Apple is bringing iOS’ Night Shift mode to Macs with Sierra update

If you own a Mac and are looking for ways to reduce your eye strain or even get more sleep at night, you’re in luck.

Apple’s Night Shift is coming to macOS. It’s shown up in the latest 10.12.4 beta of MacOS Sierra for Macs, which is supposed to launch alongside iOS 10.3 in the coming weeks, giving Mac users a way to automatically shifts their display colour to the warm hues.

Night Shift is a night mode, essentially. In iOS devices, it reduces the amount of blue light that iPhones and iPads emit during the evening hours. Studies have shown that blue light can negatively impact sleep by affecting the body’s circadian rhythm, but with the new Night Shift mode enabled, your Mac’s screen will instead shine warmer, yellower colours to effectively cut down on the amount of blue light.

• Apple shows off Night Shift mode for iPhone

Night Shift is both automatic and temporary. During the day, your Mac’s screen should go back to mimicking natural daylight. Apple is not the first company however to test such a feature or even launch it. Amazon, for instance, began offering a similar thing on its devices a few years ago via a feature called Blue Shade. According to Amazon, many studies have indicated that blue light suppresses melatonin production at night.

It’s also worth noting that there have been a few third-party apps that perform a similar function to Night Shift and Blue Shade, such as F.lux. It briefly offered a version for iOS, but Apple told the developers to shut it down, and now it’s only available for Mac, Linux, and Windows.

Night Shift has been available on iOS devices since iOS 9.3. If you want to try it on a Mac, 10.12.4 will be available for public beta testers later this week, followed by an official public launch sometime after.

Latest Samsung Galaxy S8 leak details ‘infinity’ display and more

More details on the Samsung Galaxy S8 have leaked out pertaining to its display, assistant, and more.

The Guardian has published some “exclusive” details on the upcoming flagship phone, including that it will be available in two different sizes and will feature an edge-to-edge “infinity display”. One model will have a 5-inch or so display, while the other will be around 6 inches. The form factors themselves will be smaller than their predecessors, but nevertheless, the displays will be larger and curved on both edges.

The Guardian’s sources claimed that Samsung has codenamed the two models Dream and Dream 2, and that in order to accommodate the nearly bezel-less infinity display, Samsung moved the fingerprint scanner to the rear of the device. You won’t even find a logo on the front of the phone. Other stand-out features include a 3.5mm headphone jack and the same iris scanner and “duo pixel” camera that appeared on last year’s Galaxy S7 models.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 edge: What’s the story so far?

It’s unclear if the eye-scanner will be upgraded, but apparently, the camera will come with some “incremental improvements” and “built-in object recognition”. The phone will also sport a new processor built using 10nm technology, as well as 64GB of internal storage, microSD card support up to 256GB, and USB-C charging. It’ll also offer support for a new Samsung Gear VR headset and Gear 360 camera.

You can also expect the Bixby AI assistant, which will be able to recognise objects using the phone’s camera. Unfortunately, the Galaxy S8 won’t debut at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, as the latest news points to a late-March reveal.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 will not be unveiled at Mobile World

Apple Watch will dim its bright lights in Theater Mode

When Apple’s upcoming watchOS 3.2 update lands, Cupertino’s hottest wristwear will finally add a Theater Mode that will allow courteous users to avoid bothering the folks around them. Android users will note that the competition over at Android Wear already has a Theater Mode feature, but Apple’s implementation is (as always) slightly different.

For starters, placing the Apple Watch in Theater Mode will mute the sound and turn off the lift-to-wake function so the device will no longer light up should you suddenly raise your hands in the middle of Rogue One or feel the need to reach for you opera glasses. The watch will still receive notifications, but they’ll only be delivered via haptic feedback. If you absolutely must disturb the sanctity of the theater environment, tapping the screen or pressing the crown will still bring up the visual alert. In other words: Theater Mode is simply Do Not Disturb mode with vibrating notifications.

