Google Pixel review: a technical deep dive
I hope you have enjoyed our reviews of the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL, however since this is the first time that a phone has had the words “Phone by Google” engraved on it, I think it is worth taking another look at the Google Pixel, not to look at the user experience (which we have already covered) but to take a look at the technology, the geeky stuff, that Google has put into these devices.
To do this I am going to delve a bit deeper into the display, the SoC, the battery, the camera and the software of the Google Pixel. I will be using the smaller Google Pixel for my tests, however a lot of what I cover will also be applicable to the larger Pixel XL. Want to know more? Let’s go.
Specifications
A quick look at the table below will reveal just how much tech has gone into the Pixel and Pixel XL. Hopefully we can expand on this list of specifications a bit and get to understand the significance of some of these items:
| Display | 5.0-inch AMOLED 1920 x 1080 441ppi Fingerprint- and smudge-resistant oleophobic coating Gorilla Glass 4 |
5.5-inch AMOLED 2560 x 1440 534ppi Fingerprint- and smudge-resistant oleophobic coating Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 2.15Ghz + 1.6Ghz, 64Bit Quad-Core |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 2.15Ghz + 1.6Ghz, 64Bit Quad-Core |
| GPU | Adreno 530 | Adreno 530 |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR4 |
4GB LPDDR4 |
| Storage | 32/128GB | 32/128GB |
| MicroSD | No | No |
| Cameras | 12.3MP rear camera with f/2.0, 1.55μm large pixels, Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF), Laser Detection Autofocus (LDAF), 4K (30fps) video capture, HD 240fps (8x), Full HD 120fps (4x) slow motion video, broad-spectrum CRI-90 dual-LED flash
8MP front camera with f/2.4 aperture, 1.4 µm pixels, Full HD video capture (30fps) |
12.3MP rear camera with f/2.0, 1.55μm large pixels, Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF), Laser Detection Autofocus (LDAF), 4K (30fps) video capture, HD 240fps (8x), Full HD 120fps (4x) slow motion video, broad-spectrum CRI-90 dual-LED flash
8MP front camera with f/2.4 aperture, 1.4 µm pixels, Full HD video capture (30fps) |
| Battery | Non-removable 2,770mAh Fast charging: up to 7 hours of use from only 15 minutes of charging |
Non-removable 3,450mAh Fast charging: up to 7 hours of use from only 15 minutes of charging |
| Media | Single bottom-firing speaker Adaptive audio amplifier 3 microphones (2 front, 1 rear) with noise cancellation |
Single bottom-firing speaker Adaptive audio amplifier 3 microphones (2 front, 1 rear) with noise cancellation |
| Wireless and location | 4G LTE with 3x Carrier aggregation Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO, dual-band (2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz) Bluetooth 4.2 NFC GPS and GLONASS Digital compass |
4G LTE with 3x Carrier aggregation Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO, dual-band (2.4 GHz, 5.0 GHz) Bluetooth 4.2 NFC GPS and GLONASS Digital compass |
| Network | World-wide network/carrier compatibility with:1 GSM: Quad-band GSM UMTS/WCDMA : B 1/2/4/5/8 CDMA: BC0/BC1/BC10 TDS-CDMA: N/A FDD LTE: B 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/25/26/28/29/30 TDD LTE: B 41 LTE 2xCA: B2+B2, B2+B4, B2+B5, B2+B12, B2+B13, B2+B17, B2+B29, B2+B30, B4+B4, B4+B5, B4+B7, B4+B12, B4+B13, B4+B17, B4+B29, B4+B30, B5+B30, B7+B7, B12+B30, B25+B25, B29+B30, B41+B41 LTE 3xCA: B2+B2+B12, B2+B2+B13, B2+B4+B4, B2+B4+B5, B2+B4+B12, B2+B4+B13, B2+B4+B29, B2+B5+B30, B2+B12+B30, B2+B29+B30, B4+B4+B12, B4+B4+B13, B4+B5+B30, B4+ B7+ B12, B4+B12+B30, B4+B29+B30, B41+B41+B41 Pixel is an unlocked phone and works on major carrier networks. |
