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.
The International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) is a peer networking organization for people who work in the legal technology field, such as the people who work in law firm IT departments. ILTA recently held its annual conference in the Washington D.C. area, and at the conference, ILTA and InsideLegal released the results of their eleventh annual technology purchasing survey. The survey was sent to almost 1,231 ILTA member law firms with responses from 175 law firms, about 83% of which were U.S. firms. I previously wrote about the reports released in 2015, 2014 and 2013. Here is what I saw in the 2016 survey results that struck me as interesting for attorneys who use iPhones and iPads.
For law firms that buy smartphones, 94% buy iPhones
This is a “technology purchasing survey” which means it asks about technology purchased by law firms. There are many categories of legal technology that are virtually always purchased by law firms and not individual lawyers, but the category of mobile technology is one that is moving away from IT purchasing departments. Many attorneys now buy their own device, a practice so prevalent in all companies that there is a common acronym for it: BYOD (bring your own device).
The ILTA survey asks about BYOD for smartphones. Back in 2012, 90% of responding law firms were buying smartphones for their own attorneys with only 10% being totally BYOD. In 2013, 21% had a BYOD approach to smartphones. This increased to 36% in 2014, and in 2015 and 2016 it was 32%. Having said that, my suspicion is that some of these firms who do purchase smartphones for their attorneys are not purchasing them for every attorney; they could be just purchasing them for a subset such as new associates.
The ILTA survey also reveals that 68% of law firms have a formal BYOD policy that covers smartphones. For the 30% of law firms that have no BYOD policy at all, most of them — 60% — are smaller law firms with 1 to 49 attorneys.
This ILTA survey does not ask any questions about smartphones that attorneys purchase themselves (the BYOD smartphones), only the smartphones that law firms are buying. If 32% of law firms are completely BYOD in 2016, that means that around 68% are buying smartphones for at least some of their attorneys. What are they buying? Almost all of the 68% are buying iPhones (64%), about half are buying Android (33%), only 18% are still buying BlackBerries, and 10% are buying Windows smartphones. Or stated differently, for those law firms that purchase smartphones for their attorneys in 2016, 94% are buying iPhones, 49% are buying Android, 26% are buying Blackberry and 15% are buying Windows.
Here is what the last five years of survey data looks like:
What this chart doesn’t tell you is how many of each smartphone the firms are buying, just that the firm is buying at least one of that brand/platform. On the other hand, the chart does tell us something about which smartphones are acceptable to IT departments at law firms. Back in 2012, half of the law firms were not buying iPhones, and now almost all of them buy iPhones. In 2012, very few law firms would buy any Android smartphones; Android peaked at 63% in 2015 and is down to 49% this year. And while BlackBerry was the most popular smartphone purchased by law firms back in 2012, that popularity has decreased substantially in recent years. Indeed, while the 26% number reflected on the above chart is a five-year low for BlackBerry, I’m actually surprised it was still that high. For example, in 2015 the ABA reported that only 5% of lawyers were still using a BlackBerry device. (The ABA has not yet released its 2016 numbers.)
For law firms that buy tablets, the iPad remains popular
In the 2012 ILTA purchasing survey, only 13% of law firms purchased tablets for at least some of their attorneys. That increased substantially in the 2013 survey, when 58% of law firms purchased tablets for at least some of their attorneys. Since then, the number has gone up and down but has always stayed fairly close to 50%. In 2014, 48% of law firms purchased tablets; in 2015, 58% of law firms purchased tablets; in 2016, 52% of law firms purchased tablets.
For the approximately half of all responding law firms who were purchasing tablets, the iPad remains popular, although that popularity has been decreasing somewhat. In 2013, almost 100% of law firms purchasing tablets were buying iPads. That fell to 92% in 2014, 81% in 2015, and this year it is down to 73%. For those law firms that do purchase tablets for their attorneys, about 50% purchase Microsoft tablets, which is consistent with 2015. But only about 10% purchased Android tablets in 2016, down from 24% in 2015.
But again, remember that these numbers only reflect law firm tablet purchases. Most attorneys who I know purchase their own tablets.
