Strap this wearable to your head for better rest, less stress, and fast relaxation

Why it matters to you

Who doesn’t want to sleep better and quickly get rid of stress? The new Thync Relax Pro wearable will help you achieve those goals.

Thync, the company behind the fascinating neurostimulation wearable of the same name, is back, and this time it’s only concerned with helping us relax. The original Thync, which was worn on the forehead, can be used to stimulate the brain to either help us calm down or increase focus at a time when it’s needed. The new Thync Relax Pro uses enhanced technology based on the original version, but only for the purposes of promoting relaxation and good sleep.

The new Thync module attaches to the back of your neck, using disposable electrode pads, and is controlled by a smartphone app. There are two modes, Thync Deep Relax and Thync Deep Sleep. It uses low-level electrical stimulation patterns to manipulate your body into lowering stress, improving your mood, and boosting the quality of sleep.

More: Our review of the original Thync

We met with Thync CEO Isy Goldwasser last year for a sneak preview of a device called the Thync Relax. The Thync Relax Pro takes essentially the same neurostimulation app modes we tried at the time, and links them to a more compact wearable module that’s closer to the original design. Goldwasser told us at the time that most people using Thync chose the programs that relaxed them over those that boosted energy and focus. Making a Thync product dedicated to that makes sense.

If you’re concerned about strapping an electrical device to your head and letting it send some stimulating waves through your brain, don’t worry — the technology is safe and has been used for many years, with almost no side effects at all. In our experience with Thync and the prototype Thync Relax, we found that it really works.

Thync has revised its pricing strategy with the Relax Pro. You pay $150 up front for the device, and then $30 each month to access the app and receive the Thync Pad packs. These contain the electrodes that make the Thync work, and are really only good for one or two uses before they need replacing.

We’re confirming the release date, and where it’ll be available. We’ll provide an update here when we have all the details.

Galaxy S8 leak reveals gold model + U.S. branding

It says ‘Galaxy S8’ on the back.

Prominent leaker Evan Blass continues to lay bare the Samsung Galaxy S8 ahead of next week’s announcement. This morning we’re getting a look at the GS8 in gold, in addition to a fresh perspective on the grey and black models. Behold!

Blass also reveals the branding for the U.S. versions of the phone which — surprise! — has additional Galaxy branding in addition to the Samsung logo up top.

The most interesting thing about these late-breaking leaks is what they show us about the front face of the phone. Earlier GS8 images have revealed colored front panels, whereas these suggest Samsung is sticking with a black border top and bottom. It’s an understandable move given the large number of cutouts required for cameras and sensors. But this does leave us wondering if other colors — like the blue we keep seeing — may be different.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus

• Latest Galaxy S8 rumors!
• Galaxy S8 announcement coming March 29 in NYC
• Galaxy S8 release date set for April 28
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

Fossil bets the house on smartwatches and hybrids, adds Instagram watch faces for 2017

With the Baselworld watch trade show in Switzerland now in full swing, we fully expect plenty of Android Wear 2.0 and other connected smartwatches to be announced. Most of them will come from the Fossil Group, it seems.

Fossil has its own-branded smartwatches, but also manufacturers watches for other fashion labels, including Michael Kors, Armani, DKNY and Kate Spade). That’s why its Baselworld press events tend to be longer than most.

It announced in this year’s conference that it will not only releasing two new Fossil Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches, but devices in collaboration with Diesel, Emporio Armani, Misfit and Michael Kors. They will all appear from around late-summer to Christmas 2017.

• When is Android Wear 2.0 coming to my smartwatch?
• Best smartwatches 2017: The best smart wristwear available to buy today

The latter brand is interesting as part of its make-up includes the ability to use Instagram as the background to the watch face. That means you can have your face reflect your Instagram feed and therefore change automatically. This will be popular, no doubt, among heavy social media users.

Smart move by Fossil to add dedicated @instagram app for its Kors smartwatches. Can load Instagram photos as watch face. #Baselworld2017 pic.twitter.com/8zuNbXu8ye

— Ben Wood (@benwood) March 23, 2017

Fossil’s own watches, the Q Venture and Q Explorist, will be available from “Fall 2017” and be the company’s “slimmest smartwatches yet”.

All the Android Wear devices will have round AMOLED displays and run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor. They will all be compatible with iOS as well and Android smartphones.

As well as Android Wear devices, Fossil will also make all of its analogue watches hybrid going forward. That means they will have some smart functionality, including notifications.

It boasts that it will make more than 300 connected watch styles across 14 brands throughout the year.

