iPhone 7 Review: My First Five Days

John Martellaro has had his drop-dead gorgeous black, 128 GB iPhone 7 for five days now.  He takes a look at Apple’s official list of features, then delves into his initial reactions and technical observations about this remarkable iPhone. It’s hardly a yawner of an update.

iOS 10: How to Use Your iPhone as a Magnifying Lens

If you really stretch the whole “the best camera is the one you have with you” thing, you can say the same about magnifying lenses, too. Since your iPhone is always with you—hence, the best camera line—why not use it as a magnifying lens, too? That’s exactly what you can do in iOS 10.

Uiee Portable Battery and Wall Charger: $21.99

Check out this handy little gadget called the Uiee Portable Battery and Wall Charger. It has a retractable Lightning cable and two foldable plugs on the back so you can plug it directly into the wall and use it as a charger. But it also has an internal 1050mAh battery, which means you can take it with you as a portable charger, too. You can get this device for $21.99 through our deal.

Turns Out Apple CAN Patent Its Way Out of a Paper Bag

Who says the U.S. Patent system needs an overhaul? Companies like Apple patent everything they can. It’s not only a smart strategy, it’s a necessary strategy within the legal framework and patent structure we have today. With that in mind, I present to you patent application 20160264304, for a patent called “Bag.” The abstract described the patent as, “A paper bag is disclosed. The paper bag may include a bag container formed of white solid bleached sulfate paper with at least 60% post-consumer content.” OK, I see your lols bubbling forth, and I’m with you. But, the patent appears to focus on innovations in the way the handles are attached to “Bag.” The patent hasn’t yet been granted. The application was sent to our own Dave Hamilton by a Mac Geek Gab listener.

SCOTTeVEST's OTG Mashes Your Computer Bag and Jacket Together

Fall is in the air, which means it’s time to start thinking about which jacket you’re going to wear on chilly days, and maybe which laptop bag to carry, too. SCOTTeVEST is combining the two with its new Off The Grid (OTG) jackets for men and women. The jackets are insulated to keep you warm and include pockets big enough to carry a 15-inch MacBook Pro and iPad, touch-through pockets for your iPhone, accessory pockets, an RFID-proof pocket, and channels to route headphone and charger cables so they’re out of sight. That’s a lot of pockets. The OTG is priced at US$215 and is available now in black or blue for men, and black or plum for women.

Here's How to Quickly See Which Apple Stores have iPhone 7 in Stock

If you’re on the hunt for an iPhone 7, iStockNow makes that task easier by showing exactly which stores have some in stock. The site mashes up Google Maps and Apple’s own back-end inventory system to drop pins on ever Apple Store. Green pins mean a store has some iPhone 7 inventory, and red means they’re out of stock. You can also set filters to see if the size, color, and carrier you want are available, and you check specific cities, too. We were able to tell right away that Colorado and California are good states for getting a new iPhone right now; Washington and Florida, not so much.

FRANKLIN Bluetooth Headphones: $39.99

We have a deal for you today on a pair of FRANKLIN Bluetooth headphones. They last between 8-10 hours on a charge, report their current charge to your iPhone, and it has a built-in microphone and basic control buttons. You can get these headphones through our deal for $39.99

Poll: Which iPhone 7 Home Button Haptic Click Level Did You Choose?

We’re running an informal poll for our readers and listeners on Twitter. Which home button haptic click level did you choose on your iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus? We published a tip yesterday if you’re wanting to revisit the setting you chose during setup. As for the poll, you can see the results after choosing, but so far, only a few miscreants like our own Dave Hamilton have chosen level 1. I’d love to see a lot of data on this, so help spread the poll.

TASCAM Users: Don't Upgrade to macOS Sierra Yet

As has become unfortunately typical from TASCAM, macOS Sierra-compatible drivers for much of their audio hardware are not yet available. Previous years have seen a three-to-six month wait after the release of each new build of OS X for TASCAM to finally put out even preliminary public beta drivers.

TL;DR: if you use TASCAM audio hardware, don’t upgrade to macOS Sierra yet. Check back around Christmas. Maybe.

Snapping Raw Photos in iOS 10: What You Need to Know

One of the cool new features Apple added with iOS 10 is support for capturing photos as Raw files—a favorite for photographers who want total control over their images. Snapping Raw photos isn’t as simple as flipping a switch on your iPhone, but it doesn’t have to be complicated, either. Read on to get up to speed on iOS 10’s Raw image support.

Apple Ships macOS Sierra

Apple released macOS Sierra on Tuesday. The successor to OS X El Capitan, Sierra brings Universal Clipboard, iCloud Desktop and Documents, Auto Unlock and Apple Pay to the Mac. It also features Siri integration, as well as other improvements. The update is free.

Passwork 5-Year Subscription: $27

We have a deal for you today on a 5-year subscription to Passwork, a cloud-based password manager service. Passwork uses AES-256 encryption, and is designed with group and corporate management in mind. You can get this 5-year subscription for $27 through our deal.