World-wide network/carrier compatibility with:1 GSM: Quad-band GSM UMTS/WCDMA : B 1/2/4/5/8 CDMA: BC0/BC1/BC10 TDS-CDMA: N/A FDD LTE: B 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/20/25/26/28/29/30 TDD LTE: B 41 LTE 2xCA: B2+B2, B2+B4, B2+B5, B2+B12, B2+B13, B2+B17, B2+B29, B2+B30, B4+B4, B4+B5, B4+B7, B4+B12, B4+B13, B4+B17, B4+B29, B4+B30, B5+B30, B7+B7, B12+B30, B25+B25, B29+B30, B41+B41 LTE 3xCA: B2+B2+B12, B2+B2+B13, B2+B4+B4, B2+B4+B5, B2+B4+B12, B2+B4+B13, B2+B4+B29, B2+B5+B30, B2+B12+B30, B2+B29+B30, B4+B4+B12, B4+B4+B13, B4+B5+B30, B4+ B7+ B12, B4+B12+B30, B4+B29+B30, B41+B41+B41 Pixel is an unlocked phone and works on major carrier networks. |
| Ports | USB Type-C Nano SIM 3.5mm audio jack USB 3.0 data transfer |
USB Type-C Nano SIM 3.5mm audio jack USB 3.0 data transfer |
| Sensors | Pixel Imprint Accelerometer/Gyroscope Magnetometer Barometer Proximity sensor/Ambient Light Sensor Hall sensor Android Sensor Hub |
Pixel Imprint Accelerometer/Gyroscope Magnetometer Barometer Proximity sensor/Ambient Light Sensor Hall sensor Android Sensor Hub |
| Other | RGB LED notification light | RGB LED notification light |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Water resistance | IP53 | IP53 |
| Software | Android 7.1 Nougat | Android 7.1 Nougat |
| Colors | Very Silver, Quite Black, Really Blue (Limited Edition) | Very Silver, Quite Black, Really Blue (Limited Edition) |
| Dimensions and weight | 143.8 x 69.5 x 8.6mm 143g |
154.7 x 75.7 x 8.6mm 168g |
Display
The Pixel comes with a 5 inch Full HD AMOLED display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4, while the XL has a 5.5 inch Quad HD AMOLED display also protected by Gorilla Glass. There is no doubt that the displays on both Pixel devices are first class and are a pleasure to use. Looking at some of the tech, we noted in our full review that the display on the XL has a slightly cooler color temperature of 7859 Kelvin, which essentially means the screen has a blue tint. When the display is set to the standard mode (rather than the default adaptive mode), the colors are warmer at 7131k.
This seems also to be true for the Pixel. In terms of color accuracy the display on the Pixel tends to be skewed towards blue when it is displaying green. Notice the top set of vertical points on the graph below, they are left of the pure green target line. The reds, blues and purples however are quite accurate, but not strictly uniform when it comes to the various brightness levels.
Talking of brightness levels the Pixel’s display has a maximum of 410 nits. That is what you get when the display is on auto brightness and you shine a torch into the light sensor. If you switch to manual mode and crank it up to 100% then the brightness is marginally less at 406 nits. 50% is 208 nits and as you can see from the graph below the brightness profile is quite uniform:
The System-on-a-Chip (SoC) in the Pixel and Pixel XL is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821. The 821 is the successor to the Snapdragon 820, Qualcomm’s popular SoC which is found in lots of Android devices including some variants of the Samsung Galaxy S7, the LG V20 and the OnePlus 3. The 821 tweaks the design of the 820 to improve power efficiency while increasing performance.
At the heart of the Snapdragon 821 are the quad-core Kryo CPU and the Adreno 530 GPU. Plus there are loads of other bits and pieces including Qualcomm’s Hexagon 680 DSP and the X12 LTE Cat 12/13 modem. You can see from the specification table above that the Pixel supports and impressive number of 2G, 3G and 4G network frequencies.
The Snapdragon 820 could be clocked at a maximum of 2.2GHz, however the 821 has been designed to go as high as 2.4GHz. Qualcomm isn’t too forth coming about the architecture of the CPU, however Google has published information which says that the Snapdragon 821 in the Pixel uses 4 Kryo CPU cores, two clocked at 2.15GHz and two at 1.6GHz. The 821’s quad-core setup is what is called Heterogeneous Multi-Processing (HMP).
