Sony’s grand prize for a motorbike eSports race is a car

Ever fantasized about competing on a world famous race track? Well, thanks to PlayStation’s latest eSports partnership picking up your Dualshock could make that dream a reality. This year, MotoGP’s licensed video game is getting its first eSports championship — and it’s being broadcast alongside the real thing. PS4 players will have the chance to compete in seven online time trial events, with the 16 best digital bikers duking it out in November alongside real riders. Perhaps excitingly, for the gamers, the season finale takes place in Valencia on the same circuit as the MotoGP World Championships.

Bizarrely, the winner of the contest will receive a BMW M240i — a car, not a bike. Still, when you’re going to be speeding around at such a fast pace, who has the time to worry about a lack of consistency? Although MotoGP17 isn’t the biggest get in the eSports world, the move shows Sony’s increasing desire to embrace competitive gaming. Ever since Call Of Duty’s pro gamers switched to PS4, the Japanese console giant has slowly been trying to establish itself as the go-to console for eSports.

MotoGP17 launches on June 15th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. While it’s still obviously early days for the game, the companies describe this year’s eSports Championship as ‘laying the groundwork’ for next year’s season. Perhaps 2018’s winner will net themselves a sailing boat.

‘The Witcher’ will come to Netflix, not movie theaters

Geralt fans, listen up: The Witcher saga is being adapted into a TV series. Netflix has confirmed it will develop and produce an English-language drama series — or Original, in Netflix parlance — which is based on the fantasy books from Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and the inspiration of critically-acclaimed game franchise from CD Projekt Red.

Netflix will work with Sean Daniel and Jason Brown, partners at the Sean Daniel Company, to produce the series. Normally, this kind of information would be extraneous, but its inclusion all but confirms that The Witcher movie project — which was meant to arrive this year — will be shelved in favor of the new Original series. In 2015, the Sean Daniel Company teamed up with Platige Films on the project, alongside Oscar-nominated director Tomasz Bagiński. They’re all still on board, but will now focus on the TV adaptation.

The Witcher saga focuses on the story of Geralt, one of the last remaining Witchers — a band of monster-hunting mercenaries with supernatural powers. The books translated well very into standalone video games, winning hundreds of awards, and Sapkowski is confident that Netflix will translate that positive buzz into a successful TV series.

“I’m thrilled that Netflix will be doing an adaptation of my stories, staying true to the source material and the themes that I have spent over thirty years writing,” said Sapkowski. “I’m excited about our efforts together, as well as the team assembled to shepherd these characters to life.” Sapkowski will work as a creative consultant.

The Witcher is latest “video game” adaptation on Netflix’s books. In February, the streaming giant announced that it is working on a Castlevania animated series, which will debut later this year.

There’s no word on when filming will begin, but we do know it’ll be a multi-season show. Platige also posted to its Facebook page saying that sleepless nights and hours of meetings are behind it and that “production of the series” lies ahead. Let the speculation behind who will play hulking man-beast Geralt of Rivia begin.

Source: Platige

Apple Officially Begins Assembling iPhone SE in India

After months of reports that suggested Apple was gearing up to begin iPhone production within India as a way for the company to boost its presence in the country, a report by The Wall Street Journal today has confirmed the first ever iPhone assembly trial run completed in India earlier this month. As it was previously reported, assembler Wistron handled the iPhone production trial run, specifically focusing on the assembling of iPhone SE devices.

Apple has further confirmed that it has begun the initial production of an unspecified “small number” of iPhone SE devices in its Bangalore plant, and plans to begin the first official shipment of Indian-created iPhones to local customers as soon as this month. Retail stores are expected to get their first shipment of iPhone SE handsets “as early as this week or next,” according to people familiar with the manufacturing plans.

The manufacturing of Apple’s cheapest iPhone model, the SE, was handled earlier this month by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron Corp., which has an assembling unit in the southern state of Karnataka, a state official with direct knowledge of the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

Apple said in a statement that it has begun initial production of a small number of iPhone SE handsets in Bangalore and will begin shipping the Indian-made devices to domestic customers this month. The first devices could hit stores as early as this week or next, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The cost of the device remains unclear, with some Indian government officials hoping that the iPhone SE could be up to $100 cheaper than $320, the current average going rate for iPhone SE devices in the country. In most markets, including the United States, the iPhone SE starts at $399, but some analysts watching Apple’s move in India argued for the need of an “aggressive” pricing on the smartphone in order for Apple to compete with the wide variety of cheap devices available.

