New High-Resolution Photos Depict Gold iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
A new collection of high-resolution images depicting the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have been shared online today (via Letem svetem Applem) [Google Translate].
The photos originated from mobile peripheral website Topp Ten, which claimed that in addition to the usual color options of Rose Gold, Gold, and Silver, Apple will offer the new iPhone in a variant of Blue. This resurfaces a rumor from earlier in the summer, which was believed to ultimately be a mistake and that this “Deep Blue” iPhone 7 is actually just a new shade of Space Gray.
The two iPhones in today’s images are both Gold, so any claim to the veracity of a potential Deep Blue iPhone 7 is still left unconfirmed. The photos provide direct glimpses of the iPhone’s front and rear sides, although it’s difficult to directly confirm if the devices have a traditional, tactile home button instead of the rumored addition of a flush, Force Touch-enabled alternative.
Since the 2016 iPhone update will otherwise be modest, it’s believed subtle changes to the line’s longest-living features, like a potential shift in how the Home Button looks and functions, could be an attractive selling point for customers.
The back of the iPhone shows off what’s expected of the device at this point, namely the single-lens camera of the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and the dual-lens alternative on the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus. Previous reports have suggested that Apple could be splitting the iPhone lineup this year into three tiers, with an “iPhone 7 Pro” housing the dual-lens camera and other top-tier features, but today’s images showcase only two options.
The rear of the iPhone 7 Plus also doesn’t have a Smart Connector, which was suggested earlier in the year to be a potential added-in feature on the larger model. More recently, however, it was reported that Apple has since ditched these plans, and subsequent image leaks and molds for the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 have lacked the Smart Connector on the lower backside of the smartphone’s casing. It was never clear what the benefits of a Smart Connector could bring to the iPhone, besides the potential possibility of fueling wireless charging or battery cases.
Otherwise, the photos back up everything else that’s expected in the iPhone 7 this year: realigned antenna bands, tapered camera enclosures, and an overall design that keeps a very close resemblance to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. What’s not shown directly is any side of the iPhone 7, so it can’t be confirmed if the new images back up the rumored lack of a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Still, at this point and with a steady stream of other accessory leaks and videos, that’s one of the likeliest rumors out there surrounding the 2016 iPhone.
It’s currently believed that Apple will hold its Keynote address debuting the iPhone 7 on September 7, with pre-orders kicking off on September 9, and a wide launch of the smartphones on September 16.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Best car chargers for Galaxy Note 7
What’s the best car charger for the Note 7?
The Galaxy Note 7 has a mighty battery, but it may need a charge while you’re on the go.
A car charger is a great investment (especially if you’re out and about all day long), but the right one might be a tad hard to find.
Here are our favorites!
- Tronsmart
- Vinsic
- Scosche ReVolt
- Aukey
- Samsung
Tronsmart 33W dual USB car charger
You can hardly go wrong with a Benson Leung-approved car charger, which makes the Tronsmart dual USB car charger top dog.
In fact, Leung had problems with the first Tronsmart charger he bought, so they redesigned it and now Leung specifically recommends it for devices that employ USB-C, like the Galaxy Note 7.
This particular charger is able to maintain solid voltage while your Note 7 draws significant amperage, meaning that fast charging is both fast and safe. If you’re driving around all day but only in the car for maybe 15 minutes at a time, the Tronsmart will give you a relatively significant charge in those short bursts.
If you’re looking for very reliable fast charging and a Google engineer-approved device, look no further.
See at Amazon
Vinsic high speed charger
Vinsic makes another solid, Benson-approved car charger that features a USB-A port, as well as a female USB-C output port.
With a 5V/3A maximum, you’ll receive a fairly significant charge, even if you’re only in the car for 10 to 20 minutes at a time, and if you’re charging other devices that maybe don’t draw as much power when charging, the Vinsic won’t accidentally overload them.
The one minor downside to this charger is its inability to maintain voltage when charging two devices, as outlines in Benson’s review.
If you’re looking for a reliable charger (who isn’t?) and only plan on charging your Note 7, then the Vinsic high speed charger will meet your needs nicely.
See at Amazon
Scosche ReVolt
The 12W Scosche ReVolt is one of Amazon’s best-selling car chargers and that’s because it’s inexpensive, provides up to 4.8V/2.4A of output, and it’s a slick little device.
It’s got a low-profile design and the light-up USB ports are super handy if you’re disembarking after dusk (sounds like a romance novel title).
