The Wirecutter’s best deals: Marshall Mode in-ear headphones drop to $42

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, they may earn affiliate commissions that support their work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

You may have already seen Engadget posting reviews from our friends at The Wirecutter. Now, from time to time, we’ll also be publishing their recommended deals on some of their top picks. Read on, and strike while the iron is hot — some of these sales could expire mighty soon.

GoPro Hero5 Black with $60 Gift Card

Street price: $400; MSRP: $400; Deal price: $400

Since the GoPro Hero5 Black is still very new, we haven’t seen any decent sales on it yet. While this is still the full price of the Hero5 Black, it does come with a free $60 Amazon gift card, making it the best deal we’ve seen so far.

The GoPro Hero5 Black is our top pick in our guide to the best action cameras. Ben Keough wrote, “The Hero5 Black builds on the success of its predecessor (and our previous pick), the Hero4 Silver, with new features that significantly enhance its usability. The built-in waterproofing is the most important addition, since it means you can shoot anywhere, anytime, without fiddling with a case. But owners will also appreciate the camera’s intuitive touchscreen interface, image stabilization, and voice control. And it’s a relative bargain, too: Despite the expanded feature set, the new flagship GoPro costs $100 less than the old Hero4 Black.”

Tile Mate & Slim Combo 4 pack

Street price: $81; MSRP: $90; Deal price: $70

This is a nice deal, matching the lowest price we’ve seen for a combo pack with 2 Tile Mates and 2 Tile Slims. This is around $11 off of the street price and $20 off list of this combo pack, which includes 2 key-ring trackers and two thin-profile trackers that could slip into a wallet or be affixed to a laptop. There is also currently a deal available on a 4 pack of Slims for the same price.

The Tile Mate is our pick for the best Bluetooth tracker. Nick Guy writes, “Putting a Tile Mate on a keyring or in a bag pocket, or sticking it to the underside of a bike seat is easy. Once the Mate is paired to your phone via Bluetooth, the companion smartphone app continuously monitors the location of your goods. You can use the app to trigger an audible alarm on the Tile Mate when you’re searching for your keys around the house; conversely, you can press a hidden button on the Tile Mate to make your phone play a tune if it’s the phone itself that’s lost. The app even marks the Mate’s last known location if you wander out of its range.”

Of the Tile Slim, he writes, “”The Tile Slim is a wider but thinner tracker from the same company. Because it’s the thickness of about three credit cards, it can fit in your wallet or on other items for which the Tile Mate may be too thick. The Slim’s alarm isn’t as loud and its range isn’t as good, but it’s really the only tracker with a design this thin, and it still benefits from Tile’s crowd-finding reach.”

Refurbished 2nd-gen Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit

Street price: $175; MSRP: $200; Deal price: $125

A very solid discount on this refurbished Hue Starter Kit at $125. While we saw an Alexa-exclusive deal nearly a year ago that dropped the price of this kit in new condition all the way down to $125, this Philips refurb kit matches that price and includes a 90 day warranty. This is the 2nd generation version of the White and Color Ambience Kit, which features slightly less color deepness (in green, cyan, and blue) than the 3rd gen, but otherwise is nearly identical. A 15 percent restocking fee may apply in the case of a return.

The Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Starter Kit is our pick for the best smart LED light bulbs. Grant Clauser wrote, “Philips Hue is not just a smart bulb; it’s a whole smart system. The color-adjustable A19 bulbs can remake the look of a room in seconds. Multiple app options and device compatibility make it the best overall choice.”

Marshall Mode In-Ear Headphones

Street price: $51; MSRP: $70; Deal price: $42

This is the best price we’ve seen on the Marshall Mode headphones, and a nice $9 drop from the normal street price. It’s $5 below the previous lowest price, and overall a very good deal for our top pick for in-ear headphones around $100.

The Marshall Mode In-Ear is our top pick in our guide on the best in-ear headphones around $100. Lauren Dragan wrote, “The Marshall Mode are the best choice if you want in-ear headphones for around $100. In fact, they were the only headphones this round that made it into every one of our expert panelists’ top three picks. That’s because the Mode have a balanced sound profile that can handle any style of music you throw at them. The bass is slightly boosted, but it’s very well represented; there is no bloat or blurriness, even on already bass-forward songs. The highs are clear and don’t have the harsh, piercing quality that so many in this category do.”

Deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to The Wirecutter.com.

Facebook bolsters original video ambitions with MTV hire

As rumored a couple of months ago, Facebook is getting serious about making its own original content. The company has now hired a former MTV executive, Mina Lefevre, to be its Head of Development. According to Deadline, she will be leading Facebook’s efforts to create scripted and unscripted content — something she has plenty of experience with. During her time at MTV, as the executive vice president and head of scripted development, LeVre worked on shows like Awkward, Scream and Teen Wolf, to mention a few. It’ll be interesting to see what she ends up developing for Facebook, especially as it continues to make a major push into video.

Via: The Verge

Source: Deadline

Everything you need to know about the Huawei Honor V9

It wasn’t that long ago that Chinese smartphone maker Huawei launched the Honor V8. The dual-camera flagship boasted a massive 5.7-inch screen, an octa-core processor, and up to 64GB of storage. Incredibly, it retailed for just $350.

Now, rumor has it that Huawei’s preparing to launch a successor. The Honor V9 was originally thought to debut as soon as March at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, Spain, but a recent report from GSMArena says it will be unveiled on February 21.

More: The Honor V8’s dual-lens camera is different from the Huawei P9’s in one important way

Here is everything we know about it so far.

Design

The Honor V9 is almost a dead ringer for its predecessor. Leaked images show a smartphone with rounded corners, an extra-wide dual-screen camera module, a rear fingerprint sensor, plastic antenna lines, and a volume rocker and power button on the front right side. It’s relatively minimalist, save for the Honor logo near the bottom of the Honor V9’s front and rear.

The leak showed an Honor V9 in gold, but if history is any indication, the smartphone will ship in a variety of color configurations. For comparison’s sake, the Honor V8 shipped in six colors, including white and rose gold.

Specs

Thanks to a listing on Chinese certification website Tenna, the Honor V9’s specs are less of a mystery than they otherwise might be.

The 157 x 77 x 6.79mm handset boasts a 5.7-inch screen with a curved, 2.5D-style Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) resolution and a Huawei’s own 2.4GHz Kirin 960 octa-core processor, a powerful chip that’s capable of besting the iPhone 7 in certain circumstances. In terms of other internals, it packs a combination dual SIM/MicroSD card slot, a USB Type-C port, and support for 4G LTE, GPS, and Bluetooth.

More: Huawei may soon offer an ultra-affordable Android smartphone

Huawei offered a choice of a screen resolution with the Honor V8 (Full HD or Quad HD), but that doesn’t appear to be the case with the V9. Instead, the models seem to be differentiated by storage and RAM: 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, or 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM.

When it comes to cameras, the Honor V9 is no slouch. It sports an 8MP selfie camera on the front and on the back, it features the same dual-lens rear camera system as its predecessor. Huawei’s two laser autofocus sensors, one 12MP color and one 2MP monochrome, fire at the same time, but the latter at twice the exposure. The two snaps are combined to produce a single composite picture with superior contrast, reduced noise, and superior sharpness.

More: Huawei wants to beat Apple and become the world’s largest smartphone vendor

Supplying power for all those components is a beefy 3,900mAh battery — one bigger, it’s worth noting, than the Honor V8’s (3,500mAh). Considering the Honor V8 supported fast charging, it’s a safe bet that the Honor V9 will, too.

The Huawei Honor V9 is expected to run Emotion UI, Huawei’s proprietary theme atop Google’s Android 7.0 Nougat operating system. Rumors suggest Huawei’s developing a new version of Emotion UI with an improved interface, but one that is not expected to launch until this fall.

Release date and availability

If the Honor V9’s pricing is in line with its predecessor, it will go on sale between $350 for and $430.

Given the Honor V8 launched beyond China last year, it’s unlikely that the Honor V9 will be made available broadly. But there is a slim chance things will be different. The Honor brand, a spinoff of Huawei, launched in the U.S. last year with the Honor 5X. It’s tough to see where the Honor V9 might fit in Honor’s global lineup, but considering Huawei’s desire to boost stateside business, a U.S. launch isn’t out of the question.

MacOS suffers its first-ever Word macro attack

Why it matters to you

The arrival of the first Word macro virus for MacOS serves as a stern warning to Mac users to install some antivirus software sooner rather than later.

