U.S. Warns Apple Tax Probe in Europe Could Set ‘Undesirable Precedent’

Just weeks before the European Commission is expected to make a decision in its landmark Apple tax probe, the U.S. Treasury department has criticized the Brussels-based body for “threatening international agreements on tax reform,” and warned that a decision against the iPhone maker could “set an undesirable precedent.”

Apple’s offices in Cork, Ireland
According to Financial Times, the U.S. Treasury said the European Commission is becoming a “supranational tax authority,” going beyond acceptable enforcement of competition and state aid law. The U.S. has previously called out Brussels for setting unfair and “disturbing” precedents and singling out U.S. companies.

Brussels has accused Apple of sheltering tens of billions of dollars in Ireland, partly in exchange for creating jobs in the country, a deal that could be considered illegal state aid. Apple operates multiple subsidiaries in Ireland to pay significantly less tax outside of the U.S., where it earns up to two-thirds of its revenue.

Apple’s $64.1 billion in profits generated from 2004 to 2012 could be subject to a higher 12.5% tax rate, compared to the sub-2% it has paid in Ireland, in which case it could owe more than $8 billion in back taxes. Apple insists that it is the largest taxpayer in the world and pays every cent of tax it owes under current laws.

A decision in the tax probe is expected in September or October, according to Ireland’s finance minister Michael Noonan. Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month that the company would appeal any unfavorable ruling against the company.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: corporate tax, European Commission, Europe, Ireland
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Pick up an unlocked BlackBerry Priv for just $299 again!

Right now you can grab an unlocked AT&T version of the BlackBerry Priv for just $299 at eBay. This is the best price we’ve seen for the phone off-contract and matches the recent deal that was offered. With this savings the price drops down to the same as the recently-announced DTEK50, but offers a larger screen and physical keyboard with it.

If you’ve been looking to check out a phone with a physical keyboard again, this is your chance to do just that at a great price. The deal likely won’t last long, so if you are interested be sure to hit the link below to grab one for yourself.

See at eBay

Moto Z Droid Edition Second Opinion — Mods shouldn’t make the phone

I have a tiny suitcase full of amazing accessories in desperate need of a great phone.

Motorola has an amazing ability, something no other smartphone company has ever accomplished before —to execute on ideas that blow away the competition in ways that frequently takes one full smartphone generation to catch up. Look back at the Moto X, and how long it has taken every other company — including Google — to recreate ideas like Moto Display, an effortless camera launch, and voice commands that can be reliably accessed without turning the display on. Add these unparalleled software experiences to Moto Maker, a platform that let you customize your hardware in more ways than most people customize their software, and it’s not hard to see why someone like me has such a soft spot for Motorola.

Motorola has taken the best parts of the Moto X and shifted to a new set of concepts in the form of the Moto Z. This new Moto has gone modular, and with that comes a few new ideas that truly set this phone apart from the pack. After using the Droid Edition of the Moto Z for the last six weeks, here’s what I have to say about this new/old Moto and its tiny suitcase of cool ideas.

What have you people done?

Moto Z Hardware

Lets get this out of the way real quick: the body of this phone does not remind me at all of the Moto X. In some ways, that’s a good thing. As we learned from the Nexus 6, enlarging a Moto X 2014 and calling it a new phone doesn’t necessarily make it better. The Moto Z is something new, with hints of its predecessor sprinkled in. For starters, the metal body of this phone feels amazing. The outer band is smooth to the touch but not slippery, and the glass on the front of the phone curves just enough so your finger can keep sliding to the rest of the phone with no rough edges or interruptions. The optional wood Style Shells, when installed, match this curve, making it so the phone just plain feels well made. A single USB Type-C port on the bottom and an antenna line across top split the phone down the middle visually. The power button is textured so you distinguish it from the volume buttons (which are right above it).

For starters, the metal body of this phone feels amazing.

Oh, right. That backplates are held on with magnets, and when you remove them you find the grand secret to this phone: Moto Mods. The ability to connect a louder speaker, a bigger battery, or even a projector to the back of the phone and enhance the initial experience. You aren’t going to want to use the phone with no backplate, as the back edge cuts in dramatically without it and feels harsh to your hand, but damn is this phone thin with nothing on the back. Impressively — some might say uncomfortably — thin when holding it. The fear of dropping this phone without a backplate is real, even though its construction feels no less solid with no cover.

