Western Digital Reveals ‘G-Drive USB-C’ With High-Capacity Storage and MacBook Charging Capabilities

Western Digital today announced the newest addition to its G-Technology brand “G-Drive,” called the G-Drive UBS-C. The company said that the new device was designed with power users and creative enthusiasts in mind, allowing them access to high-capacity storage and charging on the MacBook Pro through the USB-C port.

The G-Drive USB-C is available in 4TB, 8TB, and 10TB capacities so users can store HD videos, photos, music, backups, and more on the device, which is also Time Machine compatible. The drive also supports traditional USB 3.0 connections, and ships with a USB-C to USB-A cable to make it backwards compatible with systems that include USB-A connectors. A USB-C to USB-C cable is also included.

Western Digital’s new drive has a transfer rate of up to 195 MB/s, and in terms of charging the company said that the G-Drive USB-C provides up to 45 watts of USB Power Delivery. The drive is compatible with Thunderbolt 3 as well.

“The addition of the G-DRIVE USB-C external drive provides tech enthusiasts a single-cable high capacity, high quality storage solution that meets their individual creative needs,” said Mike Williams, vice president of Advanced Technologies, Western Digital. “The G-DRIVE USB-C ensures pros can work seamlessly with the latest computers, and with a USB-C port and support for USB Power Delivery, it allows a user’s charging capability to be more efficient without having to worry about connecting yet another cable to their computer for charging.”

Users can pre-order the G-Drive USB-C for $199.95 at 4TB, $349.95 at 8TB, and $499.95 at 10TB beginning today. Western Digital said that the drive will be available this quarter through G-Technology resellers around the world.

Tags: USB-C, Western Digital
Discuss this article in our forums

Graphene breakthrough paves the way for flexible OLED screens on clothes, wearables

Why it matters to you

Flexible, tough, and very thin screens are required if our wearables and clothes are to become smarter. This research takes us a step closer.

After four years of hard work, a team of researchers in South Korea have become the first to successfully integrate electrodes made from graphene into OLED display panels. What does this highly technical research mean to you? It’s a big step forward in using flexible, strong, and super thin graphene in OLED screens, ready to be used on everything from next-generation wearable technology, to smart clothes.

The researchers replaced the traditional indium tin oxide electrodes inside the largest OLED panel substrate available, measuring 370mm by 470mm, with graphene electrodes. They’re just five nanometers thick. For comparison, pluck a hair out of your head, and it’ll measure about 80,000 to 90,000 nanometers thick. Combine the incredible small size with its flexibility, resistance to damage, and high performance attributes, and the significance becomes clearer.

More: Graphene could detect cancer cells

For wearables and clothes to get smarter, we need screens that bend and flex to match our bodies, and that’s where super thin and flexible graphene-enhanced substrates, encased in flexible materials like plastic, come into play. The research team’s next step is to try using a plastic substrate rather than glass, boosting flexibility, and increasing the screen’s toughness even further.

According to the head of the research team at South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, which developed the electrodes alongside technology company Hanwha Techwin, its success means manufacturers can push ahead with the commercialization of graphene-based OLED panels.

Graphene has a reputation as a “wonder-material,” with many different uses in the technology industry, from batteries to turning saltwater into safe drinking water. Its use in displays has been investigated for several years, and various prototypes have been produced. Earlier this year, the first OLED electrodes made from graphene were created in Germany, at which time it was estimated we’d see the first products using them arrive in two or three years time.

Wileyfox begins move away from Cyanogen with Swift 2X Nougat update

Today’s update brings Android 7.1.1 and April security patches.

Wileyfox has begun its transition away from the now-defunct CyanogenOS with the first Android Nougat updates for its devices. An update rolling out today for the Wileyfox Swift 2X moves users to a new Android 7.1.1-based OS with the latest April 2017 security patches from Google.

The update doesn’t drastically change the appearance of the software, which has always has a “vanilla” Android look and feel, topped off with Wileyfox’s orange-hued branding. And while most of the established feature set has come over uninterrupted, JMComms reports that some options, like themes, the audio FX manager and the ability to tweak individual apps’ power settings, have been removed. (Given the expansive feature set of Cyanogen, it’s not surprising to see some functionality fall by the wayside.)

Other additions include the new “FoxHole” launcher, with an HTC Binkfeed-style news feed under the name “Wileyfox Zen,” which offers users a wide range of UK-centric news content.

Wileyfox has already committed to bringing Nougat to its entire product range. Next up will be the Storm in May, followed by the Spark series in June.

Xiaomi is all set to unveil the Mi 6 on April 19

Xiaomi’s 2017 flagship will be unveiled next week.

