Apple knows you keep losing your AirPods

If you’re an AirPod owner, you’ve probably felt a twinge of panic or two over the thought of losing one on your daily commute. Luckily, Apple now has a solution. As part of the company’s fresh 10.3 iOS update, you can now track down a missing earbud with the help of your phone’s GPS.

Find My AirPods, an option inside the stock Find My iPhone app, shows you the last place the wireless earbuds were in range of your device. It also plays sounds to help you locate them (unless they’ve run out of battery, that is). Since it costs $69 to replace a single earbud, this could well be a handy feature that potentially saves you money when one of the pods inevitably rolls under the couch.

Apple is also adding some promised (and welcome) features to its other platforms. With today’s update, it’s bringing Night Shift to macOS. As a refresher, this feature changes your display settings after sunset, using warmer colors to make things easier to read and reduce your exposure to blue light, which can throw your circadian rhythms out of whack and disrupt your sleep. Meanwhile, Apple Watch owners get Theater Mode for watchOS, which lets you mute sound and keep the screen dark until you tap on it, so you can watch movies undisturbed by Facebook notifications, Twitter replies and emails.

Here’s a full list of changes in the iOS 10.3 update:

Find My iPhone

• View the current or last known location of your AirPods
• Play a sound on one or both AirPods to help you find them

Siri

• Support for paying and checking status of bills with payment apps
• Support for scheduling with ride booking apps
• Support for checking car fuel level, lock status, turning on lights and activating horn with automaker apps
• Cricket sports scores and statistics for Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council

CarPlay

• Shortcuts in the status bar for easy access to last used apps
• Apple Music Now Playing screen gives access to Up Next and the currently playing song’s album
• Daily curated playlists and new music categories in Apple Music

Other improvements and fixes

• Rent once and watch your iTunes movies across your devices
• New Settings unified view for your Apple ID account information, settings and devices
• Hourly weather in Maps using 3D Touch on the displayed current temperature
• Support for searching “parked car” in Maps
• Calendar adds the ability to delete an unwanted invite and report it as junk
• Home app support to trigger scenes using accessories with switches and buttons
• Home app support for accessory battery level status
• Podcasts support for 3D Touch and Today widget to access recently updated shows
• Podcast shows or episodes are shareable to Messages with full playback support
• Fixes an issue that could prevent Maps from displaying your current location after resetting Location & Privacy
• VoiceOver stability improvements for Phone, Safari and Mail

Via: 9to5Mac

Source: Apple

Sarah Silverman is hosting a weekly talk show on Hulu

The success of new shows like John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight on HBO, Chelsea Handler’s Chelsea on Netflix and Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal on TBS show there’s a pretty big market for comedians giving funny and impassioned takes on the news. Get ready for one more: Hulu has just announced that Sarah Silverman will front an original weekly program tentatively titled I Love You, America. Deadline first reported the news, which Hulu itself quickly confirmed on its Twitter feed.

The show itself sounds like it’ll be very much in the vein of Bee and Oliver’s shows; Deadline says it’ll focus on “the current political/emotional landscape of the country.” While there are certainly many shows doing that right now, there’s no doubt it’s a fertile topic for discussion and comedy. Silverman’s personality also should make her a natural for this type of content — and while she may be a bit of a polarizing figure, it sounds as if the show isn’t meant to be strictly for Donald Trump haters. The program is said to be “balanced” with Silverman “looking to connect with people who may not agree with her personal opinions through honesty, humor, genuine interest in others.”

How well that formula works remains to be seen, and it’s not clear yet when we’ll get to judge it for ourselves. For starters, Hulu is producing 10 episodes, but there’s no word on when they’ll air just yet. And there’s also no details on how Silverman will balance this new show with her other work on Bob’s Burgers and Masters of Sex, assuming the talk show gets picked up for more than 10 installments.

