What is Apple’s True Tone display?

Apple recently launched a 9.7-inch iPad Pro with a new display technology called True Tone.

It works a lot like the white-balance-compensating system found in the iPhone’s camera flash, allowing the iPad’s screen to determine just the right percentage and intensity of white light you need. The idea behind the whole concept is that whites tend to look different under different light, but with True Tone enabled, the iPad can shift how the display looks no matter the lighting.

An adjusted white point should make reading text comfortable on the eyes, while the dynamically-adjusted brightness, when paired with the low-reflectance display, should equal more readability in direct sunlight. So, when the first 9.7-inch iPad Pro reviews surface, don’t be surprised to hear the screen is easier to use whether indoors with overhead lighting or sitting by the window.

Here’s everything we know so far about True Tone…

Apple True Tone: How does it work on the iPhone?

When Apple announced the iPhone 5S, it revealed the LED “flash” of past models had been replaced with a new one that the company called “True Tone”. It’s made up of two LEDs: one white and one amber. They fire in tandem when the flash is enabled and work with software algorithms that assess the colour temps of the scene, allowing the iPhone’s flash to adjust the intensity of white light vs. amber light.

This flash is not about providing more light but instead about providing light of a more accurate colour. The True Tone flash has both an amber and a white LED to produce two tones of light that can balance the foreground with the background. It reads the scene and fires off both LEDs in varying intensities to create up to 1,000 different colour temps, thus making both indoor and outdoor images more balanced.

Apple True Tone: How does it work on the iPad Pro?

The new, smaller iPad Pro features four sensors that measure the ambient light colour and brightness. The tablet uses this information to adjust its display. It can basically correct white point and illumination based on your environment lighting in order to render the right kinds of white under any light source. This technology isn’t new, however, as some desktop monitors have been offering it for a long time.

The thing to remember is that the human optical system is constantly comparing near-white to perfectly white, and that a “better” white can affect our perceived contrasted of whatever we’re looking at, meaning an adjusted white point should be more comfortable on our eyes. It also means that the iPad Pro should be more readable in direct sunlight, thus improving its usability ever so subtly.

Here’s how Apple explained its True Tone/Retina display:

“The 9.7-inch iPad Pro features advanced display technologies, including a True Tone display, which uses new four-channel sensors to dynamically adjust the white balance of the display to match the light around you for a more natural and accurate, paper-white viewing experience. The advanced Retina display is 25 percent brighter and 40 percent less reflective than iPad Air 2, making content even easier to see indoors and out. It uses the same wider color gamut as the iMac with Retina 5K display, delivering 25 percent greater color saturation for more vivid colours. A custom timing controller, photo alignment and oxide TFT deliver incredible color, contrast and clarity.”

Apple True Tone: Does it need to be enabled on iPad Pro?

Yes. Unlike the iPhone’s True Tone flash, the smaller iPad Pro’s True Tone display can be enabled and disabled. Under Settings, go to Display and Brightness, and switch on True Tone. Under this menu, you’ll also see a Night Shift toggle. Night Shift works similarly to True Tone.

Apple True Tone: Is True Tone related to Night Shift?

Night Shift is a feature introduced in iOS 9.3. It uses the iPad Pro’s clock and geolocation to automatically adjust the colours in the display to the warmer end of the spectrum after dark. The result is a better night’s sleep for you. Night Shift basically works like True Tone, but for a different reason. It makes the screen get warmer closer to your bed time in order to reduce the amount of blue light emitted from the screen.

This will make the display appear more orangey. But a warmer display should be much more comfortable for late-night reading when ambient light is likely to be lower. Apple has suggested that blue light can affect our sleep by throwing off our circadian rhythm, which moderates our body clock. It suppress the secretion of melatonin, too. Harvard researchers and their colleagues have even proved this with experiments.

So, Night Shift should reduce the negative effects of using the iPad Pro at night.

Twitter has two new board members, including one who uses it

This morning Twitter announced it’s swapping out two board members for new faces. In the filing, it revealed that Peter Currie and Peter Chernin will step down after the annual meeting, to be replaced by Pepsi exec Hugh Johnston and UK entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox. Most notable about these additions is that in Fox, the board will have a director who is a prolific tweeter with over seventeen thousand posts on her account, while Hugh has… 2 (both posted today).

More additions to the board soon, ones that will bring diversity and represent the strong communities on Twitter. This matters & is a must.

