iPhone 16 Camera - Apple designers shed light on the new iPhone 16 Camera Control button

While some may pooh-pooh the iPhone 16 lineup as a boring addition to Apple's smartphone catalog, many people are excited for one single feature: the Camera Control button. Here's what Apple designers have to say about it.

Human interface designer Johnnie Manzari and senior director of product design Rich Dinh sat down with Design Tangents to discuss what it took to make the iPhone 16's new camera a reality. The interview took place in Apple's own podcast studio in Cupertino following September's "It's Glowtime" event.

Much of the interview centers on discussing Apple's design philosophy and how designers figure out what makes the cut and what doesn't.

"I think sometimes people think we have a recipe that we're trying to adhere to when we make these devices, when we think of these devices, and we really don't," Dinh says. "We really set off focusing on the customer experience, not trying to make new hardware, not trying to make new software, but really how do we move that customer experience forward and using your iPhone."

And that philosophy is reflected in the new iPhone 16 Camera Control button. Dinh points out that the button was designed to be somewhat inconspicuous, sitting flush against the device.

"...So, for day-to-day use we're hoping that the phone feels very much like your phone today in terms of how you grip it and handle it, but we've added a little chamfer in there to give that really lovely half press and full press experience with the button flush," he says.

And by designing a button that could detect both full- and half-presses, the designers realized that they could embrace the playfulness of a dedicated camera button.

"The idea that by lightly pressing on the button, you could signal to the phone that you were intending to take a capture," Manzari notes. "That led to all sorts of interesting new experiences that we started to design."

Intentionality is another thing Apple prizes. The moment you press the camera button, the interface clears, allowing for better composition of designs. This intentional removal of distractions is something the design team was most excited about.

"I'm probably more of the prosumer level photographer and being able to have Zoom control on your fingertips and have the screen really free of any obstruction to what you're composing and what you're seeing," Dinh notes. "You're making these videos of family, friends, kids, whatever, and it feels cinematic."

And, to give credit where credit is due, the pair notes that the camera button wouldn't exist without extensive collaboration across teams.

"... It's work from across the whole company, the sensor team, passing that information down into the architecture stack. And then on the design side, just trying to understand how would a professional do this? How would they do the ramps? And pulling it all together," Manzari says.

"And again... hopefully, people don't have to think about any of this. They're just getting the video that they want of their friends and family, but it's really built off this really deep collaboration across the entire company."

Source: Appleinsider

Unboxing the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Apple Watch Series 10

Apple's iPhone 16 Pro Max and Apple Watch Series 10 are larger devices — but they seem to come in smaller packages every year.

Let's see if Apple's Journal app picks up on today's unboxing and recommends an entry about it. While in every case it is the device itself we believe we've paid for, part of our money does go on the packaging — and it's remarkable how well Apple does this.

It may seem a bit much to praise a box or two, but fine. The ever-shrinking Apple packaging is no casual afterthought, it is always precision designed to use the least material, but remain strong enough to survive being transported around the world.

Apple does of course talk up the environmental impact of how it is reducing packaging. To that end, 2024 is a significant year, too, because Apple aims to entirely kill off plastic packaging before 2025.

Then there is also a straight logistical advantage to making smaller packaging. It means that more iPhones and Apple Watches can be fitted into an aircraft hold or freight shipping container.

But for all that there are sensible discussions to be had about Apple packaging, there is really just that it's fun to see what you get. So take a look at the unboxing of both an iPhone 16 Pro Max and an Apple Watch Series 10 on a cloudy day in an English garden.

Unboxing the iPhone 16 Pro Max

Top to bottom: undoing Apple's packaging, getting the iPhone out of its box, and turning it on for the first time

There's the new Camera Control button

Unboxing the Apple Watch Series 10

Top to bottom: unboxing both the Apple Watch Series 10 and a Watch band

Do notice the black wrapping around the Apple Watch Series 10 itself, to the left in its box. That's the only criticism AppleInsider has of Apple's packaging, because it's the only part that easily tears.

It appears that the wrapping is a sleeve and that the Apple Watch should slide out of it. But instead the sleeve is tight enough that in trying to free the Apple Watch, it gets torn.

