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iOS 13 beta hints at USB-C iPhone in 2019
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2019 iPhone lineup may switch to USB-C
WWDC 2019 may be over, but it's left behind a trail of clues that hint at what Apple is planning for its next batch of product announcements. The latest clue could suggest a USB-C on the 2019 iPhones. This week Apple user Raphaël Mouton published a picture on his Twitter account of the recovery screen on an iPhone running the developer's beta of iOS 13. At first glance it just looks like an image of a Mac and the top end of a cable -- but that's no Lightning cable.
The existing iPhone recovery mode image clearly shows a Lightning cable tip, while the one in the beta looks more like a USB-C tip as pointed out by Forbes. This could be a sign that Apple is planning to swap out the Lightning port for the more widely used USB-C port in its 2019 iPhone lineup, a rumor that's been making the rounds since before the 2018 iPhone launch cycle. Also, it wouldn't come as too much of a shock considering Apple has already made the change from Lightning to USB-C on its 2018 iPad Pros and MacBooks.
The more likely possibility is that the image refers to the USB-C end of a USB-C-to-Llightning cable going in to the Mac. Which hopefully means Apple is planning to include this type of cable as well as a 18W fast-charging USB‑C Power Adapter in the box with its new phones.
3D Touch may get the axe
The new features on the next batch of iPhones could come at a price though, as rumors about Apple eliminating 3D Touch continue to gain steam. After a visit with Apple suppliers in Asia, Barclay analysts, cited in MacRumors, seemed certain that Apple will eliminate this feature in the 2019 iPhone lineup.
This pressure-sensitive technology allows users to access more control options by pressing harder on the phone's screen. Apple first debuted 3D Touch in its iPhone 6S. It was meant to help with navigation once Apple decided to get rid of the home button with the iPhone X, but it hasn't proven to be critical. Apple replaced 3D Touch in last year's iPhone XR with Haptic Touch (its fancy term for a long-press with a slight vibration) to make room for a larger, nearly bezel-less LCD display. And though it doesn't have as much functionality as 3D Touch, it's proved to be a good compromise for users.
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5 best uses of 3D Touch on the iPhone
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We won't know for certain whether or not Apple will eliminate 3D Touch until the iPhone 11 launch in September, but we can rest assured that the functionality will remain, at least to some degree (whether via Haptic Touch or otherwise). The developer's beta of iOS 13 includes even more use-cases for it, and it's unlikely Apple would add more ways to use a defunct feature in iOS.
At WWDC, the company said the new MacPro and 6K display would be available this fall, but didn't specify when. Then for a brief moment, if you clicked on the "Notify me" link above the Mac Pro on the Apple.com homepage, the pop-up read "Coming in September." But then if you clicked on the product page and did the same, it read "Coming this fall".
Justin Jaffe/CNET
By the time Apple noticed and corrected the slip, it has already been published on 9to5Mac and MacRumors, and made its way around the internet. It has since been corrected to match the other notifications, and Apple has not responded to a query about when the new products will ship.
That said, I'd definitely put my money on a September release date for the Mac Pro, maybe even the day of the iPhone reveal.
I first saw Snow Peak's pack-and-carry fire pit at Snow Peak Way, the cult outdoor brand's yearly camping retreat. A few fire pits were set up in the field, deep in ...
The new iPod Touch is a great gateway into the upcoming iOS 13.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Apple released a new iPod Touch for 2019 just a few weeks back. It costs $200 and has a small, low-resolution screen. If you already own an iPhone past the iPhone 5, there's no reason to even consider buying the iPod Touch. Probably the same deal if you own a recent iPad. If, however, you've never owned an iOS device or have in the past and want back in, at $200 the iPod Touch is now the cheapest entry point.
In his review of the iPod Touch 2019, my colleague Patrick Holland very clearly lays out why, despite its appeal to certain consumers, most will want to skip the iPod Touch. And while I can totally understand and agree with many of his points, ultimately I see it differently.
I've been a stubborn supporter of iOS, and more specifically the Apple App Store, for nearly 11 years, since I bought the iPhone 3G in 2008. There are two simple reasons for that: I like the interface and its evolution, and the game and app selection in the App Store has never disappointed me.
That's really it. I have an iPhone XS Max and absolutely have no need for the iPod Touch, but I'm excited for those of you who do. And here are three reasons I think the iPod Touch is a near steal at $200.
Apple Arcade
Later this year Apple will launch Apple Arcade, a subscription-based games service where you pay a monthly fee to play iOS games made by some of the world's top game developers. The most exciting for me include Annapurna Interactive, makers of Donut County, and Mistwalker, headed by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.
