Samsung Galaxy S8 specs leak; 30MP camera, Snapdragon 830 processor and built-in projector
Samsung’s Galaxy S8 smartphone is expected to be revealed until at least Mobile World Congress in February 2017 but given the recent fiasco surrounding overheating and exploding Galaxy Note 7s, Samsung could be keen to regain consumer confidence.
If a recent leak of specifications is to be believed, the South Korean company could well do that, as they make for impressive reading indeed.
- Samsung Galaxy S8: What we want to see and what’s the story so far?
The Galaxy S8 is expected to be powered by a 3.2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 processor and 6GB of RAM, making it one powerful phone. The screen is likely to be 5.2-inches, with a 2160 x 4096 resolution, making it eye-piercingly sharp.
On the back there’s said to be a whopping 30-megapixel camera with optical image stabilisation while a 9MP snapper will be on the front for those all-important selfies. We’ve previously seen rumours suggesting the S8 will have a dual-lens camera, so we’re not holding out for a 30MP sensor just yet.
Under the hood there’s also said to be a mammoth 4200mAh battery, hopefully one that doesn’t overheat and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage, with a microSD card slot for expansion.
Other features are predicted to include retina scanner, fingerprint scanner, wireless charging and even a built-in mini projector.
- Samsung could bring forward S8 launch in wake of exploding Note 7
- No flat bezel Samsung Galaxy S8 for 2017, tipped to have Edge screen only
- Samsung Galaxy S8 to have dual camera like iPhone 7 Plus
We’d love to see these specs become a reality, although we do have to say take them with a pinch of salt for now, as they are just rumours. If it is unveiled at MWC 2017 then it’ll likely be in stores around April, where it will have a rumoured starting price of £655. Our jaws have just about come back up off the floor to say we’re well and truly excited.
Trump’s nationwide Snapchat filter snipes at ‘Crooked Hillary’
Social networks have become an extremely important medium for getting younger generations engaged in politics, but they are also proving to be the perfect forum for playground tactics. Snapchat’s location-based geofilters are particularly popular, and in the run-up to this year’s presidential election, everyone from Clinton, Sanders and Cruz to outside organizations allied to one candidate or another have used them to push their agendas at debates, conventions and other events. The Trump campaign is kicking things up a gear today, though, launching its first nationwide geofilter attacking “Crooked Hillary” ahead of tonight’s debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
The simple frame features fireworks and Trump’s “Make America great again” slogan in a patriotic palette, and names “Crooked Hillary” as Trump’s opponent on debate day. While not exactly a zinger, raiding campaign funds for a nationwide geofilter shows how important they’re now considered in shepherding public opinion. And given the news that much of what sits on Hillary Clinton’s private email server won’t be revealed until after the election, Trump’s campaign needs to step up its smearing game any way it can.
Check out Engadget’s guide to the 2016 presidential candidates here.
Via: The Verge
Source: Independent Journal Review
Run fast enough and Strava will give you free sneakers
Strava is one of the few fitness apps that hasn’t been bought by a sportswear company. Maybe that’s why it’s happy handing out footwear to anyone who can complete its “Back Half Challenge.” The competition runs between October 9th and December 6th and is open to anyone looking to run a marathon. But if you think that simply covering 26 miles, 385 yards is enough to get a free pair of New Balance sneakers, you’d better sit down.
In order to be in with a chance of scoring fresh kicks, runners will have to get a “negative split,” which is the ability to complete the second half of a marathon faster than the first. According to Strava’s data, only 1.9 percent of people who completed the 2015 Boston marathon achieved it. 3.5 percent of those who took part in the 2015 New York marathon, meanwhile, were able to boast of a negative split, despite it being a commonly recommended race strategy.
If you’re taking part in a fall season marathons, then you’re in with a shot, so long as you can negative split. Simply take part in a USATF-certified marathon with Strava tracking your run and then submit your data to the company. Of course, Strava must be confident that not too many people will be able to take them up on the offer. After all, the Chicago marathon has 45,000 participants and a pair of New Balance sneakers costs roughly $100 a pop.
