Facebook names its favorite in-house hackathon projects

Facebook is ending 2016 by naming its favorite projects and products that came out of all the hackathons its offices worldwide hosted this year. One is a richer, more robust Safety Check: a team tweaked the feature (which was itself the product of a hackathon) to allow people to embed more context, pictures and calls to actions within notifications. Another team created sort of an extension for it that gave people a way to offer and look for resources such as food and water in emergency situations.

A hackathon in Seattle gave rise to instant verification for Android, which launched earlier this month. That feature verifies your number for apps and websites if it’s the same as the phone you’re using without having to wait for a verification code via SMS. There’s also another team in Seattle created a live-streaming experience within Messenger. The other entries in Facebook’s list are the Voyager transponder, created in an effort to make sure the world’s internet infrastructure can handle an increase in traffic going forward.

Finally, a team who participated at a hackathon in New York created a feature called “adaptive attachments,” which might give users a way to upload photos to a shared album, create crowdsourced videos and play multiplayer games simply by commenting on a post someday. Since hackathons produce so many great products (and potential features) for the social network, we’re pretty sure we’ll see more of them in 2017.

Source: Facebook

Joué’s MIDI controller adds tactile fun to music making

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) arrived in the ’80s to help digital instruments communicate with each other. Nowadays, with much of the action on computers, a new breed of MIDI controllers have emerged. Many of today’s designs include built-in pressure sensitivity to provide a semblance of analog expression when played, but Joué is a bit different. It was developed to free digital music artists from the lockstep confines of keyboards, button rows, glowing displays and marching lights, while providing modular flexibility and, above all, fun.

The name Joué, translated from French literally means “play” and can be interpreted as “I play,” and the company would like you to approach the device with an open and creative mind. It’s a USB-powered pressure sensitive board that works with a variety of soft — and occasionally squishy — pads that are detected and uniquely identified through embedded RFID tags. You map portions of each pad to any MIDI-capable program like Ableton Live, Apple Logic, Garage Band or iPad apps to help bring your music to life. They’re swappable on the fly and the tactile interfaces offer an alternative to high-tech distractions. The device is currently on Kickstarter to help the company move from industrial prototype to final product, and as usual, early bird deals are available. You can buy a Joué board and starter pack of pads for just over $300, with the eventual retail price expected to be under $500.

This product joins the market alongside several other well-known controllers. The Ableton Push is a popular device with a glowing grid of pads and onboard controls that let you run a live set with minimal glances at a laptop. Another similar product is the LinnStrument by legendary gear maker Roger Linn. This has a wood exterior like the Joué, but maintains a backlit grid interface. Roli, which offers a series of soft touch keyboards called Seaboard, has the closest similarity to the Joué pads, but is stuck with a keyboard layout that requires some skill to play — unless Chopsticks is the apex of achievement for you.

As a MIDI controller, Joué — or more particularly, each RFID-tracked pad — needs to be mapped to certain control parameters. It supports an emerging software standard called Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression (MPE), which allows more expressive parameters for each sound. Still, software support for MPE is limited, including Logic and Bitwig among its short list. Joué also supports up to 10 points of multitouch, so people can max out the usefulness with all 10 digits.

Joué’s pads will initially be sold in groups along with the Joué board, beginning with the Control Pack and Play Pack — their differences being how each set is aimed to be used. You can map any pad unit to any sound function essentially, but if you’re working with subtle adjustments and tweaks rather than playing a keyboard sequence, for instance, you’d probably choose the Control Pack.

This includes a Rounds pad, which has four raised circles that act as a sort of knob action, an Area one for filter sweeps in both X and Y directions and Strips for various linear adjustments like volume or pitch bends. In addition there’s the Pad, which is a four-by-four layout of squares for tapping out samples or drum sounds and finally Bubbles, which is one of the most enjoyable tactile designs. It has a series of squishy domes that you can mash, press and bend at will — an interface that embodies the ethos behind the Joué.

The Play Pack is easier to describe, consisting of the same Pad insert, along with a Synth (keyboard) layout, a Fretboard (guitar) and a Scaler (similar to a piano, without the black keys). These are geared towards musicians looking to play melodies or simulate guitar play. Although the Fretboard has simulated strings and frets, they’re simply tactile representations. All the “bending” of a string is read by the pressure sensitive board underneath, which does a decent job of impersonating the real thing.

The unit I briefly demoed was an industrial prototype, so although it had a well-crafted wood and metal exterior, the flexible pads were a bit rougher looking than the final units will be. I’m told they’ll be made of silicone, and since they’re technologically minimal (just an embedded RFID) they’ll be affordable when sold as add-ons (possibly less than $10 a pad).

