Motorola's New Ad Campaign Hits Apple Where it Hurts.

Motorola's newest ad campaign in the U.S takes on the cult that would buy anything with the iconic fruit with a bite logo irrespective of the price band. If you haven't guessed by now, Motorola took on this years iteration of the iPhone or as the like to call it the "sevens".

The newly released iPhone 7 has been the center of discussion among many tech communities on the internet and even hardcore Apple fans state that Apple was not right in making the iPhone 7 without a headphone jack. This became the base at which Motorola could take on the Cupertino based company.

The Ad shows a group of Apple loyalists talking about the iPhone 7 which was "was not really much of a difference" and with "just a little better camera", before they are introduced to an allegedly new prototype. What the moderator of the group does not tell them is that the prototype is actually a Moto z and not an actual prototype of the iPhone 7.

The group was then taken through three different moto mods . A snap on battery , a speaker ad on and a projector. However it was only after impressing the Apple loyalists that the moderator reveals that the phone isn't a prototype but an actual flagship phone from Motorola.

Motorola also took the battle with Apple to its print ad campaign and titled the ad " Skip the sevens" where its asks the apple loyalists to ditch the iPhone 7

The ad copy reads " When the first generation iPhone came out , it changed everything. It was the rebel , the challenger. And it knocked us off our perch. But that was nine years ago"

Although a brilliant move by Motorola, it is also a bold move indeed. The timing couldn't have been better as Apple is struggling to keep its user base intact and has lost much of its fan base due to the controversial removal of the headphone jack.

This Motorola campaign is very much reminiscent of the campaigns produced by Apple in its early days when the young company took on the then PC market leader , IBM. However , Things have come a full circle for Apple which has been a dominant player in the smartphone segment for over a decade.

 

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4 major iPhone 7 features that started with Android.

Apple fans focked to apple stores to get their hands on the newly released iPhone 7 . This year;s iteration of the iPhone had some significant new features over the previous generation of iPhones. However there is no company out there that does not take "Inspiration" from other companies in the same market and Apple is definitely included in the list of companies. Here are some features that Apple adopted this year that had their beginnings on android

1. No 3.5mm Headphone Port

When rumors sprung up on the internet that the iPhone 7 duo would be ditching the 3.5mm headphone port, people went crazy over it. This was perhaps the most controversial features of the iPhone 7 and many people including Apple fans bashed Apple for it. However many did not realize that there was an android phone released not long ago that did the same thing but did not receive as much attention as Apple did with its iPhone 7. Motorola was the first mainstream company ever to remove the industry standard headphone jack from one of its phones , and that too from its 2016 flagship, the Moto z. 

other small companies (when compared to some of the other conglomerates) like Oppo also ditched the headphone jack back in October 2014 ,with its super thin Android phone, the Oppo R5. 

2. Stereo Speakers

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus boast dual speakers , Although only one of the speaker's is front firing. What many of the Apple fans dont realize is that Android once again beat Apple to it , in regards to dual audio speaker technology. Htc was the first company in the android market to release a phone that had phenomenal dual "Front firing" speakers. The HTC One M7 was hte phone released by HTC changed the design language of the One Series of Smartphones.  After the HTC One M7 , the company released its successor the One M8, also with excellent dual front facing speakers and released the M9 the year after that with the same design language. This had become a signature look and HTC gave the speakers a name that they deserved. therefore they are referred to as the "Boom Sound Speakers"

3. Dual Rear Cameras

The first major smartphones to come with dual cameras were the LG optimus 3D in 2011 and the HTC Evo 3D which followed just a few months later. However these cameras were different from the cameras on the iPhone 7 as these used the cameras to capture 3D audio and video.

Then in 2014, HTC released the HTC One M8 with a main camera and a second sensor which accompanied the main camera. Although there was still only one main camera present the idea was the same. the second sensor was used for features like giving the photo more depth of field and you could even choose where you could blur the image. Then in 2016 , Lg released the Lg G5. This was the first real phone to have dual cameras for the purpose that they are used now. It had a normal camera and another camera that was a wide angled one. Also in April of 2016 ,Huawei released the P9 which also had dual cameras. This however worked a bit differently than the cameras on the G5. rather than switching between cameras, the P9 used both the cameras to take a single shot thus giving it more detail and depth of field. 

The cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus are very similar to the cameras found on the P9 and the only difference is that one of the cameras on the iPhone 7 Plus is a telephoto lens used to zoom in more. 