Finally, the Verge notes SiriKit is also coming to the next version of watchOS, which should open the door for Siri support in more watch apps and services. With SiriKit baked in, the device will be able to connect with Apple’s personal assistant without the need to have your iPhone handy. Apple has not given a release date for watchOS 3.2 yet, but the company might want to make sure it doesn’t brick anybody’s timepiece this time around.

Via: The Verge

Source: Apple

Apple wants to make app developers less thirsty for reviews

Apple may finally be putting an end to the annoying slew of review requests that often pop up while you’re using an app. According to Recode, the iPhone maker is working on a mechanism that limits the number of times that developers can ask for reviews and ratings to three per year.

Apple is also working on an option within the phone’s settings to disable all such requests, said Recode, as well as adding a way to let users submit ratings and reviews without leaving the apps they’re in. That convenience should encourage more user feedback, which should assuage the concerns of those who might be worried about the potential new feature. Developers depend on positive ratings to get their apps discovered in Apple’s store.

These updates will be part of an upcoming iOS 10.3 release that will also let developers directly reply to reviews within the app store, under what will reportedly be called the Reviews API. The iOS 10.3 developer beta, made available today, will also include a feature to let you use Find My iPhone to search for your missing AirPods.

Source: Recode

With its Note 7 apology, Samsung finally gets something right

After the furor over flaming phones had mostly subsided, Samsung moved to end the Note 7 fiasco once and for all. Last Sunday, Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh — followed by a cadre of technical experts — laid out exactly what caused the company’s incredibly well-received phone to fail so spectacularly. In doing so, he sought to move Samsung past the mess that had consumed it for the last five months.

As we’ve noted before, Samsung’s woes came out of nowhere and escalated quickly. The phone was announced on August 2nd, launched on August 19th and blew up for the first time (so far as we can tell) in Korea on the 24th. About a week later, Samsung halted Note 7 shipments to Korean consumers, begun its investigation in earnest, and issued a global Note 7 recall a few days after that. Meanwhile, reports of phones bursting into flames persisted, prompting the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to work with Samsung on a total US recall.

The situation seemed to settle once Samsung issued replacement units, but they weren’t completely safe either. It wasn’t long before some of them short circuited and overheated, including one that grounded a Southwest Airlines flight. On October 10th, Samsung officially halted global sales and exchanges of the Note 7, and the race to figure out what really happened kicked into high gear.

We knew the definitive answer was coming, but it was important to hear it from the people in charge. All original Galaxy Note 7s had batteries with cases that made certain electrodes prone to bending and short circuiting. Then, when those started catching fire, another supplier ramped up production of Note 7 batteries in a rush job that led to new manufacturing defects. Poor welding created miniature burrs that could cause short circuits, and some batteries produced by this second manufacturer lacked the insulation tape meant to protect the battery cells entirely.

These flaws effectively killed the Note 7 for good.

Samsung’s press conference was apologetic and thorough, with a level of disclosure clearly meant to close the book on a very dark chapter of company history. Over time, though, expect to see the narrative surrounding the company change. Samsung won’t just be the company that made exploding phones — it’ll be the company that made exploding phones but embarked on the road of redemption and still made shareholders loads of money along the way.

And really, the timing of the announcement couldn’t have been better. Koh announced the results of the investigation on a Sunday night (in the US, anyway), just days before Samsung Electronics reported its highest quarterly profits in three years. That continued success came mostly on the back of strong chip and display sales, but Samsung was quick to point out that the Mobile side still gained ground compared to last year “due to solid sales of flagship products such as Galaxy S7/ S7 edge and improved profitability of mid-to-low end models.” In other words, Samsung is still just as much a juggernaut as it always was.

