Google is now starting to roll out the major new sharing features announced for Google Photos last month.
The update adds a dedicated “sharing” tab to the bottom
of the app and several different ways to share photos. For one, the app
will now suggest photos for you to share and who you might want to share
them with. The feature is largely based around facial recognition: if
Google realizes you regularly share photos of a specific person with a
specific email address, it will offer to send them any new pictures.
Photos’ sharing tab will also display a feed of all the
pictures and albums that have been shared with you, so it’ll get a bit
easier to look through shared photos, too.
But the really big sharing feature being added with this
update is automatic sharing. The feature is optional, but those who want
it will be able to have Google Photos automatically share some or all
of their photos with another person. Using the feature, a parent could,
for instance, have Photos automatically send their spouse any pictures
taken of their children.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, and
what better way to celebrate than by taking a look back at how the
hardware in Apple’s iconic smartphone has changed and evolved over time?
We’ve gone back and tabulated the specs on all 10 generations of iPhones
(plus a couple of spinoffs) for your viewing pleasure. Obviously, the
modern iPhone 7 and 7 Plus win out across the board when it comes to
almost any metric, but this is less of a competition and more a
retrospective — one that highlights what’s become one of the key
components of Apple’s success.
The fact of the matter is that none of the iPhone
models have ever been the best smartphone when it comes to pure
hardware. And even looking at raw numbers, it’s oftentimes hard to
pinpoint differences between successive generations. Apple’s strength
has always depended on the company’s ability to optimize its hardware
and software together for incredible performance. This allows each
iPhone version to keep up with — if not surpass — their contemporaries,
despite lacking the base firepower of competitors on paper.
It’s hard to say for sure what the next 10 years of iPhones will bring, but if the incredible gap in hardware from the original iPhone and the iPhone 7 is anything to go by, the iPhone of 2027 could be surprisingly similar and yet dramatically more capable.
LG’s wallpaper-thin W series
of 4K OLED TVs wowed us at CES with their almost impossibly slim
design. And while the “cheaper” — to say that this is a relative term is
a bit of an understatement — $7,999 65-inch model has been available for a while, if you’ve been holding out for the flagship 77-inch model, then I’ve got good news: it can finally be yours for the low, low price of $19,999.
The W series uses a bit of trickery for pulling off its
0.2-inch thick design: the guts of the TV, including HDMI inputs and
general hardware, are stowed away inside an attached Dolby Atmos
soundbar below the TV. For what it’s worth (design aside), you’re still
getting a fantastic TV. The W series supports all four main HDR
standards (HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG, and Advanced HDR by Technicolor),
offers full 4K resolution, and runs LG’s pretty good WebOS 3.5 smart TV
software.
If you typically buy your computers pre-built, it might
surprise you to learn that a 512GB SSD isn't 4 million dollars. You can
get a good 500-ish GB SSD from Samsung or Crucial for around $150. But
Intel just showed up with some new first-to-the-market tech that might
shake things up a bit. Its new SSD 545s is based on 64-layer TLC 3D NAND technology,
which means it can squeeze more data onto fewer chips. That makes fast
SSDs with big capacities and pro-level performance presumably more
affordable.
Intel’s intro 545s model is a 512GB drive with a $179
price tag. The drive's main win over Intel's similarly priced 540s model
is sustained write speeds. Since this is a SATA drive, the drive is
mostly capped by SATA speeds in the real world. An M.2 NVMe version is
supposed to arrive later this year and then we'll see what it can really
do. If you’re looking for benchmarks on the SATA version, Anandtech can hook you up.
For now, a $30 premium for 64-layer 3D NAND bragging
rights seems steep, but hopefully these drives can eventually compete
with Samsung and Crucial on price. Or maybe Toshiba’s QLC tech will show up soon and destroy them all.
Netflix announced today that it’ll start supporting Dolby Atmos surround sound
for select titles later this month, starting with Okja. That’s great
news: Atmos is the next generation of surround formats, using audio
processing to place sounds in 3D space around you instead of just
playing things through individual surround speakers.
But Netflix is only going to support Atmos on the Xbox
One, One S, and and 2017 LG OLED TVs at first. That’s a short list,
which is made even worse because 2016 LG OLED TV owners have been
persistently asking LG to add Atmos support to their TVs for a while
now. There are long AVSForum threads, deep dives into the technical details of Atmos compatibility, and reps from streaming companies like Vudu saying they’ve raised the issue with LG to no avail. It’s gotten to the point where there’s a Change.org petition
with over 450 signatures asking for Atmos support on 2016 LG OLED TVs —
which generally had starting retail prices of around $2,799. I’ve asked
LG about the situation and the company doesn’t have an answer today,
but I’ll update when I hear back.
