Apple just released iOS 10.1, the first major update to the iPhone and iPad's mobile operating system since iOS 10 launched in September.

For iPhone 7 Plus users, the update officially brings Portrait mode, the camera feature that creates photos with a blurred-out background. Portrait mode will continue to be an ongoing public beta, but iPhone 7 Plus users no longer need to install the public beta in order to get it.

As always, the easiest way to update your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to iOS 10.1 is to go to Settings > General > Software Update and download it over-the-air (OTA).

iOS 10.1 weighs about 200MB and we recommend connecting to a Wi-Fi network to download adn install it instead of eating into your data plan.

If the update is taking forever to download, your best option is to try again later when Apple's servers aren't being slammed by everyone simultaneously downloading it.

Alternatively, you can also connect your supported iOS device to your PC or Mac and update through iTunes. 

The full iOS 10.1 release notes from Apple include:

iOS 10.1 is available for the following iOS devices:

• iPhone: iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus

• iPad: iPad 4, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 4, iPad Pro 9.7, iPad Pro 12.9

• iPod touch: iPod touch (sixth-generation)

As a precaution, we also recommend backing up your data with iCloud or to a computer via iTunes beforehand to prevent any accidental data loss during the update process. It's rare you'll lose any data, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Google Photos is also a great way to keep a backup of all your photos and videos. If you go with the free tier, you'll be able to store an unlimited amount of photos at up to 16 megapixels and video at up to 1080p full HD resolution; to store video at up to 4K resolution, you'll need to pay for storage.

As you move towards the high-end spectrum of hi-fi, features on gadgets typically disappear. It's not uncommon to see a power amplifier, priced like a family car, with a single button, while amps that cost a few hundred bucks come with a bazillion knobs and switches. The idea is that everything that's not strictly necessary just gets in the way of that perfect sound — and perfect sound is the ultimate goal of expensive hi-fi equipment. 

It's no wonder, then that B&W's latest pair of headphones, the P9 Signature, doesn't have wireless connectivity, noise cancellation, or even a single button. The company's top-of-the-line headphones cost $900, and they promise just one thing: stellar sound. 

Judging from the week or so I've spent with them, the P9 Signature delivers, but that price tag might not be justifiable to everyone. 

Reviewing the P9 Signature, whose launch has been timed to celebrate Bowers & Wilkins' 50 years of existence, was fairly simple, as I've just finished reviewing the company's P7 Wireless headphones, B&W's priciest, best sounding headphones before the P9 came along. The two sets of cans share a similar design and sound (I was able to compare them directly), so my primary task was to figure out whether the price jump from $500 to $900 is worth it. 

Luxurious, comfortable and focused on the music

Let's start with this: If features are what you're after, you're looking at the wrong set of headphones. The P9 Signature comes with three cables (one with included volume and play/pause controls) of varying length, and an adaptor to the larger, 6.35mm audio jack (a must if you have serious hi-fi equipment at home), but that's it. There's no Lightning cable either, a must for owners of iPhone 7 (which has no audio headphone jack) though it will be shipped with the P9s starting early 2017, and those who buy them now can ask B&W for a free cable when it becomes available. 

These headphones are not meant to amuse you with gesture-based operation, smart sensors and similar shenanigans. They're meant to be the link between you and beautiful sounding music. 

Design-wise, the P9s look like a fancier version of the P7s. Brown, Italian Saffiano leather on the earcups, an Alcantara carrying case and an aluminum headband (which is, thankfully, foldable) give the headphones a distinctive, luxurious look. The P7 Wireless looks good, but when you place them next to the P9 Signature, they're just not in the same league. 

The P9s also have a hidden headphone jack — to replace a cable, you need to remove the magnetically-fastened earcup. The solution works better than it did with the P7 Wireless; you're not going to change the cables on these very often, if ever, and it keeps the headphone jack safely (and nicely) tucked away. 

