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My coworker recently shared with me Mashable's article, “The iPhone 7 Sounds like It Will Be Totally Boring,” an opinion piece by Raymond Wong. In summation, the article states that the iPhone 7 will be boring, because we already know all the details far before the keynote. But has anyone stopped to think, “Yeah, it’s nothing revolutionary to me, but I have access to this technology and the money to own it — and that’s amazing.” Just so we can really get an idea of how fortunate we are to have any iPhone at all, let’s take a look at a map of how much of the population has access to smartphones globally. Then tell me how boring any iPhone is.

For the past couple weeks, Apple Music users have been reporting a major problem with iTunes. When you sync your own music to iTunes and Apple Music, the service is going to look for a match on their servers. That’s the file Apple Music will then use. But the problem is that multiple users have discovered that iTunes is deleting the original files of their music (thus they would lose their own music when unsubscribing from the service.) As someone who has been collecting a personal library of music for years, I can understand why people are thoroughly pissed off. But Apple assures us a fix is coming.

It’s that time of year again when young people everywhere leave the safety of education for the wild west..I mean job market. Congratulate them on getting that higher education and the very important piece of paper that comes along with it. Regardless the grad or chosen career path, there’s a tech gift out there for every individual. Here’s some of our favorites from across the web.

Last night, Tim Cook sat down with Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money to discuss the “huge over reaction” Wall Street had over Apple’s Q2 Results. Cook spoke to the future of Apple, “We are going to give you things that you can’t live without that you just don’t know you need today.” “That’s what I want.” replied Cramer. And I echo his response with a resounding, “me too.” Tim Cook also put Apple’s quarter earnings into perspective, reminding us that by regular standards Apple had an incredible quarter with $10 billion in profits, which is “more than any other company makes.”

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and Apple released a 30-second montage of photos representing motherhood around the world to celebrate. Utilizing photos from the “Shot on iPhone” campaign that re-launched in February, the short ad reflects the love and strength of motherhood through the eyes of the iPhone lens. With the song Because You Are Who You Are by K.S. Rhoads playing in the background, it’s a heart-warming piece everyone can appreciate.

Go ahead and ask Siri, “When is WWDC?” The AI will happily tell you the event “will be held June 13 through June 17 in San Francisco. I can’t wait!” The keynote will be held the first day of the event, and that’s when we expect to hear about new Macbooks and operating systems. It’s expected the beta version of iOS 10 will be released around the time of the event with the official launch of iOS 10 in the Fall. Expectations for the latest iOS are definitely high; here’s the ten features we want to see in iOS 10.

With Apple’s Spring Event over and its new products, the iPhone SE and the smaller iPad Pro, on store shelves, it’s time to look to the future. What can we expect to see at WWDC in June? Hopefully everything the Spring event couldn’t provide (...Macbooks) as well as updates to iOS and OS X. Apple holds its Worldwide Developers Conference at the Moscone West convention center in San Francisco, California each year, and according to Macrumors, the only time frame potentially available at the convention center is June 13 to 17.

Apple's computers, smartphones, and other gear are all pretty cool, but lately Apple has been working building on its most outrageous and cool item to date: its new campus. The office building will be larger than the Pentagon and is designed with the latest technology. The building is longer than a mile in length and will house 13,000 employees in 2.8 million square feet of office space. Check out the video at the end of this post.

Taking the baton from Apple in the war on privacy, Microsoft is suing the Justice Department for the right to tell its customers when the government is looking at their emails. Microsoft receives thousands of government requests for emails and documents, and it wants to let its users know when the government is snooping on them. The lawsuit cites a violation of our Fourth and First Amendment constitutional rights.

In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, Apple released two videos featuring the life of a teenager named Dillan who uses Apple products to communicate and express his thoughts and creativity. Dillan is autistic and nonverbal, but he is insightful and creative with complex thoughts. Dillon has been using augmented and alternative communication apps for three years to help him communicate, and the videos show how integral the technology has become to his life.

“Many people are telling us that the iPad Pro has become their primary computing device,” said Apple CEO, Tim Cook at last Monday’s Apple Spring Event. One question Tim, who? When the 12.9-inch iPad Pro was released last year, Cook said, “They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones.” Sure, that might be true depending on what you use your computer for; however, even then, there are major gaps between the two devices that have me rolling my eyes at another iPad and waiting for an updated Macbook.

Between the ever-improving camera and amazing editing apps available, the iPhone has become more than just an amateur's tool for photography. If you’re someone who loves to take photos with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, consider entering this year’s IPPAwards, also known as The iPhone Photography Awards. There is a long list of categories photographers can choose from including Animals, Tree, Nature, People, Still Life, Events, Sunset, and more.

We all sat around the table as Tim Cook made his closing remarks saying, “this can’t be the end. It’s only been an hour. Is that it?” Beginning at 10 a.m Pacific Time, the Apple Spring Event was exactly what the rumors predicted with a couple unexpected features. Tim Cook began by addressing the ongoing controversy between Apple and the FBI stating, “we did not expect to be in this position, at odds with our government,” but, “We will not shrink from this responsibility.”

9.7-inch iPad Apple released today is the second iPad Pro. With over 1 million apps in the App Store for iPad and 600 million iPads active that are over five years old, Apple saw a market for a smaller laptop replacement. Even though the original iPad Pro is still fairly new, the iPad Pro line-up is clearly taking over. 

“The most powerful 4-inch iPhone ever.” Apple announces Special Edition iPhone with 64-bit A9 chip, giving it the same performance as the iPhone 6s but in a smaller package. So, the new iPhone will be faster than the iPhone 6s because of size alone. Plus, the iPhone SE will have improved battery life across the board. Apple has focused lots of attention on its camera with 12mp iSight camera, and it can capture Live Photos.  The iPhone SE has improved low light functions, slow motion functions, and can capture 4K video.

True to my geek nature, I am more excited about Apple’s March event than a child on Christmas morning. And we’re less than a week away. Next Monday, March 21 Apple will (finally) hold its Spring event and introduce its first product line-up of 2016. Rumors have consistently predicted a 4-inch iPhone SE, smaller iPad Pro (or Air 3, who knows), additional Apple Watch bands, and one more thing. But Apple also loves to add a little spice to its announcements, so I’ve got my fingers crossed for a closing performance by Adele.

Instagram is one of the few popular social networks that still shows content in chronological order. Soon, however, it’ll be adding algorithms for personalized social feeds. Similar to Facebook, Instagram will order the photos and videos based on “your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post,” the company shared in a recent blog post.

Richard Clarke, who led counterterrorism efforts for nine years during the Clinton and Bush administration says “Encryption and privacy are larger issues than fighting terrorism,” citing the example of the Obama administration which has said no to torture methods. NPR’s David Green then asks why he would compare the FBI’s request that Apple create an iOS backdoor to unlock the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone with an extreme method such as torture, “that seems like a jump.” To which Clarke replied, “No, the point I’m trying to make is there are limits.”

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