‘Xbox Fitness’ no longer requires the Kinect
The Kinect, once such an integral part of Microsoft’s Xbox One story, just lost a big toehold. You no longer need the depth sensor for Xbox Fitness, a key non-gaming app. The device brings gamification to workouts and forces you to think about form, so the app is more like a streaming service without it. However, dropping the requirement certainly opens it up to more users. Folks who compete with friends might also be disappointed to know that non-Kinect rivals still get a score just for watching the videos. Kinect users can score higher, though, and new workout titles will continue to support the camera. There’s no word on whether Microsoft might offer smartphone body tracking like it does with Just Dance Now.
Another much-demanded new feature is workout downloading. If you buy workouts like Mossa fights or P90x, you can download the content to your hard drive rather than streaming it. For those of us with occasionally weak connections, that should let you get through an intense workout without an abrupt, possibly hazardous stop in the action. The update is now available, but some Reddit users are reporting that not all workouts can be downloaded, so we’ve reached out for more details.
Source: Microsoft Studios
China launches satellite to unlock dark matter’s secrets
Dark matter is that pesky, hidden material that keeps foiling scientists’ efforts to come up with a grand unified theory of physics. China’s space agency has set about to find it with the launch of DAMPE, the Dark Matter Particle Explorer. It successfully made it into a 500 km (300 mile) high geosynchronous orbit aboard a Long March-2D launch vehicle. The DAMPE satellite is essentially a powerful space telescope tuned for the detection of high-energy gamma rays, electrons and cosmic rays. Once ready, it’ll peer into corners of space where scientists believe dark matter lurks.
Astronomers aren’t even exactly sure what dark matter is, but the dominant theory is that it’s made up of weakly interacting particles (WIMPs). While difficult to detect in space because they don’t emit light, they should annihilate into high-energy gamma rays or charged particles that do. Since DAMPE is now the highest-resolution dark matter probe in space, it’s well-poised to detect such particles. “DAMPE will measure the spectra of gamma-rays and cosmic rays with very high energy resolution and then look for possible signals of dark matter annihilation or decay,” says mission team member Professor Fan Yizhong. It could, however, take years for the probe to turn up any signs of the unicorn-like particles.
Source: DAMPE
Apple names Jeff Williams as its first COO since Tim Cook
Apple has just named its first Chief Operating Officer since Tim Cook took over as CEO in 2011. Longtime Apple veteran Jeff Williams (who joined the company in 1998) is now COO, reporting directly to Cook. Additionally, senior VP of marketing Phil Schiller has seen his duties expand, as well — he’s now the leader of the App Store, a responsibility that was previously under the purview of Eddy Cue.
Williams had previously worked as Apple’s VP of operations, so a move into the COO role is entirely logical. He’s been described as “Tim Cook’s Tim Cook,” a recognition of both Cook’s excellence in making Apple into product-shipping juggernaut it is now as well as Williams’ importance in continuing that as Cook moved into the CEO role. In addition to his operations duties, Williams also oversees the Apple Watch and health-related initiatives, including ResearchKit.
The expansion of Schiller’s duties is also a notable change at Apple — the company says that, with his leadership of the App Store, Schiller is in charge of “nearly all developer-related functions at Apple.” It sounds like the vision is to have Schiller help continue to unify Apple’s four platforms, including Mac OS X, iOS, WatchOS and the newly-introduced tvOS. Schiller will continue to keep his product marketing duties, so expect to see him continue to pop out onstage to introduce new Macs and iPhones at press events in the foreseeable future.
Schiller taking the App Store off Eddy Cue’s plate means Cue will likely be able to continue focusing more on Apple’s various commerce channels, including the iTunes Store, Apple Music and Apple Pay as well as Siri, Apple Maps, iCloud and various other Apple software and services. Cue has developed a reputation for being able to jump in and help improve whatever Apple-made internet service needs help, so taking the stable App Store off his plate seems like a logical move.
Lastly, Apple announced a few new members to its leadership team. Johny Srouji, an eight-year Apple veteran, is now the company’s senior VP for hardware technologies, and newcomer Tor Myhren will join in Q1 of 2016 as VP of marketing communications, reporting to Cook. While Srouji might not be a familiar name, his mark is all over the company — he joined in 2008 to lead development of the A4 chip, Apple’s first in-house silicon design for the iPhone. Since then, the A-series of chips has been a hallmark of the iPhone and iPad.
Myhren will be succeed Hiroki Asai, an 18-year Apple veteran who worked in graphic design and market communications. The press release says that he’ll be in charge of Apple’s advertising efforts, a pretty major responsibility for a company as well-known for its ads as Apple.