Thanks to the premium materials and slightly bigger earcups, the P9 Signature are also more comfortable than the P7 Wireless — and generally very head-friendly, even though they're quite heavy at 413 grams. Both sets of headphones tend to become a bit heavy on the top of my head — uncomfortably so after an hour and a half of listening — but the effect is less pronounced with the P9s. 

A deepness in the bass

We've established that the singular goal of these headphones is great sound, but is it nine-hundred-bucks good? While the figure might sound outrageous to some, it's not uncommon in the world of high-end headphones; in fact, the world's best sounding headphones often cost several thousand dollars, which would make the B&W P9 Signature entry-level high-end hi-fi (yes, that's a lot of dashes). 

The verdict is not an easy one to give. On a technical level, the P9 Signature have slightly better specifications: their 40mm drivers have a larger frequency range (from 2Hz to 30KHz; good luck trying to hear sounds at the end of that range) and a lower distortion level, but are otherwise the same. They're also angled to provide a sound stage that's in front of you, not on the sides. And the earcups have been decoupled from the headband with a nifty little gimbal system to remove unwanted vibrations. 

But can you actually hear those differences?

The answer is yes, but it really depends on what type of listener you are. The P9 Signature headphones offer an extremely detailed sound. The bass is rich and precise, but slightly toned down compared to the P7s; it won't jump at you at every occasion, but if you focus, you'll hear it's fuller and more detailed. 

It's not just the bass; the sound of the P9s can generally be described as extremely precise, if a little dark. You'll hear it all; the hint of cold in the singer's voice, and the droning of an electric guitar left plugged in on stage at the end of a concert.  

The sound stage is moved a little to the front as promised by the angled drivers, but not vastly. In fact, if I were to point out one flaw (and that's only if I compare the sound with high-end equipment), the sound stage always sounds like a tiny club; you'll never get the feeling of being in a huge arena. 

But to hear all this, I've had to listen to CDs or flac files. And I used a 24-bit DAC audio module to connect to my MacBook Air. I've listened mostly to amazingly well-recorded music: Pink Floyd's The Wall, Ryan Adams' Live at Carnegie Hall and Nick Cave's Live from KCRW. This is where the P9s shine; put any of these on, and you'll instinctively close your eyes and lean back into the chair to listen to the song through to the end. 

If you just slap on a 128kbps mp3 of Kruder and Dorfmeister's K&D Sessions, it will still sound great (in fact, it's amazing how much these headphones can squeeze out of those compressed files), but the P7 Wireless won't lag too far behind.  

Unfortunately, I didn't have anything like the Sennheiser HD800 or the Audio Technica ATH-W5000, which fall roughly in the same price range, to compare with the P9s directly. Working from memory, the P9s are not as transparent as some of the high-end headphones I've heard; they flirt with high-end but still remain a great option for folks that just like a good dose of pop, electronic or dance music.

For long, home listening sessions

The P9 Signature headphones are beautiful, luxurious, comfortable and they sound great. The price point, while high, is still below the level of most flagship headphones from renowned hi-fi companies. Could they be a little cheaper? Probably, but they're aimed at the person who wants the best and can afford it. 

You can't have it all, though. These headphones are not the everyday workhorse cans you'll throw in your backpack and use on commutes and plane rides. They're a bit too heavy and bulky for that. Furthermore, they don't have wireless connectivity, noise cancellation, an attention button or any of the latest bells and whistles you can now get in the $200-$400 price range. If you want all that, you'll need to look elsewhere. But if curling up with some great-sounding recordings is your thing, the P9 Signature are nearly perfect. 

Nintendo is switching things up with its newly revealed transformative gaming console: Nintendo Switch.

Though the hardware's Thursday reveal left many unanswered questions relating to price, battery life and more, it did do one thing extremely well. The first look gave us a sneak peak at some of the many different ways the versatile gaming system can be used from the comfort of your living room and on-the-go.

The trailer was packed with a whole lot of information, so we assembled this collection of GIFs to highlight some of the Switch's sweetest features thus far.

