Apple has a software workaround for the iPhone 7 home button fails

After the removal of the headphone jack, one of the biggest changes to Apple’s iPhone 7 is the new home button: it’s no longer a mechanical button, but a force sensitive static button. It seems that the company has introduced an additional workaround time when the new button might not work as expected.

According to a MacRumors forum user, the iPhone 7 displays a home button in the phone’s screen when it detects that there might be a problem with it.

Image credit: iwayne, MacRumors Forums

MacRumors forum goer iwayne has shown that the new iPhone will give you an on-screen home button (along with a warning that you may need repairs) if it thinks the physical key is broken. While that's not much consolation if your phone needs to be fixed, it does mean that you can keep using your device in a relatively normal way while you're waiting for your Genius Bar appointment.

The technology may be short-lived when there are reports of Apple possibly ditching physical home buttons entirely with the next iPhone. However, it's not hard to see why Apple would push for a motionless button in the short term. It's not just the customizable haptic feedback -- the new design is theoretically less likely to break (since it doesn't click down) and reduces the pressure to get an immediate fix. 

Source: MacRumors

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In Just 24 Hours iPhone 7 Has Already Jailbreak

It has only been a few days since the launch of Apple's brand new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but it appears didn't take long the new iPhone has already been jailbroken.

Security researcher and well-known hacker Luca Tedesco shared an image of his jailbroken smartphone on his Twitter account to show off the world that the new iPhone 7 has been jailbroken.

The image posted by Tedesco on Wednesday clearly shows an iPhone 7 running both iOS 10.0.1 as well as the Cydia app store, which allows jailbreakers to install apps and other software that Apple does not officially support.

Eventually, there is no tool available yet that you can use to jailbreak your device, but the good news is that a jailbreak has already been developed, which suggests that it's indeed possible to jailbreak iPhone 7.

Early iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus user to install unauthorized Cydia tweaks have to wait until firms like Pangu or someone else come up with the same exploit.

Bad news to Apple, the company would likely block the vulnerability used to develop iPhone 7 jailbreak in its next iOS update, of course.

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YouTube commenters fell for it and tried the crazy stunt themselves DIY iPhone 7 Headphone Jack

YouTuber TechRax decided enough was enough and was longing to go back to the good ol’ days where you could just listen through your bog standard headphones- by literally drilling a headphone jack into his new iPhone 7.

Well it looks like a load of people on YouTube didn’t quite get that this DIY experiment was clearly a bunch of bull.

In just seconds, he had successfully drilled a 3.5-mm ‘headphone jack’ into the phone and could play music through it, though of course you couldn’t tell if it was coming from the built-in phone speakers or the wired Apple headphones.

A bunch of gullible YouTube commenters fell for it and tried the crazy stunt themselves, failing miserably in the process. They must be hating humanity so much right now.

Watch the YouTube DIY headphone jack here:

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Seven features the iPhone 7 'borrows' from Android innovations offered in the last couple of years

Apple certainly took some "inspiration" from many of the hardware innovations brought about by Android phone makers. Here’s a recap of the features that Apple ballyhooed on stage, but aren’t exactly news to those of us who have been using Android phones for the past few years.

1. Dual rear cameras 
We have heard this one before. Phones like the LG G5, Huawei P9, and the HTC One M8 (from 2014!) feature dual rear cameras, which was the major feature of the iPhone 7 Plus. It’ll bring 2X optical zoom and, according to the on-stage demo, produce some pretty impressive portraits and low-light shots.

The smaller iPhone 7 will have optical image stabilization, which was previously only available on the 6S Plus from last year. It also features an f/1.8 aperture, something found in plenty of Android phones including the Moto Z Droid, Xiomia Mi4, UMi Zero, and more conventional models like the LG G4.

The Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, and Note 7 also go further with a 1.7 aperture.

