Meta’s new AR headset lets you treat virtual objects like real ones

Meta’s augmented reality headset originally launched on Kickstarter, but the company has managed to avoid the flash-in-the-pan fate that befalls so many crowdfunded projects. The company has learned plenty from the developer-focused Meta 1 headset and is now ready to take the wraps off a much-improved version. The Meta 2 is the company’s latest augmented reality headset, and it’s available to pre-order now for $949. It’ll ship to buyers in Q3 of this year.

The most notable things about my brief time trying out the Meta 2 were that the augmented reality “objects” that popped into my field of view behaved in some ways like things in the real world. They stayed in place, so I could walk around a giant globe and see the earth from any angle I wanted; the closer I put my face to the planet, the more detail I could see. The other notable aspect of Meta 2 is that you can actually “pick up” and move these virtual objects, just as you would with real-world, physical ones.

The latter feature didn’t work great, betraying the Meta 2’s status as a device meant for developers, not consumers. Overall, getting the various Meta 2 gestures working properly was a bit of a challenge — I spent a lot of time “poking” the air, trying to select an option or interact with various items, but getting that target calibrated properly was tricky.

However, when I was able to use the one-handed “pick up” gesture and move virtual objects around, it was a pretty great feeling. Using two hands to stretch and enlarge digital items also felt natural, when it worked. Given that the Meta 2 is still a prototype, I won’t judge it too harshly, but the gesture experience needs to be refined before it launches. Unfortunately, that was the case way back in 2013 when we tried the Meta 1, so hopefully more improvements are coming soon.

While gestures still need work, object permanence was a pretty fascinating bit of technology, and one that Meta calls out as something to help the headset function as a work-focused device. As part of the demo I experienced, the Meta 2 showed off a handful of virtual screens with various apps on them. It was mostly a variety of different web browsers, but the Meta 2 also currently works with Microsoft Office, Spotify and Zoom video conferencing. The virtual monitor setup was pretty fascinating — I started with just one screen but eventually had a row of five, and then two rows of five stacked on top of each other. Again, it’s just a prototype, but it showcases the flexibility that a virtual screen setup would offer.

Since the virtual objects created by the Meta 2 stay where you place them, you can do your work, remove the headset and then go back to it; things will be left just where you want them. And while I was still wearing the headset, I could walk around my virtual monitors — it was a strange experience to see them disappear into nothingness as I looked at them from the side.

It’s not really useful, but it’s a good way to highlight object permanence. Meta makes this even crazier by letting multiple headset wearers collaborate on an object — you’ll all see the same thing from different angles, depending on where you’re physically located. And since the glasses let you see into the real world as well, it’s not isolating like a virtual reality experience would be.

A few other experiences in the demo stood out for me as ways that Meta’s AR technology could become truly useful. Most notable was when a transparent human body floated into view, revealing the skeletal structure, circulatory system and so forth. You could grab the body and separate the various systems out and see each individually and walk all the way around it — it’s a pretty great trick, and something that could be genuinely useful. For example, clicking on the picture of an item on sale at Amazon and having it float into my field of view to enlarge and spin around in 360 degrees could be a pretty handy tool when shopping at home.

As I’ve mentioned, this is all very much in the “tech demo” phase, but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. The combo of object permanence, gestures and the fact that the Meta 2 has a very wide field of view — 90 degrees diagonal — all adds up to a compelling AR experience. The headset itself is still a bit clunky and not something I’d want to wear all day long, but at least you can wear your glasses while using it.

The hardware needs tweaking, but the real question is what kind of software experiences developers will start building with it. Meta’s been working at AR for a long time and is playing the long game here by giving developers an improved tool for creating the experiences needed to make this take off. While the Meta 2 might not be ready for prime time yet, it does seem like a step forward from both a hardware and software perspective.

ICYMI: Moon waystation, human skin like bananas and more

Today on In Case You Missed It: The European Space Agency wants to put a permanent base on the moon, for all agencies to share. A new solar plant in Nevada is the first to store 10 hours of energy in salt, continuing to produce electricity overnight. And researchers are studying bananas because an enzyme in their skin is just like one produced by human skin. Maybe that’s why they taste so good? JK, that was just for Hannibal Lecter.