Bringing its price down below $250 would help make it more affordable, analysts say, though it would still be well above the average smartphone price in India which research firm IDC says is around $150.

“Apple is likely to sell a good number of iPhones if it prices them so aggressively,” said Faisal Kawoosa, principal analyst at research firm CMR. “In three to five years, these users will be able to graduate to a standard-priced iPhone.”

Looking forward, some of the government officials said that Apple “could seek more production” within India down the line, potentially opening up manufacturing on other iPhones. Additionally, India is open to granting Apple more land and resources for its contract manufacturers to expand their operations throughout the country.

Last year, Apple began discussing its expansion in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was trying to boost his “Make in India” initiative, at the same time as it looked to set up a local distribution center that could help consolidate its logistics and supply chain in the country. Apple’s struggles in the country have been reported to center around the iPhone’s expensive price tag — a fact that CEO Tim Cook has admitted himself — with a Strategy Analytics report last summer outlining a total 35 percent fewer iPhone devices sold in 2016 than in 2015.

Related Roundup: iPhone SE
Tag: India
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone SE (Caution)
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Olympus Tough TG-5 packs a 12MP sensor and 4K video into a tough-as-nails body

Olympus has updated its rugged Tough range of portable compact cameras with the TG-5. It borrows much of the same technology as 2015’s TG-4, but has a few notable upgrades to make it the ideal companion for adrenaline junkies.

• Olympus TG-4 is a compact for the more adventurous snapper who wants to shoot in RAW

Front and centre of the TG-5 is a 12-megapixel CMOS sensor with an f/2.0 wide angle lens and 25-100mm focal length (35mm equivalent). Die-hard fans among you may be quick to notice that’s a lower pixel count than the 16-megapixel sensor on the TG-4, but Olympus says thanks to picture processing tech taken from the OM-D E-M1 MKII, pictures will in fact be better than ever before.

The TG-5’s durability credentials are the same as its predecessor’s, so that means it’s shockproof when dropped from a height of up to 2.1-metres, can be submerged up to 15-metres in water without the need for a protective case (you can go down to 45-metres with the optional case add-on), can withstand up to 100kg of weight without buckling and is freezeproof down to -10C. If you’re someone who regularly finds yourself ‘living life on the edge’, the TG-5 is for you.

The most notable upgrade over the TG-4 is the ability to now shoot video in 4K at up to 30fps and full HD recording up to 120fps. The TG-5 also benefits from dual pane anti-fog glass, so you don’t need to worry about not being able to see the screen when going in and out of cold water for example.

You’re able to choose from 16 different preset scene modes to help get the best shot, and there are even different art filters to add a little creative flair to your photos without the need for separate editing software. Everything is viewed on the 3-inch LCD screen on the back, and there are glove-friendly control dials and an underwater HDR shooting mode to help you get the best from the camera.

• Best compact cameras 2017: The best point and shoot cameras available to buy today

The Olympus TG-5 will be available from mid-June in red or black for £400.

Steve Jobs Once Asked Jeff Goldblum to Be ‘the Voice of Apple’

Steve Jobs once tried to convince Hollywood actor Jeff Goldblum to become “the voice of Apple”, it emerged yesterday.

Goldblum disclosed his contact with the late Apple co-founder during an interview on the Today Show in Australia, according to CNet.

“Steve Jobs called me up a few decades ago to be the voice of Apple,” said Goldblum. “That was early on, and I did not know it was Steve Jobs.”

The star of movies like Jurassic Park and The Fly offered no further details on the timing of the phone conversation with Jobs, but Goldblum did appear in a short series of “Think Different” Apple ads in the late 90s.

CNet suggested Jobs may have seen a role for Goldblum as the voice of Siri, but Apple didn’t purchase the company responsible for the virtual assistant until 2010, making the suggestion seem unlikely.

Goldblum is currently in Australia to promote Menulog, a new food ordering app in the same vein as Seamless and DoorDash.

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Watch this daredevil skydiver use a massive drone instead of a plane for his jump

Why it matters to you

The stunt highlights how larger, stronger drones could one day be used to rescue people in emergency situations.

At the end of last year we marveled at the bizarre sight of high-profile YouTuber Casey Neistat using a humongous drone to lift him high into the sky. The bonkers Christmas stunt used a specially built octocopter strong enough to lift Casey hundreds of feet into the air.

Possibly inspired by Neistat’s aerial antics, Latvia-based drone designer Aerones recently persuaded a skydiver by the name of Ingus Augstkalns to use a drone instead of an airplane for his next jump.

