Galaxy S8 pre-orders may ship as early as Apr 18

Expect a big pre-order push in Samsung’s home market.

As it looks to draw a line under last year’s Note 7 unpleasantness, Samsung is reportedly betting big on Galaxy S8 pre-orders. South Korean outlet The Investor reports that subsidized deals for the new flagship will be unveiled from April 7, with pre-orders shipping out to customers as soon as April 18. It’s worth noting that this likely refers to Korea, not necessarily other parts of the world, where an April 28 ship date has been rumored.

A “nationwide hands-on event” will also launch immediately after the March 29 launch event, the outlet reports. Again, this probably refers to Korea, though don’t be surprised to see local Samsung offices adopting similar strategies in the run up to retail availability.

The Investor’s sources predict that Korean Galaxy S8 pre-orders will exceed the 400,000 unit figure hit by the Note 7 in its 13-day pre-order period. That’s a safe bet considering the Galaxy S series’ more mainstream appeal, and the fact that it’s been over a year since the (successful) Samsung flagship launch.

As we approach the March 29 launch event, we’re getting a clear look at the GS8’s hardware thanks to leaked renders, as Samsung officially unveils its “Bixby” assistant feature.

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New Samsung Galaxy S8 press pic leak shows phone from all angles

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and its larger sibling, the SGS8 Plus, will both be unveiled next Wednesday, 29 March. But that still gives us just over a week for a swarm of new leaks about the phones.

This time it’s another range of press images, showing what we presume to be the Galaxy S8 rather than the Plus (although they’ll look identical no doubt). Twitter leakmeister @evleaks has posted a couple of the colour schemes in multiple angles.

He says that the two colours on show are Orchid Gray and Black Sky. Samsung loves its flowery colour naming convention and it seems the SGS8 will not be impervious to that trend.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 image leaks show multiple colours

There’s not much else to glean from the pics that we haven’t heard about already. You can even catch up on all the rumours, pics and gossip in our in-depth round-up: Samsung Galaxy S8: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know

We will say though that the placement of the fingerprint sensor – switched to the rear so the phone can have that almost bezel-less screen – is a little too close to the camera lens for our liking. What’s the betting the lens will need constant wiping because of fingerprints?

We’ll know for sure next Wednesday anyway, when Pocket-lint will be getting its hands-on one of the devices at the Unpacked launch event.

HERA telescope upgrades could reveal the earliest stars

When it first went online in February 2016, the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA) radio telescope in South Africa boasted 19, 42-foot-diameter antennas aimed at the “Cosmic Dawn” of the universe. The antennas are designed to detect a specific wavelength of light emitted by hydrogen atoms during what’s called the “Epoch of Reionization,” which scientists believe started about 400 million years after the Big Bang. By picking up these wavelengths of light, HERA will be able to form a clearer picture of the universe at a time when the first stars and galaxies were being formed, more than 13.7 billion years ago.

Scientists believe that the formation of these early celestial bodies gave off X-ray and UV radiation that ionized some of the hydrogen gas in the universe. (It’s “reionization” because the hydrogen atoms were previously in an ionized state in the expansion that immediately followed the Big Bang.) So, it’s the moment that these hydrogen atoms are having their electrons ripped away by newborn stars that HERA is looking for.

Now, thanks to a $9.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation in late 2016 and a new $5.8 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the project will expand from those initial 19 antennas to a total of 350 spread over 610,000 square feet of the South African Karoo Astronomy Reserve. As Space.com reports, when the additional dishes are complete in September 2019, the larger array should increase HERA’s bandwidth and resolution enough to actually spot where and when those moments of reionization occurred in the history of the universe. According to MIT physics professor Jacqueline Hewitt, who is also in charge of the latest grant, HERA’s data will look like bubbles of ionized hydrogen around quasars or galaxies. By looking for heat signatures left in the hydrogen bubbles, the HERA team should be able to tell the size, intensity and chemical composition of those early stars.

When the James Webb Space Telescope launches in 2018, it should also be able to check HERA’s conclusions by looking for bright sources of infrared light where HERA sees an ionized hydrogen bubble. Looking even further into the future, learnings from the Murchison Widefield Array and the HERA project will help guide development of the Square Kilometer Array, which is set to be the largest radio telescope ever built.

