Apple aims to make all of its products from recycled materials and renewables

Why it matters to you

Apple just added another reason to buy its products: The company has pledged to eventually build them using only renewable resources or recycled material.

Apple, the Cupertino, California-based company behind the iPhone, Mac, and iPad, has pledged to reduce its reliance on finite resources and step up renewable resource efforts. That’s according to the company’s 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report, which was released Thursday and details the firm’s ongoing and future initiatives.

“Traditional supply chains are linear. Materials are mined, manufactured as products, and often end up in landfills after use,” the Apple report said. “We believe our goal should be a closed-loop supply chain, where products are built using only renewable resources or recycled material.”

Apple has already taken steps to achieve that goal. Apple now melts down some of the iPhone 6’s aluminum to make Mac mini computers, and tweaked the iPhone 7’s chemical formula to reduce the number of nonrecyclable components by 27 percent.

Earlier this year, the company moved to 100 percent recycled tin solder on the iPhone 6s main logic board, and has made improvements to the iPhone assembly process that cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent. And for the first time, Apple is protecting enough sustainably managed forests in the U.S. and in China to “cover all of the packaging [it] use[s] in [its] products.”

Apple is also doubling down on its existing recycling programs. It’s expanding the use of Liam, a robot that’s able to disassemble products and recover recyclable components. And it’s actively encouraging customers to participate in the Apple Renew recycling program.

Those efforts dovetail with the company’s sustainability efforts. Apple said that seven of its major suppliers will switch to renewable energy by the end of next year, and it said that its own facilities, which include Apple’s stores, corporate offices, and data centers, run on 96 percent renewable energy (up from 93 percent the year before). Apple added that it’s committed to bring 4 gigawatts of renewable power — enough to power about 2.8 million homes — online by 2020, which it said will help reduce its manufacturing footprint.

Separately, Apple has made inroads in reducing its reliance on conflict minerals — raw materials such as tungsten, tantalum, and gold that originate from the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and adjacent countries. In March 2016, Apple announced that all 242 of the smelters and refiners that supply it with conflict minerals are a part of an auditing program conducted by the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI), a third-party association.

“We’re actually doing something we rarely do, which is announce a goal before we’ve completely figured out how to do it,” Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives and a former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, told Vice News. “We’re challenging ourselves to one day end our reliance on mining altogether.”

Here are the winners of Motorola’s ‘Transform the Smartphone’ mod competition

Why it matters to you

Some of these innovative, independently developed designs will likely feature in the next wave of mods for Motorola’s flagship smartphone.

It’s been a long road, but Motorola’s Transform the Smartphone Challenge has finally produced some winning designs. The competition, which saw independent developers build their own Moto Mods to present to Lenovo in the hopes of earning capital or distribution support, has culminated in a meeting at Motorola’s Chicago headquarters.

Two teams were chosen to receive up to $1 million each in funding: Digiframe and Macay TrueSound HiFi.

Digiframe offers a built-in epaper display, functioning as a second screen for information like notifications, traffic, and weather when the phone is turned upside down. The developers have ensured the platform adheres to open standards, meaning anyone can build widgets for it. And because the shell is magnetic, like all Moto Mods, you can even stick it to your fridge for a dynamic sticky note.

Macay is a mod built for audiophiles and musicians, that features high-definition input and output ports typically only found in studios and professional equipment.

These projects join a host of other pitches that are now part of the Moto Mod Accelerator Program. For these applicants, Motorola will help match the designers and developers with manufacturers who can bring their products to fruition. The company says this is a “hands-on process” that will “help guide participants from start to finish.” Ultimately, the projects that complete this program will be distributed by Verizon.

Among these pitches were the wireless charging shell, sliding QWERTY keyboard, and LED notification strip mods we’ve previously reported on, as well as another featuring a solar panel that can charge the Moto Z using the sun’s rays.

Motorola is encouraging all developers who didn’t make it to the next step to continue to use its development resources and work with Indiegogo, which has set aside resources alongside partner Arrow Electronics to help technology campaigns make it to production.

