Welcome to your hearable future. At the launch of the iPhone 7 yesterday, Apple announced that it was ditching the white headphone wires that have been an icon of the brand since 2003. Instead, listeners will use AirPods, a pair of wireless earbuds that connect to the phone over Bluetooth. Ditching the headphone jack allows the iPhone 7 to shrink even slimmer, and losing a hole makes the phone more water resistant. But this is also the latest case of Apple using its flagship product to bring a tech trend to the masses – get ready for "hearables" doing battle for the ownership of your ears.

Apple last week proudly rolled out some new capabilities for Siri, which will presumably take effect with iOS 10's rollout on Wednesday (Sept. The changes address one of my long-sought capabilities, which is to make getting a ride a lot easier. Alas, it demands more specificity than would be optimal. Apple's announcement promised transportation ease but didn't quite deliver it. From Apple: "You can ask Siri to call a friend or colleague or book a ride to wherever you need to be. With SiriKit, developers are creating unique ways to let users interact with apps, making everyday tasks even easier."

While Apple and others are struggling a bit to interest new customers in tablets (and existing ones in upgrading the hearty devices), Amazon has been happily selling a line of extremely low-cost Android devices featuring its own Fire OS. The strategy has vaulted Amazon into the Number 3 spot in tablet shipments and now the company is targeting the iPad mini with the Amazon Fire HD 8, a new 89.99 8-inch model that also includes the Amazon Alexa voice assistant. SEE ALSO: Coming to Amazon in September: Woody Allen series, 'Transparent' Season 3 and more To put that price tag in perspective, Apple currently sells its base, 16 GB iPad mini 4 for 399 (the mini 2 starts at 269). The 89.99 gets you a decent, but not remarkable 1280-by-800 screen, below-average front (2MP) and rear-facing (VGA) cameras, a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor, 1.5 GB of RAM (couldn't go for a full 2, huh?) and Dolby Audio-powered stereo speakers. The last generation iPad Mini 2 beats the Fire HD 8 on most metrics.

US law enforcement has sentenced seven criminals who were part of an online fraud ring which duped victims out of their cash through romance, shopping and job opportunity scams. On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that Chief U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. of the Southern District of Mississippi sentenced seven citizens for their roles in online fraud schemes, which included counterfeit checks, "mystery shopper" websites and fake work-from-home jobs. According to Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell, all seven were members of a "large scale" international fraud ring which also used online dating sites as a platform to coax lonely hearts out of their money. In addition, fraudulent mystery shopper and personal assistance job opportunities were ran, in which victims -- believing they had legitimate work -- would be sent checks and instructions for various assignments. The checks, which were counterfeit, would bounce after the criminal ring received funds from victims, destined to be laundered in the US before transferring over to Nigeria.

Apple's Siri upgrades will let you dictate LinkedIn messages, verbally search for shoe photos on Pinterest, and hail an Uber, hands-free. When Apple unveils its new iPhone Wednesday, it's expected to push hard on software improvements available for its next mobile operating system, iOS 10, available for current iPhones and a predicted new iPhone model. The iPhone's voice-activated digital assistant Siri will be a key part of this upgrade, say tech analysts and developers. Siri, primarily used for voice commands to dial phone numbers, set reminders and get traffic information, has been opened to third-party developers after five years of existence. Apple, via a spokeswoman, said app developers are creating "completely new ways for users to interact" within apps.

Long hailed as a leader in technology, we've seen many interesting developments come out of the Cupertino office, especially today with the news about the new iPhone 7. Though there are plenty of new updates and products, there's also the question of what goes on behind the scenes to make these products possible. The answer can largely be summed up in two words: "machine learning." Machine learning has been around for quite some time, whether we realize it or not. In fact, the very idea that we don't notice it means the technology is effective, processing and learning from incredibly large amounts of data in real time, right underneath our noses. However, the term has just recently become commercialized and recognized throughout the media, resulting in a more indepth conversation around artificial intelligence among both consumers and technology professionals.

Apple already launched both developer and public beta programs allowing users to try out the software over the summer. The new iOS comes with a largely similar design to iOS 9, which Apple launched last year. However, Apple made several improvements to the operating system's functionality, allowing users to add stickers to iMessage, as well as digitally write messages to other users. The operating system also comes with an overhauled Apple Music redesign, helping users find more music and stream it. Most importantly for third-party developers, iOS 10 allows any app maker to access Apple's virtual personal assistant Siri and use the intelligent service to do everything from allow users to book a ride on Lyft to get directions from third-party mapping apps.

In my last column, I looked at how Amazon's Echo device and the Alexa voice service allows you to control things with your voice. You speak, it understands and obeys. Alexa is just part of a new wave of services that allow you to control things with your voice, from cell phones to intercoms and thermostats. You can even do things now like ask her to start your car. So, how do these listening devices transform your mellifluous voice into computer commands?

Sierra, the latest version of macOS (formerly OS X), will be available to download on September 20th. The update adds Siri to the Mac, the ability to copy and paste among Apple devices, and it enables picture-in-picture, which allows users to pop out a video from iTunes or Safari and keep it playing in a separate floating window. Plus, Apple Music has a new, streamlined UI and the Photos app gets an upgrade with a "Memories" view that collects shots taken in specific places or of certain people. The new operating system updates the messaging app as well, adding enlarged emojis, inline previews of videos and links, and the ability to respond to a message with a heart, thumbs up or other icon. We gave Sierra a spin in June and found most of its features to be intuitive and handy.

House Republicans are fighting to retain control of the chamber this fall, and they face looming priorities like stemming the Zika crisis and averting a government shutdown on a Sept. 30 funding deadline. But on Wednesday, they spent some a few lighter moments reviewing how the partisan divide can often be found on popular dating sites like OkCupid. At their first private session after returning from the long summer recess, House Republicans closed with a cheeky presentation on the interests most cited by liberals and conservatives in their dating profiles. "Yoga" ranked high among liberals; "Marines" by conservatives, according to a GOP source granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting. The presentation was based on a study released in July by OkCupid. GOP Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield is known for lightening up the often rocky GOP huddles, sometimes by showing movie clips.