Packaging is a truly serious business

Now you know just how Apple is packaging its latest devices. You might well have guessed, since it isn't noticeably different from last year, but at least now you know.

And should anyone spot you looking at unboxing photos, tell them this. Apple has a department where the staff spend most of their time opening boxes.

It's true, too. It's called the "packaging room" and for years it was a secret. It was secret because Apple did not want anyone to know just how much effort goes into designing its boxes.

Source: Appleinsider

Apple iOS 9.3 iPhone users complain of Safari crashing after update

Apple's iOS 9.3 update has come with problems for iPad owners and even iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s plus users are facing app crashes.

Apple’s iOS 9.3 update has been re-released for older iPads after issues. Now iPhone 6s, 6s plus users are complaining of Safari crashes.

Apple’s latest iOS 9.3 update has come with problems for iPad owners with iPad Air and older devices. Even iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s plus users are complaining of app crashes when trying to open links via Safari, Mail, Messages, etc.
Apple had to re-release iOS 9.3 for users of iPad Air, and older devices. iPad 2 GSM model users were the worst affected it seems, as they could not log into the device after the update, until they had the password to the original iCloud account that was used to set up the device.
So in cases where users had switched accounts or had forgotten their password, they found themselves locked out of the device thanks to the iOS 9.3 update.


Apple has even set-up a specific support page for iPad 2 GSM model users explaining how to log back in, after the iOS 9.3 update. Apple’s advice for iPad 2 owners, try installing and logging in via iTunes. Apple’s support page says that once the iPad is connected to a computer with the latest iTunes, the user should try to do a force restart. Users need to press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time to do this, and they should do this till they see the recovery mode screen.

Apple adds, “When you get the option to restore or update in iTunes, choose Update. iTunes will try to reinstall iOS without erasing your data. If it takes more than 15 minutes, your iPad will exit recovery mode, and you’ll need to repeat steps 2 and 3 again. After the update is complete, you need to leave your iPad connected to the computer and complete the activation setup process for your iPad using iTunes.”

Apple has also set up another support page for iPhone 5s and earlier devices (including iPad Air and older as well as iPod Touch) where users have trouble logging into their iOS devices after the iOS 9.3 update.

If a user is facing trouble logging into the iPhone after the update is installed, they should try signing-in to iCloud.com from a computer, and then reset the Apple ID and password. Also in iCloud users should go to settings, and scroll to “My Devices section” to confirm that the particular device is listed with that Apple ID and if it is not there, then they should check other Apple IDs. See more details here.

 Apple’s older devices are not the only ones facing problems after iOS 9.3 update. 9to5Mac notes that users of the latest iPhone 6s, 6s Plus series are complaining of a bug where links in Safari, Mail, Messages, and other apps are not opening.

The report says that the cause for the issue is unknown, but what happens is that the target website does not open, and the app crashes or freezes. Now that Apple Support is on Twitter, users have been tweeting out to the company pointing out the issue with their iPhones.

source: indianexpress

Apple Temporarily Pulls iOS 9.3 Update for Older iOS Devices

Apple has temporarily stopped offering the iOS 9.3 update for older devices like the iPad Air and earlier and the iPhone 5s and earlier due to installation issues some users have experienced. On older devices, iOS 9.3 requires users to input the Apple ID and password originally used to set up the device, which can lead to the device becoming stuck at the Activation Lock screen if the original account information can't be recalled.

In a statement given to iMore, Apple says it is working on a fix and plans to issue a new version of iOS 9.3 in the next few days. Customers with an affected device who attempt to download iOS 9.3 during this time will not be able to install the update as Apple has stopped signing it.

Updating some iOS devices (iPhone 5s and earlier and iPad Air and earlier) to iOS 9.3 can require entering the Apple ID and password used to set up the device in order to complete the software update," an Apple spokesperson told iMore. "In some cases, if customers do not recall their password, their device will remain in an inactivated state until they can recover or reset their password. For these older devices, we have temporarily pulled back the update and will release an updated version of iOS 9.3 in the next few days that does not require this step."

