iPhone 7 What We Expect

Apple won't release its next-generation iPhone until the fall of 2016, so there are still months of development ahead. For the current time, Apple's flagship iPhones are the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, released to the public in September of 2015.

Since the 3GS launched in 2009, Apple has used an alternating "S" naming formula to mark years where the iPhone does not receive a major redesign, saving its numbered upgrades for years where design changes are introduced. Releases have been as follows:

2007 - iPhone
2008 - iPhone 3G
2009 - iPhone 3GS
2010 - iPhone 4 (new design)
2011 - iPhone 4s
2012 - iPhone 5 (new design)
2013 - iPhone 5s
2014 - iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus (new design)
2015 - iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

The next-generation iPhone is expected to be called the iPhone 7. 2015 marked an "S" iPhone upgrade year that introduced new features such as an improved camera and a better processor, but 2016 will bring an even-year upgrade that will include an all-new iPhone design in addition to new features.

Apple is still working on finalizing the iPhone 7's body so we don't know exactly what it will look like, but multiple rumors suggest it continues to use a design similar to the design of the iPhone 6s. It is said tohave the same general shape, but it may have a camera that protrudes less (though rumors currently disagree on this point). Antenna bands across the back of the device have been removed, but are expected to remain at the top, bottom, and sides of the iPhone.

Some rumors suggest Apple is aiming to make the iPhone 7 thinner, perhaps through the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack and the implementation of a thinner Lightning port. Eliminating the headphone jack will give Apple more internal space for other components, and Apple will also keep the device slim with the continued use of in-cell panels and TFT-LCD display technology. 

With no headphone jack, wired headphones will connect to the iPhone 7 using its Lightning port and Bluetooth headphones will connect wirelessly. Apple is rumored to be working on Lightning-equipped EarPods to sell alongside the iPhone 7.

There are rumored to be some distinguishing features between the iPhone 7 and the larger-screened iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 7 may ship with 2GB RAM, while the iPhone 7 Plus could include 3GB RAM, and there is said to be a different camera system in the iPhone 7 Plus that uses two cameras instead of one. The iPhone 7 will likely continue to use a standard single-lens camera as multiple sources have said the dual lens camera is exclusive to the 5.5-inch iPhone.

According to rumors, Apple may actually be planning to introduce two versions of the iPhone 7 Plus -- one with a single lens like the iPhone 7 and a second with a dual-lens camera system that offers DSLR-like image quality with 2-3x optical zoom and improved performance in low light conditions.




It is not known if this is a genuine iPhone 7 Plus prototype, a dummy based on iPhone 7 Plus specifications, or a completely fake device, but it's possible this is our first look at Apple's new iPhone design. As September nears, additional rumors will confirm whether or not this is a genuine image.

Images depicting what could potentially be the dual-lens camera component for the iPhone 7 Plus surfaced from multiple sources in the early months of 2016. The part has an "821" number on it, which has been associated with Apple in the past, suggesting it could be a legitimate component.



An image of the battery said to be for the iPhone 7 lists a capacity of 7.04 watt-hours. That's slightly larger than the equivalent battery capacity listed for the iPhone 6s (6.61 watt-hours) and almost identical to the iPhone 6 (7.01 watt-hours). Voltage is not visible on the alleged iPhone 7 battery, so the exact charge capacity is not yet available, but should be similar to the iPhone 6 battery.



We've seen a backlight assembly said to be destined for the iPhone 7, which surfaced in January of 2016. We can't really glean any information about the iPhone 7 from the backlight component, but it is similar in design to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus backlight assembly with the exception of relocated LCD flex cables and 3D Touch chip.

Case Leaks and Renderings

An image allegedly sourced from Apple manufacturer Catcher Technology depicts the body of the iPhone 7, showing a design that's similar to the iPhone 6s. In line with other rumors, the image shows antenna bands that are limited to the sides and top of the device, no longer spanning across the back.



There also appears to be a larger hole for the camera, which may or may not protrude slightly. Some iPhone 7 rumors have suggested the camera will not protrude at all, but others disagree. It appears that if there is a protrusion, it will be less pronounced than the camera bump on the iPhone 6s. The Catcher image also does not appear to depict a device that is significantly thinner, casting some doubt on rumors suggesting the iPhone 7 could be up to a millimeter thinner than the iPhone 6s and as thin as the 6.1mm iPod touch.

Nowhereelse.fr's Steve Hemmerstoffer created a rendering of the camera design based on the drawing, which can be seen below. While the iPhone 7 is said to have a single camera as shown, the iPhone 7 Plus is rumored to have a dual-camera design.



Feld & Volk, a company that creates luxury enclosures for the iPhone, has used a leaked image of what issaid to be the iPhone 7 Plus (depicted in the section above) to create a set of detailed renderings that give a clearer picture of what the larger-screened device might look like.



The renderings depict a phone that is thinner than the iPhone 6s with a protruding dual camera and a Smart Connector like on the iPad Pro.