World’s first electric VTOL personal jet takes flight in skies over Germany

Why it matters to you

Though they won’t be cheap, electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles have the potential to transform the transportation industry.

German startup Lilium Aviation says it has completed test flights on the world’s first electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) jet at a private airfield in Bavaria. Controlled remotely by a pilot on the ground, the two-seater prototype performed a successful vertical takeoff and transition between its hover mode and forward flight mode.

Although the prototpye wasn’t pushed to its limit — speed and height were restricted by the airspace — Lilium CEO Daniel Wiegand told Digital Trends, “It was a tense moment.”

Lilium first announced its plan to develop its VTOL jet last May, suggesting it could be available to consumers by 2018. These tests are the first demonstration of the company’s technology.

Powered by 36 electric engines, the jet maneuvers using twelve flaps along its wings. A computer controls takeoff, allowing the pilot to take over once the flaps shift horizontally to provide forward thrust. The jet has a range of about 185 miles on a single charge and maximum speeds just over 185 miles per hour, according to Lilium.

To ensure safety, the company designed its jet using the principle of “ultra redundancy.” Each of the jet’s three-dozen engines are individually contained so that no single failure will impact adjacent engines. The aircraft is packed with multiple power cells to compensate for any unexpected battery problems. Meanwhile, a built-in flight system keeps pilots from performing maneuvers deemed unsafe.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Lilium’s electric VTOL is its potential to transform the transportation, much in the way Tesla is tackling the automotive industry, by providing a clean and energy-efficient alternative.

“There is a growing need for transport solutions that are emission free due to worsening urban pollution and global climate change,” Wiegand said. “Congestion and noise pollution are also making our cities harder to live in. The Lilium jet is less harmful on the environment than other existing modes of transport. The jet is a zero-emissions aircraft and requires minimal ground infrastructure.”

After the successful test flight of its two-seater, Lilium is now developing a five-seater for taxi and ridesharing services. The company hasn’t yet put a price tag on its vehicles.

Mayfield Robotics’ Kuri home robot is now more expressive than ever

Why it matters to you

Kuri, the personable little home robot from Mayfield Robotics, is improving by leaps and bounds.

Kuri, the robotic home companion from Bosch-backed startup Mayfield Robotics, may be a few months from launch, but the team isn’t resting on its laurels. On Thursday, Mayfield pulled back the curtains on major Kuri speech and animation milestones.

For the uninitiated, Kuri is a 20-inch-tall home robot that’s packed to the brim with technologies like asynchronous motors, a capacitive touch sensor, microphones, speakers, and an HD camera. But unlike most other home robots, it has a personality — it reacts when you call its name, and it emotes when you tell it to perform a task.

The robot recognized voice commands before, but now it understands more. You can say things like, “Hey Kuri, stop,” and it’ll stop what it’s doing, or, “Hey Kuri, play the news” to begin an National Public Radio (NPR) stream. And it’s now smart enough to head in the direction of a room you’ve saved — you if you say, “Hey Kuri, got to the kitchen,” for example, it will do as instructed.

Kuri’s emoji — the animated expressions it makes to requests — have been beefed up, too.  It’ll respond with a confused “huh?” emoji if it doesn’t understand something, or a “got it” following a command.

And last but not least, its hardware has been improved. The newest iteration uses shielded motor sensors cables that cut down on electrical noise, reduces interference with smart home electronics and smartphones enable “more smooth, life-like” animations.

“It’s a big step forward in making Kuri really act alive in ways that are responding to you, and it feels really warm and friendly when you see it in person,” a spokesperson said.

It’s all in keeping with the company’s mission: Creating a lifelike robot with a sense of empathy. “It doesn’t feel like a robot in the traditional sense,” Chris Matthews, Mayfield’s vice president of marketing, told Digital Trends. “It connects to people in a different way than normal tech — it’s very much about what people feel.”

