The Transport Guy: Google and Microsoft have totally different approaches to computing than Apple

Steve Kovach October 29, 2015 at 02:51PM

In about two years, Android will look completely different.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google plans to merge Android with Chrome OS, its operating system for laptops called Chromebooks. When that happens, Android will be Google's unified operating system that runs on just about any device.

Right now, Android runs on phones, tablets, smartwatches, TVs, smart appliances, and infotainment systems in cars, to name a few.

Computers are the missing link.

If that approach sounds familiar, that's because it's the same one Microsoft introduced this year with the launch of Windows 10. Windows 10 is designed to run on practically anything with a screen. (Phones, computers, TVs, and even the Xbox One.)

But the unified operating system idea isn't an option at Apple — at least not yet.

Apple still has two major separate operating systems, iOS (for iPhones and iPads) and Mac OS X (for laptops and desktop computers). And Apple wants to keep it that way.

Last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke at a conference for the enterprise cloud company Box and said Apple plans to keep its two operating systems separate. Here's what Cook said according to ZDNet:

We don't believe in having one operating system for PC and mobile. We think it subtracts from both, and you don't get the best experience from either. We're very much focused on two.

It's clear that two of the most powerful forces in tech see the future of computing powered by a single operating system designed to run on just about anything powered by electricity.

Apple sees things differently. It designs different operating systems for different products because it thinks developers should tailor their apps for the hardware in mind. And that has worked out really well so far. For example, developers still tend to make the best apps and new app updates for iOS first before moving to Android or Windows.

At the same time, OS X has been slowly adding more iOS-like features over the years. It now has a notification center similar to the one you see on iOS. It also has many of the same apps like Notes, Apple Maps, and FaceTime.

Which approach is better? It is way too early to tell. Windows 10 only launched a few months ago. Developers haven't had a lot of time to work with it and adapt their apps to the various platforms it runs on. And Google's new vision for Android probably won't be here for another two years. Meanwhile, Apple is humming along nicely on both desktop and mobile with two very different operating systems.

SEE ALSO: Google is killing Chrome OS

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Google and Microsoft have totally different approaches to computing than Apple from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Google is preparing for a major change to Android

Steve Kovach October 29, 2015 at 02:10PM

Google plans to merge its two operating systems Chrome and Android into one operating system that can run on any device, The Wall Street Journal's Alistair Barr reports. The change could happen as early as 2017, according to the report. Google may also show off an early version of the software in 2016.

Chrome OS is based on the Chrome browser, and is designed to run apps and everything else in the web browser with very few traditional desktop functions. Android is Google's mobile operating system for smartphones and tablets, but it has recently made its way to streaming TV boxes, smartwatches, and even infotainment systems in cars.

There has long been speculation that Google would eventually merge the two operating systems. Recently, Google has allowed some Android apps to run in Chrome, for example.

Merging the two operating systems would echo Microsoft's new approach to Windows. Windows 10, the newest version of the operating system, is designed to run on pretty much any device with a screen, from tiny smartphones to big-screen TVs with built-in computers.

The merged operating system could also solve one of Chrome's biggest problems. Many common desktop apps aren't compatible with Chromebooks, the computers that run Chrome OS. Chromebooks also have trouble handling many tasks when you're not connected to the internet. Merging Chrome with Android would allow Chromebooks to run apps natively on the machine, just like most other computers.

A Google spokesperson declined to comment.

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Google is preparing for a major change to Android from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Microsoft explains why it's killing the best calendar app (MSFT)

Steve Kovach October 29, 2015 at 08:00AM

Microsoft didn't make too many friends Wednesday when it announced it plans to shut down Sunrise, one of the best calendar apps for smartphones.

(If you ask me, Sunrise is the best calendar app. No wonder why it made Tech Insider's list of the best apps in the world.)

But Sunrise's death is imminent. In a few months, its features will be rolled into the mobile version of Outlook, which, by the way, is an incredible app.

Outlook already has a "calendar" tab that syncs with Google, your work calendar, and other popular services. Eventually, the plan is to bake all of Sunrise's features into that tab.

So, what's Microsoft's rationale for killing such a beloved app, especially when there are probably many Sunrise users who would rather use another email app instead of Outlook?

I had a brief chat this week with Microsoft's VP in charge of Outlook, Javier Soltero. Soltero told me that first of all, Microsoft won't shut down Sunrise until it feels confident that it can import all of its features (and more) into the Outlook app. That could take months. After that, Sunrise fans can still use Outlook as a calendar-only app if they want to.

"We're not going to do that until we feel the calendar in Outlook matches or even exceeds what's already in Sunrise," Soltero said.

But the philosophy behind the merging of the two apps goes deeper than that. Soltero said mobile email is where a lot of people already do their scheduling and planning. For example, it's still the most common place you get requests for meetings, lunches, conferences, etc. that you need to add to your calendar. Having Sunrise baked into Outlook will make that a lot easier.

A lot of it also stems from the design that originally went into Acompli, the app Microsoft bought almost a year ago and turned into current Outlook app this year. When the Acompli team was building the app, they learned their users liked having everything from calendar to file management for attachments bundled together in one app. Now that both Sunrise and the Acompli team are at Microsoft, it makes sense to merge the two together.

Soltero also said merging the apps together will help Outlook scale even more than it has. (It's already up to 30 million active users.) There may be plenty of great email and calendar apps out there, Soltero said, but none of them have the massive scale Outlook is going for. Merging with Sunrise will help with that goal.

By the way, Soltero said another beloved Microsoft productivity app called Wunderlist will remain separate from Outlook. Instead, Microsoft will likely find ways to have it sync with other services like Office.

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Microsoft explains why it's killing the best calendar app (MSFT) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Microsoft is going to kill one of my favorite apps of all time

Steve Kovach October 28, 2015 at 10:00AM

Sunrise, the calendar app owned by Microsoft, is one of my favorite productivity apps of all time.

It's nearly perfect. It syncs with both my personal and work Gmail calendars. It syncs with all my contacts and makes it easy to see who I'm meeting with and where. It has a gorgeous and intuitive design. I'd be lost without it.

But Microsoft is killing it.

On Thursday, the company told Business Insider that Sunrise's features will be rolled into the mobile version of Outlook over the next few months. Once the transition is complete, Microsoft will kill the separate Sunrise app.

It's not a total loss, though. Outlook also happens to be the best email app you can get. No wonder why both Outlook and Sunrise are on Tech Insider's list of the 100 best apps in the world.

So, instead of two apps, I'll be using just one. It also helps that Sunset's developer is leading the design on the Outlook app, so I feel pretty confident that I'll be happy with the product as it evolves.