A video posted on YouTube shows Augstkalns standing atop a 120-meter-high tower just ahead of “the world’s first drone jump,” according to Aerones. Next, we see the huge 28-propeller flying machine buzz up to the skydiver, whereupon he grabs hold of it and presumably hopes for the best.

With Augstkalns dangling precariously beneath it, the drone flies away from the platform and reaches an altitude of 330 meters before the skydiver decides it’s probably a good idea to let go. The good news is that Augstkalns’ parachute opened properly and he touched down safely. However, there’s no footage showing what happened to the drone, though we’re assuming it didn’t go rogue and cause untold havoc inside some faraway restricted area.

The enormous contraption took six months to perfect and can carry a payload weighing up to 200 kg. Perhaps Amazon might want to use it to deliver larger items that its Prime Air drone can’t handle — we can just see one of Sony’s big-screen OLED offerings flying through the sky with this thing. Silliness aside, Aerones said the stunt was designed to highlight the drone’s potential to act as a rescue vehicle in emergency situations or perform other important work.

“Already in the near future, our technology will save human lives, will help to fight fires and carry out other challenging and significant work,” Aerones’ Jānis Putrāms said in a release. “With this project, we show that we are ready for serious tasks in the field of civil defense and sports.”

Speaking of sports, it was Aerones that last year suggested “droneboarding” as a thing, using another of its super-sized flying machines to pull a boarder across the snow.

Netflix no longer works on rooted or bootloader-unlocked Android phones

Wanted to go for a binge on your rooted Android phone? I’ve got some bad news.

Rooted users started noticing the app gone from Google Play on their devices over the weekend, and Netflix eventually confirmed it did this intentionally. The streaming service is now using Google’s Wildvine DRM to block the app from rooted devices that don’t pass Wildvine’s security status, and its Google Play listing will not appear for devices that fail a SafetyNet check, which not only rules out rooted phones but also unrooted phones that are bootloader-unlocked.

Netflix has long been wary of the Android platform over root and piracy concerns, so much so that it took years for the service to come to Android at all. Blocking rooted devices makes a certain amount of sense from its point of view, even if the vast majority of root users aren’t using it for anything nefarious, but blocking phones simply because the bootloader is unlocked is going to cause a lot of headaches. Unlocking the bootloader on a phone will cause it to fail the SafetyNet check for Google Play, even if the phone’s software hasn’t actually been modified, and can be needed for processes like flashing sideloaded updates and even flashing the Android O Developer Preview.

There are ways around this, but it’s also worth mentioning that root on the whole is far less necessary to the Android experience as it was years ago. Phones are more full-featured, even allowing users to theme their nav bar and alter the system UI nowadays if you buy the right phone. Wi-Fi tethering is offered out of the box on most phones — though yes, your carrier might charge extra for tethering.

If you’ve got enough reason to root, Netflix playing hard-to-get probably isn’t going to stop you any more than the laundry list of other apps that don’t play nice with it. That Netflix isn’t playing nice with bootloader-unlocked phones that aren’t rooted is slightly more dismaying, especially as a summer of Android O betas to sideload and test awaits us.

LG V30 will be first LG phone in three years with an OLED screen

LG has been a pioneer when it comes to developing and manufacturing OLED TVs, just take a look at the OLED W7 Wallpaper TV and you’ll see just what the company is capable of. But LG’s OLED tech has yet to be filtered down to its smartphones, but that could be set to change according to a recent report.

• LG G6 review: The first truly great flagship for 2017

Ok, so it technically won’t be the first LG phone to feature an OLED screen, that accolade belongs to the G Flex, but considering it was considered a commercial failure, LG will be hoping the V30 can perform much better.

Korean news outlet The Investor cites “industry sources” as saying the LG V30 will be released in September 2017, and will be the first LG phone to feature an OLED display. The G7 flagship will then also receive an OLED panel when it’s released in 2018.

The Investor’s source said: “Most OLED screens produced at LG Display’s Gumi E5 plant in the second half will be used for its sister firm LG Electronics’ smartphones, starting with the V30”.

“Some of the OLED production will be supplied to Chinese phone makers who are hoping to catch up with front-runners such as Samsung and Apple”.

LG has used LCD panels in its recent smartphones, while rivals such as Samsung and now potentially Apple, have adopted OLED screens for their greater contrast levels. It’s thought that LG will begin producing OLED panels for the V30 in July, and will be accelerating efforts to improve yield rates, with the hope of attracting third parties to eventually supply to.

