New Amazon products announced!

Amazon announced a bunch of new stuff in Seattle today, from services to updated hardware to whole new products!

Let’s get started with the thing that most people have a hard time with – privacy. Amazon is (today) rolling out “home mode” which allows customers to control audio and video recordings, limiting them when you’re around. You can now say “Alexa, tell me what you heard” or “tell me why you did that” and your speaker will respond, telling you the information it retained, as well as the fact that voice recordings will now also automatically delete after some time.

Next up we have the announcement that you can soon pay for the ability to have celebrity voices on your Alexa products, which is half awesome, half creepy.

 
We have a brand spanking new Echo Dot WITH CLOCK which is… an Echo Dot, with a clock built in to the display and we also have an updated Echo speaker for $99.99. It will pre-order today with a simple cloth-wrapped design, and improved speaker hardware.

Echo Studio is new, with left, right and top mid-range speakers that create directional sound, a directional tweeter for great, high end performance and a built-in 5.25-inch bass driver coupled with a bass port. This is available today for pre-order from $199.99.

Echo Show 8 is 8 – inches in size, with a larger square screen than the Echo Show 5.  You can pre-order it today and it’s $129.

Echo Glow is a $29.99 smart lamp,  Echo Flex is a small speaker that plugs directly in your wall for $24.99, and Echo Buds are an AirPod competitor with 5 hours of battery life or up to 20 hours with the included charging case for $129 ( pre order today).

So here’s to some of the further left field stuff –  Echo Frames, glasses with Alexa. You read that right. Frames brings Alexa and directional microphones to your eyes and ears, they are available with prescriptions if needed. and cost $180.

We also have a Smart Oven.  For $249.99, you can have full Alexa integration in your oven AND it ships with an Echo Dot.

Echo Loop – this is a titanium ring that has two built-in microphones, which offers built-in notifications and Alexa right on your finger. The titanium frame houses everything which includes a built-in vibrating motor for haptic feedback. Echo Loop will sell for $129.99 as a beta product with the required invite to purchase.

The Eero home wifi system got shown off, as did new Ring products, including the Ring Retrofit Alarm Kit which adds Ring into your home’s existing security system starting at $199.99. The new Stick Up Cam, for $99.99,  offers 1080p video, motion detection, and upgraded night vision.

Seems like Amazon wants your whole house to be called Alexa, but as long as it’s Brad Pit’s voice, is that bad at all?

Lines & Crowds for the release of Apple’s new hardware!

Did you line up to get a new iPhone today? Or to check out the Apple Watch Series 5 in the new Apple Watch Studio?

You weren’t alone, although it would be weird and very unsettling if you had been, right?

Lots of people were interested on getting their hands on Apple’s new hardware, and were rewarded for waiting with the very thing they wanted AS WELL AS snacks and water. FOR FREE YOU GUYS.

Check out some pics taken today at the San Francisco, Union Square Apple Store.

Let us know how you did today if you were in line, or if you didn’t have to wait!

Deal of the Day!

So it’s almost the weekend. Close enough you can feel it, but still too far away to feel it feel it, right?

This might bring some of those feels a little closer, especially if you like shopping, reading, and you’re planning on curling up with a good book this Saturday morning!

Right now you can get an all new Fire 7 Tablet (7″ display, 16 GB) in a choice of 4 colors for just $29.99 from Amazon, with FREE One-Day if you have Prime.

This is a great deal, with a deep discount of $20.00.

Get it now!!

Rumors are swirling that we’ll see a new iPad Pro before 2020

And when we say before 2020 we mean, right around the corner, because time is terrifying.

This Fall, (likely October) a lot of people are expecting the release of a new iPad Pro model, with some speculating that it will have the triple-camera system that we’ve seen on the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The existing iPad Pro models use a single-lens camera system similar to the 2018 iPhone XR.

On another note, if you want an iPad right now,  Amazon has a deal on the 2018 Apple iPad Wi-Fi and cellular tablet with 32GB storage. Usually $459,  it’s now discounted to $379. You can also choose the 128GB variant for $510 instead of its usual $559. Check it out here. 