But it does alienate those who don't want to use Outlook as their email app.

There are a lot of great options for email apps these days. I think Outlook is the best, but there are plenty who prefer Mailbox, Gmail, Inbox, or even the built-in email app that comes with your phone. Those people won't get to enjoy Sunrise soon.

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Microsoft is going to kill one of my favorite apps of all time from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: 4 reasons why the iPhone can't be stopped (AAPL)

Steve Kovach October 27, 2015 at 02:17PM

It was another big quarter for the iPhone.

Apple said it sold 48.05 million iPhones last quarter. And it expects next quarter to be even bigger, setting a new record past the 74.46 million it sold in the holiday quarter of 2014.

Why does the iPhone continue to sell so well? And how does Apple know it'll be able to keep it up?

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook said there are four key areas that make the company confident the iPhone will continue to sell at record levels:

1. The first is the fact that there are still a lot of people using older iPhones with small screens that haven't upgraded yet. The iPhone 6, which launched last year, has a 4.7-inch screen. The iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5-inch screen. (The new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus have the same sizes.) But older iPhones have 5-inch screens or smaller. There are still plenty of people due for an upgrade to one of the big-screen iPhones, Cook told the WSJ.
2. Next, there's Android. Apple has consistently said it's seeing record levels of people switching to Android to the iPhone since the introduction of the iPhone 6. This quarter, Apple got a little more specific. Cook told the WSJ that 30% of iPhone buyers last quarter were Android users.
3. After that, there's China. The iPhone continues to perform well there as a premium device. It's the biggest growth market for Apple, and Cook told the WSJ that more middle class Chinese people are now able to afford it.
4. Finally, there's the hefty price. Even though the iPhone can be twice as expensive as other devices, that has turned out to be an advantage for Apple, according to the WSJ. The iPhone is seen as a luxury item worth spending the extra cash for.

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4 reasons why the iPhone can't be stopped (AAPL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: There's an excellent inside joke about 'Star Wars' in the new 'Battlefront' trailer

Steve Kovach October 27, 2015 at 01:19PM

The new full-length trailer for "Star Wars Battlefront," the new game coming November 17, is full of incredible action.

It also has a cheeky, inside joke that only true "Star Wars" fans will understand.

At one point in the trailer we see Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who has been a fan favorite for decades, despite his limited role in the movies. Boba Fett is shown almost falling into the Sarlacc Pit, home to an alien that eats people and slowly digests them over thousands of years, before activating his jet pack and flying over it.

"That won't happen again!" he says.

What's he talking about?

It's a reference to "Return of the Jedi," the third movie in the original trilogy. In one action sequence, Boba Fett falls into the Sarlacc Pit. Don't remember it? It's this scene:

He's presumed dead, but some "Star Wars" books and comments that follow the events after "Return of the Jedi" have kept Boba alive, saying he was able to escape the Sarlacc Pit after falling in. However, those books and comics are no longer considered part of the official "Star Wars" canon.

You can watch the full "Star Wars Battlefront" trailer below — skip to the 0:55 mark to see Boba Fett!

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There's an excellent inside joke about 'Star Wars' in the new 'Battlefront' trailer from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: You must see the latest trailer for the new 'Star Wars' game

Steve Kovach October 27, 2015 at 11:12AM

The new "Star Wars" game, "Battlefront," launches on November 17, and we just got a new full-length trailer.

Words can't really do this thing justice. Watch it if you're a "Star Wars" fan. Watch it if you're a video game fan. Watch it if you just like fun.

Just watch it:

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You must see the latest trailer for the new 'Star Wars' game from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The EU just made a vote that could stifle innovation on the internet

Steve Kovach October 27, 2015 at 10:56AM

The EU rejected protection for net neutrality on Tuesday, opening the door for companies to pay for so-called “fast lanes” on the internet that will bring their content and services to users faster relative to other content on the web.

That may sound like a good thing at first. It means people in the EU could get content and services from companies at faster speeds or more reliable connections.

But it’s a dangerous step toward an internet dominated by big, rich companies that can afford to pay internet service providers (ISPs) for fast lanes, which could in turn stifle innovation from scrappy startups and smaller companies trying to compete.

Net neutrality is the concept that all traffic on the internet should be treated equally. Under strict net neutrality rules, companies would not be able to pay ISPs to deliver content faster to customers. Everything would be delivered at the same speed.

That’s the ideal situation. The internet is becoming the primary way we get news, entertainment, and so much else. It enabled entrepreneurs to create multibillion dollar companies. Google. Facebook. Amazon. Yahoo. And so on. These companies not only made a bunch of smart people rich but also enrich the lives of their users. We’re able to communicate, shop, share, and collaborate much better than we ever could before the internet. And we’re just getting started. The internet is still relatively young, and we’ve barely tapped into its potential.

But rules allowing for fast lanes on the internet have the potential to stifle that kind of innovation. The big, rich companies that can afford fast lanes have a leg up over smaller companies trying to become the next Facebook or Google or Amazon, potentially limiting the creation of a new, innovative service we can all benefit from.

Tim Berners-Lee, the man credited with creating the world wide web, put it best in a blog post on Monday, before the EU voted on the rules:

“If adopted as currently written, these rules will threaten innovation, free speech and privacy, and compromise Europe’s ability to lead in the digital economy,” Berners-Lee wrote.

In short, competition is good for creating an environment that encourages affordable, innovative products, which in turn is good consumers and a country's economy. But internet rules that allow fast lanes have the potential to stifle that competition. There’s no evidence that it’s happening yet, but the slope is slippery enough to allow big companies to throw a wet blanket on any true innovation on the internet as it evolves.

On the other hand, the EU’s rules don’t allow ISPs to slow down content from companies that don’t pay for fast lanes. It’s better than nothing, and addresses early complaints net neutrality advocates had, but it’s not good enough. It doesn’t matter if enough companies pay for fast lanes in order to stomp out potential competitors.

The current EU rules give rich companies the option to exert more control over the internet. That’s good for them, but bad for you and the internet as a whole.

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The EU just made a vote that could stifle innovation on the internet from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The EU just dealt a major blow to the open internet

Steve Kovach October 27, 2015 at 06:52AM

The European Union dealt a blow to net neutrality on Tuesday by not including new amendments that would prevent so-called "fast lanes" on the internet.

Net neutrality is the concept that all internet traffic should be treated equally. Companies should not be allowed to pay internet service providers (ISPs) extra money to create a fast lane to deliver their content or services to customers.

Net neutrality advocates say that if rich companies are able to pay to prioritize their content, then it stifles innovation from startups and smaller companies that may offer better services. By treating all internet traffic equally, advocates say, everyone has a fair shot at remaining competitive, which benefits consumers in the end.

