Blue Apron’s meal kit service has had worker safety problems

Popular internet companies have a tendency to devote relatively little attention to their warehouse workers, lavishing the most attention on their software engineers. It’s their code that makes it all possible, right? However, internet meal kit giant Blue Apron is getting a harsh lesson in the importance of taking care of all its employees. BuzzFeed has learned that Blue Apron’s Richmond, California fulfillment center has had numerous crime and safety incidents, including employee violence and OSHA violations. There have been instances of staff brandishing knives, for example, and workers suffering accidents using equipment they’re not certified to use.

There have also been complaints about excessive hours (thankfully with overtime), a lack of stringent hiring practices and high stress levels, all of which are the product of Blue Apron’s business model. It has to regularly ship meals sourced from a wide array of locations, with both maximum convenience (you can change your order a week before delivery) and extremely low waste levels. Combine that with rapidly growing demand and there’s frequently zero tolerance for error, whether it’s inventory levels or shipment rates. High employee turnover has reportedly been common, and the company says it had problems with temp agencies recruiting workers with criminal records and other sub-standard behavior.

For its part, Blue Apron tells BuzzFeed that it has “learned from the operational challenges” of earlier times, and is “always working to improve” its environment. And there’s evidence to support this. The company has reduced the volume of police visits, hired a safety manager and purposefully slowed its growth. The problem is that Blue Apron didn’t fully grasp the importance of these issues early on — like many tech startups, it was primarily focused on keeping up with its ever-larger customer base. The investigation is a reminder that internet firms have to think about every aspect of their company when they grow, not just their code or subscriber counts.

Source: BuzzFeed

Best Phones for Rooting and Modding

Tinker to your heart’s content with these Android phones.

Best overall

Nexus 5X

See at Amazon

If you’re not content with the software some company decided you are allowed to use and are willing to roll up your sleeves and do something about it, the Nexus 5X is the best phone to do it with.

Because it’s a phone directly from Google, the bootloader is easy to unlock using tools and directions Google gives you, and you’ll have no restrictions on the software you can install. If you keep going until the phone just stops working getting back to the factory software is just as easy, and Google provides a downloadable image you can use to restore.

Just as important is the price. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a phone to enjoy modding it, and the Nexus 5X’s low price has made it a popular favorite. You’ll find a large online community of people doing the same things with their Nexus 5X that you’re interested in doing.

Bottom line: The value-priced Nexus 5X has a large development community and there are no restrictions on what you can do on the software side.

Why best

The Nexus 5X is open and affordable.

Phones direct from Google all share one common trait — they are easy to root and mod the software. The reason we think the Nexus 5X is the best is because the low price means the community is huge.

Most things that can be done on one Google phone can also be done to the others, but every once in a while a device-specific issue arises and when that happens, the best thing you can have is a large group of people that act as a support channel. Routinely checking in under $200 USD, the 5X is also a great phone to get if you’re looking for a second device to play around with while you use your primary phone to hold all your personal data without compromising its security.

Whether you’re new to phone modding or an old hat, we can’t help but recommend the Nexus 5X as the best phone to do any of it.

A higher-spec option

OnePlus 3

See at OnePlus

OnePlus phones have been a fan favorite among Android enthusiasts since the company was started, but the OnePlus 3 is different — it’s the first phone from them you can buy without an invite.

It’s easy to unlock the bootloader and install alternative software, and like the Nexus 5X, the relatively low price makes for a large development community. A strange positive is that issues with the factory software mean that more people are interested in modding the OnePlus 3, which makes a large community even larger.

If you are willing to spend more and get better internals on the phone you intend to break open, the OnePlus 3 is worth looking at.

Bottom line: High-end specs and a budget price make the OnePlus 3 a contender. Easy modifications and a large community also make it an excellent choice for rooting and modding.

The flagship option

Nexus 6P

See at Amazon

If you love tinkering and modding your phone enough to spend serious money, you’ll love the Nexus 6P. Poised as the Android platform reference model in 2016, the Nexus 6P can handle any task thrown at it for when you need it to work as intended, and the open nature that comes with being a phone direct from Google means you’re free to do whatever you like with the software.

Just like the Nexus 5X above, everything you need to modify, break, then get things working again for the Nexus 6P is available from Google, who actively encourages and participates with the people doing the software development for third-party Nexus 6P ROMs and mods.

Paying more for a phone you intend to alter right out of the gate may sound a bit silly, but for many the experience can’t be beaten.

Bottom line: Everything you want or need to do is possible with the Nexus 6P, but the price is higher than the others on the list. This is definitely not the value choice.

Conclusion

You can root and mod almost every Android phone. We tend to focus on the ones you can’t because they are outliers. But being able to do it through an exploit or other sometimes difficult process isn’t ideal.

If you’re looking ahead and know you’ll want to change something on your next phone that requires custom software or root access, these phones are the best options.

