Apple Said to be in Talks With India to Manufacture Locally

Apple is in talks with India to explore the possibility of making products locally, according to The Wall Street Journal (via Reuters).

The negotiations come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tries to boost his ‘Make in India’ initiative, with Apple eager to make deeper inroads into the world’s second largest mobile market.

In June, Modi ordered his government to exempt foreign retailers for three years from a requirement to locally source 30 percent of goods solid in their stores.

According to The Journal, Apple sent a letter to India’s federal government last month, outlining manufacturing plans and asking for financial incentives. Apple and Indian state representatives have yet to comment on the matter.

In September 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with Prime Minister Modi to discuss various matters and Cook reportedly responded positively to Modi’s invitation to open a manufacturing base in India. Foxconn was previously reported to be looking at the possibility of an expansion into India to produce iPhones and iPads, but Cook’s outspoken interest in the possibility was Apple’s first public interest in the expansion.

Apple has partnered with e-commerce giant Flipkart to sell the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in India, where the phones launched in October.

Apple does not yet have a license to sell products directly to consumers in India, which has led to buyers going through third-party retail stores to get hold of the company’s flagship phones. Apple’s iPhones currently account for less than 2 percent of Indian smartphone sales.

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Apple Reportedly Tried to Buy Stuttgart’s Wartime Bunkers to Convert into an Iconic Retail Store

Apple has reportedly offered a three-digit million amount to acquire an underground bunker in Stuttgart that it wanted to convert into a retail outlet similar to its iconic New York 5th Avenue Store.

The city of Stuttgart is still without an Apple Store, with the nearest one in Sindelfingen about 12 miles away. Apple has reportedly been searching for a suitable retail home in the city for some time, having rejected various locations in recent years, including a planned move into the Milaneo shopping mall which the company is said to have pulled out of at the last minute.

According to German tech site ifun.de, Apple’s search for a home in the state capital even led to the company offering a “three-digit million amount” for a series of wartime bunker rooms under the Stuttgarter Market Square in the center of the city.

After the Second World War, the bunker system in question was used as a 100-bed hotel from 1945 to 1985. The Bunker Hotel had ventilation shafts instead of windows, and the rooms still exist to this day, but are reportedly dilapidated.

An architectural competition to make the bunker a public exhibit was announced in 1995 and the winning design by Neugebauer + Roesch Architect was a 31 meter-long and 14 meter-high glass prism as an entrance pavilion to underground stores, but the design was never realized because of lack of interest from the city administration.

The original architectural proposals fit Apple’s portfolio of underground store, which typically involve a recognizable glass construction entrance leading to retail rooms below, as seen at the company’s flagship 5th Avenue store in New York. However, the city administration are said to be reluctant to have an Apple logo-emblazoned edifice directly opposite the Stuttgart City Hall and have so far rejected Apple’s large offer of money to acquire the location.

At least for now, Apple’s search for a retail home in the the state capital of Baden-Württemberg appears set to continue.

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Nixon Mission review: Surf and snow goes hardcore

The best iterations of Android Wear don’t come from electronics manufacturers trying to make watches, it comes from watch manufacturers taking advantage of Google’s smartwatch platform. 

Devices like the Tag Heuer Connected and the Polar M600 achieve more through design and application than any of the devices that are half the price. Tag and Polar achieve this by designing a watch that’s nice to wear and a watch that knows what it wants to be.

Which leads us to the Nixon Mission, which calls itself the “world’s first action sports smartwatch”.

Nixon Mission review: Design and build

• 48mm diameter, 16mm depth, 102g
• 10ATM for 100-metre water resistance
• Black, grey, orange colour options
• Custom orders available too

The Nixon Mission sets out to be one of the most solid smartwatches you’ll find. And that certainly plays out.

The body is a 48mm diameter, which makes for a rather boisterous timepiece. Finished in the orange of our review sample (but there are other colour options) there’s certainly no missing it.

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The casing is a reinforced polycarbonate, so yes, it’s plastic, but given the sporty aims of this watch, that feels right. There’s a stainless steel backplate which we love, as it imparts a real feeling of quality against the wrist, so much more so than some of those devices with a plastic back. The bezel is also stainless steel, referred to as a roll cage, surrounding and protecting the Gorilla Glass face.

