Etsy _print on demand

31 Jan, 2023

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Etsy

Is a popular online marketplace that allows small businesses, artists, and independent sellers to sell their handmade, vintage, and unique products to a global customer base.

One of the most popular product categories on Etsy is print-on-demand (POD) mugs and t-shirts.
POD is a digital printing method that allows for individual items to be printed only as they are ordered, rather than in bulk.

This eliminates the need for sellers to hold large quantities of inventory, reducing overhead costs and minimizing the risk of unsold merchandise.
Etsy offers several POD printing options for mugs and t-shirts, including direct-to-garment printing and sublimation printing.

Direct-to-garment printing uses a specialized printer to apply designs directly onto fabric, while sublimation printing uses heat to transfer dye into fabric, creating a long-lasting, vibrant design few exaples here : https://www.etsy.com/uk/TechSignatureArth/listing/1388815860/backpack-bright-colours-unisex-paint?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1675167794521

or : https://www.etsy.com/uk/TechSignatureArth/listing/1388817396/backpack-floral-theme-roses-flower-cute?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1675167832279

also : https://www.etsy.com/uk/TechSignatureArth/listing/1402926103/motivational-pillow-inspirational?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1675167866426

For sellers, using a POD service allows them to focus on creating designs and promoting their products, rather than managing the printing and fulfillment process.

POD providers handle the printing, shipping, and customer service, freeing up time for sellers to focus on other aspects of their business.
POD mugs and t-shirts (- example : https://www.etsy.com/uk/TechSignatureArth/listing/1388815108/t-shirt-abstract-art-face-unisex-paint?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1675168184035 ) are popular on Etsy because they offer customers unique, high-quality products without the need for large minimum orders. Sellers can offer a wide range of designs and styles, from humor and pop culture references to personalization and customization options.

Few examples here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/TechSignatureArth/listing/1388804238/circle-of-trust-mug-with-color-inside?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1675168034116

or : https://www.etsy.com/uk/TechSignatureArth/listing/1402852485/do-not-anger-the-gods-mug-coffee-mug-tea?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1675168065417

also : https://www.etsy.com/uk/TechSignatureArth/listing/1402904429/valentines-day-mug-love-respect-funny?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1675168110741

Etsy’s POD mugs and t-shirts are also eco-friendly, as they eliminate waste by only printing what is sold. This helps to reduce environmental impact, making them a popular choice for customers who are conscious about their impact on the environment.
In conclusion, Etsy and POD mugs and t-shirts offer a great opportunity for small businesses, artists, and independent sellers to reach a global customer base with their unique designs. POD eliminates the need for large quantities of inventory and offers a hassle-free printing and fulfillment process, allowing sellers to focus on creating and promoting their products. With a wide range of styles and customization options, POD mugs and t-shirts are a popular choice for customers looking for unique, high-quality products.

Admin

OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro A Threat to Big Players ?!

24 Mar, 2021

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The OnePlus 9 is the latest flagship from a brand that, despite shifting its phone strategy to compete directly with other premium handsets, had until now kept coming up short in one category: cameras. 

To address this deficiency, OnePlus has partnered with legendary photography company Hasselblad in a three-year plan to improve the photo capabilities of its smartphones. The OnePlus 9 is the first attempt to right the ship, and the improvements are noticeable, with better color fidelity and improved low-light performance. The digital zoom has also been improved, while there are some fun new tricks like the macro-simulating close-range effect on the ultra-wide camera. 

As much as the cameras have changed, the rest of the phone hasn’t: the design is virtually the same, from the placement of the buttons to the display to the size, which is nearly identical to that of its immediate predecessor, the OnePlus 8T, and the OnePlus 8 before that. The display hasn’t changed, either, but there’s no complaining about the sharp 6.55-inch Full HD Plus resolution AMOLED display.

The OnePlus 9 packs the new Snapdragon 888 chipset, and while the 8GB / 128GB or 12GB / 256GB RAM and storage options are the same as for its predecessor, they're on a par with other flagship phones in its price range (most notably, the Samsung S21). What the OnePlus 9 does better is recharge its 4,500mAh battery extremely quickly – from empty to 100% in around half an hour with its Warp Charge 65T charger.

Ultimately, the OnePlus 9 provides great performance and battery life for its price, while shoring up its camera offering, and it all makes for a serious-value package. Sure, the phone inherits a lot from the OnePlus 8T, but with its greatest weakness addressed, the newest affordable flagship makes a strong case to be the best phone at its price tier.

OnePlus 9 price and release date

The OnePlus 9 launched on March 23, and will be available to buy on April 2. In the US, it will be sold by online vendors Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and on OnePlus.com. Only T-Mobile will carry the phone, though it should work with Verizon and AT&T, although the OnePlus 9 won’t work on the latter’s 5G network  

The OnePlus 9 starts at $729 / £629 for the 8GB of RAM / 128GB of storage model, while bumping that up to 12GB RAM / 256GB storage raises the price to $829 / £729.

Those in the US can't buy the larger storage variant, while in the UK you'll have the option of both. We don't expect OnePlus to sell this smartphone in Australia as it doesn't often bring its phones to that market.

That price makes the OnePlus 9 slightly cheaper than, and competitive with, the Samsung S21, which starts at $799 / £769 / AU$1,249. But it also makes the phone very good value compared to the OnePlus 9 Pro; while it misses out on a couple of key features and flourishes (telephoto lens, 50W wireless charging), it's much more affordable than its pricier sibling, which starts at $969 / £829 . 

The OnePlus 9 comes in three colors: the light-purple Winter Mist with a gradient effect, the light-blue Arctic Sky with matte finish, and the glossy Astral Black.

Design

There’s no getting around it: the OnePlus 9 has a very similar design to its predecessor, the OnePlus 8T, aside from the obviously different camera block. 

It has the same glass-fronted 6.55-inch display and glass back as its predecessor, and the same lock button and signature OnePlus ring/vibrate/silent toggle on the right side and volume rocker button on the left, all of which are in easy reach when you're casually holding the phone. There's also the same USB-C port on the bottom with the speaker to the right, as well as a second speaker out of the earpiece.

There is one difference between the OnePlus 9 and its predecessor: its frame is plastic, not metal. Also, the OnePlus 9 is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance – if you get it from a carrier like T-Mobile, that is; otherwise it's conspicuously unrated, although identical in design, winkingly providing the same protection but without the costly certification.

Inheriting so much from its predecessor isn’t a bad thing: the OnePlus 9 looks much like other flagships in its more affordable tier, like the standard Samsung S21 – that is, the materials are high-quality, but it lacks some of the flourishes of the priciest phones. To wit, both phones have AMOLED displays, but they’re flat, without the 'waterfall' curved edges of their premium siblings.

The OnePlus 9 does have a glass back, unlike the S21’s plastic (or 'glasstic') back, but not all glass is equal: the former phone’s rear doesn’t have the same density and classy feel as the glass backs of other flagships. Tap the back of the OnePlus 9 and it sounds a bit hollow, like plastic backs. This isn’t a major drawback, just something to keep in mind: affordable flagships are made with affordable-flagship materials.

Display

As previously mentioned, the OnePlus 9 has a 6.55-inch AMOLED display, with a Full HD Plus-resolution (2400 x 1080) screen. It produces sharp, vibrant visuals, much like the display on its predecessor. 

The screen is only broken up by a punch-hole in the top-left corner for the front-facing camera. It has an in-screen fingerprint sensor, which we found only read our print reliably when our finger was upright in relation to the phone – don’t be surprised if you have to unlock the phone via face or passcode every so often.

The display has a 120Hz refresh rate, which in practice means a much smoother visual experience when you're browsing apps or scrolling your social feeds. Games that support up to 120fps should also benefit from this feature.

The OnePlus 9 does miss out on a pair of features that are exclusive to the OnePlus 9 Pro. One of these is low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO), a backplate to the display that enables the phone to dynamically set the refresh rate based on what you're doing, dialing it down for low-intensity activities like browsing photos to save battery (a feature first seen in Samsung phones).

The other, Hypertouch, reduces the latency of touch controls by 25-30ms, conceivably improving performance in competitive online games like PUBG; if you're playing on the OnePlus 9 you'll have to rely on your reactions rather than software.

Cameras

The OnePlus 9 has a triple rear camera setup, though you’ll probably only realize that you’re using two of them. The 48MP main camera and 50MP ultra-wide camera are what you’ll use most, while the 2MP monochrome sensor helps with low-light photography, and with black-and-white photos if you set the correct filter.

The big news in the cameras department is OnePlus’ three-year partnership with noted camera brand Hasselblad, with the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro cameras bearing the first fruits of this collaboration. It may be a year (or more) before Hasselblad lenses end up in the company’s phones, though, and its big contribution this time around is in the area of color calibration. As with most tweaks, this is mostly apparent in side-by-side tests, with images showing more vibrant and true-to-life colors.

While we found the color reproduction to be slightly less precise than in images taken on last year's iPhone 12 Pro – still the high-water mark for phone photography in 2021 – the OnePlus 9 unquestionably takes better photos than its predecessors. In side-by-side comparisons (below), the color range is not just more true-to-life, the camera captures more detail in surface textures and shadows. 

This improved color reproduction is evident in images taken with both rear cameras, the 48MP main and 50MP ultra-wide. The latter camera also packs an extra surprise: a specialty macro mode that captures up-close photos that are easily better than those shot on other phones with designated macro lenses, including the OnePlus 8T. It also comes with a freeforming lens, which OnePlus claims corrects barrel distortion – the warping at the sides of images from some ultra-wide cameras – down to 1%, and it appears to work, as we didn’t notice any distortion.

There's also another cute photo mode: tilt-shift, which allows you to keep the center strip of the scene of subject in focus and blur the rest. It's a neat trick, even if it doesn't have too many applications.

There’s also a 16MP front-facing camera that shoots admirable photos, with good color and sharp detail, although these have weirdly narrow dimensions. Portrait selfies are pretty spectacular though, especially given that there's only one camera pointing out of the display.

That’s not all from Hasselblad – the phone’s Pro Mode has been customized to resemble the screen on Hasselblad cameras (even up to the yellow shutter button), and a shutter sound has been added that simulates the sound of a 'proper' camera. There aren’t just cosmetic effects though: the Pro Mode has more controls, allowing you to manually adjust ISO, white balance, shutter speed, focus, and more, although tinkering with them one at a time takes a little bit of finagling. Better still, you can save images in the 12-bit raw format for optimum quality and editing flexibility.

The OnePlus 9’s main camera shoots video in 8K 30fps, providing 16x the pixel count of the standard 1080p. The ultra-wide camera can shoot time-lapse videos, and there’s a low-light video option called Nightscape Video 2.0. 

Camera samples

Performance

The OnePlus 9 packs the same top-tier specs as the OnePlus 9 Pro, and aside from an updated chipset, the same RAM and storage options. It’s fast, running games and loading apps without a hitch. 

The OnePlus 9 has a Snapdragon 888 and 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, which puts it on par with the Samsung Galaxy S21, at least on paper. 

In performance benchmarks, it certainly holds its own with a Geekbench 5 multi-core average score of 3654 - outperforming nearly every other Android phone on the market. 

Frustratingly, the OnePlus 9 doesn’t have expandable storage, meaning you’ll have to live with either 128GB or 256GB and rely on the cloud if you run out of room.

The OnePlus 9 runs Android 11, as well as OnePlus’ UI, presenting the usual combination of clean interface and helpful menu features. The OnePlus 9 is a 5G-capable hone, but it doesn’t support mmWave – only mid and sub-6 bands.

Battery

The OnePlus 9 has a 4,500mAh battery, which is substantial, and should get you through the day, though there are other flagship phones with larger batteries. 

The OnePlus 9’s real advantage lies in its charging speeds. You get the Warp Charge 65T charger in the box, which OnePlus CEO Pete Lau claims will charge the phone to 100% in just under half an hour, and also has 15W Qi wireless charging.

In our tests, we found much the same results for wired charging. These wildly fast recharging speeds are partially due to the battery's construction, as the 4,500mAh unit is actually split into two roughly 2,250mAh cells that are charged in parallel by the 65W wired charger. 

It’s a development that debuted in the OnePlus 8T, which recharged from zero to 100% in just under 40 minutes with its Warp Charge 65 charger – the OnePlus 9 shaves nearly 10 minutes off that time with improvements to the power brick, hence the ‘T’ in the Warp Charge 65T name. 

Buy it if…

You want top specs at the most affordable price
The OnePlus 9 packs the best Android specs you can get in its price range right now, and it's a great-value phone.

You want a great photography experience for the price
If you’re hunting for the best Android camera phone at this price, and one that doesn’t skimp on specs (sorry, Google Pixel 5), the OnePlus 9 is worth considering.

You want a phone that charges in super-quick time 
The OnePlus 9’s battery fully charges in under 30 minutes over a cable, and in 45 minutes using wireless charging. If you hate waiting for hours to charge your phone, you'll love the OnePlus 9.

Note:
1. While the IMX789 sensor is 1/1.35" in size with 16:11 aspect ratio, different sensor areas are used based on specific user scenarios – with the effective sensor area up to 1/1.43" when taking photographs.
2. Edge distortion tested internally within OnePlus test laboratory. Test date: March 2, 2021. Low edge distortion achieved using a wider asymmetrical design, with results as low as just 1% edge distortion.
3. The 6.7” display size measurement is measured diagonally from corner to corner.
4. Numbers are theoretical; actual performance may vary.
5. Industry leading visual experience is based on the convergence of multiple innovations, including LTPO display, leading color accuracy, display brightness technology, Color Tone technology, and other advanced technologies.
6. Maximum brightness tested internally.
7. IP68: Data is based on test results using TÜV SÜD based on IEC 60529 with test conditions for submersion in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. It is not advised to use the product in seawater, at the beach, or the pool. Water and dust resistance may be reduced as device ages. Liquid and dust damage are not covered under warranty.
8. Typical capacity is 4,500 mAh. The battery design incorporates two cells (each rated at 2,250 mAh), allowing Warp Charge to simultaneously charge both cells at the same time for fast charging.
9. Peak charging wattage is 65W.
10. The data comes from the OnePlus test laboratory. Test date: March 6, 2021. Test Environment Standards: Environmental ambient temperature: 25°C ± 1°C. Operating temperature of the phone when charging starts: 25°C ± 1°C. Test process: Charging commences from 1% with official OnePlus Warp Charge 65 charger. The screen stays off during the entire charging process. 15 minutes of charging of OnePlus 9 Pro with Warp Charge 65 from 1% will charge to roughly 65% of battery which can be used for 5.5 hours under OnePlus DoU (Day of Use) model. Actual performance experienced by users may vary based on the specific charging environment conditions.
11. The Warp Charge 65 charger maintains the compatibility for Warp Charge 30T, Warp Charge 30, Dash Charge and also up to 45W PD charging. Actual performance may vary with different devices and software versions.
12. The data comes from the OnePlus test laboratory. Test date: March 6, 2021. Test Environment Standards: Environmental ambient temperature: 25°C ± 1°C. Operating temperature of the phone when charging starts: 25°C ± 1°C. Test process: Charging commences from 1% with official OnePlus Wireless Warp Charger. The screen stays off during the entire charging process. On average, 30 minutes of wireless charging of OnePlus 9 Pro with official OnePlus Wireless Warp Charger from 1% will charge to roughly 70% of battery which can be used for 5.5 hours under OnePlus DoU (Day of Use) model. Actual performance experienced by users may vary based on the specific charging environment conditions.
13. The data comes from the OnePlus test laboratory. Test date: March 6, 2021. Test Environment Standards: Environmental ambient temperature: 25°C ± 1°C. Operating temperature of the phone when charging starts: 25°C ± 1°C. Test process: Charging commences from 1% with official OnePlus Warp Charge 65 charger. The screen stays off during the entire charging process. The OnePlus 9 Pro with Warp Charge 65 charges from 1-100% in 29 minutes, compared to the OnePlus 8T charging from 1-100% in 39 minutes. This translates to approximately 25% quicker charging despite peak wattage remaining the same at 65W. Actual performance experienced by users may vary based on the specific charging environment conditions.

source: Techradar.com

           : Oneplus.com

           : Twitter.com

           : Samsung.com

Admin

OnePlus Watch only $159 starting price !!!!

24 Mar, 2021

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After countless years of waiting, OnePlus has officially unveiled its first smartwatch. The predictably named OnePlus Watch boasts a sleek round stainless steel body and a 1.39-inch OLED display with 326ppi resolution. The watch comes in a single 46mm size and features sapphire glass protection. The right side also features two buttons for tactile control.

For your workout needs OnePlus Watch offers tracking for over 110 sporting activities including swimming. There’s 5ATM + IP68 water and dust resistance for added reassurance. You also get the standard array of heart rate and blood oxygen saturation tracking as well as sleep and stress monitoring.

In terms of connectivity, OnePlus Watch offers built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. There’s 1GB RAM and 4GB storage (2GB of those available to the user) while the software front is covered by a proprietary RTOS with OnePlus’ Watch OS on top. You’ll be able to interact with notifications, take hands-free calls and control your music playback.

The advertised battery life on the OnePlus Watch is two weeks with normal use. Being a OnePlus device you also get Warp Charge which promises a week’s usage on a 20-minute top-up. Charing is done through a proprietary 2 Pogo pin charger.

The OnePlus Watch comes in silver and black colors and retails for $159/€159/INR 16,999. First sales begin on April 14. OnePlus also teased a Cobalt Limited Edition version which has a golden hue and is set to arrive later this year.

source :gsmarena.com

Admin

OnePlus 9 Pro Review

24 Mar, 2021

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Introduction

OnePlus continues to find its place in the smartphone industry with the OnePlus 9 duo. The 9 and 9 Pro establishes OnePlus with a new partnership in the camera space - every major Chinese OEM has one, after all. With the new smartphones bearing the "Hasselblad" name, does the OnePlus flagship finally have a camera experience free of compromises? OnePlus uses the tagline "Your best shot" so we are setting our expectations high for the cameras' performance.

OnePlus has entered into a three-year cooperation agreement with Hasselblad and the first phones to benefit from that are the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro. For these phones, Hasselblad and OnePlus collaborated on calibrating the contrast and color processing with a view of tuning them to Hasselblad's distinct style.

OnePlus 9 • OnePlus 9 Pro

In this review, we'll focus on the larger of the two phones. The OnePlus 9 Pro's overall look does not deviate far from its predecessors, but it does dial back on a couple of design elements that help to improve the phone's ergonomics. The centered linear arrangement of cameras is no more, and the 9 Pro now has a more conventional camera placement in a rectangular setup.

OnePlus 9 Pro next to OnePlus 9

The display on the 9 Pro uses a new display technology that OnePlus promises should reduce the power consumption of the panel by up to 50 percent. The savings is credited to a new LTPO backplane in the AMOLED panel. This enables the new 'Smart 120Hz' feature that variably adjusts the refresh rate all the way down to 1Hz if it needs to.

Debuting with the OnePlus 8T last year, the 9 Pro now sports the same dual-cell battery system compatible with an included 65W charger, capable of fully replenishing the 9 Pro's battery in just about a half-hour but with improved charging software and lower internal battery resistance, they've been able to provide even faster initial charging from flat. OnePlus is also debuting a faster Warp Wireless charger with the 9 Pro that outputs 50W and we'll be giving that a test as well.

OnePlus 9 Pro specs:

• Body: aluminum frame and glass construction, 3D Gorilla Glass back and dual-curved display edges, Gorilla Glass 5 front and back.
• Display: 6.7" Fluid Display 2.0 (LTPO AMOLED), 10-bit color, 120Hz, HDR10+, MEMC, Automatic color temperature setting, 1,300 nits (peak), 1440x3216px resolution (20.1:9).
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 (5 nm): Octa-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4x1.80 GHz Kryo 680); Adreno 660.
• Memory: 8GB or 12GB LPDDR5 + 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.1 storage (non-expandable).
• OS/Software: OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11.
• Rear cameras: Wide (main): Sony IMX789 48 MP, 1/1.43", f/1.8, 23mm, 1.12 µm Multi Autofocus (PDAF+LAF+CAF), OIS + EIS; Ultra wide angle/macro: Sony IMX766 50MP, 1/1.56", f/2.4, 14mm, Freeform lens; Telephoto: 8MP, 3.3x zoom, 1.0µm pixels, f/2.4, 77mm equiv; Monochrome: 2MP.
• Front camera: Sony IMX471 16MP, f/2,4, 1.0 µm pixel size, fixed focus, EIS.
• Video capture: 8K @ 30fps, 4K @ 30/60/120fps, Super Slow Motion 720p @ 480fps, 1080p @ 240fps, 4K time-lapse, DOL-HDR.
• Battery and charging: 4,500 mAh dual-cell battery, Warp Charge 65T, Warp Charge 50 Wireless, Reverse wireless charging @ 5W.
• Misc: In-display optical fingerprint scanner; front RGB sensor (for automatic tone adjustment), alert slider.

Apart from the screen size and resolution, the main difference between the 9 and 9 Pro's camera systems is the addition of a dedicated telephoto camera on the OnePlus 9 Pro. The main camera gets an updated IMX789 Sony sensor which still supports omnidirectional Phade Detection auto focus and dual native ISO, and the ultra-wide now gets a 50MP sensor and a new type of lens to reduce lens distortion.

Video recording has been beefed up to support 8K video at 30 frames, and 4K video at 120 fps. There's also a new Nightscape Video 2.0 which promises better low-light video so we're looking at all-around improvements to the camera system on the 9 Pro.

We're excited to see how much the image quality has improved on the camera trio (main, tele, wide) of the 9 Pro with this new Hasselblad partnership. We'll also be looking to see how much battery life will improve despite having the same 4,500 mAh capacity as its predecessor. The lower-power display and Snapdragon 888 with integrated Qualcomm X60 modem should help in this regard.

Tag along as we look over the ins and outs of OnePlus' new flagship device. If you're looking to upgrade from an older OnePlus device, we'll give you the scoop on whether the 9 Pro is improved in all the right places or if it's more like a scoop of ice cream you've already tasted before.

Unboxing

The media package that we received from OnePlus included both the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, along with one protective case for each, and the Warp Charge 50 Wireless Charger. This time around, some may be happy to learn that the new Wireless charging dock does come with a removable connector and supports any 50W USB-C PD charger.

The OnePlus packaging has become a standard fare and the 9 Pro is no exception. Inside the now familiar red box is the phone at the top layer, followed by some paperwork, a silicone case in some markets, the 65W Warp Charge power adapter, and the usual red Type-C to Type-C USB 2.0 cable.

The silicone case this year has been switched to an opaque design. It's not clear yet why OnePlus chooses to omit this accessory in some markets and decides to leave it in elsewhere. There will be aftermarket cases, obviously, along with some first-party options from OnePlus.

Two things that we can always count on OnePlus smartphones to come with are a set of OnePlus stickers, and a letter from the company's founder Pete Lau that encourages customers to participate in the OnePlus community forums. A SIM tool is attached to this letter.

As usual, there are no audio accessories inside the package. Not even an audio adapter.

Design

The OnePlus 9 Pro continues the brand's tradition of having pleasant but unremarkable designs. While other manufacturers are being more bold and experimental, OnePlus seems content with a safe design that is inoffensive but also somewhat generic and forgettable.

The OnePlus 9 Pro inherits most of the OnePlus 8 Pro design aesthetics but makes some notable improvements. The phone is now both shorter and narrower and while the difference isn't much, it feels much more manageable and comfortable to use, even though the weight hasn't changed.

The OnePlus 9 Pro also loses the aggressively curved display of the OnePlus 8 Pro. While the display is still curved, it's a much more subtle curve that doesn't extend as further down the sides as the 8 Pro did. This has a few advantages, which we shall discuss in the display section.

Along the sides, we find the power and alert slider on the right and the volume buttons on the left. The volume buttons have been shifted down significantly compared to the 8 Pro. This makes it much easier to operate in portrait orientation and the volume buttons also don't rub against your pinky finger when held in landscape mode.

The bottom of the phone is identical, with the same two-slot speaker grille, USB port, and SIM tray design. The top of the phone loses the horizontal cleft and is a simple curve.

The back of the phone houses the most noticeable difference. The OnePlus 8 Pro had the more distinctive OnePlus camera array in a vertical pill shape in the center. The camera had a rather significant bump to it but it wasn't an issue since it was centered and so the phone still felt mostly stable. The OnePlus 9 Pro switches to a new camera array with the Hasselblad branding in the top left corner, similar to many other designs on the market today. The camera bump doesn't stick out as far on the new model but because it's in the corner the phone does rock back and forth on the desk.

The OnePlus 9 Pro comes in three colors and finishes. Our review unit came in Morning Mist, which has a glossy finish that gets progressively more reflective as you go down the back of the phone. Pine Green has a rather familiar shade of green with a matte finish. Stellar Black is the most interesting as its frosted matte finish has a similar texture to the sandstone back of older OnePlus phones. Morning Mist is the only finish that has a shiny frame, the other two have matte finishes.

Both the Pine Green and Stellar Black variants are said to be fingerprint resistant, which is great because the back of the Morning Mist looks like a crime scene after a few minutes of use.

While Morning Mist is the company's featured finish, it doesn't really have that 'wow' factor that OnePlus has achieved in previous years: the iridescent effect of the 7 Pro's Nebula Blue and the breathtaking deepness of the 8 Pro's Ultramarine Blue.

Even still, Morning Mist is an elegant finish, and It reminds us of Mercedes Benz's Diamond Silver paint job. We've also received comments that it's reminiscent of liquid metal / mercury.

Like the OnePlus 8 Pro, the OnePlus 9 Pro is dust and water-resistant with an IP68 rating. Aside from that, the phone feels well-built with a premium finish and a nice, dense feel in hand. It's still a glass phone, however, so you will need a case for drop protection. Also, it's worth noting that OnePlus is sticking with Gorilla Glass 5 for both the front and back of the phone, so you're not exactly getting the latest in shatter resistance.

The first thing we noticed when setting up the handset is the placement of the in-display fingerprint scanner - it's significantly lower. This doesn't drastically change the phone's ergonomics and usability. In a worst-case scenario, it may take a couple of days to get used to the new placement.

The overall size of the 9 Pro is slightly smaller than the 8 Pro at 163.2 x 73.6 x 8.7mm. It's just 2 grams lighter than the 8 Pro at 197g. The display now measures 6.7-inches and the slight change in aspect ratio to 20.1:9 means that although the phone's width is identical to that of the 8 Pro, it also loses a small chunk of length that makes the phone slightly less unwieldy.

The camera setup on the back houses four cameras in a rectangular arrangement. The top camera is the ultrawide, followed by the main 48MP shooter. The lower-left camera is a 2MP monochrome sensor and the last one is the 3.3X telephoto camera. On this cluster you'll also find an AF laser, the video microphone and flash.

The ports, mics, speakers, and buttons are all laid out almost exactly as they are on the 8 Pro. The ridge that was carved into the top end of the phone is no more, but here is where you'll find a noise-canceling microphone.

There's a volume rocker on the left side, and at the bottom of the phone is the USB-C charging port. The SIM tray is here as well, and it will hold two nanoSIM cards. Remember, the 9 Pro (and 9) do not offer expandable storage. The downward speaker has the same dual-slotted port as well.

Overall, the OnePlus 9 Pro design improves upon its predecessor in many small ways. It's also built very well and feels sturdy and premium. Unfortunately, it's still a fairly large and heavy device but that seems to be the norm these days with flagship smartphones. Also, the design is a bit generic in our opinion compared to some of the competing smartphones and we wish OnePlus would come up with something more unique and eye-catching in the future.

The design is not strikingly different from its predecessors. If it were not for the new camera partnership, the OnePlus 9 Pro would otherwise seem like an incremental change.

Although OnePlus' intention with the reduced screen curvature was to eliminate accidental touches, we found in our use that the palm rejection still needs some tweaking.

Next up, we'll look at our lab test data to see how much the display has changed in one year. We will also dive into the battery tests results and take a quick look at the phone's loudspeakers.

Fluid Display 2.0 with Smart 120Hz

The OnePlus 9 Pro has a 6.7-inch, 3216 x 1440 resolution, 10-bit LTPO AMOLED display. The display has a variable refresh rate that maxes out at 120Hz. It is capable of HDR (high dynamic range) and OnePlus has included support for HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG standards.

In our regular testing method for brightness, we use a pattern size of 75% but the OEMs are free to decide how they test their claims. Using a much smaller 15% pattern size, we were able to measure 1,150 nits of max brightness. Although not quite the advertised 1,300, not far from it.

