iPad & iPhone User 111 - 2016 UK

ISSUE 111

FROM IDG

GET READY FOR:

iPhone 7 PLUS

POKÉMON GO REVIEWED

WHY iOS IS BETTER THAN ANDROID

TIM COOK’S FIRST FIVE YEARS

Contents 3

Welcome…

News 4 11 13 15

iOS 9 vs iOS 10 App Store enjoys record-breaking July Apple sells one billionth iPhone Apple losing smartphone share in India

Features 18 37 41 47 50 74 78

What we’re expecting from iPhone 7 Tim Cook’s first five years as Apple CEO Apple announces bug bounty programme Why you should consider a refurbished iPad iOS vs Android Ask the iTunes Guy Must-have apps for the iPad road warrior

Review 61

Pokémon GO

How To 83 88 93

Use Prisma Connect an iOS device to your television Wirelessly charge an iPhone

Opinion 98

2 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Saying goodbye is hard to do

Welcome... W

elcome to the latest issue of iPad & iPhone user. The iPhone 7 rumours are getting even louder, since its expected unveiling (thought to be 7 September) is right around the corner. To help keep track of all the speculation, we’ve collected every report we’ve heard so far and look at how plausible they are. Will it come with wireless EarPods, is it the end of the road for the 16GB model and is Apple going to dump the headphone jack? We look at each of these and more on page 18. Although it doesn’t feel like it, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, has been in charge of the company for five years. On page 37 he talks about Steve Jobs, the company’s showdown with the FBI, his failures and what the future holds for the tech giant. We also look at Apple’s bug bounty programme (page 41), which offers financial incentives to report bugs, explain why iOS is better than Android (page 50) and review the game that has taken the world by storm – Pokémon GO (page 61). Plus, we’ve our usual tips and tutorials, so you can get the most out of your iOS device. We hope you enjoy the issue. Feel free to send us your feedback via facebook.com/ipadiphoneuser or email [email protected].

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News: Apple optimistic after a tough Q3 2016 iPad revenue increases and Apple is spending a lot on R&D, indicating new products in the pipeline. Jason Snell reports

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nother quarter brings with it Apple financial results – nearly $8 billion in profit this time, despite a whole lot of tough year-over-year sales and revenue comparisons. But as a part of the results we also get the chance to hear directly from Apple’s executives, in the quarterly ritual of the conference call with analysts. There’s always good stuff to be gleaned from this call, and this quarter was no exception. Here’s what we learned.


Optimism about the iPhone buying cycle Combine the changes to the way people buy smartphones (especially in the United States) with the sales fall-off from the iPhone 6 to the iPhone 6s, and a lot of people are worried that the buying cycle of the iPhone is going to be elongated. In other words, while your average smartphone buyer might have purchased a new phone every two years in the past, maybe that person will now stick with their old phone for three or four years. If that’s true, that’s going to result in reduced sales for Apple – and that will have a huge impact on Apple’s bottom line. Ever the optimist, Apple CEO Tim Cook says he doesn’t think that’s going to happen. He cited the new trend toward plans that supply customers with a new phone after a certain amount of time – including Apple’s own, which provides a new iPhone every year. “Other have an 18-month clock, some have a 24-month clock, and there are even some that have a 30-month clock,” Cook said. “We’ll see more of those this coming fall.” But Cook had to admit that for some users, the fact that the cost of smartphone hardware is no longer hidden inside a customer’s phone bill might lead them not to upgrade. “Some of that can be a shock for people who are used to paying $199 for their smartphone – they come back in and they pay less for their service but more for their smartphone.” Overall, for Apple, Cook says he’s “very optimistic.” On this point, I think he’s got it right: Some people will no doubt change from a two-year cycle to one that’s longer in duration. But other ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 5

people will opt for new plans that give them a new phone every year, and others will stick with the familiar every-other-year cycle. While there might be a major change in phone replacement rates, it seems most likely that things will remain pretty close to what they are today.

Apple’s high on AI and AR Cook took time during the conference call to praise two technologies commonly referred to 6 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

with two-letter acronyms: AI (artificial intelligence) and AR (augmented reality). For Apple today, AI means Siri, but it also means a technology that keeps people attached to their iPhones. “As the phone becomes more and more your assistant, you’re not going to leave without it,” Cook said. Apple has a lot of competition in this space, most notably Google, which is well known for its prowess in cloud-based services. But I suspect Cook was taking a shot at Google when he said, “The deployment of AI technology is something we will excel at because of our focus on user experience.” In other words, Google will tell you a lot about its machine learning, but Apple will give you AI that you’ll actually want to use. No comment on whether that’s realistic or not – these days I’m inclined to say that Apple’s abilities on this front are actually underestimated – but it’s interesting to see the confidence there. On to augmented reality. Analyst Gene Munster asked Tim Cook about the success of Pokémon GO, which uses a light sprinkling of AR (the app uses your phone’s camera to place the titular monsters in the real world around you). Cook managed to call them “Pokey mans,” earning the ire of poké-pedants everywhere, but his statements about AR were fascinating. “AR can be really great, and we have been and continue to invest a lot in this,” Cook said. “We are high on AR for the long run, we think there’s great things for customers and a great commercial opportunity…. it will be huge.” There have been reports about Apple doing research into virtualISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 7

reality stuff, but this is an admission of investment into the augmented-reality space by Apple. That’s an interesting tidbit for a category in which Microsoft has made most of the noise up to now with the HoloLens project.

Apple’s investing a lot in R&D You can look at the numbers and see it. It’s right there. Apple is spending a whole lot on R&D, and that number keeps growing. This is famously not a company that throws money at pie-in-the-sky research products, so we have to expect that this is money going to things like VR or AR, as well as Project Titan, the rumoured Apple car. “We do continue to invest significantly in R&D,” Cook said. “The growth rates are still large on a year over year basis…. The products that are in R&D, there is quite a bit of investment in there for products and services that are not currently shipping or derivations of what is currently shipping. So I don’t want to talk about the exact split of it, but you can look at the growth rate and conclude that there’s a lot of stuff that we’re doing beyond the current products.” In other words, Apple’s spending a lot of money on entirely new products.

The iPhone SE is still a hit As was suggested during last quarter’s call, the iPhone SE is the Little Smartphone That Could. Apple doesn’t break out sales by individual model, but it’s clear that the SE continues to sell well. “I really like what I’ve seen with the iPhone SE, and the fact that it’s opening the door to customers 8 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

that we weren’t reaching before, and likely convincing some people to upgrade that wanted a smaller form factor,” Cook said. Or, as Apple CFO Luca Maestri put it: “The iPhone SE is doing exactly what it was intended… [bringing] a higher rate of new-toiPhone customers… and we see a higher rate of previous iPhone owners that really prefer the 4in form factor. We have not seen clear evidence of cannibalization from iPhone 6s or 6s Plus.” Some people just want to buy a smaller phone. This is actually a big advantage Apple has right now in the phone market, because most Android phones skew quite large. People in the market for a good, small phone will look carefully at the iPhone SE. ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 9

The iPad may have turned the corner? The decline in iPad unit sales that’s been going on for a couple of years has slowed for the third straight quarter. The average selling price of the iPad actually went up, leading to the first year-overyear growth in iPad revenue in 10 quarters. That’s no doubt thanks to the introduction of the 9.7in iPad Pro, which is more expensive than the iPad Air 2. Cook said that half of iPad Pro purchases are being made “for work.” The question is, where does the iPad go from here? The 9.7in iPad Pro is the new flagship of the iPad line, and its introduction only slightly changed iPad sales figures. Then again, when you look back to the iPad’s largest quarter – the one coinciding with the 2013 holidays – you realise that those iPads are all nearly three years old. When will they be upgrading? It’s hard to guess where the iPad is going. The numbers aren’t strong, but they’re headed in a better direction than they’ve been in ages. Maybe it’s something to build on.


News: App Store enjoys record-breaking July It appears that Pokémon GO has also augmented Apple’s revenue for the month, writes Roman Loyola

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iantic isn’t the only company benefiting from the Pokémon GO craze (read our review on page 61). It appears that Apple is along for the ride, as well. Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted: Apple doesn’t release download numbers, but third-party analysts estimate that downloads of Pokémon GO are in the tens of millions worldwide. Though the app is free, in-app purchases are available. Since Apple collects 30 percent from ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 11

each purchase, that money quickly adds up. One analyst told Fortune that it’s possible that Apple could earn as much as $3 billion within the next year or two. Though Cook doesn’t specifically say that Pokémon GO is the reason for the recordbreaking month, it’s easy to connect the dots. During Apple’s Q3 2016 financial results announcement (see page 4), Cook pointed out the growth in Apple’s Services division, which includes the App Store. Apple’s Services business brought in nearly $6 billion for the quarter. If there is a significant bump in that number for Q4 2016, it’s reasonable to conclude it was from Pokémon GO. The impact of the App Store on Apple’s bottom line can’t be overlooked. Cook followed up that first tweet with this one:

The iOS App Store made its debut just over eight years ago, on July 10, 2008. With over $50 billion “earned,” that’s a healthy $6-plus billon per year. The App Store is a vital revenue stream for Apple. 12 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

News: Apple sells one billionth iPhone Tim Cook tells employees in Cupertino that the three-comma milestone has been passed. Susie Ochs reports

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pple has announced it has sold one billion iPhones. That’s a huge milestone, but its timing is strangely awkward. Tim Cook told employees in Cupertino that the billionth iPhone had been sold, but this announcement came just one day after Apple’s Q3 2016 saw disappointing iPhone sales, declining to 40.4 million units sold, from 47.5 million in the year-ago quarter. “Last week we passed another major milestone when we sold the billionth iPhone,” Cook said in a press release. “We never set out to make the most, but we’ve always set out to make the best products that make a difference. Thank you to everyone at Apple for helping change the world every day.” ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 13

The next iPhone revision is expected in September, but rumours suggest Apple isn’t significantly altering its design to be much different than the iPhone 6 and 6s. A bigger redesign is allegedly on track for 2017, which means this coming year might be another disappointing year for iPhone sales. Especially if Apple can’t figure out how to convince people that they’re better off without a headphone jack. Still, even if it does turn out that iPhone sales have peaked, Apple isn’t about to give up on its most popular product of all time. After revitalizing the lineup with the switch to bigger screen sizes in 2014, the company even doubled back in early 2016 with the iPhone SE, a 4in phone for people who weren’t interested in a larger model. And Apple knows that new growth is going to happen outside the US, hence its recent emphasis on opening more stores in China as well as expanding to India. Tim Cook remained optimistic during Tuesday’s earnings call about iPhone growth in those markets, as well as the SE. “I really like what I’ve seen with the iPhone SE, and the fact that it’s opening the door to customers that we weren’t reaching before, and likely convincing some people to upgrade that wanted a smaller form factor,” he said. One billion iPhones is no small feat. But it’s not the end of the story. The reaction to this fall’s iPhone, as well as the big switch to OLED screens rumoured for 2017, will be telling. Apple can’t reinvent the iPhone every year, but incremental adjustments to the best-selling phone might not be enough to keep it on top. 14 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

News: Apple losing smartphone share in India The share of iOS phones in the market dropped to 2.4 percent in the second quarter, writes John Ribeiro

