AMD talks up the Radeon Pro 500 Series found in Apple’s new iMacs

Why it matters to you

If you were waiting for the details on AMD’s new Radeon Pro 500 before pulling the trigger on a new Apple iMac, then get your credit card ready.

Apple held its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2017 on Monday, where it introduced refreshed iMac desktops and the upcoming iMac Pro. AMD GPUs were heavily featured at the event, including a new family of Radeon Pro graphics processors.

Now, AMD has provided some additional details on the new Radeon Pro 500 series, which features chips from the last-generation “Polaris” architecture. The Radeon Pro 500 Series is aimed at creative professionals like artists, designer, engineers, filmmakers who are worried as much about efficiency as about all-out gaming performance.

In terms of sheer performance, the Radeon Pro 500 Series offers up to 5.5 TFLOPS of sheer performance enabling virtual reality (VR) support on the high-end Radeon Pro 580 and solid gaming performance throughout the line. This level of performance is provided by 36 Compute Units with 2,304 stream processors, with a level of power operating efficiency that lets them maintain full performance in the confines of today’s all-in-one devices like the new Apple iMacs.

More important for the target audience, Radeon Pro 500 chips provide GPU acceleration for a number of applications including Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop, Foundry Nuke, Mari, and Modo. Optimal performance is enabled with Radeon ProRender photorealistic ray-tracing rendering technology in Autodesk Maya and Maxon’s Cinema 4D.

As Raja Kodur, senior vice president and chief architect for the AMD Radeon Technologies Group put it, “It is incredibly satisfying to see the capabilities of Radeon Pro 500 series in elegant form factors and enabling amazing content creation, gaming, and VR experiences. Radeon Pro 500 Series graphics are enabling new generations of makers with compute-accelerated creative tools and new APIs, bringing their imaginations to life in ways like never before.”

The Radeon Pro 500 Series is available for the first time in the iMac, which ranges in price from $1,099 for the entry-level 21.5-inch model all the way up to a starting price of $2,299 for the 27.5-inch 5K iMac. These machines are available for purchase today and for delivery this week at the Apple Store.

Pre-order your new Surface Pen today, and it will arrive with your Surface Pro

Why it matters to you

If you have a pre-order in on a new Surface Pro, then you can finally put in an order for a new Surface Pen to go along with it.

Microsoft introduced the new Surface Pro detachable tablet at its most recent hardware event in Shanghai. The new machine offers a nice update to the Surface Pro 4, along with a couple of new accessories including an upgraded Microsoft Pen and a new Signature Type Cover.

The new Surface Pen grabbed some attention during the event for significantly increasing the specifications of Microsoft’s active stylus, with higher precision and a faster response. Now, Microsoft has made the new Surface Pen available for pre-order, On MSFT reports.

In terms of capabilities, the new Surface Pen now supports up to 4,096 pressure points for enhanced precision that is four times better than the previous Surface Pen. It is also incredibly fast, with 21ms of latency that was the world’s fastest prior to Apple’s announcement of its own revised Pencil that offers 20ms. What this means in practice is that the experience is now more a real pen on paper, with virtually no lag when putting the Surface Pen tip to new Surface Pro’s screen and drawing or writing.

In addition, the new Surface Pen offers tilt functionality for even more realistic strokes. This feature is available first on the new Surface Pro and will be making its way to the Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4 via software updates at some point in the future.

Finally, the new Surface Pen also offers some visual flair, coming in four colors including platinum, black, burgundy, and cobalt blue. This matches the colors available on the new Signature Type Cover and the Microsoft Surface Arc Mouse.

Another area where the new Surface Pen exceeds its predecessor is in price, which is a hefty $100. It is available for pre-order today with an expected release date of June 15. That matches the new Surface Pro, which is the first of Microsoft’s detachable tablets to be introduced without the pen included. It is a natural fit, though, and you will want to set aside an extra Benjamin when budgeting your new Surface Pro.

Handy gesture recognition system can translate sign language into text

Why it matters to you

Smart translation software lets hearing-impaired signers and non-impaired speakers communicate together more easily in their own languages.

Voice-based dictation tools may be old news from in terms of technology, but not everyone is able to fully take advantage of them. For hearing-impaired people who use signing as their primary means of communication, available options are far more limited. That’s even more frustrating when you consider the challenges that may confront a person trying to converse with folks who are not proficient in signing.

A Dallas-based startup is setting out to set things right, though. Called KinTrans, the team has developed smart tech capable of translating sign language into text, and text into sign language, automatically. The results allow hearing-impaired signers and non-impaired speakers to communicate together in their own languages, effectively, effortlessly, and instantaneously.

“What makes this technology exciting is the ability to open up conversations between signers and speakers in the marketplace, workplace, schools, health care, and civic centers,” Catherine Bentley, cofounder and business development officer at KinTrans, told Digital Trends. “Traditionally, communicating in these settings has been difficult; requiring friends or family who sign and interpret, or professional interpreters on-site or off-site through video, and even using pen and paper. None of these dependencies are scalable — plus they lack privacy and independence for the signer.”

