This non-contact baby monitor gives new parents some peace of mind

Why it matters to you

Extraneous objects in your baby’s crib have long been warned against, but this non-contact baby monitor can help you keep tabs on your newborn in a safe way.

Wearables may be great for human adults when it comes to health tracking, but when we’re in our nascent form, less is really more in terms of contact. Luckily, there’s a new baby monitor on the market that wants to help you keep in touch with your newborn without actually touching him or her. Meet the Raybaby, branded as the world’s only non-contact health and sleep monitor. The device promises to constantly monitor your child’s breathing and sleeping, and keep you informed via a companion app.

A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the device has already raised nearly $50,000 from parents anxious to know everything they can about their bundle of joy without adding any potentially hazardous hardware to the crib. By using Ultra-wideband (UWB) radar technology, the Raybaby measures even the slightest most seemingly imperceptible movements in your baby’s chest. That way, you can always tell what your child’s respiratory rate is.

More: Experts warn wearable baby monitors could cause unnecessary doctor visits

This is a critical measure of health, doctors say, as breathing irregularities could be linked to illnesses like asthma and bronchitis. If Raybaby notices that something seems out of the ordinary, it’ll send parents a notification via its associated app so necessary action can be taken.

“Using a non-contact method of tracking respiratory rates means doing away with batteries and wearables on the baby’s body,” said Ray cofounder Ranjana Nair, in a statement. “This is of vital importance with children, as comfort, hygiene, and accuracy of recorded rates become top priority,” she added.

While the Raybaby is truly tiny (it fits in the palm of your hand), don’t let its small size fool you — it packs a punch in terms of accuracy, claiming 98 percent dependability. In fact, the device has been clinically tested and features FDA approved components, resulting in measurements that are comparable to what you might find from a medical-grade sleep study conducted in a hospital.

“Parenthood is tough. It’s wonderful, exhausting, and yet somehow, richly rewarding to bring up tiny versions of ourselves,” said Ray cofounder Aardra Kannan. “But in all the madness, sometimes new parents tend to forget just how much technology can ease up their lives.”

Why would Google pull the Google Now Launcher from the Play Store?

War. War never changes — but Google’s mind does.

There is some indication that Google is pulling the Google Now Launcher from the Play Store sometime before the end of March 2017 (Q1). Besides trying to find out more details about this one, we’re also left wondering why?

Let’s start at the beginning. The Google Now Launcher is a home screen manager that Google made using the Android launcher code as a base. Originally only for the Nexus 5, it later expanded to include all Nexus and Google Play edition phones. Eventually, every phone that has Android 4.1 or later could go to Google Play and install it like any other launcher. It is also the launcher that comes with recent Nexus phones, including the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X.

The Google Now part of the Google Now Launcher is still here and can be used by the people who made your phone.

It’s not an open source Android thing — it’s an app made by Google that might come with your phone but isn’t part of Android the same way Google Keep is. It’s exactly like ASUS’ Zen Launcher in this respect — built using the Android code as a base, part of the out-of-the-box software on some phones and available for everybody in the Play Store.

It’s a two-piece system

But there is a big difference in how it works because the Google Now Launcher is made of two parts. The “launcher” part — the screen where you can put icons and folders or widgets — and the Google Now part, where you can swipe to the right and see all your Google Now cards.

The launcher portion was pretty basic as far as Android launchers go. You could have more than one screen and fill them with widgets and shortcuts to your apps, but the only additional feature was access to Google Now. The basic look is what appealed to some of us and what turned some of us off because other launchers can do so much more. Having access to Google Now cards was also a reason folks installed it, along with the hot word detection so you could activate the voice assistant without pushing or tapping any buttons. If you never tried it, it’s worth having a look before it goes the way of Google Reader and flies off into the sunset.

Only half is going away

Without getting too technical, let’s try to sort out what’s happening. If the app is pulled from Google Play you’ll not be able to go install it unless you installed it previously (so go install it right now). In that sense, the app is gone. But the best part of the app — the Google Now cards and voice integration — hasn’t been killed off, it’s been given away.

Download: Google Now Launcher (free)

Google Now is already on your phone; the launcher was just a shortcut to get there.