Source: Strava, Back Half Challenge
Pluto may have a 60 mile deep liquid water ocean
We used to think of Pluto a remote frigid rock, but since the New Horizons visit, it’s vying for the title of the solar system’s most interesting (ex-) planet. An earlier study showed that its core is warm enough to support a liquid water ocean, and now we’ve learned that it might be huge — at least 100 km (62 miles) deep. The evidence, according to the team from Brown University, comes from a likely impact with massive asteroid.
Pluto’s most significant feature is the Sputnik Planam, a heart-shaped crater formed by an impact with an object up to 200 km (125 miles) across. Normally, such a crater would create a “negative mass anomaly,” or a gouged-out hole with less heft than the terrain around it. However, “that’s not what we see with Sputnik Planum,” says Brown University geologist Brandon Johnson.
Instead, the region unexpectedly has more weight than scientists expect. They know that because of Charon, Pluto’s moon. Like ours, it’s tidally locked with Pluto and always shows the same face to the planet. Interestingly, the Sputnik Planum sits right on the tidal axis, suggesting that there’s more mass in that area. “As Charon’s gravity pulls on Pluto, it would pull proportionally more on areas of higher mass, which would tilt the planet until Sputnik Planum became aligned with the tidal axis,” the paper states.
A closeup of the Sputnik Planum impact crater
So why would a crater area be so heavy? The researchers theorize that when a large body impacted Pluto, it created a trampoline effect, drawing material near the core toward the surface. If that material was liquid water, “it may have welled up following the Sputnik Planum impact, evening out the crater’s mass,” the paper says. Nitrogen ice later filled in the crater to give it extra weight, resulting in a positive mass anomaly.
For the simulation to be accurate, the liquid water below the surface must be at least 100km thick with 30 percent salinity. That might seem impossible on a planet with a surface temperature of 44K (-380 F). However, scientists think that radiation heating at the core of the planet and the 300km (200 mile) thick insulating ice shell makes liquid water feasible, in theory. “It’s pretty amazing to me that you have this body so far out in the solar system that still may have liquid water,” says Johnson.
Via: Phys Org
Source: Brown University
Alan Turing’s groundbreaking synthesizer music restored
Alan Turing is known for a few small achievements, like helping end World War II, laying the groundwork for modern computers and developing the “Turing test” for machine intelligence. You may not be aware, however, that he paved the way for synthesizers and electronica by inventing the first computer-generated musical tones. A pair of researchers from the University of Cantebury have now restored the first-ever recording made from Turing’s “synthesizer.”
Turing figured that if he rapidly played clicking sounds at set intervals, the listener would here them as distinct tones corresponding to musical notes. For instance, playing the click on every fourth cycle of a computers’ CPU produces a “C” tone, exactly like a modern synthesizer. He tested that theory on his Manchester Mark I, one of the world’s first programmable computers. Instead of making music, he used the tones to indicate computing operations like completed tasks and memory overflow errors (meaning he also invented notification sounds).
Turing knew that he could program songs on his “synth,” but had no interest in doing it. Luckily, talented programmer and musician Christopher Strachey got his hands on the Manchester Mark II’s operating guide, which was, by the way, the world’s first computer manual. Using that, he coded God Save the Queen, the longest program ever at the time. The next morning, he played it back to surprised onlookers at the lab, including Turing, who was uncharacteristically thrilled, saying “good show.”
The BBC recorded it later in 1951, along with two other songs: Baa Baa Black Sheep and Glenn Miller’s In the Mood. However, the researchers found that the notes had shifted in pitch because of the crude recording equipment used. The key to correcting it, as it turned out, was in the pitches that the computer couldn’t play. For instance, rather than playing a true G at 196 Hz, it could only do a decidedly sharp 198.41 Hz.
Knowing that, the team adjusted the playback to match those frequencies. They also filtered out noises and used pitch-correction software to edit out the fluctuating “wobble” in the recording. The result is a clean version of the synthesizer, which sounds like a cross between a viola and electronic bagpipes. While the music isn’t great, it is a small way to “hear” the genius of Turing. Like Nicolas Tesla, he was far too big for his time and suffered greatly for it, committing suicide at the age of 41.
Via: The Guardian
Source: Sound and Vision Blog
PlayStation 4 Slim review: Wait for the PS4 Pro if you can
After selling over 40 million consoles, Sony is refreshing the PlayStation 4. That starts with the PlayStation 4 Slim, available now for $299, along with the PlayStation VR headset (out next month) and the higher-powered PS4 Pro, which comes out in November. Sony has said that the PlayStation 4 Slim will become the new standard PS4, replacing the tried-and-true model that launched in 2013. So how does it compare?