For the sake of GSMArena's comparisons and the pattern size we use across all our device reviews, the 9 Pro's display reached a maximum brightness of 871 nits with Adaptive brightness switched on. With this setting turned off, the panel caps at 523 nits and these scores reflect the display's excellent sunlight readability.

Display test	100% brightness
	Black,cd/m2	White,cd/m2	Contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Max Auto)	0	1023	∞
Xiaomi Mi 11 (Max Auto)	0	926	∞
OnePlus 8 Pro (Max Auto)	0	888	∞
Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G (Max Auto)	0	883	∞
OnePlus 9 Pro (Max Auto)	0.038	871	22921:1
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max	0	822	∞
OnePlus 9 (Max Auto)	0	821	∞
OnePlus 8T (Max Auto) (Prassad)	0	815	∞
Huawei Mate 40 Pro (Max Auto)	0	807	∞
OnePlus 8 (Max Auto)	0	803	∞
Apple iPhone 12 Pro	0	802	∞
Oppo Find X3 Pro (Max Auto)	0	774	∞
Apple iPhone 12	0	639	∞
OnePlus 8 Pro	0	538	∞
OnePlus 9 Pro	0	525	∞
OnePlus 8T (Prassad)	0	518	∞
Xiaomi Mi 11	0	498	∞
OnePlus 8	0	496	∞
Oppo Find X3 Pro	0	493	∞
Huawei Mate 40 Pro	0	485	∞
Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G	0	459	∞
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G	0	458	∞
OnePlus 9	0	450	∞

OnePlus' default Vivid mode has pleasing colors and bright whites. This is the typical, punchy profile that most people will have on their device. If you're someone who would rather give your peepers a rest, or prefer something more accurate, OnePlus has you covered as well.

In the default Vivid mode, the display scored an average deltaE of 3.1 with a maximum of 5.8. sRGB is the most color-accurate mode, scoring an average deltaE of just 0.7 and a max deviation of 1.7. Remember, any score below 2 is visually indistinguishable to the eye.

There are more profiles to choose from. Natural is closely related to sRGB, but not as color accurate. Under the 'advanced setting'. The AMOLED Wide Gamutis the most color-saturated profile for those who really want colors to look over-the-top and exaggerated. sRGB and Display P3 emulate the colors from their respective spaces. The latter three 'Advanced' profiles can be adjusted with sliders for warm/cool and green/magenta.

Display settings

While the choice is entirely up to you, we think the Natural mode is the way to go as the device can automatically switch to P3 in applications that support it thanks to built-in color management in Android.

The variable refresh rate is an interesting topic. The display on the 9 Pro (not the vanilla) uses a new LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) backplane in the panel that can dynamically adjust the display's refresh rate and scales power. If you're watching a 24fps video, the display will refresh at 24Hz and can go as low as 1 Hz when viewing a still image on screen. Once you touch the screen and start swiping around, the rate kicks back up to 120Hz.

OnePlus advertises a maximum figure of 120Hz but the display also supports intermediate values like 90Hz, 60Hz, and supposedly even 1Hz, and can adjust based on the content. When set to the 120Hz mode, the device will be constantly adjusting the refresh rate, and there's no easy way for the user to just lock it to 120Hz.

Unfortunately, we were unable to verify OnePlus' claims of 1Hz refresh rate mode. With the tools we have at our disposal, we are unable to confirm or deny that the display is doing this. Our skepticism reflects later in this page, in the battery endurance section.

Perhaps more frustrating is OnePlus' continued lack of support for high refresh rate gaming. The company has whitelisted a very small number of games, such as Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, Pokemon Go, etc., and these are the only titles allowed to run at a maximum of 90Hz. This leaves a vast majority of games unsupported and there are also no titles that run above 90Hz. Moreover, OnePlus will also drop down the refresh rate of the display from 90Hz to 60Hz in supported games when the player stops interacting, which causes a jarring drop in fluidity because, unlike static UI screens, games tend to have moving elements on-screen animating at the display's refresh rate.

OnePlus has also added a feature they call Hyper Touch, which boosts the touch sampling rate to 360Hz. While the feature has to be manually enabled from the display settings, it currently only works in select games, including PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Brawl Stars. We played Call of Duty Mobile with the Hyper Touch mode enabled and didn't notice any improvement in the touch response. This shouldn't be surprising as increased sampling rate can only do so much and if your game is still running at 60Hz, you're not going to notice much of a difference.

There's also a new Ultra-high video resolution mode, which at the time of testing was only available for Instagram. This feature uses AI to add edge enhancement to videos within supported apps. Tested videos on Instagram had more pronounced detail but it does tend to look a bit artificial.

The OnePlus 9 Pro also has the Vibrant Color Effect Pro mode from the OnePlus 8 Pro, which is intended to make videos appear more saturated. However, the feature seems to do absolutely nothing on the OnePlus 9 Pro. On the OnePlus 8 Pro, enabling it would make all supported video apps appear strongly saturated. On the OnePlus 9 Pro, none of the apps we tried had any difference at all when the feature was enabled. We had first observed this on the OnePlus 8T and we are not quite sure what purpose this feature serves anymore.

The OnePlus 9 Pro also supports the Motion graphics smoothing feature found on previous models, which uses a motion compensation algorithm for frame interpolation. The purpose of this feature is to make low frame rate videos appear as if they are high frame rate. In our opinion, this feature does more harm than good, especially when used on cinematic content, which is intended to be viewed at a certain frame rate as that's part of its aesthetic. By increasing the frame rate, the video tends to appear unnaturally smooth, which ruins the creator's intent. Moreover, no motion compensation algorithm is perfect, so you'll still see plenty of motion artifacts, which further destroys the image quality. We strongly advise leaving this feature disabled.

The OnePlus 9 Pro display has great HDR performance. We tested some HDR10 content in the YouTube and Netflix apps and noted improved overall brightness over the OnePlus 8 Pro. The specular highlights can get much brighter on the newer model, which produces a more impactful HDR experience. The OnePlus 9 Pro display can also reproduce detail in the shadows better before clipping to black. Being a 10-bit display with full coverage of the Display-P3 color space also means you are seeing the full breadth of colors that HDR content can have.

The OnePlus 9 Pro display does have an issue that the 8 Pro display doesn't. While the 8 Pro display can get pitch black, the 9 Pro display can only get a dark shade of gray. This isn't noticeable in normal ambient lighting but is quite obvious when watching in a perfectly dark room and while watching content with a lot of dark scenes in it. This issue only pertains to HDR playback and not present in SDR mode.

Like we mentioned in the design section, we're glad to see that the curvature of the edges of the glass were dialed back this time around. OnePlus has opted for a less aggressively curved display this time around. Compared to the OnePlus 8 Pro, the OnePlus 9 Pro display has much less vignetting around the edges, although it's not completely gone. The new display also catches less glare around the edges than the older one.

The 9 Pro display has fewer issues with accidental touches but it's still present. This means there will still be times where you can trigger the touchscreen simply by holding the phone. This happens most commonly while using the camera when you're holding the phone by its edges. If Android manufacturers are going to insist on having curved displays, the least they could do is also implement better palm rejection.

Battery life 

The OnePlus 9 Pro uses dual 2,250mAh cells that equate to a total battery capacity of 4,500mAh. It's roughly the same capacity as the OnePlus 8 Pro that came before it. Despite the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 platform, LTPO display, and OnePlus claims of better battery life, the OnePlus 9 Pro's battery performance was only average this time around.

We saw a higher 3G talk time score that totaled 33:57h. The web test did get a bump up in endurance at 13:12h, but video playback took a large hit that resulted in just 13:34. This, accompanied by the Snapdragon 888's poor standby score resulted in a significant slip in overall endurance compared to its antecedent. In reference with the other 888-powered phones, the OnePlus 9 falls right behind the Xiaomi MI 11 (score 89h) and ahead of the Oppo Find X3 Pro (score 81h).

We were under the impression that we'd see better scores in the screen-on tests than what we saw with the OnePlus 8 Pro, we are wondering whether the LPTO panel is working as advertised. Unfortunately, we are unable to confirm or deny this, as the FPS counter that's built into the Android Developer tools is not yet compatible with the LPTO tech.

Our battery tests were automated thanks to SmartViser, using its viSerDevice app. The endurance rating above denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the OnePlus 9 Pro for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so that our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritty. You can check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.

Charging

The 4,500 mAh battery on the 8T, 9, and 9 Pro all use identical dual-cell battery tech. This means that the adapter is simultaneously fast-charging two batteries that work as one. OnePlus debuted 65W charging with the OnePlus 8T, but the 9 Pro gets a bump up in charging speed with Warp Charge 65T. The 9 and 9 Pro received improvement that "reduces internal charging resistance", according to the company, so the battery can receive high wattage for a longer time before dialing its voltage back down.

30min charging test (from 0%)

Time to full charge (from 0%)

With Warp Charge 65T, the 9 Pro's battery was fully replenished in 31 minutes, 2 minutes short of OnePlus' promised 29 minutes. The OnePlus 8T can fully recharge in 39 minutes so the improvement is marginal, but still impressive.

Wireless charging sees a significant update with the 9 Pro. The company debuts a faster Warp Charge 50 Wireless Charger that delivers 50W of peak power to the phone. This comes as an update to the Warp Charge 30 Wireless Charger that launched with the 8 Pro. That charger didn't have a removable charging cable so it made it more difficult to replace the charging cable without buying a whole new charger. It also made cable management more difficult.

This time around, the Warp Charge 50 does not have a permanent wire on it. Instead, it requires that you use the Warp Charge 65T charger brick that comes included with the 9 Pro. Though it doesn't include an adapter, the wireless charger comes with its own USB-C to C cable.

The Warp Charge 50 Wireless dock promises a full charge in 43 minutes. In our 30 minute charge test, we achieved a 70% charge.

The Warp Charge 50 dock has dual charging coils. This is so you can drop the 9 Pro onto the Warp Charge 50 Wireless charger either upright or on its side. The charger has two coils: one on the lower part of the charger and one higher up. This way, you can recharge the 9 Pro or any Qi-compatible phone upright or on its side.

The OnePlus 9 Pro also supports reverse wireless charging, which can recharge other Qi-enabled devices at up to 5W.

Speaker test

The OnePlus 9 Pro has a stereo speaker setup with a dedicated loudspeaker on the bottom of the phone and the earpiece serving as the second channel. In portrait, the earpiece get the left channel, while in landscape the phone uses the accelerometer to switch the channels to match the orientation.

The OnePlus 9 Pro earned a 'Very Good' rating for loudness in our test, essentially the same result as the OnePlus 9, though with a marginal edge when it comes to the numbers.

Use the Playback controls to listen to the phone sample recordings (best use headphones). We measure the average loudness of the speakers in LUFS. A lower absolute value means a louder sound. A look at the frequency response chart will tell you how far off the ideal "0db" flat line is the reproduction of the bass, treble, and mid frequencies. You can add more phones to compare how they differ. The scores and ratings are not comparable with our older loudspeaker test. Learn more about how we test here.

OxygenOS

OnePlus' OxygenOS has come a long way. With version 11, the UI was tweaked with one-handed usage of a large display in mind. Many of the built-in apps and settings screens are designed with controls, tabs and buttons in the middle and lower portions of the screen to make them easier to reach one-handedly.

One new feature debuting with Oxygen OS on the 9 Pro takes place in the background. Turbo Boost 3.0 combines both RAM compression and Virtual RAM to let you keep up to 25% more apps open in the background. Virtual RAM reserves a small chunk of storage to temporarily be used as RAM when the main modules are at capacity.

We covered many of the changes made on OxygenOS 11 in our OnePlus 8T review. The 9 Pro arrives with this same version of the OS so we'll just brush over the basics.

During setup, you'll be asked to choose between the default "Roboto" font and "OnePlus Sans". The latter is a light font with a modern look, but some may prefer the former for its superior legibility. You can change this later in the "Customization" tab under Settings.

Font choices

The fingerprint scanner is significantly lower on the display, but that doesn't really interfere much with its usability. At most, it may take a couple of days to get used to its new location if you're coming from another OnePlus device.

Fingerprint setup

With Oxygen OS 10.5, OnePlus moved the "OnePlus Shelf" from the left of the home screens to a secondary shade that's pulled down. The Google Feed now lives on the leftmost home screen. The home screen grids can be adjusted in the home screen settings - the default grid is 5x5. Icons can be switched from the default round appearance to square ones as seen on Hydrogen OS, the Chinese counterpart to Oxygen OS. In more recent developments, OnePlus announced that new OnePlus devices in China will launch with a customized variant of Oppo's Color OS Android skin.

Home screen • Google Feed • Grid setting • Icons

The notification shade features six Quick Settings at the top, a brightness slider, and media controls if they are available. Below this top cluster is where notifications (both audible and silent) will populate. There are even more Quick Settings available to add and rearrange.

Notification shade • Quick Settings • More Quick Settings • Media Controls

The other pull-down drawer is the OnePlus Shelf. To access it, you swipe down on any area of the OxygenOS launcher's home screens. The notification shade is accessed by swiping down from the very top.

The Shelf can be customized with preloaded tools like a step counter, weather widget, and a parking widget. Additional third-party widgets can be added here as well. Think of this as a customizable place for your favorite shortcuts and widgets that won't take up space on any of the home screens.

OnePlus shelf

The settings for the Ambient Display are all in the "Customization" tab in the Settings app. Here you can change the accent color, system icons, wallpapers, font, and the Ambient Display clock.

Insight is the Ambient clock that also offers a glimpse as your phone's usage, showing you how often you unlock the screen throughout the day.

Customization: main screen • accent • tile shape • Ambient clock • Insight

OxygenOS 11 is great on the 9 Pro. It's not quite as bone-stock as it used to be, but it looks and flows well. OnePlus has managed to add plenty of function and features without bogging down the overall user-experience, all while keeping the interface clean. Settings aren't perfectly organized, but that's true of many Android skins these days.

There is still no dedicated one-handed mode in OxygenOS 11, though this is a feature that's evidently coming to the next major Android release.

Synthetic benchmarks

The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are the first few devices that arrive to market with Qualcomm's latest mobile chipset built on the 5nm fabrication process. The Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platform powers both devices with an embedded X60 5G modem.

The Snapdragon 888 is an eight-core processor made up to three clusters that outperforms the Snapdragon 865 by up to 25%. The top cluster is a single 2.84GHz Kryo 680 Prime using ARM's Cortex-X1 design. Then there's a triple-core cluster made up of three Kryo 680 Gold cores @ 2.42GHz based on Cortex-A78. Finally, there's a quad-core cluster of efficient and low-power Kryo 680 Silver cores clocked at 1.8GHz.

Powering graphics is the Adreno 660 GPU that promises a 35% increase of performance over the Adreno 650. It supports Open GL ES 3.2, Vulcan 1.1, and a new variable rate shading technology.

Both the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro come with LPDDR5 RAM that the company claims can run at speeds of up to 6,400 Mbps. The phones are using UFS 3.1 storage (non-expandable).

Only the OnePlus 9 Pro supports Hyper Touch. This is a feature that taps into faster responsiveness when playing competitive games. The display typically synchronizes at 60Hz-120Hz but with Hyper Touch enabled, the speed is 360Hz. Only four mobile gaming titles currently support the feature:  PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, League of Legends, and Brawl Stars.

Cool Play is another feature that's on both the 9 and 9 Pro. It introduces larger materials in the phones' thermal systems including thicker graphite sheets, larger copper foil, and a larger vapor chamber. The latter helps to divert heat generated from playing games into the frame where it can be dissipated from the phone's panes of glass. After a match of PUBG, the phone was significantly warm, but the heat was distributed all over the phone's body.

Let's get into the benchmarks!

In the first benchmark, the OnePlus 9 Pro kept up with the ROG Phone 5, though it fell just barely behind. It still scored negligibly ahead of the Exynos 2100-powered Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, the 888-powered Xiaomi Mi 11, and the Oppo Find X3 Pro. The 9 Pro was slightly bested by the Huawei Mate 40 Pro, albeit only with that phone's "Performance mode" enabled.

Single-core scores are nearly uniform across all the recent flagships. Apple still leads the charts with its A14 Bionic chip in both single and multi-core tests.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

The 9 Pro's graphics performance is quite great. The ASUS ROG Phone 5 was able to squeeze a few more frames out but the difference is negligible. The ROG Phone 5 has active cooling work in its favor, though. GPU performance is right in line with the other Snapdragon 888 performers from Xiaomi and Oppo.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

The onscreen tests scored in favor of those devices that have screens with Full HD+ resolution.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

The 9 Pro performed well in the Antutu run, though it fell behind both the Asus ROG Phone 5 and the OnePlus 9. Still ahead of the Huawei Mate 40 Pro and the other devices powered by the same chipset.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

There's no room for complaints on the OnePlus 9 Pro's performance. It handled a long PUBG session beautifully, with all in-game graphic settings maxed out.

The phone did get significantly warm so we don't anticipate that the "Cool Play" feature will live up to its name in every situation. Cool Play, however, was certainly working as advertised because heat was being actively distributed throughout the phone's surfaces and didn't hang around one hot spot.

We ran the 3D Mark Wild Life Stress test and the OnePlus 9 Pro scored 55.6% stability with the display settings maxed out to QHD+ and with Smart 120Hz enabled. Frame rates steadily fell after the fourth or fifth loop run but didn't begin to really drop until the 9th loop. Frame rates bottomed out on the 19th loop.

Introduction

The OnePlus 9 Pro has a quad-camera system on the back, consisting of a wide, ultra-wide, telephoto, and monochrome camera.

The main wide camera has a new Sony IMX789 sensor with a 48-megapixel resolution and 23mm equivalent f1.8 7P lens with OIS. It has dual native ISO, supports 12-bit RAW output, and Sony's DOL-HDR technique. The ultra-wide camera uses a new Sony IMX766 sensor with a 50-megapixel resolution and 14mm equivalent f2.2 7P freeform lens.

The telephoto camera has an 8-megapixel sensor with an f2.4 aperture with a 3.3x magnification factor over the main lens. Unlike previous models, the telephoto camera is not used for portrait mode images but just for zoomed images and videos. Finally, the monochrome camera has a 2-megapixel resolution and only exists to assist the main camera in producing monochrome images.

With the OnePlus 9 Pro, the company has partnered with Swedish-camera manufacturer Hasselblad for a three-year period. Hasselblad is said to have contributed to the color calibration on the OnePlus 9 series as well as the redesigned camera interface.

Camera app

Let's start with that interface first. The OnePlus 9 Pro comes with a new camera app, which features some notable changes and improvements over the app found on previous-generation models. The most striking change is the use of a new camera shutter button, with OnePlus opting for the distinctive orange color as seen on the shutter buttons on Hasselblad cameras. The shutter sound has also been changed to match Hasselblad cameras.

Camera app

To see the bulk of the changes in the camera app, we need to switch over to the Pro mode. Here, we find the updated UI for the adjustment dials for parameters such as ISO, white balance, shutter speed, exposure compensation, and focus. Instead of the rotating wheel in the previous app, the OnePlus 9 Pro has a straightforward horizontal bar that can be swiped up and down. This is much easier to adjust than the rotating wheel of before and the auto mode switch is always visible rather than being at some arbitrary point on the wheel that you have to spin to.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much the extent of the improvements in the camera UI. There are still some issues, which we would have liked OnePlus to have fixed by now. Manually adjusting the exposure in Auto mode is still a nightmare, with a tiny slider that's hard to adjust and an even tinier icon to lock it. The zoom control dial is still annoyingly finicky and getting an exact figure dialed in is a test of patience. This would have been a good time to replace with a vertical slider like for the settings in Pro mode, but that hasn't happened.

Camera app

The UI also doesn't rotate when held in landscape. Trying to quickly open the settings menu while in landscape mode is a laughably bad experience, as the screen stays resolutely in portrait mode, even if you have auto-rotate enabled, forcing you to turn the phone around. The settings icon is also quite small and difficult to press.

OnePlus has also added a new transition animation when switching between the three lenses instead of just switching the viewfinder instantly like on previous models. This is easily the jankiest transition we have seen on any smartphone and switching from ultra-wide to telephoto almost looks like stop-motion animation.

The camera app also has a bug in OxygenOS 11.2.1.1, where enabling 60fps or 120fps mode would cause the viewfinder to often be stuck in 30fps mode. The actual recorded video is in the correct frame rate but the viewfinder isn't.

Lastly, the Pro mode still doesn't allow you to access any other camera. This means you are strictly limited to the main wide camera on the back if you want full control or the ability to shoot in RAW. There's also no Pro mode available for video or an option to record in 24fps.

Daylight performance

Let's start with the daylight image quality of the main camera. The results here are good but also underwhelming when you consider the focus on the camera and the Hasselblad partnership with this year's models.

Starting with the detail, the OnePlus 9 Pro offers very little meaningful improvement over its predecessors. The level of detail is good but also typical of 12-megapixel sensors and lags behind the higher resolution sensors on some of the competing devices. Fine detail is still somewhat fuzzy at times and textures tend to get smeared on surfaces with low-frequency detail.

Daylight 12MP samples

The level of detail is also a bit lower than what we saw on the OnePlus 8 Pro. It's possible the culprit for that is the switch to a slightly wider focal length, which now fits more in the frame at the same resolution, thus making everything in the frame just a little bit fuzzier. OnePlus has dialed up the sharpening on the OnePlus 9 Pro to compensate for this but sharpening cannot add missing detail and only ends up adding haloing artifacts.

OnePlus 8 Pro • OnePlus 9 Pro • OnePlus 8 Pro • OnePlus 9 Pro

The full 48-megapixel resolution mode also doesn't help much in this regard. You don't actually get any additional detail and resizing the images back down to 12-megapixel reveals that they are nearly identical to the standard 12-megapixel images, minus some of the noise and aggressive sharpening.

Daylight 48MP samples

Speaking of noise, the default 12-megapixel images were often surprisingly noisy even when shooting in broad daylight at the lowest ISO. The noise won't be visible when looking at the images on your phone's screen but would become noticeable if you start editing the images or if crop into it. In comparison, the OnePlus 8 Pro images had surprisingly low noise, despite having similar or even greater detail. The higher sharpening on the OnePlus 9 Pro also doesn't do it any favors as the noise in the images also tends to get accentuated by it.

The color performance is also a mixed bag. We had high hopes in this area, especially since OnePlus promised more natural color reproduction, but the OnePlus 9 Pro images aren't exactly natural. Daylight images can often have deeply saturated skies and bold green foliage, which is much more vibrant than in the actual scene. The white balance has a tendency to be on the cooler side while shooting in sunny conditions. Reds will occasionally shift towards magenta, especially in indoor lighting. The contrast also tends to be jacked up significantly at times, often to the detriment of the image.

Compared to its predecessor, the OnePlus 9 Pro occasionally performed worse. The OnePlus 8 Pro often had a more correct white balance and more balanced, less contrasty images.

Dynamic range is average. While the OnePlus 8 Pro had a tendency to overexpose, the OnePlus 9 Pro tends to underexpose, which can cause images to have less detail in the shadows. OnePlus' UltraShot HDR can still have that fake, aggressive tone-mapped HDR look to it at times, especially when shooting indoors, and the images from auto mode don't look as natural as those from Apple or Google smartphones.

The actual sensor on the OnePlus 9 Pro is leagues ahead of its predecessor. The IMX789 handily outperforms the IMX689 in dynamic range and low light performance. Trying to compare RAW images captured on both phones, the files on the OnePlus 9 Pro can be pushed much further in post and shadows remain clean even after +3 exposure thanks to the dual native ISO whereas the OnePlus 8 Pro images start falling apart when pushed similarly. The level of detail in the RAW files is also impressive.

It's clear then that the issue lies with OnePlus - and now Hasselblad's - tuning of the default JPEGs. If you don't mind getting your hands dirty, you can get so much more value out of this camera by shooting in RAW and processing the images yourself as the actual hardware in here is absolutely top-notch. Even the JPEG files from the Pro mode are generally superior to Auto mode, as they have less sharpening, noise, and more natural contrast.

The new ultra-wide camera on the OnePlus 9 Pro is impressive, as far as ultra-wide cameras go. The color performance is similar to the main camera but despite the incredibly wide perspective, the level of detail from the 12.5-megapixel images is really quite good.

Daylight 12.5MP ultra-wide samples

But the main attraction here is the new freeform lens. On most other smartphones, the ultra-wide image needs to be corrected in software to remove the distortion around the edges. This is usually enabled through the camera settings and the reason this is optional is because enabling it crops the image, which reduces some of the wide perspective. This is how it's done on the OnePlus 8 Pro as well. On the OnePlus 9 Pro, there is no such option in the camera settings because the freeform lens corrects the perspective before the image even hits the sensor.

This results in images that are wider than on the previous generation model without any distortion. It's actually pretty cool and straight lines even around the edges of the frame continue to be straight without bending.

The 3.3x telephoto performs reasonably well in good lighting. It has a good amount of detail and the default reach without further digital zoom is often sufficient for most use cases. The color performance can occasionally be hit or miss, there is some fringing seen on some shots, and the focusing performance isn't as confident or fast as on the main camera. Also, the camera will just switch to the main lens if it feels like the subject you're trying to capture with the telephoto lens is too close, which isn't ideal as 3.3x digital zoom on the main lens doesn't look that great.

Daylight 8MP 3.3x telephoto samples

The macro camera duties on the OnePlus 9 Pro are smartly handled by the ultra-wide camera as with the previous two generation Pro models. Admittedly, the closest focusing distance of the ultra-wide lens isn't as low as some of the dedicated macro cameras on other models but that's fine as the sheer difference in image quality and level of detail that you get from this camera compared to those 2 and 5-megapixel macro cameras is staggering.

Macro samples

The camera has an option to switch into the macro mode if it detects you are too close to the subject. It usually kicks in when the subject gets within six inches of the camera. Occasionally, it's better to shoot in the macro mode even if you're not too close to the camera, as the large sensor and wide aperture on the main lens can cause images shot close to the lens to appear soft and blurry around the edges.

Before we move on to the night mode, we need to talk about the monochrome camera. Like the OnePlus 8T, the OnePlus 9 Pro has a 2-megapixel monochrome camera. As mentioned before, this camera doesn't capture any images by itself but rather 'assists' the main camera in taking monochrome images.

Monochrome sample

By now we are quite used to hearing a lot of silly excuses from manufacturers for having that magical fourth lens on the back of their phones to complete their marketing campaigns but this one currently takes the cake. The main camera doesn't need a second lens to assist it in capturing monochrome images. The camera can very easily do it in software, as it already does for the other two monochrome filters in the camera app. OnePlus's rationale for having this fourth sensor is laughable and the images shot have nothing special or even identifiably different about them. They just look black and white.

Low light performance

Lowlight is where the OnePlus 9 Pro camera comes into its own and starts firing on all cylinders. The two new cameras provide some of the best low-light performance on the market. And that's before you even turn on the night mode.

Low light main samples

Starting with the main camera, you get a good amount of detail and fairly impressive color performance when shooting in standard mode, despite the fairly high ISO values. The excellent new sensor allows the camera to get cleaner images even at higher ISO values. Unless the conditions are severely dark, you can get by in most situations by never having to enable the Nightscape mode.

Low light main Nightscape samples

Once enabled, Nightscape improves the image quality even further. The images have better exposure, dynamic range, and color. It also cleans up the noise fairly well. Focusing performance is also quite decent in Nightscape mode, except when the subject is too dark and further away than what the laser AF can reach. However, OnePlus Nightscape images can still look over processed and overexposed at times, occasionally making the scene look like it was shot at a totally different time of day. Sometimes, this isn't desirable so you may want to dial in the exposure manually.

Light light ultra-wide samples

Light light ultra-wide Nightscape samples

The ultra-wide camera also has impressive low light performance compared to what we have become used to seeing on these lenses. Enabling Nightscape improves them considerably and makes them even more impressive.

Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the OnePlus 9 Pro stacks up against the competition.

OnePlus 9 Pro against the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G and the Xiaomi Mi 11 in our Photo compare tool

Portraits

The OnePlus 9 Pro can shoot portrait images using only the primary lens. By default it applies a 2x digital zoom as it provides less distortion (necessary for human subjects) and also better subject isolation but you can also switch to the full field of view if you want to fit more into the frame at the cost of some stretching of your subject.

Portrait samples

The OnePlus 9 Pro does an okay job here. You don't get a choice in the strength of the blur effect so while it can look quite impressive at times, other times it has the effect of isolating your subject more aggressively than required, creating a cutout effect. The AI algorithm responsible for separating the subject from the background does a decent job but can get tripped by some hairstyles, glasses, and small gaps between elbows and body.