Source: Space.com

Meet the first fighters of Nintendo’s newest franchise, ‘Arms’

The Switch blew us away when it launched earlier this month, but our enthusiasm for the console’s possibilities has been tempered by its seriously limited game library. Lucky for you fighting game fans, brand-new 3D brawler Arms is coming to the console this spring. Nintendo dropped a pair of videos teasing a few characters and mechanics from the upcoming title, which looks about as gleefully competitive and bizarre as you’d expect a first-party Switch game to be.

Brand-new IP Arms is a one-versus-one 3D fighting game that softens the genre’s violence with spring-limbed punches and eccentric, colorful designs. The first five characters in its lineup fit its elastic theme: Spring Man, Ribbon Girl, Ninjara, Master Mummy and Mechanica. Each has their perks and drawbacks.

The second video teases a few equippable power-ups that augment your fighter’s punches with various effects. Boomerang gives a wide arc to your swings to circumvent obstacles, Sparky adds a zap to your punch and Revolver lets you throw three in a row. Clearly, Arms aims to be a lighter take on the fighting genre than the spine-shattering Mortal Kombat or the super serious Tekken. But what else would you expect from a company that lets you duel your friends in udder-milking?

Via: Polygon

Source: YouTube

Apple’s Online Store Down for Scheduled ‘Maintenance’ Break, Possibly Ahead of Product Updates

Apple’s online store has been taken offline for a scheduled “maintenance” break between midnight and 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time. The extended downtime is fueling hopes that fresh hardware will be available when the store is brought back online, as has been the case many times in the past.

Apple traditionally invites the media to Special Events to unveil new products, but it does not have one planned for today. Accordingly, any additions or changes to Apple’s online store today are likely to be minor, and a press release would be an appropriate medium for sharing the announcements.

Lending credence to this theory is that 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time happens to be exactly when Apple typically distributes press releases.

Rumors suggest Apple is planning updated 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, a 128GB iPhone SE, a red color option for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, and new Apple Watch bands, all of which could be minor enough to simply be added to Apple’s online store and announced with press releases.

Less likely to be announced today is a rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro sporting slimmer bezels that allow for an edge-to-edge display, which seems too significant to be unveiled without an Apple event. If so, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro could be introduced at an upcoming Spring event, WWDC 2017, or possibly even later.

One rumor said Apple would host an event in March, but that appears increasingly unlikely at this point. Apple has yet to invite the media to said event, and there are only ten days remaining in the month. A subsequent report said Apple will host an event in April, coinciding with the opening of its new Apple Park campus.

Apple’s online store has gone down roughly six hours before many of its recent Special Events, while today’s maintenance break is scheduled to last five and a half hours. Apple said its online store will be “updated” during this time, suggesting that at least something new might be coming today.

So-called “maintenance” really could just be maintenance, but the classic “We’ve got something special in store for you” placeholder notice on the site suggests something more. We’ll know for sure in just a matter of hours, so keep checking back.

Tag: Apple retail
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Tim Cook Visits Beijing-Based Bike Sharing Startup, Ofo

Tim Cook visited Beijing-based bike-sharing company ofo on Tuesday, according to Reuters. The Apple CEO has been in China since at least Saturday, when he gave a wide-ranging talk at the China Development Forum.

During his ofo stop, Cook met with founding members including CEO Dai Wei, and posed for pictures of him riding a yellow ofo bike.

“Thanks for welcoming me today, ofo team! Great energy behind your mission to make commuting greener, more efficient and fun!” Cook said in his official Sina Weibo post, along with pictures of him riding an ofo bike.

The rivalry between China’s bike sharing startups has been compared to the battle between Uber and local competitor Didi Chuxing. Last year, Apple poured a $1 billion investment into Didi Chuxing, earning it a seat on the company’s board. At the time, Cook described the investment as “a chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market”.

Ofo, which counts Didi Chuxing as an investor, confirmed that Cook made the company visit on Tuesday but said no discussions regarding collaboration or investment took place. The company has already raised $450 million this month, which saw its valuation pass the $1 billion mark for the first time.