We also wanted to bring you this latest Guinness World Record, of an electrified skateboard traveling at 59.5 miles per hour. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.

Spotify’s Fresh Finds playlists serve up undiscovered artists

Last summer, Spotify rolled out its Discover Weekly feature that builds a new playlist each week based on your listening habits. I’ve actually found the tool to be quite useful for discovering new music and now the streaming service is looking to expand its recommendations. With Fresh Finds, Spotify creates genre-specific playlists uses software and human “tastemakers” to identify undiscovered artists before they become popular. The process for choosing the tracks includes analyzing listening patterns of users who seem to have a knack for “up and coming music” (those so-called tastemakers) and monitoring the web for additional info.

More specifically, the Fresh Finds playlists include five options: Fire Emoji (hip-hop), Basement (electronic), Hiptronix (vocal pop), Six Strings (guitar driven) and Cyclone (experimental). The new lists will be updated every Wednesday with the latest soon-to-be hits, so if you find something you like, remember to save it. New material every week makes Fresh Finds similar to that Discovery Weekly playlist as well, and Spotify seems bent on offering ways to keep your music habit from becoming stale. The Fresh Finds collections are available in the app starting today, and you can find them via the Browse tab.

A common crop pesticide is making bees dumb

Poor honeybees. Back in 2010, the USDA found a possible link between pesticides used to kill varroa mites and colony collapse disorder. Now, researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand have discovered that they can “suffer severe learning and memory deficits” if they ingest even tiny doses of a common pesticide used to keep apples, broccoli, corn and other crops insect-free. That pesticide is a controversial chemical called chlorpyrifos. The Environmental Protection Agency and the state of California proposed banning or at least imposing heavy restrictions on its use in the past due to reports that it makes farm workers sick.

Kim Hageman, an associate professor at the university, also found out back in 2013 just how far the chemical can travel. She and her team discovered very small amounts of chlorpyrifos in the water, air and plant life in parts of the country where the pesticide isn’t even sprayed. For this study, the group led by Dr. Elodie Urlacher fed lab bees a slightly lower dose than what Hageman found in her samples. Note that the chemical’s lethal dose is around 100 billionths of a gram, and the team used an amount a thousand times lower than that.

They’ve determined that despite ingesting what’s considered a “safe” and extremely small dosage, the lab bees couldn’t learn or remember odors as well as specimens that weren’t exposed to the chemical could. According to Dr. Urlacher, this means exposure to the pesticide may be stunting honeybees’ “effectiveness as nectar foragers and pollinators” since they “rely on such memory mechanisms to target flowers.” That is a big issue, because many crops — a number of which are kept insect-free using this particular pesticide — rely on honeybees for pollination.

She believes that the group’s findings now raise questions about how the pesticide should be regulated. “It’s […] clear that it is not just the lethal effects on bees that need to be taken into account,” she said, “but also the serious sub-lethal ones at minute doses.”

Source: Physorg

Zuli Announces Philips Hue Integration for Motion-Sensing Lighting

With origins on Kickstarter, the Zuli Smartplug is a device that acts as a buffer between a wall outlet and any electronic device, letting users control the connected appliance through a smartphone app. Today the company announced that it will be integrating that app with the popular Philips Hue lighting system, letting users interact with Hue lights directly within the Zuli app.

The synthesis between Zuli and Hue will also let the latter tap into the former’s proprietary motion-sensing technology referred to as “Presence.” With it, the Zuli Smartplug can detect when a user enters and leaves a room, adjusting and adapting to pre-set personal lighting preferences. When the room is left abandoned, the smartplug recognizes that too, and everything shuts off. Presence is designed to evolve over time and become “more predictive” with extended use.