Selfies

The OnePlus 9 Pro has a 16-megapixel f2.4 fixed-focus camera. This is the same Sony IMX471 that has been the staple of OnePlus phones going back all the way to the OnePlus 7 Pro.

It's clear why OnePlus continues to rely on this sensor, as it provides a good level of detail, decent color performance, and adequate dynamic range for portrait images captured in daylight.

Selfie samples

Where it falls behind is in low-light performance as there's no Nightscape for the front camera. The camera also lacks autofocus and the video resolution is limited to just 1080p60. Also, while the field of view is adequate for one person, it will feel more restrictive compared to some of the wider cameras on the market, including OnePlus's own Nord that comes with a separate ultra-wide front camera and even 4K recording.

Selfie portrait samples

The front camera is capable of shooting in portrait mode. Once again, the lack of control over the background blur makes this hit or miss affair, especially when the subject separation goofs up. We hope OnePlus starts offering these basic features in its camera app as most of its competitors have been doing for several years now.

Video

The OnePlus 9 Pro is capable of recording video in 1080p, 2160p (4K), and 4320p (8K). The main wide camera can shoot 1080p video in 30 and 60fps, 4K video in 30, 60, and 120fps, and 8K video in 30fps. The ultra-wide camera can shoot 1080p video in 30 and 60fps, 4K video in 30 and 60fps, and 8K video in 30fps. The telephoto camera can only shoot 1080p video in 30fps. Any other time the telephoto option is made available, such as in 1080p 60fps or 4K 30 and 60fps modes, it is done digitally on the main lens.

Video in all resolutions and frame rates is shot by default in H.264 but you can optionally switch to H.265 to save some storage space without sacrificing image quality.

EIS is available in 30 and 60fps modes but not for the 120fps mode. As usual, the EIS has a massive crop in modes where it's available but there's no way to disable it.

Additionally, there are also two slow-motion modes: 1080p 240fps and 720p 480fps, which save slowed-down footage. The Super Stable mode uses the ultra-wide camera and then crops into a perspective similar to the main wide camera and then uses that to heavily stabilize the footage. The Nightscape mode enables night mode for video on the main camera. Lastly, the Portrait mode works similar to the feature available for images, isolating the subject from the background using an artificial blur. Super Stable, Nightscape, and Portrait mode all save videos in 1080p only.

The OnePlus 9 Pro does not support recording video in HDR. By HDR, we don't mean tone-mapped SDR video but proper 10-bit HDR PQ video in either HDR10 or any of the other standards. As mentioned previously, there is also no pro mode for video so there's no real control over the image other than adjusting the resolution and frame rate.

Starting with the 4320p 8K video from the main camera, the image quality is unimpressive. We are talking about a 33-megapixel image here and the level of detail doesn't come anywhere close to that figure. The bitrate of a measly 150Mbps (H.264) is to blame here as is the general structure of these Quad Bayer sensors. This isn't to say there isn't any meaningful improvement over the 4K version but it's not what one would expect from a quadrupling of resolution.

The 8K video shot from the ultra-wide camera is, simply put, not real 8K. The video is most likely upscaled from a lower resolution image, and has blurry details and what looks like horizontal interlacing artifacts all over the image. This actually makes the 8K video from the ultra-wide camera look worse than even the 4K version.

Moving over to 4K, both the 30fps and 60fps videos from the main and ultra-wide cameras show good detail, dynamic range, and overall image quality. The stabilization works well most of the time but can struggle a bit when you're trying to pan and it keeps trying to stabilize the movement.

Unfortunately, the stabilization comes at a significant crop to the final image, nearly 1.5x of the full width of the sensor. This effectively turns the main camera into a telephoto lens and makes subject framing difficult at close distances.

If you want to shoot without any electronic stabilization, then the 4K 120fps mode is for you. This mode offers the widest field of view on the main lens, wider than even photo mode as even that has some crop for stabilization. The downside of this is obvious; the 120fps mode is unusable without a tripod or gimbal and the high frame rate makes the footage especially twitchy even in the most stable hands.

Of course, the point of the 120fps mode is not to consume it in its native frame rate (which, by the way, you can't do on the phone even though it has a 120Hz display as OnePlus locks the frame rate to 60Hz in video mode) but rather to slow it down in post-production. You can slow it down 4x and get a nice 30fps clip or go a step further and do a 5x slow down for a more cinematic 24fps video. The jerkiness isn't as obvious at these lower frame rates when slowed down although you should still ideally shoot with a tripod or a gimbal.

The great thing about this mode is that OnePlus saves the full 120fps file instead of slowing it down for you. This gives the user the flexibility of dealing with the file however they want in post-production rather than be limited to whatever the phone is offering. Or if you want, you can just watch them in 120fps, provided you have a high refresh rate monitor or TV.

Regarding the samples posted above, we should note that the colors in these manually slowed down videos look different from the original clip. The reason for this is that OnePlus saves its videos in BT.601, which isn't supported by DaVinci Resolve that we used for slowing down these clips, so the color got altered in the transition to the more standard BT.709 color space.

The OnePlus 9 Pro also supports Nightscape and Portrait mode videos. The results from these modes are underwhelming and neither is particularly good or useful.

Here's a glimpse of how the OnePlus 9 Pro compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.

OnePlus 9 Pro against the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G and the Xiaomi Mi 11 in our Video compare tool

Camera conclusions

The OnePlus 9 Pro camera performance turned out to be a bit anticlimactic considering the expectations set by the Hasselblad branding. We expected a significant departure and improvement over previous OnePlus smartphones in terms of color science and overall image processing. Instead, we got mostly lateral changes compared to the OnePlus 8 Pro and in some cases, even a few regressions.

Granted, the OnePlus 8 Pro camera was already very good but we had hoped Hasselblad would have something more valuable to add than just sharpness and contrast but in many scenes, that's exactly what it feels like. In other cases, the images seem a bit worse than before, with more noise, crushed shadows, less detail in some areas, and oversharpening artifacts.

The new Camera app is also nothing to write home about. There are some notable UI changes but this is still largely the same OnePlus Camera app. There's so much OnePlus could have improved upon here but the orange button seems to have taken priority.

The front camera hasn't even changed in hardware. OnePlus is still shipping the same camera as it was on the OnePlus 7 Pro, which now lags far behind the competition.

All of this isn't to say, there aren't any improvements to be found on the OnePlus 9 Pro. The low light performance is excellent and one of the best we have seen. The new ultra-wide camera takes some great-looking images. The video recording quality is good and we particularly enjoyed playing around with the new 4K 120fps files.

It's worth asserting that the OnePlus 9 Pro has good camera performance overall. However, it's still behind the competition in this regard and no amount of marketing will change that.

The competition

With prices going up and the OnePlus 9 Pro starting at a lofty $969, there's no shortage of quality alternatives on the market.

We will start off with the toughest competitor of all, the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. While the phone is technically priced at $1199, as per Samsung tradition it can frequently be available below that. At the time of writing, the price was down to just $900 with a special coupon, which is handily undercutting the OnePlus 9 Pro launch price.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is one of the most accomplished smartphones we have tested. Whether it's build quality, display performance, camera performance, or battery life, the S21 Ultra has you covered on all fronts. The camera performance, in particular, is most impressive and we think that the S21 Ultra has one of the most versatile camera systems on the market.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

Another great option is the recently launched Xiaomi Mi 11, which is Xiaomi's implementation of the 'everything but the kitchen sink' smartphone. While not available in all regions, the Mi 11 does undercut the OnePlus 9 Pro in pricing in regions where it is available. That's not to say it's compromised in any way, as the Mi 11 is packed to the gills with all the bells and whistles. Sure, MIUI may still be an acquired taste but in every other aspect it is a very strong contender in this segment.

Xiaomi Mi 11

Next is the Find X3 Pro from OnePlus' sister company, Oppo. The Find X3 Pro combines a stunning industrial design, top-notch feature set, and an excellent set of cameras, great display quality, and the same sort of blazing fast charging speeds that OnePlus is known for (it's essentially the same tech). At $1099, the Oppo Find X3 Pro comes at a premium but one that may be worth paying, especially if you're already considering spending over $900 on a phone.

Oppo Find X3 Pro

If you're more into gaming, you might want to consider the ASUS ROG Phone 5. While marketed as primarily a gaming phone, the ROG Phone 5 is an extremely accomplished phone even outside of gaming, with great build quality, a quality display, terrific loudspeakers, great battery life with fast charging, and relatively clean build of Android. And while the camera quality may not be quite on par with some of the other flagships, it's still very impressive and has come a long way from the original model. On top of all that, it's also the cheapest phone in this bunch.

Asus ROG Phone 5

Lastly, there's the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max. There was a time when it wouldn't have made any sense to compare a OnePlus phone with an iPhone due to the large gulf in price tags, but those days are long gone now. As for the phone itself, it combines exceptional industrial design, class-leading display color performance with Dolby Vision support, an excellent set of cameras all-round, best in class performance, great battery life, easy to use software with unparalleled software and game library, legendary customer support and a high resale value to boot.

Few devices can match the complete package that the iPhone is and the 12 Pro Max is the best of its kind. Sure, the 60Hz display isn't quite modern and the lack of fast charging in the box (or any kind of charging) is disappointing after paying so much but these may be things worth sacrificing if you want one of the most well-rounded smartphones on the market and aren't tied to the Android platform.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

Verdict

The OnePlus 9 Pro is pretty much what we have now come to expect from OnePlus, a likable, dependable smartphone with almost all the bells and whistles one could ask for but not one that's particularly exciting or game changing. It's as if the company is content with making smaller changes rather than doing something disruptive or potentially controversial.

You can see this in the year over year growth of the Pro line. Whether you look back one year to the OnePlus 8 Pro or even two years to the OnePlus 7 Pro, you aren't going to be seeing a remarkable difference. And that's the crux of the matter here as there is a palpable sense of staleness in the air surrounding the brand that we can't quite shake off.

But this staleness, this sense of contentment with slow progress, is at odds with the steady increase in the price year over year. OnePlus fans and critics over the years have lamented the company's slow but sure move upward on the pricing ladder, turning from the hero who rallied against the oligarchs to living long enough to becoming the villain.

But with a $969 starting price, the company is now truly into the upper echelon of the smartphone market. We are talking about a market of discerning buyers where there is no room for missteps, misgivings, and certainly no room for slacking or slowing down. Even brands like Samsung have to sweat it out every year to keep customer attention in check and companies like Google who couldn't keep up with the pressure had to fall back and reevaluate.

Is the OnePlus 9 Pro good enough to compete in this segment? Not quite. Sometimes, it's not enough to just dress for the job you want. You also have to be good at it.

Pros

• Great display performance
• Relatively clean software and great UI performance
• Powerful loudspeakers
• Good performance from the main wide and ultra-wide cameras
• Excellent 4K 120fps mode
• Fast charging

Cons

• Curved display still registers accidental touches
• Rear camera performance still behind the competition
• Outdated front camera
• No pro video features or true HDR recording
• Hasselblad partnership mostly a marketing gimmick
• Monochrome camera is useless
• Worse battery life performance than previous models
• Most games still locked to 60fps

source: gsmarena.com

Admin

Apple iPhone 12 Configuration Summary

15 Sep, 2020

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On the evening of September 8th, Apple officially announced that it will officially hold a new product launch event in the fall at 10 am, September 15th, US Pacific Time 

The latest iPhone is expected , Apple Watch, AirTags and other new hardware products will all appear on the conference site.

 

 

Affected by multiple factors such as the epidemic this year, compared to previous years, Apple's new product launch event this fall will be delayed by about one week. But for now, the delay is not too long.

 

The current market expects that Apple will release four new iPhones at this conference, including two lower-priced 5.4 -inch and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 models, and two 6.1-inch and 6.7 -inch screens. iPhone 12 Pro model.

 

It is worth noting that recent news about the iPhone 12 series have emerged one after another, and the configuration summary information has been overwhelming. 

 

According to known breaking news, the 5.4-inch version of the iPhone 12 will use a full screen with bangs, support Face ID face unlocking, equipped with Apple A14 processor, provide 4+64/128/256GB storage combination, and 12 million pixel selfie camera on the front , Rear dual 12 million pixel camera, built-in 2227 mAh battery. 

 

The 6.1-inch iPhone12 Max uses an OLED screen, provides a 4+64/128/256GB storage combination, and has a built-in 2775 mAh battery.

iPhone12 Pro uses a 6.1-inch Samsung AMOLED screen, provides 6+64/128/256GB storage combination, front 12 million pixel single camera, rear 12 million pixel wide angle + 12 million pixel ultra wide angle + 12 million pixel telephoto + LiDAR laser The radar scanner has a battery capacity of 2815 mAh; as the top flagship iPhone12 Pro Max will provide a 6+64/128/256GB storage combination with a built-in 3687 mAh battery.

According to comprehensive information, the iPhone 12 series will be equipped with a new standard A14 processor, support 5G, and LiDAR for all systems. In addition, the reference prices have been further exposed. The reference prices of iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Max, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max are respectively 699 U.S. dollars, 799 U.S. dollars, 1,049 U.S. dollars, and 1,149 U.S. dollars, which are cheaper than the iPhone 11 series, but The authenticity is in doubt.

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How to See Heart Rate Recovery on Apple Watch and iPhone

30 Mar, 2020

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If you own an Apple Watch and enjoy working out, we’ve got a very useful post. Today, I am going to share a post on how to see heart rate recovery on Apple Watch and iPhone. Heart Rate Recovery (HRR) shows you how healthy your heart is. It is used to analyse how your heart recovers from exercise. So, it plays an important role in determining your fitness level. It’s also measured in many fitness tests, so it’s useful to keep track of it with your smart devices like Apple Watch and iPhone. Let’s take a closer look!
* What is Heart Rate Recovery?
* What is Healthy Heart Rate Recovery?
* How to See Heart Rate Recovery on Apple Watch
* How to See Heart Rate Recovery on iPhone
What is Heart Rate Recovery?
During intense workouts like walking, running, cycling, and swimming, your heart rate goes up. This is because the heart starts to pump faster as, during these activities, the body cells need more oxygen quickly.
According to WebMD, “Heart rate recovery is a measurement of how much the heart rate falls during the first minute after peak exercise.” So suppose your standard heart rate is around 70 bpm. On a treadmill, it reaches around 130. Now Heart rate recovery is the rate (measurement) that is taken immediately after an exercise that tells how much (how quickly/at what rate) this increased heart rate falls back (decreases).
If a person’s heart is healthy, it will return quicker to the normal bpm rate. If someone’s heart is less healthy, then it will take longer to return to normal bpm after an intense workout.
What is Healthy Heart Rate Recovery?
A decrease of 15 to 25 beats per minute is normal heart rate recovery. Any number above this is good. But if the heart rate recovery is 12 or less beats per minute, then this is considered ‘abnormal,’ and for such individuals, there is a greater risk for heart diseases.
How to See Heart Rate Recovery on Apple Watch
Apple Watch measures your heart rate, and you can even turn on automatic notifications to know if your heart rate remains above or falls below the chosen beats per minute.
It is recommended that to measure the recovery heart rate accurately, you should stop your Apple Watch workout immediately after workout. Now that we are clear with the basics let us know how to see it on Apple Watch.
1. Open the Heart Rate app on your Apple Watch.
2. Scroll down and tap on Recovery. You will see this option if you have a workout recorded for the day.
3. Here you will see your recovery heart rate after 1 minute and also after 2 minutes.



Image Credit: 9to5mac.com
If the values are above 15, then you are okay. In case it isn’t, you should check it regularly for a few days, and if every day it is below that, you must talk to a doctor.
How to See Heart Rate Recovery on iPhone
To read heart rate recovery on iPhone for workouts, you will have to use the iPhone paired with your Apple Watch.
1. Open the Activity app on your iPhone.
2. Select the day from top.
3. Scroll down and tap on a recorded workout.
4. Swipe from right to left on the Heart Rate card. You will see the Heart Rate Recovery section with the appropriate data.


Image Credit: 9to5mac.com

That’s all my friends!
Signing off…
It is vital that you follow a healthy lifestyle and allocate a portion of the day for exercise. A healthy body ensures better work and family time. What do you think about the health features of Apple Watch?

source: igeeksblog.com

Admin

OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro Leak With Stunning Green Color, 5G Support

30 Mar, 2020

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 A lot of tech companies are pulling back in the wake of coronavirus, but it seems that OnePlus won’t be among them. New leaks suggest the company’s OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro smartphones are still launching soon, and we know what sort of specs and design to expect. We’ve got the most information about the OnePlus 8 Pro, which will come in this lovely seafoam green colour. It’ll also have all the latest hardware, as is OnePlus’ custom.
The render of the OnePlus 8 Pro is important for a few reasons. First, it confirms this great green colour, which is much more fun than all those boring black and grey slabs.
The OnePlus branding on the back of the phone is also in-line with the company’s week-old rebranding. That indicates the render is very new. We also get to see the device from every angle — OnePlus has adopted a hole-punch display for the front-facing camera, a change from last year’s motorised slider.
 The OLED panel also has even slimmer bezels than the last-gen phones.
The leak also included full specs for the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro.
As expected, both phones will have a Snapdragon 865 with full 5G support for US carriers.
The Pro will have a 6.78-inch 1440p OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate just like the Galaxy S20. The non-Pro model will have a slightly smaller 6.55-inch 1080p OLED with a 90Hz refresh rate. The phones will also start at 8GB of RAM in the base models, and the Pro will get new LPDDR5 for faster speeds.
Both phones will come with 30W Warp Charge, but the Pro finally adds wireless charging. The spec sheet lists a 30W wireless charging option, which means a proprietary standard. The Pro also gains water-resistance (IP68) for the first time.
In OnePlus’ early years, you could only get its phones unlocked and at full price after getting “invited” to buy one. That was a way to keep production costs low, but now you can just order the phones when they launch. Several US carriers have also started selling its phones. We expect at least a few carriers will offer the OnePlus 8 or OnePlus 8 Pro when the phones launch. As for pricing and date, that’s unclear. The company hasn’t announced anything, but it will surely be an online event.

source: extremetech.com

Admin

How Can I Tell If My Internet Is Being Throttled by My ISP?

30 Mar, 2020

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The easiest way to determine if your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is throttling your internet connection is to run a speed test and then run the speed test again using a virtual private network (VPN). If your connection is significantly faster with the VPN, your ISP is likely throttling your service.
This trick works because ISPs sometimes throttle your speeds when they notice certain types of traffic (like torrenting or streaming), and a VPN encrypts your data so the ISP can’t see what kind of traffic is coming and going.
Of course, there are other reasons you could be experiencing slower speeds than you’re used to. And using a VPN isn’t helpful in every situation. Never fear! We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about internet bandwidth throttling.
What is throttling?
Internet throttling is when your ISP intentionally limits your internet bandwidth or speed. Providers do this for a number of reasons, and it usually manifests as a sloth-like connection.
Why do ISPs throttle internet?
ISPs have a ton of excuses reasons for throttling your internet. But these are the top four culprits:
* Network congestion
* Data caps
* Paid prioritization
* Forbidden activity
Network congestion
During times of heavy internet use in a single area, ISPs sometimes throttle everyone’s internet in that area. This makes it so all customers can at least access part of the network instead of some houses on the street having perfect service and others not being able to connect at all. This is most likely to happen during peak use hours from about 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Data caps
If you notice sluggish internet speeds toward the end of the month, it might be because you hit your data cap. Some ISPs limit how much high-speed data you can use in a billing cycle, and going over that cap can result in some bandwidth throttling.
Everything you do online—from loading a web page to streaming your favorite show on Netflix—uses internet data and counts toward that data cap. ISPs usually offer a way to track how much data you’re using through an online portal so you can monitor your data use and make sure you don’t go overboard right at the beginning of the month.
Any ISP that has a data cap has to include that information in your service agreement. So, if you’re experiencing throttling, take a look at your contract or call customer service.
Here’s a list of Internet Service Providers with data caps:
* AT&T
* Buckeye Broadband
* Cable ONE
* CenturyLink
* Cox
* HughesNet
* Mediacom
* Viasat
* Xfinity
A few internet providers without data caps are Spectrum, Frontier, and RCN.
Paid prioritization
Sometimes ISPs throttle certain internet applications—like Netflix or Hulu—to discourage you from using them (and maybe to convince you to use their own proprietary streaming service). It’s fishy, we know. An ISP could also throttle internet service where specific websites are concerned if the ISP wants that site to pay for faster load times.
There are also instances where ISPs throttle certain types of data because it simply takes up a lot of bandwidth (even though you’re already paying for it) and puts pressure on the network. This could happen with large downloads or torrents.

All of this is good for the ISP’s pocket but terrible for consumers. And paid prioritization used to be illegal until net neutrality laws were repealed in 2018.
What is net neutrality?
Net neutrality is the idea that your ISP shouldn’t be able to control what you can and can’t access on the internet. With net neutrality, all lawful internet data and traffic is treated equally.

Legislation was passed in 2015 in the US to protect net neutrality. But those protections were repealed in 2018, leaving control of the internet up to corporations who greatly benefit from practices that hurt the free internet and everyone who uses the internet—things like paid prioritization, censorship, and throttling.
We support net neutrality because a free and open internet is imperative to free speech in America.
If you also support net neutrality, contact your Senator to support it and the Save the Internet Act.
Forbidden activities ISPs can throttle internet connections when the customer is participating in illegal online activities. That’s all we’re going to say about that.

source: highspeedinternet.com

Admin

How to Increase Your Internet Speed

30 Mar, 2020

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A lot of people are working from home these days — and many are discovering that their internet isn’t as fast as they need it to be. Likewise, those investing in games, more streaming entertainment, and other online activities may find that the speeds in their current situation aren’t up to desired levels. So, what’s the best way to improve your internet speeds in 2020? Let’s take a look at current best practices and take your internet connection to new heights!

Not sure how your internet speed is faring? You can take a minute and run an internet speed test to get more exact numbers. Remember, running the test several times throughout the day will give you better information about your average speeds.
Reset your router

Resetting your router has a lot of advantages for the average home network. It can help dispel hacking attempts, reset the router’s limited memory to help speed things up, and even apply important updates that your router may have been waiting on.
The key is to reboot your router properly. You don’t want to do a factory reset, which will erase all your settings and force you to start from scratch. Avoid the pinholes and on-router reset buttons; instead, simply unplug your router from all connected devices and then from its power source, fully shutting it down. Wait for about a minute for everything to fully turn off, then plug your router back into your power source, modem, and anything else you need. We also have a full guide on what to know about router resetting for more info.
Manage your Wi-Fi channels

Most routers these days are dual-band, which means they offer connections over both the 2.5Ghz frequency and the 5GHz frequency. Some routers are also tri-band, which just means there’s an additional 5GHz band to spread out connections even more.
These different channels exist so that you can apportion device connections across the spectrum and lower the demands for a single channel. This can help speed up your connections, especially if the 2.5GHz band is getting a little crowded.
As a general rule, the 5Ghz band is shorter range but a bit faster, more suitable for devices that are close to the router. The 2.5GHz band is longer range but a little slower, a better choice for devices in other rooms or mobile devices that move around a lot.

Some routers come with automatic allocation features that can assign devices to different channels based on connection needs and switch them to new channels as circumstances change. That’s great, but most routers still don’t have that service, which means you need to go into your router settings and make sure networks are set up for all the bands on your router, then connect each device individually to the channel that’s best for them. It’s a little work, but it really can make a difference for your speeds.
Manage the devices on your network

The average home router can handle around 250 connected devices in theory — in practice, as more devices pile up, bandwidth struggles to cover network needs and slowdowns happen. At the modern home or office where everyone has multiple mobile devices, and smart devices are common, routers can get overstretched and start creating speed problems.
If a lot of new devices have been connected to your Wi-Fi and you are noticing speed problems, you may want to start limiting connected devices.

For newer routers, open up your router app and look for the list of connected devices. For older routers, enter your IP address in the browser and search to find your administrator settings, where you should look for a section that says Manage Devices, Restrict Access, or something similar. While settings can vary, you should look for several important options here:
    •    Finding unnecessary devices: If devices don’t need to be on your network or it looks like someone is hijacking your Wi-Fi, you can kick these devices off. You can also look for an option to ban their MAC addresses, and make sure you change your Wi-Fi password when finished. It’s not a perfect solution, but it can help remove unknown devices quickly.
    •    Throttle bandwidth: Some routers allow you to choose specific connections to throttle, or slow down their speeds. This way, you can give less bandwidth to devices only needed for simple tasks, and more bandwidth to devices used for gaming and streaming, which cuts down on speed problems.
    •    Restrict usage: Routers may also have the ability to restrict hours of use for certain devices, which is a good way to make sure devices don’t hog too much bandwidth during key hours of the day. It’s also a reliable way to manage kids’ online connections for busy families.
    •    Voice commands: We’re seeing more and more devices with voice command compatibility, especially for Alexa. Saying, “Alexa, disconnect this device” or “Alexa, turn off Timmy’s Wi-Fi” can be useful commands. Alexa can also help you quickly move between router modes (chatting, gaming, standard, etc.) to prioritise certain activities.
Using Ethernet connections

Thus far, we are assuming that you have to use Wi-Fi connections around your home. However, if your computer (or other device) is close enough to the router, then you should consider using a wired Ethernet connection to the ports on your router. This is a very reliable way of increasing speeds, since a wired connection is free of many of the issues that can cause Wi-Fi slowdowns.
“Flush” your DNS

A DNS (domain name system) record keeps track of all the website addresses you visit to better improve future visits. However, DNS records rely on you and the website both staying on their respective servers. If servers change over time — which happens to many websites — the DNS will actually hurt your connection speed because it doesn’t recognise the new server. That’s why it can be a good idea to, as they say, flush your DNS from time to time.
This process doesn’t take long with the right steps. On Windows 10, simply search for Command prompt in the search box, and open the app. Make sure you are running as administrator! Then type the command line, “ipconfig/flushdns” and select enter. Windows will let you know the DNS has been cleared.
Switch to a faster browser

Does your slowdown primarily happen when you use your browser or open a lot of new tabs? Think about switching to a more minimalistic browser that only loads what is necessary. Browsers like Brave for Mac and Opera excel at this, especially if you are willing to tinker with settings. If you haven’t already tried it, Google Chrome is also known for being one of the fastest major browser options.
Add an extension to manage your cache

Your browser cache stores copies of website content to make it easier to reload sites. As internet users learn, when a cache gets too full it can slow down online performance (cookies, history, and similar saved data can also have an impact). Clearing your cache manually can be a pain, which is why it tends to build up over time. We suggest an easier path: Download a Clear Cache extension that will help you customise your clearing actions and immediately clear with a simple button on your browser taskbar.
Consider using a VPN

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
If you search whether a VPN (virtual private network) can increase your internet speeds, you’ll probably find a lot of conflicting information. Here’s the deal: Some ISPs (internet service providers) will throttle bandwidth based on certain activities, such as hitting a soft data cap or streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. If you have evidence that your ISP is throttling bandwidth like this, a VPN can help by hiding your activity so the ISP doesn’t have the data it needs to make throttling decisions.
However, in many cases a VPN can actually slow your internet speeds down with its combination of encryption and server-hopping. Only try this as a solution if you are sure your ISP is being shady. Fortunately, many VPNs are free to download and enable for a trial period if you want to test it out.
If necessary, upgrade your Wi-Fi system or bandwidth

A lot of changes are hitting the router market now, including expanded MU-MIMO features for better individual connections, Wi-Fi 6 and compatible devices, and more. These new features are great for improving speed and performance. The catch is that, if your router is a couple of years old, you probably have to buy a new version to get these upgrades — and make sure your new mobile devices are also compatible.
This provides an opportunity to find a router solution that works better for your situation. For example, mesh routers with multiple router points set up around a house could provide better performance.
You can also simply choose to upgrade your internet package to get more bandwidth. Obviously this involves higher long-term costs, but it does make an immediate difference. You can check your provider to see if there are any current deals or discounts you can take advantage of.

Note: In current conditions, many internet providers are easing restrictions on data caps, improving speeds, and taking other measures to deal with new demand. You may already be getting what’s essentially a bandwidth upgrade with these changes. Check to see if your provider has added any extra capabilities, and what difference they have made.

source: digitaltrends.com

Admin

U.K. Internet Service Providers Lift Caps on Broadband Data

30 Mar, 2020

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As people around the world shift to remote work and look to the internet for personal communication and entertainment, unlimited access is more important than ever. Now, the U.K. government has reached an agreement with telecommunications companies to lift all data allowance caps on broadband plans to ensure people can continue to use the internet during the pandemic involving coronavirus, officially called COVID-19.