That part of the Google Now Launcher is also part of the Google app. Every Android phone that has Play Store access has the Google app installed, and what you see when you slide right to look at your cards is part of what the Google app does. It’s also the reason why people who root their phone can add the cards to Action Launcher — they are already there on every phone. The Google Now Launcher just gave a way to trigger it.

Alongside removing the launcher app, Google is now allowing access to those bits of the Google app through a new Search Launcher Services API. What that means is any company that’s an official Android partner can include the Google Now panel on their own launcher. They can take the base Android code and the new API and have a basic home screen launcher that does the same things the Google Now Launcher did without changing anything. They also can change the base code to do a lot more things and still include the Google now bits and pieces. This makes for an easy fix for companies like Motorola who ship their phones using the Google Now Launcher.

What about my Nexus?

Your Nexus will still use the Google Now launcher, and there is no reason to think it will be any different. The launcher part — your home screens and widgets — is mostly made of a few visual changes put on top of the launcher code that’s part of Android, and any changes to Android that affects it will be included in any updates.

The Google Now part is updated and maintained through the Google app. We haven’t seen any update in the Play Store for Google Now Launcher since November 2015, because there’s nothing to update on the home screen side. It’s literally just the Android code with some tweaks to “beautify” the look.

There’s zero indication that this means the next Nexus update will include the Pixel launcher. Until someone says differently, expect to see zero changes to what you have now and have had since you bought your Nexus.

I can’t wait for Google Now integration with Nova Launcher!

That’s not going to happen. At least not right now.

Only the people who are building Android phones and are official partners can build the Search Launcher Services into their home screen launchers. That means people like Samsung or LG can do it, but not the folks from TeslaCoil Software who build and distribute Nova Launcher. Or any other developer who doesn’t work for an official Google partner.

The integration is done at the system level. That means apps and services that have elevated permissions and access to things apps from Google Play do not have. Only the people making the Android software that runs on your phone can install a system-level application. This is a good thing. You don’t want an app you downloaded to be able to do anything outside of itself.

Not allowing apps you install to have more access to the system software is a good thing in general. Not having a program for trusted developers to submit an exception is not.

What’s not such a good thing is that there is no path for trusted developers to join the ranks of Android manufacturers. The folks who make Nova Launcher, or Action Launcher or any of the very professional system tools need a way to integrate Google Now without asking their users to root their phones. These are some of the best Android apps available and can be a reason someone chooses an Android phone over an iPhone.

What happens with Android O?

Nobody knows anything except that the home screen launcher won’t be called Google Now Launcher. There has to be a launcher app because that’s how you get to every other app. Nobody knows what the next version of Android will have for its launcher, but it will have one.

I use Google Now Launcher on my phone, so what should I do?

Nothing. If you like Google Now Launcher, keep using it. Nobody is taking it away from your phone and it’s still going to keep working the same way it always has. Remember, the actual launcher part hasn’t been touched or updated in well over a year. Any improvements to Google Now, they way the shortcuts or hot word detection works or how it integrates with your phone will come from the Google app like they always have.

Everything will work the same way it always has if you use Google Now Launcher.

Google has taken things we love and killed them off before. It’s understandable if your initial reaction to this is thinking that Google is just dropping all support for everything but the Pixel. But that’s not really the case. It’s more like spring cleaning, where things you don’t use any longer are either taken to the curb or given to someone else who can use them. Google has given the Google Now part to all of its partners and doesn’t use the rest, so it’s tossing it.

The people who were told this information (it wasn’t for the public to see) understand what’s happening and why this is great news for them. What we need to know is that nothing’s changing except that an icon and link in the Play Store are going to disappear, and the next phone we buy is going to be using a new way to do the same thing.

Android Central Offers is giving away a Google hardware package, and it could be yours

Interested in all of the new stuff from Google this year but don’t have the cash to purchase it all for yourself? Wouldn’t it be sweet if there was some way you could try and win a bunch of it that didn’t cost you any money? Well, there is, and your chance to do it is here now!

Enter now to win! Learn More

That’s right, you can enter now to win a sweet Google hardware giveaway from Android Central Offers. The process is super simple, and should only take a few seconds to complete, so there is no excuse to not enter to win now!

Entering now will score you a chance to win:

• Google Pixel
• Google Daydream View
• Google Home

Don’t miss your chance to win this giveaway! Learn More

The prize pack is worth over $850, but entering it is completely free! All you have to do is hit this link, sign up to enter, and wait for the drawing. There isn’t much time left before the winner is announced, so be sure to get your entry in sooner than later so you don’t miss out!

