Researchers show off a working light-based processor

The year has been chock-full of scientific breakthroughs, but the University of Colorado is determined to finish 2015 with a bang. Its researchers have created what they say is the first full-fledged processor to transmit data using light instead of electricity. The design isn’t entirely photonic, but its 850 optical input/output elements give it the kind of bandwidth that make electric-only chips look downright modest — we’re talking 300Gbps per square millimeter, or 10 to 50 times what you normally see. The key was finding a way to reuse existing conventional processes to put optics in places where regular circuitry would go.

The design isn’t a powerhouse with a tiny size (3mm by 6mm, or 0.1in by 0.2in) and just two cores. However, it shows the potential for dramatic improvements in computing power without having to completely reinvent the wheel. You could have networking gear that copes with massive amounts of data, for example. And there’s plenty of room for optimization, too, so the possibilities for this technology remain wide open.

[Image credit: Glenn Asakawa, University of Colorado]

Via: Phys.org

Source: University of Colorado, Nature

Our Best of Android devices, apps, OEMs and innovations of 2015: the winners are…

What a year it’s been! Arguably the year that’s flown by the fastest, 2015 has seen companies expand their portfolios in a bid to capture customers at every price point imaginable.

From the ever more competitive low-end to the mid-range – which has now become the affordable flagship – and the ultra high-end, along with the devices that aim to bridge the gap between these different sections, this year has seen hundreds of Android smartphones released. But which have stood out from the rest of the crowd?

While we’ve used our Best of Android 2015 comparison to help decide which flagship smartphone is the best of the year, we also want to recognise the other smartphones, tablets, apps, games and wearables that have helped expand the mobile industry.

Introducing the first annual Android Authority Awards – it’s time to find out what’s been the Best of Android this year!

We’ve categorised the devices into several different sections and as a team, we’ve picked our winners for each of the sections along with two honourable mentions, i.e. the devices that stood out, but didn’t quite win the main prize!

Here’s the nominations and the all important winners!

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Flagship of the Year

For this, we picked six ultra-premium phones from six OEMs and conducted the Best of Android 2015 comparison! After lots of in-depth testing – which you can read the summary of here – which flagship smartphone stands out above the rest?

The nominees:

• Samsung Galaxy Note 5
• BlackBerry Priv
• Motorola Moto X Force (aka Droid Turbo 2)
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
• LG V10
• Huawei Nexus 6P

The winner is: Samsung Galaxy Note 5

As the Best of Android series showed, the Galaxy Note 5 is a very consistent performer; while other smartphones do excel in certain categories, the Note 5 comes in the top two in five out of the six categories (and it was third in the other). From a refreshed build and much improved software to an excellent camera – albeit not the best – and under-the-hood optimisations, there’s a lot to like about Samsung’s latest Noteworthy smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 review40

Buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 5!

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Mid-range Smartphone of the Year

What makes a mid-range smartphone? A year ago, it would be the smartphone that aimed to offer as close an experience to the flagships as possible but at a lower price, but this year, we’ve seen the mid-range evolve so the mid-range is now the affordable flagship that offers most of the experience of the ultra-premium category without the large price tag. Here’s the phones that made the cut:

• Motorola Moto X Play
• Huawei Honor 7
• BLU Pure XL
• Huawei P8 Lite
• Nexus 5X
• ZTE Axon
• OnePlus X
• Oppo R7 Plus
• Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3

The winner is: Nexus 5X

Google’s Nexus lineup bounced back with a bang this year and the Nexus 5X is unanimously our Affordable Flagship smartphone of the year 2015. Bringing premium specs, the Nexus Imprint fingerprint sensor and the latest Marshmallow OS, the LG-made Nexus 5X aims to deliver bang for your buck and it certainly succeeds!

Nexus 5X review22

Buy the Nexus 5X!

