LG G6 may ditch the modules, but hold on to the headphone jack

LG did something daring with G5. It introduced modules to a smartphone, a design we weren’t familiar with and ultimately, we didn’t think they’d catch on, no matter how useful they may have been.

• LG G6: What’s the story so far?

And now there’s more evidence to suggest LG will in fact be scrapping the idea of interchangeable modules for the G6 smartphone.

Source: LG G6 will not have a removable battery, LG will move to an all-glass design language similar to Samsung. Headphone jack is a go.

— David Ruddock (@RDR0b11) 7 December 2016

David Ruddock, a journalist at Android Police, has recently tweeted that the G6 will not feature a removeable battery and initially thought it would sport an all-glass design, similar to what Samsung is expected to do for the Galaxy S8.

Ruddock then sent a follow up tweet to say the all-glass design was wrong, but the G6 will instead have a highly reflective metal material on the rear of the device.

Correction: G6 is not all glass body, but has a highly reflective metallic material on the rear.

— David Ruddock (@RDR0b11) 7 December 2016

While none of this confirms there won’t be modules, the fact there’s no removeable battery suggests it will be a unibody design, which could make it tricky for modules to be interchanged.

It would also link in with an earlier report from Korea that LG will indeed be ditching modules for the G6.

David Ruddock also says the “headphone jack is a go”, implying LG will indeed keep the sacred 3.5mm port for connecting your current headphones. Apple has already removed it on the iPhone 7 and Samsung is expected to ditch it in favour of audio via USB Type-C.

• LG G5 review: Modular misfire?

The LG G6 is expected to be announced either at Mobile World Congress in February 2017, or a day before the show officially begins at a separate launch event. For now, we have to take all rumours with a pinch of salt until we see any concrete evidence.

Indiegogo will use collection agencies to go after fraudsters

Indiegogo has updated its Terms of Use in an effort to protect itself and backers from crowdfund-and-run fraudsters. In a recent blog post, the website has revealed that it will start using third-party collections agencies to go after campaign owners who don’t deliver on their promises and those who run off with their backers’ money. Further, it has begun imposing stricter requirements on people who want to set up shop. The campaign owners’ legal residence should now match their projects’ address upon ID verification to prove that they’re not impostors. Owners are now also required to provide frequent updates about their project’s development and are not allowed to put up another if their previous campaign is still active.

Unfortunately, the crowdfunding website remains a bit too lax when it comes to the kind of projects it welcomes. Whereas Kickstarter campaigns are required to be able to show their backers a prototype, Indiegogo ones could get by with photo renders. “We often get asked about the feasibility of projects and, while we may not review every project, we will work with the campaign owner directly if we receive questions or concerns,” the website’s Head of Trust & Safety wrote in the post.

While crowdfunding gave rise to some very interesting tech projects such as Oculus and the now-Fitbit-owned Pebble, it also led to a load of scams, enough for the FTC to step in. Even Kickstarter, which makes sure its campaigns can show existing prototypes, has its own share of crowdfunding failures. One recent example is BioRing, which raised $750,000 on Indiegogo before being suspended due to a violation of the website’s terms. According to Vocativ, the campaign owner only left $300,000 behind for refunds and hid the rest of the money in offshore accounts.

Via: Vocativ, CNET

Source: Indiegogo (1), (2)

‘Bully: Anniversary Edition’ Launches on iOS App Store for $6.99

Rockstar Games has officially released Bully: Anniversary Edition on mobile devices for $6.99, including iOS [Direct Link] and Android. The launch of the mobile app for the game comes ten years after Bully originally launched in the fall of 2006 for the PlayStation 2.

Images via TouchArcade
The new “Anniversary Edition” includes all of the content from the game’s “Scholarship Edition” — which was a graphical enhancement that added a few more features onto the game two years after its original release — as well as including a few new mobile-focused updates of its own. Bully: Anniversary Edition has gained support for high-resolution displays, enhanced graphics, improved lighting and textures, and controls redesigned for touch gameplay.