[Image credit: AP/Eric Risberg]
Source: Apple
OnePlus launches Champagne OnePlus X, announces a documentary about itself
Despite making a huge splash in 2014 with its first handset, OnePlus has had a bit of an uphill battle in 2015, with the OnePlus 2 facing increased from the Moto X Pure Edition and many other devices. Thankfully for OnePlus, their latest handset, the OnePlus X, seems to be doing rather well, featuring an aggressive price tag, gorgeous aesthetics, and mid-range specs.
To close out 2015 properly, OnePlus is celebrating the year with the release of a white/champagne gold version of the OnePlus X. This color configuration was previously exclusive to China but is now hitting Europe, with other markets (including the US) to follow. Aside from a change in color, this is the same OnePlus X as before. For those interested in learning more about the handset, be sure to check out our full review.
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In addition to releasing a new color configuration of the X, OnePlus has also given us a “sneak peak” at an upcoming self-created documentary that highlights OnePlus history, the good and the bad, and where it is heading in the future.
What do you think of the champagne gold version of the OnePlus X? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Next – OnePlus releases iPhone case
Announcing the results of Best of Android and Readers’ Choice 2015
We don’t think about it, but we Android fans are very lucky. Every end of the year, we get to look back and say “wow, what a year is has been!”
In 2015, the vibrant Android ecosystem reached new heights. Phone makers launched amazing flagships with stylish designs and impressive features. Budget buyers were spoiled with quality devices at low prices. It’s never been easier – and cheaper – to stay on the edge of technology, opening possibilities with a profound impact on our lives and society.
With so many good Android smartphones – each of them special in their own way – coming out in 2015, it’s pretty hard to single out the best phone of the year. That’s why we launched two initiatives designed to surface the best Android phones of 2015, as seen by the AA team and by you, our dear readers. These are Best of Android and Smartphone of the Year: Readers’ Choice. And here’s the wrap-up!
Don’t miss:
Best of Android 2015
With Best of Android, we started from the devices that we felt are the most representative for the high-end Android landscape. We picked the phones that stand out from the crowd through their design, quality, and user experience. That doesn’t mean that only the six phones we included are worthy of your attention, not by a longshot. However, because we wanted to test in-depth the best phones of the moment, we had to limit ourselves to these flagships: LG V10, Moto X Force, BlackBerry Priv, Galaxy Note 5, Nexus 6P, and the Xperia Z5 Premium.
We went up close with these phones, throughout a suite of tests and comparisons. We looked at specific metrics like display brightness and battery charging times. We also weighed in on more subjective topics, like photography and software.
We don’t claim that the comparisons were perfect: it’s been a learning experience, and you can bet that next year’s Best of Android will incorporate the lessons we got from this year’s feedback.
We do hope that we provided a valuable comparison for all Android fans out there. And, in 2016, the technical knowhow we acquired from these hands-on tests will help us create better reviews, comparisons, and up-close looks at all Android devices.
And the winner is…
Without further ado, here are the winners from each test:
- Display: After analyzing the brightness, color accuracy, and white balance of our contenders, as well as assessing the overall image quality, we crowned the BlackBerry Priv as the winner, followed by the Note 5, and the LG V10. Read the full comparison.
- Audio: We employed a combination of measurements and listening tests to find the clearest, most accurate, and most pleasant audio experience. At the end of the day, the LG V10, with its 32-bit DAC, took home the title, followed by the Note 5 and the Xperia Z5 Premium. Read the full comparison.
- Performance: We put our flagships through a series of benchmark tests and hands-on tests where we tried to simulate real life usage scenarios. The Galaxy Note 5 won by a margin, followed by the Z5 Premium and the Nexus 6P, which were very close. The Snapdragon 808-powered devices were a little slower. Read the full comparison.
- Battery: Great performance and dense displays are great, but they’re nothing if your phone dies when you need it the most. In our battery tests, we looked at which phone has the longest battery life in standby mode and with heavy usage. The Note 5 came on top again, followed by the Moto X Force and the BlackBerry Priv. Read the full comparison.
- Camera: Increasingly, users demand cameras that can handle even difficult lighting conditions, so we paid close attention to this section. We put the devices through a shootout and then the entire team voted their preferred devices for each comparison. The Nexus 6P got the first place, followed closely by the Galaxy Note 5 and the LG V10. Read the full comparison.
- User experience: This was probably the hardest comparison to do, simply because you can’t quantify things like the usefulness of software features or the impression left by a design element. We ran through the main hardware and software features and we voted on which device is the best. With the disclaimer that this ranking is admittedly subjective, the AA team preferred the Nexus 6P, followed by the Note 5, and the Moto X Force. Read the full comparison.
