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- iPhone XS: Ten S, Excess or Xtra Small? Welcome to iPhone's 2018 naming problem
- The evidence is mounting that Apple's next big product will be a pair of computer glasses
- How To Kid-Proof Your Amazon Echo
| iPhone XS: Ten S, Excess or Xtra Small? Welcome to iPhone's 2018 naming problem Posted: 02 Sep 2018 04:00 AM PDT When Apple announced the iPhone X last September, it painted itself into a corner. With two "8s" (the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus) and a "ten", the iPhone 9 was passed over, and a whole new Roman numbering system was on the table. Now, with three rumored new 2018 iPhones on deck for its big September 12 unveiling -- said to be three different screen sizes, but all using the iPhone X-style Face ID -- how will Apple designate and delineate the trio of models? Here are some possibilities. Go for the 'S'Last year, Apple broke its own iPhone/iPhone S cycle, where iPhones in every even year sees a major upgrade -- often accompanied by a physical redesign -- while odd years get internal updates with the suffix "S." The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus "should" have been the iPhone 7S and 7S Plus, but Apple jumped a whole number. And with its radical redesign, the iPhone X -- pronounced "iPhone Ten" -- leaped two more numbers up the scale, leapfrogging 9 altogether. Rumor has it that this year Apple returns to the S update. The iPhone X successor could actually be three phones, including a 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch OLED-screen iPhone, both of which are called iPhone XS. That's according to 9to5Mac, which claims exclusive images and intel. A third iPhone, said to have 6.1-inch LCD screen, would be the most affordable of the three, but that wasn't shown or named by 9to5mac.  Two sizes of the iPhone XS, according to 9to5Mac. 9to5MacThat makes sense to a point, and is a return to familiar form. But the problem is that almost no one outside of Apple calls the current model "iPhone Ten" -- everyone says "iPhone Ex." With the addition of the S, Apple is augmenting the confusion on how to pronounce these models: The company's "iPhone Ten S" quickly becomes "iPhone "Excess" or "iPhone eXtra Small." And is the plural form "iPhone XSs", or "iPhone "Ten-Ses"? Either way, it wouldn't be pretty. iPhone X Plus, iPhone X Light, the new iPhone X?Another possible outcome is that Apple will continue to riff off "iPhone X" for it 2018 phones. The iPhone X Plus has been a favorite among rumor-watchers for the largest model, but a Bloomberg story that predated 9to5mac's reporting said that Apple "has also weighed eschewing the 'Plus' label for the larger model." Still, a 2018 5.8-inch iPhone could simply become "the new iPhone X" (assuming the 2017 model disappears, as many theorize). But that still leaves that 6.1-inch LCD model to be named. Pundits have dubbed that model the iPhone 9 because it's said to be the "low-end" option in the new line (besides swapping OLED for LCD, it's also assumed to have a single rear camera and other budget compromises), but one presumes it's notched screen and Face ID design still makes it worthy of "X" branding. However, "iPhone X Light" or something that implies "lesser" is very un-Apple. Of course, had Apple had pronounced the earlier model "iPhone Ex," it could have reset its numbering to iPhone X2, iPhone X3 and so on. But that doesn't work where "X" is pronounced as "ten." iPhone X foreverApple could also decide to name every future Face ID phone the iPhone X, and differentiate them only by screen size. Based on rumors, that means we'd be looking at the iPhone X (5.8-inch), iPhone X (6.1-inch) and iPhone X (6.5-inch). My eyes nearly dropped out of my head typing that, because it looks so, so busy and bad. But there's some precedent for Apple naming phones this way -- just ask the iPads and MacBooks. Still, we really hope we don't have to start asking our friends if they bought the iPhone X from 2017 or the 6.1-inch iPhone X from 2018. The horror. What does it all mean?Why would Apple change course and rename its iPhones around the iPhone X? Simply put, the company is doubling down on success. The iPhone X is about reinvention. It represented a radical design shift with no home button and a new 3D front-facing camera to unlock the phone instead. It pushed the envelope of how much a phone should cost ($1,000 to start with), how it should look, and what it should do. Despite the high price, people bought it more than they bought the cheaper iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.  