Hardware
As its name suggests, the Slim is indeed a more compact version of what came before. The Slim drops over 2 pounds in weight, down to 4.63 pounds from 6.17, and it measures 10.43 x 11.34 x 1.54 inches, versus 10.83 x 12.01 x 2.09 inches on the older model. From the front, the PS4 has always looked like a sandwich cut at a funny angle. Both pieces of “bread” were an inch tall. That changes with the Slim. The bottom piece of “bread” is 7/8ths of an inch, and the top is 7/16ths of an inch. The Slim is 25 percent lighter, according to Sony, but it manages not to feel cheap or hollow. All of which is to say that the console is even more portable than its predecessor.
Much like the original PlayStation 3 and the PS3 Slim, the PS4 Slim retains the overall shape of the PS4 and drops its glossy black plastic in favor of a textured matte finish. This makes it much less prone to collecting dust, fingerprints and scratches. Meanwhile, sharp corners have given way to softer, rounded ones. It’s up front where you’ll notice the biggest changes.
The touch-sensitive power and eject buttons have been replaced with physical buttons. The power key is physically larger, while the eject button is a cute circle. Both are slightly recessed, but differentiating between them in the dark shouldn’t be a problem. The power button also acts as a replacement for the color-changing LED strip that adorned the top of the original PS4. Ten pin-size LEDs glow white when the system is powered on and orange when it’s in standby. They turn off completely when the system is powered off. I always thought the launch model’s strip was a little much; meanwhile, the new power button conveys the same information in a less obnoxious way. I’m a fan.
Above those buttons is a slot-loading Blu-ray drive. The system’s two USB 3.0 connections are now spaced roughly 6 inches apart, with one next to the optical drive and the other sitting next to the console’s right edge. Along the right side where the “meat” of the sandwich is, there’s a threaded hole halfway between the front and back where you can screw in a stand for setting up the console vertically. Around back are ports for the power cable, PlayStation Camera, an HDMI 2.0a socket and an Ethernet jack. If you have an older A/V receiver or are using certain types of gaming headphones, the lack of an optical audio port is going to sting quite a bit.
When I asked Sony about this omission, a spokesperson said the decision was based on “market trends and the needs of the audience we’re targeting with the new standard PS4.” Basically, Sony is saying that you should upgrade your other A/V gear to accommodate its cost-cutting measure.
There’s also a flimsy L-shape piece of plastic covering the hard-drive bay, granting easy access for future storage upgrades. Seemingly it’s an admission on Sony’s part that the pack-in 500GB hard drive is much too small. Usually, the underside of a video-game console doesn’t warrant any sort of attention (who even looks there?), but the Slim’s is kind of neat. The rubber feet at each corner are triangles, circles, squares and Xs in a nod to the platform’s face buttons, with a PlayStation logo in the center.
Any internal changes here should have minimal impact on day-to-day performance, but Sony says power consumption has been reduced an impressive 34 percent. That’s a significant change, yet you aren’t likely to notice any differences in performance. Load speeds on Doom and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End are still lethargic, but even with some of the more-demanding sequences from each, I didn’t hear the fan kick into overdrive the way it does on my launch model. And yep, I blow the dust out of that once a year, so this isn’t a case of my console overheating due to dirty innards.
One of my biggest gripes with the original PS4 was its reliance on aging wireless standards. Sony has addressed that with the Slim by stepping up to an 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. Finally. Connected to my 5GHz network, I’m getting similar download speeds on both WiFi and Ethernet, but as you’d expect uploads over 802.11ac still aren’t as fast as on a wired connection. That will matter if you’re planning to jump into Street Fighter V or maybe some Star Wars: Battlefront online, but if all you need to do is download a few games and aren’t physically near a router, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice much speed, if any.
The controller
The DualShock 4 is one of my favorite gamepads ever, but its battery life is absolutely awful. When images of a revamped controller started surfacing along with leaks of the Slim console itself, I hoped we’d get a more-power-efficient gamepad, or at least one with a bigger battery. The product label on the controller’s underside reveals that there’s an 800mAh battery tucked away, the same capacity as on the original. That’s a huge missed opportunity on Sony’s part, especially when you consider that with the Xbox One S, Microsoft retooled its standard gamepad to address shortcomings on the original controller.
