Sky Q summer update detailed: 4K Ultra HD, new episode pointers and more

Sky started to install its new Sky Q service and kit in customers homes at the end of March and, by all accounts, it has gone down very well indeed.

However, all things can be improved over time, especially technology and entertainment equipment and Sky Q is no exception.

That’s why Sky is soon to push a feature update to Sky Q boxes, to add new functionality and to tweak the user experience a touch to make the service even better than before.

Pocket-lint was invited to see some of the main changes, so here are the highlights to expect when the Sky Q summer update arrives later this month.

Sky

Sky Q new features: 4K Ultra HD

The headline feature that the update brings is for Sky Q Silver boxes only. As they have had the correct HDMI configuration to output Ultra HD video, they will be the only devices to get 4K UHD content.

The content will arrive on 13 August, to coincide with the first Sky broadcast of the new Premier League season. Hull versus reigning champs Leicester City will be the first live 4K presentation for Sky Q customers to enjoy.

• What is Sky Q, how much does it cost and how can I get it?
• What can I watch in 4K Ultra HD on Sky Q?
• How to get ready for Sky Q 4K Ultra HD
• Sky Q 4K Ultra HD confirmed for 13 August, will start with return of Premier League

It will be followed by a further 123 matches throughout the season, Formula One coverage from the start of its next season, and other sporting events when available.

In addition, Sky will host over 70 4K movies before the end of 2016, including The Revenant, The Martian and Spectre. And there will be several box sets available on demand too.

All Ultra HD movies and TV shows will be streamed or downloaded over the internet, while live broadcasts will be received and played by one of the Silver box’s digital TV tuners.

Your box can be set to output 2160p (4K) video after the summer update is installed and ahead of the content launch. It will also choose to output with 8-bit or 10-bit colour depending on your TV, but it will not output 4K video with HDR at present.

Sky Q new features: Next episode

There are several tweaks to help you continue to watch a TV series you enjoy.

While you are watching a show that is available on demand, either as catch up or as part of a box set, the Sky Q box will automatically download the next episode and place it in your library, so you can carry on straight away. It will even autoplay the next episode as you end the last, in a similar way to other apps, including BBC iPlayer and Netflix.

If you don’t want the next episode to start automatically, you can just press stop and come back to it at a later date.

In addition, the next episodes in a series that are yet to be shown on live TV are easier to find. They appear in the mini guide at the bottom of the screen if you pull it up while watching the current episode. From there you can choose to record it. Simple.

Pocket-lint

Sky Q new features: Precise control when scanning through content

If you are trying to scan forward or backwards through a film or TV show in order to find a specific moment or scene, you can now either swipe to zip through quickly to the time you want, or you can use quick swipes on the touch remote to jump forward in one minute intervals. Each jump will also show you a still of that moment on screen, so you can see when you reach the section you were looking for.

Sky Q new features: Live content in “Top Picks”

Previously, Sky’s Top Picks section features on demand content, but upcoming live programming will also start to appear in that curated menu area. You can then set it to record, or jump straight into the live broadcast if it is on already.

Additionally, sports content will be clearer in the menu system, with live content appearing alongside supplementary and catch-up options.

The Sky Q summer update will roll out at the end of July. There will undoubtedly be further enhancements and tweaks, which we will detail as the release is close.

What can I watch in 4K Ultra HD on Sky Q?

Sky Q’s Ultra HD service goes live on 13 August, to coincide with the start of the new Premier League football season. However, rather than launch as a couple of new channels, as previously expected, there will be content available from day one in different forms.

There will be movies, TV shows and live sporting events, but only one of those will be broadcast live, through the dedicated TV tuner on the Sky Q Silver box. Sports will be available as and when they begin, but all of the Sky Cinema and Sky Box Sets content will be on demand, and therefore streamed or downloaded over the internet.

Those will all be available to Sky Q Silver subscribers at no extra cost, to watch as often as they like (you can record 4K sports). There will also be more recent film releases available through Sky Store to rent.

• What is Sky Q, how much does it cost and how can I get it?
• Sky Q summer update detailed: 4K Ultra HD, new episode pointers and more
• How to get ready for Sky Q 4K Ultra HD
• Sky Q 4K Ultra HD confirmed for 13 August, will start with return of Premier League

Here then are some of the highlights of what 4K Ultra HD films, shows and live events will be available at launch or soon after.

20th Century Fox

Sky Cinema 4K

Sky will host more than 70 movies before the end of the year, including many TV premieres.

Some of those announced so far include last year’s Oscar winning epic The Revenant, The Martian and, coming in November, the latest James Bond flick Spectre.