To be clear, the EU rules do not allow ISPs to slow down internet traffic for companies that do not pay for a fast lane. But it does give companies a window to pay ISPs for a fast lane. The rules are pretty open, and people who are pro-net neutrality were hoping the EU would tighten up the rules to specifically ban fast lanes.

Telecom companies and some big internet companies do not like the concept of net neutrality. They say say allowing fast lanes will actually help increase innovation and allow them to deliver better services to their customers over the internet.

At the same time, fast lanes can be good for important services for things like medical devices, cybersecurity, and other connected devices. Those things typically get priority traffic through the the internet anyway, no matter what net neutrality rules are in place.

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The EU just dealt a major blow to the open internet from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: We just got a big hint that Microsoft is working on its own phone (MSFT)

Steve Kovach October 26, 2015 at 11:30AM

This year, Microsoft answered its fans' prayers by finally releasing its first-ever laptop, the Surface Book. 

But that's not enough. In addition to the cry for Microsoft to start making laptops, fans have been waiting for the company to do the same for smartphones, too. 

It looks like Microsoft is at least testing a new phone, according to a new profile on the company's hardware boss Panos Panay in Wired.

The profile's author David Pierce got to visit the building on Microsoft's campus where it tests upcoming products.

And he noticed something out of place. Emphasis ours:

But as soon as we start talking about it, he gets distracted by a CNC machine that’s milling a Surface Book’s bottom bucket. Panay just watches it for a moment, carving over and over to form the antenna gap. A few machines away, another machine works on a prototype of a new phone.

Although there have been reports and rumors that Microsoft wants to make its own phone, this is the first time we've seen real evidence that the company is working on smartphone prototypes.

Microsoft does make phones under the Lumia brand, but those come from its acquisition of Nokia, which closed last year. Since then, Microsoft has fired most of the former Nokia employees.

There's a chance it'll extend the Surface brand to phones too, and the prototype mentioned in Wired's profile could be the long-awaited Surface Phone.

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We just got a big hint that Microsoft is working on its own phone (MSFT) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Here are the requirements a symbol must meet before it becomes an official emoji

Steve Kovach October 25, 2015 at 11:03AM

What makes an emoji?

Those symbols on your phone aren't just random. They're actually designed by a consortium of people in the tech industry so there's a standard any device can read.

The group is called the Unicode Consortium, and although it has historically decided standards for text and punctuation, it has shifted a lot of focus to emojis due to their recent popularity.

According to a profile on the Unicode Consortium in The New York Times, there are a few requirements new emojis must meet before they're made official, including:

• Emojis can't represent living people or deities.
• Emojis that complete a set, like the upcoming groom emoji that complements the current bride emoji, can get priority.
• They can't use intellectual property, so don't expect to see famous fictional characters in your emoji keyboard. (However, Twitter has done a good job creating branded emojis when you tweet certain hashtags.)
• A new emoji has to be something the consortium thinks a lot of people will want to use. For example, The New York Times story says a lot of sports emojis are coming next year because of the 2016 Olympics.

Check out the full story in The New York Times to learn more about how those emojis make it to your phone >>

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Here are the requirements a symbol must meet before it becomes an official emoji from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The iPhone 6S screen is so sensitive it can 'weigh' objects

Steve Kovach October 25, 2015 at 08:10AM

The new iPhone 6S may not look different at first glance, but its screen has a new key feature called 3D Touch.

3D Touch can detect how hard a user is pressing down on the screen and opens up an extra layer of control for your apps. For example, if you firmly press a link someone sends you in a text message, you can view a pop-up preview of the web page. Press a little harder, and the full page loads in Safari.

The 3D Touch screen is so sensitive that it can even act as a scale of sorts. A developer made an app that can display an object's weight relative to another object. What's really impressive is that the screen can detect different pressure points at the same time.

Watch this video to see what we mean:

But there's a downside to 3D Touch. So far, most apps haven't added the feature yet, so it's really only useful on the preloaded apps Apple puts on your iPhone.

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The Transport Guy: The boss behind the next 'Halo' game has a plan to make it appeal more to female gamers (MSFT)

Steve Kovach October 22, 2015 at 07:58AM

The latest "Halo" game, "Halo 5: Guardians," launches on October 27, and the leader of the studio behind the game wants it to appeal to more than just your typical male gamer.

Bonnie Ross, the head of 343 Industries, the studio that makes "Halo" games for Microsoft, told Bloomberg Businessweek that "Halo 5" will appeal to female gamers, too, thanks to strong female characters and real-world merchandise like t-shirts and handbags for women.

Here's Ross' philosophy on making "Halo 5" appeal to female gamers, as Bloomberg's Joshua Brustein writes it:

Her affection for the clutch is more than whimsy. As a rare female executive in an industry dominated by men, Ross worked to remind her colleagues that girls play video games, too. She’s insisted that fully realized female characters play prominent roles in "Halo 5" and made sure that dorky "Halo" T-shirts come in cuts for women, too. This may seem unobjectionable, but in the world of video games, trying to broaden the audience is daring. For the past year or so, Internet trolls have mercilessly harassed women in the gaming industry. A Microsoft press officer asked me to omit any personal information about Ross to protect her from “doxxing” — a favorite tool of online harassers — in which personal information, including addresses and names of children, is widely distributed. (He later relented.)

That last sentence is telling. Even though there are plenty of female gamers, there's a large contingent of male gamers that go out of their way to troll and outright harass women. (The so-called GamerGate scandal from last year is a prime example of that.) Even Ross herself is at risk of being trolled, simply because she's a female gaming executive. 

The good news is she's not afraid to push back.

You can read the full profile on Ross and the story behind the "Halo 5" development on Bloomberg >>

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The boss behind the next 'Halo' game has a plan to make it appeal more to female gamers (MSFT) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: An explanation for everything you see in the new 'Star Wars' trailer

Steve Kovach October 20, 2015 at 10:24AM

The third trailer for the new "Star Wars" movie, "The Force Awakens," is here.

If you're not well-versed in "Star Wars" lore, you could be pretty confused by what you see. Here's an explanation for everything in the new trailer.

Warning: If you want to avoid potential spoilers or even speculation about "The Force Awakens," stop reading now.

The trailer opens with a closeup of Rey, one of the new main characters.

She seems to be exploring an old ship.

The ship is massive. We're probably looking at a crashed ship on Jakku, a new planet in the "Star Wars" universe. Jakku is a graveyard for destroyed ships from battles between the Empire and the Rebellion. The planet is full of scavengers looking for scraps.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

An explanation for everything you see in the new 'Star Wars' trailer from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The new 'Star Wars' poster hints at a mysterious new weapon from the next movie

Steve Kovach October 19, 2015 at 08:19AM

It's going to be a big week for "Star Wars" fans.