“The fundamental problem with connected devices remains the same. You still have to pull out your phone, find the right app, find the right device, and then manually control it,” says Taylor Umphreys, Chief Executive Officer, Zuli. “Zuli is solving this problem through its proprietary Presence technology. Zuli Presence enables our homes to know who is home, what room they are in, and how they like their lighting and temperature — so our personal environments can adjust passively without the user having to do anything”

This “indoor location awareness” will now be available for Hue owners who invest in Zuli, and will give those users the ability to have all of their customized room-based scenes react to their entry into a room. The lighting systems housing the Hue bulbs do not need to be plugged directly into a Zuli Smartplug for the two to interact with one another, since Hue simply networks with Zuli after an initial system sync.

Zuli launched with another notable partnership in Nest, letting customers connect the learning thermostat to a Zuli Smartplug to notify the system when users enter and leave the house and adjust the temperature accordingly. As of now, there is no HomeKit integration or functionality with Zuli.

Hue users can test out Zuli’s integration of the Philips lighting system by downloading the Zuli app [Direct Link] on the App Store. For anyone interested in all of Zuli’s features, three Zuli Smartplugs are required to harness the full power of Presence. To start, users can purchase a 3-pack of the Zuli Smartplugs for $159.99 on the company’s website.

Tags: Philips Hue, Zuli, Zuli Smartplug
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Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 edge also being shipped early by AT&T and Sprint

Samsung’s Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge aren’t only being shipped out early on T-Mobile, but also AT&T and Sprint too. Reports have surfaced detailing both U.S. carriers sending out pre-orders ahead of official release.

The official launch date for Samsung’s latest wave of premium smartphones is March 11, but that hasn’t prevented some U.S. and European carriers from fulfilling pre-orders ahead of time.

Have you got your order yet? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to join in the conversation over on our forum!

• Discuss in our Galaxy S7 forums

Samsung Galaxy S7

• Galaxy S7 and S7 edge hands-on
• Galaxy S7 and S7 edge specs
• Here are all four Galaxy S7 colors
• Details on the Galaxy S7’s camera
• The SD card is back on the GS7
• Join our Galaxy S7 forums

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Maserati implements Android Auto support in the new Levante

Maserati has announced that the new Levante range will support Android Auto, thanks to the on-board high-resolution 8.4-inch touch screen display. The ability to connect your Android-powered smartphone to your vehicle is almost becoming standard across numerous ranges, allowing you to better focus on the road.

As well as Android Auto support, the new 2017 Maserati Levante comes with Harman’s Aha Connected services and infotainment experience.

“Thanks to its rotary controller, multi-touch screen and voice control, the powerful and fast infotainment system of the new Maserati Levante is easy to use. Its high-resolution 8,4″ SVGA screen provides sharp 3D graphics for the navigation system and a user experience equivalent to smartphones. The one-shot voice control covers the whole system, including Car Play and Android Auto modes. The system offers true plug-and-play for iPhones and Android smartphones and is designed to provide the same human machine interface (HMI) experience across all user menus. The system enables dual Bluetooth pairing and phone status as well as Bluetooth music playback from any source. With HARMAN’s Aha Connected Services, the infotainment system in the Maserati Levante also offers millions of high definition quality Internet radios, audio books, online GPS, and more.”

Should you be new to Android Auto, be sure to check out our helpful guides to get you started with the basics.

All About Android Auto

• Getting started with Android Auto
• List of compatible phones and cars
• Android Auto news
• Apps that work with Android Auto
• Join the Android Auto discussion!

Easily upgrade your car: Spotify, DAB and hands-free with Pure Highway 600

Pure, the digital radio specialist, has unveiled an in-car system that will turn any motor into a digital radio and Spotify friendly machine.

The Pure Highway 400 and Highway 600 are plug-and-play units that sit on a car’s dashboard and connect to the speaker system. Using a clear display, with button and voice controls, the Highway can be used to access DAB radio and Spotify without digging out your phone.

The Highway 600 also has a built-in microphone which lets it double as a hands-free kit so users can take calls via a Bluetooth connected phone, right through the car’s speakers.