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pple’s CEO Tim Cook has described India as one of the company’s fastest growing markets and has proposed to the government a program to offer refurbished phones in the country as a way to get around the high prices of its devices in a price-sensitive market. Cook is also said to have discussed with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May the “possibilities of manufacturing and retailing in India,” a move that would help the company avoid the high import duties on smartphones and other ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 15

products that the authorities have imposed to encourage local manufacture. However, data from Strategy Analytics suggests that until these plans are put into action the company may continue to see a middling performance in the country. Shipments of the Apple iOS on smartphones fell to 800,000 in the second quarter from 1.2 million in the same quarter last year, according to the research firm. The market share of iOS on smartphones also dropped to 2.4 percent from 4.5 percent a year ago. In contrast, Android saw its share soar to over 97 percent from 90 percent in the same quarter last year. Android smartphone shipments grew to 29.8 million in the second quarter from 23.2 million in the same quarter last year, though these come from a large number of vendors including from Indian brands. Android looks unbeatable right now because of its deep portfolio of hardware partners, extensive distribution channels, and a wide range of lowcost apps like Gmail, said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, in a statement. Total smartphone shipments in India grew 19 percent annually to 30.7 million in the second quarter of this year from 25.8 million units in the second quarter of 2015. However, there is disagreement as to whether Apple is doing badly in the Indian market after its recent efforts to shore up distribution of its products, introduce promotions and offer the cheaper iPhone SE in the country. Gartner estimates that sales of the Apple iPhone are likely to have picked up between 15- to 20 16 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

percent by units in the second quarter over the same quarter in the previous year, according to its research director Anshul Gupta. That may not, however, translate into a dramatic number of Apple phones shipped, as the company is starting from a small base in the country. Apple does not publish its India sales but according to Gartner’s estimates its iPhone shipments did not cross 1 million units in a quarter in the country at any point, Gupta said. Cook said in July during an earnings call that in the first three quarters of the company’s fiscal year, iPhone sales in India were up 51 percent year-on-year.


Feature: What we’re expecting from iPhone 7 The new iPhone doesn’t come out until September, but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill, writes Oscar Raymundo

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ow that it’s nearly September, the iPhone 7 rumours are getting even louder, since its expected unveiling (thought to be 7 September) is right around the corner. To help keep track of all the speculation, we’ve collected every rumour we’ve heard so far. The rumour: ‘Reliable sources’ have confirmed to Japanese tech site Mac Otakara that next


month’s iPhone models will be called iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Hence, this rumour contradicts previous reports that Apple will release three new models this year. Earlier rumours suggested that Apple would introduce a higher-tier Pro version that would feature a Smart Connector and an even better camera. This rumour was also picked up by MacRumours. Plausible? Apple has chosen to stay with the status quo when it comes to the two-model launch strategy. However disappointing, this rumour may be accurate considering that we’ve already heard the iPhone-maker is waiting until 2017 to break from the norm and release a radically-new smartphone.

What do these internal docs confirm? The rumour: With just over a month to go before the iPhone 7 is set to ship, production is ramping up for Apple’s upcoming smartphone. And new leaked documents from the production supply chain seem to confirm what we’ve speculated all along. In terms of hardware, the iPhone 7 will be near-identical to the iPhone 6s, except it will have a redesigned antenna lines, better alignment of the dual-camera, no headphone jack, and a second speaker. The internal documentation was first published by NowhereElse and reported by BGR. Plausible? The fact that we’ve heard about all these minor changes before, and that they keep surfacing like whack-a-mole seems to suggest that the iPhone 7 is not going to be anywhere close to a mystery when Apple unveils it next month. ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 19

All the changes that were outlined in the internal docs were also corroborated by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman last week, adding credibility to the leaks. The only thing left to decipher is whether the iPhone 7 Plus will sport any major difference, or if we’re going to get a third iPhone 7 Pro.

Wireless EarPods The rumour: Apple is allegedly developing wireless EarPods with a custom ‘low-power”’ Bluetooth chip so that they have longer-lasting battery life. According to Forbes, Apple has been working on a special chip for years, and it’s likely that these EarPods will launch in conjunction with the iPhone 7 in September. Plausible? We’d heard rumblings of wireless earbuds before, and it makes sense given that the iPhone 7 is rumoured to do away with a headphone jack. Wireless EarPods would be an obvious next-generation product for Apple, and it’s smart that the company is focused on extending their battery life. When we tested a few wireless earbuds, the battery life ranged from one hour to four hours. Or longer, if you count their charging case as an portable battery. Although we wouldn’t be surprised if Apple sold these wireless EarPods as an added accessory, instead of being packaged alongside the iPhone 7.

Flat Home button thanks to Force Touch? The rumour: It seems we now have more evidence that the iPhone 7 will come with a flat Home button that doesn’t click when you press it. However, you 20 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

A fully flat Home button could have 3D Touch potential too

will still get the sensation of a physical click thanks to Apple incorporating Force Touch sensors with haptic feedback. It’d combine the Force Touch trackpad experience with 3D Touch functionalities. This rumour originally emerged with leaked photos from mobipicker (via 9to5Mac) and was backed up by Cowen and Company analysts. Now it’s noted Apple leak machine, Macotakara (via BGR), that’s echoed these rumours. Plausible? The iPhone is due for some hardware tweaks – even if they’re subtle – so a flat, non-physical Home button could be the standout upgrade on this next generation. Besides, the fewer physical buttons, the more durable the iPhone becomes. Now that more people are purchasing their devices through instalment plans and the iPhone Upgrade program, it makes sense that Apple would want to make iPhones that are longer-lasting so they can be refurbished and resold in the future. ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 21

Mark your calendars: 16 September The rumour: The iPhone 7 (and variations on that model) are reportedly hitting store shelves on 16 September, according to noted leaker Evan Blass. That’s a little earlier than iPhones typically debut in September – last year, the iPhone 6s went on sale on 25 September. This would also push the iPhone event to earlier in September, or perhaps late August, if the standard two-week window between announcement and retail launch holds this year. Plausible? It’s possible that Apple will announce the new iPhones the first week of September, with preorders opening that week, too. Blass has a strong track record with device announcements, though typically of the Android variety. As 9to5Mac notes, Blass last year reported that the 6s, 6s Plus, and SE would launch at the same time. The SE wasn’t released until this year. It would be more likely for Apple to open preorders on 16 September, but we’ll know soon enough.

Three new iPhones? The rumour: The iPhone Pro rumours just won’t die, with a new image from French website Nowhereelse.fr showing what appears to be an iPhone 7 Pro edition with dual-lens camera system and a Smart Connector. An iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 are seen next to the Pro, both with larger camera holes (as we’ve seen previously) but lacking the dual-lens set-up and Smart Connector. This seems to indicate that Apple will release three iPhones this fall, and that the 7 Plus won’t have two lenses as has been rumoured. 22 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Plausible? We’re betting no on this one. Leaker Evan Blass on Twitter claimed there are only two iPhone models, codenamed Sonora and Dos Palos. Plus, there would be no reason for iPhone 6 Plus or 6s Plus owners to upgrade if the 7 Plus didn’t see huge camera improvements (like the rumoured dual-lens addition). And we can’t still can’t imagine the need for a Smart Connector on the iPhone, though surely Apple prototyped one just to see what it would be like.

Longer battery life at last? The rumour: Apple is allegedly planning to improve the battery life in the iPhone 7 by adding a 1960mAh battery. The iPhone 6s currently boasts a 1715mAh battery. According to 9to5Mac, this


upgraded battery will equal to about one extra hour of battery life on the iPhone 7. It remains a mystery whether Apple will also improve the battery on the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 6s Plus currently has a 2750mAh battery. Plausible? This should be a no-brainer for Apple. Especially considering that longer lasting battery life is one of the most requested features from iPhone owners. In fact, this would reverse the awful trend that Apple instituted with the 6s and 6s line, which actually rolled out with a smaller battery than its predecessors.

Subtle redesign, same colour schemes? The rumour: Don’t hold your breath for a blue or Space Black iPhone 7. New images have surfaced on MacityNet showing the iPhone 7 with the antenna lines that trace the edges on the top and bottom, a redesigned camera bump, and the same four colour schemes: Space Grey, Gold, Silver, and Rose Gold. The photos, which were also posted on 9to5Mac, also depict a camera hole that’s 25 percent larger in diameter. Plausible? Considering the forthcoming iPhone is rumoured to be near-identical to the current generation, it would have been smart for Apple to add a fifth colour to shake things up. Even though a blue iPhone may seem a little weird, I think a Space Black option would be a hot-seller. As far as the bigger, redesigned camera, Apple always aims to improve the camera quality with each iPhone upgrade so this makes perfect sense. 24 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Smart Connector and no mute button for the Plus? The rumour: A photo reportedly showing the 5.5in iPhone 7 Plus is making the rounds on Chinese social network Weibo, and the most notable feature is the Smart Connector on the back of the device. 9to5Mac, which spotted the photo, noted that the ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 25

7 Plus also lacks a mute button, which is usually found above the volume controls. Plausible? I hate the idea of no mute button, which I toggle on and of throughout the day depending on whether the situation calls for my phone to vibrate or ring. This could potentially be a software feature rather than a hardware one, but relearning that behaviour will definitely be a pain. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Apple ditched the mute button, though. iPads no longer have them. The Smart Connector is a rumour we’ve heard in the past, but it’s diicult to imagine which accessories would make sense to connect in the same way that they do on the iPad Pro. A keyboard would be silly. According to 9to5Mac, Apple was rumoured to be testing the Smart Connector in some iPhone prototypes but may veer away from that feature in the final product.

iPhone 7 camera upgrade? The rumour: A new photo of the 4.7in iPhone 7 – or what appears to be the iPhone 7, anyway – appeared on French website Nowhereelse.fr, and it has a few noticeable diferences from the 6s. The biggest: The smaller iPhone 7 has a much larger camera cut-out than its predecessor, which indicates Apple is overhauling the camera system in some way. It’s unclear exactly what changes are coming. The 5.5in iPhone 7 Plus isn’t pictured, but that phone is expected to have a dual-camera system that sits flush against the body, while it appears the smaller phone’s lens still sticks out. According to MacRumours, the 7 Plus’s dual-lens 26 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

camera may come with optical zoom, which means this phone will take better photos than many traditional cameras. Instead of pinching to zoom in digitally, which usually results in a terrible grainy photo, the 7 Plus camera will have an optical zoom. That’s where the second camera lens comes in: It’s essentially a zoom lens. The leaked image reairms rumours we’d heard previously about the more subtle antenna lines that are only visible on the top and bottom of the aluminium case. The photo doesn’t show the bottom of the phone, so the headphone jack’s fate is still up in the air. Plausible? There are no big surprises hidden in the photo, which appears to be legit. A redesigned camera has been rumoured for quite some time, though most of the details around the improvements have been based on the iPhone 7 Plus. If the smaller model gets a camera quality boost, it might be a more compelling upgrade. ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 27

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have most of the same features, but the larger phone has a small but key diference: optical image stabilization. That feature uses the Plus’s gyroscope and camera array to steady your photos even if your hand shakes. The 6 and 6s rely on camera software to achieve the same efect, though the resulting images aren’t quite as clear. If the 7 Plus has a dual-lens camera with optical zoom, it would be a huge diferentiator – the Plus could become the phone to beat for serious photographers.