Founded in 2014, ofo developed the world’s first “non-docking” bike sharing platform operated by a mobile application, according to its site. Ofo and main rival Mobike are among a number of rapidly emerging bike-sharing services that allow users to find, unlock, and pay to rent trackable bicycles through smartphone apps, allowing younger consumers to get around congested roads and public transport.

Ofo operates 2.2 million bikes in 43 cities in China, with pilot schemes in Singapore, London, and California.

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ARM’s DynamIQ is a next-gen chip platform for phones, cars, and connected devices

Why it matters to you

DynamIQ, ARM’s new chip design, aims to deliver better performance without sacrificing efficiency.

ARM, the holding company that designs chips powering billions of smartphones, cars, and mobile devices, announced a platform on Monday that promises drastic improvements in performance and efficiency. It’s called DynamIQ, and it’ll launch in new devices beginning later this year.

DynamIQ, which ARM calls the “biggest [architectural] shift since [the] 64-bit ARMv8-A in 2011,” targets automotive, networking, server, and personal computing devices. It’s aimed at the roughly 100-plus billion devices expected to ship with ARM-based chips by 2021.

More: Qualcomm ARM-based servers to make way into Microsoft’s cloud data centers

ARM is projected to ship 100 billion chips between 2017 and 2021 to its more than 450 silicon partners and 1,000 community partners, which doubles the 50 billion it shipped between 2013 and 2017. More than 3.5 billion people use ARM-based devices today, the company said in a press release.

“We see it as our responsibility to address the industry’s demand of ubiquitous AI, autonomous systems, and accelerating the integration of virtual worlds toward a mixed-reality experience,” an ARM spokesperson said. “DynamIQ technology is a monumental shift in multicore microarchitecture for the industry, and the foundation for future ARM Cortex-A processors.”

ARM’s DynamIQ chips boast features that improve performance without compromising efficiency. A redesigned memory interface enables faster data access and enhanced power management. A compact “single-cluster” design consolidates multiple components in a single chip, and enhanced big.LITTLE, an ARM technology that intelligently switches between processor cores, shares memory between cores more efficiently.

More: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors now fully support Windows 10

DynamIQ isn’t just about big-picture improvements — individual CPU cores are now a lot more capable as well. They feature fine-grained speed control that ramps them up and down as needed, and redesigned scaling that responds to changes in power and thermal conditions. And thanks to DynamIQ’s anticipatory systems, they can switch between on and off quicker than ARM’s current chip generation.

Those performance improvements translate to meaningful gains in the areas of artificial intelligence and automation. DynamIQ’s dedicated set of AI instructions will offer a boost of up to 50 times in machine-learning routines within 3-5 years, ARM said, and optimized connections between CPU cores and specialized “accelerator hardware” will deliver up to 10 times better performance.

Autonomous and connected cars also stand to gain. DynamIQ’s built-in technologies will bring “increased safety capabilities” and “enable partners to build systems for safe operation under failure conditions.”

More: Supply channels hint that ARM-based Windows 10 machines are due in 2017

“DynamIQ is just the latest in ARM’s growing list of technology leadership milestones to get the industry one step closer to our ultimate vision,” an ARM spokesperson said. “[We want to] transform technology experiences through a total computing approach that creates a vast network of securely connected smart devices that enhance every aspect of peoples’ lives,”

ARM’s DynamIQ is a next-gen chip platform for phones, cars, and connected devices

Why it matters to you

DynamIQ, ARM’s new chip design, aims to deliver better performance without sacrificing efficiency.

ARM, the holding company that designs chips powering billions of smartphones, cars, and mobile devices, announced a platform on Monday that promises drastic improvements in performance and efficiency. It’s called DynamIQ, and it’ll launch in new devices beginning later this year.

DynamIQ, which ARM calls the “biggest [architectural] shift since [the] 64-bit ARMv8-A in 2011,” targets automotive, networking, server, and personal computing devices. It’s aimed at the roughly 100-plus billion devices expected to ship with ARM-based chips by 2021.

More: Qualcomm ARM-based servers to make way into Microsoft’s cloud data centers

ARM is projected to ship 100 billion chips between 2017 and 2021 to its more than 450 silicon partners and 1,000 community partners, which doubles the 50 billion it shipped between 2013 and 2017. More than 3.5 billion people use ARM-based devices today, the company said in a press release.