On Monday, Disney will release a trailer for the next "Star Wars" movie, "The Force Awakens," during "Monday Night Football" on ESPN. As a teaser for the new trailer, Disney released an official poster for "The Force Awakens."

It looks like this:

And of course, fans are already picking apart the imagery in the poster. It's pretty mysterious.

One of the biggest mysteries: What is that big, spherical thing in the top right corner? Is it a new kind of Death Star?

Probably.

Warning: Stop reading now if you want to avoid spoilers or speculation about the next "Star Wars" movie.

Some fans have pointed out that the mysterious object could be the Starkiller Base, a fortress listed in the database on the official "Star Wars" site.

Here's the full description of what the Starkiller Base is, according to starwars.com:

An ice planet converted into a stronghold of the First Order and armed with a fiercely destructive new weapon capable of destroying entire star systems.

So it sounds like the bad guys in the new movie, also known as the First Order, have turned an entire planet into a weapon capable of wiping out solar systems. That's way scarier than the Death Star, which could only destroy one planet at a time.

This isn't the first time we've seen the Starkiller Base. The second teaser trailer for "The Force Awakens" shows the First Order at a Nazi-like rally on a frozen planet. That certainly fits the Starkiller Base description.

By the way, this isn't the first time we've seen a weapon in the "Star Wars" universe that can destroy an entire star system. In the Expanded Universe novels, there's a weapon called the Sun Crusher that can do just that. It was featured in a series of novels called "The Jedi Academy" trilogy written in the the early 90s. However, those novels are no longer considered part of the official "Star Wars" canon.

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The new 'Star Wars' poster hints at a mysterious new weapon from the next movie from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Disney just released a few precious seconds of new 'Star Wars' footage

Steve Kovach October 18, 2015 at 12:07PM

Disney and Lucasfilm will release a new trailer for the next "Star Wars" movie, "The Force Awakens," on Monday during "Monday Night Football" on ESPN.

It will likely be the first full-length trailer for the new movie.

In the meantime, Disney released a few seconds of new footage in an online teaser on Sunday. Here it is:

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Disney just released a few precious seconds of new 'Star Wars' footage from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: There's a new 'Star Wars' poster and it raises a lot of questions about the next movie

Steve Kovach October 18, 2015 at 11:57AM

Disney and Lucasfilm released a new poster for "The Force Awakens," the new "Star Wars" movie that comes out December 18.

It looks like this:

It's pretty standard for a "Star Wars" poster, a collage of all the characters and vehicles from the movie.

But there are also a few notable mysteries.

Warning: Stop reading now if you want to avoid spoilers or speculation about the next "Star Wars" movie.

Mystery 1: Where is Luke?

We see all the main characters on this poster except for Luke Skywalker, who's played by Mark Hamill. We already have confirmation Hamill will be in the movie, but he's not on the poster along with Princess Leia, Han Solo, and the new main characters Finn (the guy with the blue lightsaber), Rey (the woman with a bun in the middle), Poe (the X-Wing pilot), and Kylo Ren (the new bad guy with the red lightsaber).

Luke's role in the new movie has been the source of a lot of speculation. "The Force Awakens" takes place about 30 years after "Return of the Jedi." What has Luke been up to since then? The most common theory is that he went into hiding and will have to come back in this movie as the galaxy faces a new threat from an evil group known as The First Order.

Many think Luke will come back to train Finn to be a Jedi, just like Yoda trained him in "The Empire Strikes Back." The poster shows Finn holding a lightsaber, so it's pretty clear he's our new Jedi hero for the next few movies.

So, given all the mystery surrounding Luke, it makes sense that Disney and Lucasfilm would purposefully leave him off the latest poster.

Mystery 2: What is that round ship in the top right of the poster?

If we had to guess, it looks like another Death Star. This is pure speculation, but we wouldn't be surprised if The First Order designed a modern version of the Death Star to wreak havoc across the galaxy, just like the Galactic Empire did in the original trilogy.

"Star Wars" movies tend to follow a common narrative, with the third act focusing on a battle in three parts: a lightsaber battle between Jedi and Sith; starfighters in space; and a ground team. (See "The Phantom Menace" and "Return of the Jedi" for the best demonstrations of that.)

It's possible we'll see a similar final battle in "The Force Awakens," with the good guys trying to blow up the latest version of the Death Star, or whatever it's called this time.

The fun doesn't stop there. Disney also announced that a new trailer for the movie will debut during "Monday Night Football" on ESPN Monday night.

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There's a new 'Star Wars' poster and it raises a lot of questions about the next movie from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The full trailer for the next 'Star Wars' movie could be coming October 19

Steve Kovach October 14, 2015 at 01:55PM

Disney might release the first full trailer for "The Force Awakens," the upcoming new "Star Wars" movie, on October 19, according to multiple reports.

Screen Crush appears to be the first publication to report the news.

It makes sense. So far, we've only seen two teaser trailers for "The Force Awakens." They have very little dialogue or hints at the plot. The full trailer will probably give us a deeper look at what to expect from the new movie.

"The Force Awakens" will be in theaters on December 18.

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The full trailer for the next 'Star Wars' movie could be coming October 19 from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The companies that make your smartphone batteries say they should barely last a year

Steve Kovach and Antonio Villas-Boas October 13, 2015 at 02:58PM

The manufacturers that make your smartphone's lithium-ion battery say it'll have a lifespan of 300-500 charging cycles, according to Battery University, a leading resource for information on batteries.

Every time you plug in your phone to charge when its below 70%, it goes through a "charging cycle." 

So, technically, your smartphone's battery is only designed to work properly between under a year and under a year and a half. That doesn't sound very good.

According to Battery University, your smartphone battery's capacity can reduce down from about 94-88% capacity out-of-the-box down to 84-73% after just 250 cycles. That's 10-15% in eight months. In a year, or 365 days, your battery's capacity could reduce 15-22%. 

And that's not taking other factors that have a huge impact on your battery, like long exposure to heat and leaving it plugged in for a long time even when its reached 100%.

However, your smartphone battery's manufacturer is being too harsh on itself. To be fair, that estimate only really applies if you charge your phone from zero to 100% every time, which is called a full-discharge cycle.

With the assumption that most of us might not wait till our phones reach zero percent before charging it to 100%, it's likely that our phone batteries have more than the manufacturer's 300-500 charging cycle lifespan.