To be honest, the ReVolt is fairly run-of-the-mill, but it’s at the top of that class. It comes in black, space gray, silver, or camo.
If you don’t want too spend much but still want a quality charger, the ReVolt is definitely your best choice.
See at Amazon.cta .shop. no-cart
Aukey Quick Charge 3.0 car charger
Though the Note 7 only supports Quick Charge 2.0, the Aukey Quick Charge 3.0 charger works really well with Samsung’s latest. And with three ports (two full-size USB and one USB-C), you’ll be able to charge multiple devices on the go.
Aukey includes a USB-C to USB-C cable in the box, so you won’t have to go out and get an extra one for the car.
You get the full range of Quick Charge options with the Aukey Quick Charge, so there’s no worry of overloading devices that may draw less power. The Aukey Quick Charge is a versatile car charger that does exactly what it says it does, and you really can’t ask for much more.
See at Amazon
Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging charger
If your Note 7 dies while you’re out and about, take solace in the fact that the Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging charger will take your from 0 to about 50% in as little as 30 minutes.
It features two USB-A ports that output up to 1A each, charging two devices quickly and at the same time.
The Samsung charger has a rather compact design, so it’ll fit into wherever your vehicle power outlet happens to be and won’t get in the way at all while you’re driving.
Your lightning-quick charging on the go, Samsung’s Adaptive Fast Charging charger is made for your Note 7.
Preorder at Samsung
What do you use?
What’s your favorite car charger? Is your favorite not included in our roundup? Let us know in the comments below!
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 hands-on preview
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- The Galaxy Note 7 uses USB-C
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
‘Star Trek: Discovery’ is set 10 years before the original
It was Bryan Fuller’s turn to take the stage at the Television Critics Association press tour and spill the beans about his vision for Star Trek. The producer has revealed that Star Trek: Discovery will be set roughly a decade before the original Trek and will be set in the prime universe. Fuller has also explained that the sets and uniforms will be closer to 1966’s primary-colored hues than the gunmetal grey and denim of Enterprise. In addition, the series will be 13 episodes long and serialized, with each episode a chapter, although each episode will have a satisfying resolution for HBO-phobic fans.
“Each episode is a chapter, within each chapter will be a beginning, middle & end.” #StarTrekDiscovery EP @BryanFuller on new series
— Star Trek: Discovery (@startrekcbs) August 11, 2016
Fuller also explained his thoughts and feelings about the cast, saying that it’ll be far more diverse than previous shows, with more aliens in the credited cast. The lead character will be a woman, and the producer has often spoken of his desire to see Angela Bassett and Rosario Dawson in Starfleet uniforms. Much like TOS and TNG, the main ensemble will have seven characters, of which at least one will be LGBT* and another could be a robot. Unlike the last six Star Trek TV shows, the lead character will not be the captain of the USS Discovery, but a Lt. Commander.
#StarTrekDiscovery will see more aliens in cast than in past, & EP @BryanFuller says series will uphold tradition of diverse cast. #TCA16
— Star Trek: Discovery (@startrekcbs) August 11, 2016
Fuller is quoted by Variety as saying that Discovery will be about “an incident in the history of Starfleet that had been talked about but never fully explored.” This event comes from the original series’ bible but was never seen, and we’re sure that tidbit alone will send thousands of fans to Memory Alpha. In addition, we’re likely to see Section 31 pop up (oh, goody) and Spock’s mother, Amanda Grayson, will appear in some capacity.
Live from #TCA16: @mdebevoise says 13 episodes ordered for #StarTrekDiscovery for January 2017 #CBSAllAccess
— Star Trek: Discovery (@startrekcbs) August 10, 2016
Filming on Star Trek: Discovery begins in October, and the show will arrive on CBS: All Access (and Netflix) in January 2017.
Via: IGN
Source: Variety
Hive’s smart thermostat gets IFTTT’s recipe-based automation
If you own one of Hive’s smart thermostats and are looking to get more from the connected appliance, today is your lucky day. The British Gas-owned company today announced that it’s teamed up with IFTTT to provide recipe-based automation for the thermostat, allowing you to connect it to 300 other products and services.
Like the other smart thermostats already on IFTTT, Hive’s pre-built recipes include automated responses to the weather — like “If the temperature outside drops below 5°C then boost my heating” — and boost the hot water output if it detects you’ve finished a run on Strava. There’s also a BMW-specific recipe that will turn on your heating when you’re less than 30 minutes from home.