The Joué team has also started experimenting with unique interfaces that lean more towards fun than functionality. Imagine a fabric coated design or a single pad with a 3.5-inch wide mushy dome. Into head banging or need stress relief through music? Go for it. In my brief experience, mushing these pads is one of the most enjoyable parts about playing with the Joué. My inner child was pleased.

This isn’t the first product that CEO Pascal Joguet has released. His first company, JazzMutant launched a multi-touch controller over a decade ago called the Lemur. A quick cruise through its listing of clients includes artists like Bjork, Richard Devine, M.I.A., Daft Punk and Orbital to name a few. The design was forward-thinking, but Joguet wanted to bring back the fun of playing music without dealing with the imposing technical hurdles that more complicated (albeit high functioning) devices were burdened with.

Joué aims to be affordable, approachable and fun to play, either on its own or as an addition to your production kit. It’s a lighthearted interface that can be enjoyed without too much visual focus. You can give your eyes a break, push the laptop aside and let its tactile prompts inform your musical creation. As Joguet said, “I don’t even need to use my eyes to play, my finger is the eye.” You can support Joué on Kickstarter through the middle of January.

Final image courtesy of Joué

2016 was a hard year to be an Apple fan

Tim Cook and the rest of Apple’s leadership will probably not look back fondly on 2016. iPhone sales declined for the first time, and Apple’s profits followed suit. There are still bright spots, like the company’s growing services business, and the company is still making insane amounts of money. Even so, the stalled growth has to be concerning to both the company and its investors.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to pity Apple. I’m here to commiserate with its fans, the ones who Apple shafted this year. Particularly those of us who waited all year long for a substantial update to the Mac lineup only to be offered a pair of intriguing but compromised new laptops. Or those of us who bought an iPhone 7 and can’t use the headphones included with it in our new MacBook Pro, or even those of us trying to figure out which iPad to buy.

Across the board, Apple has confusing product lineups with weird and unnecessary compromises. And if you believe the wailing of aggrieved fans across the internet, it seems like plenty of loyal Apple supporters might be contemplating life outside the company’s ecosystem. How did we get here?

The product that most exemplifies Apple’s difficulty in 2016 is the Mac. The Mac may only compose a small part of Apple’s overall business, but that doesn’t excuse the neglect it’s endured recently. For 10 full months, the only update was a processor refresh on the 12-inch MacBook. (OK, you can also buy it in pink now. Thanks, Apple.) The company’s main three machines — the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iMac — went untouched. That’s still the case for the iMac and MacBook Air; it’s hard to recommend that anyone buy them right now. And we all know what happened when the MacBook Pro was finally updated: A portal to the dongleverse was opened.

I’m not here to pity Apple. I’m here to commiserate with its fans, the ones who Apple shafted this year.

Yes, Apple had already released the 12-inch MacBook with just a single USB-C port. But that computer was designed with extreme portability in mind; it was a laptop inspired by the iPad. It’ll likely take the aging MacBook Air’s place in the lineup as the company’s entry-level Apple laptop. That was fine when the MacBook Pro and its many ports existed, but Apple has now made it clear it’s not interested in keeping any legacy I/O around, even for its “pro” customers. That’s an aggressive move, and one that has been met with widespread displeasure.

In a vacuum, there are plenty of things to like about the new MacBook Pro. The screen is excellent, the reductions in size and weight are welcome improvements, performance and audio quality are both improved, and even the controversial Touch Bar has potential. Other things, such as the redesigned keyboard, are a matter of personal preference, not a definitive drawback. But reduced battery life, the loss of physical function keys and only one type of port mean that many of the professionals Apple is targeting will need to change their workflow.

And that’s not even mentioning the price increases: It’ll cost you at least $1,799 to get a MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar. History suggests that prices of the new MacBook Pro will eventually drop as the old models are phased out, but there’s still some significant sticker shock here.

This confusing middle ground between old and new makes it hard to decide which MacBook Pro is the best for a given shopper. Is your $1,499 better spent on the previous-generation model or the new one? If you opt for the new model, you get a piddly two ports and no Touch Bar, while opting for last year’s computer gets you all the ports you could want but in a heavier package with an older processor and worse screen. My guess is that lots of people will decide not to make a purchase instead of being forced to compromise one way or another. The new entry-level MacBook Pro would be a great step up from the MacBook Air for a lot of users — but the $500 separating the two computers is a difficult gap to close.

