Three years ago, after an argument at a bar with some fellow artificial intelligence researchers, Ph.D student Ian Goodfellow cobbled together a new way for AI to think about creating images. The idea was simple: one algorithm tries to generate a realistic image of an object or a scene, while another algorithm tries to decide whether that image is real or fake.
The two algorithms are adversaries—each trying to beat the other in the interest of creating the final best image—and this technique, now called “generative adversarial networks” (GANs) has quickly become a cornerstone of AI research.
The term GAN is worth remembering. It is one of the new shinys in AI research.
But more importantly, jump to the article and scan through the images, watch the embedded video. The generated images are remarkably good. I cannot tell the difference between generated images and real ones.
This is fascinating and scary, all rolled into one.
Too much to excerpt the whole thing, but here’s a bit on Face ID:
Going in to this review, my threshold for “success” was whether Face ID worked as well or better than first-generation Touch ID. I didn’t expect it to nail the speed of the second-gen sensor, which is incredibly fast. As long as it landed between the two I would be happy.
Face ID works really well. First, it’s incredibly easy to set up. You choose to enable it and then rotate your nose around the points of a clock twice. That’s it. Second, it worked the vast majority of times I tried it, it never once unlocked using a picture of myself or another person’s face and the failure rate seemed to be about the same as Touch ID — aka almost never. As hoped, it’s definitely faster than the first generation of Touch ID, though perhaps slightly slower than the second gen.
The “slightly slower than second gen” comment is interesting. I wonder if that will improve as users develop the swipe up timing muscle memory. Certainly, the timing should improve with next generation processors.
I experience failure with Touch ID at least once a day or so, almost always due to sweaty fingers from a workout or, perhaps, dirt of some kind on my fingers. Face ID eliminates that issue (my only complaint about Touch ID).
At several points, the unlock procedure worked so well in pitch black or at weird angles that I laughed out loud. You get over the amazement pretty quickly, but it feels wild the first few dozen times you do it.
So important. Really glad to read these reviews, hear the positives on Face ID in the wild.
Apple has detailed an upcoming feature included in the new iOS 11.2 developer beta called SiriKit for HomePod. When HomePod launches in December, SiriKit for HomePod will allow developers to use the smart speaker as an access point to sending commands to their apps on iPhone and iPad.
No way to test this yet, as far as I know. Will Apple ship a HomePod simulator for Xcode before the HomePod itself ships?
This is the fate of the iPhone 8. It will be ignored by many of Apple’s most committed followers, who see it as a speed bump on the road to the release of the iPhone X in early November.
The iPhone X is stealing the iPhone 8 thunder, no doubt. But there’s a lot to appreciate here, especially if you have an older phone:
Instead, it will soldier on, doing its job as the latest iteration of the existing iPhone line, providing a substantial upgrade to people who haven’t bought an iPhone in two or three years and aren’t interested in paying $999 for the very first generation of a new iPhone, if they could even find one in stores. These people are ready for a better version of their existing phone, and the iPhone 8 will deliver that to them.
If you are considering an update, but stuck on the fence between an iPhone 8 and iPhone X, spend some time digging through Jason’s detailed iPhone 8 review. It just might change your thinking.
I’ve had my iPhone X from Apple for less than a day, so it would be irresponsible of me to call this a review—instead I’ll give you my first impressions of a few of the main features, and then follow-up with more details later this week or next.
The “Notch”
Let’s get this out of the way right now. There will be so much written about the notch at the top of the iPhone X, we’ll all be sick of it. I said from the time I attended the iPhone launch event that the notch didn’t really bother me—it still doesn’t.
If you focus on the notch, then sure, you will see and it could even bother you. However, I focus on what’s on the screen, not on the notch. Perhaps that’s why it doesn’t bother me—I don’t really know it’s there.
It’s not like the notch is in the way of what you’re trying to do on the iPhone. It’s not stuck in the middle of the display, so for me, it doesn’t factor into my usage of the device.
We could talk all day about the aesthetics of the notch, but if it’s not in the way of what I’m trying to accomplish on my device, then it doesn’t matter to me.
iPhone
I think what surprised me the most about the iPhone X when I took it out of the box is that I thought the physical design would be bigger. I guess I didn’t spend much time comparing it with the iPhone 8 Plus during the launch event.
However, when you turn it on, the iPhone X is all screen. It doesn’t have the big top and bottom of the iPhone Plus models—it’s just screen. It’s beautiful.