Xiaomi decided to forgo Mobile World Congress this year, with rumors suggesting that the company was delaying the launch of its 2017 flagship on account of Snapdragon 835 shortages. Later rumors hinted at a possible Snapdragon 821 version making its debut initially, followed by a model powered by the Snapdragon 835. All that speculation will be put to bed on April 19, which is when Xiaomi will unveil its next flagship.

The 6 in the teaser is a reference to the Mi 6, which will be the successor to last year’s mid-cycle refresh, the Snapdragon 821-toting Mi 5s. The latest leaks suggest we’ll see two models making their debut next week — the Mi 6 and Mi 6 Plus — with Full HD displays, 12MP cameras, up to 6GB of RAM and 256GB storage (on the Mi 6 Plus), all powered by Qualcomm’s 10nm Snapdragon 835.

We’ll be on the ground in China for the launch event, and will bring you all the details live from the venue, so stay tuned for more. In the meantime, what would you like to see from the Mi 6 and Mi 6 Plus?

How to use the Galaxy S8 app scaling settings

Spoiler: They don’t do much. It’s full screen or bust.

The Galaxy S8 has an intriguing, and tall, screen with a unique 18.5:9 aspect ratio. While most Android apps are able to easily scale up to fill that extra screen height, some are hard-coded to stay at 16:9, leaving black bars between the notification shade and the on-screen navigation keys. These are not only awkward and distracting, but they also don’t have to be there!

Is there any downside to enabling fullscreen mode?

If there is, we haven’t found any. Some games may not look exactly as they were meant to when forced to run in fullscreen mode, but we haven’t found that to be the case with any that we play regularly.

How to enable full screen apps on the Galaxy S8

Hop into Settings.
Tap on Display.
Tap on Full screen apps.

Enable the apps that aren’t highlighted by default.

From here, you can choose which apps you want to utilize the full-screen aspect ratio.

You’ll know when full-screen scaling is off if there are black bars on the top and bottom of the app next time you launch it.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ hands-on preview!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint

Astell & Kern Kann portable hi-res audio player is the world’s most powerful, without the high price tag

Astell & Kern is no stranger when it comes to producing high-resolution music players that make your jaw hit the floor, not only because of their capabilities and looks, but because of their price. The Kann therefore should produce a more surprised looked on many faces. That’s because the new player from A&K comes with a completely new design, separating itself from the AK-series players, but a spec list that puts that entire series to shame.

• Astell & Kern AK380 is one bonkers but beautiful high-res portable player

A&K’s new player can support up to 32-bit/384kHz high-resolution audio files, should you have any, and DSD files up to DSD256. High-resolution files use up a lot of storage space, so it’s pretty handy that the Kann has 64GB of storage built-in, but has a full-size SD card slot, alongside a microSD card slot, to expand storage by up to 576GB.

A USB Type-C port will ensure files are transferred quickly, and recharging the Kann should take no time at all. The battery itself is one of the largest Astell & Kern has fitted to a player at 6,200mAh.

You also get a headphone amplifier built-in to improve the sound going to your ears, and headphones can be connected to either the 3.5mm unbalanced or 2.5mm balanced outputs. A balanced output should provide better sound quality, because it adds a reverse phase signal (that’s left and right channels), which claims to eliminate unwanted noise interference.

Kann has built-in Wi-Fi and DLNA support for over-the-air software updates and wirelessly streaming files from a server, as well as support for hi-res streaming services such as Tidal.

• Want to see what a £2,500 portable music player looks like?
• Astell & Kern XB10 review: Cranking it up to 11

So what sort of price would you put on the world’s most powerful high-resolution audio player? With some of Astell & Kern’s other players soaring past the £3,000 mark, you’d be right to assume the Kann would cost even more. But no, the Kann costs £899 and will be available in Astro Silver from the end of April or Eos Blue from late May.

Which B&O Play speaker is right for you?

B&O Play, Bang & Olufsen’s lifestyle subsidiary, makes some of the best looking and best sounding Bluetooth speakers on the market. There are a couple of ranges within B&O Play’s lineup: BeoPlay and BeoLit, with the BeoLit name dating back to 1939 – you can read more about Bang & Olufsen’s history here.

We have broken down each of the Bang & Olufsen and B&O Play speakers currently available to tell you all about their price, features and why it might be the best one to fit your lifestyle. 

Quick Summary

There are eight speakers in B&O Play’s range (although you’ll only find six on the company’s website), starting with the BeoPlay A1, which is the smallest and cheapest Bluetooth speaker of the range, though still dust and splash-resistant.

The BeoPlay A2 is bigger than the A1 and offers more powerful sound, but it is still portable. There is also an A2 Active that comes with a new colour finish and NATO fabric carry strap.

The Beolit 17 replaces the Beolit 15 (though the 15 is still available to buy), and is also a portable speaker that offers 240 watts of audio power, a long-life battery and a one-touch button on top that can be used to activate one of four different functions. 