“We see it as our responsibility to address the industry’s demand of ubiquitous AI, autonomous systems, and accelerating the integration of virtual worlds toward a mixed-reality experience,” an ARM spokesperson said. “DynamIQ technology is a monumental shift in multicore microarchitecture for the industry, and the foundation for future ARM Cortex-A processors.”

ARM’s DynamIQ chips boast features that improve performance without compromising efficiency. A redesigned memory interface enables faster data access and enhanced power management. A compact “single-cluster” design consolidates multiple components in a single chip, and enhanced big.LITTLE, an ARM technology that intelligently switches between processor cores, shares memory between cores more efficiently.

More: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors now fully support Windows 10

DynamIQ isn’t just about big-picture improvements — individual CPU cores are now a lot more capable as well. They feature fine-grained speed control that ramps them up and down as needed, and redesigned scaling that responds to changes in power and thermal conditions. And thanks to DynamIQ’s anticipatory systems, they can switch between on and off quicker than ARM’s current chip generation.

Those performance improvements translate to meaningful gains in the areas of artificial intelligence and automation. DynamIQ’s dedicated set of AI instructions will offer a boost of up to 50 times in machine-learning routines within 3-5 years, ARM said, and optimized connections between CPU cores and specialized “accelerator hardware” will deliver up to 10 times better performance.

Autonomous and connected cars also stand to gain. DynamIQ’s built-in technologies will bring “increased safety capabilities” and “enable partners to build systems for safe operation under failure conditions.”

More: Supply channels hint that ARM-based Windows 10 machines are due in 2017

“DynamIQ is just the latest in ARM’s growing list of technology leadership milestones to get the industry one step closer to our ultimate vision,” an ARM spokesperson said. “[We want to] transform technology experiences through a total computing approach that creates a vast network of securely connected smart devices that enhance every aspect of peoples’ lives,”

Android 7.1.2 beta 2 for Pixel C adds Pixel launcher, brand new multitasking interface

A great sign of cohesion for the old Pixel C getting with the times.

Android 7.1.2 beta 2 has started rolling out for Pixels and Nexuses, bringing some older devices up to speed with some new features. Sliding under the radar, at first, was the Pixel C, which actually seems to have received the largest changes. The latest beta release includes the Pixel launcher, as well as a brand new multitasking interface that makes multi-window management a bit more natural and altogether better looking.

As soon as your Pixel C reboots after the update it will prompt you to select a default launcher again — yes, that’s because the previously phone-exclusive Pixel launcher is here. It’s of course roughly a scaled-up version of the launcher you see on Pixel phones today, but that’s a good thing! The navigation buttons are now the filled-in white icons like the Pixel phones, and you get the small “G” tab and weather information at the top of the screen.

You can swipe to the right to reveal the Google Now Feed, and swipe up from anywhere on the home screen to pull up the app drawer. You’ll also now notice that any icon that plays nice with Google’s latest design guidelines will be circular to match the circular folder style, and include long-press actions if the developer supports them.

Something that’s surprisingly changed is the Recents menu and multi-window management … at least part of it. Tapping the Recents button now reveals a large set of tiles that no longer overlap or scroll — you simply get up to eight mini previews of the most recently used apps, and can tap on them to jump into that app or tap an X to close it. Where this gets neat is when you long-press an app, and now have the option to drag it to the left or right edge to start the multi-window interface. The rest of the available apps then shrink down over to the opposite side to launch in the other half of the screen to complete the look.

With a single update, the Pixel C feels much more like a part of the Pixel family.

What hasn’t changed (yet, potentially) is the somewhat clunky multi-window experience thereafter. You still get an awkward situation where if you hit the Home button your first multi-window app is simply minimized, and it can be a little weird to manage. But considering how much improved this new interface of long-pressing and dragging is, I wouldn’t be surprised to see things elsewhere in multi-window be tweaked as well. Either way, it’s a big improvement so far to my eyes, and feels more natural on a large screen.