Debate continues over whether Apple’s MacOS is inherently more safe from malware than Windows or if Macs simply aren’t targeted as often because of their smaller share of the PC market. Regardless, the fact is that MacOS isn’t immune, and new vulnerabilities arise on occasion that Mac users should keep in mind.

One category of malware that has certainly affected Windows and not MacOS is the infamous Microsoft Word macro virus. That could be changing, as MacOS has now suffered its very first Word macro attack, as Ars Technica reports.

More: Malwarebytes builds all-new antivirus for Mac to curb rising infection rates

While Word macros can significantly enhance the application’s value, they’ve fallen out of favor over the years because of their tendency to be abused by malicious parties. Now, people who have used Word over the years probably think twice about clicking on the “enable macros” button that pops up when they open a document with embedded macros. MacOS users now also have good reason to hit the “disable macros” button instead unless they know for sure it’s from a safe source — or to discard the document entirely.

The malware in question comes via a Word document, “U.S. Allies and Rivals Digest Trump’s Victory — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,” that when opened runs embedded Python code that comes from the EmPyre open-source exploit framework. The code is capable of accessing webcams, grabbing passwords and encryption keys, and snooping into browser histories — and the infection it creates is persistent. Before running, it checks to make sure that the Littlesnitch security firewall isn’t active.

As usual, the Word macro malware relies on the user clicking through the warning. Patrick Wardle, Director of security company Synack, said in an analysis of the Word document, “By using macros in Word documents, they are exploiting the weakest link; humans! And moreover since macros are ‘legitimate’ functionality (vs. say a memory corruption vulnerability) the malware’s infection vector doesn’t have to worry about crashing the system nor being ‘patched’ out.”

Another piece of malware that researchers also describe as unsophisticated and “poorly written” was recently discovered separately from the Word macro. Other attacks have been identified in the past few years, demonstrating that malicious parties are starting to pay more attention to MacOS — enough so that Mac users should seriously consider installing some antivirus and antimalware software. It’s simply no longer true that it’s only Windows users who are vulnerable to attack.

Lego is totally awesome, but Tenka Labs wants to make it smarter

Why it matters to you

Tenka Labs want to make Legos — and your kids — even smarter, while still keeping them fun.

Tenka Labs has a new product that make Legos even more awesome.  The company launched toy kits that feature its Circuit Cubes: easy-to-use, Lego-compatible electronic building blocks that add sound, light, movement, and sensors to kids’ creations.

The three essential Circuit Cubes are the Motor Cube, Battery Cube, and LED Cube, all of which are featured in three introductory kits now available for pre-order: Whacky Wheels, Bright Lights, and Smart Art. Each of the three themed kits retails for $60 and comes with wires, Lego-style bricks, wheels, hubs, and markers, as well as the three Circuit Cubes.

More: The Ozobot Evo is a cute, little bulbous robot that teaches kids how to program

The Power Cube is the “engine” of the toy kits, providing the power to rotate gears, light up LEDs, spin propellers, and other actions. The Motor Cube drives everything from trucks to spaceships. The LED Cube is similarly used for a variety of functions, including headlights and flashlights.

While the Circuit Cubes are specifically designed to augment Lego projects — one of the company’s primary marketing messages is “Fits Your Bricks” — the inventors note that the Circuit Cubs can also be made to work with ordinary household items, from milk cartons to old toys that could use a new spark. The Cubes’ innovative design allows them to stack in any direction, while their transparency allows kids see the connections being made when they light an LED or power a motor.

If this all sounds like a sneaky way to slip some education into playtime, that’s absolutely right. Co-founders Nate MacDonald and John Schuster are longtime robotics educators who are convinced that toys designed to teach can be fun to play with as well. They’ve spent years developing STEM-inspired lessons that inspire creative problem solving, and the Circuit Cubes are the next step.

“Our goal is to show kids exactly how a geared motor works or the difference between a serial and parallel connection without taking the fun out of it,” says John Schuster.

At CES 2017, Lego announced Lego Boost, its own $160 kit that adds smarts to the toy and teaches kids to code. If we have to construct a playroom to see how these two kits will fit together, we’re more than willing to do so.