4. Water Resistance

Both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are rated IP67 which essentially means that they are dust proof and water proof for 1 hour in a depth of 1 meter of water.  However this too was first adopted by Android devices. The first phone to have the IP67 rating was the Motorola defy all the back in 2010, a half a decade ago. Also Sony released their Z series of smartphones which had some sort of IP rating. More recently the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge came with the IP68 rating , a rating even above that of the iPhones. This means the Samsung flagship phones could withstand being submerged in under 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes.

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10 hidden features of iOS you probably weren't aware of.

It's only been a couple of days since the release of Apple's iOS 10 but as usual, the new version of the software was a hit. In just around 24 hours , approximately 15% of Apple's enormous user base upgraded to iOS 10  and after 48 hours of its release over 20% of the user base upgraded to the newer version of the OS. There have been many upgrades over the iOS 9 in this newer release but some of these features are hard to find as they may not have been included during the unveiling of the Software.

Here are 10 of them for you to try out:

Turn your phone camera into a virtual magnifying glass

Thanks to a new accessibility feature , iOS 10 users can now use their iPhone cameras to really zoom in on text or an object at a distance. To try out this feature go to Setting > General > Accessibility > Magnifier. Once enabled , you can activate the magnifier by clicking the home button thrice. The zoom feature with the Magnifier on is much more powerful than the normal camera zoom you would normally use in the camera application.

Quickly access your camera from your lock-screen

If you cant get those important shots at a time of need because it simply takes too much time unlocking your phone and then going into the camera app, with iOS 10 you can directly take a picture from the lock-screen. Just swipe up to the right and iOS will open up the camera app.  

Use Siri to find hard to find photos 

This is a really handy feature for those times when you're not in the mood to search your galley for a particular photo. Siri now lets you search a photo based on the time, date and location of the photo. So for example in iOS you can simply open up Siri and say "show me photos from January 6th"  and you will get a list of photos that were taken that day. You could also add a location and Siri would then provide you with all the photos taken in that location. Furthermore you could use all three variables to get a specific photo. This is a feature which is unrivaled through all mobile platforms and a personal favorite of mine.

Quickly Access related photos.

Apple's Photos app in iOS received a major overhaul. One of the features worth mentioning here is that you can swipe up on any particular photo and iOS will give you a list of related photos. This feature is also very useful and cool. 

Find your misplaced Apple watch with ease

If you have an Apple watch running watch OS 3.0 , iOS 10 allows users to find their watches using the Find my phone app. From within the app the user can erase the contents of their apple watch , place it in lost mode, or simply have the device play a sequence of sounds (if the watch is connected to the internet) for easy tracking.

Quickly browse through only your unread emails

From within the mail app if you click on the icon in the lower left hand corner of the screen , Mail will only show you the list of emails that are still unread. hitting the icon again will bring you back to the normal view.

Limit what can be seen on your Lock-Screen

Thanks to the new "Raise to Wake" feature, iOS 10 users can now conveniently pick up their phones to look at important notifications. This can be quite a useful feature but at times when you have to keep your privacy in check , it can be a worrisome feature as well. 
 However dont worry as iOS 10 has got your back. It lets you control what shows up on your lockscreen so that your personal info does not show up whenever someone picks up your phone. Simply go to Settings> Touch ID and Passcode and scroll down until you this screen 

        
Intelligent photo searching

With iOS 10 , searching for photos has become a lot easier as you can now search for photos by specific people (thanks to facial recognition) For example users can now search for photos that have a dog in them and iOS will give you a list of photos that have a dog in them. You can also search by environments. For example if you search for photos that have a beach in them then iOS 10 will give you just that.

Re-Enable touch to unlock

If you're not a fan of physically pressing the home button first and then putting your finger on the fingerprint sensor to unlock your phone, Then iOS 10 has a fix for that too. You can now just rest our finger on the sensor to unlock your phone. Activate this by going into settings > general > accessibility > Home button and then selecting "Rest finger to open"

Send Handwritten notes and doodles in Messages  

If you turn your iPhone into landscape mode you will notice a squigly line in the bottom right had corner of the keyboard. If you tap that you will be able to send handwritten notes and doodles to the other person in the messages app.

  

 Thats it folks! Hope you learned something new by reading this article. Will you try it for yourself now? Let us know by commenting down below. And also Share if you think this article was helpful!
 
  

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Android Vs iOS. How should you Choose your next phone?

