Google Play Music becomes the default music app on Samsung phones and tablets

Samsung customers will get a three-month trial and ability to upload 100,000 songs to Play Music.

Google has partnered with Samsung to offer Google Play Music as the default music player on the South Korean manufacturer’s phones and tablets, starting with the Galaxy S8 and S8+, which are going on sale in the U.S. starting today. The partnership includes exclusive features for Samsung customers, including a three-month trial to Play Music. The offer is available globally, but is limited to new subscribers and not current Play Music customers.

Samsung customers also have the ability to upload and stream 100,000 songs from their own music collection into Play Music, or double the storage capacity usually offered to customers. Google is also touting integration with Bixby, Samsung’s personal assistant on the Galaxy S8. When the feature goes live later this spring, you’ll be able to ask Bixby to play your favorite tunes on Play Music.

Google’s streaming music service has lagged behind Spotify, but by teaming up with Samsung, the search giant has the potential to attract millions of new customers. And Samsung gets to move on from the failure that was Milk Music.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
• 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

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Arsenal first Premier League club with live streaming Alexa Skill, ask it for commentary and more

Arsenal have released their own Alexa Skill, for use with Amazon Echo and other Alexa assistant-enabled devices.

It is the first Premier League football club to do so and offers all manner of ways for fans to receive information through voice alone.

Developed by digital agency AKQA, the Skill is available in the UK and US and offers pre-match build up, line-ups, score updates and post-match analysis for all Arsenal games. In addition, live commentary for matches is available to listen to.

“It is fantastic to be able to offer our supporters another digital channel to access all the club news,” said Arsenal’s head of marketing, Charles Allen.

“It is an easy, efficient and innovative way for fans with Alexa devices, such as Amazon Echo, to keep up with the team and bring the match day action to their own home.”

• Amazon Echo: What can Alexa do and what services are compatible?
• Amazon Echo tips and tricks: Getting a grip on Alexa
• Amazon Echo review: It’s all about Alexa

The Arsenal Skill can be enabled by saying “Alexa, enable Arsenal” when near to an Echo or other compatible device. Alternatively, you can activate it through the smartphone or tablet app under the Skills section.

To start an Arsenal-themed conversation with Alexa, just say, “Alex, open Arsenal.”

The new Skill also works with the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote.

• You can buy an Amazon Echo with Alexa from Amazon.co.uk here, and Amazon.com here

Future electric vehicles: The battery-powered tech cars that will be on the roads within the next 5 years

Electric cars are already a mainstay on Britain’s roads, with several all-electric models being available to buy right now. A lot of them are simply electric versions of fuel-powered cars, but in the not-too-distant future, we’ll see new designs around town and up and down the motorway.

But just what electric cars are coming? Let us give you a closer look as to what you can expect to see in showrooms and when you’re out driving in the next few years.

• All-electric cars UK 2017: All the battery powered vehicles available on the road today

Audi e-tron Quattro SUV

Pocket-lint

The Audi e-tron Quattro SUV concept was shown off at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2015, but it will likely be called the Q6 when it eventually launches in 2018. It will go head-to-head with the Tesla Model X (which is on sale now), but has some cool features that will make it worth waiting for.

Audi says it will be easily capable of travelling up to 300 miles on a single charge, can be fully recharged in 50 minutes, and can achieve 0-60mph in less than 5-seconds – if you attempt this, expect the 300 mile range to take a bit of a hit.

The concept version has OLED panels all around the front cabin, which displays a wealth of information, including what’s going on around you, as there aren’t any wing mirrors. Being a futuristic car, the e-tron SUV also has a range of lasers and cameras dotted around the outside to enable self-driving capabilities.

• Audi e-tron Quattro SUV concept: An electric Q6 in disguise

Audi e-tron SUV Sportback

Audi

The SUV Sportback is another concept car for now, but will launch in 2019 as a full production model for an estimated £60,000. It looks a lot like the A7, but has huge 23-inch wheels to give you a commanding view of the road.