After pulling off the backplate and watching it magnetically re-adhere a few times — I’ll be honest, I do this five or six times a day just because — you power the phone on and notice immediately just how much chin this thing has. Between the Moto logo, fingerprint sensor, and software buttons on the display, there’s a whole lot of space between the bottom of this phone and the usable parts. Because the phone is so tall, a lot of one-handed functions are compromised, even though the phone is thin and narrow enough to enjoy using with one hand. It’s a tough call to make — Motorola couldn’t put the fingerprint sensor on the back because of the Moto Mods — but the amount of space consumed is more noticeable here than on any HTC or Samsung phone to date.

Let’s talk about those Moto Mods: they are so clearly the star of the Moto Z story

Let’s talk about those Mods for a moment, since they are so clearly the star of the Moto Z story. I’m testing a TUMI battery add-on, a JBL SoundBoost speaker, and the Moto Insta-Share pico projector. Right away, these options are vastly superior to accessories for other modular smartphones. Not needing to mess around with Bluetooth settings and just snapping on a big speaker when I’m grilling outside is awesome. Being able to attach a projector to the back of my phone and immediately share what I see is largely impossible on another phone — even the modular LG G5. Not needing an ugly battery case to boost my total capacity appeals directly to how I use my phones. These Mods might as well have been made directly for me, which is awesome.

That said, there’s a few things I wish were done differently. For example, the speaker and the projector can’t be used together because you can only use one Mod at a time. The battery starts charging the phone as soon as you connect it, which means there’s some additional heat generated in the bottom left of the phone — right where it sits in your palm. The battery status on all of these accessories are only accessible with a single blinking light on the Mod unless you have it connected to a phone, which doesn’t give you a lot of information. Overall these are tiny concerns, especially compared to what you get with the Mods themselves, but it’s clear Moto and their partners have some room to improve here.

Out of the box, there’s a lot to love about the Moto Z and its accessories. The designs are solid; using the Mods are effortless and intuitive; and the 3.5mm jack isn’t wasting space on the body of the phone. This design wouldn’t have been possible with a headphone jack, and I think Motorola made the right choice in removing it. There are plenty of people out there who disagree, and there are other phones out there for those folks. This phone exists to do something other than cater to the past.

Same same. But different…. but still same

Moto Z Software

As the only Android manufacturer that updates their software separate from a Google-based or hardware release-based cycle, it’s easy to pick this phone up and immediately feel familiar with it. This is the same software available on the Moto X and Moto G, which is to say it runs nearly Nexus-like Android software with some subtle enhancements. It’s easy to see this and be concerned about stagnation, even though Motorola updates the individual pieces of their software through the Google Play Store fairly frequently.

Moto Display still has no equal

At the same time, it’s not like Moto software really has a lot of competition. Moto Display still has no equal. Moto Camera’s twisty launcher only recently has functional competition in the form of double-tapping buttons on the hardware of other phones (like double-pressing the home button on the Galaxy S7), and Moto devices remain the only phones I can reliably access from across the room with “Computer, Respond” as a custom voice activator. Why change what works, right? These aren’t trivial features to people who use them, and each of these is deeply missed when I move to another phone to use something else. When Moto first launched these features, everyone tried to say these were gimmicks that could be reproduced in software by anybody. Years later, with several half-baked attempts to copy in the Play Store and weak copies of Always On Display on Samsung hardware, Moto phones are still the only phones to offer this experience.

The one big change in the software this year is a direct result of the hardware changes. Moto Mods need some sort of management software on the phone, but that software is all but gone until you connect a Mod. Instead of requiring an awkward app for everything, Moto Mods are integrated into the OS itself. When you connect a Mod, you get a notification letting you know how much battery it has and that it’s ready to be used. The projector can be fired up immediately and mirrors whatever is on the screen, but also uses the gyroscope to set the angle of the display. The speaker immediately takes over all of the system sounds. These aren’t accessories in the traditional sense. When you connect them, they become a part of the phone. This is exactly the way modular phones need to be done.

