It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a Soundcast speaker — Melody in 2013 — but the company’s VG1 ($150) has been creating some buzz. VG1 is an IP67-certified waterproof Bluetooth speaker. Soundcast claims the speaker lasts 15 hours on a full charge, which is very good battery life for a speaker of its size. The small VG1 has speakerphone capabilities, and works with Siri. Two VG1 units can be paired together for dedicated left and right channel playback, as well. VG1 comes with micro-USB and 3.5mm cables, a lanyard strap, and a carrying pouch for said cables. There’s nothing…
Author: Phil Dzikiy
Phil Dzikiy
Phil Dzikiy was the Editor-in-Cheif at iLounge. He mostly edited and oversaw all site editorial content, managed staff and freelancers, made the final call on product review grades and awards, and led online coverage of all Apple events and live coverage of the International CES in 2015.
Apple released its fourth betas for both iOS 10.3 and watchOS 3.2 to registered developers today. iOS 10.3 for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch contains the Find My AirPods feature, among other changes, while watchOS 3.2 features the upcoming Theater Mode for Apple Watch. A new public beta for iOS 10.3 should be released in the near future.
Mophie’s Juice Pack Air ($100) has arrived for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The wireless charging case can fully recharge an iPhone 7, while the iPhone 7 Plus case can recharge the larger iPhone back up to 60 percent battery. A matte slider-style case, Juice Pack Air’s Lightning connector plugs into the iPhone, while the case can be recharged using a micro-USB port at the bottom, or one of Mophie’s Charge Force magnetic wireless charging accessories. Juice Pack Air comes in five colors — black, rose gold, gold, blue, and red. A micro-USB cord is included, but sadly…
Apple is preparing to adopt a new connector type for accessories, known as the Ultra Accessory Connector (UAC). The company has launched a developer preview of the new connector type, 9to5Mac reports. Sources claim this new, smaller connector could replace the use of Lightning and USB connectors in some cases. The 8-pin connector would be thinner than USB-C, and about half the width of Lightning and USB-C. According to the report, use of the connector is currently specified to be used on headphone cables — Apple would allow for Lightning to UAC, USB-A to UAC, and 3.5mm headphone jack to…
Apple has released a new batch of second betas to developers today — iOS 10.3 for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, tvOS 10.2 for Apple TV, and watchOS 3.2 for Apple Watch. iOS 10.3 contains Find My AirPods support, tvOS 10.2 boasts improved scrolling support, and watchOS 10.2 brings the screen-disabling Theater Mode to the Apple Watch, among other improvements. A public beta for iOS 10.3 should be available in the near future.
Distil Union’s popular Wally wallets and wallet phone cases have arrived on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus with Wally Ether. A leather-backed shell case, Wally Ether offers little protection for an iPhone, but it can store up to three cards in its compartment. Wally Ether uses the clever Wally Pull-Tab found in other Wally wallets, which allows users to pull the cards out using the tab. Pushing the cards back into the case causes the tab to retract. It’s an effective way to access your cards, and it also minimizes the case’s bulk — which is a problem with…
Prince’s music will be available to stream on Apple Music “very soon,” according to a Pitchfork report. Tidal has been the exclusive streaming home to Prince’s back catalog since July 2015, but that looks to change in the coming weeks. Currently, Prince’s final album — Hit n Run Phase Two, released in December 2015 — is the only Prince album available for streaming on Apple Music. Prince died roughly four months after that album’s release. The report also speculates that Prince’s music will also return to Spotify in the very near future. Update: An “insider” told the The New York…
Apple has released the first beta of watchOS 3.2 to developers. The new beta includes SiriKit and Theater Mode, the latter of which can quickly mute the Apple Watch’s sounds and prevent the screen from waking when a user raises his or her wrist. Apple released watchOS 3.1.3 for Apple Watch just a week ago.
In addition to today’s iOS release, Apple has also released updates for Apple TV and Apple Watch. tvOS 10.1.1 comes to the fourth-gen Apple TV, and watchOS 3.1.3 was released for Apple Watch. Like iOS 10.2.1, both of these updates also appear to be primarily focused on performance improvements and bug fixes. watchOS 3.1.3 can be downloaded through the iOS Apple Watch app.