The SUV Sportback will be a rival car to Jaguar’s I-PACE SUV (more on that later) and will have three electric motors giving it 496bhp that will see it go from 0-60mph in 4.5-seconds. Audi says the SUV Sportback can be recharged to 80 per cent in 30 minutes, and will have a driving range of 311 miles.

Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, which is available in all Audi vehicles except the A1 and A6 ranges, features once again, but has the addition of touchscreens in the centre console that provide haptic feedback.

• Audi e-tron SUV Sportback is an all-electric A7 on stilts

Faraday Future FF91

Faraday Future

Faraday Future’s first electric vehicle, the FF 91, should be on roads in 2018. It has a huge 126-inch wheelbase, but that makes for a huge interior. The panoramic sunroof, rear and side windows use Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Glass, which passengers can tap on to tint the windows and let less light in.

Don’t expect to get a conventional rear-view mirror inside, as Faraday Future has replaced it with a widescreen monitor instead. It’s used to show live footage from a camera on rear of the car, along with cameras on the sides, so you can see literally everything around you.

Another thing to be thrown out is a key. Instead, you use your phone to unlock the car, or if you don’t have it with you, your face becomes your key. The FF 91 is able to individually recognise each user and will automatically adjust the seat position, climate control, entertainment preferences and driving routes based on your individual tastes.

The 1,050bhp electric power unit will accelerate to 60mph in 2.39-seconds and will have a driving range between 378 and 435 miles. Faraday Future says the battery can be completely recharged in one hour.

Prospective customers in the USA, Canada and China can reserve an FF91 now for $5,000.

• Faraday Future’s first production car, FF 91 hits the road in 2018

Jaguar I-PACE SUV

Pocket-lint

Jaguar’s I-PACE SUV will get its full, official unveiling towards the end of 2017, and will be on roads in 2018. It features a 90kWh lithium-ion battery to give a 0-60mph time of 4-seconds, and will have a driving range of up to 311 miles. A full recharge of the battery should take around 90 minutes using DC charging.

The interior cabin is pretty futuristic too, albeit minimal. Controls such as indicators and gear selector buttons are found on a floating centre console, which also plays host to a 12-inch TFT touchscreen display, with a separate 5.5-inch display for climate controls. The driver gets their own 12-inch display too, to replace analogue instruments

You can register your interest to buy an I-PACE on Jaguar’s website now.

• Jaguar I-PACE preview: More titillating than a Tesla?

Skoda Vision E

Skoda

Skoda has an electric SUV of its own in the works. Called the Vision E for now, the concept car is to be one of five new electric cars from Skoda to be on the roads by 2025.

It will have a 310 mile driving range and a top speed of 112mph. Skoda hasn’t revealed a 0-60mph time just yet, but it will have a 302bhp power unit, with all of those horses being available on demand.

Two motors, one on each axle, work in unison to deliver power where it’s needed to provide maximum grip and stability. Clever tech features include being able to automatically find itself a parking space and park, and drive by itself in traffic jams or on motorways.

You don’t need to plug it in to charge, as it works with an inductive charging floor panel that can be fitted in your garage, but if you don’t have space to put the floor panel, a quick charge plug-in cable will get it back up to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.

A digital screen will replace the analogue instrument cluster, and a larger touchscreen will be fitted to the centre console to handle all things infotainment. You’ll also be able to wirelessly charge your phone with a charger in each door.

Skoda has yet to say when we can expect to see the Vision E concept SUV on the UK roads.

Volkswagen ID Concept 

Pocket-lint

The ID Concept is one of three ID electric vehicles planned by Volkswagen, to be released from 2020. The Concept is the smallest of the three, but is still a full-size 5-door car.

It will eventually, in 2025, have an autonomous driving mode that will see the steering wheel retract into the dashboard at the touch of a button. The ID Concept will have a driving range of between 249 and 373 miles from a single charge, and the battery can be topped up to 80 per cent in 30 minutes with DC fast charging. The electric motor itself produces 168bhp.

Because there’s no need for space to be taken up by a large engine, VW has managed to give the ID Concept a similar amount of interior space as the Passat, but in a car that’s roughly the same size as a Golf. 

There’s no official world on pricing just yet, but VW says it will be offered at “an attractive price”, when it does go on sale. 

