Best MicroSD Card For Android

Behold: The best tiny cards for storing your stuff.

microSD cards, where they’re supported, are a great way to add extra storage to an Android phone or tablet. You can easily offload photos, videos and music to the external card, thus freeing up valuable internal space for apps. And certain Android 6.0 and above phones even let you plug in a microSD and use it to directly boost your storage for all things — including apps.

But the microSD standard has been around for longer than Android, and not all cards are equal. So we’ve rounded up the best out there.

Best top-tier

Samsung EVO+ 256GB

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Samsung’s very-highest-of-the-high-end microSD card isn’t cheap. In fact, it’s the priciest on this list. But you’re also getting a winning combination of performance and storage capacity, with 90MB/sec write speeds and 95MB/sec reads, and an enormous 256GB of space.

That’s more than you’ll never need in a smartphone, and the high read/write speeds will help if you’re shooting lots of 4K video on a high-end phone like the Galaxy S7 (as too will that enormous capacity.) Better still, it’s water, temperature, X-ray and magnetic proof, so you needn’t worry about it getting damaged while you’re out and about.

Best value – capacity

PNY Elite 128GB

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If you want a nice high storage capacity without breaking the bank, PNY’s UHS-I 128GB card is a good option — $34.89 gets you a staggering amount of storage, and with pretty fast read speeds to boot — up to 85MB/s. It’s about the lowest price we’ve seen for a 128GB card, and a great way to free up a ton of space on your phone or tablet.

What’s more, you can pay an extra $10 at checkout and get an OTG reader thrown in too.

Best value – speed

Lexar Professional 1000x 32GB UHS-II/U3

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If speed is more important — for example, if you’re using Android’s Adoptable Storage feature to keep apps on your SD card — you might want to give this Lexar card a shot. It uses UHS-II flash memory and boasts read speeds of up to 150MB/sec. The capacity isn’t the greatest, but if you’re up for paying $14 more you can double your capacity to 64GB.

The Lexar card also comes with a USB reader for plugging into your PC.

Best Balanced

SanDisk Extreme PRO 64GB UHS-I/U3

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This SanDisk card won’t break the bank at a little under $45, but offers a great balance of speed and capacity. 64GB should be enough for most people’s photo, video and offline music needs, while the card’s speed rating offers up to 90MB/sec writes and 95MB/sec reads.

The card also comes with a full-sized SD adapter, for plugging into a laptop or camera.

Break the spell with these Beauty and the Beast wallpapers

Beauty and the Beast is one of the greatest animated movies of all time (don’t worry, Ariel, you’re still #1 in my heart!). 2016 marks the 25th anniversary if its release, which Disney has celebrated by releasing a special edition on Blu-ray, DVD, and for the first time, digital! After you go grab it from Google Play and sing along, bring some of that magic to your home screen with these beautiful wallpapers!

The enchanted rose is one of the most iconic symbols in Disney, and the subject of no small number of works. While this one does have black bars at the top and bottom, it’s too beautiful a work to deny (besides, that’s why we can zoom in wallpapers). The glow off the bell jar, the petals scattering, the magic dripping down from above… makes a girl go weak at the knees.

The Enchanted Rose by Tigermint

“I want adventure in the great wide somewhere! I want it more than I can tell!”

If this line never called to you as a kid or an adult, then you can get out. Belle was a strong, intelligent, woman who stood up for herself and those important to her, but the trait I most loved in her was that desire to be more, to find more, to escape her comfortable little corner of the world for something more exciting. This bright wallpaper also has a lot of clear sky above our dreaming princess with plenty of space for icons.

This Provicial Life by alicexz

Belle’s dress has been beautifully portrayed in so many styles and lights, but this soft, fuzzy piece gives a beautiful simplicity and grace to it, and to the princess wearing it. The cobwebs playing over the frame and the soft lighting throughout the work make it a wallpaper that works exceedingly well.

Also, can I steal that dress? No? Fine….

The West Wing by Elf-in-mirror

The magic of the Beast’s transformation is breathtaking, but it’s merely a taste of the magic to come. See, the spell may have been broken by Belle admitting that she loved him, but the spell on the castle and the enchanted objects wasn’t broken until Belle acknowledged and accepted her prince in his ‘new’ form. Kisses have broken spells many a time in Disney fantasies, but none are so literally magical as the one shared by Belle and Prince Adam.

It’s you by YoriNarpati

Gaston is an amazing musical number for kids and adults alike, but it gains new levels of brilliance and bluster as an adult as you start to get the subversive tones of the song. Gaston is basically the manliest of men to ever grace a Disney film, and that gutsy glory is now on display at the Magic Kingdom, where Gaston has his own larger than life statue in the fountain outside his tavern. It’s a beautiful fountain and a beautiful dark image by Disney Parks Blog, and as always, Pierrot le Fou is right by his side… or in this case, under his side.

Gaston

Slap a Pebble Time to your wrist for just $90 right now!

