Samsung’s QLED TVs are a dream for color calibration nerds

For video pros or color aficionados who want to see films the way they were intended, HDR’s extra-wide color gamut is a godsend. However, calibrating HDR TVs is a tedious pain, forcing you to futz with onscreen menus using a clumsy remote. If you’re serious about it and have the budget, however, Samsung has teamed with Portrait Displays, letting QLED Q9, Q8 and Q7 owners automatically calibrate their TVs using a SpectraCal or equivalent colorimeter.

To set up your QLED’s HDR color automatically, you hold the $650 or so SpectraCal C6 or equivalent colorimeter against the screen as shown above. Using AutoCal software installed on a computer that’s connected to the QLED TV, you can then automatically adjust the menu settings and autocalibrate the color “with just a few simple clicks,” Samsung says.

Samsung says the QLED sets “are the world’s first TVs that support autocalibration for high dynamic range (HDR) picture quality.” That’ll be especially handy for video, CG or color timing professionals who may use TVs as primary or client monitors. It’ll also be a good way to ensure that you’re seeing your Netflix or 4K Blu-ray HDR film exactly as the director intended.

Samsung’s new QLED TVs are not the cheapest out there, nor necessarily the best, though — we found that the much less pricey Vizio M-series sets have deeper blacks, for instance. (Samsung’s 65-inch Q7C QLED costs $3,900 compared to $1,500 for the Vizio M-Series 65-inch model.) If you’re willing to spend that kind of money, you might want to instead splurge on OLED models from Sony or LG — and just pay someone to calibrate it for you.

Source: Samsung

3D-printed ovaries successfully produce healthy mice pups

Scientists all over the globe are working on the best way to 3D print different human organs for transplant. A team from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and McCormick School of Engineering, for instance, are developing 3D-printed ovaries that can boost hormone production and restore fertility. The researchers have even tested their creation on mice, which successfully ovulated and eventually produced healthy pups after their real ovaries were replaced. It even triggered lactation, so the mothers were able to nurse their young.

While their creation is far from being the first biosynthetic ovary, it’s the first one made of 3D-printed gelatin scaffolding. They simply loaded the structures with immature egg cells before implanting them into their test subjects. Previous efforts used gel substances to encapsulate egg cells, but they were unfortunately prone to breaking down and collapsing upon themselves. The scaffolding provided a much more stable environment that gave the follicles a higher rate of survival. According to assistant professor and team member Ramille Shah, the secret lies in the temperature they used while 3D printing the structure:

“…we found a gelatin temperature that allows it to be self-supporting, not collapse, and lead to building multiple layers. No one else has been able to print gelatin with such well-defined and self-supported geometry.”

It’ll take a long, long time before before the team’s biosynthetic ovaries can even be considered for use in humans, though that’s definitely their end goal. They specifically want to help women who’ve undergone cancer treatment and/or survived childhood cancer. It could be used to trigger hormone production in teen cancer survivors who’d typically need to go through hormone replacement therapy, and it could replace IVF for some of those who need it.

Source: PopSci, Northwestern University

‘Pro Evolution Soccer 2018’ hits PC and consoles September 12th

The next edition of Konami’s perennial FIFA competitor just got a release date: Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 comes out on September 12th. This year’s version adds new online co-op modes and immersive touches alongside a UI overhaul. Best of all it’s also coming to PS3 and Xbox 360, which is great news for last-gen holdovers.

The game has integrated PES League across all its online modes, including new co-op dedicated to 2v2 and 3v3 matches with support for local guests, meaning you and your couch buddy can team up with a stranger online to take on another team of three players. Other modes fall under the PES League umbrella, like myClub and the returning Random Selection Match. The team-managing experience Master League gets new immersive scenes like pre-match interviews and locker room moments. Finally, there are subtle gameplay improvements to ball handling and full body contact control, along with other refinements, that we won’t see in action until the game’s release trailer comes out later this year at E3.

Source: Konami

Apple Takes Risk By Telling Chinese Chat Apps to Disable ‘Tip’ Functions

Apple has told several Chinese social networking apps to disable their “tip” functions to comply with App Store rules, according to executives at WeChat and other companies.