On top of all of its new graphic overhauls, a new multiplayer component has also been added, called “Friend Challenges.” The turn-based mode lets players compete in head-to-head “arcade style mini-games,” using Bully’s prep school classroom theme to see who can dissect frogs the fastest, solve word problems, and more. The full list of features for Bully: Anniversary Edition are listed below:

Features:
• Includes the complete Bully story with extra missions, characters, classroom mini-games, and unlockable items from Bully: Scholarship Edition
• Gorgeous graphics: high resolution textures, dynamic lighting, shadows and particle effects
• Native support for high resolution displays
• Challenge your friends anywhere with turn based multiplayer Friend Challenges. Play on the go and get notified when it’s your turn
• Intelligent touch controls with contextual buttons only when you need them
• Seamlessly continue your game across all your devices with cloud saves via the Rockstar Games Social Club
• Physical controller support
• Taptic Engine Feedback for all buttons on iPhone 7 class devices
• Capture your gameplay with Replay Kit support on iPhone 6S and greater class devices

Previously, Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and more, on the iOS App Store.

Rockstar Games noted that Bully: Anniversary Edition requires 2.4 GB of space and is supported on the iPhone 5 and newer, iPod Touch 6th Gen, iPad 4th Gen and newer, iPad Mini 2 and newer, and iPad Pro.

For a deeper dive into the mechanics of the game, check out TouchArcade’s review of Bully: Anniversary Edition right here.

Tags: App Store, Rockstar Games
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YouTube starts highlighting local content in India

Get ready to see more content in regional languages on YouTube.

In a bid to localise further, YouTube will start showing more local content to users in India. The service will automatically determine your preferred language based on your watch history, user interface language, and location. Once it does so, it will start highlighting recommendations in that language on your home page as well as the trending page.

YouTube will pull local content from Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. You also have the option of manually changing your language should you wish to receive recommendations in a particular language.

The update is now live, so if you want to see tailored recommendations in your language, just head to YouTube’s trending page.

Best VR videos you should watch right now

What are the best videos to watch in VR?

Virtual reality isn’t just all about gaming — it’s also about emotional and exhilarating experiences in the form of 360-degree videos. Apps like Within and Littlestar make it easy to download and digest these videos across multiple platforms, but there are also videos that stand out on their own. Here are the best apps and the best VR videos to watch right now.

Read more at VR Heads!

Rockstar brings Bully to Android to celebrate game’s 10th anniversary

It’s time to revisit Bullworth Academy.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the game, Rockstar is releasing Bully on Android and iOS. Bully: Anniversary Edition costs $6.99, and includes the full-fledged story from the original game along with extra missions, classroom mini-games, and unlockable items. The title is optimized for high-res screens (it looks great on the Pixel), and also has a turn-based multiplayer component.

From the Play Store description:

Bully: Anniversary Edition includes everything from the critically acclaimed Bully: Scholarship Edition plus support for high-resolution displays, enhanced graphics, improved lighting and textures, and controls redesigned for touch gameplay, all while adding multiplayer with new Friend Challenges.

Friend Challenges are head-to-head classroom and arcade style mini-games: see who can dissect the frog fastest in Biology, solve word problems in English, help a flying squirrel destroy his enemies with acorns in Nut Shots, and much more.

The mobile version of the game is developed by War Drum Studios, the same studio that ported Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Grand Theft Auto 3, and Max Payne to phones. If you’re interested in taking a look, the game is now available on the Play Store.

How to get the BBC iPlayer 4K Ultra HD Planet Earth 2 trial on your TV

The BBC has started its first ever consumer trial of 4K content, offering a four-minute clip of Planet Earth 2 in Ultra HD through its free streaming platform, BBC iPlayer.

What’s more, it also uses Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) picture tech, a form of HDR, to present greater contrast on compatible televisions.

In short, even though it is just a four-minute research and development test, this is the best format offered by BBC iPlayer to date and could signal the future for the corporation.

