IFA 2016: Everything you need to know
Wearables dominate a busy week of Android-related announcements in Berlin.
IFA is an annual consumer electronics show held in Berlin, Germany, which often serves as a launch event for mobile products heading into the holiday buying season and the beginning of the following year. It’s one of the major events of any given year for mobile tech, right up there with the Barcelona-based Mobile World Congress.
In previous years, IFA was dominated by the Samsung Galaxy Note line, which has since relocated to early August. And so he past couple of shows have played host to a more diverse set of news in tablets, smartwatches, mid-range phones, accessories and more.
This year’s event officially runs from Sept. 2-7, with the official media days leading up to it — so look for our coverage to really kick off from Aug. 31. The main venue is the enormous Messe Berlin complex in the west of the city, with other press conferences and gatherings throughout Berlin.
IFA 2016 looks like being as busy as ever for Android-powered gadgets. Let’s take a look at some of the broad trends we’re expecting to see.
Nougat and Android Wear 2.0
The LG V20 may be the first phone shipping with the new Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box this September, but that doesn’t mean some sneaky phone makers won’t be able to stick pre-release Nougat code on phones or tablets ahead of the V20 reveal. (Though that said, LG seems pretty confident in actually making it to market ahead of rivals.) In particular, look for Huawei to show off its new EMUI 5 interface, likely based on Android 7.0.
Expect three new Android Wear smartwatches.
The next major Android Wear release will be a major highlight for Android fans, with the likely arrival of at least three new Android watches running the new, revamped, circle-friendly OS. Recent FCC leaks have all but confirmed the existence of a circular ASUS ZenWatch 3. Lenovo has a press conference scheduled where we could well see a third-generation Moto 360. And a year on from the Huawei Watch, the Chinese firm might also have a successor waiting in the wings.
Expect all these watches to be slimmer than their predecessors, thanks to the more efficient Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor announced back in February.
Samsung Gear S3
Samsung will unveil the successor to the Gear S2 on Aug. 31 at an event at Berlin’s Tempodrom concert venue. That’s the same place it took the wraps off the S2 a year ago. (And before that, it was the place we got our first look at new Galaxy Notes.)
The current crop of rumors point to another circular design with a rotating bezel (no surprises there), as well as standard and “Classic” variants. On the software side, expect new fitness functions to augment Samsung’s growing S Health ecosystem.
A big show for Huawei
Huawei has raised its profile in Western markets considerably since the start of 2015, and this year the quality of its products has improved dramatically, particularly in terms of software. In addition to a second-gen Huawei Watch, we’d expect the Chinese firm to use IFA to show off its new EMUI 5 interface, which promises a completely overhauled design, stock Android-style notifications and an end to many of the software quirks that’ve plagued EMUI 4 and 4.1.
That’s thanks to the work of Huawei’s new design center, and its aim to offer software experiences better tailored to Western audiences.
As well as a second-gen Huawei watch, expect revamped software from the Chinese firm.
So what about products themselves? At the very least we’d expect a new phone to show off this new software, perhaps a new member of the Huawei Mate family — a Mate S2 or Mate 9. We’ve seen two larger Huawei designs doing the rounds lately — one Nexus 6P-like slab, with a camera “visor” up top, and another with a more traditional camera bump housing two lenses. It’s unclear which might break cover at IFA, however one executive at the Chinese firm has apparently poured cold water on suggestions that the Mate 9 will be ready in time for IFA.
(That being said, it’s unclear where a smaller Mate S2 might fit alongside the P9 Plus.)
In either case, expect software improvements to take center stage, backed up by an improved (likely Leica-branded) camera setup, building on the solid showing of the P9.
A new Sony phone of some description
Sony just can’t help releasing phones every six months. Even with the Xperia X and X Performance being just a few months old, there’s a decent chance we’ll see some sort of upgraded model at IFA. The first leaked shots of the new Xperia model, known by the model number F833x pointed to a larger model with improved camera hardware (including laser autofocus and dual-LED flash.) However more recent reports suggest it’ll be an upgraded Xperia X Performance variant in roughly the same 5-inch form factor.
Sony too is among the potential partners with new Android Wear 2.0 hardware, though we have no specific info on any plans for new Sony smartwatches at this year’s IFA show.
Surprises!
IFA as a whole is about much more than a handful of phones and watches, and we’ll surely see weird and wonderful new things from brands both familiar and unfamiliar. Particularly, expect Germany’s Telekom (T-Mobile) and Vodafone networks to show off their new ranges from a variety of manufacturers.