Major British broadband providers including BT/EE, Openreach, Virgin Media, Sky, TalkTalk, O2, Vodafone, Three, Hyperoptic, Gigaclear, and KCOM have all agreed to lift their data caps. The providers have also agreed to consider further actions, such as working with customers who are struggling to pay their bills due to the coronavirus outbreak, offering new affordable packages for both mobile and landline-based internet for those who don’t yet have internet access at home, and providing alternative methods of communication for customers who experience problems with their internet access.

Similar policies have already been implemented in the U.S., where companies like AT&T have halted caps on broadband usage. American senators have also written an open letter urging more ISPs to follow suit and lift their bandwidth restrictions.
Regarding the lifting of data caps in Britain, Melanie Dawes, CEO of British telecom regulator Ofcom, said: “We recognise providers are dealing with unprecedented challenges at the moment. So we welcome them stepping up to protect vulnerable customers, at a time when keeping in touch with our friends and families has never been more important. We’ll continue to work with Government and industry to help make sure people stay connected.”
And Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden emphasised the importance of internet access at home to support social distancing measures while maintaining social connections: “It’s fantastic to see mobile and broadband providers pulling together to do their bit for the national effort by helping customers, particularly the most vulnerable, who may be struggling with bills at this difficult time. It is essential that people stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives. This package helps people to stay connected whilst they stay home.”

Broadband caps will be lifted immediately, so if you’re in the U.K. and you have a contract with one of the mentioned providers then you should be able to use the internet without limitations for the foreseeable future.

source: digitaltrends.com

Admin

Government Uses Location Data to Track Coronavirus Outbreak

30 Mar, 2020

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The U.S. government is using cellphone location data to track the movements of people during the outbreak of coronavirus, officially called COVID-19, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Using data from the mobile advertising industry, government officials including those at the federal and state level, as well as those at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, have been tracking the public’s movements to better understand how coronavirus is spread. One person involved said that there was a plan to create a portal through which officials could easily track location data for up to 500 U.S. cities, which could be used to check whether people are complying with shelter-in-place orders and staying at home.
The data collected does not include any individually identifying information, such as the name of the person or their phone number. Still, there are privacy concerns about whether the government should have access to so much data revealing the exact movements of people within its borders. Some privacy advocates have argued that even if the data is anonymised, it could be used in combination with other data to identify individuals. And while using the data for the purpose of containing a deadly virus is something most people would support, there’s no way of knowing if government officials will continue to use this data for other purposes once the outbreak is more contained.
On the other hand, the data could be invaluable in slowing the spread of coronavirus by showing areas where large numbers of people are still congregating, such as parks or other public spaces. As an example, the data was used to show that large numbers of people in New York were congregating in Prospect Park in Brooklyn; information which was handed over to the local authorities.
Another approach to this issue is to get people to volunteer their location information to coronavirus researchers. This is the approach taken by the developers of Private Kit: Safe Paths, an open-source tracking app that records your location information to track where infected patients might have come into contact with others. The developers of this app emphasised the need for privacy considerations to be seriously considered when using location data in a white paper, Maintaining Personal Privacy in an Epidemic.

source: digitaltrends.com

Admin

How to use Walkie-Talkie on your Apple Watch Series 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1;

30 Mar, 2020

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The Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch is a pretty cool and useful way to communicate with a friend or family member. For instance, it can come to your rescue when trying to find each other in a crowd, as long as you both have an Apple Watch with watchOS 5.4 or later. Sounds interesting? Before we learn how to use Walkie-Talkie on your Apple Watch Series 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1; let’s first understand the feature.

What is Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch?

Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie app is built on the same basic idea as the actual hardware walkie-talkies. You might have seen such devices used by construction workers, train drivers, signalmen, etc.How it works is you hold a TALK button and speak. Your friend, on the other end, also holds this button on his Apple Watch and replies back.

But to make this work both you and your friend need to have FaceTime enabled on your iPhone. Now that you have a brief idea about what Walkie-Talkie is, let us see how to use it.

How to Add Friends to Walkie-Talkie App on Apple Watch

You need to add a friend before to talk using Walkie-Talkie. The person needs to have a compatible Apple Watch. To add friends from your contact list:

1. Open the Walkie-Talkie app on your Apple Watch.
2. Now, scroll through your contacts and choose a friend who has compatible Apple Watch.
3. An invitation is sent to the selected contact. Currently, it will appear grey and under ‘Friends You Invited.’
4. Once the person accepts your request, their contact card will turn yellow. From now onwards, you both can talk instantly using Walkie-Talkie.

How to Accept a Walkie-Talkie Invitation on Apple Watch

When your friend sends you a Walkie-Talkie invitation, tap Always Allow. In case you miss this notification, you can find it again in your Apple Watch’s Notification Centre and also in the Walkie-Talkie app.

How to Start and Talk Using Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch

1. Open the Walkie-Talkie app.
2. Tap on a friend’s name.
3. Touch and hold the TALK button. Now go ahead and speak.

You may see ‘connecting’ on the screen. Wait for it to connect. Once it gets connected, your friend will hear you, and then you both may converse on Walkie-Talkie.

To talk, you need to touch and hold the TALK button when you speak. Once you are done, leave the hold. Your friend, too, when he needs to speak something, he has to touch and hold the TALK button.

• Your friend will receive alerts when you talk if he is wearing the Apple Watch and has Walkie-Talkie turned ON.
• You can use Walkie-Talkie with cellular data (if supported) or Wi-Fi, even when your iPhone is not nearby.
• If you want to increase or decrease the volume, turn the Digital Crown of your Apple Watch.

How to Remove a Walkie-Talkie Friend on Apple Watch

You can remove a friend from the Apple Watch itself or use the paired iPhone. Here is how.

On your Apple Watch: Open the Walkie-Talkie app → Now swipe right to left on your friend’s name and tap on red delete button.

On your paired iPhone: Open the Watch app and tap Walkie-Talkie → Edit → red minus icon before the friend’s name → Remove.

How to Turn Walkie-Talkie Availability OFF or ON

If you do not want to be available for Walkie-Talkie as you need some uninterrupted time, you can turn it OFF. Here is how.

1. Open the Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch.
2. Go to the top of the friend list and tap on Walkie-Talkie toggle to turn it OFF (and back ON when needed).

Additionally: You can also use the watch Control Centre to turn it OFF or ON. For this open Control Centre on Apple watch and tap on the Walkie-Talkie button.

After you have followed the above steps, turned OFF your Walkie-Talkie availability, and now if someone tries to contact you, the watch will show you a notification asking if you would like to talk.

Walkie-Talkie App Not Showing up on Apple Watch?

If the Walkie-Talkie app is not showing up or working correctly on your Apple Watch, then follow the below fixes.

• Update Your Apple Watch: Walkie-Talkie is only available for watchOS 5.4 and later.
• Make sure FaceTime is set up, turned on, and working correctly on your iPhone.
• Restart your Apple Watch and your iPhone if the Walkie-Talkie issue continues.

Now, whenever you lose track of your friend or family member in a crowded mall or concert, you can use this handly litle app to find them. Of course, it’s in no way a replacement for calls, but hey, it can certainly be fun and useful now and then. What do you think?

source:igeeksblog.com

Admin

How to use Apple’s COVID-19 screening app and website for yourself or someone else

30 Mar, 2020

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- Mar. 27th 2020 1:41 pm PT

Apple has launched its COVID-19 screening app and website that were designed in partnership with the CDC, FEMA, and the White House. The software makes it easy for anyone to get free information and guidance on whether you or a loved one should seek professional medical advice, self-isolate, try to take a test, and more. Read on for how to use Apple’s COVID-19 screening app and website.

In typical Apple fashion, the app and website were designed for a really user-friendly experience for anyone to quickly and easily get help with questions and advice about coronavirus/COVID-19 as well as concrete next steps via the app or web screening for those who may be ill.

Like it does with its products and services, Apple’s free app and website also respect user privacy by not collecting answers from the screening, and they don’t identify users.

There’s also no sign-in needed to use the app and website.

How to use Apple’s COVID-19 screening app and website

1. Download Apple’s COVID-19 app here or head to the website (app only available in the US)
2. On the landing page you’ll see sections for more info on COVID-19, “What You Can Do”, and “COVID-19 testing”
3. If you need to figure out next steps for yourself or someone else who is ill, choose the blue Start Screening button
4. Pick if you are taking the screening for yourself or someone else
5. Follow the prompts and answer all the questions to the best of your ability
6. At the end of the screening, you’ll get a recommendation on the next steps to take

Here’s how the process looks on iPhone:

You can start by reading more about COVID-19, what you can do, or testing or if needed jump right into the screening process.

Apple made the app and website look almost identical, choose Start Screening on the landing page of to begin the process for yourself or someone else (you can use the screening as many times as you want).

When you complete the screening, you’ll see one of a few different results including “You Should Practice Social Distancing,” “You Should Self-Isolate,” and “Contact Your Healthcare Provider.”

Look for the Next Steps section below the result.

Once you’ve used the screening, you can view past results at any time by heading back to the app’s main screen. You can also start a new screening.

source:9to5mac.com

Admin

AirPods Pro review: you don't need to be an AirPods power-user to appreciate them

30 Mar, 2020

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With active noise cancellation and other new features, Apple's new AirPods Pro does its best to embody the "pro" monicker affixed to the well-known name.

AirPods Pro are easy to set up

There aren't many things left unsaid about AirPods Pro. If you've seen or read any of the other reviews out there they likely all touch on the same topics.

We don't need to rehash all of those sentiments by just giving you more of the same. Rather, we want to give you a look at our past week using AirPods Pro after being daily users of the original AirPods —pretty much since launch.

A quick look at the specs

Before we do that, it would be irresponsible to not at least touch on the specs AirPods Pro is equipped with.

The new generation Apple true wireless earbud has a new design that is shorter with a more bulbous end. A new force sensor in the stem replaces the tapping gesture for controlling the headphones. Multiple sizes of silicone tips help provide a better seal and fit to help with the new noise control features.

AirPods Pro in their box

Speaking of which, include active noise cancellation, Adaptive EQ, and transparency mode. These all rely not only on an external mic but an internal mic that can hear what your ear is hearing.

They now fit in a redesigned wireless charging case that is shorter and wider than the original.

More than what we asked for

Preceding the AirPods Pro announcement, there were only a couple things we needed to see on a new set of AirPods. We wanted a better fit for active lifestyles and better audio quality. AirPods would constantly fall out for us while we were hitting the treadmill or weight bench and the audio quality could best be described as "fine."

AirPods Pro are great headphones

Audio quality was quite a sticking point for us. We test piles of headphones with outstanding sound but always go back to AirPods because of their ease of use. It was disappointing to come back to such dismal audio.

Upgrading to pro

With those in mind, the absolute first thing we did after getting our hands on AirPods Pro was hit the gym, testing all of our common routines. To our surprise, we made it through an hour and a half without a single earbud coming free. Whether jumping around or lying supine, AirPods Pro didn't fall out.

AirPods Pro silicone tips come in small, medium, large

That isn't to say that the fit was perfect for us. We've historically terrible luck with in-ear headphones. They never stay put for us.

As a general rule, AirPods Pro did fit well for us, but we could use more sizes of the silicone ear tips. A smaller size or half sizes would go a long way towards making these fit perfect. Apple, like Klipsch, chose to use an oval-shaped tip which could be part of what makes it stay in so much better, even with not the perfect size.

Apple does offer up the fit test within Bluetooth settings and while neat, didn't provide any real benefit to us. We could tell what fit very easily just by trying on the different sizes, but maybe it is more beneficial to others with differently shaped ears.

The audio quality was great. With a good fit, it was punchy, a full sound, and a huge step up for AirPods. Not saying this is audiophile quality or what you'd get with a set of dedicated over-ear cans, but wow. We were very happy with the audio quality these put out.

The nosie control toggle within Control Center for AirPods Pro

The active noise cancelation was a bonus for us, but a week in and we don't use it as much as others may. It is nice to have and we used it in the gym for a more immersive workout, but day-to-day we relied on transparency mode. It sounded so much more natural and allowed us to hear people talking to us in the office, delivery drivers hitting up the door, or other runners while we were out with the dogs. It may be our favorite feature of the new AirPods Pro.

In this set of AirPods, Apple forwent the tapping gesture and replaced it with the force sensors in the stems. This requires you to squeeze the stems to control playback and switch modes. The good news is that it adds more gestures than tapping, but it is still awkward to use. If you are moving, trying to squeeze will inevitably knock the AirPods Pro loose. Second-gen or AirPods Pro —we'd still prefer to just use Siri or our Apple Watch.

While we are here, we also want to give a shoutout to iOS that recently added some great features for AirPods users. Not specifically for the AirPods Pro, but great either way.

With this update, users can now have messages announced via Siri. It will automatically reduce any audio that'splaying, read the message, then quickly give you a chance to respond. If you are busy and on the go, this is amazingly helpful and we found ourselves wearing AirPods around the office just so we could respond to messages without having to dig out our phone each time.



Additionally, Audio Sharing —a feature promised with iOS 13 —finally arrived in iOS 13.2. This allows users to share audio with multiple sets of headphones at once. Say you are watching a movie and your partner wants to watch as well with their headphones. They just bring their AirPods or Beats near your phone or tablet and it will kick off a modal that lets audio be sent to each simultaneously. Works with any audio, including movies, music, or games.

Not without issues

As far as issues we ran into, during long sessions we did have the battery die out on us, which is unsurprising. They're equipped with the same battery life as the AirPods 2 but take a small hit when ANC or transparency mode is turned on. It'd have been nice to see a longer life, but we will take the smaller size as the tradeoff.

We also aren't fans of the new case. Maybe it is nitpicking, but it is what has gone through our minds several times during the past week. It is squat and kind of awkward in our hand and isn't as easy to flip open as the original. The original case was fantastic and was even useful as a fidget device we could open and close repetitively. This case, while it looks similar and feels the same, just doesn't have the same affinity to us.

An AirPods Pro individual earbud

There were some improvements to the microphone, which now block out wind better than before, but the same issues as the last generation are present. Namely, they are very sensitive. It is great in picking up your voice, but if you try to do anything with your hands at the same time it gets amplified greatly. Pick up a cup, crinkle a chip bag, wash your hands, really anything that makes any noise sounds crazy on the other end. In a test call, I set down a cup on the counter and the recipient of the call said it sounded like I smacked a hammer against a pipe.

Minor quibbles notwithstanding, we're overwhelmingly happy with AirPods Pro.

Should you buy AirPods Pro?

If you are an active user, moving around, jumping on planes, or frequently working out, AirPods Pro are the way to go. Otherwise, it gets murky.

Most folks are going to fall into one of three camps. They are either existing AirPods owners who are debating an upgrade, they are new to AirPods and debating the AirPods second-gen with wireless charging case, or they are new users looking at the second-gen with the standard case.

If you are in the latter camp, it is kind of hard to justify the $100 price increase between the two. There are a lot of features for that differential, but if you just want AirPods in the most cost-efficient form, then it isn't AirPods Pro.

If you are looking at the second-gen set with the wireless charging case, springing for AirPods Pro is a no-brainer. It is a $50 difference and you get better fit, water resistance, ANC, transparency mode, and far better audio. We'd make that jump in a heartbeat.

Those in the last group are hardest to quantify, being that they already have a set of AirPods —possibly the second-generation set that launched only in March. For us, with audio quality and fit being most important, we were able to justify it. Especially after gifting our other set to a family member. Before AirPods Pro we were forced to use another set of headphones while at the gym. With AirPods Pro, we get to use them twice as much.

Pros

• Smaller design

• Much better audio quality

• Great ANC

• Transparency mode is outstanding

• Stay in much better

• Work with Audio Sharing

• Announce messages with Siri is particularly useful

• Water/sweat resistant

Cons

• Needs more granular ear tips

• Force sensors are awkward to use

• Charging case is awkward

• Higher price tag and no price decrease on second-gen

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

source: appleinsider.com

Admin

Cleer Audio Ally Plus Earbuds offer active noise cancellation in a sophisticated package

30 Mar, 2020

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Cleer Audio's Ally Plus is a pair of truly wireless earbuds that feature a slick design and active noise cancellation, making them an attractive alternative to Apple's AirPods Pro. We put the audio accessories through their paces.

It's hard not to be smitten by the appearance of the Cleer Audio's Enduro 100 wireless headphones, with impressive design and good solid construction, as well as the massive 100-hour battery life on a single charge. When given the chance to check out Cleer's new truly wireless earbuds, I was curious to see how well they'd perform.

Design & fit

I tend not to think about the overall aesthetics of earbuds, which may be because people can't see whatever earbuds they're wearing without looking hard in a mirror. However, I will say that as far as looks go, the Ally Plus are some of the nicest truly wireless earbuds I've come across. The metallic accents feel very mature, and the clean lines look great.

The case design is also nifty, as it's small, metal, and features a magnetic hinge with a clear window —there's no guessing whether or not both earbuds are inside. It looks nice enough to be left out on the desk but holds up to being tossed in my laptop bag as well.



One of the best things about the Ally Plus is the fact that they sit comfortably in my ears. I was concerned that they'd be too big and prone to falling out, but so far I haven't had a single issue with the fit.

Cleer also includes multiple silicone tips for the earbuds, so most users will be able to find a setup that works well for them.

If you're a regular gym-goer or an outdoor athlete, you'll be happy to learn the Ally Plus are IPX4 water-resistant. They can handle light rain and your sweatiest workouts with no problem.

Pairing & controls

Like most truly wireless earbuds, the first time you open the Ally Plus' case and remove the earbuds, it'll automatically enter pairing mode. It paired with a MacBook Pro quickly and without issue.

I did have to follow the manual to pair the earbuds to my iPhone later, but thankfully it's less convoluted than other earbuds I've tested.

The touch controls for the Ally Plus are simple and relatively standard. Swiping up and down will change the volume, a quick tap cycles through noise cancellation modes. You can also tap to answer calls or hold to reject them.

I was a little annoyed to find out there is no way to cycle through a playlist or skip songs while wearing the Ally Plus, which means they're not as hands-free as I prefer my wireless earbuds to be.

Sound control & battery life

When it comes to sound quality, the Cleer Ally Plus earbuds outperform the average mid-range wireless earbuds. As the earbud tip can be changed, you can create a sealed fit that helps to keep the bass adequately rumbly.

They feature 10mm neodymium drivers and updated beamforming technology, resulting in crisp highs, and even when turned up quite high, there's no distortion in any area. Overall, they're quite impressive.

Unlike a lot of other earbuds out there, these also feature active noise cancellation, rather than just passive. The Ally Plus did a decent job blocking out most environmental background noise, which would make these perfect for a long commute, air travel, or when working out.

The Ally Plus case charges via USB-C

The battery life of the Ally Plus is also an improvement over some other truly wireless earbuds as well. On a full charge, the Ally Plus earbuds gave a little over 11 hours of battery life before they had to return to the case. When fully charged, the case can provide you with 20 additional hours of playback —making the Ally Plus great for weekend trips or extended travel days.

The usual discomfort

For as comfortable as they are, the Ally Plus do cause me a fair bit of ear pain when I use the noise cancellation mode. Some people —like myself —have problems with active noise cancellation. I have a pair of on-ear Bose headphones that also give me ear pain if I wear them with noise cancellation mode activated, but it usually requires me to wear them for a couple of hours before I have to take them off.

The Ally Plus, however, gave me significant ear pain in as little as 45 minutes. This may not be the case for everyone, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it here.

Overall

I like the Ally Plus. I think they're a great pair of earbuds with a design that makes them geared a bit more toward a sophisticated audience. My only major complaint is the lack of audio control included with the touch controls, but for regular day-to-day use, I find myself reaching for them over and over again.

Where to buy

:

If you want a pair of your own Cleer Audio Ally Plus earbuds, head to Amazon or Cleer Audio's website, where you can purchase them for for $199.99.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Pros

• Sophisticated design
• Active noise cancellation mode
• 10 Horus battery life

Cons

• Active noise cancellation mode may give some users ear pain
• No on-device music control

source: appleinsider.com

Admin

2020 iPad Pro is more about future software than the hardware gains today

30 Mar, 2020

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The new 2020 iPad Pro is slightly more powerful than ever, and that minor spec upgrade that it got this time around, it is now more about what can happen with software down the road than hardware improvements today.

11-inch 2020 iPad Pro with the Smart Keyboard Folio

When Apple launched iPad back in 2010, it didn't quite know what iPad would be. It went through a number of exploratory phases like going all-in on periodicals with Newsstand before killing it off then coming back with Apple News+ years later, and adopting the Apple Pencil.

During the time of the first iPad, little did we know that iPad would eventually embrace the mouse or trackpad, and cameras would play a huge part of the iPad's feature set.

Yet here we are, in 2020, with the latest iPad Pro that does all of those things. Apple's iPad is no longer just a consumption device or a casual tablet for light work —it is a full-on content-creation, multitasking, mouse-wielding, portable device that can get the job done.

When we tell people that we use iPad as a tool to produce 4K videos or as our writing instrument of choice, people no longer show surprise or act as if its some insurmountable task. People everywhere have embraced iPad for a huge array of different purposes and the 2020 iPad Pro is absolutely the best one yet —even if the differences model-over-model aren't all that riveting.

Hardware changes on iPad, like iPhone before it, have become a bit more predictable and a bit less flashy. Apple has iterated on tried-and-true tactics to perfect the device while also focusing strongly on the software.

Apple started down this road in 2019 with the branching off of iPadOS from iOS to allow more iPad-specific features and we expect Apple to continue that trend.

Cursor support arrives on iPad

Announced alongside the new iPad Pro was iPadOS 13.4 that, much to everyone's surprise, brought full-fledged cursor support plus support for Bluetooth mice and trackpads to the tablet line. For productivity users, this update paired with iPadOS will play a large part in how successful the iPad Pro is as a pro tablet.

De-prioritizing hardware changes

11-inch iPad Pro

This time around, the physical changes to iPad Pro are minimal. It looks identical to the 2018 iPad Pro.

The new iPad Pros still have the same gorgeous Liquid Retina display, the same support for Apple Pencil, and the same TrueDepth camera system.

The new camera bump houses a 12MP wide-angle camera and a 10MP ultra-wide angle camera

Where it changed primarily was with the rear-facing cameras. It got a new 10MP ultra-wide-angle camera and a new LiDAR scanner. These are big changes, but if you don't ever use augmented reality or take photos with your iPad Pro they are largely a moot point.

The tablets now support Wi-Fi 6, though you need a Wi-Fi 6 router to take advantage of that feature. The base models now start at 128GB of storage rather than only 64GB.

Apple even slipped essentially the same processor as the previous generation in, just incrementing the letter and activating one additional GPU core. A new report says the A12Z is the exact same chip as the A12X, but the latter had one of the eight GPU cores deactivated. They enabled it with the A12Z and stuck a new marketing name atop.

That paints a fairly underwhelming picture if you own a 2018 iPad Pro and wanted a big worthwhile, headline-grabbing reason to upgrade. Fact is, almost everyone on the 2018 iPad Pro will have no need to make the jump, unless you want that LiDAR scanner.

Taking measurements with iPad Pro as a massive viewfinder

iPad Pro, as much as some don't want to admit it, is starting to be more like a computer. Most folks don't upgrade their Mac every year because a new model drops, yet a kitted-out iPad Pro can get into 13-inch MacBook Pro territory.

So while these changes aren't flashy for 2018 would-be upgraders, they are quality of life improvements for anyone else who was contemplating picking one up.

The iPad Pro was already such a powerful and polished device that its biggest gains were to be had through software, and possibly additional accessories. We're looking at you, Magic Keyboard, that has yet to ship.

Performance ceiling

There is something to be said for Apple making its own chipsets. They are industry-leading in power and battery utilization and have been for some time. It poses a bit of a query for Apple when developing a new chip. In the case of iPad Pro, most users weren't hitting the performance ceiling that the A12X Bionic imposed.

Multitasking App Switcher on iPad Pro

In reality, the biggest spec iPad Pro had to boost was graphics. And not because the previous-generation graphics were underpowered, but because you can always encode that video faster or export that massive RAW image quicker. This is what Apple gave us in the new A12Z Bionic processor, slightly better graphics.

To test, we ran the latest Geekbench 5.1 benchmarks. Our 2018 iPad Pro delivered around a 1116 single-core and a 4584 multi-core score. The new 2020 model garnered a similar 1117 single-core and a 4653 multi-core. These are effectively identical results if you take into account the variability of Geekbench testing.

An extra GPU core means better graphics scores. 2018 iPad Pro (left) compared to 2020 iPad Pro (right)

Geekbench Computer Metal graphics test on 2018 (left) and 2020 (right) iPad Pros

When we turned to the Geekbench Compute benchmark which tests the Metal graphics performance, the 2018 Pro earned a 9069 while the new 2020 pulled a 9616. This gain is explained by the increase in GPU cores within the A12Z Bionic.

For another test, we turned to iMovie. We created a four-minute and 39-second 4K video on the new and previous-generation iPad Pro and exported the video for sharing. The 2018 iPad Pro took 20.05 seconds to complete and the 2020 iPad Pro only took 5.12 seconds.

This is a practical real-world gain and demonstrates why even just one additional core can make a difference. Videos editors who are doing more than just a four-minute clip are going to be happy with those improved render times.

iPad Pro cameras

The iPad Pro doesn't have quite the same 12MP camera as the iPhone 11 does, but it isn't far off. The cameras aren't just used for taking pictures of your pets, there are a ton of commercial and professional applications as well. For these, a competent camera is necessary.

New camera module on 2020 iPad Pro

The ultra-wide lens helps out further. It is only 10MP, but otherwise takes decent shots. The ultra-wide, like it does on the iPhone 11 line, takes in up to twice as much horizontally. Perfect for close quarters or scenic views.

There is a part of us that wishes Apple would have taken advantage of this lens to enable 1X portrait mode on the iPad, or even standard 2X with the help of both lenses or even the LiDAR scanner. At the same time, we don't want to necessarily encourage everyone to prioritize taking pictures with a massive tablet.

LiDAR demo using a pre-release version of the Primer app

The LiDAR scanner sits next to the other dual shooters. LiDAR, an acronym for light detection and ranging, measures how long it takes for light to hit a surface and return which allows the system to create a 3D image of the scene in front of it.

The most obvious use of LiDAR is to enhance augmented reality capabilities, a vertical Apple has been exploring for quite some time. LiDAR assists with person occlusion and is able to create a real-time mesh around complicated scenes.

We saw this for ourselves when we spoke to the developers behind the Primer app. This app allows you to preview wallpaper, paint, or tile in your own home. After only a couple days with the updated ARKit 3.5 SDK they were able to get a working build. It is quite impressive, though it loses its luster if you don't have any practical application for AR in your own use.

Updated Measure app on iPad Pro

Without any user-facing application, other than the Measure app, most users may never even know the LiDAR scanner exists.

The new Measure app easily finds vertices

Speaking of the Measure app, Apple did take the chance to improve it on the new iPad Pro. In our tests, it is more accurate, faster, better at detecting surfaces, and can display a running list of measurements for you to copy out to notes, a message, or an email.

It snaps to edges, can project angles, and aws closer to the actual values when compared to a physical measuring tape measurement.

The Apple accessory lineup

Per usual, Apple has myriad accessories it hopes to add to your iPad Pro setup.

2020 iPad Pro in the blue Smart Cover

There is an updated version of the Smart Cover which comes in new colors but otherwise functions as it always has. Using magnets, it wakes and sleeps your iPad Pro when it opens and closes and can roll back to act as a stand for the iPad Pro in both vertical and horizontal orientations.

Using the second-generation Apple Pencil with 2020 iPad Pro

Then we have the second-generation Apple Pencil. Nothing changed here either and our original review still stands. It remains a greatly useful device for drawing, note-taking, coloring, dealing with documents, or editing photos.

Our biggest hangup is with the Smart Keyboard Folio. It was mildly updated to highlight the Apple logo horizontally while typing, but otherwise appears to be the same. Unfortunately, there were issues with the design that debuted with the 2018 version. We aren't talking about all our gripes we highlighted in the original review, we are talking about reliability issues that have sprung up over time.

