Welcome to my live blog of the 9/7/16 Apple Keynote that will include the unveiling of the iPhone 7 among other things. Feel free to comment, follow us on Facebook or Twitter as i post pictures and review some of the cooler things that Apple decides to show us! From features to dimensions and price-points, you can get it all here from Computer Geeks.
Keynote will start at 1pm EST, just click refresh on this blog and new content will be coming in every 1-2 minutes!
Growth rates are over 106%, makes you wonder how many of those downloads were Pokemon Go? Apple also announces that the iPhone and iPad are the #1 Gaming devices on the planet.
AND GUESS WHO IS COMING TO THE APP STORE?!?!?!?
MARIO!!
They are announcing the new game Mario Run. A side scrolling run game that you will only need 1 hand to play! From the gameplay it looks pretty cool, but doesn’t look like you can go backwards to get items you have missed. But at least its not just another “run” game like “Minion Rush”
The Next Mario Game to be announced is Toad Rally! Which is a Battle Mode version of the game! This will allow you to battle your friends in Mario Bro’s and compete for a high score. I was honestly hoping for it to be the classic Mario Bros games, but alas, it is not…
The game will be released at a set price which they will not announce today, but it will release before the holidays.
Education
They are giving a Mac and iPad to 4500 teachers, Apple TV in every classroom and donating iPads to more than 50,000 students
“Everyone Can Code” is an extension of the Swift Playground app, teaching coding. Already since June, more than 100 schools and school districts around the world already plan to teach Swift Playgrounds this fall.
Nothing yet about any new products….
Announcing real-time collaboration, as multiple people can collaborate and edit a keynote presentation real time, which would work wonders for group projects when you cannot be in the same place at the same time with several people.
New Products
Apple Watch
There is lots of gloating about how awesome Apple Watch is. #2 watch brand in the world behind only Rolex.
Watch OS3, new deck, tap back to send replies, confetti backgrounds and writing messages with your finger, this thing seems to be awesome so far.
And now for all of you fans of the sensation known as Pokemon Go….
POKEMON GO IS COMING TO THE APPLE WATCH!!
Over 500,000,000 downloads of Pokemon go and walked over 4.6 billion KM
Pokemon Go on Apple Watch Demo
Shows how far you have walked, heart rate and help you see what is near by. You will still have to take out your phone to catch wild Pokemon, but you can hit Pokestops, hatch your eggs and find Pokemon with the watch!
Apple Watch Series 2
You can wear this watch in the pool, at the beach up to 50 meters of depth! No more having to take off your watch to go into the pool!
the speaker in the watch will be able to eject any water that gets inside
You will now be able to track a swim workout!
Apple has added a dual core processor that’s up to 50 percent faster. We’ve added an entirely new GPU that delivers 2X the graphics performance
Series 2 also features a new second generation display more than 2X brighter than before. It’s the brightest display Apple has shipped on any product. at 1,000 nits
They have also added in built in GPS! That will even sync with your iPhone
Viewranger hiking app demo
Showing GPS functions on hiking trail, and via notifications
Gives you Fun facts of landmarks..
Comes in a wide variety of styles. Cases in aluminum and stainless steel as well as a new material we’ve been working on for quite some time. Ceramic
Summary of Series 2 Apple Watch
Apple Watch Nike +
Nike and Apple have developed “your perfect running partner” There is an option for a quick run, but hitting start run, or just ask Siri to start a run.
The watch will send out custom motivation to get out and run..
$369 for Apple Watch Series 2. But Apple Watch being upgraded w dual-core processor, called Series 1, for $269
Pre-Orders are on 9/9/16, OS3 9/13/16
iPhone 7
Starting with iOS 10, which i have personally been demoing for the past month, and it is amazing!
Better quick typing
Maps app is redesigned and works great as a gps
With iOs 10 you can manage your home right from the control center and with Siri as well,
100 devices coming to market this year.
All you have to look for is this label: works with Apple HomeKit
Now for the iPhone 7!!!
?