Why is this a problem? Because LG OLED TVs are among the
few devices that support Dolby Vision HDR, but you have to use the
built-in webOS apps to get it. Since the TV doesn’t support sending
Atmos audio out through HDMI to your speakers, you’re basically stuck
choosing between the best picture quality or the best audio quality on a
year-old TV that cost thousands of dollars. Sure, you could buy an Xbox
to get Atmos, but the Xbox doesn’t support Dolby Vision — just HDR10.
And then you have to buy and manage another box, which seems like a
silly penalty for buying LG’s best TVs a year before the company added a
software feature you need. And it’s ridiculous that Dolby makes both
Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos but getting both is impossible right now unless you buy an entirely new TV.
I know this because I have a 2016 LG B6 OLED TV, and it
looks terrific, especially with Dolby Vision movies and TV shows. The
webOS interface is... fine! It looks a little ridiculous at times, but
it controls my Atmos-capable Denon receiver over HDMI-CEC without any
problems, has all the streaming apps I need, and generally works well. I
shouldn’t need to add another box to the fragile mix of a working CEC
setup — especially not another box that doesn’t support the highest
picture quality my TV offers.
And look, this TV is a computer. It runs an operating
system originally designed for smartphones! In 2017 we expect our
computers to get better over time — to have bugs fixed and new features
added. Why put a smartphone OS on your TV if you’re not going to update
it?
There’s some speculation out there that Atmos support is
limited by the specific HDMI configuration of 2016 LG OLEDs, but none of
that is confirmed, and it’s not like LG didn’t know Atmos was coming
when it shipped and sold these TVs as its flagship models. Not designing
extremely expensive consumer products that get mounted on the wall in a
way that supports known future standards also seems like a huge miss.
Showtime’s standalone streaming service is now available on the Xbox One,
which joins Apple, Roku, Amazon, Google, and Samsung in offering the
over-the-top service. Users will be able to subscribe to Showtime for
$10.99 per month directly through the Xbox One application, and there’s a
seven-day free trial for new subscribers.
So if you’re looking to watch Homeland, Billions,Ray Donovan, The Affair,Shameless, the resurrected Twin Peaks, or
anything else in Showtime’s back catalog of movies and TV shows, have
an Xbox One, and don’t pay for Showtime through cable already, you can
download the new app here.
Google Glass just got an update — its first since 2014.
The update isn’t anything big, but the usual bug fixes and performance
improvements are mentioned, according to Google’s support site.
Google did add Bluetooth input device support (see:
keyboards and mouse) for some reason. My working theory is someone
forgot to push the update three years ago, and pushed it live yesterday
hoping no one noticed. Or maybe Sergey Brin still wears his Glass but
wants to use a keyboard with it. Who really knows?
If you can remember where you left your Google Glass, go
plug it in and get the update. There’s a good chance this will really be
the last one.
Virgin Mobile USA announced today that it will offer an
iPhone-exclusive cellular plan that offers unlimited data, text, and
calls for $50 a month. This also means Virgin will stop selling Android
devices, making the company the first and only iPhone-only carrier in
the US.
Called Inner Circle, Virgin is offering the plan for $1 for the first year (which only slightly follows its parent company’s offer of a free year of service to switch).
To qualify, customers need to purchase an iPhone from either Virgin or
Apple. After the first year, the plan reverts to being $50 monthly, then
back down to $1 for six months if they purchase a new iPhone again
after two years of service. Currently, Virgin offers iPhones SE, 6, 6S,
6S Plus, 7, and 7 Plus.
The “unlimited,” contract-less plan does come with some
restrictions, naturally. Some data will be “mobile-optimized,” capping
video streams at 480p resolution and music at 500 kilobits per second.
Data speeds will also be throttled after 23 gigabytes are used in a
month. Customers can add on extras
like $5 a month for unlimited calls to Canada and Mexico and global
texting, or $10 for the aforementioned services plus 200 minutes of
voice calls to “select mobile” phones in 50 countries.
Since earlier this spring, US carriers have been competing to offer the cheapest possible unlimited mobile plan.
While carriers like T-Mobile have been focused on flat rates and giving
customers freebies every Tuesday, AT&T mostly played catch-up with
lowering prices while bundling the plan with its DirecTV product. Virgin instead went for the partnership route, adding Apple to its roster of luxe products.
The Virgin subscription also signs users up for perks
from other Virgin properties, such as a free companion ticket to the UK
via Virgin Atlantic, a free night at a Virgin Hotel, or discounts on
wines and Virgin America flights. The $1-a-year offer will go live on
June 27th and go until July 31st.
