Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on iBooks

Yesterday, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child released on iBooks. This is the eighth story in the series and J.K. Rowling's latest work. If you'd like to purchase an iBook version of it, it's only $14.99. The physical version costs $17.99, which is fair because many people consider physical books to be superior. The book is available in all regions supported by iBooks. 

Pokémon Go: Second Update

Today, Pokémon Go was updated with some important features. First, you can customize your avatar after starting the game. To do this, use the customize button in the avatar menu. Also, favorited Pokémon are protected from being accidentally transferred. It's also easier to transfer Pokémon. Finally, because of a glitch with the footstep counter for nearby Pokémon, Niantic has removed the footstep icons for the time being. Pokémon Go is available from the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

Apple Watch 2 Design

The Apple Watch 2 could have a significantly different form than its predecessor according to DigiTimes. The original Apple Watch featured Glass on Glass (G/G) technology. G/G uses two pieces of glass. The Apple Watch 2 could have One Glass Solution (OGS) instead, which uses only one piece of glass. This is a thinner solution, opening up possibilities like a thinner design or more internals. What it would look like? We have no idea, but it seems likely that it would look very different with this design choice. 

Bluetooth Headphone Revenue Increasing

According to NPD Group, more people are purchasing Bluetooth headphones and less are buying non-Bluetooth headphones. This is particularly interesting because the iPhone 7 isn't expected to have a headphone jack. It's also worth noting that Beats is leading the wireless headphone market.

iPhone 7 Pre-Order Date Prediction

The other day, I talked about the possible release date of the iPhone 7. Evan Blass is once again making a prediction about the iPhone 7. Pre-orders could start on September 9th. If both rumors are true, that would mean the iPhone 7 would have a pre-order window of three days. His other rumor stated that the launch date of the iPhone 7 would be on September 12th. Whether this rumor holds true, only time will tell.

Confirmed: Pre-orders start on the 9th. You can extrapolate the launch event date from there. https://t.co/gwoPzIM1dI

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 28, 2016

3D Touch Home Button

According to Mac Otakara, the iPhone 7 could have a pressure sensitive home button. This would incorporate some of the technology from 3D Touch. If this is true, it would fall in line with using the home button for the lock screen in iOS 10. This could also open up some new ways to add buttons to apps. Using pressure sensitive commands in an app could allow for new actions. 

Apple Maps Adds Transit Information To San Diego

Apple has finally added transit data for the San Diego area. Information added includes the San Diego trolley in the Downtown area. This has been a long time coming as Los Angeles got this feature many months ago. Apple Maps rolls out these updates in over-the-air waves. In addition to San Diego, transit information has been added for British Colombia.

Image Credit: MacRumors

Pokémon Go: Record Setting Numbers

According to Rene Ritchie of iMore, Pokémon Go has had more downloads in its first week of availability than any other app in the Apple App Store. Keep in mind, it took quite a while for Pokémon Go to be available for most countries to get their hands on. The initial launch was only for the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. This is truly an amazing feat. What could possibly surpass this?

According to Apple, #PokemonGo has set an @AppStore record with more downloads in its first week than any other app in the Store’s history.

— Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) July 22, 2016

iPhone 7 Launch Date Prediction

According to Evan Blass, the iPhone 7 launch date could be a bit earlier than in recent years. Specifically, it could be during the week of September 12th. It should be noted that Blass mostly predicts the release date of Android smartphones. However, this prediction date would be just about right for the iPhone 7.

iPhone 2016 release: week of September 12th.

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 23, 2016

Olympic Apple Watch Bands

If you're headed to Rio for the 2016 Olympic Games, you might wanna check out the VillageMall Apple Store. This location is the only Apple Store where you can purchase an Apple Watch Nylon Band depicting one of 14 flags of the major competitors [Source: GQ]. These countries are U.S., Great Britain, the Netherlands, South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan, Jamaica, Canada, China, Brazil, Australia, Germany, and France. They cost $49 each and work with all Apple Watch models (including the Sport model).

The USA Apple Watch Band

Reset Spotlight Position

In more recent versions of macOS (OS X), you can reposition the Spotlight bar to fit your needs. Spotlight is the search feature in macOS that can be accessed through the magnifying glass in the top right corner of your screen or by using command and space (my preference). This makes for the easy opening of apps and quick calculations, among other things. If you wish to reposition Spotlight, just drag it around like any other window. If you want to reset it to the default center of the screen, all you have to do is click and hold on the magnifying glass icon mentioned earlier. I hope this helps.