Source: Hulu (Twitter), Deadline

Verizon plans to test 4K TV for its FiOS customers

Verizon has been relatively late to 4K TV (its competitors hopped aboard a while back), but it’s at least making up for lost time. The carrier and its partner SES have confirmed that they’ll soon test 4K delivery to FiOS TV customers. There’s no mention of when this dry run will begin (an IPTV launch may be coming later in 2017), but it’ll include nine channels that will serve more as a proof of concept than anything. NASA TV will be the highlight, but you can also expect 4K Universe, C4K60, Fashion One 4K, Insight, Nature Relaxation, Travelxp $K, UHD1 and SES’ own demonstration channel.

It shouldn’t be too difficult to deliver 4K given the capacity that FiOS’ fiber network affords. The larger issue is whether or not you’ll see it in the first place. FiOS TV serves a relatively limited slice of the US, with about 4.5 million customers. Given Verizon’s reluctance to expand past its existing coverage areas (it’s even in hot water over its New York City rollout), you’ll likely have to go with satellite TV or a cable giant to get your fix. Nonetheless, this is heartening news if you live in the right areas and want some real competition in the Ultra HD space.

Source: BusinessWire

Low-Cost iPad Not Among the New iPad Models Spotted in Device Logs Earlier This Month

Back in mid-March, mobile marketing company Fiksu spotted four new iPad identifiers in its device data, hinting at the imminent release of new hardware.

We did indeed see a new low-cost 9.7-inch iPad introduced via press release on Tuesday, March 21, but as it turns out, the identifiers for the new 9.7-inch iPad don’t match up with the iPads Fiksu saw, suggesting there could still be additional iPad models set to be released in the not-so-distant future.

The new iPad’s identifier is “iPad6,11” and “iPad6,12,” with one number each for for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models. Fiksu, meanwhile, saw the following identifiers in its device logs:

– iPad7,1
– iPad7,2
– iPad7,3
– iPad7,4

These numbers could perhaps refer to new iPad Pro models in two sizes, 12.9-inch and either 9.7-inches or perhaps the new rumored 10.5-inch model. The identifiers Fiksu saw are similar to the existing identifiers for the current 9.7 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models.

– 12.9-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) – iPad 6,7
– 12.9 inch iPad Pro (Cellular) – iPad 6,8
– 9.7-inch iPad Pro (Wi-Fi) – iPad 6,3
– 9.7-inch iPad Pro (Cellular) – iPad 6,4

In the original report, Fiksu said the number of new iPad models in its data was steadily ramping up, and that in its experience, those increasing numbers indicate an “imminent” release. Fiksu suggested the new iPad models could launch within a month, which would put a release somewhere around mid-April.

There has been a lot of confusion around iPad Pro launch timelines. Rumors originally suggested a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro model, and perhaps a new 12.9-inch model would launch in the spring alongside the low-cost 9.7-inch model, but we only got the latter.

It is now unclear when we will see new iPad Pro models. The release of a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad (and a new iPhone color and new Apple Watch bands) via press release seems to suggest we aren’t going to see a spring event and thus no spring launch of new iPads, but it’s not an impossibility.

If a spring debut doesn’t happen, we could potentially see a launch at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June or Apple could hold off on a launch until the fall, introducing iPads alongside new iPhones in September. At this point, Apple’s iPad plans are murky at best, and we’ll need to wait for more information to narrow down a release timeline.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Caution)
Discuss this article in our forums

How to Use iOS 10.3’s New Find My AirPods Feature

iOS 10.3 introduces “Find My AirPods,” a new feature designed to make it easier to keep track of Apple’s recently released wireless earphones.

Find My AirPods has its limitations because it’s not able to work when the AirPods aren’t connected to an iOS device via Bluetooth, but the feature can help you locate AirPods lost nearby and it gives clues as to where your AirPods might be found if they’re lost out of the range of the iPhone.

It’s worth noting that Find My AirPods only works for the AirPods themselves — it can’t locate a lost AirPods Case, nor does it work when the AirPods are disconnected from the iPhone and stored in the case.