Overall, the device looks much like the iPhone 6s. Design changes include no rear antenna bands, but there continue to be bands at the bottom and the sides. Volume buttons, mute switch, and power button remain unchanged. It is not clear if this is the actual design of the iPhone, but it is a possibility and is in line with rumors.

The first alleged case for the iPhone 7 surfaced in March, with the overall design appearing to be similar to the iPhone 6s. It features the same pill-shaped volume buttons and side-located power buttons, but it has cutouts for two speakers, in line with one rumor suggesting the iPhone 7 will have stereo speakers.



The two speaker cutouts replace the cutout for a headphone jack, which is said to be eliminated in the iPhone 7 in favor of an all-in-one Lightning port.

The iPhone 7 case was compared to an iPhone 6s on YouTube, and while the older device fit into the iPhone 7 case (suggesting the new phone won't be dramatically thinner), there were some differences. The iPhone 7 case appears to have a larger opening for the camera, which could be designed to accommodate a larger single-lens camera on the iPhone 7.

Because the iPhone 6s fit almost perfectly into the iPhone 7 case, it's possible that it won't be quite as thin as some rumors have suggested.

Early cases for new devices are often based on schematics obtained from factory workers and other inside sources and can give a solid picture of upcoming iPhone designs, but they are not accurate 100 percent of the time.
Design

The iPhone 7 is rumored to be thinner than the iPhone 6s, but exactly how thin remains in question. Apple may use the elimination of the headphone jack, advances in chip packing technology, and a slimmer Lightning port to cut down on the thickness of the device. One rumor has suggested the iPhone 7 will be between 6.0mm and 6.5mm, but leaked renderings and cases do not appear to depict a device that thin. For reference, Apple's current iPod touch, one of its thinnest devices, measures in at 6.1mm, compared to 7.1mm for the iPhone 6s and 7.3mm for the iPhone 6s Plus.

Apple may be planning to change the design of the antenna bands on the device, doing away with the thick white antenna bands that are located across the back of the Phone 6s rear shell. The bands located at the top, bottom, and sides of the device are rumored to remain on the iPhone 7, but the rear bands are eliminated for a cleaner look. As for the thinner Lightning port, while Apple plans to slim it down, it will continue to be compatible with existing the Lightning connector and Lightning cables.




Rumors on the rear camera have varied. Some rumors point towards a camera that protrudes less or not at all, while an image of an alleged iPhone 7 Plus features a camera that continues to protrude.

Early rumors about the iPhone 7's design suggested the device could have a strengthened, water resistant frame that ditches Apple's traditional aluminum casing for "new compound materials, but a report fromMac Otakara says that is not the case. The iPhone 7 will use the same aluminum that's used in the iPhone 6s and it will be no more water resistant.
No Headphone Jack


Apple may be able to decrease the thickness of the iPhone 7 byeliminating the headphone jack and instead adopting an all-in-one Lightning port that will support both charging and music playback with Lightning-equipped headphones.

With the iPhone 7, headphones will need a Lightning connector or a 3.5mm jack-to-Lightning adapter to connect to the Lightning port on the bottom of the phone. The device will also support wireless Bluetooth headphones.

In addition to allowing Apple to shave some thickness off of the iPhone 7 and saving valuable internal space, requiring headphones to connect through the Lightning port will boost overall audio quality. Apple is also rumored to be considering some new noise-canceling technology to remove background noise during music playback and phone calls, but rumors have disagreed on whether this will be introduced in the iPhone 7 or the next-generation iPhone.

Apple is said to be working on Lightning-equipped EarPods that will ship alongside the iPhone 7. They will be similar to the existing EarPods that are included in the iPhone box, but with a Lightning connector instead of a headphone jack. One rumor suggests the EarPods will connect to the iPhone using Bluetooth, but will charge through the device's Lightning port, much like the Apple Pencil charges through the Lightning port of the iPad Pro.

With the release of the larger-screened iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple differentiated between the two devices by including Optical Image Stabilization in the iPhone 6 Plus for improved photo and video capturing abilities. The iPhone 6s Plus continued to offer Optical Image Stabilization while the iPhone 6s did not, and it appears the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus could also see different features, mainly when it comes to the camera -- the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 is said to have a regular camera while the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus is said to incorporate a dual-lens camera.

There's also a questionable rumor sourced from Chinese site MyDrivers suggesting the iPhone 7 Plus with the dual-lens camera system could actually be dubbed the "iPhone Pro" to set it apart from the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus with a standard single-lens camera. This rumor should be viewed with some skepticism until confirmed.

DUAL-LENS CAMERA DETAILS

Apple is rumored to be working on at least one version of the iPhone 7 Plus that includes a a 12-megapixel dual-lens camera system that takes advantage of technology Apple acquired through the purchase of Israeli camera company LinX Imaging last year. Image quality in the iPhone 7 Plus could be greatly improved with the introduction of a dual-lens system, narrowing the gap between photos taken with the iPhone and those taken with a more robust DSLR cameras.

iPhone 7 mockup with dual-lens camera system

LinX dual-lens technology offers several potential benefits for the iPhone 7 Plus, with the rumor specifically pointing towards 2-3x optical zoom capabilities, perhaps implemented through the use of two lenses with different focal lengths. With a dual-lens camera system, images captured are clearer and brighter with less noise and truer color, allowing for pictures that include more detail, especially in low light conditions.