At midnight Pacific this morning, pre-orders began for the new 2016 versions of the iPhone and the Apple Watch. I ordered the iPhone 7 (256 GB, Jet Black) and a stainless steel Series 2 Apple Watch. It is unclear to me if I’ll receive either device a week from today, Friday September 16, when the new products officially go on sale in stores (although perhaps in limited supplies); hopefully with a pre-order I’ll be near the front of the line. [UPDATE: Even though I ordered immediately after these went on sale, it doesn’t look like I will get them on September 16. I ordered the new watch using the Apple Store app on my iPhone, and I received a delivery date of Sept. 26. I ordered my new iPhone through AT&T’s website, and I received an expected delivery date of Oct. 7.] And now, the news of note from the past week:
Serenity Caldwell of iMore wrote a great article describing all of the differences between the original Apple Watch, the new Series 1, and the new Series 2.
Apple didn’t discuss the iPad during the keynote event this week, but it announced afterwards that the 16 GB models are now 32 GB models, and the iPad Pro models are getting price cuts. Jacob Kastrenakes of The Verge has the details on the iPad changes. I presume that this means that we won’t see new iPads until 2017, which makes sense to me.
If you want to give someone the gift of music, Dan DeSilva of 9to5Mac reports that you can buy a $99 Apple Music gift card, which gives someone 12 months of Apple Music.
In an interview with Matt Peckham of Time, Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo discusses bringing the famous character he created, Mario, to the iPhone. He also discusses meeting Apple CEO Tim Cook: “It was actually shocking for me, because when I met with him, I didn’t realize I was older than him, and he mentioned that he’d been playing my games in college. [Laughs].”
And finally, I’m really intrigued to try Apple’s new AirPods, but they won’t be available until next month. Apple says that AirPods will produce “intelligent, high-efficiency playback, while delivering a consistent and reliable connection” and delivering “incredible sound.” Sounds good to me. Here is Apple’s introduction video for the AirPods:
Yesterday, Apple introduced the 2016 versions of the iPhone, called the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and the 2016 versions of the Apple Watch. The updates add new features that will be much appreciated by lawyers and other professionals who are using these devices to get work done, but the best new features will be most appreciated when you are off-the-clock. Apple also announced new wireless headphones, called AirPods, which look fantastic. The new iPhone and Apple Watch can be pre-ordered starting tomorrow, and will be available in stores a week from tomorrow. Here are my thoughts on Apple’s new product announcements.
iPhone 7
Faster. Every year, the iPhone becomes faster, and I always love these improvements because they make the iPhone more responsive. When I get work done using my iPhone, I am constantly switching between apps, jumping from Mail to my calendar to Safari to Dropbox to 1Password etc. As my iPhone gets faster, I can be even more productive. The iPhone 7 has Apple’s new A10 Fusion chip, which is even faster than the processor in the 12.9″ iPad Pro.
More battery life. The iPhone 7 has a longer battery life. In part, this is because Apple removed the headphone jack, which I discuss below, allowing a bigger battery. In part this is because a new processor knows when to start using only 20% of the power when you don’t need full power. The net result is that you can get about two more hours of battery life on the iPhone 7, and about one more hour of battery life on the iPhone 7 Plus (which already had excellent battery life). I suspect that every lawyer has had a busy day when an iPhone was running on empty as the sun started to set. Having an extra two hours every day will be much appreciated.
Better screen. Apple says that the iPhone 7 has a Retina HD display. It is 25% brighter and has a wider color gamut, so colors will be more accurate and photos will be more realistic. This is something I’ll have to try to see how much of an improvement it is in real life. But in theory, I love the idea of a better screen on my iPhone because that’s what I’m staring at when I use my iPhone.
Water resistant. The iPhone 7 is rated IP67. The first number refers to how much dust can get inside of the device, and 6 is the best — complete protection against dust. The second number refers to liquid ingress protection and 7 is pretty good. The 7 means that in theory the iPhone could be up to 1 meter deep in water for up to 30 minutes and it would still work. That’s good, although not as good as an 8 or 9K rating. That 7 rating might make you think that you could take underwater photos and videos using your iPhone 7 as long as you don’t do so for more than 30 minutes and don’t go that deep underwater. In practice, however, the IP67 rating is based on a controlled test in a lab, and may even be with the phone powered off — I’m not sure about that. Even so, if you have ever had a situation where you accidentally dropped your iPhone in a sink or bathtub or swimming pool, the iPhone 7 is far more likely to survive being in the water than earlier models.