Watch this: iPhone X Plus could get exclusive charging feature 4:41 It only makes sense that Apple wants to reinforce that distinction, drawing a bright line between the old-school home button iPhones like the iPhones 8 and 8 Plus (which it's likely to continue selling at a discount after the newer models hit), and the modern X series, with Face ID and notched, full-screen designs -- even if the starting price may be a bit more affordable this time around. Read this: Why your iPhone or Android phone is going to get even more expensive That's why I'm betting these new phones won't be called the iPhone 9, the iPhone 11 or even the iPhone XI. After all, this is the company that redubbed its Macintosh operating system as "OS X" when it, too, hit version 10 in 2001. The company stuck with that X branding for the better part of 15 years, until reverting to MacOS in 2016. Of course, while Apple pronounced it "OS Ten," it was widely mispronounced by the public at large as "OS Ex" the whole time. So expect Apple to cement the new iPhone era, the era of "X," once it finally reveals the new names on Sept. 12. Let's just hope the company gives us a sensible way to distinguish among these phones when we're discussing them in days and months ahead. Read this: Every 2018 iPhone rumor to care about Read this next: New 2018 iPhone, iPad Pros, Macs: Everything Apple could announce Apple Event
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| The evidence is mounting that Apple's next big product will be a pair of computer glasses Posted: 02 Sep 2018 05:01 AM PDT  Apple's current augmented reality technology.Apple
Of course Apple is working on new products in its $5 billion headquarters and research labs. The company wouldn't be as successful as it is if Apple CEO Tim Cook and his executive team weren't constantly planning for three and five years into the future and asking themselves what computers could look like. It seems like the company has decided it will launch a pair of smartglasses that can impose digital information onto the real world through its advanced lenses. The latest brick in this mound of evidence? Apple recently acquired a small Colorado based company, Akonia Holographics. Reuters has the scoop. The company wasn't very well known, and although no price was announced, it was a small purchase, unlikely to be listed in regulatory filings. But the transaction still reveals that Apple is working on some kind of head-mounted gadget. Just look at the company's website:
That's not the only place where the company says it's focused on augmented reality glasses. Under products, the company talks about making lenses for smart glasses: Apple usually buys companies for talent and the technology it's working on — and it seems like this company was focused on new developments in one of the elements of smart glasses that isn't in smartphones: the lenses. Not surprising
The fact that Apple is working on smartglasses shouldn't be surprising to any investors. Apple CEO Tim Cook laid out Apple's playbook for the technology way back in 2016, before the company ever released any augmented reality software. "I do think that a significant portion of the population of developed countries, and eventually all countries, will have AR experiences every day, almost like eating three meals a day, it will become that much a part of you, a lot of us live on our smartphones, the iPhone, I hope, is very important for everyone, so AR will become really big," he said in 2016. Apple has bought a ton of other augmented reality companies, including one last year that worked on eye-tracking, another core technology for glasses. And for the past two years, Apple has been highlighting augmented reality apps on the iPhone using ARKit, its software for placing digital objects in the real world. The fact that Apple is working on glasses has been reported by Bloomberg, and the company has an R&D team of hundreds working on prototypes and technologies that the glasses could eventually use. This all is known. It's also public that rivals like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are working on their own augmented reality technology. Buzzy billion dollar startup Magic Leap just started shipping its own glasses. But what's still unknown about Apple's AR glasses is far more interesting. Will it replace the iPhone?