They are going over how they make the shiny Aluminum body. Oooooooooooh Sounds…….expensive
10 major new features
First is the Finish called “Jet Black” It’s a high gloss finish so it’s a seamless surface between the glass
Second is The Home Button
Third item is that the phone is now Water and Dust resistant!
The Fourth Item is the Camera
the first thing ISP does is read the scene and checks for objects/bodies. automatically sets exposure, focus, white balance, … noise reduction. can take multiple photos and fuse into one to take the perfect images. New ISP chip, improved throughput by 2x. Improved face and body detection, exposure, white balance, wide color, local tone mapping and noise reduction. Will even fuse multiple photos into one via machine learning. 100 billion operations every time we take a picture. Does it in just 25 millseconds
Up from 5MP on the iPhone 6s!
Summary of the Camera
And one more thing! Double Cameras on the iPhone 7Plus!
This will allow us to magnify pictures without losing the quality of the picture, up to 10X zoom!!
In camera app, where normally select style, there’s a new style that says “Portrait.” Automatically jumps to using a telephoto lens. Automatically you see the depth effect. Being generated in real time as you look at your screen
Fifth item on the docket is Retina HD Display
Sixth item is Audio
Built in speakers are a huge jump forward. For the first time ever they will be STEREO SPEAKERS which will give out double the sound!
7th one is the headphones
Headphones will now be plugged in through the lightning cable!
also giving away a free adapter so you can use your old headphones!!
The reason they did this is for 3 reasons
First reason is courage
Second, this is really important, our smartphones are packed with technologies and we always want more. Brighter displays,etc. .. it’s all fighting for space within that same enclosure. Maintaining an ancient connector doesn’t make sense
Third, most important, when you have a vision of how the audio experience can be, you want to get there as fast as you can
Which brings us to #8 WIRELESS
These look legit, wireless headphones!
Sensors trigger play w proximity. Motion triggers, accelerometers. Beam-forming microphones reduce noise. 5hrs battery. Charge case offers 24 hours life. Intelligent switcher to things to Apple Watch. (AirPods) The new wireless AirPods deliver incredible sound. Sexy video with porno music in the background… I need a cigarette
Easily connect the AirPods
Can listen in stereo or if want to use one for Siri or phone call, automatically routes audio. No pairing or unpairing. Those things are of the past
Beats has their own version of wireless headphones to take advantage of the new Apple w1 chip!
New Beats Solo 3 Wireless. 40 hours of listening time
Ninth is Apple Pay
No. 10. Honestly I’m almost embarrassed we held this one til the last. It is performance
40% faster than the A9 Chip
When doing something like checking email. .. can get longer battery life. Graphics are 240X faster than in the original iPhone
CONSOLE LEVEL GAMING ON THE IPHONE 7!
Pro apps benefit as well. Adobe Lightroom. 90% of the features for raw editing as in the desktop version.
Video of the Gameplay is stunning with no lag! Nothing proves performance like 400 flying monkeys.
Final Summary
Thank you for joining me today on this live blog! Feel free to share and leave comments!!
I’m going to try and keep this tech based, so bear with me. Does it seems like Generation X (born between 1965-1980) is the forgotten generation? Does it seem so even when it comes to Generation X and technology?
I came across this article. The title has a naughty word, so reader discretion is advised.?I’ll link it here.?I don’t agree with everything Matt Honan says, but he has valid points. The technology we take for granted wouldn’t be here if not for Generation X. Our generation (I was born in 1978. I consider Generation X myself a Gen Xer) gave the world Google and Yahoo. We gave the world Ebay, PayPal, and Craigslist. Gen X gave you Twitter. Founders Jack Dorsey and Even Williams were born in the 1970s. We paved the way for the smartphone. The baby boomers may have invented the Internet in 1969, but Generation X made it relevant and part of daily life. Millennials like Mark Zuckerberg helped create social media. But remember chat rooms? Chat rooms of the 1990s paved the way for your Facebook, your You Tube, your Instagram. In fact, Generation X helped create tech hub Silicon Valley.