Apple expects to have 100 exclusive and nonexclusive games lined up for the service at launch, with more coming later. You'll sign up for the service and then download any Apple Arcade game you wish at no additional cost.
Apple Arcade, on Mac, iPad and iPhone.
Apple
The best thing about this service for owners of the iPod Touch, which has no cellular connection, only Wi-Fi, is that every game will be playable offline. That means you can play your games to your heart's content even if you're on the train or in the back seat of a carpool vehicle.
A subscription will cost the same for individuals or a family of six and will be compatible across iPad, iPhone and Apple TV.
iOS 13
I haven't been this excited about an iOS update since iOS 7. That's when Apple implemented the "flat" look of app icons. With iOS 13 it's dark mode that has me the most giddy.
Honestly, what grabbed my attention was simply the fact that dark mode will be a purposefully designed feature -- not just an inverting of the colors -- that just looks cool in screenshots.
Dark mode is coming.
Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET
Also, iOS 13 will also bring a newly designed camera interface and editing options, as well as Sign In with Apple. Sign In lets users log in to apps and sites on their iPod Touch using their AppleID instead of their email address, which Apple says will prevent them from being tracked online and relentlessly targeted with ads.
AR gets more real
The iPod Touch will work with AR apps in the App Store. That includes the iOS app Measure, which lets you virtually measure things in the real world by giving you a really flexible digital ruler. With Pokemon Go or the upcoming and highly anticipated Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, AR is kind of becoming a thing. And though I wasn't excited about it initially, the more useful apps I find, like Measure, the more I'm becoming a believer.
Practical AR is the best AR.
Jason Cipriani/CNET
To be sure, you'll need a more powerful device to take advantage of some of the high-end AR apps, but for simple measuring, and for finding Pokemon, the new iPod Touch can handle it.
Bonus: It has a headphone jack
Yep, you can use Bluetooth headphones, or plug your wired 'phones into that 3.5mm jack on the bottom edge, just like we used to do back in the day.
That either appeals to you or not, so I'll say no more about it.
Do it!
Or don't. I mean, the Touch isn't for everyone. But it's cheap enough and offers enough current features, as well as some smart strategic future-proofing, to be worth your money if you decide to take the plunge.
Whether you work in the audio industry or you’re just an avid sound nut who’s followed the tech for a steady stream of years, you’ve probably noticed that things can start to look … repetitive. I’ve personally been through enough headphones, soundbars, and wireless speakers to stock my own Best Buy and after a while, the surprises are fewer, the colors blur, and the “revolutions” seem a lot more like evolutions.
In other words: It takes a lot to make a significant splash in sound these days.
That’s what makes Bose’s Frames, headphone sunglasses you might actually want to wear, so special. Pegged as conveyors of aural AR and crafted for “sun and sound,” the Frames are a fascinating audio entry from Bose, made all the more intriguing when word began circulating that they actually sound … well, good. Design limitations certainly pigeon-hole them to a degree, as does their $200 price tag. And yet, while the Frames are just an early offering that may (or may not) help kick-start a new genre, they’re also kind of magical.
Christmas in June
Full disclosure: I have an ongoing love affair with both headphones (despite my earlier whining) and sunglasses based around what they bring into and block out of my head respectively. So it’s no surprise that unwrapping the Frames inspired some kid-on-Christmas nostalgia.
The Frames’ slim, rectangular box gives way to an over-sized sunglasses case layered in beaded vinyl with a Bose logo on the front. Pulling the glasses from the case reveals translucent, matte-plastic frames (Bose really missed the boat not going with “Shades”) decked out in flourishes of gold-colored metal. Swollen earpieces with slim vents along the bottom and sides betray the gadgetry harbored within, but offer enough camouflage to blend in when worn.
The Alto model I chose borrow heavily from Ray-Ban’s classic Wayfarers; the framing around the lenses is larger and more rounded and the overall package isn’t as stylish as the real thing, but they look pretty good for design from an audio brand. More importantly, they pass muster as regular shades out in the world. The even more stylized and rounded Rondo (hence the name) are … not for me. For those shopping fit, though, the Rondo are the smaller version.
A match made in design heaven
The world has no shortage of awkward headgear spawned from utility-inspired collaborations: The beer helmet, the propeller hat (ok, there’s no real utility there), windshield-wiper sunglasses, umbrella hats, Google Glass, the Urban Sombrero— you get the idea. Frankly, at first blush headphone sunglasses would seem to fit into that tragic fashion mold.
