Apple released iOS 11.0.1 this week. As noted by Samuel Axon of Ars Technica, the update fixes a bug that could have stopped your iPhone from sending emails if you (or your company) uses Microsoft Exchange 2016 or some other Microsoft products for email. I never had a problem with the email at my law firm, and hopefully not of you did either. In the meantime, Apple is already giving developers access to the beta version of iOS 11.1. And now, the news of note from the past week:
Florida attorney Katie Floyd discusses some useful and inexpensive gadgets for your home.
Horace Dediu of Asymco does the math and explains how Face ID on the upcoming iPhone X could save the equivalent of over 12,000 lifetimes.
Dedui also estimates that 33 million Apple Watches have been sold.
It often seems like a waste to pay for Gogo in-flight WiFi when you just want to send or receive a simple text message. Fortunately, Delta announced this week that starting October 1, passengers will be able to use iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger for free. It will only work for text; no photos or videos.
Killian Bell of Cult of Mac reports that Netflix now provides HDR video when available if you have a premium subscription (the $11.99/month “Ultra HD” plan), resulting in a better image on the iPad Pro, iPhone 8 and iPhone X.
Jason Snell explains, in an article for Macworld, Apple’s decision to unveil both an iPhone 8 and an iPhone X this year.
Unlike the iPhone, there is not a built-in calculator on the iPad. Fortunately, Calcbot for iOS — a very good calculator app — has been updated for iOS 11, so you can use it in the split screen modes.
Zac Hall of 9to5Mac has some great tips for customizing the new Siri face on Apple Watch in watchOS 4. I’m very impressed with the Siri face and I use it frequently.
And finally, if you are a fan of the HBO show Silicon Valley (like I am), you’ll appreciate this Funny or Die video imagining how the characters in that show would react to the new iPhone X:
If you were among the first to place a pre-order for an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or Apple Watch Series 3, then you should be receiving it today. If you are waiting for an iPhone X like I am, then we have five more weeks before we can place a pre-order, but you can still start living in the future by downloading iOS 11 for your iPhone and iPad and watchOS 4 for your Apple Watch. These new products dominated the news of note from this past week:
On Monday, September 25, 2017 at 10:30 Central, I’m giving a CLE presentation through the Louisiana State Bar Association on tips for getting the most out of your iPad and iPhone in a law practice, with a special emphasis on tips for using the new iOS 11. You can attend in person if you are in New Orleans, but you can also attend outside of New Orleans because the LSBA is providing a live webinar. The LSBA is only charging $10 for the CLE, and you can get CLE credit in Louisiana; I don’t know about other states. Click here for more information and to sign up.
California attorney David Sparks is excited for Bluetooth 5.0 support on the new iPhones, and I’ve had the same thought. When I am wearing my AirPods, my iPhone usually has to be in the same room. I would love to have Bluetooth 5.0 AirPods so that I can roam around my entire house without carrying my iPhone with me.
The Apple Watch Series 3 is faster and (optionally) features cellular. John Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote a good review of the Apple Watch Series 3.
Benjamin Clymer of watch website Hodinkee reviews the Apple Watch Series 3 Edition (the high-end version made of ceramic). The written review is well-done, and so is the video that accompanies the article.
iOS 11 also came out this week. Jason Snell wrote a good overview of iOS 11 in Macworld, and that article includes links to related articles, such as this useful one explaining the changes to the Maps app in iOS 11, along with other changes to make it safer to have your iPhone in your car while driving.
A number of third party apps have already been updated to take advantage of drag-and-drop and other new features in iOS 11. GoodNotes, my favorite app for taking handwritten notes on my iPad, explains all of the improvements in this post.
Readdle explains how PDF Expert and other apps were updated for iOS 11 in this post.
With iOS 11, TripIt now has an iMessages app, allowing you to share your travel plans with someone else, with the plans automatically updating if your travels plans change, as explained in this post.
You can now share an iPhone or iPad screen to someone else, which is great for tech support. Ryan Christoffel reviews TeamViewer Quick Support, an app that lets you do just this. If you have a family member or friend who relies on you for tech support, this looks very useful.
If you are interested in the new iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, John Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote this review.
And finally, it wasn’t that long ago that you needed to spend a lot of money on Photoshop for a computer to remove a person or unwanted object from a photograph. But now you can use an inexpensive iPad app, such as the $5 Pixelmator app, to do so. Here is a quick video from Apple showing you how to do it:
Today is the day that Apple will release the new iOS 11 and watchOS 4. 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). This year, I won’t be trying to update within the first hour — not only because that caused problems last year, but also because I happen to be in trial today. But I do look forward to updating both my iPad and my iPhone tonight.
iOS 11 is a major update for the iPad. With the Files app, the new Dock, multitasking and drag-and-drop, you will be able to get much more work done, much more efficiently. On the iPhone, I’m looking forward to the improvements to Live Photos, the new Siri, and the new Control Center design seems much more useful.
On the Apple Watch, there are some nice improvements to the Activity and Workout apps, and the Siri watch face could make the Apple Watch an even better assistant.