Lenovo’s disinterest in ensuring your device is consistently protected from exploits is bad, and they should feel bad.

This being a Droid Edition Moto Z, there’s some Verizon software onboard. It’s you standard complement of far-too-many Verizon apps and associated bloat. Verizon seems to have mostly standardized this setup, including what apps can be uninstalled and what must be disabled. If it’s a “Verizon Core” app, you aren’t getting rid of it. If it’s a game or music app, blow it away and never think twice. This is the standard Verizon experience, like it or not. Considering what we’ve seen with software from competing carriers, I’d say Verizon’s bloat is perfectly tolerable.

But do you want updates to your core OS? The Moto track record is spotty, but we know that Nougat is coming to the phone in the not-so-distant future and security patches will be rolled out in bundles that are not following Google’s monthly track. Is it unreasonable to point a finger at Moto and demand timely security updates when so many competitors have yet to consistently deliver the same across more than a small fraction of their products? No, it’s not unreasonable. Every manufacturer should be able to build the updates handed to them monthly and release them, especially now that Google has split monthly patches out to make them easier for companies to deliver. Lenovo’s disinterest in ensuring your device is consistently protected from exploits is bad, and they should feel bad.

Aggressively mediocre

Moto Z Camera

Using Moto software is awesome because it mostly still feels like it did with the original Moto X. The same can not be said of the Moto Camera interface, but the same can be said of the photos that come out of the phone.

Moto Camera finally lives up to the original promise. It’s incredible simple, can be used with one hand, and the settings are as minimal as they come. Tap to focus is the default over the drag around exposure ring, and you swipe for previous photo as well as access settings. You have quick toggles for HDR, flash, and a timer. In case it hasn’t been mentioned twice already (it has) double-twisting the phone to launch the camera is still awesome. Performing the action in the app flips the camera to the front, where you still have a dedicated flash for those dark selfies. This setup couldn’t be more simple and straightforward, and it’s something so many other camera apps could learn from.

Until you look at the photos, anyway.

If you’re outside in perfect lighting, the Moto Z does an incredible job getting the shot. The camera handles motion well, captures a fantastic amount of detail, and HDR balances well 9 out of 10 times. If you are in any other situation, this camera’s success rate drops by a third. The camera has repeat problems focusing when the light isn’t perfect, and this auto low-light mode kicks in and frequently takes an extra 1-2 seconds to take the shot. That delay means motion is a problem, and Motorola’s “Best Shot” mode that tries to show you a second photo that might look a little better frequently misses the mark. Put simply, this is not a camera capable of competing with Samsung, HTC, or even the latest Nexus phones.

The front camera, on the other hand, is pretty fantastic. Selfies are often much nicer on this camera, especially when the flash is used in low light situations. It take a little getting used to, and it’s still real awkward when you blind someone that isn’t ready for that flash to go off. It’s a great camera for video chat as well, which is especially good with Google Duo now available to the world.

Moto cameras have a long history of being not quite good enough, and it’s unfortunate to see that tradition continue with the Moto Z. You can get great shots from this phone if you work at it or are lucky, but that’s just not the case with so much of the competition right now.

Had no idea this was what I wanted

Moto Z Battery & Experience

A normal day for me starts at about 5:30am. My phone is where I get news in the morning, how I send video to my television while I get ready for my day, and the remote for all the lights in my house. By 6:30am, when it’s time to flip the lights on in the kids’ rooms through the Hue app, I’m already down 10%. At this point I have two choices, I can connect the battery pack and know for a fact I’ll have at least 45% of my battery left at the end of the day, or I can keep my nice wooden back on and hit up the Turbo Charger before I leave work at the end of the day. It’d be nice if the phone could actually get me through to 10pm on a single charge, but that has yet to happen even on days where I barely use the phone.

I have to make that decision at the beginning of the day, because putting the battery pack on when the phone has reached 20% is a mess. The battery pack will heat the phone up considerably in an attempt to quickly charge the internal battery with the snap-on battery, maybe add 35%, and then be completely spent. If the battery pack is on at the beginning of the day, it will keep the phone topped off at 100% for 8-10 hours and generate far less heat in the process. For me, the battery pack is what I reach for when I know I’m going to go play Pokemon Go or use my phone for GPS over an extended period of time. It’s a nice backup, and not thick enough to be uncomfortable when using the phone throughout the day.