Samsung Display, Samsung’s OLED panel producing unit, dominates the mobile OLED market and is thought to be the sole supplier for the Apple iPhone 8 which will be released later this year.

• LG V20: Specs, release date and everything you need to know

No other specs or features of the V30 have been leaked just yet, but using the V20 as a benchmark, we’d expect a metal build, dual camera and a large screen around the 5.7-inch mark.

Standalone Google VR headset to debut at I/O?

Variety has learned from various sources that Google may unveil a standalone virtual reality headset at its annual I/O conference later today.

• Google I/O 2017: When is it, where to watch and what to expect?
• Google’s standalone VR/AR headset: What’s the story so far?

The headset would be able to run on its own, without the need a separate computer or a phone to run games and VR experiences, unlike Google’s Daydream View VR headset. Reports that Google was working on such a headset have been circling since the beginning of 2016, so the company has had over a year to develop it.

Rather than use a smartphone for the screen, Google’s new VR headset will have a screen built-in, make use of what’s being called “inside out tracking” and have high-powered chips. Variety’s sources aren’t sure whether the new headset will run on Android or an entirely new operating system.

Inside out tracking will use sensors built into the headset to track the user’s movement, rather than use outward facing cameras or sensors that headsets such as the PlayStation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift all use. It’s thought Google’s new headset will share much of the same technology that’s been developed for the Project Tango augmented reality platform.

By being able to track movement without the need for external sensors, and provide VR and AR experiences, Google’s new headset could potentially rival the Microsoft HoloLens. It will almost certainly go head-to-head with Microsoft’s affordable range of virtual reality headsets which use ‘six degrees of freedom sensors’.

• What is Google Daydream and what devices support it? Google’s Android VR platform explained
• Microsoft will release VR headsets with the Windows 10 Creators Update

Google’s I/O conference kicks off at 10am Pacific Time (6pm BST). Pocket-lint will be bringing you all the latest news and product announcements as they happen.

How to watch Google I/O 2017 and what to expect from the Google developer conference

Google’s chief, Sundar Pichai announced in January that Google I/O 2017 will be taking place in May, and now that month is upon us. New Googley things will be unveiled this week.

Google holds an annual conference for developers, engineers, executives, and the media – so that it can discuss all-things Google and Android-related. Developers and engineers use information from this show to get their apps and products up-to-date with Google’s latest innovations, while the rest of us drool and look forward to what’s coming in the months ahead.

Here’s how to watch Google I/O 2017 and what to expect from Google conference.

When is Google I/O 2017?

Google I/O 2017 will take place between 17-19 May 2017 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California. Of course, to most of us, it’s the opening keynote that will be most interesting. The company normally uses this to show off all the developments we’ll get on our devices later in the year. That will take place on Wednesday, 17 May at 10am Pacific Time (6pm British Summer Time).

How can you watch the Google I/O 2017 livestream?

Google live-streamed last year’s keynote, which you can playback here, and it has been confirmed that this year’s I/O keynote will also be livestreamed.

We will update this page with a link to the live stream when it becomes available. For now, it’s a safe bet to bookmark the Google Developers’ YouTube channel page, we expect the keynote (and other developer sessions) to be hosted there as usual, or head over to the main Google I/O website.

What can you expect from Google I/O 2017?

Google’s I/O webpage has been updated with a countdown clock and a full schedule. This agenda, plus previous announcements give us something of an idea that we should be expecting the following updates:

Pocket-lint

Android O

Google usually uses Google I/O to tease improvements to Android. Last year, it talked about the split-screen mode, ability to reply to texts from notifications, and an update to the Doze batter saver. This year, the company has pre-announced Android O, the next version of its mobile platform, and has released the first “alpha” Developer Preview already. 

• Android O: What’s the story so far?

Among the new features mentioned on the developer pages include new ways for notifications to behave – including grouping types of notification together – as well as adaptive icons, autofill and picture-in-picture. We’ll have to wait until the keynote to get a proper glimpse as to what this means for consumers.

Google is also working on something called Project Treble, which is essentially re-engineering Android to make it far easier and cheaper for manufacturers to test and push out software updates. That means your phones in future will be updated more frequently and promptly with the latest versions of the operating system.

There’s also a mystery mobile operating system called Fuchsia OS, which isn’t Android. It’s built from the ground up by Google, and is vastly different to Android. Its homescreen is a long scrolling list of running apps, and you can drag windows/apps on top of each other like a desktop computer. We’re not sure Google will spend much time – if any – showing it off, but it’s being developed in the background.

