10.5-Inch iPad Pro 3D Renderings Include Three Microphones and Thinner 7mm Side Bezels

After posting a few images yesterday that claimed to show cases for the upcoming 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, Benjamin Geskin has now shared a few CAD images, dummy models, and renderings of the 10.5-inch iPad model. The first set of computer-aided design drawings are based on the model that case manufacturers have received from the factory, which Geskin said is “already in mass production.”

The new iPad images align with all of the port cutouts seen in yesterday’s wooden accessory case, including a device that has four speakers, a Lightning port, camera with vertically-aligned flash, side volume rockers, and a Smart Connector.

Yesterday’s case images also revealed a new microphone slot located at the top rear of the case, similar to where it’s located on the current 9.7-inch iPad. The new images confirm that microphone slot on the 10.5-inch iPad, along with two additional microphones sitting atop the device in between the speaker grilles, pointing towards three microphones total for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

Last year it was rumored that the new iPad model with smaller bezels — which fluctuated between 10.1-inch, 10.5-inch, and 10.9-inch display sizes — could get four microphones.

Geskin has also shared a case manufacturer’s dummy mockup of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which continues showing the same ports for volume buttons, 3.5mm headphone jack, speaker grilles, Lightning port, SIM card tray, and Smart Connector. All of the images support the rumors that the new iPad will pack in a 10.5-inch display into the same form factor and nearly identical size of the 9.7-inch iPad.

In a series of images shared with iDropNews, Geskin designed a rendering based on the recent rumors to show how the bezels on the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro might look. Since the device will keep roughly the same footprint of the 9.7-inch iPad, the rendering boasts a device with small 7mm bezels on the left and right sides of the device and around 19mm bezels on the top and bottom.

The upcoming 10.5-inch iPad (left) compared to the current 9.7-inch iPad (right)
This would make the display space big enough for the new 10.5-inch screen, while allocating enough room for the traditional Home Button, which Apple isn’t expected to do away with yet on the upcoming iPad Pro. The 10.5-inch device is also expected to be slightly taller than the current 9.7-inch iPad, while potentially being slightly thicker than the 9.7-inch iPad’s 6.1mm thickness.

A rendering of the 10.5-inch iPad
In regards to a release date, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently said that there is a greater than 70 percent chance of Apple debuting the 10.5-inch iPad at WWDC in June. Although WWDC keynotes are traditionally the home of software announcements, even updates to the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air are rumored to be coming at the event this year.

Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Buyer’s Guide: 9.7″ iPad Pro (Don’t Buy), 12.9″ iPad Pro (Don’t Buy)
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Microsoft Says New Surface Pro is 1.7× Faster Than iPad Pro With 35% More Battery Life

Microsoft today introduced the new Surface Pro, choosing that name over Surface Pro 5, at a media event in Shanghai, China.

Microsoft said the new Surface Pro delivers up to 13.5 hours of battery life on a single charge, a 50 percent increase over the Surface Pro 4 and 35 percent more battery life than the iPad Pro’s advertised 10 hours.

The notebook-tablet hybrid features Intel’s faster Kaby Lake processors, including Core m3, i5, and i7 chips depending on the model. Microsoft says the high-end Surface Pro with a Core i7 processor is 2.5× faster than the Surface Pro 3 and 1.7× faster than the iPad Pro with Apple’s own A9X chip.

The new Surface Pro also has a refined design with cleaner lines and curved edges, a “visually softer” camera, and an improved hinge with a 165º range of motion allows it to be placed in Studio Mode.

It’s also the lightest Surface Pro ever, starting at 1.7 lbs. By comparison, the 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro weigh 0.96 lbs and 1.57 lbs respectively.

The new Surface Pro is available for pre-order later today and will ship on June 15 worldwide. Pricing starts at $799.99 in the United States. LTE Advanced models will be available later this year.

Tags: Microsoft, Microsoft Surface, Surface Pro
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When FaceTime won’t cut it, Elfkins will act out animated messages to your kids

Why it matters to you

Solutions like this are making it easier for kids to send messages to parents, friends, and family without having to traverse the minefield of social networks.

When it comes to young kids, social networks are fraught with peril. They’re enormously popular — roughly 38 percent of Facebook users in the last year were under the age of 13 — but potentially traumatizing. One recent study of primary-age kids found that a full one-fifth of children age 8-13 reported seeing or experiencing something on the internet in the last year that bothered them, and as many 17 percent of children age 12-13  reported being cyberbullied.