Camera. I think that the biggest improvement in the iPhone 7 is the camera. The camera works better in low light, with an f/1.8 aperture that allows 50% more light into the camera sensor than the iPhone 6s. The new camera also captures colors more accurately. And the iPhone 7 camera includes optical image stabilization, a feature that was previously included only on the Plus model. It also has a better and brighter flash. And while the main camera improvements are on the back, the front-facing camera is also improved, so you’ll look better in a FaceTime video conference, and you can take better selfies.
On the larger iPhone 7 Plus, Apple takes advantage of the larger device by adding a second camera. And while the first camera has a 28mm lens like the iPhone 7, the second camera has a 56mm telephoto lens. This means that if you want to zoom, you are no longer limited to a digital zoom (which makes things larger but at a lower quality) and instead you have what amounts to a 2x optical zoom. And while the iPhone 7 will let you use a 5x digital zoom, the 2x telephoto lens on the Plus means that you can get what amounts to a 10x zoom. Once you go all the way up to 10x, the quality of the image will suffer. But it will still look much better than the iPhone 7. And if you are just looking for a 2x zoom, the iPhone 7 Plus camera will look fantastic, much better than the iPhone 7.
Later this year in a software update, Apple will also give the iPhone 7 Plus the ability to use both cameras at the same time to create the illusion of depth-of-field, a bokeh effect that will allow a person in the center of your photo to remain in perfect focus while the background is blurred. This effect is common on SLR cameras with much larger lenses, and I’ll be curious to see how it looks on an iPhone 7 Plus considering that the iPhone is essentially faking the effect, although it is using two cameras so it is not like you are just applying a cheesy Instagram filter.
Home Button. The Home Button on the iPhone 7 is no longer a button. It is just a surface that can detect when you are putting pressure on it, and which produces a slight click to make you think that you have just pressed a button. Apple does something similar on the Apple Watch and the “button” on the MacBook laptop. In the Settings app, you can adjust how it responds to your touch. I’ll have to try it to see what I think, but my initial reaction is that this isn’t really an improvement or a disadvantage; it is just a change that was necessary to make the iPhone more water resistant.
Audio changes. If you ever play music, podcasts, movies, etc. on your iPhone just using the built-in speaker, then you’ll really like the iPhone 7 because it produces sound out of the top and the bottom — or, if you have your iPhone turned on its side in landscape mode to watch a video, sound out of the left and right side. Stereo sound. Thus, the iPhone 7 is much louder when using the built-in speaker, and has a more pleasing stereo sound.
If you want to use a headphone, you will no longer be able to use a built-in headphone jack. Instead, the iPhone 7 only works with headphones plugged in to the Lightning jack. The iPhone 7 comes with Apple’s Lightning EarPods. If you want to use traditional headphones, the iPhone also comes with a headphone jack / Lightning dongle. You can buy additional dongles from Apple for $9, making this the cheapest Apple hardware product that I can ever remember Apple selling.
There are several reasons that Apple decided to remove the headphone jack. It lets that space be used for other purposes (such as a larger battery) and it helps to make the iPhone more water resistant. But the main reason is that Apple thinks that the future of headphones is wireless. Which leads me to…
AirPods
Apple is removing the headphone jack because it thinks that the future is wireless. To show what the future looks like, Apple is releasing its own wireless headphones called AirPods, which will be available next month for $159. You don’t need an iPhone 7 to use them; you can also use an older iPhone model as long as it is running iOS 10.
The new AirPods look like just the tip of an Apple headphone without any of the cords. A microphone is located at the bottom of each stem. Put them in at least one ear and the sound from your iPhone automatically starts playing through the AirPods. When you have AirPods in both ears and you remove one of them — for example, because you want to hear something or talk to someone — the iPhone automatically pauses. Put the AirPod back in your ear to resume playing. Or, if you are listening to music and you remove both AirPods, then music stops playing in the AirPods and starts playing through your iPhone speakers.
By the way, you don’t have to use both AirPods at once. You can just use one at a time, perhaps when you are taking a call or listening to a podcast and don’t care about stereo.