The solid, smooth design of this phone is fantastic. The way the Mods clip on and feel like a part of the phone is incredibly well done. The fingerprint sensor has a success rate in line with the S7 and Nexus 6P. The display isn’t quite enough to compete with the Sun, but the auto-brightness sensor works well and will get you through most situations. There’s a lot to like about the way this phone is put together, and it’s nice to see Moto X things like wooden backplates brought over to the Moto Z. It’s not quite Moto Maker unique, but this is a phone you can have some fun with when it comes to making it your own and that’s an important part of this experience.

I’m a big fan of the speaker Mod. I am not a big fan of feeling like I need the speaker mod because the Moto Z speaker can’t compete with a sizzling pan when I’m cooking while listening to a podcast. Adding the speaker makes the phone too big to enjoy having in a pocket, so I’m unlikely to walk around all day with it connected. The same goes for the projector. Both very cool accessories with very specific use cases that make me feel like I need some sort of carrying case that lives in my car or something. This wouldn’t be a big deal if I didn’t feel like I needed at least one of these things to fully enjoy the phone.

Nice try though

Moto Z The Bottom Line

The Moto Z on its own is a mostly mediocre phone. The software is exactly what I want as a user, but with a unacceptably short battery and a lackluster camera and speaker it fails to deliver the kind of experience expected of a top tier phone. The Mods are what make this phone fun to use, but each comes with their own cost and compromise. The base price for a Moto Z on Verizon is $50 shy of a Galaxy S7, and by the time you drop the extra $80 on a battery Mod you’re on the other side of that price point and still have an overall worse experience.

In many ways the Moto experience has remained the same — an amazing software experience with some unique hardware that can’t quite compete with the rest of the high-end ecosystem, and that’s a shame. Above all else, though, I think Lenovo should push forward with Mods and make them a standard feature with lots of options. That ecosystem has the potential to deliver in ways that no other modular pitch we’ve seen so far.

Should you buy it? Probably not

If you’re a hardcore Moto fan and love the idea of enhancing your phone with Mods, go nuts. You’ll love the Moto Z. If you’re a road warrior looking for a way to make your presentation tech more compact, a Moto Z and the projector Mod is a great option. If you’re looking for the best phone you can buy and were hoping that included the ability to snap things onto the back, this is not the phone you’re looking for.

Microsoft’s Arrow Launcher is astonishingly good

Microsoft’s Arrow Launcher has a lot to offer.

Microsoft rolled out Arrow Launcher last year, following a positive reception for the company’s Next Lock Screen. Both apps originated out of Microsoft Garage, a hub for Microsoft employees to work on projects and ideas that don’t have a direct correlation to the company’s broader software efforts. Other apps that have come out of Microsoft’s Garage include the excellent Word Flow keyboard for iOS.

As for Arrow Launcher, the app has picked up momentum over the course of the year, gaining new functionality with regular updates. The most recent update rolled out earlier this week, adding a slew of new features: a fully customizable home page with widget and folder support, ability to annotate and share recent images directly from the home screen, live wallpaper support, and double tap to lock the screen.

Setting it up

Unlike a traditional third-party launcher like Nova, Arrow Launcher uses algorithms to show your frequent apps, contacts, and documents on the home screen. During setup, you can select apps that you want on the home screen; the launcher will then add more apps based on your usage patterns. The obvious downside with this model is that if you’re particular about the way you arrange apps on your home screen, you’re not going to like the constant shuffling around as new apps get added.

If you’re like me and have a lot of apps organized in folders, you’ll want to enable home screen customization from settings, as that lets you organize content into folders and add widgets. The app drawer itself is arranged vertically, with a separate tab for widgets and a search bar at the top.

Customize everything

A swipe up gesture gives you a Control Center-style quick toggle area wherein you can adjust screen brightness and toggle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, screen orientation, flashlight, and flight mode. At login, you have access to six home screens: Apps is at the center, flanked by People and Recent. The rightmost home screens show reminders and documents, and you have a dedicated home screen for widgets on the left.

