Apple’s Ability to Hire Foreign Workers May Be Impacted by Trump Overhaul of Work-Visa Programs
United States President Donald Trump and his administration have drafted an executive order that intends to overhaul the work-visa programs that various technology companies — including Apple — rely on to hire tens of thousands of employees each year.
According to a draft of the order acquired by Bloomberg, affected visa programs include L-1, E-2, and B1. Directly affecting tech companies is H-1B, which lets companies like Apple hire appropriately skilled workers for specific jobs when there is a dearth of local talent available.
Falling in line with Trump’s “America first” intentions, which previously ignited reports of Apple turning to U.S.-based iPhone manufacturing, the order explains that the country’s policy on immigration should not give priority to foreign workers. Its intent aims to prioritize and protect American workers, as well as their current and future jobs.
“Our country’s immigration policies should be designed and implemented to serve, first and foremost, the U.S. national interest,” the draft proposal reads, according to a copy reviewed by Bloomberg. “Visa programs for foreign workers … should be administered in a manner that protects the civil rights of American workers and current lawful residents, and that prioritizes the protection of American workers — our forgotten working people — and the jobs they hold.”
Although some companies use the visa programs to find high-skilled talent overseas, Bloomberg notes that allegations in recent years have claimed that the system can be abused to simply hire workers at a cheaper rate “to fill jobs that otherwise may go to Americans.” Outsourced workers in India are said to be the main targets of the H-1B visa, filling in the technology departments of large corporations “with largely imported staff.”
Since the executive order is only in the drafting stages, it’s not yet clear how much force or backing it would receive if made official. According to Ron Hira, an associate professor at Howard University, companies who potentially use the work-visa programs to hire cheap labor will be affected most, likely ending up having to pay more to their employees if the order is signed. Companies using the programs to legally hire skilled workers may be able to find alternative visas elsewhere, but the intent to make the process more difficult is clear.
“If firms are using the program for cheap labor, I think it will affect them and they will have to pay workers more,” said Ron Hira, an associate professor at Howard University. “If tech firms are using the program for specialized labor, they may find there are more visas available.”
If made official, Trump’s order would cap workers who can enter the U.S. each year at 85,000, including educated workers with college degrees. According to the most recent data available, workers with H-1B visas at companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are paid more than $100,000 per year, while outsourcing firms reportedly intent on hiring for quantity over quality are said to pay workers less than $70,000 annually.
Trump’s order aims to bring transparency to these issues, with the intent to publish reports “with basic statistics on who uses the immigration programs within one month of the end of the government’s fiscal year.”
Today’s news comes a few days after Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to the immigration executive order signed by Trump on Friday, which left refugees and immigrants stranded at airports around the country over the weekend. In a letter to employees, Cook said that Trump’s order is “not a policy we support,” and that the company has “reached out to the White House to explain the negative effect on our coworkers and our company.”
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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Xiaomi Mi Mix review
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Xiaomi Mi Mix
This is the Xiaomi Mi Mix, and you’re allowed to say “wow.” It may look like concept phone, a vision of the future, but you can actually buy it right now. The most striking feature is the almost bezel-less screen, which takes up almost the entire front of the device, and extends right up into the top corners. The technology to make this possible is amazing, but has Xiaomi come up with a usable phone that represents the future of smartphone design? We’ve been finding out.
Drop dead gorgeous
You can’t stop staring at the Mi Mix. It’s beautiful in a way that other smartphones simply aren’t. Designs tend to follow the same trend, and although other phones may be attractive, they don’t even come close to the pure visual excitement generated by the Mi Mix. Why? Because it’s all screen. The 6.4-inch IPS LCD has an unusual 17:9 aspect ratio and covers more than 90 percent of the front panel. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge manages 76 percent screen. A 14 percent difference may not sound much, but just look at the pictures. It’s an absolute world away from the S7 Edge. Look at the top corners, for instance. They don’t end in a right angle, but actually curve with the body. It’s not visual trickery either, the edge of the screen is really curved.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
The Mi Mix is otherwise a very simple shape, and its glorious minimalism doesn’t stand out until you start examining the subtleties, from the “Mix designed by Mi” wording on the back, to the absolute lack of speakers or sensors on the front. Instead, the speaker is behind the screen itself and uses specially designed piezoelectric technology to transmit sound to your ear. Xiaomi has taken away the regular proximity sensor, too, making way for an ultrasonic module, which is located behind the screen. The Mi Mix isn’t all looks, it’s also an impressive technical achievement.