• Volkswagen ID Concept preview: Electric atonement?

Volkswagen ID Crozz

Autocar

The ID Crozz will be Volkswagen’s all-electric SUV that will go on sale from 2020. Like the ID Concept, the ID Crozz will get an autonomous driving mode from 2025, complete with retractable steering wheel.

Like the Faraday Future FF91, the ID Crozz can remember each driver’s personal preferences for things such as climate control and seating position, and will activate them when each individual driver approaches the car.

An 82kWh battery is found in the floor of the car, and this produces a Skoda Vision E matching 112mph top speed and driving range of 310 miles. Power is sent to the rear wheels by default, but it will show the front ones some love if the car feels extra grip is needed, or you can permanently engage an all-wheel drive mode.

A 10.2-inch display will adorn the centre console and handle all the infotainment functions, while a secondary 5.8-inch display in front of the driver will show information relating to the car.

If you know you’re going to be out the house and unable to accept a delivery, you will be able to grant couriers access to the boot of the Crozz so you can drive home with your packages. 

There’s no word yet on how much the ID Crozz will cost when it goes on sale.

Volkswagen ID Buzz

Autocar

The ID Buzz is the third ID electric vehicle due to go on sale in 2022. It’s based on VW’s popular Microbus and will able to seat up to eight people, with an interior that can be constantly changed around. 

Two electric motors will give the ID Buzz a total power output of 369bhp to propel it to 60mph in around 5-seconds. It will be limited to a top speed of 100mph, will have four-wheel drive and a 372 mile driving range. You will be able to recharge the battery to 80 per cent, which VW says will be enough for 298 miles of travel, in 30 minutes. 

Like the other two ID vehicles, the Buzz will have a retracting steering wheel to enable an autonomous driving mode, and it will have cameras mounted on the outside in place of conventional wing mirrors. 

There’s no official word on how much the ID Buzz may cost when it goes on sale. 

‘The X-Files’ is coming back, again

It would be hard not to draw a line between the world’s current obsession with daft conspiracy theories and the first broadcast of The X-Files. More than 20 years after the era-defining series began, Fox has announced that it’s producing another 10 episode run of the show. The eleventh season of The X-Files will air on the channel as an “event” towards the end of this year or the start of the next.

The six-part revival series that aired last year was something of a gamble for the TV station, albeit one that paid of handsomely. Season 10 wound up being the second most-watched drama of 2016, scoring almost 16 million viewers who tuned in to watch Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny investigate the paranormal.

In its first revival, The X-Files attempted to tweak its premise to suit the times, with an Alex Jones-esque figure portrayed as a crusader for truth about alien contact. Considering where that sort of logic has gotten us, it’ll be interesting to see how the show, once again, adjusts to the new normal.

Via: Deadline

Source: Fox

Insta360’s ‘affordable’ 8K VR camera is up for pre-orders

With the recent VR announcements at Facebook’s F8 conference, things are certainly getting a lot more interesting in the 360 content space, especially with the new hardware that can shoot in six degrees of freedom for an unprecedented level of immersion. However, the current wave of professional-grade 360 cameras are still cost-prohibitive for many studios, with the Nokia Ozo asking for $40,000 and the original Facebook Surround reference design costing about $30,000 to build. This is where Insta360 comes in with its $3,499 8K VR camera, the Pro, which is now open for pre-orders ahead of tomorrow’s NAB Show in Las Vegas.

For those who aren’t familiar with this Shenzhen-based startup, Insta360 is perhaps better known for its 360-camera dongles for smartphones: the Nano for iOS devices and the Air for Android (the latter has also been co-branded with Huawei and Nubia in China). These are significantly more affordable than the $300 to $400 offerings from major brands, with the Nano retailing for $199 and the Air going for $130 — the former costs more as it also works as a standalone device.