Tallying up the votes across comparisons, the Galaxy Note 5 comes across as the undisputed leader. Samsung’s device ranked consistently among the best; it captured the first place in two comparisons and the second place (and not far behind the leader) in the others. Across precise measurements and subjective tests, the Note 5 showed it’s still the king of the Android world.
Following up, the Nexus 6P confirmed that this year’s Nexus generation is truly the best one yet. Google finally made a device without glaring flaws, and more impressively, one with a great camera, a first for the family.
LG’s V10 gained the third place, helped by the audio performance and a generally decent showing across comparisons.
So there you have it: our Best of Android flagship of 2015 is the Note 5. What about your favorite?
Best smartphone: Readers’ Choice
We wanted to give you a say in the selection of the smartphone of the year, and a chance to win the device that takes home the laurels.
The 2015 Readers’ Choice poll was open for almost ten days, and in this time, we tallied over 12,000 votes. We kept the voting results anonymous, so votes aren’t influenced by the current ranking of each device.
Drawing the line, it’s clear what Android Authority readers consider the best Android smartphone out there, and that’s Google’s own Nexus 6P.
The 6P gathered almost 30% of the votes, and almost double the votes of the second place, the Galaxy Note 5. Samsung won another place on the podium with the Galaxy S6/Edge, confirming its standing as the top Android manufacturer. The LG V10 came in a respectable fourth place, in another decent, if not amazing performance.
Here are the full results.
There you have it. The results of our in-depth testing and the popular vote show that the two top smartphones of the year are the Galaxy Note 5 and the Nexus 6P. Without doubt, these phones have set a very high standard for the entire ecosystem, and, particularly if you prefer large phones, you can’t go wrong with either of them. The V10 also made a strong showing, as did the Moto X Force (Turbo 2). The Xperia Z5 Premium did not score a top position in our testing, but it’s clearly a fan favorite.
Now read: Samsung Galaxy S7 rumor roundup: release date, price, specs, features
And with that, we thank you for reading through Best of Android and invite you to join us in 2016 for more in-depth analyses of the Android world. What do you think about the winners?
Report: Samsung and LG to pass on 4K smartphones in 2016
Whereas last week brought a bounty of beautiful renders – allegedly – showing the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Plus, this week brings with it some news about the screen spec situation. According to a new report circulating around the internet, and purportedly based on Korean sources, both Samsung and LG will be forgoing 4K smartphone displays next year, instead focusing on the QHD panels already in production.
Despite the drive from both Korean companies to push both standard OLED displays and curved variants, it seems there are a few issues preventing the adoption of Ultra HD:
- Power-related problems: battery consumption (drain) as well as overheating related to the high resolution panels.
- A lack of readily available 4K media to take advantage of such a resolution.
- Insufficient orders from OEMs and other customers for the QHD panels.
- A claim that 4K display is intrinsically linked to 4K content, which will largely require 5G network infrastructure.
Please be aware that at the moment, this is all but speculation and should not be taken as factual nor suggested as a clear indication of what Samsung Display and LG Display will offer in the coming year. LG was the first major OEM to use a QHD panel with the release of its G3 last year, shortly followed-up by Samsung with its Korea-only Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-Advanced handset.
For reference, Quad HD (QHD) is defined as 2560 X 1440 pixels. 4K is defined as 4096 X 2160 pixels. Smartphones and other consumer devices, however, have a slightly lower “4K” display resolution at 3840 X 2160 prompting some to refer to it instead as Ultra HD. Full HD is 1920 X 1280 resolution.
“Stuck” with QHD: Would it even matter?
A short while ago, we published a piece on the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, the world’s first 4K smartphone. Despite clever marketing, the actual images produced by the phone are almost always running at standard Full HD (FHD) resolution. Sony itself has cited battery-related power consumption issues as reasoning, and many have argued that the Snapdragon 810 SoC simply could not handle running 4K resolution 24-7 given its propensity for getting toasty.
Many OEMs are still content with using Full HD panels on their devices, and many consumers – and some tech writers – often argue that QHD on a 5.X-inch screen is almost superfluous given the purported limitations of the average human eye. With that said, when viewing a QHD smartphone display next to a Full HD display, the differences – while not egregiously dramatic for most people – are still noticeable.
If QHD is often cited as overkill, then 4K serves to go beyond that. While it is useful for purposes such as virtual reality headsets, the four points listed earlier are valid points in an argument to forgo such a high resolution. There would indeed by marketing benefits, but when considering battery life and actual ability to view 4K content the costs involved with implementing such panels don’t seem as clear cut as say, QHD or just plain Full HD.
Wrap Up
While today’s news is hardly a proven fact, it is nonetheless new food for thought. We want to hear what you think: would you be upset if Samsung or LG fail to deliver on 4K next year? Do you care? Leave us your comments below!