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Budget Smartphone of the Year

From the affordable flagship to the budget – which smartphone offers the best experience at the sub-$250 price tag? The budget range is becoming a fiercely contested market so which smartphone is the best to buy if your budget is limited? Here’s the few handsets that we nominated for this category:

• WileyFox Swift
• Moto G 3^rd Gen
• BLU Vivo Air LTE
• Vodafone Smart Ultra 6
• Asus Zenfone 2
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
• Meizu M2 Note
• BLU Life One

The winner is: Asus Zenfone 2

When it comes to looking for a smartphone on a limited budget, there’s no better place to start than the Asus Zenfone 2, which brings an impressive 5.5-inch 1080p display, 3000 mAh battery, 4GB RAM, 13MP rear-facing camera, powerful 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 processor and Android 5.1 Lollipop. At either $199 or $299 depending on the version, it’s certainly offers a lot of value for money and is a worth winner of our budget award.

Asus Zenfone 2 review139

Buy the Asus Zenfone 2!

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Wearable of the Year

From smartphones to the other smart devices that are proving to be ultra popular: this year has seen some very interesting smartwatches released. Which devices are the best for your wrist? Here’s the few wearables we think stand out from the rest:

• Samsung Gear S2
• LG Watch Urbane
• Huawei Watch
• Moto 360 2^nd Gen
• Pebble Time Round

The winner is: Samsung Gear S2

Since the first Galaxy Gear, Samsung has released a total of 7 Gear smartwatches, but the Gear S2 is the first that really stands out. The new circular bezel combines with the custom Tizen interface to offer an unrivaled experience that’s polished and well thought-out. Android Wear should take note.

Samsung Gear S2 review65

Buy the Samsung Gear S2!

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App of the Year

It’s not just the hardware but also the software that makes your smartphone experience and in particular, apps play a large part of how we use our smartphones. Here’s the top apps we’ve come across this year, the ones that truly allow us to advance the overall smartphone experience:

• Adobe Collection: (Lightroom mobile, Capture CC, Shape CC, Brush CC, Color CC, Photoshop Mix, Illustrator Draw)
• Kodi
• Periscope
• YouTube Collection (music, kids, games, Red)
• Google Photos
• Apple Music
• Cortana
• Khan Academy
• Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint
• Sling TV

To find out which app we’ve crowned as the best of Google Play this year, head over to our Best Apps of the Year roundup!

Check out the Best Apps of 2015 roundup!

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Game of the Year

While apps help advance what we can do with our smartphones, games provide the release of actually enjoying the powerful devices we carry in our pockets. With the internals advancing at an ever-increasing rate, these portable devices can prove to be powerful gaming beasts and there’s a slew of new apps that aim to take advantage of the capabilities. Here’s our top Games of the Year:

• Chaos Rings III
• Broken Age
• Fallout Shelter
• Limbo
• Minecraft: Story Mode
• Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions
• Lara Croft GO
• Prune
• UNKILLED
• This War of Mine

To find out which game we’ve crowned as the best game on Google Play this year, head over to our Best Games of the Year roundup!

Check out the Best Apps of 2015 roundup!

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OEM of the Year

From smartphones to the companies behind them. The OEM of the Year award is designed to recognise the company that has proven to be the most innovative this year. This award is designed to recognise the company that made the biggest improvements this year, which has built devices that have spurred innovation from others, and which OEM has generally had the most impressive year in our opinion. Here’s the shortlist:

• Samsung
• LG
• Huawei
• Xiaomi
• Sony
• OnePlus
• Motorola

The winner is: Huawei

What a year it’s been for Chinese company Huawei: this time last year, the company had just launched the Mate 7 and was looking forward to 2015, and one year later, the company has had an outstanding year. From its P8 flagship in April to the Mate S in September coupled with a new Honor 7 flagship, Huawei has made some outstanding devices, not least Google’s 2015 flagship, the Nexus 6P. The quality of the Nexus 6P means Huawei just edges Samsung into second place.

