If you have an older iPhone with a battery that no longer holds a charge for very long, you can go to an Apple Store and pay only $29 to get the battery replaced. When Apple first started this program a few months ago, I heard many stories about how hard it was to get an appointment for this service. Serenity Caldwell of iMore reports that Apple seems to finally have a sufficient stock of the replacement batteries. If you were waiting for the line to shorten before giving new life to an older iPhone, now seems to be the time to do so. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- California attorney David Sparks discusses Apple’s efforts to make the iPhone more secure.
- Debra Cassens Weiss of the ABA Journal reports on a federal Fourth Circuit decision holding that some form of individualized suspicion is necessary before the government can search a cellphone seized at the border.
- In an article for The Daily Record, New York attorney Nicole Black discusses iPhone use by attorneys. Note that the title of the article mentions 2018 use, but the data she is discussing comes from the 2017 ABA Tech Survey released last November (my report), which is based on data collected from February to May, 2017.
- Luke Dormehl reports that Apple now has permission to use drones to improve Apple Maps.
- Benjamin Clymer of Hodinkee (a website and magazine devoted to expensive watches) interviewed Apple’s Jonathan Ive to discuss the creation of the Apple Watch.
- Matthew Byrd of The App Factor came up with a list of 20 iPhone apps that you might not know about but which are worth checking out. There are some good ones on this list.
- Harry Guinness of How-To Geek explains how secure Face ID and Touch ID are on an iPhone.
- Olloclip has made external lenses for iPhones for years now. Jim Fisher of PC Magazine reviews the new Olloclip for the iPhone X, and finds that while it can work well, there are tradeoffs.
- Peter Cao of 9to5Mac reports that starting in July 2018, all new apps and all updates to older apps must include support for the iPhone X’s display.
- And finally, Ed Hardy of Cult of Mac reports that at the recent 97th annual Art Directors Club awards, Apple won Best in Show for an ad that Apple created called Barbers which shows how portrait mode on the iPhone can make anyone look good. I mentioned this ad almost exactly one year ago when it debuted, not only because I thought it was a great ad, but also because it was filmed right here in New Orleans. (I also noted that Apple made some digital changes to the neighborhood, including adding a fake law firm.) Perhaps this will inspire Apple to film even more commercials in the Big Easy. Here is that award-winning ad again:
Re battery replacement, my son replaced his a month ago. The appointment was easy to get (booked on Weds. for Sat.) and the process was simple. There was a problem with the installation so Apple gave him a new phone (6s – same model that he had). The actual replacement takes two hours. I will be replacing mine towards the end of the year.