And it’s getting better. In March, Mayfield improved Kuri’s speech recognition, redesigned its speaker enclosure, re-engineered its convex-shaped eyes, and partnered with rules engine IFTTT.

“We want to ship a complete product — one that’s useful for everyone,” Matthews said. “We want to build robots that are joyful, useful, and inspiring … [and] we’re working hard to make sure that we’re hitting on those three cords.”

Kuri is available for pre-order at HeyKuri.com with a $100 deposit. It will retail for $700 next year and ship with a dedicated charging dock.

Our favorite interactive and unique exhibits at the New York Auto Show

Digital Trends was on hand for the New York International Auto Show last week to bring you the latest news on concept and production vehicles. But as with any big industry event, there are hidden gems and special displays that defy conventional car news and in some cases go beyond car fandom. Here are some of our favorites:

Acura

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

Acura commissioned the Spinifex Group studio to create an interactive VR experience for the new NSX. We donned an Oculus Rift headset and headphones and tried it out. After picking a paint job for our NSX, we set out on a virtual course.

The cool thing about this VR experience was that it simulated our hands via some unseen tracking device, as we weren’t holding any controllers, just a steering wheel. Beyond that, it was basically all about putting the pedal to the metal and speeding towards the end of the demo. Though the driving experience itself was a simple one, the level of detail inside the car was impressive enough that we had a hard time keeping our eyes on the road.

Chevrolet

Tech Studio Robot Car

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

Among the attractions at Chevrolet’s Tech Studio was a small maze with radio-controlled cars. Armed with a Logitech controller, we guided a small car that could drive in any direction to a parking spot. Following this, the technician set up the vehicle to drive itself, and it admittedly did a better job.

This exhibit demonstrates the growing self-driving technology making its way into cars, with the Chevrolet Bolt set to become GM’s first autonomous production vehicle.

 Jaguar

Formula E

Jaguar recently threw its hat into the Formula E series, and it brought the experience to the auto show via virtual reality. Teaming up with digital production studio Rewind, Jaguar offers a 4D racing simulation that puts you in the driver’s seat of one of these insanely fast electric race cars — they can hit 60 mph from zero in 2.9 seconds.

Physical fans simulate the wind in your face and a rumble-seat system reacts to road conditions. The force feedback Formula 1-style wheel lent greater authenticity to the whole package.

Seated in the custom race seats and fitted with HTC Vive headsets and headphones, we were completely immersed in the four-minute race. And it was thrilling.

Kia

Kia Sorento Ski Gondola

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

Nissan wasn’t the only manufacturer to tread new ground with an existing model. The Kia Sorento Ski Gondola sports Dominator Rubber Tracks, similar to Nissan’s Rogue Trail Warrior. This beefed up Sorento was built to take on snow and ice to get you to your destination; that is, the top of a mountain.

A custom metal roof rack holds all your ski equipment, and you’ll have even more room on the inside due to the deletion of the B pillars and conversion to suicide doors. The custom interior touch continues to the door panels, dash, and center console, which houses a tablet. The floor was given a Line-X treatment, which adds durability and water resistance.

LED light bars increase visibility and cameras replace the side-view mirrors. Custom colors inside and out complete this package.

Lexus

Lexus “LIT” IS

To say that this 2017 Lexus IS F Sport was lit up like a Christmas tree would be an extreme understatement. The “LIT” IS, as Lexus calls it, is decked out with no less than 41,999 hand-laid programmable LED lights that reacts and syncs to music as well as human gestures.

This custom Lexus, which was created in conjunction with video hosting service Vevo, produces 175,000 lumens when fully illuminated. Placed end-to-end, the LED strips would measure half a mile in length. Though we don’t anticipate something this bright to ever be street legal, it was a sight to see.

Nissan

Nissan Rogue Dogue

We came across these playful pooches jumping running around a normal-looking 2017 Nissan Rogue SL. A closer look confirmed that this was the “Rogue Dogue,” a project announced some months ago that sounded like an April Fool’s joke. The one-off concept model was built by Dennis McCarthy, the car coordinator for the Fast & Furious films.