That’s not to say there aren’t a few differences here, though — it’s just that they’re mostly cosmetic. The thumbstick pods feel a little smoother in motion, while the share and options buttons aren’t as stiff. The spaces where the face buttons and D-pad sit have changed, and have a matte, not glossy, finish. Oh, and all the touch-points, save for the touchpad and PlayStation/home button, are a carbon gray color versus monochrome black on the original.
Speaking of the touchpad, you can now see what color the controller’s lightbar is without flipping the gamepad over. That’s because the TV-facing distraction has been given a narrow window at the top edge of the touchpad. It’s subtle enough that in play it didn’t distract me from slaughtering hordes of demons in Doom. When the controller is turned off, you can’t even see where the top light would come through.
Perhaps the biggest change, though, is that the DualShock 4 will now transmit data over USB. For folks who count animation frames in Street Fighter or do competitive gaming, this is a big deal because it eliminates lag between the controller and the console. But if you’re casually playing single-player games like Darksiders 2 or Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, you probably won’t notice a difference.
The competition
At this point, it’s impossible not to compare the PS4 Slim to the Xbox One S. The revamped Xbox One went on sale last month starting at $299, with an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive and support for HDR gaming. In terms of pure specs, the Xbox One S is a much better value. That UHD drive future-proofs you, making it hard to dismiss even if you don’t currently have a 4K TV.
Movies are one thing, though — it’s the games that make or break a game console. If you want to play Gears of War, Forza Motorsport and Halo, or catch up on a raft of Xbox 360 backward-compatible titles, the Xbox One S is the console for you. But if Uncharted 4, Until Dawn, The Last Guardian or virtual reality are more your speed, then buy a PS4 Slim. That is, unless you’re waiting until next month for the PS4 Pro, which boasts 4K output (but no UHD Blu-ray drive), more power and HDR gaming. Just keep in mind that the Pro will set you back $399 versus $299 for the Slim.
Wrap-up
The PS4 Slim is a great console. It’s smaller, quieter and less obtrusive than the PS4 that launched in 2013. The addition of 5GHz WiFi is incredibly welcome, but no UHD Blu-ray drive makes it a tough sell against the comparably priced Xbox One S. The only reason to buy the Slim is if you need a new console right this minute and have a hard budget of $299. If you can hold out until November and sock away another $100 for the PS4 Pro, though, you absolutely should.
Apple Working to Transform HealthKit Into Diagnosis Tool Aided by New Apple Watch Apps
Apple has hired “scores of healthcare experts” in recent years to develop improved electronic health record software, with an ultimate goal of transforming HealthKit into a tool that improves diagnoses, reports Bloomberg.
The system could chip away at two problems that plague the industry and have stumped other specialist firms in the field: interoperability — allowing data to be transferred from hospital to hospital across different databases; and analysis — making it quick and easy for physicians to extrapolate salient information from mountains of data.
If the efforts are successful, HealthKit could eventually interpret health and fitness data and provide advice to patients, doctors, and others accordingly.
The collection of health and fitness data will be aided by the Apple Watch, including two new apps that will help users track their sleep patterns and gauge their fitness levels by “measuring the time taken for the heart rate to fall from its peak to resting level,” according to the report.
“If you drive for a while and your car gets too hot, it says pull over. If you need an oil change, it says check your oil. What’s the equivalent for the body?” said Apple CEO Tim Cook at Startup Fest Europe in May. “Health is a huge issue around the world and we think it’s ripe for simplicity and a new view.”
Tags: HealthKit, bloomberg.com, health and fitness
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Roku Announces Five New Streaming Devices Between $30 and $130
Roku today announced “the biggest streaming player launch in Roku history,” with the company revealing a total of five new devices that let users stream media onto their TVs, with varying levels of picture quality and features. The new additions to Roku’s lineup join the Roku Streaming Stick, which got an upgrade in April and retails for $49.99.
With a price of $29.99, the company’s new low-end Roku Express comes in even cheaper than the Streaming Stick and offers 1080p HD streaming “with a complete channel lineup.” The Roku Express+, for $39.99, offers the same features but is outfitted for older TV sets, including a composite jack and A/V cable. Both Express models are aimed at users new to streaming, or those who want to extend Roku throughout their home at a cheaper rate.