— Jack (@jack) April 8, 2016

Facing calls for increased diversity among the company’s ranks and its leadership, CEO Jack Dorsey promised more additions soon that will “represent the strong communities on Twitter,” echoing the sentiments of chairman Omid Kordestani. While we don’t know what that will look like yet, hopefully adding an active user can increase focus on more features the service’s current users will appreciate.

I’m joining the board of @twitter Thanks @jack @omidkordestani I can’t wait. Best. Job. Ever. Watch out silicon valley :-))

— martha lane fox (@Marthalanefox) April 8, 2016

Looking forward to partnering with @jack @omidkordestani and the @twitter Board to strengthen its power and impact.

— Hugh Johnston (@hughjohnston) April 8, 2016

The entire Board is working to bring greater diversity to our ranks. Watch this space

— Omid Kordestani (@omidkordestani) April 8, 2016

Source: Martha Lane Fox (Twitter), Hugh Johnston (Twitter), Twitter 8-K (SEC)

SpaceX proves its reusable rocket can land at sea

The folks at SpaceX have successfully demonstrated that their Falcon 9 rocket really is capable of blasting off to orbit and landing back down on a drone ship. It stuck a ground landing back in December 2015 after a handful of failed attempts to land at sea — Falcon 9 reached the barge and nearly made it in all those previous instances, but something always went awry. This time, the rocket gracefully touched down on the ship named “Of Course I Still Love You” after ferrying a Dragon capsule with supplies for the ISS, thanks in part to its recent upgrades.

SpaceX updated Falcon 9’s booster and tweaked its “legs,” which are supposed to be able to support its weight when it lands. One of its previous attempts failed, because its legs didn’t lock properly and gave out. According to VP for flight reliability, Hans Koenigsmann, that’s pretty much all they changed: “There’s minor changes on the nuts-and-bolts level, but that is basically all the changes that we did.” Since its next step is to prove that the rocket that landed can be reused, SpaceX announced at a press con that it’s launching the same Falcon 9 in May or June if tests ensure that it’s still in perfect working condition.

Landing from the chase plane pic.twitter.com/2Q5qCaPq9P

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 8, 2016

Onboard view of landing in high winds pic.twitter.com/FedRzjYYyQ

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 9, 2016

The 1st stage of the Falcon 9 just landed on our Of Course I Still Love You droneship. Dragon in good orbit pic.twitter.com/SYyUCDZE3k

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 8, 2016

Congrats SpaceX on landing a rocket at sea. It’s because of innovators like you & NASA that America continues to lead in space exploration.

— President Obama (@POTUS) April 8, 2016

Via: Space, The Verge

Source: NASA, SpaceX

Alphabet’s latest robot looks positively interstellar

Alphabet’s intent to get rid of Boston Dynamics hasn’t affected its other robotics programs, from the looks of it. On Japan’s New Economic Summit stage, the Google-X-subsidiary SCHAFT unveiled a new bipedal unit that’s capable of climbing stairs, carrying a loaded barbell on its “head” unit, laterally stepping through a row of seats at a soccer stadium and even maintaining balance when a section of pipe is placed under its feel. IEEE Spectrum writes that this was part of Google exec Andy Rubin’s keynote at the event, but that the debut wasn’t part of a product announcement or “indication of a specific product roadmap.”

So it looks like the clip of the anonymous bot navigating a rocky beach in the video below is indicative of the project’s lonely future. But hey, maybe director Christopher Nolan can put it to use in a sequel for Interstellar — the biped strikes awfully similar that movie’s monolithic robot companion, TARS.

#Robots on stage at #NEST2016! pic.twitter.com/qUyOtJPlye

— Rakuten Today (@RakutenToday) April 8, 2016

Via: IEEE Spectrum

Source: Rakuten Today (Twitter)

Android Central 282: All things LG G5

Phil, Jerry, Andrew and Russell gather ’round the fire to discuss anything and everything LG G5. The good. The not-so-good. And whether you should actually consider buying this phone. This is an audio-only podcast this week.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor!

• Harry’s: Start shaving better today and save $5 off your first purchase with coupon code

Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/androidcentral282.mp3

Cyanogen OS 13 brings Marshmallow to the OnePlus One

OnePlus has now confirmed that Cyanogen OS 13, which is based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, will begin rolling out to the OnePlus One via an over-the-air update starting tomorrow, April 9. Speaking on OnePlus’ forums, a OnePlus representative announced the imminent rollout, stating:

Our friends over at Cyanogen have informed us that CM 13.0 (ZNH0EAS26M) based on Marshmallow will drop starting tomorrow. The rollout will be staged so only some of you (random) will get it at first, and as always, patience is appreciated.