The Rogue Dogue features built-in food and water dishes, custom removable dog bed, 360-degree dog shower, and dog drying system. There’s also a slide-away ramp, heated air vents in the cargo/dog area, modified pass-through passageway, removable partition, integrated poop bag dispenser, first aid kit, harness clips, and even rear-facing cameras in the side view mirrors to capture memories of your dog hanging his head out the window and interacting with you. The custom upholstery and other surfaces are designed for easy cleaning.

Rogue One

Nissan teamed up with Lucasfilm to launch the 2017 Nissan Rogue: Rogue One Star Wars Limited Edition model, the first production vehicle to incorporate the Star Wars Brand. Along with this partnership come two less conventional vehicles that will not see showroom floors: a pair of 2017 Nissan Rogues inspired by the storied X-wing starfighters and their pilots.

The Rogue with wings features thrusters, blasters, an astromech droid, and Rebel logo projectors in the side mirrors — this one was easy to find, as it was sitting underneath a huge inflatable Death Star. The other custom Rogue was wrapped in orange and white graphics and logos that should be familiar to members of the Rebel Alliance.

Battle Test: A Nissan 360-degree Virtual Reality Experience

Beyond its special edition vehicles, Nissan offered an immersive experience for guests at the auto show. The immersive 360 VR program, “Battle Test: A Nissan 360-Degree Virtual Reality Experience,” places you in a simulated battlefield from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. From the safety of your virtual Rogue, you dodge threats all while avoiding running over your squadmates. This showcases Nissan’s Intelligent Safety Shield features, which include emergency braking, pedestrian detection, and blind spot warning.

After removing our VR goggles we checked out the Digital Mirror Experience, which transformed us into Stormtroopers.

Toyota

Bullet Time Photo Experience

Toyota is known for breaking out all the special effects in its commercials, as we saw in this behind-the-scenes spot for the 2014 Corolla. At this year’s New York Auto Show, we were able to film our own little spot in front of the all-new 2018 Camry XSE.

The team at incite* set up 20 cameras within a lenticular wall shoot at the same time to capture the effect, which is then saved as a GIF.

Looking back, this made us think of the end of those “I love what you do for me” Toyota commercials from the ’80s and ’90s, in which the ecstatic Toyota driver leaps into the air in slow motion.

Lego Javits Center

The Javits is an impressive structure we look forward to returning to every year for the New York Auto Show. This year we stopped at a scale model of the entire complex, encompassing its sprawl across an entire avenue and four city blocks. The details come through the closer you look, and we observed taxicabs, double-deckers, convertibles, buses, emergency vehicles, and big rigs within the traffic. We were impressed with the simple detail on the FedEx and UPS trucks, immediately distinguishable by their livery.

The display consists of 114,470 Lego Pieces and took 440 hours to design and build. It was created by Sean Kenney.

Corsair’s Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti runs 50 percent cooler than Founders Edition

Why it matters to you

Corsair is offering a much-improved GTX 1080 Ti performance with an advanced, quiet cooling solution for $100 more.

Corsair announced a new iteration of one of the world’s most powerful graphics cards, called the Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti. Thanks to a built-in water cooling solution, it runs as much as 50 percent cooler than the Founders Edition and with an aggressive overclock, its performance is said to be increased by 10 percent, too.

Although technically the Titan Xp is the most powerful graphics card in the world right now, even those with deep pockets are more likely to opt for the still-expensive, but far-more-affordable GTX 1080 Ti. The Corsair Hydro GFX GTX 1080 Ti, however, goes a long way to closing that performance gap.

Built atop an MSI GTX 1080 Ti, Corsair’s aftermarket solution retools the cooling system for an impressive closed- loop setup. The cooling block features a “micro-fin” copper plate which provides fast and efficient heat transfer. The warm water that leaves the block then heads through the short rubber tubing to a slimline 120mm radiator which should fit at the back or on the ceiling of most PC cases.