For customers who have already installed iOS 9.3 and have gotten stuck at the Activation Lock, Apple has published a support document with steps on how to solve the issue. Apple recommends removing Activation Lock via iCloud or attempting to enter an Apple ID or password through iTunes.

Update: Apple has released a new build of iOS 9.3 for the iPad 2 and may be planning to roll out updates for additional devices. Apple has not yet resumed signing iOS 9.3 for affected devices.


Source:macrumors

iPhone SE vs iPhone 5S: Is new model worth it?

New four-inch handset is set to replace the older version, but is it really all that different?

If you're one of the millions still using one of Apple's four-inch iPhones, then the company has plans for you.

Apple has just released a new device to replace the almost three-year-old iPhone 5S. The iPhone SE is the first of potentially four handsets the company could launch this year and bolsters up the back of the range.

As well as first-time buyers, the tech giant is targeting customers who haven't upgraded to the larger iPhone 6 handsets. Many users prefer the smaller dimensions of the older phones over the phablet-style of newer devices. Customers had "pleaded" for a new handset that bucked the trend of ever larger screens, said Apple at its keynote event on Monday.

But apart from the size, what else does the iPhone SE have to offer?

Design

iPhone 5S users will find little in how the phone looks to tempt them to upgrade. It's not because the SE is unsightly, but rather its design is practically identical to the older device. The only differences are a matte finish on the bevelled edges and a new rose gold colour option.

Both phones feature aluminium cases measuring 4.87ins x 2.31ins x 0.3ins with round volume buttons, flat sides and glass caps top and bottom. The SE is a fraction heavier, at 3.99oz to the 5S's 3.95oz.

Display

Again, there's no real change here. Both devices use a four-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 1136 x 640 and a pixel density of 326ppi, although Apple says the SE's screen is up to three times brighter than the 5S's.

Pre-reveal, some touted that the iPhone SE would get Apple's pressure-sensitive display, allowing it to have 3D touch capabilities as on the iPhone 6S. The rumours were quiet ones, though, and rightfully so – for now, 3D touch will remain an option on flagship iPhone models only.

Camera

While the design and display is virtually unchanged – maybe not such a vital thing, considering Apple is selling much of this phone on its size – the hardware is new, with much of it plucked from the iPhone 6S.

The iPhone 5S uses an eight-megapixel rear-facing camera with a 1.2-megapixel setup on the front. On the SE, this is bumped up to a 12-megapixel camera capable of 4K video recording. It has a wider f/2.2 aperture, too, meaning it should outperform the 5S in low light. Also new are the 240 frames per second (fps) slow-motion capabilities and Live Photos.

The SE retains the 5S's 1.2-megapixel front-facing FaceTime camera but with the addition of Retina flash, which also allows for better photos in low light.

Hardware and internals

Inside the identical casing is an iPhone 6S-inspired overhaul. The iPhone 5S uses Apple's A7 chip mated to 1GB RAM. This is bumped up to the A9 chip from the iPhone 6S and 2GB RAM. Apple claims the new phone has double the processing power and four-times the graphics performance of its outgoing entry level phone.

The iPhone SE also has an NFC chip, bringing ApplePay to all iPhones in the current range, and the battery has been upgraded. Gone is the 1560mAh cell used in the iPhone 5S and in its place is a 1642mAh unit. Combined with processor upgrades, Pocket Lint reckons users should see a decent leap up in battery life.

Specs-wise, the SE retains the 16GB entry level storage option. A 32GB phone is off the cards – the only other choice is a 64GB handset.

How much is it?

SIM-free prices for the Apple SE start at £359, a £20 drop on the price of the iPhone 5S. The 64GB option weighs in at £439.

Tesco Mobile has the cheapest deal of the networks who have announced their tariffs so far. The £26.50-a-month offer for the 16GB model gives 1,000 minutes, 5,000 texts and 1GB of data, with no additional costs.

You can get the same model at Carphone Warehouse on its iD network for a one-off fee of £99.99 and a monthly cost of £21.50 over 24 months, giving you 300 minutes, 5,000 texts and 500MB of 4G data.