Much has been made of how Samsung has to rebuild trust in its brand, but those sales numbers seem to tell a different story. For all the news stories and soundbites about exploding phones, the level of distrust in Samsung isn’t as high as some of us (myself included) expected. This sentiment is borne out in part by a survey conducted by Reuters and Ipsos just days after Samsung discontinued Note 7 production in October. Out of 7,514 American respondents, 23 percent said they would not consider buying a Samsung smartphone. Coincidentally, 23 percent of people also said they would not consider buying an iPhone, and 56 percent thought Samsung phones were as safe or safer than other smartphones.

The Note 7 fiasco was embarrassing, but far from world-shaking. Samsung needs to look contrite, but only time (and the release of some new devices) will tell us how much ground the company needs to make up. The humble, apologetic look won’t last forever, though — once the the Galaxy S8 (and possibly the Note 8) are unveiled in the coming months, the message will pivot back toward the company’s ceaseless drive for innovation. Sure, journalists, bloggers, critics and forum-goers won’t forget what happened here any time soon, but what about everyone else? How many flashy phones and glitzy ads need to be released before the world at large forgets these failures? That’s the question we’ll eagerly watch Samsung try to answer in the months to come.

BlackBerry will launch its ‘Mercury’ phone on February 25th

When BlackBerry and TCL unveiled their “Mercury” phone at CES, it was really more of a proof of life than anything. The two wouldn’t shed light on the keyboard-toting Android device’s core specs, let alone when you could buy one for yourself. You won’t be left speculating for much longer, though: BlackBerry has confirmed that it’ll formally unveil the device (presumably, including its final name) on February 25th, right before Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona. Neither BlackBerry nor TCL is providing clues, although there have been some hints of what to expect.

Like it or not, this isn’t expected to be a mid-range device: rumors have it shipping with a Snapdragon 625, 3GB of RAM, an 18-megapixel rear camera (like the Priv) and an 8-megapixel front shooter. That lines up with our experience with the prototype, which was generally snappy but occasionally choked. You may end up buying the Mercury primarily for that gesture-friendly keyboard, not because of raw performance. However, that could also make it a relatively affordable device. The price may be closer to that of the DTEK50 than higher-end hardware like the DTEK60. And it definitely won’t be the only BlackBerry phone in the pipeline, so stay tuned if you want something more powerful.

25.02.17 #MWC2017 #BlackBerryMobile pic.twitter.com/uChVjp62TJ

— BlackBerry Mobile (@BBMobile) January 24, 2017

Via: CNET

Source: BlackBerry Mobile (Twitter)

‘Overwatch’ rings in the Lunar New Year with capture the flag

Shortly after the hit hero shooter Overwatch launched last May, fans were treated to a slew of new character models themed for the upcoming 2016 Brazil Summer Olympics. That was just the beginning of Blizzard’s extra content train, as they released more for Halloween and Christmas. Last week, they teased new stuff to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, which all goes live today. Players will be excited for the new skins, but the real win is the addition of a long-awaited capture the flag mode to the game.

As usual, there are new skins to enjoy, some garbed in traditional Chinese formal wear and adorned with celebratory accoutrements (read: Junkrat has firecrackers). Others are dressed up as characters from Journey To The West, which Blizzard paired an animated scroll depicting them in their roles from the celebrated Chinese novel. And Overwatch finally gets CTF, inaugurating this year’s new Chinese zodiac animal with rooster-clad pennants. Unfortunately, the studio blog post only lists it as a temporary brawl, so we might see the multiplayer mode go away for a bit after the event ends.

The event runs from now until February 13th, when all those awesome skins get retired forever. Likewise, sister Lunar New Year celebrations in World of Warcraft and Heroes Of The Storm end on February 4th and 14th, respectively. Good luck!

Overwatch’s #YearOfTheRooster 🐓 celebration has begun—so here’s to happiness, prosperity, and lots of fun!