Apple's recently unveiled iPhone 7 is a very tempting upgrade , whether you currently have an iPhone or have been considering buying one. But for a lot of people the yearly bazaar encompassing Apple's iPhone event is a reminder that they aren't really certain where they stand between the Android versus iOS debate.

It has been a tradition of Google to make a few jabs at Apple when ever it releases a new version of Android or a new nexus. On the Flip side, not a single Apple event passes by without Apple bragging about how iOS is better than Android. Each smartphone company , whether it be Apple, HTC, Samsung, LG or Huawei, has their own style of building phones and presenting them to the consumers. 

So the question a hand here. iOS or Android? Nowadays the answer to this question depends on less concrete factors. For example the phone's features, specs ad price. People look more at the theoretical factors while looking to buy their phone like a specific operating system that suits them best. This is because on paper , all flagship phones are looking increasingly alike, with comparable specs and focused competitive price points.

In the end it boild down to your own preference, whether you like a particular OS over the other, since most smartphones are capable of doing all the required tasks anyways. Its about the ecosystem that you perform those tasks in , and that matters most these days. For example if you opt for an android phone, you will have to choose from literally hundreds of option and each phone will have a different user interface on top of android, because the only "pure Android" are the nexus devices.

The question about iOS versus Android is a pretty personal one , and while you'll find opinionated people on both sides of the spectrum, its not until you consider your priorities and your preferences that you'll be able to make the decision thats right for you.

 

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Forget the iPhone 7, get yourself an awesome deal on an older iPhone.

As we all know, At the time of release of any new iPhone from Apple , The older models of the iPhones get a massive price cut. Directly from Apple too.

Its September and that means an arrival of a new iPhone. The new iPhone being the iPhone 7. However with every new iPhone there comes a new difficulty for apple users. They have to top dollar in order to acquire Apple's newest innovation. Fortunately , this year , there may be more reason to skip the newest model. By that i mean the controversial topic of the headphone jack. For many reasons explained here, Apple decided to let go of the 3.5mm port, and because of that many users say that they may not buy the iPhone 7 after all.

While according to Apple the iPhone 7 is better than the previous versions of iPhones in "every way", many seem to deem the iPhone 7 as a "hardly ground breaking, must have" device. Furthermore , it should also be noted that 2017 will be Apple's 10th anniversary and they would definitely come out with something spectacular. So maybe you should wait a year for the next big thing from Apple or maybe you could just buy an older model of the iPhone.

As fully expected, the same week as Apple released the iPhone 7 , it cut the prices for its iPhone 6s models. Apple is now selling the lowest price iPhone 6s for $549 (down from $649). It definitely packs more value. The 128GB model of the iPhone 6s which initially costed $849 now can be had for $649.

Similarly the larger iPhone 6 Plus has also gotten a discount. The 32Gb now starts at $649(compared with $749 for the 16GB model before) , while an iPhone 6 Plus 128GB is priced at $749(down from $949). The smaller iPhone SE , meanwhile, now costs $399 for the 16GB model or $499 for the 64GB variant. 

SO? are you planning to get the newest iPhone or are you intelligent enough to get an older iPhone(which is practically the same anyways)? Comment your thoughts down below.   

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Removal of the headphone jack. Samsung might do it soon.

One of the most eye catching features of the Apple iPhone 7 is that it is missing the 3.5mm headphone jack. So because of this, the iPhone uses an adapter for connecting normal headphones to it. this feature was very controversial among Apple customers. However now that Apple has made headlines and the attention is slowly moving away from the iPhone 7, it seems that Samsung will be following in Apple's footsteps. 

 According to a recent report, Samsung might be next to ditch the headphone jack. Samsung, along with other Android manufacturers , might not just release a proprietary headphone jack of its own, but also block Apple from licensing it.

This could very well be seen as revenge by the Android community, potentially forcing headphone manufacturers to choose between Android or iPhone, and with more Samsung/Android users out there, Samsung might just win the battle. However this could be bad news for Apple and Android users as this would force them to use an adapter with their desired headphones.

Its not all bad though. Removing the headphone jack can mean new technology being adopted on smartphones. Smartphones , undoubtedly , are a man's best friend and will be in the near future. So why not improve it and make it more future proof. Many people think that removing the proprietary port was a good thing as it would make way for new things they could now benefit from.

Furthermore, one of the reports also states that Samsung aims to improve audio quality with any new headphone port. This would mean that the wireless headphone industry would then get the much needed attention and this would make it more appealing.