Yes, there was the dot.com crash of 2000, but Silicon Valley continues to thrive to this day. Generation X made that happen. Yet, it seems like everyone forgot about us. Baby boomers often get praised for changing the world. As well they should. Millennials get criticized for being spoiled and entitled. Well, look at the world they inherited. But Generation X hardly gets remembered at all, despite all that we’ve contributed to society, including technology. Even Gen Zers (those born after 1996) get more press than Generation X. Some of them are literally still in diapers. ?In 1996, Time magazine came out with a special magazine: The 50 Greatest Baby Boomers of All-Time. This was to celebrate that generation’s 50th anniversary. In 2015, do you remember Time magazine coming out with The 50 Greatest Gen Xers of All-Time? Me either. What are some other tech contributions Gen Xers made?
Some think there are only two places to make it big in the tech world: San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. That’s not necessarily the case. California isn’t the only candy store in town when it comes to tech jobs.
I read a story about Kate Rogers, manager of a website builder called Weebly. She was tired of long commutes, high rent, and woeful wealth inequality gap in San Francisco. She moved to Phoenix. Rogers has never been happier. She feels she can thrive and prosper in Phoenix. She never has that feeling in San Francisco. Kate Rogers’ story isn’t unique.
San Francisco and Silicon Valley face issues like overcrowded highways and housing, ridiculous inflation costs, and disgruntal, underpaid employees. Phoenix is experiencing a renaissance. Though hit hard by the late 2000s Great Recession, they’re back and better than ever. Uber and Yelp have headquarters there. The cost of living is 25% cheaper in Phoenix. The average home in Phoenix costs $212,000. The average home in San Francisco costs $810,000. And Phoenix’s increase in tech jobs is 18% between 2010-2015. That’s just the middle of the pack. Raleigh, NC and Austin, TX have tech job increase rates 38% and 37%. Other hot rising tech cities include Nashville TN, Atlanta GA, Charlotte NC, Salt Lake City UT, and right here in Boston!
Yes, San Francisco and San Jose was also on this list. But if something isn’t done to combat these woes, they won’t be for long. California has competition, and plenty of it. Employees know it. Companies know it. They’re taking advantage of it. If more people can find better work, better pay, better housing, and a better environment for their families in other parts of the country, they’re going to take it. Here in Boston/Cambridge, MA, there are tech giants like M.I.T.’s labs. Google also has headquarters in Cambridge. Think about the college graduates. I’ll never forget the San Francisco employee who complained of conditions there. She was fired for it. I don’t think she’ll have a problem in Phoenix, Austin, Raleigh, Boston, or dozens of other rising tech cities. These places are putting Silicon Valley on notice. That’s a good thing for the worker and corporation. For the Silicon Valley area, not so much. In 10 years, will Silicon Valley even be Silicon Valley anymore?
This month, Apple CEO Tim Cook will celebrate his fifth anniversary in that position. In an interview, Cook reflects on these five years, and no topic is off limits. What’s five years of Tim Cook been like?
You can’t talk about Apple without talking about iPhone. During Cook’s tenure, the iPhone has been Apple’s bread and butter. The iPhone makes over half of Apple’s revenue. Though there has been disappointments, but Cook just celebrated a milestone. Recently, Apple sold it’s billionth iPhone. Cook talks about his mistakes, like his first hire to manage Apple Stores. He talks about learning from such mistakes. He highlights a better grooming process for future employees. He talked about recent privacy issues, like the beef between Apple and the FBI earlier this year. He talks about succeeding one of the biggest icons in American business, the late Steve Jobs. Cook is proud of his social justice record. In the last five years, he spoke out on everything from civil rights to gay rights to privacy rights. Apple’s presence in China came up. Cook revealed what inspired him to write a article revealing he is gay. He is proud of Apple’s swift rise in China since 2011. There are 41 Apple Stores in China. In 2011, there were four. What’s next for Apple’s future?