🎆🏮 https://t.co/5t0WWUzTL7 pic.twitter.com/xsMsRCtGph

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) January 24, 2017

Source: Overwatch blog

National park tweets, then deletes, climate data after gag order

In the five days since he took office, President Trump has ordered multiple federal agencies to stop sharing news and updates directly with the American public. The gag orders have silenced federal entities like the EPA and the USDA by preventing them from announcing everything from grant awards to scientific breakthroughs made with taxpayer funds. But at least one person with the password to Badlands National Park’s Twitter account attempted to take a stand today by tweeting out facts in the face of President Trump and his science-denying pick to lead the EPA.

“The pre-industrial concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million (ppm). As of December 2016, 404.93 ppm,” @BadlandsNPS wrote in a now-deleted tweet Tuesday morning. That tweet was in direct opposition to a memo issued to all National Park Service, ordering them to “immediately cease use of government Twitter accounts until further notice.” But @BadlandsNPS kept at it for almost an hour before the tweets disappeared into the ether.

For later, after those Badlands National Park tweets get deleted, here’s what happened. ht @migold pic.twitter.com/b5vnKjwDnn

— Patrick LaForge (@palafo) January 24, 2017

Although the facts have now been archived in screenshots and @BadlandsNPS has returned to posting idyllic nature photos, civil rights lawyer and Law professor Dr. Anthony M. Kreis noted on Twitter that deleting a government agency’s tweets is actually a violation of the Freedom of Information Act. So, even though one national park sending off a few defiant tweets seems relatively minor, it could cause some legal headaches for the administration.

Deleting tweets violates the Freedom of Information Act. So, who demanded it be removed, when, and why? https://t.co/3mOcQfxxFx

— Dr. Anthony M. Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) January 24, 2017

According to FiveThirtyEight, the gag orders may only be temporary, at least for some of the federal agencies affected, but they also may be in violation of directives issued by President Obama in 2009 which protect scientists’ ability to speak with the people about publicly funded research. While it is currently unclear how this will play out for the nation’s scientists, there’s no getting around the fact that the planet is still getting hotter every year.

Researchers have built a 1,000-watt ‘super laser’

A team of British and Czech researchers have announced that they’ve constructed and fired a 1000-watt “high peak power laser”. It’s dubbed the “Bivoj”, after a Herculean-like Czech mythical hero. This laser is reportedly ten times more powerful as any other of its kind and should qualify as a new world record holder, according to Martin Divoky a physicist working at HiLASE, the Czech state-owned research facility where the laser was developed. Britain’s Central Laser Facility also contributed to the research.

The Bivoj differs from the two other largest HPPLs in existence — the Texas Petawatt Laser in Austin and the two-petawatt Laser for Fast Ignition Experiments (LFEX) in Osaka, Japan. While these lasers have a higher peak power — to the tune of a billion watts — they need so long to recharge that they can only fire a couple times a day. The $28-million Bivoj, on the other hand, boasts a higher average energy output because it fires a less-powerful beam far more often. The team hopes to commercialize and leverage this new technology for engineering purposes, like hardening metal, as well as industrial applications such as semiconductor processing in the second half of this year.

Source: Phys.org

Google I/O 2017 returns to Mountain View from May 17th – 20th

Once again, Google isn’t straying too far from its home turf for its annual I/O conference. Like last year it’ll be held at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre. It’ll be a bit around the same time again too, running from May 17th to the 19th, according to 9to5 Google. The tech juggernaut is going about this reveal in a rather nerdy way, too.

Rather than issue a press release or publish a blog post (thus far) Google has dropped a few clues for developers on GitHub, tasking them to suss out the location via map coordinates and code. It’s an interesting approach, for sure, and should keep people playing along for a bit to help pass the time.

Once the event days actually arrive, you can count on a keynote presentation about the future of Android and Google products (naturally) and maybe even a peek at the new version of the Pixel and Daydream. We saw Nougat last year (née Android N), so there’s a good chance will see the follow up as well. Anyone else have a craving for Oreos now?

Source: 9to5 Google, Save the Date, GitHub