The most frustrating thing about all of this is that Apple could have silenced its critics by simply including a USB 3 port and not removing the SD reader. Space may be at a premium on this new device, but I’d be willing to bet that many potential buyers would be happy to give up two of the four USB-C ports in exchange for those legacy connections. But that wouldn’t be a “courageous” move now, would it? Hell, Apple could even throw us the smallest of bones by including a USB 3 to USB-C dongle in the box so users can charge their iPhones without any further hassle.

Speaking of the iPhone, let’s go over that headphone situation one more time. Putting aside Schiller’s ridiculous “courage” line, it’s not unreasonable to wonder if we can evolve beyond the headphone jack. No other port has been immune to the march of time, and Apple probably has the data to show that most iPhone buyers use the included headphones. In theory, switching to the included Lightning headphones wouldn’t be a big deal, and there’s a dongle in there if you have a nice pair you want to keep using. What’s the harm?

Just as with the MacBook Pro, the problem is making consumers change their routines without a clear benefit. Apple executives gave a few rare interviews about the headphone jack decision when the iPhone 7 first came out, but the rationale mostly came down to using the limited space inside the iPhone for more useful technology, such as water resistance, a bigger battery and better cameras. Those are indeed great features to add to the iPhone. But they’re also table stakes at this point. It’s easy to forget that before the Galaxy Note 7 started exploding, Samsung had closed basically all the hardware gaps between its offerings and the iPhone, which means these updates were necessary, not revolutionary. And without also presenting an improved headphone solution, it’s hard to not feel like something was lost in this move.

Adding insult to injury, Apple did come up with an improved wireless-headphone experience: AirPods are much simpler to use than your average Bluetooth headset. But the price and mediocre audio quality make them a tough sell, and Apple didn’t even manage to have the headphones out on time. They only just hit the Apple Store a few weeks ago, and they’ll be in short supply for a good long time. They should have been ready to go alongside the iPhone 7, but Apple’s latest handset has been on the market for nearly three months without its companion wireless earphones. That’s a major tactical blunder.

Many of Apple’s more fervent supporters have scoffed at the notion that Apple is floundering a bit. After all, the company’s bottom line grew for 15 years: It clearly knows how to build products that resonate. But there’s been a growing chorus of unhappy fans who say that Apple doesn’t have the same eye for detail as it used to. Some point to the goofy charging experiences for the new Apple Mouse and Pencil as design decisions that Steve Jobs never would have allowed.

For me, it’s this new world of dongles that I’d have to use to make a new MacBook Pro work the way I need it to. Something isn’t right when the MacBook Air, which hasn’t substantially changed in design for five years, is still better for my needs than the brand-new MacBook Pro. I’d happily open my wallet and pay $1,799 for that new computer if it had an SD slot and a full-sized USB port. Part of me feels like those are tiny things to quibble over when weighed against the improvements — I’m dying for a better display at this point — but we all have to draw the line somewhere.

For others, that line might be the missing headphone jack, the late AirPods, the lack of substantial Mac updates (the Mac Pro hasn’t been touched for three years), the confusing iPad lineup, the lackluster Apple Watch reception or any other chink in Apple’s armor. Apple fans were sold on the promise that “it just works.” When that stops being the case, it’s much easier to start looking at competitors like Microsoft and Google. And that won’t help Apple make 2017 a better year.

Check out all of Engadget’s year-in-review coverage right here.

Duolingo’s clubs make language learning a competition

Duolingo debuted chat bots to help you learn a new language back in October, but now the company is looking to offer a bit more human interaction. Today, it introduced a new feature called Language Clubs so you can band together with friends and other users who are attempting to tackle another language. Think of it like how you compare accomplishments with your friends in fitness apps and you’ll get the idea.

Inside the Duolingo apps for Android and iOS, the company now offers users the option of joining a group where you’ll see a shared news feed that lists members’ accomplishments. There’s a weekly leaderboard as well, because bragging rights are always a good motivator. Language Clubs are available in 20 different languages just in time to offer some added incentive for you to keep that New Year’s resolution.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: App Store

Nintendo tackles 3DS piracy with ‘freeShop’ takedown

Homebrew software designed to imitate the Nintendo eShop has been issued a takedown notice by the house of Mario. FreeShop allows 3DS owners to browse, search and download games using “titlekeys,” a form of encryption employed by Nintendo for its online store. As Kotaku reports, it was sold as a way for people to download games that they had already bought. While that may be true, it also enabled piracy through large-scale titlekey sharing. A quick search and you’ll find plenty of titlekey databases online, as well as video walkthroughs explaining how to use them.