Patrick Chiang, a former Jawbone executive and CEO of Empath Interactive, spent two years building a safer alternative. The result — Elfkins — is a cuddly, internet-connected toy that transmits voice messages from kids to loved ones, and vice versa.

The motorized Elfkin can wave its arms up and down, blink its eyes, move its mouth, and lean forward and backward. Multicolor LEDs embedded in its ears glow blue to indicate a new message has arrived, and built-in buttons on the Elfkins’s feet trigger a tutorial, adjust the volume level, and cycle between messaging contacts.

“It’s built for the way kids interact,” Chiang said. “It captures their imagination.”

Elfkins messaging, which can be set up in less than five minutes, is a lot more engaging and intuitive than traditional social networks, Chiang said. He sees it as an alternative to video chat apps, which he said can be difficult for kids to use.

“When I’d travel for business, I’d set up an iPhone on a stand and show my daughter how to record messages,” he said. Most were out of focus, or showed the floor or ceiling. “Kids don’t want to stay on camera,” Chiang said. “Sometimes getting a video is way worse than just the audio. Your mind fills in the gaps.”

Each Elfkin pairs with a smartphone app that parents, relatives, and other loved ones can use to remotely manage the toy robot. The app’s mostly for messaging — parents can record greetings themselves, or recruit any family members and friends they’ve invited into a “trusted circle” to send messages of their own.

Once senders record a message, they can assign a “beginning” animation and an “ending” animation to it — Chiang said the team consulted a former Pixar animator on the Elfkins’ 11 different animated expressions. Elfkins can laugh, celebrate, blow a kiss, yawn, and wave goodnight. “We’re conscious about the animations,” he said. “We want to avoid the uncanny valley.”

After a message has been recorded and choreographed, it can be sent to the Elfkin immediately, or scheduled for a future date. “If your child has a dance recital, you can set the delivery time for when that would be,” Chiang said. “You can send them words of encouragement an hour before it begins.”

The app’s more than just a messaging platform, though. Chiang sees it as a place for close groups and family to circulate family photos, messages, and other personal items among each other — a private, shareable repository for “the big and little moments” in a child’s life. Members in the Elfkin app’s “trusted circle” can share and comment on pictures, post messages, and favorite content that other members have published. “It’s effectively like what you’d see in a standard social network,” he said.

Kids have a much more scripted Elfkins experience. They can select a message recipient from a predetermined list, and send a message by touching the microphone button on the toy’s foot. And they complete “Elfkins activities” — templates crafted by children’s authors that entertain and educate.

The Elfkins team doubled down on simplicity, Chiang said. They decided against voice recognition because of “young kids’ tendency to mispronounce things,” Chiang said. And they ditched the touch-sensitive approach of earlier prototypes to minimize accidental triggers. “We didn’t want to over-engineer a solution to a problem that didn’t exist,” he said.

Chiang’s team made privacy a focus, too. Users who haven’t received an invite from Elfkins admins — parents, in most cases — can’t see photos or messages. All conversations are encrypted, and deleted after four weeks. And Elfkins toys only store the last recorded message.

“We’ve done everything within our power to make it as secure as possible,” Chiang said. “We’ve made it so that it’s really secure.”

Chiang conceded that voice-activated toys are a competitive category, but said that Elfkins is designed to last. “It’ll get better over time,” he said. “It won’t get old.”

Elfkins, which counts former Napster CEO Sean Parker among its investors, will retail for $150 when it goes on sale later this year. Deliveries are expected to begin in August.

When FaceTime won’t cut it, Elfkins will act out animated messages to your kids

Why it matters to you

Solutions like this are making it easier for kids to send messages to parents, friends, and family without having to traverse the minefield of social networks.

When it comes to young kids, social networks are fraught with peril. They’re enormously popular — roughly 38 percent of Facebook users in the last year were under the age of 13 — but potentially traumatizing. One recent study of primary-age kids found that a full one-fifth of children age 8-13 reported seeing or experiencing something on the internet in the last year that bothered them, and as many 17 percent of children age 12-13  reported being cyberbullied.

Patrick Chiang, a former Jawbone executive and CEO of Empath Interactive, spent two years building a safer alternative. The result — Elfkins — is a cuddly, internet-connected toy that transmits voice messages from kids to loved ones, and vice versa.

