The Engadget staff on this week’s Apple news

Covering a keynote from a big tech company makes for a busy day at Engadget, and yesterday’s “Loop You In” event at Apple’s Cupertino campus was no exception. Our fearless senior mobile editor Chris Velazco liveblogged the presentation, and then immediately got hands-on with the newly announced iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The rest of the team, meanwhile, was busy writing up all the news, which also included iOS and tvOS software updates, price cuts for the iPad Air 2 and Apple Watch, and some frank remarks from Tim Cook about the company’s recent fight with the FBI. Now that the madness has subsided, it’s time for us to take a step back and gather our thoughts. Here’s what we actually think about it all.

Chromecast app expansion prompts a name change to Google Cast

Google’s trying to redefine the TV and audio experience with its Casting technology, and it is getting the help it needs from manufacturers to do just that. One of them being Vizio, which today revealed a new set of 4K, HDR TVs that rely solely on Google Cast to get streaming content from third-party apps. As part of this, Google is now changing the name of the Chromecast app to Google Cast, in what’s supposed to represent the broadness of the platform, according to the company.

The decision makes total sense, given that Google Cast can be found on many televisions, monitors and speakers nowadays, plus that’s been the platform’s name since the early days. Be on the look out for the rebranded app over the next few days — Google says it’s rolling out to Android and iOS users this week.

Source: Google

Apple’s messy iPad lineup keeps getting more complicated

iPad sales peaked following the holiday quarter of 2013 — perhaps not coincidentally, that was when Apple’s tablet lineup was at its most logical. Apple had just introduced the iPad Air, the first major redesign of its 9.7-inch tablet, and the iPad Mini 2, which added a sorely-needed Retina-class display. Beyond the size and price, these tablets were identical from a specs perspective, making it extremely easy to pick one. Yes, Apple still offered older iPads in both screen sizes, but trying to figure out the best iPad to buy was a simple affair. You just picked your screen size and preferred storage and could rest easy knowing you weren’t missing out.

Since then, the iPad has hit a two-year sales slump (sales peaked at 26 million but have since dropped to 16 million in 2015’s holiday season), and it feels like Apple is desperately trying to find the right tablet to reverse what has to be a worrying trend. The new 9.7-inch iPad Pro is the best example of this approach. In one regard, it’s clearly meant to be the successor to the 18-month-old iPad Air 2 — it’s the same size and weight and keeps the tablet’s classic and most popular screen size.

But, Apple has abandoned the traditional $500 starting price that the company has hit for its 9.7-inch tablet since the first iPad launched in 2010. Now, pricing starts at $600 — Apple clearly believes that the new technology in the iPad Pro is worth that premium, and it’s not an unreasonable argument. Support for the smart keyboard and Apple Pencil, the new four-speaker audio system and the more powerful A9X processor are noteworthy features.

What’s the best iPad you can buy right now? Apple might not even know the answer.

Things get really complicated when you compare the iPad Pro to the aging but still powerful iPad Air 2. Apple’s previous flagship tablet got the standard $100 price cut that comes when a new model takes its place in the lineup. So customers can either spend $600 on the 9.7-inch Pro with only 32GB of storage space — or save $100 and buy an Air 2 with double the capacity. Of course, the kind of people who value the Pro’s advanced features will likely also need more storage — so those customers will likely end up resigned to shelling out a whopping $750 for the 128GB iPad Pro. It’s a classic Apple upsell, but it also illustrates just how complex the iPad lineup is right now.

And we haven’t even mentioned the 12.9-inch iPad Pro yet! That device previously held the title of king iPad, but Apple correctly recognized that a device that big, heavy and expensive will likely remain a niche product. But now, those customers drawn to the iPad Pro aren’t even getting the latest and greatest technology — the smaller Pro has both a better screen and much better cameras. With the screen being the most important part of an iPad, it’s all of a sudden much harder to justify dropping the minimum $800 needed for a 12.9-inch iPad when the smaller one has a better display.

It feels like Apple is throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks in the iPad lineup.

It feels like Apple is throwing spaghetti against the wall in an effort to try and find the magic bullet that will revive iPad sales and, as such, the lineup is confusing and complicated. I’m not against Apple offering multiple screen sizes for both its tablets and its similarly complex iPhone lineup — some degree of choice is good for customers, and it’s good to see Apple move away from the somewhat dogmatic “one size fits all” approach. But Apple could still hit multiple price points and sizes while simplifying its lineup.