An example of LinX's noise reduction technology. Far more detail is preserved in the LinX image on the right compared to the iPhone 5 image on the left.

There's a possibility that a dual-lens system like the one LinX created could be used for depth mapping, allowing users to do things like take 3D scans of real world items or use depth information to refocus an image. For additional information on what LinX technology could mean for the iPhone 7, make sure tocheck out our in-depth LinX post.

Implementing LinX's camera system in the iPhone 7 Plus would potentially allow Apple to cut down on the size of the camera module, doing away with the protruding rear camera lens.

An example of how a dual-lens camera could potentially improve photos taken with the iPhone 7 Plus can be seen in the below video demonstration of similar technology from Corephotonics. Corephotonics' dual-lens system uses a wide-angle lens and a lens capable of 5X optical zoom and aggregates data from both to get a better picture.

We at MacRumors have created a video mockup that outlines what a dual-camera interface could look like in the Camera app on the iPhone, based on a recent Apple patent. In the patent, Apple outlines a split-screen interface with one side displaying the standard view from a wide-angle camera and another side displaying a zoomed-in view from an additional lens with a longer focal length. Pictures and video could be captured with both views simultaneously.

As for the camera in the iPhone 7 and the rumored single-lens iPhone 7 Plus, there's no word on what improvements may be introduced. If a version of the iPhone 7 Plus is set to see major gains in image quality, it stands to reason the iPhone 7 and/or the standard-lens iPhone 7 Plus will also see significant improvement, even if it is implemented outside of a dual-lens system. A rendering of an iPhone said to be the iPhone 7 depicts a larger camera cutout, perhaps to accommodate an improved sensor.
RAM

According to another prediction from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus may have differing amounts of RAM. The smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 7 may ship with 2GB of RAM, while the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus may ship with 3GB RAM.

STORAGE SPACE

Storage space may also be a differentiating factor between the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus. An unconfirmed rumor suggests the larger iPhone 7 Plus could include a high-end 256GB storage option that would not be available with the iPhone 7. 256GB is a capacity that is not offered in any of Apple's current iOS devices, so it is questionable as to whether Apple would introduce such a high-capacity iPhone, but a256GB SanDisk flash storage chip possibly appropriate for use in an iPhone has been spotted. The rumor did not include a mention of other storage tiers that would be available for the two devices.
 

Wireless Charging

With the Lightning port being used for music playback, there will be no way to charge the iPhone 7 while headphones are plugged in, which has sparked some speculation about wireless charging. According to one rumor, Apple is exploring wireless charging technology that could potentially be included in the iPhone 7.

While Apple is said to be looking into wireless charging for the iPhone 7, there is no guarantee the feature will make it into the finished product. It is also not clear what method Apple would use to implement wireless charging.
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Best entry-level digital SLR cameras of 2015

It's time for you to get a D-SLR. You may have outgrown your compact point-and-shoot, or perhaps your current interchangeable lens camera is just plain old. Regardless of your motivation, deciding on a new D-SLR can seem like a research project of its own—but it doesn't have to be that difficult. If you don't have any lenses or accessories for a system, you have the ability to start fresh. And if you do have lenses laying about—even from your old 35mm SLR—there's a chance that they'll work just fine on a new digital body.
Here's the good news—if you have a 35mm Canon EOS autofocus D-SLR, a 1980s or

newer Nikon, a Minolta Maxxum camera, or any sort of Pentax K-mount camera, your

existing lenses will work on a modern digital SLR—with a few exceptions for oddball

lens designs here and there, and the occasional limitation. If you're wondering why

there are no Minolta cameras on the list, fear not—Sony bought its camera division a

few years back, and the Alpha mount has survived. Nikon users with manual focus

lenses need to take a bit of care and research to make sure that a particular lens will

fit on new cameras, but any autofocus Nikkor will work, although only AF-S lenses will

autofocus on the entry-level bodies.


Now, if you don't have legacy equipment laying around, your choices are broad. Nikon

and Canon lead the pack in popularity, along with the sheer number of lenses and

other accessories. Sony only offers consumer D-SLR models with electronic

viewfinders, which may be a dealbreaker for traditionalists who will accept nothing

less than an optical finder. The current Pentax lens lineup is pretty light on the zoom

lens selection—although what they do offer is pretty good—but is rife with options for

compact prime lenses. For more information on what to look for when deciding on a

D-SLR, be sure to check out our buying guide, and then feel free to peruse the

cameras which have rated highest in our tests. This roundup is heavy on entry-level

and midrange models—but we've also reviewed the full spate of pro-level full-frame

cameras. If you're in the market for a top-of-the-line camera, take a look at our list of

the best full-frame D-SLRs, and we've also put a list of our favorite mirrorless cameras

together if you're after the SLR-like image quality, but want a smaller camera.




FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP

APS-C Sensor Size (Less Than $1,000)

Nikon D5300 

$799.95, body onlyat Amazon
The Nikon D5300 D-SLR is a modest upgrade from the previous model, but it's just as worthy, making it our Editors' Choice for entry-level D-SLRs.

Canon EOS Rebel SL1 
$649.99, body onlyat BUYDIG.com
Canon's high-performing EOS Rebel SL1 is the tiniest digital SLR you can put your hands on, but it may be too small for some hands.

Nikon D3300 
$649.95 with 18-55mm lens$496.95
at Dell
The Nikon D3300 is a solid entry-level camera for shooters moving up to a D-SLR, but it's not quite worthy of being named Editors' Choice. Read the full review ››

Pentax K-50 

$699.95 direct, body only $294.95
at Amazon
The Pentax K-50 is a fully weather-sealed D-SLR camera with an big optical viewfinder and fast burst shooting capability. It's available to order in any of 120 color combinations, but its video functionality is behind the times.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II 

$1,799, body onlyat Dell
The Canon EOS 7D Mark II shoots at 10fps, offers pro-level video recording, and is built like a tank. It's our Editors' Choice for high-end APS-C D-SLRs.

Nikon D7100 

$1,199.95 direct, body only$796.95
at Dell
If you're in the market for a serious D-SLR, but don't want to go full-frame, the Nikon D7100 is the way to go; it's our Editors' Choice camera in its category.

Pentax K-3 

$1,299.95, body only$624.95
at Amazon
The Pentax K-3 is the most refined K-mount SLR to date, offering fast autofocus and superb image quality. Its video autofocus implementation isn't the best, but it still manages to snag our Editors' Choice award.

Sony Alpha 77 II 

$1,199.99, body onlyat Amazon
The Sony Alpha 77 II has one of the quickest autofocus systems we've seen on an SLR and can shoot at 12fps, making it our Editors' Choice.

Canon EOS 70D 

$1,199, body only$999.00
at Amazon
The Canon EOS 70D delivers the smoothest Live View focus we've seen in a traditional D-SLR, but it can struggle to lock that focus in dim light.

Introducing the Nexus 5X

Google Nexus 4 Promo Ad Commercial by LG 2012 2

Xperi SP Premium HD Smartphone from Sony

Apple’s iPhone 6s: A Spectacular Phone Gets Better

In fact, that’s exactly what the 6s is. It offers some enhancements that will benefit you dozens of times a day, a few that make life a little easier only in particular situations, and one that you may never use at all.

Apple’s slogan for its new iPhone 6s is, “The only thing that’s changed is everything.”

That’s a weird tagline for an “s” phone model, isn’t it? Everybody knows that in odd-numbered years, Apple releases only a tweaked model of the previous year’s iPhones. Identical looks, identical price, faster chip, upgraded camera, and the letter s added to the model number.

The fingerprint reader is twice as fast now, too. If you’ve set up your phone to require unlocking every time you use it, you may come to cherish this feature most of all. When you press the Home button, the screen lights up so fast, you wonder if any authentication process took place at all. 

The other feature you’ll probably use often is 3D Touch, which is what Apple calls its new, pressure-sensitive screen.

On the iPhone 6s models, 3D Touch already performs some useful functions:

Shortcut menus. If you hard-press an app’s icon on the Home screen, you get a shortcut menu of useful commands. (The rest of the screen blurs to draw your attention to the new options.)

The Phone app sprouts the names of people you’ve called recently. The Camera icon offers shortcut menus like Take Selfie, Record Video, Record Slo-mo, and Take Photo. The Maps app offers Directions Home (a great one), Mark My Location, and Send My Location. 

Out of the box, most of Apple’s built-in apps sprout the shortcut menus (which Apple calls Quick Actions): Messages, Calendar, Camera, Photos, Clock, Maps, Video, Wallet, Notes, Reminders, iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks, News, Phone, Safari, Mail, Music, FaceTime, Podcasts , Game Center, Voice Memos, Contacts, and Find My Friends. In other words, nearly all of them.

Other software companies can add shortcut menus to their own apps, too.

Peeking and popping. Hard to explain, but very cool: If you hard-press something in a list—your email inbox, for example, a link in a text message, or a photo thumbnail—you get a pop-up bubble showing you what’s inside:

When you release your finger, the bubble disappears, and you’re right back where you started.

Peeking is, in other words, like the Quick Look feature on the Mac. It lets you see what’s inside a link, icon, or list item without losing your place or changing apps.

Email is the killer app here. You can whip through your Inbox, hard-pressing one new message after another— “What’s this one?” “Do I care?”—simply inspecting the first paragraph of each but not actuallyopening any message.

But if you find one that you do want to read fully, you can press harder still to open the message normally, full-screen. (Apple calls that “popping.”)

Peek and pop work in these iPhone apps: Mail, Messages, Camera, Maps, Calendar, Photos, Safari, Weather, Music, Video, Notes, iBooks, News, and Find My Friends. And, again, app makers can add this feature to their own apps.

