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New iPhone – you decide

/ Pete Denison / Leave a comment
Actual photo taken with iPhone 5s. Image courtesy Apple.

Actual photo taken with iPhone 5s. Image courtesy Apple.

So the announcement has now come and gone for the new iPhones. Do you have a decision to make? Perhaps it’s already made, and come September 20 you will be lining up for a shiny or colourful new device. Alternatively, you may be completely underwhelmed by the latest offering from Apple, though I expect millions won’t be, and sales demand will be as strong as ever.

Why you should(n’t) buy a new iPhone

I always find articles with these titles somewhat bemusing. What? You don’t actually know whether you want or need a new phone? Granted, most of us do not need a new phone, we just want a new one. Fair enough, go buy it. Your money, spend it how you like. By all means read about features, improvements, options (now iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c) and the like, though I do not believe the decision should really be that hard.

For me, I am currently in a contract, though my wife will soon be out of hers (both iPhone 4s models currently). Occasionally we swap phones depending on who might want or perhaps be better suited to a newer model. This time? We are not really sure as yet – did someone not just say the decision shouldn’t be that hard? Correct, and it’s not, however until our preferred carrier releases their plans/pricing, we will reserve our decision.

My Considerations

iPhone 5c
Firstly, the iPhone 5c is not for me for two reasons. Though it is no doubt a great phone, having a coloured phone is not my preference. Secondly, the fact that I do not like the additional thickness of a case on my phone, precludes the option to change this by covering the colour with a case. Though in saying this, there is an option for white.

There we go, 50% of the new product range ruled out. One key point here is that Apple have made it quite clear they will not compete on price. The iPhone 5c is basically a colourful iPhone 5, and unsurprisingly will essentially retail at similar prices, particularly on a 2 year contract. The idea here is simple – this is Apple, we make quality products that are worth paying a little more for. Some thoughts on this philosophy and the experience of owning such a product can be found in an excellent article by Ben Thompson on his blog stratechery.

iPhone 5s
So in considering the iPhone 5s, where do we start. For some, such as Shawn Blanc, a few key features such as the Camera, TouchID, and M7 Coprocessor are key considerations, and the article is a concise overview of the rationale on why this is the case.

I have linked to Shawn’s article, as it contains many similarities to my current thinking on the new features, though I also consider the new A7 chip with 64 bit architecture to warrant a mention for me. I think it is worthwhile upgrading every few years to a faster processor (and this one sounds pretty quick), though I would not really consider my current iPhone 4s to be slow in any way. Also, any improvement in 3G/LTE connectivity is always welcome.

One point on the M7 “motion” coprocessor, which is a dedicated tiny chip separate from the main A7 processor. I recently wrote an article on the app Human, which tracks movement and overall activity through the iPhone’s built in motion and location tracking services. That app has been deleted from my phone. Overall performance was good, however it sucked the absolute life out of my battery. The M7 processor aims to change all that, as Apple states:

It’s designed specifically to measure motion data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass — a task that would normally fall to the A7 chip. But M7 is much more efficient at it. Now fitness apps that track physical activity can access that data from the M7 coprocessor without constantly engaging the A7 chip. So they require less battery power.

Thanks Apple. Problem solved.

Conclusion

Whether to upgrade or not is simply a matter of having a look at the new features that may be relevant to you, and comparing the price point at which they are offered (don’t forget that come September 18 and iOS 7, everything will look new anyway – and this is free). Do you want it? Can you afford to have it? Often the former question is easier to answer than the latter, but that is up to you.

A bit of further reading if you like:

iFingerprint

/ Pete Denison / 2 Comments
English: Picture of a whorl fingerprint pattern

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Do we really need a fingerprint sensor in the new iPhone?

Whether or not you believe the new iPhone(s) to be announced this week will actually have a fingerprint sensor is immaterial to this question. That decision has already been made at Apple HQ in Cupertino. My point is, what would we really use it for?

I have often thought about this, since the early rumours suggested the upcoming model would have this feature. Would a device with this type of technology really be more helpful, secure or efficient than one without?