James Bond-inspired rubber band gun is best way to annoy your co-workers

Why it matters to you

Are you stuck in an office cubicle, dreaming of a desk toy to annoy your neighbor with? These will certainly do the trick.

As ways to make an honest living are concerned, designing, building and selling rubber band-firing wooden guns on the internet is a pretty darn good one.

That is the niche 27-year-old Brent EuDaly has (no pun intended) carved out for himself. As the founder of Elastic Precision, he’s managed to take a fun idea and turn it into a fully-fledged business.

“I was at college, studying wood technology,” EuDaly told Digital Trends. “One year I was coming home for the winter break and I needed Christmas gifts. I wanted to get Nerf guns, but I was a dirt poor student. I had no money, so I decided to build some rubber band guns. They were a big hit, and a few years later when I was looking for a business to take to market, I thought that this would be perfect.”

More: The Arcus 3D-printed rubber band gatling gun fires 48 shots per second

At present, Elastic Precision offers three different rubber band guns. There is the 1960s James Bond-inspired Model PPK, which fires five bands up to 20 feet. There’s also a Model 1911 rubber band gun, which semi-automatically fires six bands and boasts the ability to reload faster than any other rubber band gun on the market. Then there is the MP5 Machine Gun model, capable of spraying out 24 bands at a range of 30 feet.

They are available in a range of different woods, but all guaranteed to infuriate any troublesome co-workers (Rick Stella, I’m looking at you!) who get on your wrong side.

“My favorite model is the 1911 handgun,” EuDaly continued. “It’s the most fun to shoot. The machine gun has more power, but it takes a little bit longer to load. The 1911 shoots beautifully, packs a bit of a punch, and there’s something very pleasing about the fact that it’s a full-size replica of the most iconic classic handgun in history. You can even take the grips off and swap them out with a real gun.”

Now all you need are some rubber bands, and a few minutes practicing your best Clint Eastwood grimace in the mirror!

Dwindling supply of 12.9-inch iPad Pros could hint at an impending upgrade

Why it matters to you

If you’re in the market for a new iPad Pro, you may want to wait a little — a decrease in stock hints that Apple may launch an upgrade soon.

Apple is getting closer and closer to launching a new set of iPads, and one reliable indication that a new Apple product is on the way is that stock of the previous-generation device is drying up. Well folks, it looks like the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is slowly going out of stock around the world.

In fact, a quick check on Apple’s website shows that the 12.9-inch iPad is now estimated to have a 2 to 3 week delivery time in a number of countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Japan, Germany, and the U.K., according to a report from MacRumors. Just last week, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro was expected to have a 1 to 2 week delivery time.

More: 25 impressive cases and covers for iPad Air 2 and iPad Air

The report also mentions that 12.9-inch iPad Pro stock has seriously diminished in brick-and-mortar stores like Best Buy, AT&T, and Verizon. That’s in  contrast to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, which continues to be well stocked both online and in stores.

While stock issues often indicate an imminent new release, it’s also possible that the supply chain is to blame. In Apple’s latest earnings call, CEO Tim Cook admitted that the company had underestimated the demand for iPads this quarter, and that it was experiencing issues with one of its suppliers.

In any case, we’re expecting to see some new iPads pretty soon.Rumors suggest that we’ll see an all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro launched anytime between March and the second half of this year. Apple will also most likely launch updates to the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros, and while these updates aren’t expected to be major refreshes, they will bring some welcome new features — like the addition of Apple’s latest tablet processor, the A10X chip. The new iPads will also feature the same 12MP rear-facing camera and a True Tone flash. According to rumors, it will also keep the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Dwindling supply of 12.9-inch iPad Pros could hint at an impending upgrade

Why it matters to you

If you’re in the market for a new iPad Pro, you may want to wait a little — a decrease in stock hints that Apple may launch an upgrade soon.

Apple is getting closer and closer to launching a new set of iPads, and one reliable indication that a new Apple product is on the way is that stock of the previous-generation device is drying up. Well folks, it looks like the 12.9-inch iPad Pro is slowly going out of stock around the world.

In fact, a quick check on Apple’s website shows that the 12.9-inch iPad is now estimated to have a 2 to 3 week delivery time in a number of countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Japan, Germany, and the U.K., according to a report from MacRumors. Just last week, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro was expected to have a 1 to 2 week delivery time.

