With the new iPhones losing the headphone jack, there are a few options for connecting your old 3.5mm headphones to an iPhone 7 or 7 Plus. Apple is giving all new iPhone 7 customers a pair of Lightning EarPods and a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone adapter in the box, but those might not be ideal solutions for your personal setup. And if you plan on charging and listening at the same time, you need a Lightning dock with audio output or other adapter to get the job done.

We already recommended our top picks for wireless headphones, now we give you our roundup of the best Lightning and Bluetooth headphone adapter and dock accessories for audio on the iPhone 7.   more…

Filed under: Apple

iOS 10 includes a pre-installed Home app from Apple that lets you easily set up and manage smart accessories and automation, which previously required using third-party apps from various developers. There is one important drawback for HomeKit users on iOS 10: you can no longer use the third-generation Apple TV as a hub for automation or remote access.

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Filed under: Apple

Apple will have to pay a patent holding firm called Acacia a penalty of $22 million, a federal jury in East Texas decided this week. The issue is over a patent dispute, which is all to common for Apple, regarding cellular network technology.

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TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:

Apple’s 5K iMac isn’t just beautiful, it’s an absolute workhorse: $1,680 (Reg. $1,999)

Apple’s most powerful standard configuration 27-inch 5K Retina iMac is on sale for $399 off: $1,900 (Reg. $2,299)

The 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro is a powerful content creation machine, save 20% today: $1,600 (Reg. $1,999)

Pick up Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air with 256GB of storage at a $259 discount: $940 shipped (Reg. $1,199)

The Apple Store app is your key to downloading the award-winning iOS game INKS for free

Charge your new Apple Watch on Spigen’s minimalist dock, just $7 Prime shipped (Reg. $12)

Save up to $150 on iPad Pro at Staples: 12.9-inch Wi-Fi 128GB $749 (Reg. $899), 32GB $649 (Reg. $799), more

App Store Free App of the Week: Super Phantom Cat goes free for the first time (Reg. $2)

Aspyr 20th Birthday Mac Game Sale up to 75% off: BioShock, Borderlands, Star Wars, Shadow of Mordor, many more

Lara Croft Go is now down at $1 on the App Store (Reg. $5)

You can grab the Hitman Essentials iOS bundle (GO & Sniper) for just $1 right now ($8 value)

Here are the best Lightning-connected headphones that you can buy for iPhone 7 today

MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:

Amazon’s best-selling podcast mic, the Blue Microphones Snowball, is on sale for $44 Prime shipped (Reg. up to $55)

Smartphone Accessories: GOOLOO Power Strip w/ 4 USB Charging Ports $19 Prime shipped (Reg. $25), more

• Games/Apps: Mortal Kombat $29, Resident Evil 6 PS4 $17, Nyko PS4 Charge Station $12, more
• Daily Deals: Polk 2-Way Tower and Bookshelf Speakers $430, HP Wireless Mouse $7, more
• Score LG’s Nexus 5X 32GB 4G LTE Smartphone (Unlocked) for $240 shipped (Reg. $300)
• Amazon is taking up to 55% off a load of Play-Doh from $8: 24-pack $15, more
• Amazon offers LEGO Minecraft, Star Wars and City kits from $12 Prime shipped
• Celebrate 20 years of South Park with $0.20 digital episodes (Reg. $3)
• Amazon’s Gold Box features deals on best-selling Irwin tools: vise-grip $7, more
• Choose from a nice selection of ASICS Running Shoes from $55 in today’s Amazon Gold Box

MORE DEALS STILL LIVE:

Get $20 off Griffin’s iPhone 7 cases, Bluetooth headphone adapter & more when you spend $100

Supplement your Mac’s storage with a WD Elements 2TB Portable USB 3.0 Hard Drive for $70 shipped

A ton of Amazon’s low-priced AmazonBasics tech and home products just dropped even lower

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Filed under: Apple

It was yesterday suggested that Apple may be partnering with Energous, developer of a wireless charging technology known as WattApp. The company later issued a statement downplaying the evidence for the partnership, but – notably – without actually denying it.

Either way, it seems pretty clear by now that Apple is indeed waiting for either this or some similar long-distance wireless charging tech, and it is absolutely right to do so.

When I wrote a wish-list for the iPhone 7 back in November of last year, there were five items on it. Apple delivered three of them. But a number of you wondered why wireless charging wasn’t on my list, and I wrote a follow-up piece explaining my reasoning. The tl;dr version is that Apple should hold fire until wireless charging can be done properly – and I pointed directly to the WattApp tech developed by Energous as an example of how to do it right …

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Filed under: Apple

When the FBI was still demanding Apple’s help to access a work iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino killers, security firm Trail of Bits wrote a blog post claiming that the phone could be accessed without Apple’s assistance. A Cambridge University researcher has now successfully demonstrated that the method proposed would have worked.

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Filed under: Apple

iFixit didn’t waste any time on a teardown of the iPhone 7 Plus, and has now done the same with the new Apple Watch Series 2.

The main discovery is a much higher-capacity battery. The 273mAh battery offers almost a third more capacity than the 205mAh one in the first-gen Watch. However, all that extra power doesn’t extend the battery-life of the device – it’s rated for the same 18 hours as the original – it instead powers the built-in GPS and much brighter screen.

iFixit also identified what seems to be the main secret to the greatly-improved waterproofing of the Series 2 …

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Filed under: Apple

Subject to availability, the world is getting their hands on their brand new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus units today. This includes the fleet of YouTube accounts who buy phones just to destroy them … there are now zones of iPhone 7 waterproofing tests ready to watch.

Apple only promises the iPhone 7 can withstand 1 meter of submersion – all the test iPhones in the YouTube videos we’ve seen easily exceed its advertised waterproofness rating. The video from infohut, embedded below, subjects the iPhone 7 in water, fizzy orange and coffee. The iPhone 7 survives in perfect working order; the video then takes the phone apart to show that no liquid residue at all breached the chassis.

Watch the video after the jump …

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Filed under: Apple

While Apple has warned that the high-gloss surface of the Jet Black iPhone 7 is easily scratched, we’ve heard nothing yet about the scratch-resistance of the matte black finish. YouTuber JerryRigEverything set out to correct that by putting an iPhone through a series of torture tests.

The tests revealed a mix of good news and bad. All four surfaces tested – back, screen, Home key and camera lens – resisted scratches from both coins and keys, suggesting that the iPhone should be reasonably safe in a pocket. Not that we’d recommend conducting your own practical tests.

But scratch tests of the camera lens raised questions about Apple’s claims for the device …

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Filed under: Apple

Pre-order data shows that more people have ordered the iPhone 7 Plus than the smaller 4.7-inch model. It’s the first time that the larger model has proven more popular than the regular one, with the dual camera the most likely explanation.

Apple never reveals the breakdown of iPhone models ordered, but Slice Intelligence has a huge panel of U.S. shoppers who agree to allow the company to roboscan their emails for purchase receipts and report the data. Analysis of almost 32,000 pre-order receipt emails reveals that the breakdown was 55% Plus, 45% regular. This contrasts with just 35% ordering the iPhone 6 Plus and 41% opting for the 6s Plus.

The company also collected data on the colors and storage tiers ordered …

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Filed under: Apple