All Huawei articles
Huawei Mate S review
Huawei Honor 7 review

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Innovation of the Year

Every so often, a device comes along that is truly innovative and the Innovation of the Year award is designed to recognise the handset that has truly shocked the market? When considering this, we’re asking which handset has inspired other OEMs and consumers at large while also attempting to push the boundaries of what is possible for smartphones as we know them.

Here’s the devices that have inspired the market and pushed the technological envelope:

• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium: world’s first 4K smartphone display
• Huawei Honor 7 / Mate S: one-touch fingerprint sensor with gestures
• Galaxy S6 Edge / Edge+: dual edge display
• BlackBerry Priv: dual edge display and physical keyboard
• LG V10: 2^nd screen and 32-bit HiFi Audio
• ZTE Axon: First to delve into HiFi Audio

The winner is: Galaxy S6 Edge / Edge+

Curved displays are certainly not new but this year, Samsung aimed to prove that they could be useful. While they certainly succeeded in some elements, the Edge screen isn’t perfect but did prove that curved displays could have a place in the market. Hence, BlackBerry used a similar curved panel in its BlackBerry Priv and showed that more than just Samsung can make a dual curved smartphone that’s functional and stylish.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ review79

What a year it’s been

2015 has been truly amazing, but tech in 2016 shows no signs of letting up. With so many possible winners, picking the best devices, wearables, games, apps, OEMs and innovations was certainly a challenge, but the winners and nominees are, in our view, the best that Android had to offer this year.

What do you think of the nominees and the winners? What do you think we’ll see in 2016, which is fast approaching? Let us know your views in the comments below!

2015: The year the Internet of Things jumped the shark

The Internet of Things started off as a way to turn on a few lights and control the climate in your home. Then as manufacturers ran out of bulbs and thermostats to shove chips into they looked to connect the rest of the devices in the home, sometimes for better, but a lot of times for worse. The result is a dizzying array of smart devices that are answers to problems no one actually has.

Large and small companies continue to push out products that make little sense just to be part of the connected home market that’s supposed to be worth billions… eventually. Items like smart refrigerators and washing machines are over-engineered novelties that push the controls to your smartphone for no other reason than the assumption that everything is better with an app.

So instead of addressing larger issues with the connected home in 2015 — like lack of a standard communications platform. — companies just keep making apps that connect to their hardware.

For example a refrigerator from Bosch has two cameras that take photos every time you open the door and uploads them to an app. The sales pitch is that you can see what you’re running low on while you’re at the store. Unless you place larger items at the front of the shelves and now you can’t see if you’re out of cheese because the milk or orange juice are blocking the view.

For pet lovers, the failed-to-secure-funding-but-got-a-ton-of-press Pura smart water fountain for cats tracked your feline’s liquid intake. The companion app noted consumption that helped indicate if your pet was having health issues. Of course you could also just look at the water bowl at the end of the day and pay attention to the behavior of your four-legged friend.

For the sommelier set, a smart wine bottle is coming that alerts you when it’s been opened. Something that for hundreds of years was accomplished by just looking at the top of the bottle.

Then there’s Pantelligent, which was announced in 2014, but didn’t ship until this year. In case you forgot, it’s a pan that tells you how hot it is. Oh, not by displaying the temperature on the handle, but via an app. This is what happens when a good idea is ruined by the push to make everything smart. The companion app does include tips on how to cook your food based on the thickness and cut of a piece of meat. Yet most of the time, you just want a pan to cook up your dinner and if it showed you how hot it was, that would be outstanding.

Unfortunately, with the annual technology-launching pad CES on the horizon, expect more of these nearly worthless gadgets that sync to a phone to appear. Maybe we’ll see a smart couch that let’s you know when your favorite show is on and when you have more than a dollar’s worth of change in the cushions. There could also be a smart toilet that measures your TP usage and pings you when you’re low. Think of the possibilities and realize that someone, somewhere is probably making that insane idea a reality.