If you don't fancy any upfront payments but want more data than just the standard 500MB, USwitch.com recommends grabbing the handset from EE for £29.99 a month. This tariff comes with 1GB of data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts.

The 64GB iPhone SE is markedly more expensive on all UK networks.

Of course, if you're not convinced by Apple's new offering, the 16GB iPhone 5S is now available from all the major networks for around £18 a month with no upfront handset cost.

Verdict

Full reviews are yet to surface, but early hands-on impressions suggest Apple has added a compelling smartphone to the bottom of its range.

According to Slashgear, the SE presents a familiar experience but with optimised hardware that really makes a difference. It feels "significantly faster" and introducing some of the latest machinery means it's been fairly future-proofed. The SE and the 5S are in "different leagues", it adds.

Engadget is also impressed, saying the iPhone SE feels like a "compelling blend of old and new" and that Apple's entry level option no longer feels like a second-rate device.

However, not everyone is convinced. Kate Knibbs, writing for Gizmodo, says the SE is more a "shrewd marketing strategy" than a new handset, arguing that there's nothing fresh in terms of design and software and that the phone is just an 5S with a "moderate gut upgrade".

As such, Apple really has to market the hardware if it is to encourage iPhone 5S users to upgrade – although the SE could be a bit of a coup for first-time buyers, who are getting an iPhone 5S with iPhone 6S goodies at a slightly cheaper price.                                           

Source: theweek         

Mossberg: the iPhone 7 had better be spectacular

One day this fall, if things occur as usual, Apple will stage a big event to introduce the next flagship iPhone. And, based on the events of this month, that smartphone better be great.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I have any beef at first glance with the revamped, smaller iPhone SE that Apple unveiled this week, or with the downsized iPad Pro that accompanied it. Each makes business sense — especially the modernized 4-inch phone model, the iPhone SE. Both seemed to work well in the few minutes I had to fiddle with them, and I’ll have reviews of them soon.

I expect these products will make significant minorities of users happy. Plus, the $399 base price on the iPhone SE (compared to $650 or so for the 6s) may help Apple in overseas markets where cheaper and smaller phones are popular.

But these latest iPhones and iPads don’t break much new technology ground.They are derivative products — the iPhone SE is based on the iPhone 5 design first introduced in 2012. And its innards and features mostly, but don’t quite, match those of the current top mainstream model, the 6S, rolled out last year.

I stand by my view that the premium iPhone 6S and 6S Plus are the best smartphones on the market.

But the top-of-the-line iPhones were challenged impressively just two weeks ago by rival Samsung’s beautiful, carefully engineered new Galaxy S7 phones. A Verge test showed the Samsung’s cameras are better. Only the sadly typical software mess on those phones makes them lag behind Apple’s long-superior iPhone.

If the smartphone category is to take a leap forward, and the iPhone is to maintain its ever-thinning lead as the best smartphone you can buy, Apple needs to impress big time in the fall.

As always, rumors about the next iPhone abound online. They include new types of wireless and wired headphones, including the elimination of the standard headphone jack; a dual-lens camera that would allow for a form of true optical zooming; and even thinner dimensions.

I don’t have any inside information about the next flagship iPhone, and I don’t own any stock or have any other financial interest in Apple, or in any other company whose products I cover.

But here are seven things I’d love to see Apple do to keep moving the iPhone — and the smartphone itself — forward. Some of these items are catchups with competitors, others would be new.

First of all — and this is very tough scientifically — Apple could make a big leap in battery life. The company has long done a decent job for people who are moderate users, or who, like me, have great cell tower proximity, which keeps the phone from battery-draining tower searches. But I know too many iPhone users who are forced to recharge their phones multiple times a day or carry around bulky extra-battery cases or portable chargers. Apple even brought out such a case itself recently. Fixing battery life would be a huge win.

This might mean Apple would have to return to a slightly thicker phone, and not make the next model even thinner. But many users would take that tradeoff for a phone they could be confident would last over a long day, or even more — without a giant battery case bulge.

Secondly, and closely related, is charging. iPhones aren’t especially slow at charging, but Samsung is now faster, and there are companies working on systems that offer somewhat less battery life in exchange for ultra-quick charging that can take as little as five minutes. Plus, Apple should consider enabling wireless charging so its users can take advantage of charging pads being installed in places like Starbucks, without a special case.