In fact, if you wait till your battery is down to around 25% before plugging it in, you might have closer to 2000 to 2500 charging cycles before your battery is permanently damaged from the harsh effects a full-discharge has on a battery.

Yet, while your smartphone battery might sustain enough charging cycles for five years, you're probably doing a lot of other things that are reducing its capacity. 

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NOW WATCH: Why battery technology is still one of the biggest challenges for engineers

The companies that make your smartphone batteries say they should barely last a year from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The screen on the new iMac is so good, you have to see it to fully appreciate it

Steve Kovach October 13, 2015 at 05:34AM

Minutes after I booted up one of Apple’s upcoming new iMacs at work, I had a crowd of colleagues huddled around my desk.

The new iMac, an updated version of the one that launched about a year ago, has a high-resolution “5K” display, which means it can play so-called ultra high definition video. Images are so crisp and clear that no photo or written description can do it justice. You want to reach out and touch it. It's the kind of thing you have to see in person to truly appreciate.

That probably explains why so many of my colleagues were drawn to my desk when I loaded up an ultra HD video of wildlife in Costa Rica on the iMac. You can’t stop looking at this thing.

Apologies for the poor photo quality, but the look on everyone’s faces says it all:

This week, both iMac models are getting updates. And that super-sharp screen is coming to the smaller model for the first time.

Here’s the rub:

The new 27-inch iMac has the same screen resolution as the model that launched last year. The only updates are a faster processor, other improved internal specs, and better color representation on the screen. (More on the color thing later.) From now on, all 27-inch iMacs will have a Retina display. It starts at $1,799.

The 21.5-inch iMac is getting a Retina display for the first time, but you’ll still have the option to buy one at normal resolution. Because the screen is smaller, it has a 4K resolution, which is still insanely sharp and detailed. (4K is the new standard for ultra HD.) It also has a faster processor and better guts inside compared to last year’s iMac. The 4K model of the 21.5-inch iMac starts at $1,499.

And finally, Apple is launching some new accessories to go with the iMac. It ships with a redesigned wireless keyboard and mouse with batteries you charge with a Lightning cable, the same cable iPhones use. There’s also a new wireless, rechargeable trackpad (sold separately, $129) that has a pressure sensitive surface. All the new accessories will also work with any Mac running El Capitan, the latest operating system that many Mac users can download for free.

You can get all that stuff starting this week. (Apple Stores will have the Retina iMacs on display starting Wednesday so you can see the screen for yourself). I’ve been using the 27-inch version of the updated iMac and there’s really nothing else like it. I couldn’t find a comparable Windows machine that came even close to matching the design, screen resolution, and overall internal specs of the new iMac. It’s in a class of its own.

The Screen

The real story here is the 21.5-inch Retina iMac. Over the years, Apple has slowly been adding high-resolution screens to all of its devices. The 21.5-inch iMac and MacBook Air were the only two holdouts until now. And $1,499 is a pretty good starting price for a computer with a built-in 4K screen.

Most computers, even those that have screens so sharp that you can’t see pixels, don’t have displays that can handle 4K video. It’s the kind of thing you don’t know you were missing out on until you try it. If you have a regular HD TV, think of the difference it made when you upgraded from standard definition. Going from regular HD to 4K is just like that. It’s a giant leap.

It’s not just about resolution though. The new iMac screens can show color better too. Without getting too technical, the screen can interpret colors better and give you a closer representation of what the image looked like in real life. In geek speak: Apple extended the color gamut of the iMac screen. That means if you take photos with a DSLR or videos with a high-end camera, you’ll see a lot more color and detail when you import the files to the new iMac.

But the average person probably won’t notice. I had to look at side-by-side comparisons to really see what has changed. This feature is better for photo and video professionals, not necessarily regular users who just want to do some light editing of photos they took with their iPhone. Just know that you’re getting a really nice screen and that Apple took the extra step to make sure it keeps getting better. Nothing wrong with that.

Accessories

The new wireless keyboard, mouse, and trackpad are great upgrades too. The mouse and keyboard come with the iMac out of the box, and Apple will sell them separately if you want to use them with an older model. All the accessories are rechargeable, and Apple says you can get up to 30 days out of a single charge. You can also quickly charge the mouse and get a full day out of it after plugging it in for just two minutes.

Other than the rechargeable batteries and slight design tweaks, the keyboard and mouse are mostly the same as before. It’s the wireless trackpad that got the biggest upgrade, and I prefer it over the mouse. It includes Force Touch, Apple's new feature that can tell how hard you click down and open up an extra layer of control when you click on something. For example, you can use Force Touch on a location in Apple Maps to bring up a window with more details.

It also has a nice, large surface, which gives you plenty of space to swipe around if you're using the larger iMac.

But the trackpad’s price can be a bit hard to swallow: $129 is a big ask for something that doesn’t add much more functionality than your mouse already has. I imagine most people will be fine with the included wireless mouse.

Conclusion

I saw the original Retina iMac on Apple’s campus about a year ago, but only got a few fleeting minutes with it in a room full of crowded journalists. That wasn’t enough time to really appreciate how awesome its screen is. 

After spending a few days with it hands on, I realized the screen does more than just make things look pretty. It makes the entire experience richer. And now that you can get the same experience for a few hundred bucks cheaper with the 21.5-inch iMac.

If you need a new desktop computer, this is the one you should look at first.

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NOW WATCH: There’s a surprisingly simple explanation for why iPhone owners can accept calls two different ways

The screen on the new iMac is so good, you have to see it to fully appreciate it from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: We talked to former Apple CEO John Sculley about the new Steve Jobs movie, and he said one scene gave him goosebumps

Steve Kovach October 10, 2015 at 07:29AM

Former Apple CEO John Sculley said this scene in the new Steve Jobs movie gave him goosebumps — via @TechInsiderFormer Apple CEO John Sculley said this scene in the new Steve Jobs movie gave him goosebumps — via @TechInsiderFormer Apple CEO John Sculley said this scene in the new Steve Jobs movie gave him goosebumps — via @TechInsider

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We talked to former Apple CEO John Sculley about the new Steve Jobs movie, and he said one scene gave him goosebumps from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: We talked to former Apple CEO John Sculley about the new Steve Jobs movie, and he said one scene gave him goosebumps

Steve Kovach October 10, 2015 at 07:14AM

There are two narratives surrounding the new Steve Jobs movie.

Narrative One: Most of the movie pushes the creative license to the extreme, fabricating what happened to Jobs and those around him to the point the story comes off as a tall tale, not something rooted in fact. Viewers will leave the movie with a skewed perception of what Jobs was really like.

Narrative Two: This movie was never intended to be a truthful biopic. Its a characterization of who Steve Jobs was. The facts and events were purposefully fudged to create an entertaining film. Just have fun. Don't take it too seriously.