Watch three teams compete for the best Hyperloop pod design

Last Sunday 27 teams brought their completed Hyperloop pods to SpaceX’s headquarters in Southern California hoping to get time in the vacuum-sealed track. After a battery of tests by the judges, only three of the vehicles were deemed worthy of the tube. Engadget caught up with members of groups from MIT, Delft University in the Netherlands and the Technical University of Munich about their pods and the technology behind them.

At the end of the competition, Delft won best overall while the team from Munich (Warr) got an award for the fastest pod. But, that doesn’t mean the quest for the vehicle that’ll ride in the Hyperloop tube is over. SpaceX is planning another competition this summer.

Gmail will stop working on Chrome for XP and Vista this year

If it’s been some time since you’ve updated your Chrome browser, you might see a banner at the top of Gmail’s interface on February 8th. It’ll contain a reminder to update to Chrome version 55 from 53 and below, since the newer iteration comes with several big security updates. That banner will go away after you update — unless you’re still using Windows XP or Vista. Google stopped releasing Chrome updates for those two after version 49, since Microsoft no longer supports its older Windows platforms.

So, what will happen if you don’t — or can’t — update Chrome? Well, Gmail will work like usual throughout 2017. Sometime in December, though, you’ll start being redirected to the basic HTML version of the email service and will be more vulnerable to security risks. Google says the best thing you can do is upgrade and ditch XP or Vista ASAP.

Source: Google Suite Updates

We saw the future of smartphones, and it’s sexier and smarter than you’d imagine

To see into the future, even just by a few minutes, is a superhero-style gift none of us have. Except, in a twist of fate, we’ve been granted the power of foresight, and have used it to see into the future of smartphones. No, we didn’t get bitten by a radioactive spider or suffer a risky experiment-gone-wrong. We just used two concept-style phones that are way ahead of their time: the Xiaomi Mi Mix and the Honor Magic

The phones in question aren’t nailed together concepts that’ll never be sold, either. They’re genuine examples of next-generation phone tech that you can buy today. What makes them so futuristic? Both incorporate technology that’s so cutting edge, we haven’t seen it implemented in the same way on any other device. However, there are strong indications big-name manufacturers are working hard to bring the same tech to 2017’s major flagship smartphones.

We’ve seen the future, and you can, too.

China, hot bed of phone innovation?

The Xiaomi Mi Mix and the Honor Magic may be unfamiliar names to many of you, and that’s because you can’t buy either of them through official channels unless you live in China. You can get these futuristic phones through importer services if you’re a real die-hard, and both are currently on sale in China.

Chinese phone manufacturers have been coming up with some exciting devices recently

People complain endlessly that smartphone innovation is dead and all the phones look the same. Ironically, China is often viewed as the worst copycat for taking liberties with other company’s designs, and the amount of iPhone imitators that pop up almost daily borders on the laughable. Look deeper, and China has had the jump on several major mobile technologies adopted by international companies over the past years, from diverse chat app platforms to online video live streaming.

Chinese phone manufacturers have been coming up with some exciting devices recently, too. From the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro’s use of Google Tango to Oppo’s teased hyper fast battery charging technology, Chinese tech companies are innovating fast. You really shouldn’t be shocked that it’s not Apple, Samsung, LG, or another big-name manufacturer that’s leading the latest round of innovation at all.

These two phones are really different

Let’s examine these phones, and why we think they’ve just fallen out of a door pocket in Marty McFly’s DeLorean. The Xiaomi Mi Mix has a 6.4-inch, almost bezel-less touchscreen inside a phone that’s no bigger than the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus. There’s no speaker and no proximity sensor to breakup the expanse, making it look totally unique. We’ve seen borderless screens before — on everything from the Galaxy S7 Edge to the Nubia Z11 — but this time it’s done right. The specially engineered screen curves at the corners, hides a speaker system that is “heard” through the glass itself, and embeds a sonar-like ultrasonic proximity sensor under the glass. The result is a unique, beautiful design, made possible using brand-new technology.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Honor’s lozenge-shape Magic is equally stunning to look at. When you get to handle that ultra-curvy shape, you’ll wonder why all phones aren’t styled in the same way. However, it’s Honor’s use of artificial intelligence which makes it so futuristic. The AI goes beyond Siri and Google Now, integrating itself into the operating system and behaving more like chat bots do in Facebook Messenger. The phone will make helpful suggestions based on your activity, including what movies are playing at a theater close to you or ordering a cab if you’re out late at a bar or club. It even shields lock screen notifications from others, revealing them only to you, because it knows what you look like.