There’s a chance we could get a look at some of the first Chromebooks to run Android apps out of the box. And with Android now powering diverse and varied types of gadgets, there’s a chance Google’s OS could show up in unexpected places.
What we’re not expecting
- Those new HTC-built Nexus phones. Don’t expect anything until later in September, after the LG V20 — the first phone with Nougat out of the box — has done its thing.
- The LG V20 itself. Although the next big thing from LG will technically debut during IFA, it won’t be announced publicly in Berlin. Instead, look for our coverage of the V20’s San Francisco launch event.
What are you most looking forward to from IFA 2016? Shout out in the comments!
ICYMI: Goat-inspired robot design and apple picking
Today on In Case You Missed It: A researcher at Carnegie Mellon created the GOAT leg for robots that moves much like a pogo-stick and posted a video of its tests to YouTube. Meanwhile a robot to harvest apples might still be in prototype, but it’s miles more advanced than the thing that just shakes trees violently until all the apples fall off.
The mechanized sushi chef video can be found here, the boy who swallowed a dog toy here, and Joe Biden not being able to let go is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Facebook is launching its own PC gaming platform
Facebook’s gaming aspirations didn’t stop with Farmville and its $2 billion Oculus VR acquisition. Nope, the social network is also launching a dedicated PC gaming platform today. Said platform will lean heavily on developers using the ubiquitous Unity game engine, according to a release from the company. The partnership’s first project is admittedly developer-centric, but it has a direct impact on the folks playing games on Facebook. Zuckerberg and Co. describe it as a new export feature baked into Unity that allows a studio to publish directly to Facebook and the aforementioned Facebook PC gaming platform “with very little effort and few code changes.”
“Integrating tools that provide effortless access to Facebook’s network is a key part of helping developers find the success they deserve,” Unity’s VP of business development, Elliot Solomon, said in a canned statement from a press release.
This is big for a few reasons. For starters, Unity is a wildly popular, free-to-use tool employed across the industry by countless indie developers. You’ve probably played a few titles built with it and not even realized. Firewatch, Kerbal Space Program, Ori and the Blind Forest, Superhot, Monument Valley and Alto’s Adventure, just to name a few, were all developed using the Unity toolset. In theory, those could be ported to Facebook’s platform with very little extra work from their respective developers. And that’s to say nothing of the myriad VR apps Unity powers.
Which is where this makes the most sense: Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some point, Facebook is going to need a way to sell Oculus VR games and its new platform will help that happen. Facebook says it paid out over $2.5 billion to web-game devs last year alone, and that there are over 650 million players on its gaming network. For context, in the past 48 hours, Steam reported 11 million concurrent users. What’s a curiosity now will very likely be a dominating force in the not too distant future.
Facebook is running a closed alpha test of the new work environment right now, and applications to join are open until August 31st. The social network promises “immediate access” to testing the engine’s latest build and the export function.
Source: Facebook
Spotify’s first documentary recalls the early days of Metallica (updated)
We first heard about Spotify’s Landmark series back in May and today the first installment is debuting for Android and iOS users. Landmark — Metallica: The Early Years is a documentary-style look at the iconic heavy metal band’s origins and the move from performing in dive bars to taking the stage in stadiums. During the course of four chapters, the series recounts the formation of the band through the release of 1984’s Ride the Lightning.
One of a dozen shows the streaming service has planned, Landmark will examine key events and figures in music history with interviews, rare footage and, as you probably guessed, playlists that serve as an audio companion to the visuals. Starting today, all four parts of the Metallica documentary will be available for streaming. There’s a catch though: Landmark can only be streamed with Spotify’s Android and iOS apps. The company didn’t offer any indication as to when or if it would be available on desktop or the web at some point in the future. Yes, you’ll have to watch it on a mobile device. What’s more, the videos are only available in the US, UK, Sweden and Germany. The good news? Users of both the free and paid tiers will be able to stream all four chapters of the documentary.
Spotify announced plans for a lot original video content this year and it recently debuted an animated series that offers a bit of music education. Details on the other projects remain scarce except for a tease of Rush Hour: a show where two DJs have a remix battle in the back of a van. The video push mirrors similar efforts from Tidal and Apple Music in regards to original video, with news of Apple’s documentary project with Cash Money Records surfacing yesterday. As music streaming services try to attract new users, and woo others from their current subscription, it looks like original video will be one tool they employ to try and achieve that goal.
