Wednesday, September 30, 2015

3D Touch Pan and Select

If you've ever had trouble panning through text on your iPhone, 3D Touch is there for you. Just force press (press hard) on the keyboard and you can easily pan across the text on your screen. You can even select text by hovering over your selection twice. To see what I mean, check out the GIF below.


Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Search Settings

In iOS 9, one of the most useful features is the ability to search the settings within the Settings app. To do this, just open the Settings app, and pull down to reveal the search bar. From here, you can type in keywords of what you want to find within the Settings app. They don't even have to be exact search terms. The search uses generalized keywords to find your results, if that makes any sense. You have to try it to understand it... I hope this helps!

Monday, September 28, 2015

iPhone 6s: Speed

With 2 GB of RAM and a better CPU, the iPhone 6s is the fastest iPhone to date. It works fast with iOS 9 and has a consistent fluid experience. One thing I notice about this is that Siri works much faster. I don't typically use Siri because I type faster than Siri dictates on my old iPhone, but I found that she has an immediate response and action ready for me almost instantly. This is useful for me when I need to send out a quick text. The speed of iPhone exemplifies how well software and hardware work together when they're designed together.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

iPhone 6s: Touch ID

I can't stress enough about how fast Touch ID is on the new iPhone 6s. Every time I need to open my phone, I just press the home button to wake it, and in less than a second, I'm at my home screen. Although it seems like a minor feature, one could argue that this will save me a couple of months or years over the course of my life. Honestly, I really love this improvement because I use it each time I wake up my phone. If you have an iPhone 6s, definitely enable Touch ID (Settings > Touch ID & Passcode).

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Video Recording on iPhone 6s

As you know, iPhone 6s is capable of taking 4K video, but what you might've not have known is the catch that comes with it. And no, I'm not talking about the extra space it takes up. 4K video is actually taken with 30 fps, instead of 60 fps. 1080p video can still be taken with 60 fps. You can change this by going to Settings > Photos & Camera > Record Video > and choose which option you want. I hope this helps.


Friday, September 25, 2015

iPhone 6s: First Impressions

Today, I tried out an iPhone 6s at an Apple Store. Here are my first impressions. Compared to my iPad Air 2, the iPhone 6s is definitely twice as fast, if not more, than the iPad. 3D Touch is very comparable to Force Touch on the Apple Watch. It does a very light vibration when you do it. Live Photos is nice if you have the right situation. Not good for faster motion, as it only captures 15 fps for Live Photos. However, I found a really good Live Photo taken within the Apple Store (not even a demo picture), so there's a lot of potential. Anyways, hopefully I'll be able to do a more extensive review in the near future. 

Thursday, September 24, 2015

iPhone 6s Plus Doesn't Bend!

Remember how the iPhone 6 Plus had cases of bending in people's pockets? Well, Apple has cleared that off their reputation thanks to the series 7000 aluminum they used in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus! FoneFox did a video on bending it. Trying to intentionally bend it with hands, proved to do minimal damage. When a stronger man assisted, not much more damage occurred. Be sure to check out the video below, however viewer discretion is advised.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

How Live Photos Work

If you've been curious as how Live Photos work, then this is for you! Live Photos are photos that have embedded movies in them to show seconds before and after the photo was taken. Basically, these Live Photos are saved as a .JPG file as a .MOV file. The .MOV file is a video with 15 fps that is typically takes up less storage than the photo. It's about 66% of the photo's file size. Of course, the photo is a 12 MP shot with much higher resolution. Anyways, that's pretty much what we know about Live Photos so far. The iPhone 6s releases this Friday.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

No More iPhone 6s Pre-Orders or Reservations

As of yesterday, Apple will no longer take pre-orders for the iPhone 6s as they will not arrive on launch day. Orders taken today will arrive, at the soonest, September 30th (next Wednesday). In addition, you can no longer reserve an iPhone 6s at your local Apple Retail Store. You will have to wait in a line. Quantities are very limited with these options. Good luck to everyone!

Monday, September 21, 2015

watchOS 2 Released

After almost a week of delay, watchOS 2 is available to customers now. It allows for Apple Watch to gain more independence with native apps. This update was delayed due to a major bug found last minute. To update now, just go to the Apple Watch app > General > Software Update > and follow the prompts. I hope this helps!


Sunday, September 20, 2015

Apple Music Ad Airs During The Emmys

Apple debuted a new ad during the Emmys tonight. It featured Taraji P. Henson and Kerry Washington with Mary J. Blige. Other than the guest cameos, it's nothing new from Apple. With Apple Music quickly becoming the center of attention of Apple, advertising for it is to be expected. However, it's nice to see this kind of stuff during national televised events.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Pope Francis Delays The iPhone 6s?!

