The iPhone 7 has been out since last Friday, and so far it has been both praised and criticised. Despite wanting to buy a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 due to the boredom that I am finding in the iPhone, I played it safe due to the battery issues and bought an iPhone 7. Five days into having the device, this is a regretful decision.

I had an iPhone 6 Plus before getting the iPhone 7, and I began to experience problems with the device. The iSight camera had a faulty part which was recalled and repaired by Apple, prior to the repair the camera wouldn't focus in low light and had very wavy and blurry photos. After the repair, it would flicker and jump occasionally, making stable video very difficult to achieve. The FaceTime camera stopped working all together, the battery life was not performing to suit my needs anymore and the screen was beginning to exhibit symptoms of touch disease; there were lines going down half of the screen occasionally and many times the touch screen would be unresponsive and I would need to lock and unlock the phone to regain touch ability.

Ok so first of all, because of the problems with my iPhone 6 Plus, I was not willing to wait two months for a new phone, so I went for an easy upgrade option and got the iPhone 7 (there was also a delay on the 7 Plus which was my next pick after the Note 7). However, I should've gone for the Galaxy S7 or S7 Edge.

The battery life on the iPhone 7 was promised to be longer than the 6S and be sufficient for the day. So far, my battery life is horrible. I woke up at 9am and by 5PM my battery was on 30% with moderate usage and a bit of music play. Before battery problems surfaced on my 6 Plus, the same usage would've seen a battery percentage of around 60-65% at this point in the day. I understand the the 6 Plus has 1000 mah more than the iPhone 7, however, Apple's promise for longer and sufficient battery life has not been delivered here. Regardless of a phones features, battery life is one of the most important factors for many consumers and I would say that it is the biggest let down of the phone.

One thing to keep in mind with battery life, is that I have disabled Auto Brightness and Background App Refresh, My brightness is on approximately 40%, and I keep my bluetooth off unless I am using my Apple Watch, which I only use when I leave the house.

The camera has been quite clear, and after having a dysfunctional camera I have been happy with the camera. Zoomed photos look quite good on the iPhone 7, they are still a tad unclear when very zoomed but are much clearer than previous iPhone cameras. I did, however, disable Live Photos. I found them to be quite annoying and a waste of time and valuable space so I decided to kill them within 3 hours of taking the phone out of the box.

The performance has seemed quite good so far, I am noticing a difference in speed with everything that I am doing all the time. But given the battery life, it doesn't really seem like much of a big deal.

At first, I thought I wouldn't care about the removal of the headphone jack. However, while I was driving, my music wasn't as loud as it could've been and I wanted to plug in my Aux. I didn't have my adaptor with me from the box (lightning to 3.5mm jack adaptor), so this was not an option​. The stereo speakers have been quite impressive, they sounds quite nice. I'm disappointed at the absence of a carry case for the new ear pods, as I believe that this was the reason that my iPhone 5 ear pods are still in brand new condition (and yes, I gave my brand new ear pods from my iPhone 6 Plus to my cousin when I gave him my iPhone 5). So I have not taken the new ear pods out of the box, and I also have no intentions of buying the over priced and easy to lose air pods, which will probably drain my battery even further.

Reviewing more features of the iPhone 7 will need to come after more usage, but so far I am quite disappointed by the poor battery life. I feel that this could be a reasonable phone if the battery life was sufficient for daily use without needing a charging boost. I stand by my regrets of getting an iPhone 7 and say to those who are in two mindsets, if battery life is a concern for you, the iPhone 7 is not for you.

Do you have an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus? Are you thinking of getting one? Do you dislike it? I'd like to know what you think, leave a comment below and let's see everyones opinions roll in.

It has been a while since my last post so I thought i'd ease back into it by talking about my first impressions of iOS 10. Although I watched WWDC in the midst of my exams, I haven't physically installed/used iOS 10 until two days ago.

When I watched WWDC, I wasn't very impressed at all. Anybody who knows me knows that I am the typical Apple Fanboy, all of my devices are Apple devices, anytime somebody asks me for advice on technology I redirect them to an Apple product of some sort, and I have been known to have good Apple v Samsung arguments with other people.

However, I do believe that Apple has lost their touch. The iPhone 6S is a perfect example of this. What was NEW in the iPhone 6S? We're not including software features which were also made available to other devices via an iOS 9 update, but unique iPhone 6S ONLY features. Merely just Force Touch, Live Photos, and Optical Image Stabilisation on the iPhone 6S Plus. The remainder of "new" features are just the standard hardware upgrades. Compare the iPhone 6S/6S Plus to the iPhone 6/6 Plus on Apple's website, and there is hardly anything to compare because 90% of the specifications are IDENTICAL.

So this is precisely what I am talking about when I say that Apple has lost their touch, there is no more "wow factor" as I call it, nothing makes me feel obliged to go and buy it without asking any questions anymore. The iPhone 5 was the last iPhone which had this effect on me. The iPhone 5S onward have been disappointing on all levels.

On August 23, I finally decided to buy a new computer. As an Apple enthusiast, I limited my choices to Macs only, and I chose the base model 11" MacBook Air.

SPECS (MD711X/A):
1.3 GHz Dual Core i5 (haswell) turbo boost to 2.6 GHz
4 GB RAM
128 GB flash storage
Intel Graphics 5000
etc, i'll assume most of you will know the rest.

Let me start by saying that the first boot was quite fast. In less than 10 seconds I was at the setup screen, and within 2 mins it was ready to go. Especially being a base model, it is important to remember that there are better configurations available. 