The Beoplay A6 is the entry-point into B&O Play’s home speakers, while the A9 is as much a piece of furniture as it is a powerful Bluetooth speaker. Finally, there’s the M5 speaker, which is a multi-room speaker first and foremost that can partner up with the A6 and A9.

Pocket-lint

B&O Play BeoPlay A1

Price: £199 from Amazon.co.uk / from $239 from Amazon.com

• Dimensions: 48 x 133mm, 0.6kg
• Connections: Bluetooth, Aux-in
• Colours: Sand Stone, Tangerine, Charcoal Sand, Black, Natural, Moss Green, Deep Red

The BeoPlay A1 is the smallest B&O Play speaker and the most affordable at £199. It’s a disc-shaped speaker that, like most of B&O’s other products, makes use of a lot of aluminium. The entire front grille is made of the metal, while the base is made from a double-moulded polymer that adds a layer of durability.

Underneath the grille is a 9cm woofer and a 20mm tweeter, each of which receive 30W of Class D amplification. That’s a lot for a speaker of this size, and goes some way to explaining how it’s able to pump out some serious volume. 

The 2,200mAh rechargeable battery lasts up to 24 hours and be topped up quickly thanks to USB Type-C port. You can also wirelessly connect two together to create a stereo pair. The best thing about the BeoPlay A1 is just how good it sounds considering its size. Its sound is well-balanced and can easily compete with some speakers that are much larger.

If you’re looking for a great looking, portable Bluetooth speaker that’s robust and delivers a sound that belies its size, the BeoPlay A1 is for you.

Read the full review: B&O Play BeoPlay A1 by Bang & Olufsen review: Bluetooth speaker bliss

Pocket-lint

B&O Play BeoPlay A2

Price: from £257.50 from Amazon.co.uk / $399 from Amazon.com

• Dimensions: 44 x 142 x 256mm, 1.1kg
• Connections: Bluetooth, Aux-In
• Colours: Black, Grey, Green

The BeoPlay A2 was the first Bluetooth speaker to be released under the B&O Play name. There’s a 3-inch full-range driver and a 3/4-inch tweeter on each side of the speaker, designed to give the speaker 360-degree sound. Connection is via Bluetooth, and the higher-quality aptX variety is supported for compatible devices.

It can connect to more than one Bluetooth device at a time, so one phone could be streaming music to it, but if you get a phone call on a second phone, that audio will takeover. Like the BeoPlay A1, the BeoPlay A2 promises a battery life of up to 24 hours and also like it’s smaller sibling, you can pair multiple A2s together (up to eight), to really improve the sound. It’s able to withstand the odd splash of water, but don’t take it into a swimming pool. 

If it’s a portable Bluetooth speaker you’re after, and you want more power than the BeoPlay A1 can muster, the BeoPlay A2 is one of the best available.

Read more: BeoPlay A2 packs wonderful B&O sound into premium Bluetooth speaker

B&O Play

B&O Play BeoPlay A2 Active

 Price: £299 from Amazon.co.uk / $399 from Amazon.com

• Dimensions: 44 x 142 x 256mm, 1.1kg
• Connections: Bluetooth, Aux-In
• Colours: Charcoal Sand, Natural, Stone Grey

The BeoPlay A2 Active is identical to the BeoPlay 2 behind the grille, but it has undergone a few cosmetic changes including new colour finishes and a dust-proof coating. B&O Play has ditched the leather carry strap too, replacing it with a NATO-inspired fabric strap instead. 

B&O Play has also replaced the DC power unit from the original A2 with a USB Type-C port to enable much faster charging. The battery still promises a 24 hours of life. The BeoPlay A2 Active can be used with the Beoplay companion app for Android and iOS, which can be used to adjust the sound settings to your personal preference.

There’s isn’t much discernible difference between the A2 and the A2 Active, but considering the latter is the same price as the former, the Active would be the model we recommend.

Read more: B&O Play A2 Active is the A2 on steroids

Pocket-lint

B&O Play BeoPlay A6

Price: £729 from Amazon.co.uk / $799 from Amazon.com

• Dimensions: 536 x 298 x 144mm
• Connections: Bluetooth, AirPlay, Google Cast, DLNA, Spotify Connect, Deezer, TuneIn, Ethernet, Aux-In
• Colours: Light Grey, Oxidised Brass  Covers: Moss Green, Dark Grey, Dusty Blue, Dark Rose

The BeoPlay A6 is a mains-powered speaker so needs to be left in at home, but that’s no bad thing because it’s capable of delivering serious room-filling sound. It has a rather funky, unusual design, and considering its slim dimensions, B&O Play has managed to pack in two 60-watt 5.5-inch woofers, two 30-watt 0.75-inch tweeters and a 60-watt 1.5-inch full-range driver. 