The iPhone 8 has a 4.7-inch screen; the iPhone 8 Plus a 5.5-inch screen and the iPhone X a 5.8-inch screen.
The display
Wow, this display. A 5.8‑inch Super Retina OLED screen that is truly incredible.
The iPhone X display is a true High Dynamic Range (HDR) display, so you can watch Dolby Vision movies and view HDR photos, all in the way they were meant to be seen. This iPhone, which may be similar to an iPhone 12 Refurbished, also features True Tone, which subtly adjusts the screens display to match the surrounding ambient light, even as you change rooms. I’m a big fan of True Tone on my iPad and have raved about this technology in the past.
For everyday use, the screen is brilliant in every app that I used it with. The OLED panel actually folds underneath the edges of the phone and Apple uses what it calls subpixel anti-aliasing to make sure the edges are smooth, and everything you view is at its best.
Face ID
This is the feature I was waiting to see. Face ID is the future for Apple and with the previous success of Touch ID, Face ID had a lot to live up to. We have used our fingerprints to login to our iPhone and authorize apps for years—it just worked. Anything less than that would be a huge step backward for Apple and us as consumers.
Well, I have good news—it works. Really well.
Face ID is really easy to set up. In fact, it’s quicker than setting up Touch ID on previous iPhones. When you first start up your iPhone X, it will prompt you to point the camera at your face and roll your head in a circle. You do that a second time and it’s done.
Face ID worked more than 99 percent of the time for me. I can’t really figure out why it didn’t work those few times, but once I tried again on those occasions, it unlocked right away. I have the iPhone X set to require my attention, so if it notices I’m not looking at the phone, it won’t unlock. Perhaps I wasn’t looking at the iPhone when I was unlocking it, I’m not sure.
When you raise the iPhone up to your face, you can start to swipe up on the bottom of the screen at the same time—eventually, you’ll get the timing right and it just unlocks and goes to your homepage. It’s pretty quick.
I also wear reading glass now, but I didn’t use them when I setup Face ID. However, I often wear them when using my iPhone or my computer, but that didn’t seem to fool Face ID.
I tried using Face ID in the dark as well—it worked really well. This was actually one of my main concerns for Face ID because we are often in low-light or dark conditions, whether we’re at home or out on the town for a night.
For me, Face ID has to work everywhere I am and so far it’s working just fine.
According to Apple, the probability that someone else could unlock your iPhone with Face ID is 1 in 1,000,000. Of course, that changes with twins, siblings that look the same, and children under 13 because their features are not fully developed. If you are in this situation, you can always use a passcode.
Face ID can’t be fooled by pictures because it uses depth information when it analyzes your face. It also can’t be fooled by masks because it uses an anti-spoofing neural network. In case you are wondering, your Face ID data is encrypted and stored on your device in the Secure Enclave. It never leaves your device and is not backed up to iCloud or anywhere else.
Apple is also making it very easy for you to use your existing apps that utilize Touch ID. When you open an app, a banking app for example, it will ask you if you want to use Touch ID; I said yes and the iPhone activated Face ID in its place. Perfect. I didn’t think they could do that, but it makes the entire experience much better.
1Password told me it was designed to support Touch ID, but that I could allow it to use Face ID. I did.
Apps will all need to be updated in the coming weeks and months to use Face ID by default on the iPhone X instead of Touch ID.
You can also enable Attention Aware features with Face ID. With this enabled, the iPhone will not dim the screen if it knows you are looking at the screen. It will also not lower the volume of an alarm until you look at the phone and it knows it has your attention.
Face ID is important, but the TrueDepth camera that it uses also allowed me to have some fun with Apple’s new Animoji feature in Messages. It tracks 50 different facial muscle movements in your face, allowing you to post some fun stuff to a friend.
Once posted, you can save the Animoji as a movie, or you can also send it as a sticker by dragging it onto a message. I spent far too much time playing with this today, but I had fun doing it.
Gestures
When you first start using the iPhone X, you will no doubt automatically reach for the Home button without thinking. I did it many times in the first couple of hours, but it didn’t take that long to realize that there is no button anymore.
In fact, Apple has a series of gestures and button combinations that allow you to do all of the same things on the iPhone X that you did on previous models.
For instance, to open the iPhone X, hold the iPhone up and Face ID will unlock it. At the same time you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen and you will go to your home screen.
You can press and hold the side button to activate Siri.
From any screen of apps on the iPhone, swipe up from the bottom and it will take you to the first home screen.