Apple isn’t the first to touch down in the world of 2X optical zoom, as the Zenfone Zoom has 3X optical zoom along with optical image stabilization (OIS). Same thing for RAW images—that's new to iPhone 7, but has been available on lots of Android phones.
The takeaway is that in the next year we should see companies push ahead even further with the camera now that Apple has seemingly bundled together a lot of the other innovations into an attractive package. My Galaxy S7 Edge is the best phone camera I’ve ever used, so I’m excited to see how the new iPhone compares.

2. Farewell to the headphone jack
What sounds anathema to iPhone users is already old hat if you have a Moto Z. Lenovo ditched the traditional hole-in-the-phone with its modular smartphone line in order to make it ultra-slim and compact. Other phones that have gone without it include Chinese-made Oppo R5 and LeEcco Le Max 2.

The other upside to Lenovo’s approach is that the port you use is USB-C, which is quickly the growing standard in smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Lightning is of course ideal for those who live in an Apple world, but good luck using your Lighting headphones with non-iOS devices (including Macbooks!). Like most vestigial parts that disappear you probably won’t miss the headphone jack after long.

3. Water and dust resistance
Samsung’s Galaxy phones have been dunked in water for a couple of generations now. The current-generation Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, and Note 7 (when it’s not catching on fire) feature water and dust resistance to the tune of an IP68 rating. Apple's IP67 rating means slightly less water resistance.

That means it can survive being in up to one meter of water for up to 30 minutes. It’s great that Apple has joined in the pool party here, but it’s another area where the company is just catching up.
And if you really want to go rugged, there’s always the Galaxy S7 Active that can also take more spills and tumbles. Don’t plan on doing that with the new jet black iPhone mode

4. Stereo speakers
Stereo speakers have been around on Android phones for ages. The HTC One M7 was one of the first phones I remember that truly blew me away with the audio experience.
The first and second editions of the HTC One (M7 and M8) both featured impressive, stereo-quality speakers.

Apple is featuring stereo speakers in the iPhone, which will be great for gaming, TV shows, movies, and those long YouTube sessions.

5. Quad-core, big-and-little CPU cores
Apple’s Phil Schiller spent a lot of time talking about the A10 chip, which included a game demo with a spell-throwing scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. The key selling point was that the new quad-core CPU, with two high-performance and two power-efficient cores.
But keeping with the theme here, you’ll find that this came to us first with the big.LITTLE technology from ARM, used in phones as far back as 2013. Quad-core chipsets are also fairly common on Android phones, now the norm in many of this year’s flagships. Where Apple has an advantage is in controlling the software and hardware integration, but many other Android devices have certainly been no slouch.

6. Faster LTE
Everyone wants faster Internet speeds, right? Apple promised you’ll get that with the iPhone 7, as it jumps ahead to LTE Cat.9 from Cat.6. In numbers that matter, this means you’ll be able to get up to 450 Mbps (from 300) if you’re connected to a network that can serve this up.
Again, Apple is a couple of years behind the curve on this one as the Galaxy Note 4 was among the first to offer this level. Most high-end Android phones have support for this speed, and we're even starting to see LTE Cat.12 (up to 600 Mbps).

7. Finally! 32GB of minimum storage
Frankly, this is a move Apple should have made a couple of years ago. The low-end storage option is now 32GB, up from the paltry 16GB they used to offer. And if you want as much as possible you can pack in 256GB in either the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. Of course, storage options have long been the strengths of Android phones, as many similarly-priced phones have jumped to the 32GB minimum long ago. This year’s Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge offered 32GB only, but you can slap in an SD card to add much more. The Galaxy Note 7 starts at 64GB. Hell, you can get a OnePlus 3 with 64GB for only $400.

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Apple's iPhone 7 launches; sold-out models leave some iPhone 7 owners report hissing sounds

Apple's iPhone 7 launch generated trademark queues and brisk sales on Friday, September 16, that defied gloomy expectations, with some enthusiasts left empty-handed after lining up for hours as the company announced some models had sold out.

