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Apple Music review

You can count on one finger the number of companies in the world that could launch a new music streaming service and expect to become a major player overnight.

That company is Apple and today it duly obliged by launching Apple Music - the long-awaited music app that integrates subscription-based streaming capabilities with the playback of existing songs in your iTunes library.

So you no longer need to buy an album on iTunes in order to listen to it on your iPhone inside stock apps, you can simply pay $9.99/£9.99 per month and stream as much music as you like directly into your head, preferably via the ears. And you can do it from inside the Music app on your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, or with iTunes on your PC or Mac.

(An Android app will be available later in the year - an app which is definitely still in development and definitely isn't being intentionally held back by Apple for, you know, reasons - don't be so cynical.)

Apple Music also offers extensive music discovery channels including round-the-clock radio station 'Beats 1' featuring renowned radio DJs like Zane Lowe, as well as social features that aim to put artists and bands closer to their fans. It's all exciting stuff.

The best thing about all this? Apple is giving everyone three months access to Apple Music as a free trial. That's a killer feature that gives Apple Music a good shot of quickly establishing a respectable subscriber base.

A challenge for Apple

The launch of Apple Music is an enormous moment for the music business, not just because Apple has been such a major player over the last 15 years but also because it's taken Apple so long to get here. After all - music streaming is not a new thing.

Spotify launched, if you can believe it, seven years ago now. It has 75 million active users around the world including 20 million paying subscribers who have collectively created over 1.5 billion playlists. That's not a temporary deal - Spotify is here to stay and Apple has its work cut out for it if it wants to be the number one.

But as we'll see, Apple's strategy is as self-serving, insular and crafty as usual, with its goal not necessarily to be the number one on the planet from the off, but rather to be a unique and reliable service that can be used in future to sell more iPhones and iPads while becoming a profitable service in its own right.

The basics of Apple Music

Apple Music costs $9.99/£9.99 per month for a standard dose of all-you-can-eat music streaming or 14.99 for a family package which gives access for up to six people.

That pricing is the same as most of Apple Music's competitors, but the family plan is a nice addition and offers real value for money.

Don't even try listening on more than one device at the same time with a standard subscription - you'll be instantly be cut off on one of the devices, given a stern warning and administered with a painful electric shock. One of those things isn't true.

Sound quality is possibly one area of contention, though, because while Tidal and others push towards CD-quality music at 1441kbps, Apple Music streams tunes at a fairly pitiful 256kbps, and in the MP3 format as well.

Even Spotify and Google are able to stream 320kbps in OGG, a far more accomplished method of music delivery. Come on, Apple, we've moved past 256kbps MP3's by now.

Give us more bits per second!

Focus on music discovery

The Apple Music library is 30 million tracks strong and growing - that's not quite as high as the number of tracks available in iTunes but on a par with Spotify and Google Music which are, lets face it, its biggest rivals.

Any music that you have in your own personal library that perhaps isn't available to stream you can upload to iCloud and have them seamlessly integrated with the other tracks that are natively available. You're currently limited to 25,000 but that will increase to 100,000 when iOS 9 launches.

The service has taken a leaf out of the Tidal playbook by offering playlists created by real, living, breathing (we assume), human music experts and initial signs are positive on that score - I found myself happily sitting through a number of them as I worked this afternoon and for me that shows real patience - normally I don't like anyone telling me what songs to listen to.

And the whole service is underpinned by Beats 1, a real internet radio station in the truest sense.

It's not an auto-generated playlist based on your personal tastes, though Apple has done a good job with those as well, but a full-blown DJ-hosted 24-hour radio station hosted by Zane Lowe and others, designed to help you discover what Apple wants to call "new music".

Whether "new music" to Apple means giving exposure to the indie stars of future or simply being the first to play Kanye West's latest deep sustained booming sounds remains to be seen.