• Best Android Wear smartwatch 2016: The best smartwatches available on Google’s platform

To the right is the single button carrying the Nixon branding which allows you to interact with various Android Wear functions; to the left is an interesting detail, which Nixon calls MicLock, which not only protects the mic from water ingress, but adds some technical detail to the watch.

The result is a watch that offers 10ATM protection, which is double the rating of most other smartwatches, so it will be happy in rough conditions and down to 100-metres beneath the waves.

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There’s a 23mm strap on it that’s really comfortable too. Fusing two silicone layers, it’s easy to adjust and comfortable to wear. You can also choose the colour when you order your watch, with a full customisation service available from Nixon.

So, yes, the Nixon Mission is a big watch, for sure, but over the weeks we’ve been wearing it, we’ve had a lot of positive comments. We think Nixon has got it bang on.

Nixon Mission review: Hardware and display

• 1.39-inch OLED display
• 400 x 400px resolution
• Touchscreen operation

The Nixon Mission offers a round display – so no “flat tyre” black bar to be seen here as with many other Moto and Fossil watches – and it even works with wet fingers.

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One of the advantages that a bigger smartwatch offers is exactly that: its size. The Nixon is easier to use thanks to its scale. Fully touch-enabled, the display also has an ambient light sensor to adjust to its surroundings.

Nixon Mission review: Surf and snow hardware and software

• GPS tracking, altimeter and e-compass for tracking
• Humidity, thermometer, barometer for weather
• Gyro & accelerometer for motion
• Bluetooth connectivity
• No heart-rate sensor

Sitting at the heart of the watch is a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset. This is typical hardware for an Android Wear device, with a chip designed specifically for wearables.

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In addition you get a full loadout on the hardware front, more so than many other devices. Draw breath: there’s Bluetooth, GPS, thermometer, altimeter, barometer, e-compass, gyro, accelerometer and humidity sensors. That’s a whole lot of sensors.

The obvious thing that’s missing is a heart-rate sensor, which moves this watch on from being a fitness device – it won’t be your first choice as a running watch – but then Nixon is pitching it as an “action sports watch”, the sort of thing you’ll take surfing or snowboarding.

The Mission comes with a couple of watch faces that are designed to tie-in with those surf and snow functions. In combination with the Mission app that you’ll download as a companion to your smartphone, you can see favourite or local locations for snow or surf reports too.

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The idea is that you can tap into information from Surfline and Snocountry, either for your favourite spots, or to discover areas close to you. Once you’ve got locations into the app, you’ll be able to access those locations on the watch to see reports on the conditions. You can setup alerts too, so if there’s a snow dump you’ll know and can thenn jump into your boots and head out to shred the mountain.

This all means that you can look at the information on that location on your wrist. Surfers will be able look at the tide times, size of the swell and so on, while skiers will be able to see when it last snowed and what the weather is expected to do next.

It sounds great, but might only be useful for a small subset of people who happen to live in the right place. For someone in London, with no surfing or mountains within practical distance, it’s more a case of playing action sports than actually being able to do anything about it. 

Then there’s Trace apps which are designed to track and store your data. These are third-party apps from your phone that you might already be familiar with, as they work with the optional ($199) Trace sensor that can be attached to your board.

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Outside of those elements, the Nixon Mission is fairly standard Android Wear offering, supporting those apps you install through a range of other functions and working just as well as other devices do.

• Android Wear review: The smartwatch platform?

That means the Nixon happily plays with Android phones, but less well with Apple – as fewer applications and features are supported, plus battery life is worse with the iPhone. That’s standard for Android Wear devices, so no different to many other devices out there.

Nixon Mission review: Battery life

• 400mAh built-in battery
• Magnetic charger

Battery is the bane of smartwatches and that’s very true for the Mission. Getting through the day on a single charge is possible, but fire up the GPS and track your performance and you’ll find it’s less effective. While that might not be a huge problem – we’ve already said this isn’t a great choice if you want a running watch – it does sort of undermine the “action sports” side to this device. 

The battery in the Mission struggles to get anywhere near the life of the Polar M600, which will generally do you two days, including fairly hefty GPS run tracking. Both those devices struggle to get near the sort of battery life you’d get from something like the Garmin Fenix 3 which, as it happens, is close in size and feel to the Nixon Mission.

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Charging takes place via a magnetic connection to the rear of the watch using the included cable. This can be connected to USB on your laptop or via a charger.