The tip functions in Chinese messaging platforms are free to use and allow people to send authors and other content creators monetary tips through transfers to mobile wallet accounts. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has decided that tips are equivalent to in-app purchases – similar to buying games, music, and videos – therefore Apple is entitled to a 30 percent cut of every transaction.

WeChat on iPhone
The move by Apple appears to be a way to eke out additional revenue from Chinese iPhone users as part of a broader effort to increase its market share in the country. According to research firm IDC, Apple’s market share in China dropped from 16 percent in Q1 2015 to 9 percent in Q1 2017, while the iPhone has fallen to fourth place behind Chinese brands Oppo, Huawei, and Vivo.

On the other hand, Apple’s App Store revenue in China overtook its U.S. App Store revenue in 2016 and became the biggest App Store market in the world. Making the tip function an in-app purchase in China’s wildly popular chat apps would seem to be a sure-fire way to increase Apple’s revenue. However, Apple’s pressure on messaging platforms like WeChat is a risk and threatens to alienate huge Chinese companies.

Some social-networking apps have likened Apple’s tactic to arm-twisting, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple is said to have told chief executives at two companies that if they refuse to make the change, updated versions of their apps won’t be made available and they could be kicked out of the App Store. “We don’t charge anything as the platform, but Apple gets 30 percent for doing nothing,” one of the executives reportedly fumed.

The annoyance stems from the way the tipping culture is viewed in China. Chinese app developers see tipping as fundamentally different from in-app purchases because users only tip voluntarily as a mark of appreciation when they consume content. But the biggest worry for Apple could be whether the Chinese government decides to intervene and side with the tippers.

One executive says his company is talking to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, a regulator, about whether Apple is imposing unfair rules by turning tipping into in-app purchases. MIIT says it isn’t involved. The People’s Bank of China, which regulates electronic payments, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Apple has suffered at the hands of Chinese state regulators before. But Apple also risks frustrating China’s biggest company Tencent Holdings Ltd, the developer of WeChat, which has 938 million active monthly users. The messaging service works almost like an operating system all of its own, boasting multiple mini-apps that allow users to pay bills, book hotels, browse media, and more, without ever having to leave the chat platform. The nature of the system itself could be a threat to Apple’s app revenue, while WeChat is arguably more important to Chinese smartphone users than any individual phone brand – iPhone included.

WeChat is in talks with Apple to try to find a new solution to the tipping problem and come to an alternative agreement, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tags: China, WeChat
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‘Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow’ Coming to iOS With Show’s Original Creators, Writers, and Animators

Mobile game developer Jam City and creator Matt Groening have announced an all-new Futurama game is coming to iOS and Android early this summer, called Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow. The game is being developed with the show’s original writers, animators, and cast members, and the new teaser trailer represents the first fully-animated Futurama content since it went off the air in 2013.

Jam City said that the game will include multiple gameplay devices, including simulation, combat, galactic exploration, and even choose-your-own adventure mechanics. The game has two main settings, including New New York and Space Adventures. In New New York players will focus on the simulation aspects of the game, progressing their character through story quests that include rescuing popular Futurama characters, collecting items, crafting outfits that change abilities, and more.

“I’m proud to say that Futurama lives! In mobile-video-game teaser trailer form, anyway,” said Matt Groening, creator of FUTURAMA and THE SIMPSONS. “If you squint, it’s kind of like a little episode!”

“The Futurama universe is chock-full of exotic planets inhabited by wacky creatures (and Smizmars),” said Josh Yguado, Co-Founder, President and COO of Jam City. “Whether you’re counseling an alien overlord on Omicron Persei 8 or battling rogue robots on the streets of Chapek 9, exploring this crazy universe and interacting with its denizens will be a blast.”

Over time, players will begin assembling their own customized Planet Express crew, which they can take to the second part of the game in Space Adventures. There, players will visit various planets and nebulas while fighting enemies in “retro arcade-style combat.” During the turn-based Space Adventures combat sections, the game’s graphics switch to 16-bit style.

The developer said that more information about the game will be released sometime soon, and anyone interested can sign up on the game’s website to be alerted about its launch. According to the Twitter page for the game, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow will arrive sometime in early summer.