Pope Francis will be visiting New York City and Philadelphia around the time the iPhone 6s will be released. In addition, UPS has posted a notice that deliveries will not be available to certain zip codes during this period of when Pope Francis will be in these areas. As a result, some iPhones may come as late as the Monday after release. The iPhone 6s will be released this Friday (September 25th). Be sure to preorder one ASAP as many models a selling out, putting them weeks behind for delivery. So see if you're affected by this delay, check the UPS notice.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Apple News To Deliver Exclusive, Early Content

Re/code editor, Peter Kafka, tweeted that a Wired article would be available on Apple News today. The article would be available on the rest of the internet on Tuesday. That's four days difference! Hopefully, we'll see more exclusive news on Apple News. This is some of the first that I've heard about.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

watchOS 2 Delayed

Apple has announced that watchOS 2 will be delayed due to a significant bug. It was supposed to launch yesterday. Apple says it will launch soon, but has given no specific date. Apple also has not specifically stated what the bug is. The company told TechCrunch some of the details.
“We have discovered a bug in development of watchOS 2 that is taking a bit longer to fix than we expected. We will not release watchOS 2 [on September 16th] but will shortly.”

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Add Tech Talk 4 Geeks To Apple News

With the big iOS 9 update today, the new Apple News app is available! If you frequent Tech Talk 4 Geeks, please consider adding it to the News app. Doing this not only supports Tech Talk 4 Geeks, but allows you to catch up on the latest news from Tech Talk 4 Geeks from the comfort of your iOS device. Please check it out and I hope you enjoy it.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

iOS 8 Adoption Is At 87% Before iOS 9 Launch

iOS 9 will be released tomorrow and Apple has released a new statistic on what percentages of iOS devices are running which iOS. iOS 8 is at 87% as of yesterday. To put that into perspective, Android Lollipop, which is also at the end of its lifespan is at 5.1%. Furthermore 11% are running iOS 7 and 2% are running an earlier version of iOS. Tomorrow, you can update to iOS 9 by going to Settings > General > Software Update > and follow the prompts. It'll take up about 1 GB of space. Good luck!


Monday, September 14, 2015

Reserve an iPhone 6s

If you want to pick up an iPhone 6s in store on launch day, try going to the Apple Online Store, select your model, and click "Reserve to buy in store." You'll need to enter your Apple ID, verify your identity with a text message, select how many phones you want, choose a pickup time at an Apple Store, and finally confirm everything. Arrive around your pickup time and go into the special reservation line. Also, don't forget your government-issued photo ID. Only the person who has their name on the reservation can pick up the phone(s). Good luck!

Image Credit: MacRumors

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Turn Off Live Photos and 4K on iPhone 6s

For the 99% of us who don't have a 4K TV/Display or iMac with 5K display, you probably don't want the 4x extra storage space 4K videos take up. And when you aren't taking pictures of your cat, you probably don't want the 2x extra storage space of Live Photos. If you store your library in iCloud, it'll fill up fast with these features, which is probably why upgraded storage plans cost less. Either way, here's how to turn them off. For 4K video, just open Settings > Photos and Camera > Record Video > and choose an option for video quality. For Live Photos, open the Camera app, choose the photo mode, and tap the "circles within circles" icon in the middle of the toolbar so that it isn't yellow. Tap it again to turn it back on. That's it. I hope this helps!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Most Pre-Ordered iPhone 6s

Last night, iPhone 6s models were available for pre-order. Since many models have 2-3 week shipping times, I figured some of you would like to know which one flew off the "digital shelf" the most. In first place, the iPhone 6s Plus in Rose Gold sold the most. If you still want one on launch day, many of the 16 GB models are still available, as well as the silver ones. Good luck!

Image Credit: MacRumors

Friday, September 11, 2015

How to Pre-Order iPhone 6s

Pre-ordering an iPhone 6s takes a bit of preparation. Pre-orders start tonight at midnight for those who don't know. Be sure to use Apple's new "Get Ready for pre-order" tool, which is currently offline due to preparations [as of 11:33 PM]. It checks your eligibility and can speed up the buying process. After that, pre-order your iPhone from the Apple Online Store. Make sure you know which color, size, and storage capacity you want in advance. Good luck!