One major advantage of in-car digital radio, aside from quality, is that it will switch between bands as you travel so listening is uninterrupted.

Another great feature is the ability to mark songs you like so the Highway can tag them. By pressing and holding the Go tagging feature when listening to a song you like the unit will save the track to a Pure Go playlist.

The Highway 600 can also be voice controlled via Apple’s Siri or Ok Google. This can be used for searching for things like the weather or for hands-free calling.

The Spotify use is for subscribing users only at this stage. The Pure Go tagging function also works for songs that are played via Spotify to add them to the Pure Go Spotify playlist.

The Highway units use an antenna that attaches to the windscreen. There is another cable that runs to the car’s power supply via the lighter port. Both of these can be hidden discreetly, says Pure.

The Pure Highway 400 will be £130 and the Highway 600 will be £150. Both will be exclusively available from Halfords in April.

READ: Geneva Motor Show 2016 in pictures: Bugatti, Ferrari, Aston, Audi and more

Libratone Zipp review: A sound Scandinavian success

Libratone is a Scandinavian company and does things a little differently. First, it likes its materials: whether woolly coats or similar, like with its Diva soundbar. Second, its products aren’t as outlandishly expensive as most things in Copenhagen.

The Libratone Zipp is a typically quirky product: the second-generation model (and entirely different from the vertical-zip-up-jacket version of 2012) this is the Zipp all-new, and it’s curiously larger than, well, pretty much any other portable speaker at this price point.

The company might not be the best known in the UK, but even so does it have the at-home and portable Bluetooth speaker market all zipped-up with the new Zipp? We’ve been listening for a week to take it all in.

Libratone Zipp review: Design

When the Zipp boxes arrived at the office – we also had a Zipp Mini delivered to test out multi-room and multi-speaker capabilities – we were baffled as to why they were so big. “This is a portable speaker”, so we thought, but perhaps not in the traditional sense.

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Sure, the Zipp has a hangy leather handle – much like other Danish manufacturer Bang & Olufsen also opts for in similar products – so it can be hung up, or be carted around while active thanks to its on-board battery. But the product’s overall 260mm height and 125mm diameter (without the hangy handle protrusion considered) make the Zipp, well, just large. Similar £200-odd portables tend to be diminutive by comparison.

Which isn’t necessarily a problem, because what you’re getting with the new Zipp is a lot for your money. That larger space means larger speakers and more bass than smaller constructions can manage. Plus it’s cylindrical by design, so sound is projected out through 360-degrees, rather than being in a predominant single direction.

As we alluded to, Libratone likes its materials and quirks, the Zipp’s point of distinction being – you guessed it – a zipper. Yep, an actual zip; one used to hold the external mesh jacket around the cylinder, sat above the rubberised white base.

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The point of the zip? You can swap out the jackets for other colours if you’re feeling a bit Ikea. Although we’ve tried and struggled to actually remove the red jacket of this particular review model. No biggie, though, we think it’s a rather fetching colour. There are also graphite, grey and blue (Lagoon) colour options to choose from, or sold-separately colour jackets with suitably silly names: orange (Signal), green (Atlantic Deep), and deep red (Sangria).

Libratone Zipp review: SoundSpaces & Bluetooth

Pairing via Bluetooth is no issue at all, with the Zipp found rapidly on our Macbook Air’s drop menu. The range has been decent too, even surviving being carted into a second room away from the source with the signal holding up well. Good job.

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But Libratone is more interested in pushing its SoundSpaces, the idea being a Wi-Fi/multi-room/synced app-based experience. Setting up is relatively simple, with everything prompted through the app – you’ll just need your Wi-Fi network to connect the speakers to the same network as your source device for a solid connection.

Everything can be controlled within the app too, from the volume to the speaker position (not physically, of course) to equalisation pre-set – each of which are named with practical name for “Voicing” and “Room Setting” sections. You can even click and drag two speakers together to form one space, which output together – it works really well (we tested the Zipp paired with the Zipp Mini).