More: Hands-on with the Honor Magic

It’s so slick, you’d think Honor had been using such deep artificial intelligence integration for years. Similarly, the Mi Mix makes superb use of its massive, wide touchscreen, plus the audio system behind the screen works so well, it’s easy to forget we’ve never seen this type of display technology before.

The borderless future?

Are we just relying on a crystal ball here, or is there any actual evidence these two phones represent a vision of the future? There’s plenty. Let’s talk about borderless screens first, which is the next step in making screens bigger, without making phone bodies larger and more cumbersome. It’s all about screen-to-body ratio, and the higher the percentage, the better.

It’s all about screen-to-body ratio, and the higher the percentage, the better.

Rumors of a bezel-less Apple iPhone have spread for a while, and the reports are now connected to the iPhone 8, whenever it may arrive. Reports say the new screen is part of a radical redesign, which will transfer the trademark Home button into the screen itself, so the chin of the device can be removed. The iPhone 8 could debut was early as September 2017, which is absolutely thrilling.

The LG G6 is another device where the front of the phone will apparently be mostly screen. LG Display’s new 18:9 ratio panel is “taller” even than the Xiaomi Mi Mix’s unusual 17:9 aspect ratio, which ensures it fills up as much of the phone’s frontage as possible. However, it still has space for Android’s menu and back buttons.

More: Hands-on with the Xiaomi Mi Mix

Rumors have connected the Samsung Galaxy S8 with a large, border-free screen, too. The phone might even get a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. The Mi Mix has a similar ratio, and for comparison, the Galaxy S7 Edge has a 76 percent screen-to-body ratio. That’s the big three manufacturers all connected with rumors about the same technology, on phones that will potentially be released in 2017 or 2018, depending on Apple’s plan for the iPhone range. It’s hard not to take the rumors seriously.

It’s not just these big three companies, either. Huawei has been linked with a bezel-less Mi Mix competitor for release in China, and Meizu’s Pro 7 phone may lose the bezel and include an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the screen — a piece of technology that’s made to facilitate bezel-less screens and rumored for inclusion on the Galaxy S8. Even the unofficial smartphone company headed up by ex-Googler Andy Rubin is supposed to be working on a phone with an edge-to-edge display.

These are all rumors, certainly, but they’re pretty damn compelling ones.

Do my bidding, ‘bot

While the evidence may be circumstantial (for now) on the screen technology, it’s considerably more official on the artificial intelligence front. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon all have their own artificially intelligent assistants, while Samsung has purchased Viv Labs (run by the creators of Siri) to help develop its own AI system. HTC’s new U Ultra and U Play phones standout because of the Sense assistant, Xiaomi is making investments in the area, and Huawei has been linked developing its own AI system. In the meantime, Huawei has partnered with Amazon to introduce Alexa to the Mate 9, something many other companies have also done. LG is using AI to power its new range of smart home robots, for use in the home and in industry, and is rumored to introduce Google’s Assistant on the G6.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Chat bots, which use AI and machine learning, simplify our online lives by reducing the amount of clicks, apps, and actions it takes to complete a task. Machine learning lets the bots understand language the more we chat away, always-listening technology brings Star Trek-like ease of use into our homes, and voice recognition means we don’t have to type a question, we can actually ask it instead.

Whether it’s Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, or a legion of chatbots in Facebook Messenger; you’re probably using an AI assistant now, and they’re only going to get more plentiful (and clever) as the year goes on. It’s the beginning of the end for the traditional user interface. In the near future, intelligent assistants may guide us around our phones, and instead of prompting us to perform actions, the bots will be anticipating and doing them for us.

We’re not the only ones anticipating this smart future. Huawei’s CEO Richard Yu is already planning it, and calls the next step in phone evolution the, “intelligent phone.” He sees a new type of device that’s, “an extension of who we are,” which uses complex AI, new sensors, powerful processors, and machine learning to help people understand the world around them in a new way.