Beyond the obvious secure unlocking of a device, where I do believe this would be extremely beneficial would be in some sort of partitioning of user accounts on an iPhone, or to secure certain applications that may contain sensitive information, whilst leaving the remainder of the device “open” as it were. I’m still not convinced how this would really work, however Craig Hockenberry has some thoughts on his blog, which provide a nice summary of what could occur should this feature be implemented on our iPhones, particularly with some form of iCloud integration. The article is worth reading if you are at all interested in this sort of thing.

I myself am not due for a phone upgrade this year, however my wife is, and I will be looking closely at whatever features appear on this new device once it is in our…ahem, her hands.

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Human for iPhone

/ Pete Denison / 1 Comment

Human4

Human is a recently released free app for iPhone that is designed to track and encourage users to achieve at least 30 minutes of physical activity or movement per day. It joins many other systems such as the Fitbit, Jawbone Up, Nike+ Fuelband, and apps like Runkeeper currently on the market, however the philosophy differs to these offerings. The overall philosophy behind Human is to provide simple, elegant and meaningful data about your daily activity entirely through your iPhone, with an emphasis on the health benefits of achieving at least 30 minutes of daily movement (The Daily 30).

Human was released in the App Store on August 31, with a further update on September 5, said to improve both movement detection/tracking and battery life – two critical features for the success of the app. Users of these types of products expect (and rightly so) accuracy of information without excessive drain on battery life. Having just activated my account, I have not yet had the chance to determine what impact the app has on battery life though it is something I will be monitoring. From the developers:

Human is a passive tracker, which means that the software runs in the background of your phone, and tracks your activity automatically. You don’t have to check-in, log, or record anything manually. We access your phone’s location services and sensors to achieve this. Our primary concern has always been tracking activities accurately without draining too much battery life.

Why Human?

My interest in Human came about as I spend the usual work week sitting at a computer (to the detriment of my overall health and productivity), however routinely walk when I get the chance, getting off the bus two stops early in the morning (after a 45–60 minute commute), with additional walks mid morning and at lunch time. I am keen to see how much of this incidental activity actually stacks up.

To do this, I require an app I do not have to think about, one that will provide accurate results, and equally as important, something that is visually interesting and thoughtfully designed. I have said this before and will say it again now and no doubt in the future, ugly apps have absolutely zero appeal to me, regardless of the feature set (though I acknowledge the eye of the beholder). Finally, I prefer not to wear any additional receiver on my wrist or anywhere else, so using my phone for the entire process also appeals to me.

Using Human

Once an account is set up, the app really is a set and forget system, though you are obviously required to have your phone with you for measurement to occur. Checking the app a few times today showed my progress towards the 30 minutes with an elegant dial, and upon tapping this, a timeline of activities so far (see below).

Human2

Activity is logged in various categories including walking, running, biking, and transport (vehicle etc). Upon reaching 30 minutes of activity in a day, users receive a push notification advising this has been achieved. This app is not filled with excessive statistical data, nor does it provide a timeline of all activity on launch – two positive features as far as I am concerned. If I’m after more specific details around an interval workout, I will continue to use Runkeeper, however as mentioned above, I am simply looking to assess my incidental activity over the course of the day. It doesn’t hurt to receive a pat on the back once you get there either:

Human3

The beauty of Human lies in its simplicity in both measuring your movement (which goes completely unnoticed, with nothing to wear, launch or log), as well as the flexibility in allowing input of various activities (30 minute gym workout for example) or changing those that may have been inaccurately tracked. For example, an 8 minute drive was today picked up as running, which was easily corrected, though may be worth keeping an eye on for accuracy. Reverting incorrectly assigned modes of movement is easily done, and does not require you to remember what the activity was, as it is visually represented on a map within the change screen. The usual sharing options to Facebook and Twitter are also available.

An article by The Verge compares the various systems currently available for tracking and measuring both overall activity and individual workouts, and other reviews of Human can be found at Techcrunch and again at The Verge.