More: Xiaomi Redmi Pro review
The body is superbly built. It’s made from ceramic, rather than metal and glass. Our review model came in glossy black, but Xiaomi now makes a white version, too. It’s stunning, but unless you carry a cloth around with you, or wear white gloves like you’re cradling a priceless artefact every time you pick the phone up, it’s going to get covered in fingerprints and smudges. Really, really covered.
The Mi Mix isn’t all looks, it’s also an impressive technical achievement.
Fingerprints aren’t the only problem. The Mi Mix is so slippery, it’s like it’s actively trying to escape. No matter how you hold it, it slips, wriggles, and slides around in a continuous bid for freedom. The ceramic body offers no resistance, and there’s no texture or ridges down the side. Engage in just about any activity from taking photos to checking your email, and you run the gauntlet of the Mi Mix taking a dive. It’s almost essential to wrap the phone up in a case, unless you like the feeling that an awfully expensive accident is about to happen every second of the day.
Not to worry, owning the Mi Mix is like having a partner you absolutely adore. You’ll make ridiculous concessions just to be with them. We’ve taken to wearing a pair of grippy rubber kitchen gloves all the time. No more fingerprints, and no more worrying about accidents. Sure, people stare when you wear the pink ones, but when the Mi Mix is in your hand, you’ll be so smitten you won’t care.
Stellar performance
Our Mi Mix came with 6GB of RAM and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor running at 2.35GHz, but when clearing the RAM, only about 4GB of RAM was ever listed as available for use by apps. A cheaper alternative model with 4GB of RAM as standard is also available, but you won’t get the 18k gold accents around the camera lens and fingerprint sensor, either.
The Snapdragon 821 chip has proved to be an excellent performer, and we’ve enjoyed using it before in the OnePlus 3T and the Google Pixel phones. It’s equally superb here, keeping the operating system zipping along, making web browsing and app use fast and fault free, plus it has superb gaming ability.
Games are more fun on the Mi Mix’s big, bright, and beautiful screen. I hesitate to say more immersive, because it doesn’t seem possible; but the right game is definitely more engrossing here. Danmaku Unlimited, an all-action bullet-hell game, plays beautifully in HD on Hard mode; yet despite being a game I’ve played many times, it was just that little bit more exciting, due to the Mi Mix’s combination of no bezel and a large screen size.
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
Xiaomi hasn’t gone mad with the display, opting for an IPS LCD panel and a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution. It doesn’t suck the battery dry in moments, and is perfect for online video. Watch YouTube, tap the fullscreen button, and videos take up the whole of the display, curved corners included, rather than being squeezed down into an unusual format, or not supporting the full display. It’s a real treat.
Put the Mi Mix through a couple of benchmark tests, and AnTuTu 3D gives it an incredible 153,637, putting it in the top five overall results. Xiaomi has stuffed a whopping 4,400mAh battery inside the Mi Mix, which by most modern standards, is huge. It’s an equally large benefit, too, and we easy got two days regular use out of the phone before feeling the need to plug it in the charger. This was more down to battery anxiety than any alerts the phone sent out.
More: Facebook’s new head of virtual reality is former Xiaomi, Google man Hugo Barra
In case it’s not obvious, there’s more than enough power, energy, and speed for everyone inside the Mi Mix.
Highly customized Android Marshmallow
Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the Mi Mix has Android 6.0 Marshmallow installed. It’s not the latest version 7.0 Nougat, mainly due to MIUI, Xiaomi’s own user interface. It modifies Android extensively, to the point where Android Pay won’t work because it considers MIUI a custom version of the operating system.
Does the interface make it unpleasant? Not really. Version 8 of MIUI is installed, and our imported version came with Google Play all ready to go. That means you don’t have to deal with Xiaomi’s app store, and can install all the usual Google apps — from Maps to YouTube — directly from Play. Early setup takes a while, but we’ve never had any issues with installation or updates on a Xiaomi device.
