 and watchOS 3. Apple typically releases iOS updates between 9am and 10am Pacific, so I typically check for the update around lunchtime here in New Orleans (Central Time Zone). Remember that you need to have your Apple Watch charger to update the Apple Watch.
I discussed the major new features in iOS 10 in this post from a few months ago. My discussion of watchOS 3 is here and here. iOS 10 will have some great new features such as a new Lock Screen, improvements to Messages, the cool Memories features in the Photos app, and lyrics in Apple Music. But I have to admit that I’m even more excited for watchOS 3, which will make apps launch much faster and includes great new interface features such as the dock.
Enjoy the new improvements to your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch!
UPDATE: I tried the update as soon as it went online, and it failed on my iPhone 6s, forcing me into recovery mode. I recommend that you wait for Apple to fix this before updating. This has happened in the past, and Apple had a fix out fairly quickly.
iOS 10 update failed on my iPhone 6s. I’m in recovery mode. Many similar reports on Twitter. Glad I have a backup. pic.twitter.com/UJlVSNudqS
UPDATE #2: Apple says that the problem is now fixed. In an official statement, Apple says: “We experienced a brief issue with the software update process, affecting a small number of users during the first hour of availability. The problem was quickly resolved and we apologize to those customers. Anyone who was affected should connect to iTunes to complete the update or contact AppleCare for help.” For more information, check out this post by Jason Snell on Six Colors. For example, you should update iTunes on your computer before you connect your iPhone.
UPDATE #3: I am up and running again, and didn’t even need to restore from a backup (although I’m still glad that I had it just in case). But that was annoying and a waste of time.