The Zipp itself also houses physical controls in a light-up touchpanel up top. By default there’s the company’s “bird” logo/symbol, but press down and you can twirl a finger around the circular panel to dip or raise the volume, or press the left/right illumination arrows to skip tracks direct from the product. Sometimes that circular “twirl” control for volume adjustment can be fussy, but we like the haptic feedback and ability to stop music by covering the logo with your hand.

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We’ve tested the Zipp using three different phones: two Android and one iPhone. The latter works a treat, with AirPlay easily handling output if music is on-device, or other services – Spotify Connect, Tidal, Deezer, Apple Music and more – or firing up internet radio stations from within the Libratone app. Switch to Google Musice on Android and it’s a bit trickier to out audio, unless using a third party app via UPnP/DLNA – a limitation of Google rather than Libratone, though.

Libratone Zipp review: Sound

Where the Libratone really excels is with the sheer oomph of its audio output. We’ve seen a bunch of £179 speakers, such as the Beats Pill, flip-flop their way through tracks and miss out on bass. Not so the Zipp: although it’s £219, and a whole lot larger than said Pill, that reflects in the sound quality.

Bass kicks hard, to the point you can feel it resonate on whichever surface the Zipp is sat (if, of course it is). But this doesn’t overwhelm, with the likes of The Black Queen’s Fever Daydream album vocals cutting through those poppy kicks and basslines nicely.

However, we use the £900 Naim Mu-so and the Libratone Zipp couldn’t nearly be compared to the clarity of such a high-end device. For it’s £219, however, the Zipp is quite something, our only real criticism being that there’s the lack of overall clarity; it’s not the cleanest sound ever.

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Volume is also more than ample, with a 100W output big enough to fill a room, whether you’re casually working with a little background noise or want to go opposite and hear nothing else around you. The 360-degree output does a good job of firing sound all around, although the rotation of the speaker relative to your position will give a slightly different experience – so there are still some spots sweeter than others.

When the Zipp isn’t wired up to the mains – and there’s a UK and EU adapter in the box – its battery will give a full day’s use. We’ve been getting a full office day at considerable volume, so think around 8-hours per charge and you won’t be disappointed. You could, therefore, lob the Zipp in the car and have it as your outdoor picnic companion this summer, a task it’s more than equipped for.

Verdict

The Libratone Zipp is a total rework of its 2012 original. The new quirky zip-up design is fun, while the physical size – which perhaps makes it a bit too large to cart around outside of the house – lends well to stomping bass and audio output considering its £219 price point.

That’s the rub of it really: for only about £50 more than many smaller portable competitors, the Zipp gives an extra wallop of sound. If you’re after an at-home portable speaker then Libratone, whether you know the name or not, seems to have that corner of the market neatly zipped-up here.

Huawei P9 vs Huawei P8: What’s the rumoured difference?

Huawei has made several smartphone announcements over the last couple of months. Both the Mate S and the Mate 8 have been unveiled, the first in September of last year and the second in December, but fans are still waiting for the Chinese company’s next flagship.

The Huawei P9 has been the subject of rumours for several months, with many reports suggesting it will be unveiled in March, succeeding the P8 that launched in April 2015.

With plenty of speculation surrounding the new flagship, we have put the rumoured specs of the Huawei P9 up against the Huawei P8 to see what the differences are and what potential new features the next-generation of the P series could bring.

Huawei P9 vs Huawei P8 design

The Huawei P8 measures 144.9 x 72.1 x 6.4mm and weighs 144g, making it a very slim and light device. It has an all-metal build with a wide plastic antenna strip at the top of the device on the rear, where the camera is situated, and a thinner strip at the bottom. The Huawei logo sits towards the top of the device and it comes in Titanium Grey and Champagne Gold colour options.

There are currently no measurements rumoured for the P9 but we wouldn’t be surprised to see very similar numbers to the P8. Based on the leaked images, it looks as though the same metal build will be present, with the wide antenna strip at the top and a slightly slimmer strip at the bottom.