First impressions

I'll be putting Apple Music through its paces for a while before delivering a full verdict, but here are some thoughts while you wait:

• As a non-Apple user and someone who abandoned the burning building that is iTunes many years ago, the design of the app is not particularly intuitive. I think the problem is that there is just so much going on in there, finding a place for it all has inevitably led to some compromises in the design. I'll probably get over it but I think it'll put plenty of people off right from the start.

• Sound quality is disappointing. I won't labour the point here but in an age where we're pushing for high res music, 256kpbs MP3 just doesn't cut it. It's noticeably inferior to other services when listening with a decent pair of headphones. Sorry Apple, it's not good enough - particularly as you, of all companies, can do a lot better.

• Apple has put music discovery at the very heart of this service and I think it works. For those people out there - hey dad - who like music but don't know what to listen to, Apple Music could be a dream come true. I don't usually like to be told what to listen to, but I'm looking forward to testing its effectiveness - does Apple know my music taste better than I do? We'll soon see.

• Beats 1 is a backwards idea but I think it's going to really work. Only Apple could pull off a global radio station like this, and while I can't imagine myself listening to it very often - or, let's be honest, ever - a lot of people will, I'm convinced.

• The app is slow at times on both my iPad and my iPod touch 5th gen. The app is divided into six main sections - For You, New, Radio, Connect, Playlists, My Music - and switching between them always gives me a spinning wheel of doom. Usually only for a couple of seconds, but still, don't make me wait - I'm impatient.

So to sum up my first couple of hours with Apple Music I'd say that I am impressed. For iPhone and iPad owners who don't currently stream music, it'll be a revelation and I suspect that the more time you spend with Apple Music, the more you fall in love with it.

But whether it's enough to tempt Spotify or Google Music subscribers to jump ship... I have my, albeit preliminary, doubts.

Don't take my word for it though - get stuck in with the free three month trial and let us know what you think of Apple Music in the comments below.

from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1GXq5Vt

Introduction and display

Update: Pebble released a major firmware update for both iOS and Android platforms. Better backlight options, font size, vibration settings and notifications were the focus of this update, along with longer canned responses for Android and general bug fixes.

Check out the rest of the details below under display, compatibility and apps.

Review continued below ...

The Pebble Time was controversially announced as another Kickstarter project, and still holds the crown for the most funded Kickstarter of all time (for now).

With over $20 million pledged, it was clear the little smartwatch hyped fans of the first Pebble watch. It seemed to be the answer for the anti-Apple Watch crowd, partly because of its plucky startup story. The Pebble Time was the answer for those who desired an affordable, cross-platform smartwatch – not to mention an iPhone-compatible wearable that wasn't the Apple Watch.

At $199 (£179.99, about AU$256), the Time isn't too pricey at all for a smartwatch. Now that it's finally out, how does it actually fare on the wrist? Not quite as well as I'd expect from the Kickstarter phenom, but it's certainly not all a wash.

Display

The biggest draw for the Pebble Time is its new always-on, e-paper display. Its predecessors, the Pebble and Pebble Steel, sported black and white e-paper screens that were sufficient. But the new 64-color screen brings a new depth to the smartwatch and gives it an almost retro feel that nerds should appreciate.

At 1.25-inches, the screen sucks up little battery life and, for the most part, is easy to see even in the sunlight – though the screen doesn't get very bright. There's also an ambient light sensor but since the display stays relatively low, it's hard to tell if the screen changes. It's also, of course, not as vibrant as the Apple Watch or Android watches, but it does have the advantage of being always on without killing the battery.

It seems like Pebble heard me (and likely others) lamenting over the brightness. A recent update from the company includes a new backlight intensity level called "blinding." It's definitely a step above the "high" setting and I can actually see what's on the screen better. However, there's a slight drawback in the fact that the colors still look muted and dull.

Unfortunately, the Gorilla Glass screen is surrounded by an excessive amount of bezel that detracts from the overall loveliness of the Pebble Time. Adding to the bulkiness of the already distracting bezel?