It's a handheld device

It's a free-standing console

It's a living room console

It's a portable party machine

It uses cartridges

Is has a headphone jack (sup Apple?!)

It's sharable 

It's made for collaboration

Feel free to watch these GIFs on repeat while you get pumped for the Switch's March 2017 arrival.

Shortly after yesterday's announcement, in which Tesla promised to equip all of its future cars with self-driving hardware, CEO Elon Musk promised to soon share a video of a Tesla "navigating a complex urban environment."

The video, according to Musk, is what had delayed the announcement from Sunday (as originally promised) to Wednesday. 

Now, the video is available, and it shows a Tesla car driving a typical home-to-work route without any assistance from its human driver (who is required by law to sit in the driver's seat and be able to take control of the car at any moment). 

In the three minute, 46 second-long video, we see a Model X exit the garage, enter traffic, join a highway lane and drive itself into a city, abiding all traffic regulations (stop signs, traffic lights) along the way.  

The video is edited; we don't see if the car actually encountered any issues on its ride, but the parts that we do see work without a hitch. At the end, the driver exits the car, which then proceeds to find a parking spot at a crowded parking lot and parallel park itself. 

Musk later noted on Twitter that the car is smart enough to skip the disabled spot. He also said that with this technology, the Summon feature will bring the car to you no matter where you are. 

On Wednesday, Musk said that Model S and Model X cars with self-driving hardware are already in production. He claims the cars will have "Level 5" autonomy, meaning they will be able to drive themselves in all conditions. 

BONUS: Affordable solar-powered car

SAN FRANCISCO — Chinese tech giant LeEco is ready to make its North American debut.

The company, which has been called the "Netflix of China," introduced a new lineup of products on Wednesday, including two inexpensive Android smartphones, a VR headset, a 7-foot 4K TV and a new streaming service. LeEco also showed off its electric bike and self-driving electric vehicle concept.

Like the company's last generation of smartphones, the Le Pro 3 and the Le S3 are Android-powered handsets that use USB Type-C and skip the headphone jack. 

The $399 Le Pro 3 manages to cram in most of the features you would expect from Android flagships these days. It has a 5.5-inch HD display, 4GB of RAM, a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera  and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chip (the same one in the new Google Pixel phones). It also promises an impressive battery life with a 4,070 mAh battery that will get 14 hours of streaming video playback, according to the company. The Le Pro 3 has curved edges and comes in silver and gold finishes.

The $249 Le S3 has slightly lower end, though still respectable, specs for its price point. It also has a 5.5-inch HD display and a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera but has 3GB of RAM and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 chip. It comes in silver, gold and rose gold finishes and is only available with 32GB of onboard storage. It also has a smaller 3,000 mAh battery.

Both smartphones will be available beginning Nov. 2 from LeEco's LeMall website. 

LeEco also unveiled a new VR headset, called ExploreVR, that will be powered by the company's phones. LeEco didn't announce pricing or availability for the headset but said it would be equipped with an array of sensors to enhance the VR viewing experience.

A 7-foot, 4K TV, the uMax85, was also announced. It'll cost $4,999 when it goes on sale Nov. 2 (also on the LeMall website.) 

The company also unveiled a new streaming service to bring content to its new devices. The company is partnering with content providers like Vice, Lionsgate and Showtime, as well as developing its own original content. Its first original title is called The Great Wall and will star Matt Damon. 

Some of the streaming service's content will be free and some will be available through a separate subscription, which also comes with free cloud storage and other benefits for people who buy multiple products.

And as if new phones, a huge TV and new content weren't plenty already, LeEco unveiled concepts for two electric self-driving vehicles, the LeSee and LeSee Pro, as well an electric "Super Bike," that was previously announced. 

Flashy products aside, LeEco executives spent much of Tuesday's event making the case to those in attendance why they should care about the Chinese tech giant that's still not widely known in the U.S. 