Obviously, Insta360 is pulling a similar but more aggressive move in the professional market. When the company first reached out to us, it wasn’t afraid to admit that its Pro is going right after the Nokia Ozo by almost matching the latter’s specs. The Pro features six 200-degree lenses — two fewer than the Ozo — that are backed by real-time 360 video stitching (4K at 30 fps with H.265/H.264 or 4K 3D at 25 fps with H.264), thus making it easier to use than some other devices in the same space. On the audio side, the Pro packs four microphones, but you can also plug in an external microphone

Advanced users can do more using Insta360’s post-processing software or third-party tools (8K video at 30 fps, 4K slow-motion at 100 fps, 4K 3D at 30 fps), whereas still shots can go up to 60 megapixels (7,680 x 7,680) in 3D with an optional time-lapse mode. The content can be stored on an SD card or external storage via USB 3.0 (Type-C port).

Like the Ozo, the Pro also comes with Wi-Fi, Ethernet plus HDMI connectivity to enable real-time 360 preview and even direct live-streaming — either 6K 3D or 4K 3D — to Facebook, YouTube, Insta360 server or others via RTMP. Better yet, the Pro has an optional 4G network card, and since it packs a 5,000 mAh removable battery (which apparently lasts for about 75 minutes), it can become a truly untethered professional-grade 360 live camera. Speaking of, the machine weighs 1.2kg or 2.7 pounds which isn’t too bad, and as with any camera, you can set it up on a tripod.

While we didn’t have an ideal environment for taking sample shots during my brief time at Insta360’s office, the company has plenty of sample content on the official product page, and the ones I looked at through a smartphone VR headset were indeed impressive, especially the ones in 3D stereoscopic view. Feel free to take a peek at those.

Source: Insta360

The Engadget Podcast Ep 37: Modern Things

On this episode senior editor Chris Velazco and social media manager Evan Rodgers join host Terrence O’Brien for the last ever video edition of The Engadget Podcast. From here on out the show is going audio only, which will allow the show to bring you a wider variety of guests from all over the country and the globe. But those aren’t the only changes at the site. Engadget has a new editor chief and a renewed focus on doing what it does best: Bringing you the best and most important stories in tech.

For example, on this week’s show the panel discusses Facebook’s ongoing problem with violent videos and livestreamed crimes. They’ll even try to figure out who, ultimately, should be responsible for policing such content, if anyone. Then they’ll dig deep… real deep on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. TL;DR: They’re amazing phones that should be on your shortlist and might even make you forget about the Note 7 debacle.

Relevant links:

• A letter from your editor: Changes ahead
• Murders, suicides and rapes: Facebook’s major video problem
• Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus review: Redemption is here

The Wind Down:

• Kendrick Lamar – Damn
• The Jetzons – Hard Times
• 2 Mello – Chrono Jigga
• DJ 8-Bit Mullet – Metroid Remixes

You can check out every episode on The Engadget Podcast page in audio, video and text form for the hearing impaired.

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Galaxy S8 owners can upload 100,000 songs to Google Play Music

Samsung has historically been guilty of loading up its smartphones with apps that duplicate features already found in Android. The company’s software game has definitely improved over the years, though, and Samsung appears to be focusing more on what it does best and leaving the software to others. To that end, Google just announced that its own Play Music service will be the default music player for the just-launched Galaxy S8. That’s a smart move, as most customers will be better off with Google’s player than things like the Milk Music service Samsung tried (and ultimately failed) to get Galaxy smartphone owners to use.

Furthermore, Galaxy S8 owners will get some exclusive benefits to using Google Play Music. Google is letting S8 users upload a total of 100,000 songs to their personal music locker for free — that’s double what everyone else gets. The Galaxy S8 will also come with a three-month free trial of Play Music’s subscription streaming service, which includes access to more than 40 million songs and thousands of curated playlists. That subscription also includes access to ad-free YouTube Red (unfortunately, only new subscribers will get free access.)

Lastly, Google Play Music will be integrated into Samsung’s new virtual assistant Bixby when it launches later this spring. When you ask Bixby to start playing music, it’ll default to Google’s app. Whether or not you’ll be able to modify this based on your own preferred music service is as of yet unclear, but we’ll check on that when Bixby is ready to go.

