One reason why the 12-inch MacBook is better than the new MacBook Pro – CNET
As I write this blog post, I have ten tabs open in Chrome and no other apps running on my five-year-old MacBook Pro. Despite this low workload, my MacBook Pro’s cooling fan whirs loudly. This is not a rare occurrence. It seems that with each passing day, the fan spins more and rests less. And should I do something as audacious as open iTunes and Photos at the same time, my MacBook sounds like a jet engine during take off. Same thing should I remove my MacBook from a desk or table where the air flows freely and rest the laptop atop my lap. Its whir is the worst.
Because I write about technology, I pulled the trigger on a new 13-inch MacBook Pro because I wanted to get my hands (well, fingertips) on the innovative Touch Bar. But, really, I was in the market for a new MacBook because I desire a quieter computing experience. If I wasn’t a tech blogger, however, I might have opted for a model other than the new MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar.
Wait, the Touch Bar costs how much?
Apple’s pricing rarely, if ever, make it easy on your wallet, but $1,799 for the cheapest Touch Bar MacBook Pro is steep even by Apple’s standards. You can ditch the Touch Bar and get a new 13-inch MacBook Pro for $1,499, but where’s the fun in that?
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If I didn’t write about technology and wasn’t curious about the new Touch Bar — Is it useful? Is it a gimmick? Is it a little of both? — I would have skipped the new MacBook Pro lineup altogether and gone with the 12-inch MacBook. At $1,299, it costs $500 less than the MacBook Pro I just purchased and offers the same amount of memory (8GB), the same size SSD (256GB) and a Retina Display with nearly the same pixel density.
The biggest difference between the two models is the processor. The 12-inch MacBook has an efficient Core m3 processor, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro has a Core i5. While you undoubtedly sacrifice performance with the Core M, you also gain a golden benefit: silence. Utter, blissful silence.
The 12-inch MacBook is the only MacBook that doesn’t require a cooling fan to keep its thermals in check. Like the Pro models, MacBook Air features a Core i5 processor and a cooling fan. If your computing needs are basic, then I would steer you to the 12-inch MacBook and its silent, fanless design.
MacBook features breakdown
Patrick Holland’s already written an excellent breakdown of Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro lines. He doesn’t mention the cooling systems of the machines but otherwise hits on all other features and includes a stellar comparison chart. Here are a few more things you’ll want to look out for.
Other than the cooling system and optional Touch Bar, I count five big differences between the 12-inch MacBook and the new 13-inch MacBook Pro models:
1. Weight
The 12-inch MacBook saves you a pound of carrying weight, coming in at a hair over 2 pounds compared with the 13-inch model, which is a hair over 3 pounds.
2. Keyboard
The 12-inch MacBook introduced the slim butterfly keyboard, which has a different feel from previous MacBooks with its flat keys and shallow travel. The new MacBook Pro models have adopted this butterfly keyboard, but it’s the second-generation that tweaks the design. In his review of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, Dan Ackerman found the typing experience to be slightly improved compared with the first-generation butterfly keyboard on the 12-inch MacBook and said, “The keys have a little more bite to them, and appear to rise up from the keyboard tray just a hair more.”
3. Number of ports
You’ll need to make do with a lone USB-C port on the 12-inch MacBook. The 13-inch MacBook Pro gives you four such ports, any one of which you can use to charge your laptop. With either model, you’ll likely need a USB-C to USB-A dongle or Apple’s big multiport dongle.
4. Webcam
If you regularly use video conferences then you might want to shell out for the 13-inch MacBook Pro. It features a 720-pixel FaceTime camera compared with the 12-inch MacBook’s 480-pixel camera.
5. Battery life
Apple claims the 12-inch MacBook will run for 11 hours and the 13-inch MacBook Pro for 10 hours. We’re still testing the new models, but the 12-inch MacBook ran for 10.5 hours on CNET Labs’ streaming video playback battery drain test. I’d wager the new MacBook Pro will come in roughly an hour short of that figure, giving the battery edge to the 12-inch MacBook and its efficient Core M processor.
The lifespan argument
Some people will argue that it’s better to choose a MacBook Pro over a MacBook as you’re likely to outgrow the more powerful Core i5 processor in the MacBook Pro more slowly than the MacBook and its Core M processor. I would counter this lifespan argument by saying that main reason I’ve decided to move on from my old MacBook Pro is not its slowing performance but its loud cooling fan. I could better tolerate the occasional lags I experience if they weren’t accompanied by the loud whir of the fan. What really makes me crazy is the fan engaging for long stretches for seemingly no reason at all. With the fanless MacBook, I’d need to find another reason to upgrade.