The P9 should see some design differences over its predecessor though, including a fingerprint sensor that appears to sit towards the top of the device on the rear. This would push the Huawei logo down slightly if the leaks are accurate. It also looks like there will be dual rear cameras so assuming the leaks are correct, the P9 will be easily distinguishable from the P8 from the back at least.

Huawei P9 vs Huawei P8 display

The Huawei P8 comes with a 5.2-inch display offering a Full HD resolution for a pixel density of 424ppi. Based on the rumours, it sounds as though the Huawei P9 will be offering the same size at least, but the resolution is currently up in the air.

Some reports have claimed we will see a Quad HD resolution on the P9, putting it in the same field as the recently announced LG G5 and the Samsung Galaxy S7. Other rumours have said Huawei will stick to Full HD however, with the justification being that the company doesn’t believe consumers want to trade battery life for resolution.

If the Huawei P9 arrives with a 5.2-inch display with a Full HD resolution, you can expect a very similar display experience to the Huawei P8. If it jumps the resolution up to Quad HD, it would mean a pixel density of 565ppi. This would result in crisper and sharper images on the P9 by comparison but whether the human eye could detect this at this size is questionable.

Huawei P9 vs Huawei P8 camera

The Huawei P8 offers a 13-megapixel rear camera with an f/2.0 aperture and optical image stabilisation on board. The company made a big deal about the camera when the device launched, which means expectations for the next device will be high.

Based on the rumours, the Huawei P9 might meet these expectations though. It has been reported the P9 will offer dual rear cameras and all the image leaks have supported this idea. It’s something Huawei’s cheaper brand Honor has done in the past and LG recently made the dual-lens rear camera idea more mainstream after launching the feature on its G5.

Speculation claims the P9 will have two 12-megapixel snappers on the rear, although two 13-megapixel sensors have also been rumoured so it is unclear which will feature at the moment. It certainly looks like there will be an improvement from the P8 however.

The front camera of the P9 has yet to be speculated upon but the P8 offers an 8-megapixel selfie snapper so we would expect around the same resolution for the P9, if not a little higher.

Huawei P9 vs P8 hardware and specs

The Huawei P8 features the company’s own Kirin 930 chip, supported by 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. The battery capacity sits at 2680mAh and charging takes place via Micro-USB.

As you would expect, the Huawei P9 looks like it will offer a faster processor and upgraded specs. There is no word on what battery capacity the P9 will offer, or the amount of internal storage but both the chip and RAM have been speculated upon. The Kirin 950 chip has been reported, which is the same processor as the Mate 8, but other reports have also suggested the Kirin 955.

RAM isn’t clear either with 4GB and 6GB both suggested by different sources. It might be that the more powerful processor and increase in RAM are found within a different version of the P9 that is rumoured to launch alongside the standard flagship. What we can predict is the RAM will more than likely increase for the P9 over the P8 and a faster processor will be on board too. We will just need to wait a little for the specifics.

It also looks like USB Type-C will be on board the P9 based on some more recent leaks so expect faster charging and data transfer than the P8.

Huawei P9 vs P8 software

The Huawei P8 comes with Android Lollipop with the Huawei’s EMUI software over the top. The company adds something to almost every aspect of the Android stock software and we don’t expect this to be any different for the P9.

The Huawei P9 is expected to launch with Android Marshmallow with the EMUI over the top again, so expect a very familiar experience to the P8 with a few additions.

Huawei P9 vs P8 conclusion

The Huawei P9 has been heavily leaked over the last couple of months. Assuming the more recent leaks are accurate, it looks as though a similar design to the P8 will arrive but with the addition of dual cameras on the rear, a fingerprint sensor and USB Type-C.

You can expect an improved camera experience and a faster, upgraded processor, as well as the latest software but a familiar experience.

This is of course all based on speculation but it looks like the P9 will be a worthy upgrade for those with the P8 or an older P series device, especially if the camera or a fingerprint sensor are important to you. We will update this feature as more specs leak, as well as when we have the official details. For now, if you want to know more about the P9 you can read our rumour round up.