A Russian software company, ironically named Coptersafe, is selling modifications to help consumers get past government- and military-enforced no-fly zones.
In recent years, the US government has cracked down on
unauthorized drone flights. As a response to the warnings and fines
imposed by the law, drone maker DJI has put a number of safety measures
in place, including geofencing and setting limits on speed. A statement
on the Federal Aviation Administration website encourages people to report drone sightings around planes and other aircraft.
Coptersafe’s mods are made specifically for DJI drones, according to a report by Motherboard.
Coptersafe offers modifications to those limits. You can confuse your
drone’s GPS into thinking it’s okay to fly in no-fly zones and in
absolutely restricted areas, and you can remove the 500-foot height
limit, among other customizations. Each mod goes for an average price of
$350, and the company offers both physical modification circuits and
software mods that can be downloaded.
Some of these actually get to be quite humorous, despite
the dangerous implications. “Mod greatly improves Phantom 4 Pro sport
mode. It becomes mad racing drone,” reads one product description
on Coptersafe. “Don’t overload it with mad flying.” The company
recommends flying DJI’s Phantom 4 Pro in mountainous terrain with strong
winds following modification.
Just a few days ago, I saw a small crowd gather outside
my house, attracted by a loud buzzing sound. As I walked closer to the
source of the noise, I observed a small drone flying a few dozen feet
from the ground. Had it traveled any further from my home in deep
Queens, it would have reached LaGuardia Airport’s no-fly zone.
With these hacks easily available to consumers, it remains to be seen
how the government will react to more unmanned aerial vehicles illegally
taking to the skies.
Riva Audio is best known for its Bluetooth speakers,
but earlier this month, the company released its new multi-space
wireless speakers much later than originally planned. The WAND series is
comprised of two speakers: the Arena and the Festival.
Both include multiple ways to play music, including Wi-Fi, DDMS,
Spotify Connect, AirPlay, DLNA, Bluetooth, and Chromecast. The more
expensive Festival has an optical input, too. You can also distribute
analog inputs over Wi-Fi to other speakers. For comparison, Sonos only
works over Wi-Fi.
The larger Festival costs $499 while the Arena costs
$249. Because it’s smaller, the Arena is portable and can be bought with
an optional battery pack that Riva says should last for up to 20 hours.
(That figure likely changes at different volumes, but we have yet to
test it out.) It’s splash-resistant, too. A companion iOS / Android app
is available for controlling the speakers and customizing EQ settings.
So Riva made some intriguing speakers that we’re
definitely going to want to test, but what it says powers them is a
patented technology called “Trillium.” This apparently creates stereo
sound that fills a room. They achieve this through custom drivers on the
front and side of the speakers. Again, this technology is impossible to
vouch for when we haven’t actually tested the speakers, but the promise
of better audio always sounds like a great thing.
Hey, just wanted to let everyone know: I dropped my
phone the other day and the screen broke. I was out on the back patio,
and when I sat down the phone slipped out of my windbreaker pocket. A
two-foot fall onto concrete is all it took.
When I picked up the phone, I could immediately tell it
was cracked. "This is my life now" was the first thought in my head.
That thought is still all I have to work with.
Last year I did the Emotional Tech Support hotline
with my friend and colleague Ashley. At least half of the calls we
received were from sad people who had broken their phone screens. This, I
believe, is the third iPhone screen I've broken. And it probably won't
be my last.
It's not like my phone is dead. I can get a screen
replacement for $129 if I want visit an Apple Store. And my phone is
still usable as long as I don't do any aggressive swiping along the left
third of the display. So I’ll probably just live with it for a while.
I'd say about 20 percent of my friends have cracked phone screens at any
one time. The rest of them have cases, usually. I think about getting a case, but I won’t.
Interested in picking up HTC’s latest premium smartphone, the squeezable U11,
but don’t like the current US color choices of blue, silver, or black?
Then I’ve got some good news on that front: HTC is releasing the
incredibly nice looking “Solar Red” version of the U11 in the United
States, with pre-orders set to start through HTC’s website at 12:01am
EST tonight.
HTC has spent the last few days counting down on Twitter
toward a release of the internationally offered red-colored version of
its newest smartphone here in the States, originally spotted by SlashGear. The countdown started on June 16th
with a picture of the ruby-colored U11 next to a large number “4.” And
by careful analysis of subsequent posts — further photographs of the red
U11 next to sequentially smaller “3” and “2” numerals — made it possible to determine that the company was teasing an announcement regard the red phone for the 20th.
Despite the oddly dragged-out announcement for a new
color of a smartphone, the teasers do show off one thing: HTC’s
iridescent, curved glass-and-metal design looks excellent in red.