Third, it’s time to banish, or seriously shrink, the large top and bottom bezels on the iPhone, and even the smaller side ones, so a large screen can be packed into a smaller phone body. Samsung did a good job with this on the S7, especially on the Edge model. The real selling point of the iPhone SE isn't the smaller screen, but the smaller body that's easier to hold. A larger screen in a smaller overall package would greatly benefit users.

IT'S TIME TO BANISH, OR SERIOUSLY SHRINK, THE TOP AND BOTTOM BEZELS

My fourth wish is for some sort of optical zoom that doesn’t require a heavy telescoping lens. The rumored dual-lens camera might provide this. Previous efforts at unobtrusive optical zooming by other phone makers haven’t been good, so Apple has a real opportunity here. The iPhone camera also needs to do better in low-light situations and to activate even more quickly — great speed is one reason Samsung’s new camera is better.

My fifth wish is for a hardier phone. What, you say, the iPhone is pretty sturdy! And its body is. But it’s never been water resistant, like Samsung phones. Its back is slippery. And its screen cracks pretty easily in common kinds of drops. That’s why the beautiful designs in Apple TV ads are rarely seen in real life because the phones are cloaked by ugly (if profitable) cases and gauzy screen protectors.

Sixth, it’s time to bundle adequate internal storage in the base model, without a price increase. Sixteen gigabytes just doesn't cut it anymore, even in a cloud-based world, and storage is cheap. The base iPhone should have 32 GB of storage, or even 64 — even if that cuts Apple’s margin a little.

Finally, as I’ve written before, Apple needs to up its game in phone software (also on the Mac, but that’s another column). Its Mail app needs to do a much better job of handling Gmail, which has a billion users, even if rival Google makes that hard. Users should be able to select their own favorite apps for core functions. Apple Maps and Siri both need much more work to be consistently reliable, and it’s time to make iMessage, which works well, cross-platform.

Your wish list may differ from mine. But I’m convinced that, for all its success, Apple needs to up its game as the premium smartphone market matures and rivals get better.

Source:theverge

The 5 best things about Apple’s new iPhone SE – and the 2 worst things

We knew practically everything there was to know heading into Monday’s big Apple event, but there were still a couple of surprises — and one of them was pretty huge. In 2015, Apple sold 30 million new iPhones that had 4-inch screens. 30 million! There are some smartphone vendors that don’t even ship 30 million total units in a year, and yet Apple’s old 4-inch iPhone models are still selling like hotcakes in many regions.

That stat alone makes the iPhone SE a bigger deal than many people thought it would be, but the phone’s appeal extends well beyond that. In fact, the new iPhone SE is a shockingly good phone, and we’ll run down the five best (and two worst) things about it right now.

Size

We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are still plenty of people who want smaller iPhones.

The lower price is certainly a draw as well, but many people simply don’t want a bigger phone. The iPhone SE fits comfortably in just about any small or average-sized hand. It’s a tried and true design, and the display is still stunning despite being so compact.

Size is also what sets the new iPhone SE apart from the rest of Apple’s lineup as well as most Android phones. Even affordable mid-range Android handsets are fairly large these days.

Power

This is key. Early rumors suggested the iPhone SE might be a somewhat minor upgrade compared to the iPhone 5s it would replace. More recent reports leading up to the event stated it would have many of the same internal components of the iPhone 6s though, and that ended up being the case.

Put plainly, the iPhone SE is far too powerful and capable a smartphone to also be so affordable. Once released, it will be the best value in the world and people no longer have an excuse to buy a mid-range Android phone.

Camera

All those internal components from the iPhone 6s also include the camera from Apple’s latest 4.7-inch smartphone. It might not be the best camera in the world, but it’s pretty darn close and it’s now available in Apple’s most affordable new smartphone ever.

Users shopping in this price range don’t have a single other option that comes anywhere close to matching the camera on the iPhone SE. Not one.

iOS

The iPhone SE has something else that other comparably priced mid-range smartphones don’t have: iOS and the surrounding app ecosystem.