App switcher. Ordinarily, you switch apps by double-pressing your Home button. But 3D Touch also offers a second way: Swipe in from the left edge of the screen while pressing hard.

At that point, you actually have three features at your disposal:

1. If you drag inward and keep your thumb down, you can peek at the screen of the previous app for a quick look—

—and then drag outward again, staying in the same app.

2. If you drag all the way across the screen, you flip back into the last app you used. In this way, you can bounce between two apps, as you (for example) copy and paste various things between them.

3. If you drag partway across the screen and then lift your thumb, you enter the standard app switcher, just as though you’d double-pressed the Home button. Now you can choose any open app.

Interactivity. Peek and pop respond to pressure at only two thresholds. But in fact, 3D Touch detects a continuum of pressure, like a gas pedal. You can see this effect in the Notes app, when you sketch with the pencil tool; it draws darker as you bear down more.

The other much-touted feature of the iPhone 6s is something called Live Photos: still photos that, when hard-pressed on the iPhone, play back as three seconds of video, with sound.

What you’re getting is 1.5 seconds before the moment you snapped the photo, plus 1.5 seconds after. (During this 3-second capture period, a “LIVE” indicator glows on your screen.) In the phone’s Camera app, there’s a special icon at the top; that’s the on/off switch for Live Photo capturing. (The factory setting is On.)

Your obvious concern might be: “Whoa, Nellie! 12-megapixel photos? At 30 frames a second, that’s 90 frames, each 12 megapixels—90 times as much storage as a still image!”

Well, no. The actual photo you snapped is a full 12-megapixel shot. But the other frames of the Live Photo animation are only screen resolution—not even 1 megapixel per frame. Overall, Apple says, an entire Live Photo (still, video, sound) takes up about twice as much space as a still photo.

Hey wait a minute. So Apple upgraded the screen, the glass, the aluminum, the processor, the camera, the WiFi circuitry, the cellular…Come to think of it, maybe Apple really did change everything—just a bit. BUT WE LOVE IT.

Government exempts WhatsApp, social media from purview of encryption policy

You may soon need to keep a copy of all messages sent through encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp (Android version supports encryption), Google Hangouts or Apple's iMessage, for 90 days, if the proposed National Encryption Policy is implemented in its current form. Online businesses too would need to keep your sensitive information including passwords in plain text for the same period of time, thus exposing your information to potential hacking attacks.

The government has published a draft of the policy document online to seek feedback from citizens and organisations. It details methods of encryption of data and communication used by the government, businesses and citizens.

Here are some implications for citizens and companies if the policy is implemented in its current form ...According to the draft, citizens may use encryption technology for storage and communication. However, encryption algorithms and key sizes will be prescribed by the government through Notification from time to time. This means that the government will determine the encryption standards for all and entities like Google and WhatsApp will have to follow the encryption standards prescribed by the Indian government.What's bizarre is that the draft lists specific guidelines for all citizens who use encryption services including instructions that individuals should store in plain text versions of communication for 90 days. So this may imply that you'll have to store your WhatsApp messages for 90 days or face action in case asked to reproduce.What's appalling is that the government expects all citizens to be aware of encrypted communication and the way to store messages in plain text securely. A large number of users may in fact not even know that WhatsApp and iMessage use encryption. Shortly after a controversy erupted over government's proposal to investigate on every message that an individual will send via WhatsApp, SMS, or Google Hangouts, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology clarified in a draft that social media websites and applications will be exempted from the purview of the Encryption Policy. According to the draft posted by Deity, there are certain categories of encryption products that will be exempted from the purview of the draft national encryption policy.

Awesome Top New Technology Cool Gadgets and Inventions 2015

Lenovo K3 Note Unboxing & Hands On Overview / Impressions

Everything new in the Android M Preview 2

M Developer Preview Gets Its First Update

What’s New

The Developer Preview 2 update includes the up to date M release platform code, and near-final APIs for you to validate your app. In addition to platform updates, the system images also include Google Play services 7.6.

(The pictures are a mix of Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 screenshots, so don't worry about any size differences.)

The most prominent change is the fixed app drawer, which looks much better than the Preview 1 version. The original implementation removed an entire column of icons to make room for huge index letters. It looked ugly and was a waste of space, so we're glad to see them gone. There's still the nice-to-have search bar at the top of the screen, and it actually looks like a search bar now.

The top row of apps in the app drawer, which isn't alphabetical and changes all the time, is apparently the "predictive apps" bar. We'll have to see how well it actually predicts what we want to use.

The new homescreen finally supports auto rotate, so you have a horizontal home screen now.

The other big additions are the new System UI Tuner options. The UI tuner was introduced in the first version of Android M and only let you rearrange the power control pulldown, but now it has been expanded with status bar options. There's an option to show a percentage readout in the battery status bar icon, which has been a favorite feature of modders. This has been built into AOSP forever but turning it on before required a rooted phone—now it's very easy.