Wells Fargo activates cardless withdrawals for all its ATMs

Wells Fargo’s pilot trial for cardless withdrawals must have gone well, because the bank is rolling out the feature to all of its 13,000 ATMs across the country. The company debuted the feature in select ATMs earlier this year. Starting on March 27th, though, you can withdraw cash from any of the bank’s machines using only your smartphone. You’ll have to request an eight-digit code from the Wells Fargo app to punch into the machine along with your PIN code every time you want to withdraw money. Take note, however, that the code can only be used once and won’t be enough to open some branches’ secure doors during non-business hours — you’ll still need your card for that.

“Security certainly was a big aspect of the cardless feature and the two-step identification helps reduce the risk of fraud,” Jonathan Velline, Wells Fargo’s head of ATM, said. He added that the mobile transactions will prevent scammers from skimming customers’ cards, as well. The company said it plans to roll out an update later this year that will make the process even easier. When that feature arrives, you won’t even have to request a code: you’ll only have to hold up your phone to a reader on the machine to get your money.

Source: Reuters, CBS SF Bay Area

Fossil will give you 300 new smartwatch options in 2017

Fossil swore that it would introduce smartwatches across all its brands, and it’s definitely making good on that promise… although the result is a tad overwhelming. The company has announced that it’s launching 300 (!) hybrid and touchscreen styles in 2017, and that includes brands that are both introducing their very first wearables as well as veterans jumping into the Android Wear arena. When all is said and done, most of Fossil’s labels will have at least some kind of smartwatch on store shelves. We won’t go into every single model (do you have a few hours?), but there are some definite highlights.

Among the Android watches, you’ll see first-time entries from Diesel (shown at left) and Emporio Armani. Fossil itself is introducing two slimmer and “feature-packed” models (the Q Venture and Q Explorist), while Michael Kors is introducing the Access Grayson (men) and Access Sofie (women) with a “microapp” that uses Instagram photos for your watch face. All of these entries (including the previously unveiled Misfit Vapor) will use Android Wear 2.0, AMOLED displays and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, so your purchasing decision really comes down to the look you prefer. Both Misfit and Emporio will be first out of the gate with late summer launches, while the other brands will ship their offerings in the fall or holiday season.

Things get much more crowded when it comes to more conventional-looking hybrid watches. DKNY, Marc Jacobs, Michele, Relic and Tory Burch are all introducing their first wearables, and Fossil will introduce two hybrids (the Q Accomplice and Q Activist) with customizable pushers and slimmer cases. Existing brands are adding new colors and styles, too. Fossil will start things off with a summer launch, and the rest should be widely available in the fall or the holidays.

Prices and device-to-device differences will have to wait, unfortunately. However, it’s already clear that Fossil is treating smartwatches much as it does any other fashion piece in its catalog: it’s covering virtually every potential wearer’s exact tastes, no matter how niche. That could make it ideal if you’re annoyed by the narrow selections from most rival smartwatch makers, but it might also lead to some confusion if you aren’t dead set on a particular model.

Source: Fossil Group

Google Photos and Duo App Updates Coming For Users in Low Connectivity Areas

Google announced a couple of notable updates for its Duo and Photos apps yesterday at the company’s São Paulo event, where it pitched the features as ideal solutions for users in Brazil who live in low connectivity areas.

Google Photos received two new features to make photo backup and sharing easier when using the app in locations with poor network coverage.

Photos now backs up images in a lightweight preview quality that Google says “still looks great on a smartphone” and can be easily shared over poor connections. When a good Wi-Fi connection does become available, the backed up photos are automatically replaced with high quality versions.

We’re also making it easier to share many photos at once even on low connectivity. Never mind if you’re at the beach or hiking in the mountains, with Google Photos you can now share pictures quickly even with a spotty connection by sending first in low resolution so friends and family can view them right away. They’ll later update in higher resolution when connectivity permits.

Video calling app Duo gained an audio-only calling feature that users can switch to when an internet connection is poor. The features for both apps are available in Brazil from today, and Google says it will be rolling them out to users around the world in the coming days.

Yesterday, Google also announced a new feature for Maps that lets users share their real-time locations with friends and family.

Tags: Google, Brazil, Google Photos, Duo
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Leaked render shows off the Moto G5 in stunning blue

The Moto G5 is getting a new color option.

Motorola launched the Moto G5 in grey and gold color options, and it looks like the company will launch a blue color variant. Renders of the blue version — which will be called Blue Sapphire — were leaked earlier today by Ronald Quandt of WinFuture, showcasing a device that looks far more attractive than the two colors currently available.

Other than the new hue, there won’t be any changes in the internal hardware, with the blue color options also sporting a 5-inch Full HD panel, Snapdragon 430 SoC, 2GB/3GB of RAM, 16GB/32GB storage, 13MP camera, 5MP front shooter, and a 2800mAh battery. The renders suggest a launch is imminent (the date on the widget shows April 3), so it’s likely we’ll hear more from Motorola sometime next week.