Verdict

The Nixon Mission succeeds where many smartwatches fail in offering a great design that feels nice to wear. The rugged build is also a big sell, meaning you don’t have to worry about water, so it’s well suited to being warn in rough conditions, like surf or snow.

What the Nixon doesn’t really offer is an experience that takes it much beyond this. While that protection is good, you presumably won’t have your phone with you when surfing, so it’s then a disconnected timepiece. For mountain sports there’s added appeal, but we can’t help feeling that Nixon should have perhaps offered a little more to fit its sporty aims on the proprietary software side.

Ultimately, the Nixon Mission is a good-looking watch for those who are happy with a larger-scale device. It carries a lifestyle charm to it with rugged looks and, in the case of our review sample, eye-catching looks. There are better choices for those wanting an active sports watch, but sometimes, looking good is good enough.

Thank you to Watchshop.com for the loan of the Nixon Mission.

Nixon Mission: The alternatives to consider

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Polar M600

• £269

The Polar is a fusion of smartwatch and sports device. It takes Android’s platform and laces in sports and fitness tracking functions, but maintains a balance that some devices don’t manage. It might not be as pretty as the Nixon, but it’s a little more advanced for less money.

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Tag Heuer Connected

• £1,110

If you want to go full-out design (and have the cash) then Tag is another viable alternative. It’s a connected watch, it’s packed with confidence and it’s at the forefront of Android Wear. It doesn’t offer as much sporty prestige as the Nixon though.

Garmin Fenix 3

• £370

If battery life is the be-all and end-all of your purchase criteria then Garmin – which is on its own platform rather than Android Wear – is one of the best to buy. Long-lasting, rugged, but perhaps a step behind in terms of looks, it’ll depend on what’s most important to you when it comes to purchase.

Facebook Adds Group Video Chat Feature to Messenger App

Facebook began rolling out a new group video chat feature to its Messenger app yesterday, allowing up to six users to appear on the screen at the same time and join in the conversation.

Messenger is the first mainstream chat platform to gain group video chat, beating the likes of Apple’s FaceTime and iMessage, Google Duo, and Snapchat to the punch. In a blog post announcing the update, Facebook called group video chat its “most requested Messenger feature ever” and said the ability was being launched for both iOS and desktop versions of the app.

Group Video Chat is super easy to use (and, of course, free over wifi!). You can see up to six people at a time … but don’t worry if your group is a little larger because up to 50 friends can join in and choose to just listen in and join via voice, or be on camera. Once more than 6 people are on the call, just the dominant speaker is shown to all participants.

Group video chats can be initiated by joining an existing group conversation or creating a new one, then tapping on the video icon on the top right of the screen. This notifies everyone in the group and each person can choose to join with a single tap.

Snapchat-style selfie masks can be donned during conversations, while users listening to group chats can talk over voice while sending text, stickers, GIFs, and emojis.

Facebook Messenger is a free download for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]

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Galaxy S7 Nougat: Fourth major beta update now rolling out

New build fixes bugs and removes ‘Samsung Experience’ number.

Samsung Galaxy Beta Program members can now grab the fourth major update to the Android 7.0 Nougat beta for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. (The fifth build in total, including an early patch to fix a Facebook-related crash.)

The new build ZPLH includes bug fixes, according to the notice going out to beta program members, while also claiming to remove the Samsung Notes app that was added a couple of builds back. (The app is still available on our devices after updating, so ¯_(ツ)_/¯)

The Samsung Experience version added in the previous build has been removed too. What does that mean? Probably not a lot. Samsung has shied away from actually naming its UX, which is why some of us still use the clunky “TouchWiz” monicker.

We’re not seeing any other significant changes in this update — it seems Samsung is just working to fix up any remaining bugs before the release becomes finalized. For what it’s worth, this is the first changelog from Samsung to not mention a couple of longstanding bugs affecting some beta users — Wi-Fi connectivity issues, and delays in the screen activating in some cases. It’s not clear whether this is because they’ve been fixed, or just for brevity. The release does note that future beta updates are coming, so we’re not done with the Galaxy Beta program just yet.

More: Galaxy S7 Nougat: Top 10 features to know

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• Android 7.0 Nougat: Everything you need to know
• Will my phone get Android Nougat?
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• Galaxy S7 review
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Is Nintendo Switch just an Nvidia Shield in disguise?

