Below are 3 photos taken yesterday on the iPhone 6S Plus.
Little Mis Tor, Dartmoor – Panoramic. I particularly liked this shot and was very pleased with the result from the iPhone. Unedited. Don’t forget to click on the photo to see the original.
The next two had to be edited in snapseed using the HDR scape filter as the shots were too dark (under exposed).
Tomorrow I will have around 20 photos taken at the same time with the Asus Zenfone Zoom for comparison.
Cultofmac is reporting that Apple Music is shutting down its ad-supported radio as of January 28, pushing Beats 1 as the premier free “broadcast” for Apple. Apple sent the news out in an email to subscribers and free listeners today.
You’ll still be able to listen to all the Apple Music radio as an Apple Music member, but not as a free listener.
Radio is a tab in iTunes under the Music section that had been supported by ads. Apple clearly is moving away from ads, along with ditching it failed iAds program.
Beats 1 will continue to be the free tier of Apple Music.
The simply solution here is to use a FM or DAB Radio or an app like Tunein. Much cheaper solutions too!
Here we go. A quick camera comparison of the Apple iPhone 6S Plus versus the Asus Zenfone Zoom.
The photos below are the only shots I took. No second or third attempts and choosing the best one. The weather was turning fast (snow) so it was take the photos as fast as possible.
iPhone 6S Plus – Auto Mode – HDR not used
iPhone 6S Plus – Digital Zoom – Difficult to tell how many times zoom this was but I tried to estimate it to 3 times. Also as you can see it just started snowing again.
Asus Zenfone Zoom – Auto – these shots are after the massive firmware update received last night as as documented in my other post today. Unfortunately it was snowing for the first shot below.
Asus Zenfone Zoom – 3 x optical zoom – so much clearer this shot than the digital zoom from the iPhone. I have done many other optical zoom shots are the quality is much better than using digital zoom from the iPhone.
Asus Zenfone Zoom – Super Resolution mode – all the photos were handheld but I am certain super resolution photos would benefit from a tripod. File size was 12mb.
Asus Zenfone Zoom – HDR mode – One of the good points of the Zenfone Zoom is the Auto mode will suggest an alternative mode eg HDR or Low Light and bring up an icon on screen to allow you to switch immediately without going into the settings and selecting a different camera shooting mode. HDR was not suggested by the Zenfone Zoom. I just wanted to see how it turned out.
Anyone that’s all for today. I just wanted to share some first shots. And remember these were the only shots taken on each phone. One shot, one chance to get it right and all handheld!
Apple Pay made the first big splash into mobile payment acceptance as a mainstream option. Apple Pay offers a quick and easy way to use your compatible iPhone to make a purchase. When everything works, it is as simple as ABC. And it generally works every time.
It fails to work when the cashier hasn’t pressed a button on the till or the amount due is over £30. Lifting the limit for mobile payments over £30 really needs to happen immediately as its the biggest stumbling block for faster adoption. I don’t know the answer, but if you knew you were going to buy £50 in groceries, is it not possible to split the food into 2 transactions of £25 each, thereby getting around the £30 limit? If this is possible, why bother having the £30 limit in the first place.
The UK does not have Android or Samsung Pay yet. It is due to arrive this year and I am predicting for Samsung it will link up with the launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S7. Samsung Pay is available in the USA, and in my opinion offers a better solution as the compatible Samsung phones can use both contactless and magnetic terminals, thereby being further accepted at more places instantly. Android Pay is also not available yet in the UK, but it is in the USA, and works similar to the concept used by Apple.
The world needs android pay to take off as most phones work with this operating system. This will push forward conversion across the industry regardless of platform.
So all seems rosy in the world of mobile payments? Not really. LG have thrown their hat in the ring saying they are going to launch their own payments system. Walmart too. Plus there are other large companies looking to provide mobile payment solutions. This is going to get messy as companies fight it out for market share and dominance. What we need is simplification. If its an iPhone you use only Apple Pay. If its an android phone then it should be just android pay and so on.
The problem at the moment is contactless payments like Apple Pay need transactions to include loyalty cards and vouchers. This is where it gets messy. Why should retailers share sensitive data with Apple or Google or Samsung? So what happens, retailers launch their own system so you could end up trying to remember which app you need in which store!