I really want to ditch my iPhone and switch to the Galaxy S7, but there’s no way I can leave iOS at this point. It’s just too good. The third-party apps are better, the overall user experience is better, and now it’s all available in a surprisingly powerful but compact package at a shockingly low price point.

And about that price point…

Price

$399? That’s an incredibly low price for such a solid new phone. The base price will be a bit higher in some markets, but Apple obviously did its homework and made sure to price the new iPhone SE within reach of the customers it hopes to address.

Worst things

Nothing is perfect and there are plenty of things people will gripe about on the iPhone SE. For me, two things in particular stand out.

First, Apple took all these great new components from the iPhone 6s but it kept the old Touch ID sensor from iPhone 5s. The company built such a phenomenal overall experience with the SE, and having the lightning-fast new Touch ID scanner would have really helped to keep everything on that high level. The sensor from the iPhone 5s is still faster than some other options and Apple likely tried to cut costs here, but it won’t deliver the same great experience as the iPhone 6s.

And lastly, the design.

The iPhone 5 was a great phone in 2012, and the iPhone 5s has been doing well for the past few years since its introduction in 2013. But wouldn’t Apple have attracted even more new buyers if the SE featured a fresh new design?

Sticking with the iPhone 5’s design makes sense in some ways and it certainly helped Apple keep its R&D and production costs low, but it will definitely be disappointing to some potential customers. In fact, it might be the biggest mistake Apple make with the iPhone SE.

Source:bgr

Apple Loop: Worrying iPhone 7 Leak, Boring iPad Pro Design Revealed, Greedy iPhone SE Strategy

 Taking a look back at another week of news from Cupertino, this week’s Apple Loop includes the leaked iPhone 7 blueprints and third-party cases, Apple’s grab for cash with the iPhone SE design, a 3D-printed iPad Pro, new Apple Watch accessories, Apple vs FBI reaches for a Private Eye standard, a new man-in-the-middle iTunes malware attack, why you should not close apps, and a new ‘Messaging as a Platform’ app is released.

Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the very many discussions that have happened around Apple over the last seven days (and you can read the weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes).

iPhone 7 Blueprints Show Little Change

Although it is an even-numbered year, and the iPhone range generally gets a style refresh in these years, the iPhone 7 looks to be little more than an update to the iPhone 6 style. That’s according to blueprints leaked through French site NoWhereElse. These show the new antenna housing, the cut-outs for the camera, and a worrying trend of iteration. Gordon Kelly reports:

Despite the iPhone 7 expected to be a ‘design change year’, it appears Apple is not planning to make wholesale changes from the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S that preceded it.

Antenna bands and camera module aside, the schematics appear to show a phone which is virtually identical is style designs Apple has been selling since 2014. This is likely to come as a disappointment given Apple is set to kill the headphone jack and the hope was, as compensation for this polarizing move, customers would see Apple make dramatic design improvements.

…and The iPhone 7 Case Leaks Confirms It

As well as blueprints, the supply chain has a number of case designs leaking this week, which confirms many of the design features of the presumptively titled iPhone 7 ahead of the launch in September. Gordon Kelly continues his look at the new design and the implication for the camera and the headphone jack:

17 months ago my analysis of Apple developer rule changes concluded that Apple would ditch the headphone jack on the iPhone within the next two years. Numerous leaks have since corroborated this and Unbox’s video again backs this up.

The case not only lacks a dedicated headphone jack port, but no slot on the case can even fit the Apple headphone plug – it’s a no go. Furthermore the case backs up growing talk that it will be replaced by an all in one (music and charging) Lightning cable and dual speaker arrangement.

Apple Grabs The SE Cash

The leaks around the iPhone SE, widely expected to be launched on Monday March 21st, show a device that is almost identical to the iPhone 5S, but with upgraded internals, and one critical change on the outside. By changing the edges to reflect the curved iPhone 6 design cues – as opposed to the harder edged iPhone 5S – Apple has rendered a huge range of peripherals as obsolete:

If, as Apple and many analysts suspect, the slowdown in iPhone sales is due to customers waiting on a replacement four-inch screened iPhone, then the iPhone SE is targeted at those users. Those users will likely have a bundle of favorite accessories. If they do upgrade to Apple’s latest handset (and Apple really needs everyone to upgrade this year) , they are going to have to buy everything again. Apple (and by extension the peripheral manufacturers in the Made for iPhone program) are going to see more sales on the ancillary products.