From inside any app swipe up and pause to go to the multitasking window. From here you can choose another app or if you press and hold an app, a minus sign will show on the top corner of the apps, allowing you to close them. You can also swipe up to close apps.
Swipe down from the top right corner to get to Control Center.
Swipe down from the top left to get to Notification Center.
More to come
There is a lot more to talk about that I haven’t had a chance to try out yet, including the cameras. I’ll continue using the iPhone X and post another article when I’m done.
I will say this about the iPhone X. It’s lived up to the hype so far. Face ID is absolutely brilliant and worked in as many situations as I could put it in; The new gestures allow you to do everything you need to on an iPhone; I love the display; and the notch is no big deal.
Sothebys: >While not known to be a car enthusiast per se, Steve Jobs did have a penchant for German automobiles and design, owning BMW motorcycles, as well as Mercedes-Benz SLs. According to legend, Jobs was convinced to buy the Z8 by Larry Ellison the iconoclastic CEO of Oracle, who enthused to Jobs that the car was a paragon of modern automotive engineering and ergonomics, reflective of Steve’s own products and psyche. > >The car comes with a plethora of important accessories, including its proper hardtop and hardtop stand, car cover, owner’s and service manuals, service records, two keys, navigation CDs, and – most significantly, its original BMW-branded Motorola flip-phone. Interestingly enough, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Jobs was known to have hated the Motorola phone.
Are you one of the lucky few that got an iPhone X in the first shipment due to be delivered this Friday, November 3? If so, your shipping information is available. Widely reported this morning by various iPhone and Apple fan forums, you can get your tracking number right now even if Apple hasn’t sent it to you yet.
It didn’t work for me here in Canada. Maybe you’ll have better luck.
I’ve had this phone since last Tuesday. Apple had given me this early peek in part because I was one of the first pre-release reviewers of the original iPhone. Given that history, we all thought it would be interesting to get my impressions of what the company clearly believes is the next milestone in a journey that has pretty much altered our relationship with technology. Sure, with every single iteration of the iPhone, Apple has claimed that it’s the best one the company has ever made. But for this anniversary edition—coming at a time when critics are griping that the company had tumbled into an innovation trough— they’re pushing for something higher. Tim Cook calls the iPhone X “the future of the smartphone.”
This is a great read, all the way through. I love the open, with Steven choosing what feature to show people who see his phone, ask what it can do. Lovely writing, makes me want an iPhone X, which is exactly what this pitch is supposed to accomplish.
Remember, as cool as the original iPhone was, it didn’t really begin changing the world until Apple let third-party software developers take advantage of its innards—stuff like the camera, GPS, and other sensors. Maybe something similar, albeit not on such a grand scale, will happen with the iPhone X. Those who shell out the cash for this device will enjoy their screen and battery life today. But the real payoff of the iPhone X might come when we figure out what it can do tomorrow.
I see the iPhone X as the very beginning of a brand new product line. I think the payoff will come as those future iPhones X evolve.
There’s this photo of my kids in the bath that, well, I’d rather not tell you about. I mean, it’s incredibly cute and I’d love to show it to you, but I’m also a private person, so it wouldn’t be right to go into details. But I will say this: though it’s one of my favorite possessions, this picture doesn’t physically exist.
And:
As precious as this image is, I don’t have it stored on a flash drive attached to my keychain, or in some other ultra-safe place. Instead, it’s housed on a server in some unknown probably dank and sunless location. That’s no casual decision. I’ve put considerable time and thought into how I store my photos in general, as well as how I back up my information overall. Despite all the bottomless storage features offered by tech giants like Google and Amazon, I default to keeping my most valuable data with Apple. Why I chose this matters, so let’s talk about it.
Spot on. Apple’s commitment to privacy is a critical discriminator. Not only for the reasons spelled out in this Time article, but as a foundation for protecting things like information flow between doctors and patients. Good read.
Earlier this year, vascular surgeon John Martin was testing a pocket-sized ultrasound device developed by Butterfly Network, a startup based in Guilford, Connecticut, that he’d just joined as chief medical officer.
He’d been having an uncomfortable feeling of thickness on his throat. So he oozed out some gel and ran the probe, which is the size and shape of an electric razor, along his neck.
On his smartphone, to which the device is connected, black-and gray images quickly appeared. Martin is not a cancer specialist. But he knew that the dark, three-centimeter mass he saw did not belong there. “I was enough of a doctor to know I was in trouble,” he says. It was squamous-cell cancer.