Hilariously, more bezel: the screen is surrounded by a black bezel frame and a stainless steel bezel. I'm not sure what inspired this poor design choice, but the first-generation Pebble was already bogged down by too much bezel. I had hoped the new Pebble would do away with it, but alas, the design instead doubled it.

The display is also not a touchscreen. Considering there is already such a small amount of real estate on smartwatches, this isn't a huge issue, but it leaves the experience a little too old school for a smartwatch. On the upside, the lack of a touchscreen does cut down on costs.

Design and comfort

The design of the Pebble Time lies somewhere in between pleasing to look at and cheap feeling, due to its rounded square body and plastic feel.

My initial thought before my watch shipped to me was was one of excitement. But upon receiving it, I felt a bit underwhelmed by its less than premium material.

The watch still remains lightweight with a soft, silicone band that comes in white, red and black. There are also quick release pins that allow for easy switching to other, third party 22mm bands.

But, much like the Microsoft Band, my Pebble Time's stock strap grew lint-laden over time. Despite many efforts to keep it clean, lint and dust still piled on and remained.

Because there is no touchscreen, you're left relying on the Pebble Time's four buttons. The one on the left side of the watch body takes you back one screen or home, where the there's an up, select and down button on the right side. The up and down buttons can be mapped as quick launch shortcuts for certain apps by pressing down and holding.

I feel like I've been spoiled by touch screen smartwatches, because it took a while for me to readjust to solely buttons. If you're going straight into the Pebble Time without having used any other smartwatch, it shouldn't be too off putting. And if you're upgrading from an older Pebble, don't sweat it.

The buttons themselves are simple and familiar, but it feels like they require a deep push to fully register. Buttons on other watches like the Moto 360 or the Apple Watch's Digital Crown don't feel like they need that much force.

Comfort

The silicone band and plastic body combine to make the Pebble Time featherlight and extremely comfortable to wear.

I didn't find the previous Pebbles to be uncomfortable despite their flat backs but the company designed the Time's watch body to include a slight curve to help it fit better on the wrist. I did notice that it wiggled around less and was able to stay nice and snug on my arm.

It's also a watch perfect for wrists of all shapes and sizes, as the strap manages to accommodate pretty well for small and large wrists. I didn't have any issues with it notched on the second to last slot.

Specs, performance and interface

The Time's 40.5 x 37.5mm case isn't too big or too small, which – despite the bezel – adds to the visual appeal of the watch. It's even slightly thinner than its predecessor, at 9.5mm.

The Pebble Time one-ups the Apple Watch with water resistance capabilities up to 30 meters.

If that isn't all, the CPU has been upgraded from the original Pebble as well. This model sports an ARM Cortex M4, allowing more processing power to push the graphical interface and to support the addition of a microphone.

Performance and interface

Initial set-up of the Time watch requires you to pair via Bluetooth after downloading the Pebble Time app. After a few glitches with pairing that took me to an SOS screen that wouldn't disappear, Pebble sent another watch for testing. It ended up working perfectly fine, though again, pairing took two tries to take hold and stick.

Once that was all set up, I was able to finally test out Timeline, the new operating system Pebble has been touting for its new watches.

I first noticed that Timeline is clean, snappy and fun to use. Pressing up lets you see past calendar events, app notifications, reminders and whatever news you have set up.

Pressing down lets you see everything, but in the future. The information that's displayed on your watch is essentially laid out chronologically, hence the name Timeline. Clever, right?

So far, I've had no issues with the interface. Its new CPU seems to be doing a swell job of keeping the apps loading and running swiftly without problems.

The little animations and transitions – like a puff of smoke dismissing notifications – are also delightful and make the whole Pebble Time experience more pleasing and unique.

Apps and fitness

There's no shortage of apps for the Time. Because it's backwards compatible, you have access to over 6,000 apps. Not each one has a color interface, naturally.