For starters, Apple should drop the price of the iPad Pro lineup $100 across the board. Then, the new 32Gb 9.7-inch Pro would slot right into the $500 price point that Apple has hit with the iPad since its launch. The 16GB Air 2 can stick around at $400 for education and budget-conscious customers; again, Apple has historically kept its previous-generation tablet around for $100 less than the current model. At this point, Apple should do away with the iPad Mini 2 and its 2013 technology entirely and drop the entry price of the iPad Mini 4 to $350 to make it a better value.

Of course, Apple doesn’t typically reduce the price of its products very often. And that still doesn’t solve the problem of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro having a lesser screen than its smaller sibling. But it would make Apple’s iPad lineup a lot easier to parse for new customers: There would be three sizes to pick from, all at more reasonable price points, with the older Air 2 sticking around as a budget offering for the iPad’s most popular screen size.

If Apple truly believes the iPad is the future of computing, it needs to make it easy for customers to find one that fits for them. And price drops might go a long way towards enticing those millions of people using old Windows computers Apple referenced in its keynote yesterday to buying an ipad — or getting those with older iPads to upgrade.

Oh, and Apple? While you’re at it, let’s make sure you can get every iPad in rose gold — that color is just too hot not to spread around to everyone.

Even the Justice League will be jealous of these Batman and Superman themes

Tell me … does your theme bleed awesomeness?

We’re ready to see Batman and Superman duke it out for a few hours before they team up to beat down Facebook founder lookalike Lex Luthor. They’re even bringing along a Wonder Woman we have a lot of hope for and an Aquaman that I’m gonna cheer on even if he’s not the Aquaman I’d prefer. (I’ll take as much Aquaman as I can, but could we get one with a sense of humor on the big screen once?)

While some Android phones can get Superman or Batman cases, maybe, if your phone is popular enough with casemakers, but we don’t limit our themes to a case. We’re not iPhone users, for Duarte’s sake. So we’ve assembled two themes to bring the badass of Batman to your icons, your widgets, and the rest of your home screen.

Let’s put some super in your phone.

Superman

Superman Components:

• Wallpaper
• Zwart Icon Pack (Free)
• House of El Custom Icon
• Jack’s Music Widget (Free, $1.99)
• 1Weather (Free)
• KWGT Pro ($2.99)
• SuperWidget KWGT Preset
• Superman Ringtone
• Superman notification
• Launcher that supports both icon packs and individual custom icons; Sub-grid positioning (Nova) preferred, but not required
• File manager app required for moving KWGT preset and theme elements into proper folders

Superman Theme Instructions:

Download wallpaper and set using the wallpaper picker in your launcher. Download Zwart Icon Pack (Free). Set as your launcher’s icon pack in your launcher’s settings. In Nova, it’s under Look and Feel. In Action, it’s under Display. In Apex, it’s under Theme Settings.

Download House of El Custom Icon to set as app drawer icon.

Long-press your app drawer icon on your home screen and Edit it. Select Documents from the icon selection menu. If Documents is not available, select Gallery apps. If Documents is still not an option, select the gallery app of your choice. Find the House of El icon where you downloaded it and select it. Ensure the preview box is covering everything. In some launchers, the background is black, so you won’t be able to see anything but the white outer box. If the box is fully extended, hit Done in the top right corner. In the Edit Shortcut menu, tap Done (not needed in Action Launcher). Download Jack’s Music Widget (Free, $1.99)

Add a 4×1 Jack’s Music Widget to the top of your home screen. If your home screen grid is larger than 4 columns, stretch it to fit across the top of your screen.

Open the Jack’s Music Widget app in your app drawer (don’t just tap the widget) to configure the widget. Set the 4×1 Widget Style to Clear. (If you haven’t already, give Jack’s Music Widget notification access so that it can see the info from your music app.) 1Weather (Free) Add a 4×1 1Weather Compact Widget to the bottom of your home screen. When the widget configuration pops up, select Transparent as the Background, White for your Icons, and either White or Black for the Accent. Tap Done in the top left corner to save the widget. If your home screen grid is larger than 4 columns, stretch the 1Weather widget to fit across the top of your screen. Download the Superman Ringtone and Superman notification to the Ringtones and Notifications folders on your device. In Settings, set man-of-steel as your ringtone and superman-dun-dun as your notification.