The People home screen gives you a list of your frequent contacts, while the Recent screen highlights five recent photos, calls, messages, or documents. The latest update added the ability to edit and annotate images from the Recent screen. Just long press on an image thumbnail, and you’ll see options to edit or share an image.

There are several customization options on offer as well, including notification badges, which lets you see the unread count on app icons. Then there’s the ability to use custom icon packs, and double tap the screen to lock the phone.

Overall, Arrow Launcher is just as fast as Nova or Google Now Launcher. There’s no unnecessary bloat, and it offers enough customizability that I’m not missing out on any features that I rely upon often. And best of all, it’s free.

Interested in taking a look? Grab the launcher from the link below, and share your thoughts in the comments.

Download Arrow Launcher from the Play Store

Wear your Android “7” Nougat pride with this delicious new t-shirt

The best way to celebrate Nougat isn’t by eating it — it’s by wearing it!

Android 7.0 Nougat is rolling out to the world right now, and if you’re running a Nexus phone, you may even have it (with or without our help)!

To celebrate its launch, we’ve designed a special edition, limited run t-shirt that shows the new confectionary in its best light: in the form of a “7”! The shirt (and matching hoodie) is inspired by the life-size pistachio-filled nougat bars that grace the front of the Google campus, a design (and name) that was unveiled after months of teasing.

The shirt is available in men’s and women’s styles, and in four colors (the hoodie in two colors) so you can find the Nougat that fits your life. And, of course, there’s a little AC logo on the back — because you have to represent.

Get one now — before they’re all gone!

See at Teespring

Xbox One S: 4K, Ultra HD Blu-ray and HDR examined in more detail

We’ve reviewed the Xbox One S and concluded that this is a great update to the console, making it an attractive option for anyone who hasn’t committed yet and wants to join the Xbox family but also as a great media device for those wanting to embrace 4K.

We’re delving a little deeper into what it will do in the Ultra HD space and here we’ll guide you through the ins and outs and pros and cons of choosing the Xbox One S as your Ultra HD media player of choice.

Xbox One S: TV settings are key

Let’s start at the beginning. The screen you connect your Xbox One S to is going to have a major impact on your experience. Ultra HD, or 4K, is currently in the realms of things not being plug and play, so there’s some fiddling around to do. 

We connected the Xbox One S to two main televisions. Firstly the Samsung KS9500, which is Samsung’s top tier curved direct-lit LED TV, at 65-inches. Secondly the LG OLED C6, which is LG’s latest curved OLED display at 55-inches. Both offer Ultra HD resolutions, both offer HDR and both can be considered excellent televisions.

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In both cases, the Xbox One S accepted that these TVs would support Ultra HD resolutions, but at the first pass, said they wouldn’t support everything in other situations. 

Head into settings > display & sound > video output and you’ll find a range of options. The most useful is checking compatibility, in the “advanced video settings”, you’ll find a breakdown of what the One S thinks your TV will do, under the “4K TV details” option.

This will tell you what your display can do, and if the Xbox is reporting something different to what you believe, you might have to tweak your settings. The biggest problem here is different standards of display.

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The LED Samsung offers 10-bit display, the OLED LG a 12-bit display and telling the Xbox what it’s connected to solves some of these problems and there’s a drop-down box to accommodate those alternatives. There’s also the option for an 8-bit display, which will be older 4K TVs without HDR. If you have a 2014 or 2015 4K TV, you might need this option. 

If things aren’t working, check you’re on the right bit depth for your display and try restarting both the TV and the Xbox and check again. In both cases we moved from little support to full support after a settings tweak. 

Xbox One S: Tweak your HDMI settings 

On 4K TVs you’ll find individual settings for each HDMI. Although watching 4K works directly on many TVs, to get the full benefits of HDR, you’ll have to dive deeper and ensure the HDMI UHD Color setting is switched on. (This setting has different names on different TVs from different manufacturers – HDMI UHD Color is Samsung, LG uses HDMI Ultra HD Deep Colour, for example.)

