The iPhone SE is selling just as Apple planned in the U.S. and Europe

Apple ripped up its playbook when it launched a smaller phone priced at $399 in March, but its iPhone SE strategy looks to be going as planned. The new four-inch iPhone gave Apple a welcome sales bump in key markets between April and June, according a new report.

The second quarter of the year tends to be a relatively slow period for the U.S. firm’s phone sales, but data from Kantar suggests that Apple saw an increase in the U.S. and Europe.

Apple’s new phones are unveiled in September each year — the next iPhone will reportedly be unveiled September 7 — so naturally anyone tempted to buy a new device months before may also be tempted to wait. That’s often reflected in quieter periods during Q2 and Q3, but that didn’t happen this time around, and the iPhone SE looks to be the main reason.

Indeed, Apple’s overall iPhone sales for the quarter dropped 15 percent year-on-year to 40.4 million units, but it looks like the four-inch iPhone SE prevented a steeper decline.

The story was different in some of the most critical smartphone markets.

In the U.S., Kantar reported that the iPhone SE accounted for 5.1 percent of smartphone sales. That helped Apple increase its marketshare to 31.8 percent in the quarter, up 1.3 percent on the previous year. For context, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus came in top at 15.1 percent, followed by Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge on 14.1 percent, according to Kantar’s figures.

The iPhone SE’s impact was all the more marked in the U.K., where it was the top selling smartphone with 9.2 percent marketshare, just ahead of the iPhone 6s on 9.1 percent. That helped Apple grow its share of sales in the country by 3.1 percent to 37.2 percent in Q2 2016.

Across Europe, iOS marketshare grew 0.7 percent year-on-year, with particular progress in France (21 percent) and in Germany, where 14.2 percent of all smartphone sales represented growth for Apple for the first time in nine months.

The iPhone SE factor didn’t conjure up the same impressive figures in China, where Kantar said the device took just 2.5 percent of sales. The analyst firm said that “supply constraints” had impacted potential sales — additionally, there are fiercely competitive devices at cheaper prices, while it isn’t clear if Apple’s brand cachet resonates as strongly with Chinese consumers when selling non-flagship phones. Proof of the competition? During Q2 2016, local players Huawei and Xiaomi overtook Apple on sales in urban China thanks to sub-$250 devices.

Kantar doesn’t track figures for India, which has become a key focus market for Apple, so it isn’t clear just what kind of impact the iPhone SE had there.

I previously questioned whether the $399 price was really low enough to make a major splash in India, and I believe that applies to emerging market regions likes Southeast Asia, too. It is sure to complement Apple’s existing products, but unlikely to outshine its top-range devices.

Finally, it is worth noting that while the iPhone SE delivered increased marketshare for Apple, there is a financial cost. Apple’s overall gross margin for its most recent quarter dropped to below 38 percent on account of the iPhone SE.

Apple, of course, has the highest margins in the business, so it can afford to offset that a little to grow into new demographics and consumer groups that its more expensive products can’t reach. The question is whether the impressive start for the iPhone SE can be sustained, and whether success might lead to other “more affordable” Apple phones in the future.

Amazon adds several new devices to its Dash Replenishment auto ordering service

At the beginning of the year, Amazon flipped the switch on Dash Replenishment, a service aimed at bringing the instant reordering of its devoted product buttons directly to connected devices. The idea being that you don’t have to, say, order ink for your printer or batteries for your smart lock – the devices will do it for you.

The retail giant has already announced a slew of different partners for the program, including Brother Printers, the Gmate SMART blood glucose monitor, and a GE washing machine, all of which went live in the first round.

Today the company announced a number of new additions. The highest profile of the additions is GE, which will be extending its involvement to driers and dishwashers, which will be updated to order fabric soften and dishwasher detergent, respectively, when supplies start to dwindle.

Neato joins the list as well, bring the WiFi-connected robot to the service in order to order replacement filters and brushes, while Petcube’s Kickstarter-supported Bites camera will be able to order pet food. Also on the list are the Behmore Connected coffee brewer, Simplehuman trashcan and SmartThings platform.

Even The Hershey Company has been added to the stable with an unnamed device. That should be interesting.