So, how do you watch it? When is it available until? And what do you need?

BBC iPlayer Planet Earth 2 4K Ultra HD trial: When and where is it available?

The Ultra HD trial started on Thursday 8 December and runs until early 2017. It is available on BBC iPlayer on compatible Smart TV sets – ones that can play back HLG images. You will get an alert on your version of iPlayer if your TV is already compatible when you first start it up.

BBC iPlayer Planet Earth 2 4K Ultra HD trial: What TVs are compatible and can I get it on my TV?

As the BBC tech team has high standards as to how it wants the footage to be seen, it will only work on specific televisions. Some TVs are capable of 4K HDR and/or 4K HLG video playback, but they need slight tweaks by the manufacturers to play the Planet Earth 2 content correctly. Therefore, the list of compatible TVs is currently limited to recent Panasonic 4K sets

Here is the complete list of compatible TVs so far:

• Panasonic CX680 Series
• Panasonic CX700 series
• Panasonic CR730 series
• Panasonic CX800 series – reviewed here
• Panasonic CR852 series
• Panasonic CZ950 Series
• Panasonic DX902 Series (Screen Sizes: 65, 58,50) – reviewed here
• Panasonic DR852 series (Screen Sizes: 65, 55)
• Panasonic DX802 series (Screen Sizes: 58, 50) – reviewed here
• Panasonic DX750 series (Screen Sizes: 65, 58, 50)
• Panasonic Dx720 series (Screen Sizes: 58, 50)
• Panasonic DX700 Series (Screen Sizes: 58, 50)
• Panasonic DX680 Series (Screen Sizes: 55, 49, 40)
• Panasonic DX650 series (Screen Sizes: 55, 49, 40)

If you have one of the above televisions, woo-hoo, you’re set. If you don’t but you’re sure your television can receive 4K HLG video, such as the 2016 LG OLED series of TVs, don’t fret. The BBC has told Pocket-lint that more televisions will be added to the list during the trial.

The broadcaster is working with manufacturers to make sufficient software changes in order to present the trial footage in the correct manner. We’ll update the list above as more compatible sets are added.

BBC iPlayer Planet Earth 2 4K Ultra HD trial: How do I play it on my TV?

If you do have one of the Panasonic TVs (or a television that has subsequently been made compatible), you should load up the BBC iPlayer app on your Smart set and you will be presented with an opening screen asking whether you want to try “better quality video” or go straight to the normal iPlayer homescreen. Choose “Try it”.

• How to watch 4K Ultra HD content on TV and online

BBC iPlayer Planet Earth 2 4K Ultra HD trial: What is HLG?

We all know what a 4K resolution is (3840 x 2160) for Ultra HD video, but what is Hybrid Log Gamma? Well, we’ve got a handy guide explaining exactly that here: What is Hybrid Log Gamma and why should you care?

It is basically a high contrast picture format, a bit like high dynamic range (HDR), but easier to broadcast. The feature above goes into much more depth.

Can I watch Planet Earth 2 in 4K Ultra HD elsewhere?

Strangely, although Planet Earth 2 (or Planet Earth II, as it is written in the show credits) was entirely shot in Ultra HD, the BBC is only broadcasting it in Full HD. And, at present, the only disc versions soon to be available are DVD and Blu-ray.

A 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version is listed on Amazon.com, with a price of $59.99, but there’s no release date nor UK equivalent.

The four-minute tech test is the best you can get for now.

Audi Q5 (2017) review: Technical brilliance in a slightly vanilla design

The Audi Q5 is arguably Audi’s most important SUV. Sitting in the mid-sized segment, it occupies a space where it’s a little more useful than the cutsey Audi Q3 and a little easier to live with in suburban tight spots than the Audi Q7.

Built in Mexico in Audi’s new facility, the new Q5 is aiming to continue its run at the top spot of SUVs. But to look at, you might wonder what has changed in the second-gen model. 

The answer, says Audi, is everything: the Audi Q5 is entirely new, redesigned from the ground up to be better in every way. We spent a couple of days driving one to see whether that rings true.