For now though, this is all just a rumor and while many say that the 3.5mm headphone port is a thing of the past, its still one of the most widely used ports anywhere in the world.

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A tether that keeps your AirPods together.

The Apple wireless Airpods have been very controversial in terms of their usability and practicality in real life. This is because unlike other wireless earphones , the AirPods do not have a wire connecting the two earphones. However this solution aims to solve this problem and you only have to shell out $10 for it. (whats $10 when you buy a pair of $160 wireless earphones , right? )

This AirPod strap comes from Spigen and it costs $9.99 on Amazon but that's a discounted price and not the original price. The original price was $19.99. The strap is currently out of stock but it doesnt matter anyways as the AirPods themselves wont be available purchase until late in October.

Meanwhile if you are someone who is still stuck in the dilemma of whether to charge the phone first or listen to media, then Belkin has a solution for you to.  You can use a dongle which enables you to charge and listen to media at the same time but you'll have to shell out $40 more for this. It seems Apple removing the headphone jack really created a boom in business for accessory makers.

Whats your point of view on Apple removing the headphone jack? Comment down below.

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Why Apple removed the Headphone jack from the iPhone 7.

The iPhone 7 has some amazing features and upgrades over the iPhone 6s but having a headphone jack isn't one of them. Having a headphone jack in a phone was made accustom and it was not considered to be a "feature" . that is until now.

Removing the headphone jack was a bold move by Apple as this would affect pretty much every iPhone user out there. From audiophiles who have purchased expensive headphones just to listen to top quality audio , to normal folks who would now have trouble connecting their iPhones with the AUX port, the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack was a bad move from Apple. Apple itself admits that it took courage to remove such a widely used port.

So then why did the company decide to remove it? Well it all started with a new and improved camera. It was a much larger camera than before due to it having Optical Image Stabilization this time round. This caused the Apple team to move the driver ledge to another place on the phone , this is essentially a tiny circuit board which controls the iPhone's display and backlight. This component is normally placed on top of the device, outside of the batteries reach.

However now , the best place the team found for it was the bottom of the iPhone 7 and as you may have guessed, a conflict arose between whether to put the headphone jack there or the driver ledge.Therefore the team decided to test the device out without the headphone jack in it. A number of benefits showed up as they did this. The taptic button was now easier to install and the battery size could also be increased.  Thus having a larger camera resulted in the i{hone 7 not having a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Secondly, by removing the headphone jack , making the Phone waterproof was now easier than ever.  Thus in the end ,the team at Apple responsible for the iPhone 7, concluded that it was best if this year's iPhone ditched the 3.5mm headphone jack in exchange for a better optically stabilized camera, a larger battery and a waterproof phone.  

So there you have it folks. The three main reasons why Apple ditched the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. The transition may be tough and you may not like the phone at first but every Apple enthusiast should at least give the iPhone a try. So then, Are planning to buy an iPhone 7?

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iPhone 7 warranty does not cover Water Damage.

While it may be true that Apple this year decided to make the Iphone 7 Waterproof ( AN IP67 rating), there's a slight twist to the whole thing here. Reading the Footnotes on the Iphone 7 specs page reveals that Water damage is not covered under the phone's warranty.

 Here's the full text of the footnote.

"iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are splash, water and dust resistant and were tested under controlled laboratory conditions with a rating of IP67 under IEC standard 60529. Splash, water and dust resistance are not permanent conditions and resistance might decrease as a result of normal wear. Do not attempt to charge a wet iPhone; refer to user guide for cleaning and drying instructions. Liquid damage not covered under warranty"

 Although the Iphone 7 is IP67 rated which essentially means the phone will survive in under a meter of water for thirty minutes, Apple clearly stated that with the passage of time, the feature may not work as properly and thus in conclusion Liquid damage is not covered under warranty.

This isn't the first time that a smartphone company refuses warranty of water damaged phones. Yes that's right, Sony has previously also stated that it will deny any warranty claims for phones that have been fully submerged into water. However it does provide warranty coverage of accidental damage from splashes or rain unlike Apple.

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Apple watch 2 released with swim friendly design and in built GPS

Apple has released the  next version of the Apple watch with quite a few upgrades. To start off , as you might have guessed from the title, The Apple watch v2.0 is waterproof up to 50 meters of water. This is great for swimmers as they can do all the stuff they could do on land , in water. The Apple watch even has two separate options for this. An option for swimming pools and then an option for open water i.e lakes and oceans.