Best overall

Nexus 5X

See at Amazon

If you’re not content with the software some company decided you are allowed to use and are willing to roll up your sleeves and do something about it, the Nexus 5X is the best phone to do it with.

Because it’s a phone directly from Google, the bootloader is easy to unlock using tools and directions Google gives you, and you’ll have no restrictions on the software you can install. If you keep going until the phone just stops working getting back to the factory software is just as easy, and Google provides a downloadable image you can use to restore.

Just as important is the price. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a phone to enjoy modding it, and the Nexus 5X’s low price has made it a popular favorite. You’ll find a large online community of people doing the same things with their Nexus 5X that you’re interested in doing.

Bottom line: The value-priced Nexus 5X has a large development community and there are no restrictions on what you can do on the software side.

Simulation of hidden ocean tides could lead to better sonar

There’s a lot of tidal movement under the ocean’s surface, but we haven’t had a great understanding of it so far. Internal tides, created around continental shelf breaks, are far more difficult to predict than the ocean waves you can see. However, MIT researchers just made a breakthrough: they’ve accurately simulated those hidden tides for the first time. They melded a hydrodynamic model with data from a coastal sound wave study to replicate an ocean environment (in this case, a shelf break near the US’ eastern coast) with a previously unseen level of complexity, complete with background elements like currents and eddies. The technique should be useful for predicting climates and fishing populations, but it could lead to a surprising amount of technological progress, too.

To begin with, knowing how those internal tides work could help develop more advanced sonar systems that are better at accommodating underwater conditions. The simulations could also lead to better protection for offshore structures like oil rigs and wind farms, since builders can better account for once-unpredictable threats. MIT will have to conduct further tests to make sure its modelling holds up, but the chances are that you’ll soon have a much clearer understanding of what happens well beneath the water line.

Source: MIT News

Huge Pixel and Pixel XL leak gives us a good look at the Made by Google phones

Google is expected to unveil its new handsets on Tuesday 4 October and it looks like launch-day images have just leaked, thanks to Canadian carrier Bell.

Rumours have long suggested that Google will be calling these phones the Pixel and Pixel XL and that’s conveniently confirmed, with the Bell website offering the Pixel and Pixel XL phones for pre-order.

Shared via Steve Hemmerstoffer on Twitter, but also appearing at a similar time on Reddit, we’re treated to very clear images of these two Made by Google phones.

The design matches a number of leaks we’ve seen previously, most noticeably from VentureBeat, which displayed phones of the same design.

Bell

Thought to be manufactured by HTC, the white Pixel reminds us a lot of the HTC One A9 and if the quality of build is the same then we’d be totally happy. The Pixel is expected to be a 5-inch device, while the Pixel XL is thought to be 5.5 inches.

• Made by Google: What to expect at Google’s 4 October Pixel event
• Google Pixel and Pixel XL: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know about the next Nexus
• Pixel Launcher: Leak shows the fresh Android face of the Pixel and Pixel XL

From these images alone we can’t draw too many additional conclusions, but what we can see Pixel Launcher that recently leaked, with a new apps tray that opens with a slide up and refreshed home button.

You’ll also notice the round icons. While Chrome has always been round, it looks like Google might be pushing round icons on us.

We’ll know everything on 4 October and we’ll bring you all the confirmed details in a few days.

Tesla’s electric car deliveries surge by 70 percent

Tesla didn’t have the best spring thanks to sub-par deliveries, but it made up for that in style this summer. The company reports that it delivered 24,500 electric vehicles in the third quarter, or a whopping 70 percent more than it did in the second quarter — and over twice the 11,580 it shipped a year earlier. It’s not simply a matter of clearing a backlog, either, as production was up 37 percent (to 25,185 cars) over the second quarter.

Elon Musk and company haven’t explained what led to the spike, although it’s easy to see Tesla’s more accessible lineup playing a part. The return of the Model S 60 opened the door to buyers who couldn’t quite justify the previous EV line. A more affordable 2-year lease program likely helped, too. On the other end of the spectrum, the P100D variants of the Model S and Model X gave the spare-no-expense crowd a reason to take a closer look.

The surge hints that Tesla shouldn’t have much trouble hitting its target of 50,000 deliveries in the second half of 2016. It’s predicting that its fourth quarter deliveries will be as good or better than it managed last year. The big challenge comes in 2017, as it gets ready for the Model 3. Tesla will have to ramp up Gigafactory production and deliver many, many more EVs to eager drivers.

Source: Tesla

Angela Ahrendts is Now Simply Senior Vice President of Retail as Apple Drops ‘Online Stores’ From Her Title

Apple updated its leadership page this weekend to reflect a minor change to Angela Ahrendts’ title, which has been simplified to “Senior Vice President, Retail” as “Online Stores” has been dropped.