Typing on the Smart Keyboard Folio can be frustrating

We have had our Smart Keyboard Folio swapped out twice but it appears the issue is systematic and plagues all the units across the board. Because the keyboard of the folio is atop a thin piece of plastic, it has a tendency to warp as well as inadvertently "press" certain keys. It happened most frequently with the lower-left command key for us which cause all sorts of issues while trying to write.

To remedy, we have to briskly wipe our hand across the keyboard to unstick the key. Luckily the solution is that simple but it is annoying and an issue nonetheless.

iPad Pro Magic Keyboard

These issues appear resolved in Apple's Magic Keyboard for the iPad Pro. Launching in May, the Magic Keyboard has physical keys with a mechanical scissor-switch mechanism, a backlight, a fully articulated holder for the iPad Pro, and an additional USB-C port.

The USB-C port will be perfect because it doesn't require any additional hub to both power the iPad Pro, as well as to connect external storage or a monitor.

That leaves us in limbo until the Magic Keyboard launches, but we are very excited to test it out. Even better, it will work on the 2018 iPad Pros giving existing users an upgrade of sorts.

A true pro device has emerged

After years of incremental updates, the iPad Pro has finally started to come into itself. The hardware overhaul in 2018 was major but the software updates iPadOS 13 and iPadOS 13.4 have cemented the iPad Pro as a true workhorse.

iPad Pro

Truly, the 2020 iPad Pro doesn't feel much different at all than the 2018 model. We have relied on the Measure app a few times as we are doing some renovations, but otherwise, it has been business as usual.

It is mildly faster for content exports and any extra headroom for large photo edits is appreciated. USB-C is still a favorite for us, allowing us to rely on external SSD storage, connect an external display to edit video, and connect other peripherals such as microphones.

Apple may have slowed down the pace of iPad Pro hardware refreshes. It appears that Apple does seem to have some surprises left in store for the next model, but even with that rumored refresh, software is going to be the focus going forward more than any other factor.

Should you buy the 2020 iPad Pro?

11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros

As with any other "buy or not" debate, it all hinges on the work that you do, the tools you need, and what devices you are coming from.

If just looking at the device in a bubble on its own merits, the 2020 iPad Pro is a stellar device. Apple has made strides over the years, iterating on the small aspects to perfect the user experience of the device.

The 2020 iPad Pro is more powerful than ever, more full-featured than ever, and has a mass of potential waiting to be unleashed by iPadOS 14 and the updates that follow. You just probably don't need it if you jumped on the 2018 refresh.



Pros

• Still a great-looking tablet

• Better graphics, albeit not by much

• Wi-Fi 6 support

• Both the 2018 and 2020 will support Magic Keyboard

• iPadOS 13.4 is a great update for iPads across the board

• Revamped Measure app is much better

• LiDAR is a game changer, but only if you use AR

• Ultra-wide lens is great for those who need the camera

Cons

• Increimental update

• Smart Keyboard Folio still has problems

• LiDAR has no user-facing app and relies on developers to use

• No notable speed improvements

Rating: 4 out of 5

source: appleinsider.com

Admin

Brydge Pro+ keyboard & trackpad both helped & hindered by iPadOS

30 Mar, 2020

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The Brydge Pro+ is an all-aluminum keyboard and trackpad designed specifically for the 2018 and 2020 iPad Pros. While the hardware is in the right place, the changes in iPadOS 13.4 have left us wanting a bit more for this otherwise excellent accessory.

Brydge Pro+ and the 12.9-inch 2020 iPad Pro

On both iPhone and iPad, Apple has a feature called AssistiveTouch. With this enabled, you could finally use a rudimentary cursor on your device using a wired mouse. It wasn't flashy and only had basic support. It was, after all, still an accessibility feature, but Brydge sprung into gear to take advantage of it.

We've looked at previous Brydge keyboards, such as the Brydge Pro for iPad Pro. It was a solid keyboard with an aluminum frame that cleverly connects to the iPad Pro when needed. Brydge Pro+ is an evolution of that, integrating a trackpad to take advantage of that new accessibility feature found on iPads.

The device crept closer to launch, before a curveball was thrown.

An iPadOS 13.4-shaped curveball

Brydge wasn't expecting this at all. Brydge announced the Pro+ months ago. We even went hands on ourselves at CES 2020 to test it out. Everything seemed set to go.

Then Apple dropped iPadOS 13.4 which had previously-unannounced support for a cursor as well as Bluetooth mice and trackpads.


Things changed then drastically for Brydge. With that simple update, Brydge Pro+ both lost features as well as gained new ones. On one hand, there are now native aspects and gestures that you can do throughout the OS with any connected mouse. But, Brydge lost its own gestures that it was hoping to debut with.

We've covered cursor support extensively so far and it is impressive how Apple added it to the touch-first interface in an intuitive way. Because of that, it makes Brydge Pro+ even more exciting of a prospect and anticipation for the new keyboard-mouse combo has skyrocketed.

A familiar design

First things first — the design of the Brydge Pro+ is very familiar. It looks like an iteration on the previous Brydge designs as well as a MacBook. It has the large mechanical keyboard sitting atop that new trackpad.

Brydge Pro+ closed

At launch, Brydge Pro+ will only be available in space grey. That seems to be the more popular color and it has done an excellent job at matching it to the color of the iPad Pro.

The hinge on the Brydge Pro+

The hinges have been adjusted and they are our favorite ones from Brydge yet. They are very minimalistic and you practically don't notice them when looking at the iPad from the front. Around back there is a bit more surface area.

To keep with the iPad Pro's design, the hinges are a bit more squared off. They have the rubberized inserts that now go just around the corners which adds a small amount of drop (or bump) protection. The hinges also have a small strip of rubber that, when opened, keeps the Brydge from hitting the surface below it.

Brydge Pro+ comes with a magnetic back panel

We've seen a lot of Brydge keyboards and this one looks and feels like the most polished one yet.

There is a faux leather back panel included in the box. Ours arrived with one designed for the 2018 iPad Pro though new orders will ship with one designed to fit the 2018 and 2020 models.

Charge Brydge Pro+ over USB-C

The whole thing is charged over USB-C, and a full charge should yield about three months of use. This is different than the Magic Keyboard, which connects over the Smart Connector and never needs to be charged, though it does leach some of the iPad Pro's power.

What is great about the USB-C port is that in an emergency, Brydge can be charged right from the iPad's own USB-C port.

The trackpad

With the trackpad, we have a lot to evaluate. How does it integrate into the system, does it support any form of multi-touch input, and how does the surface itself feel.

Brydge has once again done an excellent job when it comes to build quality. The trackpad is very large and spacious. It feels like the perfect width because when in a natural typing position, the trackpad comes just to where our palms are resting. Very nicely done.

Brydge Pro+ in space gray matches perfectly

The trackpad uses a common trackpad "diving board" design. What this means is that the top of the trackpad is fixed and the rest of the trackpad can be pressed down to "click."

However, we've become spoiled in recent years, seeing what Apple has done. Apple's Mac trackpads are a large surface that never actually moves. The Mac trackpad simulates a click by triggering a short vibration — or haptic feedback. This allows the entirety of the trackpad's surface to be "clickable."

Sometimes we expect to be able to press down on top of the Brydge trackpad and it doesn't move.

The new trackpad on the Brydge Pro+

The good news is that tapping is unaffected. The entire surface can be tapped and we find tapping to be faster anyway, so we don't count it as much of a detraction.

As we use the trackpad with the iPad, there is a bit of a delay. The way that the Brydge Pro+ connects causes there to be some lag as you track the mouse around the OS.

We don't necessarily blame Brydge for this as some fault belongs to iPadOS for how it is interfacing with these Bluetooth peripherals. There's similar lag experienced with some other Bluetooth mice as well.

Moving the mouse around the iPad's display isn't the biggest issue we have, as that lies with the scrolling. You can scroll using the trackpad by moving two fingers up and down — same as with Apple's own trackpad, but it is very jarring.



It sometimes feels like the iPad isn't responding, but it clearly is as if you try to move the display with your finger, it moves just fine.

Again, the problem is clearly with iPadOS here. Sometimes if you scroll on a screen, it just keeps going, showing nothing on the display as you've scrolled far past the page's contents.

Considering mouse and cursor support is so new, a lot of these issues are going to be ironed out, but that is just the playground Brydge chose to play in when they started developing the Brydge Pro+.

Brydge Pro+ trackpad in use

Another side effect of the iPadOS 13.4 update has been gestures. Brydge no longer now supports its own multi-touch gestures with three or four fingers. You can't swipe down with three fingers to open the app switcher and you can't slide left or right with multiple fingers to move between apps.

Instead, iPadOS has replaced many of those with its own native versions. To go back to the home screen, just swipe to the bottom of the display. To open the app switcher, repeat that same motion. To open notifications, move towards the top. To the right will open Slide Over apps. It all is very easy and doesn't require multi-finger input.

You can tap with one finger, secondary click by tapping with two fingers, and if you venture into the accessibility settings you can enable whatever you'd like for a three-finger tap. For ours, we open the app switcher but you can program this to open Control Center, go to the Home screen, run any Siri Shortcut that you've created, and much more.

The keyboard

Turning to the keyboard, there is a lot going on as well.

For the layout, it is a full, standard keyboard that also has a dedicated row of function keys along the top. In the lower-left corner where we traditionally see the localization globe icon, we have a Siri button. We like this as we are more often invoking Siri rather than switching languages.

The keyboard of the Brydge Pro+

Fret not those who do use localization frequently, it is just in the row of function keys. From left to right we have the Home button, the quick lock, keyboard backlight control, iPad brightness controls, the onscreen keyboard, localization, media controls, volume, Bluetooth, and power.

This is a solid set of function keys and ones we will use frequently. We still aren't sure why Apple hasn't added a row of function keys to the Smart Keyboard Folios.

Typing feels very natural on the Brydge Pro+. The keys are tactile, easy to feel, and have a good amount of key travel. When pressed, there is a solid moment where you can feel the key is pressed, but it also feels a little soft. This isn't a bad thing necessarily because typing on the keyboard is very quiet.

If you work in a crowded space and are self-conscious about how loud you're being as to type away, Brydge is going to be great. We are thinking classes or work meetings where you'd not like to disturb everyone else as you take notes.

The entire keyboard of the Brydge Pro+

Brydge Pro+ has an integrated backlight to the keyboard which has varying levels of brightness that can be adjusted through the single function key. It doesn't adjust automatically but is easy enough to control. It lights up the glyph in the center of each key but it also has a lot of light bleed.

A ring of light can be seen glowing from behind each key which can be distracting. We'd prefer if the light was more contained and only light up the character or symbol within the keycap.

We tested out the 12.9-inch version of the keyboard and the keys felt nicely spaced and we didn't need any time to adjust to it coming from our desktop Apple wireless Magic Keyboard. If using the 11-inch version, it will be slightly smaller and the keys a bit tighter, so prepare for a slight adjustment if you go that route.

Should you buy the Brydge Pro+?

Brydge has put forward a very good case on why you should pick up the Brydge Pro+. The hardware feels excellent. The keyboard is pleasant to type on. The hinge is minimal and very easy to adjust at any angle. And the latest iPadOS update integrates the trackpad much further into the user experience.

The Brydge Pro+ from the front

At the same time though, Apple is still ironing out the kinks and third-party hardware manufacturers have to work around Apple's limitations. The mouse has just a bit of drag as it moves around and scrolling can be quite awkward.

These drawbacks aren't huge, and the device is still useable. We created this entire review on a 2020 iPad Pro using the Brydge Pro+ and loved the ability to easily get to a trackpad when trying to precisely edit text. You notice the quirks and the minor glitches, but it wasn't enough to turn us off completely.

It is just disappointing that Brydge created such a steller looking and working product yet iPad doesn't want to all the way play nice.

We are certain this will improve, but for now, there will be minor tradeoffs while using the Brydge Pro+.

Pros

• Sleep, iPad-like design

• Space gray color matches perfectly

• Keyboard feels great to type on, if not maybe a little soft

• Function keys are very useful

• iPadOS 13.4 makes the cursor a first class citizen

• More affordable than Magic Keyboard

• Variable backlight

• 180-degree hinge

• Inlcuded back protection

Cons

• More effort to remove than Smart Keyboard Folio or Magic Keyboard

• Backlight has a lot of bleed around keys

• Due to iPadOS, scrolling can be jumpy and awkward

• Also due to iPadOS, the cursor isn't as smooth as Apple's Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad

• Still a premium price

• Only space gray color available (at launch)

Rating: 3 out of 5

Where to buy

The Brydge Pro+ keyboard and trackpad will start shipping at the beginning of April and starts at $199 for the 11-inch version, while the 12.9-inch version goes up to $229.

source: appleinsider.com

Admin

Louis Vuitton Horizon earbuds are the luxury headphones you can't afford-or can you

30 Mar, 2020

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Luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton has partnered with premium audio company Master & Dynamic for the second time in creating the epic Horizon true wireless earbuds. While the high price tag keeps them out of reach for the masses, they are no doubt a stunning piece of tech.



The Louis Vuitton Horizont true wireless earbuds may look familiar. That's because they are a branded, customised, and improved version of the recent Master & Dynamic MW07 Plus earbuds. When it comes to all-important audio quality, the MW07 Plus is going to perform the same. The main features of the headphones remain the same as well.
Everything else —from the packaging, to the charging case, to the exterior appearance —has all changed. Let's see what the Louis Vuitton brand brings to set these excellent headphones apart.
Premium is all about the experience


As a luxury brand, Louis Vuitton is all about the user's experience. From opening the box, to handling the product, to actually using the headphones themselves.
When the headphones arrive, it is the gold-standard of an unboxing experience —literally. The box is wrapped in a gold linen paper and closes magnetically with the Louis Vuitton logo emblazoned on the top.


Once opened, the headphones inside their carrying case reside to the left and a small blue pull-ribbon is on the right. Pulling the ribbon reveals two canvas Louis Vuitton bags. One bag holds all the replacement silicone ear tips and the other a USB-C cable and USB adapter.


The cable is a nylon-wrapped cable with the "LV" wordmark printed on each of the metal overmolds. It has an integrated leather cable wrap to keep it organised when not in use. The cable is a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a metal USB-C to USB-A adapter is included for anyone who has legacy ports still around and requires that Type-A connector.

Before getting to the headphones, also in the box is a getting started manual, and a linen envelope with a Louis Vuitton-branded polishing cloth.
Louis Vuitton Horizon

Then we have the headphones themselves. These headphones are just stunning. The earbuds are nestled inside a glass and steel case. That case is a polished space black colour. The bottom is ceramic and has a Louis Vuitton logo and Mongram flower pattern on the underside. On top of the case is a clear sapphire glass window that highlights the headphones inside and has a ring of Monogram flowers around the edge.

It feels solid, looks gorgeous, and is a step up from the masses of plastic charging cases out there.


That case gets slipped into its own case, crafted from supple leather that is ever so soft on the inside as to not cause any abrasions to the stainless steel case. It has a contrasting leather pull for a zipper that seals it shut.


Each of the individual earbuds has a polished acetate body with "Vuitton" etched into the side with a stainless steel "LV" circle embedded.
Audio quality

As we mentioned, these are a modified version of the newest MW07 Plus true wireless headphones. That means they carry many of the same properties we highlighted in that standalone review.

The headphones have custom 10mm beryllium drivers, four embedded microphones, single-earpiece use with the left or right headphones, proximity sensors for auto-play and auto-pause, IPX5 water resistance, and Bluetooth 5 connectivity.
Here is an excerpt from our MW07 Plus review when it comes to audio quality.

"One of our favorite songs to test with is Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." It is such an eclectic song with guitar solos, heavy bass hits, high pitched operatic sections, and more. It does a great job pushing the headphones to the limits and shows their strengths.
A high point for the MW07 Plus is again right before the tempo increase during one of many guitar solos. The subsequent operatic section also was a pleasure to listen to. With so much going on, weaker headphones often bury the details in a busy song like this.
In some of my earlier testing songs, I started to feel a bit underwhelmed when it came to the bass output but that changes as I went into Joe Cocker's "Come Together." The bass was prominent, but still had the definition of expect out of higher-end headphones. Even some high-end headphones that tend to lean towards the bass-heavy side can often lose definition in the bass on this song as they just try to push more out."

How they differ from the MW07 Plus
Louis Vuitton upgraded several different components in bringing the cobranded model to market. First, it's designed their own acetate exteriors to highlight its brand and colors. It designed the additional leather carrying case to protect its custom steel battery case. And, most exciting, integrated wireless charging.
Master & Dynamic has its own steel carrying cases that look great, but it is hard to beat the ceramic, steel, and sapphire makeup of the Louis Vuitton model. That ceramic bottom is what enables the wireless charging as making the entire case steel would hamper the transmission of power.


Wireless charging has become the norm was other wireless earbuds including AirPods, AirPods Pro, and Galaxy Buds+. It is nice to see it come to the Horizon earbuds too.
The charing cable in the box is the same as what is included with the normal MW07 Plus headphones, though it does gain the Louis Vuitton branding and the leather cable management piece.
Otherwise, these are the same MW07 Plus headphones we've come to love. Great sound quality, excellent build, all propelled above and beyond with the premium Louis Vuitton touches.
Should you buy the Louis Vuitton Horizon earbuds?

We probably don't have to spell this out for you. On one hand, these are some of the absolute best wireless earbuds on the market. It takes the exceptional MW07 Plus, adds a better stainless steel and ceramic case, bakes in wireless charging, and has the additional leather case. On the other, they are clearly more of a luxury product and just because they are better doesn't all a sudden bring them within reach of your average consumer.

These headphones are a shining example of a luxury brand doing it right by not just slapping a logo on and instead, doing some serious upgrades to what was already one of our favourite sets of earbuds.
We can't —and won't —recommend you go out and pick up a set, but if you are in the market for a set of luxury headphones then we think you probably found the set you're looking for.

Pros
* Fantastic unboxing experience
*
* Incredible amount of detail in everything, including the accessories
*
* Sleek charging case with wireless charging
*
* Leather protective case
*
* Improvement over the amazing MW07 Plus

Cons
* The expected luxury price tag
*
* No real noise cancelling

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
This rating is based on presentation and performance alone. We're just not sure that the cost to benefit equation is there overall.

Where to buy
The luxurious Louis Vuitton Horizon headphones come in four different colourways —the black displayed here, as well as red, white, yellow, and pink.
Each will set you back $1,120 dollars direct from Louis Vuitton's website.
Those that may see it as a bit out of their price range but still want their own Master & Dynamic version can pick up the MW07+ for $299.

source: appleinsider.com

Admin

'Siri, how do I know if I have the coronavirus?' Apple launches tools for COVID-19 pandemic. Matt Binder

30 Mar, 2020

0    

iPhone users can now ask Siri for help if they think they may have the coronavirus.

On Friday, Apple announced the launch of its new COVID-19 website and app. Both provide coronavirus resources as well as a screening tool to help people figure out what to do to minimise the spread of the virus. Both are now live, online and in the App Store, respectively.

“The COVID-19 app and website allow users to answer a series of questions around risk factors, recent exposure and symptoms for themselves or a loved one,” explains Apple in a statement. “In turn, they will receive CDC recommendations on next steps, including guidance on social distancing and self-isolating, how to closely monitor symptoms, whether or not a test is recommended at this time, and when to contact a medical provider.”

Users can also know ask Siri, “How do I know if I have coronavirus?” Upon being asked, Apple’s virtual assistant will provide users with resources from the CDC as well as a curated collection of Telehealth apps from the App Store.

 
A screenshot from Apple's coronavirus resource app.
Image: Apple

According to Apple, the site and mobile app were created in partnership with the CDC, the Coronavirus Task Force, and FEMA in order to “make it easy for people across the country to get trusted information and guidance at a time when the US is feeling the heavy burden of COVID-19.”
The basic information on Apple’s site and its app is very similar to the coronavirus resource created by Google that launched earlier this week. However, Apple also offers an interactive screening tool.
It asks users a series of questions concerning any coronavirus-related symptoms they or their loved ones may be experiencing, a simple health history, where they live or work, if they’ve been in contact with anyone who has tested positive, and more. Using the answers, Apple’s tool helps users determine whether they should self-isolate or seek medical help.
The company says all the user data provided in the screening tool is private and secure. Neither the website or the app require a signup or login.
Apple reminds users that these tools are meant to be a quick resource for individuals and are not meant to replace advice from healthcare professionals or state and local health officials.

source: mashable.com

Admin

5 essential Zoom hacks to improve your virtual hangouts

30 Mar, 2020

0    

Weird times call for weird measures, and that means thousands and thousands of people using a business video conferencing app to show off their cats to their friends during a nationwide quarantine.

Zoom has gotten a bunch of interest in the past few weeks as Americans scramble to figure out the right video chat app for them. Many have settled on the business-focused service because it doesn't leave their Android-having friends out to dry like FaceTime and it can accommodate more video callers at once than Google Hangouts.
Serious Zoom privacy concerns notwithstanding, folks are being thrust into an app they don't know how to use. This is where we come in. There are a handful of basic, but not entirely self-explanatory Zoom features you need to know in order to get the most out of it.
Memorise these five Zoom hacks and you can have the best video calls on your side of the Mississippi.
Change your Zoom background
I'm not 100 percent sure what the makers of Zoom had in mind when they developed the virtual background feature, but right now, it's a crucial part of having fun with your friends during social distancing.
You might already be aware of this by now, especially if your friends have been posting screenshots of their calls on social media, but you can liven things up by changing the Zoom background behind you.
If you don't want people seeing how messy your bedroom is, for example, you can just enable a virtual Zoom background that makes it look like you're in Hawaii, or perhaps the red room from Twin Peaks, which is what my hooligan friends have been doing.

 
The key to success is customising your Zoom background.
Image: zoom
Here's how:
1. Click on the little arrow next to the "Stop Video" button in the lower left 

2. Then click "Choose Virtual Background" 

3. Once you're in there, click the little plus sign to add an image or, no joke, a video. 

Yes, you can make your background a looping video of your choosing, so long as you have the file on hand.
It's a deeply stupid and possibly annoying thing to do to your friends. That said, all of our brains are melting, and there's something mildly comforting now about watching a 25-year-old episode of Dragon Ball Z with no audio and your friend in an office chair superimposed in front of it.
This isn't a hack so much as it's a basic feature of Zoom, but I've had to explain it to enough people over the last couple of weeks that it belongs here anyway.
Know your Zoom hotkeys
Using your computer's mouse or trackpad is so 20th century. Who has time to click through menus to try to make anything work? Luckily, Zoom has a bundle of built-in hotkeys you can use to do pretty much anything.
They're obviously going to be different between Mac and Windows, but the principle is the same.

On Mac, you can quickly shut off your camera by pressing Command+Shift+V. You know, V for Video! The same rule applies for most hotkeys: Command+Shift+M for mute, Command+Shift+S for screen share, so on and so forth.
You can also change them to whatever you want in the "Keyboard Shortcuts" section of the settings menu, for what it's worth.
Copy that Zoom meeting link
While digging through Zoom's preferences menu for ideas for this piece, I found a fun little box you can check to save yourself a few seconds every time you start a Zoom call for your friends. Behold, one of the first choices in the "General" area of the settings menu:

 
Image: zoom
That's turned off by default, but those of us who like to take initiative and start Zoom calls for our friends will appreciate it. Instead of having to click through the invite menu to find a link to post in the group chat, turning that option on will copy it to your clipboard as soon as you start the meeting.
Think of everything you can do with the 10 seconds you just saved!
No Zoom time limits
Every video chat service has its limitations, and Zoom isn't some exception to that rule. The biggest problem new Zoom users might face as they try to stay in touch with friends and family is the 40-minute time limit on free video calls. That just won't work for most of us.
The good news is there are a few ways to get around this, and you don't have to pay any money for most of them. This is purely anecdotal, but I've hosted multiple two to four-hour calls recently that never ended, despite the fact that I don't pay for Zoom.

The company has lifted the restriction entirely in China and for schools in the U.S., but regular folks in the states might be able to get away with long calls if they take a chance.
If you do get kicked off, the easiest thing to do is just start another call and invite all the same people back to it. If this is too much work for you, $15 gets you a month of calls with no limits. Regardless of how you choose to do it, circumventing the 40-minute limit is pretty easy.
Look nice and smooth on Zoom

 
Image: zoom
Our last Zoom tip is maybe the strangest. If you don't have time or the will to moisturise before a call, though, you might be thankful for it.
In the "Video" section of the settings menu, you might notice something called "Touch Up My Appearance." According to Zoom's support website, this puts a soft focus over the image you output to other users to make your skin look better. Uh, neat!
Seriously, though, I assume at least one person out there will find this useful. As a person who is frequently not thrilled with the way they look over a webcam, I totally get it, and will be using this feature until further notice.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of every Zoom hack, but taking advantage of everything on it is an easy and quick way to make the experience better. Nobody wants teleconferencing to be the only way to interact with their friends, but we're here and we have to do the best with what we have.

source: mashable.com

Admin

Turn off your Screen Time notifications for your own good

30 Mar, 2020

0    

We support you and your screen time, dear reader.
Image: mashable composite
Let me make this incredibly clear *clears throat*:
Turn off your iPhone Screen Time notifications. Go ahead, do it. It's OK.
When every day of coronavirus social distancing feels like a Tuesday on repeat, the weekly iPhone Screen Time alert is one way to know it's actually Sunday. And friends, it's a brutal reality to wake up to when all you wanted to do was make pancakes and finish Tiger King.

Each Sunday morning, your iPhone lights up with a notification. No, it's not a kind-but-worried check-in text from an old friend or an Instagram alert that your mom reacted to your Story with a cartwheel emoji again.
Nope, it's a Screen Time reminder. The reminder that tells you how much time you spent on your phone in the past week and if it's up, down, or the same. Of course, in a time of shelter-in-place orders, self-isolation, and quarantining because of a global pandemic, we're spending a little A LOT more time on our phones.
And you know what? That's totally fine.
An actual “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but”...you can turn off your phone’s Screen Time notifications.

— Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) March 29, 2020

Apple rolled out the Screen Time feature in 2018 as part of iOS 12. The feature was meant to help iPhone users be more conscious of the time they spent staring at their black mirror. In 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook even said, "We don’t want people using their phones all the time." Well, it's 2020, we're not allowed to socialise IRL, so Tim, we're going to be absorbed by our phones at all times.
Moving away from near-constant screen time has been an aggressively debated topic for years, and the guilt that comes with seeing your phone time up 75 percent is very real.
And you're not the only person dealing with an ugh-triggering reaction to that pesky notification.
It's time to turn off the notification and turn off the guilt. Our phones connect us to people we love and miss. Our phones gives us human connections at a safe distance. Our phones are the only link some of us have to other humans (and cute animals).
My screen time went up about 562 percent in the past two weeks. I used my phone to play trivia on Instagram Live with friends from New York to Texas. I called my parents to hear their voices (and remind them to please, please, please stay inside). I downloaded a yoga app that I'll never use. I  recorded a video of New Yorkers clapping for healthcare workers from the safety of my window. I took photos of my toddler dressed like a "butterfly superhero" so one day I can show her all the ways we tried to keep her busy inside. And I mindlessly scrolled through Instagram and Twitter to be reminded of all the people who are out there doing their best, connecting to humanity however they can.
So you know what? If constantly being on your phone is what you need right now, go ahead.
Here's how to turn off your Screen Time notifications, by the way:
* Go to Settings 

* Click on Notifications

* Scroll to "Screen Time"

* Turn it off, baby. Bye bye.


You can always turn it back on after this *gestures to world* is all over.
Image: mashable
Be free of Screen Time notifications, it's the burden we don't need right now.

source: mashable.com

Admin

'iPhone 12' at less risk of late release than future products because of coronavirus

30 Mar, 2020

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A new report into Foxconn's financial situation suggests that it isn't the "iPhone 12" at risk for a later than expected release, but Apple products currently in development for future years will be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak the most.



Line operators at an iPhone production facility in China, photographed in 2018. (Source: Apple)
Following mixed reports claiming that the "iPhone 12" may be delayed by months because of the coronavirus outbreak, a new report backs up the idea that it will launch on schedule —but adds that it's future products that will be delayed.

According to Bloomberg, sources say the forthcoming 5G iPhones will move into mass production this summer after having been developed over several years. It's that years-long development, however, that means future devices will see the impact of the coronavirus.
Bloomberg's report concentrates on the financial situation of iPhone supplier Foxconn, and repeats previous details of how the company has seen profits fall even before the COVID-19 outbreak. This was due to weaker demand for Apple products, and those of other clients, plus the US/China trade tensions.