Microsoft is now allowing Surface Laptop owners to
switch back to Windows 10 S after they’ve upgraded to Windows 10 Pro.
While the upgrade path from Windows 10 S to Windows 10 Pro
on the Surface Laptop is quick and easy, going back to Windows 10 S
isn’t straightforward. Microsoft is offering special software restore
images for Surface Laptop devices, and you’ll need to wipe the entire
machine to get back to Windows 10 S.
This is surprisingly complicated given the switch to
Windows 10 Pro takes less than a minute and involves a simple reboot.
Nevertheless, if you really want to switch back to Windows 10 S and wipe
your drive clean then Microsoft’s recovery images are available
at the company’s Surface site. It’s unclear whether Microsoft plans to
enable an easier downgrade method in the future, or simply rely on
Windows 10 S device makers to provide restore images.
Microsoft's Surface Laptop is the first device to run Windows 10 S, a new variant of Windows 10 that is designed to only run Windows Store apps. HP, Acer, and other PC makers are planning to release low-cost laptops running Windows 10 S in the coming months.
Last year, Apple was ordered
to refund ebook readers who purchased certain books between April 1st,
2010 and May 21st, 2012. The company paid out $400 million to impacted
consumers who should have seen credits added to their various accounts,
on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and even Apple's own iTunes. If you
received Amazon credit, you have until 11:59PM PT on June 24th to use
it.
You can check your credit here.
You probably used up all or most of your credits, so long as you’re
still buying Kindle books because they’re automatically applied to any
qualifying item. Plus, you also should have received an email about
these credits when they were issued last June.
Anyway, if you somehow haven’t bought enough ebooks to use all your credits, get to it. You have five days.
Apple Music has a new subscription option for you to choose from, as first spotted by TechCrunch,
but you’ll have to dig a bit to find it. The music streaming service
added a $99 annual subscription plan — a few months ago, according to
Apple — to go along with the monthly, family, and student plan options.
The yearly option can be a nice $20 discount if you’re
planning on keeping Apple Music for the next 12 months, but currently
it’s not available if you’re trying to sign up for Apple Music. If you
are a current Apple Music subscriber, you can find it pretty easily by
going to the Music app > For You > Account (top right) > View
Apple ID > Subscriptions > Apple Music Membership and clicking on
the $99 option.
Before today you could buy a $99 Apple Music gift card
that gave you a year-long subscription to the service, but this is the
first time you can choose the option directly in the app. Hopefully
Apple will make the option available to new sign-ups sooner rather than
later. More options are better for everyone.
Spotify users have noticed a new opt-out setting
appearing both on desktop and in-app: Sponsored Songs. Sponsored content
in general is not new for Spotify — last year they allowed their most popular playlists to be sponsored by brands — but allowing labels to promote individual songs certainly is. A representative from Spotify confirms to The Verge that Sponsored Songs is a test program that will only appear to users on the free tier.
Sponsored Songs don’t appear as banners like the
platform’s existing ads, but are integrated into playlists you follow.
In the example below from Liam Maloney, the sponsored song — “Call Me” by NEIKED — is featured above the playlist. As first reported by TechCrunch,
the songs are chosen to match a user’s existing music tastes, are
instantly playable, and are savable without a prerequisite ad click.
“Show sponsored songs” is an auto-enabled setting which
Spotify seems to only be testing with some users. If the toggle is
available on your account, you’ll have to turn off under Settings >
Display Options on desktop and Settings > Sponsored Content on mobile
if you don’t want the songs to appear. The toggle will show for both
premium and free users, but the actual sponsored song test is only
functioning on the free tier.
Spotify continues to seek additional revenue streams as
it pushes to go public this year and avoid penalty fees from the $1
billion debt round it raised last year. Although they recently announced 140 million active users, the company posted an operating loss of $389 million in 2016.
Nearly two months after the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus’
launch, users might finally be getting access to one of the phones’ main
selling points: a new virtual assistant called Bixby. Today Samsung announced an assistant preview in which some S8 and S8 Plus owners can test Bixby’s voice features before anyone else.
Only a limited number of people will receive this early
access, Samsung says, so there are no guarantees even if you sign up.
Still, you can try your luck here. This early access will let users send a text, change their settings, or make phone calls with their voice.
We don’t know when the preview will launch other than in
the “near future.” Already, S8 and S8 Plus owners can use limited Bixby
features, like Bixby Vision augmented reality, Bixby Home, and
Reminders. The delay in shipping its full voice assistant is reportedly attributed to the company’s difficulty in optimizing it for English commands. This makes sense given that Bixby already fully launched in South Korea. Samsung shows no signs of letting that hurdle hold it back, though, as it announced this past month that it plans to build Bixby into its smart fridges and eventually expects to include the assistant in all its products.
