Currently Apple’s online store is down in preparation for the sales of their new iPhone SE and iPad Pro 9.7 inch.
In addition you can also buy new watch straps for the Apple Watch.
The iPad Pro 9.7 inch was nearly on my wish list, but when I heard Apple had dropped the ram from 4gb to 2gb versus the larger iPad Pro, that left me a little disappointed. Will this put you off?
With the iPhone SE starting at £359, this must be a winner for Apple. What do you think?
I took this photo below yesterday on the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. It is a panoramic shot inside Foggintor Quarry, Dartmoor.
This got me thinking about the LG G5 camera setup with one normal 16mp lens and the other a 8mp wide angled lens.
(I will have the LG G5 to compare with the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge very shortly, and I will have initially the LG Cam and LG HiFi DAC modules to review.)
Quite simply why bother with the wide angled lens. Firstly it’s only 8mp and secondly its f stop is f/2.4 so photos will appear darker. If you flip over to the panoramic mode you can create a high resolution wide view shot without much effort.
The LG V10 and LG G4 took fantastic panoramic shots so this really makes me wonder if the second 8mp a flaw in the design and a waste of time?
Personally, I am in two minds and will reserve judgment until I have had time to test the setup accordingly. My thoughts at the moment are that a wide angled lens takes away the fiddling or sweeping the phone slowly across the screen and level while taking a panoramic and then waiting for the number of photos to be stitched. With a fixed lens you will see before you take the shot what you have captured and might produce some more dramatic looking results. Another bonus is the ability to not have to step back to capture everything in the frame. Sometimes you can’t step back.
Stay tuned for some more coverage.
“Pebble head Eric Migicovsky has confirmed that the group will be saying goodbye to around a quarter of its workforce due to financial challenges.
Speaking to Tech Insider about the move, Migicovsky said that Pebble has managed to raise around $26 million over the last eight months, adding that the group has done well from private investors.
Despite Pebble’s seemingly high numbers, the company head has emphasized how important being careful with product planning has proven recently. Even though money is coming in, Pebble has had to let go of 40 employees.”
Not a good day for Pebble. I do wonder if they have the market collateral to compete against Apple, Samsung, Jawbone, Fitbit and others.
More at Talk Android.
Apple Pay was first out of the blocks and now it is taking the next logical step.
“Apple is planning to expand Apple Pay to allow iOS users to make purchases from websites later this year, reports Re/code. With the change, Apple Pay will be available to customers who visit websites and make purchases using the Safari browser on iPads and iPhones.”
Paying via Apple Pay on mobile website will help push Apple Pay to become the normal method of payment going forward.
Two nights ago my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge received a firmware update. This has been stated as the March security update and some bug fixes. Well I had been playing with the S7 Edge all day yesterday and noticed the following changes and improvements.
– March Security update applied
– Camera Failed Bug – This appears to have gone. Re-activating Smart Stay in the display option of the settings app does not cause the camera to fail.
– Camera Post Processing – Samsung is still applying sharpening but it has been reduced. See below.
– RAW Shots- Following the changes above, I wondered if RAW photos had been improved. Shot below is a RAW shot that I post processed afterwards of a game controller knob.
And below is the original JPG in auto.
– Bluetooth Audio – The S7 Edge has a Hi-Res Bluetooth Codec called UHQ. This has been improved to prevent minor drop outs whilst using this Hi-Res format.
– Misc bug fixes and improved screen sensitivity
So have you found any other improvements or fixes.
I have used my 3 labradors in high speed photography with all my decent flagship phones. The S7 Edge camera is the first phone that took so many burst shots I had fractions of differences between each movement. Truly amazing speed. 100 burst shots took just a few seconds.
George does the Long Jump
Look at all the movement captured by the S7 with all 3 dogs, not just George in the air.
River Racing
This was a HDR burst into the sun, so remarkable what came out.
Flying Tiggy
And now for Tiggy in the air.
Happy Faces
Now all the above photos were before the new firmware received a few days ago. The sharpening has been reduced slightly, so when zooming in the detail in more pleasing.
Big Smiles
And with new firmware, Tiggy is smiling big time.
So Apple held their spring keynote speech yesterday and it was one monster of a sales pitch.
The key points –
– iPhone SE announced – the iPhone 5S with iPhone 6S specs. 16gb starts in UK at £359. 64gb is £439.
– iOS 9.3 launched – Night Shift, Touch ID for Notes, improvements to News, Car Play, Apple Health and other smaller bug fixes and tweaks for various apps
– iPad Pro – this time at 9.7 inches. 32gb, 128gb and 256gb versions.
– Reduction in pricing for Apple Watch and new bands
– Siri search for Apple TV 4th Gen plus tvOS update
– Apple Watch update allows pairing more than one Apple Watch to an iPhone
– Details on environmental policy and progress
– Carekit
On the face of it, the Apple Keynote could have seemed quite boring but actually it was a stroke of genius. Here’s my thoughts why –
– Apple now have a fully featured flagship specced iPhone for sale at £359 in the UK. That is really going to so many other brands. On contract, this phone is likely going to be free. Despite the trend towards larger phones, many will opt for this. Also, Apple now have a new iPhone to buy mid year and prior to the launch of the new iPhone release in September 2016. This will push iPhone sales even higher.
– Price reduction on the Apple Watch just as you allow more than one watch to be paired with an iPhone. Plus new bands. This will create repeat sales and bring people to the table who haven’t got an Apple Watch due to the lower price point.