Pocket-lint

Android Wear

Google unveiled Android Wear 2.0 last year, which subsequently only rolled out to user devices over the past couple of months. Of course, it launched on two LG-made watches, the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style, which are both pretty hard to get hold of in the real world and still haven’t been physically released in the UK.

• When is Android Wear 2.0 coming to my smartwatch?

With that said, it is available on some older model watches, like the Fossil Q range, the new Huawei Watch 2 and the New Balance RunIQ sport-focused smartwatch.

Pocket-lint

Daydream VR

In 2016, Google showed us it was interested in going beyond Google Cardboard by introducing a new mobile, approachable to virtual reality in the form of Google Daydream. Since then, we’ve seen Google introduce a Daydream VR headset, Pixel phones with Daydream support, and other manufacturers add support for Daydream. We’re hoping to see more hardware and software announcements.

Keep in mind Google is rumoured to be developing a high-end VR headset along the lines of HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Unlike the Daydream View, it would be an all-in-one experience that doesn’t require a phone.

Add all this to the fact that Google has included a handful of Daydream-focused sessions in to its I/O agenda – including “What’s new on Daydream”, and it would seem that the company is planning an update.

• Standalone Google VR headset to debut at I/O?

Pocket-lint

Chrome OS

Chrome OS now works with full Android apps. And, recently, a few new Chromebooks have been announced. Other than that, the Chrome OS space has been pretty quiet. Google has of course denied the rumours of a full OS merger between Chrome and Android, but maybe Google will use Google I/O 2017 to announce new features coming to the operating system or new Chromebooks and Chrome OS devices in the pipeline.

Android Auto

Android Auto is Google’s attempt at getting Android into vehicles. Before I/O has even started, Google has announced that Android Auto is coming to more cars, but as a phone-free standalone in-dash system.

Once available, there will be multiple ways to get Android Auto in your car. You can already use it as a standalone app on your phone, or connect your phone to a compatible infotainment system, but now Android Auto is moving in a new direction. 

Car manufacturer partners (Audi and Volvo specifically) will have Android Auto built right into their central dash infotainment systems. That means it won’t matter if you leave your phone at home or disconnected from your car’s system, you’ll be able to make full use of services like Google Maps, Google Assistant, or even listen to music through Spotify. All of this from the in-dash system, without your smartphone.

Pocket-lint

Google Assistant

Last year, Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, talked a lot about machine-learning advances and artificial intelligence, as well as how they benefit its new Google Assistant. The service is an extension of Google Now. With it, you can ask conversational questions using the “OK Google” command. In the past 12 months, it has been added to the Google Home speaker, Allo chat app, and Pixel flagships – as well as a few other Android phones.

• Google Assistant tips and tricks: Master your Android assistant
• What is Google Assistant, how does it work, and which devices offer it?

Browsing the I/O agenda it’s clear there’s something happening with Assistant this year. The first two sessions “Building apps for the Google Assistant” and “Bringing the Google Assistant to any device” clearly shows the company wants to help manufacturers and developers get its smart assistant used in as many places, in as many ways as humanly as possible.

This focus on making it more widely available could even come in form of an app for iPhones. There’s been talk of an iOS version of Google Assistant, although that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

• Google Assistant might hit iPhone, Photos, and your kitchen this week

Pocket-lint

Google Home

Speaking of Google Home, Google unveiled the voice-activated speaker at Google I/O 2016, but it’s only been available for a few months now – and only landed on UK soil very recently.

It lets you manage everyday tasks, ask questions, control select connected devices, and more. We’re not expecting Google Home 2.0 to debut at this year’s show, but maybe Google will announce new features and integrations. It might even copy Amazon and do a Dot-like version.

Lenovo

Project Tango

Augmented reality was hot last summer, and it’s expected to continue being popular. Keep in mind Google has long been working on Project Tango tech, which uses motion-tracking and depth sensing to build a 3D world onto physical surroundings, and at CES 2017, many manufacturers made announcements about AR devices, apps, and accessories. We will hear more about Project Tango, with sessions planned dedicated to helping developers discover how to build for the new features.

Is that it?

Yep. Google’s self-driving car project as been spun into a standalone business known as Waymo. At Google I/O 2017, we could learn some more details about what’s next, but we wouldn’t count on it. Also, Google has reportedly suspended all plans to launch a Project Ara modular smartphone. The interchangeable phone concept has been shelved to streamline the company’s hardware strategy, it is claimed.