The motorized Elfkin can wave its arms up and down, blink its eyes, move its mouth, and lean forward and backward. Multicolor LEDs embedded in its ears glow blue to indicate a new message has arrived, and built-in buttons on the Elfkins’s feet trigger a tutorial, adjust the volume level, and cycle between messaging contacts.

“It’s built for the way kids interact,” Chiang said. “It captures their imagination.”

Elfkins messaging, which can be set up in less than five minutes, is a lot more engaging and intuitive than traditional social networks, Chiang said. He sees it as an alternative to video chat apps, which he said can be difficult for kids to use.

“When I’d travel for business, I’d set up an iPhone on a stand and show my daughter how to record messages,” he said. Most were out of focus, or showed the floor or ceiling. “Kids don’t want to stay on camera,” Chiang said. “Sometimes getting a video is way worse than just the audio. Your mind fills in the gaps.”

Each Elfkin pairs with a smartphone app that parents, relatives, and other loved ones can use to remotely manage the toy robot. The app’s mostly for messaging — parents can record greetings themselves, or recruit any family members and friends they’ve invited into a “trusted circle” to send messages of their own.

Once senders record a message, they can assign a “beginning” animation and an “ending” animation to it — Chiang said the team consulted a former Pixar animator on the Elfkins’ 11 different animated expressions. Elfkins can laugh, celebrate, blow a kiss, yawn, and wave goodnight. “We’re conscious about the animations,” he said. “We want to avoid the uncanny valley.”

After a message has been recorded and choreographed, it can be sent to the Elfkin immediately, or scheduled for a future date. “If your child has a dance recital, you can set the delivery time for when that would be,” Chiang said. “You can send them words of encouragement an hour before it begins.”

The app’s more than just a messaging platform, though. Chiang sees it as a place for close groups and family to circulate family photos, messages, and other personal items among each other — a private, shareable repository for “the big and little moments” in a child’s life. Members in the Elfkin app’s “trusted circle” can share and comment on pictures, post messages, and favorite content that other members have published. “It’s effectively like what you’d see in a standard social network,” he said.

Kids have a much more scripted Elfkins experience. They can select a message recipient from a predetermined list, and send a message by touching the microphone button on the toy’s foot. And they complete “Elfkins activities” — templates crafted by children’s authors that entertain and educate.

The Elfkins team doubled down on simplicity, Chiang said. They decided against voice recognition because of “young kids’ tendency to mispronounce things,” Chiang said. And they ditched the touch-sensitive approach of earlier prototypes to minimize accidental triggers. “We didn’t want to over-engineer a solution to a problem that didn’t exist,” he said.

Chiang’s team made privacy a focus, too. Users who haven’t received an invite from Elfkins admins — parents, in most cases — can’t see photos or messages. All conversations are encrypted, and deleted after four weeks. And Elfkins toys only store the last recorded message.

“We’ve done everything within our power to make it as secure as possible,” Chiang said. “We’ve made it so that it’s really secure.”

Chiang conceded that voice-activated toys are a competitive category, but said that Elfkins is designed to last. “It’ll get better over time,” he said. “It won’t get old.”

Elfkins, which counts former Napster CEO Sean Parker among its investors, will retail for $150 when it goes on sale later this year. Deliveries are expected to begin in August.

LeEco reportedly expected to announce massive layoffs on May 23

Why it matters to you

This news suggests that you may not be able to buy LeEco’s hardware products in the U.S. for much longer.

It looks like LeEco’s big bet on expansion into the U.S. may not have paid off in quite the manner the company expected. The Chinese firm is reportedly prepping for a massive round of layoffs on Tuesday, May 23, according to a report from CNBC.

The report notes that only 60 percent of the company’s U.S. workforce will be left after the round of cuts. According to CNBC’s source, its current U.S. workforce sits in at over 500 employees. The report also cites an email calling employees to a “Town Hall” meeting that is supposed to occur at its locations in San Diego, San Jose, and Santa Monica, all in California, and that all employees are being told to attend unless they have pre-approved time off.

So what will LeEco do after the layoffs? The company will reportedly focus on launching products aimed at Chinese-American customers, who might want to continue watching its Chinese content library while they’re in the U.S.

