How to watch the Europa and Champions League finals for free

It’s coming to the end of the domestic football season and that means a couple of the sport’s greatest honours will be contested in the next couple of weeks.

On 18 May in Basel, Switzerland, Liverpool will take on Sevilla in the final of the Europa League. Then, on 28 May in Milan, the two Madrids, Real and Atletico, will battle it out for Europe’s biggest trophy – both figuratively and literally, in the Champions League final.

Traditionally, both have been broadcast on terrestrial television in the UK. Not so this year, as BT has the exclusive rights.

That doesn’t mean you need a subscription to a sports package with one of the paid TV services though. You can still watch it no matter your circumstances. And on telly too.

Here’s our guide to the different ways you can watch both finals; free and paid.

When is the Europa League final on TV in the UK?

The Europa League final between Liverpool and Sevilla will kick off at 19:45 BST on Wednesday, 18 May.

When is the Champions League final on TV in the UK?

The Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will kick off at 19:45 BST on Saturday, 28 May.

Where can I watch the Europa and Champions League finals in the UK?

On paid TV

If you subscribe to BT YouView, or the sports packages on Sky or Virgin Media you can watch both finals on the BT Sport Europe channel, with build-up shows starting at 19:00 BST ahead of each match’s kick off time.

Check your provider for costs and package details.

READ: BT Ultra HD YouView+ review: A bold step into future 4K entertainment

On Freeview

BT Sport Showcase on Freeview channel 59 will also show both matches live.

Online

BT.com and BTSport.com will also livestream both matches.

On YouTube

In a first for both tournaments, the finals will also be livestreamed through YouTube. You just need to head to BT Sport’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/BTSportOfficial.

In Ultra HD (4K)

While you can watch the matches live in several other ways, only customers with access to BT Sport Ultra HD can watch either final in 4K.

You can find out more about BT Ultra HD here.

In Liverpool

Liverpool fans have been advised not to travel to Basel if they do not have tickets for the Europa League final. Ticket allocation has been particularly stingy and St Jakob Park only has a capacity of around 38,000.

BT therefore will host a massive screen in Liverpool’s Echo Arena for fans who want to watch the match with others in the best way possible. Tickets cost £5 each and doors open at 6pm. All proceeds go to charity.

13 iPhone battery tips and tricks

Smartphones are great dates: they look good and they are patient with you while you take photos, reply to emails, browse the internet and respond to messages. The flaw almost all of them have however, is they don’t have the stamina to last all day and night.

The chances of it making it through from breakfast to dinner, after dinner drinks and your Uber or train ride home are pretty minimal, no matter what device you have.

Here are 13 battery tips to squeeze as much life out of your iPhone as possible.

Turn your screen brightness down

Sometimes you need your display to be nice and bright, but most of the time it’s not necessary, especially indoors.

Slide up from the bottom of your home screen and toggle the screen brightness to as low as you can go. You can always ramp it back up if you need to see something specifically and then flick it back down.

Turn off background app refresh

You don’t need every single app you’ve downloaded on your iPhone to be refreshing in the background so turn off the ones you don’t need.

Unfortunately, this means going into each app individually to check if background refresh is on, but it will be worth it if you have your iPhone to order your Uber at the end of the night. Head into Settings and scroll down to see all the apps on your device.

Turn display Auto-Lock to 30 seconds

Most of us turn hit the power button to check for notifications or the time, but it’s easy to forget to hit the power button again to turn the display back off.

Making sure Auto-Lock is set to the shortest possible time, which is 30 seconds, will ensure your display isn’t using power for longer than necessary.

Avoid constantly turning your screen on

As we said above, many of us have a habit of constantly turning our screens on even when we know we haven’t had a message and we looked at the time two minutes ago.

Try and avoid turning your display on unnecessarily as much as you can. It sucks a lot of power, which you could use for more important things.

Turn on airplane mode when signal is weak

Searching for signal is one of the biggest power munchers so if you are in an area that has weak or no signal, consider turning airplane mode on or turning mobile data off.

Airplane mode is not ideal as it means you’ll get no calls, messages or anything else coming through but it will save your battery and it can be done easily, swiping up from the bottom of the home screen.

Turning mobile data off will mean your iPhone will still receive calls and texts but it won’t be constantly searching for 3G. To do this, head to Settings > Mobile Data and toggle Mobile Data off.

Turn location tracking off

Tracking location means your iPhone is constantly using Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth and built-in GPS to pinpoint where you are, which obviously will use battery power.

If you aren’t using a specific app that requires your location data to get you somewhere then turn it off.