I am looking forward over the coming weeks to see whether my intermittent walking affords the benefits I think they are, though regardless of whether I achieve “the daily 30”, they are certainly worth their ‘head clearing’ benefits. Given my son was with me today in achieving the daily 30, I wonder if we can claim 60 all up…

Human for iPhone is available free in the App Store now.

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The Automated Home

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Wemo

I can remember throughout my younger years watching many a movie containing gadgets which automated things such as lights, sounds and window shutters. Video surveillance and the like throughout various Bond movies also seemed a regular occurrence.

Whilst I have no desire, nor reason to buy a pen with a hidden camera, more affordable and relevant technology around home automation is being developed and becoming available at an increasingly rapid rate. The main reason? Smartphone integration.

Traditionally, the main barriers to many considering automated home systems were the expense, the requirement for much of wiring to either be included in the initial build of the home or retro fitted to existing buildings, and ultimately, having a control system that was actually relevant to the user. To me, being able to turn on a fan or close a blind from the couch is far less helpful than being able to see what is happening at home when it is unattended, or remotely triggering an action over the internet.

The integration of these systems with smartphones for use as both controllers and receivers of information now makes these systems infinitely more usable and relevant.

If your main concern is home security, the recently crowd funded Canary home monitoring system is well worth considering. Perhaps remotely triggering lights or other power related actions through the Wemo and associated IFTTT recipes would be more helpful to you. Finally, a ‘smart’ thermostat system such as the nest, which intelligently learns and adjusts temperatures based on your preferences and whether the house is attended or not (also remotely smartphone controllable), may save you considerable money on energy bills.

Whichever way you look at it, these types of systems and many others will become increasingly integrated into our homes, both new and old, and are no longer out of reach for the average household. If you have ever considered some form of home automation, now is the time to have another look at what options exist.

Now if I can just tweak that IFTTT recipe to boil water and grind my coffee when the garage door remote triggers…

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Time for an iOS app spring clean?

/ Pete Denison / Leave a comment

MyPhotoWall (1)

Post WWDC 2013, I wrote a little about the upcoming changes to iOS 7, including some of my expectations around the change.

As the public release of this next version of Apple’s mobile operating system looms closer, more and more information is coming to light on developer progress and approaches, including results from a survey by Twitteriffic developer Craig Hockenberry:

Of 575 valid responses, 545 developers indicated that they were working on an update for iOS 7. That’s an adoption rate of 95%!

In addition, from Macstories:

From what I’ve seen (and heard) so far, it looks like releasing new, paid, separate versions of apps for iOS 7 will be a common trend among developers.

In light of the above, it is probably an ideal time to do a spring clean of your apps, or at least consider what you are using and how. Will you be prepared to purchase a new, paid update for an iOS 7 optimised version of your favourite app?

For me, the answer is a resounding yes, particularly for any apps that are in heavy use in my workflow. Whilst at this point, the above is merely opinion on what may eventuate, those around and within the developer community would have a fairly good idea on what is to come.

Personally, I have no problem paying for an update to an app that takes full advantage of all that will be on offer in iOS 7, however I would have second thoughts with the apps I use less often. Remember, a paid upgrade will provide support to app developers for further enhancements, and may add to the likelihood your favourite app will stick around and see upgrades and added features in the future.

The second question then for me, is whether an upgrade to the operating system will bring me back to any of the native iOS apps. I am currently using third-party apps for email (Mailbox), calendar (Week Cal), notes (Drafts) and reminders (Due). Although it is unlikely we will see third-party apps able to be used as defaults, should there be a compelling reason for me to return to the native apps, I may do so. However the power of Drafts for example is unlikely to be surpassed by anything Apple would have to offer.

What drives me to change an app? Looks? Feel? Function? Primarily function, however I prefer not to use ugly or seemingly disjointed apps simply for one feature they may have above others. It probably comes down to a combination of each of these factors.

We’ll see in a month or two, however in the mean time, have a think about how your apps fit your workflow and consider what actions you may take once the iOS 7 upgrade reaches public release.

 

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