In general, the quad-core processors found in desktops and laptops have a set of cores which are all equal in terms of their performance and power consumption. In a HMP SoC, not all the cores are equal (hence, heterogeneous). In the Snapdragon 821 the 2.15GHz cores are tuned for performance while the 1.6GHz are tuned for efficiency. When tasks are run on the 1.6GHz cores they use less power, they drain the battery less, however they may run a little slower. When tasks are run on the 2.15GHz cores, they finish sooner but they use more power to do so. Here is where it gets complicated. A task that finishes quicker but uses more peak power to do so, may actually use less energy as it completed the task in a short amount of time. However a task which uses less peak power may use more energy as it took longer to complete.
The ideal situation is where the smaller cores run tasks which don’t use much power but need to run for a long time (like handling the CPU aspects of streaming video). As you can imagine the hardware and software combination needed to make HMP work well is complicated. ARM has done a lot of work in this area with its big.LITTLE system including contributing code to the Linux kernel. As such ARM is quite open about its HMP efforts, however Qualcomm is less so. If you want to know more about big.LITTLE then please read how the Samsung Galaxy S6 uses its octa-core processor.
When it comes to performance the Snapdragon 821 is a beast! Here is a table of some common benchmarks scores for the Pixel:
| AnTuTu | 141092 |
| Geekbench 4 (single core) | 1500 |
| Geekbench 4 (multi core) | 4139 |
| Sling Shot using ES 3.1 | 2583 |
| Quadrant | 31389 |
| Basemark OS II | 2331 |
To put those numbers into some context, the Pixel scores higher on AnTuTu than the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Huawei Mate 9. However it scores lower than the Mate 9 for both Geekbench and Basemark OS II.
I also tested the Pixel with my own set of custom benchmarks which I have used to test various SoCs in the past including the Kirin 950. The first of my custom benchmarks tests the CPU without using the GPU. It calculates 100 SHA1 hashes on 4K of data and then does some other CPU stuff, I call it “Hashes, bubble sorts, tables and primes. The Pixel gets the best score from any Android phone I have tested!
The second benchmark uses a 2D physics engine to simulate water being poured into a container. Two drops of water are added every frame and the app is designed to run at 60 frames per second. The benchmark measures how many droplets are actually processed and how many are missed. The Pixel scored 10178, which is a good score, but it isn’t the best. The current record holder is the Kirin 960 in the Mate 9, which scores the maximum of 10800.
My third benchmark is written in Unity3D. It is a terrain flyover that yields a frame per second score for a pre-programmed pass over the rendered world. The Pixel scored 37.3 fps, which is again the best score to date.
Battery
The Pixel comes with a 2,770 mAh battery while the Pixel XL has a 3,450 mAh unit. According to Google that means the Pixel has a 3G talk time of up to 26 hours. Josh, Lanh and Nirave found that during day to day usage you can expect around 5 hours of screen on time. According to my testing with a mixed usage of web surfing, gaming and watching video will give you 5hr 13mins of screen on time, which matches what Josh et al saw.
Google claim that you can get 13 hours of video watching out of the Pixel, but the search giant doesn’t say how bright the display is during the tests. However it does say that “uses that involve an active display will use battery more quickly.” So I guess the brightness level for those tests are low (and fixed). I tested how long the phone can play a looped video from local storage with the display at 47% (i.e. 200 nits). The result was an impressive 10.5 hours!
If you are wondering how much the brightness level affects battery life, well so did I! I re-run my video test, this time with the display at 100%, that’s over 400 nits. The result was an equally impressive 8.5 hours. So upping the brightness can cost you as much as two hours of screen on time for easy tasks like video.
As for charging, you can charge the Pixel from < 5% to 100% in just over 1hr 40 mins, while to get to 50% takes less than half an hour and to get to 80% takes an hour. If you are in a mad rush then you can get 25% charge in just under 15 minutes! As with all quick charge system, the initial charging is much quicker than the final phase above 80%. For example the Pixel uses half of the charging time to go from 70% to 100%.
Camera
The specifications of the camera on the Pixel are excellent: 12.3MP rear camera with f/2.0 and 1.55μm large pixels. There is Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF) as well as Laser Detection Autofocus (LDAF). It can record 4K @ 30fps and HD @ 240fps. On the front is an 8MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture and 1.4 µm pixels.