Our review model came with a selection of pre-installed Xiaomi tools — including a QR code scanner, a compass app, a voice recorder, and the usual contacts, mail, music, file explorer, and calendar apps — but that’s all. Standard phone operation is dealt with by Xiaomi’s dialer, messaging app, and web browser. Anyone who has used Android on a Nexus or Pixel phone, will notice alterations to the notification shade and the settings menu, plus that app icons are spread across home screens and not in an app drawer.
There are a few decent apps provided by Xiaomi. The standard web browser is fast, the weather app is pretty and information packed, and the calendar app is easy to use. If you don’t like the minimalist look of MIUI’s app icons, or want to change a variety of aspects, there are many different themes available to download and apply. Dig deeper, and MIUI can be customized to an even greater degree.
Yes, we’d rather the phone ran regular Android, but MIUI is easy to use and attractive to look at. It’s also the price you have to pay for importing a phone from China, where Google services are barred, and we vastly prefer it over most other Chinese manufacturer user interfaces.
We do worry about security threats on outdated versions of Android, and we hope to see the Mi Mix get the Nougat update sooner rather than later. However, Xiaomi doesn’t have a good track record with updates, so don’t hold your breath. If you care about security and up-to-date Android, this phone isn’t the one for you.
Average camera performance
Xiaomi hasn’t gone mad with the Mi Mix’s camera setup, so you get a 16-megapixel rear camera and a specially produced 5-megapixel selfie cam under the screen. That’s right, under the screen. Let’s talk about that one first.
Xiaomi had to source a really small module for its front camera, because it has to fit in a very small space in the only bezeled area on the phone, just below the screen. This isn’t the ideal spot for a selfie cam, unless taking photos with a great view up your nose is your thing. To get around the awkward placement, when you swap to the front cam the phone tells you to rotate it so the camera is in a more traditional position, and the app rotates accordingly.
That’s fine if you only use Xiaomi’s camera app, but not if you want to use Instagram, Snapchat, or any other photo app’s camera mode. Sure it works, but the camera gets blocked by your hand, or your picture comes out at a weird angle. Flip the phone on its head, and the app doesn’t follow, so it’s upside down, making it awkward to tap a shutter release button. The volume button sometimes activates the shutter to make life easier, but not in every app. The quality is only average once you do snap a selfie, but there are some fun live filters to try out, and a very good beauty mode with a pro and smart setting. Smart is the way to go, and it actually enhances the shot.
Around the back is a 16-megapixel camera with a Sony IMX318 sensor, an f/2.0 aperture, and phase-detection autofocus. Sadly, there’s no optical image stabilization, but there is electronic stabilization. The specs may not be stellar, and although we’ve been spoiled by some great dual-lens cameras recently, the Mi Mix’s rear camera takes good pictures. However, the HDR mode is aggressive — pushing out shadows and really enhancing blue skies, — and although we found the pictures pleasing, some may prefer the way the camera performs without it.
More: Xiaomi’s Mi Box Android TV streaming box is now available in the U.S.
The Mi Mix is happy to blur the background of images very effectively, leading to some great bokeh shots without the need for a second lens. The same set of filters for the selfie cam can be applied to the rear camera, plus there’s a panorama mode, a tilt-shift setting, and a manual mode.
It’s not a standout camera, but it’s not a failure, either. We’ve been happy with the overall results from the Mi Mix.
Calls and connectivity
How do you hear people during a call if the Mi Mix doesn’t have a speaker? Xiaomi has used special piezoelectric technology behind the screen to transmit sound through it, similar to how bone-conducting sound works. The effect is unusual, but there’s no noticeable drop in quality of volume.
The Mi Mix is so slippery, it’s like it’s actively trying to escape.
In fact, it works really well, and is arguably better than a traditional speaker. Why? It doesn’t really matter where the Mi Mix is held against your ear, the top, middle, or lower part of the display still delivers the same amount of volume and clarity.
The ultrasonic proximity sensor doesn’t seem to be quite as successful. It rarely shut down the screen when the phone was against my face, and sometimes accidentally activated an app. It doesn’t dim the screen if you put your hand over the screen though, which is good.