There are no buttons on the AirPods, but they can sense when you double-tap one of them, which activates Siri. You can tell Siri to skip tracks, change the volume, etc. but there are no buttons on the AirPods to manually perform those functions (unlike Apple’s traditional wired headphones which had a play/pause/FF/RW button on the cord).
The cord always gets in the way when I use traditional headphones, and for that reason I’ve been mostly using Bluetooth headphones for the last year. The biggest problem with traditional wireless Bluetooth headphones is that they often don’t work that well. They can lose the connection, the sound sometimes stutters, etc. Apple says that it solved this problem by placing a chip (Apple calls it the W1) inside of each AirPod. Based on the initial reviews from folks who tried them yesterday, the sound quality of the AirPods is supposed to be quite good. If it all works as well as Apple says, it will be fantastic to have wireless headphones that really work well.
AidPods will last five hours before the charge runs out (or two hours if you are talking on the phone), and you recharge them by putting them in their carrying case. The carrying case has 24 hour battery, so you can recharge the AirPods almost five times in the case. Plug the case into any Lightning port and both the case and the AirPods recharge. It looks like a great solution for charging.
Apple Watch
The new version of the Apple Watch is called the Apple Watch Series 2. Additionally, Apple will continue to sell the original Apple Watch with one revision — a faster processor — under the name Apple Watch Series 1.
Faster. One of my biggest complaints about the original Apple Watch is that it was slow to perform many tasks. The watchOS 3 software update will use software to make all Apple Watches faster, but the big hardware change this year is a new processor that makes the watch 50% faster, plus a new GPU that makes graphics twice as fast, plus a dual-core processor. Even if you get the cheapest aluminum model of the Apple Watch called the Series 1, you get the speed increase associated with the new processor. So every new Apple Watch sold will be faster. That’s great news.
Brighter. The screen on the original Apple Watch is pretty good, but it can be hard to see if it is really bright outside. The 2016 Apple Watch has a display that is twice as bright as the original Apple Watch, making it even easier to see the display when you are outside during the day.
Running and Swimming. Apple knows that people like to be active with an Apple Watch, and made it easier to do so in two ways. First, the new Apple Watch now includes a GPS so it can track your run (or hike, or bike ride, etc.), even if your iPhone isn’t in your pocket. Second, you can now go swimming with the new Apple Watch because it is waterproof. The Apple website says: “Apple Watch Series 2 has a water resistance rating of 50 meters under ISO standard 22810:2010. This means that it may be used for shallow-water activities like swimming in a pool or ocean. However, Apple Watch Series 2 should not be used for scuba diving, waterskiing, or other activities involving high-velocity water or submersion below shallow depth.” The only part of the new Apple Watch that isn’t closed off to water is the speaker, since you need to have a pocket of air to produce sound. But after a swim (or after you press the water icon in the control panel) you can spin the digital crown on the side of the watch and the speaker will activate to blow any remaining water out of the watch. Neat trick. If you enjoy participating in Ironman triathlons where you run, bike and swim, this new Apple Watch has your name written all over it.
Special versions. When the Apple Watch debuted, Apple announced a single special version: a very expensive Apple Watch called the Edition which featured a gold case. This year, the gold case is gone, but the name remains. The new Edition is one-tenth the price of the gold Apple Watch, and instead of gold, this year’s Edition includes a white ceramic finish. Apple says that the ceramic makes the new Edition four times harder than the stainless steel version of the Apple Watch.
Another special version this year is the Apple Watch Nike+. It is a Series 2 aluminum Apple Watch that comes with a few special features, most notably a Nike-branded sport band that has lots of holes in the band, but also some special watch faces.
And Apple is continuing to sell a Hermès version of the Apple Watch, which now gets you the stainless steel Series 2 Apple Watch along with a special leather band made by Hermès, plus a special Hermès watch face.
Price. To place the new Apple Watch prices in historical context, remember that the original Apple Watch cost $349 for the 38mm Sport version with an aluminum case, or an extra $50 for the 42mm version; The Apple Watch with stainless steel sold for $549 for the 38mm version and $50 more for the 42mm version.
Now we have new prices along with the new “Series” name. And there are so many different price points that it can all get somewhat confusing.
The cheapest Apple Watch is now $80 cheaper. The 38mm Apple Watch Series 1 will cost $269, and for an additional $30 you can get the 42mm Apple Watch Series 1.