Executives shrugged off comparisons to U.S. tech companies like Netflix and Apple saying that they promised to provide a full ecosystem to consumers, from their phones and televisions, to the content they watch, to the vehicles to they drive. 

Whether that pitch will resonate with U.S. consumers the same way it has with those in China is another matter, though LeEco is hoping its relative affordability will help sweeten the deal.

It may be a tough sell — at least initially — but the company, which made headlines earlier this year when it acquired Vizio for $2 billion, certainly has the resources to become a force in the U.S.

Before the mobs come out and put a hex on me, remember that photography and image quality is subjective. What looks better to me might not to you.

That said, let's get on to the camera comparisons between Google's new Pixel and Pixel XL and the iPhone 7/7 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge.

On paper, Google, Apple and Samsung's flagship phones appear to have the same cameras: 12 megapixels on the back. The front cameras differ in resolution: 8 megapixels for the Pixels, 5 megapixels for the S7 Edge and 7 megapixels for the iPhone 7.

But as I've said a million times and I'll say a million times more: megapixels (aka resolution) aren't everything. Having more megapixels doesn't make a camera necessarily better. Resolution matters, but if it's at the detriment of image quality and performance, what's the point?

To me, the best phone camera has to be a few things:

• Fast to autofocus and capture: Because you don't want to miss a shot.

• Produce realistic colors with wide dynamic range: Because reality is not a comic book

• Produce sharp details with little image noise: Because details matter.

• Take great low-light photos: Because we like the dark and we like photos in dark places.

The iPhone 7 checks off all of these. Its cameras and image quality are well balanced across the board. The iPhone 7 Plus also has a fancy dual-lens camera that gives it 2x optical zoom and a fancy Portrait mode. Samsung's Galaxy S7/S7 Edge is better with low-light performance and the camera is faster to launch and autofocus, but it also saturates colors more.

The Pixel and Pixel XL's cameras falls somewhere in-between the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7. They're super fast. Images look incredibly crisp and have great dynamic range and low-light performance is damn good. So what's not to like? I'm not a fan of the oversaturated colors, but that's just me.

Testing method:

I left all camera settings on their defaults. In the past, I've always turned off HDR on all smartphone cameras before shooting with them, but I've now had to change that testing method since most people never bother to fiddle with them.

Not only that, but phones rely heavily on software processing to help produce the final photos. HDR+ is so vital to the Pixels' final image quality that my reviewers guide actually warned me that turning it off would result in poorer-looking photos and slower camera performance. Yikes!

As such, all photos below were shot with HDR set to auto. I couldn't tell you which ones actually had HDR on or off and I don't really care because what you see is what the camera considered the best shot.

Way warmer tones

The Pixel cameras' biggest weakness is color reproduction. Android is doing so much processing to the images that all the colors end up artificially pumped up and oversaturated. I've noticed it's a common symptom that plagues most Android phones like the Galaxy S7 and LG G5 and OnePlus 3. 

How is it that in 2016 no phone maker can match the iPhone's realistic colors?

I personally don't like the saturated colors. They don't look real. Skies are always way too blue. Yellows are too deep. Reds all blend into each other. I'll take photos with lifelike colors over saturated colors any day.

But if you're into the boosted colors or crank up the saturation in post anyway, you'll love the Pixel's  pictures.

Compare these two photos below. Just look at how much bluer the sky in the upper right corner is and how much more yellow the building is.

Here's another example where the blues and yellows are dialed up on the Pixel:

Turning off HDR+ mutes the saturation to some extent, but not by much. And turning HDR+ off on the Pixels isn't worth it since the camera start to lag a little.

Though most photos are way warmer than on the iPhone, sometimes the rear camera goes cooler for some reason. There just isn't much consistency for white balance:

But, at least the dynamic range is wider on the Pixel XL. The details on the fountain grass (that's the fuzzy plant) are softer on the Pixel XL compared to the iPhone 7, but look at how vibrant the purple leaves below it look. The same leaves in the iPhone 7 photo look totally dull in comparison.