Turn vibration off

Vibration alerts are useful, especially if your iPhone is on silent, but they require the use of the motor and that motor needs juice from the battery.

To do this, head to Settings > Sounds and toggle Vibrate on Ring and Vibrate on Silent off.

Turn off notifications

You probably don’t need to be notified for absolutely everything that is going on. Yes, it’s useful to get WhatsApp or Message notifications but do you really need to know when someone has commented on your new Facebook profile picture? Probably not.

Limiting the number of notifications you receive will help your battery life and maybe even your sanity. Like background app refresh, you have to go through each app individually. Head to Settings > Notifications and then start filtering through your apps.

Fetch email manually

It’s useful to get emails as they are sent, but just because you get them straight away doesn’t mean you have time to read them straight away.

Changing your email settings so you get them manually instead of your iPhone fetching them will help save your battery life. If you don’t like the idea of entirely manual, change the fetch schedule to a longer duration such as hourly instead of every 15 minutes for example. To do this, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data.

Turn Siri off

Siri is always listening. That means Siri is always using your battery. You can turn the Hey Siri feature off easily enough so it’s worth doing if you’re trying to save some juice.

To do this, go to Settings > General > Siri > Allow “Hey Siri” and toggle it off.

Check which apps are eating your battery

There are some apps that eat more battery than you would think. It’s worth checking which apps you are using that are impacting your battery life the most so you are aware.

Head to Settings > Battery > Battery Usage. You can choose the last seven days or the last 24 hours. It’s worth checking both to see if you can see a pattern or figure out which apps to especially avoid.

Turn off Bluetooth

We mentioned turning on airplane mode or mobile data off when you have weak or no signal, but it’s also worth turning Bluetooth off separately.

You might not always be in a position whereby airplane mode is convenient but turning off Bluetooth on its own will still save battery. Swipe up from the top and toggle Bluetooth off from here.

Turn Low Power Mode on

If all else fails, Apple has a Low Power Mode that will reduce power consumption as much as possible. This mode will turn off background app refresh, Hey Siri, Mail fetch, automatic downloads and reduce visual effects.

To turn Low Power Mode on, head to Settings > Battery and toggle it on.

Hyperloop One CEO wants us riding in tubes in 2021

The company formerly known as Hyperloop Technologies has had a busy couple of days. It renamed itself Hyperloop One, announced partnerships with governments and investors, launched a competition and performed a public test of its propulsion system.

At the helm of the company’s evolution from “pretty cool idea” to testing a functional sled in the desert is CEO Rob Lloyd. The former Cisco president obviously knows a bit about networks and scale. Both skills are needed if Hyperloop One wants to bring an actual transportation system to the world.

We sat down with Lloyd to talk about government partnerships (someone needs to build all those tube networks), when people will be allowed inside the pods, and if we’ll ever travel under the sea.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

As a private company, how do you see governments partnering with Hyperloop One?

I think first and foremost it’s going to take government support to create a regulatory framework to make Hyperloop a possibility. We’re seeing some very good support from federal transportation authorities and state and local transportation groups around the world. We’ll need a supportive environment for regulations. We need people that want to move faster than the status quo.

Also, we think we support many of the priorities that governments have which includes less destruction of the environment and a more sustainable all-electric transportation. It makes no noise. While the system today was on rails, Hyperloop in the future doesn’t have anything touching a rail while it’s being levitated. So there’s no friction. You won’t hear a Hyperloop go past your house. We think we’re generally so much aligned with government policy, we just need to educate governments and get them on our side.

So that involves governments building the tracks/tubes like the construction of the interstate system?

Exactly. The interstate system gets built from high density point-to-point locations. You solve a real problem and you build the network. Hyperloop is a network. You start with a few nodes in the network where you really solve a problem. Then you build extensions to those nodes. I think governments are instrumental. They may be the bigger challenge than building the Hyperloop technology itself.

If everything goes according to plan, how far is Hyperloop from becoming a reality?

I’m convinced that we will be building freight transportation systems in 2017 and 2018. I’m very convinced we’ll be working collaboratively with a government and regulatory environment to start construction of passenger systems in 2018. I’m entirely convinced we’ll be seeing freight moved in a Hyperloop by 2020, maybe 2019 and our first passengers by 2021.

So freight is the first application?

It’s an easier step. There are less systems that need to be designed and certified. And for passengers, they should be certified. We all want to have a trusted relationship when we do anything. When we drive our car, when we fly in a plane, or when we travel in a Hyperloop. That’s important to use. We’ve actually brought people on that are beginning to help us with the safety certification process. When people ride Hyperloop we want them to feel comfortable and confident.