Narrative Two is how former Apple CEO John Sculley, a major character in the movie played by Jeff Daniels, sees it. In an interview with Tech Insider, (the real) Sculley said he enjoyed the movie and sees it purely as entertainment, not a literal representation of what really happened.

"For anyone to see this movie and think they know the complete Steve Jobs would be completely ridiculous," Sculley told Tech Insider. "The real Steve Jobs was much more than this."

Tellingly, Sculley refuses to see the new documentary about Steve Jobs by filmmaker Alex Gibney or read the official Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, calling both pieces opportunistic attempts to trash Jobs. The new movie about Jobs, which was written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Danny Boyle, may not accurately depict who Jobs was, but viewers shouldn't necessarily expect it to.

"I looked at it as there's a part of Steve Jobs that's recognizable," Sculley said of Boyle's movie. "But this is not even close to telling the whole story."

Sorkin and Boyle also made up a lot of real-life events for the sake of developing the characters.

Spoiler warning: Stop reading now if you don't want anything about the movie ruined for you.  

For example, there's a pivotal scene between Jobs and Sculley where the two get into an intense argument about Jobs' ouster from Apple that takes place before Jobs unveils a new computer from his company Next. But the real Sculley told Tech Insider that he was never even at the Next event in real life. The entire scene (one of the best in the movie) was entirely made up.

We asked Sculley: If so much of the movie was made up, then did anything ring true? Did Sorkin and Boyle get anything factually accurate?

Sculley said there was one such moment: the introduction of the original Mac in the movie's first act. There's one scene that shows the audience going wild before the unveiling. They're screaming. They're clapping. They're doing the wave. It looks more like a sporting event than a tech product launch.

The filmmakers nailed it, Sculley said, calling it "a goosebump moment for me" when he saw it in an early screening of the movie.

"Steve Jobs" is in theaters now.

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NOW WATCH: 4 things the new 'Steve Jobs' movie got wrong

We talked to former Apple CEO John Sculley about the new Steve Jobs movie, and he said one scene gave him goosebumps from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: If you're not excited about the new 'Star Wars' game yet, you have to see this GIF

Steve Kovach October 08, 2015 at 06:51AM

"Star Wars Battlefront," the new game coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on November 17, launched an early beta version this week so you can test out parts of the game early for free.

And players are already doing incredible things in the game.

Watch this GIF:

That's a character playing as Luke Skywalker taking down an AT-ST Imperial walker after jumping 20 feet in the air. Insane. There's a thread of people going nuts over the clip on Reddit.

"Battlefront" lets you play as just about any character or pilot any vehicle from the "Star Wars" universe in massive online multiplayer battles. If you're even a casual "Star Wars" fan, you're going to want to play this game.

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NOW WATCH: This is the new 'Star Wars' toy everyone will want

If you're not excited about the new 'Star Wars' game yet, you have to see this GIF from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: We got a hands-on look at the Surface Book — Microsoft’s first-ever laptop everyone’s freaking out about

Chris Snyder and Steve Kovach October 06, 2015 at 02:32PM

Microsoft has unveiled what they are describing as "the most powerful laptop on the planet." Here's a closer look at the new hybrid Surface Book.

Produced by Chris Snyder. Commentary by Steve Kovach.

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We got a hands-on look at the Surface Book — Microsoft’s first-ever laptop everyone’s freaking out about from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Microsoft just built the laptop I've been waiting for (MSFT)

Steve Kovach October 07, 2015 at 06:33AM

Every year for the past three years, Microsoft has made the same bold claim: The Surface is the perfect replacement for your laptop and your tablet, a dreamy all-in-one miracle device.

But I've never agreed with Microsoft. Even though the Surface technically had a lot of laptop and tablet features, it didn't do them particularly well. The trackpad and keyboard felt cheap and unresponsive. There weren't great apps to use in tablet mode. And Windows 8 was a disaster.

The Surface always fell short of Microsoft's promise.

Until now.

On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Book, a laptop with a clever hinge that lets you detach the screen from the keyboard and use it as a tablet. This is the kind of computer I've been waiting for, something that can do it all without compromising design or usability.

It's light, powerful, has incredible battery life, and looks good to boot. I spent about 15 minutes playing around with a Surface Book after Microsoft's event on Tuesday, and I can tell the company is onto something. This is the device Microsoft should've originally launched when it began making Surfaces three years ago.

It's also a blow to Apple, which recently unveiled its own take on a Surface-like device with the iPad Pro. I used the iPad Pro briefly at Apple's launch event a few weeks ago, and I wasn't exactly blown away. It feels like a niche product that'll appeal to some like graphics artists. The keyboard cover wasn't that great either. It felt cheaply made and was difficult to type on, just like the original Surface.

The Surface Book feels much more refined. Although it's technically a laptop/tablet hybrid, it's the first in the category that doesn't feel like one. It's a laptop when you need it or a big-screen tablet when you need it. There aren't any obvious compromises like there are with other Surfaces.

(By the way, Microsoft did announce another new Surface, the Surface Pro 4, which looks like an updated version of what we've seen before. I'm not into it.)

To be clear, these are only first impressions. Microsoft made some bold claims Tuesday, saying the Surface Book is 50% more powerful than the MacBook Pro. We'll have to wait and see about that.

But based on what I've seen so far, I think Microsoft has a potential hit coming soon.

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NOW WATCH: Microsoft's first laptop looks like a MacBook killer

Microsoft just built the laptop I've been waiting for (MSFT) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Microsoft just built the laptop I've been waiting for (MSFT)

Steve Kovach October 06, 2015 at 02:03PM

Every year for the past three years, Microsoft has made the same bold claim: The Surface is the perfect replacement for your laptop and your tablet, a dreamy all-in-one miracle device.

But I've never agreed with Microsoft. Even though the Surface technically had a lot of laptop and tablet features, it didn't do them particularly well. The trackpad and keyboard felt cheap and unresponsive. There weren't great apps to use in tablet mode. And Windows 8 was a disaster.

The Surface always fell short of Microsoft's promise.

Until now.

On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Book, a laptop with a clever hinge that lets you detach the screen from the keyboard and use it as a tablet. This is the kind of computer I've been waiting for, something that can do it all without compromising design or usability.

It's light, powerful, has incredible battery life, and looks good to boot. I spent about 15 minutes playing around with a Surface Book after Microsoft's event on Tuesday, and I can tell the company is onto something. This is the device Microsoft should've originally launched when it began making Surfaces three years ago.