Wider field of view

Compared with the iPhone 7, the Pixel XL's camera has a wider field of view thanks to its wider angle lens.

In English, it means you can fit more into a photo. The Pixel XL's wider angle lens makes it a more versatile camera for landscape photography.

It's perfrect for taking photos of tall landscapes, like the Bank of America building below:

The Pixel XL and Galaxy S7 Edge have roughly the same wide field of view:

Both photos look pretty sharp on their respective phone displays. It's only when you view them at 100% crops on a computer monitor that you can really see some of the differences in sharpness.

Honestly, the differences in sharpness are so minor, nobody but a nerd like me would care.

Here's another comparison showing how much more the Pixel XL cameras can capture:

And another close-up crop showing the barely noitceable sharpness differences:

Strong selfie game

As for selfies, I think the Pixel XL does a better job than the iPhone 7:

My skin looks smoother and healthier in the Pixel XL selfie since it's brighter:

Shoots well in low light

The Pixel XL performs quite good night shots. As expected, photos are a yellower than the iPhone 7:

You can click the below comparison to see how the Pixel XL stacks up against the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7 Edge:

Notice how the sky is more washed out on the Pixel XL photo and the Galaxy S7 Edge turns all the bricks on the building in the left red:

The Galaxy S7 Edge preserves sharper details of the Empire State Building, but the image noise is greater, too:

See that building just between the water tower and that skinny high-rise condominium on the upper right? The Pixel XL brings the green color out best, but the rest of the image is kind of a wash.

Impressive video stabilization

While the camera attention is almost always focused on still photography, the Pixel XL boasts impressive video recording capabilities. Like most smartphones, it records at up to 4K resolution.

That's nothing special. What is crazy is how well the camera stabilizes video. Phones like the iPhone 7 and Galaxy S7 rely on optical image stabilization (OIS) to compensate for shake in different directions, but the Pixels uses electronic image stabilization (EIS) to outstanding effect. 

EIS is normally inferior to OIS, but not so on the Pixels. Through software even the shakiest footage appears smooth — even smoother than the iPhone 7. Here's a video stabilization comparison between the Pixel XL and iPhone 7 (both originally shot in 4K and then downsized to 1080p):

Best smartphone cameras ever?

I don't think so, but they're so damn close. The color saturation bothers me too much, but again, that's personal preference. And that's fine, too, because if you prefer the artificially amplified colors, then the Pixel cameras will be perfect to your eyes.

It feels like a total cop-out to say this, but we've reached a point where the differences — outside of color reproduction — between flagship phone cameras are so negligible that most people will be very happy with the image quality.

We're all benefitting in the end. Android cameras have finally caught up to the iPhone with comparable performance and picture quality. Years of competition have pushed all phone makers to innovate harder and faster and now we're all winning because we don't have to look at crappy photos and videos.

 There’s so much more to life than what we can see with the naked eye.   

We’re unable to see — or at least register — certain things that happen right before us, because they happen too fast.   Sometimes, we miss out on subtle colour transitions and contrasts that could help us see more clearly and make a more informed split-second decision.  

Occasionally, our slightly narrow field of view prevents us from seeing something happening on our periphery.   

And that’s just to name a few.   

But in recent years, new technologies have been developed to help us see some things we might otherwise not. Here are five devices and apps that use these technologies.   

1. Oakley Prizm lenses   

The Prizm lenses use a unique technology — basically ultra-precise colour tuning — that enhances the detail of what you’re seeing. This in turn enhances your experience in a positive way, whatever that experience may be. The lenses see things in different ways than the naked eye. Landscapes that would generally be washed out, dull or flat while looking through other lenses (or no lenses at all) are enhanced to become more defined, vibrant and vivid.   