More: 25 impressive cases and covers for iPad Air 2 and iPad Air

The report also mentions that 12.9-inch iPad Pro stock has seriously diminished in brick-and-mortar stores like Best Buy, AT&T, and Verizon. That’s in  contrast to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, which continues to be well stocked both online and in stores.

While stock issues often indicate an imminent new release, it’s also possible that the supply chain is to blame. In Apple’s latest earnings call, CEO Tim Cook admitted that the company had underestimated the demand for iPads this quarter, and that it was experiencing issues with one of its suppliers.

In any case, we’re expecting to see some new iPads pretty soon.Rumors suggest that we’ll see an all-new 10.5-inch iPad Pro launched anytime between March and the second half of this year. Apple will also most likely launch updates to the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros, and while these updates aren’t expected to be major refreshes, they will bring some welcome new features — like the addition of Apple’s latest tablet processor, the A10X chip. The new iPads will also feature the same 12MP rear-facing camera and a True Tone flash. According to rumors, it will also keep the 3.5mm headphone jack.

96 percent of the world’s genetic data is from white people — here’s how we change that

Genuinely paradigm-shifting achievements don’t come along every day, year or, heck — even every decade.

The Human Genome Project, however, was one notable exception to that rule. Decoding the genome in the early-2000s was a game changer. It wasn’t as immediately wondrous as the Moon landing, or as immediately fearsome as the atomic bomb, but it hinted at the promise of an amazing future: one in which a person’s genetic predisposition to disease could be unravelled early enough for them to act. Genome scanning would move us from a world of reactive medicine to one of proactive medicine; forever banishing the one-size-fits-all approach.

“60 percent of the world’s population comprises less than one percent of the world’s genomic data”

Jump forward around a decade-and-a-half and that dream is still becoming a reality, but it’s a slow process.

“The technology is ready,” Sumit Jamuar told Digital Trends. “It’s better, faster, cheaper, whether you look at frameworks or sequencing. But the data is missing.”

Jamuar is the co-founder and CEO of a genetics company called Global Gene Corp., whose R&D center is located in Cambridge, England. The startup’s mission? To democratize genomics research by making it available to people throughout the world.

“One statistic which staggered me when we first looked at the data is that 60 percent of the world’s population comprises less than one percent of the world’s genomic data,” Jamuar said. “There are more than 3 billion people who do not contribute sufficient genomic data. To deliver any precision medicine programs in these countries means that pharmaceutical and medical companies need to have that data. This isn’t just looking at the top 1 million or 10 million people; if we have done our job correctly we will have a real impact on a significant population set of 3 billion people of different ethnicities all around the world. To me, that is the meaning of democratizing a technology.”

The caucasian-centric genomics data that presently makes up the bulk of available data isn’t a conspiracy. The funding for the Human Genome Project came from the United States and United Kingdom, both of which have predominantly white populations. Developing nations like India and Africa, meanwhile, have lagged behind in this research — although interest is growing.

“Many of these other governments already have their budgets stretched by fighting communicable diseases and other elements which are a priority in the immediate term,” he continued. “The good news is that as these communicable diseases are eradicated — such as India being made polio free — you can focus on the bigger threats. These are the non communicable diseases, like heart disease, cancer and the like. Those inherently have genetic codes.”

“There are more than 3 billion people who do not contribute sufficient genomic data”

Diversity in genomic data is hugely important. For instance, Indians frequently suffer from diabetes in greater proportional numbers than Westerners. The same is true with colon cancer among young people, which is at higher levels in India than in America, although just 0.2 percent of available genomic data comes from India — which holds 20 percent of the world’s population. Indian populations who suffer from colon cancer additionally show different genetic mutations from patients in Western countries. Being able to analyze genomics data for populations outside of predominantly caucasian ones means that a great degree of understanding of these issues can be gathered. It also means personalized medical treatments can be made more effective in the process.

More: The human genome may be the next big API to hit the market

Global Gene Corp. is working with hospitals, research organizations and individuals to gather its genomics information. It is also striving to bring the price point down to levels that are achievable in developing nations with much lower median earnings. The goal is then to use cutting-edge machine learning tools to help make sense of the data, and to draw useful correlations.