It's also a blow to Apple, which recently unveiled its own take on a Surface-like device with the iPad Pro. I used the iPad Pro briefly at Apple's launch event a few weeks ago, and I wasn't exactly blown away. It feels like a niche product that'll appeal to some like graphics artists. The keyboard cover wasn't that great either. It felt cheaply made and was difficult to type on, just like the original Surface.

The Surface Book feels much more refined. Although it's technically a laptop/tablet hybrid, it's the first in the category that doesn't feel like one. It's a laptop when you need it or a big-screen tablet when you need it. There aren't any obvious compromises like there are with other Surfaces.

(By the way, Microsoft did announce another new Surface, the Surface Pro 4, which looks like an updated version of what we've seen before. I'm not into it.)

To be clear, these are only first impressions. Microsoft made some bold claims Tuesday, saying the Surface Book is 50% more powerful than the MacBook Pro. We'll have to wait and see about that.

But based on what I've seen so far, I think Microsoft has a potential hit coming soon.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Microsoft's first laptop looks like a MacBook killer

Microsoft just built the laptop I've been waiting for (MSFT) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: The famous Princess Leia bikini has sold for $96,000

Steve Kovach October 05, 2015 at 10:51AM

The most famous bikini in film history has a new owner.

Last week, the so-called Princess Leia slave bikini, which was worn by actress Carrie Fisher in 1983's "Return of the Jedi," was sold at an auction for $96,000.

This one:

Here's what it looks like today:

Profiles in History, which held the auction, did not release the name of the winning bidder.

Here's some background on the bikini from "Star Wars" lore.

In "Return of the Jedi," Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and the rest of the crew infiltrate Jabba the Hutt's palace in an effort to rescue Han Solo, who was captured by Darth Vader and frozen in carbonite. Vader gave Solo to the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who in turn sold him to Jabba.

But Leia gets caught and Jabba makes her his new slave. (He killed his previous slave by feeding her to a giant monster.) Eventually, Luke comes to the rescue and Leia is able to use her chains to choke Jabba to death in the ensuing chaos.

The bikini lived on after "Return of the Jedi" in pop culture. For example, an entire episode of "Friends" is dedicated to the fact that men fantasize about sleeping with a woman dressed in Leia's bikini. 

Rachel fulfills the fantasy for Ross at the end of the episode:

It is unclear what the winning bidder plans to do with the new bikini.

Carrie Fisher will return as Princess Leia in the upcoming "Star Wars" movie, "The Force Awakens," on December 18.

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The famous Princess Leia bikini has sold for $96,000 from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: Apple added a neat trick to your Mac's mouse (AAPL)

Steve Kovach October 01, 2015 at 12:01PM

If you updated to the new Mac operating system OS X El Capitan this week, you may have noticed something new about your mouse cursor.

Now, when you jiggle the mouse, it blows up to a ginormous size. Like this:

Why? To make the cursor easier to find when you first sit down at your computer. If you've ever had to jiggle your mouse around to figure out where that little arrow is, you can appreciate how much this helps with the struggle.

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NOW WATCH: The 6 best new features coming to Apple computers

Apple added a neat trick to your Mac's mouse (AAPL) from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: I only have one major problem with the iPhone 6S

Steve Kovach October 01, 2015 at 10:08AM

The iPhone 6S is the best phone you can buy.

As I wrote in my full review, there's very little to complain about. The new iPhone is nearly perfect.

But I do have one major issue with the iPhone 6S. It starts with just 16GB of storage, which I think won't be enough for many, if not most people.

Here's how I explained it in my review:

The entry-level iPhones start with just 16GB of storage, which I don’t think is enough for many (if not most) people. The storage tier structure of the iPhones (16GB, 64GB, and 128GB) essentially forces a lot of people to spend the extra $100 to get the 64GB model so they don’t have to freak out about running out of space.

Here’s Apple’s argument: It says it has data proving most people with 16GB iPhones don’t even come close to using all that storage. It says it now offers cheaper online storage services so you can keep your stuff in the cloud instead of locally on your device. It says future software updates won’t require a ton of free space to install.

Here’s my argument: I believe that plenty of people have realized 16GB isn’t enough, so they’re spending more to get the higher-capacity models. Apple’s cloud services aren’t as reliable as others from companies like Google and Dropbox, and they essentially force you to pay Apple more money to get the most out of your device. Plus, two of the iPhone 6S’s major features — Live Photos and 4K video — are designed to use up more storage.

My advice: Unless you plan to use your iPhone just to casually browse through apps and send text messages, prepare to suck it up and spend at least $100 more to get the storage you need.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: These new iPhone features will change the way you use your phone

I only have one major problem with the iPhone 6S from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: I only have one major problem with the iPhone 6S

Steve Kovach October 01, 2015 at 08:28AM

The iPhone 6S is the best phone you can buy.

As I wrote in my full review, there's very little to complain about. The new iPhone is nearly perfect.

But I do have one major issue with the iPhone 6S. It starts with just 16GB of storage, which I think won't be enough for many, if not most people.

Here's how I explained it in my review:

The entry-level iPhones start with just 16GB of storage, which I don’t think is enough for many (if not most) people. The storage tier structure of the iPhones (16GB, 64GB, and 128GB) essentially forces a lot of people to spend the extra $100 to get the 64GB model so they don’t have to freak out about running out of space.

Here’s Apple’s argument: It says it has data proving most people with 16GB iPhones don’t even come close to using all that storage. It says it now offers cheaper online storage services so you can keep your stuff in the cloud instead of locally on your device. It says future software updates won’t require a ton of free space to install.

Here’s my argument: I believe that plenty of people have realized 16GB isn’t enough, so they’re spending more to get the higher-capacity models. Apple’s cloud services aren’t as reliable as others from companies like Google and Dropbox, and they essentially force you to pay Apple more money to get the most out of your device. Plus, two of the iPhone 6S’s major features — Live Photos and 4K video — are designed to use up more storage.

My advice: Unless you plan to use your iPhone just to casually browse through apps and send text messages, prepare to suck it up and spend at least $100 more to get the storage you need.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: These new iPhone features will change the way you use your phone

I only have one major problem with the iPhone 6S from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: REVIEW: No one can beat the iPhone

Steve Kovach October 01, 2015 at 06:43AM

Apple’s “S” iPhones always seem boring at first. It’s easy to get caught up with the fact that they look the same while all the real improvements are somewhat invisible.

This year feels different though.

By now, we’re used to Apple’s cycle of changing the design of the iPhone every other year, and there have been few complaints from the usual horde of tech pundits criticizing Apple for simply iterating on last year’s iPhone.