Because the Mi Mix is an imported phone that’s not really designed for use outside of Xiaomi’s regular territories, it doesn’t come with all the necessary bands to connect to all the usual U.S. networks. Use an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM card and you’ll mostly see 3G data speeds, with 4G unlikely. We tested the Mi Mix in the U.K. with the O2 network, and primarily connected at 3G, too, although there is a better chance of 4G using EE. This is a common issue with imported smartphones, not just Xiaomi’s devices.
Warranty, availability, and price
Just because the Mi Mix sounds like a concept phone, doesn’t mean it’s not for sale. You can buy it right now, if you’re prepared to pay a hefty price, and do some searching. Our review Mi Mix was supplied by GearBest, a popular importer of Chinese electronics, where the new white model is priced at just over $1,000. Yes, $1,000. Don’t forget, this is a cutting-edge smartphone, produced in small numbers, and that means you pay a premium for the pleasure of owning one.
Xiaomi Mi Mix Compared To
LeEco Le S3
Huawei Mate 9
ASUS Zenfone 3 Deluxe Special…
Lenovo Phab 2 Pro
Meizu M3 Max
ZTE Axon 7
LeEco Le Pro3
HTC Bolt
Google Pixel
Google Pixel XL
LG X Power
Lenovo Moto G4 Play
Lenovo Moto Z
Alcatel Idol 4S
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
The black version isn’t in stock at GearBest at the time of writing, but that is likely to change regularly, along with the final price, which depends on the currency exchange rate. If you want a Mi Mix, you’ll need to have patience and put in some effort to find one.
There are other importers, but GearBest has always delivered a faultless service, and provides a comprehensive warranty should your phone breakdown. This consists of a three-day dead-on-arrival warranty, a 45-day money back guarantee if the phone should be faulty during that time, plus a one-year warranty to cover against defects. You’ll still have to get support from China primarily by email and snail mail, but it really shouldn’t put you off. If you break the phone due to mistreatment, drop it in the bath, or change the software and brick the phone, it won’t be covered.
Our Take
Exquisite to look at, vastly powerful, and technically compelling: The Xiaomi Mi Mix represents the future of smartphones, and it’s available right now.
Is there a better alternative?
If you want the Mi Mix’s amazing screen, then no, there isn’t any alternative. The Mi Mix is unique. If you want a phone with a stunning ceramic body, then you won’t find one of those, either. The camera, processor, and operating system aren’t unique, and in two of those three areas, the Mi Mix isn’t top of the class. The camera is strong, but there are considerably better choices out there. MIUI isn’t as nice as the standard Android Nougat found on a Google Pixel XL.
The Pixel XL is our top Android phone recommendation. Its regular software updates, 24/7 customer support, strong specs, and great camera make it the best Android phone you can buy. The Huawei Mate 9, the iPhone 7 Plus, and even a cheaper flagship phone like the OnePlus 3T are all phones you should buy instead of the Mi Mix.
The DT Accessory Pack
Original Xiaomi Mi Band 2 heart rate monitor
$35.72
Luanke Transparent TPU soft phone case
$2.82
Xiaomi Mi Mix case
$7.99
Although none of these alternatives come close to matching the intoxicating style and bleeding edge tech of the Xiaomi phone, they are your best options right now. However, we recommend waiting to buy a new phone until April at the earliest, because several other major flagships — including the LG G6, Samsung Galaxy S8, and iPhone 8 — are all rumored to offer similar bezel-free designs. All of these phones will also be compatible with U.S. networks and sold through official channels and carriers.
How long will it last?
If the Mi Mix takes a tumble, it won’t last very long at all. Screens that go all the way to the edge of the body may strike any hard surface sharply, and it’s unlikely to survive. When the phone in question is more slippery than a haddock that has been bathing in baby oil, it’s a recipe for disaster. Wrap the Mi Mix in a case, or suffer the consequences.
Xiaomi updates MIUI regularly, but the basic version of Android underneath is still 6.0.1 Marshmallow, and the security patch is from September 2016. That’s absolutely horrible. If you buy this phone, you won’t be safe from hacks and security flaws so long as Xiaomi delays security patches.
Should you buy it?