Related Roundup: iOS 10
Tag: Futurama
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The world wants cheap phones, but can Android Go deliver them?

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Google wants to make it easier and cheaper for people all around the world to use and own a smartphone, so it has come up with an Android spin-off designed to work on basic hardware, ready to operate alongside regular Android. If you’ve just shouted out “stop!” because you think we’re talking about Android One; sorry, we’re not. It’s Android Go, Google’s latest project for entry-level smartphone around the world.

There are shocking similarities between the two, so you’re forgiven for leaping to the conclusion. Android One was shown off during Google I/O 2014, when it was pushed as a method for Google to bring, “the next billion” smartphone users into the fold. Android now has two billion daily active users around the world, but the message hasn’t changed with Android Go. It is described as, “a new initiative for entry-level Android devices designed with features relevant to the next billion users.”

However, while the end result Google wants may be the same, the method of attack is different. Not that this may matter, because it faces the same problems that have seen Android One struggle to live up to its promise.

What is Android Go?

Make no mistake, Android Go is very promising. It’s a specially optimized version of Android O, the next version of full-fat Android due later this year, which is built for basic, affordable smartphones with a maximum of 1GB RAM. Most Android phones, even the mid-range ones, come with at least 3GB of RAM today, so we’re talking about really cheap phones for first-time buyers that will likely never be sold in the U.S., the U.K., or any other major smartphone market.

Where it differs from Android One is Google doesn’t seem to be getting too deeply involved with the hardware this time. Android Go is all about getting the software right, and simplifying Android O is just the start. Android Go will run cleverly designed apps which use less data, so it will cost less to use, and it doesn’t require a super fast processor to operate at their best.

For example, Chrome will have the Data Saver feature turned on as standard, and the already-existing YouTube Go app will have a preview function, give a clear indication of how much data will be used up when watching a video, and a way to save videos for viewing later on. Similar features will be added to other Google apps. Carriers will also help out, and Google will integrate easy ways to see how much data, calls, and texts have been used, plus direct links to top-up Pay As You Go plans.

Android Go will automatically roll out to Android devices with less than 1GB of RAM when Android O comes around later this year. Next year, we will start seeing devices with Android Go out of the box.

Google Play and Lite apps

A few data-and-power sipping apps from Google won’t make Android Go better than Android One. No, that’s going to come from a new version of the Google Play store, which highlights the apps tailor-made for Android Go. While we may not always pay much attention, due to our unlimited data plans and plentiful access to Wi-Fi, so-called Lite apps have been around for sometime. Facebook has a Lite app that’s a smaller download, compresses uploads for quick sharing, and is designed to work on slow 2G networks. Twitter’s Lite app is very similar, and the list of other stripped down, commonly used apps is extensive, including ones from Skype, Line, Shazam, Opera, and more.

We haven’t heard about a Pixel Lite, but one may be needed here

Finding them, like finding any new app, has always been a challenge. Search the Google Play store for a Lite app, and most results will be for demo versions of pay apps. Android Go’s store will avoid that pitfall, and bring apps suitable for the operating system to the forefront.

Where Google laid down rules for Android One’s hardware manufacturers to follow, with Android Go, it’s targeting the developer. On its Building For Billions website, it recommends developers pay attention to app size, performance on slow connections, battery efficiency, and localization. It’s telling developers how to get more people using their apps, and in turn getting apps to fill Android Go’s dedicated store.

Android Go sounds like utopia. A glorious, slimmed down Android wonder-scape, where phones not only cost very little to buy, but also cost very little to run, and won’t grind to a halt when opening an app. Here’s to three billion Android users by Google I/O 2018! Except there are a few catches.

Same problems to solve

The biggest catch is Android One hasn’t been a massive success. It hit problems almost immediately, with devices costing more than initially expected, and therefore encountering limited demand. What followed was worse, because Google got all Google about it. What do we mean? Google has a nasty habit of messing around with its products, not sticking with the original plan, or just abandoning them when it gets bored. Android One phones stopped being basic, started getting more technically complex and therefore more expensive, and fragmentation edged its way in as some devices fell behind the promised update schedules. There’s no guarantee the same type of thing won’t happen to Android Go, and its very existence is evidence Google’s also a bit bored with Android One.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

All the above will only become a concern if Android Go can be found on any phones at all. Android Go is a stock Android spin-off, and the new store, apps, and OS come as a package, so Google must eventually convince manufacturers to install it on their phones, which will likely be the same as convincing them to use regular stock Android. Hardly any manufacturer does that, as they want to add their own software tweaks in. No one was making stock Android smartphones, effectively forcing Google to make its own phones running standard Android. We haven’t heard about a Pixel Lite, but one may be needed here.