KinTrans’ tech relies on a 3D camera which tracks the movement of a signer’s hands and body when they sign out words. When requested, it can then translate the signed words into written English (or, currently, Arabic, although additional languages will follow in the future). Alternatively, written words can be translated into signed words communicated by an animated avatar on the screen. According to its creators, the system is already able to recognize thousands of signed words with an accuracy of around 98 percent.

At present, Bentley said that a beta version has been rolled out, and is being used in a variety of service and point-of-sale environments. This is available in both American Sign Language and Arabic Union Sign Language.

“As KinTrans grows, other uses and applications will be developed so that it becomes a standard deaf communication platform, hosting millions of conversations in a variety of public and private settings, online and offline,” she said.

Sign us up!

WhatsApp rolls out auto-generated albums, quick replies, and more

Why it matters to you

If you are a WhatsApp addict, you will appreciate the convenience of auto-generated albums and quick replies.

WhatsApp, one of the world’s most popular messaging apps, is making it easier to reply to messages and keep track of photos and videos.

Starting Tuesday on iOS, WhatsApp will automatically group collections of four or more photos or videos together as an album and create a tile display within the messaging window. Tapping on the album brings up a scrollable, full-screen view.

A new reply shortcut and camera filters dovetail with the albums feature. With a simple swipe in the new WhatsApp, you can apply one of five filters — pop, black and white, cool, chrome, and film — to your photos, videos, and GIFs within the app’s camera. And you can quickly respond to messages by swiping right on them from within your WhatsApp inbox.

The update is available now from the iTunes App Store.

Albums and quick replies build on WhatsApp’s other improvements. In January, the messaging service beta-tested a queue that lets users send replies in the absence of an internet connection, and it recently rolled out a feature that allows companies to relay updates, offers, and information to users. In February, WhatsApp marked its eight-year anniversary with the launch of Status, a tab within the app for sharing status updates in the form of ephemeral photos, videos, and GIFs that expire after 24 hours.

It also doubled down on encryption. In April 2016, it switched on end-to-end encryption for all users, and in May added encryption to iCloud backups.

That landed the service in hot water with law enforcement. Last year, judges in Brazil ordered the nationwide shutdown of WhatsApp’s messaging services in response to the company’s refusal to fork over data “relevant to [an] ongoing investigation,” and subsequently froze $11.7 million in Facebook funds when WhatsApp refused to cooperate.

But it is part of a continued effort to build goodwill — and leverage the app’s audience. Since being acquired by Facebook in 2014, WhatsApp attracted more than 1 billion users who send 50 billion messages every day, including 3.3 billion photos, 760 million videos, and 80 million GIFs. But it failed to capitalize after eliminating its $1 subscription fee.

Messenger, Facebook’s other messaging platform, might provide a blueprint for WhatsApp’s monetization. Facebook has promoted the platform as a way to connect businesses with people for purposes beyond advertising, citing customer service as a primary feature. Retailers use the app to relay shipment tracking updates, for example, and banks use it to notify customers of fraudulent charges.

Best text messaging apps

There are plenty of great text messaging apps to choose from, and these are some of our favorites.

Text messaging is a big part of phone use for many people, and while all phones come with native messaging clients, they… they can suck. Some native text messaging apps don’t handle MMS the way we’d like. Some native text messaging apps are laid out poorly. Thankfully we have the option to use one of many, many third-party SMS clients — some of which are minimal messaging apps, and others that offer features above and beyond the rest.

Update June 2017: We’ve added Pulse and Mood, and we’ve done some much overdue spring- er… summer cleaning.

Textra

A long-time favorite, Textra is a clean-looking SMS app with plenty of features for hardcore users. Textra offers a slew of customization options with various theme colors, notifications, and per-contact settings. Want to make your text messages look like iMessage? Textra can look amazingly like an iPhone. Want to set special colors for texting your boyfriend versus texting your parents? Textra is there to help. There’s built-in SMS scheduling, quick replies, improved group messaging, SMS blocking and more.

Download Textra (Free, in-app purchases)

Android Messages

Android Messages is the rebranded version of Google’s Messenger app, and it features a simple interface and plenty of features for the average user without going overboard with bells and whistles. It also supports Google’s RCS features, which allow for iMessage or WhatsApp-like features like read receipts and larger file transfers as long as your carrier supports it. If you’re just looking for a dependable, simple text messenger that will work well, support RCS, and do MMS right, Android Messages has got you.

Download Android Messages (free)

Pulse SMS

Pulse SMS is an interesting and very, very customizable text messaging app in its own right, but that’s not the real draw for Pulse. No, no, Pulse is a text messaging app that helps bring your text messages to all your other devices, too, from tablets to computers. For users who are chained to a computer all day anyway, Pulse helps you avoid tearing your eyes away from your big, productive screen to your phone, where it’s easy to be distracted by notifications that new series are on Netflix, and your lives are refilled on that game you’re about to level up on.