In addition to the Timeline interface, there's still an apps menu, which you can access by pushing the middle button on the right side. Default apps include Settings, which shows the battery level and date among other options once you select it. Notifications, Music, Alarms and Watchfaces round out the rest of the default apps.

Notifications range from texts, Facebook, Twitter or whatever application you have installed on your phone and set to send you notifications. Selecting the Pebble Time app lets you scroll through all of them in once place. This looks a bit messy, but is simultaneously convenient to open just one app to see everything.

There was always a "clear all" option in the notification app but a recent firmware update now lets you dismiss all of your notifications with one click opposed to dismissing one by one as you receive messages.

Vibrations have also been adjusted and now allow you to disable, turn on low, medium or high. Previously, it's default was set to high which made receiving notifications jarring, but the new options have helped alleviate this.

Music lets you see what's playing on your phone, and lets you quickly skip songs, which is handy when driving.

Fitness

Along with an accelerometer and the aforementioned water resistance and GPS functionality, the Pebble Time can also track your steps and sleep by using various fitness apps like Runkeeper, Pedometer, Swim.com, Misfit, Fitcat and more.

I had odd issues downloading apps from the Pebble Time store but they eventually started working. Since there's no actual fitness app from Pebble, nor very many sensors, the watch is dependent on third-parties to get the fitness ball rolling. Even then, a lot of the options are companion apps that require an app on both the phone and wearable. This isn't surprising considering many smartwatch apps employ this method to work.

I used the Misfit app to track my step progress because it seemed the best of the bunch. Previously, you needed the app open at all times on Pebble devices to keep it tracking but thankfully an update from last year has allowed Misfit to run in the background.

The app hasn't been upgraded with the new color scheme and remains in black and white, though this doesn't really take away from the experience since it only shows a simple circular data log and graph of each step and sleep goals.

So far I've used the Pebble Time with Misfit app in conjunction with the Apple Watch and Microsoft Band. While looking ridiculous sporting three different wearables, I was able to see that the Pebble Time kept up reasonably well.

The Misfit Flash isn't the most accurate tracker I've used - though no fitness tracker is really clear cut when it comes to monitoring steps.

Regardless, the three devices gave me relatively similar numbers over the span of a day but the Pebble Time seemed to be the most sensitive and recorded a higher number than the other two: Apple Watch clocked in at 5,100 steps, Microsoft Band at 5,089 with the Pebble Time at 5,226. I continued using the wearables through another day and received similar results, and I expect that's how it would continue.

More features

An added fitness feature for the Time (that will likely evolve beyond fitness) includes "Smartstraps."

Smartstraps are modular watch straps that involve hooking onto the charge port on the back of the watch. Embedding a battering-hogging GPS chip only when it really matters, or a heart-rate sensor when you decide to monitor your real-time beats per minute, are a few possibilities the straps offer.

Pebble even floated the idea of adding even more battery life to the the already-long-lasting Pebble Time.

Right now, the Smartstraps concept is open to developers and hackers who want to tinker with the idea of helping craft the future of Pebble Time. The company figures that its dedicated community has done it before with apps, so why not add customizable hardware, too?

Pebble says it'll make some straps on its own too, but which and when remains to be seen. Right now, it's asking partners to contact the company with a vague timeline of "later this year."

Compatibility and battery life

The Pebble Time is compatible with both Android and iOS devices – but with some caveats. You can only read messages on iOS platforms and dismiss them once you're done. Android lets you reply similarly to how the Apple Watch lets you – through pre-written messages, emojis or with your voice.

The recent firmware update now lets Android users compose longer canned messages.

It's unclear when voice replies will be available on iOS, especially since it took so long for the actual Pebble Time app to show up in the Apple store.

Battery life

The battery life of all the Pebbles is pretty much legendary in terms of smartwatches. Rather than lasting the usual two days, the Pebble Time is able to work a whopping 10 whole days.