Specifications for the Nintendo Switch have leaked ahead of its March 2017 release date and, if true, the console is effectively an Nvidia Shield with a few more bells and whistles.

Eurogamer reports that spec details given to developers by Nintendo have made it into the public domain. And it seems that the Switch is powered by an Nvidia Tegra X1 chipset. That’s the same CPU and GPU combination found in the Shield Android TV box.

The existing Shield K1 Tablet has, as the name suggests, a Tegra K1 processor inside, but Nvidia is heavily tipped to be announcing a replacement at CES 2017 in January, with the Tegra X1 running the show. So the Nintendo Switch might not be as unique as otherwise suggested.

But what does this mean for Nintendo’s next generation console?

While Nvidia has previously admitted that it is building the Switch’s chipset, it said that it was customised. The spec leak revealed by Eurogamer suggests that, custom built it may be, it’s still got similar properties to the existing Tegra X1.

• Nintendo Switch: Release date, price, specs and everything you need to know
• Nintendo Switch: Is this the NX console we’d hoped for?
• Nvidia Shield Android TV review: 4K and gaming meet in powerhouse box
• Nvidia Shield Tablet K1 review: The cost-effective gaming tablet

That means the Switch will have a 256-core Maxwell GPU, an octa-core processor and will be capable of running video in 4K at 60 frames per second. Weirdly though, the latter is unlikely as the Switch is said to have a HDMI 1.4 output which is only capable of Ultra HD video playback at 30fps.

The better news is that the report says the console becomes more than twice as powerful, in graphics terms, when docked. Eurogamer claims that undocked, the Switch’s GPU runs up to 307.2MHz. Docked, it is able to run up to 768MHz.

As the tablet part has a 720p display, it is speculated that developers might choose to improve resolution to 1080p when docked.

We’ll know all this for sure come the beginning of 2017 when Nintendo plans to officially reveal all.

Your 2016 Samsung 4K TV can now play YouTube HDR videos

Samsung has just announced it will be updating the YouTube app on all of its 2016 Quantum Dot and 4K Ultra HD TVs so that they will support HDR content.

• What is HDR, what TVs support HDR and what HDR content can I watch?

The update will automatically be installed over the air and you’ll know when it’s done because there will be a dedicated HDR section within the app and on YouTube’s 4K channel.

The update will be rolled out worldwide and at launch, there will be new content from some of YouTube’s most popular content creators. To help increase the amount of HDR content available, YouTube has set up two dedicated HDR studios in Los Angeles and New York, where YouTube content creators can go to make new videos.

Heather Thompson Rivera, Director of Product Partnerships at YouTube said: “By combining Samsung’s commitment to picture quality and our desire to offer the best content available, we will work together to build a strong ecosystem that improves HDR content creation and allows users to enjoy more diverse content in the best quality possible”.

HDR is the latest must-have TV technology. It works by making a picture even more lifelike and as the director intended, by improving the contrast ratio of an image. It helps to bring out subtle shadings and gradations to add an extra sense of depth.

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

Currently, the only way to get HDR content is via Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Ultra HD Blu-ray and YouTube. It’s hoped that one day we’ll be able to watch live TV with HDR thanks to Hybrid Log Gamma, a technology being developed by the BBC and Japanese broadcaster NHK.

Super Mario Run tips and tricks: Unlock secrets and beat the bosses

Nintendo finally launched a proper iPhone game, and it features possibly the most well-known hero to ever feature on a gaming console. Super Mario Run takes what’s familiar about the old Super Mario 2D platform games and makes it work on a vertical, all touch screen.

If you’ve just picked it up, or whether you’ve been playing it for days, here’s an in-depth list of things to try on the best-selling game since Pokemon Go.

Super Mario Run tips: General play

Wall jump: Jump towards a wall, then tap the screen again just as you’re about to hit the wall, and you’ll jump back the other way.

Midair spin: If you’re not quite going to reach the nearest platform after a jump, a midair spin can help slow your descent. Just tap on the screen while you’re in the air to spin.

Spin strike: Using the same technique as the midair spin while near an enemy is a great way to take them out.  

Midair stall: Playing as Mario, you can jump then swipe backwards when in the air and he’ll go backwards to stall your jump.