If you head to the freeShop listing on GitHub, you’ll now be greeted with a DMCA takedown notice. The full version detailing Nintendo perceived infringements can be read here. It says: “Nintendo encrypts the game files available from its eShop servers to prevent users from accessing those files without paying for them. Nintendo believes the freeShop application circumvents Nintendo’s protection measures by decrypting the game files accessible from its eShop servers, allowing freeShop users to access and play Nintendo’s eShop games for free.” It’s unclear if the takedown will affect people who already have the software installed, however.

Nintendo is known for its aggressive stance on copyright. The company is quick to issue takedown notices for fan-made video games such as Pokemon Uranium and Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R), both of which were nominated (and subsequently disqualified) for The Game Awards. An online collection of Nintendo Power magazines disappeared in August, almost certainly because Nintendo caught wind of its existence. The company has a divisive stance on YouTube videos too, demanding substantial ad revenue for uploads that contain footage of its games. FreeShop’s recent takedown was, therefore, inevitable, though we wouldn’t be surprised if fans find a way to host it elsewhere.

Via: Kotaku

Source: Freeshop (GitHub)

New Report Delves Into Inner Workings of Foxconn’s Zhengzhou iPhone Plant

In a lengthy new article posted online today, The New York Times has delved into the inner workings of Foxconn’s major iPhone manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou, China, referred to locally as “iPhone City.” The article describes how the facility became one of Apple’s major global manufacturing plants, as well as the “hidden bounty of perks, tax breaks, and subsidies” uncovered behind the scenes of Foxconn’s operations — negotiations Apple said it is “not a party to.”

Looking at the origins of Apple’s move to production overseas, the article first details Steve Jobs’ decision to manufacture the Macintosh in its facilities in Texas and California in the mid-1980s. Following the company’s financial slump in the 1990s, Jobs upon his return made the decision to outsource production in places like China. Partnerships with the likes of Foxconn provided Apple with the “heft and expertise” to create products, including the original iPod, on a massive scale.

Workers leaving the Foxconn factory

When Apple’s sales took off after the introduction of the iPod in 2001, Foxconn had the heft and expertise to meet the demand that accompanied each hit product. Foxconn’s factories could quickly produce prototypes, increase production and, during peak periods, hire hundreds of thousands of workers.

“They have brilliant tooling engineers, and they were willing to invest a lot to keep pace with Apple’s growth,” said Joe O’Sullivan, a former Apple executive who worked in Asia.

As the launch of the iPhone approached, Foxconn began scouting locations for a new facility around China and created an Olympic-level competition among cities to be the home of its new plant. Officials from various cities offered perks like discounted energy and transportation costs, lower social insurance payments, and over $1.5 billion in grants for factory construction and dorms for workers. After Zhengzhou was chosen, it only took a few months between the signing of the deal and the launch of assembly lines in August 2010.

The city created a special economic zone for the project and provided a $250 million loan to Foxconn. The local government also pledged to spend more than $10 billion to vastly expand the airport, just a few miles away from the factory.

“I was impressed,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer, who was part of the early discussions about setting up a factory. “They were very focused.”

To create its cohesive export system, Foxconn insisted that the Zhengzhou facility be located within a “bonded zone.” This allowed Foxconn to bypass China’s stringent restrictions on foreign manufacturing and directly import and export iPhone components, which was further expedited thanks to the facility’s purposeful proximity to a nearby airport.

The iPhone plant continued to ramp up, and in 2014 included 94 production lines for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5s, with an estimated 230 million smartphones having been exported from Zhengzhou in the years it had been open. The government referred to it as “one of the nation’s crucial export centers.” With all of the work came a labor force “the size of a national army,” who relied heavily on government subsidies and produced 500,000 iPhones a day at peak.

A crushing work force begins arriving for the early shift at 6:30 a.m. They travel by foot, by bus, by motor scooter and even by pedicab. They file steadily into dozens of factory sites, spread out across 2.2 square miles. At the peak, some 350,000 workers assemble, test and package iPhones — up to 350 a minute.

The government pays recruiters a subsidy for every worker they hire, Mr. Liu said. “If the demand is high, then they will pay more,” he said. “If the demand is low, then the payment will be low, too.”

One of the other major topics of the article centered around the help that Foxconn has received from the Chinese government in return for providing its services to Zhengzhou’s financial and political surge over the years. Foxconn is said to receive a bonus for each export target it reaches, according to government records discovered by The New York Times, with subsidies totaling $56 million in the factory’s first two years of iPhone manufacturing.

Foxconn, in a separate statement, said it was grateful for the support of the government, noting that it was “no different than similar tax breaks all companies get in locations around the world for major investments.”

In response to questions, Apple said it was aware of the government’s infrastructure support. But the company added that it had no knowledge of specific grants, subsidies or tax breaks given to its manufacturing partner.