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How to Access Find My AirPods

Find My AirPods is located within the “Find My iPhone” app on iOS devices and iCloud.com. If the AirPods are out of the case and connected to the iPhone, they’ll show up on the Find My iPhone map just like an iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, or Mac.

If your AirPods are in the case or not currently connected, the last known location will be displayed. If your AirPods haven’t been in use at all recently, they’ll be listed as “offline.”

Locating an AirPod Lost Nearby

Your AirPods are most likely to be misplaced or lost when you set them down momentarily because there are no cords to keep them together or to make them easier to find. Find My AirPods is mostly designed to locate an AirPod that’s nearby by playing a sound.

Open Find My iPhone on an iOS device or iCloud.com.
Tap the AirPods in the list.
Tap “Actions.”
Tap “Play Sound.”
A soft chirping sound will start playing after you initiate the “Play Sound” command, which will gradually get louder and louder with each chirp to make the AirPods easier to locate.

If just the left or just the right AirPod is missing, you can also mute the sound coming from the left or the right. To stop the sound once the AirPods are located, you’ll need to tap “Stop Playing.” Putting the AirPods back in the case will also turn the sound off after a few seconds.

Locating an AirPod Lost Far Away

If your AirPods aren’t connected to your iPhone, their exact location is not relayed to Find My iPhone. In this situation, the last known location of the AirPods when they were connected to an iPhone is displayed.

So, for example, if you use them while at the airport and then leave them behind, their location when they were last connected to your iPhone over Bluetooth will be displayed, even if the AirPods are moved somewhere else.

When the AirPods aren’t connected to the iPhone, the last online location is displayed. It is not up to date.
For this reason, using Find My AirPods to locate an AirPod that’s been left behind isn’t going to be particularly accurate, but it will give you a general idea of where they were lost so you can go back to the location.

When attempting to locate an AirPod this way, tap the little car icon and it will give you Apple Maps directions to the last known location.

Limitations

Your AirPods will not play a sound while they’re in the case, so if you lose the AirPods and the AirPods Case somewhere in the house, you’re out of luck.

There’s also no way to track the AirPods case because a Bluetooth connection is needed for Find My AirPods, so there is no option for locating a lost case.

Replacing a lost AirPod or AirPods Case

Apple offers AirPods replacements if one is lost and can’t be located. It costs $69 to replace a single AirPod or to replace the AirPods Charging Case.

Related Roundup: iOS 10
Tag: AirPods
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10.5-Inch iPad Pro Entering Limited Production, But Spring, WWDC, or Fall Launch Remains Unclear

Apple’s manufacturing partners will begin limited production of the rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro this month, according to IHS Markit analyst Rhoda Alexander, who spoke with Forbes over the weekend.

At this point, however, it remains unclear whether the 10.5-inch iPad Pro will be announced later this spring, at WWDC 2017 in June, or in the fall or later, as rumors are lacking consensus.

Japanese blog Mac Otakara previously said Apple would unveil its new iPad Pro lineup at a March event, but that rumor failed to materialize. Instead, Apple last week announced a low-cost 9.7-inch iPad, 128GB iPhone SE, new Apple Watch bands, and a (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus through its Newsroom.

The latest rumor from DigiTimes claims Apple is planning to unveil the 10.5-inch iPad Pro at an early April event to “mark the inauguration” of its new Apple Park campus, which opens to employees next month. While this timeline could be correct, it’s unlikely Apple would have shared such specific plans with the supply chain.

Alexander believes an April launch “still looks somewhat tentative,” but she said “the necessary elements are starting to come together,” so it’s possible Apple could do a limited spring launch in the United States and select other countries, followed by a wider rollout as production ramps up.

A person with sources within Apple’s supply chain told MacRumors that they still expect the 10.5-inch iPad Pro to launch in the spring. The person requested full confidentiality due to the nature of their position.

It looks like Apple is doing the releases in a staggered fashion. I still expect a 10-inch-range iPad sometime in the spring. The supply chain is pretty clear that it is coming, maybe as soon as April.