How many stories have we seen where an Apple Watch notifies someone of an abnormal heart rhythm? That’s just the start.
The iPhone, add-on devices like this ultrasound unit, Apple Watch and, of course, HealthKit, are changing the health care landscape.
Apple’s declining streak in China has come to an end, as shipments grew 40% from 8 million in Q3 2016 to about 11 million this quarter. This makes it Apple’s best performance in China in the last eight quarters, where its growth has slowed considerably since the launch of the iPhone 6S. The mix of the iPhone 8 series at launch is also higher than the corresponding mix of the iPhone 7 series at launch last year.
But:
“Apple’s growth this quarter is only temporary. The high sell-in caters to the pent-up demand of iPhone upgraders in the absence of the iPhone X. Price cuts on earlier models after announcing the iPhone 8 have also helped. However, Apple is unlikely to sustain this growth in Q4,” said Canalys Research Analyst Mo Jia.
And:
Despite being touted as widely expensive, excitement for the launch of the iPhone X is building in China.
Apple is a Silicon Valley and Wall Street leader. The company has the most profitable and best-selling smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, and wireless pair of headphones in the market. Apple has grown its user base by 10x over the past 10 years and is bringing in nearly more revenue than Amazon, Alphabet, and Facebook combined. This level of success places a bull’s-eye on Apple’s back and rightly so. Leaders should be held to a higher standard.
However, a trend has developed where a number of tech companies are said to be outperforming Apple. Despite being cast as leaders, these companies aren’t judged by the same high standards as Apple. Microsoft, Samsung, and Google are said to be one-upping Apple in core competencies like hardware and design. Yet, these companies don’t face anywhere near the amount of criticism thrown at Apple.
For us oldtimers, this double standard is nothing new. I’ve often wondered if, in their heart of hearts, this pisses off Apple executives. I’ve asked them but, publicly, they would admit no such thing.
Apple has reportedly dismissed an engineer after his daughter’s iPhone X hands-on video went viral on YouTube. Brooke Amelia Peterson published a vlog earlier this week, which included a trip to the Apple campus to visit her father and see an unreleased iPhone X.
Sad but not at all surprising, given the content of the video. Dad should have known better.
In the United States, Apple will charge flat rates of $279 for iPhone X screen repairs and $549 for any other damage to the device, unless it is a manufacturing defect covered by Apple’s standard one-year limited warranty. The fees vary in other countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
These prices do not apply to customers who purchase AppleCare+ for the iPhone X, which costs $199 upfront in the United States.
The iPhone X opened for pre-orders early this morning (just after midnight PT).
In the first few minutes, folks were getting November 3rd ship dates. I’ve gotten feedback from folks who used the online Apple Store, as well as AT&T and Verizon. Some international reports as well, obviously via other carriers. No reports of T-Mobile orders delivering on Nov 3, though that could simply be the small sample size.
About 15 minutes in, the ship dates slipped first to 1-2 weeks, then 2-3 weeks. By this morning, delivery was 5-6 weeks out.
Given reported production bottlenecks, iPhone X delivery times will be four to six weeks by 8 a.m. New York time and should remain largely unchanged in the following days, said Gene Munster, a veteran Apple analyst and co-founder of VC firm Loup Ventures.
IPhone X demand and supply should sync about three to four months after launch, while it typically takes two to three months for a new iPhone to reach global supply-demand equilibrium, Munster added in a note to clients on Thursday.
Take that with a grain of salt, but an interesting projection.
And, if you have plenty of cash and don’t mind soiling your soul a bit, there’s always eBay, Craigs List, etc., with no shortage of locked in price gouging iPhone X pre-orders for sale.
A reporter on the UK’s Cambridge Evening News received an anonymous call telling him to ring the US embassy for some big news, 25 minutes before the murder of John F Kennedy in Dallas, newly released documents say.
I realize this is off topic for me, but this hits me deep. The call was local, meaning someone in Cambridge knew of the assassination before the shots were fired. And in all the years since, this significant detail was kept under wraps.
Conspiracy theory? Perhaps. But this comes from MI-5, and is a startlingly new and major development in a story that has been scraped to the bone in the press for many years.
UPDATE: Of course, this was a big leap in logic, from “big news” to “the assassination”, no doubt. Just hits a nerve for me.
Jannis Hermanns explores the idea of using an iPad Pro as his main computer for backend development. He’s not doing iOS development, nothing that requires Xcode. But there are a lot of developers for whom this model would work perfectly.