It’s something of a no-brainer for Google to offer up all this storage space — all but the most insanely die-hard music collectors aren’t going to hit Play Music’s 50,000 song upload limit, let alone this expanded 100,000 song offer. And it’s a better use of Samsung’s time to focus on where it can actually provide value in the S8’s software rather than duplicating apps that Google has already built. Of course, many S8 buyers will probably have throw in their lot with Spotify, Tidal, Amazon, Rhapsody or another of the many music streaming services out there — but if they haven’t, they’ll get a few extra benefits for choosing Google.

Source: Google

Samsung The Frame TV will cost €2199 when it launches in May, looks like artwork

Samsung quietly announced a new TV called The Frame recently, a television that’s designed to blend into your room and look like a piece of artwork when it’s not in use, rather than being a big old black rectangle on your wall. 

We suspect the initial announcement was rather quiet to not distract from the main push for Samsung in 2017 which is behind its QLED televisions. Talking at the IFA Global Press Conference 2017, Michael Zöller, VP of Samsung visual display in Europe declared that the talk around televisions was moving away from picture quality and becoming more about how it will fit into your life. 

That’s the real intro for The Frame, a TV about which Samsung says very little. The launch announcement contained no specs, we suspect because it’s not about specs, it’s about design and it’s about how you fit it into your life. In essence, The Frame is a lifestyle TV.

What we do know is that it uses Samsung’s “zero gap” wall mount, the system it introduced for hanging its new QLED TVs on the wall without creating a massive gap behind. The Frame, then, hangs on the wall and looks like it’s a framed piece of art. 

The Frame also uses Samsung’s Invisible Connection, the cool optical cable that connects the screen to the One Connect box that can be hidden elsewhere in the room, so that you don’t have all the normal clutter around the TV.

Zöller detailed that The Frame uses a range of sensors in its delivery, aiming to create something that has the solid look of artwork, rather than looking like a picture on a TV. Job done: having set eyes on this TV, it’s surprising how well the imagery is displayed. It’s only when you go and peer closely at it that it becomes apparent that some of the frame isn’t physical frame, it’s virtual frame.

There will be more than 100 different artworks as well as the option for different colour bezels so that you can fit it into your décor. It’s also smart, so if the TV detects that no one is in the room, it will switch off, so it’s not wasting energy.

Samsung has confirmed that The Frame will be available at €2,199 for the 55-inch model and that it will be on sale from the end of May 2017.

Details are still missing, but we’ll try to pin Samsung down on exactly what panel this TV has and what the tech specs are.

Choose from Alexa or Google Assistant in your new Mercedes

In the future, it’d be nice to expect our smart home will just know when we’re on our way home and prepare for our arrival. In the meantime, voice assistants from Google and Amazon let us control our devices without all of that fiddly button pressing. Mercedes Benz, which already pledged to bake Google’s platform into its cars, is getting even more committed to our voice-controlled future. Today, the automaker is announcing that both Google Assistant and Alexa will work on all of its 2016 and 2017 models released in the US.

All you need to get it working is an active Mercedes Me account and a subscription to mbrace, the Mercedes Benz smartphone platform. Which, if you were considering it, will set you back $199 a year after a six month free trial. Then you can simply connect that account to your Google or Amazon credentials on your smartphone and you’re all set. Currently, the platforms are only available in the US, although the company has revealed that Europe will get the same features at some point in the near future.

Source: Mercedes Benz

The ZTE Quartz is an affordable intro to Android Wear 2.0

ZTE has made a name for itself by selling affordable smartphones that are best described as “not bad.” Now, the company is extending its “affordable premium” philosophy to Android Wear watches with the Quartz — a sub-$200 wearable running Google’s newest OS. For $192, the Quartz delivers an onboard radio for phone-free calls and texts, as well as a surprisingly big battery. But despite these features, ZTE isn’t going after early adopters. Instead, the Quartz is designed for first-time smartwatch buyers, and, for them, it gets the job done.

Hardware

The Quartz doesn’t look cheap, but its design is unexciting. Its inoffensive aesthetic can easily be spruced up, though. You can swap out the default blue-and-black strap for other standard 22mm options. Of course, that adds to the price tag, but ZTE figures you’d probably try to change the band on pricier smartwatches too.