A handful of Apple analysts that we spoke to reiterated that a fall launch is more likely, however, and if volume production has yet to begin, then a launch later this year rather than sooner is certainly a possibility.

Apple pundit John Gruber made a good point last week about why it would make sense for Apple to wait until at least October to announce the 10.5-inch iPad Pro: to avoid spoiling the design of the much-rumored iPhone with an edge-to-edge OLED display, which is expected to be announced in September.

I think the most likely explanation is that Apple is working on a new edge-to-edge design iPad with a 10.5-inch display, but that it’s a 2018 thing, not a 2017 thing. Or, at the very earliest, a late 2017 thing — something they could unveil in October. […]

Among all the other aforementioned things that don’t make sense regarding the rumor that a 10.5-inch iPad is imminent is the idea that the new design language would debut on an iPad, not an iPhone.

But just how much of a spoiler the 10.5-inch iPad Pro might be remains to be seen, as rumors are conflicting about whether the tablet will have an edge-to-edge display or simply a narrow bezel design. It is also uncertain if Apple will remove the Home button on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro in line with the “iPhone 8.”

Back in August, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple would launch a 10.5-inch iPad Pro and new 12.9-inch iPad Pro in “2017,” and he generally shares accurate information, so there is a good chance the tablets are coming at some point this year. He also predicted the low-cost 9.7-inch iPad.

Just a few weeks ago, mobile marketing firm Fiksu spotted four new iPad identifiers in its device data. As it turns out, these model identifiers are not for the new 9.7-inch iPad, suggesting that they could be for Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular versions of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Fiksu suggested the new iPad models could launch within a month, which would suggest a release by the end of April.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Caution)
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How to Use Night Shift in macOS Sierra 10.12.4

Night Shift, the feature first introduced in iOS devices with iOS 9.3, has expanded to the Mac with the release of 10.12.4. Night Shift is compatible with 2012 and newer Macs, so it won’t work on older machines.

For those unfamiliar with Night Shift, it’s designed to cut down on the amount of blue light you’re exposed to during the evening by shifting the display of a Mac to a more yellow tone. Blue light is said to have a harmful effect on your circadian rhythm, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Studies suggest that eliminating blue light exposure at night might help you sleep just a bit better, but it does significantly change the look of your display. Many Mac users have been using blue light reduction software f.lux for years now, but with Night Shift, there’s no need to install an additional app because it’s an operating system feature.

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Turning On Night Shift

Night Shift’s controls can be a little bit difficult to find when you go to use the feature for the first time. The Night Shift options are located in the display section of System Preferences.

Click on the Apple icon in the menu bar and select System Preferences.
Choose the “Displays” icon.
There are three tabs in this menu: Display, Color, and Night Shift. Choose Night Shift.
From the “Schedule” option, choose either “Sunset to Sunrise” or “Custom.”
As the name suggests, the “Sunset to Sunrise” option causes Night Shift to turn on automatically each night when the sun sets and turn off when the sun rises. It’s based on your local sunset and sunrise times. This option requires your location to be enabled in Security & Privacy Preferences so your Mac knows where you are in the world.

The “Custom” option lets you choose a specific start and end time for Night Shift to turn on. With a custom setting, it will turn on and off at the same time each night based on the time that you choose.

Adjusting Color Temperature

In the same section System Preferences that’s used to turn Night Shift on, there’s also an option to adjust the color temperature of the feature to your liking.

By default, the temperature is set to the middle, but if you drag the slider to the left, you’ll get more blue light, and if you drag it to the right, you’ll get a deeper yellow shade with less blue light.

Apple warns that using the warmer end of the spectrum could affect the appearance of some onscreen motion.