This is likely because of its 150mAh battery, and even more so its e-paper screen.

With all notifications turned on, fitness functions and the always on screen, I was able to get the full 10 days despite dropping down to 30% battery on day five.

Plus, even when dead, the watch still displays the time for a short period before completely going blank.

The charger of the Pebble Time is of course, different from the original Pebble. It has the same basic look, USB and magnetic connector.

The Time also takes about an hour to full charge up to 100%.

Verdict

The Pebble Time is a smartwatch that hyped up a lot of features before releasing, but doesn't quite measure up like we had hoped.

We liked

The Time is visually pleasing to the eye and looks like it could almost pass for a budget Apple Watch. The color option is also a welcome upgrade from the black and white e-ink days of the first Pebble – even if it's only running a 64-color palette. The impressive battery life is also something most other smartwatch makers should take note of.

We disliked

The bezel. It's horrendous and distracting from the overall appealing design of the Pebble Time. What's more, the watch feels a little too plasticky in the hand and lacks a premium look.

The brightness level of the display could also be amped a bit more, so I can actually see the color screen better. The lack of a touchscreen is also disappointing but understandable to keep costs down. An acceptable trade-off would have been higher-quality buttons providing a better feeling and requiring less force.

Final verdict

It's hard to like the Pebble Time after using higher-end smartwatches, like the Apple Watch or even the LG Watch Urbane.

The Time's features are extremely lacking despite its huge app store library. Likewise, the Timeline interface and color display are also underwhelming despite being the new, touted aspects of the Time.

Essentially, even with these upgrades, the Pebble Time still isn't a smartwatch you can place alongside its more expensive brethren. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though.

At $199 (£179.99, about AU$256), the Time is reasonably priced if you want a watch that connects to your phone as a notifier or simple fitness device. Hopefully with future updates, the watch will be able to do more, especially for iOS.

Android fans already have a vast array of useful smartwatches to choose from – Moto 360, Sony Smartwatch 3 and more – but those on iOS have meager pickings. It seemed like the Pebble Time would have been an attractive alternative for iPhone users who want to try out an affordable wearable. But right now, the Time simply can't do as much on iOS as it can on Android.

The insanely successful Kickstarter shows that Pebble is undoubtedly a powerful wearable maker. But despite its popularity, Pebble needs to show us that it can do even better.

Here's hoping the Pebble updates will help the Time feel more worthy of our wrists.

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The interchangeable-lens camera has been an ever shrinking device from full-frame monsters, APS-C sensors to the miniature Micro Four Thirds (MFT) system cameras. Now, Olympus is introducing its smallest camera yet: the Olympus Air A01.

The new pocket shooter is a lens camera much in the same spirit as the Sony QX1 ($399, £250, about AU$520) in that they both rely almost entirely on a smartphone to operate.

It comes outfitted with a 16 megapixel, MFT sensor and a lens mount that will work readily with both Olympus and Panasonic glass. As for the camera screen, you'll have to supply that on your own with an iOS or Android smartphone.

On top of using your phone to see your photos, an accompanying Olympus Air app will turn your smartphone into a central hub for everything from composing your shot to editing and ultimately sharing images.

Design

If you've seen Olympus's earlier Open Platform camera, then the Air should look somewhat familiar. Since the camera company initially announced its plans to build a new camera platform, the Air has seen some significant refinements. For starters, rather than looking like an oversized and boxy GoPro, the new Air is a perfect cylinder.

It's also incredibly small, making it perfectly pocketable. Measuring in at 57.1 x 57.1 x 43.6mm (W x D x H) it's compact even compared to the larger 74 x 69.5 x 52.5mm (W x D x H) Sony QX1. In fact, the lens camera is just about the same size as the Olympus 17mm, f1.8 lens.

What's more, while the Sony lens camera has weird outcrops protruding from its cylindrical body, the Air is perfectly smooth on all sides. The Air is also a fair bit lighter, weighing in at only 147g compared to the 216g QX1.