Ahrendts remains responsible for “strategy, real estate and development, and operations” of both Apple’s physical stores and online storefront, according to her slightly updated bio.

Angela Ahrendts is Apple’s Senior Vice President of Retail, reporting to CEO Tim Cook. Angela is responsible for strategy, real estate & development, and operations of Apple’s physical stores, Apple’s online store and contact centers.

Since joining Apple in 2014, Angela has integrated Apple’s physical and digital retail businesses to create a seamless customer experience for over a billion visitors per year with the goal of educating, inspiring, entertaining and enriching communities. Apple employees set the standard for customer service in stores and online, delivering support from highly trained Geniuses and expert advice from Creative Pros to help customers get the most out of their Apple products.

The title change is likely in line with Apple’s simplified retail branding, including dropping the “Store” moniker when referring to its retail locations by name. Apple has also been attempting to converge its physical and online retail experiences over the past few years, and Ahrendts’ new title reflects those efforts.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
Tags: Angela Ahrendts, Apple retail
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Google Pixel in white leaked by Canadian carrier

Made by Google, leaked by Bell.

In the lead up to the October 4 announcement, it seems someone at Canadian operator Bell has pulled the trigger a little early on Google Pixel marketing materials. First spotted by Steve Hemmerstoffer, the carrier seems to have mistakenly put a Pixel render and promotional blurb up on its Galaxy Note 7 business order page.

The render in question shows the Pixel in white and silver; so far we’ve only seen the black variant in two leaked renders that emerged last week.

Anyway, here it is: The Google Pixel in white and silver:

The tagline reads “Introducing Pixel™, Phone by Google. Order yours today.” There’s no mention of the larger Pixel XL on the page. (Nor, in case you were wondering, can you actually order a Pixel today.)

So Bell’s not revealing too much, but that Pixel name seems all but confirmed at this point. We’ll have more Pixel goodness following the October 4 launch event, in the meantime check out our roundup of everything we know so far.

Update: By guessing the filename of the image, we’ve also pulled a fresh render of the larger Pixel — in black, with the same wallpaper — from Bell’s website. Here’s the Pixel XL:

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Everything we know so far
• New navigation buttons
• Google UI + circular icons
• Android 7.1 Nougat
• Pixel vs Pixel XL
• Older Nexus phones

Mobile Nations Weekly: Pixeling, retargeting, and pivoting

Google ramps up to Pixel, BlackBerry ramps down hardware, and Lenovo’s Yoga is coming in hot for landing.

Coming soon from a Google near you: Pixel. Tuesday will bring the follow-ups to the Nexus line of “pure” Android phones, but this time Google’s making more of a Google phone. There have been some leaks, but there’s a lot we don’t know and are looking forward to. And we might just get to hear something about the “Andromeda” project that will further blur the lines between Chrome OS and Android.

Meanwhile, BlackBerry weathered a rough week from making a sound decision. After years of declining handset sales, BlackBerry announced that they’re done making their own phones, but they’ll partner with other manufacturers to make new BlackBerry phones. They’ve done that twice already — the Leap was built by Foxconn and the DTEK50 is a re-badged Alctalel phone. Plus BlackBerry will be licensing their software and the famed BlackBerry keyboard to other manufacturers.

If you’ve been wondering which Apple Watch to get, wonder no more: here’s the iMore review of the Apple Watch Series 2. Oh, and there’s an iMore sticker pack for iMessage because this is the world we live in now.

Over in VR land we went for the ultimate in VR experiences: a roller coaster. In virtual reality. And real life. At the same time.. It’s more insane than you might imagine. That was with just a mere Samsung Gear VR — imagine what that’d be like with a more powerful VR system like, oh, the soon-to-launch Sony PlayStation VR.

The phone that Windows Phone fans have been waiting for, the HP Elite x3 (or at least the phone that’ll tide them over until the next phone they’re waiting for) received a substanial update that’s fixed a wide range of issues and improved performance. Of course, we’re still waiting for it to go on sale in a predictable fashion. Oh, and we got our hands on the Lenovo Yoga Book running Windows 10 and we’re really intriuged by it and chomping at the bit for our review!

Android Central — The Pixel hype is real

The first big talking point of the week came from new-found revelations about Google’s so-called “Andromeda” project. This is the next evolution, we expect, of the best parts of Chrome OS and Android combining into one platform. It’s exciting, but we also don’t know the specifics.

The hype is real. We’re just a few days away from Google’s even where we’re expecting to see Pixel phones and so much more. We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the phones, shown you how they’ll size up against the Nexus 5X and 6P, and followed the progression of how we got here.

On the eve of new phones from Google, we also want to know how the Nougat update for the last few Nexus phones is treating you. It sounds like a mixed bag, so far.