Night Shift Quick Toggle

If you want to manually enable or disable Night Shift, there are two ways to do it. You can use the “Manual” setting in System Preferences to force Night Shift to turn on, or you can use the Notification Center, which is quicker. For the Notification Center:

Click on the Notification Center menu bar icon, which is denoted by three lines. It’ll open to the Today view.
Scroll up to the top of the Notification Center.
Click on the “Night Shift” toggle to turn the feature on or turn it off.
Choosing one of the manual toggle options when Night Shift is off will toggle it on until sunrise (or a custom set time) no matter what time it is. Toggling it off will turn it off completely.

Siri

Siri, introduced in macOS Sierra, can be used to turn Night Shift on or off. Click the Siri button in the menu bar or the dock and say “Turn on Night Shift” or “Turn off Night Shift” to control the Night Shift feature.

External Monitors

Night Shift extends to external displays that are connected to your Mac, shifting the temperature to a warmer tone to match the Mac’s display. It is not an individual option that can be applied to a display, but rather mirrors the Mac setting.

Night Shift does not extend to connected televisions or projectors, however, nor does it always work reliably with an external display.

Compatibility

Night Shift works with Macs manufactured in 2012 and later and it is not available on older machines. A full list of devices that support Night Shift is below:

• MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
• Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
• iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Late 2013 or newer)
• Apple LED Cinema Display
• Apple Thunderbolt Display
• LG UltraFine 5K Display
• LG UltraFine 4K Display

Limitations

There is no option to toggle Night Shift on and off for specific apps, so if you wanted to be able to do something like turn Night Shift off when you use Photoshop or watch videos, there’s no way to do it. It’s all or nothing.

Related Roundup: macOS Sierra
Tag: Night Shift
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Bubble Witch 3 Saga- Does one of King’s latest offerings still bring the magic? (Review)

King made a name for itself in a big way a few years back when it launched it’s first hit game Candy Crush Saga. There have been a plethora of games since then from King involving witches, pets, farms, soda, but all revolve around this idea of having short levels with some sort of match 3 gameplay with tricks and turns, and every time you fail to pass a level you lose a life. Lose 5 and you’ll be sending annoying Facebook requests to all your friends hoping to receive a few to continue your Saga. One of King’s newest games is Bubble Witch 3 Saga (that’s not a typo, and yes it is a little awkward to say) but does the tried and true method of King’s previous hit games still hold up?

Developer: King
Price: Free/IAP
Download: Google Play, iTunes

Levels and levels and levels and levels and…

Welcome to the World of Magic

In Bubble Witch 3 Saga you play as a witch in pursuit of a trouble making magic cat. You launch differently colored bubbles from your magical portal up to the top of the screen. Any match of 3 of the same color will cause the matched bubbles and any adjoining bubbles of the same color to exploded. The goal of each level varies a little, with missions to either clear all the bubbles, release owls that are trapped in bubbled by popping them out, helping a ghost travel up through a maze of bubbles by popping the way, and even boss battles where you need to release fairies (again, by popping bubbles) to attack bosses.

BEHOLD MY POWER!

Controls

Seeing that this is a King game, the controls are not overly complex at all. You hold your finger on the screen to aim your bubble and release to launch it. There is a beam that shows your trajectory, so aiming is dead simple. King keeps controls simple so that their games are easily accessible by all kinds of players. When you make a game that I’ve seen 7-year-olds play, and that their Moms can also pick up and play, you’ve got a recipe for success.

Graphics and Sounds

BW3S is colorful and cartoony. Everything is bright and crisp and the animations flow very smoothly. The sound matches the art style, with cheery pops, fun music, and whimsical sound effects. The various environments look and sound like they are ripped right out of a Disney movie and it makes the game feel fun and inviting.

The ghost levels are the best. Just my opinion, but it’s true.

Gameplay

There are several basic styles of levels as I mentioned earlier. Popping all the bubbles is probably the most straightforward of all the level types. My favorite levels are the levels that involve getting the ghost all the way up the tower of bubbles to be reunited with his friends. These levels are typically filled with bubbles and different routes you can pop, but there are some amazing combos you can pull off and you get a tremendous sense of accomplishment when the entire screen explodes and your ghost zooms up in the air. All these different gameplay styles help to keep the game feeling fresh and new level after level even though at its core it’s still the same one-touch gameplay.