Kim Kardashian Brings Back the Asymmetric Cut

Every decade has their version of the asymmetric hairstyle. The sixties saw Vidal Sassoon's five-point cut, popularized by stylish women like Mary Quant, Peggy Moffet, and Grace Coddington. In the 80s, the asymmetrical bob was like all hairstyles at the time: big and and tall and teased (see Salt n' Pepa circa 1986). Then who could forget Victoria Beckham's blonde, spiky pixie/bob hybrid of the early 2000s. And while we're not through the 2010s quite yet (let's not get ahead of ourselves shall we), we may just have come across this decade's iteration of the lopsided style.

Long and blunt, Kim Kardashian's new, asymmetric hairstyle—cut by hairstylist Christian Appleton—doesn't feel dated or goofy. In fact, it feels simultaneously effortless and polished, which in my opinion is the definition of our ideal beauty aesthetic at the moment. And with one side slightly longer than the other and cut on a sloping, 45 degree angle, her hair falls in a subtly sexy way over her right shoulder.

Unlike many of Kardashian fashion and beauty choices (heavy contouring, waist training corsets, dresses the colors of Band-Aids), this hairstyle could work for a ton of people, flattering any face shape and playing nicely with lots of different hair textures (some textures may just require more daily styling efforts). "There are no layers around the face and the deep part instantly makes the face look slimmer by closing off one side," explains hairstylist Matt Fugate of the Serge Normant at John Frieda in New York City. "Because of that, round faces appear narrower, wide faces look slimmer, and even hard jawlines seem softened as the chin becomes more of the focal point." It's also a great way to troubleshoot for hair that's superthin. "The added bonus of [this cut] being longer on one side is that it can make fine hair look thicker, as it draws attention to the different lengths rather than the texture," says Fugate. The blunt ends also help bulk up wimpy strands.

But remember, this is a look on a Kardashian, which means it does require a bit of effort. First off, no matter your hair texture, you'll need to start with a good blow-dry. "You want to blow it out straight to get rid of any bumps or bends in the hair," says Fugate, and a flatiron is definitely necessary to make sure the ends look that sharp and clean. The good news, though, is that air-drying isn't totally out of the question with this cut. "Air-dried hair is still going to have that cool, unbalanced feel, which I love," says Fugate.

We still have plenty of time to see if this asymmetric style will catch on or not (or how long until Kardashian will get bored and changes it again), but with September just a month a way, it's a good one to keep in mind—and on your Pinterest board—the next time you're itching for a new look.

A digital 'totem' leads the way in one of New York's oldest museums

Museums, for all the wonders they contain, have a reputation for being staid and musty. At their worst they've even been described as mausoleums. That's a problem when it comes to exhibits about an active, living culture like the Haida people of British Columbia. The American Museum of Natural History has taken it upon itself to change that perception of the native groups of the Pacific Northwest, implementing new technologies in its oldest hall to educate millions of visitors about these thousands of people living on the other side of the continent.

It's easy to think of the cultures portrayed in the AMNH as being firmly in the past. That's because the museum itself is a relic, with many exhibits having remained unchanged for decades. The Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, the oldest extant gallery of the museum, opened in 1900 and showcases a variety of artifacts from tribes such as the Kwakwaka'wakw, the Tlingit and the Tsimshian. The scent of old wood is strong in the room, and it's kept dark in order to protect the items housed inside the antique glass cases. It's not exactly the friendliest hall, which means it's not uncommon for visitors to pass through quickly on their way to brighter, more exciting displays.

It became clear that the room was in need of revitalizing when the museum began to receive complaints from First Nation tourists. But the hall's historic nature and the cost of renovating it made any kind of extensive redesign impossible. The museum opted instead for a lighter, more technological approach -- something that could work around and respect the facility's historic architecture.

The centerpiece of this initiative is the "digital totem," an interactive monolith that sits in the middle of the hall. It doesn't resemble a traditional-looking totem pole so much as those giant kiosks that made their debut in New York's subway system a few years back. And that's fine: According to curator Peter Whiteley, "totem" is an Ojibwe word that white settlers took from the east and applied to the native sculptures they found in the Pacific Northwest. It doesn't have strong cultural significance for the cultures portrayed in the gallery.

However, if you're looking at it as a source of information about a tribe, the digital totem in the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians has plenty of stories to tell. Each side of the totem is occupied by a large touchscreen, with the home page displaying a map of the northwest region and a series of icons depicting the various topics the various topics a visitor can explore. They can learn more about particular First Nations individuals the museum interviewed, including artisans, educators and linguists. Or they can play with audio common to the area, mixing and matching sounds like the cry of an eagle with drum beats and rattles to create a unique beat. Most relevant to the hall itself is the ability to zero in on particular artifacts, rotating them and zooming in to examine the fine details that visitors often miss because these objects spend their days behind glass in a dark corner of a case.