India is likely to be a key Android Go market, and at the end of 2016, its top five smartphone manufacturers were Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Oppo, and Vivo. All five cover Android in a custom user interface, and haven’t been convinced not to do so yet. How Google intends to compel them to do it with Android Go isn’t clear. If it can’t, Google may have more success with local Indian manufacturers, just like it did with Android One. Except none have the selling power of the above five companies, limiting Android Go’s appeal to buyers and developers. And that leads to the same slippery slope Android One appears to be hurtling down. We’ve only seen one Android One smartphone so far this year.

Different route, same roadblock

We want Android Go to be a success. It’s a great idea, and enticing developers rather than smartphone manufacturers effectively tackles the problem that for many, phones are often more expensive to run than to buy. Another sensible shift is that on the surface, Android Go’s success appears to lay with developers rather than Google itself, unlike Android One. Look closer, and this may not be the case.

With Android Go, Google is taking a different route towards the paradise where a billion more eager smartphone owners await, yet the roadblock is still there, and unless it has a very strong plan on how to bypass it which it has yet to share, we may be listening to yet another ambitious plan to reach those billions during a future Google I/O keynote.

OnePlus teams up with DxO to ‘elevate’ the camera experience on the OnePlus 5

The camera on OnePlus’ upcoming flagship will be tuned by DxO.

OnePlus has announced that it is teaming up with DxO to “enhance” the camera on the OnePlus 5. DxO is the company behind DxOMark, a photography benchmark that is used by leading phone manufacturers. Just this week, HTC announced that its latest flagship — the U11 — netted the highest rating for a smartphone camera, beating out the Pixel.

By partnering with DxO, OnePlus is looking to “take things to the next level” for its upcoming flagship:

We’re happy to announce that we have teamed up with DxO to enhance your photography experience with our upcoming flagship, the OnePlus 5. DxO is perhaps most well-known for creating the defining photography benchmark, the DxOMark. They’ve got years of imaging experience and expertise, both for professional cameras and for smartphones.

Working alongside DxO, we’re confident the OnePlus 5 will be capable of capturing some of the clearest photos around.

OnePlus didn’t go into detail about the partnership, but according to recent leaks, the OnePlus 5 will feature dual rear cameras. We’ve seen several manufacturers opting for dual rear cameras as a way to differentiate their products — Xiaomi also offers two cameras at the back in the Mi 6 — and OnePlus will be looking to do the same.

As we’ve seen this year, having the right sensor is just one part of the equation —image processing algorithms make all the difference — and teaming up with DxO should give the OnePlus 5 an advantage in this segment. The phone is slated for an official unveil sometime next month, so we don’t have to wait long to find out exactly what’s on offer with the OnePlus 5.

How to manage accessories, goals, and more with Samsung Health

Samsung Health offers you everything you need to get started on the right track to a better, more healthier version of yourself. However knowing how to manage everything this app delivers is absolutely crucial. While there are a lot of moving pieces, it’s easy to stay in control.

Stay in control with Samsung Health

As you may have guessed by now, there are a lot ways to control your Samsung Health experience. Once you have gotten rolling with your fitness routine using Samsung Health to build those great new habits, you may find yourself wanting to tweak things to better suit your fitness goals.

This could involve anything from dropping a workout program when you realize it isn’t the right fit for you currently, to adjusting what your daily goals are. While Samsung Health will automatically set certain goals for you, these are fully adjustable so you can have it reflect your personal goals.

Staying in control of your health is a personal journey, and not really something that anyone else can help you with unless you’re committed. Using this app may help keep you motivated and track all the details of your workouts, but you will, of course, need to know how to access them.

How to drop a program

Open Samsung Health.

Tap on Manage items with the plus icon.

Tap the program you are currently tracking.