Every start you earn for completing levels lets you upgrade your cottage

Longevity

As with most of the Saga games, there are countless levels. They start incredibly simple and brainless and get more complex as the levels go on. There are a handful of powerups that help you demolish bubbles quickly and easily. Some of these are gifted to you when you beat boss battles or at special checkpoint levels, but to get more otherwise, that would be an in-app purchase. Each of the stars you collect for completing the levels gives you money to improve a little cottage. There’s really not much to this besides bragging rights.

I would like to have seen your abilities maybe tied to which garden you planted or which trees you chose, but really this is nothing more than a cosmetic cottage where your goal is to make it look pretty. If that’s your kind of thing, then maybe that part of the game will keep you interested for longer. I tended to forget about it until I had enough to do about 3 upgrades at once, just because I didn’t remember it since there is no sort of reward tied it with. All in all, there are enough levels, powerups, and cottage building (if that’s what you’re into) to keep you busy for weeks and weeks.

Conclusion

Bubble Witch 3 Saga is a pretty fun game. The simple gameplay makes it easy to pick up and play for just about anyone, but don’t let that fool you. The levels can get pretty complicated and you’ll find yourself burning through lives until you finally pull off that perfect run. There is enough variety in the levels that things do not get stale quickly, and the cottage mode gives you reasons to get 3 stars since they give your currency to unlock more cottage upgrades, even if it is just for purely cosmetic reasons. King doesn’t stray to far from it’s tried-and-true formula, but with a game that is this beautiful, engaging, and fun, maybe they don’t need to just yet. BW3S is a great game to pick up if you’re looking to pass some time, or if you need a new addiction. That said, they can only rehash the same game a few times before people need something new. Bubble Witch is still fun, but this might be the last romp before they need to have a serious shakeup.

Microsoft sued for $5 million in class action over Windows 10 upgrades

Why it matters to you

Microsoft’s latest lawsuit over Windows 10 updates now claims the OS wiped files and broke computers.

Microsoft is facing a class action lawsuit for $5 million in Illinois over allegedly buggy Windows 10 updates that deleted people’s files and damaged their devices.

Three people have filed the class action suit against the Redmond, Washington company, alleging unwanted installations, and claiming that the update from Windows 7 machines to Windows 10 caused damage to their computers and wiped files. They are seeking other aggrieved parties in the U.S. to join their case, which would only encompass people who experienced these kinds of issues within 30 days of making the switch from 7 to 10. The case would not include Windows 8 users.

More: One woman was so annoyed by the Windows 10 update, she sued — and won

The plaintiffs claim they have more than 100 class members already and at present are looking for $5 million in damages.

Microsoft “failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, formulating, and manufacturing the Windows 10 upgrade and placing it into the stream of commerce,” according to lawyers representing the three Windows users in Chicago District Court.

“As a result of its failure to exercise reasonable care, defendant distributed an operating system that was liable to cause loss of data or damage to hardware,” they said.

“Absent a warning or instruction, a reasonable consumer would not be aware of the problem.”

One of the plaintiffs describes in the filing how he regularly selected no on the prompts for him to update to Windows 10 but after six months, he eventually gave in. He claims that the upgrade caused his computer to crash which he had to pay Microsoft to fix.

Microsoft had offered free upgrades for a period for all Windows 7 and 8 users.

Digital Trends reached out to Microsoft for a comment but has yet to hear back. The company did however provide a statement to The Register over the weekend saying, that “customers had the option not to upgrade to Windows 10” and pointed to its free customer support and 31-day offer to roll back to an older version of the OS. “We believe the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit,” the company said.

This isn’t the first time that Microsoft has faced a lawsuit over Windows 10 upgrades. Last June, a woman in Seattle bagged $10,000 from Microsoft in a settlement.