Thursday, September 10, 2015

iPhone Event 2015: iPad Pro and Apple Watch

Picking up right where we left off from yesterday, let's jump right into it.

iPad Pro

If you've ever wanted to see the Surface RT done well, then this is the tablet for you. The iPad Pro has 4 GB of RAM, which was confirmed by Adobe earlier today. It has half the screen size of the Nabi Big Tab, but with apps that you'll actually use and a good design. Oh, yeah. You also don't need a handle to carry it. Okay, rant over on mediocre tablets that try to compare themselves to iPads. It has a 12.9-inch Retina Display. To put that in perspective, take the iPad Air on your coffee table (because why would one not be there?) and turn it so it's landscape. That is the width of the iPad Pro. It has 4 speakers and an A9X chip, breakthroughs by themselves. Also, we have the Smart Keyboard, which is a Smart Cover with a keyboard that connects to iPad Pro via the discrete ports on the left bezel (not included). The Apple Pencil (not included) is a stylus that I pray has palm rejection, but attendees of the event have given it good reviews (however no specifics on the palm rejection). It is a nice stylus because Apple designs it to work with the iPad Pro. Meaning less lag, universal support, and accuracy. It can detect force, tilting, and more. It charges through the Lightning port on the iPad Pro. Before you bash that logic, listen to this: 15 seconds of charging allows for 30 minutes of use. That means you need to charge it for a mere 6 minutes for a full charge.

Apple Watch

Apple Watch has a new edition. Apple is partnering with Hermés for new watchbands and watch faces. This is actually pretty cool. If Apple is to pursue this, consumers could pick and choose the same brand of Apple Watch as that of their traditional watch. Anyways, the Apple Watch comes with a watch face with a Hermés logo on it. Pretty nice. It's available at select Apple Stores and comes in a new box. Next, the Apple Watch Sport comes in gold and rose gold shades. This may be used to replace the Apple Watch Edition as it is limited edition. We also have a PRODUCT(RED) Sport Band  for the regular Apple Watch. Finally, Apple will be releasing fall color versions of Apple Watch Sport Bands. No word on when these come out.

So there you have it. Apple's 2015 iPhone Event in a nutshell. Be sure to watch it for yourself if you get a chance. Until next time!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

iPhone Event 2015: iPhone 6s and Apple TV

Today, Apple announced new devices across several of their product-lines. Here's a quick recap of what occurred at the event.

iPhone 6s

The iPhone 6s has many new features that will change the way you use your phone. 3D Touch is basically Force Touch (from the Apple Watch) for iPhone. When you lightly tap on, for example, the Camera app, a list of options will appear, such as "Take Selfie," and selecting that will automatically have the front camera activated. Speaking of the camera, the iPhone 6s has a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera capable of taking 4K video. The front-facing camera has a 5-megapixel camera. In addition, photos taken will have the 1.5 seconds time around the photo capture saved as video. This is called a "Live Photo." It's used to help enhance your photos when you look back on them who knows how long from now. I'm sure that pizza looks that much better, doesn't it? Don't get me wrong, it's a nice touch, but the ratio of "how often I'm going to actually use this" and how much space this takes up will probably be around 1:2048. Hopefully, there's a disable feature, which I'm sure there is. My advice, make sure you get a model with enough space. At least 64 GB. Also, there's the A9 chip. It's 70% faster than the A8 chip. Cool. Next, the glass. It's made out of the same aluminum casing as the Apple Watch Sport, meaning less bending for the "Plus" model. Touch ID is twice as fast. That's nice. Anyways, these phones come out on September 25th and are available for pre-order at 12:01 AM on September 12.

Apple TV

Future of TV: Apps. Bam. Need I say more? The new Apple TV ($149 for 32 GB; $199 for 64 GB; coming in October) basically takes the experience on your iOS device and puts it on the big screen in a whole new way. It does come bundled with a remote that is charged with a Lightning connector and connects to Apple TV via Bluetooth. Very interesting choices, but that's not to say they're bad choices. The remote also has a 3 month charge, a touch pad, and a microphone for Siri. Using Siri seems to work well on the new Apple TV, allowing users to find specific episodes with criteria such as a guest star. If every episode of The Simpsons was in this database, I'm sure all the geeks in the world would let out a collective silent cheer in their heads. Also, the new Apple TV will support games! I do like the idea of using something almost everyone already has (an iOS device) as a controller in addition to the remote. However, it only works if they get good games. Not many people will buy an Apple TV just to play Crossy Road or Flappy Wings on the big screen. They did get Disney Infinity to get on board, so let's hope this paves the way for more developers. I'm sure we'll get more games on the Apple TV platform, but the examples they used to demonstrate it were just off. I don't know. They did invite Microsoft and Adobe to demonstrate the iPad Pro.