How does the dual-lens camera work? The rumour: We previously reported on the rumour that Apple is looking to bring a dual-lens camera to forthcoming iOS devices. Based on LinX camera technology that Apple acquired last year, the dual-lens incorporates a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens. According to MacRumours, a recent Apple patent shows for a split-screen viewfinder where users can see the full image in the wideangle lens and zoom in with the telephoto lens. The camera will be able to take two separate pics, or use one of the lenses to shoot video and the other to take stills. More impressively, the camera could also implement LinX’s technology to stitch it all together into one really crisp image. Plausible? The race for bringing DSLR-quality cameras into smartphones is on. Samsung’s recently-unveiled Galaxy S7 garnered rave reviews for its use of Duo Pixel Technology to take photos. Apple may be feeling the heat to create an equally-stunning photo experience to 28 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

the iPhone 7. If the dual-lens technology as outlined in this patent comes to fruition, it would help the iPhone regain its reputation as the best camera phone on the market.

Say goodbye to 16GB The rumour: Apple is ditching the 16GB base model iPhone at long last, according to several diferent sources. The latest to confirm the 32GB base is Joanna Stern at the Wall Street Journal. Stern’s report follows a leak from an IHS Technology analyst, who posted on Chinese social media that the base model iPhone 7 will start at 32GB of storage space and 2GB of RAM, based on supply chain research. Alleged pricing specs for the upcoming iPhone also leaked on Weibo, seeming to confirm the 16GB phone’s disappearance. If ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 29

believed, the specs show that Apple is looking to release a 256GB model of the iPhone 7 that will be the same price as the 128GB model of the current generation iPhone 6s. Apple would move to 32-, 64- and 256GB storage options for the iPhone 7 and 32-, 128- and 256GB for iPhone 7 Plus. And that’s not all: The rumour on Weibo has it that Apple is gearing up to release an iPhone 7 Pro line. This Pro model would be the only one to ofer the dual-camera system that’s been rumoured before, and a Smart Connector for accessories similar to the iPad Pro. Plausible? We sure hope so. Long-time Apple watchers have criticized the company for years over refusing to drop the 16GB model and forcing buyers to choose between the paltry base model and a 64GB option, with no 32GB in between. This is a tale as old as iPhones. In fact, when iOS 8 was released two years ago, many 16GB iPhone owners had to choose between offloading some of their apps, photos, and other files to upgrade to the space-hogging new version or hold of. Apple made iOS 9 a smaller, smarter upgrade, with temporary app deletion making the process easier. But apps easily eat up storage space, and Apple has improved its camera with Live Photos and 4K video-recording, both of which create large files. Sure, you can accept reality and choose the 64GB model, but it’s a lot more expensive. A 32GB base would hit the sweet spot and show Apple can change with the times. The Pro line would be an interesting addition, and would certainly make up for the fact that 30 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

the iPhone 7 is rumoured to be almost identical to the 6s. Apple is also making some strides in enterprise software, so an iPhone Pro would be a logical next-step.

Smart connector? The rumour: New images and renderings have surfaced allegedly depicting the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus models. Quoting the Japanese site Mac Otakara, MacRumours reported that these images could be the “real thing.” The leaked image of the iPhone 7 Plus shows a Smart Connector, hinting at the possibility of a Smart Keyboard. While the Mac Otakara report seems to confirm previous rumours the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will have a similar design to the current generation 6s and 6s Plus, the website also contests previous reports. Most notably, Mac Otakara now refutes the rumour that


these new iPhones will have a second speaker to create stereo sound. Plausible? Apple has been releasing a lot of accessories in the past few months, especially for the iPad Pros. It’s possible the company wants to continue this trend and adding Smart accessories to the 7 Plus. However, a Smart Keyboard suggests that the larger iPhone could have some Pro-style features, and we’re not sure if Apple would want to have it compete with the 9.7in iPad Pro.

No headphone jack, really? The rumour: Here it is: a leaked iPhone 7 case (see image opposite), allegedly. 9to5Mac reported the leaked images as first posted on the @OnLeaks Twitter account. The leaks seem to corroborate a few other rumours about the iPhone 7. For example, the case has no slot for a 3.5mm audio jack, signalling that Apple might be pushing for only Bluetooth and Lightning-connected headphones. The case also has two equally sized speaker grills on each side of the Lightning port slot, confirming that the iPhone 7 will be the first to sport two speakers for stereo sound. Other than that, the purported case points to an iPhone 7 hardware design that’s nearly identical to the iPhone 6s. The no-headphone-jack rumour has been around for a while, previously reported by Fast Company and others. Apple is said to be developing wireless EarPods to be sold separately, alongside the iPhone 7. The premium EarPods will reportedly support Siri and wireless phone calls and ship with a carrying case that doubles as a charger. 32 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Via Engadget comes some component photos from Rock Fix, a smartphone repair shop in China. They allegedly show a dual-SIM tray, another shows a dual-lens camera for the larger Plus model, and curiously, there’s even an Lightning assembly that still has the headphone jack attached, so don’t rule it out just yet. People who need a lot of storage will be pleased to hear another photo shows SanDisk memory ships up to 256GB, which would be the most storage Apple’s ever ofered in an iPhone. Plausible? The larger design of the iPhone 6 and 6s lines have proven very successful for Apple, so we can see why the company would want to play it safe design-wise with the iPhone 7. But this similar design may not ofer enough reasons to upgrade as we’ve seen with previous numbered upgrades – and if the major innovation requires a lot of people to ditch their 3.5mm headphones or use an adaptor, get ready to hear some major griping. This is the most controversial iPhone rumour in years, even more than the change of sizes with the iPhone 6. Some people love the idea. Others hate it. There’s even a petition to convince Apple that ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 33

people still love the headphone jack. That petition has just over 300,000 signatures.

How thin will the iPhone 7 be? The rumour: Macotakara reported this week that the iPhone 7 will be 6.1mm thick. That’s one whole millimetre thinner than the current iPhone 6s, which measures 7.1mm. This new thinner model will be accompanied by a flush rear camera (so not protruding) for a design that’s sleeker overall. Plausible? If this rumour is true, Apple seems to be under the impression that thinner is better. Apple has already made a device that measures just 6.1mm: the iPod touch. So it makes sense that the company would want to try to make the newest iPhone be just as thin. Hopefully, the iPhone 7 won’t be afected by any ‘Bendgate’ issues because of this thinner design.

Will the thinner Lightning port mean you have to get new cables? The rumour: In addition to getting rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack to achieve this new thinness, the iPhone 7 is rumoured to integrate a thinner Lightning port. This will not afect the actual Lighting cables, however, so you won’t have to get all new connectors for the iPhone 7. What Apple is doing is simply making the cutout around the port smaller, so it should only afect case-makers, according to 9to5Mac. Plausible? If Apple is already going insofar as to removing the headphone jack, which has 34 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

already sparked plenty of controversy, then a slight redesign of the Lightning port doesn’t seem like a big deal. Especially if our current Lightning connectors will still be able to hook up to it.

Will the iPhone 7 be waterproof? The rumour: Making the iPhone thinner than ever and adding a DLSR-quality camera aren’t game-changing enough for Apple, apparently, so the company is reportedly working on ways to waterproof the iPhone 7. Plausible? Actually, yes. Apple took several steps to waterproof the iPhone 6s without actually calling it waterproof, as detailed here, and word on the street from people who have accidentally submerged a 6s indicates that those techniques worked. All Apple needs is some waterproof buttons, and it’s set.

What about next year’s iPhone? Yes, we’re already talking about the 2017 iPhone. In this craziest of iPhone rumour cycles, we’re been reading rumours for next year’s iPhone mixed in with rumours of the iPhone that should come out in September of 2016. Just to keep them all straight, here are the things we may have to look forward to next year.

An OLED screen and glass on both sides The rumour: Remember the iPhone 4, encased in glass on both sides, so you’d have twice as many surfaces that could shatter every time it slipped out of your hand? Apple might bring back an ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 35

all-glass design in 2017. Hopefully it’s a bit more durable this time. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks that Apple is planning a major iPhone redesign for 2017 – not this autumn. In a note to investors, he predicted an iPhone with a 5.8in OLED screen that’s encased in glass on both sides, yet smaller than the current iPhone 6s Plus, meaning Apple would be looking to eliminate as much bezel and “chin” as possible. DisplayMate President Ray Soneira echoed Kuo’s OLED predictions in a recent report, citing the “rapid improvements” in OLED performance over the last six years. “Apple simply has no choice in switching,” Soneira said, because OLEDs are thinner, lighter, more responsive, and can be curved or bent in ways that LCD displays just can’t. Kuo also predicted the all-glass 2017 iPhone would have wireless charging, and some kind of biometrics, like face recognition or iris scanning. The Home button takes up a lot of space on the current iPhones, and replacing it with other biometrics for login and Apple Pay could let Apple expand the screen. Plausible? In Apple’s usual ‘tick-tock’ cycle, the 2016 iPhone would get a redesign, since the current iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are upgrades to the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus designs that launched in 2014. But if Apple really is switching to OLED, that’s a major shift that might need more time to perfect. It’ll be interesting to see what innovations Apple can add in 2016 to make the iPhone seem exciting even if the overall design stays the same. 36 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Feature: Tim Cook’s first five years as Apple CEO From Steve Jobs to the Apple car, Cook looks back at the company’s past and future. Caitlin McGarry reports

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e hear from Apple CEO Tim Cook during the company’s quarterly earnings calls, but lately the leader of Apple has been opening up in ways that non-analysts can understand. First he sat down with Fast Company, and then gave an in-depth Washington Post interview on Cook’s five-year anniversary as CEO ofered more insight into the company’s past failures and future surprises. A lot has changed in the last five years, Cook told the Post. Steve Jobs passed away just six ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 37

weeks after Cook took the reins, which came as a shock, he said. Apple expanded its product lineup after Jobs’s death, and some of those devices were conceived of and developed entirely without Jobs’s input. Apple just sold its one billionth iPhone, even as analysts and investors fret over the smartphone’s declining revenue. There are bigger changes in store, Cook said, though he played coy as usual. “We have stepped up our social responsibility,” Cook said. “We have talked about things and been more transparent about what we’re doing – not on products: We try to be as secretive as we’ve always been on products, although it’s increasingly diicult to do that.” The 10,000-word interview is worth a read, especially if you’re interested in the intricacies of Apple’s tax arrangements. Here are the highlights:

On Steve Jobs According to the Washington Post, Cook’s voice still softens when he speaks of his friend. “To me, Steve’s not replaceable. By anyone,” Cook said. “He was an original of a species. I never viewed that was my role. I think it would have been a treacherous thing if I would have tried to do it. When I first took the job as CEO, I actually thought that Steve would be here for a long time… I know this sounds probably bizarre at this point, but I had convinced myself that he would bounce, because he always did.” 38 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

On the FBI showdown Apple was just as shocked as the rest of us when the FBI asked the company to unlock an iPhone belonging to suspected domestic terrorist Syed Farook. It eventually found another way in using a tactic they didn’t disclose to Apple, as far as we know. Cook maintains that the company acted in the best interests of its customers. “Customers should have an expectation that they shouldn’t need a PhD in computer science to protect themselves. So I think they depend on us to do some things on their behalf. So with that responsibility comes an obligation to stand up,” Cook said. “Honestly? I was shocked that they would even ask for this. That was the thing that was so disappointing that I think everybody lost in the whole thing. There are 200-plus other countries in the world. Zero of them had ever asked this.”