I think that’s because the new iPhone 6S has more significant new features than any other “S” phone. It’s faster. Both cameras are a lot better. You can take adorable animated photos. And, most importantly, the screen is pressure sensitive, which opens up an entirely new layer of control for your apps.

It also comes in pink if that’s your thing.

I’ve been using the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus for a week, and it’s nearly impossible to find anything to complain about. The 6S starts at $649 and the 6S Plus starts at $749. It's been eight years since the first iPhone launched, and no one can beat it. Simply put, it's the best phone you can buy.

3D Touch

There are three killer features everyone needs to know about, so I’ll tackle them one by one starting with 3D Touch, the new technology baked into the iPhone’s screen that can detect how hard you press down.

3D Touch is in its early days and most developers haven’t built it into their apps yet, so it’s tough to evaluate. But based on what I’ve seen from Apple’s preinstalled apps and others like Instagram, I think we’re going to see a lot of neat things in the coming months.

On the home screen, doing a hard-press on an icon brings up a menu of common actions for that particular app. For example, the camera app gives you the option to shoot a selfie, record a video, or snap a normal photo. It’s a neat trick that saves you a little time.

But the biggest benefit of 3D Touch is within apps. Links and other content like photos let you preview them without taking you into another screen or app. For example, if someone sends you a web link in a text message, you can press hard on it to get a preview of the page without leaving the Messages app. Pressing a little harder will launch the full page in the Safari browser. (Apple calls this function “peek and pop.”)

I found 3D Touch to be the most useful in Mail. I get hundreds of emails a day, which for someone as anal me is a real pain. Most of them are irrelevant and go straight to the trash, and I spend a stupid amount of time keeping my inbox neat and tidy. 3D Touch made it a lot easier. I could quickly peek at the contents of an email and swipe it away to the trash if I didn’t need it. And on the rare occasion I got an email worth reading and responding to, I could press down a little harder to view the full email and then reply.

The only thing holding 3D Touch back is its lack of support by most third-party apps. And many that do support it now, like Twitter, only added limited options from the home screen icon. There’s limited or no support inside the app.

Historically, when Apple adds a new hardware feature like this, it can take some time for developers to fully support it, so don’t expect 3D Touch to be ubiquitous for at least another year. (There are still plenty of apps that don’t support the larger screens on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, for example.)

Camera

Both cameras on the iPhone got nice boosts this year. The rear-facing camera now shoots at 12 megapixels, up from eight, and the front camera shoots at five megapixels, up from 1.2 megapixels.

I’m not a photography expert, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. The photos do look great, and I imagine the camera will be perfect for most people. But I don’t see a drastic improvement over last year. That’s not a bad thing at all.

Plus, my colleague Antonio Villas-Boas, who is way smarter than me when it comes to this stuff, tested the iPhone 6S camera against the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 camera this week and said the iPhone is the clear winner. It’s the best camera you can get in a phone.

It’s pretty clear when you see the photos side by side:

The camera also shoots video at a higher resolution called 4K. The feature is off by default, but it’s nice to switch on if you want to take crisper video. I imagine normal HD video will be fine for most people though. Plus, 4K takes up almost 400MB per minute of video, which could be a problem if you don’t have a lot of storage on your device. (More on that later.)

There is a noticeable improvement with the front-facing camera though. And as an added bonus, the screen doubles as a flash for the front camera, so all those selfies you take in dark bars will actually come out.

Like this:

Live Photos

The camera also records little snippets of video before and after you take a still shot. When you press down on the photo, it animates with a GIF-like effect Apple calls Live Photos. You can also set your wallpaper as a Live Photo you take.

It’s a cute and fun feature, but it's limited to Apple devices for now. I hope apps like Instagram, Twitter, and Google Photos start supporting Live Photos soon. (Facebook has already said support is coming.) It's also a trend we're starting to see more and more on other apps and devices. Facebook, for example, recently announced that you'll be able to turn your profile photo into a moving GIF soon.

Some other stuff

Most of the other new features in the iPhone 6s are invisible. It now has more RAM and a zippy processor, so overall performance will be smoother.

Battery life is also the same. Even though the battery is technically smaller than the one in the iPhone 6, it lasts just as long, which is still a problem for heavy users. I was able to make it through a full day, but I would’ve liked to see Apple improve battery life instead of keeping it the same.

Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor in the home button, is also new. It’s a lot faster now. In fact, it’s almost too fast.

Since Apple introduced Touch ID two years ago, I’ve become used to unlocking my phone by pressing the home button and leaving my finger there for another beat so Touch ID would take me to my home screen. The updated Touch ID sensor is so good though that I don’t even need to wait another beat. It unlocks the phone almost as soon as the screen lights up. Ironically, there have been a few complaints that Touch ID is too good because it doesn't give you enough time to read notifications that hit your lock screen. I don't think that's a big deal though.

One big complaint

The entry-level iPhones start with just 16GB of storage, which I don’t think is enough for many (if not most) people. The storage tier structure of the iPhones (16GB, 64GB, and 128GB) essentially forces a lot of people to spend the extra $100 to get the 64GB model so they don’t have to freak out about running out of space.

Here’s Apple’s argument: It says it has data proving most people with 16GB iPhones don’t even come close to using all that storage. It says it now offers cheaper online storage services so you can keep your stuff in the cloud instead of locally on your device. It says future software updates won’t require a ton of free space to install.

Here’s my argument: I believe that plenty of people have realized 16GB isn’t enough, so they’re spending more to get the higher-capacity models. Apple’s cloud services aren’t as reliable as others from companies like Google and Dropbox, and they essentially force you to pay Apple more money to get the most out of your device. Plus, two of the iPhone 6S’s major features — Live Photos and 4K video — are designed to use up more storage.

My advice: Unless you plan to use your iPhone just to casually browse through apps and send text messages, prepare to suck it up and spend at least $100 more to get the storage you need.

Should you get it?

The iPhone 6s is the best phone you can buy.

So yes, if you’re ready for a new phone, this should be your first choice. I don’t think it’s a big enough jump forward if you’re already using an iPhone 6. You’ll be fine for another year. But if you’re using an iPhone 5s or something older, then you should definitely upgrade.

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NOW WATCH: 3D touch will change how you use your iPhone

REVIEW: No one can beat the iPhone from Business Insider: Steve Kovach

The Transport Guy: A quick snapshot of what to expect when you buy the iPhone 6S

Skye Gould and Steve Kovach October 01, 2015 at 06:12AM

The iPhone 6S is here, and it's the best phone you can buy. You can read our full, detailed review of the iPhone 6S here. And check out the handy graphic below for a quick snapshot of the best features.

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A quick snapshot of what to expect when you buy the iPhone 6S from Business Insider: Steve Kovach