As far as Spotify’s Landmark is concerned, you can watch the trailer for the first installment down below.
Update: Despite the announcement stating that Landmark would only be available inside the mobile app, the first chapter has been poster to YouTube. We’ve reached out to Spotify to confirm if the others will be added later. You can watch Chapter 1 right here:
T-Mobile One is the carrier’s new unlimited data plan
T-Mobile has offered an unlimited data option for a while now, using it as a big differentiator between it and AT&T and Verizon. But now, it sounds like the carrier is going to do away with data buckets entirely and offer one plan that includes unlimited talk, text and data. It’s called T-Mobile One, and it’ll be available to current and new customers as of September 6th.
CEO John Legere announced the new plan this morning in a video blog, saying that he wanted to get rid of the confusion and huge number of choices that the other carriers currently offer. But, as is often the case with wireless plans, there’s a lot of fine print here in the new plan to be aware of.
The big catches for T-Mobile’s new plan come down to two things: tethering and video streaming. The T-Mobile One plan includes “unlimited” tethering, but only at 2G speeds. That’ll make it essentially useless. If you want to use LTE speed when tethering, you’ll have to pay $15 per month for 5GB of data.
Video is even more complicated. While T-Mobile is offering “unlimited” data, they’re throttling all video down to 480p standard definition resolution. If you want to use your data to watch high-definition video, it’ll cost a whopping $25 per line, per month. If you’re signed up to one of T-Mobile’s current unlimited plans, you can watch video in HD — though the company had been defaulting everyone to lower definition video. You have to actively switch on HD video if you want to get things in a better resolution. But with this new T-Mobile One plan, you’ll have to pay through the nose if you want to watch HD video.
T-Mobile’s new plan isn’t even really any cheaper than its existing offering. If you get four lines, it’ll be only $40 per line, but sign up for less and you’ll be paying quite a bit. A single line is $70 a month, less than the $95 it currently costs. Two lines is $120, $20 cheaper than the existing option. Additional lines after that are $20 each.
These changes come at the end of a month that saw AT&T and Verizon both revamp their data offerings. Both carriers added more data to their various plans, but those plans also cost a bit more now. Verizon also added some limited carryover data as well as the option to throttle your data speeds if you go over your limit rather than pay an overage charge. Not to be outdone, Sprint is also in the process of announcing some new plan details on Twitter right now.
One big question is whether or not T-Mobile’s old plans will be available or whether T-Mobile One will be the only option going forward for new customers. T-Mobile says it won’t be eliminating its existing Simple Choice plans right now, but it expects T-Mobile One to be its main offering going forward. So that likely means the existing Simple Choice unlimited plan that includes more tethering data and HD video playback will be going away soon.
Update: This post has been updated to reflect more details on T-Mobile’s new pricing structure.
Source: T-Mobile
Smart glasses make hands-free ‘Pokémon Go’ a reality
Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm. It’s not uncommon to see dozens of people walking around parks and city streets with their heads buried in their phones, trying to catch cute cartoon monsters. Unfortunately, doing so means you’re not keeping your eyes on the road, which has already led to a few accidents. But what if you could somehow play Pokémon Go while also paying attention to the world around you? That’s exactly what Recon has attempted to do by porting the popular game over to the Jet, a pair of Android-based smart glasses the company released last year. The setup isn’t perfect and it doesn’t work completely just yet, but even what I’ve seen so far provides an exciting glimpse at the next wave of augmented reality.
At Intel’s Developer Forum in San Francisco this week, I had a chance to try on a Jet to see the app in action. Since the Jet already has GPS, WiFi and a fully baked operating system, a Recon software developer by the name of Patrick Cho was able to move Pokémon Go over to it as a standalone app. The caveat here is that the Jet doesn’t have LTE, so you’ll have to figure out how to get WiFi if you’re out and about — an important consideration when playing Pokémon Go. Mine used a hotspot connection to a phone for its internet connection, so we were good there. Cho also had to reorient the Pokémon Go screen from portrait to landscape mode to accommodate the Jet’s 428 x 240 resolution display.
Pokémon Go, as seen on the Recon Jet
It took a while to get the app going. Since this is an unofficial port, it isn’t optimized for the Jet and feels quite sluggish in action. The app was also prone to stalling, and even crashed on me a few times. But it did work eventually. After a long loading time, I saw the familiar Pokémon Go interface appear in the Jet’s bottom-right screen. I immediately saw a map representation of the area surrounding San Francisco’s Moscone Center dotted with a slew of Pokéstops imbued with sparkling pink lures. It was a sight that would make any Pokétrainer happy.