Audi Q5 review: Design may divide

It’s perhaps unfair to start on a downer, but the Q5’s exterior design might be its biggest drawback. It’s impossible to say the new Q5 is ugly, but it also isn’t particularly eye-catching either. Especially when considering the quirky pressed panels of the dinky Audi Q2.

If the Q5 is an exercise in understatement, then Audi has achieved its aims. The Q5 isn’t an exercise in seeking attention, it’s an exercise in practicality. With cars like the Kia Sportage and Ford Edge working hard to turn heads, the Q5 could be perceived as rather more confident in its way.

Pocket-lint

While that confidence might attract some buyers who don’t want to flaunt those SUV lines, others might see that the Discovery Sport as more interesting, or the Jaguar F-Pace as more original. Such is the competition, from affordable to luxury, that there are lot more SUV choices on the road than when the original Audi Q5 launched back in 2008.

From the outside the Audi Q5 looks a little like a pumped-up Audi A3, but in getting larger it loses some of the sharp lines that look a little more defined on the smaller cars.

The front grille, which was a little soft on the previous model, could be seen as a little too plasticky with the silver surround that leads in to the lights on the second-gen model. With the smaller Mexican plates you’re exposed to a little more front plastic than you will be in Europe though.

One of the bigger surprises comes around the back: there’s no exhaust in the rear bodywork. Instead the idea of an exhaust outlet is incorporated into the body design. We suspect that the inevitable, higher-performance (but yet-to-be-confirmed) SQ5 will plonk four chrome tailpipes in this rear bodywork and look all the better for it.

Pocket-lint

Perhaps the biggest trick that the second-gen Q5 pulls off is looking smaller than it is. Softer lines makes for a car that doesn’t look overly-large, yet it’s still pretty big inside and there’s something positive to be said for that. 

When pumped up to top settings on the (optional) air suspension, the new Q5 does look a little sportier and fun, but you might have to choose your colour and wheels carefully to make the Q5 into a true head-turner. 

Audi Q5 review: Interior mastery

Once you’re sat inside, however, any qualms about the exterior will likely vanish. The new interior might be a fresh design, but it’s familiar and instantly feels like an Audi. That’s a good thing, because there’s a dependable quality to everything.

There are a number of choices for interior finishes. It’s a fairly spacious cabin, giving the rear passengers more headroom and legroom than the previous model, but there’s a more obvious transmission tunnel than in something like the Honda CR-V, which feels more open.

Pocket-lint

If you’ve been in an Audi then you’ll find it’s a familiar layout when sat in the driver’s seat. Perhaps the only surprise is that the central infotainment display can’t fold away as it has done on some (but not all) other Audi vehicles.

With the option for the Virtual Cockpit – the driver’s side all-encompassing screen display that sits beyond the wheel (an optional extra, but well worth the £975 price for the Light and Vision Pack if you’re buying S line trim) – you’re well positioned to get plenty of information at a glance. Virtual Cockpit is one of our favourite in-car developments of the past few years, we think it’s great for mapping in particular.

As you’d expect, there’s a quality feel to the switch gear, to the leather of the seats and the fit and finish throughout the cabin, which is where the Q5 will challenge just about any SUV on the road.

Pocket-lint

It’s also quiet in the cabin, escaping the roaring and boxy diesel noises that give some SUVs the sound of a white van. The new Q5 is a smooth and quiet ride, even in the 3-litre diesel, the biggest engine option that the new Q5 offers.

As with all Audis there are options galore, like interior coloured lighting, rear sun blinds, even a panoramic sunroof. Some things are standard (irrelevant of SE, Sport and S Line trim choice), including heated leather seats, paddles for the automatic gearbox, autodimming rear mirror, a powered tailgate, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, parking sensors, emergency braking and cruise control. 