Siri's inventor looks forward to Viv, 'a giant brain in the sky'

(Photo: Getty Images)

AUSTIN – Science and technology have always cut with double-edged swords, capable of both propelling humanity to new achievements while threatening us with potential catastrophe.

That chilling theme was explored by two leading technologists at SXSW Interactive, a festival that has seen its share of humans rising up against the machines.

While no protests were in evidence so far this year - in 2015 a group called Stop the Robots demonstrated against an automated future – there’s still time. The 30th edition of SXSW is rife with provocative sessions such as Can AI Systems Really Think? and Androids and Future Life.

In separate talks, the promise and pitfalls of bothDNA sequencing and artificial intelligence were laid out by quantum physicist turned human genome expert Riccardo Sabatini, and telcom veteran turned entrepreneur Dag Kittlaus, who developed the virtual personal assistant Siri and sold it to a persistent Steve Jobs in 2010.

“It is important to prevent the bad side,” Kittlaus, 49, said during his cheerfully titled talk, Will AI Augment or Destroy Humanity? “It’s a good idea to keep an eye on this.”

When the moderator, tech author Steven Levy, asked Kittlaus if in fact supercomputers might not take over for entrepreneurs, using their digital brains to create things faster than humans, Kittlaus nodded.

“Yes, it will happen,” he said. “It’s just a matter of when.”

Kittlaus, it can be argued, is hastening the arrival of that day. Later this year, he will unveil Viv, an open source and cloud-based personal assistant that will allow humans “to talk to the Internet” and have the Internet talk back.

“The more you ask of Viv, the more it will get to know you,” he said. “Siri was chapter one, and now it’s almost like a new Internet age is coming. Viv will be a giant brain in the sky.”

Kittlaus said Viv would differ from Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Echo by being able to make mental leaps.

For example, asking Viv “What’s the weather near the Super Bowl” would cause it to “write its own program to find the answer, one that first determines where the Super Bowl is, and then what the weather will be in that city,” he said.

Levy laughed. “So,” he said, “if I stumble out of a bar and just say ‘I’m drunk,’ will it call me an Uber?”

Kittlaus smiled. “It might, or it might order you another drink."

PRIVACY ISSUES LOOM FOR SMART MACHINES

Such levity aside, privacy and security issues pop to mind when considering a cloud-based system that’s gobbling up data to create a digitized picture of our lives.

Apple’s current battle with the FBI over providing code to crack open a killer’s iPhone is one matter; granting access to a thinking machine that is privy to a person’s smallest details would be quite another.

Pepper the robot looks on during a session about smart future tech at SXSW. (Photo: Rick Jervis, USA TODAY)

Kittlaus’ answer to a question about secure data was less than convincing: “It will be up to you to tell it what you want to tell it.”

The issue of machine learning outgunning human brainpower currently is on bold display in South Korea, where an AI machine called AlphaGo is thrashing a champion Go player Lee Se-dol. AlphaGo is a program created by DeepMind, a British company that was bought by Google two years ago.

Ironically, Kittlaus is working on a novel that features dangerous AI.

“It’s a Siri out of control scenario,” he explained with a smile as the packed room laughed. “The machine seems to be right all the time in its predictions, so the question becomes, how do you trust that machine when you don’t know how it’s making its decisions.”

THE DILEMMA OF CREATING SUPERBABIES

On the topic of DNA sequencing, humans will have to bear the responsibility of ethically handling the coming leaps, said Sabatini, 34, a researcher who captivated TED 2016 last month with a lecture that found him hauling 175 thick books on stage – the full genetic make-up of DNA-sequencing pioneer J. Craig Venter. Sabatini works for Venter's company, Human Longevity Inc.

“We should as a species get informed, because this is a controversial topic,” said the Italian scientist. “We need to come to an ethical understanding, or we might get to an unhealthy story.”