Intel’s Optane Memory hopes to give your aging hard disk a kick in the pants

Last week, Intel announced the first super-fast Optane drive headed to market, the data-center focused DC P4800X SSD. While the consumer versions of the SSDs won’t be available until later this year, the chip maker has something to tide us over — Intel Optane Memory. These little M.2 form factor drives promise to kick your old HDD into high gear, but there are more than a few catches.

A swift boot

Before Intel Optane, which is based on the 3D Xpoint technology, users had to decide between the two different types of storage device. You could choose a larger spinning disk drive, or HDD, with slow speeds but a good price per gigabyte, or a flash-based SSD with a fraction of the storage space, but five to fifteen times faster performance. System builders often include both, loading the operating system and important software onto the faster SSD, and using the slower HDD as a data drive. This solves one of the biggest issues with HDDs — slow boot times.

Intel should be trying to explain to users why their next PC off the shelf at Best Buy needs Optane

The Optane drives are much faster than even the increasingly common NVMe SSDs, but the Intel Optane Memory isn’t meant to replace those. Instead, you can install the Optane Memory alongside just an HDD, and it will continually monitor your system usage, keeping important files, system libraries, and essential OS pieces cached to the Optane Memory. The software you use most will launch faster, and the break-in period where your system learns what that is shouldn’t take very long.

It’s not the first time manufacturers have developed similar solutions. When SSDs first rolled out and prices were steep, brands pushed out drives that paired up larger HDD-based storage with a small SSD cache in one drive. To a certain extent, it works, but the caching software never really picked up that much speed, except on boot, and you couldn’t prioritize files by hand. Intel claims that driver-level and software optimization allows for seriously improved speeds, although it’s still a hands-off approach.

The right idea, the wrong crowd

The ideal use case for the Intel Optane Memory would seem to be breathing new life into older systems that lack SSDs. Unfortunately, only Seventh Generation Intel Processors actually support Optane, and they’ll also need an M.2 slot to take advantage, which is much more likely to show up on enthusiast motherboards than the specifically manufactured motherboards in off-the-shelf systems. As such, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to upgrade to the Intel Optane Memory unless you just bought a system in the last few months, in which case, you should’ve gone with a full SSD or combination solution.

It’s also tough to stomach the price, at least for system builders, where Intel seems to be targeting these drives initially. The 16GB version will run you $44, while the larger 32GB version, which Intel recommends for power users, costs a full $88. Meanwhile, 250GB SSDs are regularly available for less than $80. Intel says there’s value in not having to manage those files on your own, but it’s hard to imagine that’s much of an ask for someone building a system component by component.

More: Intel’s Optane DC 4800X blurs the line between RAM and solid state storage

If anything, it’s likely that Intel Optane Memory will slow SSD adoption in pre-built consumer machines. OEMs typically buy in bulk for better pricing, and Intel Optane Memory allows those system builders to keep using those stacks of slow-ass 5400RPM drives that are taking up space on shelves instead of moving on to dedicated SSDs. Pre-built computers with Optane Memory should start hitting shelves on April 24th, with pre-orders for individual users starting today and shipping at the same time os OEM machines.

A lot of promise

It definitely feels like Intel is on to something here, for the simple reason that most computer users look for the larger hard drive. It’s one of the most important factors to the casual user, and they definitely notice when storage space is lacking. What system builders know is that using an SSD improves the minute-to-minute usability and responsiveness of any system, to the point that we’ve taken to harshly criticize modern systems that don’t at least offer it as an option.

The bottom line is that Intel is offering up a product that makes some impressive promises to a market that already had to answer them. Intel shouldn’t be trying to sell Optane Memory as a way to increase the responsiveness of high-end PCs, which are almost all sporting at least an SATA SSD already. Instead, it should just be trying to explain to users what Optane is, and why their next pre-built system off the Best Buy shelf should have Optane. We’ll withhold final judgement until we’ve spent time with the drive in our test lab, but for now, we remain skeptical.