YOUR GUIDE AND SOURCE FOR EVERYTHING APPLE
David Averbach CEO / Publisher Raphael Burnes Chief Technical Officer Donna Cleveland Editor in Chief Hal Goldstein Founder / Senior Editor Noah Siemsen Chief Operating Officer
Copyright © 2017 Mango Life Media, Inc. 402 North B. Street, Suite #108 Fairfield, Iowa 52556, USA Primary phone: (641) 472-6330 Toll free: (800) 373-6114
REGULAR DEPARTMENTS
LIFE + TECH
4
Editor’s Message
54
Creativity Guide
6
Staff Picks
58
Embarrassing Tech Mishaps
8
Trending
10
Caption Contest
12
iLife Magazine Office
14
Photo Contest Winners
16
Hey, Sara
80
iView: Evolving Technology
BEST APPS 60
Food Revolution
62
Mindfulness Meditation
64
New Year’s Resolutions
67
Health App spotlight
GREAT GEAR
iNEWS 20 24 26
70
Ultimate Smart Home
75
Review Spotlight
76
Bluetooth Gear
Tim Cook’s Legacy iPhone 7 Plus Apple’s VR iUSERS
TOP TIPS 30
Fix Poor Battery Life
34
Drone Photography 101
38
Meara Oberdieck
53
Paul Strubell
66
Dennis Walker
CONTENTS 26
APPLE’S VR RUMOURS
32
ONE NIGHT ON IPHONE 7
64
NEW YEAR’S REOLUTION APPS
67
RESEARCHKIT SPOTLIGHT
APPLE’S VIRTUAL REALITY RUMOURS
The latest rumors continue to indicate that Apple is actively developing some sort of VR or AR headset. Virtual Reality is a completely immersive, 3D visual (and sometimes auditory) experience. If you didn’t know, VR is poised to change many things in our modern world; from interactive educational and training apps, to video games, movies, and sports. By Dig Om
26
If you’ve been even somewhat tuned into technological developments over the past five years, you are probably already familiar with the newcomers in the virtual reality arena. These would include the Facebook/Oculus Rift, Playstation VR, the Samsung/Oculus Gear VR, and Google’s Cardboard which is not only compatible with most smart phones, but at $15, it puts VR in the price range of just about everyone. In addition, the App Store already has a small but respectable selection of VR apps that is growing steadily, many of which are free – all the more reason to get your virtual feet wet.
Either way, these are exciting developments to consider, and far from surprising to someone who has been plugged into the Apple rumor mill for years. The fact of the matter is that it is about time. Although Apple has demonstrated an unarguable propensity for coming late to a party and then stealing the show, it’s certainly questionable as to how long that street will hold. Considering all of the other companies that have already released VR/AR products to the public, it’s nice to imagine that Apple is finally preparing to roll up its sleeves and enter the fray in the growing virtual arena.
Augmented reality, is similar to VR, but less immersive as it superimposes digitally generated images over the real world. It is another area that is growing rapidly, and Google’s Glasses and Microsoft’s Hololens are exciting precursors of things to come over the next several years.
As bonus eye candy, take a look at this commercial from Samsung, which debuted during Super Bowl this year. It boggles the imagination to consider what Apple could do with this technology. I only hope that with whatever Apple is developing, that it doesn’t initially limit itself to a Google Glass knock off. Not that such a product is a bad idea per se, but it’s not exactly the most immersive of experiences and I suspect the public is still hungry for a full-fledged, fully immersive, iPhone-compatible VR experience. Not to mention the Google Glass didn’t exactly disrupt and revolutionize the marketplace in any meaningful or lasting way. Stay tuned to iPhone Life, you can bet that we will keep you posted on the latest developments as Apple continues to inch closer to the release of its own branded VR product.
We’ve known for a while that Apple has been filing for patents pertaining to VR and AR, but new reports from reliable sources hint that it won’t be too much longer before we might actually get our first glimpse of what Apple has up its sleeve. From what I understand prototypes are already being tested and a product may be unveiled by 2018. Although I can’t wait to see Apple unveil a VR headset, some of the current rumors are leaning more toward the company unveiling a pair of AR glasses first, so we’ll just have to wait and see how things play out.