The speed of the computer is phenomenal! There is no lag, and it just runs so smoothly with everything I do. I use it very often when I bother to charge it, and i've only charged it 3 times since I got it. Apple advertised that you will get up to 9 hours of battery, however, i'm pleased to say that I have been getting an average of 13-14 hours usage. 

The battery performance is phenomenal! Additionally, I have using it at school, and the 11" is ultraportable! Easy to carry around, very efficient and such a breeze to have. I've installed iWork and I must say that everything I need is on there. It's just such a breeze to use, and has no issues at all. This is where I feel sorry for windows users; we sometimes forget that their computers do nothing but lag and cause issues, and this is where i'm also very proud to be a Mac user! Of my 2 macs, i've never had any problems, and with windows, all I had was Problems.

The trackpad is a great size for the gestures, and is not annoying in any sense. It's actually quite fun to use, and even though i've been using an Apple Magic Mouse with my iMac for more than 2 years, I still can't get over the magic trackpad! The keyboard is a full size and the backlight makes it so much easier to type in low light conditions. Yes, I can type without looking at the keyboard, however, it does help to see the keyboard sometimes. 

The 11" model may be small, but don't underestimate its might! For a base model laptop, I must say that I am impressed! The flash storage is so conveniently fast, and I must say that boot times are so much faster than my iMac (it sucks to have a HDD over a SSD). iCloud, as always, makes things a breeze, and I must say that just in general the MacBook Air is the ultimate computer.

Being powerful, reliable, ultraportable, thin, light, responsive, secure and much more including long lasting (in context of the battery), I think it's safe to say that you can once again dispose of your windows junk and know that the MacBook Air is indeed more than what it seems to be. Looks can be deceiving, and although it's so small, thin and light, there's more inside than meets the eye (and you'd think there's a compromise for the ultra light laptop, but no, the MacBook Air does not fail to impress). 

Today's poll question:
Would you buy a MacBook Air (mid-2013 Haswell)?

Yes, my blog is very delayed, however, I have been quite busy with exams and school, so I have been silenced from the public eye once again. However, i'm back, and i'm ready to ridicule the internet with my opinions.

During WWDC, Apple unveiled iOS 7, and as rumours suggested, it was flat and completely simplified. 

My first impression was that the new design was simply gorgeous, and that the fresh look brings some major excitement to iOS. I also felt that the control centre was a great addition.

As beautiful as the new design is, the animations and some gorgeous components/looks that I love from previous iOS versions are sadly assassinated. The new, flat design, which still looks stunning, exemplifies the hate I would usually have for a replacement that takes away my favourite look. The parallax on the springboard (home screen) adds an incredible look to the background behind your apps, and I really admire this new 3D achievement that has defeated my 3D pros from previous versions of iOS.

I perceive the control centre as the better version of SBSettings that jailbreakers everywhere have been waiting for. As much as Apple despises jailbreaking, it is quite essential that it exists and is so widely used, as many popular tweaks have quickly called iOS home after being added by Apple. 

Airdrop is a handy feature to have on the Mac, so i'm actually really excited to be able to use it on my iPhone! Sending pictures, etc by MMS/iMessage/Facebook, etc will become a thing of the past as we just select share>airdrop and let the iPhone do the rest!

You're probably bored of me babbling on about iOS 7 almost a month after the release, so i'll keep this one short and sweet. Overall, iOS 7 has my tick of approval (which is very hard to obtain), and I will definitely be looking forward to the Sept-Nov period in which iOS 7 will be released!

And now I ask, do you like the overall design of iOS 7? Please vote on the poll below and leave a comment in the comments section; i'd love to hear from all of you!

~Macs1mus~

With just 2 days remaining until Apple's annual World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC), the excitement and tension is building, and another clue has been spotted! A report from Redmond Pie suggests that a banner with the number "7" on it has been spotted at the venue chosen by Apple for WWDC. 
Click here to view the report.

Could this mean that iOS 7 is definite? In addition, the logo design is quite different to the theme of iOS release logo's, so this could mean that iOS is getting a revamp! Only time will tell if this is true, but in 2 days, we shall find out!

What are your thoughts on this? Please leave a comment below with your thoughts; we'd love to hear from you!

~Macs1mus~

With 3 days remaining until Apple's annual World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC), rumours about new product releases are continuing to run rampant. Although I have no new ideas for rumours at this stage, I would live to hear some rumours that you guys have heard.

Please leave them in the comments section below.

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL WWDC! I CAN FEEL A NEW PRODUCT COMING WITH A KILLER FEATURE! AND A KILLER, BRAND NEW iOS 7!

~Macs1mus~

WWDC 2013 is fast approaching and we're all eager to see what Apple has up their sleeves this year to once again dazzle the public.
It's highly likely that iOS 7 and the next version of OS X (10.9) will be unveiled, and rampant rumours suggest that a new product, such as the next generation iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad will be unveiled.
However, with just 11 days remaining until WWDC, and time for rumours running out as the event lurks around the corner, the rumours are becoming more and more ridiculous and unrealistic. 

Rumours suggesting a low-cost plastic iPhone, and even a wrap around display on the next iPhone, and some even suggest that the next generation iPhone will feature a fingerprint scanner, which is being described as the next "killer feature".

Have you heard any rumours? Do you think you know what's in store for us at WWDC, or what will be in iOS 7, OS X 10.9 or any new devices that may be released? If so, please leave a comment to share your thoughts with the world.
~Macs1mus~