Should you be an early adopter of any new technology? No, of course not. Should you buy a high-tech two-seat sports car over a solid, reliable hatchback? Not if you’re sensible. It’s the same story with the Mi Mix. No, we can’t recommend it, because it’s ultimately a shockingly expensive concept phone. You can buy a Pixel XL and still have $350 left in your pocket for the same cost as a Mi Mix. It’s the sensible choice, and wearing our sensible hat, it’s the phone we’ll tell you to buy.
However, the Mi Mix is not a phone for anyone wearing a sensible hat. It’s not even for people who own a sensible hat. The Mi Mix is for people with silly hats. It’s Google Glass for the smartphone world. A technical experiment that’s unlike anything else available, and that fact alone will make many, many smartphone fans absolutely desperate to own one. It also has the potential to become quite collectible, due to its limited numbers, high price, and being an import only device. You won’t retire on any proceeds from it, but it will certainly have more cache in the future than a regular Android smartphone.
One thing is for sure, if you do buy the Mi Mix, just be really, really careful with it.
Vivo’s V5 Plus hopes to win over selfie lovers with its dual front-facing cameras
Why it matters to you
If you’re a selfie lover, the V5 Plus’ dual front-facing cameras might be the best thing since sliced bread.
In recent times, smartphone manufacturers have adopted the trend of dual main cameras. Chinese manufacturer Vivo is no different, except it adopts this trend for the front of its V5 Plus selfie-centric phone.
Aesthetically, the V5 Plus’ antenna design on the back echoes that of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, though that is where the similarities end. Whereas the larger iPhone 7 Plus features two main cameras, the V5 Plus includes 20-megapixel and 8MP dual front-facing cameras. This makes Vivo’s phone one of only a handful to feature two selfie cameras, which work together to deliver bokeh effects for your self-portraits.
More: Blu unveils its shiny-gold midrange smartphone, the Vivo XL2
If you find yourself in a dimly-lit environment, the selfie flash module might save your skin. Dubbed “Selfie Spotlight,” the module promises to not bleach out the subject by working as a soft light fill. Alas, it does not makes its presence known around back, though the 16MP hopefully impresses regardless.
Our exterior tour ends with the 5.5-inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution display protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass 5, with a fingerprint sensor that triples as a home button and the means to switch between apps at the bottom of the phone.
Under the hood, Qualcomm’s 2.0GHz octa-core Snapdragon 625 and 4GB RAM power the V5 Plus, with a 3,160mAh power pack keeping the lights on. Do not be fooled by the size — the Moto Z Play, which features similar specifications across the board, delivered on the battery life front in spades, so hopes are high with the V5 Plus. Furthermore, the V5 Plus’ battery features quick-charge functionality, so you will not sit around too long for the battery to juice up.
Finally, the phone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow underneath Vivo’s Funtouch OS 3.0, somewhat of a disappointment given Android 7.0 Nougat’s availability since August 2016.
If there is enough here to peak your interest, keep in mind that you will need to import the V5 Plus if you live in the West. Since the phone is now available in several Asian countries for $410, expect to pay a bit more for the import.
Pushing the body’s boundaries: BodyHacking Conference 2017 kicks off in Austin
Why it matters to you
Bodyhackers are redefining what it means to be human.
From head to toe, the human body is one of the most remarkable things in existence. It’s been crafted over millions of years of evolution into the highly adaptable biosystems we embody today. But flesh is flawed — and a growing community of hackers want to make bodies better.
Ask a dozen self-proclaimed bodyhackers to describe their vocation and you’ll get a dozen differing definitions. Through nutritional genomics, nutritionists alter diets to better suit their DNA. DIY biochemists perform at-home fecal transplants to treat an irritated gut. Garage tinkerers re-engineer hearing aids to tune into far out frequencies. Grinders put tech directly into their bodies, such as implanting magnets into the flesh of their fingers, to experience new senses. All would don the badge “bodyhacker,” a catch-all term for someone who aims to augment the body for optimized or enhanced performance.
Bodyhackers from around the world have come to Austin, Texas this weekend to attend the second annual BodyHacking Conference (BDYHAX) where artists, academics, grinders, and cyborgs have gathered to discuss the methods, ethics, and legality involved.
“We wanted to make it interdisciplinary,” Trevor Goodman, BDYHAX event manager, told Digital Trends, “to bring together anyone who’s interested in bodyhacking and modification to the same place to share resources and learn from each other.”