Following this logic, perhaps the MacBook model that offers the longest lifespan would be the step-up MacBook model. At $1,599, it adds $300 more than the baseline MacBook but upgrades the Core m3 processor to a Core m5, while also doubling the SSD to 512GB.
I’m not the only one with warm feelings for the 12-inch MacBook. Read why it has become Dan Ackerman’s favorite laptop.
What do you think of the new MacBook Pros? Do you plan to buy one? Will your next laptop be another model from Apple or something else entirely? Let me know in the comments below.
How Pokémon Go daily bonuses work – CNET
The daily bonuses can help you level quickly.
Screenshot by Alina Bradford/CNET
Pokemon Go players now get experience points and stardust just for playing, and the more you play, the more you rack up. Now when you go hunting for pocket monsters you will get your normal awarded points for playing certain aspects of the game, plus you get additional rewards. You’ll get even more rewards when you play for an entire week.
How you earn XP and stardust
Earning your XP and stardust is pretty simple. You get 500 XP and 600 stardust for the first Pokemon you catch every day on top of the XP and stardust you already get.
Keep that streak up for seven days straight and you’ll get an additional 2,000 XP and 2,400 stardust on top of what you would normally get. That equals out to 2,500 XP and 3,000 stardust for the weekly bonus.
Now, when Niantic announced this new bonus system it was unclear about how you earn awards from Pokestops. It kind-of sounded like you got a reward for visiting a PokeStop and another reward for spinning the Photo Disc. Nope. When you spin the Photo Disc you get extra items and 500 XP on top of what you would normally get. For example, I got six items with my first PokeStop today. You don’t get anything for just being near a PokeStop, though. Originally, you just got 50 XP per spin, so this is still a big step up.
Just like with catching Pokemon, if you visit a PokeStop every day for seven days you get an additional bonus. You’ll receive 2,500 XP and more items from your Photo Disc spin.
Your first spin of the day gets you extra balls and other items.
Screenshot by Alina Bradford/CNET
The PokeStops seem to be glitchy after this update, and you may get a “Try Again Later” message. Just close out the PokeStop, open it up again and spin it again. You probably won’t get a notification that you got the daily bonus. That’s okay, you still got it. When you close out the PokeStop screen, take a quick look at your avatar. A 550 XP notification should pop up over your avatar’s head. If you see that number you got the bonus.
How to keep track
Every time you get a daily achievement, a gauge will pop up on your screen. For each day you catch a Pokemon or spin a PokeStop, the game will fill in one of the seven bubbles on the gauge. The gauge will also tell you what day you’re on of your streak.
Unfortunately, your XP bonuses don’t record in your Journal. Your Journal will show your extra items when it logs your first PokeStop of the day, though.
Play every day, every week
Once you play for seven days, the bonus resets and you can start a new streak. The seven days starts whenever you catch your first Pokemon or spin a PokeStop the day after you get your weekly bonus. A day is defined by Niantic as a day of the week from midnight to midnight in your local time. So if you catch a Pokemon at any time on Thursday local time, you’ll be eligible for the next daily bonus on Friday at 12 a.m. local time.
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Sony PlayStation 4 Pro review – CNET
The Good The PS4 Pro outputs a 4K- and HDR-compatible signal, and promises better visuals as well as increased frame rates for compatible games. The console includes a 1TB hard drive, and it works with all PS4 games, apps and accessories to date.
The Bad Out of the gate, we didn’t notice a drastic overall difference in quality when comparing standard and Pro games side-by-side. Specific information on game improvements can be shoddy. The PS4 Pro does not play UHD 4K Blu-ray discs.
The Bottom Line The PlayStation 4 Pro doesn’t show major, noticeable improvements in the handful of games we were able to test early, but that could change with titles coming in the months and years ahead.
Closing in on 50 million units sold, it’s safe to say Sony’s PlayStation 4 has been a huge success, significantly outpacing its closest competition, Microsoft’s Xbox One.
But just three years since its debut, Sony is releasing a hardware step-up model of the PS4, aptly called the PlayStation 4 Pro. As you can guess by the name, this isn’t the PlayStation 5. The new model, hitting stores on November 10 for $399 in the US (£349 and AU$559), is fully compatible with all of the existing games, apps and nearly all the PS4 accessories currently on the market (or in your personal collection).