The YotaPhone 3 has apparently been announced at a conference in Northern China. The successor to the YotaPhone 2,
which made some waves when it came with an E Ink display on its back,
will also feature a rear E Ink display, with an AMOLED screen on the
front.
The dual-screen smartphone will come in 64GB and 128GB
versions for $350 and $450, respectively, and will be available in
Russia and China this fall. Other than that, Yota Devices hasn’t said
much about the device. They did release this very vague blacked-out
photo back in April, however:
Whether the YotaPhone 3 will make its way to the US is
another question. Yota Devices has a poor track record with making its
devices available in the States — it killed the release of the YotaPhone 2 after a launching a crowdfunding campaign to bring it to the US.
Hopefully things will change this time around, and there
will be a US version of the YotaPhone 3. Yota Devices is expected to
announce more details around the smartphone later this summer.
YouTube is rolling out new analytics tools for 360-degree and VR video producers that will include a heat map of where users are actually looking
while watching those clips. The heat maps, which will be available for
videos that exceed 1,000 views, will clearly highlight “what parts of
your video are catching a viewer’s attention and how long they’re
looking at a specific part of the video.”
This is YouTube’s latest attempt to help content creators
learn how to best utilize the format and produce immersive experiences.
Viewers have multiple ways of watching 360-degree video: you can do so
using a VR headset, swiping around in the YouTube smartphone app, or by
just rotating a 360-degree video in your desktop web browser.
To go along with its improved analytics, YouTube is also
sharing some general tips on 360-degree video, which might also be of
interest to people like you and I who just mess around with the cameras
and gadgets capable of recording everything around us. First among them
is to focus on the initial, front-facing view. YouTube’s research has
shown that people spent 75 percent of their time “in the front 90
degrees of a video.” If you do want people to explore the entire space,
presenting a scene that’s engaging from multiple angles is important.
And YouTube encourages creators to use animations and markers to direct
someone’s focus in a 360-degree video to make sure they’re looking in
the right direction at key moments.
It would be interesting if YouTube were to give users a
way of seeing the popular sections of a video — similar to the way that
Facebook Live highlights the popular / most-engaged moments of live
video streams. But for the moment, these heat maps are only for
producers so that they can make better videos that don’t require extra assistance getting you to look at the right thing.
YouTube has also started taking applications for its VR Creator Lab in Los Angeles. According to TechCrunch,
those selected will take part in a 3-month program and receive up to
$40,000 to help develop their VR video production skills.
The CRTC, Canada’s wireless regulator, has ruled that
every cellphone sold in the country must be unlocked, and carriers can
no longer charge their customers to unlock their current devices, according to the CBC. The rules will take effect on December 1st, allowing customers to move to different carriers with their device as they wish.
According to the CBC, Canadian carriers charged their customers $50 Canadian dollars ($38) to unlock their devices, which added up
to $37.7 million CAD ($28.5 million) in 2016. The carriers, of course,
fought the ruling by the CRTC, claiming that customers should have to
“bear the cost of the unlocking,” as Rogers vice president Howard
Slawner said back in February, failing to note that carriers themselves lock devices.
But the argument is moot now. Canadian carrier customers will be able to unlock their phones at will come December.
Amazon has released the Dash Wand,
a new Alexa-enabled device that can help you scan grocery barcodes,
convert measurements, and order household essentials from Amazon just by
using your voice. The Wi-Fi-enabled Dash Wand is magnetic, so you can
stick it on your fridge, and also offers some of the features of its
bigger Echo sibling, allowing you to find recipes and restaurants
without using your hands.
At a few inches long, and made out of white and black
plastic, the Dash Wand looks like a refreshed version of the company’s
original Dash devices. First released in 2014,
those Dash also let you scan item barcodes or use voice controls to add
products to your shopping cart, but forced you to check out via
Amazon’s site. They also had no Alexa access — Amazon’s assistant wasn’t
available to the public then — and were only available to a limited
number of existing AmazonFresh users. A second-generation version cost $49.99 and could add anything on Amazon to a shopping cart, but users still had to check out manually.
The Dash Wand, on the other hand, lets you buy items
directly, and is now available to all Amazon Prime subscribers in the
United States. It’s priced at $20, but Amazon Prime subscribers who do
pick one up will receive $20 back in their Amazon accounts, making the
Dash Wand essentially a free purchase. Customers will theoretically then
use that returned cash to buy things using their new Dash Wand, picking
up paper towels, soap, and other household essentials by asking the
device to order each one, rather than needing a more expensive Echo or
an individual Dash button for each product. Buyers will also get a free
90-day trial of the AmazonFresh home grocery service.