My ears were basked in lovely tunes, even as the wind whipped by.
But that’s where Bose’s penchant for brilliant sound design comes into play. This is the company that patented noise cancellation, after all, and creating functioning headphones in a pair of sunglasses you’d actually want to wear is its own impressive feat.
The earpieces shoehorn all the wireless headphone tech inside (battery, Bluetooth antenna, etc.), while the vents at the bottom aim patented drivers directly at your ear canals, with no need for earpads, eartips, or any physical contact. It’s a design you simply wouldn’t expect to work properly — but it does.
Rich Shibley/Digital Trends
Set inconspicuously at the front of the right earpiece is a tiny gold bead that acts as the multi-function button for power, play/pause, song skip, calling, and AI assistant via a series of taps and holds. It’s easy and instantly intuitive. The only real omission here is volume, which is a key miss and one we’re hoping Bose will add via touch controls in the next iteration.
A single LED tucked into the earpiece interior shows charge status, while charging is accomplished via a gold magnetic plate and proprietary USB cable. My first charge attempt must have been misaligned, however, resulting in dead Frames, so you’ll need to take care. They’ll power down automatically in five minutes, or you can simply set them on their top. It’s more elegant than a power switch, but a touch less functional, too.
The black-tinted lenses are of high-quality and work well to fight glare, designed to block 99 percent of UVA/UVB rays (which I assume is good), though they aren’t polarized.
Bose Connect
The Bose Connect app for iOS or Android allows for quick and easy setup, walking you through pairing and control in a matter of seconds. The app also offers other basic functions, including firmware upgrades and download links to Bose’s nascent AR apps, designed to offer a swell of new use cases for your Frames — but only for iPhones and iPads at present.
In your head
After connecting the Frames, announced by a lady robot, and pressing play on my Spotify test playlist to unleash Radiohead’s Burn the Witch, I was completely surprised by how good it sounded. Then the song’s bass drop kicked in — or rather, didn’t. The lack of punch in the low-end, sounding as though as high as 500Hz has been rolled off, was a bit of a shocker at first, re-sculpting the mix in an almost comical fashion.
You can’t really use them inside unless you’re a wannabe rock star.
Once my ears adjusted to the lack of punch, however, I was enthralled by just how musical and clear the Frames’ sound is. Maybe most impressive is the way the stereo image seems to almost materialize inside your head, as if magically beamed within the boundaries of your skull. Strings and guitar are sweetly rendered, horns crunch with breathy definition, and vocals are clean and clear at the center, even as the sounds of the outside world move through your ears with breezy nonchalance.
Allowing for such detail and spritely definition makes the Frames not just functional, but friendly when you put them on, almost daring you to take them along on your outdoor adventures — especially when the sun is shining brightly above.
Call quality
Call quality is generally the same as you’d expect from any good pair of wireless headphones, i.e. pretty decent. Sound was just fine on my end (though I did hear a few instances of digital distortion) and I received no comments about issues with clarity when speaking, even when I tried whispering
Limitations …
Right after I’d connected the Frames and began listening, I shared my first impressions with a desk mate whose instant reaction was less optimistic: “Those are cool, but the applications seem pretty limited,” he replied.
Rich Shibley/Digital Trends
He wasn’t exactly wrong. For one obvious point, you can’t really use the Frames inside, especially at the office, unless you don’t mind looking like a wannabe rock star/ass while squinting at your monitor. This leaves out the gym for similar reasons. Even for gloomy days (of which Portland offers plenty), the Frames are limited. You can swap in prescription lenses, but only from third-party vendors, and that obviously adds more to the $200 bottom line.
The Frames also offer just 3.5 hours (or less) of playback time per charge and, unfortunately, they can’t charge in their case to supplement that limitation like so many fully wireless earphones. We appreciate that they’re IPX2 certified for basic water resistance, but that means they’re only splash proof and can’t withstand a serious douse. And because of the open design, extra-loud spaces are also pretty much a no go.
As for AR applications, I admit I didn’t spend a ton of time with them, namely because my primary phone is Android based (hint). Even exploring with my old iPhone, the applications are limited, offering augmented story simulations for workouts (which also work with headphones), ambient soundscapes, and a few other basics. Apart from GPS, the only really practical one for me is the golf guide, and I’m still not sure I want a robot in my head on the course.
… and possibilities
That said, in practice, I found myself much more focused on what the Frames can do than what they can’t.