Externally, there aren't many controls on the Olympus Air. Up top, there's a massive shutter button, which makes it easier to trigger the camera no matter how you're holding it. Just below that, you'll also find a small power button, and that's really all there is for controls.

Instead of flicking dials and switches on the camera itself, you'll spend the majority of your time in the Olympus Air smartphone app, tweaking exposure settings and setting up the shot. Thankfully, pairing a phone to the Air is a sinch through NFC or scanning the QR code printed on the device's rear cover.

The Olympus Air comes with a mount for your smartphone to make it one whole, albeit makeshift, camera. Unlike the Sony QX1, the mount does not hold mobile devices flush with the back of the lens camera. Instead, the Air grips smartphones at an angle, making it easier to take photos from overhead or below eye level.

A whole new world of possibilities

Despite the small size of the camera, the Air can take some truly gorgeous photos. Olympus has equipped its first lens camera with the same MFT sensor taken from the OM-D E-M10. The Air also inherits the E-M10's 81 contrast autofocus points – the sensor detects different colors and levels of brightness automatically – and TruePic VII processing engine.

One thing that has been upgraded is the burst rate, which has been increased to 10 frames per second, thanks to the Air's electronic shutter.

Compared to just about any smartphone camera, the Air resolves more detail, fuller colors, better shadows and general better dynamic range. That's not to say you'll be using this lens camera in a studio environment.

However, this camera will up your photography game with better food photos, landscapes, group selfies and just about any picture you would normally take with a smartphone. Don't forget about the extra flexibility either. Because you can point the camera without having to look at the display, you can use the Air can take images from all sorts of new perspectives.

As an added layer of accessibility, the smartphone app comes with an OA genius preset, which takes a single photo you took and transforms it into six variants. Olympus explained that the app creates these six deviations by applying different settings, art filters and cropping images.

From there, you can select a shot that looks best or stick with their original file. Either way the Olympus Air app automatically creates these files. You can also choose your favorite OA Genius-created photos with stars, and the smartphone app will begin understanding your preference.

Of course, more experienced shooters are also free to go fully hands on and manually adjust every aspect of their exposure.

A tiny bit too small

Annoyingly, just about everything on the backside of the camera is obstructed by one layer of plastic or another. At the rear, there's a switch to turn on and off Bluetooth as well as a microUSB connector for charging.

But to get to either, you'll have to take off the smartphone mount. What's more, there's yet another rear cover that blocks access to the microSD card slot.

Additionally, to shrink the Air to such a small size, Olympus sacrificed a few qualities innate to its MFT camera line. Most importantly, the Air does not feature any form of sensor-shifting image stabilization whatsoever. Panasonic lenses with in-image stabilization of their own will work, though.

The Air is also entirely reliant on an electronic shutter to take photos. Without a mechanical shutter, there's a greater chance images will develop rolling shutter, or the effect of a bent image, if you move the camera – or the subject in the frame is moving at a high speed.

Given the small stature of the Olympus Air, battery life isn't great either. Olympus claims you should expect to get about 320 photos out of a full charge, which should be enough to last several hours of use, but no more than half a day. Luckily, the camera supports USB charging, so at least it can be charged on the go.

Availability and pricing

Priced at $299 (about £190, AU$390), the Olympus Air is just a bit less expensive than the Sony QX1. The Olympus Air will begin shipping stateside this July.

That makes the US the third territory to officially sell the Air, following Japan and Canada. Olympus has yet to announce plans to launch the Air in the UK and Australia.

Early verdict

A few years ago, lens cameras seemed like a strange fad, but with more and more Wi-Fi connected cameras cropping up, it's beginning to make sense. Having a camera that you can use completely independent of your line of sight to a screen or viewfinder opens up a whole new world a photographic possibilities.

You'll have to wait for my full review to see if it works as well in the real world. But for now, the Air shows a breath of promise.

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