Others that Sky has so far announced are Bridge of Spies, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, and Concussion. They will also be premieres for Sky and will often appear at the same time as the Full HD versions.

Back catalogue films will be on offer too, including Minority Report, Forrest Gump, The Godfather and the Spider-Man trilogy.

Sky/HBO

Sky TV Box Sets and on demand content in 4K

As well as films, you will be able to download and stream a wide selection of TV programmes to watch in 4K Ultra HD.

These include the entire library of Sir David Attenborough’s nature documentaries made specifically for Sky over the years. Sky 1’s Big Cats: An Amazing Animal Family, Monkeys: An Amazing Animal Family and Richard Hammond’s Jungle Quest will also be available.

In drama terms, new Jude Law series The Young Pope will be offered in 4K and you will be able to catch up with the entirety of Blacklist on the platform. That includes series 1-3 and the latest, season 4.

Entertainment shows coming in 4K include The Trip to Spain, the third comedy/travel series starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, Sky Art’s Lanscape Artist of the Year 2016 and a major Blur concert.

Sky

Sky Sports 4K

Sky Sports will be broadcasting 124 Premier League matches in Ultra HD throughout the season, which will be simultaneously shown alongside Full HD versions. They can be accessed through the red button if you don’t react to the prompt when the coverage starts.

Hull v Leicester is the first match to be shown on Saturday 13 August. That will be followed on Sunday 14 August by Bournemouth v Manchester United and then Arsenal v Liverpool.

All of the Formula One races will be broadcast in 4K from the 2017 season.

Sony Pictures

Sky Store 4K

Over 30 Sky Store rental movies will be available in 4K from day one, including new release Angry Birds. Prices are yet to be determined.

Apple iOS 10 lock screen: What’s new and how does it work?

The lock screen for iPhone and iPad is totally different in iOS 10.

It’s no longer just a security checkpoint to ensure snoopers don’t get access to your device; it’s now a place where you can see all sorts of information at a glance. Apple wants you to actually stop and use this space, rather than simply skip past it when unlocking your device.

Apple released in July a public beta for the latest version of its mobile operating system, allowing anyone to test the unfinished software before an official release in September. Pocket-lint has spent time combing through the beta, uncovering the most notable changes. Here’s what’s new with the lock screen on iPhone, including how it all works. Please note this is a beta, and the final software could sport major differences.

• How to get iOS 10 right now and get it working on your iPhone and iPad

We’ll update this piece over time, as more betas are released to the public with bug fixes, etc. We’ll also make sure it has up-to-date details come September, when Apple is expected to launch iOS 10 alongside the latest iPhone models.

What’s new with the lock screen and how does it all work?

Press home to unlock

The “Slide to unlock” action is no more. You now have to “press home to unlock”. Or, if you don’t have Touch ID enabled, you must “press home to open”. The new action feels a little clunky at first, but that’s probably because we still need to get used to the change.

Wake up

Like Apple Watch, your iOS device will now wake up when you lift it. This action, called Raise to Wake, will allow you to see all your notifications right away. Unlike Apple Watch however, it doesn’t wake up when you simply tap it.

Widgets

Swipe left to enter the new widgets pane called Today view. It provides previews of glanceable data, though it might raise some security concerns for you too. Widgets are still located in the left tab of the Notification Center, where you can pull them down from anywhere and use them, but the newly-dedicated widget pane, which is always to the left of the lock screen and home screen as well, gives you another place to check them out.

The widgets have been reimagined to boot, as part of iOS 10’s new design. With 3D Touch – or, eventually, long press – widgets can expand to show more content, including images, app interfaces, and videos. The Transit widget will notify you about service changes, for instance. The Today view also shows you Siri suggestions at a glance.

To add or delete widgets, click the Edit button at the bottom of the pane.

Notifications

Notifications on the lock screen and in the Notification Center are now persistent and rich, allowing you to hold a short conversation, for instance, without having to bounce between what you’re doing or jump into another app. You can also view photos or videos and listen to audio right from inside a notification, or listen to your voicemail without leaving what you’re doing.

Notifications display live information, too. You can even 3D Touch the clear button to delete all notifications, just like you can on Apple Watch.

Camera

Swipe right from the lock screen to now get the Camera app. You may be tempted to swipe back out, but that’ll just switch between camera settings. This new action should make it faster to capture photos and videos.

Control Center

Although this can be accessed from anywhere, not just the lock screen, it’s worth mentioning that it has been redesigned. Three screens now appear like cards: one for settings and tools (includes a dedicated control for Night Shift), one for media controls, and one for Homekit. You can also use various 3D Touch shortcuts, like different intensities for the flashlight.