The A6 can be used as part of a multi-room music system with other B&O Play and Bang & Olufsen speakers via the BeoLink platform, and music can be started instantly with the touch of a button on top. The speaker can be wall-mounted and a wide range of Kvadrat woollen covers are available to change its look.

The BeoPlay A6 is a very versatile speaker that works with a large number of streaming services, and DLNA integration means you can wirelessly stream any music files you have stored on a server or your computer. If you really enjoy your music, and have it stored in a number of different libraries, the BeoPlay A6 would be an ideal speaker for your home.

Read more: B&O’s latest wireless speaker is the curvy BeoPlay A6

B&O Play BeoPlay A9

 Price: from £1,649 at Amazon.co.uk / $2,699 at Amazon.com

• Dimensions: 701 x 908 x 415mm on stand / 701 x 213mm on wall, 15kg including legs
• Connections: USB, Aux-In, Ethernet, Spotify Connect, Deezer, TuneIn, Google Cast, AirPlay, DLNA, Bluetooth
• Colours: White, Black, Smoked Oak legs / Dark Grey, Dusty Blue, Dark Rose, Light Grey, Green, Brown, Red, Blue, Silver, White, Black covers

The B&O Play BeoPlay A9 is very much an iconic B&O product. It looks just as much like a piece of furniture than it does a speaker. In fact, on first glance, you might not know it’s a speaker at all. Behind its round exterior you’ll find a 160 watt 8-inch bass woofer, two 3-inch, 80-watt midrange drivers and two 0.75-inch, 80-watt tweeters. 

The BeoPlay A9 has some cool tricks up its sleeve too. To turn the volume up or down you simply swipe your hand across the top of the speaker, or you can rest your hand on top for a few seconds to mute what’s playing. A tap of the right hand side will skip the track forward, while a tap on the left will skip it back. Finally, a short tap on the centre of the speaker will resume the last music source played. 

If you’re looking for a statement speaker that produces some delicious Danish sound – and have the money to back it up – the BeoPlay A9 is the speaker for you. 

Read more: Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay A9 pictures and hands-on

Pocket-lint

B&O Play BeoLit 15

Price: £369 from Amazon.co.uk / from $477.50 from Amazon.com

• Dimensions: 230 x 189 x 135mm, 2.7kg
• Connections: Bluetooth, Aux-In
• Colours: Black, Natural Champagne, Natural

The B&O Play BeoLit 15 has been discontinued now, but you can still pick one up from Amazon. It’s a square-shaped speaker that’s been designed for portable use. It often receives comparisons to a picnic hamper, which is fitting since it’s more than happy to go outdoors.

It will make any picnic sing too, thanks to a 5.5-inch full-range driver, two 4-inch passive bass radiators and three 1.5-inch tweeters. Total peak output power is rated at 240-watts, so it’s pretty powerful and it will keep on playing for up to 24 hours before the built-in battery needs a recharge. The BeoLit 15 can also be used with the Beoplay app to customise the sound to your personal tastes.

One of the biggest drawbacks to the BeoLit 15 though, is the lack of weather-proofing, which is strange considering its penchant for wanting to go outside. Nevertheless, it’s still a terrific speaker that’s capable of delivering some superb sound.

Read the full review: Bang & Olufsen BeoLit 15 review: Portable picnic party

B&O Play

B&O Play BeoLit 17

Price: £449 from Amazon.co.uk / $499 from Amazon.com

• Dimensions: 230 x 189 x 135mm, 2.6kg
• Connections: Bluetooth, Aux-In
• Colours: Stone Grey, Natural

The BeoLit 17 is the 15’s successor, and delivers an enhanced sound thanks to a redesign of the power supply. The BeoLit 15 relies on DC charging, whereas the BeoLit 17 uses USB Type-C instead. This frees up space inside the cabinet to create a larger sound and also means the speaker can be recharged much quicker.

Once again, the picnic hamper speaker is coated in aluminium, although this time just in two different colours, and there’s a rubberised tray on top to put your smartphone and it won’t scratch the surface. 

You can use the Beoplay app to configure the one-touch command button on top to carry out one of four different functions: Alarm, Connect, ToneTouch or Remote. Two BeoLit 17 speakers can be connected together to create a stereo pair and the battery once again provides up to 24 hours of playback. 

Unfortunately there’s still no shield against the weather, but the BeoLit 17 is ideal for pumping out tunes at parties, and is more powerful than the A1 or A2.