Foxconn remains a loyal partner in Apple’s manufacturing processes to this day, most recently considering expansion into the United States and gearing up to be a major supplier of the 2017 iPhone.

The rest of The New York Times’ findings, discovered through over 100 interviews with factory workers, logistics handlers, truck drivers, tax specialists and current and former Apple executives, can be read in the full coverage here.

Tags: China, Foxconn
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You can now pre-register for Super Mario Run on Android!

Mario Mario and his brother, Luigi Mario.

It looks like the temporary exclusive between Nintendo and Apple for Super Mario Run is coming to an end, which means you’ll soon be able to enjoy the latest punch to the nostalgia on your Android phone. That means everyone not quite satisfied with playing emulated Mario on phones can soon enjoy the portrait-only, single button, competitive online version of Mario inspired by everything you remember from your childhood. All you need to do now is pre-register and wait, which is totally different from the waiting you were already doing right?

Super Mario Run exploded onto iOS recently, quickly becoming the highest grossing mobile game and holding that title for about a week. The game gives you access to the first three levels in the first world for free, but asks you to pay $10 to access the rest of the game. Whether this experience deserves your money is entirely up to you, but the more you play the game the more you earn race tickets, which allows you to compete directly against other Super Mario Run players to see who can grab the most coins before time runs out. If you have a lot of friends playing the game with you, this part of Super Mario Run quickly becomes addictive.

Head to the Play Store to pre-register for Super Mario Run if you want in on the game as soon as it becomes available!

Xiaomi Mi Box review: Good price doesn’t mean great value

Xiaomi offers the least expensive full Android TV experience, and it comes with compromises.

The Android TV marketplace is … sparse. Though there are plenty of happy customers out there using the old Nexus Player or the high-end Shield Android TV, there just isn’t a vibrant grouping of choices in the same way you can find an Android phone to fit every want and need. Companies don’t see value in making an Android TV box that isn’t likely to sell in big numbers, particularly as Chromecast continues to eat away at the low end.

Enter Xiaomi with the Mi Box: a small, nondescript black box offering a full Android TV experience, 4K HDR video and a remote for just $69 — easily the lowest price for one of these devices running a fully sanctioned version of Android TV. Xiaomi has seen some success selling multiple generations of set top boxes under the Mi Box brand running its own customized version of Android adapted to the big screen, but this is its first swing at using Google’s proper TV-focused version of Android. And at the same time it’s one of only a handful of products it actually sells in the U.S.

Google clearly needs as many companies making Android TV devices as it can get, and Xiaomi would love to expand its brand presence in the U.S., so on the face of it this makes for a great partnership. But does the Xiaomi Mi Box with Android TV live up to the expectations of being “the box to get” — and crucially chosen over the Chromecast Ultra — for Android fans out there? The answer is in this review.

Gets the job done

Xiaomi Mi Box Hardware and accessories

The Mi Box is small and unassuming, and that’s just fine with me. Coming in black with a lightly textured plastic exterior, there’s nothing exciting here. At just 101 mm square it isn’t much larger than the Qi charging pad next to it in my entertainment center. It’s small enough that you could easily get away with stashing it behind another box or even double-sided taping it to the back of the TV if needed.

The little rounded square sits up off of any flat surface with a rubberized ring that keeps the relatively light box from sliding around from the bends of stiff cables. The ports are all hidden nicely on the back, and the only thing aside from that on the box is a small “Mi” logo on the top and a very faint white LED on the front edge indicating that the box is awake.

Xiaomi’s remote gets the job done, though it isn’t as sleek or nice as the one you get in the (over twice as expensive) NVIDIA Shield Android TV. A circular directional pad with a button highlights the top while standard Android TV controls and a volume rocker sit underneath it. The remote is Bluetooth, of course, and runs on two AAA batteries that are included in the box. The one big downside for me here is that the remote doesn’t offer a 3.5 mm headphone jack for plugging in headphones for personal listening, which is something you get with boxes like the Roku 4 and Shield Android TV — then again, the Mi Box is less expensive too.

The cables are on the short side, but at least they’re included.

When it comes to cables, things are as basic as the box itself. The Mi Box ships with an HDMI cable in the box (unlike Amazon’s Fire TV) though the cable itself is only about three feet long. The power cord is an integrated unit with a relatively large brick on the outlet end and a barrel connector on the box’s end — the cord is also about three feet in length. Considering how inexpensive HDMI cables are it’s hard to complain about having a short one in the box, but the short power cord without a standard connector (like USB-C or even Micro-USB) can hamstring the possibilities of placing the box around your entertainment center setup.