DNA sequencing pioneer J. Craig Venter, left, shown here with Nobel Laureate Hamilton Smith. (Photo: JCVI)

Sabatini said that as we understand more about our genetic makeup – of which “only about 1% is clear to us” – there will be the opportunity not only to check for potential diseases before they ravage the body, but also to genetically modify a future human to have more appealing traits. Call it man-made Darwinism.

Specifically, Sabatini said that it is possible based on current genetic sequencing to see what lines of our human code correspond to not just physical features, but also to so-called superpowers that include the ability to sleep just three hours the night and see well in the dark.

Obama Backs iPhone Searches, But Not ‘Willy-Nilly’

President Barack Obama speaks at the opening Keynote during the 2016 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival at Long Center on March 11, 2016 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for SXSW)

President Barack Obama believes law enforcement officials should be able to force Apple to unlock iPhones when investigating certain criminal cases, but he cautioned against “willy-nilly” searches of mobile devices.

Obama’s comments were among his most substantive on the ongoing debate about Apple’s dispute with the Justice Department, which wants the technology behemoth to unlock an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. His administration has been trying to help bring about a resolution, but so far as failed to do so.

The White House has tried to avoid weighing in on the specifics of the case, but Obama’s comments Friday at the South By Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, make clear he believes Apple has a responsibility to unlock the device. 

"If [law enforcement officials] can't get in,” he said of iPhones, “then everyone is walking around with a Swiss bank account in their pocket."

The president warned against “fetishizing our phones above every other value,” saying “that can't be the right answer."

Notably, Obama said he comes down "way on the civil liberties side" of the debate, meaning he agrees with those who believe the data on iPhones should be protected at all costs.

But, saying his role as president means he has to turn over every possible leaf to keep Americans safe, he argued “there has to be some concessions" that allow the federal government to gain access to iPhones in the case of some criminal cases.

Still, Obama said he is intent on ensuring the federal government cannot simply go looking "willy-nilly" inside individuals’ iPhones "without oversight or probable cause.”

Though some might criticize Obama for making arguments on both sides of the debate, he contended Friday that “you cannot take an absolutist view on this.”

Source: Roll Call Newsparer

iPhone 7 Design 'Confirmed' In First Leaked Images

Today we get our first look at the iPhone 7 and, alongside arguably the most controversial design change in Smartphone history, potential owners are in for a shock…

French site NoWhereElse (home to prolific leaker OnLeaks) has obtained the first iPhone 7 schematics and they reveal Apple AAPL +1.05% plans to change – well, not a lot. Nevertheless the schematics, which OnLeaks (aka Steve Hemmerstoffer) ‏states are ‘confirmed’ give us 3 key revelations:

1.Goodbye Antenna Bands

It has long been rumoured that Apple has created a breakthrough ‘smart’ material that would enable it to finally kill off the unsightly antenna stripes on the iPhone range. The stripes are cut into the handsets’ aluminium chassis to stop it killing signal strength and, right on cue, NoWhereElse’s schematics show they have gone, which creates a much cleaner overall look.

iPhone 7 schematics show important changes, but do not have a Wow Factor. Image credit: NoWhereElse.fr

That said, antenna bands are expected to remain on the top and bottom edges of the iPhone 7 – something the technical drawings don’t reveal.

2.Upgraded Camera

It should be no surprise that the iPhone 7 will sport an upgraded camera – every new iPhone does – but the NoWhereElse schematics show something that Apple hasn’t done in several years: make the module bigger.

 

The track record of NoWhereElse’s schematics drawings is unparalleled. Even if there’s irony in the images being taken on a computer running Windows. Image credit: NoWhereElse.fr

3.Thinner Design

While the dimensions are not shown in the leak, Hemmerstoffer says iPhone 7 schematics are marginally thinner than the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus – models which were actually fractionally thicker than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Ever thinner smartphones have started to irritate customers who’d rather manufacturers focused on practicalities like bigger batteries. Samsung finally accommodated this with the superb Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge so, if Apple does not do the same, it could prove a controversial move.

Of course the biggest talking point with the leaked schematics though is clear to everyone…

Source: Forbes