While the lenses are designed to enhance vision in any environment, they’re especially great when playing sport. The lenses sharpen your sight so you can see more clearly and react more quickly; they enhance detail recognition to help you spot what you need to see; and they improve your peripheral vision (especially when it comes to tracking moving objects).

2. Seek Thermal thermal imaging   

We can, of course, feel heat, but we obviously can’t see it with our naked eye. That’s where Seek Thermal’s thermal cameras that attach to your smart phone come in. The cameras work with an app to show you thermal activity, which is to say they enable you to see heat and where it’s coming from.    

You can use the imaging capabilities to help scout, track and recover wildlife, locate air leaks and all kinds of other uses when you want to detect the temperature of an object or find where heat is present. You can even use it to figure out the temperature of a food and drink, so you can make sure you get the coldest beverage available from the cooler or refrigerator.   

3. Dark Sky   

The naked eye can sometimes predict when a storm is coming. We can, of course, see cloudy skies, flashes of lighting and other signs of inclement weather.    We can’t, however, see enough to know for sure that it’s going to rain, snow or sleet, or whether a tornado is going to form above us.    

But Dark Sky can. It’s a hyperlocal weather forecasting app that uses new, innovative technology to give you down-to-the-minute weather forecasts — for precisely where you’re standing. If it’s going to start raining where you’re standing within 11 minutes, the app will tell you. It’ll also tell you forecasts for further along in your week, which you obviously can’t see with the naked eye.   

The app also shows you what storm patterns look like in meteorological radar form — so you can see what a storm looks like from satellites above.   

4. LifeScanner   

Imagine for a second the number of organisms surrounding you during any part of your day — especially if you’re exploring the great outdoors.   Now think about how few of them you can actually see during any given moment. Chances are, you don’t even know most of the species around you exist or are present.    

That’s where the LifeScanner app comes in. It enables you to use your smart phone to see what species scientists have found in different parts of the world — both visible to the naked eye and otherwise. It’s great for education and exploration.   

5. RF-Capture   

Our eyes can’t see through walls, but the RF-Capture can. Developed by researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, the device captures human figures through walls and occlusions by transmitting wireless signals. 

According to the researchers’ website, the device "reconstructs a human figure by analyzing the [wireless] signals’ reflections.   The researchers say it can know who the person behind a wall is, trace a person’s handwriting in air from behind a wall and determine the movements a person behind a wall is making.   

According to Popular Science, the device works by relaying a radio signal through a wireless transmitter. The device’s receivers then pick up the signal reflected back by a hidden body, and the data collected from the signal helps determine the silhouette of the body on the other side. The device can even distinguish between different people, and can track motion and posture.   

Discover more about Oakley Prizm technology and see the full range of eyewear here    

The Samsung Galaxy Note7 is officially toast. 

Following initial reports of explosions, Samsung responded with a recall and replacement program. But problems persisted, and some replacement devices have reportedly caught fire. Network providers like AT&T and T-Mobile have halted Note7 replacements and offered refunds, and  Mashable officially retracted its recommendation of the device on Tuesday.

If you're in the market for a replacement Android device, we've got you covered. Here are five great choices:

Just how popular is virtual reality? It's hard to tell, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said "1 million people use VR every month" at the Oculus Connect 3 developer conference.

Zuckerberg didn't specify what VR specifically referred to. Does that include Google Cardboard? Samsung Gear VR and all of the mobile VR headset clones? He did name-check the competition, and didn't specify Oculus/Facebook in the stat, so it stands to reason he's including all VR experiences in that million.

Still, we wonder just how many of those 1 million monthly people are using the Oculus Rift. And what about the HTC Vive? And just how many people were using Oculus Rift developer kits before the consumer version of the headset launched this past spring?

Again, it's hard to tell how successful that is when VR, as a category, is so broad and spread across multiple different devices and platforms.

A million VR users does sound promising. Even though the Rift and Vive are available, it's still very, very early days for the "next computing platform."

Google's Daydream VR platform is set to launch in the next few months and PlayStation VR launches next week.