On failure Cook has overseen five years of stratospheric growth at Apple, but he also takes credit for missteps during that time. Apple Maps was a big one. The second was hiring John Browett to lead retail in 2012, a mistake that Cook quickly rectified by bringing on Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts. “It’s sort of a lonely job,” Cook said. “The adage that it’s lonely – the CEO job is lonely – is accurate in a lot of ways. I’m not looking for any sympathy. You have to recognise that you have blind spots. We all do. Blind spots move, and you want to not just have really bright people around you, but people who will push on you and people to bring out the best in you.” ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 39

On Apple’s future… and that car Apple has taken a lot of heat this year because of declining iPhone sales. The company doesn’t break out Apple Watch sales in its earnings reports, but its “most personal device ever” hasn’t been the blockbuster product that some expected it to be. But none of that bothers Cook. “Every year isn’t an up, you know,” Cook said. Obviously Apple can’t hinge its future on the iPhone, though he believes eventually every person in the world will own a smartphone and Apple could capture a huge share of that market. He pointed to services, the iPad Pro, and enterprise as areas of growth that Apple is optimistic about. Then there’s that long-rumoured self-driving car, which Cook refused to comment on, but vaguely circled. “Apple is the only company that can take hardware, software and services and integrate those into an experience that’s an ‘aha’ for the customer,” Cook said. “You can take that and apply to markets that we’re not in today. There’s not a limitation that we can only do that in the smartphone area or in the tablet or Mac or watch area.” Opening Siri up to third-party developers is a huge leap forward, and Cook hinted that more artificial intelligence work is happening in the background. Augmented and virtual reality are also areas of interest. But if you expected the CEO of Apple to say anything substantial about unreleased products… well, you just don’t know Apple. “We’ve always viewed that people love surprises,” Cook said. “We don’t have enough anymore in our lives.” 40 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Feature: Apple announces bug bounty programme Tech giant offers financial incentives to report exploits, writes Glenn Fleishman

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n Apple security chief unexpectedly announced the company will pay for vulnerabilities found in certain aspects of iOS and iCloud. The program will launch in September by invitation only for a few dozen researchers with whom Apple has an existing strong relationship, and payouts will be based on severity and category. The top fees across five areas range from $25,000 to $200,000, but could ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 41

be much lower. The announcement came during a presentation by Ivan Krstić, Apple’s head of security engineering and architecture, at the Black Hat security research conference in Las Vegas. The presentation also included a level of technical detail and disclosure of security – here, related to AutoUnlock, HomeKit, and iCloud Keychain – that has been mostly absent in the past at conferences, according to those present. The fees offered aren’t enough to deter those merely in it for the cash, as major flaws can command cash from malicious and legitimate parties alike that far exceeds Apple’s top rates. But it could help convince researchers to disclose problems to Apple and remain mute until the bugs are patched. In some instances in the last few years, those who had discovered exploits went public after they decided suicient time had passed without Apple providing updates. Most of Apple’s competitors for customers and eyeballs 42 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

already run so-called bug bounty programs, in which researchers or hackers turn over what they know in exchange for a fee, usually paid in cash, and keeping quiet until fixes ship. Some sponsor hacking events, paying out in cash, equipment, or both for achieving a goal, like breaking out of a browser sandbox designed to contain malicious software from the rest of a system. Amazon now remains the exception among large internet firms. Krstić listed five categories of bugs and the top fee paid for each, although Apple said later that exceptional critical vulnerabilities that aren’t listed will be considered. Those who attended say that macOS isn’t yet covered as part of the program.

΄Secure boot firmware components ($200,000 cap)

΄Extraction of confidential material protected by the Secure Enclave Processor ($100,000 cap)

΄Execution of arbitrary code with kernel privileges ($50,000 cap)

΄Unauthorised access to iCloud account data on Apple servers ($50,000 cap)

΄Access from a sandboxed process to user data outside of that sandbox ($25,000 cap) Each of these aspects represents key vectors for attack by governments and criminals alike. While iOS has never had exploits spread significantly in the wild, jailbreaking software has made use of ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 43

various methods of running arbitrary code. In a separate Black Hat presentation, the makers of the Pangu jailbreak for iOS 9 (fixed in 9.2) described how they achieved that kind of code execution. So far, there’s been no known extraction of data from Secure Enclave, the dedicated hardware in iOS devices with an A7 or newer process that acts as a one-way valve to store fingerprint characteristics and certain data associated with Apple Pay. It’s also used to prevent downgrading iOS to exploit a bug in a previous release. While iCloud accounts have been compromised in the past through weak password entry endpoints and social engineering of celebrity accounts, there’s been no reported breach of iCloud servers. Those invited to apply to the program will have to provide a proof of concept that works on current software and hardware. Bounties will be based on a combination of factors, as with other corporate bug programs, such as how much interaction is required from a user to trigger it, the exploit’s severity, how 44 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

novel it is compared to previously known issues, and how clearly the flaw is described. Apple has also offered a bump to bug finders who want to donate their awards to charity. At its discretion – potentially to avoid supporting charities at odds with its image or public stances – Apple will match donated awards dollar for dollar. Security researcher Rich Mogull, a contributor to Macworld and other Apple-focused publications, noted in a post on his company’s blog that Apple will consider adding those who discover bugs but haven’t been invited to the bounty program; Apple confirmed this for Macworld. Apple won’t publish a list of invitees, he writes, but those participating are free to disclose it. This approach is clearly intended to reduce the volume of reports and keep the quality high. Apple has long accepted bug reports without the potential of compensation, and that continues. Apple says that it plans to try to bring more researchers into the program in the future. Apple began to acknowledge researchers who conformed to its advance disclosure and testing rules several years ago and includes their name and company ailiation (if any) in security updates. Apple withholds credit and sometimes publishes those who work outside its guidelines, most prominently suspending Charlie Miller, who had previously discovered many flaws, from its developer program in 2011 after he had an app approved in the App Store with a proof-of-concept flaw embedded. Bugs pay big on grey and black markets, with criminal syndicates and government agencies sometimes vying for the same exploit before it’s ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 45

found and patched. These so-called zero-day bugs, ones that aren’t patched before they’re used to exploit a weakness, allow malicious and legitimate parties alike ways to crack servers, operating systems, and sometimes individual computers and mobile devices. Effective cracks can go for tens of thousands of dollars, with reports putting the top rate at a million dollars. The Department of Justice dropped its attempt to force Apple to create a specialized version of iOS that would allow the FBI to attempt to crack a work-provided iPhone used by San Bernardino mass-killer Syed Rizwan after it obtained a bypass from a third party. Fees at other companies range from a starting point from $100 to $500, and are capped at from $20,000 at Google to $100,000 at Microsoft. Some companies don’t have an announced cap, and may offer far higher fees for major exploits.


Feature: Why you should consider a refurbished iPad Ashleigh Allsopp looks at the pros and cons of buying a secondhand iPad

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efurbished Apple products are technically pre-owned, but they undergo such a rigorous refurbishing process that it’s unlikely you’ll even notice. In fact pre-owned may mean only used once, perhaps it’s a unit that was loaned to a journalist, or it was returned by a customer who ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 47

decided they wanted a different model, or maybe there was a fault with it – a fault that Apple will have rectified as part of its refurbishment when it got it ready for sale.

What do you get? If you buy a refurbished iPad from Apple, you’ll get the same one-year warranty as if you bought a brand-new iPad, all of the manuals and accessories that come with a new iPad, a brand new battery and outer shell and a new white box for it too. The new box is not the same as the box you would get if you purchased a new iPad, and we assume that this is to prevent people from buying a refurbished iPad and attempting to sell it on as new. However, we think you’ll struggle to spot anything about the contents of that box that indicates that it is not a new iPad. Apple promises that all refurbished iPads it sells are in full working condition, and they have each been fully tested to ensure this. Any parts that were defective when the iPad was returned by its previous owner will have been replaced, and the entire iPad will have been cleaned and inspected to make sure it’s in top-notch condition. If you’d prefer to have a longer warranty than the one-year warranty you’ll get included, you can buy an AppleCare Protection Plan for your refurbished iPad. This will extend your warranty to two years, but it will set you back £79.

Available models The products in Apple’s Refurbished store can change quite frequently, so you’ll want to check 48 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

back regularly if the particular Apple product you’re after isn’t available. (Note: Apple does not currently offer refurbished iPhones.) At time of writing, Apple has various models of iPad that include the iPad, iPad Air 1, iPad mini and iPad mini 2. To give you an idea of what you can save by opting for a refurbished iPad, a refurbished Wi-Fi and cellular iPad mini 3 with 16GB storage costs £319. Comparatively, the previous generation refurbished Wi-Fi and cellular iPad mini 2 with 16 storage only costs £269. Considering the only difference between these models is the mini 3’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner, the £50 saving is excellent. The internals of the two iPads are exactly the same, so a £50 saving is up for grabs. The refurbished store is also a way to get hold of models no longer sold by Apple. It no longer sells the iPad mini 3 at all, and only stocks 16GB and 32GB models of the iPad mini 2. You can still pick up (stock depending) 64GB and 128GB iPad mini 2 models refurbished. A Refurbished iPad Air with Wi-Fi + Cellular and 64GB capacity is available for £389 from Apple’s Refurbished store, which is a saving of £110 on its original RRP. By comparison, that’s actually £60 cheaper than a brand new Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad Air 2 with just 16GB capacity.

Verdict We think it is absolutely worth considering buying a refurbished iPad. It’ll look as good as new, so you won’t notice the difference anywhere other than in your bank balance and that giveaway packaging as mentioned above. ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 49

Feature: iOS vs Android David Price reveals why iOS is the best mobile OS

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Phone vs Android (or iOS vs Android, to be more precise) has been the biggest rivalry in tech for the best part of a decade, long ago eclipsing the desktop wars between Apple and Microsoft, and Apple and IBM. There’s well over 800 million active iPhone users in the world right now (Apple reckons the number is above a billion); but that’s nothing to Android, which has something like a billion and a half. But which of those two clans should you join? Is an iPhone or an Android smartphone your best bet for value for money, features, security, ease of use, app selection and more? We’ll be honest: here at iPad & iPhone User we sit unashamedly in the iOS camp, and reckon iOS 9 is the best mobile operating system currently available - soon to be superseded by iOS 10 in


September. But we acknowledge that Android has many advantages of its own, and that for plenty of smartphone buyers, that will be the better choice. In the following article we list the pros and cons of going for an iPhone or Android phone, as well as the significant differences between the two platforms, to help you pick a team.