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Google’s Androidify app receives a big holiday update
Androidify, Google’s free application that lets you customize your own Android character, has received a big update for the holidays. Among a handful of bug fixes and a few other things, this update will now let you bring some holiday cheer to your little avatar!
Once you receive the update, you’ll be able to choose from a number of new holiday sweaters, winter hats, ice skates, new shoes and much, much more. Google has also added the Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X and a Chromebook to the list of devices you can give your character.
The full changelog is a tad short, but I’ll post it below in case you’re interested:
- New holiday gear just in time!
- Requests from the suggestion box including phones & devices, sports gear, new outfits and more!
- Bug fixes and optimizations
Follow the link below to grab the update from Google Play!
Amazon discounts the Moto X Pure Edition for a limited time
Amazon today is offering a $100 discount on the Moto X Pure Edition as part of its latest Daily Deal. The discount, lasting only another 16 hours, will bring Motorola’s 2015 flagship down to just $349.99.
This Daily Deal only applies to the 32GB edition of the smartphone. The price will remain the same for black and white colors of the device, but will increase slightly to $374.99 for the white bamboo style.
Featuring a 5.7-inch Quad HD display, a Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 21-megapixel rear camera, and a 3,000mAh battery, the Moto X Pure Edition has all the best that Motorola has to offer.
Users of the Moto X Pure Edition are already seeing the update to Google’s latest version of its mobile opearting system, Android 6.0.
Some consumers have decided to hold off on the Moto X Pure Edition amid rumors of a new 2016 flagship from Lenovo’s daughter company. The 2016 flagship, still rumored to sport the Moto X Pure Edition name, will reportedly have a drastic design change as well as an advanced camera.
The Moto X Pure Edition is available in preset designs through Amazon and many other big box retailers and can be personally customized through the Moto Maker.
[Amazon]
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Amazon brings new channels, games, and apps to the Fire TV
Amazon announced today much more content coming to the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, including popular channels like NBC and Fox Now. With today’s content update, users of Amazon’s media streaming devices will be getting much more value out of them.
The online retailer has also added a handful of new games and apps. These include Shovel Knight, Telltale’s hit adventure game Minecraft: Story Mode, Dark Echo, and Olli Olli 2. With the release of these games, Amazon has decided to slash the Fire TV Gaming Edition down to just $114.99, from its original price point of $139.99. The Fire TV Gaming Edition comes with a microSD card for additional storage, two games, and a gaming controller.
Today’s announcement reveals that Amazon has added over 1,000 new apps, channels, and games since September. New additions include NBC, NBC Sports, Watch HGTV, Watch Food Network, Watch Travel Channel, Fox Now, NPR One, GoPro, and many other channels and apps.
Amazon as of late has been under scrutiny for removing competitors’ streaming devices from its online store in order to bolster the attraction of the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.
Both the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick are available on Amazon.
source: Amazon
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Razer debuts its ‘Leviathan Mini’ portable soundbar
Razer introduced a smaller, portable version of its popular Leviathan sound bar on Thursday. Dubbed the Leviathan Mini, this 24-watt system ditches the original’s subwoofer for a pair of 12-watt drivers. And while it may not have the ear-bursting power of its predecessor, the Mini still packs an auditory punch — and a couple of cool tricks to boot.
The Mini utilizes a Bluetooth 4 to connect with your mobile device (up to 30 feet away). It can also pair with a second Mini unit over BT4, using the Combo Play feature, to either mirror the virtualized 5.1 surround sound output or act as separate left and right channels. What’s more, the Mini incorporates a noise-cancelling microphone (powered by aptX‘s Clear Voice Capture tech) allowing the bar to take phone calls as well. The Mini will retail for $180 when it hits shelves in January of next year. You can preorder one right now on Razer’s website.
I got a chance to use the Mini for a few days earlier this week. Consider me rather impressed. Since its 12w speakers face both forward and rear, it can easily fill a room with sound — especially when you have a pair of them daisy-chained together. I tested my unit using podcasts and a smattering of streaming music. When you’re listening to news or dialog, the output is very crisp. However the bass does tend to muddy the mids and highs when streaming music — especially the brands of metal and rock that dominate my musical archives. Plus there’s no way to adjust the unit’s equalizer so what you hear is what you get.
In fact, a lot of the speaker’s functionality is rather opaque. There isn’t a battery meter, volume indicator or even a remote. Heck, I’m still not entirely sure what the circle button on top of the unit does. On the plus side, the Mini’s 2,600mAh battery is rated for up to 10 hours of playback on an hour-long charge so you’ll have plenty of time to listen.
AIVAnet 