What we do know is that the Moto G5 won’t be coming to the U.S., so the best chance of seeing the blue color option in the country is to hope that Motorola launches the G5 Plus in a similar hue.

Xiaomi’s $90 Redmi 4A is going up for sale on Amazon India

The first Redmi 4A sale kicks off at 12 p.m. IST on Amazon India.

The Redmi 4A is Xiaomi’s most affordable phone to date in India, offering decent specs for ₹5,999 ($90). The phone will be going up for sale for the first time later today, March 23 at 12 p.m. IST, on Amazon India.

To recount, the Redmi 4A offers a 5-inch 720p display, Snapdragon 425 SoC, 13 MP camera, 5MP front camera, 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage, microSD slot, and a 3120mAh battery. The phone is available in Dark Grey (which isn’t dark or grey but in fact blue) and Gold color options, and Xiaomi will start selling the Rose Gold variant on Mi.com starting April 6.

Xiaomi Redmi 4A hands-on

Amazon India is incentivizing the launch of the Redmi 4A by providing a 10% cashback offer to IndusInd Bank customers. You’ll also get ₹50 off of official Mi cases, and a ₹200 promotional credit toward Kindle purchases. If you’re an Idea Cellular customer and are looking to pick up the device, you’ll be eligible to receive 28GB of data (limited to 1GB a day) with a ₹343 recharge.

Interested? Head to the link below at 12 p.m. to get your hands on the Redmi 4A.

See at Amazon India

These are the phones that receive regular security patches, according to Google

Pixels, a lot of Nexus devices, and a few names that are a welcome addition.

In its 2016 Android security year in review post, Google highlighted steps it has taken over the course of the year to thrawt malware and malicious apps on the Play Store. The company said that only 0.05% of apps downloaded from the Play Store in 2016 had a Potentially Harmful Application, down from 0.15% in 2015. Verify Apps — which periodically scans your phone for harmful apps — conducted 750 million daily checks in 2016.

Google has also collaborated with manufacturers and chip vendors like Qualcomm, MediaTek, and NVIDIA to address known vulnerabilities via monthly security patches. Over the course of the year, that included fixing 655 vulnerabilities — more than half of which were of a high severity, a 275% increase from 2015. The company said that it has delivered a security patch to 735 million phones covering more than 200 manufacturers and over 2,000 models, or roughly half of the 1.4 billion Android devices active today.

Google is now working to get updates delivered faster and to more devices, and in the process has shared phones that have received a “60% to 95%” update rate. Google checked Play Services for devices that ran the October security patch or higher during the month of December, and found that these devices are the best when it comes to quick security updates. Unsurprisingly, the list has a lot of Nexus phones:

• Google Pixel
• Google Pixel XL
• Motorola Moto Z Droid
• OPPO A33W
• Nexus 6P
• Nexus 5X
• Nexus 6
• OnePlus 3
• Samsung Galaxy S7
• Asus Zenfone 3
• bq Aquarius M5
• Nexus 5
• Vivo V3 Max
• LG V20
• Sony Xperia X Compact

Along with the usual vendors, the list also counts the Vivo V3 Max, a best-seller in Asia last year. With Vivo and OPPO steadily gaining ground — they’re now the fourth- and fifth-largest smartphone vendors globally — it’s great to see the companies commit to regular security updates.

Asian markets are skewed toward mid-range devices, and it’s telling that not a single phone from HTC, Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi made the list. Samsung is also at fault here. Although the S7 picked up regular updates, the Galaxy J series — the company’s best-selling lineup in India — is not featured, nor are any devices from the Galaxy A series.

Going forward, Google said that it would work closely with its global partners to streamline the update process, which should hopefully see more devices getting security updates on a monthly basis. If you’re interested in the findings from the Android Security team, check out the webinar below:

Medium’s subscription offers all-you-can-read stories for $5

We knew that subscriptions were coming to the popular blogging platform, Medium. But, we didn’t know the full details of what’d be included or the price. For $5 a month you’ll get access to exclusive pieces of writing, site features before anyone else sees them an offline reading list and ad-free browsing.

“We invite you to join us as a paid member and to help support an ad-free platform that delivers the right type of content: the type that can only be created when independent writers and publishers are rewarded based on value rather than clicks,” the subscription page reads.

Versus something like Patreon where people can sponsor their favorite creatives directly and for varying sums of money, this may prove attractive for folks who feel nickel-and-dimed by that approach. Medium has stated that it thinks getting away from relying on ad revenue to fund the service is the key to success.

But this move seems outdated on arrival (magazines and newspapers rely on ads and subscriptions to be successful and even then…), it’ll likely need a decent amount of subscribers. Can a Netflix-style subscription model work for web publishing? We’re about to find out.

Via: Axios

Source: Medium