The conference informally kicked off Friday night as models took to the runway forPut Together: A Bodyhacking Fashion Show. Their outfits were created by a handful of tech-oriented designers looking to push fashion forward. Headpieces twinkled with LEDs. Some models stumbled onto stage in monstrous 3D-printed dresses. Others sported echolocation headphones and temperature-controlled jackets.
The fashion show opened with Waiting for Earthquakes, an interpretive dance by Cyborg Foundation co-founder Moon Ribas who can sense earthquakes in real time through an implant in her arm.
More: Cyborgs are already here, but the next steps will make you nauseous
Biotech startups like Dangerous Things, Cyborg Nest, and Grindhouse Wetware are in attendance to show off their gear (some even offering on-site implants). Booths are occupied by companies like BrainPort, which makes a device that lets users see the world through their tongue; and NeoSensory, a vest that translates sounds into vibrations to help hearing impaired patients better comprehend speech. BDYHAX has also partnered with E-NABLE to build and donate 3D-printed prosthetic hands for children in need.
Bodyhacking is still in its experimental infancy and some people here acknowledge that such a conference is sort of premature. But they all also feel they’re on the cusp of something significant, a brave new world in which the body takes on new forms.
We’ll cover the bodyhacking movement over the next few weeks in a series of features about the legal implications of implanted tech, the safety of DIY procedures, and what humans might look like in the future. Most importantly, we’ll speak to some of the experts and most prominent figures in the field to figure out what the future might look like for humans.
LG Watch Style surfaces in leaked render, will likely retail for $249
This is our first clear look at LG’s upcoming Android Wear 2.0 watch.
Google is slated to launch Android Wear 2.0 on February 9, with LG set to unveil two watches at the event. Ahead of the official launch, renders of the watches have leaked by way of Evan Blass.
LG Watch Style, in silver (top) and rose gold (bottom) pic.twitter.com/JlHaq35bZ0
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 28, 2017
According to an earlier leak, LG will launch two watches next month — the LG Watch Style, and the LG Watch Sport. Pictured above, the Watch Style certainly looks more fashionable than LG’s Watch Urbane, and is rumored to retail for $249. The smartwatch will offer a 1.2-inch P-OLED display, a digital crown for navigation, 512MB of RAM, 4GB internal storage, IP67 water and dust resistance, and a 240mAh battery.
The Watch Sport is rumored with a larger 1.38-inch display, along with NFC, GPS and cellular connectivity and an IP68 rating. We’ll know more about the smartwatches next week. Until then, what do you guys make of the design of the Watch Style based on the render above?
How to use adoptable storage on the NVIDIA Shield Android TV
Few people think about the amoung of internal storage in their set top box — that is, until they run out of space.
So much of our content is streamed today rather than downloaded for offline playback, and for a majority of people that means the 16GB of internal storage on the Shield Android TV is actually sufficeint. For those who know from the get-go that they’ll need a lot of storage, the Shield Pro with its 500GB hard drive is there for an extra $100 at the start. But most people will want to add storage to their box later, and that’s where adoptable storage comes in.
Adoptable storage, which was introduced in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, gives users the power to plug in any storage device over USB and have the system recognize it as a continuous piece of storage indisinguishable from the memory soldered to the board internally. It’s a critical feature that so many people can benefit from, and we’re going to quickly show you how to use it on the Shield Android TV.
Picking a USB drive to use
Before we get into the step-by-step instructions, I want to make a quick note about what drives you should look to use for adoptable storage. While you can use any drive that connects over USB, there are performance considerations here. A USB 3.0 flash drive is your best bet in terms of performance, value and capacity, and we have a great set of recommendations right here if you don’t yet have one.
More: 9 things every Shield Android TV owner should know
If you want to go really big, you may be looking at a more traditional external hard drive with a spinning disk inside. These models don’t have as quick of random read and write speeds as solid state storage, and you could potentially hit performance bottlenecks — for this reason I still recommend a flash drive or external solid state drive. If you really need more storage, consider an external drive that has a USB 3.0 connection, 7200 rpm disk inside and its own external power source for the best performance.