With 300 channels available, Hive can be linked to smart home appliances like Amazon’s Echo (if you’ve managed to get one in the UK) or be set to turn off your Hue lights as soon as you leave the house. The official Hive app already has a few smart features baked in but IFTTT will let take another step towards truly automating your home.
Source: Hive on IFTTT
DOE to start building a tool that will 3D map the universe
Next year, the Department of Energy will start building the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), which will 3D map millions of galaxies across the universe. The agency-backed project has passed “Critical Decision 3” almost a year after it went through the second phase of approval. That means DOE has OKed its construction and will provide the funding needed to finish manufacturing its camera’s 5,000 10-inch-long cylindrical robots. See that pizza slice-like contraption in the image above? It’s one of the camera’s ten “petals.” Each hole in a petal houses a robot, and the ten petals will carry a total of 5,000. All those machines will point fiber-optic cables to the sky to gather light from distant worlds.
Part of the funding will also go to coating six million-dollar lenses with antireflective material to improve their transparency. The team will build 10 spectrographs to measure the wavelengths of incoming light, as well. According to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the organization managing the project, the light that comes in will tell us how fast galaxies and stars are moving away from us. By obtaining that info, we’ll be able to solve some of the mysteries surrounding dark energy — the invisible force believed to occupy every inch of the universe, pushing things apart and accelerating its expansion.
Daniel Eisenstein, a DESI spokesperson from Harvard University, explained:
“The DESI map of galaxies will reveal patterns that result from the interplay of pressure and gravity in the first 400,000 years after the Big Bang. We’ll be using these subtle fingerprints to study the expansion history of the universe.”
DESI will be installed 6,880 feet above the ground, on top of the Mayall Telescope that’s located at the highest peak of Arizona’s Quinlan Mountains. It will take some time before it’s ready, but if all goes well, it will start observing the universe in January 2019.
Via: The Register
Source: Berkeley Lab
UK police bust ‘significant’ pirate pay-TV streaming ring
The City of London Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) is claiming another small victory in the never-ending and probably unwinnable war against piracy. Following a series of dawn raids at several business and residential addresses in Lancashire, the fuzz has reportedly brought down a large-scale illegal TV streaming operation. While it’s not unusual to hear about the seizure of modified set-top boxes that tap into pirate pay-TV streams, officers have landed themselves a much bigger fish this time around, also discovering 15 satellites and recovering over 30 servers.
“Our action today will disrupt what we understand to be a significant and highly resourced operation to distribute pirated television on an industrial scale to tens of thousands of people across the globe,” Detective Chief Inspector Peter Ratcliffe said. As a result of the sting, three men have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering offences.
According to the police, the group is believed to have been transmitting hundreds of subscription-only channels to set-top boxes advertised as legitimate and sold online for a yearly fee of roughly £400. TorrentFreak has done some digging of its own, and while not naming who it believes to be responsible, says the operation has been going for a number of years and was primarily targeted at the ex-pat community. With those ex-pats now underserved, we expect the cycle to continue as it typically does — one police bust simply being another pirate’s opportunity.
[Server image credit: City of London Police]
Via: TorrentFreak
Source: City of London Police
Xbox One S converted into a road-ready laptop
Do-it-yourself Xbox laptops have been around since Ben Heck cobbled one together from an Xbox 360, but “laptop” is a misnomer — most are more like small desktops with screens hinged on. Modder Edward Zarick, the creator of the “Xbook One,” is trying to change that (a bit), though. The “Xbook One S” is a smaller and slimmer thanks to the Xbox One S guts and a Samsung 19-inch screen. Unlike the 22-inch Vizio model used on the original, the new display has 720p rather than a 1080p resolution, unfortunately.
He built the new model for users who might want console gaming on the go or in a plane, assuming there’s a power outlet and they’d let you on with one. (It’s easy to imagine one in the back of a band’s tour bus, as a colleague notes.) The case is made from laser-cut acrylic and 3D printed parts that Zarick describes as “sturdy,” though not rugged.
Inside, it’s a stock Xbox One S that “has not been altered in any way,” he says, adding that the original warranty is nonetheless void because of his modding. If you’re crazy enough about console gaming to want one of these, it’s available in black or white and costs $1,495 for the 500GB model, and $1,545 with 1TB (plus shipping).