Read more: B&O Play’s BeoLit 17 offers big, beefy sound in a delightfully Danish body

Pocket-lint

B&O Play BeoPlay M5

Price: £529 from Amazon.co.uk / $599 from Amazon.com

• Dimensions: 165 x 185 x 165mm, 2.54kg
• Connections: AirPlay, Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, Chromecast, Deezer, Ethernet
• Colours: Natural, Black

The BeoPlay M5 is a cylindrical speaker that fires sound out through a full 360-degrees. Inside it has a 5-inch woofer, a 1.5-inch midrange driver and three 0.75-inch tweeters, with each driver being given its own Class D amplification. 

It can either be used on its own, where it is more than capable of filling a room with sound, or be used as part of a multi-room music system with other B&O speakers. You can connect them together via Google Cast or BeoLink Multiroom and there’s no limit to the number of speakers you can join together. 

The top aluminium disc is used to control the source and volume levels and you can use the Beoplay app to calibrate the sound depending on where the speaker is positioned. The BeoPlay M5 is a direct rival to the Naim Mu-so Qb, although it is slightly cheaper. We haven’t been able to give the M5 a full review, but from our brief hands-on time, we were very impressed with the sheer scale of sound is was able to produce.

Read more: B&O BeoPlay M5: Woollen-clad woofer

The Morning After: Tuesday, April 11th 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

This Morning After is brought to you by the death of phone calls on flights (hooray!), how Persona 5 manages to digitally manifest Tokyo and the news that the most valuable car company in the US is now Tesla — with a lot of that value resting on the incoming cheaper Model 3.

We’ll write you a note‘Planet Earth II’ on Ultra HD Blu-ray is a good reason to buy a new TV

If you’ve been waiting for some ideal 4K demo material, the sequel to HDTV-seller Planet Earth will do the trick. Thanks to the bitrate afforded by Ultra HD Blu-ray plus the expanded color range and contrast of HDR, Devindra Hardawar claims “it completely justifies the existence of the doomed disc format.”

CybercrimeJustice Department attacks global spam botnet as its alleged operator is arrested in Spain

Yesterday Spanish authorities reportedly arrested Peter Yuryevich Levashov, and according to a statement by his wife, linked him to alleged hacking of the US presidential election. Later, the US DoJ and FBI announced that Levashov is suspected of operating the “Kelihos” botnet that hijacked Windows computers to send spam, but did not mention any ties to the election.

It’s reportedly pumping up to $875 million into LG Display.Google might bring curved screens to its next Pixel phone

Google is investing up to $875 million in LG Display to develop its own stable supply of flexible OLED screens for its Pixel phones, according to multiple reports. This should help ease supply problems for its next smartphone, as the current Pixel has been impossible to find in stores for a lot of us.

The agency’s Chairman just wants some mid-air peace and quiet.FCC axes plan to allow phone calls on flights

Be quiet for a few hours, will you?

Super Cruise is truly hands-free, but there’s a catch.Cadillac unveils its answer to Tesla’s semi-autonomous tech

Outside of Tesla, semi-autonomous driving modes are still quite rare. GM’s upcoming 2018 Cadillac CT6 (due this fall) will be the company’s first car with Super Cruise, a technology that can take over during highway drives. If you believe the Cadillac crew, this is the first production car with “true” hands-free driving. Super Cruise promises an extra level of mapping accuracy thanks to the use of extensive LiDAR data in addition to the usual onboard sensors and GPS. However, this also lets Cadillac dictate where you’re allowed to use the feature. It’ll only be allowed on divided, limited-access highways with clear entrance and exit ramps.

It may be temporary, but it’s a milestone for the EV company.Tesla overtakes GM to become the most valuable US car maker

Tesla just managed a symbolic but important win in its quest to make electric cars popular. Yesterday, Tesla’s stock market cap overtook that of GM — it was worth about $51 billion, or $1.7 billion more than its established rival. While it’s not clear that this will last (we’ve seen some give and take as of this writing), it’s no mean feat for a company that has made just three car models in its brief 13-year history. The big question is whether or not Tesla can back up that value with raw sales numbers in the next few years.

Few JRPGs capture Japan quite like this.‘Persona 5’ took me back to Tokyo

Plenty of games tries to deliver a Tokyo experience to games, but none come close to Persona 5, the latest in Atlus’ long-running JRPG franchise. The game delivers a phenomenal representation of Japan’s capital, capturing its sights and sounds with pinpoint precision. For more than 50 hours Nick Summers strolled through its pixel-perfect neighborhoods, hanging out in karaoke bars, bombastic arcades and relaxing bathhouses. For him, it’s virtual tourism at its best. Oh, and there’s a pretty fantastic game attached to it all.

‘You look like a thing and I love you.’This neural network generates weird and adorable pickup lines

Training a neural network involves feeding it enough raw data to start recognizing and replicating patterns. It can be a long, tedious process to barely approximate complex things, but aim one at pickup lines, and the results are a combination of cute and baffling.