1. iPhones are more secure iOS is a more secure platform than Android. iOS isn’t impregnable, and it’s very dangerous for iPhone users to assume that it is, but far more malware is written for Android – Pulse Secure’s 2015 Mobile Threat Report put the figure at 97 percent of all mobile malware, while the US Department of Homeland Security estimated in 2013 [pdf] that just 0.7 percent of malware threats were aimed at iOS – and while this is partly because Android has more users, it’s mainly because it’s simply an easier target. The ‘closed’ platforms – iOS, Windows Mobile and, if anyone out there is still using it, BlackBerry – have very little malware written for them. It’s harder to break into Android, and malware writers will almost always go for the low-hanging fruit. Part of the problem for Android is that so many of its users don’t bother to update to the latest version: the DoHS report above found that 44 percent were still on ‘Gingerbread’, a version of Android which had been released two years earlier. (By contrast, after four months of availability iOS 9 was on 75 percent of active iPhones and iPads. Granted, Apple achieves this high adoption rate partly through the irritating overuse of ‘Please ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 51

update now’ prompts that drive many iPhone owners potty.) There are also small differences between the flavours of Android used by the different handset makers. This fragmentation makes it harder to push out adequate security patches on a timely basis. As we said, there are still dangers out there for iPhone users. In its 2015 Threat Report, F-Secure Labs reports on several instances of malware penetrating Apple’s ‘walled garden’ App Store. Instead of using social engineering to persuade users to download malware directly, hackers have learned to target the app developers, who then use “compromised tools to unwittingly create apps with secretly malicious behaviour”. Multiple apps – anywhere from 30 to 300, and many of them from reputable companies – were removed from the App Store in September 2015 because they contained the XCodeGhost malware. Later that year similar situations arose with apps based on UnityGhost, a cloned and compromised version of the Unity development framework, and on the Youmi SDK. Don’t make the mistake, then, of assuming that the iOS platform and Apple’s App Store are invulnerable to attack. They’re not. But they are more secure than the Android equivalents. Despite its findings, F-Secure insists that Apple’s App Store “remains a tougher nut to crack than the Android ecosystem”. You quite often hear the logically flaky reasoning that, because Apple’s OS software products aren’t perfectly secure, they’re on a level with rival products that also aren’t perfectly secure. It’s easy 52 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

to explain why this is wrong. iOS (like macOS) is very secure indeed, albeit not completely secure. Android is really quite secure – it’s not like Android users are getting their bank accounts emptied and their motherboards fried by Hollywood-style hacking attacks morning, noon and night – but quantifiably less secure than iOS. By picking iPhone you give yourself a large security advantage.

2. iPhones are more private There’s two main strands backing up the above statement: the privacy measures built into Apple’s smartphones (and particularly the most recent generations of iPhone), and the statements ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 53

and actions that Apple has made in support of user privacy. iPhone privacy measures We’re not just talking about passcodes and fingerprints, although these things can help to protect your data (one element being the way that the iPhone locks up for successively longer and longer periods the more times you get the passcode wrong, in order to prevent would-be hackers from ‘brute-forcing’ the passcode; get it wrong 10 times and the phone locks down forever). Nor are we talking about the end-to-end encryption Apple has added to iMessage. There’s something better than all this, in the more recent generations of the iPhone. As well as introducing Touch ID, the iPhone 5s was the first iPhone to feature a security measure that Apple calls the Secure Enclave, a sub-section of the processor chip that stores the fingerprints and other security-critical data. It is also a crucial part of the encryption setup. “The Secure Enclave uses a secure boot system to ensure that the code it runs can’t be modified,” explains Mike Ash, an expert who has done his best to piece together the principles behind the closely guarded technology, “and uses encrypted memory to ensure that the rest of the system can’t read or tamper with its data. This effectively forms a little computer within the computer that’s diicult to attack.” The Secure Enclave means, in effect, that Apple itself cannot break into an iPhone if it’s a 5s or later and has been protected with a passcode. 54 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

This fact came to light near the end of 2015 when the FBI asked Apple to open up the iPhone 5c that belonged to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino attacks in America. If this had been one generation later, it simply wouldn’t have been possible, Apple said – but because it was ‘only’ a 5c, the firm’s engineers could in theory have created and installed a custom build of iOS without the security measures that ordinarily prevent bruteforce bypassing of the passcode. (Bear in mind, however, that very little is known about the Secure Enclave by anyone outside Apple, and some have argued that it isn’t as secure as Apple makes out. It was claimed, early in 2016, that a police-contracted hacker had successfully broken into an iPhone 5s, Secure Enclave and all, in order to obtain information for a murder case. Although it is significant that the device in question was running iOS 7, an outdated OS with less comprehensive security measures.) Apple refused the FBI’s demand to open up the iPhone 5c, however. Which leads us neatly onto our next section.


Apple’s pro-privacy behaviour As previously outlined, Apple got itself into a standoff with US law enforcement in the first months of 2016, because it refused to create a back door into a phone involved in a high-profile shooting attack (the company felt that this would both leave millions of iPhone users around the world vulnerable to attacks if and when the custom build was leaked or replicated, and set a legal precedent for less publicised cases in the future). Six months on it’s easy to forget quite how unpopular this stance was at the time, or how aggressively it was attacked by politicians keen to look ‘tough on crime’. But this was a brave and principled stand to make: the company seemingly outmanoeuvred into defending its pro-privacy policy in the most unpopular of circumstances, and willing to do so anyway. “We did not expect to be in this position, at odds with our own government,” Tim Cook said at the iPhone SE launch event a month later. “But we have a responsibility to help you protect your data and protect your privacy. We owe it to our customers and we owe it to our country. We will not shrink from this responsibility.” Apple hasn’t just talked a good game on protecting privacy. When the chips were down, it demonstrated a real commitment to the principle.

3. iOS is more user-friendly Personally I think iOS is easier and more convenient and enjoyable to use than Android; and it would appear that a lot of my fellow smartphone users agree, since iOS users are on average 56 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

more loyal to the platform than their Android counterparts. Once people have tried the iPhone they tend to stick with it. But quality of user experience is hard to quantify. A better way of approaching the idea might be to think about the respective design processes and philosophies behind iOS and Android. Apple famously builds both software and hardware, enabling it to create a seamless whole. These days the design teams even overlap for greater collaboration, with Apple design guru Sir Jony Ive bringing his minimalist hardware design aesthetic to the software from iOS 7 onwards. Every aspect of the iPhone, then, has been designed with iOS in mind – not only the current ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 57

build of iOS but future iterations. In some cases the same people are involved in the design of hardware and software. Android handsets, on the other hand, are built reactively: hardware and software are designed by separate teams in separate companies (in separate continents, quite often). Expecting the same level of polish would be unrealistic.

4. Apple’s apps are better Google Play has more apps than the App Store, but both passed the million mark some time back, so sheer numbers aren’t really relevant. What is relevant is quality, and the ability to find high-quality apps among the dross. Neither company does this particularly well, but it’s clear which is doing better. Apple ‘curates’ its store in the sense that developers are obliged to follow stringent rules before getting their software approved for release. (Sometimes, indeed, Apple takes this too far, with its generally admirable stance against distasteful content sometimes leading it into areas that seem politically partisan – or creating a climate in which publishers censor themselves.) This means that everything you’ll find on the store has been subject to some degree of quality control. Now, we’re not saying that making it into the App Store is like Nintendo’s Seal of Quality; there are still bad apps, and boring apps, and ethically iffy apps, and plagiarised apps (and even a few that tick all four boxes) that make it through the net. But the proportions of these are vastly lower than on Google Play. 58 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

It’s easier to find good apps as an iOS user. And discoverability is no small issue in a store with well over a million apps. Apps are cheap and numerous, and individual buying decisions are much easier than simply finding the stuff worth considering in the first place. What’s more, quality apps are more likely to appear on iOS that on Android, and if they appear on both they tend to appear first on the Apple App Store. Why? Because on average, Android users are less inclined to pay for apps, which means developers have less incentive to put the effort in. It might seem unfair, but by joining the platform with the more spend-happy consumers, you’re earning yourself preferential treatment from software developers. One example illustrates both the extra wait Android fans are subjected to, and the dangers they face of downloading something dodgy. As of 29 August 2013, Plants vs Zombies 2 – a very high-demand game – had been available for iOS for a fortnight, but Google Play still hadn’t got it. But more worryingly, a dodgy game had appeared on the Google Play store claiming to be Plants vs Zombies 2. It was actually a hoax designed to get you to download more apps. PvZ 2 did eventually appear on Google Play. Sometimes you just have to wait a bit longer than people on iOS. Sometimes, like the Infinity Blade games, it never arrives at all.

5. You get what you pay for A common refrain of Android fans centres on the price differential between Android and iOS ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 59

handsets, and it’s true that iPhones are near the top of the smartphone budgetary scale. It’s also true that today’s Android handsets are both cheap and beautifully made: sadly, though, to paraphrase an old gag, the handsets that are cheap are not beautifully made and the handsets that are beautifully made are not cheap. Two of the best Android smartphones are by Samsung: the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge (pictured). They’re great, and well worth a recommendation. But to call them a budget alternative is misleading: they cost £569 and £639 respectively, compared with £539 and £619 for the entry-level iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Equally, it’s possible to find an Android phone for less than the equivalent iPhone – the Google Nexus 6P is just £449 – but don’t expect the same quality or attractiveness of design.

Verdict Ultimately the iPhone vs Android debate comes down to a choice: between Android’s flawed, fragmented openness, and Apple’s quality experience in a closed environment. Openness sounds brilliant, and if we were talking about a lifestyle or a political philosophy then Android would be hard to beat. But this is about a phone. And if you just want a smartphone that’s safe, easy and enjoyable to use, and connected to the best-quality app store around – not to mention sumptuously designed and reliable – then iPhone is the only answer. 60 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Review: Pokémon GO Free (in-app purchases) ΄ pokemon.com/uk

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he idea behind Pokémon GO is simple, but in the space of a month this augmented-reality mobile game created by The Pokémon Company and Niantic has become the highestearning mobile app in history. What gives? First, I have to level with you: I didn’t grow up as a Pokémon fan, and I never understood what all the younger kids were so excited about. I guess I thought it was all a bit ‘sad’, but I now feel weirdly defensive of the game. Just the other ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 61

day I had to hold myself back when a stranger in the pub told me I was too old to be playing Pokémon GO. Outrageous. Things changed in September last year when I wrote an article about the then upcoming Pokémon GO game. Site traic is central to my role at IDG, so I won’t pretend the prospect of playing peekaboo with Pikachu was more exciting to me than the 4.5 million page views the story has received. Even after 10 months of regular updates to that article - 10 infuriating months of having to find and then copy and paste that blasted é from another web page because I’m the idiot who didn’t know you just long-pressed the e key on a Mac keyboard, and 10 long months of picking my younger colleagues’ brains for their Pokémon knowledge – I still didn’t get it. When Pokémon GO was finally released in July I had to try it. Too impatient to wait for it to be oicially available in the UK I installed it via the APK file. I’m not going to pretend I suddenly understood why a ‘screenshot’ of Articuno in a gym could send fans into meltdown, nor who is this Mew guy, or even why the Complete Guide to Pokémon GO almost overnight became our best-selling digital magazine ever, but I am just a few thousand XP away from level 23 and I couldn’t be more addicted. The fact I’m more interesting in hunting EeVees (because I still don’t have a Flareon) than finding a dress for my wedding next year should have been the first sign that there was a problem. Defending the gym at my local pub has become my life’s work. Every journey in the car involves a detour via a PokéStop (or three). I’ve gone from 62 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

driving maybe a little bit too fast to infuriating those behind me by driving so slowly in order that my eggs can hatch faster. My phone is like a furnace from where its screen is constantly switched on, and my power bank has become less of an emergency gadget and more of a daily necessity. What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t even like Pokémon! But something inside me has been awoken and now I have no choice but to catch them all. And it’s exactly this that makes Pokémon GO such a brilliant idea. This could be the start of something much bigger in augmented reality, and it’s the first time the technology has really met with consumers en masse. Within a few days of its release Pokémon GO has done what activity trackers have been trying to do for years. It has made kids – and adults – get up off of their backsides and get some fresh air and ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 63

exercise. We’ve all heard the heartwarming tales of people who have lost stones and gained friends (or lost jobs and gained lovers) in their search for Pokémon. Which is nice. Pokémon GO is not the kind of game you can play from home (annoying), and unless you happen to live in a town- or city centre you have to go find PokéStops, you have to go find gyms and, most of all, you have to go find Pokémon. Copping out using an incense on the sofa just won’t cut it if you want to get far in the game and still have money in your pocket. I’m still not okay with the idea of young children wandering around public places with their attention focused more on their phone- or tablet screens than the car that’s about to run them over or the arsehole who is about to steal their device, but I would hope that every one of these children has a watchful parent by their side. 64 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

One of the things we like about Pokémon GO is that it is genuinely free, and you can play it without spending a penny. If you are going to spend some money, you’ll more than likely do so on incubators for your eggs, since you get only one unlimiteduse incubator. You can buy PokéBalls, though these are available from PokéStops, and you can buy incense, lures and lucky eggs, which are also available through levelling up. What strikes us as odd is that you can’t buy potions and revives, but that would likely make gym battles too easy. Spending real money on Pokémon GO will help you level up faster, but it certainly isn’t a necessity.