This is where Jamuar said the value will come. He draws a parallel between personal computing in the 1980s, when it was just starting to develop the “killer apps” which made it useful to everyday consumers, and genomics-based healthcare in 2017.

Far from just a “nice to have” luxury, Jamuar pointed out that investment in this area can help cut down on wasting expensive drugs, which may prove ineffective fighting certain diseases. “The world is spending about $200 billion on drugs, where you can estimate ¾ are not effective,” he said. “The same is true with many asthma drugs.”

It’s all part of a broader shift he sees taking place in which the world moves toward personalized healthcare.

“Right now, we have a symptom and we go to the doctor with it,” he said. “We then get an intervention, which could take the form of a drug which may or may not work. Twenty years from now I think that people will look back and say, ‘that’s so medieval. I can’t believe you ever used that kind of hit-and-miss experimentation.’ What will instead happen is that we’ll have data for every individual and that will give us the ability to predict the best way to avoid disease on a personal basis. It also opens up the possibility of using gene editing, where you can fix certain mutations in a person’s genetic sequence. It will be possible to do tailored treatment for every individual.”

Certainly it’s an ambitious mission, and one that will require considerable private and public funding, but it’s a crucial next step to take as genomics research continues.

Nvidia’s Shield tablet gets Nougat update to support its new controller

Why it matters to you

Not only does this update add new features provided by Android 7.0 Nougat, but Shield tablet owners can now use the new Shield controller launched in January.

Nvidia is rolling out a new update for its Shield-branded tablet. Dubbed as Software Upgrade 5.0, it brings support for the new Shield controller, improved notifications, better power consumption, and more. The update will have a staggered release over the next few days to make sure there are no immediate problems.

Nvidia released its second-generation Shield Controller in January. It sports a refined design, a better battery than the original, and a slim touchpad in the center that replaces the volume buttons. It’s also more aesthetically pleasing to the eye while adding dual vibration feedback in the process. The update brings the Shield Tablet up to speed with this peripheral so users have better control over their gaming experience.

More: Nvidia debuts line of Quadro Pascal GPUs, including superpowerful GP100

Software Upgrade 5.0 also updates the operating system to Android 7.0 “Nougat.” This version adds features like running two apps side by side, a new “doze” feature for saving battery power while users are on the move, smarter notifications, a faster boot time, and more. Users will see 72 new emoji too.

Here is a detailed list of what Android 7.0 brings to the Shield Tablet:

Multitasking

Split-screen:
Compatible apps can run side by side in portrait and landscape modes.
—————
Quick Switch:
Double-tapping on the Overview button brings users back to the previous app.
Notifications

Bundled Notifications:
Multiple notifications from a single app are now bundled together.
—————
Direct Reply:
Users can reply to messages within notifications without having to open the app.
—————
Silence:
Tap and hold on a notification to silence or block an app’s following notifications.
Power

Doze:
This feature will conserve battery power when the device is in motion.
Usability

Adjustable Sizes:
The display and font sizes can now be separately adjustable.
—————
Customize Quick Settings:
This area can now be customized in the menu by tapping “edit.”
—————
Quick Settings Tiles:
On the lock screen, users can now swipe down to access the top Quick Settings tiles.
—————
Improved Settings:
Settings now includes a Navigation menu & Suggestions.
—————
Revised Overview:
The “clear all” option in Overview now resides at the top right.
System Improvements

Data Saver:
This feature will disable access to cellular data for apps running in the background.
—————
Updated JIT Compiler:
In a nutshell, this speeds up the system and app update processes.
—————
Updated Security:
Nougat updates Android to the December 1, 2016, Android Security Patch Level.

Software Upgrade 5.0 also introduces Shield Rewards, an exclusive “loyalty” program for Shield device owners. This program provides members with the latest news regarding apps, games, and products for Shield devices. It also serves up “premium rewards” like discounts, chances to win prizes, free games, and so on.

Launched in July 2014, Nvidia’s Shield-branded tablet is based on the company’s Tegra K1 all-in-one chip (SoC). Costing $199, it sports an 8-inch screen, a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, 2GB of system memory, and 16GB of internal storage. Other features include Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, a 5MP camera, and support for Nvidia’s Shield DirectStylus 2.