Every set top streamer is going to have its little hardware quirks, and the Mi Box overall isn’t at any real disadvantage compared to the rest. For most people, simply plugging in the two included cables will be the only physical interaction they have with the Mi Box for months. And the one part of the experience you actually touch, the remote, feels nice enough and performs its intended functions perfectly.

Coming up short on 4K

Xiaomi Mi Box Software and experience

One of the strong suits of Android TV is that it’s nearly identical across boxes and TV sets that run the software. The idea is that you can pick up the remote to any Android TV device and navigate around freely, save for a few changes in the settings (for specific device functions). Xiaomi, like other Android TV makers, offers a “Mi Box recommends” section on the home screen showing some content apps that you’ve heard of before, but that’s it in terms of customizations.

Android TV really doesn’t get enough credit for what it does well.

Android TV still doesn’t offer a massive collection of apps, but all of the mainstays are here — Netflix, Hulu, Fox Sports, ESPN, Sling TV, Vudu, Pandora, CBS, Showtime, HBO Go, Plex, VLC … the list of big names goes on. It is also a fantastic portal for Google’s own media services, including YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV and Google Play Music. It’s all enhanced further by the inclusion of Google Cast support, with tons of additional content offerings there. Though the Mi Box supports Bluetooth game controllers the game offerings just aren’t there on Android TV — but to be fair the likes of the Fire TV haven’t taken the gaming world by storm either.

I don’t think Android TV gets enough credit for being a really good-looking and easy-to-use interface with most of the big-name apps that the average person is looking for. And when it’s paired with the right hardware I’d take it over the competition, especially if you’re at all hooked into the Google services ecosystem.

Inside the Mi Box is a very run-of-the-mill spec arrangement, with a 2GHz quad-core (Cortex-A53) processor, 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage — the latter of which capable of being expanded via a full-sized USB-A port on the back. That’s all about in line with what you get from other set top boxes in this price range, but unfortunately that hardware can’t provide a great experience when displaying content at its full advertised 4K resolution.

As I touched on separately before writing this full review, the Mi Box really chugs along when you leave it set to its default 4K resolution. It seems as though the hardware should be able to handle it, but somewhere along the line between that hardware and the software optimization it just can’t keep up a smooth frame rate in the same way that the Chromecast Ultra can. Things smooth out and work just fine when you set it to 1080p, and that’s probably fine for most people who don’t have a 4K TV let alone 4K content to watch, but for a box that’s marketed as supporting 4K resolution it’s a real bummer to admit defeat and lock it down to a lower resolution.

The one other software shortcoming on the Mi Box seems to be an exacerbation of an overall Android TV problem in that it doesn’t do a great job of automatically sleeping and waking up on its own. In what seems like an admission of the problem, unlike some other Android TV boxes the Mi Box actually has a “power” button on it, which you can press to forcibly sleep the box and then press again to wake it explicitly. If you don’t sleep the Mi Box it stays available all the time as a Google Cast target, which is good, but at the same time it also seems to randomly wake itself — and because of HDMI-CEC, it will turn on your TV in the process. After a few nights of waking up to my TV turning on to the Android TV interface, I started forcing it to sleep with the remote when I was done using it.

In an awkward position

Xiaomi Mi Box Bottom line

The addressable market for the Mi Box is much smaller than I originally thought when the box was first announced. At the same price as the new Chromecast Ultra, fans of the Google ecosystem will be better served by Google’s own streamer that offers more consistent performance and simpler setup. If the Chromecast Ultra’s lack of a physical remote is a shortcoming (which it undoubtably is for many), there are other options out there. For $20 more you could get Amazon’s Fire TV with better performance, near-identical content offerings and also a full remote, or a Roku 4 with similar characteristics. For $30 less than the Mi Box you could snag the simpler Fire TV Stick with a remote, or Roku’s Streaming Stick competitor.

The Mi Box sits in a weird middle ground; one that doesn’t have many potential customers.

That puts the Mi Box in a weird middle ground, where it only really appeals to diehard Android fans who love Android TV itself, shunning boxes and sticks from Amazon and Roku, but also don’t want to lay out the cash for something like the NVIDIA Shield Android TV (or its expected 2017 successor). Because if you look just at performance and interaction with Google’s ecosystem, the Chromecast Ultra is a better bet; and if you look at performance and availability of a remote while also having almost the exact same content offerings, Amazon and Roku offer better choices.

More: Where to buy the Xiaomi Mi Box

Xiaomi’s Mi Box is a very interesting offering that can succeed as a low-selling streamer that appeals to those who want Android TV exclusively and don’t want to pay much for it. But as the flag-bearer that is the only recently released Android TV box, it lets down the ecosystem with its inconsistent performance and will not steal many customers away from Amazon, Roku and Google itself.