Now this theme looks great, but it’s missing a little superhero flair, n’est pas? So, we’re going to add some almost invisible shortcuts for Clark Kent to hide on his phone from prying eyes. To make this even easier, I’ve exported the widget as a preset that you can import and adapt as you see fit.

Optional Super Secret Shortcut Widget:

Download SuperWidget KWGT file to the Kustom/widgets folder on your phone. Download KWGT Pro. Add a 1×1 KWGT to your home screen. (If possible, resize it to 1.5×1.5 for a little extra padding.) Place it somewhere easy to reach, but not somewhere important to any gesture controls your launcher might be using. Tap the widget to configure it. Tap the Exported tab of the Preset gallery. Select SuperWidget. Save the widget with the floppy disc icon in the top right corner. Repeat steps 1-6 for every shortcut you wish to hide on your home screen.

To Change the App Shortcut:

Open the widget in the KWGT editor Tap Superman Shortcut in the Items tab. Tap the Touch tab. Tap the Launch App box. Tap the App box. Select your desired app. You can also switch Launch App to Launch Shortcut or a media control if you want. Save the widget with the floppy disc icon in the top right corner.

To make a Superman Shortcut more/less visible:

Open the widget in the KWGT editor Tap Superman Shortcut in the Items tab. In the Bitmap tab, scroll down to Opacity. To make your shortcut less visible, drag the slider closer to 0. To make your shortcut more visible, drag the slider closer to 100. To tilt the logo, move the Rotate slider. Save the widget with the floppy disc icon in the top right corner.

Batman

Batman Components:

• Wallpaper
• Whicons Icon Pack (Free)
• Assorted Bat Logos
• Jack’s Music Widget (Free, $1.99)
• 1Weather (Free)
• KWGT Pro ($2.99)
• BatWidget KWGT Preset
• Batman Ringtone
• Batwave Notification tone
• Launcher that supports both icon packs and individual custom icons; Sub-grid positioning (Nova) preferred, but not required
• File manager app required for moving KWGT preset and theme elements into proper folders

Batman Theme Instructions:

Download wallpaper and set using the wallpaper picker in your launcher. Download Whicons Icon Pack (Free). Set as your launcher’s icon pack in your launcher’s settings. In Nova, it’s under Look and Feel. In Action, it’s under Display. In Apex, it’s under Theme Settings. Long-press your app drawer icon on your home screen and Edit it. Select Whicons Icon pack. Scroll down to B and select the Batman icon. In the Edit Shortcut menu, tap Done (not needed in Action Launcher). Download Batman ringtone and Batwave notification tone to the Ringtones and Notifications folders on your phone. In Settings, set batman_animated as your ringtone and Batwave-one-tone as your notification tone. Add a 4×1 Jack’s Music Widget to the bottom of your home screen. If your home screen grid is larger than 4 columns, stretch it to fit across the top of your screen. Open the Jack’s Music Widget app in your app drawer (don’t just tap the widget) to configure the widget. Set the 4×1 Widget Style to Clear. (If you haven’t already, give Jack’s Music Widget notification access so that it can see the info from your music app.) Download BatWidget KWGT file to the Kustom/widgets folder on your phone. Add a 2×4 KWGT to your home screen. Resize the widget to fill the top right portion of the screen next to the cowl. Tap the widget to configure it. Tap the Exported tab of the Preset gallery. Select BatWidget.

This will load a widget preset I made for this theme. It consists of a simple weather/clock widget and three ‘secret’ shortcuts below it. Tapping the Clock and Weather Icon lead to Timely and 1Weather, and the Three shadowy Batman Logos below lead to Play Music (top), Google Keep (middle), and Google Maps (bottom). This widget preset is fully customizable, and you will probably want to change at least a few things in it. Please remember to always Save your widget before returning to the home screen. Here’s a few of the ways you can make this widget your own.

To Change One of the Shortcuts:

Open the widget in the KWGT editor Tap the element you wish to edit in the Items tab. (For example, Batman Brave&Bold Shortcut) Tap the Touch tab. Tap the Launch App box. Tap the App box. Select your desired app. You can also switch Launch App to Launch Shortcut or a media control if you want. Save the widget with the floppy disc icon in the top right corner.