Right now you can pick up a Pebble Time smartwatch for just $90 at Amazon, a savings of $60 from its regular price. If you aren’t a fan of the current Android Wear watches and still want something to deliver notifications to your wrist, this is worth checking out. The Pebble Time is the first smartwatch from the company that offers a color display and its new Timeline OS. Pebble has also introduced a number of activity tracking and health functions in the watch, making it part fitness tracker part smartwatch.

If you are looking for a new wrist gadget, be sure to check this $60 savings out. Which color will you buy? Let us know in the comments!

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Samsung going to great lengths to force return of recalled Note 7s

Samsung is taking unprecedented steps to convince customers to return recalled Galaxy Note 7s.

“Most Canadians are extremely supportive of how we’ve handled things,” says Paul Brannen, COO and Executive Vice President of Samsung Canada, in a Toronto board room.

He’s talking with reporters in 15-minute sessions, hoping to quickly cut to the essential truth of the issue: Samsung Canada has handled the Galaxy Note 7 recall better than any other region. He conveys this without saying it, noting that Samsung has managed the return of 70% of the nearly 22,000 outstanding devices, and already has the inventory to replace that number and more with phones containing updated, safe battery cells.

Samsung and its carrier partners plan to issue a software update to all Note 7 units that will make it very clear which devices are safe for use.

The number is certainly smaller than the one million-plus that needed to be corralled in the U.S., but Brannen is emphatic that his team took the appropriate steps between the stop-sell order on September 2, the publishing of a recall replacement form on September 6, and the official Health Canada recall on September 13, to earn the support and trust of the Canadian public.

“We’ve had a lot of long nights, and not a lot of sleep,” he says, referring to a so-called “Tiger Team” of lawyers, public relations, and logistics personnel convened to ensure that the recall process was implemented in the correct order.

Now, after just under two weeks into the replacement cycle, Samsung Canada and its carrier partners plan to issue a software update to all Note 7 units that will make it very clear which devices are safe for use, and which still need to be returned. As we’ve already heard from other regions, including the U.S., Note 7 units with certified safe battery cells will have a green battery indicator in the notification shade, along with a new green battery icon in the phone’s power menu.

The update, which will be issued on September 21, will roll out simultaneously to all carriers, and will not be optional: users will be reminded to install it every three hours until it is applied. After installing, the remaining 6,600 or so Note 7 users stubbornly holding onto their old devices will see warnings and reminders to return the phone to Samsung Canada every time they start up or shut down.

“The goal is to have 100% of the affected devices replaced,” says Brannen, “and these steps are the way to ensure that happens.” That Canada was the first to ship replacement units to customers, and has the lowest number of complaints of all the regions that were selling the Note 7 before it was recalled is a bright spot in this largely negative experience, but Brannen assures me that the Note brand, and Samsung’s long-term health, are salvageable.

“We’ve had very few people [get a refund] and say they don’t want the device anymore,” he says. Even fewer have exchanged their Note 7 units for Galaxy S7 models, which is an option for those who don’t want to wait. “Note users are probably the most loyal customers there are,” says Brannen.

It’s unclear whether the recall will negatively affect the long-term perception of Samsung as a trustworthy company

Some analysts dispute the notion that most Note 7 users are deciding to wait for replacements. While Canadian carriers had new stock within a week of the recall, early reports out of the U.S. suggest that the Note 7 recall was a boon to early iPhone 7 Plus sales, though without Apple releasing any first-weekend sales numbers this year it’s difficult to know for sure.

It’s also unclear whether the recall will negatively affect the long-term perception of Samsung as a trustworthy company; a number of airlines, which have banned the use of the Note 7 based on orders from the FAA and Transport Canada, were mistakenly calling for the shut down of all Galaxy-branded devices prior to liftoff, though Brannen assures me that such occurrences were rare, and have since been corrected.

More: How to exchange your recalled Galaxy Note 7 in Canada

“Many people laughed at us when we came out with the [original] Note,” he continues. “Now people upgrade to a new model every year.” While Brannen only speaks for the Canadian market, his comments are similar to those of Tim Baxter, President and COO of Samsung America, who soberly addressed affected Note 7 owners in a video last week. “At Samsung, our highest priority is our customers,” said Baxter. “With battery defects in some of our Note 7 phones, we did not meet the standard of excellence that you expect and deserve. For that, we apologize.”

Indeed, the Canadian market is well ahead of its U.S. counterpart in acquiring and replacing Note 7 units, but their messages are the same: customer safety is the number one priority, so if you haven’t done so already, shut down your phone and return it.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

• Galaxy Note 7 recall: Everything you need to know
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
• The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
• Here are all four Note 7 colors
• Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
• Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint

Apple Car: Here’s why Apple wants to buy British automaker McLaren

Apple is reportedly considering another acquisition, but this one stands out from all the others because it involves McLaren

According to The Financial Times and The New York Times, Apple is attempting to buy British automaker McLaren – or at the very least, it is discussing a strategic investment. McLaren, which is best known for its Formula One racing team and P1 hybrid car, not only makes a range of supercars but also has a consulting division and a technologies group that supplies parts.