Vaulting jump: Some of your enemies can be vaulted over, your character will do it automatically. But you can also jump from them during a vault just by tapping the screen as you’re going over them. Doing this earns you more coins or more fans in the Toad Rally.

• Super Mario Run review: Is Mario on iPhone worth £8?
• Super Mario Run: How to play, how much does it cost and what phones and tablets is it on?

Climbing jump: While you can climb automatically, if you tap the screen during a climb you’ll perform a climbing jump which earns you lots of Toad fans in Toad Rally.

Rolling jump: When jumping from a high platform, your character will automatically roll to break his or her fall. If, however, you tap to jump mid-roll, you can earn extra fans in the Toad Rally.

Flutter jump: This move is unique to Yoshi. Just tap and hold the screen and he’ll flutter in the air for a little while. 

Floaty jump: As Princess Peach, tap and hold the screen to float short distances. 

Get big: Mario grows when he eats a red mushroom, so be sure to jump underneath the “?” boxes. Most of the time you’ll get a mushroom, although other power-ups are available. 

Press a switch: Some levels have either a blue or yellow switch. You need to jump while vaulting over it, or land on it, to activate the switch.

Extend your time limit: Some levels have a purple time block. Jump underneath it and hit it to add 10 seconds to your limit.

Activate Super Star: Some levels have a large red ring in them. Go through them, then collect the five consecutive red coins and you’ll activate Super Star. You’ll remember from the classic Mario games that this makes you invincible. It also draws in more coins and speeds you up.

Win bonus tickets for Toad Rally: In every level there are coloured coins as well as the usual gold ones. To begin with, you’ll find five pink coins, collect all five and you’ll win a bonus ticket for the Toad Rally and unlock the purple coins. Collect all five purple coins to unlock the black coins.  

Level up enemies: Every enemy type can be levelled up to give you more coins for killing them. Just meet the required amount (shown at the end of the levels) and you’ll start earning more for squishing those enemies.

Play bonus levels: You can play a bonus level every day. Just head to your kingdom and tap on the first building you placed when you went through the tutorial. 

Super Mario Run tips: Unlock characters and secret levels

Unlock secret levels: If you collect all five pink coins in every single level (120 in total), you’ll unlock access to a secret pink level. Collect all five purple coins in every level for access to the secret purple level, and collect all five black coins in every level for access to the secret black level.

Unlock Toad: All you need to do to unlock Toad is to link your My Nintendo account to the game, then you’ll be able to claim your free Toad reward.    

Unlock Luigi: To unlock Luigi, you’ll need to collect 150 green toads by playing Toad Rally, then purchase Luigi’s House in the shop. He’s worth it, because he jumps higher than his brother.

Unlock Princess Peach: Play the World Tour mode and beat every level and every boss available to unlock Princess Peach.

Unlock Yoshi: Collect 30 red toads and 30 yellow toads in Toad Rally and you’ll unlock the ability to buy Yoshi’s House. Buy Yoshi’s House from the shop and you’ll unlock Yoshi.

Unlock Toadette: Toadette is undoubtedly the hardest character to unlock in the game. You need to collect 200 red toads, 200 green toads and 200 blue toads in the Toad Rally. Once you have, you can head to the shop and buy Toadette’s House.

Super Mario Run tips: Beat the bosses

At the end of each world you have to duel it out with classic Mario bosses: Bowser and Boom Boom. The former of those has a shell which will kill you if you step on it, so you need to time a jump to go right over Bowser’s shell and land on the axe behind him. It’ll smash the platform he’s standing on and send him to his doom. 

Boom Boom is a little different, to defeat him you’ll need to make use of your wall jumping skills to bounce off a wall and land on his head. You have to land on it three times before he’s defeated. 

Super Mario Run tips: Settings and options

Improve battery life and performance: Head to your kingdom overview and tap Menu then Settings. Select “options” and then tap to reduce the graphics and rendering settings. The quality of the graphics and smoothness of animation will be reduced, but your power consumption will drop to help you save battery. 

Select a different character: After unlocking new characters, head to Menu then Notebook in your kingdom overview. Select “Characters” and choose which character you’d like to play as. 

Know your enemy: In the same Notebook menu you’ll find “Enemies”. Here you can see which enemies you’ve unlocked, and tap on any individual enemy to learn about them and any possible weaknesses. 

Super Mario Run tips

If there’s anything else you’ve discovered that you think is noteworthy, let us know in the comments.