What form the glasses will take is still unknown. Bloomberg previously reported that they would be an assistant device to the iPhone, similar to how the Apple Watch needs an iPhone now. But then, what does Apple see as the core features? Is it going to be a lightweight device intended for notifications, or is it going to have more of a gaming and graphics focus, like the recently released Magic Leap One? Is Apple going to focus on weight, or power, or utility? One analyst believes that Apple sees augmented reality as its next big user interface, like how the iPhone introduced advanced touchscreens. Therefore, Apple might not need a so-called "killer app" — it's the whole experience. "We predict that AR is the next-generation revolutionary UI; we therefore think that AR does not need any killer applications given it is a killer application already," Kuo wrote in the note. While lots of companies can research new technologies, assemble parts in an attractive fashion, and bring a product to market, Apple is known for its design sense. Other companies are less likely to focus on breakthrough interfaces. For example, Oculus cofounder Palmer Luckey expressed disappointment with Magic Leap One's interface. "I hope Magic Leap does cool stuff in the future, but the current UI is basically an Android Wear watch menu that floats in front of you," Luckey wrote. "It is some of the worst parts of phone UI slammed into some of the most gimmicky parts of VR UI, and I hope developers create better stuff in the near future," he continued. Apple seems likely to avoid these problems. It's been hiring user interface designers, with job listings that strongly suggest that some talented people inside of Apple are trying to figure out how to interact with the world through glasses or a phone. And it already has a library of over 3,000 AR apps for its iPhone. As with the iPhone and other Apple products, if the Cupertino-based giant comes up with a better way of doing something in augmented reality, you can expect the rest of the industry to follow and come up with their own versions. So while all the puzzle pieces are coming together and pointing to Apple building its own pair of glasses, it's how they end up working that will matter the most. We'll know how it's shaking out soon — some people have guessed that Apple could launch something as soon as 2020. |
| How To Kid-Proof Your Amazon Echo Posted: 02 Sep 2018 03:06 AM PDT Getting a new Amazon Echo or other Alexa-enabled smart speaker can be exciting: You can now shop, stream music, order pizza, call friends, play games and call an Uber without lifting a finger. But what about the kids? You never know what a child might get up to with your tech, and they can much more easily hijack your smart speaker than they could a password-protected phone or tablet. Plus, how can you protect your child's privacy, and make sure they're not distracted from their homework or chores?
If you'd prefer to stick with the adult Alexa, never fear. There are still several settings you can change to make your grown-up device safe for kids to use, whether you have an Echo, Echo Plus, Echo Dot, Echo Spot or Echo Show. Here are the most important things to do to kid-proof your Echo.
The worst thing your kid can do with Alexa is empty your bank account when you're not looking. If any children will be near your smart speaker, it's important to turn off Voice Purchasing. To do so, click the menu in the top left corner and select "Settings." Scroll down and select "Voice Purchasing," and then toggle "Purchase by Voice" off. If you want to leave Voice Purchasing on, you can also set a four-digit voice code on this page, which Alexa will then ask for to confirm future purchases.
You never know what music your kid might stumble across on the Internet, even when using Alexa. Setting an Explicit Filter will block Alexa from playing any songs that contain explicit words or phrases. It will also prevent your kid from streaming iHeartRadio, TuneIn, SiriusXM, Gimme Radio and Deezer. To turn the filter on, open Settings, select Music and Media, and toggle on the Explicit Filter. You can also say "Alexa, block explicit songs." However, you'll want to toggle Voice Deactivation to "off" so that your kid can't tell Alexa to get rid of the filter.
Drop-In allows a user to pop in, unsolicited, to a video call on another user's Echo Spot or Echo Show. It's one thing to have friends surprise you in your living room, but probably not a good idea to have people, no matter how familiar, dropping in on unsuspecting children. It's a good idea to either disable Drop-In or set it to only work with other Echo devices in your household. To toggle both settings, open "Settings," select your Alexa device, and select "Communications," then scroll down to the Drop-In menu, and toggle Drop-In to "Off" or "My Household."
Alexa can be fun, but alerts for your calls, messages, and reminders reverberating throughout your house at night could be distracting, or spooky for your kids. Do Not Disturb mode can temporarily block calling and messaging alerts (as well as Drop In, if you have it enabled). You can schedule Alexa to enter Do Not Disturb mode at the times when your kid is sleeping or doing homework. To do so, go to Settings, select your device, select Do Not Disturb, and toggle the feature on. Then, toggle "Scheduled," and input the times when you'd like Do Not Disturb to start and end. This schedule will repeat daily until you turn it off. |
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