What you can’t swap, however, is the Quartz’s round, 1.4-inch face. The silver case with blue markings in its bezel looks polished, but bland. Like most smartwatches with cellular radios onboard, the Quartz’s case is hefty, although it is slightly thinner than the LG Watch Sport. To be fair, the Sport houses a few more sensors.

You’ll also find the Quartz’s AMOLED display adequate for the small words and images you’ll be viewing. It has a round, 400 x 400 screen that is bright, sharp and colorful. But it’s unfortunately surrounded by an unsightly ring of dead black space.

On the case’s edge, at the two o’clock position, is a button you can press to go home or long-press to summon the Google Assistant. The placement is somewhat awkward, since most watches put it at three o’clock, and you’ll have to reach ever so slightly further to hit it. That being said, it does prevent accidental presses when my hand bends backwards, which is a problem I encountered with the LG Watch Style, for example, when pushing open doors. Speaking of, a quick note here that I’ll be bringing up the Style throughout this review, since its $250 price tag makes it the Quartz’s primary competitor.

Unlike the Style, the Quartz’s knob is fixed and can’t be rotated to scroll through menus and notifications on the screen. It would have been handy, but the omission isn’t a deal breaker, especially at this price.

There are other tradeoffs that you might find more egregious, though. There’s no heart rate sensor or NFC here, although the Quartz does have a cellular radio for pulling in data and making calls without a phone. That’s something basically every other watch at this price is lacking.

In use

I was concerned that the Quartz’s affordability would come with a compromise on performance. But it wasn’t significantly slower than more-expensive watches I’ve tested. The Quartz runs smoothly most of the time, although it occasionally hiccups when launching apps or installing a game via the Play Store. It’s also slow to respond to voice commands, whether I’m asking to translate a phrase, write a message or call a friend. But other Android Wear 2.0 devices, like the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 and the LG Watch Style, suffer similar delays when dealing with speech.

You’re probably not going to play music through the Quartz’s onboard speakers very often, but if you do, you’ll be happy to know they’re loud enough to hear from across a room. This makes hands-free calls possible even in noisy environments. Sound quality is clear enough for voices. But, as you’d expect, music, like the chorus of Nicki Minaj’s Starships, sounds distorted and clangy. You can (and should) just connect to a pair of Bluetooth headphones for better quality, though. Thanks to the 4GB of onboard storage, you’ll be able to listen to music without lugging your phone around or worrying about cell reception.

What really sets the Quartz apart from the competition, besides its price, is its 500mAh battery. That’s larger than what LG and Huawei offer. That’s a big deal since Android Wear 2.0 watches tend to conk out before a full 24 hours is up. ZTE is promising 36 hours for the Quartz, and so far that seems pretty accurate, as long as I don’t go crazy downloading games or make too many calls. Battery life drops to a day with heavier use, but that’s still longer than the LG watches managed.

The competition

Of the handful of watches on the market that come with Android Wear 2.0 already installed, the ZTE Quartz has the lowest price and one of the biggest batteries. Plus, with its cellular support, the Quartz offers more functionality than its closest competitor (in terms of price) — the LG Watch Style.

Neither the Style nor the Quartz are attractive, but the LG offering has a rotating dial that makes it faster and easier to scroll through Wear’s long lists of notifications and apps. If you detest excessive swiping, consider the Style instead.

To get features like Android Pay and heart rate monitoring, you’ll have to spring for the $350 LG Watch Sport or the $300 Huawei Watch 2. Neither of these options is very pretty, though. For a better-looking watch, you might want to wait for one of Fossil Group’s 300 upcoming Android Wear models, from brands like Michael Kors, Kate Spade and DKNY.

Still, none of the competition is as affordable as the ZTE Quartz, and its battery life is above-average, making it a good option for the budget conscious.

Wrap-up

Ultimately, the ZTE Quartz is an able, basic Android wearable that stands out mostly for its price. Its cellular connectivity is a nice bonus, especially considering the cost, as is its generous battery. The occasional performance issues may put off more-impatient users, but for its target audience of first-time Android Wearers, the Quartz is an affordable way to learn the joys (and pains) of using a smartwatch.