Cooling the radiator down is a Corsair ML Series PWM fan that uses “magnetic levitation” and custom engineered rotors to reduce its noise output. A secondary, more traditional coaxial fan is located in the main shroud, which aids cooling of the memory and voltage regulators.

Beyond cutting the operating temperature, that extra cooling helps make the factory overclock possible. The Hydro GFX GTX has a boosted clock of 1,683MHz when in OC mode — 101MHz more than the stock 1080 Ti. Its memory has been overclocked a little more aggressively, running at 11,124MHz in OC mode, versus 11,008MHz on the Founders Edition.

Those improvements lead to as much as a 10 percent improvement in overall performance, according to Corsair, though we will want to see how that plays out in the real world. Stil, with temperatures said to barely peak above 40 degrees Celsius, with some tweaks you could take this rendition of the 1080 Ti even higher.

In case the idea of water cooling puts off prospective buyers of Corsair’s new solution, its landing page includes a handy guide for how easy the installation actually is: Install the GPU, attach the radiator and cooling fan to your case and attach the fan’s power connector. As the site says, “bam, done.”

The card is available on Corsair’s site for $800, which is around $100 more than a standard GTX 1080 Ti.

Gigabyte has a new Brix-branded bare-bones PC with a seventh-generation Intel CPU

Why it matters to you

Customers who need a mountable, compact PC based on the latest technologies should find what they are looking for in Gigabyte’s latest Brix-branded unit.

Gigabyte recently updated its Brix-branded portfolio with the GB-EKi3A-7100. It’s the first in the family to use a seventh-generation “Kaby Lake” processor from Intel, and follows Gigabyte’s GB-EACE-3440 in packing a similar overall design based on an older Intel N3450 “Apollo Lake” chip. Both are ideal for those who need a powerful, quiet PC that’s mountable under a desk or on the backplate of a monitor.

Gigabyte’s new Brix unit is based on a compact, fanless design. It includes a VESA mounting bracket, Wireless AC connectivity, plenty of ports for peripherals and additional displays, and even two USB 3.1 Gen2 ports providing transfer speeds at up to 10Gbps. These ports are great for connecting additional displays when the HDMI and Mini DisplayPort connections just aren’t enough.

Here are the specs:

Processor:
Intel Core i3-7100U
Graphics:
Intel HD Graphics 620
Memory:
2x DDR4 1.2v slots (2,133MHz, 32GB maximum)
Storage:
1x M.2 slot PCIe/SATA (2280)
Connectivity:
Wireless AC (Intel 3165)
Audio:
Realtek ALC255
Ports (front):
1x Microphone/headphone combo jack
1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C
1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A
!x RS232 COM port
Ports (back):
2x USB 3.1 Gen1
1x gigabit Ethernet
1x Mini DisplayPort 1.2
1x HDMI 2.0
Ports (side):
2x antenna SMA connectors
Motherboard size:
4.13 x 4.52 inches
Dimensions:
1.42 x 4.61 x 7.09 inches
Weight:
2.15
Price:
~$380

What’s important to note here is that customers are required to purchase memory and storage in addition to the bare-bones unit. The device supports up to 32GB of DDR4 memory clocked at 2,133MHz, but the company doesn’t provide any information about the storage capacity of the M.2 SSD slot. That “2280” number refers to the dimensions of the M.2 SSD stick, as you just simply install any M.2 SSD into the slot.

Another feature we’d like to point out is the use of USB 3.1 Gen2 tech. When the second generation of USB 3.0 hit the scene, the conglomerate that regulates the USB standard decided to mix things up and rename both generations. That said, the old USB 3.0 ports are now called USB 3.1 Gen1, which still speeds along at 5Gbps. The newer generation clocking speeds at 10Gbps is now called USB 3.1 Gen2.