Pokémon Go: Amazon Web Services

The CTO of Amazon, Werner Vogels, offered Niantic, the developers of Pokémon Go, help with their constantly failing servers. As many know, Pokémon Go servers never seem to work. Right when you catch a new Pokémon, the connection is lost and so is that Pokémon. Other times, you can't sign in at all. Now, this is a big deal because Amazon owns Amazon Web Services, which is a huge provider for hosting servers. It covers a big portion of the internet. In addition, this offer was sincere. It was not poking fun and Vogels legitimately wants Pokémon Go to be stable, for his sake and players around the world.

Dear cool folks at @NianticLabs please let us know if there is anything we can do to help! (I wanted that drowzee) pic.twitter.com/UVwVKA0Lz8

— Werner Vogels (@Werner) July 8, 2016

Apple Stores Giving Out $5 iTunes Gifts With Apple Pay Purchase

In the U.S. and the U.K., you can get a free $5 iTunes Gift card if you setup Apple Pay to make any purchase in an Apple Retail Store. This goes for any purchase, including a gift card purchase. To qualify, an Apple Retail employee will ask you if you would like to use Apple Pay. If you decline, they'll offer to set you up. Note that you can't get the gift card if you already have Apple Pay setup, although you could probably just delete all your cards if you really want that gift card. This offer runs through this week.

iOS 10: Lightning Cable Moisture

Lightning and water don't mix and now iOS 10 acknowledges that [Source: EverythingApplePro]. In the latest beta, if you plug in a Lightning cable with moisture on it, iOS 10 will warn you and suggest that you remove the cable to let it dry. This may also hint at potential waterproofing for the iPhone 7. Is it a long shot to think that?

Image Credit: EverythingApplePro

Why Pokémon Go Has Just Been Released in Canada

Pokémon Go has become a huge phenomenon. It captures the universal appeal of Pokémon and puts it in a freemium app. However, for those outside of Japan, Australia, and the United States of America, people had to wait a while for the game to rollout to their country. Today, the app finally came out in Canada. This sudden influx of users cause servers to crash for many. Servers crashing is nothing new for Pokémon Go. It makes one wonder why it's so popular when you can barely play it for more than 5 seconds at a time. It was this very reason that delayed the Canadian release. Due to servers crashing, the release of Pokémon Go in other countries was delayed.

Touch ID Compatible ATMs

FIS and Payment Alliance International will team up to enable over 70,000 ATMs with Touch ID for cardless withdrawals. The process uses a QR code in addition to Touch ID. This could start rolling out as soon as this August. Hopefully, we'll see more integrated versions of this technology in most ATMs.

Pokémon Go: Yelp

When checking into a restaurant today on Yelp, I noticed it asked me if the restaurant was near a PokéStop. Yeah, that tells you a lot about Pokémon Go. Yelp has a new filter that allows you to select results that are close to a PokéStop. Yelp is available in the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

"In order to leave no PokéStop unturned, we need your help! To identify a business that's in the vicinity of a PokéStop, check-in to that location on Yelp and answer a quick question to let fellow Yelpers and trainers know that this is the place they want to be. In just the past 24 hours, Yelpers have already identified thousands of PokéStops! With your help, we'll become Pokémon masters in no time."

Pokémon Go: T-Mobile Perks

I've always admired T-Mobile for their Uncarrier initiative. It's ambitious and is great for PR. Of course, there's no denying that the coverage is miniscule. However, starting next Tuesday, T-Mobile will no longer count Pokémon Go data usage against your data plan for a year. Since Pokémon Go is pretty heavy on data usage, this is a big deal. To get in on this, just use the T-Mobile Tuesdays app and redeem the gift. Be sure to do so by August 9, 2016. 

iPhone 7 To Have Better Battery

According to OnLeaks, the iPhone 7 will have a considerable battery improvement. From 1715 mAh to 1960 mAh. That's about a 14% improvement over the iPhone 6s. In addition, OnLeaks noted that this was from a "pretty reliable" source. This battery update wouldn't be too shocking and seems right in line with this upcoming release.

Pretty reliable (not 100% but almost...) source told me #iPhone7 battery = 1960mAh (#iPhone6s = 1715mAh)

— OnLeaks (@OnLeaks) July 13, 2016

Pokémon Go: First Update

I've always noted there have been some issues with Pokémon Go, but now they may be resolved. Now, there is an update that fixes most of the current issues, including the scope of how much access the app has to your Google account. Be sure to get this update as soon as possible. 