Last week, Apple announced the 2017 version of the Apple Watch, called the Apple Watch Series 3. Apple started taking pre-orders this past Friday, and it goes on sale this Friday, September 22, 2017. The latest version of the Apple Watch, like the prior versions, looks like a great device for lawyers. Lawyers deal with a ton of communications every day from courts, opposing counsel, clients, etc. via emails, text messages, and phone calls. An Apple Watch can help you to manage (and triage) these communications. Additionally, an Apple Watch is great for helping you to exercise and stay active — important for those of us who do most of our work sitting at a desk.
If (like me) you already own an Apple Watch Series 2, then it may not be worth it to upgrade, for the reasons that I discuss below. But if you have an original Apple Watch or don’t have an Apple Watch at all, the Apple Watch Series 3 looks to be a great device for lawyers.
Cellular. The main difference between the Apple Watch Series 2 and the new Apple Watch Series 3 is that you can get a cellular version of the Series 3, which supports LTE and 3G UMTS. You can easily see if an Apple Watch has built-in cellular because there is a red dot on the digital crown.
Previous versions of the Apple Watch need to communicate with the outside world via your iPhone. If your iPhone and Apple Watch are relatively close to each other, they will use Bluetooth to connect to each other. If they are not nearby but are on the same WiFi network (for example, your iPhone is upstairs in your house but you are downstairs), the Apple Watch can connect to your iPhone via WiFi. But if you leave your iPhone at home and go for a run around the neighborhood, your Apple Watch will not give you any notifications until you get back in range of the iPhone.
With the Series 3, even if your iPhone is far away, you can use the Apple Watch to make and receive phone calls (using the same phone number that you use with your iPhone). You can use the built-in microphone and speaker on the Apple Watch, speaking into your watch as if you were Dick Tracy. Better yet, you can use Bluetooth headphones such as the Apple AirPods.
You can also send and receive emails and text messages. Chat apps like WeChat and Shapchat will also work even when an iPhone is not around.
The Apple Watch has always been able to control music playback on a nearby iPhone. You could also play songs that are stored locally on the Apple Watch, but the process of transferring songs to the watch is slow and cumbersome. If you have a single playlist that you listen to all the time, then perhaps it is not a big deal, but if you want a large, diverse and changing collection of music, this isn’t easily possible with older versions of the Apple Watch. This all changes with the new Series 3 because the watch can directly connect to Apple Music and stream songs. Apple says that this means that you essentially have 40 million songs right on your wrist — a big step up from the original iPod in 2001 which Apple advertised as giving you 1,000 songs in your pocket.
The built-in cellular radio also means that many other types of apps will work even when you are not near your iPhone. For example, you can see the weather using a weather app, or you can request a vehicle from Uber or Lyft.
This all sounds very cool, and is clearly the way that it was always meant to be for the Apple Watch. I think that the #1 use case is taking an outdoor run. It is nice to have access to your music, a phone if there is an emergency, and all of your notifications without having to find a place for your iPhone on your body while running, or deal with the iPhone bouncing around in a pocket. I can also imagine that it would be nice to be able to go outside and walk your dog without having to find your iPhone first so that you can bring it with you. On the other hand, if you are like me, and your iPhone is virtually always near you (for example, you work out at home using a treadmill or at a gym with your iPhone nearby), then you may consider cellular to be just an occasional nice perk and mostly unnecessary.
You can also purchase a Series 3 Apple Watch that doesn’t have cellular, which saves some money. But note that the non-cellular Series 3 is only available in the aluminum version. If you prefer the nicer look of the stainless steel Apple Watch or the ceramic Apple Watch, you need to purchase the cellular version of the Series 3.
Faster. The original Apple Watch was quite slow. The Series 1 and Series 2 got faster thanks to updated processors. The Series 3 uses the new W2 dual-core processor and is 70% faster than last year’s model.
Talking Siri. On older versions of the Apple Watch, you can talk to Siri and see Siri’s responses on the screen. With the Series 3, Siri will respond to your requests more quickly, and you can also hear Siri speak. Since I have my Apple Watch configured to make no noise at all (it gets my attention for select notifications by tapping my wrist), I don’t consider the speaking Siri feature very useful, but I’m sure that having Siri work faster is a nice improvement.
Find my friends. You can use the Find my Friends feature on an iPhone so that you know where select friends or family are located and they know where you are. With the Series 3, the Apple Watch will take precedence over your iPhone for telling others where you are located.
Elevation. The Series 3 includes a barometric altimeter to track your elevation, which can be useful for monitoring certain activities such as skiing. riding your bike up a hill, etc. With earlier versions of the Apple Watch, if your iPhone was nearby, the iPhone could sense elevation. With the Series 3, elevation is tracked even if you don’t have your iPhone with you.
Size. The Series 3 is just a tiny bit thicker and heavier, but you probably won’t notice it. Apple says that the Series 3 is two sheets of paper thicker than the Series 2. And importantly, the Series 3 works with all of the same bands as every other version of the Apple Watch.
Models
Just like before, there are two sizes: the 42mm size and the 38mm size. I typically see men using the 42mm version and women using the 38mm version, but you can pick whichever one is best for you best on your personal preferences and wrist size.