But wait, there’s more…

• ZTE’s first Android Wear watch is also one of the cheapest, at just $200
• AT&T paid $1.6 billion to own the next generation of wireless
• Sling TV’s $5 cloud DVR arrives on Android and Roku
• What’s on TV: ‘Hidden Figures’ Blu-ray, ‘Yooka-Laylee,’ ‘MST3K’ on Netflix and ‘Doctor Who’

One theme park’s mission to perfect VR horror

I still can’t figure it out. Inside the warehouse, I press against the railing, squinting through the darkness to get a better look at the Ghost Train. A Victorian carriage hangs from the ceiling, suspended by iron chains. Step inside, however, and it’s a modern London Tube car, caught up in an outbreak that threatens to turn everyone into monsters. You put on a VR headset, contextualised as a life-saving gas mask, and prepare for the worst as the train disembarks.

After a brief, creepy stint in VR, you’re asked to exit the train on what appears to be a modern subway station. The original warehouse, the chains — it’s all gone. I’ve heard rumors about the train and how it’s able to “move” through space, but even with this information I can’t see how it all works. I press harder against the barrier, bamboozled.

I’m lining up for ‘Rise of the Demon,’ a revamped version of the Ghost Train that opened last summer. It’s based at Thorpe Park, a haven for British thrill-seekers, and was designed under the guidance of Derren Brown, a showman and master of psychological manipulation. All told, it’s one of the most ambitious VR projects I’ve ever seen, blending the HTC Vive with immersive theatre and intricate ride engineering.

Hunting perfection

The original Ghost Train had some problems, however. It offered two separate VR experiences, the second of which was a fun but corny CG-fest that felt out of place with the rest of the ride. With so many different parts, both mechanical and human, it also had a tendency to break down. The headsets would die, or not show the VR sections properly, and audio problems would drain the warehouse of its intended atmosphere.

Merlin Entertainment, the owner of Thorpe Park, and Figment Productions, a company specialising in audiovisual attractions, decided to to go back and refresh the ride. The result is an attraction that the team promises will be more intense and terrifying than before. “If there’s anything that I learned from the experience last year, it’s how, when people hear the words ‘virtual reality,’ they expect it to be reality,” Simon Reveley, chief executive of Figment said. “They expect it to feel completely real.”

Before, the second VR portion showed a group of spider-like demons shredding the train car to shreds. You could see the world outside, a ruinous city destroyed by society’s greed for natural resources. It felt like the train was rocking back and forth, buffeted by your pursuers, until finally the train fell into a crack in the earth, ending the ride in a pit of lethal lava. “In the original we had a massive, whizz-bang ending with Hollywood effects going on,” Reveley explains. That was by design, however: Brown had wanted something that was spooky, but still enjoyable for everyone.

Simon Reveley, CEO of Figment Productions.

“One of the things that I remember about working with Derren, on the first version, was that he wanted to build this world,” Reveley said, “but he also kept using a word that surprised me a little bit, which was ‘fun.’ He wanted it to be fun for people. And I think that’s what the original experience was. Now? Well, we’ve had some of that fun, and now we want to go darker.”

I won’t spoil what happens in the new version (at the end, Brown asks you to keep the ride’s intricacies a secret). I will say, however, that it’s a smaller, more atmospheric scene, one that builds tension by showing other survivors and their reactions to the monster. To achieve this level of terror, Figment threw out what it had before and created a new sequence from scratch. The team used a combination of 360-degree video, shot inside the train car with a Nokia Ozo camera, and a LIDAR scan — a radar-like technology that creates a 3D picture, or mesh of the surrounding area — as a basis for visual effects.

Switching from a CG-animated cutscene to a spherical movie was a gutsy move. The two formats are vastly different and come with unique trade-offs. A video game environment might be less believable, but it’s easier to tweak and allows the user to move around quite freely. A 360-degree video is, of course, more realistic, but forces the viewer to stand or sit in a single spot, where the camera and tripod was originally set up.

On the Ghost Train, that limitation isn’t a problem, however. That’s because the ride is built around a train car which, by design, encourages you to sit down with your fellow passengers. The VR headset is attached by various cables to the wall, so you’re unable to stand up or slide around in a way that would break the experience. “It’s one of the restrictions that really helps us,” Reveley said. “If we were in a free-roaming environment, a walk-through VR experience, that would be infinitely harder. But because we’re in a train, it gives us the freedom to mix pure stereo 360 video elements with traditional visual effects and post production work.”

Last year, such a film would have been tricky to produce because the ride and the VR shorts were being developed in parallel. Now, of course, the Ghost Train is a permanent fixture in the park, so it was easier for the team to see how it could be altered and manipulated.