• Samsung Gear IconX review: Bluetooth earbuds that do more
• Google Pixel: Welcome to your new, very circular, home screen
• Samsung Galaxy S7, six months on
• Using Google Chromecast Audio as a whole-house Sonos alternative
• Which Nexus was the best?
• Galaxy Note 7 vs. iPhone 7 Plus: Form over function
• Google Play is still in beta, but it’s good to be back on Chrome Stable

CrackBerry — This is a pivot

As expected, BlackBerry went ahead this and announced their Q2 fiscal 2017 earnings report this week but mixed in the financials of it all, was the announcement the company will end all internal hardware development and outsource that function to partners. Still, despite many headlines proclaiming their exit from the handset and hardware business entirely, that’s simply not the case at all. BlackBerry-branded handsets will still be available, the QWERTY keyboard is not going away. Needless to say, we still need to see how it all plays out but it has certainly been interesting thus far to watch unfold.

• BlackBerry is done designing and building their own phones, but they’re not done with phones
• John Chen: We believe that this is the best way to drive profitability in the device business
• John Chen: BlackBerry QWERTY keyboard will live on

iMore — Watch the clock

If you love the Apple Watch, iOS 11 wish lists, and stickers, we had a great week of content for you, iMore: We released our Apple Watch Series 2 review, asked what you’d change about watchOS 3, and offered how-tos on how to change the lugs on your bands to properly reflect your aluminum casing color and how to clean your stainless steel Apple Watch. Rene, meanwhile, has been busy making wish-lists of his own over iOS 11: He wants to be able to type to Siri, trigger handoff for iTunes movies and music, and have a Dark mode for the iPhone. And yes, we have a sticker pack now! Now you can make Rene, Serenity, Georgia, Lory, Mikah, or Bader respond in sticker form.

• iPhone 7’s secret weapon: The new Taptic Engine
• iPhone 7 Plus vs Honor 8: Battle of the (fake) Bokeh!
• Best apps for editing RAW files

VR Heads — Be careful what you wish for

Not all VR is created equally. Some of it is really great, but if you’re not careful some of it can make you ill. There’s a lot of responsibility on the part of the developer to make sure that doesn’t happen, but when you’re moving very fast on a roller coaster with a Gear VR strapped to your face there’s no telling what will happen!

• Too sick to stand: What it’s like to ride the first VR video game roller coaster
• Best RPGs for Oculus Rift
• How to get a PlayStation VR on launch day

Windows Central — A little book of Yoga

Microsoft was mostly focused on business and enterprise this week at their Ignite conference. The company announced that Windows 10 has crossed the 400 million active devices mark. During that time, they revealed the next stage of their Continuum mobile-to-PC experience, which now supports snapped and movable windowed apps.

HP released the anticipated firmware update for the few who grabbed an early Elite x3 three-in-one device. The upgrade fixes many issues and unleashes the Snapdragon 820 processor as shown in our benchmarks. Speaking of, we reviewed the Acer Liquid Jade Primo, one of the few new Windows 10 Mobile devices.

Finally, we got our hands on the new Lenovo Yoga Book, which is hitting some markets in the UK already. Our unboxing and hands-on reveals a stunning and fascinating device. Stay tuned for our a full review.

• Xbox Platform chief Mike Ybarra on UWP, Windows 10, Scorpio and more
• Microsoft is betting on ‘paradigm shift’ for Windows 10 Mobile to be competitive
• HP Elite x3 Wallet Folio Leather Case review
• Best Xbox One S Bundle Deals for October 2016

Drone flies as both biplane and helicopter using one propeller

There are helicopter drones and fixed-wing drones, but creating a hybrid of both is tricky. Even Parrot’s Swing, as clever as it is, needs four propellers and elaborate wings to pull off its stunt. However, TU Delft (with backing from Parrot) has a far more elegant solution. Its DelftAcopter drone doubles as both a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter using only one propeller — its tailless biplane design lets it take off and hover vertically, but gracefully turn into a fast-moving airplane (up to 62MPH) at a moment’s notice. It’s an incredibly simple design that makes you wonder why someone hadn’t considered it for drones before.

The machine is completely autonomous thanks to GPS, motion sensors and computer vision — it can pick a safe place to land all on its own. The prototype has a relatively long 37-mile range, too, and it can run for an hour on its electric motor. Contrast that with a typical quadcopter drone like DJI’s Phantom 4, which lasts for 28 minutes and tops out at 45MPH.

And unlike some drone experiments, TU Delft already has a clear idea of what its vehicle will do. The DelftAcopter would carry medical supplies to and from hard-to-reach places — you could deliver much-needed medicine to a flood zone. It’s not hard to imagine uses in search-and-rescue and recon missions, too. While it’ll likely take a while before you see the robotic biplane enter service (it only just got its first major trial run this week), it’s easy to see this invention saving lives.

Source: TU Delft, DelftAcopter