So I thought it would be interesting to see how the Pixel compares to a DSLR! So I took four pictures in controlled conditions (with a lightbox) to see how each one fared. My DSLR is a Canon EOS 700D. As you can see from the pictures below the 700D makes better pictures in good light. The colors are truer, there is more color depth and nuance. However for the close up of the Tardis door I would say that the Pixel did a much better job than the Canon. The text is clearer and there is less stippling. Also in low-light I would also say that the Pixel won. The EOS picture didn’t come out quite right because it is out of focus and maybe with more work I could have made it better.
Software
The Pixel and Pixel XL run Android 7.1 Nougat which brings with it a number of new features including Google’s new Pixel Launcher and the Google Assistant. The former is an incremental update to the standard Google Now Launcher which does away with the app drawer by making the installed apps available by swiping up from the bottom. The latter is Google’s new AI-based voice assistant, the same one in Google Allo, but now available throughout the whole Android interface.
In terms of storage and RAM, fresh out of the box the Pixel uses about 6.5GB of internal storage for Android and the default apps etc., which means there is around 23GB of free space. Both the Pixel and Pixel XL come with 4GB of RAM and from a fresh boot the phones uses around 1.3GB of RAM. During my testing (which was mainly running benchmarks, taking photos, playing videos etc.) I haven’t seen the average RAM usage go over 2GB.
Besides these two big ticket items there are lots of smaller changes including launcher shortcuts, a new storage manager called Smart Storage, GIF support in the Google Keyboard, and improved VR thread scheduling:
- App Shortcuts – These allow users to access key actions within an app directly from the launcher. You just long-press an app’s launcher icon to reveal the app’s shortcuts, then tap on a shortcut to jump to the associated action.
- GIF support in the Google Keyboard – Android 7.1 supports the new Commit Content API, which provides a universal way for keyboards to send images and other rich content directly to a text editor in an app.
- Smart Storage – If an app requires more space than is currently available, it can use the Smart Storage page to let the user delete unneeded apps and content to free up sufficient space.
- Improved VR thread scheduling – Android 7.1 provides new features to improve VR thread scheduling. Apps can now designate one thread as a VR thread. While the app is in VR mode, the system will schedule that thread more aggressively to minimize latency.
Wrap-up
There are many non-technical factors to choosing your next Android smartphone including price, availability, branding and long term support. However if we push those to the side for the moment at just look at the tech, it is clear that the Pixel and Pixel XL are leading edge devices. Here we find AMOLED displays and not LCD, plus the XL sports QHD resolution.
The SoC is the best Qualcomm has to offer today and the benchmarks show that it is the best in its field (in the majority of cases). You also have excellent cellular support with the X12 modem. On top of that you have a good camera, an above average battery, an option for 128GB of internal storage and the latest version of Android.
What we don’t have is an SD card slot, wireless charging, optical image stabilization, front facing speakers or proper waterproofing (like IP67). So while everything that the Pixel does include is top of the range, it might be what it doesn’t include that could be the deciding factor for you! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Canada’s first self-driving car tests hit Ontario roads
Ontario ambitiously greenlit autonomous driving tests back in January, but nobody wanted to take the city up on its offer. This was likely due to its proximity to Michigan, where American car companies can test similar conditions without having to leave the country. But today brings good news for Canada: three groups are finally deploying the first self-driving cars in the country to Ontario’s streets.
The pilot project involves three cars developed by the University of Waterloo, the automaker Erwin Hymer Group and Blackberry QNX. Each will test their own vehicle: a Lincoln MKZ hybrid sedan (nicknamed “Autonomoose”), a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van, and a 2017 Lincoln running Blackberry software, respectively.
The project will test the vehicles at various stages of automation in the varying weather and road qualities found in Canada’s most populated province. As expected, the cars will be stuffed to the gills with visual sensors, radar and sonar to monitor these conditions. While the regulatory framework Ontario established at the beginning of 2016 requires a licensed driver in the car at all times, there’s no restriction on where the vehicles can go.
Source: CBC
Apple’s LG UltraFine 5K Display Now Available for Purchase for $974
Apple today started accepting orders for the LG UltraFine 5K Display, making it available for the temporary sale price of $974 in the United States. Orders will ship out to customers in six to eight weeks, and there is no in-store availability at this time.