It’s unclear what this means, if anything, for LeEco’s investments into Faraday Future, though reports note that its investment will likely continue.

LeEco was first founded in China as a streaming service, but it soon hoped to start expanding into the U.S. by offering hardware that links customers to its content. When it first announced its big move into the U.S., it offered a range of smartphones and smart TVs, all of which offered flagship-level specifications at a reasonable price. The goal here was to make money back through its content — a plan which apparently turned out not to work.

LeEco is going through a turbulent time otherwise, too — Jia Yueting stepped down as CEO of LeEco’s publicly traded arm, Leshi, though he will stay on as chairman.

None of the news is all that surprising. Jia admitted in an interview with QQ last year that the company had expanded too hastily and was suffering through a cash crunch.

TomTom Sports app now syncs with Google Fit and Apple Health for quicker fitness

Why it matters to you

If you’re a fitness fanatic, you’re probably tracking your goals on multiple devices across multiple platforms. TomTom understands and is here to help you centralize all that information.

Staying fit is already challenging enough, so keeping tabs on your progress shouldn’t add any additional stress to your routine. Luckily, TomTom agrees, and has brought an update to its sports app that allows users to import data from Google Fit and Apple Health to their profiles, thereby allowing for continuous activity tracking, insights, and daily summaries, even if they’re without a TomTom Sports wearable.

If you’re serious about your fitness, you’re probably using a whole suite of apps and tools, and TomTom wants to be sure that you can find all that information in one centralized place.

With the latest update, TomTom users can import daily activity data including steps, active time, distance, and calories, from either Google Fit (for Android) or Apple Health (for iOS). They can then set goals within the TomTom app and receive credit for a hard day’s work, even if they didn’t don a TomTom device that morning. But don’t worry, this relationship goes the other way, too — if you’re wearing a TomTom Sports device and are connected to Google Fit or Apple Health, you won’t be logging duplicate activity data.

“This is a great new development for anyone interested in getting more from tracking their activities,” said Corinne Vigreux, co-founder and managing director of TomTom Consumer. “We know that people use different apps to track their activities and fitness level. Now they can have all of their data in one place — the TomTom Sports app — and continue to track should they forget their TomTom device at home.”

The TomTom app promises to outperform other similar tools by providing the motivation users need to start exercising, with encouraging messages, activity trends, performance stats that are as granular as you can get, and plenty of social sharing functions to brag about your achievements to your friends. Said Vigreux, “We’re delighted to be making the motivation of the TomTom Sports app available to more people and can’t wait to see them get going!”

Views from the top: here are 16 of the best drone photos on the web

Drone costs have dropped substantially over the past few years, and during this span we’ve seen the technology increase exponentially. While early designs were more of a backyard novelty than anything else, the latest drones are loaded with advanced cameras and stabilization technology that allows for more practical functionality.

This pivot toward drone-based, aerial imaging is changing the field of photography as we know it. From the choicest views of World Heritage Sites to close-up glimpses of volcanic eruptions, here are 16 of our favorites drone photos from around the web.

OnePlus 5 teaser reveals four color variants, including a unicorn option

The OnePlus 5 could be available in black, unicorn, red, and gold color options at launch.

As we get closer to the launch of the OnePlus 5, the company is teasing additional details about its upcoming flagship. The latest tweet suggests the phone will be offered in four color options, including a multicolored unicorn hue:

What 5hould the color of your next phone be? 😉 pic.twitter.com/5FevP1VSq5

— OnePlus (@oneplus) May 22, 2017

The color options — unicorn and red in particular — will undoubtedly differentiate the OnePlus 5, and it’ll be interesting to see how the company handles the rollout. That’s if it actually intends to manufacture a handset that will perfectly complement your favorite beverage.

What we do know for certain is that the OnePlus 5 will feature camera(s) tuned by DxO, and that an unveil is slated for sometime next month. From earlier leaks, it’s evident that the phone will have dual rear cameras at the back, and OnePlus is allegedly considering switching up the display resolution to QHD.

Over the weekend, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei tweeted a cryptic reply to a question posed to him about the headphone jack:

Why did the headphone jack cross the road? https://t.co/8sSXI8zB8y

— Carl Pei (@getpeid) May 19, 2017

The tweet was in response to a leaked render that revealed a OnePlus 5 unit without a 3.5mm jack at the bottom. Based on Pei’s remarks, it’s likely OnePlus moved the jack up top. Overall, it looks like the OnePlus 5 will be a significant upgrade from its predecessor, and that could lead to a corresponding hike in price.