Up until this point it was kind of surprising that the Pixel phones were on a notably different software track in terms of looks and exclusive features from the Pixel C, which was launched first of course and therefore followed the Nexus line of interface. Now with Android 7.1.2 beta 2 it seems to be lining back up with the new Pixel phones to create a more consistent user experience across the devices of the Pixel family.

If you’re holding onto your Pixel C and want to get in on the new software action, you can join the Android Beta Program and start to receive over-the-air updates like this one as soon as they’re released.

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Xiaomi Redmi 4A hands-on: A decent phone at an unbeatable price

The Redmi 4A solidifies Xiaomi’s place in India’s budget segment.

Xiaomi is sailing high in India — the company’s Redmi Note 4 sold a million units in just 45 days, and the entry-level Redmi 3S is faring remarkably well in the country. Coupled with the immense success of the Redmi Note 3, Xiaomi is well on its way to continuing its dominance in the online segment.

The company is far from resting on its laurels, as evidenced by the launch of the Redmi 4A. With Samsung somehow managing to sell millions of units of the thoroughly underwhelming Galaxy J2, Xiaomi is positioning the Redmi 4A as a viable alternative.

Xiaomi’s offering has much more going for it in the form of a 720p display, Snapdragon 425 SoC, 13-megapixel camera, and 3,120mAh battery. We’ve seen several decent phones often get waylaid on account of the price, but that isn’t an issue for the Redmi 4A. With a retail price of ₹5,999 ($90), Xiaomi will be lucky if it can meet the insatiable demand for the device in the coming weeks.

The Redmi 4A sports a polycarbonate back with a matte finish, and the result is a device whose looks belie its sub-$100 price tag. The phone definitely feels much more upmarket, even more so than the Redmi 3S. And while the naming suggests that the Redmi 4A is a successor to the Redmi 3S, that isn’t the case. The Redmi 4A carries on from the Redmi 2, which launched in India in 2015.

The 5-inch 720p display is in line with what we’ve seen on the Redmi 3S, which essentially means that you won’t have any issues with the quality of the panel. There are options to adjust the color temperature, and the phone offers a blue light filter that reduces glare at night. The same can be said of the design of the Redmi 4A — the handset has rounded corners and gentle curves round the back, resulting in a comfortable in-hand feel.

Instead of the usual silver or grey color options, Xiaomi is rolling out blue and pink hues in addition to the gold variant, and that’s a good thing. The blue model in particular looks stunning, and it makes the device stand out in a sea of similar-looking metal phones.

The Redmi 4A looks like a device that costs three times as much.

The Redmi 4A also offers an IR blaster, a feature that is becoming a mainstay on all Xiaomi phones. Given the sheer number of devices compatible with the corresponding Mi Remote app, its inclusion is a welcome move by Xiaomi.

The phone comes with the latest version of MIUI 8 out of the box, and for better or worse, the interface has retained its quirks. MIUI lets you sign into your Google account during initial setup, but there’s no way to restore apps and settings from your Google account. Instead, Xiaomi offers the ability to restore content through its in-house solution called Mi Cloud. The functionality is similar to that of iCloud: just sign in with your Mi account and select the Xiaomi phone you want to restore from, and your apps and settings will propagate to the new device.

That said, Xiaomi has steadily added new features to MIUI 8 over the course of the year, and one nifty addition that will make its debut with the Redmi 4A is the ability to parse text messages. The messaging client will convert your IRCTC ticket confirmations into a card that resembles a real ticket, making the information much more readable. You also get the option to add the upcoming train timing to your calendar and see the status of the reservation with a PNR lookup. The popular Dual Apps feature is intact, allowing you to run two WhatsApp or Facebook accounts on the same device.

The Redmi 4A features 16GB of internal storage, of which 10.30GB is available to the user. That’s serviceable considering the price tag, but if you’re looking to store music or multimedia content locally, you’ll have to invest in a microSD card. The Redmi 4A offers a hybrid dual-SIM slot, allowing you to either use two SIM cards or a SIM card along with a microSD card.

I noticed the occasional stutter while browsing, and for a phone offering 2GB of RAM in 2017, that was always going to be an issue. But overall, the Redmi 4A feels like a fantastic deal for the price. We’ll have more to share over the coming week, so stay tuned for a detailed review. In the meantime, share your thoughts regarding the phone in the comments below.