The Roku Express
The second tier of devices are called the Roku Premiere and Roku Premiere+, which run for $79.99 and $99.99, respectively. Both models have a quad-core processor and can stream 4K video in up to 60 frames per second, but the higher-cost Premiere+ also supports HDR “for vibrant picture quality,” and has a headphone jack in its remote control.
The Roku Premiere+
The last new Roku model — the “fully loaded” Roku Ultra — is the priciest at $129.99, and includes each feature of the previous models with the addition of support for Dolby Digital Plus decoding, voice search, and a feature that helps users find a lost remote. Each device announced today offers access to 3,500 streaming channels including 350,000 movies and TV episodes.
The Roku Ultra
Roku players have features called “Hotel Connect” and “Dorm Connect” to make it easy to connect to public networks and stream when not at home. There’s also a free iOS app [Direct Link] that lets users control their Roku device through an iPhone or iPad, and even gain access to features like voice search, private listening, and more.
The company said that each of the five new devices can be pre-ordered starting today and are “expected” to launch in retail stores on October 9. The Roku Express+ will be exclusively available in Walmart stores, however.
Tag: Roku
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Jet Black iPhones Face Global Shortage as New Color Proves Difficult to Manufacture
Apple’s new Jet Black color is a popular choice among early iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus adopters, but the new models face a global shortage as the new high-gloss finish has proven challenging for the company’s manufacturers.
Jet Black models suffer from a low casing production yield rate of 60-70%, meaning that 30-40% of units do not pass Apple’s quality standards and must be retooled, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple says the high-gloss Jet Black finish is achieved through a precision nine-step anodization and polishing process.
When pre-orders began on September 9, shipping estimates for Jet Black models quickly slipped to November, but some iPhone 7 Plus models in the new color are now shipping sooner than expected. In-store availability of Jet Black models remains scarce, with only a few Apple Stores in France carrying the Jet Black iPhone 7 as of the time this article was published, according to iStockNow.
Kuo said limited availability of Jet Black models, along with stronger-than-expected iPhone 7 Plus demand driven by Samsung’s recent Galaxy Note 7 recall, contributed to an initial iPhone 7 shortage.
Early shortage not entirely due to market demand. Shipment time for online orders is on par with last year’s cycle, generally estimated within 2-3 weeks, with the exception of the jet black model, which suffers from a low casing production yield rate of 60-70%. However, with the number of countries in the first wave to debut the iPhone 7 rising to 28 this year, versus 12 for the iPhone 6S launch, we believe overall demand for iPhone 7 is lower than that of its predecessor. Regarding news of some mobile operators reporting pre-order growth for the iPhone 7 over last year’s 6S, we believe this is mainly attributable to market share gains for these mobile operators thanks to new promotions, rather than representing greater consumer demand.
The analyst reiterated his prediction that iPhone 7 series shipments in 2016 will fall short of iPhone 6s series shipments in 2015.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tags: KGI Securities, Ming-Chi Kuo
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New Beddit 3 Sleep Tracker Available at Select Apple Stores Next Week
Beddit has announced that its new Beddit 3 sleep tracker will be available at select Apple retail stores, alongside Amazon and Beddit.com, on October 4 for $149.
The Beddit 3 Sleep Tracker continuously measures sleep, heart rate, breathing, and snoring in detail when a person lies down in bed, providing personal insights to help users develop improved habits for better sleep.
The thin, flexible, and soft sensor is designed to be placed under the sheet on top of the mattress, with no charging needed. Beddit says the sensor works with all beds, even with two people sleeping side by side.
Beddit 3 also taps into a network of healthcare professionals through integration with eClinicalWorks and Healow.
Utilizing the industry’s most comprehensive and accurate set of data and features, the Beddit 3 Sleep Tracker enables access to a vast network of professionals. It is the first dedicated sleep tracker integrated with eClinicalWorks and Healow, the largest Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR) service in the United States with more than 115,000 physicians across all 50 states.
Beddit’s Sleep Tracker app is available on the App Store for iOS 10 and watchOS 3, while data can also be shared with Apple’s Health app.
Tags: Apple retail, Beddit
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