Plugging things in is no fun, especially when a certain
company refuses to embrace industry-standard plugs. Wireless charging
is an obvious solution, which has been embraced by many Android
manufacturers but has remained conspicuously absent from the iPhone.
That might be about to change.
Wistron is a manufacturer in India, which Apple recently added to its roster to increase market share in the country and bring prices down. On Wednesday, Wistron's CEO Robert Hwang told reporters that the next generation of iPhones will include "new features like waterproof and wireless charging."
Hwang was talking about the increased complexity of
manufacturing over previous iPhone generations, and since right now
Wistron only makes the iPhone SE, it's probable that the waterproofing
he's referring to is the same level of water resistance that the iPhone 7
has. But the mention of wireless charging is a big slip-up and a nice
ray of hope for anyone who has been begging for this feature.
Other signs and rumors have pointed to wireless charging
for the next iPhone, not least of which was a note from Ming-Chi Kuo, a
typically reliable analyst at KGI Securities, back in February predicting that exact feature.
Then a schematic leaked in April of unknown provenance and legitimacy,
which showed a large pad the exact shape of a wireless charging antenna:
And a Reddit post
a couple of days ago showed a purported font and back panel. The back
panel is glass, which is another important factor for wireless charging:
This is more evidence than we usually have at this time
about an upcoming iPhone, but it's still far enough away from launch
that things could change between now and then. (Apple usually announces
its iPhones in September, and the next iPhone has been rumored to be delayed.) But hopefully all our dreams come true and iPhone users can finally enter the wireless charging era.
LG might replace HTC as the manufacturer of at least one of Google’s next Pixel devices, codenamed internally as “taimen.” 9to5Google
dug through the Android Issue Tracker and found that an LG employee had
logged an issue and was subsequently asked by a Google employee to move
the bug report to an LG / taimen specific board. This could indicate
that LG is deeply involved in the manufacturing and creation of the new
taimen device.
AndroidPolice editor David Ruddock also separately confirmed that LG would manufacture taimen.
Why would Google go with LG over HTC? 9to5Google points out that a rumor earlier this year speculated that Google wanted to invest
in LG’s flexible OLED displays for its next phone. Maybe that has
something to do with it. Or maybe Google wasn’t satisfied with HTC’s
manufacturing scale, given that both the Pixel and Pixel XL experienced severe shipping delays. The 128GB Pixel wasn’t in stock for nearly two months. At the time, Google said demand “exceeded [its] expectations.”
In other Pixel news, Google was thought to be developing
up to three new devices — replacements for the Pixel and Pixel XL, as
well as a device that was bigger than even the Pixel XL. Now, however, Android Police
reports that one of those three devices is being scrapped, and the
taimen will replace the current Pixel XL. Only two devices are likely to
be released this year. The other Pixel in development appears to be
codenamed “walleye.” For now, that’s all we know about the devices, but
hopefully we’ll have more developments soon.
Facebook has signed a deal to revive reality competition show Last State Standing, according to The Hollywood Reporter. American Ninja Warrior
producer A. Smith and Co.’s Arthur Smith is behind the series, which
will feature one contestant from each of the 50 states competing in
games for a chance to win $500,000. A premiere date, episode count, and
rollout plan are still undetermined, but production on the show has
reportedly begun in Los Angeles.
Back in February, Facebook announced it hired MTV executive vice president Mina Lefevre to head development of the site’s scripted and unscripted content. Since then, contracts have been signed with outlets like BuzzFeed and Vox to create shortform series (shows 5- to 30-minutes in length).
Last State Standing’s deal comes on the heels of Facebook also reportedly closing in on a deal to revive Nicole Byer’s comedy series Loosely Exactly Nicole. The latter is a reunion for Lefevre and Byer: Lefevre originally helped develop Loosely Exactly Nicole during her tenure at MTV, where it ran for one season in October 2016.
Facebook’s original video content is expected to arrive
close to the end of summer, and is part of the company’s concerted
efforts, along with Facebook Live and rumors of an app for set-top TV boxes, to bring video to the forefront of user experience.
If all the small enhancements to the iPad Pro 10.5 aren't speaking to you, good deals on the original 9.7-inch Pro have arrived. As spotted by 9to5Toys, Best Buy is offering a one-day-only deal on the 32GB 9.7-inch Pro right now: $449.99, which is $150 off the typical $599.99 asking price.