IFTTT Workflow Service Launches Third-Party Developer Platform
App and device interaction service IFTTT has launched a new partner platform that enables third-party developers to bake the company’s automated actions into their apps.
For those unfamiliar with IFTTT (IF This, Then That), the service lets users link smart devices, services, and apps in the form of workflows that trigger automated actions – saving photos you’re tagged in on Facebook to Dropbox, for instance, or turning on the heating at home when you leave the office.
Previously, users had to download the IFTTT app or log on to its website to set up such workflows, but the New Partner Platform, which has been in closed beta testing for the last year, means automations can now be integrated and controlled within other apps, enabling gadgets and services to more easily connect to one another.
The public rollout comes to a number of partners, including video doorbell maker Ring, connected car service Automatic, banking app Qapital, air quality monitor Foobot, garage door automation Garageio, smart thermostat Hive, indoor air and health monitoring device Awair, Wi-Fi doorbell Skybell, connected light bulb maker LIFX, responsive lighting maker Stack Lighting, real-time weather service Bloomsky, group voice messenger Roger, and home security service abode.
Users who own apps or smart devices by any of these companies should be able to make use of the IFTTT recipe integration any day now.
The If app is a free download available for iPad and iPhone on the App Store. [Direct Link]
Tag: IFTTT
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Apple Patent Describes ECG-Based Heart Health Wearable
Apple has invented a new health wearable device that measures electrocardiographic signals via a series of built-in electrodes (via PatentlyApple).
The device was revealed in a new patent application published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and appears to show designs on another wearable apart from the Apple Watch that can be worn on different locations on the body.
Electrocardiographic measurements rely on multiple electrode readings that can vary depending on where the recording is taken on the body. For example, accidental misplacement of limb lead electrodes is a common cause of ECG reading abnormalities. To solve this, Apple’s patent details how the device can intelligently adapt its measurements for accuracy by taking and comparing readings in different body locations.
In one example, the device can be run through an ‘enrollment’ process, whereby the measurements are taken at different locations on the body. Once the process is finished, electrocardiographic results obtained from the arm can be compared against the stored measurements and determine an accurate reading of heart functioning.
The patent describes how a user wearing the device on their arm can take manual measurements, by placing their finger on an electrode that is not already in contact with the body, whereby the device compares the inverted readings relative to one another to calculate an accurate measurement.
Earlier this week it was reported that Apple is developing at least one new health-tracking product that could debut alongside the tenth-anniversary iPhone in 2017. The product is said to have an array of health-related apps that collect data such as heart rate, pulse, and blood sugar changes.
It’s extremely unlikely that today’s patent relates to the upcoming device, but it does serve as another example of the research Apple is ploughing into this area, and indicates that the company is not averse to developing wearable technology that isn’t necessarily linked to the Apple Watch.
In a recent interview, when asked what he believes the “next frontiers” will be when it comes to product development, Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted health as “the biggest one of all.”
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Logitech Pop Home Switch Starter Pack Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
The $100 Logitech Pop Home Switch.
Jacob Krol/CNET
Remember that multi-use smart home button we reviewed back in February called Flic? Well, Logitech is bringing something similar to the masses this month with the release of its $100 Pop Home Switch Starter Pack and $40 Pop Add-On Home Switch.
Designed to be a main point of access between you and your smart-home gizmos, Pop is supposed to be able to control connected LEDs, locks, blinds and more. A handful of related partners have already jumped on board to kick off the launch, including Lifx, Philips Hue, Lutron and Insteon.
Related Links:
- A DIY switch to automate ‘Netflix and chill’
- Coolest new tech: A $34 Flic smart button
- CNET’s smart home reviews
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Our five favorite uses for the Flic smart button
We find out just how flexible Shortcut Labs’ new device really is
by David Priest
Each switch is designed to handle up to three triggers using a single press, a double press and a long press. That means you should be able to turn on your lights, close your window shades, and turn on your TV all with simple button presses.
Logitech says the configuration process is simple, too. Use the Pop app for Android and iPhone to search your local Wi-Fi network for smart-home devices. From there, you should be able to assign specific triggers to specific products — either individually or as part of a combined recipe.
You can add a Logitech Harmony remote into the mix as well for a variety of TV- and music-based triggers.
Logitech’s $100 Pop Home Switch Starter Pack and $40 Pop Add-On Home Switch are expected to hit retail this month. We plan to test them out, so check back in short order.
AIVAnet 