Just like before, there are three basic types of body finishes: the cheaper (and a little lighter) aluminum model, the more expensive stainless steel model (which I think is nicer and more professional, especially when you are wearing nicer clothes such as court attire), and the high-end ceramic model. When the first Apple Watch was introduced in 2015, Apple also sold a super-expensive gold “Edition” model starting at $10,000, but in 2016 Apple changed the Edition model to ceramic — still more expensive than stainless steel, but much cheaper than gold.
Just like before, you can also buy two special versions of the Apple Watch: the Nike+ version, and the Hermès version. The primary difference is that those versions come with special bands, but they also come with special watch faces.
Price
Apple is still selling the Series 1 version of the Apple Watch that it introduced last year, and it now costs only $249 for the 38mm version or $279 for the 42mm version. But it is so much slower than the Series 3, and lacks so many other features, that I do not recommend it to any attorneys.
There are many different configurations of the Apple Watch Series 3, which means that there are many different prices. But in general, the aluminum version of the Apple Watch costs $330 to $430, depending on the size (the 42mm version is $30 more) and whether it has cellular (which is $70 more). Thus, the Series 3 aluminum 38mm costs $329 without cellular and $399 with cellular. The larger 42m model costs $359 without cellular and $429 with cellular.
In you want the nicer stainless steel case, it only comes in a cellular version, and the stainless steel cellular costs $200-$220 more than the aluminum cellular. Specifically, the cost is $599 for 38mm and $649 for 42mm.
If you want the high-end ceramic case, it costs $900-920 more than the aluminum cellular. Specifically, the cost is $1,299 for 38mm and $1,349 for 42mm.
All of these prices assume that you purchase a model with an entry-level band, such as a sport band, which Apple sells separately for $50. There are other models with nicer bands which cost more. For example, I love wearing the Milanese Loop with the stainless steel Apple Watch (that’s what I wear to work every day and whenever I am dressed more nicely on the weekend), and that model costs $100 more: $699 for the 38mm version and $749 for the 42mm version. And while the versions with the Nike+ bands costs the same as the Apple aluminum models, the versions with the Hermès leather bands range from $1,199 to $1,399.
Additional bands are also available to purchase separately, including the new Sport Loop band which Apple says features a “soft, breathable nylon weave with an easily adjustable hook-and-loop fastener.”
Finally, the cellular costs I noted above are only for the Apple Watch itself. You also have to purchase a data plan for the Apple Watch. It looks like the U.S. carriers are adding an additional $10 to your monthly fee if you want to add an Apple Watch, although some carriers have discounts for the first few months.
Should you get one?
I noted at the outset the reasons that the Apple Watch is so incredibly useful for lawyers. Communication is a major part of our profession, and it is so nice to get a subtle tap on your wrist when you need to be notified of something, and it is so nice to just glance at your watch screen to see what is going on instead of having to pull out your iPhone or iPad. It is sort of like having a personal assistant. And the Apple Watch works especially well for tracking activity and motivating you to be more active.
Last year, I wrote about my first year with the Apple Watch, and most everything that I wrote in the “what I love” section in 2016 remains true today. I also noted in that post the things that I didn’t like, and fortunately many of those things have improved thanks to speed increases in updated hardware and interface improvements in updates to watchOS.
If you don’t have an Apple Watch yet, this is a great time to get one. If you are still using the first generation Apple Watch, this is a great time to upgrade to the Series 3. The most notable improvement (besides cellular) will be a huge speed increase, but you will also get a much brighter screen, GPS, and you can swim with the watch because it is waterproof.
If you are like me and you have a Series 2 Apple Watch, I think that the upgrade is really only worth it if you plan to go outside frequently without your iPhone, for the reasons I noted above. As I think back over the 2+ years that I have been using an Apple Watch, it is hard for me to recall more than one time every month when cellular would have been really useful. So I’m not going to upgrade this year. Having said that, I am going to be jealous of the speed increase in the Series 3, and I suspect that I will now start to think of even more situation in which it would have been nice to have cellular on my Apple Watch. So if you find yourself talking to me and I look a little green with envy, don’t take it personally; it’s just because I see that red circle on the digital crown of your Apple Watch.
On the other hand, if you are ready to buy your first Apple Watch or upgrade from an older model, I actually do recommend that you get the Series 3 cellular version. First, if you want the nicer stainless steel (or even nicer ceramic) case, then you have to get a cellular version. Second, even if you want the aluminum case, the $70 price difference is not that much, and then you will have cellular if you ever decide that you want to start using it. Indeed, as more Apple Watch apps are designed to take advantage of cellular, cellular may be come an even more essential feature. There is no requirement that you activate the cellular features when you first buy the watch; you can wait to activate the cellular feature until a later date and then start paying the $10/month.
With the upcoming iPhone X, I cannot help but think of how incredibly far the iPhone has come in ten years. We are now only about 2.5 years into the Apple Watch, and Apple has been doing a great job with the hardware and software improvements. The Apple Watch is already an incredibly useful device for me today, both in my law practice and in my personal life. I hope that Apple continues the pace of improvements, and if so, the Apple Watch is going to amazing when it celebrates its tenth birthday.