The updated VR sequence was shot over a cold December and January. Colin Arnold, Head of film and video at Figment Productions, said it was a “relatively quick” shoot, albeit one that required some creative directorial techniques. When you’re making a spherical film, the crew and the director have to always be out of shot. To speed up the process, all of the actors had an earpiece, and Arnold was able to give them pointers by looking at a live preview streamed from the camera. That monitoring setup meant Brown and the team at Merlin Magic Making could also review Figment’s efforts remotely and check how it would look through a VR headset.

Colin Arnold, Head of Film and Video at Figment Productions.

Nick Summers

The concept

The idea for the shoot came, in part, from reviewing the original ride at Thorpe Park. In the operations room, Reveley and the team at Figment were struck by how people were reacting to the VR segments. The shrieks and squeals, combined with their body language, added to the terror and chaos associated with the ride. The problem was that people could hear, but not see these responses while they were wearing the VR headsets. “We wanted that to be an influence on the update. So rather than try to take people to a world away from what was really happening around them, We thought it would be fun to explore what was already happening around them. Which is people freaking out, basically.”

For the most part, it works. Of course, the actors in the film (who all wear headsets too) aren’t the same people who will be boarding the train with you in real life. That mis-match was inevitable, but it does detract from the experience a little bit. Reveley hopes the chaos of the theatre segment, which sits in the middle of the two VR sequences, will be enough to disorient people as they board the train.

“When you get onto that train, you’re running,” he says. “You’re in a bit of a panic, you’re in a big group that will naturally get mixed up. So you’re going to sit with people you don’t know. You might have a friend with you or whatever, but you’re not going to be in a train full of people you know.”

It’s not hard to tell the difference. But like all amusement rides, movies and video games, the Ghost Train requires a small suspension of disbelief. A willingness to participate in what is ultimately a piece of fiction.

Derren Brown, a mentalist and illusionist, helped Figment Productions design the ride.

Thorpe Park

VR as a platform

Most theme park rides aren’t updated within their first year. That’s the advantage, and the promise, of media-based attractions, particularly those that use virtual reality. Developing software is hard, but it’s arguably easier than tearing a rollercoaster down and adding an extra loop in the middle. Like any modern video game, the VR acts as a foundation, a platform that can be slowly updated and built on over time.

Reveley says periodic updates were “discussed in the early days” of the Ghost Train project. He recalls a review session soon after the ride opened, whereby everyone, Brown included, started to talk about “all of the fun things we could do to take it forward.” What started as “just a loose brainstorm” turned out to be critical, as many of those ideas were eventually developed and incorporated into the new “Rise of the Demon” update.

There’s a balance, however. The draw of the Ghost Train is its complexity, and the bespoke nature of its design. All of the different elements were conceived and developed with each other in mind. It’s the culmination of these ideas — and how they create one fluid, continuous experience — that makes the ride so unique. Altering the VR part is, therefore, no easy task. A valuable update needs to work with and, ideally, enhance the other components.

Figment relished the challenge, however. “When you have those boundaries placed upon you, it makes you more creative,” Reveley said. “If you can do absolutely anything you want, no-one knows where to start half the time! So actually, the constraints of the format of the ride are perfectly fine. Most of the greatest rides in the world, they follow a certain format. The Ghost Train is a really unique format, but it’s one that’s got plenty of versatility to it, in terms of how the content can be updated.”

For Figment, it was also important to maintain the original ride’s story and lore. The Ghost Train presents a world where humanity has gone too far in its lust for energy. The harmful gas that’s being extracted from the planet’s core, and it’s effect on the public — all of that came together in a story which, while perhaps unoriginal, was more ambitious than your average haunted house or roller coaster.

“It’s not like we’ve ripped up the story and started again,” Reveley explains. “A lot has been said about Derren’s input on the first version. You know, this was his story, it was always his story. I know for some people it wasn’t necessarily what they were expecting, but then that’s what Derren is about! Surprising people. This new content, is still absolutely part of that original world that he wanted to create.”

The focus instead was always on the fear factor. Rise of the Demon was a chance for the team to take a second crack at VR horror. An experience that’s more than a video game, that’s more than a movie, and more than a piece of immersive theatre. “There are some horror film nuts out there that have probably seen everything you could possibly imagine,” Reveley says. “But by going a bit darker, I think we’re going to expand the range of people who are genuinely scared of this thing.”

The Ghost Train has a physical set you will explore in-between the VR sequences.

Thorpe Park

The reliability problem

Figment’s second challenge was to improve the attraction’s reliability. A cursory glance online reveals a deluge of reports from people who were unable to try the ride, because it was closed for large portions of the day, or found it to be “a bit buggy” and inconsistent. All rollercoasters are prone to the odd closure, but it seems the Ghost Train was particularly temperamental. No wonder, given how unique the ride’s construction is. The VR, the physical illusion that takes you out of a warehouse and onto a subway platform — there’s a lot of ways for it to go wrong.