But the PS4 Pro promises to deliver better, smoother graphics than its predecessor. You’ll only get that graphical upgrade on titles with a free downloadable software patch installed. The most noticeable improvements will also likely require TVs with support for 4K resolutions and HDR, the high contrast mode that can offer bright whites and more gradient blacks.
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The PlayStation 4 Pro is being labeled as a step-up model, and is not a PlayStation 5.
Sarah Tew/CNET
For console gamers who have always looked with envy upon a $3,000-plus PC gaming rig with daisy-chained video cards running games at super-high resolutions, it’s certainly a compelling upsell. But, spoiler alert, our initial few days with the PS4 Pro didn’t leave our jaws dropping with what we saw. In fact, we often struggled to see any discernible difference between the same games on a Pro and a regular PS4 when played side-by-side on nearly identical 4K TVs.
On the other hand, we were only able to test about half a dozen games. That’s because the bulk of those update patches for compatible games haven’t even been released yet.
If that sounds totally unsatisfying, it is. Which is why we’re withholding a rating and a final judgment on the PS4 Pro until we get to spend time with more of those games. But the wait may go on into 2017 until we get to see some new titles that are being developed for the PS4 Pro from the ground up, or at least with it in mind.
In the meantime, here’s an overview of our initial experience with the PS4 Pro.
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There just aren’t enough games that take advantage of the PS4 Pro’s specs, yet.
Sarah Tew/CNET
What’s new and different about the PS4 Pro
The PlayStation 4 Pro is essentially a PS4 with better hardware inside that’s designed to improve the performance and visuals of what’s currently possible on a standard PS4. Not every PS4 game can take advantage of the Pro, but no matter what it will play any PS4 game you throw at it.
A regular PS4 game will need a downloadable patch to support PS4 Pro’s upgrades, but it’s still unclear what exactly each patch will provide. For any given title, a Pro update will bring some or all of the following enhancements: Better performance and/or framerates, higher output resolution and/or textures as well as HDR support. That latter feature, however, is also available on the non-Pro PS4 consoles following a September software update. Judging from the updates we’ve seen so far, there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason in regard to which games get what.
Only a small number of games with Pro patches were live for us before review time, but Sony promises that 30-plus games will have Pro patches at launch, totaling 45 by the end of 2016. Starting next year with games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone and Mass Effect Andromeda, we’ll start to see a “PS4 Pro Enhanced” badge on the box art of games that have Pro support already built in. Sony says that almost every game released on PS4 from here on out can have Pro perks.
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This badge will help label games that are enhanced for the PS4 Pro.
Screenshot of Sony’s website
Physically, the PS4 Pro looks like a beefier PS4 Slim. Its footprint is a bit larger but it’s not much bulkier than the original 2013 PS4. It casts a thin, horizontal LED light (blue, orange and white) from the front of the unit when in different modes of operation.
Thankfully, the Pro brings back the optical audio port that the Slim omitted while adding an extra USB port around back. Like the Slim, the Pro also supports the fastest Wi-Fi protocols (802.11ac), and it also has dual-band support (it can use both a 2.4GHz or 5GHz signal).
Sony has confirmed that the console makes use of the SATA-III specification too, which theoretically means you could install an SSD to take advantage of quicker read times. (Although, all PS4s support user-upgradeable storage with standard 2.5-inch drives.)
We’re testing that out separately and will report on what we find. Either way, it’s nice to know anyone can still swap out the stock drive for a new one.
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The PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro side-by-side.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Other exclusive features
The PS4 Pro will launch with Netflix support at 4K resolution in addition to a YouTube app with 4K and HDR compatibility. More apps will open up support for 4K and HDR features as the platform matures.
Also exclusive to the PS4 Pro is improved bandwidth for the Remote Play and Share Play options, that let players stream gameplay over the internet to other locations. Both modes will be able to share, stream and play at 1080p, which is a bump up from the standard PS4’s 720p cap.
Of course we need to bring up the most glaring of missing features: 4K UHD Blu-ray playback. For whatever reason, the PS4 Pro cannot play these discs (unlike the Xbox One S). Standard Blu-rays will be upscaled to fit 4K screens, however.
The technical gap
One of the big frustrations of our initial experience with PS4 Pro-compatible games was trying to manage our expectations. That’s because Sony’s labelling of which games support which video upgrade is vague at best.
By looking at a title’s version history from the PS4 menu, you can get a tiny bit of insight as to what’s been added. For instance, The Last of Us: Remastered says the latest version offers “PS4 Pro Support,” but Shadow of Mordor simply states “4K Support.”