Apple lowers price on some iPad Pro models

Good news iPad lovers!

Apple has dropped the price of their 11 and 12.9-inch 1TB iPad Pro models by $200!

The 1TB 11-inch iPad Pro now starts at $1,349, and the 1TB 12.9-inch iPad Pro now starts at $1,549.

However, the cost of the 64, 256, and 512GB iPad Pro storage tiers has not changed.

Keep in mind, there are some who believe that we we still see a new iPad Pro model before the year is out, possibly with the triple lens camera that we saw yesterday at the launch of the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

Is it iPad Pro time?

The new iPhones are coming soon!

Like, mere weeks away kind of soon!

We’re looking at the launch of 3 new iPhone models from Apple, and we could see a rainbow of updates. Namely, lavender, green and dark green shades in at least one of the new models.

All three will reportedly have frosted glass casing, and – perhaps- no ‘iPhone’ branding on the rear casing. The word ‘Pro’ could also be added to the iPhone name.

The displays will be slightly thinner if 3D touch is no longer a feature, and they will all likely have triple-lens rear cameras, and will still be available in 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB storage capacities.

It’s expected that Apple will announce the 2019 iPhones on the morning of Tuesday Sept. 10th with the devices available for preorder Sept. 13th and going on sale Sept. 20th.

New Trailer for ‘Morning Show’ from Apple

Here’s a new, short teaser trailer for Apple’s upcoming drama “The Morning Show” starring heavy hitters Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell.

We can look forward to possibly seeing the characters faces in the Fall on Apple TV+, which will be available on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and select smart TVs from brands like Samsung.

Apple expanding Student ID program

Students at 12 more universities can add their student IDs to the Wallet app in the coming school year, allowing them to get around campus and make purchases using their iPhone or Apple Watch.

These universities are (drumroll please): Clemson University, Georgetown University, University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, University of San Francisco, University of Vermont, Arkansas State University, South Dakota State University, Norfolk State University, Louisburg College, University of North Alabama, and Chowan University.

Universities that already allow for contactless student ID’s are: Duke University, University of Oklahoma, University of Alabama, Temple University, Johns Hopkins University, Marshall University, and Mercer University.

Students also have the additional building entry option of express mode which lets them bypass the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode.

Will we see a foldable Apple device?

There are pretty consistent rumors that Apple will launch a foldable device within the next two years, and the most recent come from analysts at investment bank UBS predict.

In a research note obtained by CNBC, the analysts said the device is more likely to be an iPad than an iPhone, and they also believe it is more likely to launch in 2021 than 2020.

The most recent ( and only) foldable device is of course Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, which had some serious issues that led the device to be postponed for several months.

Apple is notorious for making things are pretty close to perfect before launching, so perhaps 2021 is a relatively safe bet – if that’s what Apple is interested in bringing to a product. Which they might be – they have filed several patents for a folding iPhone.

Only time can tell!

Two changes iOS 13 will bring to the table

The upcoming iOS 13 will have a bunch of super sweet features, and here’s a couple of interesting ones.

Namely, a “Silence Unknown Callers” feature, which silences incoming phone calls from numbers that are not in your contacts list. Oh hey you spammy spammerson, how bout you do a little bit of shush?

So what does ‘Silenced’ specifically mean? These calls will be sent straight to voicemail without the phone ringing at all, and without the caller knowing. They will simply hear the standard number of rings before voicemail picks up, and they’re given a chance to leave a message.

Does this interest you? When you get IOS 13, go to the Settings app, select the Phone section, scroll down to “Call Silencing and Blocked Contacts” and toggle the Silence Unknown Callers option to the on position.

Another new feature to know about is a change in the iOS that will limit data collection practices.

Apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp allow users to make calls over the internet, and to listen for those calls, the apps run in the background of an iPhone or iPad so that calls can connect quickly. Whilst doing so, the apps are also able to collect data.

But in iOS 13, background access for apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp will be restricted solely to internet calls going forward, with no background data collection available.

iOS 13 will be available for free in the Fall.