To visually distinguish the two generations, USB 3.1 Gen1 (formerly USB 3.0) continues with the blue theme. The USB 3.1 Gen2 tech apparently relies on red so that customers can quickly tell between the two connections. But that’s only when the ports rely on the larger Type-A rectangular size, and not the newer miniature Type-C port size. Remember, Type-A and Type-C have absolutely nothing to do with port speed, but with port size. The Type-A model relies on a single-sided “this side up” connector whereas Type-C boasts a dual-sided “any side up” reversible connector.

On the processor font, Intel’s seventh-generation dual-core chip has a base clock speed of 2.40GHz, and no turbo. Other highlights include four threads, a cache of 3MB, and a maximum power draw of 15 watts. It’s an ideal chip for a miniature, mountable PC that doesn’t rely on internal fans to cool the innards. In this case, the heat is simply distributed by the unit’s vented exterior.

Flash your Radeon RX 470 or RX 480 cards to get next-generation performance

Why it matters to you

Don’t get mad that your Radeon RX 470 or 480 just got replaced with newer models. Just try flashing your firmware instead.

AMD’s most recent Polaris-based graphics cards, the Radeon RX 570 and RX 580, are built on the same technology as their predecessors, the Radeon RX 470 and RX 480. But if you compare the cards side by side, then you’ll see that they differ in a few key areas.

While some of those differences are architectural, most of the pure performance gains come from faster clock speeds. At the same time, because the GPUs are similar enough, some intrepid hardware hackers decided to try to turn their Radeon RX 470 and RX 480 cards into a reasonable facsimile of their successors. For the most part, they succeeded, as Guru3D reports.

First, a refresher on the relative specifications of AMD’s reference cards, starting with the RX-580:

RX 580
RX 480
Graphics core:
Polaris 20 XTX
Polaris 10 XT
Compute units:
36
36
Stream processors:
2,304
2,304
Base speed:
1,257MHz
1,120MHz
Boost speed:
1,340MHz
1,266MHz
Memory:
4GB/8GB GDDR5
4GB/8GB GDDR5
Memory interface:
256-bit
256-bit
Memory bandwidth:
256GB/s
256GB/s
Memory speed:
8GHz
8GHz
Peak performance:
Up to 6.17 TFLOPS
Up to 5.83 TFLOPS
Maximum power:
180 watts
150 watts
Power connector:
1x 8-pin
1x 6-pin
Target market:
Beyond smooth HD gaming
Premium VR Experiences
Starting price:
$199/$229
$199/$229
Availability:
April 18
June 2016

Here’s the RX 570:

RX 570
RX 470
Graphics core:
Polaris 20 Pro
Polaris 10 Pro
Compute units:
32
32
Stream processors:
2,048
2,048
Base speed:
1,168MHz
926MHz
Boost speed:
1.244MHz
1,206MHz
Memory:
4GB/8GB GDDR5
4GB/8GB GDDR5
Memory interface:
256-bit
256-bit
Memory bandwidth:
224GB/s
224GB/s
Memory speed:
7GHz
7GHz
Peak performance:
Up to 5.10 TFLOPS
Up to 4.94 TFLOPS
Maximum power:
150 watts
110 watts
Power connector:
1x 6-pin
1x 6-pin
Target market:
Max 1080P Gaming
High visuals
Starting price:
$169/TBA
$149/$179
Availability:
April 18
June 2016

While AMD itself utilized different board design with an 8-pin power connector compared to the previous generation’s 6-pin connectors, Guru3D points out that most original equipment manufacturers are building their 500 series cards with the same PCB designs that were used in their 400 series cards. The Device ID didn’t change between the two generations, making it possible to flash the firmware version from the older cards onto the newer cards.

Guru3D forum member BigMamaInHouse did just that on his Radeon RX 470. When flashed with the RX 570 firmware, the card performed as if it were the newer model. Apparently, the older cards run at the base same clock rates as the newer cards, and that results in similar performance improvements. Consider Guru3D’s testing results with their Radeon RX 570, which achieved a graphics score of 3,991 on the 3DMark Time Spy, and the very similar 3,902 scored by BigMaMainHouse’s flashed RX 470.