Unfortunately, I was unable to catch any Pokémon due to the uncooperative app. But the proof of concept is there. Even though there’s no touchscreen, I could theoretically throw a Pokéball by swiping the temple on the right. A side button could be remapped to trigger a Pokéstop. And if you were armed with the upcoming Pokémon Go wearable that lets you snag monsters by simply tapping a button, it’d make capturing that elusive Dragonite that much easier. At the very least, I could see myself using the Jet to hatch a Pokémon egg just by walking around.
The Pokémon Go app launcher, as seen on the Recon Jet
I particularly appreciated that the game only took up a small corner of my peripheral vision. I could still see and interact with the world as I played the game. This way, I was able to track monsters and still be aware of my surroundings. Of course, the potential downside here is that the Recon Jet’s battery life likely isn’t long enough to withstand hours of play. But being able to play Pokémon Go without having to stare at your phone still sounds like a pretty great proposition to me.
The Jet has so far been used mostly for fitness applications like running and cycling, but Recon recently announced an enterprise partner program that will open it up to other uses too. The idea here is that the AR glasses could be used for work like field service or manufacturing. For example, workers could talk to a remote engineer as they’re fixing a problem or look up a user manual on how to fix electrical wiring right as they’re doing it. But the real purpose of opening the Jet up is to show how flexible it is as a hardware and development platform. And as I’ve seen with Pokémon Go, it’s a pretty great way to play augmented reality games too.
It’s difficult to see here, but this is a shot of the Pokémon Go screen on the Recon Jet’s tiny display
A Recon spokesperson said that if more time was spent on it and if Niantic joined in to help optimize the app, there’s potential for the experience to be much better. Recon isn’t the only company to think of this collaboration either. Osterhaut Design Group (ODG) ported an unofficial version of the app over to its R7 headset a month ago, while CapitolaVR created a demo of how Pokémon Go would look through Microsoft’s HoloLens headset. Still, the R7 and the HoloLens both sell for upwards of $2,000, while the Jet is available today for $500. Plus, Recon’s hardware has already been repurposed to play paintball in the form of the Empire EVS mask, so it doesn’t take much imagination to see how it could be adapted to work with mobile AR games too.
In an email statement, a Recon spokesperson said: “With further optimization, Pokémon Go on Recon Jet could very well be brought to market in the future.” Let’s hope it is.
T-Mobile Introduces $70 Unlimited Data Plan, But HD Video is $25 Extra
T-Mobile has introduced a new plan called T-Mobile ONE [PDF] that offers unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data for $70 per month. A second line can be added for $50 per month, while up to six more lines can be added for an additional $20 per month each. The total cost for a family of four, for example, would be $160 per month.
T-Mobile ONE has some caveats to consider. First, unlimited video is limited to 480p standard definition for all services, with unlimited HD video available for $25 per month extra per line. Additionally, tethering is limited to 2G speeds, with 5GB of high-speed tethering available as a $15 add-on.
T-Mobile’s existing Simple Choice plan with unlimited talk, text, and 4G LTE data costs $95 per month and includes unlimited HD video and 14GB of LTE tethering. The carrier also offers 2GB, 6GB, and 10GB of 4G LTE for $50, $65, and $80 respectively. It is unclear if these plans will be retired September 6 for new customers.
T-Mobile also clarified that, as with its Simple Choice plans, customers using the most data — specifically the highest 3 percent — may see their data traffic prioritized behind other users once they cross a threshold of around 26GB of data during their billing month. The carrier noted that throttling will only occur at specific times and places where there is network congestion.
The new plan includes usual T-Mobile perks such as Simple Global, Mobile Without Borders, Wi-Fi Unleashed, Stock Up, and T-Mobile Tuesdays. T-Mobile will also pay up to $650 in early termination fees to customers who switch over from AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint through its Carrier Freedom program.
T-Mobile ONE will be available for new postpaid customers on September 6, while new prepaid customers will be able to get the plan “in the future.” Existing customers have the option to keep the Simple Choice plans they have or switch to T-Mobile ONE. The plan costs $5/month extra per line without AutoPay enabled.
T-Mobile follows in the footsteps of new data plans from AT&T and Verizon.
Tag: T-Mobile
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The creator of Google’s self-driving car now works for Uber
Bloomberg has taken a look at Uber’s future in the autonomous vehicle world and uncovered a small, but important detail. The website is reporting that Uber has purchased Otto, the driverless freight truck startup that was launched a few months back. That news wouldn’t be interesting but for the fact that Otto was founded and staffed by former members of Google’s self-driving car team.