Apple reportedly accounts for around half of Foxconn's revenue, and the company claims to now be back at full production. It's done so in part by raising signing bonuses for new workers.

Foxconn has previously seen profits rise and fall quite markedly, with a particular rise at the launch of Apple's iPhone X. It also predicted a problematic 2019, to the extent that it undertook drastic cost-saving measures.
Subsequently, the coronavirus has had an immediate impact with the company seeing its biggest revenue drop in seven years because of the outbreak.

source: appleinsider.com

Admin

How to make a Group FaceTime call on Mac or iOS

30 Mar, 2020

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Group FaceTime is super easy to use.
Photo: Apple
With the new Group FaceTime feature in iOS 12.1 and macOS Mojave 10.14.1, you can call up to 32 people and chat with them all at the same time.
Apple took some extra time getting this feature working perfectly. Now that’s it’s here, let’s see how to use Group FaceTime on iOS devices and Mac to get in on those massive group chats.
Group FaceTime in iOS 12.1
You can start a Group FaceTime in a couple of ways, using either the FaceTime app or the Messages app. The FaceTime method is easiest for one-off group conversations, as you can add all the contacts from a list. For regular group chats, you should create an iMessage group, so you can quickly call the same group of people over and over. Incoming invites are also a lot nicer in the Messages app.
Start a Group FaceTime call from the FaceTime app

Finally, a useful feature for the awful FaceTime app.
Photo: Apple
To start a group call from the FaceTime app, open the app, tap the + button in the top right corner, and add the contacts you want to call by tapping the ⊕ icon and adding their names to the list. When you’re done, tap the Audio or Video buttons to make the call.
Start a Group FaceTime call from the Messages app

Start a Group FaceTime from an iMessage group chat.
Photo: Apple
You can also start a Group FaceTime call from inside the Messages app. You’ll need to be in a group conversation, or create a new group conversation, to use this option.
Then just tap the contact icons at the top of the screen. In the options that appear, tap FaceTime. The group call should start.
How to join a group FaceTime call

Join a Group FaceTime call from inside a Messages thread.
Photo: Apple
Joining a Group FaceTime call is just as easy. If your iPhone or iPad is locked, or you’re using another app, you can join the call from the notification you receive. Just tap the notification, then tap the FaceTime icon to join the call.
Inside the Messages app, you’ll see a new kind of message bubble, inviting you to the FaceTime conversation. Just tap Join to get in on the Group FaceTime action.
How to add more people to a Group FaceTime call
You can add more people to a call even after it is underway. Just tap the ⊕ button, tap Add Person, then add them to the call, just like with a normal FaceTime call.
How to use Group FaceTime on Mac

Group FaceTime on the Mac works just the same way.
Photo: Apple
Group FaceTime on the Mac works almost the exact same way. The Mac’s FaceTime app is even more primitive than the one on iOS, so when you launch it, you can start typing into the big text box to add contacts. Once you add everyone you want, just click the Audio or Video buttons to choose the type of Group FaceTime call you want.
You can also call a recent group by clicking on the big video camera icon, and then on the small video icon.
And, just like on iOS, you can make a call from the Mac’s Messages app. Simply open up a group conversation, then click Details, followed by either the Camera or Telephone icon.
Incoming FaceTime calls show up as notifications on the Mac lock screen or in the Notification Center. To accept or decline a Group FaceTime call, click the notification, then the appropriate button.
Get ready for Group FaceTime
Group FaceTime looks pretty great. It’s handy for work meetings, as well as for getting family members together virtually.
Imagine assembling the whole family to wish someone a happy birthday, then calling up the birthday boy/girl last. Using Group FaceTime is particularly fantastic idea for this type of thing, because it means that my weird uncle who uses Android will be a lot easier to ignore.

source: cultofmac.com

Admin

Foxconn experienced revenue decline even before COVID-19

30 Mar, 2020

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Foxconn hasn't given a reason for the decline.
Photo: Foxconn
Major Apple supplier Foxconn’s net profit plummeted 23.7% in the fourth quarter of 2019, the company has revealed.
While Foxconn has been hit hard by COVID-19, this period actually ends before the extent of the coronavirus became clear. The quarter in question ended December. The earliest known infection of coronavirus occurred on 17 November 2019 in Wuhan, China.
Foxconn’s net profit for the fourth quarter amounted to 47.8 billion new Taiwan dollars ($1.6 billion). In the same quarter one year earlier, Foxconn reported a net profit of $62.6 billion new Taiwan dollars. The company gave no reason for the decline. Revenue for the quarter fell 3.8% to NT$1.74 trillion.

Apple, by comparison, saw its revenue increase 9% in the December quarter to $91.8 billion. iPhone sales increased 8% to almost $56 billion.
Since then, Foxconn has struggled with the coronavirus. In early 2020, it was forced to shutter two of its main iPhone-producing factories in China. When the most critical one reopened, it did so with fewer than 10% of its usual workforce. Foxconn acknowledged that the impact of COVID-19 will likely affect its revenue throughout the year.
Nonetheless, Foxconn seems to be back up and running now. Last week, the manufacturer said that it had hired enough workers at its major Chinese plants to meet seasonal demand for iPhone manufacturing. That appears to be a good sign that labor shortages in China caused by COVID-19 are starting to get back to normal. (Although the recent closure of Chinese movie theaters suggests the country may not be quite out of the woods yet.)

source: cultofmac.com

Admin

The iPhone SE 2 Reportedly Enters Mass Production, iPhone 12 Delayed

30 Mar, 2020

1    

Companies the world over are scrambling to figure out how to deal with coronavirus and its associated impacts, and Apple is no exception. According to one insider, the company still plans to launch the iPhone SE 2 (rumored to be called the iPhone 9) in upcoming weeks, but that the iPhone 12 debut will be delayed.
Analyst Jon Prosser has published a series of tweets in which he predicts that the iPhone SE 2/iPhone 9 has entered production, that there will be a 5.5-inch version(!) of the phone, and that the iPhone 12 will be delayed until November. Even when products are announced as delayed, these delay dates should themselves be taken speculatively — nobody actually knows if the iPhone 12 will ship in November, any more than we expected to be writing stories about the widespread cancellation of other conferences, product launches, and/or life itself back two months ago.
iPhone 9 has just entered mass production.

A 5.5-inch screen would indicate that Apple is indeed re-using the iPhone 8 body for the new SE 2 family. The iPhone 8 shipped in two flavors, 4.7-inch (standard) and 5.5-inch (8 Plus). It would also imply that Apple has somewhat different ideas about what constitutes an iPhone SE than many of its users do. While the brand has previously been focused on small displays, Apple may position it as a “budget iPhone.”
For those of us who prefer the iPhone SE, however, the 4-inch diagonal display isn’t incidental to the appeal of the phone. I’m willing to move from 4 inches to 4.7 inches, especially since my existing phone isn’t in the best shape these days, but the iPhone 8 was the last Apple device that was even marginally usable in one hand. Every device made after it requires two hands to operate at least some of the time.
This won’t matter as much for the iPhone SE 2, since the 4-inch to 4.7-inch size increase was mostly “paid for” by reducing bezel sizes, but anything larger is going to push the product out of its target demographic, at least in my opinion.
The idea that Apple is going ahead with the launch (or at least, with mass production) in the middle of the coronavirus epidemic is also interesting. It could mean that the company intends something like a staggered real-world launch with the phone debuting in countries once they’ve cleared a certain viral threshold or that Apple intends to sell it entirely online.
As a pipe-cleaner for that kind of strategy, Cupertino would surely rather take the risk with the SE 2 than any kind of flagship iPhone product. The SE 2 isn’t going to be fundamental to Apple’s overall product narrative — it’ll be a lower-end piece of hardware and its performance won’t be viewed as critical to the bottom the line.
If you wanted a paragraph on how Covid-19 is changing the calculation of everything, including how we journalists do our own jobs, the last few paragraphs would be a pretty good example. The current economic situation and pandemic are unknown territory for everyone. Speculating on how the market might respond to a new Apple product is old-hat; speculating on how the market might respond to a new Apple product during a major pandemic is very new. But here’s the thing: These questions are important.
Remember Google Glass? Launched to initial strong coverage, followed by a wave of social revulsion for those charming individuals we collectively nicknamed “Glassholes.” Google wasn’t trying to create that problem for itself when it launched Glass. But failure to pay attention to how the device would be received in social contexts proved a major headache for Google — so much so, Microsoft has followed a completely different strategy for deploying its HoloLens.
Two months ago, the question of when Apple would launch a new budget iPhone was interesting to two groups of people: existing iPhone SE owners who want refreshed hardware, and people who want a cheap iPhone (as opposed to a small iPhone, specifically). Now, the launch of the iPhone 9 will absolutely be treated as a bellwether for the entire industry. While it won’t be as momentous as the launch of the iPhone 12 would be, there’s no doubt people are going to hang on the idea as proof (hopefully) that things are “getting back to normal,” or alternately, that our economy can still function at some minimal level while in total lockdown.
Top image is of the iPhone 8, which technically isn’t an iPhone 9, but is basically as close as we can get right now. The SE 2 is supposedly based on the 8 and should look similar to it.

source: extremetech.com

Admin

What is 5G?

26 Mar, 2020

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5G's arrival is transforming tech. Here's everything you need to know to keep up

Before we explain how 5G works, it’s probably a good idea to explain what 5G is. There are a lot of specifics, which we talk about later in this post, but here’s a quick primer.

5G is the next generation of mobile broadband that will eventually replace, or at least augment, your 4G LTE connection. With 5G, you’ll see exponentially faster download and upload speeds. Latency, or the time it takes devices to communicate with wireless networks, will also drastically decrease.

Spectrum

GSMA/ITU

Unlike LTE, 5G operates on three different spectrum bands. While this may not seem important, it will have a dramatic effect on your everyday use.

Low-band spectrum can also be described as sub 1GHz spectrum. It’s the primary band used by carriers in the U.S. for LTE, and bandwidth is nearly depleted. While low-band spectrum offers great coverage area and wall penetration, there is a big drawback: Peak data speeds will top out around 100Mbps.

T-Mobile is the key player when it comes to low-band spectrum. The carrier picked up a massive amount of 600MHz spectrum at a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction in 2017 and is using it to quickly build out its nationwide 5G network.

Mid-band spectrum provides faster speeds and lower latency than low-band. It does, however, fail to penetrate buildings as effectively as low-band spectrum. Expect peak speeds up to 1Gbps on mid-band spectrum.

Sprint has the majority of unused mid-band spectrum in the U.S. The carrier is using Massive MIMO to improve penetration and coverage area on the mid-band. Massive MIMO groups multiple antennas onto a single box, and at a single cell tower, to create multiple simultaneous beams to different users. Sprint will also use Beamforming to bolster 5G service on the mid-band. This sends a single focused signal to each and every user in the cell, and systems using it monitor each user to make sure they have a consistent signal.

High-band spectrum is what delivers the highest performance for 5G, but with major weaknesses. It is often referred to as mmWave. High-band spectrum can offer peak speeds up to 10Gbps and has extremely low latency. The main drawback of high-band is that it has low coverage area and building penetration is poor.

AT&T, T-Mobile and Verozon are all rolling out high-band spectrum. 5G coverage for the carriers will piggyback off LTE while they work to build out nationwide networks. Since high-band spectrum sacrifices building penetration and coverage area for high speed, it will rely on many small cells. These are low-power base stations that cover small geographic areas and can be combined with beamforming to bolster coverage.

How fast is 5G?

ITU (The International Telecomunication Uni0n)

is a specialized agency at the United Nations that develops technical standards for communication technologies, and it sets the rules for radio spectrum usage and telecommunications interoperability. In 2012, the ITU created a program called "IMT for 2020 and beyond (IMT-2020) to research and establish minimum requirements for 5G. After years of work, the agency created a draft report with 13 minimum requirements for 5G in 2017.

Once the ITU set the minimum requirements for 5G, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a collaboration of telecommunications standards organizations, began work on creating standards for 5G. In December 2017, 3GPP completed its non-standalone ( NSA ) specifications, and in June 2018 it followed up with its stand- alone specifications (SA).

Both  NSA and SA standards share the same specifications, but NSA uses existing LTE networks for rollout while SA will use a next-generation core network. Carriers are starting with the NSA specification, which means you will fall back on 4G LTE in a non-5G environment.

The standards set by 3GPP closely correspond with IMT-2020 performance targets and are somewhat complex, but here’s a general rundown:

Peak data rate: 5G will offer significantly faster data speeds. Peak data rates can hit 20Gbps downlink and 10Gbps uplink per mobile base station. Mind you, that’s not the speed you’d experience with 5G (unless you have a dedicated connection) — it’s the speed shared by all users on the cell.

Real-world speeds: While the peak data rates for 5G sound pretty impressive, actual speeds won’t be the same. The spec calls for user download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 50Mbps.

Latency: Latency, the time it takes data to travel from one point to another, should be at 4 milliseconds in ideal circumstances, and at 1 millisecond for use cases that demand the utmost speed. Think remote surgeries, for instance.

Efficiency: Radio interfaces should be energy efficient when in use, and drop into low-energy mode when not in use. Ideally, a radio should be able to switch into a low-energy state within 10 milliseconds when no longer in use.

Spectral efficiency: Spectral efficiency “the optimized use of spectrum or bandwidth so that the maximum amount of data can be transmitted with the fewest transmission errors.” 5G should have a slightly improved spectral efficiency over LTE, coming in at 30bits/Hz downlink, and 15 bits/Hz uplink.

Mobility: With 5G, base stations should support movement from 0 to 310 mph. This basically means the base station should work across a range of antenna movements — even on a high-speed train. While it’s easily done on LTE networks, such mobility can be a challenge on new millimeter wave networks.

Connection density: 5G should be able to support many more connected devices than LTE. The standard states 5G should be able to support 1 million connected devices per square kilometre. That’s a huge number, which takes into account the slew of devices that will power the Internet of Things (IoT).

What can 5G do?

Improve broadband

The shift to 5G will undoubtedly change the way we interact with technology on a day-to-day basis, but it’s also an absolute necessity if we want to continue using mobile broadband.

Carriers are running out of LTE capacity in many major metropolitan areas. In some cities, users are already experiencing slowdowns during busy times of the day. 5G adds huge amounts of spectrum in bands that haven’t been used for commercial broadband traffic.

Autonomous vehicles

Expect to see autonomous vehicles rise at the same rate that 5G is deployed across the U.S. In the future, your vehicle will  communicate with other vehicles on the road, provide information to other cars about road conditions, and offer performance information to drivers and automakers. If a car brakes quickly up ahead, yours may learn about it immediately and preemptively brake as well, preventing a collision. This kind of vehicle-to-vehicle communication could ultimately save thousands of lives.

Public safety and infrastructure

5G will allow cities and other municipalities to operate more efficiently. Utility companies will be able easily track usage remotely, sensors can notify public works departments when drains flood or streetlights go out, and municipalities will be able to quickly and inexpensively  install surveillance cameras.

Remote device control

Since 5G has remarkably low latency, remote control of heavy machinery will become a reality. While the primary aim is to reduce risk in hazardous environments, it will also allow technicians with specialised skills to control machinery from anywhere in the world.

Health care

The ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) component of 5G could fundamentally change health care. Since URLLC reduces 5G latency even further than what you’ll see with enhanced mobile broadband, a world of new possibilities opens up. Expect to see improvements in telemedicine, remote recovery, and physical therapy via AR, precision surgery, and even remote surgery in the coming years.

Remember massive Machine-Type Communications? mMTC will also play a key role in health care. Hospitals can create massive sensor networks to monitor patients, physicians can prescribe smart pills to track compliance, and insurers can even monitor subscribers to determine appropriate treatments and processes.

IoT

One of the most exciting and crucial aspects of 5G is its effect on the Internet of Things. While we currently have sensors that can communicate with each other, they tend to require a lot of resources and are quickly depleting LTE data capacity.

With 5G speeds and low latencies, the IoT will be powered by communications among sensors and smart devices (here’s mMTC again). Compared to current smart devices on the market, mMTC devices will require fewer resources, since huge numbers of these devices can connect to a single base station, making them much more efficient.

Where is 5G now?

So, when should you expect to see 5G in your neighbourhood? Well, it depends on the neighbourhood you live in. Some neighbourhoods already have 5G access — meaning that all you need to take advantage of the blazingly fast speeds is a 5G-enabled smartphone. All of the major U.S. carriers are working furiously to build out 5G networks, yet deployment across the entire country will nonetheless take several years. If you’re interested in seeing if your city has access to 5G.

It’s also worth noting that each carrier has a different 5G rollout strategy. This means your 5G experience may vary greatly depending on your carrier. Here are all the details we currently have concerning each carrier’s deployment plans.

Verizon

Verizon

In its quest to be the first carrier to provide 5G, Verizon began offering pre-standard fixed 5G in homes in October 2018. Verizon’s fixed 5G service is currently available in portions of Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, California. Since then, however, Verizon has also started rolling out its mobile 5G offering — and so far has brought mobile 5G to dozens of cities around the country, including New York, Los Angeles, and more.

Verizon is rolling out 5G on higher-frequency spectrum known as mmWave (28-39GHz). That means that while Verizon’s 5G will offer blazing-fast speeds when available, it will piggyback off its LTE spectrum for years to come.

As for hardware, Verizon already has a few devices that are available. First up is the 5G version of the Samsung Galaxy S10, but the carrier also supports the 5G Moto Mod for the Moto Z3 and Moto Z4. The carrier also supports the LG V50 ThinQ. And we can’t forget the Inseego Mi-Fi 5G hot spot, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip. Many more devices are expected this year.

AT&T

AT&T officially won the race to be the first carrier to roll out true 5G service. In December 2018, the carrier began offering 5G in parts of 9 cities around the country. In 2019, the carrier brought that service to even more cities — and that’s expected to continue into 2020.

At the time, while AT&T’s 5G rollout was pretty comprehensive, it was limited to business customers. Thankfully, that has now changed, and mobile 5G is available to customers in a range cities, including the likes of Los Angeles, San Jose, and more.

Like Verizon, AT&T is rolling out its mobile 5G on mmWave spectrum. In an interview with Urgent Communications, Dave Wolter, assistant vice president of radio technology and strategy for AT&T Labs, offered some insight into what you should expect with the carrier’s 5G service initially. “If you’re in a downtown urban environment — where it’s going to be pretty much line of sight until you go around a corner — that’s one thing … If you have a street lined with trees, that’s going to be a different environment. If you’re in a heavily treed environment, that’s going to be difficult. All of those things are going to impact the kind of range that we can anticipate.”

The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G is available on AT&T too — though currently it’s only worth getting if you’re a business customer. The Netgear Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot was also announced by the carrier earlier this year.

T-Mobile

America’s Un-Carrier took a more measured approach. Instead of racing to be first out of the gate, T-Mobile wants to provide a more reliable service with more coverage area.In early 2018, T-Mobile announced it was building out its 5G network in 30 cities. In mid-2019, the company announced that mobile 5G is available in six cities, including parts of Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York. Expect to see T-Mobile 5G in 30 cities in late 2019. Then, before 2020 came, the company switched on its full, nationwide 5G network, which currently relies on low-band frequencies.

The carrier also offers the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G for those who live in areas with 5G and want to take advantage of the new speeds.

T-Mobile is making use of a range of frequency bands for its 5G rollout. While it was initially thought that the carrier would rely mostly on low-band spectrum, T-Mobile is also using mmWave tech, including 39GHz in some cities and more mid-band 28GHz in other areas. T-Mobile is also using 600MHz for a more reliable and stable connection — and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 5G is the first device to support that 600MHz spectrum.

For fixed 5G, it looks like T-Mobile wants to make some serious waves. In a statement submitted to the FCC, T-Mobile said it projects more than 1.9 million in-home wireless broadband customers by 2021. By 2024, the carrier wants to provide fixed 5G to more than half the ZIP codes in the U.S., and be the nation’s fourth-largest in-home ISP.

Since T-Mobile CEO John Legere has publicly lambasted AT&T and Verizon for launching its 5G with mobile hots spots, it’s a pretty safe bet the carrier doesn’t plan to release its own hot spot, at least not for a while. Instead, T-Mobile is offering the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G to customers.

Sprint

Sprint wasn’t racing to be the first to deploy, but it has finally started deploying its 5G tech. The carrier announced that mobile 5G is available in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as New York City, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. Additional markets are set to be added in the future.

Sprint will initially launch its 5G network on its extensive mid-band spectrum (2.5 GHz). That’s the same spectrum the carrier uses for its 4G data network, and it plans to use 128-radio massive MIMO equipment on its towers to create a 4G/5G split. Since Sprint is one of the few carriers with lots of extra 2.5GHz spectrum, it can use the excess mid-band to roll out 5G service quickly and relatively inexpensively in larger cities.

When it comes to hardware, Sprint has a few devices on offer. For starters, Sprint offers the LG V50 ThinQ. Sprint also announced a 5G Mobile Smart Hub with HTC, and the carrier also supports the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G.

T-Mobile and Sprint merger

So what happens when T-Mobile and Sprint merge? Well, both companies claim the merger will be good for the economy and the country. The companies also claim that together as the New T-Mobile, it would have the assets and spectrum on multiple bands to become the first nationwide 5G carrier.

While the combined bandwidth of the two companies would almost certainly lead to a faster and more reliable nationwide 5G rollout, there are some issues. For starters, there would be fewer options in the already anemic U.S. carrier market. And that means less competition for both consumers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).

With the merger approved now by the FCC, it’s time for the two to become one, stacking all three bands of 5G spectrum to show us how great this actually will be for customers.

What 5G phones are available and should you buy one?

Although 5G will undoubtedly change the way we interact with each other and consume media, the change won’t happen overnight. It will be a few years before 5G is up and running smoothly across the U.S. While it’s ultimately a personal decision, it may be wise to hold off on buying a 5G handset in 2019, especially considering the fact that a slew of manufacturers are expected to release 5G-capable handsets in 2020. In addition to the fact that coverage will likely be very spotty, the hardware will also be first-gen. With the exception of a phone AT&T plans to release at the end of 2019, most of the 5G smartphones that will come in early 2019 will likely have single-band 5G support, rather than hardware than can connect to low-, mid-, and high-spectrum 5G.

Telecom giant Ericsson makes a good argument for waiting on a 5G smartphone. It reports a second generation of 5G chipsets will be announced by the end of 2019, featuring enhanced architecture and lower power consumption. Here’s the list of 5G phones currently out.

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 5G

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G

Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G

Samsung Galaxy A90 5G

LG

LG V50 ThinQ

Motorola

Moto Z4 (with 5G Moto Mod)

Moto Z3 (with 5G Moto Mod)

Moto Z2 Force (with 5G Moto Mod, post-Android Pie update and only on Verizon)

OnePlus

OnePlus 7 Pro 5G

OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren

Huawei

Huawei Mate X

Huawei Mate 20 X 5G

Oppo

Oppo Reno 5G

Xiaomi

Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G

ZTE

Axon 10 Pro 5G

Nubia X 5G

source: digitaltrends.com





Admin

Coronavirus . Can IBM's Supercomputer Save Us From the Covid -19?

24 Mar, 2020

0    

Across the world, dozens of research labs and hundreds of researchers are busy actively investigating possible vaccines for the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19. At the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers have recently started using Summit, the world’s most powerful supercomputer, to try and discover drug compounds that might be able to stop the coronavirus from infecting host cells.

In only two days, the work by the IBM-built supercomputer has yielded the discovery of 77 small-molecule drug compounds with the potential to battle COVID-19. It does this by running advanced simulations, as opposed to the traditional “wet lab” approach to drug discovery, which would take years to reach the same point. Not only can Summit help quickly discover possible proteins, it can rank the compounds in order of their potential value for further experimentation. On today’s Digital Trends Live, we spoke to one of the brains behind IBM’s superpowered artificial brain.

“[This compound discovery work is done] by virtue of writing software that’s based on an understanding of chemistry, physics, and so on,”Dave Turek ,vice president of technical computing at IBM Cognitive Systems, told Digital Trends. “That allows them to simulate the behavior of the virus in the presence of a healthy cell. You move away from [the] concept of biology that you think of from your high school days of beakers and pipettes and things like that, to doing everything computationally in a digital world. By virtue of doing that, you can actually explore the science of the virus and potential therapeutic agents much much faster than you could in a … classic kind of laboratory setting.”

To be clear, Summit’s discovery doesn’t mean that a cure or treatment for the current coronavirus pandemic has been discovered. However, these findings can be used as the basis for future studies, as well as provide a framework that traditional wet labs can use to investigate the new compounds. It will be possible to find out if any of them are capable of killing the virus as hoped.

Right now, the number one target for vaccines is, of course, the current coronavirus. But research such as this can be more broadly applicable too

To be clear, Summit’s discovery doesn’t mean that a cure or treatment for the current coronavirus pandemic has been discovered. However, these findings can be used as the basis for future studies, as well as provide a framework that traditional wet labs can use to investigate the new compounds. It will be possible to find out if any of them are capable of killing the virus as hoped.

Right now, the number one target for vaccines is, of course, the current coronavirus. But research such as this can be more broadly applicable too.

The use of A.I. to discover more effective and lower-cost drugs will, in the coming years, lead to breakthroughs in the way that all manner of diseases and conditions are treated. A paper describing the Oak Ridge National Laboratory research was recently published in the jurnal ChemRxiv

source:digitaltrends.com

Admin

How to turn anything into a PDF on your iPhone or iPad

11 Sep, 2019

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Stop! Don’t download that PDF converter app for iOS. You don’t need it. What if I told you iPhones have come with a built-in PDF-conversion tool since iOS 10?

Once you know where this iOS PDF converter is buried, you can quickly and easily turn anything into a handy PDF on your iPhone or iPad.

On the Mac, you’ve always been able to create a PDF just by printing a document, then picking the Save as PDF option from the drop-down menu in the resulting dialog.

Apple added this exact same trick to iOS 10, and it may be even easier to use than the Mac version. You can use it anywhere that a document can be printed. For instance, you can save a webpage to iBooks to read later, or to another PDF app to mark up and highlight.

You can even use it to save PDFs from the iOS Mail app, which doesn’t usually let you save or export anything. In fact, this trick is a handy way of getting around limitations in all those annoying apps that only offer print and email as export options.

How to make PDFs on iPhone or iPad

Here’s how it works:

1. Tap the Share icon (or the reply/forward button in the Mail app).
2. Choose the Print icon in the bottom row of the iOS share sheet (the black and white icons).
3. Ignore the printer selection at the top, and instead go straight to the preview image at the bottom go the screen. Pinch and zoom out on the little preview thumbnail to turn everything into a PDF.
4. Tap the new Share icon to save/export/share your new PDF.
5. That’s it!

The beauty of this method is that it doesn’t require any third-party apps, and you don’t end up having to manage saved PDFs in several locations, like you would if using a dedicated PDF converter app.

It works anywhere you can print a document, even in the Photos app (yes, this is a quick way to convert a photo to a PDF and mail it, a great way to annoy all recipients).

Best of all, it’s instant. Some of the other options seem to take forever to load a webpage and then convert it.

As always with Apple’s software, the simplicity of this converter obscures some powerful options. And as with much of Apple’s software, this extra functionality seems infuriatingly well-hidden.

iOS PDF tips

Select PDF pages

You don’t need to save all the pages of the document as a PDF. If a webpage includes a bunch of ads you don’t need, for example, you can narrow in on the parts that contain the content. There are two ways to do this.

First, you can tap the Page Range button and use the wheels to set the range. That’s fine for quickly selecting a big chunk of pages, but there’s a better way: Just tap a little blue-and-white checkmark icon on each page you want to exclude and the checkmark disappears. To reselect a page, tap the checkmark icon again.

Clean up your iPhone PDF

You may scoff at the printer view provided by many websites. After all, who prints webpages these days, right? But it can prove ideal for cleaning up messy pages. Tutorial sites often offer a printer view, as do recipe sites. Tapping the little printer icon can result in much cleaner PDFs.

Even better is Safari’s Reader View. In fact, I’d say that this PDF tip, combined with Reader View, is the iOS PDF printer’s secret weapon. If you enter Reader View before printing to PDF, you eliminate everything but the article body and the images. Everything gets laid out nicely, with image captions under images, beautiful titles, and — best of all — no ads, no sharing widgets, nothing.

So there you have it. Now you can save anything, from photos to Word documents to webpages, as small, neat PDFs.

Bonus tip: Save PDFs to iBooks

If you use iBooks to manage your PDFs, there’s an even quicker way to do this. Just pick the Save PDF to iBooks option instead of the Print option in the standard iOS Share Sheet. The resulting PDF looks exactly the same, but you miss out on more-advanced features like excluding pages. Still, if all you want to do is save a bunch of quick PDFs, it can be a lot faster.