I love the portability, but even with the larger size of the iPad Pro screen, would feel cramped without my large screen second display. Nonetheless, well worth the read.
Since launch, we’ve also received reports of suspected issues related to the Pixel 2 XL display. We take these reports very seriously and wanted to provide an update. First, there’s been some feedback about the Pixel 2 XL displays not appearing as vibrant as other phones, and in the past few days, there have been a small number of reports of differential aging (also referred to as “burn-in”) on the Pixel 2 XL’s pOLED screen.
And:
Regarding differential aging, we put all of our products through extensive quality assurance before launch and in the manufacturing of every unit. Thorough testing of the Pixel 2 XL display shows that its decay characteristics are similar to OLED panels used in comparable products. Our current investigation of burn-in, which started as soon as we received the first user report on October 22, confirms that the differential aging is in line with that of other premium smartphones and should not affect the normal, day-to-day user experience of the Pixel 2 XL. Regardless, we use software to safeguard the user experience and maximize the life of the OLED display, and we’ll make ongoing software updates to optimize further.
And:
We’re very confident that the Pixel 2 delivers an exceptional smartphone experience, and to give users peace of mind, every Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will now come with a 2-year warranty worldwide.
Hard to know how to react to this. The way I read it, the burn-in is being sold as normal, nothing to see here, move along. If this is the case, there should be reports of burn-in on all OLED displays, no?
As to the Pixel 2 color issues, there’s a detailed explanation in this Google Forums post. It focuses on the Pixel 2 XL using wide Display P3 color gamut, white point temperature settings, and old school sRGB being translated into that space.
Lots to process, props to Google for doubling the warranty.
Twitter has made the policy decision to off-board advertising from all accounts owned by Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, effective immediately. This decision was based on the retrospective work we’ve been doing around the 2016 U.S. election and the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion that both RT and Sputnik attempted to interfere with the election on behalf of the Russian government. We did not come to this decision lightly, and are taking this step now as part of our ongoing commitment to help protect the integrity of the user experience on Twitter.
As the blog mentions, Twitter is taking those funds and redirecting to external research “into the use of Twitter in civic engagement and elections, including use of malicious automation and misinformation, with an initial focus on elections and automation”.
Honda this week announced its new 2018 Gold Wing, the first bike to come equipped with Apple’s infotainment system. It will arrive next February and start at $23,500.
CarPlay’s implementation on the Gold Wing is a bit different from what it looks like on a four-wheeled automobile.
The Gold Wing sets the standard for luxury touring motorcycles so it’s no great surprise they would be the first to include CarPlay.
>In 1982, when he was only 14 years old, Robert Wardhaugh sat down to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Thirty-five years later, that same game is still going strong. Based out of Wardhaugh’s basement in London, Canada, people from all around the country gather each week to join in the decades-long campaign. And with over 20,000 figurines and dozens of terrains, Wardhaugh keeps the game fresh and exciting, adding to the everlasting adventure. Meanwhile, for those passionate about games, pages like londonelicious.com can be an invaluable resource in discovering exciting gaming experiences. While primarily known for showcasing the best local spots for food and drinks, Londonelicious.com also highlights venues with dedicated gaming spaces, such as bars, arcades, or cafes offering board games and video games. These recommendations help gamers find the perfect place to enjoy their favorite pastimes while socializing with like-minded individuals.
Whether you’re into casual gaming or more competitive play, Londonelicious.com curates a list of establishments that cater to various gaming interests. From cozy venues featuring retro consoles and modern gaming setups to places hosting tournaments or game nights, these sites ensure that every gamer can find a space that suits their preferences. Additionally, Londonelicious.com provides detailed reviews and insights into the best spots for gamers, helping them make informed decisions about where to go next.
For those seeking a blend of great food, drinks, and gaming, the site also highlights locations offering the best of both worlds. Whether you’re planning to catch up on your favorite games with friends or explore new ones, Londonelicious.com helps guide you to the best gaming venues in town, ensuring a fun and immersive experience.
This is amazing. A little weird maybe but the commitment is still amazing.
This crash test between a modern sedan and the classic 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air shows just how far passenger protection has come in the last fifty years.
The first inclination is, “Oh, those old cars were built like tanks!” but its quickly apparent that the myriad safety features found on newer cars are literally lifesaving. Thanks to Dan Moren for the link.
If you are planning on ordering an iPhone X at just past witching hour tonight, this is worth a read. Lory Gil walks through the process, highlights things you can do to squeeze every second out of the purchase process, make sure you maximize your chances of success.