You talked about underwater routes. Is that a pie-in-the-sky idea or something we’ll see in 2020s?

Let’s go in this order: Above ground first. Below ground in a tunnel through very rapid boring technology that allows us to do very straight and direct tunnels next and then underwater. Probably in that sequence.

LandCruisers create communication network in the outback

Companies are using balloons, planes and other high-tech apparatuses to provide WiFi in underserved areas. In the Australian outback, Saatchi teamed up with Flinders University to find a way to turn the massive fleet of Toyota LandCruisers into mobile communication hotspots using Wi-Fi, UHF and Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN). The solution is a small capsule-like device that attaches to the vehicle’s window with suction cups, providing a signal range of up to 25 km (15.5 miles).

The moving network allows folks to make emergency calls or send geo-tagged messages that are passed from vehicle to vehicle. When one of the LandCruisers is in range of a base station, the data is then sent to first responders and the rest of the world. The LandCruiser network could also be useful during disasters like fires, handling communication between crews on the ground attending to the situation at hand.

It’s not just a proof-of-concept endeavor, either. The system is being tested in the Flinders Ranges, one of the most remote parts of the outback. Toyota is examining the results of the project to determine the next step, which could include employing the network in other areas and eventual commercial use. Of course, this part of Australia benefits from the number of LandCruisers used as everyday vehicles

Source: Saatchi & Saatchi

Apple R&D Spending on Track to Top Record $10 Billion Amid Electric Vehicle Rumors

While much attention has been placed on Apple’s first quarterly revenue decline in thirteen years, with some suggesting that the iPhone maker may push deeper into services to combat the slowdown, there is evidence to suggest that Tim Cook and company have bigger plans in store.

Apple analyst Neil Cybart of Above Avalon notes that Apple is now on track to spend a record $10 billion on research and development this year, up nearly 30 percent from 2015 and significantly more than the little over $3 billion per year it was spending on R&D just four years ago.

Cybart believes that the most likely explanation for Apple’s increased R&D spending is that the company is looking to make a long-term pivot beyond the iPhone, which currently accounts for nearly two-thirds of the company’s revenue. His predicted product of the future: the widely rumored Apple Car.

“Apple is not spending $10 billion on R&D just to come up with new Watch bands, larger iPads, or a video streaming service,” he wrote. “Instead, Apple is planning on something much bigger: a pivot into the automobile industry.”

Apple’s R&D spending has experienced a significant uptick since mid-2014, which Cybart attributes to Apple Car development over the past few years. There were similar quarter-over-quarter spikes in spending leading up to the release of the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, as illustrated in the chart below.

The analyst added that Apple has likely already spent upwards of a few billion dollars on Project Titan, the alleged internal codename for the Apple Car, with R&D spending likely to hit at least $14 billion per year by 2017 or 2018. He predicts the odds of Apple releasing an electric vehicle are at least 80 percent.

There is one very simple reason for my high degree of confidence: Project Titan is a long-term pivot. I don’t consider Titan to be just another project that Apple has been tinkering around with in the lab for years like an Apple television set or Apple Pencil. Instead, Project Titan is much more about building a foundation for Apple that will literally represent the company’s future.

Apple is widely rumored to be working on an electric vehicle that could launch by 2020. The bulk of research and development may be centered in the Santa Clara Valley area, near Apple’s existing Cupertino headquarters, led by a team that includes former Tesla, Ford, and GM employees and other automotive experts.

Read More: Apple R&D Reveals a Pivot Is Coming — Above Avalon

Related Roundup: Apple Car
Tag: Above Avalon
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Why choose Freeview Play? 7 reasons to go free for catch-up TV

Launched in October last year, the Freeview Play service has gathered momentum of late. Many more supported devices are now available and the free catch-up technology from the UK’s major digital television provider is proving an excellent alternative to paid TV.

There are now plenty of TVs, set-top-boxes and other home entertainment kit that are Freeview Play enabled, so you have a choice on how to get it.

But why should you choose Freeview Play over other television services that also offer catch-up and on demand? Here are seven reasons we’ve come up with that should give you food for thought.

READ: What is Freeview Play, when is it coming to my TV and how can I get it?

1. Freeview Play is free

Let’s start with the most obvious reason why Freeview Play is so attractive. Once you buy a supported TV, box or device you can access its feature set for free. There are no monthly or hidden charges.

2. You can catch-up with your favourite shows

Freeview Play essentially gives you the ability to catch-up with your favourite programmes on the top TV channels in the UK without having to access their individual applications. It currently offers shows from BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, plus their respective sister channels (such as BBC Four, ITV 2 and E4).