Guru3D

BigMaMainHouse/Guru3D

According to Hexus.net, users have achieved similar results by flashing their Radeon RX 480 cards using the RX 580 firmware. While it doesn’t seem possible to overclock the resulting hybrid devices, and stability was noted as an issue for some users, the fact remains that some lucky RX 470 and RX 480 owners can gain significant performance improvements with a simple firmware update.

If you decide to do the same with your own graphics card, then of course the usual caveats apply. You might break something or blow something up, so be careful. Also, make sure to read through the various forum discussions to discover some of the tips and tricks other users have discovered that will give you the best chance at success. If this kind of thing isn’t your cup of tea, then you could always sell your existing card on eBay and pick up a new one.

Bell launches support for near-gigabit LTE speeds in Canada

Near-gigabit speeds are coming to one Canadian carrier.

Bell, the third-largest carrier in Canada, has announced that it now supports quad-band LTE Advanced in some parts of Canada, enabling speeds of up to 750Mbps.

The company launched tri-band LTE Advanced a couple of years ago, but now that the Galaxy S8 is approaching release, and with the support of gigabit LTE speeds with 256QAM and 4×4 MIMO, Bell is taking the opportunity to re-ignite the wireless speed war that was active with Rogers a few years ago.

Bell is leveraging four separate wireless bands — Band 4, Band 7, Band 12 and Band 13 — to achieve speeds of up to 550Mbps across the country, with supported hardware. Toronto and cities in Atlantic Canada can reach speeds of 750Mbps with support for 256QAM on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+.

Most people won’t necessarily notice this huge surge in wireless speeds, especially on the data-limited plans that many Canadians have to deal with, but it’s good to see that carriers are still adding functionality to their networks to not only make them faster but more efficient. The more important upside to this announcement is the additional efficiencies gained from quad-band aggregation, which allows customers to source wireless signal from the fastest possible route.

Carriers in the U.S. such as Sprint and T-Mobile have also rolled out similar upgrades to their networks in order to approach speeds of 1Gbps, but they’re not widely available just yet.

Moto G5 Plus can’t make emergency calls on Verizon’s VoLTE service

Lenovo has offered a temporary solution, with a software update fix coming next week.

If you own a Moto G5 Plus running on Verizon’s network, this news is for you. In a recent post on Lenovo’s support forum, the company says it has identified a software issue that affects the Moto G5 Plus’ ability to connect to 911 emergency services when using Verizon’s Voice over LTE (VoLTE) service.

Obviously, this is a pretty big safety concern that needs to be addressed pronto. Lenovo is looking into the issue and plans to release a software update within the next week to fix the issue. But in the meantime, it recommends turning off Verizon’s Enhanced 4G LTE Mode in the phone’s settings:

Tap Settings from the home screen or app drawer.
Scroll down and tap the …More option.
Tap Wireless & Network.
Tap Cellular Networks.
Ensure that Enhanced 4G LTE Mode is turned off.

By disabling the VoLTE feature, you will not be able to use voice and data at the same time, but you will be able to call 911 in case of an emergency. If you don’t see the Enhanced 4G LTE Mode in your phone’s settings, you may want to contact Verizon to check whether said features are activated on your plan.

Lenovo says they are committed to fixing this issue in a timely fashion. If you have a Moto G5 Plus and you’re running on Verizon’s 4G LTE network, you’ll definitely want to go into your phone and switch off this setting, for now, then keep an eye out for next week’s software update. Don’t try calling 911 to see if your phone connects, unless you’re dealing with an actual emergency — this should be common sense but we’ll say it here anyways.

Moto G5

• Moto G5 Plus review
• Moto G5 Specs
• Top 10 things to know about the Moto G5 + G5 Plus
• Moto G5 Plus vs Moto G4 Plus
• Join our Moto G5 forums!

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