There's a whole set of options to hide stock status bar icons, so if you want to hide your signal bars or alarm clock icon you can now. It might seem a little weird to hide important status bar indicators, but we're guessing this is aimed at OEM skins, which like to fill the status bar with crap. Now you'd be able to turn it off, assuming OEMs don't mess with this feature.

There's also a "demo mode" which pops up a fake status bar for more presentable screenshots. It blanks out all the notifications and shows a 100% battery and sets the time to 5:20. Google's Android press shots almost always set the time to be a representation of the current version, so 5.0 showed 5:00, and 5.1 showed 5:10. A time of 5:20 suggests Android M will be called "Android 5.2."

The one feature that seems removed (or at least hidden) is the "Theme" options that were in the developer settings. They're just gone now.

Other than what's above, the official developer release notes show a few new permission types that have had their protection level tweaked, but it doesn't look like there's anything too major. 

That seems to be it for Android M. Like Google said, it's "incremental." This is still just a developer preview, so it's still missing all of the consumer facing Google apps that will debut with the OS. There's more Android M versions to come. The next one is scheduled for "late July."

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Oculus Rift: The Final Form

Oculus Rift

No more screendoor-effect issues or motion-induced sickness. On-board power, outside power requirements under control. With each prior iteration of its Rift headset, Oculus VR assured gamers that they hadn't yet seen the its final form. Finally, in the run-up to this year's E3 and at the show, came the invitation for everyone to "step into the Rift" and behold what the Kickstarted virtual reality headset has become.

Oculus VR still hasn't committed to a price or a preorder date, but the hardware and hard facts have finally started to materialize, and "coming soon" has been substantiated with a clear path to a Q1 2016 launch.
 "This whole area is getting really hot now, and we should see some amazing things in demonstrations as we approach the launch.

Game On

During E3, Oculus VR promoted some of the VR headset's upcoming games. Most of the games shown are third-person, but first-person space dogfighting simulator Eve Valkyrie continued to impress.

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One video game consoles have thrived despite what many bemoaned as a dearth of games available for them. The Oculus Rift could be faced with a similar problem -- and without a proven history comparable to the leading consoles.

"I think it's wonderful the work Oculus is doing in VR," he told TechNewsWorld, "but the question remains: Will gamers be willing to play through long gaming sessions with something attached to their faces?"

Something Has Changed

Along with the sleek black Rift headset, reminiscent of ski goggles, Oculus VR at E3 showed how players will interact with VR experiences. It unveiled its Home digital distribution and gaming platform, alongside its Touch sensor-fitted controllers.
The Home platform is meant to unify VR apps and games into a cohesive experience. Players can launch their games, buy new ones, interact with other players and even embark on virtual demos of VR software before making a purchase.
The Touch controllers, which mirror one another, are designed to deepen the connection between Rift wearers and their virtual hands. Oculus VR previously announced that each Rift will ship with a wireless Xbox One controller, thanks to a partnership with Microsoft.

Oculus Touch will serve as another tool on Rift wearers' tool belts one that's meant to complement the Xbox One controller's utility in core gaming.
With a mesh of sensors looping around the controllers' triggers, the Touch devices can track finger positions and interpret them into input users can wave or give a thumbs up, and Oculus Touch will recognize the gestures.

Samsung Gear VR review

You can finally buy a virtual reality headset and use it in your home. Right now -- today -- that is possible. It doesn't cost $10,000 and it doesn't come with caveats like, "This is made for developers." Samsung is officially the first to market with an accessible, impressive virtual reality headset, all powered by software from Facebook's recently acquired Oculus VR team. That alone is very exciting: We are standing at the precipice of a new medium, finally technologically possible. Wireless, consumer-grade virtual reality! In your home! Today!

Samsung's Gear VR is both an astounding feat and an illuminating vision into our near future; it's the closest anyone's come to making virtual reality into a palatable consumer experience, and a stark example of how far we still have to go before that dream is completely realized.

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PROS

• Incredibly accessible
• Light, comfortable, attractive
• Extremely impressive visuals

CONS

• Limited functionality
• Extremely limited software library
• Requires a Note 4, making it very expensive

Oculus VR and Samsung's Gear VR virtual reality headset is an enticing first taste of the potential future of a new medium. It's light, comfortable and -- most importantly -- accessible. Gear VR is the most usable virtual reality headset we've ever tried, and the first to market after several years of hype. At the same time, an extremely limited selection of software and functionality makes Gear VR live up to its "Innovator Edition" alias: It's a device intended for early adopters and virtual reality enthusiasts, not the mainstream. At least for now.

If you're looking for guidance on whether or not you should buy a $200 Gear VR headset to strap your $700 Galaxy Note 4 into, this isn't the review for you. Frankly, it's a lot to pay for the experience, and I don't feel comfortable suggesting anyone shell out that kind of cash for Gear VR. And let's be honest: The folks who would drop that kind of money for the promise of Gear VR are crazy people like me. They've already bought one.

