It's been a crazy week, what with the iPhone 7 launch and all. So we know everyone is ready to kick back and relax this weekend with some fun new apps and games. The latest edition of our Apps of the Week roundup includes a unique reading app, a TV series manager, and a new raw camera app. Plus we have a couple of new games for you to check out.
Game publisher Niantic has launched a minor update for the popular GPS-based Pokémon GO game for the iOS platform bug fixes.
Version 1.7.1 can now be downloaded from the App Store and comes just three days after the update that enabled buddy Pokémon in the game.
You're probably accustomed to hearing the typical keyboard clicks as you type on your iPhone, but a new jailbreak tweak called MusicalKeyboard aims to make things a little more interesting by playing the sounds of musical instruments instead.
The iPhone 7 packs in a bigger, more sophisticated Taptic Engine that one in the iPhone 6s. Taptic Engine, of course, is Apple's fancy marketing moniker for force feedback. The iPhone 7's enhanced Taptic Engine is capable of reproducing a range of subtle vibrations.
In fact, it's so good that Apple has decided to provide a new API to developers to add custom vibratory feedback to their apps. If you dislike this feature, you can turn off iPhone 7 haptics for things like system controls and other interactions.
Among a myriad of varied health and fitness focused features, watchOS makes pausing and resuming your runs in the stock Workout app a frictionless experience, based on the inclusion of a new feature which taps into built-in sensors to determine when you start and stop moving. This new feature doesn't require a dedicated GPS so it'll work on every Apple Watch model.
Even better, you can enable it with just one tap, here's how.
Yesterday, we speculated that a faux speaker grille at the bottom of the iPhone 7 created by the removal of the headphone jack is for visual symmetry, based on drawings on Apple's website and a quote from John Gruber's iPhone 7 review. Today's teardowns from iFixit and Chipworks hint at a new component where the headphone jack would've been, suspected to channel sound from outside the phone into the mic.
Putting an end to speculation, Apple itself has gone on the record to confirm that the faux speaker grille acts as a “barometric vent.” According to the company, it's needed after all the waterproofing to help built-in barometer sensor measure altitude accurately.
Following iFixit's analysis of the components and internal layout changes in the iPhone 7 Plus, semiconductor experts over at Chipworks and TechInsights have performed a joint in-depth analysis of the chips in the 128GB iPhone 7 model “A1778” to identify the key integrated circuits at play.
The Apple-designed A10 Fusion chip is “incredibly thin,” Chipworks has discovered, thanks to TSMC's InFO packaging technique resulting in a thinner package. Perhaps more interesting than that, the AT&T and T-Mobile edition of the handset indeed comes with Intel's LTE modem inside versus Qualcomm's that powers cellular connectivity in other hardware versions of the device.
Repair wizards over at iFixit flew out to Japan to obtain their iPhone 7 Plus (in Rose Gold), performing their ritual teardown dance which has helped confirm what we've been suspecting all along: that a second grille at the bottom doesn't house a second speaker.
Other interesting observations gleaned from peeking under the hood of the iPhone 7 Plus include a replaceable Home button, a lot bigger Taptic Engine than in the iPhone 6s, a bigger 2,900 mAh battery, dust and water-proofing measures and other tidbits.
When you press the side button on your Apple Watch, you see the Dock. Depending on the setting, the watchOS Dock has either your favorite apps or the ones you used recently. In this tutorial, we tell you more about the Apple Watch Dock, how to use it, add favorite apps, and get the most of it.
A major new feature that came baked into the watchOS 3 update for Apple Watches was Emergency SOS.
This will let you call 911 to dispatch emergency personnel to your current location and will alert your loved ones that you're in trouble, in extreme bouts of danger, or life-threatening emergencies, right from your wrist.
The LED flash on the back of your iPhone can be used for so much more than just lighting the way for good low-light photographs; it also makes a good notification device.
For those who agree, FlashAlert is a new jailbreak tweak that takes advantage of this idea by letting you configure custom LED flash patterns for your incoming notifications on a per-app basis.
If you pre-ordered the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus, or are hoping to score one in-store during launch weekend, you're going to want to start thinking about accessories. We've already recommended some good cases and Bluetooth headphones, and now it's time to talk about screen protectors.
Despite its largely familiar design, the iPhone 7 features a few tiny changes (wider earpiece, for example) that likely mean your iPhone 6 and 6s screen protectors won't fit properly. But never fear, we've rounded up some great, inexpensive options to help keep your screen scratch-free.