While CyanogenMod is referenced rather than Cyanogen OS, some users have already begun receiving the OTA update, confirming that it is indeed CyanogenOS 13.

Regardless, OnePlus One owners should begin seeing the update arrive over the coming days. Once updated, you’ll have access to all of Android 6.0 Marshmallow’s goodies, which include Doze mode, granular app permissions and more.

Once you’ve received your update, be sure to chime in with your thoughts in the comments and on our forums!

Thanks for the tip, Leo!

OnePlus One

• Review
• News
• Specifications
• Discussion
• Accessories

OnePlus

Watch SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket land on a drone ship in the middle of the ocean

SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 to the International Space Station and has already landed the rocket on a drone ship, marking the first time the company not only sent cargo to the station following a failed resupply mission but also the first time it’s successfully completed an ocean landing.

The rocket carried a Dragon cargo spacecraft stuffed with nearly 7,000 pounds of supplies for the station as well as an expandable habitat that will allow for astronauts to move around. It’s also carrying up a several science experiments, including one experiment that will help investigators study muscle atrophy and bone loss in space. There’s even cabbage that will be grown and consumed by ISS crew members.

And we have liftoff of @SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the @Space_Station. Watch: https://t.co/KX5g7zfYQe https://t.co/A1nhEt34yO

— NASA (@NASA) April 8, 2016

The Dragon is expected to dock on Sunday but will return to Earth on 11 May with important samples, such as body samples taken by astronaut Scott Kelly during his extended stay in space. This launch is one of many SpaceX (which has contracts with NASA) ISS resupply missions over the next 8 years. It’s sent cargo to the station six times. One attempt failed in June, however, due to a faulty strut in a fuel tank.

Congrats to the @SpaceX team & @ElonMusk! Way to stick the landing & send #Dragon to @Space_Station. https://t.co/TCJCQljJBZ

— NASA (@NASA) April 8, 2016

After the rocket launched today, SpaceX landed a part of the vehicle on a floating drone ship at sea. SpaceX has only successfully landed a rocket post-launch just once – and that was in December at a ground-based landing site in Florida. The ocean landing today is the second time SpaceX has successfully landed its rocket, and it’s doubly significant because it shows SpaceX can handle two different types of landings.

It’s also significant because it shows SpaceX can recover and reuse rockets, thus reducing the cost of resupply missions in space.

Oculus Rift vs. HTC Vive: What we’ve learned after the reviews

Well, it’s finally happened. High-quality and immersive virtual reality is finally something anyone can have in their home — assuming you have a powerful PC and can shell out $600 for the Oculus Rift, or $800 for the HTC Vive. It’s the realization of decades worth of VR research and sci-fi speculation, and it could end up having as big a societal impact as the introduction of the internet and smartphones.

Now that I’ve had a few weeks with both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, it’s worth taking a step back to see how they really compare, as well as where the VR landscape might go from here. And of course, you should also read my full reviews of the Rift and Vive for more detailed impressions of their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Price

First off, the HTC Vive’s $800 retail price is going to hurt your wallet a lot more, compared to the $600 Oculus Rift. But really, if you’re already willing to spend that much, you probably won’t feel the price difference. Oculus users should squirrel away some money for its motion controllers, which are set to debut later this year, as well as additional sensors for room-scale VR.

Of course, those numbers don’t take into account the price of a powerful gaming PC. Oculus has partnered with the likes of Dell, Alienware and ASUS to offer rigs starting at $1,000, and if you were to build your own computer from scratch, it would probably cost around $700 to $800. Both VR solutions recommend an NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD R9 290 video cad, and at least an Intel Core i5 4590 or equivalent processor.

Ergonomics and comfort

Both the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are lighter than the prototypes that came before, thank goodness. The Vive is heavier than the Rift, though, and it’s also a lot bulkier thanks to a plethora of cables coming out of the headset. The Vive is also a bit more front-heavy, which leads to additional strain on the front of your face.

Both devices give you a decent amount of flexibility with adjustable headstraps, but no matter what I did the Vive just wouldn’t sit as comfortably as the Rift, and its cables would also get in the way far more often.

I’ll admit, comfort is a very subjective thing. But while I managed to have the Oculus on for hours without much of an issue, the Vive always made its presence known, either by pressing down on my nose or forehead a bit too much. I’d also have to constantly readjust its cables. That’s the price you pay for room-scale VR today.