To make a Batman Shortcut more/less visible:

Open the widget in the KWGT editor Tap the element you wish to edit in the Items tab. (For example, Batman Brave&Bold Shortcut) In the Bitmap tab, scroll down to Opacity. To make your shortcut less visible, drag the slider closer to 0. To make your shortcut more visible, drag the slider closer to 100. Save the widget with the floppy disc icon in the top right corner.

To change the Clock/Weather/Date colors:

Open the widget in the KWGT editor Tap the Globals tab. Select the deceptively-named drkgrey Global. Select your new color from the color picker. Once you find the color you like, you can set it by tapping the preview color box or the checkmark in the top right corner. Save the widget with the floppy disc icon in the top right corner.

Now that you have these super superhero themes under your belt, show us how you make your home screen hero-worthy! Share your take on our theme in the comments below and in the forums! And when your fellow comic book fans ask where you got that sweet setup while you’re in line for Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice, tell them you got it from the good folks here at Android Central!

Google Photos will now help you make new albums after a trip

Google Photos is rolling out an update that is designed to make it easier to put recent images in new albums. Now, when you return from an event or trip, Photos will suggest new albums from photos you took to commemorate those events.

Google says:

Starting today, after an event or trip, Google Photos will suggest a new album for you, curated with just your best shots. It’ll also add maps to show how far you traveled and location pins to remember where you went—because it’s not always easy to recall the late-night diner you hit on your road trip, or which campsite you pitched the tent in when arriving after dark.

The update also adds the ability to put in text captions, along with a way to allow others to add photos to the album. Any current album can also be customized with maps, location pins, and text.

HTC 10 will have an online-only launch on April 12

HTC has announced that on April 12 it will officially unveil its latest smartphone which is rumored to be the HTC 10. This time around the company is doing an online-only unveiling, which it also did in 2015 for the HTC One A9. HTC has been teasing the phone with the hashtag “#powerof10” for the past few weeks, and now we finally know when we will see it officially. The company revealed the announcement on its official Twitter page, stating:

See what we’re obsessed about on April 12 on https://t.co/NMJMew9UvA. #powerof10 pic.twitter.com/J3ZFCALvUx

— HTC (@htc) March 22, 2016

Be sure to keep an eye on HTC’s site on April 12 to see what the company has to announce.

The LG G5 can still offer good audio, even without the B&O Hi-Fi audio module

The LG G5 may not need a Hi-Fi module, but it’s still a great option to have available.

Many of us are looking forward to seeing how well the Bang & Olufsen Hi-Fi audio module for the LG G5 performs. While not yet mainstream, high quality audio performance through the headphone jack is something phone manufacturers are starting to pay attention to, and plenty of us couldn’t be happier.

But what happens if you have no interest in buying the audio module for the G5? Maybe you’re not ready to spend the money for “better” music, or you are completely satisfied with streaming services through the speakers or headphones you already have. That’s valid thinking. For many of us, it’s simply not worth the added cost and we’re happy with the way “regular” music sounds.

If that sounds like you, the LG G5 will be just fine without buying any extra hardware.

We already talked about how any electronic device that turns an audio file into a noise — whether it be a ringtone or a song — needs to have its own audio processing hardware. If you curious about what this is all about, have a good read here. The LG G5 is no exception, and its Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor has all the hardware embedded into the system-on-chip that it needs to “create” sound from digital files. From the official specs (.pdf link):

• 10-bit 4K decode
• 1080p240 FPS decode
• 4K HEVC video at 60FPS with 10-bit color
• Simultaneous 1080p30+1080p30 inbound/outbound
• WCD9335 audio codec
• Hi-Fi 24bit/192kHz FLAC playback

The last two lines are what we’re interested in here. A hardware audio codec is a single device that encodes analog audio as digital signals and decodes digital back into analog. In other words, it’s both a DAC and an ADC. This is the hardware used to turn files into sounds. In addition, Qualcomm is using their own WSA8815 amplifier on the 820 system on chip. This package enables native 24 bit lossless playback at 192 kHz.

You’ll have average to good audio coming from the G5 to your headphones when used without the B&O add-on module.

It’s worth noting that not every phone with the same processor has the same audio processing hardware — for example, the Galaxy S7 has a Snapdragon 820 in some variants but could have a different DAC entirely. A manufacturer isn’t forced to use what’s bundled inside the 820, and users are reporting that they see a DSP Group DBMDX DAC and a Maxim MAX98506BEWV audio amplifier.