Early this morning, Apple started to take pre-orders for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and Apple Watch Series 3. I’m not getting one of those iPhones because I am waiting for the iPhone X. And while I’m sure that one day I’ll have an Apple Watch with LTE, I don’t yet know how useful it will be for me, so I’ll probably wait to the Series 4 before I upgrade from my current Series 2. If you like to run outside and don’t want to have to carry an iPhone with you, or otherwise like to leave an iPhone behind and do things with just an Apple Watch, or if you have an older Apple Watch and want the speed increases that came with the Series 2 and which are even better with the Series 3, then the Series 3 Apple Watch may be perfect for you. And now, the news of note from the week, all of which relate to Apple’s announcements:
California attorney David Sparks discusses the new “A11 Bionic” chip that Apple is putting in its new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X.
If you watched the video of Apple’s announcement of the iPhone X, you saw that when Apple VP Craig Federighi first tried to demonstrate Face ID, it looked like it didn’t work. Some thought that was an indication of a problem with the technology. In fact, as explained by David Pogue of Yahoo, it was a demonstration that Face ID was working perfectly.
And finally, Apple released a bunch of interesting videos this week. If you are interested in the iPhone X, here is a good one in which Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive shows it off:
Yesterday, Apple introduced the 2017 versions of the iPhone. There are three models. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are incremental but nevertheless nice upgrades from the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone X (pronounced “10”) is a radical new design, featuring a gorgeous, edge-to-edge screen that is larger than the screen on an iPhone 8 Plus even though the device itself is closer to the size of an iPhone 8. If you are a lawyer or other professional who uses an iPhone to get work done, these are amazing devices. Here are the details of each model that stood out to me.
iPhone 8
I’ll start by discussing what is new compared to the iPhone 7, but I know that many of you will be upgrading from older models, so I’ll discuss that too.
Like the iPhone 7, the iPhone 8 features a 4.7″ screen. And at 5.45 inches x 2.65 inches x .29 inches deep, the iPhone 8 is virtually the same size as the iPhone 7. The main improvements in the iPhone 8 are that it is faster and has wireless charging.
Faster. The iPhone 8 uses Apple’s new A11 processor, which can run 30% faster than the A10 in the iPhone 7 — and even faster for apps that use multiple processors at one time. The A11 will also let the iPhone 8 work better with artificial intelligence applications, such as augmented reality.
Wireless charging. The size of the iPhone 8 is essentially the same as the iPhone 7 — so much so that cases designed for one will work with the other. But now, the front and back of the iPhone 8 is covered in glass (50% more durable than the iPhone 7), and there is an aluminum band around the side. The design looks really nice. With this new glass casing, the iPhone can now be charged by any device that complies with the Qi standard (pronounced “Chee” and based on the Chinese word for natural energy). Qi is not an Apple design; it is a standard that has been out for many years now. Thus, you can already buy many products featuring a flat top; just put the iPhone 8 on top of that surface, and it starts to charge.
Apple itself plans to its own Qi charger next year called the AirPower, which will let you charge an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods just by placing them on the AirPower.
I can see it being nice to have a Qi device on your desk at work or on a counter at home. Just set down your iPhone and the iPhone will charge while it is sitting there. Having said that, it’s not like it is that hard to plug in an iPhone to a Lightning cord or a dock. Eight years ago, you could purchase a Touchstone for wireless charging of a Palm Pre. Qi technology has also been around for a while. And yet, wireless smartphone charging has not been a big thing yet. Is that just because the iPhone didn’t support it? Or is that because it is only a slight convenience and not worth the extra expense? I honestly don’t know, but with wireless charging available as an option for all of the 2017 iPhones, I guess we will find out soon enough.
By the way, I believe that wireless charging will work even if your iPhone is in a case. Apple says that all of its new iPhone cases work with wireless charging, so I presume that this will also be true for third-party cases.
Faster charging. Apple hasn’t commented on the speed of wireless charging, but I presume it is slower than using a cord. I’ve mentioned in the past that you can use a USB-C charger to charge an iPad Pro much faster. With the iPhone 8, you can use a USB-C charger to get up to a 50% charge in only 30 minutes. Thus, my guess is that the iPhone 8 gives you easy-and-convenient wireless charging, faster USB-to-Lightning charger, and even faster USB-C-to-Lightning charging.
True Tone display. Like the iPhone 7, the iPhone 8 features what Apple calls a Retina HD display. The iPhone 8 adds True Tone, a technology that automatically adjusts the display based on the light around you. True Tone makes the screen look better and easier to read, whether you are in bright sunlight or in a dark room. (True Tone is already on the iPad Pro.)
Better camera. The new A11 processor has an image signal processor which allows the camera to take even better pictures, especially in low light. And if you want to take 4K video, you can now do so at 60 fps instead of 30 fps on the iPhone 7. The flash is also better.
Bluetooth 5.0. While the iPhone 7 included Bluetooth 4.2, the iPhone 8 has the new Bluetooth 5.0 standard. While Bluetooth 4.2 has a range of up to about 30 feet, Bluetooth 5.0 has a range of up to about 260 feet. It is also faster, making it possible to send higher quality audio over Bluetooth. And it can work with two devices at once, which I suspect means that two people could use wireless headphones such as AirPods with a single iPhone, or you could have two wireless speakers connected to one iPhone.