The new phone comes with an improved camera, no headphone jack, and a water resistant body as the US tech giant seeks to reverse declines in sales amid increased competition.

There has been much chatter among Apple fans since the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were unveiled about the groundbreaking decision to eliminate headphone jacks and embrace a wireless future. But on Friday most talk focused on supply issues.

Apple shares finished up 3.4% at $115.56 on Thursday as the firm said the iPhone 7 Plus and jet black version of the iPhone 7 had already sold out in pre-orders ahead of its debut in stores.

Analysts were divided over the cause of the shortages, with some saying the handset was more popular than expected, while others suggested the tech titan may be deliberately limiting supply or could be experiencing supply-side problems.

Some early iPhone 7 adopters are getting considerably more than they bargained for. Reports are surfacing of both the regular iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus producing hissing sounds when they're subjected to a heavy processor workload, such as a game. They continue to function, thankfully, but it's a bit disconcerting when most phones are virtually silent. It's not clear what the cause is -- some suspect coil whine or similar electromagnetic effects, but there's no guarantee that this is the case.

The issue doesn't appear for everyone. I tested an iPhone 7 using 3DMark "Ice Storm Extreme," a performance benchmark that puts the processor under serious strain, and heard no hissing at all. That suggests that the noise may stem from a manufacturing issue instead of an inherent design quirk. Not that this will make you feel any better if you're affected, of course.

It won't be pretty if you run into this issue and want a replacement iPhone, though. Supplies are already extremely tight, so you may end up waiting days to get a blissfully quiet device.

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Never lose your AirPods for $10 will get you a wire for your wireless headphone

If you buy a $160 pair of wireless headphones, and all you want to is find a way to add another wire to the thing.

$10 might be a small price to pay, if it stands between you and losing one of those precious new fully wireless AirPods that Apple announced earlier this week – far and away the largest complaint among internet pundits that didn’t involve their slightly awkward form factor.

Case maker Spigen has rushed to the rescue with a solution of sorts that have managed the fairly impressive feat of being even more polarizing than the headphones themselves. The AirPods Strap is, quite literally, a strap for AirPods (it’s there in the name, really).

AirPods Strap, Spigen [Never Lose Your AirPods] (PATENT PENDING) iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus Air Pods Strap Wire Cable Connector for Apple Airpods - Exclusive for Apple iPhone 7 & iPhone 7 Plus  Available on Amazon


 

Apple's New AirPods Ad

It snaps onto the pods and makes them that much harder to lose. It’s “Compact, lightweight, and extremely durable,” according to the company’s press material.

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The Latest Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Are Water-Resistant and Dual camera

Apple just introduced the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the latest iterations of its premium smartphone. The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus look remarkably similar to the phones they replace -- this is the smallest generational design.

The iPhone 7 Plus finally brings a dual camera to the iPhone line.The antenna bands on the back of the previous models have been made more discreet; they now hug the edges of the device. This repositioning has allowed Apple to squeeze in larger camera bumps on the back. To that end, Apple has thrown improved cameras into both its new phones. 

For both devices, the new FaceTime HD camera ups the resolution from 5 to 7 megapixels. The big-ticket item for the smaller model -- following the addition of 4K video last year -- is a new f/1.8 12-megapixel "low-light loving" camera with optical-image stabilization. There's also a new four-color LED flash, a "flicker-sensor" to avoid flickering lights in videos and RAW DNG capture, plus Apple says shutter lag is down to 25 milliseconds.

Optical-image stabilization has been around the 7 Plus is getting a new feature to differentiate itself: a dual-camera system. The new cameras, both at 12 megapixels, operate together in ways we've seen before from other manufacturers. They're set at different focal lengths -- one wide, the other telephoto -- which allows you to "optically zoom" to 2x by switching cameras. You do this by tapping on a button above the on-screen shutter key, and you can also swipe across to zoom digitally up to 10x. 