Samsung intentionally dubbed Gear VR's first iteration the "Innovator Edition." There's good reason for that: It's more tech demo than consumer product right now. Save for a few games, the app store consists of just over a dozen "experiences"; every other "game" is a demo at this point. To be clear up front, Gear VR is not intended as a mainstream consumer device; it's a test balloon from one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers. Here's what Nick DiCarlo, VP/GM of immersive products and VR at Samsung, told me last week about his company's goal with Gear VR

It's not being sold at your local Best Buy, and for good reason.

Samsung intentionally didn't send out review units to press before Gear VR went on sale; the point wasn't to bury reviews, but to discourage them altogether. The idea is that the people who buy this early will evangelize it to their friends, helping to build a virtual reality market that companies like Samsung can profit from. There are Gear VR setups in malls all over the world. It's meant to be a demonstrative device. That it's on sale is just the easiest way for Samsung to distribute it to evangelists. But it is on sale to the public.

With that in mind, I'm taking a dual approach to this review: one perspective for the VR enthusiast, and another for the average human being.

How Google's Project Ara Smartphone Works

Project Ara is real, and Google has its fingers on the pulse of the technologies required to make modular smartphones a reality. Given the overwhelming public response to the Phonebloks concept, it's something that users seem to want, too. But whether or not Project Ara modular phones have a future in the smartphone marketplace will largely depend on whether or not there's a strong hardware ecosystem to support it. The custom PC market wouldn't have flourished a decade ago if component manufacturers weren't making user-friendly video cards, storage drives, motherboards, and power supplies--the building blocks of a PC. That's the point of this week's Ara Developers Conference: getting partners excited and educated about how they can build hardware to support that vision for a modular phone.
The two-day conference, which was also streamed online, coincided with the release of the Project Ara MDK, or Module Developers Kit. This MDK provides the guidelines for designing Ara-compatible hardware, and along with the technical talks presented at the conference, offer the first clear look in the technologies that make Ara possible, if not completely practical. I attended the conference and read through the MDK to get a high-level understanding Google's plans for Ara, which goes far to address the concerns we and experts have had about the modular phone concept. I'm not yet a believer, but at least this clearly isn't a pipe dream. The following are what I consider the important takeaways from what Google has revealed so far.

Project Ara is two core components: the Endoskeleton and the Module

On the hardware side, Google has laid out specific guidelines for how Project Ara phones can be built. The most important piece of hardware is the chassis, or what Project Ara leads are calling the "Endoskeleton." Think of this as an analogue to a PC case--it's where all the modular components will attach. In fact, it reminds me a lot of the design of Razer's Project Christine, in that a central "spine" traverses the length of Project Ara phones, with "ribs" branching out to split the phone into rectangular subsections. In terms of spatial units, the Endoskeleton (or Endo) is measured in terms of blocks, with a standard phone being a 3x6 grid of blocks. A mini Ara phone spec would be a 2x5 grid, while a potential large phone size would be a 4x7 grid.

Fitting into the spaces allotted by the Endos structure would be the Project Ara Modules, the building blocks that give the smartphone its functionality. These modules, which can be 1x1, 2x1, or 2x2 blocks, are what Google hopes its hardware partners will develop to sell to Project Ara users. Modules can include not only basic smartphone components like the display, speakers, microphone, and battery, but also accessories like IR cameras, biometric readers, and other interface hardware. The brains of a Project Ara phone--the CPU and memory--live in a primary Application Processor module, which takes up a 2x2 module.While additional storage can be attached in separate modules, you won't be able to split up the the AP--processor, memory, SD card slot, and other core operational hardware go hand-in-hand.

Project Ara's prototype Application Processor module, which house the CPU, memory, SD card slot, and other core hardware.

Three new technologies make Project Ara work

Project Ara is only viable because its a confluence of new technologies that have been in development for years, and are almost ready to be put in consumer hardware. These three are the most important:
The first is UniPro, which is a high-speed interface protocol that Project Ara uses to allow its modules to speak to each other, though the hardware of the Endo. They share a common low-level language for communicating and building a network. The UniPro protocol has been in development for several years as a way to build a standard for mobile phone accessories--think of it like the USB protocol, but optimized for mobile. Its development is overseen by the MIPI Alliance, an organization composed of over 250 mobile companies, and Project Ara is tapping into the latest UniPro 1.6 spec, which offer high-bandwidth and low power connections between the modules.

Even though the modules know how to speak to each other, they need a way to physically connect to the Endo. The second technology Project Ara uses is capacitive M-PHY, a physical layer spec also developed by the MIPI Alliance and made to work with UniPro. For Project Ara, M-PHY is a capacitive interface, which means that the connection points won't be worn down over time from swapping modules in and out of the phone. Ara's implementation of the M-PHY interface block calls for 10 connection points, eight of which are for data (four pairs of lanes), one for power, and one for ground.

The final technology in Project Ara's module design is the use of electropermanent magnets for affixing the modules in place in the Endo. This is really cool--normal electromagnets magnetize depending on if current is running through them. That would be a battery drain, but electropermanent magnets only use current to flip magnetization on and off; it's able to retain its magnetized state without draining additional power. Project Ara engineers are hoping that electropermanent magnet design can be further miniaturized before modules go into production, since every bit of PCB space in the module is precious.