Price. A year ago, the iPhone 7 came in 32 GB ($649), 128 GB ($749) and 256 GB ($849). This year, the iPhone 8 comes in 64 GB ($699) and 256 GB ($849). You can either pay the full price, or you can make monthly payments either with the Apple iPhone Upgrade Program (which gets you a new iPhone every year) or an installment plan with a carrier.
Worth the upgrade? If you are currently using an iPhone 7, the new features such as the faster processor and wireless charging will certainly make the experience of using an iPhone even better, but it is probably not a major upgrade. But if your iPhone is two or more years old — such as if you are using an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6s — the iPhone 8 is a major upgrade. The processor speed increase will be even more dramatic for you, meaning that your new iPhone will seem even more responsive. The Retina HD screen first introduced with the iPhone 7 looks much better. Unlike the iPhone 6s and earlier models, the iPhone 8 is rated IP67 for water resistance, which means that you get complete protection against dust, and in theory the iPhone could be up to 1 meter deep in water for up to 30 minutes and it would still work. I don’t encourage you to drop it into water, but if it gets a little wet, it should be fine. And you will also get much better speakers, a much better camera, and other new features. It will be a great upgrade for you.
iPhone 8 Plus
The iPhone 8 Plus includes all of the features of the iPhone 8, but it is larger: 6.24 inches x 3.07 inches x .30 inches deep. (It is also heavier, at 7.13 ounces versus the iPhone 8’s 5.22 ounces.)
For me, the larger size of the Plus model has been a disadvantage; I have always found the larger size holder to hold and fit in a pocket. Thus, I have never purchased a Plus model.
But if you can live with the larger physical size, you get to appreciate the Plus advantages: (1) a larger 5.5″ screen, (2) a second lens for the camera, which not only gives you an optical zoom feature, but also lets you take pictures using Apple’s cool portrait mode (which blurs the background much like an SLR camera), and (3) longer battery life.
The camera on the iPhone 8 Plus is better than the iPhone 7 Plus in one way: you can now use what Apple calls Portrait Lighting to adjust the lighting on a person’s face when you take a picture. This is a digital effect using the more sophisticated A11 processor and the dual-lens system — it’s not like there is an actual flash producing the different lighting effects — but even so, this feature looks powerful and useful. Andrew Orr of The Mac Observer did a good job of describing the different Portrait Lighting modes:
One of the highlights of the new cameras is called Portrait Lighting. This emulates professional studio lighting by using facial detection and depth maps. These are combined into Portrait Mode to present five different lighting options: Natural Light, Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, and Stage Light Mono.
Natural Light is what you’d expect. It takes a portrait of your subject with a blurred background and the face in focus. Studio Light brightens up the face more. Contour Light gives your subject’s face more dramatic shadows and highlights. Stage Light gives a chiaroscuro effect that puts an artificial black background behind your subject. The subject’s face is sharply lit as if a light were shining on them. Finally, Stage Light Mono is the same as Stage Light, but in black and white.
The iPhone 8 Plus costs $100 more than the iPhone 8. Thus, you can get a 64 GB model for $799, or a 256 GB model for $949.
iPhone X
I’ve always thought that folks like me who have been jealous of the larger screen, better camera and better battery life of the Plus models, but who didn’t want a larger phone, had unreasonable expectations. After all, how you can you get a bigger screen without getting a bigger phone?
Apparently, the answer is that you remove virtually all of the bezel on the phone — including the bottom part of the iPhone which has featured a button since the very first iPhone was introduced ten years ago. With this beautiful new edge-to-edge screen, you get an iPhone which is only slightly larger than the iPhone 8, but which features an even larger screen than the iPhone 8 Plus.
The new screen is not a complete rectangle. There is a slight notch at the top center, which Apple uses for a bunch of cameras and other sensors. (More on that in a moment.) But you get much more screen space to get your work done.
With the iPhone X, you get all of the features of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, plus the following additional features:
The screen. On my goodness, the screen. I’ve already mentioned that it is larger, so you will be able to see even more of your emails, your documents, your spreadsheets, etc. allowing you get get even more work done even on a small device. The 5.8″ screen is even larger than the 5.5″ screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
I remember when the original iPhone came out and BlackBerry users worried about the lack of a physical keyboard. Of course, the reason that the iPhone design was better is that it is wasteful to devote half of the front of the device to a keyboard that you don’t need to use all of the time. Similarly, the iPhone X eliminates the waste of a bezel around the phone, replacing it with an edge-to-edge screen. It took ten years to get here, but the iPhone X seems like the design that the iPhone has always wanted to be.
The screen also looks better, featuring what Apple calls the new Super Retina HD display. This is first iPhone to use an OLED HDR screen, which means that blacks look darker and colors look brighter. The iPhone 8 has a 1400:1 contrast ratio; the iPhone X has a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The folks who were able to see it in person yesterday said that it looked fantastic.
Face ID. By replacing the bottom part of the iPhone, which used to have the home button, with more screen, Apple needed to come up with alternatives to the home button. One change is that instead of pressing the button to see your apps, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen to see your apps. Another change is that instead of holding down the home button to bring up Siri or double-tapping the home button (on the lock screen) to bring up Apple Pay, now you hold down the (larger) side button to bring up Siri and double-tap that side button to bring up Apple Pay.