Pokémon Go: Transfer

Since Pokémon Go is becoming so popular, I'll probably do a few posts about it. My first tip to playing the game involves transferring Pokémon. When you catch a Pokémon that you already have, I recommend that you go to the Pokémon menu and find the CP numbers (CP stands for Combat Points) of the Pokémon you caught, and the Pokémon you had before (they should be the same Pokémon, like two Charmanders). Tap on the Pokémon with the lower CP number. Scroll to the bottom and hit the transfer button. This will get rid of that Pokémon in exchange for a candy for that Pokémon. Candies let you evolve and power up your Pokémon. Transferring Pokémon also frees up space in your inventory, as you can only hold 250 Pokémon by default. I hope this helps. 

Choosing an Apple Watch Band

With all the Apple Watch bands out there, it's hard to pick which is right for you. Apple or third party? Leather or steel? Not every band is right for everyone. My recommendation is to determine whether you're a watch person or a smart watch person. A watch person is accustomed to wearing a traditional watch. A smart watch person just does it for the tech. Personally, I'm a watch person, as I've worn a watch all my life. For this person, I would recommend getting a band similar to what they've been wearing. I had an Invicta watch with a leather band before, so I got a Leather Loop on my Apple Watch. A smart watch person should probably stick with an Apple Watch Sport and get either a Sport band or a Nylon band. I hope this helps!

Pokémon Go: First Impressions

After using Pokémon Go for a bit, I've formed an opinion on the overall game. When it works, it's a lot of fun. However, the servers were so overwhelmed in its first few days, that I was unable to log on for 24 hours. In addition, I found the gym battles weren't that fun, considering the controls were barely explained. The main improvement to be had would be to add more multiplayer and social functionality. While I feel there's room for improvement, this is a great first version. Pokémon Go is available on the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

iCloud Ransom Attacks

Recently, there have been reports that Apple devices are being remotely locked by hackers, reports CSO. The hackers are using Find My iPhone to display messages asking for money to not erase people's data. In order to prevent this, I highly recommend enabling two-factor authorization. If you have a simple password, I would also recommend making a new one. The way I see it, it's better to start making a more complicated password now since it'll probably be a requirement in the future. Stay safe everyone!

iMessage App Store Now Open in iOS 10 Beta

The developer and public betas for iOS 10 now have the iMessage App Store. Personally, I'm very excited for this. My personal favorite on the store so far is the Classic Mac sticker pack. If I find a dedicated phone to install iOS 10 on, I'll definitely try to post some of the stickers. Anyways, the iMessage App Store allows iMessages to contain different embedded items, like stickers or money. iOS 10 is expected to release this fall.

EasyDoc Converter Malware

Bitdefender has discovered new malware known as Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor. Here's what you need to know. It takes form in an app called "EasyDoc Converter". This app poses as an easy way to convert documents. It does not actually convert documents, but instead can grant access to you Mac to malicious people. These people could do anything from sending emails on your behalf to deleting files. To protect yourself, simply do not download this app. If you've already downloaded this app, it is recommended that you install Malwarebytes, which can remove this new form of malware. 

Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go has started rolling out across both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Pokémon Go is an augmented reality smartphone game focused on Pokémon and catching them. It was very highly anticipated until E3 where a demo caused skepticism on how great the game could be. In addition, there's a $35 peripheral called Pokémon Go Plus that allows you to attempt to catch Pokémon without opening the app, which really defeats the purpose of the game if you ask me. Anyways, Pokémon Go is available from the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

Happy 4th of July!

Today, Americans celebrate their country's independence. Whether you spent your time on the grill or just watched fireworks, there's an app for that. Personally, I used Sky Guide. It's an app that let's you view constellations. It works great any day of the year. Sky Guide is available on the Apple App Store for $2.99 [Direct Link]. Happy Independence Day!

Google Giving 4-Month Free Trial to Google Play Music

In honor of the 4th of July, Google is giving out a 4-month free trial to Google Play Music, their equivalent of Apple Music. It's normally $9.99 a month. The real kicker is that you'll also receive access to YouTube Red, which gives access to premium content and removes advertisements. If you've been on YouTube lately, you know how many ads have been playing lately. Some are 30 seconds, some are surveys, and some even play after a playback error. If you're in the Google ecosystem and have been wanting to try out Google Play Music, definitely do this.

Apple Campus 2 Progress - July 2016

Apple Campus 2 has made some great progress lately. As shown by the video, there will be over 11,000 parking spaces and over 7,000 trees. In addition, the facility will be powered by solar panels. Be sure to check out the video below to see all of the construction in glorious 4K.

200,000 Pageviews!

It's still hard for me to fathom that I made it past 100,000 pageviews. But it's even more insane to think that Tech Talk 4 Geeks has passed 200,000 pageviews. How crazy is that? A huge thanks goes out to each and every reader, whether you're a long time reader or just discovered the blog. Each one of you support the blog and keep me writing. TT4G has certainly grown a lot over the past four years, and I hope it will continue to grow. Thanks again!