There’s an inconsistency here that’s tough to follow, not to mention we don’t know if 4K really means what people might think it means. On Sony’s PS4 Pro site, a disclaimer reads that the console offers “dynamic 4K” which means, as they explain with a footnote, “Dynamic 4K gaming outputted by graphic rendering or upscaled to 4K resolution.”
We’re not sure that means native 4K (3,840×2,160 resolution), which is four times what you can get from a “standard” HDTV’s 1,920×1080 resolution. Considering the notion that PCs with much more impressive hardware than the PS4 Pro can struggle to even reach native 4K at 30 frames per second (the absolute minimum required for smooth gameplay or video), it may seem hard to believe the PS4 Pro can output such a technically demanding video signal without some serious compromises. Well, it doesn’t.
Indeed, the Pro uses some common tricks of the trade, including anti-aliasing, checkerboard rendering and geometry rendering. Effectively, that means that the games have horizontal resolutions including 1728p, 1800p or 1952p. Then, the games upscale to 2160p as needed, all the while balancing graphical sharpness with the all-important frame rate. (Indeed, this same upscaling technique is also widely used in the last generation of game consoles, too.)
Shortcut Labs Flic Single Purpose Smart Button Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Launched on Indiegogo in 2014, Shortcut Labs’ Flic offered a novel concept: give users an app-connected button that can trigger almost anything, and they’ll figure out what to do with it. The company raised nearly a million dollars.
The keys to Flic’s success were customization and affordability. But now, the company is introducing a new type of device that mixes up its successful recipe: Flic Single Purpose Smart Buttons.
There are currently five Single Purpose Buttons: FlicFind, FlicSelfie, FlicLights, FlicMusic, and FlicLocation. All of them exchange the original Flic’s flexible interface for a single dedicated purpose. The reduced flexibility comes with a lower price tag of $20 (about £16), leaving users with an affordable entry-point into the world of smart buttons.
Shortcut Labs
Here’s what each Single Purpose Flic does:
- FlicFind will set off an alarm on your phone when you can’t find it around the house.
- FlicSelfie will take a photo on your phone from across the room.
- FlicLights will control your connected LEDs.
- FlicMusic will control your Spotify playlists.
- FlicLocation will send your GPS location to select contacts in case of emergency.
Part of the appeal of the original $34 Flic was how its flexibility allowed users to experiment. But it seems Shortcut Labs is aiming for a broader audience than experimenters or early adopters. Not only are these latest buttons available at an immanently buyable price point, but they will be sold in Best Buys around the U.S. and Harrod’s in the UK.
The original Flic Smart Button.
Chris Monroe/CNET
The only question is, will they work well enough? Each of these devices is driven by the same basic mechanism behind the original Flic: a Bluetooth radio that connects to your phone and triggers various mobile functions, like sending a text or playing music. Each Single Purpose Flic will trigger their basic commands using the same tap, double-tap, and long-hold actions of the original device. It was a simple and mostly effective interface.
The problem is, Flic boasted over 60 unique functions, so users could forgive an interface for being only “mostly” effective. For these Single Purpose Flics to shine, on the other hand, reliability is a must. Shortcut Labs co-founder Pranav Kosuri says the company has been focused on sharpening performance, but whether that work pays off remains to be seen.
I’m excited to get my hands on the new Single Purpose Flics. They will certainly make smart buttons more appealing to everyday people, and they might even win some converts to the more expensive original Flic. It all just depends on their performance.
Samsung may delay the Galaxy S8 until April
We may have to wait longer than usual for the Galaxy S8.
For the past three years, Samsung has unveiled its flagship in the Galaxy S series at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but it looks like the company may delay the launch of the Galaxy S8 until April as it conducts extensive pre-release quality tests to ensure the device is up to the mark.
That’s according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter:
Executives are now looking to delay the announcement of the Galaxy S8 until after the Mobile World Congress trade show in late February next year, the people said. One of these people said the unveiling could come as late as April. That would mark a break from the past three years, when Samsung used the tech showcase in Barcelona to unveil its newest top-of-the-line Galaxy S smartphones.
The Galaxy S8 will prove pivotal to Samsung’s mobile efforts in 2017 as the company tries to regain consumer trust following the Note 7 fiasco. One way of doing that will be to state all the measures it has taken to mitigate the issues that plagued the Note 7, and educating consumers of the same.