But Apple also needed a way to replace the Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the home button, and Apple decided to instead use Face ID, which authenticates that you are really you by recognizing your face. The TrueDepth camera analyzes more than 30,000 (invisible) dots on your face to create a precise, 3D depth map of your face. After you teach the iPhone X what you look like, you can simply look at the screen to unlock the phone, or to authenticate yourself to use Apple Pay.
Apple said yesterday that Touch ID had an error rate of 1 in 50,000, whereas Face ID has a error rate of 1 in 1,000,000. That certainly sounds good, and I look forward to seeing how it works in practice. Apple says that Face ID is smart enough to keep working if you put on glasses or makeup, grow facial hair, etc. Apple warns that if you have an identical twin, or even a sibling who looks a lot like you, Face ID may make mistakes. (So Apple joked yesterday that if you have an evil twin, you might want to use a passcode instead of Face ID.)
Face ID currently only works with one face. I have one of my wife’s fingerprints stored in my iPhone 7 Touch ID, and she does the same for me, so that we can pick up and quickly use each other’s phone when necessary. With the iPhone X, that won’t work.
I think of Face ID as a way to get around the lack of Touch ID so that you can have the bigger screen. Nevertheless, I’m intrigued to see if Face ID might be even better than Touch ID. Whenever you pick up your iPhone to use it, of course you are going to look at it. If the act of looking at it also unlocks your phone, saving you the trouble of using your fingerprint, that sounds great.
The Face ID technology appears to have some other advantages. For example, if the iPhone senses that you are still looking at the screen, it can be configured to keep the screen lit. This technology can also improve the camera, so let’s turn to that next.
Better camera.If you have never used a Plus model iPhone, the iPhone X camera will be a big improvement because of the dual lens system on the back, including a telephoto lens. I’m really looking forward to that. But the iPhone X is even an improvement over the iPhone 8 Plus because the telephoto lens has an f/2.4 aperture instead of an f/2.8 aperture, which should allow you to take sharper pictures with less blur even with less light. And unlike the iPhone 8 Plus, both lenses on the iPhone X have optical image stabilization, resulting in sharper pictures and less shaky videos.
Not only is the camera on the back better, but the front-facing camera is also better — I presume in part because this camera needs to be good for Face ID to work. As a result, you can now take portrait pictures using the front camera. Now only does this mean that you can have better selfies, but it also allows for some new technologies. For example, Apple showed off a demo of impressive Snapchat filters which can digitally change your face in real time. And Apple is also updating its Clips app so that the new front-facing camera can immerse you in 360º animated landscapes. And you can now create an animated emoji which apple calls an animoji; the iPhone analyzes more than 50 muscle movements in your face and then mirrors your expressions on panda bear, cat, alien, unicorn, rabbit, or even the poop emoji.
Better battery. Even though the iPhone X is close to the size of the iPhone 8, Apple says that the battery lasts about two hours longer. Thus, you can enjoy additional battery life without having to use the much larger Plus model.
Price. The iPhone X costs $300 more than the iPhone 8 and $200 more than the iPhone 8 Plus. Thus, you can get the 64 GB model for $999, or a 256 GB model for $1149.
Availability
You can place pre-orders for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus as soon as Friday, September 15, with the first devices shipping a week later on September 22. But Apple needs a little more time to finish the iPhone X, so pre-orders don’t start until Friday, October 27, with the first units shipping a week later on November 3, 2017.
My guess is that Apple will have far more demand than supply for the iPhone X, and that very few folks will get an iPhone X on or close to November 3. I hope that I am wrong, but I predict that getting an iPhone X during the 2017 holiday season will be almost as hard as getting a Cabbage Patch doll during the 1983 holiday season.
Conclusion
One of the reasons that I love using a 12.9″ iPad Pro is that I love using a high-quality large screen to read and annotate documents, look at exhibits, or even just surf the Internet or look at photos and videos. Having a larger and better screen helps me to be more productive, and have more fun, with my iPad.
Using that same logic, I’ve always understood the appeal of the Plus model of the iPhone, starting with the iPhone 6 Plus introduced three years ago. But in practice, that Plus-size iPhone just felt too big in my hand and against my face when on the phone — making me feel like Maxwell Smart using a shoe phone to place a call.
Thus, for me, the iPhone X seems like the perfect solution: all of the advantages of a larger Plus model, but in a size that is much closer to a non-Plus model, which I have been using for many years. Add to that the best screen that Apple has ever shipped with an iPhone — and I suspect that best screen that has ever shipped with any smartphone — and this device seems fantastic. Yes, it costs $300 more than the iPhone 8 (or $200 more than the Plus model), but it seems very much worth it to me to have the best possible screen for a device that I am going to look at every single day, multiple times a day, both to get work done and also for entertainment.
Today at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern, Apple will give a keynote presentation at the brand new Steve Jobs Theater, part of Apple’s brand new Apple Park campus in Cupertino, CA. We will definitely see the 2017 versions of the iPhone, and we may also see a new Apple Watch, new Apple TV, and more. Apple loves to make surprise announcements, so anything is possible today.
It appears that, a few days ago, a rogue Apple employee tried to ruin some of the surprise by intentionally leaking some of the details of today’s announcements. I cannot comment on the content of those leaks because I decided not to read the stories this past weekend. I think that it is more fun to see how Apple itself decides to announce its new hardware and software.