“As we look to the future, we’re at the threshold of an exciting new era where we’re breaking through barriers to improve the way we interact with the world,” he said at CES 2017, where he first discussed the intelligent phone idea.

Phone of the near future

While both borderless displays and artificially intelligent operating systems are sure to appear individually on more phones in the near future, the most desirable devices released in 2017 are likely to have both. We love the Mi Mix and the Honor Magic, but the thought of having their cutting-edge technology strengths rolled up inside a single, sexy smartphone has our hearts pounding in anticipation.

We’re ready to see the first examples at Mobile World Congress at the end of February, how about you?

The Morning After: Weekend Edition

Letter from the Editor

“Fail fast, fail often” has become something of a Silicon Valley cliché. And yet, despite best efforts to embrace that mantra, our latest president has managed to make an enemy of many of the Valley’s most influential players. The tech industry’s biggest names spent the week reacting to and recovering from President Trump’s executive order that temporarily prohibits US entry to refugees and citizens from a handful of Muslim countries. Apple, Microsoft, Google, Lyft, Uber and others provided legal and financial assistance to staff and others affected by the ban order.

Meanwhile, Uber felt the effects of being on the wrong side of the negotiating table when hundreds of thousands of users deleted the app in protest of its CEO, Travis Kalanick, sitting on the president’s economic advisory council. Kalanick eventually caved to pressure from users and employees, but Tesla’s Elon Musk said he would stick around for the “greater good.” While reports circulated that some customers had canceled Tesla pre-orders, there’s likely a bit of difference between the buyer of a $100,000-plus luxury vehicle and that of a $5 rideshare. But, hey, if those fancy electrics don’t sell, Tesla’s already put its Powerpacks to good use, lighting up California’s power grid.

One company that isn’t having trouble maintaining a user base? Apple, duh. Yes, the iOS juggernaut keeps on rolling. As Nathan Ingraham points out, Apple’s taken some big risks this year, what with “few updates to the Mac (and the one big change was quite polarizing), a barely redesigned iPhone with no headphone jack, AirPods that shipped two months late and a new Apple Watch that was a modest improvement to a product still seen as nonessential.” But profits were up in the company’s first quarter to $18.4 billion. As it turns out, the iPhone 7 managed to turn around a three-quarter decline in iPhone sales — headphone jack be damned!

What’s more horrifying than losing a much-loved port on your favorite Apple gadget? Aside from the impending loss of some hard-won freedoms, there’s also the rise of intelligent machines. This week saw the introduction of a new, wheel-equipped robot from Boston Dynamics and a poker-playing AI that could put “Rain Man” to shame. If you like your horror a little less real, you could always play “Resident Evil 7,” the “most terrifying VR game on the market,” according to Jessica Conditt.

Then again, you could just wake up and check your Twitter feed. Welcome to 2017!

— Christopher Trout, Executive Editor

Drill, baby, drillElon Musk plays ‘Minecraft’ differently than you do

Your big weekend project probably doesn’t look anything like this. Musk has hinted at using tunnels to alleviate traffic problems, and digging on a test trench has already begun. “Minecraft” indeed.

Friday news dumpThe new FCC chairman takes control

As the week came to a close, Ajit Pai was busy. On Friday, at his direction, the FCC rolled back a few more items hanging on from its time under former chairman Tom Wheeler. In a move vaguely described as undoing “midnight regulation,” the FCC cut off nine internet companies from participation in the Lifeline program that helps low-income households get connected. Also, it dropped investigations into zero-rating traffic policies from AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon that have been criticized for going against the principles of net neutrality.

But will there be as much flopping as the real thing?Now ESPN will broadcast ‘FIFA’ eSports tournaments

ESPN keeps filling out its schedule with video game competitions, and the latest addition is FIFA. The first broadcast is Sunday at 6PM — just in case you needed a Super Bowl alternative.

Sasuke is comingPS4 update in beta adds support for external hard drives and ‘Boost Mode’ on the Pro

System software 4.50 is currently rolling out to PS4 owners in its beta testing program, with a load of new features aboard. Most-anticipated is probably support for external storage, so users can choose between replacing their internal drive or adding one via USB.