3. You can find catch-up shows in the EPG

What makes Freeview Play intuitive is that instead of simply offering access to apps, as with most Smart TV platforms, you can scroll backwards through the electronic programme guide and choose TV shows from the last seven days. Hit play and they will automatically start in the specific channel’s respectively catch-up and on demand software.

Channel 5 content is currently not available to catch-up on through the EPG, but will be added soon. In the meantime you can access its My 5 service through Freeview Play.

4. You don’t have to go to separate apps yourself

As mentioned, most Smart TV platforms offer the main catch-up TV services as individual applications, which you can access through their hubs, but Freeview Play simplifies the process by giving you the option to click on the show you want to watch rather than wade through lists of software. It automatically starts any video service for you and jumps straight to the relevant show.

5. More channels are being added

Freeview Play is working with other broadcast partners to add their content to the service. One of those, UKTV, has already announced that it will be adding catch-up content for its channels, Dave, Really, Yesterday and Drama, in the next couple of months. Channel 5 will also soon add its shows to the EPG for retrospective catch-up on demand.

6. Not just terrestrial channels will be Freeview Play-ready

After Channel 5 has been added, that will cover all the main terrestrial channels. There are plans to work with the other stations to add their content, with UKTV and its UKTV Play service the next in line.

7. There are plenty of devices already available that support Freeview Play

Amongst the manufacturers that support Freeview Play are LG, Panasonic and Humax, with the latter two already having several products on the market that feature the service.

If you’re in the market for a new TV, you should look out for the Freeview Play badge to make sure it is enabled.

The Panasonic Viera TX-40CX680B, TX-50CX700B, TX-50CX802B, TX-55CR852B and TX-65CR730B each support Freeview Play. There will also be others in its 2016 TV line-up over the coming weeks and months.

Panasonic also makes standalone recorders and Blu-ray players with Freeview Play support.

The DMR-HWT150EB, DMR-HWT250EB, DMR-PWT655EB and DMR-PWT550EB are each enabled.

Other currently available set-top-boxes include Humax’s FVP-4000T digital TV recorders, with two options on offer; one with a 500GB hard drive, the other with 1TB of storage.

You can find out more about the available devices on Freeview’s own product page.

Get catch-up and on demand TV for £0 per month with Freeview Play. Click here to find out more.

Best of CES Asia 2016: The weird and the wonderful from the Shanghai show floor

CES Asia opened it doors for the second time in Shanghai this May. And the Chinese version of the world’s largest tech show, CES, which is based in Las Vegas, didn’t hold back on the weird and the wonderful.

Condensing a show as wide-ranging as CES Asia into 12 slides might deliver a muddied message though: this show isn’t as clear-cut or nearly as large as its US counterpart; there aren’t all the biggest tellies and best phones from all the major manufacturers here; Audi was notably absent after kicking off 2015’s inaugural show (BMW has slotted into that space, seemingly); and Chinese/Asian companies aren’t particularly using the show floor as a launch platform.

Not that launches are entirely absent. CES Asia was the first place in the world to get hold of the just-announced Honor V8 smartphone, hardly a coincidence given Huawei – one of China’s biggest tech brands – owns that sister company and was presenting on the show floor for the first time (at the very first stand you could possibly arrive at, no less, ensuring it made its mark).

But we’re not leading with an image of a phone. Oh no, we just couldn’t resist showing-off the Chevrolet FVR concept car because, well, just look at it. It’s ridiculous – in the best possible way. However, it was first seen at the Shanghai Auto Show back in the middle of 2015, so not only will we almost certainly never be driving anything like it, but it’s already got a year-long tail on its life. Which is perhaps the resounding sense of CES Asia: there’s not a whole heap of new.

Garmin also used its stand to quietly show-off its Garmin Forerunner 735XT sports watch for the first time, sat alongside the delightful Vivomove smart-tracker. Digging deeper into the halls in among some abandoned mini stands there were some real gems: from a Wi-Fi teapot to an mini air-quality measuring device, both being actual products that are about to go to market – not pipe dream concepts.

Oh, and let’s not forget the Donald Trump speaker (no, really, because Trump “loves China”, right?). And the robotic hexapod. And the dozens of drones, smartwatches, obscure connected jewellery, and we’ll even throw a light-up connected guitar in there.

Which, when we put it like that, goes to show CES Asia’s versatility, its madness, and its fun. Year two was certainly bigger and better than the first, despite the lack of launches, so here’s hoping there’s more weird and wonderful tech to grace the expanding show floors for year three and beyond.

Take a look at our CES Asia 2016 round-up gallery, full screen and complete with captions, to make the most of what was on offer.