Apple also changed the screen on this years model and they claim that this display is 2 times brighter than its predecessor offering up to 1,000 nits of brightness. Apple also claims that this is the brightest display that they have used in any of their devices.

In the performance department there is now a new second generation dual core S2chip processor which Apple says is 50% faster than the previous generation. There is also a new gpu on board which provides with two times the graphic performance

Getting in shape with the Apple watch 2 strapped onto your wrist will be a spectacular experience. Last year's model wasn't up to par in the fitness department as it lack an in built GPS and questionable heart rate data. However this years model has improved o both of these things. There is also a mode for swimming where the watch lets you record how many laps you have swam or the average pace at which you are swimming.

With a new watch there is bound to be a new Os, At least in this case it is. There are plenty of new watch faces, the introduction to Instant Launch, a new dock , Apples new breath app and host of new features on the Watch Os 3.0. All in all, there is plenty to look forward to.

In terms of pricing and availability , the watch will cost $369 for both the series 2 and nike edition. It'll be available in Gold, Rose Gold, Silver and space grey Aluminum with Silver or Space black stainless steel cases. Pre-orders start on the 9th of September and you can officially pick one up on the 16th of September. 

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Dual cameras and much more on the Iphone 7 Plus.

Every year Apple decides to do something new and step out of its comfort zone. This year Apple did the same thing by placing not one but two cameras on the back of the Iphone 7 Plus. This by far is the biggest attraction of the iphone 7 Plus.

Camera
 

The two cameras work simultaneously to provide 2x optical zoom similar to what lg did on its g5. One of the camera on the Plus is the "wide" angle camera and the other one is the "telephoto" camera. Both the Cameras are of 12Mp resolution and the cameras can combine the shot taken by both the cameras to provide a shallow depth of field and give a more dslr type look to the picture. Whats even cooler is that you can actually see the shallow depth of field effect in real time before taking the shot itself. However this isnt something new in its entirety as we've seen this done before on phones from htc,nokia and lg.

According to Apple the new shooters are 60% more faster and 30% more efficient. The cameras on the iphone 7 Plus are optically stabilized and have a 6 element lens along with a quad LED setup to aid in Low light situations. The camera has an aperture of f/1.8 while the telephoto camera has a rather slow f/2.8 opening. The selfie camera also received a bump from 5Mp to 7Mp and can also record videos in 1080p now.

Hardware
 With this years iteration of the Iphone , Apple decided to give the phone a new and polished design. Apple has managed to make the glass and the metal on the phone to fit in as if it was one seamless piece if hardware. The camera bump now has been carved straight from the aluminum on the back and the Iphone 7 Plus also now sports a stainless steel Apple logo on its back. Furthermore the antenna lines have been removed from the back and have been placed on the top and bottom edges of the phone , thus making it more clear and chic. The screen is still the same 5.5 inch one found on the iphone 6s.

There are a few new colors that Apple announced with this years iphones

  
 You can choose from Jet black, Black, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold variants of the phone.
Apple has finally ditched the mechanic home button of years past and decided to place a capacitive button instead with the fingerprint reader embedded inside of it. There should be haptic feedback present when you press on the home button and the home button will also be pressure sensitive.

One of the most controversial decisions Apple made this year was removing the headphone jack all together from the phone. However Apple will be providing Lightning earpods as well as a 3.5mm to lightning adapter with the Iphone 7 Plus itself. You can also use Bluetooth earphones but good quality Bluetooth earphones can be quite expensive. If you're into that sort of thing , then by all means go for it. Apple even released their own earpods(Bluetooth earphones made by apple) which again are super expensive for normal daily use.

Another feature in this year's iphone is that the phone boasts dual speakers now. One speakers is at its usual position, at the bottom and the second one is at the top , hidden under the earpiece. Apple now also promises that the new speakers will be twice as loud from the speakers of last generation.

 
 The Phone now also has an Ip67 rating which means that it'll survive in under a meter of water for about an hour.

 Performance
The new iphone comes with the new A-10 fusion chip which happens to be a quad core chipset. Two of its cores are high performance cores and the other two are battery saving ones. The Gpu has also been upgraded and according to Apple it is now 50% more faster than the gpu found with the A9 chip in the Iphone 6s.

Pricing
You can buy the base 32gb model for $769 and then can bump up to 128 or 256gb according to your needs. Note that the Jet black variant only comes in the 128 and 256gb variants. Pre-orders start on the 9th of September and you can pick up the phone on September 16th.
   

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