Audi Q5 review: Positive drive with Quattro benefits

It’s easy to get a slightly skewed perspective of Audi cars. With so many S and RS models in the line-up, slipping behind the wheel of the stalwart 2-litre diesel can feel a little ordinary. But this is the where Audi will sell the vast majority of the new Q5 – and all of its cars.

Pocket-lint

The 2-litre diesel gives you 190bhp, which is enough to give the Q5 some get up and go. It might take you 7.9-seconds to hit 62mph, but as a “common” engine it doesn’t feel underpowered, because it’s smooth and refined – no doubt thanks to such wide use across so many vehicles with the VW group. 

It’s paired with the 7-speed S tronic gearbox, the same as you’ll get on the slightly pacier 2-litre petrol engine that will see you to 62mph in 6.3-seconds thanks to its higher 282bhp.

There will be other engine choices (although it varies by region and not all are currently available). The 3-litre diesel we drive will be top-of-range in terms of power with 286bhp, and paired with an 8-speed tiptronic gearbox.

Pocket-lint

Although the 3-litre engine is the biggest available, it misses out on one of the Audi Q5’s biggest offerings: Quattro Ultra, the company’s latest and most efficient all-wheel drive setup which monitors driving conditions, switches from front to all-wheel drive as needed and, for the first time, can completely disable the rear wheels if needed.

However, Quattro Ultra is standard on the Audi Q5 in its other engine forms, the 3-litre just has the older four-wheel system that Audi has been offering for many years. Audi did say you’ll be able to opt for a front-wheel-drive manual version too at some point too (in some markets).

The aim of Quattro Ultra is to reduce the energy consumption by switching off the back wheels. On the road it is mostly needed when setting off, accelerating hard, or in changing conditions when the road surface is a uneven or you’re changing direction. Basically, when you think that the car could potentially slip or lose traction, Quattro will engage the all-wheel drive system in a flash and keep the power delivery at an optimum. Consistent motorway driving, once at speed, will mostly be front-wheel drive, with little need for Quattro.

Pocket-lint

Offroad there’s greater demand, naturally, with increased probability of slippage on any of the wheels. But, again, if you’re on a straight dirt track at consistent speed, then the back wheels will stop driving, until there’s a demand such as a change of speed or you hit a patch of sand. In reality, it all works without your intervention, with the automatic switch being almost instantaneous – you probably won’t even notice as a driver.

What you will notice is that you’ll get better fuel consumption, as Quattro Ultra is just one of a number of changes made to make the Q5 more efficient, reporting around 55mpg according to Audi’s figures. That’ll be a little on the optimistic side, but nevertheless a reasonable figure for an SUV. 

The new Audi Q5 offers adaptive air suspension for those who really want to get more clearance for offroad driving. We’ve seen this previously in models like the A6 Allroad and if you are serious about taking the car off the road, then it offers a great range of ride height variation. This is used in conjunction with Audi’s driving modes, to change the behaviour of the throttle, steering and traction control systems to to best suit the conditions you’re in.

Pocket-lint

The Audi Q5 is a smooth and easy drive. The body roll is well handled, but this is a taller vehicle than many so don’t expect it to turn quite like a saloon. For many, however, the performance on the road, combined with the quality interior will be all that you need to convince you this is the SUV for you.

Verdict

Technically, the Audi Q5 is better in every way than the model it replaces. In terms of interior finish and the technology options, it’s also one of the most compelling mid-sized SUVs on the road. If you want all your comforts and connectivity then the Audi Q5 won’t leave you wanting. 

For the starting price of around £37,000 you’re getting a lot of car with a reasonable spec without having to resort to lots of extras, but to get something a little more special the price will quickly creep over the £40k mark. There’s a lot of competition as we’ve said, but there’s a reassuring quality and confidence in the Audi Q5.

The barrier may simply be the external design. From the exterior the new Q5 isn’t a hugely exciting on the eyes. There are better-looking cars coming from all angles that can turn your head, like the BMW X5, Jaguar F-Pace and Discovery Sport.

Audi may have ruled the roost with the old Q5, but the SUV game is now a lot more competitive.