What is Pokémon GO? For those who know nothing about Pokémon GO, I’ll explain it as I see it from one Pokémon newbie to another. There are more than 700 Pokémon in total, but only around 150 in Pokémon GO (for now at least). Some are like real-life animals, birds, fish and reptiles, for example a Pidgey is a pigeon, a Rattata is a rat and a Krabby is a crab. Others have less obvious real-world comparisons, particularly in their evolved state, and I hope I never meet a real-life Raticate in the street. (The others are mostly quite cute, even those that can wipe the floor with you in a gym.) The ultimate goal is to catch all the Pokémon in the game. You can do so by leaving the house and physically searching for them, by evolving other Pokémon, or by hatching eggs which, again, involves leaving the house and walking a certain distance or, if you’re lucky, having such a poor GPS signal that your avatar will run around desperately ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 65

trying to work out where you are. It’s rumoured that a future update to Pokémon GO will allow you to also trade Pokémon at PokéStops, but that’s not possible right now. The Pokémon GO interface is simply a map of your local area, and as you walk around you might be lucky enough to find a Pokémon, which will appear on the map. You tap the Pokémon to begin your attempt at catching it, which is made possible by throwing PokéBalls in its direction. (Later in the game you get larger PokéBalls and Razz Berries to ease this process.) When trying to catch a Pokémon you can do so from an augmented-reality viewpoint, which brings up the view from your camera with the Pokémon overlaid and makes it look as though it is actually standing in front of you, or you can turn off AR, which is less fun but makes it easier to catch the Pokémon. Every successful catch gains you three candies of that Pokémon type (required for powering up or evolving that Pokémon), 100 stardust (also required for powering up Pokémon) and at least 100 XP (required for levelling up). Also on the map, and usually at places of interest such as pubs and churches, are PokéStops and gyms. A PokéStop is a point at which you can collect a random selection of PokéBalls, eggs, revives and potions, while a gym is a place in which you battle and train your Pokémon and is where those revives and potions come into play to heal battered Pokémon. Once you hit level 5 you can join a team. These have proper names like Instinct and Valour and, er, but it’s easier to just call them team red, blue 66 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

or yellow (choose yellow). If you visit a gym that is of your team’s colour you can add a Pokémon to help defend it. Depending on what level is the gym you may first have to train it up by battling with your own Pokémon. This is a friendly fight and adds to the gym’s prestige, but the damage to your Pokémon is real: stock up on revives and potions. If a gym is of another team’s colour you can battle it and knock down its prestige, eventually knocking that team out the gym altogether. At this point you can claim it for your own team, provided that your rival isn’t lying in wait and ready to add in new Pokémon the second it becomes vacant. (Which is very naughty, but also hilarious, and I’ve never done that.) Also, choose team yellow.

Why we can’t stop playing Provided you’ve opted for team yellow, and you’re happy to leave the house once in a while, Pokémon ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 67

GO can be a very addictive, albeit repetitive, game. But this addictive nature can also be a curse, and doesn’t in itself make Pokémon GO a great game. We love Pokémon GO, but we have more than a few niggles with it. Before we even get into the game itself and how it works we have to point out just how much of a drain it is on battery life. I’m not exaggerating when I say you can watch the percentage go down. If you are to play Pokémon GO you will need a power bank. The other things you’ll need to watch aside from battery life are mobile reception, GPS and data usage. Some kids have been frustrated by the fact you can’t play Pokémon GO without GPS, which rules out many tablets such as last Christmas’ incredibly popular £49 Amazon Fire. Mobile reception can also be an issue, and going from an area with a strong signal to a weak signal can be 68 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

enough to cause the app to crash, which will be particularly frustrating if you’re mid-catch. I’ve had issues with one local gym whereby you have to stand in a very precise position behind a tree in order to simultaneously be within range of the gym and mobile reception. If reception goes down slightly or you move even an inch then it stops the battle you’re currently fighting and treats it as though you gave up, so you still have to heal your Pokémon and you gain nothing in return. Data usage will be an issue if you’re on a limited plan, although we have to say we’re impressed by how little data Pokémon GO uses – relatively speaking, that is, when you take into account how often we play it. When you really get into a game you tend to spend a lot of your free time playing it. Obviously you can’t be out wandering the streets at all hours, and when you’re not catching Pokémon there is little you can do other than evolve and heal your Pokémon – and that doesn’t take very long. Gym battles can be fun at first, but they aren’t exactly what many fans seem to have been expecting. You can battle your friends only if they are on a different team and you have found a gym that contains one of their Pokémon. But even then you’re not really battling them: you’re battling a Pokémon they have left behind in a gym, and they will never know you fought them or that it was you who turfed them out. Actually it will work better if your friends are on your team, since you’ll find it easier to defend a gym with several strong Pokémon in there rather than all on your tod. You can play only so many gym battles, too, since ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 69

you’ll quickly run out of potions, and the escalating climb in XP between each level jump (following which you are rewarded with extra PokéBalls, potions and other goodies) isn’t answered by the small number of potions you might get from a PokéStop. The game seems more than happy to give out revives via PokéStops, but these will restore only fainted Pokémon to half their HP and are no good for fully restoring the health of these Pokémon or of others injured in training. The other problem with gyms is they are far too easy to win and far too easy to lose. You gain fewer prestige points in training than can be removed in a single battle – and there is a huge disparity between the two. Although it’s important to stop one team reigning supreme for too long in order for other teams to get a look-in, it’s also pointless to pay out a 21-hour ownership reward that is all but impossible to obtain. If you can find a remote gym then you’re lucky, but the gyms in my town centre change ownership several times an hour and I don’t have all day to defend them, nor to sit outside a PokéStop gathering potions. These gripes concern players on level 5 or above, but for new players a far bigger concern is the complete lack of an in-game help- or tutorial system. Nowhere does it explain how to play or the aim of the game, so you find yourself in later levels wishing you hadn’t wasted precious stardust and candy powering up CP10 Pidgeys when you should have held out for CP400 Pidgeys. Each Pokémon has a dial that shows you how far you can power it up, but it isn’t clear at what CP it’s worth evolving. As an example, at level 22 I have a CP979 Ponyta 70 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

that I am unable to power up higher because my trainer level isn’t high enough – so what exactly is the maximum CP for a Ponyta? Should I hold on since Ponyta candy seems to be hard to come by? The fact is I just don’t know. Even more confusing is the way some Pokémon can be more powerful than higher CP Pokémon of the same type. A CP750 Raticate with Hyper Beam would be more powerful in a gym battle than a CP740 Raticate with Hyper Fang, for example. You don’t work any of this out until it’s already too late and you’ve used up your stardust and candies and deleted what could potentially be very powerful Pokémon. Pokémon are also grouped into types – some are water types, or normal types, or psychic or poison, for example. This is important because some types are better at fighting certain types than others – though I can’t tell you which because I’m a Pokémon newbie and it isn’t explained in the game. You’ll notice we’ve mentioned Pidgeys and Rattatas several times throughout this review. And that’s because they are among the most common Pokémon you’ll find playing Pokémon GO, along with Weedles, Caterpies – and if I ever see another Drowzee… The problem is, it’s very diicult to catch them all when you only ever seem to be able to catch the same five. It’s true that as your Trainer level goes up you are presented with a greater variety of Pokémon, but in the early stages of the game – and especially now, a little over a month after its release – it can be diicult to believe you’ll ever stand a chance against other players when presented with CP2000 Snorlax, ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 71

Gyarados and SloBros, even if you have been lucky enough to pick up a powerful Vaporeon fairly early on. The nearby feature that shows you which Pokémon are in the vicinity was so heavily criticised that it was first altered and then removed, now replaced with Sightings, and no-one is entirely sure what that means in terms of how close are those Pokémon. Previously a Pokémon’s distance away from you was implied by the number of footsteps below it. Now all are displayed in rustling grass. In the beginning there were helper apps, the most popular of which is PokeVision, which had 50 million users when it was pulled oline. Those who use it and its ilk now allegedly face a lifetime ban. But PokeVision was fantastic for showing you where and for how long you could find certain Pokémon, though for many people it made the game unfairly easy and removed the need to hunt down Pokémon. Niantic says the extra strain these helper apps placed on its servers was so great that it was delaying its global rollout of Pokémon GO, and preventing it from finding the time to create bug fixes. To be fair, server problems were so bad in the first couple of weeks that the game was almost unplayable. You could almost guarantee Pokémon GO would crash and not let you back in the second 72 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

you activated a lucky egg, incense or lure module, which each have 30-minute time limits. These days Pokémon GO is very stable, and although it still crashes more than it should getting back into the game is never a problem. We’ve thrown a lot of criticism at Pokémon GO within this review, and yet we’re still addicted to the game. Why is that? It’s a very long way from perfect, but it gets better all the time and with each new update. It’s diicult to see our enthusiasm for Pokémon GO remain once we have caught them all, however.

Verdict Pokémon GO is such a simple and yet absolutely brilliant idea that has captured the world’s attention. The hype won’t last forever, and one day soon only the most die-hard PokéHunters will continue to play, but expect it to be among the first of many more augmented-reality apps coming your way. Despite the safety concerns and the huge amount of criticism it has received as Niantic struggles to deal with the huge demand, Pokémon GO is deserving of real credit for getting a nation off the sofa and into the great outdoors. A repetitive, buggy, power-draining but oh-so-addictive app, don’t pick up Pokémon GO unless you’re prepared to lose a large chunk of your life to it. Marie Brewis ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 73


Feature: Ask the iTunes Guy Kirk McElhearn answers your iTunes questions

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o many iTunes problems, so little time. It’s frustrating to have to worry about all these glitches and quirks when you just want to listen to your music. This week I explain how to fix a common problem where iTunes splits albums among multiple Artist entries. I then discuss how to move your iTunes content to a new Mac when doing a clean install. And I give some tips for working with a Mac mini server without a display.

Too many artists Q: If I look at my iTunes library in Artists view, I generally see one entry for each artist. But for some of them, there are multiple entries, sometimes one per song on an album. Is there any way to fix this? A: This happens often, and I get this question a lot. I see this regularly on my iTunes library, as you can see in the screenshot on the right. To fix this, find the album in Albums view. Click it, then press Cmd-I; this opens the Info window for all the tracks on the album. Change the name of the album; you can change it to anything you want. I generally just add an ‘x’ after the name. So, for the above example, I change Nils Frahm to Nils Frahmx. Click OK. You’ll find that the tracks are now ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 75

grouped correctly under a single artist entry. Press Cmd-I to open the Info window for the album’s tracks again and change the name back to the correct name. Click OK, and the tracks will now be listed with the correct artist, and may be merged with any existing tracks by that artist in Artists view.