Tap drop program.

How to set your daily step goal

Open Samsung Health.

Tap the step counter.

Tap the overflow icon that looks like three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
Tap Set Target.

Drag the slider to set your new daily step count goal.

How to switch between the device tracking your steps

Open Samsung Health.

Tap the step counter.

Tap the box below the step counter.

Tap the source of step count data you want to use.

How to cancel a goal

Open Samsung Health.
Tap a goal.

Tap the overflow icon in the upper right corner that looks like three vertical dots.

Tap view goal details.
Tap cancel goal in the bottom right corner of your screen.

Tap cancel goal.

How to export tracked data

Open Samsung Health.
Tap the tracked data you want to export.

Tap the overflow icon that looks three vertical dots in the upper right corner.

Tap export data.
Tap the period of time, and file type you want to export.

Tap export.

How to view a weekly summary of activity

Open Samsung Health.

Tap the profile icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

Tap weekly summaries at the bottom of the screen.

Tap the weekly summary you want to view.

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You can now control LG smart home appliances using Google Home

LG has announced that its Signature range of home appliances can now be controlled using Google Assistant and Google Home. Appliances include a washing machine and dryer, refrigerator, the Signature oven range, air purifier, robotic vacuum cleaner and an air conditioner.

• What is Google Home, how does it work, and when can you buy it?

By connecting the smart home appliances to Google Home, users will be able to bark commands such as asking the fridge to make more ice, finding out how long is left on a wash cycle, or adjust the thermostat settings on the air conditioner.

It’s not clear if results can be displayed on your phone or TV screen following the recent update to Google Home, announced at Google I/O.

LG has said compatibility for more devices will be added in due course, but for now it’s reserved for the Signature range, along with the Hom-Bot Turbo+ robotic vacuum and LG smart air conditioner. Of course, LG already has an Alexa-powered fridge in the pipeline, unveiling the Smart Instaview fridge at CES 2017. It seems LG is open to its products being used by a variety of smart AI assistants. 

Song Dae-hyun, president of LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solutions Company said: “Our partnership with Google demonstrates just how easy it is to smart-enable one’s home with friendly, approachable products. You don’t have to have a degree in rocket science to design your very own smart home,”

• Google Home can now give you visual responses on phones and Chromecast
• Google I/O: All the announcements that matter
• LG has an Alexa-powered fridge, move over Family Hub

“We look forward to expanding our working relationship with Google and other innovators in this dynamic market in the years to come to make the smart home a reality for all.”

Best Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus deals, great offers from Carphone Warehouse

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ smartphones are now on sale and both devices are available on some great deals from Carphone Warehouse in the UK.

There are great contract deals available, across several top networks for those looking to upgrade to either of the new flagship devices. And you don’t even have to lay out much up front.

And Carphone Warehouse offers next-day delivery if you order before 9pm too.

Here then are some of the key deals on offer from Carphone for Vodafone, O2, and EE.

– You can get the Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB in black: £79.99 up front, £45.99 per month on EE for 24 months, 5GB data, unlimited minutes and texts – get it here

– Those looking to go with Vodafone, can get the Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB in black: £79.99 up front, £48 per month on Vodafone for 24 months, 16GB data, unlimited minutes and texts – get it here

– If you prefer O2, the Samsung Galaxy S8 64GB is available in black. You pay £89.99 up front, and then £49 per month on O2 for 24 months, 10GB data, unlimited minutes and texts – get it here

Samsung Galaxy S8+ pre-order deals

– If you want to get the bigger of the two new Samsung flagship devices EE has has the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus 64GB in orchid grey or black. You’ll pay £149.99 up front and then £45.99 per month on EE for 24 months, 5GB data, unlimited minutes and texts – get it here

– The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus 64GB is available on Vodafone in black for £149.99 up front, and then £48 per month on Vodafone for 24 months, 16GB data, unlimited minutes and texts – get it here

– The Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus 64GB is available from O2 in orchid grey or black for £150 up front, and then £49 per month on O2 for 24 months, 10GB data, unlimited minutes and texts – get it here 

For the best deals at Carphone Warehouse click here, and pre-order to get your hands on an exclusive Bluetooth Speaker worth £99.99.