Google expects the Endoskeleton cost to be under $100

When users buy a Project Ara phone, they'll start by buying just the Endoskeleton and basic components, which Google has priced at around $50 for what they call a basic "grey" phone. That includes $15 for the Endo frame, $15 for the display, $5 for a battery, $10 for the main Application Processor module, and $5 for a Wi-Fi unit. These are just the bill of materials cost, and aren't what users will actually pay for modules, but Google is confident that getting started with a working Project Ara phone will cost well under $100. In terms of overall pricing for building a full-featured Project Ara phone, Google says that the only real cost overhead for Ara modules are Unipro technology and the electropermanent magnets. In addition, they expect that a flourishing component ecosystem will drive down prices and offer users more options for pricing.

Endoskeletons will last 5-6 years

Once you buy an Endo, Google expects that it should last you 5-6 years. The capacitive pads for the modules go a long way to keeping the metal Endos durable, and the UniPro/M-PHY interface has enough bandwidth for futureproofing (10Gb/s for most modules, 20Gb/s for large modules). The Endo will have a small battery built-in to supply reserve power, and that's one of the limiting factors for the lifespan of a Project Ara shell.

Modules are hot swappable

That built-in battery in the Endo is separate from the battery that will normally power the phone, and is needed to support hot swapping. Users will be able to swap out almost every module type without having to power down or reset their phone, the display and AP notwithstanding (for obvious reasons). That means that you'll be able to replace the main battery when it's low without turning off your phone, something that no smartphone can do today, even with external power attached.

Modules can have multiple functions

Google showed several prototype modules, including a Wi-Fi unit, biometric sensor (which measured pulse using an IR camera), and a dummy module that does nothing. The dummy module showed that developers will have about 40% of the PCB add their own hardware, with the rest dedicated to Ara-specific chips and tech, such as the magnets and UniPro processing. For larger modules, developers are able and encouraged to maximize their use of space, meaning that modules can have multiple functions. In fact, to build the display module, the Project Ara team used a Samsung screen that didn't take up all of the space available, so they packed in another small battery. Batteries everywhere, please.

3D Printing will get a boost from Project Ara

Even if Project Ara doesn't work out, there's one industry that may benefit from the R&D conducted for it: 3D printing. Google is working with 3D Systems in developing a new 3D printing machine that can print efficiently at volume, something that existing printers are not very good at. 3D printing will be used for Ara phone users to customize the casings for their modules, which are user-serviceable and snap fit around the PCB and safety shield.

The 3D printer in developing will print acrylic-based plastic, similar to what Shapeways calls its Detailed Plastic material. It'll be able to print cases in CMYK color (plus clear) with detail at 600DPI, and a sub-micron surface finish. The new printer, which is expected to be completed for Alpha testing mid-summer, prints using an assembly line track that goes in oval, like a racetrack. Unlike 3D printers like the MakerBot, the print head or build platform doesn't move back and forth across two axes--multiple heads and platforms work in unison, moving in just one direction to increase print efficiency.
Google is also working with Carnegie Mellon to develop conductive ink printing, so 3D printers can print electronics, like a Wi-Fi antenna while making a module casing. This technology is still a ways off, and won't make the 2015 Project Ara launch. There will also be a second Project Ara developers conference the July for artists and 3D printing companies to get involved.

Project Ara will not run stock Android

Because of the driver code required to support UniPro modules and other accessories, Project Ara phones will run a fork of Android for the foreseeable future, less the core Android team deems those features worthy to include in the mainline release. The software stack for Project Ara is one of the development threads that needs to be resolved before these phones can work, since Android doesn't support dynamic hardware configurations today. Ara will introduce generic class driers for UniPro modules (similar to how USB is processed), and some hardware drivers will be to be downloaded through a software distribution system like Google Play.

Project Ara isn't for the Internet of Things

Project Ara's leads made it very clear that they were not trying to build a jack-of-all-trades platform that would serve to be the hardware for the Internet of Things. That is, don't expect to plug Project Ara modules into watches or refrigerators. They want to build a viable smartphone platform first. But that doesn't mean that Project Ara devices have to be used as phones. You could imagine giving a child an Ara Endo with basic media and camera functionality but no Wi-Fi or cellular modules, allowing them access only when they're ready. It's like buying someone an iPod Touch that could later be upgraded to an iPhone.

Project Ara will launch early this year

As part of Google's ATAP (Advanced Technologies and Products) division, Project Ara is only given 24 months to go from concept to real product that users can buy--or at least one that demonstrates market viability. That urgency, along with the fact that only three Googlers are working Ara full-time, allows the team to take more risks and recruit technologists without having to commit them to a long-term tenure. It's a model that Google is adapting from DARPA, where Project Ara lead Paul Eremenko worked before Motorola and Google. Eremenko will take Project Ara through fruition in April 2015, which means Project Ara phones are much closer to reality than concept.