It’s possible that LG will use off-die parts for audio processing on the G5, but we won’t really know until people start tearing the phone apart. None of the audio processing hardware in the 820 chipset is what anyone would call “Hi-Fi” quality, even if Qualcomm uses the word in their list of specifications. And while LG doesn’t have to use what’s bundled on the chip itself for audio playback, doing so saves room on the circuit board, saves some money and decreases development costs.

All of this simply means that you’ll have average to good audio coming from the G5 to your headphones, even when used without the B&O add-on module, because the phone itself has to have capable audio hardware. If you want something with a little more quality, you can buy the B&O Hi-Fi module.

In the end, we need to remember that all of our music will play just fine unless you’re trying to play 32 bit files or files with an ultra-high bitrate that the “regular” G5 audio hardware doesn’t support. When you tap a button, your music will play. If you were dead set on playing HQ audio from your phone, you probably planned on buying the Bang & Olufsen module anyway.

LG G5

• LG G5 hands-on
• LG G5 complete specs
• LG G5 CAM Plus module
• LG G5 B&O Hi-Fi audio module
• The G5 has an always-on display
• LG G5 keeps the SD card, shuns adoptable storage
• Join the LG G5 discussion

Verizon, Sprint and AT&T offer free calls to Belgium following attacks

AT&T, Sprint and Verizon have all announced that customers in the U.S. can call and text numbers in Belgium free of charge for a number of days in the wake of attacks in that country today.

AT&T stated:

Our thoughts are with the people of Belgium and our customers who have friends and family there. We’re going to credit our wireline and wireless customers for all calls and text messages to Belgium from March 22-28.”

Sprint’s CEO Marcelo Claure used his Twitter feed to announced the carrier’s plans:

.@Sprint, @virginmobileusa & @boostmobile will waive fees for customer call/texts to & from #Belgium thru March 31 pic.twitter.com/vupjfXwnv8

— MarceloClaure (@marceloclaure) March 22, 2016

Verizon’s free calling offer also includes Turkey, which experienced its own attacks a few days ago:

Wireless users will incur no charges for texts or international long distance calls originating from the U.S. to Belgium on March 22 and 23, 2016, and from the U.S. to Turkey from March 19 and 20, 2016 (applicable taxes and surcharges will apply). Home wireline telephone customers will incur no charges to Belgium from their U.S. landlines on March 22 and 23, 2016, and from the U.S. to Turkey on March 19 and 20, 2016 (applicable taxes and surcharges will apply).

The Ring Video Doorbell now lets you stream live video from your home

Ring has introduced a new feature to its Video Doorbell family, Live View. With Live View, you can use your smartphone to see and speak with whoever is at your door, whenever you want. Just open the mobile app, select your doorbell, and tap “Live View” to get started.

Right now, Live View is available for select users with hardwired installations. It is also available through the Video Doorbell, and will be available with the Video Doorbell Pro when it launches next month.

You can grab the Ring app from the Google Play Store now.

HTC confirms flagship reveal on 12 April, but there’s a catch…

HTC has officially confirmed that it will be revealing its next flagship handset on Tuesday 12 April. The forthcoming device from HTC doesn’t yet have a name, although it’s believed to be called HTC 10, going under the codename HTC Perfume during development. 

There’s a catch however: this isn’t going to be a big all-singing, all-dancing launch event, instead it’s going to be a virtual reveal. The timing is set for 1pm London, 8am New York, 8pm Taipei. As it’s online, it should mean that everyone will be able to watch it.

HTC surprised many by not revealing a flagship handset at Mobile World Congress recently, instead holding fire until this later date. Until recently there hadn’t been too much revealed about the forthcoming device, but HTC started teasing details – talking up the camera and referring to the “power of 10” – while details have trickled out elsewhere.

You can expect a metal device with a chamfered rear edge and looking more like the One A9 than last year’s flagship the M9. It is said to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, with a 5.2-inch 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution display.

We expect the HTC 10 to run on Android Marshmallow with a new, lighter, version of Sense over the top, and we think there’s a 12-megapixel camera on the rear. 

We’ve been tracking these rumours for some time, and now have a launch date to add into the mix. Mark your calendars for 12 April, and head over to read up on what to expect.

READ: HTC 10/M10/Perfume: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know