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Fail to turn that on and you will find that your fancy Ultra HD Blu-rays will look a little flat, as there’s no HDR coming through – and that makes a big difference, if not the biggest difference, to Ultra HD Blu-ray viewing.

Also, find the info button on your remote and press it, as this will usually tell you want the TV is showing you – for Samsung you’ll get an indicator of HDR, the resolution and the frame rate (24fps, for example). LG is a little poor in this regard, but many other TVs, like Panasonic, will have a button to show you what’s playing at that moment. Both test TVs, however, give a big notification when an HDR signal is being received. 

Xbox One S: Ultra HD Blu-ray experience

One of the most attractive things about the Xbox One S is the Ultra HD Blu-ray player. It’s the cheapest player on the market at the moment, with the 500GB costing £249, compared to the next cheapest, Samsung’s K8500 Ultra HD Blu-ray player at £350.

On the Xbox One S you get the full Ultra HD and HDR experience. The visuals from those top-spec TVs are stunning. Sure the top spec Panasonic UHD Blu-ray player might just edge things out in terms of absolute picture quality, but as so much is governed by the performance of the TV it’s attached to, we think most will find themselves entranced by the richness and detail that Ultra HD Blu-ray offers from the Xbox One S.

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There’s a downside on the audio front with no support for Dolby Atmos, but if that matters to you, you probably fall into the camp of those who should buy a dedicated Ultra HD Blu-ray player anyway.

The biggest downside in reality is control and noise. Firstly, you’ll want to buy the Xbox One Media Remote, because using a gaming controller is too clunky for regular movie watching. It’s only £15 and worth the upgrade.

Secondly noise. The Xbox One S is a comparatively noisy player. The fan noise, disc whirring noises and the rest of the buzzing and chirping that goes with it makes it a lesser experience than either of the dedicated Ultra HD Blu-ray players currently available.

That’s something of a shame, because the Xbox One S is a beautiful looking thing, more interesting than other players, but to keep it from distracting you in quiet movie scenes, you’ll probably need to hide it in a cupboard.

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Xbox One S: Blu-ray playback

With Ultra HD Blu-ray being a new format, it’s unlikely that you have many or any in your collection. Fortunately, regular Blu-ray playback is good. It’s much the same experience as with Ultra HD Blu-ray (noise, control, etc) – and very much like Blu-ray playback on the Xbox One.

There’s something else to note though. The Xbox One S output drops from 2160p to 1080p when you insert a regular Blu-ray disc. That fits the native resolution of the Blu-ray, so the Xbox then isn’t “upscaling”, it’s feeding that 1080p content to the TV and the TV is then making the pictures fit the display. 

The same applies to DVD, if you’re still watching those too, but that’s the right way to do it. You can’t force the Xbox to output a 2160p image from these lower-res discs, so the TV is then doing any video processing it can to clean up the image. 

Ultra HD streaming: Netflix considerations

Aside from being an Ultra HD Blu-ray player – and the cheapest way to currently access those amazing optical discs – streaming is where most of the 4K action is. Netflix and Amazon Instant Video have been pushing 4K Ultra HD and HDR content harder than anyone else and are the main source of next-gen content for many. 

To access Netflix’s content you’ll have to upgrade your subscription to the 4K package (that’s £8.99/$12 a month), but it’s definitely worth it, as the resolution bump from Netflix makes a big difference, especially on TVs that are slightly too large for the room they’re in. 

The Xbox One S offers Ultra HD and HDR, although there’s only a few programmes offering HDR at the moment – Marco Polo being the notable example, but with more being added all the time. The UHD and HDR effect from Netflix doesn’t have anything like the impact that Ultra HD Blu-ray does, but it’s still excellent to watch.

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One nice trick to get around the control issues of Netflix on the Xbox is to use the built in DIAL feature. No one talks about this, but it’s a casting protocol, like Google cast, that will let you control playback with your phone. Simply open the app, hit the cast button and select the Xbox. As long as you’ve signed into the Netflix app, it will play your content. Simple. 

Netflix’s app is universal, so you have the same experience whether you use the Xbox, your TV or another media device. There’s only one difference however, that’s cornered by an LG exclusive. LG offers support for Dolby Vision – another standard of HDR – and using LG’s native app means Marco Polo is then delivered in Dolby Vision and looks even more dramatic (aided by the wonderful OLED panel, of course).