– iPad Pro 9.7 inch. Apple repeatedly told everyone that the iPad Pro 9.7 inch was the perfect upgrade for you with your 5 years old windows pc and for those with ageing iPads. Apple kept repeating this was the iPad upgrade that was worth upgrading too. In addition, Apple included a 256gb storage option to help rake in the money.
So there you have it. A great sales pitch by the best marketeers in the business!
Before I start, I want to make something quite clear. This is not a platform bashing editorial, it is a more down to earth look at how I now perceive the two largest mobile operating systems.
I am certain some of you will disagree, rage, cry, smile or weep. But whatever you do, if you leave a comment keep it constructive and factual. As the moderator, I will use my powers if necessary. Hopefully this won’t be necessary.
The background behind this article. To support iOS, I am using the iPhone 6S Plus, Apple TV 4th Gen, Apple Watch, iPad Air and Macbook. To support android, I am using the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Gear S2, Gear VR, Level One Pro Bluetooth headphones and Macbook.
So lets look at iOS first. My observations are tighter integration within the hardware and software across all Apple devices. Apps on the iPhone look better and there is a much wider range of apps across many categories. iMessage and FaceTime are integrated across all Apple devices. Receive a SMS on your phone, reply on your MAC. You get the picture. Seamless. Handoff is another nicety. Viewing a website on your iPad, move to your MAC and continue reading the same page. Other aspects of iOS is Apple Pay. In the UK there is still no other option. 3D Touch is handy on the iPhone.
So now lets look at android. Google services are better integrated as expected. Hardware is leap years ahead. QHD screens, curved screens, ultra battery saving modes, wireless and fast charging, fast wireless charging and much more. No special cables needed for connecting to the phone. Eg for USB On The Go. Connecting cameras, USB sticks and more is standard. Miracast, DNLA and bluetooth and more are not restricted in capabilities as on iOS. iOS will often need apps or workarounds. Background services actually work on android without being stopped after 10 minutes e.g. uploading to flickr or Google Photos. Android flagship phones now take the lead with camera quality especially LG G4 and Samsung S7. Bluetooth audio includes APT-X on phones. This produces a better quality music playback via compatible headphones. Apple include this on the macbook but not iPhone. But then APT-X High Definition is now available. So music playback via headphones is ahead. Virtual Reality has arrived. Where is Apple? The Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch is so fantastic to use. The mode of operation is a breeze and far more logical than the Apple Watch. However the Apple Watch is streaks ahead in developer support and apps. So that means with the Gear S2, so long as it does what you want from day 1 you will be fine. However, neither watch is perfect.
And now lets cover off the subject of apps. I have come to the conclusion if you live on iOS you tend to have more apps. On android you don’t need as many apps. The app gap on popular apps has gone. Speciality apps are still king on iOS. But there are apps on android that don’t exist on iOS and offer more functionality. I was surprised to find that Flickr on android is better than the iOS version. You can add your photo to as many groups on android at once, on iOS it only allows one group at a time.
Gaming. iOS has a better selection of games. BUT you can’t play game emulators on iOS but you can on android. I have bluetooth game controllers for both iOS and android. iOS support is lacklustre at best, whereas on android it is way ahead. This is mainly due to the fact android has better support for bluetooth profiles.
Cloud services goes to android. Even Apple knows how good Google are at the cloud, to the point where Apple are going to start using Google’s cloud service.
So you could say if you want varied hardware designs, want to listen to music in higher quality, experience virtual reality, view everything on the best phone displays in the world, take photos with the best camera, game like a gamer with proper support for game controllers, then use an android flagship phone.
Or if you want polished apps, lots of apps, Apple Pay (UK), 3D Touch, speciality apps, universal use of iMessage and other integrated Apple Services, then use iOS.
At the end of the day it does boil down to personal preference. And sometimes, even if its not the best choice, it might be you’re using a phone that you know how to use and are comfortable with its operation.
There is one last point that for many is really important and that is after sales support and service. This is a one horse race that goes to iOS. Nobody currently beats the Apple after sales support and simultaneous software updates.
So that’s my viewpoint. As to which is better? Depends…
I have owned the Moga Pro Power Bluetooth Game Controller for ages now and used it with loads of different android phones and tablets.
The setup procedure is meant to be as follows. Download the Moga app in the Google Play Store. Go into the Moga app settings and follow the connection setup procedure.
Just one problem, this no longer works and judging by the app comments in the Google Play Store, loads of people cannot get it to connect.
Well good news there is a way to get both Mode A and Mode B working. The trick is not to use the Moga app but you still should install it. So head over to the S7’s setting app. Select bluetooth. Scan. Make sure the Moga Pro is first turned to Mode A. It should show connected after a short while. If it doesn’t scan again, and again if necessary. It will connect. Also, press the button on the game controller next to the LED indicator light. This is top left. Once the S7 shows it as paired, slide the Mode switch on the controller to B and repeat the process. It doesn’t always pair on the first attempt, so keep trying. It took me about 3 attempts on each mode.
When connected and playing you will get a green icon in the status bar.
The more you use the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge the more you discover. The S7 and S7 Edge has a sandbox type area called Game Launcher. This automatically places all your games into this app. You can manually add or remove games as well.
You then have a range of game playing options, from recording your gameplay, stopping notifications whilst gaming and turning off the capacitive menu keys to prevent accidental presses.
Below are two games I recorded. You can also add you voice to the footage. You will notice the warning message about having the game music too loud and you will also see the icon bottom left to indicate recording.
What’s really impressive is I was able to play the game and record it at 720p. Both games were also connected to my Gear S2 and Moga Pro Bluetooth Game Controller. Just shows how powerful the Exynos processor is.
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 