THE COMPETITION Playstation VR Pricing $400 / $500 (requires PlayStation 4) Display RGB OLED Panel Size 5.7 inches Resolution 1920 × 1080 (960 × RGB × 1080 per eye) Refresh Rate 90hz, 120Hz (cinema mode) FOV Approximately 100 degrees
Facebook / Oculus Rift Pricing $600 (requires PC) Display OLED Panel Size 3.54 inches × 2 Resolution 2160 × 1200 (1080×1200 per eye) Refresh Rate 90hz FOV Approximately 100 degrees
HTC Vive Pricing $800 (requires PC) Display OLED Panel Size 91.9 mm × 2, 447 ppi Resolution 2160 x 1200 (1080×1200 per eye) Refresh Rate 90hz FOV 110 degrees
Samsung / Oculus Gear Pricing $99 (requires Samsung phone) Display Super AMOLED Panel Size 5.7 inches (varies based on phone) Resolution 2560 x 1440 Refresh Rate 60hz FOV 96 degrees
28
FIX POOR BATTERY LIFE Even before iOS 10, how to save battery life was a popular issue among iPhone users. Since the new iPhone update released with battery draining problems, people are searching how to prolong iPhone battery life more than ever. While iOS 10 introduces a ton of great features, the new iPhone update also has problems. Saving our iPhone battery life has always been a concern but feeling like your iPhone life is being eaten by battery problems makes those battery saving tips more valuable. If you’re having this problem with iOS 10, we’ve got plenty of tips to fix battery life problems in iOS 10. But we’re not just going to cover the regular tips for conserving battery life on iPhone; we’re going to look at tips specific to iOS 10 and a couple methods we’ve tried to fix our own battery life problems here in the office. iOS 10 is great, but nothing ruins an iOS like battery drain. If your iPhone battery life is draining faster with iOS 10 installed, the first thing you want to do is figure out whether or not you’re using your iPhone differently. That could account for some of your battery problems, but if you’re confident it’s more than that, we’ll help you fix the new update problems and save that battery life. It’s also quite likely that Apple will address iOS 10 problems like battery drain in the subsequent updates, so keep your eyes open for software updates that can help moving forward as well. By Conner Carey
TOP TIPS
1a
1b
1 | Update All Apps Available to Update
2a
2b
2 | Turn Off Raise to Wake on iPhone
3a
3b
3 | Turn Off Background App Refresh
4a
4b
4 | Reduce the Number of Widgets on Lock Screen
When Apple releases a new iOS update, developers have to play catch-up too. If you don’t automatically update your apps, taking the time to update all the available apps could seriously help with battery drain. This is due to the fact that developers are releasing the latest versions of their apps that are prepared to work with iOS 10. To update your apps: App Store > Update > Update All
iOS 10 is an awesome update, but if you have an iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, or iPhone 7 you also have Raise to Wake turned on by default with iOS 10. This might be part of your problem, especially if you pick up your iPhone a lot or walk with it swinging in your hand. That iPhone screen constantly turning on will definitely drain your battery. To turn off Raise to Wake on iPhone: Settings > Display & Brightness > Raise to Wake > off
Background App Refresh does exactly that—it refreshes your apps in the background, which is to say your apps continue to update even when you’re not using them. This is intended to save you loading times when opening up apps. But allowing all your open apps to continually update and refresh in the background is a sure-fire way to drain your battery. To turn off Background App Refresh: Settings > General > Background App Refresh > off
All those widgets take power to keep up to date. Consider getting rid of any widgets you don’t need. To access the widget screen from Lock screen, swipe right from the main lock screen. To remove widgets you don’t need: Scroll to the bottom of the widgets page; tap Edit. You’ll need to unlock your phone to make changes. Here you can add or remove widgets. To remove widgets, tap the red circle next to a widget, then tap delete. 30
photo by: Elsa Bleda
ONE NIGHT ON IPHONE 7
On one night, November 5, 2016, iPhone photographers canvassed the globe, from Arctic ice caves and Indonesian volcanoes, to the clubs of Johannesburg, South Africa and rooftops of Shanghai, China. For the latest “Shot on iPhone� campaign, Apple enlisted a group of photographers to capture life from dusk to dawn using the low-light camera on iPhone 7. sourced from apple.com
32
photo by: Arif Jawad
photo by: Eason Hsiung
photo by: Reuben Wu
Chicago-based photographer Reuben Wu ventured to Java, Indonesia to photograph the 130 active volcanoes, using an iPhone 7 attached to a drone to capture breathtaking views of Gunung Karang’s lava flow after dark.
photo by: Ruairidh McGlynn
Ruairidh McGlynn traveled by dogsled through Iceland, stopping for a break in this ice cave.
photo by: Mathiew Beth tan
photo by: Jennifer Bin
FALL 2017 ISSUE