Apple released iOS 10.2.1 to the public today. The update for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch offers bug fixes and performance improvements — a minor update, all things considered. We’ll let you know of any particularly notable improvements or surprising new features. iOS 10.2.1 is rolling out now, so it should be available shortly if you don’t see it yet. As always, it can be downloaded through iTunes, or over-the-air in Settings > General > Software Update.
Apple quietly released a fourth beta of iOS 10.2.1 to registered developers late in the day on Thursday. The new beta features a build number of 14D27 and eliminates virtually all of the “known issues” in the release notes, suggesting that a public release is imminent. The single listed issue remaining simply notes that the Emergency SOS feature which debuted in iOS 10.2 continues to only be supported in India, which appears to be a test area that Apple is using for the new feature. watchOS 3.1.3 and tvOS 10.1.1 have not received new beta updates, and there also still…
Apple Music’s upcoming Carpool Karaoke standalone series will consist of 16 half-hour episodes, Variety reports. The show, a spinoff of the popular segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden, will feature different hosts for each episode. Carpool Karaoke will also be “more of an interview series” — it’s unclear how much time will be spent talking, and how much time will be spent singing. A few of the host/guest combos have already been announced. While the show will feature pairings such as John Legend with Alicia Keys and Seth MacFarlane with Ariana Grande, other groupings might be more…
Apple has released the third beta of iOS 10.2.1 to registered developers today, after a holiday break of sorts — the second beta was released before Christmas. A public beta release should soon follow. While a recent tweet claimed an iOS 10.3 beta would introduce “theatre mode” this week, that seems unlikely to happen so soon. Additionally, Apple has also released both the second betas for tvOS 10.1.1 and watchOS 3.1.3 to developers.
The recent release of RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic ($6) for iOS has been long awaited by a certain group of mobile gamers. While there have been a number of theme park simulators available on the App Store — including RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 and RollerCoaster Tycoon 4 — a dedicated crowd has long insisted the first and second RollerCoaster Tycoons are still the best theme park simulators ever, as created by developer Chris Sawyer. This iOS release claims to combine the best features of Sawyer’s games. For those unfamiliar with RollerCoaster Tycoon, here’s the basic gist: you take control of a theme…
Apple’s wireless AirPods automatically pause music playback when one or both of the buds are removed from your ears during use. But if you’d prefer to control play/pause with touch controls without having to remove AirPods from your ears, Apple has given users a way to do so. While your AirPods are connected, go to Settings > Bluetooth on your iOS device and touch the “i” to access the information screen for your AirPods. On that screen, you’ll be able to change a number of settings, including the Double-Tap controls. AirPods are set by default to control Siri with a…
On its website, Apple describes its new AirPods ($159) as “Wireless. Effortless. Magical.” The completely wireless earbuds have finally arrived, after a delay that almost caused Apple to miss the holiday season completely. AirPods use Apple’s W1 chip to easily connect via Bluetooth, and the company claims the chip also allows for efficient battery use and improved sound. The earbuds make Siri easily accessible, with built-in microphones allowing for immediate, intimate interaction with Apple’s virtual assistant, as well as any callers on your iPhone. There’s a whole lot of tech packed into these tiny buds. AirPods come in a tiny,…
Super Mario Run (free/$10 full game) is Nintendo’s first true smartphone game (sorry, Miitomo), and though it was only released on Thursday, the iOS exclusive has already been the subject of mixed reviews, much debate — and high grosses. Unsurprisingly, Super Mario Run vaulted to the top of the App Store’s charts in both the Free and Top Grossing categories. But does it live up to the hype? Super Mario Run is an endless runner. It’s a polished Nintendo version of an endless runner, complete with Nintendo’s brilliant level design, but it’s still an endless runner. Nintendo did well to…
We’ve reviewed a number of Olloclip’s offerings in the past, and the company is back with a number of new lens sets for iPhone 7/7 Plus. Core Lens Set ($100) includes three lenses — fisheye, macro 15x, and super-wide — and attachments to secure the lenses to the back of an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, with its CONNECT interchangeable lens system. The system allows lenses to be swapped in and out, and used on both the front and rear cameras of either iPhone. Olloclip claims Core’s lenses have improved optics due to their new multi-element coated glass. In…