If you want all of the new Apple Watch features (brighter screen, GPS, swim-proof) in the aluminum model, then you’ll want the Series 2. Apple is no longer using the “Sport” name with the Apple Watch, and instead just refers to that as the aluminum model. The new aluminum Series 2 model starts at $369 for the 38mm model, and is $30 more for the 42mm model.
Thus, if you want the aluminum case, the Series 1 is either $80 less (38mm) or $100 less (42mm) than the original Apple Watch, and the Series 2 is either $20 more (38mm) or the same price (42mm).
If you want the stainless steel case, there is no Series 1. Every model of the 2016 stainless steel Apple Watch is the Series 2, with all of the new features. And the price remains the same as before: $549 for the 38mm version, and $50 more for the 42mm version.
All of these prices assume that you get the version of the watch with Apple’s cheapest bands — the Sport band or the Nylon band. If you want any of the fancier bands, you’ll pay more. My advice for new Apple Watch owners remains the same as last year. I encourage you to get the cheapest version with a Sport band or Nylon band. You’ll want to have a cheaper band for use when working out, getting your hands dirty in the backyard, and for the new Series 2 models for when swimming. Then buy the more expensive band separately, because that way you have the ability to return the more expansive band for a refund and/or to swap it out with another expansive band if you don’t like the original one that you bought.
If you are interested in the Nike+ version of the Apple Watch, the prices are essentially the same as the aluminum versions of the Apple Watch. The Hermès models costs between $1149 and $1499 depending upon which leather band you select. And the new Apple Watch Edition with the white ceramic case costs $1249, or $50 more if you want the 42mm version.
Summary
Sometimes Apple updates its products with features that seem to be aimed directly at lawyers and other professionals. For example, when Apple introduced the 12.9″ iPad Pro, it seemed directly aimed at folks trying to get work done with an iPad such as lawyers looking at documents, exhibits, etc. Even the 9.7″ version of the iPad Pro is a great productivity tool, with support for the Apple Pencil and a speedy processor. Yesterday’s updates to the iPhone and Apple Watch are, for the most part, not those types of updates. Sure, the increased speed and better screen on both products will improve productivity, and the better battery life on the iPhone could be a huge boost for many professionals, but most of the hardware improvements announced yesterday will be appreciated most when you step away from billable hours and begin your personal life.
But that isn’t meant to take away from the improvements. These are much better products. The new Apple Watch Series 2 will be great if you want assistance and motivation when you exercise — especially if you like to run without carrying your iPhone or you like to swim. The new camera on the iPhone 7 will improve the quality of your photographs, especially if you get the Plus model and want the ability to zoom. These look like amazing devices that folks will love, and I cannot wait to try them myself.
If you already use an iPhone 6s or an Apple Watch, these are not essential upgrades, although many will upgrade anyway to take advantage of the new features. But if you are using an iPhone 6 or older, the iPhone 7 is a substantial improvement that you will really appreciate. If you don’t yet own an Apple Watch, now is a perfect time to get one and learn for yourself why folks like me love it so much.
And finally, if you want to see a very quick recap of Apple’s new announcements in less than two minutes, Apple released a video yesterday afternoon called Don’t Blink, which contains an ultra-quick summary of the keynote. Apple has never released a video like this before, and it is fun:
Today at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern, Apple will give a keynote presentation at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Apple hasn’t disclosed what will be announced, but as I noted last week, the invitation may suggest a better camera on the iPhone.
I am 100% certain that Apple will announce the 2016 version of the iPhone today. I presume that it will be called the iPhone 7, based upon the naming conventions of the last few years, but this is always subject to change. I am also fairly certain that Apple will introduce a new Apple Watch today; the rumors say that at least one new Apple Watch model will include GPS.
But beyond those two products, I’m not sure what else Apple will announce. Rene Ritchie of iMore wrote a great post on Medium with his thoughts on what we will and won’t see today, so if you want more insight / speculation, check out his article.
You can watch the event live from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with Safari on iOS 7.0 or later, a Mac with Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X v10.8.5 or later, or a PC with Microsoft Edge on Windows 10. Using any of those devices, click here at or just before 10 Pacific today. Or you can watch using an Apple TV.