See at Walmart

Best apps to download on a new Android phone

These are the apps you should immediately download on your new Android phone!

If you or someone you know just got their first Android phone, firstly… congratulations! Regardless which make or model you’re using, you’ve got a very capable and customizable device, and it all starts with the apps found in the Google Play Store.

Google includes the full suite of very valuable apps which include Gmail, YouTube, Google Play Music, and Google Photos, but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite apps that we think you should consider when you’re just starting out.

• Authy 2-Factor Authentication
• Gboard – The Google Keyboard
• Kindle
• Netflix
• Nova Launcher
• Pocket Casts
• Pushbullet
• Spotify
• Solid Explorer
• TheScore
• Uber
• Weather Underground

Authy 2-Factor Authentication

Securing your devices and accounts is very important, and no one does two-factor authentication better than the folks at Authy.

If you’re unfamiliar with the process, two-factor authentication adds another layer of security by creating six-digit tokens that expire every 60 seconds. This extra layer of security will keep you safe from hackers and account hijackers and, best of all, Authy is free and supports most major multi-factor authentication accounts including Facebook, Dropbox, Amazon, Gmail, and thousands of other providers.

Download: Authy (Free)

Gboard – The Google Keyboard

There are a bunch of great keyboards available for Android, but the best of the best is currently Gboard, Google’s own keyboard.

Gboard is completely free, supports gesture typing for both individual words and entire sentences, a bounty of languages, and a modest choice of themes.

Gboard employs Google’s own speech-to-text engine for voice dictation, and while it might not be the best at predictive text, it does learn from your typed data across Google’s apps and services. Gboard has pretty much every feature you’d want from a touch keyboard, including the ability to quickly search Google from virtually anywhere in your phone. It’s fast, reliable, and minimalist, with theme options to tweak in the settings.

Download: Gboard – The Google Keyboard (Free)

Kindle

Book lovers who have made the switch to digital materials already know about the eponymous e-readers, but Kindle’s app for Android lets you access all your favorite books from Amazon’s e-book catalogue right from your phone, without having to lug another piece of tech around with you everywhere.

There are millions of titles available via Amazon, which include magazines and newspapers. There are thousands of public domain classics available, and you may even be able to check out e-books from your local library. Take advantage of reading in the digital age and customize your reading experience by adjusting font sizes, screen brightness and background color, while searching and dictionary functions built right into the app are perfect study tools for students working on essays and book reports.

Download: Kindle (Free)

Netflix

It’s ubiquitous in our culture these days, and an absolute must-have for pretty much any device you own. In short, Netflix has come to exemplify how millions of people unwind and keep themselves entertained.

The Netflix app for Android lets you watch all your favorite shows using your phone data or when connected to Wi-Fi, with a recent update allowing for offline viewing of a large swath of the service’s content. You’ll also find full compatibility with Chromecast, allowing you to use your phone as a remote to control things while casting your favorite shows and movies to your TV. A subscription is required, but you probably know someone with a login you can borrow if $10 a month is too rich for your blood.

Download: Netflix (Free)

Nova Launcher

One of the best parts of using Android is the sheer amount of customization that’s available to you — if you’re willing to put in a little bit of work to do it. Android phones come with a manufacturer’s default launcher pre-installed, but if you’re looking for something different, Nova Launcher is a great option for theming and customizing your phone to reflect your personality, or your favorite shows or hobbies.

Nova Launcher lets you change icons, layouts, animations and more to completely tweak almost every aspect of your phone’s look and feel to your exact specifications. We’ve included a link to the free version of Nova Launcher below, but if you’re serious about theming, you’ll want to check out the paid version. You’ll also want to keep it locked on the Android Central home page, as we frequently post theming how-tos that give you step-by-step instructions for keeping your phone looking fresh and cool, like this recent article on Star Wars themes.

Download:
Nova Launcher (Free)

Pocket Casts

Podcasts are amazing, and Pocket Casts makes listening to podcasts even better. While you might scoff at paying money for a podcast app when Google Play Music and Spotify do the same for free, the folks behind Pocket Casts have incorporated some really smart features that you need to know about.

For one, they’ve got this feature that trims out the silence in all the podcasts you listen to, and if you’re a heavy listener, that time will really add up fast. Other features include a smart volume boost which increases the volume for voices while keeping background noise to a minimum, full integration with Android Auto and Android Wear, and cloud-based subscriptions and playback, so you can sync your podcasts between your phone and the web service or (more importantly) keep all your subscriptions when you switch over to a new phone.