The other big tweak (which wasn’t mentioned in the notes) is the addition of “Boost Mode” for PS4 Pro — toggle it on, and older games that haven’t been optimized yet will suddenly take advantage of its upgraded hardware for smoother gameplay, higher frame rates and faster load times. Also, there’s custom wallpaper support and Blu-ray 3D inside PlayStation VR.

But wait, there’s more…

• LG has a fix for its WiFi-allergic 5K monitor
• Cute ‘Rocket League’ pull-back racers bring soccer derby to your floor
• A ban on immigration is an attack on Silicon Valley
• This tiny glob could be humans’ earliest known ancestor
• ‘Candleman’ is a 3D platformer that will make your heart melt
• The Engadget Podcast Ep 27: American Tune — The ACLU, Adoptly and an immigration ban
• ‘Donkey Kong 64’ speedrunner finds previously undiscovered 977th coin
• Samsung will unveil something at MWC (but it’s not the Galaxy S8)

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.

Jawbone Pulls Out of Consumer Wearables Market to Focus on Clinical Health Products

Jawbone is officially exiting the consumer wearables market to focus on developing medical products for direct sale to clinical practitioners, according to a new report.

Speaking to TechCrunch on Friday, sources familiar with the matter said Jawbone’s latest pivot away from its fitness tracker and Bluetooth speaker business involved working on a health product for the medical sector, including offering services for clinicians who work with patients.

According to the report, Jawbone is seeking to raise foreign investor money as part of the revised strategy, after spending around $951 million in an attempt to prevent a collapse of its consumer wearables business.

One source told TechCrunch the consumer market had proved “too challenging” for small and mid-size technology companies, but that the burgeoning health wearables sector – currently led by companies like Omada and Forward – offered Jawbone a possible escape route out of its financial troubles.

“If you think about what a good consumer electronics company looks like, it’s 30-percent margins, annual release cycles and huge risk. It’s turned into a blockbuster game,” said the source. “But folks in this other area, like Omada and other services, they have a human involved but with a nearly 100-percent contribution margin. It’s wildly different economics. Every wearable company today will be posed with this question: Do I want to play in consumer and narrow margins, or healthcare and service and make incredible margins but with possibly a lot of upfront fixed cost.”

Reports of Jawbone’s troubles go back to May 2015, when the company ended production of its UP line of fitness trackers and sold its remaining inventory to a third-party reseller at a discounted price.

Initially, Jawbone denied claims that it was going out of business and said it was focusing on advanced sensors to sell to other wearable makers, but over recent months a slew of angry customers frustrated by a lack of support have painted a more desperate picture.

Just last month both the head executive of product and the chief financial officer left the company, while MacRumors was contacted by former staff who said that Jawbone had let go of all employees at its four contact centers in Northern Ireland and across the U.S., leaving no-one to deal with customer complaints.

Jawbone still believes there is value in its business, but with a one-star customer rating on review aggregator website Trustpilot.com and an “F” rating on Better Business Bureau’s site, the company faces a challenge if it is to win the confidence of additional investors, wherever its future lies.

Tag: Jawbone
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Samsung Galaxy A5 + A3 launch in the UK: Flagship features come to an affordable price point

Glass construction, water resistance, and latest Samsung UI arrive in new 4.7 and 5.2-inch handsets.

Samsung has unleashed the latest devices in its mid-priced A series on the UK, with the arrival of the 2017 variants of the Galaxy A3 and A5. As in previous years, Samsung has brought a smattering of high-end features to a more affordable price point through the pint-sized 4.7-inch A3, and the larger 5.2-inch A5.

Both phones share a similar glass and metal construction, much like Samsung’s higher-end offerings, along with the IP68-rated water and dust resistance that comes as standard with the Galaxy S7. In fact, aside from a few differences in port and button placement, the A5 is the spitting image of its more expensive sibling. (In fact, it one-ups the GS7 in one small but notable area, shipping with a more up-to-date USB-C port.)

So the external hardware matches the quality we’ve come to expect from Samsung’s flagships, with a subtle curve to the back panel, and clean joins between the glass and the metal. Other staple Galaxy S features like fingerprint security — which we weren’t able to test yet — round off a familiar profile for both devices

Both phones’ displays — 720p SuperAMOLED on the smaller A3, bumping up to 1080p on the larger A5 — are bright and vivid, delivering everything we’ve come to expect from AMOLED in a Samsung phone, with the exception of the extra pixel density you get from a flagship like the S7. And the internal hardware -— Samsung’s homemade Exynos 7880 and 7870 chips — do a fine job of powering the Marshmallow-based software.