Admin

How to take iOS 13’s new PDF screenshots, including text!

11 Sep, 2019

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• HOW-TO
• TOP STORIES

The screenshot tool gets a radical makeover in iOS 13, and I’m not even talking about the fancy new toolbar for Apple Pencil markup. You can take advantage of two cool new features when you snap a screenshot in the upcoming version of iOS.

One, you can capture the entirety of a web page — not just what you can see on the screen right now, but all of it, from top to bottom, as if you’d stitched together lots of screenshots. Two, you can save these all-page screenshots as PDFs with active, selectable text and links.

Here’s how to make the most out of PDF screenshots in iOS 13.

iOS 13 Full-Page screenshots

To take a Full-Page screenshot of a web page, just take a screenshot as usual (⌘4 on the keyboard, or by pressing the correct screenshot button combo for your device). Then, in the new set of controls at the top of the screen, tap the switch to change to Full-Page (the default is Screen).

The view will change to show the full webpage, from top-to-bottom. If there’s anything you don’t like at the top, bottom or sides, you can remove it with the crop tool. (This won’t affect the PDF-rendering ability.)

Make PDF screenshots on iPhone or iPad

Now, the next part is the important part. If you choose to save the screenshot as usual, it will be saved in your Photos library as an image. But if you tap the share arrow, and save the screenshot to the Files app, it will be saved as a PDF.

Not only this, but that PDF will have selectable, searchable text; active, clickable links, and everything else you’d expect. You don’t have to save it to Files, either. You can use the share arrow to open the PDF with your PDF viewer of choice.

Reader View PDF screenshots

Finally, if you enter the Safari Reader View before you capture the screenshot, you will get a beautiful, clean version of the site, with all the ads, comments and other crap removed. Even if you don’t run your browser with a content blocker, this is a great way to make sure your archived sites aren’t full of noise.

The old way to make PDFs, improved

If you prefer paginated PDFs, you can save the web page to PDF the old-fashioned way. Just hit the share arrow, and find the Print command. Tap that, and then you’ll see the print preview. Pinch out on this preview to turn it into a PDF, and share it any way you like. iOS 13 makes a pretty good attempt of creating a kind of pseudo print view, which cleans away ads and sidebars, but doesn’t offer such a radical clean-up as the Reader View.

Speaking of which, here’s a pro tip — enable Reader View before “printing” to get a really clean, paginated version of the page.

Which one, when?

If I’m saving a long article as a PDF, I like to do it the old way, using a paginated, “printed” PDF. But if I’m saving a forum thread, then the new way is better, for me at least. I like this method because it keeps everything more like the original forum format.

source: cultofmac.com

Admin

How to leave the iOS 13 beta program

11 Sep, 2019

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Are you running the iOS 13.1 beta? Right now, it’s pretty pretty much ready to use, for most people. But with the official release coming up soon, how do you switch from the beta to the official, regular version? The good news is that it’s easy. Here’s how.

What happens if I don’t remove the beta?

Switching away from the iOS 13 beta is as easy as deleting the beta profile you installed back when you first enrolled in either the developer beta or the public beta. But what happens if you don’t remove it?

The simple answer is that you’ll keep getting beta updates. these usually come soon after the official public release of the stable version. For instance, when Apple pushes iOS13.1 to everybody’s iPhones and iPads, there will typically be an iOS 13.1.1, or iOS 13.2 beta a short while after.

But there are other complications. For instance, when iOS 13 goes public, you won’t see the notification in the Software Update section of your Settings app. That’s probably fine. It’s likely that the most-recent beta is the same as the public release. But maybe it’s not.

This happens because, when you install a beta profile, you are not only getting access to beta iOS version. You are also cutting off your access to the non-beta releases.

How to remove the iOS 13 beta profile

To unenroll from the beta program, head to Settings>General, and scroll down to the Profilesection:

Tap that. You’ll see a list of all the configuration profiles installed on your device. It’s likely that you’ll only have one — the iOS 13 profile — so tap that, and you’ll arrive at this screen:

Admin

Get ready for your iPhone 11 pre-order with the iPhone Upgrade Program

11 Sep, 2019

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iPhone Upgrade Program: Get a new iPhone every 12 months

Depending on when you got your last iPhone, you may have to pay off a balance before you can upgrade to the newest iPhones 11. Do so, and you’ll be eligible to order the new iPhones 11 and 11 Pro when preorders start on September 13, for delivery a week later. The iPhone Upgrade Program spreads the cost of your iPhone over 24 months, but you are eligible to upgrade 12 months after you got your latest handset. If you want to upgrade early, you can just pay the difference. The actual amount you must pay will depend on your individual contract. And the really good news is that you can take care of this all ahead of time.

Get Apple iPhone Upgrade Program preapproval

Apple will let you get preapproval for an iPhone upgrade using the free Apple Store app. Preapproval is available for existing and new iPhone Upgrade Program customers. If you want things to go smoothly when iPhone preorders begin, getting preapproved is essential.

To do so, just open the Apple Store app. Find the iPhone you want, and tap View Pricing. You’ll see the option to Get ready for pre-order now. You’ll be prompted to enter all the required info to get your preapproval set up. This includes:

• Choosing your new iPhone.
• Choosing your level of AppleCare+ coverage.
• Confirming your carrier (if you have one).
• Getting your upgrade loan pre-approved.

Then, you simply use the Apple Store app to place your preorder on launch day. If all goes well, your order should go through right away, with no glitches. Preapproval is available until 9:00 p.m. Pacific on Thursday September 12.

Preorders start the next day, at 5 a.m. Pacific on Friday, September 13.

Send the old one back

Once your new iPhone arrives (if you choose to have it shipped), then you will also get a trade-in kit to send your old iPhone back to Apple.

This part right here is why I don’t use the upgrade program. Those old iPhones have years left in them, and are perfect for handing on to family members. It seems like a small point, but re-using a product is far superior, environmentally, than even the most efficient recycling program.

Get ready for your iPhone 11 upgrade now

Taking a little time to set this up now may mean the difference between getting an iPhone 11 on launch day and having to wait weeks for Apple to fill backorders. If you have any more questions about preapproval for the iPhone 11, Apple has a page with all the details.

source:cultofmac.com

Admin

iPhone 11 Pro’s stunning cameras deliver ‘computational photography mad science’

11 Sep, 2019

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  NEWS
• TOP STORIES

Apple promises a big performance bump from the square bump housing the multiple cameras on the new iPhone 11 line. But will it be enough to generate a wave of upgrades among users who consider the camera the most important feature?

Given Apple’s artfully crafted presentation, showcasing beautiful work from pro shooters and filmmakers who used prototype iPhones, the response among holdouts could prove seismic.

It’s hard to defend the features in the entry-level iPhone 11, and the high-end iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, as new. Apple showed off all three models during today’s By Innovation Only event, and the cameras basically stole the show.

The iPhone 11 packs two cameras. The Pro models add a third. With these additions, Apple now seems caught up to Android handsets. Many iPhone competitors already sport three rear-facing cameras (Huawei and Samsung) and great low-light performance (Google’s Pixel 3).

What the photo community will determine in the weeks ahead is whether the new iPhone lineup is once again better than its most ambitious competitors.

Let the side-by-side test shoots begin.

iPhone 11: Powerful and easier on the pocketbook

Camera-wise, the budget-friendly iPhone 11 might offer the best bang for the buck. Starting at $699, the iPhone 11 comes with a camera bump that houses a standard wide-angle lens and new ultra-wide lens. A more immersive camera software interface automatically shows crop marks to preview the field of view from either lens.

The iPhone 11 will run on the same A13 Bionic chips as the Pro models. The chip will deliver faster focusing, finer resolution and more powerful tone mapping (to preserve detail in challenging lighting).

All three 2019 iPhones also will feature what looks to be an impressive Night Mode. It automatically brightens photos and reduces noise, fusing multiple images for the highest-quality shot. With all three, you can engage a new quick-take video feature by holding down the shutter button while recording stills. The iPhone 11 will shoot 4K video and feature handheld cinematic image stabilization.

A new slow-motion function and the front-facing camera will create interesting video selfies that Apple calls “slofies” (groan).

Two handsets ‘worthy’ of Pro label

The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max offer three rear-facing cameras with bright apertures that capture the standard wide, telephoto and ultra-wide shots.

The iPhone Pro models can record nine different images and analyze each pixel individually. (That’s 24 million pixels, according to Schiller.) The end result? The ability to capture seemingly flawless exposures in low light.

Apple brought to the stage director Sean Baker, who made the ground-breaking film Tangerineusing the iPhone 5s and the Filmic app.

During the keynote, Baker showed a short video that demonstrated how the Pro iPhones capture 4K video at 60 frames per second with each camera simultaneously. The new software interface divides the screen to show the view from each camera.

A13 Bionic with Neural Engine

The A13 Bionic’s Neural Engine, found in all three 2019 iPhone models, might be the most impressive of the upgrades. Apple’s Phil Schiller said it enables “computational photography mad science.”

A new Deep Fusion feature, coming this fall via a software update, “uses advanced machine learning to do pixel-by-pixel processing of photos, optimizing for texture, details and noise in every part of the photo,” Apple said in a press release.

source: cultofmac.com

Admin

iPhone’s Portrait mode just keeps getting better

11 Sep, 2019

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• NEWS
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Fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon produced a legendary body of black-and-white work, much of which involved isolating subjects against a pure, shadowless white backdrop.

He shot many of his photos in a studio, where assistants would carefully position large studio lights. Search this technique online and you will find scores of articles and videos on how to light both subject and background for the Avedon look.

The iPhone now lets you do this with a single finger tap, thanks to Portrait mode advances.

High-Key Mono, which transforms a photo taken anywhere into an Avedon-like masterpiece, is a new setting in Portrait mode introduced Tuesday as part of the camera system on the iPhone 11 line and iOS 13.

Portrait mode started as a software-generated blurred background and a telephoto lens on the iPhone 7 Plus. It is now like working in a growing photo studio, with lots of expensive lights and modifiers to style portraits with a variety of looks.

Each new iPhone and iOS update adds or refines features once considered sophisticated techniques. The devices deliver results previously limited to well-educated and well-funded photo professionals.

Portrait mode puts a photo studio at your disposal

Creating a studio look with smartphone software is still no match for photographic know-how in a real studio. But the growing power of computational photography is yielding some pretty amazing results.

A look at Apple’s Portrait mode starts with improvements made to the depth-of-field controls.

Remember bokeh, the out-of-focus parts of an image that makes the subject pop? Users who bought the more-affordable iPhone XR last year complained they could not apply bokeh to pictures of objects or pets. Portrait mode on its budget-friendly successor, the iPhone 11, now lets users apply the depth control to any photo.

New photo settings in iPhone 11

Apple limited the iPhone XR to three light control settings. All three iPhone 11 models benefit from the same six settings: Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage Mono (black background) and the new High-Key Mono.

High-Key Mono will turn any background all-white and add a contrasty, contoured light as it converts the subject to black and white.

How good it looks will be revealed in the weeks ahead as people get their hands on new iPhones. However, the sample images Apple showed off Tuesday during the By Innovation Only event look stunning.

Of course, professional photographers made the eye-catching demo photos. These pros will search out good light for the subjects to begin with. And, as always with photography, the better the available light, the better the result.

source:cultofmac.com

Admin

iPadOS won’t launch until well after iOS 13

11 Sep, 2019

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iOS 13 will debut next week, but tablet users will have to wait a bit longer for the iPad equivalent. Apple says iPadOS 13 won’t debut until the end of this month.

That launch date suggests that the company will go straight to iOS 13.1.

“iPad OS is an advanced operating system with a new name to recognize the distinctive experience of iPad,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook at a press event yesterday. “Of course iPad iOS builds on the same same foundation as iOS, but as powerful new capabilities and intuitive features that are specific to the large display and versatility of the iPad.”

iPadOS is starting with version 13 to reflect that it’s being forked off iOS 13. Both were announced at WWDC in June, and new beta versions for each debuted in lockstep throughout the summer.

iOS and iPadOS go their separate ways

That synchronicity has come to an end, however. The iOS 13 Golden Master was released to developers yesterday. This is the version that every iPhone user will be able to install on September 19.

iPad developers got iOS 13.1 Developer beta 3 instead. There was no mention of an iPadOS 13 GM. And Apple’s webpage devoted to IOS 13 clearly states “Available 9.30.”

Not coincidentally, the iPhone maker will introduce iOS 13.1 on that same date, Sept. 30. Given that timing, it seems likely that Apple intends to skip iPadOS 13 and start with iOS 13.1.

What to look forward to in iPadOS 13.1

Tablet fans will get some substantial enhancements in the next operating system upgrade, with iPadOS 13 allowing multiple windows to be opened by the same application. There’s also mouse support and full access to external drives. That latter feature is especially useful with the 2018 iPad Pro’s USB-C port.

There are many other improvements coming as well, including Dark Mode.

The 13.1 version offers some features that were originally in version 13 but were taken out early in the beta process, including Shortcuts automations.

source:cultofmac.com

Admin

iPhone 11 gets data speed boost even without 5G modem

11 Sep, 2019

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• NEWS

Complaints about the iPhone 11’s lack of 5G might be a bit overblown.

Despite failing to add 5G modems to the iPhone 11 lineup this year, buyers of the new handsets will still notice a huge improvement in LTE data speeds thanks to new gigabit-class chips that offer faster LTE speeds than ever before.

Apple quickly glossed over the new LTE chip during its keynote and didn’t provide specific stats on the speed improvements. The company’s website says the new LTE chips support up to 30 LTE bands for worldwide roaming. However, internet speed testing service SpeedSmart already got their hands on the test data and found that iPhone 11 LTE speeds are about 13% faster than what you’ll get on the iPhone XS.

Apple quickly glossed over the new LTE chip during its keynote and didn’t provide specific stats on the speed improvements. The company’s website says the new LTE chips support up to 30 LTE bands for worldwide roaming. However, internet speed testing service SpeedSmart already got their hands on the test data and found that iPhone 11 LTE speeds are about 13% faster than what you’ll get on the iPhone XS.

Along with the faster LTE, Apple has also improved WiFi speeds on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. With the addition of WiFi 6 (802.11ax) support, you can now expect downloads to be up to 38% faster lets you download
up to 38 percent faster.

This will likely be the last year the top-of-the-line iPhones don’t include 5G. After working with Intel on 5G modem technology, Apple struck a deal with Qualcomm earlier this year that will allow the company to use its 5G modems on future iPhones and iPads, with the first wave of 5G Apple products expected to arrive later next year.

source: cultofmac.com

Admin

U1-based Apple Tag could be the biggest thing since Apple Watch

11 Sep, 2019

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 What happened to the Apple Tag? Rumors pointed toward an imminent launch for Apple’s tracking-tile competitor, and what better place to announce it than along with new iPhones? But the iPhone 11 event came and went without the Tag.

Will we still see an Apple Tag this fall? I hope so, because it could be Cupertino’s most important product since the Apple Watch.

Apple Tag and the mysterious U1 chip

The Apple Tag, if that’s its name, is expected to be a small tile, possibly plastic or aluminum, which will show up in iOS 13’s new Find My app. Unlike iPhones and iPads, which only appear at a rough position on the map, the Apple Tag’s location tracking is said to be so accurate that it can show up on an augmented reality view of a room.

This feature sounds pretty impressive, and it comes thanks to Apple’s new U1 chip. Here’s Apple’s own description:Ultra Wideband technology comes to iPhone. The new Apple‑designed U1 chip uses Ultra Wideband technology for spatial awareness — allowing iPhone 11 to precisely locate other U1‑equipped Apple devices. Think GPS at the scale of your living room. So if you want to share a file with someone using AirDrop, just point your iPhone at theirs and they’ll be first on the list.

It seems like a stretch to conceive, develop and manufacture a new chip just so AirDrop works a little better. Far more likely is that the Apple Tags will contain the U1, too. Ultra-wideband radio waves offer some advantages over Bluetooth. One is that you can more accurately measure distance between radios. The other is that it travels easily through walls.

How will Apple Tags be found?

The last part of the puzzle is a new feature in iPhones and iPads running iOS 13. Even when offline (i.e., not connected to the internet), they will constantly ping out Bluetooth signals. These signals get picked up by any passing iOS device, tagged with that device’s location, and forwarded — anonymously — to Apple. (Wired published a great article on how it all works, including Apple’s privacy protections.)

This means that you can find your iPhone, even if it has no internet connection. The updated Find My app uses the hundreds of millions of iPhones around the planet as a giant detector network.

An Apple Tag would almost certainly work the same way. Imagine, you drop your keys in the middle of somewhere like Yosemite National Park. Soon after, a passing hiker (or two, or many more, depending on how remote the spot is) picks up the Bluetooth blip from your Apple Tag. You then receive an alert on your iPhone, and you can see the keys on the map.

You go to retrieve your lost keys. Then, as you get close to the spot, your iPhone makes a direct radio connection with the Tag, and shows it in an augmented reality view. Perhaps you see it hidden in a bush. And remember, this is all without any internet connection from the Tag itself.

Apple trackers will be huge

This is huge. Apple is using the massive worldwide installed base of iPhones to take tracking tiles to an entirely new level. As long as your “lost” device is somewhere near people with iPhones (which is pretty much everywhere there are people), you will never, ever lose anything again. You could literally lose your keys under a bush in the forest, and find them again on a map.

Well, unless the battery runs out. But this is a compelling pitch. And what if Apple licenses this tech to be used in other products? No need to tag your wallet, when it already comes with one built-in. Or what about building the functionality into a bike? A car? And, of course, Apple gets a cut thanks to licensing.

Yes, this could be huge. Forget the internet of things. You don’t need the security and power hassles of connecting to the internet, when you can just use your worldwide network of detectors. And this is something only Apple could do, because it relies on so many interlocking parts.

Finally, it’s the ultimate lock-in. Once you can find anything, anytime, thanks to the Apple ecosystem, it’s going to be a hard sell to switch to Android.

source: cultofmac.com

Admin

Pixel 4 hands-on videos reveal all, including new 'Screen attention' mode

11 Sep, 2019

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We still have a month to go before we're expecting the Pixel 4 to launch.

What you need to know

• Three hands-on videos of the Pixel 4 have been uploaded to YouTube.
• The videos showcase the Pixel 4 in very high-quality, including its design, software, and more.
• We also get a look at a new "Screen attention" setting and the updated Camera app UI.

Google's been making an initiative this year to stay ahead of Pixel 4 leaks, but over the last week or so, that plan doesn't seem to have done much good. Following an endless stream of hands-on photos and some low-res videos, we now have three high-quality videos showcasing the Pixel 4 in its full glory.

The videos were uploaded by YouTube channels AnhEm TV, Duy Thẩm, and Rabbit TV and they offer the best look we've had yet at Google's upcoming flagship.

We've already had a good idea of what the Pixel 4 will look like, and these videos further confirm its design. The recently-leaked "panda" color of the Pixel 4 is shown here, and it appears to have a matte/frosted texture to it. This is also true for the phone's frame, and we get a nice look at the bright orange power button. The camera hump is large, but at the very least, it doesn't look to protrude too much from the backside of the phone.

https://youtu.be/1MZnvNCVxZM

The Pixel 4 in the video is, unsurprisingly, running Android 10, albeit with a few settings that are specific to the Pixel 4 — such as Ambient EQ, Pixel Themes, a new Recorder app, and something called "Screen attention." A leak from earlier this morning mentioned that the Pixel 4 would use its Soli sensor to offer an ambient display of sorts that only turned on when the phone detected you were near it, and this could be another iteration of that.

Also in the video is a look at the Pixel 4's settings for the 90Hz display, an updated UI for the Camera app, and more.

In the video from Rabbit TV, we get to see all three colors of the Pixel 4 — including the gorgeous Coral model that's recently been making its way around the internet. The Coral Pixel 4 also has a matte finish similar to the white one, whereas the black model is very glossy.

We still have about a month to go before Google's expected to unveil the Pixel 4, so who knows what else we'll see leading up to that.

source: androidcentral.com

Admin

Fitbit Versa 2 review: A year of refinement

11 Sep, 2019

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Subtle changes in all the right places.

Last year's Fitbit Versa stuck out as one of my favorite wearables of 2018. Following up on the chunky and expensive Ionic smartwatch, Fitbit went in a different direction with the Versa by creating something that was accessible to wrists and wallets of all sizes.

However, as strong as the Versa was considering it was just Fitbit's second true smartwatch, perfect it was not. Inconsistent performance, missing features, and a juvenile OS held it back from true greatness.

The Versa 2 looks a lot like the original Versa, but it addresses many of the pain points I had with its predecessor. It's still not the "perfect" smartwatch Fitbit wants it to be, but it's the best attempt we've seen from the company yet.
Growing up

Fitbit Versa 2

    

Minor updates create for an even better fitness smartwatch.

The Fitbit Versa 2 isn't a drastic upgrade from its predecessor, but the changes it makes are all for the better. The shift to an AMOLED display is great to see, Fitbit Pay is now included by default, and battery life is outstanding. FitbitOS still has room to grow, but as a new entry into Fitbit's ever-growing ecosystem, the Versa 2 stands out as a strong addition.

• From $200 at Fitbit

Pros

• Lightweight, comfortable design
• AMOLED display looks great
• Microphone for Alexa and text replies
• Fitbit Pay included by default
• Outstanding 5+ days of battery life

Cons

• The proprietary watch bands are awful
• Chunky charging cradle
• FitbitOS has plenty of room to grow
• No built-in GPS

Fitbit Versa 2 Design and display

As someone that liked the design of the original Versa, I'm happy to see that Fitbit kept the form factor around for another year while subtly refining it to be just a tad nicer. The squircle body remains, and even though the Versa 2 is slightly taller, longer, and thicker than the Versa and Versa Lite, it still looks and feels fantastic on my tiny wrists.

Operating System	FitbitOS
Display	Color AMOLED
Battery	5+ days  0-100% charging in two hours
Heart-rate monitor	✔️
Built-in GPS	❌
NFC	✔️
Microphone	✔️
Waterproofing	Up to 50 meters
Music storage	300+ songs

I also really like the squircle design because of how well it works in just about any setting. It looks the part of a fitness tracker when worn with the standard silicone band, but when you pair it with a leather or metal one and tie that together with an analog watch face, the Versa 2 clean up quite nicely.

One of the most significant design changes, save for the slightly larger footprint, is the fact that the Versa 2 now has just one physical button compared to the original Versa's three-button layout. Similar to what we saw on the Versa Lite, this was done to simplify the Versa 2's design language.

   

The one button that remains works well, feels good to press, and can be mapped to open Fitbit Pay or Alexa with a press-and-hold, but I do miss the added functionality that the other two buttons used to offer. On last year's Versa, you could use these for quickly opening your two most-used apps with a single press from the home screen and navigate certain UI elements without touching the display. That's been ripped away from the Versa 2, and while it's not a deal-breaker, I do wish it had stuck around for another year.

While the body of the Versa 2 is fantastic, I really, really don't like its watchband system.

The Versa 2 uses the same proprietary bands of the Versa and Versa Lite, and while this is great for Fitbit to build up an extensive collection of bands that work interchangeably with the Versa ecosystem, the bands themselves are not good. Don't get me wrong — the quality of the official silicone and leather bands I have are fantastic, but the pin system that's used for swapping them in and out is terrible. Taking a band off is easy enough, but trying to attach a new one is a nightmare. If you don't believe me here, take a read through a step-by-step guide I had to write about how to do this. The pin is finicky, difficult to get precisely in the hole, and almost impossible if you don't have long fingernails. It's that bad.

Moving back to the Versa 2 itself, I want to give Fitbit a lot of credit for the new display. Fitbit's only ever used LCD panels for its smartwatches, but with the Versa 2, it's finally transitioned to an AMOLED one. Simply put, it looks fantastic.

As you'd expect going from LCD to AMOLED, everything on the Versa 2 looks considerably better than its predecessor. Colors are more vibrant, blacks are truly black, and it just gives off a more premium feel than an LCD panel would have. Furthermore, it also allows for a new Always-On Display mode. You can turn this on at any time from the Versa 2's quick settings menu, and when enabled, the Versa 2 will always show the time, date, battery, along with your current steps and active minutes goals.

I wish you could customize the appearance of the Always-On Display, but for a first attempt, I'll take what I can get.

Rounding out this portion of the review, I have a couple of last points I want to hit on.

While the Versa 2's display looks fantastic, the bezels surrounding it are quite huge. The blacks of the AMOLED display do a good job at hiding them most of the time, but I was hoping that Fitbit would be able to shrink these down for gen 2.

Lastly, the ugly Fitbit logo that used to be stamped below the display is no more ????.

Fitbit Versa 2 Battery life and performance

For a lot of smartwatches, it's become the norm that they need to be charged around every other day. It's difficult to get long battery life out of what's essentially a tiny computer on your wrist, but this is one of the Versa 2's strongest features.

Battery life on the Fitbit Versa 2 is a dream come true.

Building upon the original Versa's 4+ days of battery life, the Versa 2 promises even more endurance with an advertised 5+ days of battery on a single charge. In my experience, I found that claim highly accurate. Your mileage will vary depending on how much you use the Versa, but I was able to get through almost six days on a single charge. During that time, I tracked multiple workouts on the treadmill, had the Always-on-Display enabled for a couple of days, and wore the Versa 2 to bed to track my sleep.

In other words, the Versa 2's endurance is outstanding. Whether you compare it to something with Wear OS, such as the excellent Fossil Gen 5, or the $400 Apple Watch, the Versa 2 puts them to shame when it comes to battery life.

When it does come time to charge the Versa 2, you'll need to use its chunky, proprietary charging cradle. It's relatively easy to use and gets the job done, but having to keep track of yet another charger isn't ideal. I'd love to see Fitbit adopt something like Qi wireless charging for the Versa 3, but such is life.

Similar to the slightly improved battery life, Fitbit also gave the Versa 2 a new processor to improve its performance across the board. While it's still not the snappiest watch out there, the new (and unnamed) silicon does make the Versa 2 feel noticeably faster than the Versa and Versa Lite.

Navigating the UI is smoother and less janky, apps open more quickly, and there's a general boost to the Versa 2's responsiveness that makes it more enjoyable to use day-to-day. Some of the animations continue to be a bit choppy, but the core improvements to the actual speed of everything makes up for it in my eyes.

Fitbit Versa 2 Health tracking and software

With the Versa 2 carrying the Fitbit name, you probably already have a good idea of its health-tracking capabilities. I won't go into great detail about each and every one since most of them have been around for a while, but as a quick recap, here's what the Versa 2 can do:

• All-day activity (steps, heart-rate, distance, calories burned, floors climbed, active minutes, hourly activity)
• 24/7 heart-rate tracking
• Automatic workout detection
• 15+ exercise modes
• Reminders to move
• Guided breathing sessions
• Female health tracking
• Sleep tracking and stages
• Cardio fitness level
• On-screen workouts

All of these things work exactly how you'd expect, but there is a new feature for the Versa 2 (and all Fitbits with a heart-rate monitor) called "Sleep Score."

Sleep Score ties into Fitbit's existing sleep tracking, but you'll now see a single number to represent the quality of your sleep for a given night. The score ranges from 0-100, and it's affected by things like staying up later, how much time you spend in various sleep stages, and a variety of other factors.

No one does health tracking like Fitbit.

Fitbit's already one of the only companies that offers native sleep tracking on its wearables, and Sleep Score builds upon its already great formula. The in-depth details on your time asleep and how much of that time you spent awake, in REM, light, and deep sleep is all still there, but having a single number to compare every single night makes understanding the quality of your rest that much easier.

I do have one gripe, though. Not including a built-in GPS chip on the Versa 2 was a big swing and a miss from Fitbit. I understand the company's desire to reserve that for the more expensive Ionic, but with options like the Galaxy Watch Active including GPS and selling for the same price, Fitbit's not keeping up with the rest of the market in these regards.

All of the data the Versa 2 collects is synced with the Fitbit app on your phone, and at least in my opinion, Fitbit has one of the best health companion apps on the market. The app was given a design refresh recently, and while all of the core functionality remains the same, it's been simplified to just three main pages and has a welcome fresh coat of paint.

FitbitOS remains mostly unchanged on the Versa 2, save for a couple of new quick settings menus. When you swipe down to access your notifications, another drop-down appears with shortcuts to your music, Fitbit Pay/Alexa, and an additional page with expanded settings. There, you can access things like Do Not Disturb, Sleep Mode, Always-On Display, brightness, and screen wake options.