Cook has a reason to be optimistic. Apple stock shares have double. They’re sitting on over $231 billion in cash. That’s more than Portugal’s financial worth. They acquired 65 companies during his tenure. That’s including the 3 billion dollar deal with Dr. Dre’s Beats headphones. That’s the largest business deal of all-time. Of course, Apple has it’s criticism as well. It looks like they’re investing more in China than in the US. I see the business move behind that: They’re the second biggest economy in the world. But don’t forget about home. Some criticize Apple’s stance against the FBI. As far as Apple’s iPhone 7 is concerned, Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has their number. But Apple is one of the most prosperous businesses of all-time. Tim Cook has a huge part of that. Plus, he uses his power to speak out of pressing issues facing our generation. This is why Cook has my utmost respect. What will the next five years of Tim Cook hold?
How would you like to work in the most quiet room ever? Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington has it. This computer lab in Microsoft’s Building 88?even made the Guinness Book of World Records.
A tech insider named Matt Weinberger spend five minutes in this contraption. Microsoft lab engineer Gopal Gopal (I’m assuming that’s his real name) gave him the tour. Why is this room so quiet? It’s because this ‘anechoic chamber’ needs complete silence for audio testing. Here, they tests Surface tablets, laptops, Skype calls, and other Microsoft based products and services. One picture shows Gopal using a robot for microsoft testing. ?They need absolute silence for these tests. They didn’t just want a quiet room; they took it to the extreme. The most silent this world can ever record is -23 decibels. That’s sound molecules playing off each other. Microsoft’s anechoic chamber stands in at -20 decibles. You can hardly hear yourself talk. You hear no noise coming from outside or within. Gopal had to shout at maximum capacity just so Weinberger can hear him. The negative decibles quiet out normal conversation. But Gopal believes this extreme silence is necessary. He tested quiet sounds of a Surface Tablet’s power supply and fan.
So, in Gopal’s science, such crazy silence is golden. But is it sane? Weinberger stated he was on the brink of madness in that anechoic chamber. Gopal himself felt the clutches of insanity gripping him. When I’m at my desk, I need noise. It has to be music, news, a movie, TV show, conversations in the other room, something! I can’t go an hour in total silence. And I work in a regular office on a busy street in downtown Boston, MA. I can’t imagine being in a -23 decibels office all day. I hope Gopal can take breaks, like every 30 minutes. I’d need to experience the real world in an hourly basis if I’m to work in those extreme conditions. Gopal has an admirable work ethic that goes above and beyond the call. Could you work in the most quiet room ever?
How much would you sacrifice to support a cause? Would you give half your life savings? Would you move to a foreign country? Would you leave the company you founded? One media mogul does the latter.
Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington leaves the company she helped turned into a digital media powerhouse. She signed a deal to be editor-in-chief until 2019. She’s starting a company called Thrive Global. It’s a media tech company dedicated to health issues. Yes, Huffington is fully dedicated to Thrive Global. She’s already accepted venture funding, and plenty of it. And she’s dedicating her full attention to this start-up. Huffington Post was founded in 2005 by Arianna Huffington, Andrew Breitbart, Jonah Peretti and Kenneth Lerer. Before then, Huffington started out as a political commentator. In the last 40+ years, she authored 15 books. Huffington Post was acquired by AOL Inc. in 2011. Shortly thereafter, AOL Inc. was bought out by Verizon. In eleven years, Huffington Post helped set the standard in digital and alternative media. This digital medium draws over 100 million viewers a month, and expands to fourteen countries. AOL’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong said of Huffington: “Arianna is a visionary who built The Huffington Post into a truly transformative news platform.”
Thrive Global works with other companies to improve employees’ health. This is particularly true for tech and media based companies. The business is expected to launch in November 2016. Perfect timing. We’ll all need mental health improvement after this brutal election season. Arianna Huffington built her legacy off being a trailblazer. At 66 years old, she’s doing it again. There is a market for Thrive Global’s services. Individuals are concerned for their health. Employers are concerned for their employees’ health. They can’t afford to pay high insurance claims for unhealthy employees getting sick on them. With that being said, everybody wins with Thrive Global. Who wants to be sick? Nobody does! Is Arianna Huffington taking a good risk here?