Although you’ll need to make do with an older version of Android than some others in this price category, Samsung has at least brought its latest user experience tweaks to these phones. That means you get the so-called “Grace UX” — the lighter, brighter UI that debuted in the ill-fated Note 7, before making its way to the GS7 in its recent Nougat update. So A3 and A5 buyers will get the latest features from Samsung, even though they’ll need to wait a little longer for the latest Android platform update.

That means slick new Dialer, Messaging and Gallery apps, along with a re-tooled Settings menu, re-vamped quick settings and a slicker, brighter interface for just about every bundled application. And both phones also boast Samsung’s useful Always-On Display feature, which lets you see the time, pending notifications and even calendar details without unlocking the device. The Galaxy A5 even boasts Samsung’s multi-window feature — although you’ll miss out on native multi-window support, meaning fewer apps are supported compared to phones running Android 7.0.

The latest Samsung features, but on an old version of Android.

Along with water resistance and premium construction, Samsung’s singling out the A series’ cameras as a major tentpole feature this time around. The A5 boasts a 16-megapixel sensor behind an f/1.9 lens on both the front and the back, so selfies should look every bit as good as photos taken with the rear camera. On the A3, you’ll step down to 13 megapixels on the back, and eight around the front.

In our limited time testing the camera of the A5, we came away impressed with what Samsung’s been able to bring to the table. On paper, the A5’s camera sits somewhere between the GS5 and GS6, and that means that in all but very dark conditions you’re likely to get great results. Much of Samsung’s camera UX has transferred over from the Galaxy S line, and the new A-series phones bring some unique tricks of their own to the table. There’s a new “food” mode, which jacks up the saturation and adds a fake depth of focus effect to emphasize the colors of your grub. And an optional floating shutter button makes it easier to take selfies without unnecessary finger strain.

After just a short time with Samsung’s new Galaxy A3 and A5 models, it’s clear both handsets have a lot to offer. But there are a few major barriers to entry for enthusiasts. The first is Marshmallow. Other phones around the A5’s £399 price point, such as the OnePlus 3T, ship with Nougat and significantly higher specs. At £299, the field is a little clearer for the Galaxy A3, however it’s still challenged by the likes of the Honor 8, which will soon be getting an upgrade to Android 7.0.

But for buyers who prioritize features above having the latest and greatest software, the Galaxy A series has a lot to offer — and at a significantly lower price point than the manufacturer’s higher-end handsets.

See at Vodafone

See at Carphone Warehouse

Return of an icon: Technics SL-1200GR and black SL-1210GR turntables to launch in April for £1299 a piece

Technics has introduced a new model to its illustrious range of turntables. The SL-1210GR is the same as the SL-1200GR we saw at CES at the beginning of the year, but comes sporting a rather fetching new black finish.

• Technics launches a more affordable version of its iconic turntable: the SL-1200GR

And, for those of you interested in snapping up one of these new decks, either the silver SL-1200GR or black 1210GR, the company has announced the all important price and availability. Either can be yours for £1299 each and should hit stores in April, putting them firmly in the affordable category, especially when compared to the high-end, reference class £3000 SL-1200G turntable, which shares some of its technology with the GR series.

The GR series has had more tuning input this time round from Jonathan Danbury, the UK’s Technics specialist. The company is all too aware that different markets prefer different sounds, but the SL-1200GR and SL-1210GR have been tuned to give a balanced sound across the board and to just reproduce whatever record is playing, exactly how the artist intended. 

• Technics SL-1200G official: DJ turntable makes an audiophile return for 2016

First released in 1974, the Technics SL-1200 turntable was initially targeted at the audiophiles out there, but it is of course DJs that have come to love them and make them synonymous with dance and hip-hop culture. Speaking at an exclusive product briefing, DJ Yoda told us about his love for the iconic turntable, and said he still uses the original decks he purchased more than 20 years ago. While cartridges and software may get swapped out year on year, the actual turntable has remained the same, proving not only their build quality, but their sound quality too.

The Technics GR series turntables join the SL-1200G and the now sold out, limited edition SL-1200GAE.