The main reason to grab a Pro model over the recently released $329 iPad model
is Pencil support, but, of course, the Pencil isn't included with the
Pro models, it's an extra $99. Also, Apple's Smart Keyboard covers for
the 9.7-inch Pro aren't compatible with the 10.5-inch Pro, so that's
something else to watch out for. Basically this isn't the greatest deal in tablets, but it is a good tablet that's about to get a lot more interesting with iOS 11.
And $450, or $400 if you want to dig around for a refurbished model, is
certainly more accessible than the $650 Apple wants for the 10.5-inch
new stuff.
Today, Google announced an expansion to its Play Store with its new Android Excellence
program. Curated by Google’s editorial team, Android Excellence
features rotating collections of apps that deliver a superb Android user
experience, utilize many of Google’s “best practices,”
and “have great design, technical performance, localization, and device
optimization.” Broken down into two categories of apps and games,
Android Excellence appears in Google’s newly revamped Editor’s Choice
section.
The announcement comes after Apple’s recent WWDC debut of its overhauled App Store,
with a new interface and shifted focus on discovery and how-tos. It
also has a new way to highlight apps — the App Store’s upgraded landing
page will feature one new app a day, opening possibilities for
up-and-coming developers and encouraging daily visits.
While Google’s Android Excellence program is more
extensive, the lists will only be updated quarterly, a move that might
not serve users as much as it does developers (who can reap exposure for
months). Also a bummer — there are no descriptions to explain why
editors select apps for Android Excellence, the way they do for other
Google Play categories, like “5 Travel Apps for Your Next Adventure.”
Regardless, if you want to see what Google deems the best
of the best, Android Excellence kicks off today in the Google Play
Store. Below, their first round of selects.
After selling off its in-store shelves, display cases, and garbage cans, RadioShack is auctioning off its history. In a huge estate sale
that's going on now, RadioShack has opened up its historic archives: 12
"huge safes" full of classic gadgets and weird memorabilia.
I would like to own at least one of each of the classic
computers up for auction, which include a bunch of TRS-80 Model 100
portables, Tandy laptops, and the world's first consumer tablet: the Gridpad.
There is also a lot of strange corporate detritus, including a painting labeled "George W. Bush"
that does not look like him and a RadioShack putter. It's definitely
worth browsing through, but you have to promise not to cry when you spot
signage from the company museum.
It's a depressing fate for these well-preserved vintage electronics and curiosities, but let's remember the good times with Walt Mossberg's ode to the TRS-80:
Waymo is done driving around the cute, steering-wheel-free autonomous cars that were introduced by Google back in 2014. In a blog post
this afternoon, Waymo leaders write that time has come to “retire our
fleet of Fireflies” — their name for the tiny cars — and focus instead
of integrating self-driving technology into other vehicles, like the Chrysler Pacifica minivans Waymo put on the road earlier this year.
“By focusing on mass-produced vehicles like the Pacifica
minivan, we’ll be able to bring fully self-driving technology to more
people, more quickly,” the Waymo leaders write. They also say that
focusing on mass-produced vehicles opens up more opportunities for
testing, since the Fireflies were limited to a top speed of 25 miles per
hour.
The move shows Google pretty definitely moving away from
producing its own vehicles and competing with automakers to instead
focusing on collaborating with and selling technology to any automakers
that are interested. While Google will be competing with quite a few
other companies at this point to sell self-driving tech, it has a head
start on testing; and ultimately, selling the technology is going to be a
lot easier than figuring out how to mass produce and market its own
self-driving cars.
Still, there’s something disappointing about seeing
Waymo’s first self-driving car — and its bold vision for the future of
vehicles — disappear in favor of a traditional vehicle. Google imagined a
world without steering wheels, shifters, or a brake pedal, where the
inside of a car was designed just for sitting. We may well get back to
that point some day. But for now, don’t expect your first self-driving
car to have a smiley face on it.
Logitech is unveiling a new security camera today
called the Circle 2. Except the Circle 2 isn’t really one camera: it’s
four different cameras in one (maybe more, depending on how you set it
up). It’s meant to be wired and wireless, mounted to walls and windows,
and used basically however you’d like. The only downside is that you’ll
have to buy the right parts to transform it into the kind of camera
you’re looking for — and there are a lot of different parts.
On its own, the Circle 2 is surprisingly small. It’s a
little black disc with a 180-degree camera on one side and a smart
connector on the back. The 180-degree camera is great, because it allows
a single camera to monitor a ridiculously wide area. And the smart
connector is what allows the camera to transform into a bunch of
different shapes.
The Circle 2 isn’t meant to be used as just a tiny disc —
in fact, it can’t be. It’s meant to be paired with a traditional wall
mount, a battery mount, a window mount, or a plug mount that goes
straight into an outlet. You’ll need at least attach one of them to
power the thing.