Want to know more?

Check out Pocket-lint’s quick overview of the iOS 10 public beta.

• iOS 10 Messages explained: What’s new and how you’ll use it
• Apple iOS 10: Release date and everything you need to know

Uber will stop operating in Hungary on July 24th

Every anti-Uber government has a different strategy for combating the ride-sharing app. For France, it’s dealing out a $900,000 fine, which is a slap on the wrist for a company that just got a $3.5 billion investment from Saudi Arabia. But Hungary is hitting far harder, passing legislation that restricts the service so absolutely that Uber is suspending its operations indefinitely on July 24th.

The new law permits the Hungarian national communications authority to block internet access for “illegal dispatching services,” according to Reuters. Like in many other countries, taxi drivers have protested the ride-sharing app, claiming that its drivers breach regulations that they adhere to. Uber says 160,000 people use its services in Budapest, but its 1,200 drivers would be in danger of violating the legislation and losing their licenses for up to three years.

But Uber insists that this is only a temporary measure, and they aim to reopen operations eventually.

“It is not a ban. Uber has not been banned in Budapest, it is simply a forced suspension, we have been left no other alternative by the authorities in Hungary in response to these developments,” general manager for Uber in central Europe Rob Khazzam told Reuters.

Source: Reuters

New Orleans adopts searchable video tech for police body cameras

The city of New Orleans has become the first to adopt special video tech to aid police and prosecutors search through footage collected by body cameras worn by patrolling policemen.

Vu Digital, a video metadata company based out of Mississippi, is providing the Orleans Parish District Attorney with the new tech, referred to as S.M.A.R.R.T. That stands for Storage Metadata Automated Redaction Review Technology, and it utilizes special algorithms to tag data as well as decipher what it contains. It’s able to analyze each individual frame of footage captured by police for key pieces of information.

Basically, the tech makes it simple for anyone needing to comb through the footage to be able to do so. It can pick out faces, audio and text and can time stamp each bit of information to create a searchable database for the purposes of archiving and inspecting evidence.

This type of tech is useful mainly because of the sheer amount of data that’s recorded via police cam. The New Orleans Police Department alone uses 1,400 body cameras across 700 to 800 officers in the field. That makes for hours and hours of footage that needs combed through, and the S.M.A.R.T.T. system makes it possible for simplifying and expediting the process.

This could well be a system we see spreading in the future, especially given the usage of body cameras for police around the country.

Via: Vu Digital

iPhone 7 Could Feature 1,960 mAh Battery, a 14% Improvement Over iPhone 6s

Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 may include a larger battery than the one found in the iPhone 6s, which could mean a longer battery life. According to OnLeaks’ Steve Hemmerstoffer, who often shares part leaks and information on new devices ahead of their launch, the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 may include a 1,960 mAh battery, an improvement over the 1,715 mAh battery in the iPhone 6s.

Citing a “pretty reliable” source, but cautioning that it’s not 100 percent reliable, Hemmerstoffer revealed the information in a tweet shared this morning.

Pretty reliable (not 100% but almost…) source told me #iPhone7 battery = 1960mAh (#iPhone6s = 1715mAh)

— OnLeaks (@OnLeaks) July 13, 2016

Longer battery life is often one of the most popular feature requests for new iPhones, and with the iPhone 7 expected to include only minor exterior design changes, better battery life could be an important selling point. In addition to a higher capacity battery, Apple could also improve battery life through software optimizations and the more efficient A10 processor that’s expected to be included in next-generation devices.

We’ve heard few rumors about prospective battery life so far, but one image of a battery said to be for the iPhone 7 listed a capacity of 7.04 watt-hours, larger than the 6.61 watt-hour battery in the iPhone 6s and nearly identical to the 7.01 watt-hour battery in the iPhone 6, in line with today’s rumor. With the upgrade to the iPhone 6s from the iPhone 6, Apple used a lower-capacity battery, something that may be reversed with the iPhone 7 if Hemmerstoffer’s information is correct.

No information has been shared on the battery expected to be included in the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus, but it too could feature a larger capacity more in line with the iPhone 6 Plus (2,915 mAh) than the iPhone 6s Plus (2,750 mAh).

Additional information on battery life will undoubtedly become available as part leaks continue ahead of the fall release of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Other features rumored for the two devices include no headphone jack, relocated antenna bands, improved water resistance, a flush touch sensitive home button, and better camera technology, implemented through a larger camera sensor in the iPhone 7 and a dual-camera setup in the iPhone 7 Plus.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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