You can visit this page on Apple’s website to watch a live stream of the event. If you cannot watch it live, Apple typically posts a recording of the video a few hours after the event.
I’m often asked if I can recommend a good introductory course for using an iPad in a law practice, and for a while now, I haven’t had a great answer. For example, the book iPad in One Hour for Lawyers by Tom Mighell was very good when it came out in 2011, but it is now outdated. Fortunately, now I have an excellent recommendation: a new online course created by Brett Burney called iPractice on an iPad. Brett Burney started out as a practicing attorney, but then shifted his career towards helping other lawyers use technology. Brett really knows his stuff, and is a past chair of the ABA TECHSHOW. He also publishes the excellent Apps in Law website and podcast. Better yet, Brett is an excellent presenter; I have been impressed both when I have seen him give presentations, and also when he and I have co-presented.
The online course that Brett created has numerous video lessons and associated materials. In total, there is about three hours of video. In the videos, Brett uses both slides and live presentations of iPad software to make it easy to follow all of his advice. And you can pause the video or go back and watch a section again so that you can learn at your own pace.
Brett gave me a sneak peak of his entire course, and the parts that I watched were incredibly informative. The focus of this course is on file management & PDF annotation, and Brett tells you everything that you need to know to store and annotate tons of documents on your iPad. He recommends great apps, and shows you how to use them in your law practice.
You can get a good sense of what the course is like by viewing this video preview of the course:
The cost is $197, and that includes the ability to watch the course as much as you want and watch any updated sections in the future. Brett offers a 30 day money back guarantee (see his website for details) so you can be sure that you are going to find value in this program.
Brett was also nice enough to offer a discount for a limited number of iPhone J.D. readers. If you are one of the first 10 people to use the coupon code “20iphonejd” when you sign up, you will receive a $20 discount.
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This article won the BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award. The editors of BlawgWorld, a free weekly email newsletter for lawyers and law firm administrators, give this award to one article every week that they feel is a must-read for this audience
Next week, on Tuesday, we will find out what the 2017 version of the iPhone looks like. Rumors are that we will see a traditional upgrade to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, plus a third model with an edge-to-edge OLED screen and authentication by scanning your face instead of Touch ID. My prediction is that Apple will call the new model the “Pro” and will use a naming scheme like iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 Pro. (California attorney David Sparks is thinking the same thing.) But whatever they call it, I cannot wait to learn about the new features, especially new features that have not yet leaked or been guessed by the press. And now, the news of note from the past week:
Florida attorney Katie Floyd provides technology tips for preparing for a big storm. Good luck to everyone in Florida who is preparing for Hurricane Irma right now. As an attorney in New Orleans, I know first-hand what you are going through. Be prepared, and be safe.
If you are a member of Costco, John Levite of iMore reports on some great savings on iTunes gift cards. For example, you can get a $100 card for only $84.49, and a $200 card for only $164.99. You only get this discount on the online Costco store.
I’m in the the process of (slowly) going through the catalog of James Bond movies with my kids. (We are currently in the Roger Moore years.) The older movies are dated, but still have some really fun moments in them. Tatiana Siegel and Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter say that both Apple and Amazon are bidding for the rights to James Bond so that they can develop future TV shows, movies, etc. based on the character — not unlike what Disney is in the process of doing with the Star Wars franchise. I look forward to seeing Q give 007 a tricked-out iPhone along with other gadgets to use to save the day.
And finally, although what Apple announces on Tuesday is sure to be interesting, where Apple is doing so is just as interesting: the new Steve Jobs Theater at the Apple Park campus. Dancan Sinfield recently took some drone footage of the Steve Jobs Theater and it is in this video. Of course, you cannot see much because only the entrance to the theater is above ground level, but it is still neat to get a peak:
I don’t use a keyboard with my iPad all the time, so for me, it is overkill to have an iPad case with a keyboard built-in. There is no reason to add extra weight to my iPad all of the time. But when I do use a keyboard, I want it to be a good keyboard so that I can type just as easily as if I was using the PC in my office or my Mac at home. For a long time now, Apple has made one of the best Bluetooth keyboards for the iPad. First, Apple made the Apple Wireless Keyboard. On October 15, 2015, Apple retired the Apple Wireless Keyboard and replaced it with the thinner and lighter Apple Magic Keyboard. Perhaps one of the reasons that these keyboards are so good is that they are not designed to just be iPad keyboards; these are the same keyboards that Apple has sold with its desktop computers such as the iMac.
Apple’s keyboards don’t come with any sort of a case. If you are carrying them around in a purse or briefcase, this means that it is possible for something to get under a key cap and break off a key. It has never happened to me, but I know other attorneys who have met this fate. Thus, it makes sense to have a case for the keyboard.
Back in 2012, I reviewed a great keyboard case called the Origami Workstation for iPad by Incase. That product provided a cover for the Apple Wireless Keyboard, and as a bonus also folded into a stand so that you could prop up an iPad while you used the keyboard. But Incase did not update that product in 2015 when Apple released the Apple Magic Keyboard.
Studio Neat filled that void by creating the Canopy, a product that works with the Apple Magic Keyboard and is even better than that old Origami Workstation. Studio Neat sent me a free review unit of this $40 product, and I have been trying it out for the last few weeks. It works really well.