Everything else is pretty much the same. A swipe to the left shows a list of your apps, swiping up reveals your Today View with a quick recap of your most important health stats, and as mentioned above, swiping down shows a list of any notifications you've received.

 

FitbitOS is easy to navigate and works incredibly well for fitness-related tasks, but it's trailing behind other platforms such as WearOS and Tizen. You have to use the Fitbit app if you want to change your watch face, there's still a limited number of apps and watch faces available for FitbitOS that are worth downloading, and the ones that are offered (like the Starbucks app) tend to pale in comparison compared to their Apple Watch counterparts.

With that said, things are getting better.

There's now a Spotify app that Spotify Premium subscribers can use to control music playback, and it's pretty great! It's responsive, allows you to favorite/like songs, and access your library. It works just like the Spotify app for the Apple Watch, and that's encouraging to see. If Fitbit can get more dedicated developer support like this, it can start to address one of FitbitOS's biggest drawbacks.

 

The Versa 2 is also the first Fitbit to ship with a microphone, and with this, you can use your voice to reply to text messages (except when using the Versa 2 with an iPhone) and talk to Amazon's Alexa.

Alexa is a very welcome addition to the Versa 2's feature-set.

Having a mic makes responding to texts and other messages world's easier than relying on Fitbit's Quick Reply feature, and with Alexa on-board, the Versa 2 gains a lot of much-needed functionality. You can use Alexa for just about anything, ranging from finding out about the weather, controlling smart home devices, adding items to your Amazon shopping list, etc.

The Fitbit app on your phone needs to be open in the background for Alexa to work, otherwise you'll get a prompt on the Versa 2 letting you know that Alexa needs to sync with the app. That's slightly annoying and makes the experience not quite as seamless compared to the way Google Assistant is built natively into Wear OS watches themselves, but for the most part, it works as expected.

Lastly, Fitbit Pay is now included by default on the Versa 2 rather than being limited to the Special Edition. Card compatibility is growing with support from the likes of Chase, Capital One, Bank of America, and American Express, but there are still some big names that are missing — Discover and Citibank being the most notable exceptions.

Fitbit Versa 2 Should you buy it?

If you already own a first-gen Versa, I can understand not being that excited about the Versa 2. It's a pretty minor refresh in the grand scheme of things, but when you add all of the various changes together, you end up with a damn compelling smartwatch.

The Versa was already a great wearable, and with the Versa 2, Fitbit fixed most of what didn't work and left everything else the same. As such, we end up with a fantastic package, albeit one that's very familiar. The smartwatch market is extremely competitive, and because of this, gripes about the app selection, watchband system, and missing GPS stand out a lot more than if the Versa 2 was in a vacuum.

Even with those complaints, though, the Versa 2 is still easy to recommend.

4 out of 5    

The watch is accessible, has unrivaled fitness tracking capabilities, and doesn't falter with core aspects such as the display, performance, and battery life. Fitbit's getting really good at making smartwatches, and as much as I've enjoyed the Versa 2, it makes me that much more excited to see what direction the company takes for the Versa 3.

Growing up

Fitbit Versa 2

Minor updates create for an even better fitness smartwatch.

The Fitbit Versa 2 isn't a drastic upgrade from its predecessor, but the changes it makes are all for the better. The shift to an AMOLED display is great to see, Fitbit Pay is now included by default, and battery life is outstanding. FitbitOS still has room to grow, but as a new entry into Fitbit's ever-growing ecosystem, the Versa 2 stands out as a strong addition.

• From $200 at Fitbit

source:androidcentral.com

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Millions of Facebook users’ phone numbers may still be exposed online

11 Sep, 2019

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The sensitive user data has popped back up on a new server

Data scraped from an exposed Facebook database containing user phone numbers and information that linked those phone numbers to names and other profile information has popped back up in a separate online repository, even after the initial database was mysteriously pulled offline, according to a report last night from CNET. 

The initial, unprotected database contained more than 400 million records of Facebook users across the US, UK, and Vietnam. The exposure, reported first by TechCrunch earlier this week, is believed to have affected a total of around 200 million users. 

Speaking with UK security researcher Elliott Murray, who runs London-based cybersecurity firm WebProtect, CNET reports that the current trove of phone number data appears to have been completely scraped from the earlier database. It’s unclear who owns either database, but Facebook confirmed the data was scraped from a server that stored it as part of a feature that let users look one another up by their phone numbers. Facebook has not said how the data was taken off Facebook servers and why it was available online without any form of security protection. 

After TechCrunch and security researcher Sanyam Jain contacted the web host of the initial server on Wednesday, the owner took the database offline. “This data set is old and appears to have information obtained before we made changes last year to remove people’s ability to find others using their phone numbers,” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch at the time. “The data set has been taken down and we have seen no evidence that Facebook accounts were compromised.”

However, it appears some other third party got its hands on the data before Facebook did and has copied at least some of it, if not all of it, onto a separate server. Murray tells CNET the data found in this new database is “almost certainly the same” as the information in the initial one. Murray did not disclose where or how he came across the new database.

CNET also contacted someone whose phone number was shown in the database to have once been linked to Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, and the person, who declined to be named, said they obtained the phone number earlier this year and are often contacted mistakenly for people looking for Hughes. 

Facebook did not response to a request for comment on whether this information was identical to the scraped data in the previous database, and how it plans to manage the takedown of this data now that it is no longer stored on one of its own servers.

source: theverge.com

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IPHONE 11 PRO AND 11 PRO MAX: HANDS-ON WITH APPLE’S NEW FLAGSHIP PHONES

11 Sep, 2019

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The glass is nice, but we can’t judge the cameras yet

Apple announced the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. They’re upgrades to last year’s iPhone XS and XS Max phones, respectively, but with a new camera system that upgrades the old sensors and adds a third, ultra-wide camera with a 120-degree depth of field. 

From the outside, the phones look and feel slightly better than the iPhone XS, though quite a lot of that is the matte finish on the back, which I really prefer (though sometimes matte glass can be more slippy than glossy). Apple says the glass is more durable, and I really do like how it is one piece, with no seam on the camera bump.

So let’s talk about the camera bump: it’s big. But Apple has designed the lenses on it in such a way that it isn’t trying to hide the giant square on the back. I don’t love it, but everybody uses a case anyway, so that will help.

Obviously, Apple is very good at lighting its hands-on areas, so I haven’t had a chance to really test the cameras. But I did play with the new camera interface a bit, and it’s great. When you’re in the standard “wide” zoom, the viewfinder fills the whole screen, so you can more easily see what mode you’re in. And if you slide through the wide and telephoto lenses instead of tapping, it shows you a dial with your zoom level in both multiples and millimeters.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test out Night mode, but the camera was fast to open and even faster to take shots. Even if the forthcoming Pixel 4 is able to match or beat Apple on photo quality here, it might not be able to beat it on speed. If you’d like to see a slo-mo “slofie.”

And really, that’s been the story with the iPhone for some time. Apple talked big game about how the A13 Bionic processor is the fastest CPU and GPU ever put in a phone, but it felt just as speedy as the iPhone XS to me. Apple is just so far ahead here that it can afford to focus on more than just speed. Specifically, it focused on machine learning and battery life, and I dearly hope the promise that the iPhone 11 Pro lasts four hours longer than the iPhone XS bears out.

The screen looks basically the same to me. The phone feels fast, but then again, so does every modern iPhone. It’s supposed to be able to get way brighter in sunlight and also help with battery life. As with the processor bump, I’m much more excited about the potential for better battery life than I am about the greater brightness.

There is no 3D Touch. I did not miss it. 

In all, the iPhone 11 Pro strikes me as yet another excellent, well-made, and impressive iPhone. I’m not 100 percent sure, however, that I buy all of Apple’s arguments about what makes this “Pro” compared to the regular iPhone 11. That’s something that’ll be borne out in the review, which you can bet we are very eager to get started on.

source: theverge.com

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The 3 best and worst features of the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max

11 Sep, 2019

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It’s the first ‘pro’ iPhone, but does it earn the upgrade?

Apple held its annual iPhone extravaganza at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino yesterday, and while there were some surprises, those of us privy to the Apple rumor mill saw mostly what we were expecting. There was a new “Pro” variant of the iPhone, as well as an always-on Apple Watch display, a new 10.2-inch iPad, and some much-needed pricing and release figures for Apple’s upcoming media services. 

But Apple’s showing was a familiar one, and nowhere was that more apparent than in its straightforward smartphone lineup. Last year, we saw Apple holding on to to the “X” naming scheme with the XS, XS Max, and XR. This year, it was back to numerics, with the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The Pro moniker may sound like a bold departure, but the structure of Apple’s lineup follows last year’s established pattern of a slightly cheaper model and two different-sized flagships. 

That means interested consumers are in the same boat as last year: should you get the $699 iPhone 11 or the pricier $999 iPhone 11 Pro? If you want a fully kitted out iPhone 11 Pro Max, that will cost you $1,449, as is the case now with the largest, most storage-packed, premium Apple handset. To make the decision easier, it’s best to understand which phones pack which hardware and software features and whether the iPhone 11 Pro is a substantial enough upgrade to be worth shelling out, at a minimum, an extra $300. 

We’ve highlighted the three standout aspects of the Pro and its larger Max variant as well as the three most disappointing features of those phones. That way, you’ll know what you get when you shell out for the more expensive iPhone, and you can decide whether it may make sense to get the standard 11 instead or hold off on upgrading entirely. 

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

BEST: SIGNIFICANT BATTERY LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

One of the most crucial features of any new smartphone is improvements to battery life, and Apple has actually made quite a leap here with the iPhone 11 Pro. The device now lasts four hours longer than the iPhone XS from last year, with the Max variant getting an increase in battery life of five hours. 

That leaves you with 18 hours of video playback, 11 hours of streaming video playback, and 65 hours of audio playback. On the standard iPhone 11, you’re getting one hour docked from each of the video playback metrics but the same audio playback length. It appears the iPhone 11 is retaining the battery improvements Apple made to the iPhone XR that made it even better than its XS variants last year, but the company is putting more battery benefits toward the Pro this time around. 

source: theverge.com

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Apple reveals iPhone 11 with a dual-camera system, Night mode, and new colors

11 Sep, 2019

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A successor to the default iPhone

Apple is introducing a successor to its iPhone XR today, dubbed iPhone 11. The cheaper LCD-equipped iPhone XR has become the most popular iPhone in the world over the past year, and Apple is now updating it for 2019 and beyond.

Like last year’s model, the iPhone 11 includes a 6.1-inch display, and the design is almost identical to last year, too, with the notch at the front for the Face ID camera. Apple is adding new color options, with purple, white, green, yellow, black, and red all available.

Apple’s biggest design changes are in the camera at the rear of the device. Last year’s iPhone XR had a single 12-megapixel wide-angle camera, but the iPhone 11 now includes a dual-camera system with an additional 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera that supports 2x optical zoom. There’s even a new immersive camera interface that lets you see outside the frame, so you can see the details of the photos you’re taking with the ultra-wide camera.

The camera is clearly a big deal here for Apple, and the company is adding multiscale tone mapping that deals with highlights differently depending on where they are. There’s also a new high-key mono portrait effect, and portrait mode itself will now work on pets.

Perhaps the biggest addition is Night mode, to better compete with Google’s Pixel devices and Samsung’s latest Note 10 and S10 handsets. Night mode uses adaptive bracketing to improve shots taken at night.

For video, you can tap to switch between the ultra-wide and regular camera and there’s support for 4K resolution up to 60 fps, slow-mo, time lapse, and a new extended dynamic range across both cameras.

Even the front-facing camera is getting an upgrade, to a 12-megapixel TrueDepth wide-angle camera that you can rotate to do landscape shots. The front camera can also do 4K / 60 video and slow-mo, perfect if you’re going for some crazy selfie videos, or “slofies” as Apple calls them.

Inside the iPhone 11 is Apple’s latest A13 Bionic processor, and naturally it’s the “fastest CPU in a smartphone” and also the “fastest GPU in a smartphone.” Apple demonstrated the performance on stage with a game called Pascal’s Wager, which is launching on the App Store next month with some pretty impressive looking mobile graphics. Other than the gaming demo, Apple didn’t reveal any additional performance improvements with the A13.

Apple’s iPhone 11 will also include an additional hour of battery life over the iPhone XR, and what Apple calls “enhanced Face ID” that’s supposed to speed up the face-scanning feature. The iPhone 11 is even rated to IP68 water resistance up to 2 meters, whereas the iPhone XR was rated at IP67.

Apple is pricing the iPhone 11 starting at $699, and it will start shipping on September 20th. Preorders begin on Friday September 13th at 5AM PT / 8AM ET.

source: theverge.com

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The 5 biggest announcements from Apple’s September 2019 event

11 Sep, 2019

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From Apple TV Plus pricing to ‘slofies,’ here’s what you missed

Apple’s big hardware event for 2019 has wrapped, and, as expected, it brought a bounty of exciting announcements. Of course, the iPhone 11 happened — and, yes, a version is really called the iPhone 11 Pro Max — but there were a bunch of other good moments that are worth talking about. 

If you weren’t able to follow along with this year’s Apple fall hardware event or if you just want to relive it again, you can read the live blog to see the moments unfold as they happened or check out this brief recap on the biggest announcements.

source: theverge.com

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Apple just turned its extended warranty for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch into a monthly subscription

11 Sep, 2019

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AppleCare+ is no longer limited to 24 months of coverage

Apple’s extended warranty, AppleCare+, has always covered iOS and Apple Watch devices for a total of two years. But after its iPhone 11 event, the company quietly introduced a new option that basically turns AppleCare+ into a full-on monthly subscription, allowing consumers to continue paying beyond the regular coverage period and keep going for as long as Apple is able to service their product. The change was spotted by 9to5Mac.

Apple had already offered monthly installments for AppleCare+, but that was only an alternative to paying a lump sum for the same two-year coverage total. And it seems Apple has now eliminated this payment option.

With the new approach, Apple uses the pretty clear wording of “pay monthly until canceled.” As 9to5Mac notes, you’d end up paying more through the monthly option for the standard 24 months of coverage than if you just opted to buy that length of time outright. The new subscription is really best for people who plan to hold on to their gadgets for several years. 

If you’ve already got AppleCare+ on a device, there doesn’t seem to be any way to switch over to the monthly plan. This is for recent purchases only; you’ve got 60 days from the time of buying a device to add AppleCare+. 

AppleCare+ usually covers two incidents of accidental damage for a given device over two years. If you go with the monthly plan, you’re protected for two incidents for every 24 months of coverage. The latest iPhones have tougher glass and enhanced water resistance, according to Apple’s claims, so hopefully you won’t need to worry about such mishaps. 

source :theverge.com

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Post here your suggestions

05 May, 2019

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Any suggestions are welcomed 

We will do our best to ensure your experience related to us is the best

 

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Huawei’s phone sales are ballooning while Apple and Samsung’s slump

05 May, 2019

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The world’s second-largest phone maker is now Huawei, and it has the top spot in its sights

 

 

 Photo by Vlad Savov / The Verge

IDC and Strategy Analytics have released their latest smartphone shipment numbers, and the clear winner of the last few months has been China’s Huawei, at the expense of incumbent global leaders Samsung and Apple, both of which lost ground.

Huawei has been flirting with the position of world’s second-largest smartphone vendor for a while, having taken over from Apple for the first time in 2017, before switching back and forth in 2018. The company’s improvement in 2019, however, appears to set it up with a firmer control of the second spot: Huawei jumped from 39.3 million phones shipped in the first quarter of 2018 to 59.1 million shipments in Q1 2019, as noted by both IDC and SA.

Apple’s iPhone shipments shrunk from 52.2 million in the quarter last year to what’s estimated to be between between 36 and 43 million (Apple recently stopped reporting iPhone sales in its earnings reports) for the same period this year. Samsung went from 78.2 million shipments to 71.9 million. In fact, without Huawei’s burgeoning growth, the smartphone market might aptly be described as experiencing its own form of recession. US carriers AT&T and Verizon last week reported that smartphone upgrades among their subscribers are at record lows, and other Chinese phone makers like Xiaomi and Oppo are mostly just holding steady with their sales numbers.

Other global brands that used to have significant presence in the phone market are suffering too. Sony’s sales keep dwindling, and the company has said it intends to halve the staff it has working on its mobile business. LG last week quit making phones in its home country of South Korea, opting to lower costs by shifting production to Vietnam. And HTC is only technically still in the mobile business by virtue of producing that zany blockchain phone.

Huawei is the exception, and in more ways than one. The company has been very publicly rejected by the United States government, and it has zero presence in that highly lucrative and developed market. All of its progress over the past year has been in its home territory of China and through successful expansion of its business in Europe.

Over the course of the past two years, which has been a time when Apple and Samsung have contented themselves with mostly iterative updates, Huawei has consistently made huge strides between every device release. The company has invested heavily in its camera hardware, which has paid off with terrific performance (currently unmatched in low light) and has stirred smartphone owners to hit the “upgrade” button.

The goal for Huawei has always been to become the top smartphone vendor in the world, which seemed like overzealous optimism only a few months ago. As of today, it feels closer to an inevitability. Huawei forecasts it will get out ahead of Samsung by the end of this year, and if its aggressive rate of improvement continues, there’s little reason to doubt it’s capable of achieving that high goal.

 

source: the verge

 

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Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 May Have A 'Symmetrical' Design

05 May, 2019

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Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 is a major upgrade which delivers some next-gentechnology over the Galaxy S10 range. But it was expected to look almost identical to the S10, until now. 

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 concept based on leaks

 CONCEPT CREATOR

In a pair of teasing tweets, popular Samsung insider Ice Universe has revealed the Galaxy Note 10 will be perfectly symmetrical. In the first, he notes Da Vinci [the Galaxy Note 10’s codename] “is symmetrical” and in the second he posts Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, the iconic image of perfect proportions. And this has significant design consequences. 

The Galaxy S10 range is most recognisable for its asymmetric punch-hole design. Consequently, it looks like Samsung is either centring it or removing it altogether in the Note 10 thanks to the company’s upcoming New Infinity display. Either would be a smart move as it gives the Note range (which is bigger than ever this year) a clear visual differentiator. 

And Ice Universe isn’t finished there. He also states that the new 4G Galaxy Note 10 Pro edition will feature the same enlarged 4500 mAh battery as the supercharged 5G Galaxy S10. A move which presumably leaves space for an even bigger battery in the confirmed 5G model. In addition to this, he says the Note 10 Pro will charge at 25 watts, notably faster than the 18 watts of the S10 range.

Galaxy Note 10 concept render

 CONCEPTCREATOR

 

 

source: Forbes

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Nokia 4.2 officially launches in the U.S. for just $189 on May 14 The phone brings face unlock and a Google Assistant button.

05 May, 2019

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At this past MWC in February, Nokia unveiled a heap of new smartphones for its 2019 lineup — one of which was the Nokia 4.2. The Nokia 4.2 looked quite promising at the time as a really competitive budget handset, and a few months later, Nokia's confirmed that it's launching in the United States on May 14 for $189.

From a design point of view, the 4.2 looks like a lot of other Nokia phones we've seen over the last year. It has a 5.71-inch HD+ display with a resolution of 19:9 and a very tiny waterdrop notch which houses an 8MP selfie camera.

The frame of the phone is made out of polycarbonate, whereas the back features 2.5D glass. This is also where you'll find the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and 13MP + 2MP dual rear cameras, but what you won't find is any presence of wireless charging.

One design aspect I particularly like is the dedicated Google Assistant button. Double-tapping it will showcase your visual homepage of any contextual info you need to know while a press and hold enables a walkie-talkie mode with the Assistant.

Internally, the Nokia 4.2 is packing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage (up to 400GB), and a 3,000 mAh battery that charges via Micro-USB . Other highlights include NFC for Google Pay, face unlock, and Android 9 Piethat's powered by Google's Android One program.

Pre-orders for the Nokia 4.2 are open right now for $189 at Amazon and Best Buy. Shipments will begin on May 14 followed by in-store sales at some Best Buy locations beginning June 9.

source: androidcentral

 

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Android Circuit: Galaxy Note 10 Leak, Google Pixel 3a Secrets, Huawei Beats Apple

05 May, 2019

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Taking a look back at seven days of news and headlines across the world of Android, this week’s Android Circuit includes the leaked Galaxy Note 10 design, weaker batteries in Samsung’s phablet, OnePlus priming the story pump, more Nokia handsets for America, Huawei beats Apple in market share, Google Pixel 3a leaks, and reviewing the popular wireless earbuds.

Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week (and you can find the weekly Apple news digest here).

New Galaxy Note 10 Design Leaks

For many, the upcoming Galaxy Note 10 is a simple bit of polish on the S10 family. Perhaps in previous years, but not in 2019. Samsung is changing the design ethos and the go to word for the phablet looks to be ‘symmetry’. Forbes’ Gordon Kelly reports:

" In a pair of teasing tweets, [a popular Samsung insider] has revealed the Galaxy Note 10 will be perfectly symmetrical. In the first, he notes Da Vinci [the Galaxy Note 10’s codename] “is symmetrical” and in the second he posts Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, the iconic image of perfect proportions. And this has significant design consequences.

The Galaxy S10 range is most recognisable for its asymmetric punch-hole design. Consequently, it looks like Samsung is either centring it or removing it altogether in the Note 10 thanks to the company’s upcoming New Infinity display. Either would be a smart move as it gives the Note range (which is bigger than ever this year) a clear visual differentiator.

But The Note 10 May Be Slow In One Area

It was probably inevitable that a phone that promised so much - as the Galaxy Note 10 has - would have to compromise somewhere, and the latest leaks suggest one area where performance will be ratcheted back… charging the battery. Gordon Kelly has the details:

"…It comes courtesy of acclaimed Samsung insider Ice Universe, who has revealed the handset may no longer get its much anticipated faster charging.

“I take it back, but I can't say more” explained the tipster, who said his previous claim that the Galaxy Note 10 will have all-new 25W fast charging had sent out “the wrong message”. This would be a significant blow because battery life for the Galaxy Note range has fallen significantly from the gold standard it once set, and Samsung’s 18W charging speeds are already way behind rivals.

OnePlus Primes The Story Engine

Although the launch and reveal of the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro handsets is still over a week away, OnePlus has been hard at work setting up the story lines that will no doubt drive the discussions around the new smartphones. Takethe origami based invitation to the May 14 launch event:

It’s an origami construction that allows two information cards to pop out of the central housing. Given the expectation of a pop-up selfie camera to feature on the OnePlus 7 Pro this prepares the ground - lets call it Chekhov’s Invitation - for the audience to ‘go wild’ when it slides up in the presentation.

…the benchmarking of the screen:

The OnePlus 7 Pro screen has been tested by the widely respect team at DisplayMate, and while the full results will be published as the device is launched, its “exceptional” scores in color gamut and temperature calibration, as well as better filtering of blue light to protect eyes during a prolonged use.

…and the sample shots from the new camera hardware:

Historically OnePlus handsets have been designed to offer flagship performance at more affordable prices, but with the OnePlus 7 Pro expected to cost significantly more than previous models, it remains to be seen whether these camera improvements will be enough.

As quoted in the report, [Wired’s] Simon Liu doesn’t seem certain:

“I think we have a shot at competing with the first tier phones," he says. "I don’t think we can beat them, but the imaging world is always subjective."

If the narrative is driven by leaks, then OnePlus is again doing its best to stay ahead of the geekerati.

More Nokia For America

HMD Global keeps the refresh rate high on its handsets, but is breaking new ground where it can. The Nokia 4.2 is a good example both of a refresh to handset, but also exploring new territories. It was announced this week that the AndroidOne powered handset will launch in the US for $189.Joe Maring reports:

" From a design point of view, the 4.2 looks like a lot of other Nokia phones we've seen over the last year. It has a 5.71-inch HD+ display with a resolution of 19:9 and a very tiny waterdrop notch which houses an 8MP selfie camera.

The frame of the phone is made out of polycarbonate, whereas the back features 2.5D glass. This is also where you’ll find the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and 13MP + 2MP dual rear cameras.

Huawei Beats Apple In Smartphone Share

Although Apple’s woes (particularly in China) have seen iPhone sales fell in the first calendar quarter of 2019, both Samsung and Huawei have increased their overall smartphone market share rise… and Huawei has overtaken Apple to reach the #2 spot. Vlad Savov reports:

IDC and Strategy Analytics have released their latest smartphone shipment numbers, and the clear winner of the last few months has been China’s Huawei, at the expense of incumbent global leaders Samsung and Apple, both of which lost ground.

Huawei has been flirting with the position of world’s second-largest smartphone vendor for a while, having taken over from Apple for the first time in 2017, before switching back and forth in 2018. The company’s improvement in 2019, however, appears to set it up with a firmer control of the second spot: Huawei jumped from 39.3 million phones shipped in the first quarter of 2018 to 59.1 million shipments in Q1 2019, as noted by both IDC and SA

Details Of Google Pixel 3a Leak

It’s now expected to be ‘purplish’, the price will start at $399, and the 5.6 inch version will be supplemented with a 6-inch version. Google’s Pixel 3a and 3a XL have well and truly leaked. Jon Fingas reports:

" You can also expect squeeze sensors, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of baseline storage, a 12-megapixel rear camera and an 8MP selfie shooter. The battery life could be healthy. While the promos don't confirm the use of Snapdragon 670 or 710 chips, those combined with 3,000mAh (on the base 3a) and 3,700mAh (on the XL) power packs might get you through the day relatively easily. Earlier leaks pointed to a 2,160 x 1,080 screen on the smaller phone and 2,220 x 1,080 on its larger sibiling.

And Finally…

With the loss of the 3.5mm headphone jack as standard, smartphone users are being pushed quickly towards wireless options, and that means an increasing number of wireless earbuds on the market need to be compared. What differentiates the leading contenders? Samuel Gibbs as a listen, starting with the Samsung Galaxy Buds:

The Galaxy Buds sound pretty good too, with reasonable sound isolation and a well-rounded tone most will like. They’re fairly balanced, not overly dominated by bass or treble, with good separation and punch where needed. The buds are capable of uncomfortable volume levels when cranked right up and there’s a limited EQ available in the Galaxy Wearable app. Audiophiles might turn their noses up, but they sound good compared with the competition at this price.

 

source:Forbes

 

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Google Goes iPhone XR With The Pixel 3a Price Vs Pixel 3, Front Camera, Wireless Charging

05 May, 2019

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The imminent Pixel 3a XL is basically Google's version of the iPhone XR.

In short, it's expected to be a 6-inch phone with a LCD display instead of a pricier* OLED but with some of the pricier Pixel phones' best features.

Like the iPhone XR, it will cut corners of course, as this latest "leak" from YouTuber "This is Tech Today" points out (no wide-angle selfie cameras, for instance: see video at bottom).

How do the Pixel 3a (5.6-inch) and Pixel 3a XL (6-inch) stack up?

Good camera: probably the same (great) rear camera as on the pricier Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL (released last October). The iPhone XR, on the other hand, gives you a single rear camera instead of the dual cameras on the iPhone X.

Materials: The newer Pixel 3a/Pixel 3a XL will be made of plastic, according to an earlier report from This is Tech Today. The Pixel 3/Pixel 3 XL have glass backs. The iPhone XR uses aluminum instead of the X's stainless steel sides.

AI: one of the things that the makes the Pixel a great phone is the software. Google would be foolish not to include its killer AI on the cheaper 3a. (The AI software is the reason I own a Pixel 3 XL.)

Headphone jack: Pixel 3a/Pixel 3a XL is expected to have a headphone jack, the Pixel 3/XL uses USB-C.

Charging: this is still a bit sketchy but possibly no wireless charging, according to This is Tech Today (see video).

Display: 1080p, similar resolution to the Pixel 3/XL.  (Note that the iPhone XR has a much lower resolution display compared to the X.)

Carriers: pubs are saying the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3a will come to Sprint and T-Mobile, in addition to the usual Verizon venue.

Price (rumored): $399 for the Pixel 3a / $479 for the larger Pixel 3a XL. Both prices are for 64GB models. Versions with 128GB of storage will be offered too.

But note that the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are currently on sale at the Google Store for $599 and $699, respectively. That's $200 off the regular price.

Release/Announcement date: Consensus is for a May 7 announcement.

*Or as Google senior VP of devices and services Rick Osterloh put it to Fast Company: “We see opportunity to come up with products that make for more accessible price points, with a great user experience.”

 

source: Forbes

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