Download: Pocket Casts ($3.99)

Pushbullet

Pushbullet lets you receive your phone notifications on your computer, so you don’t have to constantly check your phone every time you feel the buzz. Anyone who works with a computer for a living knows how distracting checking your phone can be.

Pushbullet not only lets you see who’s trying to contact you — via text and phone call, but also supporting popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Kik and Facebook Messenger — and lets you respond with your computer’s keyboard. So, not only will you never miss a notification, you’ll be able to quickly respond to the important stuff and dismiss the less-important stuff for later.

Download: Pushbullet (Free)

Spotify

Millions of people have made Spotify their go-to source for all their music, and for good reason. You’re able to listen to a shuffled mix of music from nearly any artist or band for free, but the real fun begins when you sign up for Spotify Premium.

Not only does Spotify Premium provide better sound quality, it also removes ads and lets you play any song by any artist when you want across all your devices. You can also build and share playlists with friends and family, along with an option to download music to your device for offline listening. And then there’s other smart features like Discover Weekly, which curates a playlist of new music Spotify knows you’ll love based on the bands and genres you listen to on the regular.

Download: Spotify (Free)

Solid Explorer

You don’t have to root your Android phone to conveniently access files on your phone. Solid Explorer lets you do all that and much more, though you’ll need to play to unlock the full version.

Solid Explorer lets you organize and manage all your files, including those stored in cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and more. You’ll be able to read and extract .zip, .rar, and other compressed file formats, along with options of creating password-protected folders and .zip files within the app. And if you do decide to root your phone, you’ll be able to use Solid Explorer to browse your system files with ease.

You can try Solid Explorer on a trial basis for 14 days before having to pony up for the full version.

Download: Solid Explorer (Free Trial)

theScore

Sports fans need to know the score at all times, and there’s no better sports app out there than theScore. They’ve got full up-to-the-minute coverage for all the major sports leagues, including NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA Football, NHL, English Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, World Cup and all major sports and competitions. You can personalize your feed to only include the sports and/or teams you’re interested in, so you’re never bothered by a score for a game you’re not interested in.

Pair this with alerts for goals, key moments, final scores and breaking news and with one app you’re never more than a quick glance away from the absolute latest, up-to-date information. It bills itself as “real time, all the time” and that’s probably the best way to think about it.

Download: theScore (Free)

Uber

Uber is taking the world by storm and changing the way people think about getting around. Whether or not you’ve used Uber seems to depend on it’s legal status in your city, or how frequently you travel. The taxicab industry is furious because Uber has jumped in with its ridesharing app and service that makes it way easier to get a ride somewhere.

Simply download the app, plug in your credit card or PayPal details, and you’re ready to hail an Uber car to wherever you are. You can determine your fare estimation before requesting a car, and you’ll be able to see details about the car and driver coming to get you an watch for their arrival on the app map as you wait. There’s also different levels of service, from UberPool in which you share your ride with other riders for a cheaper fair, or UberBlack for a more upscale experience.

Download: Uber (Free)

Weather Underground

Weather Underground provides the most accurate hyper-local weather forecasts right on your phone, with interactive radars, satellite maps and severe weather alerts included so you always know what’s on the way.

At a glance, you’ll be able to view current temperature and conditions from your local weather station include temperature, wind speed & direction, humidity, dew point and visibility. Weather Underground also makes use of crowd reporting, fostering a community of weather enthusiasts who report live data from weather stations in their own backyards, with this crowd-sourced data generates forecasts that are targeted to your precise location. You’ll also enjoy the option of customizable widgets, so you don’t even need to launch the app to see your local weather conditions.

Download: Weather Underground(Free)

What are your suggestions?

These are our picks that would make up our Android app starter pack — what would be in yours? Let us know in the comments!

Save huge on Transcend flash memory in this Amazon Gold Box Deal!

Flash sale for flash storage!

Get a shiny new Samsung Galaxy S7 or HTC 10 for Christmas? Amazon and Transcend have you covered in today’s Gold Box deal with deals on microSD cards and flash storage!

The bulk of today’s deal is Lightning-port flash drives for our friends on the other side of the mobile ecosystem, but there are also a smattering of microSD, SD, and SSDs for the rest of us. As with most Gold Box deals, they’re likely not going to last long, so if you need a microSD card for any new toys, you better get over to this deal and pull the trigger before it’s gone. Here are some of the deals you can take advantage of:

• Transcend 64GB UHS-1 microSD card – $14

• Transcend 128GB UHS-1 microSD card – $34

• Transcend 480 GB TLC SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5″ Solid State Drive – $87

See at Amazon