A case
The Canopy works great as a case. It uses micro-suction pads – not glue. They keep the Apple Magic Keyboard firmly in place. But you can remove the keyboard from the Canopy without leaving a mark, and these suction pads don’t lose their stickiness when you remove the keyboard.
To protect the keyboard, just fold up the Canopy around it, and snap the button. It would be virtually impossible for something in your briefcase or purse to damage the Apple Magic Keyboard when it is inside of the Canopy.
One of the nice features of the Apple Magic Keyboard is that it is thin and light. Fortunately, the Canopy is as well. The exterior is a synthetic canvas which is strong but light. And it has a nice professional look to it as well. I will often walk around my office to go to a meeting room with my Apple Pencil in a shirt or coat pocket and my iPad Pro and the Canopy (with keyboard) in one hand. With that combination, I can use my keyboard to type notes as if I want to type, or I can use my Apple Pencil to write or annotate whenever that makes more sense for whatever work I am doing.
Moreover, because the Canopy and keyboard are so thin and light, you can just keep them in a briefcase, purse, messenger bag, etc. all of the time. That way, you have the keyboard for whenever you need it, but it is out of the way if you don’t need it.
The interior of the Canopy is a soft microfiber, so it won’t scratch the keyboard when you fold the Canopy around it.
A stand
When typing with an external keyboard, you will usually want the iPad screen to be propped up. I use an Apple Smart Cover for my iPad, and it folds up into a stand that props up my iPad at a nice angle. But with enough pressure, the Smart Cover-as-stand will collapse.
In contrast, the Canopy is very strong when it is being used as a stand. You simply unfold the Canopy and use the leather strap and stainless steel snap to create a sort of a tent to act as the stand. The snap is very secure, so the stand is very secure as well. I have been using the Canopy with my iPad Pro 12.9″ and even though this larger version of the iPad Pro is wider than the Canopy itself, the Canopy has no trouble holding this larger and wider iPad.
And by the way, if — like me — you used to use the Incase Origami Workstation, the Canopy is much better. Unlike the Origami Workstation which used Velcro straps which wore down over time, the snap is very strong.
I’ve used the Canopy with my iPad Pro over the last few weeks both when I have been in a meeting in a conference room in my office, and also when I was traveling and relying on my iPad to get all of my work done. Whether I was in my office, at a meeting outside of the office, or in a hotel room catching up on work at the end of the day, the Canopy worked really well.
I didn’t try smaller iPads with the Canopy, but I’m sure that they would work just as well. I did try an iPhone, and that also worked — although I only rarely have a need to use an external keyboard with an iPhone. The Canopy is specifically designed for the Apple Magic Keyboard, so I doubt it would work with any other keyboard. But you can put any size iOS device in the stand, so even if you currently use an older 9.7″ iPad and you plan to update to a 12.9″ iPad Pro, the Canopy will continue to work great with different iPad sizes.
An iPad (or iPhone) just sits right behind the keyboard on the Canopy when it is in its stand mode. It works really great on a table. But if you are planning to put the Canopy on your lap, I didn’t find that very stable with my iPad Pro 12.9″. It works just OK if you are laying back on a couch or bed. Thus, the Canopy works best when you are at a table.
Although my second-generation iPad Pro 12.9″ is still running iOS 10, I also have a first-generation iPad Pro 12.9″ which is running the beta version if iOS 11. In iOS 11, you need to swipe up from the bottom to make the dock appear when you are in another app, and you need to swipe up from the bottom to make the Control Center appear. Those functions worked great on an iPad Pro 12.9″ even when the iPad was sitting in the Canopy stand.
I don’t have access to a new 10.5″ iPad Pro running iOS 11, but I know that the 10.5″ iPad Pro has an even thinner bezel. I mention this because I don’t know if the thinner bezel will make it harder to swipe from the bottom of the screen in iOS 11 while it is sitting in the Canopy being used as a case. I’ll update this post whenever I have a chance to test that out.
[UPDATE: Here is what Studio Neat told me about the 10.5″ iPad Pro and the Canopy: “On the 10.5” iPad Pro, the keyboard does not obstruct the screen, but it is indeed difficult to swipe up from the bottom edge due to the reduced bezel size. Thankfully, Apple has implemented a keyboard shortcut in iOS 11 to bring up the dock (Command + Option + D).” That’s a good point, and frankly a keyboard shortcut sounds faster than swiping up anyway.]
Conclusion
This is the third product I have reviewed from the folks at Studio Neat, and every single one of them has been excellent — featuring a clever design, high-quality materials and nice construction. (I previously reviewed the Material Dock and the Glif + Hand Grip.) These guys know what they are doing.
The Apple Magic Keyboard is a great external Bluetooth keyboard for the iPad, but the Canopy by Studio Neat turns it into a much better and more useful product. The Incase Origami Workstation was a pretty good product for its time, but the Canopy + Apple Magic Keyboard combination is better in every way: smaller, lighter, more stable, and longer-lasting thanks to the use of a snap instead of Velcro. Indeed, the Canopy works so well that it makes me want to use an external keyboard with my iPad even more, and this is good timing for that because iOS 11 will have even better keyboard support when it comes out this month.