Another complication is that sometimes using for example Apple Pay is not the best solution. Take Wagamamas. MasterCard have an app that Wagamamas use that allows you to order food and drinks from your app. You can order more food during the meal too. And when finished eating, use the app to pay. It gets even better. Lets say you’re a party of 10. All 10 use the MasterCard app to pay for just the items ordered. The process of splitting the food/bill is a breeze. Of course the other benefit is the speed. No more waiting to order your food and drinks. And no more waiting for the bill to arrive. The benefit to the restaurant is a faster turnaround. The MasterCard app can be used by other places too. With its location settings on, it can alert you to a place nearby that accepts the app. There are other options too.
So at the moment, the options for mobile payments is just taking off and is looking like it is going to get messy before its gets refined!
What have been your experiences so far with contactless payments? Have you used another system or app that you would recommend?
Apple released its next round of product betas covering all its hardware. Below is a summary of the best features from all the betas –
tvOS 9.2 beta 1
Support for app folders and bluetooth keyboards.
watch 2.2 beta
Multiple watches can be paired to one iPhone.
iOS 9.3 beta
Notes app – now possible to lock individual notes with a passcode and unlock via Touch ID
Night mode – based on your time and location, iOS will automatically make the colour temperature warmer on the display warmer to get rid distracting blues at night. Blue tones are replaced at night with more yellower tones. A dark theme option would have been good too but alas not yet.
Quick 3D Actions – many more stock apps have had 3D Touch quick actions enabled – App Store, iTunes, Weather, Settings, Compass, and Health
iPad – multiple user mode is introduced albeit for use in education only at present.
Classroom app for education – this allows teachers to monitor all the pupils with an iPad, check which apps are being used and their progress with work flow in real time.
News app received some minor tweaks.
Health app now displays more information from your Apple Watch eg. move and stand data, plus recommends third-party apps in the various different categories e.g. weight, sleep, workouts.
Live Photos – you can now save a full resolution photo from a Live Photo. When using the Share Sheet, choosing “Duplicate” now gives an option to create a Still Photo duplicate of a Live Photo.
The above watch was used in a quick experiment to see how good the macro mode works on the Apple iPhone 6S Plus, and then taking the same shot using a macro and fisheye lens attachment that is meant to fit a number of iPhone models.
So let’s look at what the iPhone can achieve using the full digital zoom too in macro mode.
The shot above is average at best. As expected digital noise is visible.
So using a VicTsing Clip lens set that comes with 3 different lenses I tried to see what the 12 x macro lens could achieve. I only choose this brand as it was recently on a lightning deal on Amazon and wanted to see what £14.99 worth of lenses could achieve.
The end shot is a lot sharper, although the colour balance is slightly different and would need a small tweak. However I was very happy with the improved photo.
Looking at the fisheye lens that comes in the box you can achieve the following. First original photo from the iPhone.
And now the fisheye version.
So what do you think? Obviously in fisheye mode the entire hotel got captured but at the expense of focus in places and the bowl effect finish.
The VicTsing also comes with a 24 x macro lens which is for extreme close ups and generally not needed in my testing.
I have also tried Olloclip lenses but what I found really good about this kit is that it comes in a protective mini case, micro fibre cloth, 2 lens clips and caps so you can have both 2 lenses ready to rock and a hook to clip on to clothing or something else. Olloclip lenses generally cost around £80+. This little number is just £14.99 but it’s quality is average at best. But then would you use this lens set often? If not then maybe £14.99 is enough. The Olloclip also suffered similar lens after effects.
Now whether it’s worth the hassle of attaching and carrying the extra lenses is up to you.
For more info on the VicTsing lenses and to see the latest deal on them, click HERE
From day one I got a case for my iPhone 6S Plus. I also bought a screen protector and a tempered glass screen protector.
After applying both screen protectors one after another I decided I hated the way both screen protectors ruined the view from the front, so removed them. Touch wood, I have no scratches on my front screen.
Now to the subject of using a case. As I said I fitted a case from day one. I bought the Apple silicone and leather case to start off with. The silicone case in my opinion made the phone look cheap and I didn’t like the feel and dust collecting abilities of the silicone case. There are some benefits of using a silicone case in that if you have an Apple Watch you can buy matching sports straps. So I settled with the Apple leather case with provides extra grip and slightly more protection should you drop the phone.