Graphics and immersion

Both the Rift and Vive feature two OLED displays running at 1200 by 1080 pixels each, so you won’t notice a resolution difference between them. The Vive’s displays appeared a bit sharper to my eyes, but not by a huge margin. For the most part, the quality of what you see will depend on your graphics card and CPU.

Both headsets handle head tracking in completely different ways: The Vive uses two base stations and a plethora of sensors on its front, whereas the Rift relies on a single sensor that sits on your desk. I didn’t have any trouble with head tracking for either device. The Vive’s method allows for room-scale VR, whereas the Rift at most lets you stand up from your chair and look around.

Of course, the Vive’s motion controllers help quite a bit when it comes to immersion. They effectively let you reach out and touch the virtual world. It doesn’t take long for you to get the hang of grabbing objects, or using realistic gestures to interact with games. The Rift, in comparison, relies on its bundled Xbox One controller to interact with games and VR demos for now.

Ultimately, the Vive simply has more “wow factor” when it comes to showing off the benefits of virtual reality.

Ecosystem

Unlike game console launches, you’ve got a rich selection of VR titles to play on both the Rift and Vive. Many titles, like Elite Dangerous, work across both platforms. Games that rely heavily on motion controls can only work on the Vive for now, but I’d bet many of them will also support Oculus once its new controllers land. There are only a few exclusive games at the moment, like Lucky’s Tale, an Oculus Studios title that’s bundled with every Rift, but we’ll definitely see even more of those over the next few years.

Again, it’s hard to say which platform is better. For the most part, you just have to look at the available titles and decide on what you’d actually like to play. If you want to go all-in on motion controls, the Vive is your place to start right now. But if you prefer slightly more traditional games with a VR twist, the Oculus will suit you better.

I’ve had incredible experiences on both platforms. Eve Valkyrie and Lucky’s Tale are simply tremendous on the Rift, while Valve’s bundle of VR mini games, The Lab, and The Brookhaven Experiment truly sell the benefits of motion controls.

So which should I get?

Just get both! Kidding. Really, you just have to look at the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and decide which suits you better. Personally, I prefer the comfort and games on the Oculus Rift, but I can’t deny that the Vive is much more immersive. When it comes to something I have to strap onto my head for hours, though, comfort matters more than anything else.

The $400 PlayStation VR could also be a decent option when it debuts later this year, especially if you already have a PlayStation 4. Just don’t expect an experience with the same level of fidelity that you’d get from the Rift or Vive on a powerful PC.

Alternatively, you could just avoid this entire first batch of VR hardware altogether. Everything will get cheaper next year, and you can expect followup headsets to fix plenty of ergonomic issues. If you’re jonesing for VR on a low budget, grab a Google Cardboard headset or Samsung’s $100 Gear VR (if you have a Samsung phone already).

Apple refused a court order to crack an iPhone in February

Now that the dust has (mostly) settled between the government and Apple over the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone 5c, we’re learning this isn’t the first time the firm has objected to breaking into its smartphones. In February, a Boston magistrate tried getting the iPhone-maker to provide “reasonable assistance” in extracting information from an alleged gang member’s handset, according to unsealed court documents obtained by Reuters. But, like in the case involving Syed Rizwan Farook’s phone, the tech juggernaut didn’t comply.

As magistrate Marianne Bowler explains, that sort of assistance entails:

“To the extent possible, extracting data from the device, copying the data from the device onto an external hard drive or other storage medium and returning the aforementioned storage medium to law enforcement.”

Exactly which model of iPhone was involved in this case, and whether or not the government’s “tool” for bypassing its security applies to this one aren’t clear at this point. If anything, though, this proves that Apple at least remains steadfast in not complying with any request to hack its own software — not just when there’s a highly public case involved. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment and will update this post should the company respond.

Source: Reuters

BlackBerry has two mid-range Android phones coming this year

Even though the Priv fell flat, BlackBerry is still trucking along with Android. The troubled company now plans to launch two mid-range Android phones later this year, reports The National. One phone will feature a physical keyboard, while the other will be a completely touchscreen device, according to BlackBerry CEO John Chen. While he didn’t have many details to share, Chen mentioned a potential $400 price, which would be a huge discount from the Priv, which launched at $699.

“We’re the only people who really secure Android, taking the security features of BlackBerry that everyone knows us for and make it more reachable for the market,” Chen said.

He reiterated that BlackBerry has no plans for new devices featuring the BB10 OS, though the company will still support the platform (it still has millions of customers using it, after all). Chen also isn’t giving up the idea of selling off BlackBerry’s handset division if it doesn’t shape up, an idea he’s floated since coming aboard in 2013.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: The National