“It’s a massive, magical illusion,” Reveley said. “It’s a piece of stage magic theatre. But to pull it off, the infrastructure stuff around it is monumentally ambitious — forget the VR, just the rest of it, is just incredible. And what is required to make that system work is world class engineering and enormously complex systems. And that’s without the VR.”

Figment knew it could do more, however. The company has expanded its monitoring system so staff have “really clear signals” of what’s happening inside the headsets. Reveley has confirmed that the ride involves more than one train car, and almost 200 HTC Vives in total. “We’ve built this complex system which allows us to monitor really carefully what each headset is doing. Where it is, where it thinks it is on the train, and the virtual train. And all of those systems…I think most people don’t appreciate the work that goes into delivering that.”

My experiences were mixed. On my first run-through, the ride worked perfectly, but second time around there were clearly some problems. My group was stopped just inside the warehouse, and the staff, pretending to be train operators from the Victorian era, had to fill time for an agonizing 15 minutes. I’m not sure exactly what went wrong, but the whole ordeal didn’t fill me with much confidence.

Take away the VR and the Ghost Train is still an engineering marvel.

Thorpe Park

Future updates

VR is only a part of what’s changed for Rise of the Demon. The ride has an entirely new physical space — though again I’ve been sworn to secrecy, so I’ll refrain from sharing the details. Combined, it’s a sizeable update to the Ghost Train, and one that is certainly scarier. I still think it could be improved by finessing certain scenes or creating entirely new ones. Just imagine a ride that updates every few months with a new perspective on the outbreak. A different train car, showing how different citizens were first exposed to the demons.

“We would always want to be true to the core story,” Reveley said. “But I still think, like any film or TV IP, you can explore lots of different angles with it. There is more than one superhero story, and more than one movie about the same superhero — there are lots of stories you can tell in the same world. So there is huge scope.”

The team is up for further updates, but understand the decision is probably out of its control. While updating scenes in virtual reality is cheaper than a rollercoaster refurb, it’s still expensive. The response from the public, and Thorpe Park’s perception of the ride will ultimately dictate whether it receives further funding. Has Rise of the Demon done enough to address people’s complaints? Is it the reason visitors are frequenting Thorpe Park? These are the sorts of conversations that will inevitably surface at board room meetings.

“Obviously I’m biased, but I wish all media attractions were being updated regularly, because it does give people a fresh impetus to go back to a park and have a look at stuff,” Reveley says.

There’s a counterargument though. Some rides are rarely updated because they’re so beloved by fans. People will travel halfway across the world to experience their favorite attraction or one that is world renowned. Equally, there are those who rarely visit theme parks, and risk missing a version entirely. Ultimately, it depends on the theme park and the attraction — some feel more timeless, while others clearly benefit from faster refreshes.

As for the Ghost Train, well, Reveley has some ideas for where the ride could go next. “You step through a Victorian train carriage and maybe you’re not in England any more. Who knows? There are all sorts of things we could do.”

Apple Sues Swatch Over ‘Tick Different’ Marketing Campaign

Apple has filed a complaint in a Swiss court over the use of the slogan “Tick Different” in a Swatch marketing campaign, arguing that the watchmaker is unfairly referencing the Californian company’s successful 1990s “Think Different” ad campaign for its own gain.

The complaint was lodged last week at the Swiss Federal Administrative Court by Apple representatives Lenz & Staehelin, whose lawyers filed a simultaneous but ultimately unsuccessful complaint with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property.

Image: Swatch
Swatch has been using the “Tick Different” slogan on its Bellamy quartz wristwatch with built-in NFC Visa payment technology. According to Watson, in order to successfully win the case Apple must show that Swatch’s use of the phrase triggers an association with Apple products in the minds of at least 50 percent of consumers.

Swatch CEO Nick Hayek has reportedly rejected the allegation that it is capitalizing on Apple branding. Hayek claimed that the “Tick Different” slogan has its origins in an 80s Swatch campaign that used the phrase “Always different, always new”, and says that any similarity with Apple is purely coincidental.

The “Think Different” slogan was created in 1997 by Apple advertising agency TBWAChiatDay, and was thought at the time to be a response to IBM’s slogan “Think”. It was used in TV commercials, print ads, and several TV promos. Disappearance of the slogan in Apple marketing material coincided with the launch of the iMac G4 in 2002.

Prior to the launch of the Apple Watch, Apple and Swatch were rumored to be joining together to introduce a smartwatch, but nothing ever came of it. Swatch filed an application for an “iSwatch” trademark when rumors first began swirling that Apple planned to enter the market. It later managed to block Apple’s own U.K. trademark application for “iWatch”.

Tag: Swatch
Discuss this article in our forums