At launch, Logitech will be selling two kits: one
includes the camera and a wall mount and sells for $179.99. The other
includes the camera and a battery mount and sells for $199.99. As
accessories, it’ll also be selling a weatherproof extension cord, a
window mount, a wall plug mount, and an extra battery; these range in
price from $29.99 to $49.99. For the most part, you can mix and match
the different mounts (though in one strange exception, the extra battery
requires you to have purchased the camera’s battery kit first). On the
plus side, the entire camera is weatherproof, so it can be used outside
in any setup. The kits and accessories are supposed to begin shipping
next month.
Overall, Logitech seems to have devised a smart system
that opens up a lot of possibilities for buyers. One of the things
Logitech says it saw with the original Circle camera
was that customers had a lot of different ways they liked to use them,
and its goal this time is to make it easier for customers to put the
camera wherever they’d like. Logitech hints that more mounts could come
over time as customers show interest in different uses of the camera.
The Circle 2’s shape-shifting is really the biggest new
feature — the camera is otherwise about the same as its predecessor.
Owners will be able to stream footage through the Logi Circle app and
get notifications about activity. Unfortunately, some of the much more
useful features require additional payment. You’ll need to subscribe to
the $100-per-year, per-camera Circle Safe
Premium service in order to get person detection or set activity zones.
Otherwise, you’re stuck with much less useful notifications.
That kind of fee isn’t unique to Logitech — Nest also
charges for person detection — but it makes cameras like these a much
bigger investment if you’re using them for security. As a way to monitor
your kids or a pet, though, you can probably skip out on extra
payments.
Logitech has also set up Alexa support for the Circle 2;
every camera has a built-in HomeKit chip, so they’ll work with Apple’s
system, too. (Although, a caveat: apparently HomeKit doesn’t support
battery-powered cameras, so the Circle 2 will only work with HomeKit
when plugged into a wired power source.)
When the Circle 2 launches next month, it’ll face off
against quite a few competitors vying to get inside your home. Netgear’s
Arlo line of cameras has indoor and outdoor options, and it even recently added an option expressly designed for monitoring babies. Canary’s Flex camera takes a similar put-it-anywhere approach, with the ability for a single camera to work plugged or unplugged, indoors or out.
On top of those options, Nest just announced the Cam IQ,
which shoots in 4K so that it can punch in on details. Nest even offers
some of the smarts that Logitech is charging for — like person
detection — for free. This should make it much cheaper if you’re looking
primarily for a security camera, not a way to monitor your kids while
they’re playing in the backyard.
Alienware is debuting a new line of accessories at E3
this year, with new mice, keyboards, and a new high-end gaming monitor
that will go perfectly with your Alienware computer.
First up, the mice. Alienware has two new ones to offer: the $49.99Advanced
Gaming Mouse, and the $89.99 Elite Gaming Mouse. Both mice offer the
option to quickly switch DPI sensitivity on the fly, customizable LEDs,
and nine configurable buttons. The more expensive Elite Gaming Mouse
builds on that with more premium materials, adjustable weights, and more
DPI levels.
On the keyboard side of things, Alienware has the $89.99
Advanced Gaming Keyboard, which has KaiHua brown mechanical switches and
ambient LED lighting. And for a step up, there’s the $119.99 Pro Gaming
Keyboard, which adds backlight keys, a dedicated volume roller, and
onboard memory for storing macros.
Lastly, there’s the Alienware 25 Gaming Monitor, which
offers 1920 x 1080 resolution, a native refresh rate of 240Hz, and a
1-millisecond response time. And true to the company’s philosophy of
hardware choice, the Alienware 25 is available in both a $499.99 model
with AMD FreeSync or a $699.9 model with Nvidia’s G-Sync, depending on
your preference.
Microsoft revealed its new Xbox One X console
on stage at E3 earlier today, and now the company is announcing the
price: $499. The new gaming console will debut on November 7th priced at
$499, exactly $100 more than its main competition the PlayStation 4 Pro.
The Xbox One X is more powerful at 6 teraflops of graphical power vs.
the 4.2 teraflops found on the PlayStation 4 Pro, and it also includes
an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive.
The $100 price different will still be a point of
discussion for gamers interested in both Microsoft and Sony's consoles.
Sony is planning to hold its own E3 press conference tomorrow night at
6PM PT / 9PM ET, and its possible the company could announce its own PS4
Pro price cut to counter Microsoft's more powerful console. Either way,
games will be the key to the success of both the Xbox One X and the
existing Xbox One S, and Microsoft has focused heavily on those at E3
today.