We’ll know more about the handset in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, what color variant are you inclining toward?

How to enable iris scanning and face unlock on the Galaxy S8

How do I unlock the Galaxy S8 with my face?

The Galaxy Note 7 (RIP) was the first Samsung device with biometric unlock, but along with iris scanning, the Galaxy S8 brings back an old trick: face unlock. Both are fast and secure, and make up for the awkward placement of the fingerprint sensor. Here’s how to use them to unlock your phone.

Biometrics on the Galaxy S8 explained

How to enable iris unlock on the Galaxy S8

From the home screen, swipe down on the notification shade.
Tap the settings icon (cog shape).

Scroll down and tap on Lock screen and security.

Tap on Iris scanner.
Enter your password, PIN or pattern.

Tap Register irises.

Agree to the disclaimer.
Tap continue.
Look at the front-facing camera to register irises.
Tap Turn on if Face unlock is already enabled.
(Optional) Enable Iris unlock when screen turns on to speed up unlock process.
(Optional) Enable Samsung account to use iris to unlock Samsung account.

How to change the screen mask you see when unlocking the phone

Samsung has included a number of interesting (and a few child-friendly) masks that you can use to spruce up the iris unlocking feature. Here’s how to change to one of them from the default.

From the home screen, swipe down on the notification shade.
Tap the settings icon (cog shape).

Scroll down and tap on Lock screen and security.

Tap on Iris scanner.
Enter your password, PIN or pattern.
Tap Preview screen mask.
Select new mask pattern.

How to enable Face unlock on the Galaxy S8

From the home screen, swipe down on the notification shade.
Tap the settings icon (cog shape).

Scroll down and tap on Lock screen and security.

Tap on Face recognition.
Enter your password, PIN or pattern.

Tap Register your face.

Tap continue.
Look at front-facing camera to register face.
Tap Turn on if iris scanner is already enabled.
(Optional) Enable Face unlock when screen turns on to speed up unlock process.

That’s it! But there are a few things to keep in mind.

How to improve your iris scanning or face unlock experience

Even though the iris scanner and face unlock on the Galaxy S8 are fast and secure, there are ways to improve the experience.

• When registering irises, take off glasses or remove contacts. This makes it easier for the system to see the real you. You know, inside.
• Make sure your eyes are open fully — if you’re in the sun, move to a shady area so you don’t have to squint.
• Don’t try to unlock with your iris in direct sunlight. If you’re going to be outdoors for a long period of time, switch over to face unlock, which is faster in good lighting conditions.
• Don’t try to use face unlock in low-light situations. If you’re going to be indoors for a long period of time, switch over to iris scanning.
• This seems obvious, but don’t smudge up the front-facing camera or any of the front sensors.
• If you’re getting a lot of failures on either iris scanning or face unlock, remove the registered data, move to a better-lit area (indoors, with good light) and try again.

That’s it! Hopefully your biometric unlocking experience is great, but if it’s not, there’s always the rear fingerprint sensor to fall back on. You have set that up already, haven’t you?

Moto G5S leak shows off all-metallic chassis and three color options

Motorola is getting ready to launch an upgraded variant of the Moto G5.

Motorola’s leaked roadmap for 2017 revealed the existence of a Moto G5 variant dubbed the G5S, and we’re now getting a first look at the device courtesy of Android Authority. The publication got a hold of press renders of the upcoming phone from a “trusted source familiar with Lenovo’s plans,” showing off the color options on offer.

The Moto G5S is identical to the standard variant from the front, and the main difference at the back is a dimple at the center that houses the Batwing logo. The phone will be available in grey, gold, and blue, and unlike the Moto G5 and G5 Plus — which have a metal back and plastic sides — the phone will be entirely crafted out of metal. As such, the phone features antenna lines at the back.

The Moto G5S is said to offer a 5.2-inch Full HD display, with the G5S Plus expected to feature a 5.5-inch Full HD screen. There’s no information on pricing, but it will undoubtedly be more than that of the Moto G5.

Motorola is planning to release nine new phones this year: the Moto C series already made its debut, and the Moto Z2 Play is slated for a launch on June 8. The Moto E4 and E4 Plus are also expected to be announced sometime in the summer.