Setting up adoptable storage
Because data is placed across the internal and external drives under adoptable storage, it’s important to know that once you’ve switched on this setting you can’t just remove the drive and use it with another device. In order to do so, you’d have to unmount it from the Shield Android TV and format it to remove all of its data. So before you set up adoptable storage, make sure you’re committed to leaving that drive connected to the box for the foreseeable future.
Once you’re good to go, this is quick and painless.
Plug in your USB drive to one of the USB ports on your Shield
- Reminder: All data on your drive will be lost in this process!
Head into your Shield’s Settings
Navigate to Storage & Reset
Select the external storage, which will be listed by its name
Select Erase and format as device storage
Confirm Erase and then OK to start the formatting process
- Formatting could take several minutes depending on the size of the drive
After the quick setup process your external drive is now, for all intents and purposes, part of the internal storage of your Shield Android TV. As the system sees fit, data will be placed contiguously across the internal and external storage as if it were one large volume, whether that’s apps, media or large games. Keep that drive plugged in, and you’ll be a happy camper.
NVIDIA Shield Android TV
- Read our Shield Android TV review
- The latest Shield Android TV news
- Shield vs. Shield Pro: Which should I buy?
- Join the forum discussion
- Complete Shield Android TV specs
Amazon
Let’s talk about the Galaxy S8 and weird usability issues
Seriously? They put the fingerprint scanner there???
The leak of the first live images of the Samsung Galaxy S8 has given us lots to talk about. Despite obvious family traits, the Galaxy S8 represents the biggest design overhaul since the GS6 — with a wacky new, math-defying aspect ratio (18.5:9!), no clicky home button, and talk of the new Bixby AI assistant getting its own special key on the side.
While I hesitate to pass judgment based on just a handful of leaks, there are a few real head-scratchers thrown into the mix too. First of all, that fingerprint sensor. It’s on the back of the phone — which is fine, plenty of other devices get by just fine with a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. (Even behemoths like the 5.9-inch Huawei Mate 9.) But it’s way up top to the right of the camera lens. Consider that the smaller of these two has a 5.8-inch display, and the larger an enormous 6.2-inch screen. Even if, as rumored, the footprint isn’t considerably larger than current 5.1- to 5.5-inchers, that’s an awfully long way to reach — especially for left-handed folks. (Try it on a current phablet-sized phone, if you have one to hand.)
Iris recognition needs to be a whole lot better on the GS8 than it was on the Note 7.
My conspiracy theory — one shared by Daniel Bader on the most recent podcast — is that it’s up there to funnel GS8 owners towards the iris scanner surely lurking around the front. Samsung first brought us iris-scanning technology in the Note 7, and it wasn’t great. (In fact, it was pretty much useless.) Hopefully the implementation in the GS8 will be better.
The lack of any kind of home button also provides an impetus for Samsung to up its game when in terms of gesture support. Features like raise-to-wake, double-tap to wake and (possibly) some kind of sensor-driven hand gesture, a la Moto, become increasingly important when you can’t just press a big obvious button on the front.
Best case scenario: Samsung has all this stuff covered, in ways that won’t become clear until the presumed March 29 announcement. After all, the company isn’t stupid, and has been making top-tier smartphones for a very long time. Thus, it’s smart enough to work out any glaring usability issues, you’d hope.
Best case scenario: Samsung has all this stuff covered.
No organization is infallible, however, and it’s also possible that pressure to move to taller display with minimal bezels — already an emerging trend for phones in 2017 — has pushed Samsung into a corner. Even then, you’d think the established fingerprint scanner spot — right in the center, where it’s easy to hit — would be the obvious choice. Or perhaps the rumors are wrong, and the final GS8 design will feature the speculated in-display fingerprint scanner.
All of these things are possible, and it’s going to be an interesting run up to the Galaxy S8 launch season, with many questions to answer. Among them:
- How will the phone perform on “only” 4GB of RAM? The GS7 isn’t great at holding apps in memory with the same amount of RAM. But with the “Bixby” assistant running in the background too?
- On paper, the GS8’s (rumored) camera is identical to the GS7’s, but surely there are some under-the-hood and processing changes, and it’s these which increasingly make up the difference between a good camera from a great one.
- A bigger display with a smaller battery rarely results in barnstorming battery life. Sure, the GS8’s guts will be more efficient than ever, but it’ll be interesting to see how a more conservative battery capacity (post-Note 7 debacle) affects longevity.