  For the first time in the iPhone's history, the new phones are "water and dust resistant," up to IP67 (i.e., splashproof, not submersible). As we expected, there's no headphone port to be seen, but there's at least a stereo speaker for the first time. The home button no longer physically clicks in, but a haptic-feedback mechanism will trick your finger into thinking it has.

 AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez:Tim Cook shows Maddie Ziegler the iPhone 7

The new iPhones are powered by Apple's latest in-house SoC, the A10 Fusion. As usual, Apple isn't giving firm figures on performance here. It says it's 64-bit, 4-core chip, with two high-power cores and two low-power cores to save battery life. The iPhone 7 lasts two hours more than the iPhone 6S, while the iPhone 7 Plus lasts one hour more than the iPhone 6S, apparently.

Apple's sticking with comparative and superlative statements, like "40 percent faster processing" and "two-thirds the power" graphics performance when compared to the 6S's A9. It's "the most powerful chip ever in a smartphone" and capable of rendering "400 flying monkeys" in Oz: Broken Kingdom.  

Apple has finally dropped its much-maligned 16GB storage option. The lowest storage tier is now 32GB, with the middle- and top-tier options sitting at 128GB and 256GB, respectively. Essentially, it's doubled everything.

There's no resolution bump -- we're still talking 1,334 x 750 for the 4.7-inch 7 and 1,920 x 1,080 for the 5.5-inch 7 Plus -- but there is an improvement in color gamut. Both phones now support the P3 color space, which debuted on the iMac range before heading to the iPad Pro 9.7.

Apple killed the headphone jack. It's betting that the future of headphones is wireless, and that's a fair bet. But the vast majority of headphones in stores (and in homes) are wired. To remedy that, it's packing in Lightning EarPods and this beautiful and elegant Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter in the box:

Apple says it's doing this because it has the "courage to move on, do something new that betters all of us." 

The wireless-headphone market isn't quite there yet, and the Lightning-headphone market barely exists. Apple has the power to boost that market, of course, and it's doing that with new $159 wireless earphones called "AirPods" as well as a ton of new wireless Beats headphones.


Pre-orders begin this Friday, and it'll be available on Sept. 16th. The iPhone 7 starts at $649 for the 32GB model while the iPhone 7 Plus starts at $769.

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Rock Fix Leaked: iPhone 7 with dual-lens cameras, memory up to a whopping 256GB, and support dual SIMs

Rock Fix, a smartphone repair shop based in China's Ganzhou, has recently been posting photos of alleged iPhone 7 components. One of these is apparently the 4.7-inch model's Lightning cable assembly which, contrary to what we've been hearing before, still has a headphone jack attached to it. And more recently, the shop shared photos of what it claims to be the next iPhone's dual-SIM trays, which will be a first for Apple if true.

Other parts shown off by Rock Fix include some screen panels in the usual two sizes, some SanDisk memory chips of up to a whopping 256GB, plus a dual-lens camera for the larger model (hello, Huawei!). 

The shop owner also told to Engadget that there will be some changes to the antenna design, though he clarified that this won't get rid of those antenna bands on the back of the phone; maybe it's more to do with the rumored switch to Intel's modem for the GSM models.

Despite such recent leaks, there's still some uncertainty regarding the iPhone 7's features. For one, just three days ago, an industry insider claimed he heard from a Foxconn source saying Apple had canned the dual-lens camera because the technology wasn't ready, but the following day another insider shot this rumor down, as he had heard from multiple suppliers saying the tooling was already made and that it'd be too late to change it (a self-proclaimed Foxconn employee commented below this Weibo post to say mass production started last month). He added that Samsung, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi are also exploring dual-lens cameras for their upcoming smartphones, so it'll be interesting to see what the mobile industry will offer in the coming months. 


Source: Engadget, Rocket Fix (weibo dual sim), Rocket Fix (weibo dual camera),

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