Moving to a new Mac Q: I just bought a new Mac. Since my current Mac is so old, I don’t want to use the Migration Assistant to set it up, but would rather do a clean install. How do I copy all my iTunes media and playlists to the new Mac? A: It’s a good idea to do a clean install when you get a new computer. This way, you avoid copying over apps you no longer use, and the many support files that have built up over the years. You also start afresh with your apps, and apply any settings you want to use. It can take a lot of time, but it makes you rethink how you work, which is a good thing. If you haven’t changed anything in iTunes’ settings, all the content you need to move is in your user folder, in /Music/iTunes. You’ll note that my iTunes Media folder is only 17kb; that’s because there’s nothing in it. I store my media on an external disk. You can tell iTunes

Contents of my / Music/iTunes folder


to store your media in a different location in the Advanced preferences. So, to transfer all your iTunes content to the new Mac, you need to copy the /Music/iTunes folder, and, if you store your media on an external drive, you need to also copy the contents of that drive, or the folder on it that contains your media. Remember to go to iTunes’ Advanced preferences when you first launch the app to point it to that folder so it finds all your files.

Managing iTunes on a headless server Q: I have a Mac mini media server in the cellar playing iTunes through the headphone jack connected to my stereo receiver in the living room. Occasionally I would like to delete a song that is playing. I’d like to be able to grab my iPhone and either delete the song while it plays, or tag it for future deletion. Can do this? A: If you connect to the Mac mini via Screen Sharing, you can manage iTunes from any Mac. You’d see the Mac mini’s display as though you were in front of it. You can then manipulate your iTunes library any way you want. Barring that, you could use a VNC (virtual network computing) app on an iOS device. I use the free VNC Viewer. It’s not the best way to work with an app like iTunes, though. What I would do is rate the song with one star with the iOS Remote app, then later delete the one-star files using screen sharing on a Mac. You can create a smart playlist that finds all the one-star songs, and delete them easily. ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 77

Feature: Must-have apps for the iPad road warrior With good VPN, screen-sharing and time-management apps, you’ll be prepared to tackle any task. Jason Cipriani reports

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aking your iPad Pro and iPhone out on the road? These apps can help you get some serious work done without a computer. Whether you’re on a business trip and forced to connect to random Wi-Fi networks, or you’re spending the day at a local coffee shop for a change of scenery, you can remain productive while keeping your data safe and secure.


Opera VPN on the iPad

Protect your data Something we hardly think about when we’re at home or in the oice is someone snooping on our Wi-Fi traic, looking for bits and pieces of personal information as we go about our daily tasks. But when you’re using public Wi-Fi networks, you should constantly think about just that scenario. You’ve probably used one without even thinking twice about it. But recently, I’ve started to use VPN apps when I’m not home, in an effort to protect my personal data. Routing your internet traic through ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 79

a VPN will encrypt important data, rendering it useless to would-be bad guys. Some apps can even block ads and trackers in addition to keeping your data safe. Not too shabby, right? The App Store is full of VPN apps, each claiming to be the best and the fastest. I can’t vouch for all of them, but I can tell you I haven’t had a bad experience using either the free Opera VPN app or while testing HotSpot Shield VPN. As with all free services on the internet, Opera VPN does collect some of your data in anonymised form and sells it to third parties. But that does get you free unlimited VPN service plus ad blocking. HotSpot Shield also offers a free version of its service, paid for by showing ads in the app itself. To go ad-free, you can sign up for a yearly Elite subscription for £22.99. On top of that, HotSpot’s CEO told ZDNet earlier this year the company doesn’t keep or look at your data.

Keep access to your computer As someone who does a lot of work on an iPad Pro, I often need to access a file or run an app I only have on my iMac in my home oice. The easiest way to do this is to use an app like Screens. Screens, £14.99 in the App Store, lets you remotely connect to, and take over, a Mac or PC, from anywhere you have an internet connection. The app is super simple to set up, requiring you to install Screens Connect on your computer and connect it to your account. From there, the Screens app does the rest. You can move files to your iCloud Drive or Dropbox account, in turn making those files available on your 80 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Screens 4 has a Quick Action for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, letting you choose which Mac to connect to before you even launch the app

iOS device. Or you can run a full-fledged computer application on the screen of your iPad while you’re (potentially) hundreds of miles away. Don’t think of it as cheating on your iPad Pro, think of it as a way of unlocking its full potential.

Remember to take breaks When you work in an oice, interruptions are all too common. Sure, they can be frustratingly common, but at least your coworker telling you about his weekend plans provides a quick break from the task at hand. When working alone, it’s all too ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 81

easy to get wrapped up in work and without you realising it the hours pass without as much as a glance up from the screen. Instead of trying to remember when to get up and take a break or switch tasks, install an app such as Be Focused. Using Be Focused, you can set timers designed to help you keep track of the time you spend on a task, then switch to another one or just go for a walk. There are a lot of Pomodoro-inspired apps (pomodorotechnique.com) available for iOS users, so if you find Be Focused doesn’t work for you, keep searching until you find the right one.


How To: Use Prisma Martyn Casserly reveals how to transform your photos

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ne of the hottest apps on Android and iOS at the moment is the photo editing marvel Prisma. Unlike the filters found on Instagram or Snapchat, Prisma ofers a far more artistic flourish thanks to its colourful and paintinglike efects. We’ll take you through the basic features so that you can share your images in no time at all. Here’s how to use Prisma on iOS.

The interface At its heart Prisma is quite a simple app. Loading it up on your smartphone will present you with two main areas. The upper section is where your ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 83

image can be seen or captured, while the lower half holds a few settings options. On the left you’ll see the lightning icon which represents the flash. The default option is to have it turned of, but if you tap the icon you’ll see the lightning area turn yellow and a little green A appear. This indicates that the flash is now in automatic mode and will fire if the camera feels the shot is too dark. Tapping it again removes the green A but leaves the lightning section yellow. This means that the flash will go of every time you use the camera. Tapping once more returns the flash to its default Of status. In the centre is the Camera icon which allows you to switch from rear facing to front facing, thus unleashing the full fury of selfies. On the right hand side you’ll also see the gear icon, which gives you access to more settings. Tapping on this opens up another menu where you can decide on a couple of save options, plus the watermark setting that either applies or removes the word Prisma from the bottom right corner of your images. The last two controls on the main page are the large circle which acts as the shutter button, and 84 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

the pictures icon in the bottom right corner that gives you access to any photos you’ve already taken on your phone. This is useful as it allows Prisma’s filters to be applied to all your images, not just the ones you capture in the app.

Turn photos into art Once you’ve either chosen an image from your phone or captured one in the app you’ll see that the lower half of the screen now has a number of filter styles available, just as you might find on Instagram. This is where the real magic of Prisma comes into play. The filters have accompanying images that give an idea of the style they represent. These range from the pop art inspirations of Roy to the anime splendour ofered by Tokyo and Curly Hair. The filters are non-destructive, meaning you can try as


many as you like without altering the stored image, so be sure to experiment with several as they really can be quite strikingly diferent. Unlike the simpler options found on Instagram and Snapchat, Prisma’s filters require a bit more work to render, so be patient as you move through the various options. Remember though that once a filter has been applied the app stores that render so you can quickly access it again before you finally save the image. This means you can compare the styles without having to wait a second time for a previous filter to be applied again.

Refining the image Once you’ve settled on the filter you like there’s one more tweak available. Sliding your finger from right to left on the image itself controls the amount 86 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

of blend between the filter and the original image, so you refine the strength of the efect. Sliding your finger right increases the power of the filter, while sliding left diminishes it.

With all of this completed you can share the image by using one of the buttons that now appears below your creation. If you have Instagram or Facebook accounts then you can post to them directly from Prisma, but there are also options for downloading the image to your phone or opening up a list of other compatible services. Be warned, Prisma is very addictive. You can lose hours just pouring over the filter options and looking for interesting new scenes to capture. Still, that’s not a bad way to waste your time, and your Twitter or Facebook stream will look a lot more colourful. ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 87

How To: Connect an iOS device to your television Rob Mead-Green explains how to mirror your iPad to a television to play games and view photos

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f you’ve got an iOS device and you’re pondering the best way to connect it to a television, you’ve come to the right place. You have two options:

΄Connect your iPhone or iPad to a television using the Lightning Digital AV Adaptor and a HDMI cable ΄Connect your iPhone or iPad to an Apple TV device using AirPlay 88 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

Both have their merits: it all depends on your preferences. We also consider ways to get the new Apple TV involved – it has a part to play here, too.

Lightning Digital AV Adaptor The easiest option is to buy a Lightning Digital AV Adaptor from the Apple Store. At £40 it’s not cheap, and you’ll also need an HDMI Cable. The adaptor contains an HDMI port to plug into the TV, a Lightning connector (output) for plugging into your iOS device, and a bonus Lightning port (input), which gives you the option of charging your iPad or iPhone at the same time. To use the adaptor follow these steps:

΄Plug one end of an HDMI cable into the Lightning Digital AV Adaptor’s HDMI port and the other into a spare HDMI port on the back of your TV ΄Connect the adaptor to your iPad and iPhone (this is the same port you normally use to power the iPad or iPhone) ΄Optional: Connect your charger cable to the Lightning port on the adaptor Turn on the television and ensure that it’s set to display the video input from the HDMI socket (you normally use the remote to pick from multiple HDMI inputs on your television). You will see the iPad or iPhone’s home screen appear on the television. Start playing some video on your iPad or iPhone. Either pick a movie file from the Videos app, or play a clip from BBC iPlayer, YouTube or any other video app. The Home screen will vanish from the TV, and the video will play in full definition. On the ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 89

iPad you will see a screen that says TV Connected. Now bring up the Control Center pane and choose Video Output to enable specific content from your iPhone to be sent to your TV just as with the AirPlay TV option below. Or select Mirroring to show of the whole shebang.

How to mirror iPad to TV via AirPlay Your second option is to use an Apple TV (available from Apple starting at £129) and stream the video via AirPlay. To do that, of course you’ll need an Apple TV that’s connected to your TV via a spare HDMI port and then connect the Apple TV to your wireless network. Choose the appropriate input on your TV and make sure the Apple TV’s home screen appears. Make sure your iOS device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network that your Apple TV is on.


Here’s how to stream a video using AirPlay using the Apple TV:

΄Start playing a video (via the Videos app, YouTube, Safari, and so on) ΄Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal Control Centre (you may need to swipe up twice) ΄Tap the AirPlay icon and select Apple TV ΄Tap outside of Control Centre to remove it and tap Play to continue watching the movie ΄Look for the AirPlay icon in apps Some apps, such as BBC iPlayer and TED Videos, feature their own AirPlay icon. While playing a video, tap the AirPlay icon and choose Apple TV to start streaming your video.