There's a lot to do on the totem, which carries the risk of visitors spending too much time there, at the expense of other parts of the hall. So the totem isn't the only piece of tech the AMNH has introduced to further engage visitors. Once a month, an employee of the Haida Gwaii Museum will virtually wander the hall using a telepresence robot, approaching groups to help educate them about the displays they might be looking at and answer any questions they have. There's also a mobile app with some AR functionality: Children color in worksheets depicting artifacts like a bird mask and, when the camera is pointed at the sheet, the app will display a 3D representation of the mask, complete with all the colors and scribbles added by the child.

The AR feature and the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians are merely the tip of the iceberg for the AMNH's Explorer app. Although still in beta, the app is filled with features intended to enhance your visit to the museum, like ticket sales and exhibit information. There are maps -- but instead of a static image for you to puzzle out, the app uses Bluetooth to connect to beacons throughout the museum, marking your location on the diagram. It then populates with bubbles representing notable artifacts in the room, which you can then tap on for more info, along with directions to that spot in the room.

Digital architecture director Matthew Tarr worried that visitors might be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information, but instead staff found that people browsed it like they use Instagram, scrolling through images and "liking" the ones that intrigued them the most. The app has a bookmark feature so visitors can revisit the parts of the museum they enjoyed even after they leave.

Lots of museums have experimented with technology to further engage the public, and the American Museum of Natural History will continue to push forward on that front. The staff hopes to expand projects like the digital totem into other areas of the museum, increase the amount of artifacts available to look at the in the app and experiment with other technologies as well. In the end it's all about making connections: bringing the museum closer to its visitors, joining people in New York to living cultures all across the world and also bridging a museum founded in the 19th century to the 21st.

There's another version of Jake Owen's 'American Love' you haven't heard

Jake Owen originally had a different kind of American Love in mind. 

After he and his wife divorced after three years and his father was diagnosed with cancer, the Florida-born country singer known for cheery tracks like "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" and "Beachin'" found himself putting together a far more introspective thing. 

"I found myself on a much more somber note, on the sadder side of things," he told Mashable of the original batch of songs he crafted for his followup to 2013'sDays of Gold. 

But listening to American Love in its final form is anything but sad. Rather, it's filled with stories about the honeymoon phase of falling in love ("American Love"), spontaneous roadtrips ("VW Van") and good vibes and good beer ("Good Company"). There are, of course, plenty of more sobering moments too, like "You Ain't Going," about his inability to get over an ex, and on the downtempo "When You Love Someone," but overall it's a decidedly upbeat.

So, what happened? Owen got a "really honest" response from his label that boiled down to this: Stick to what you're good at. 

"I just kind of had to look at myself in the mirror and realize that this isn't even what brought me to the table," he said. "This isn't what makes me happy as a person either."

So he scrapped a lot of it, went back to the drawing board and "made some of the more happy, fun, good-vibes sort of music that I'm used to making." 

"I'm glad I did, too. It turned out exactly how I wanted it to," he said. "That's what music's for, is healing.  I'm thankful that I have it to help me with, maybe not so much sometimes facing the things I'm dealing with but sometimes masking them and giving me an escape." 

Not all of his first draft was cut, either. Owen says "American Love," "After Midnight" and "Everybody Dies Young" were all from his first batch. But altogether, there were more songs "along the line" of "When You Love Someone," an anguished piano ballad about a broken love. 

That song is one of the three songs on American Love that Owen produced, marking his first time playing producer after 10 years of releasing albums. He also produced the sun-drenched "Good Company" and the rock n roll-inspired "VW Van." 

And while American Love is most definitely a country album, it's also brewed with elements of jazz, R&B and rock. Album opener "American Love" has elements of all of them in one. It's all a result of the fact that, after 10 years making music, Owen's become more comfortable borrowing from other genres. 

"Over the years i've worked hard to kind of hone in on what it is my sound, my brand of music is," he said. "And over the years I've been able to sneak in some different influences and add a little different flavor." 

It all adds up to a delightful and surprising listen, and a satisfying one for fans who have been listening since 2006's Startin' With Me. But will we ever hear his first take on American Love?