My first real Frames adventure came in the form of a blissful afternoon bike ride to the hardware store on a golden spring day. My ears were basked in lovely tunes, even as the wind whipped by, raising the moment from sweet to sparkling, including a significant moment of reflection at a stoplight listening to Father John Misty’s rendition of Gillian Welch’s Everything is Free.
The stereo image seems to almost materialize inside your head.
A sun-drenched morning walk for a smoothie with my wife similarly transformed from lovely to inspired as I added just a splash of Vampire Weekend’s latest record, while still carrying on a cordial conversation. Had I not told my wife I was testing the Frames she’d have been none the wiser.
That inspired more potential use cases for the Frames: A musical trek in Oregon’s emerald Gorge (without bothering my fellow hikers), pulling weeds on a Sunday afternoon, or just relaxing in the backyard with an icy drink. The Frames offer plenty of enticing ways to splash some music or podcasts into your life, without ever losing touch with the world around you.
Our Take
While limited in use cases (and battery life), Bose’s Frames represent a brilliant first step in a burgeoning new headphone genre, the applications of which are only beginning to be explored.
Is there a better alternative?
With such a distinctive product, this is difficult to answer. If you’re looking for something more traditional and versatile to power your workouts, we suggest checking out the Jabra Elite Active 65t fully wireless earbuds (though be warned that their hear-through DSP technology doesn’t work very well for bike rides). There are also plenty of other great fully wireless earbuds available these days.
You can also check out some similarly angled products from companies like Trekz, such as the Trekz Titanium headphones, which use bone conduction to send sound to your ear canal through a bone in your jaw, while keeping your ears unfettered to let in the world around you. We like the versatility of these products, and they generally offer much better battery life, though in my experience bone conduction doesn’t offer sound as vibrant as Bose’s Frames.
How long will it last?
Though delicately designed, the Frames should hold up well over time as long as you keep them in their case and don’t drop them on hard pavement. That said, their meager battery life will only get worse as time goes on.
Should you buy it?
If you’re looking for a unique and exciting new way to get your tunes — and you love to get out in the sun — Bose’s Frames are definitely worth considering. But if you want something more versatile for your $200, you may instead want to try a good pair of fully wireless earbuds.
Drip’s unnamed successor project was designed to provide “financial stability and transparency to independent artists.” It came out of conversations from Kickstarter founder Perry Chen and Baio, Kickstarter’s former CTO, with the intention of migrating Drip creators over to it before shutting it down later this year. Kickstarter provided seed funding for the new platform and had hired people to run it, but Baio and McMillan explained that while the concept was a good idea, they “couldn’t find a way to make the business viable.”
The issue appears to have come down to how to generate revenue in a stable and reliable way. The pair say that they explored a number of options: “voluntary subscriptions from users, premium features, increased fees,” but kept finding that “the resources required to support a high number of lower-volume creators always outpaced our revenue.”
“We were intent on running a sustainable and independent business. Even if we went the traditional route and raised venture capital, it didn’t appear likely to survive once that funding ran out. We were building this for the community we care about, and many of the artists and creators in our community are already financially insecure and vulnerable. The idea of launching something with so much uncertainty and risk felt irresponsible and unfair.”
Baio and McMillan noted that they ended up shutting the project down last month, and will be returning the remaining seed funding to Kickstarter. Drip’s shutdown appears to still be on track to happen: they say that they’re going to help the creators remaining on the platform migrate to others.
It’s a bit of a shame, because their description of what they were planning looks to be particularly appealing: a subscription platform with a focus on new and marginalized artists, human-curated discovery and recommendations, and community moderation tools.
Amazon has shut down its social network-like feature on its site and app called Amazon Spark, in which Prime customers could post pictures of the products they’ve bought, according to TechCrunch.
The company launched the service for Prime members in 2017. It prompted customers to pick a selection of interests in the section in the feature, and would then show you a feed of posts from users that related to those interests. The service seemed to be designed to replicate influencers using social networks like Instagram and Pinterest. Users could react to posts with a “smile” or a comment.
TechCrunch noted that the site felt “too transactional” as compared to other social networks and never really took off. The page for the feature is no longer on Amazon and its app, and its URL now redirects to “#FoundItOnAmazon” for some users or to “Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations.” Amazon didn’t explain why it shut down the site.
Amazon doesn’t appear to be giving up entirely on social feed-driven product discovery. TechCrunch notes what Amazon learned from Spark and another feature called Interesting Finds (which is still operational) are being incorporated into #FoundItOnAmazon, although that feature appears to be focused mainly on home decor.