But hey, at least we’ll always have the headphone jack!
Three enables app-free Wi-Fi calling, as long as you have a compatible phone
Three has begun rolling out a new Wi-Fi calling service to its customers, so long as they have a compatible smartphone. Wi-Fi calling is nothing new to Three, since it has been offering the function through the inTouch app, but the experience through that left a lot to be desired.
- Wi-Fi Calling: What is it and which devices support it?
The app-free function is available for Android and iOS smartphones and will allow you to still make phone calls and send text messages in areas where you don’t have phone signal, but do have a Wi-Fi signal. The London Underground for instance. You’ll need to make sure you have the latest phone software and carrier settings installed on your device, and when you have the function enabled, the carrier message in the top left of your screen will change to ‘Three WiFi Call’.
The feature is only compatible with certain phones though. Supported iOS devices include the iPhone 5c, 5s, 6, 6s, SE and 7, while supported Android devices include the LG G5, Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, with support for the S7 and S7 edge coming in mid-February.
- Best roaming plans: Which is the cheapest network for EU and abroad?
Anyone using one of these devices that previously used the inTouch app will be greeted with a pop up message telling them they can delete it.
The Morning After: Monday, January 30 2017
Welcome to Monday morning. Needles in eyes, strict immigration orders, and survival horror in virtual reality. Today has some bite.
Boss Sundar Pichai asked employees to fly back to the US ASAP.
Google recalls staff following Trump immigration order
The President’s executive order that bans almost all citizens from Iran, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Yemen from entering the country is making tech execs move fast. Google’s Sundar Pichai told overseas employees to fly back to the US as soon as possible, or risk not being able to get back at all. The immigration order also saw companies like Apple and Microsoft rush to help employees stranded following the restrictions.
Surgeons were able to perform a difficult eye procedure with some robotic help.
Surgery bot makes highly precise eye injection possible
For the first time ever, a team of eye surgeons was able to inject a thrombolytic drug directly into a patient’s retinal vein to dissolve a blood clot. It was a success, despite the fact that the vein is as thin as human hair, thanks to a surgical robot developed by researchers from KU Leuven, a university in Belgium. The scientists created a robot that can help a surgeon insert the needle precisely and then hold it perfectly still. They also designed the tiny 0.03 millimeter needle necessary for injecting the drug into the tiny vein.
The newest ‘Resident Evil’ is scary-good, even outside of VR.
‘Resident Evil 7’ is the most terrifying VR game on the market
Resident Evil 7 is a very different kind of survival horror game. Capcom has moved the series to a first-person perspective, even adding a virtual reality component (at least on PS4) to make it all the more jumpy and scary. It’s also really, really good. Jessica Conditt (who came down with VR sickness when she played the demo last year), was won over by the final product.
Still looking for a wearable?
LG”s new smartwatches looks subtle and might be pretty cheap
LG’s Watch Style is the latest piece of the company’s hardware to leak ahead of any official fanfare. LGs rumored budget model is expected to launch in early February, but the images suggest it won’t at least look too cheap, thanks to some (faux) silver and rose color options, paired with matching leather straps. We’re expecting to hear more next month.
But wait, there’s more…
- Vinyl record production gets a much-needed tech upgrade
- The After Math: Shady deals
- Hybrid cars can save fuel through nature-like algorithms
UberEats now does breakfast in London
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. The alarm goes off and instinctively you roll over, hit the snooze button and close your eyes once more. Breakfast can wait. We’ve all made this sleep-deprived decision, only to skip brekkie entirely when we realise we’re running late for work. Unsurprisingly, there’s now an app for that. Starting tomorrow, Uber is offering a breakfast service through its UberEats app in London. So whereas before the service started at 11am, cutting off at 11pm, you can now make an order from 7am in the capital.
The app supports custom locations too, so if you’re really behind schedule you can ask for the bagels or croissants to meet you at the office instead. Uber has a bunch of partners on board, including PAUL, Bagel Factory and Crepeaffaire, so at least there’s some variety for the bankers and business folk who will no doubt become dependent on the service. It’s an expensive, but compelling offer, one that Uber needs if it’s to compete with Deliveroo, which just started a monthly subscription service in the city.
AIVAnet 