Speaking of the iPad Pro, I plan to write a post on that and the other products unveiled today in another post, hopefully tomorrow. See you guys then!

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

What I Could Dig Up: iPhone 6s and Apple TV

Tomorrow, Apple will announce their next generation iPhones and long awaited refreshed Apple TV, along with other products. Here's a quick rundown of what to expect.

iPhone 6s

  • Force Touch
  • A9 Processor
  • 2 GB of RAM
    • iPhone 6 had 1 GB
    • iPad Air 2 has 2 GB
  • New Cameras
    • 12-Megapixel Rear Camera
    • 5-Megapixel Front Camera
    • 4K Video Recording
    • 240 FPS slow-mo

Apple TV

  • Motion sensitive remote control
    • Nintendo Wii-like controller
  • Siri
  • App Store
    • Parascope app will be one of the first on Apple TV App Store
  • Search for Media Across Multiple Streaming Services

iPad Pro

  • 12.93-inch Display
  • Force Touch Stylus
  • A9 Processor
  • 2 GB of RAM
  • Possibly USB-C Ports

iPad mini 4

  • Small iPad Air 2
  • 8-Megapixel Rear Camera
  • Multitasking

Apple Watch

  • watchOS 2 Refresh
  • New Sport Bands?
    • Monitors in the band for fitness information

Monday, September 7, 2015

Apple TV Concept

FutureAppleCEO has posted a really cool looking Apple TV mockup that shows off what a "Mission Control" screen and Siri would look like on the big screen. They look pretty cool. I personally like the top picture where you're given a selection of shows to watch, below are apps, and you can use Siri without leaving the screen. The next Apple TV is expected to be announced on Wednesday's Apple Keynote.

A photo posted by FutureAppleCEO (@futureappleceo) on

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Apple TV: HDMI-In

Just an idea of mine, I really wish the new Apple TV will have an HDMI-In port. What will this do? It would let you take advantage of AirPlay and Siri without having to switch inputs. You'd also have another HDMI port. For example, you can plug your TV into the Apple TV and you'd be able to use Siri without needing to change inputs. I really hope Apple will implement this into their next Apple TV.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Firefox for iOS Coming Later This Year

Firefox is finally creating an iOS version of their browser. It has a preview release for other countries (i.e. New Zealand) so Mozilla can collect feedback in preparation for its worldwide release. However, Mozilla's choice to go back and forth on this project may have caused delays that may make Firefox for iOS a flop. Other browsers, like Google Chrome, have gained popularity in the third-party web browser making Firefox old news before it's even on the Apple App Store. Firefox will release by the end of the year.


Friday, September 4, 2015

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Being Decorated for iPhone Event

The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is being decorated for next week's keynote. Apple logos are being plastered everywhere. Even Apple flags are being hung on flag poles. The amount of effort that's being put into the decorations is impressive. Be sure to check out the images below!


Image Credit: MacRumors


Thursday, September 3, 2015

6S Marketing and the iPhone 6s

A company called 6S Marketing is doing a publicity stunt saying that they want the iPhone 6s to be called the iPhone 7 due to the similarity of their names. This obviously is a publicity stunt considering it's impossible to change marketing and packaging by now. 6S Marketing has put up several billboards, one in Times Square (pictured below). 6S Marketing seems to take the matter very seriously. They posted a letter on their website.
"See, our company name is 6S Marketing, but our clients, friends, and colleagues simply refer to us as good ol' "6S." It's a small name but a big part of our identity -- one we've been using since 2000, when we started this company in my tiny apartment. At that time, we didn't think that one of the biggest, and most well-respected, companies would use it to name a mobile device. (We were still using Motorola flip phones at the time, after all.) 
The reason we chose the name "6S" is that it sound like "success" (get it?)." 

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Google's New Logo: 2015

Google has a new logo. Is it good? Meh... I liked the old one better personally. Essentially, it looks like it came out of a toy store. The font looks like Comic Sans slightly better looking cousin. All Gs in Google logos will be updated with this change, which is a big change believe it or not. Anyways, hopefully we'll see a change to this logo soon, as a lot of people I've talked seem to agree with me.



Tuesday, September 1, 2015

University of Oklahoma Accepts Apple Pay

The University of Oklahoma has become the first university to fully accept Apple Pay. The Passbook (soon to be called Wallet) app even has a custom card texture for the university's credit card! Everything from books to lunch can be bought with Apple Pay. This is the first college campus to partner up with Apple to get Apple Pay to work across their campus.