Move forward to a few days and I received some clip on macro and fish eye lenses for the iPhone. To use these you have to remove your case. And then I stepped back, looked at the iPhone and thought “wow”. The iPhone 6S Plus looks damn gorgeous without a case.
And now I’m left with a dilemma. I don’t want to put the Apple leather case back on BUT the consequences of not having a case and being unfortunate and dropping the iPhone could be a costly affair. The chances of dropping it are higher without a case as the aluminium finish is slippery.
So I have this emotional feeling to decide to whether to use my iPhone naked or cased?
What do you do with your phone?
Dropping from the 16mp camera on the LG G4 to the 12mp iPhone 6S Plus does frustrate me sometimes.
Below is a 17mp 16:9 photo. As there was loads of pixels, I could crop it to produce this cow selfie shot. These were taken on the Sony RX100 MK3.
Or just create something straight forward like these two shots below –
As good as the iPhone camera is across video and stills, on several occasions I do miss the extra pixel data. The RX100 is small enough to fit in a pocket to the point that I might stop using the iPhone completely and then I would not have to worry about how good or bad my camera was on a my phone.
Have you ever felt this?
I am currently experimenting using the Apple Watch and FitBit Charge HR with MyFitnessPal.
I was seeing a difference in steps taken on the MyFitnessPal app versus steps used and converted as extra calories for the day when using the Apple Watch. The FitBit Charge HR doesn’t have any problems.
So I emailed MyFitnessPal support and below is the response received.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. We’re sorry for any inconvenience you’ve come across. When you connect your Apple Watch, the steps are recorded throughout the day on your homepage as you have observed. When our program updates your adjustment in your diary, we pull the data from your Homepage periodically. Therefore, as your steps increase over time, the steps in your diary will not reflect that unless they are updated. We are definitely working to improve this aspect of the program and appreciate your understanding.
Well I hope this is fixed as the variance can be as much as 200 steps adrift to 5,000 steps adrift. I am also trying an alternative app to MyFitnessPal called MyNetDiary. It is still early days with this app so don’t have any conclusions yet.
Across the internet many websites are claiming the next iPhone, the iPhone 7 won’t have a headphone jack. And now there’s another rumour that the lightning port is history. This will make the next iPhone waterproof.
The loss of the headphone jack is making people panic that all their headphones will suddenly become obsolete. That’s totally wrong. Or is it?
Firstly, remember these are only rumours. Apple has not confirmed anything so this may be pie in the sky. Secondly, it could be rumours spread by Apple to test the public reaction.
Let’s look at the headphone jack first.
Apple won’t be the first company to remove the headphone jack. Oppo sells the Oppo R5 which is 4.85mm thick and is too thin for a headphone jack. It comes with a bluetooth accessory that allows you to connect your current headphones into. The little adapter can also be used to operate the camera shutter remotely.
So Apple could very easily provide this little bluetooth accessory or simply include bluetooth headphones that would need to be recharged from the iPhone. Or you could buy right now the Philips Fidelio M2L Hi-Res Headphones with Lightning Connector 
Of course bluetooth headphones are another option and with the advancements in new bluetooth Hi-Res Audio codecs, most people won’t notice the difference. All it will mean is another device to charge at night. That’s why mains charging devices like the [Most Compact 10-Port USB Charger] Anker PowerPort 10 (60W 10-Port Charging Station) Wall Charger for iPhone 6 / 6 Plus, iPad Air 2 / mini 3, Galaxy S6 / S6 Edge, Other Apple and Android Devices and More (Black)
The final aspect of this lightning port is the audio quality is digital out as opposed to analogue via the traditional 3.5mm headphone jack and therefore better quality sound is possible via the lightning port. I am personally already using the lightning port as the preferred method of listening to my music. I simply connect up an external DAC via this way and plug my headphones into the external DAC. As an example you could use a Chord Electronics Mojo Headphone Amplifier / DAC
All I can hope is Apple provide a solution in the box for people to be able to use their existing headphones without losing the sound quality that is available directly from a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack.
But this theory could be thrown in the bin if the lightning port goes too.
If Apple removed the lightning port all headphones would need to be wireless, probably using Bluetooth. But how would you recharge the phone? Wireless charging technology which already exists. This would make the iPhone 7 waterproof.
Personally, I reckon only the headphone jack removal is possible, but what do you think?
Gavin's Gadgets & Photography 