As most smart TVs offer Netflix as an app (it’s arguably the most important app to offer), there’s perhaps no need to have your Xbox on as well – it may just be easier to use the TV app, save power and save noise.

There’s another advantage that comes back to that info button – on a TV like Samsung or a Panasonic – hit that in the Netflix app and it will show you the quality you’re streaming at.

Xbox One S: Amazon Instant Video

Amazon has a lot of UHD content, but it’s been less focused in how this is offered to customers than Netflix perhaps has. Firstly, you don’t need a separate subscription, you just need that Amazon Prime subscription and that will open the gates to Amazon’s offering. 

One the Xbox One S, however the app currently doesn’t offer the UHD content you’ll find elsewhere. For example, switch over to Samsung’s native app and you’ll find sections for 4K movies and TV Shows, as well as individual programmes stating they are Ultra HD.

Fire those up and you’ll spot the difference. That mean that, in its current form, the Xbox One S loses out, as it’s not offering this content, although it’s probably only a software update away.

Again, the same argument stand as with Netflix: if you have the app on your TV, do you need to be using the Xbox for the same thing?

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Xbox One S: HDMI pass-through

One of the appealing things about the Xbox One is using it to control everything. It can control your TV, connected devices, sound system and so on. The integration of set-top boxes means that the OneGuide can serve up a menu of TV programming you might want to watch. 

Cable, satellite or other set-top boxes took advantage of HDMI pass-through. HDMI pass-though, however, doesn’t support 4K sources. We tried connecting the Samsung K8500 Ultra HD Blu-ray player and although the image plays through the TV, it’s not Ultra HD Blu-ray quality with stunning HDR. 

While you wouldn’t need to connect a Blu-ray player, if you had thoughts of hooking up a Sky Q box or Ultra HD BT YouView box, you’ll lose the UHD parts. 

The Xbox still outputs a 2160p signal to the TV, but we suspect it’s been downscaled to 1080p and then upscaled, rather than natively preserved.

We questioned Xbox about this and received the following statement: “Xbox One S does not currently support 4K pass-through via HDMI-in. We will continue to explore making the changes needed for the hardware to support pass-through as 4K broadcasts become more widespread.”

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Xbox One S: Should I buy it as a 4K media player?

Drawing all this to a conclusion. The Xbox One S has its positives: it’s the cheapest Ultra HD Blu-ray player on the market right now, it offers a range of 4K streaming services and will support HDR gaming in the future (when titles are released). Additionally, with the 3.5mm headphone socket on the new controller, you can play/watch/stream quietly and enjoy yourself in the middle of the night without disturbing others.

Offering all the Xbox One features in a better-looking package, makes it a great choice for all-round entertainment especially if you choose the 500GB version thanks to the price, with the following caveats: 

• The Ultra HD Blu-ray player market is likely to change drastically in the next 6 months. Wait for IFA 2016 to see if anyone announces a player there: LG, Sony and Philips don’t yet have a player, and a cheaper model may appear very soon, and may offer streaming apps too.
• If you’re a casual gamer but more serious TV watcher, then the Xbox One S is a good choice: aside from those apps mentioned, there’s services from UK TV channels, Now TV, Waiki TV and plenty more.
• If you don’t have any provision for 4K streaming through your smart TV, the Xbox One S fills that gap for Netflix, but but other 4K streaming is currently limited.
• There are few gaming changes aside from HDR support (with no games available yet). If you’re a serious gamer, wait for the next-gen Xbox – Project Scorpio – to launch later in 2017.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: What’s the rumoured difference?

The next Sony Xperia flagship is rumoured to be making its debut at consumer electronics show IFA in the next few days.

As usual, there have been several leaks surrounding what is reported to be Sony’s next hero smartphone, along with a couple of names including the Xperia XR and the F8331. We’re opting for the former for the sake of this feature.

Based on these rumours and leaks, here is how the Sony Xperia XR could compare to the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Design

The Sony Xperia XR looks like it will be coming with a similar OmniBalance design to previous Sony flagships. Reports suggest it will have a brushed metal finish and it will measure 146.4 x 71.9 x 8.1mm.