Anthony Levandowski was a prodigious Berkeley graduate who built a self-stabilizing autonomous motorcycle for the DARPA grand challenge. Shortly afterward he founded 510 Systems, a startup that Google bought to form the basis of its self-driving car project. Otto co-founder Lior Ron, meanwhile, was the head of Google Maps for three years before leading Motorola’s revolution after Google bought it.
According to Bloomberg, the deal was made in July, and could potentially be worth as much as $680 million. That’s a high price for a startup that’s less than a year old and has fewer than 100 employees, but there’s plenty at stake here. After all, a Google-owned and operated autonomous taxi service would, eventually, put Uber out of business. The website quotes CEO Travis Kalanick saying that producing a rival technology was “basically existential” for his company.
Rather than attempting to build a self-driving truck, Otto’s mission was to create a retrofit kit that could be bolted on to existing vehicles. This technology would only be used on highways, the simplest part of driving but the core component to hauling freight. Human operators would then take over for the complicated part, but could otherwise get a nap in the back of the cab.
Now, Otto’s platform will be used as a beachhead to get Uber into the trucking business as well as adapting Levandowski’s tech into its own self-driving cars.
Source: Bloomberg
Uber will offer free rides in its self-driving cars this month
After months of testing, Uber’s self-driving cars are ready to pick up their first passengers. Bloomberg reports that the ride-hailing company will allow customers in Pittsburgh to request one of its autonomous Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicles via their smartphone in the coming weeks, pushing it into territory that other major developers of self-driving cars have yet to fully explore.
According to the report, Uber won’t be sending its cars out alone. A human supervisor will sit in the driving seat, as required by law, “with their fingertips on the wheel.” A second person will be sat in the front passenger seat, taking notes on a laptop while cameras inside and outside the vehicle record everything that happens during the ride. Customers won’t be expected to pay for their journey in Uber’s XC90s, at least to begin with, which may help put nervous riders at ease.
Pittsburgh serves as the ideal environment for Uber’s autonomous trials. The city is home to its Advanced Technologies Center (ATC) and local authorities have already approved the testing of its self-driving fleet. When the do hit the road, only a handful of cars will be available right away, but Uber has struck a deal with Volvo to take delivery of 100 vehicles by the end of the year.
With Ford announcing yesterday that it intends to have fully autonomous cars on the road within five years, Uber is moving swiftly. It wants to be out ahead of its rivals with its own tried-and-tested solution, not a ready-made one from a car manufacturer that could one day eat its lunch.
Source: Bloomberg
Whyd is a colorful take on voice-controlled wireless speakers
Just two years ago, Whyd was trying to mix up the music streaming world, with a service that let you collect tracks from around the internet, and put them in one place. Today, it’s moving into hardware with a multi-room wireless speaker. Don’t worry, if you were into its aggregation service, (as you likely know) it wasn’t killed, but made open source earlier this month. Starting today, though, the Whyd brand will live on as a multi-room speaker system.
Before we get to the features, let’s talk about that design. The egg-like form, and bold colors are striking for sure — if Ikea did wireless audio, it might look like this. The speaker uses four 40mm drivers to pump out sounds in 360-degrees, and there’s a shiny glass touch-sensitive button on top so you can control your music with gestures.
Physical controls are old news though, right? Whyd thinks so, and has given the speaker Amazon Echo-like voice control. Using what looks like fairly natural voice commands — “Play my morning playlist” the demo video shows us — you won’t even need to lay a single greasy digit on that polished peak. Five beam forming microphones also promise that you’ll be heard wherever you are in the room.
As is par for the course these days, two speakers can be linked to make a stereo pair. You’ll of course be able to pipe music to the Whyd speaker from a number of sources, including WiFi, Bluetooth, GoogleCast and AirPlay as well as streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, Sound Cloud, Tidal and Google Play. There’s also an Android and iOS app that will put all these options together in one place.
Perhaps Whyd’s most ambitious feature is its price. At $500, that puts it squarely agains the very capable Sonos Play:5, the streaming stalwart’s flagship speaker. If you’re more about the voice control, Amazon’s multifunctional Echo costs just $180. If you’re an early bird, you can shave a solid $200 off the Whyd, bagging one for $300 — either way, you’ve still got a little while to think about it, as the speaker won’t ship until this fall.
Source: Whyd
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