Pushing back the release will undoubtedly give Samsung more time to make sure it leaves nothing to chance, but it does mean that it has to get more mileage out of the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, which will be nearing 14 months at that point. With compelling alternatives already available, Samsung needs to introduce standout features with the Galaxy S8 to regain lost sales momentum. And it looks like AI is the answer.
The South Korean company has confirmed that it will introduce its own AI assistant with the Galaxy S8, and we may even see a dedicated hardware button to invoke the assistant:
The latest internal prototypes of the premium Galaxy S8 handset include a button on the side edge of the smartphone that would be used to launch a beefed-up virtual assistant based on artificial intelligence, akin to Apple Inc.’s Siri, according to these people, who cautioned that the prototypes aren’t final and could change.
As noted by the publication, the fact that the hardware button was spotted on internal prototypes doesn’t mean it’ll make its way to the retail product, as companies go through several iterations before finalizing a design. That said, it looks like Samsung is looking to focus on AI as the standout feature on the Galaxy S8, using the device as a “springboard” to launch its digital assistant into other product categories.
Samsung Pay now available in Canada with ‘select’ CIBC credit cards
Last week, Android Central told you, and Samsung confirmed, that it would roll out Samsung Pay in Canada during the first week of November, and it looks like the service has gone live for some early adopter CIBC customers.
Samsung Pay will exclusively be available to CIBC customers with “select” Visa cards, according to screenshots from the app. Samsung has yet to expand availability of the Samsung Pay app to Canadians — customers who have accessed this feature have sideloaded the app — but it will likely roll out shortly.
Samsung has aggressively expanded the reach of its digital payments service in recent weeks, making it available in Malaysia, Russia and Thailand. The service is now live in 12 countries, and Samsung has partnered with MasterCard to integrate Samsung Pay with its MasterPass service.
Thanks Chris!
Google’s Pixel phones get their first updates today
Look for Daydream improvements, along with the November security patch.
According to Verizon, today’s the day Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL get their first over-the-air updates. For Verizon’s models, the update will bring the phones up to build NDE63X, with the official changelog detailing the following improvements:
- Message notifications while connected to vehicle Bluetooth® systems
- Daydream View performance
- Adds New Mexico as a state option during Wi-Fi Calling setup
Daydream View lands on November 10, so it’s no surprise to see last-minute software tweaks landing in time for the retail arrival of Google’s VR headset.
It’s also highly likely — though not explicitly mentioned by Verizon — that the November 2016 Android security patch will be included in this over-the-air update too. As for unlocked Pixels on other networks around the world, it’s likely a similar update will be hitting those devices as well, starting today. Pre-emptive carrier announcements have always been a pretty reliable indicator of when Nexus updates are on the way.
The timing of today’s update on Verizon bodes well for the future of the carrier-locked variant.
So far there’s been no update to Google’s factory images and OTA files page, but we’ll keep you posted just as soon as the update is available to sideload. (For what it’s worth, the AC team isn’t seeing the OTA notification on our Pixels, whether Verizon-branded or unlocked.) Nevertheless, the timing of today’s update on Verizon bodes well for the future of the carrier-locked variant, which was previously promised patches in line with the unlocked Google models.
Pixel owners, be sure to hit the comments and let us know whether you’re seeing today’s inaugural update for Google’s new phones.
Google Pixel + Pixel XL
- Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
- Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
- Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
- Pixel + Pixel XL specs
- Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
- Join the discussion in the forums!
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Google Home teardown reveals Chromecast internals, lots of glue
iFixit breaks apart Google’s connected home gadget, to find it’s powered by the same internals as last year’s Chromecast.
As now mandated by law, the launch of any new gadget must be accompanied by the obligatory iFixit teardown. Today’s product of choice: Google Home, which gets X-rayed and then prised apart by the site.
Most notably, the teardown reveals that Google’s voice-controlled gadget is in fact powered by the same core internals as last year’s second-generation Chromecast dongle — an Armada 1500 Mini Plus (with two ARM Cortex-A7 cores), along with 256GB of storage and 512MB of DDR3 RAM.
Also of note: If you’re determined to tear this thing apart, you’ll need a good deal of heat to dislodge the touch board and its PCB from the top of the device, along with a serious amount of force. Elsewhere, you’ll find an additional board housing the SoC and memory tucked inside the speaker housing.
Overall, Google Home earns a repairability score of 8/10, with the device losing points for the super-sticky glue used in the touch board, and the fact that the power port is soldered directly onto the mainboard.
Head on over to iFixit for more of Google Home in various states of undress.
AIVAnet 