The leaked images show USB Type-C and we would also expect to see a fingerprint sensor within the side power button, as well as IP65 and IP68 water and dust resistance ratings.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge both have IP68 waterproof ratings and they both have metal bodies with a Corning Gorilla Glass 4 back panel. The fingerprint sensor sits within the main button on the front of both devices and they both have Micro-USB over USB-Type C.

The Galaxy S7 measures 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9mm and weighs 152g, while the S7 edge measures 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7mm and weighs 157g. This means the S7 could be smaller and slimmer than the Xperia XR, while the S7 edge could be larger but still slimmer.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Display

The Sony Xperia XR is reported to be coming with a 5.1-inch display and a Full HD resolution. If this is the case, it would put its pixel density at 423ppi.

Based on the leaks, it looks like the Xperia XR will offer a flat display despite the lower-end Xperia XA that launched earlier this year offering a lovely edge-to-edge screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 also has a 5.1-inch flat display but it ups the resolution to Quad HD and offers Super AMOLED technology. This means its pixel density sits at 577ppi for sharper and crisper images than what the Xperia XR is expected to come with, as well as the potential for brighter and more vibrant colours.

The S7 edge also has a Quad HD display and Super AMOLED technology but its size increases to 5.5-inches for a pixel density of 534ppi. It is also curved which makes for a much more exciting design, as well as some extra software functions.

Both the S7 and S7 edge also have an Always-On display, which means some notifications from specific apps can be seen on the display without users needing to power up the entire display.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Camera 

The Sony Xperia XR’s camera hasn’t been detailed in rumours, though it has been claimed both the front and the rear snappers will be capable of 4K video recording.

There also appears to be a dual-LED flash on the rear based on the leaked images. An educated guess would suggest the Xperia XR will feature the same cameras as the X Performance, meaning a 23-megapixel rear sensor and 13-megapixel front sensor, but that’s just us speculating.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge both feature a 12-megapixel rear camera, coupled with a 5-megapixel front camera. The rear has optical image stabilisation, along with phase detection autofocus and both the front and rear deliver excellent results.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Hardware

The Sony Xperia XR is rumoured to be coming with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor.

Other hardware details haven’t been detailed in the leaks, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see 3GB or 4GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage with microSD support, and a battery capacity of around 3000mAh.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge both come with either the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chip or an Exynos processor, depending on region. They have 4GB of RAM on board and a choice of 32GB of 64GB internal memory, neither of which offer microSD expansion.

The S7 has a 3000mAh battery while the S7 edge has a slightly larger 3700mAh battery.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Software

The Sony Xperia XR will no doubt launch on Android Marshmallow with Sony’s skin over the top. It will get updated to Android Nougat eventually, but it isn’t likely to launch on the new software as Google has said the LG V20 would be first and that’s not due until 6 September.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge also run on Android Marshmallow. They come with Samsung’s TouchWiz software over the top meaning they will offer a different user experience to the new Xperia.

All three devices being compared here will have their own features and functions but the underlying software is the same.

Sony Xperia XR vs Samsung Galaxy S7 vs S7 edge: Conclusion

Based on the rumours, the Sony Xperia XR will have a similar size display to the Samsung Galaxy S7 but a lower resolution, along with very similar hardware specs.

It could be that Sony wins on camera resolution over both the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge devices, but that’s not to say its results will be better.

At the moment, everything is speculation. We will update this feature as official specs and details are revealed but for now, you can read all about the Sony Xperia XR rumours in our separate feature.

ICYMI: Racecar drivers are being replaced by computers

Today on In Case You Missed It: Formula E racing is gearing up for new robo-races with the DevBot, a hybrid vehicle that can be driven by a computer rather than a person. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania tested injecting a new hydrogel into animals and find that it helps thicken up weak, damaged tissue after heart attacks.

If you want to test out the Trump chatbot, that’s here, though a look at the candidate’s Twitter account will deliver the same information. Drone enthusiasts here for the Gameboy Classic controller will find the original video on YouTube. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.