• Apple Car: What’s the story so far on Project Titan?

Keep in mind Apple is reportedly developing a car, Project Titan, which is rumoured to be electric and might have autonomous capabilities. The Cupertino, CA-based company recently recruited a former longtime Apple executive, Bob Mansfield, to lead the project, though newer reports claimed Apple has cut many jobs in the division in an attempt to narrow the project’s scope.

McLaren is valued between $1.3 and $2 billion. While Apple declined to comment, McLaren has already denied the reports, saying it is not in discussion with Apple “in respect of any potential investment”, according to The Verge.

Still, here’s why Apple has probably considered buying McLaren.

McLaren

Technological expertise

A McLaren acquisition would give Apple the expertise and experience it needs to quickly develop a car itself, as there’s no denying that McLaren has lots of technological and engineering prowess when it comes to manufacturing drivetrains and vehicle control systems.

The company, which sold 1,654 cars in 2015, makes sports cars and has roughly 5,000 employees working across six different divisions that include automative, racing, marketing, and automative supplying (that last bit means it has plenty of experience with supplier-OEM deals, too). Let’s also not forget that it has a consulting division that works across several industries to provide R&D.

McLaren

Next-gen innovation

McLaren has used advanced, premium materials such as carbon composites, aluminum, and carbon fiber in the past. And it’s very familiar with electric vehicles (with the most famous example being its P1 hybrid that traveled up to six miles on electric power) and high-performance Formula One race cars, all of which suggests it has the gumption to develop a next-generation car.

McLaren

Size and convenience

McLaren is small. It’s a privately-owned, independent carmaker, so an acquisition is logistically possible for Apple. Plus, it’s conceivable that McLaren would continue operating its automotive and racing divisions after an acquisition. Beats, which Apple acquired a couple years ago, still develops and sells headphones, even as Apple works to integrate Beats’ tech into its own stuff.

McLaren

Apple-like mind

McLaren’s Technology Centre was designed in 2004 by Foster + Partners, the same firm making Apple’s spaceship campus and many Apple stores. This building highlights its surrounding landscape, using water from a lake for energy-efficient cooling purposes. There’s even a wind tunnel for aerodynamic testing. The McLaren Production Centre was also designed by the firm.

Based on its state-of-the-art headquarters, approach to making vehicles, and overall ethos, it’s clear that McLaren is very similar to Apple in terms of aesthetics and using breakthrough technology. We’re very interested in what the two could do together. One can only hope.

The drought-busting balls that don’t bust drought

California’s water problem is severe. Despite 2016 seeing a distinct improvement in precipitation over previous years, to almost average levels in many areas, much of the state is in extreme drought. As well as ordering mandatory water reductions, the state has also been looking to other solutions.

“Shade balls,” the 4-inch wide black plastic balls pictured above blanketing Los Angeles Reservoir, have been touted as one of those solutions. But they’re not. The primary purpose of the release, which went viral last year, was to obey Federal rules on covering drinking water. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) had previously used the balls in smaller reservoirs, and in the case of the Los Angeles Reservoir, says the balls helped the department save more than $250 million over installing a more permanent cover.

Although they were released to headlines like Shade Balls in Los Angeles Reservoir to Save 300 Million Gallons of Water Annually, the main benefit of the balls is to prevent sunlight from reacting with the chlorine-treated water and naturally occurring bromide to create the possible carcinogen bromate. The shade balls aren’t a complete solution, and there are accusations that they may deteriorate and release dangerous chemicals into the water. The water in the Los Angeles Reservoir, however, goes through a UV treatment process before it makes its way to citizens.

So why the headlines? Well, the shade balls also discourage algae growth and, as a side-benefit, prevent evaporation to an extent. But the “300 million gallons saved” claim represents less than a day’s water use for the LADWP. According to LA Weekly, 300 million gallons of water was worth around $2 million at the time the balls were deployed, or roughly $32 million less than the cost of the balls themselves.

Evaporation reduction is a fringe benefit, then, and tying the shade balls to drought (which the LADWP absolutely did with its press release) wasn’t the brightest idea. According to the LADWP, though, shade balls have been a successful alternative to the extensive construction work required to install a cover. They’ll remain in place at Los Angeles Reservoir, but they’ve been, or are being, removed from all the other reservoirs under LADWP’s jurisdiction. One such site was scheduled for closure, while the others will get permanent floating covers. Whether this decision was taken for financial reasons, or because those sites lack the Los Angeles Reservoir’s backup UV treatment process, is unclear.

Despite their lack of drought-busting guile, shade balls nonetheless make for a fantastic photo opportunity, and have inspired some fascinating stories. Silica Magazine’s cover story on the subject is recommended reading, while National Geographic photographer Gerd Ludwig has a photo series that’s simply stunning. As for California’s water issues, there’s always cloud seeding, although that comes with its own conspiracy theories.

The Big Picture is a recurring feature highlighting beautiful images that tell big stories. We explore topics as large as our planet, or as small as a single life, as affected by or seen through the lens of technology.