The LG UltraFine 5K Display was first introduced at Apple’s October 27 Mac event alongside a matching 4K Display, but until today, the 5K Display has been available for purchase, with Apple listing a vague availability date of “December.”
At the beginning of November, Apple dropped the prices on all USB-C adapters and accessories, including the LG UltraFine displays, by 25 percent through the end of the year.
Because the 5K UltraFine Display was not yet available for purchase, some worried that it would not be able to be bought for the sale price, but customers who make a purchase before the end of 2016 will be able to get the display for $974 instead of $1,299.
The LG 5K UltraFine Displays was created in partnership with Apple for the new MacBook Pro. The display connects to the MacBook Pro over Thunderbolt 3 and include features like built-in USB-C ports for charging, stereo speakers, P3 wide color gamut support, a camera, and a microphone.
Related Roundup: Displays
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Best Home Automation Gifts: How to get started with these essential gadgets
Gift someone into home automation this year.
Most folks don’t realize how much better life is with home automation tech at their fingertips. All the time, even in the comments here, you see folks talk about how silly it is that there’s an app to control lightbulbs or thermostats when you can just walk up and touch the thing. It’s not like that’s hard, and it only takes a few seconds, right? Meanwhile, those of us who know better see these people running to check the thermostat once an hour when there’s 20 people in the house and they’re trying to get Thanksgiving dinner on the table, with three different lightbulbs at three different color temperatures in the same room.
Save these people from themselves with the gift of home automation this year. Here’s a good place to get started!
Philips Hue Starter Kit
Most folks don’t know this, but the best way to get someone interested in home automation is with smart lighting. These smart LED bulbs are expensive when compared to what they’ll find on the shelf at the hardware store, but show off what these bulbs are capable of and you’ll have an instant fan ready to fill out the whole house in the perfect lighting. Color temperature control and bulb scheduling is a great way to save power, set a mood, and even adjust your frame of mind. Plus, making your whole house glow red is occasionally hilarious.
Philips Hue bulbs are the best place to start, and you can choose between the shades of white Lux bulbs or the full color Hue bulbs depending on how much fun the person you’re buying for is.
See on Amazon
Nest Thermostat
Adjusting your thermostat is one of those things that generally seems like no big deal. You walk up and twist the knob when you’re warm or cold, and don’t think about that little bump on your wall again for a while. It’s simple, straightforward, and arguably one of the most inefficient gadgets in your home. Regular thermostats don’t adjust for increased or decreased airflow based on whether there are people moving in the house, or if there’s someone at home at all. There’s no tech in your average thermostat to monitor how much energy you’re consuming or if it’s being consumed efficiently. Nest not only saves you more than you’re likely to spend on it over the lifetime of the thermostat, it’s smart enough that you eventually stop needing to check on it at all.
This is a great gift for people who want their house to be a little smarter and a lot more efficient, and it’s the kind of thing no one really thinks about until something like Nest has been installed and is improving their lives.
See on Amazon
Google Home
Getting someone started with Home Automation can be as simple as showing them how much easier things are when you don’t need to constantly adjust manually, or as silly as shouting shut up at a little speaker sitting on you shelf in order to get it to stop playing music. Google Home does a whole lot more than play music, especially after you’ve taken the time to set it up and learned all of its tricks, but automating your music can be a powerful experience all on its own.
This particular connected home gadget has a lot of growing to do, but you can do a lot to work with that experience as you show your friend how much fun this little speaker can be!
See on Amazon
Amazon Echo Dot
If you’re not looking to spend quite so much but still want to see someone you know grow into a connected home, start them off with the Echo Dot from Amazon. The Alexa service takes some getting used to, and doesn’t connect to Google’s services quite as well as Google Home, but this is a powerful little assistant that can become a center point in any connected home.
Amazon’s Echo Dot comes in glossy white or black, and can be connected to any larger speaker to become a more capable music player as well. This is a great starting point for just about anyone!
See on Amazon
Your turn
What are your favorite home automation gifts? Let us know in the comments below!