Use mirroring Sometimes you can’t stream video from an app, or the web, on the television. Support for AirPlay is determined by developers, and not all do – you can’t stream ITV Player, for example. In this instance, you can work around the problem using Mirroring. With Mirroring selected you can stream the whole of your iPad screen, including the Home screen and whatever is appearing in apps, on the television. Swipe up to reveal Control Centre and select the AirPlay option to bring up the AirPlay menu. Select Apple TV and then swipe right on the Mirroring slider button to turn it green. To view your iOS device’s photos on your TV, open the Photos app, then select the Share button. Choose the images you want to show by tapping ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 91

each one until a blue circle with a white arrow appears. Select AirPlay from the pop-up menu and choose Apple TV. Your photos will be displayed individually on your TV. To change the picture that appears swipe left or right. You can also set your chosen photos to appear automatically as a slideshow. To do that bring up the Sharing menu again, choose the photos you want to display as in the step above and, this time, tap on Slideshow. On the menu that opens, choose Apple TV again. Tap on Transitions to customise the look of your slideshow. If you’d like some music to accompany your slideshow, swipe the Slider button on the right until it turns green. Now select the Music option below and choose some music you’d like to have play as your slideshow progresses. Now tap Slideshow for it to start playing on your TV. To play music stored on your iPhone through your TV, choose the track, album or playlist you want to listen to, swipe up to reveal Control Centre again, select AirPlay and then select Apple TV. Your favourite tunes will now play through your TV.

Use Apple’s Composite AV Cable If you own an older iPhone or iPad with a 30-pin connector, then the Apple Composite AV Cable (£35) is your best option. It works in a similar way to the Lightning Digital AV Adaptor above, except that you’ll need to use the composite video input on your TV instead of HDMI, and make sure any videos you want to watch are SD rather than HD. There is also a 30-pin digital AV adaptor available from Apple for £35. 92 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

How To: Wirelessly charge an iPhone Lewis Painter explains what wireless charging is and reveals how it can power up your iPhone

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ireless charging has been a feature of many Android smartphones for some time now, but the technology has yet to make an appearance on Apple’s flagship smartphone, the iPhone. Rumours suggest it might make an appearance on the upcoming iPhone 7, but nothing has been confirmed. While it’s arguably not a big deal to some people, there are others that would like to take advantages of the slightly easier life that wireless charging enables. Here, we explain what wireless charging is and ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 93

show you how to wirelessly charge your iPhone 5, 5c, 5s, 6, 6 Plus, 6s and 6s Plus.

What is wireless charging? Contrary to the name, wireless charging isn’t actually wireless as your phone won’t be charged automatically when in range of a wireless charging pad (like Wi-Fi) – instead, wireless charging is often used as a term to describe inductive charging, which make use of coils to transfer energy and still require the smartphone to be placed on the charging pad for power. The charging pad itself isn’t really wireless either, as it requires a power supply like any other charger to function. Instead, wireless charging ofers consumers the ability to simply put their smartphone on a surface and be provided with power without needing to plug their phones into the mains. Although it’s fairly simple, it means that users won’t need to hunt down a cable when charging their phones before bed – they need only place it on a wireless charging-enabled surface.

Third-party options While wireless charging may not be featured on the iPhone by default, there are options for Apple fans, be it in the form of a receiver or a case. Here are a handful of ways that you can enable wireless charging on your iPhone: iQi Mobile Those looking for wireless charging without having to use a bulky case might want to take a look at iQi Mobile, a 0.5mm thick wireless charging receiver 94 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

that sits between your existing iPhone case and your iPhone. The beauty of being a receiver means that it’s compatible with any Lightning-enabled iPhone, from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 6s Plus. The receiver features an incredibly thin cable with a lightning connector at the end, which bends around the bottom of your phone and sits permanently in the Lightning jack. The receiver works specifically with the Qi wireless charging format, so that’s something to keep in mind when buying a wireless charging pad (you can buy an iQi Mobile receiver and charging pad for £35.99 here). The benefit of the iQi Mobile receiver is that you can keep your existing case and add wireless charging to your iPhone, and it isn’t too expensive either at only £12.99 at the time of writing. Bezalel Latitude Those looking for something a little more ‘complete’ than the likes of iQi Mobile may be interested in the Bezalel Latitude for the iPhone ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 95

6/6s. While many wireless charging accessories specify a certain wireless charging standard, like Qi, the Latitude will work with any type of charging system – according to the manufacturer, anyway. The company claims that it’ll work with the wireless charging stations available at the likes of Starbucks and McDonalds, as well as the IKEA wireless charging furniture and any current wireless charging pads you may already own. Unlike other options on the market that are fairly bulky and unattractive, the Latitude looks sleeker and more Apple-esque in design – and a price tag to match, setting customers back £44 on Amazon at the time of writing, and that’s without a wireless charging pad. It may be a bit on the slow side though, with a maximum output of 5V/1A – those interested in something faster may want to look at the below option, the FLI Charge. FLI Charge One of the biggest downsides to using wireless charging when compared to traditional wired charging is that it generally takes a lot longer to charge your phone, especially those with large capacity batteries like the iPhone 6s Plus. It’s an issue that needs to be overcome before people untether themselves from charging cables, and the FLI Charge system could be the product to do that. The FLI Charge system won’t only provide wireless charging capabilities for your iPhone, but also drones, tablets, smart watches, speakers and even GoPros – essentially anything that charges via a USB/Micro-USB connection, via a range of accessories. The FLI Charge system comprises 96 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

of the FLIway, the charging panel, the FLIcase for smartphones, FLIcube for USB-powered devices and FLIcoin for Micro-USB powered devices. But what makes FLI so diferent? Instead of using inductive charging technology like the likes of Qi, FLI uses conductive technology which the company claims “charges as fast as plugging into a wall” and can charge up to eight devices simultaneously, a feature not currently possible with inductive charging which ofers around 60 percent eiciency. What’s better is that due to the innovative design of the system, you don’t have to worry about device orientation, an issue with current solutions. It also constantly detects the surface for unapproved objects (i.e. Apple Watch, water) and will shut the power transfer down and hopefully avoiding any lasting damage to the product or system. The system is live on IndieGoGo at the time of writing and has surpassed its $100,000 funding goal with 10 days left to go. Those interested can back the project here, with an estimated delivery of October 2016.


Opinion: Saying goodbye is hard to do Jason Snell reacts to rumours of the headphone jack’s demise

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t started as rumbles and turned into solid rumours. Now, with the report from Bloomberg by Mark Gurman that the next iPhone won’t have a headphone jack, it seems like a sure thing. The standard audio plug that’s been around for decades (and in every Mac, iPod, iPad, and iPhone) is being removed from Apple’s most popular product. As someone who’s been listening to music on plugged-in headphones since at least the 1980s,


this has been a diicult story to come to terms with. The iPhone succeeded the iPod as my go-to music player. I’m listening to music on my iPhone via a pair of wired headphones right now. But Gurman’s sources are generally impeccable, and I’m starting to come to terms with the inevitability of this change. I’ve gone through all the stages of grief to get here, though.

Denial: These rumours are false! If you’ve been following Apple-related stuf for more than a month, you’ll already have learned that there are a lot of stupid Apple-related rumours out there. I’ve been writing about Apple since the mid ’90s, so I’ve seen ’em all. So when the first rumblings of the headphone jack being removed from the next iPhone surfaced, it was easy to laugh them of. Outlandish rumours are common early in the iPhone product cycle. The next iPhone release was nearly a year away. There was no way Apple would do something as shortsighted as removing the worldwide standard for attaching headphones to electronic devices. This was just a silly rumour filling the space during a quiet period for Apple news. We’ll be the ones laughing come September.

Anger: Why would Apple do this? Then a few more tangible rumours appeared. There was starting to be a lot of smoke, and that usually means fire. On the Upgrade podcast, my cohost Myke Hurley asked me about the headphone-jack rumours. ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 99

I told Myke that I didn’t really think rumours merited discussion at such an early date. But more importantly, I didn’t want to go on an angry rant about such a stupid idea when it was just a rumour. Why tear Apple a new one over a shortsighted, consumer-hostile move when Apple hadn’t actually made the move yet? But angry I was. Removing the headphone jack from the iPhone seemed like a gimmick, a way for Apple to show of about how forward-thinking it was, when introducing an incompatibility for users that would require carrying around an adaptor if they wanted to use headphones, connect to a car via an aux jack, or connect to the PA system in a conference room. During this phase, I heard from a lot of people who insisted that the headphone jack was such old technology that it was time to finally give it up. My response was the same: What changed between 2015 and 2016 that suddenly made the headphone jack a technology that was on its last legs? “It has to go sometime,” was the reply. Sure, but why now?

Bargaining: Apple will make it great, really… I’m not sure I spent a lot of time in the third stage, but I heard from a lot of people on Twitter and in email who lived there most of the spring and early summer. Yeah, it’ll suck to lose the headphone jack, the argument went. But just you wait. Apple will give everyone a free adaptor in the box. Or maybe a free awesome set of wireless EarPods in the box. Or even better, maybe Apple will invent a new wireless system entirely separate from Bluetooth, 100 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

that will solve all of the problems of Bluetooth audio and in one fell swoop make all current wired headphones and all current wireless headphones entirely incompatible. But the new system will be so great, we won’t care. I hung on to the adaptor. Maybe the adaptor will be good. And included. And cheap if you want to buy another one, so you can leave them everywhere you connect to a standard audio jack. Maybe it won’t be so bad.

Apple’s wireless EarBuds could look something like these, the Rowkin Mini 24K Gold-Plated Edition

Depression: Who needs a new iPhone anyway? In this stage, I began considering the possibility that I didn’t need to buy a new iPhone for the first time. Maybe there was no point in upgrading. I could just use my existing headphones and iPhone until one or both of them broke. It was a dark time. When the topic of the headphone jack came up, I’d try to steer the conversation to happier topics, like the possibility of a better camera on the iPhone Plus, or the unexpected success Apple was seeing with the iPhone SE. Hey, I love my iPad Pro, let’s talk about that some more!

Acceptance: Might as well get ready for tomorrow When the Apple Watch came out, I bought a pair of Jaybird Bluetooth earbuds so that I could test the ISSUE 111 ΄ iPAD & iPHONE USER 101

watch’s support for music features. (Short version: You can sync music to the Watch and play it on headphones, but I never take my watch with me and not my iPhone, so it’s all kind of moot.) Over the past six months, every time I’ve gone for a walk or run with my iPhone, I’ve used the Bluetooth earbuds with my iPhone instead of my wired headphones. I’ve got lots of complaints: they run out of battery mid-walk sometimes. They don’t sound as good as my wired headphones. They don’t fit my ears as well as my custom in-ear headphones do. Bluetooth connections are sometimes spotty, and I have to fiddle with settings to get them to work right. They sound fine for podcasts but poor for music. This is all true. But the fact is, for many months now I’ve spent my walks and runs with absolutely nothing in my iPhone’s headphone jack, listening to podcasts with Bluetooth earbuds. The world didn’t end. Life moved on. It was a tough six months, but I’ve finally come to peace with the fact that I’ll need an adaptor if I ever want to listen to music on my iPhone with my good wired headphones. I’m not happy about it – in fact, I do still think it’s a move with no clear rationale that will make life harder for a whole lot of iPhone users. But it’s going to happen, and I’ll deal. We’ll all have to. If Apple comes for the headphone jack on my Mac, though… Then we’re going to have some serious trouble. (Or at the very least, I’m going to have to spend the better part of the year coming to terms with that, too.) 102 iPAD & iPHONE USER ΄ ISSUE 111

iPad & iPhone User 111 - 2016 UK

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