The great Virtual Reality buyer’s guide
Pick the Virtual Reality system that suits your needs. .intro
Virtual Reality is a category with several incredible products, all mostly aimed at different kinds of users. It’s easy to see these headsets as competing for your attention — and your wallet, of course — but that’s not the case most of the time. Right now VR is all about exploration, and that starts wherever you as the user decides it starts. All you really need to know is what kind of VR experience you want to have first, and from there you can decide which headset you want to buy to fill that need.
This, the Virtual Reality Buyer’s Guide, is the start of an ongoing project at VRHeads. Linked below is a quick look at what makes these headsets special, and where to look if you want to know more!
Read more at VR Heads!
Sony’s Xperia X Compact is $100 off for Cyber Monday!
The smallest phone gets the biggest discount.
Everyone is getting together for a day of deals, which is to be expected after several other days of deals. Sony’s Cyber Monday offerings have launched, and if you’re looking at an[Xperia phone as your next there are a couple of compelling offers available. Here’s what Sony has to offer!
- Xperia X Compact in all colors — $399 ($100 off)
- Xperia XZ in Platinum — $599 ($50.02 off)
- Xperia X in Lime Gold — $299 ($100 off)
Sony’s phones have earned a bit of praise this year for delivering decent cameras and the great battery capacity that used to be considered standard. The Xperia X Compact, which is by far the best deal available on Sony’s Cyber Monday deals, is a much more reasonably priced option at this lowered cost. Despite the 720p display and lack of a fingerprint sensor, Sony’s phones have a history of both quality performance and a unique setup for unlocking and rooting if you’re interested in a more technical adventure.
You can check out any of the links above to order immediately, or head to Amazon and see all of Sony’s offerings!
See at Amazon
Don’t miss out on these deals on Galaxy S7 cases by Ringke
Get these Ringke cases for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.
Ringke is offering some decent discounts on cases for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. We’ve broken things down so it’s easy for you to choose between the four different case styles offered and then pick your preferred color.
Because this is a limited quantity sale, the promo code will expire once the limited quantity has sold out. To make sure the promo code applies properly, make sure you select the option to have Ringke fulfil your shipment when going through checkout. It’s the only way to get the promotional codes to work, and also get free shipping.
Galaxy S7
Fusion
- Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Clear — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
- Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Smoke Black
— $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG - Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Rose Gold
— $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
Slim
- Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Royal Gold — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
- Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Frost White — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
- Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Frost Mint — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
Air
- Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Clear — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
- Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Smoke Black — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
- Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Rose Gold — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
Onyx
- Onyx – Resilient Strength & TPU Defensive Case: Black — $5.45 with coupon code: ANJJW8KG
Galaxy S7 Edge Case
Fusion
- Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Clear — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
- Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Smoke Black
— $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S - Fusion – Drop Protection TPU Bumper Clear Back Case : Rose Gold
— $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
Slim
- Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Black — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
- Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Royal Gold — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
- Slim – Ultimate Thin & Light Hard Case : Frost White — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
Air
- Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Clear — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
- Air – Extreme Lightweight & Thin Transparent Case : Rose Gold — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
Onyx
- Onyx – Resilient Strength & TPU Defensive Case: Black — $5.45 with coupon code: YOAAOH7S
These people want your phone to make your bed for you
File this under “too weird to not share.”
We talk a fair bit about home automation here, and a lot of that is because your phone is rapidly becoming the hub that controls your home. That’s cool for folks who enjoy having their phone nearby 24/7/365, with Google Home filling the gap for nearly everyone else. Whether it’s a spoken word, a scheduled command, or the flick of an app to run your home, eventually someone will ask how far is too far with home automation.
It turns out we don’t know where that line is, because there now exists a company that wants your phone to make your bed.
This idea is clever enough, using an inflatable grid to put your duvet back when you’re out of bed. It’s not the kind of thing that will work for everyone, especially if you need to keep the air tube connected to the pump mounted under your bed to make all of this work like the video shows, but it’s clever. This also isn’t exactly “making” your bed, especially if you have a blanket under your duvet (like any civilized person). But the thing that makes this special is the phone app, which lets you either schedule a time for this to work every day or a button for quickly making the bed in case you have company meeting you at home one night.
It’s weird, and certainly not for everyone, but this is the kind of thing that makes you wonder just how much of your home you’re going to want to automate as you continue to install new tech.
See on Kickstarter
AIVAnet 