Pulse is a paid subscription (or larger one-time fee) for the ability to text from any of your devices, and if you’re someone who is texting all the time and wants to use more than just your phone, Pulse will pay for itself quickly. And if that’s not what you’re after, Pulse is still a top-notch texting app that’s easy to navigate.

Pulse SMS (Free, in-app purchases)

Mood Messenger

Mood Messenger wants to be a fusion of web messengers and text messengers, and it’s certainly a tantalizing idea. If you have enough people who actually use Mood to use it as a WhatsApp alternative, great for you, but for the rest of us, Mood is still worth a look as a solid SMS app with an interesting UI, dedicated themes, and excellent developer support. Mood also had the option for a Quick Compose persistent notification with a user-selected group of contacts so that they can quickly rattle off a quick text without having to go to the full app.

Mood Messenger (Free)

Your favorite?

These are just a few of our favorite text message apps for the Galaxy S6 — but the list doesn’t stop there. Apps like Handcent, Evolve, and even Google Hangouts are all viable options as well.

What are some of your favorite text messaging apps for the S6? Hit up the comments and let us know!

9 things to know about the Sony Xperia XZ Premium

A big, beautiful new phone, but it may not be worth the price.

Sony’s latest flagship is the Xperia XZ Premium, and it’s really nice. It’s one of those phones you don’t want to touch because it’s so nice to look at. You may also not want to touch it because the damn thing is incredibly shiny, exposing fingerprints as well as any mirror. And it may not be worth buying because, well, there are just better devices out there at a lower price.

Interested in this phone? Here are a few things you need to know about Sony’s best phone ever.

This is Sony’s second 4K phone, but its first with HDR

Sony debuted the 4K smartphone in 2015 with the Xperia Z5 Premium, and this year’s follow-up has a better, brighter 5.5-inch 4K panel with a trick up its sleeve: HDR support.

Content that supports HDR — High Dynamic Range — will look more vivid and colorful on the XZ Premium’s 4K display. Let’s just hope that app developers get up to speed with supporting it — Netflix, at the moment, still only supports the LG G6.

Beyond that, the screen itself is really good for daily use. It’s bright, crisp and colorful — and Sony gives you a few display settings to tweak it how you want it to look.

The camera is new, but isn’t the best

People don’t buy phones; they buy cameras that connect to the internet. Sony understands this and has designed its devices around the camera experience for years. But as much as it’s tried to outdo the likes of Samsung, LG, and Apple, it continues to come up short.

There’s a massive speed improvement, but the end results aren’t matching the competition.

Sony thinks the XZ Premium has what it takes to beat the competition in 2017 with a new “Motion Eye” camera setup that lowers the resolution from 23 megapixels to 19 while increasing the size of the individual pixels, ensuring improved low-light results. At the same time, a new connection between the camera sensor and the phone’s memory allows for caching of photos — predictive capture, as it’s called — five times faster than any previous Sony phone, so no frames are lost during quick-shutter action shots.

The results are good, but not great. This is indeed the fastest Sony camera we’ve seen yet when it comes to opening and capturing — whether it’s a single shot or a burst. But the results are mixed, not necessarily jumping to the top of the heap with the leaders such as the Galaxy S8, LG G6 and HTC U11. Sony still highly over-sharpens photos in “auto” mode and requires tweaking in “manual” mode if you want anything better.

You can capture slo-mo video at 960fps

Yup. Insane.

It may only be 720p but think about the contrast between a regular 30fps capture and something as smooth as 960fps, slowed down to look great on this big, beautiful screen.

You can only take very short clips and it takes a bit of time to get used to how the interface for super-slow-motion works, but it’s a great trick that sets the XZ Premium apart from most other phones.

The glass back is reflective AF

Seriously, this is just about the most reflective phone we’ve seen — right on par with the HTC U11. The Luminous Chrome variant is the worst offender, offering an easily-tarnished mirror finish that shows off every fingerprint.

As long as you’re not too particular, and walk around with a microfiber cloth in your bag or pocket, the Xperia XZ Premium could stay pristine, but it’s likely to pick up hairline scratches pretty quickly — a problem with all phones, but exacerbated by the reflectiveness of the Gorilla Glass 5.

You get dual speakers and a headphone jack

It’s easy to complain about the size of the bezels above and below the XZ Premium’s display, but Sony is at least putting part of that space to good use. In an increasingly rare combination, Sony includes both dual front-facing speakers and a headphone jack on the phone.

The speakers sound pretty good and of course have the direct advantage of firing toward you rather than down and away, though I have to say the volume doesn’t top out as high as the HTC U11’s combined speaker approach.

There’s still no fingerprint sensor in the U.S.

Seriously Sony, this is getting ridiculous. We know there’s some sort of contractual obligation that’s limiting Sony’s ability to include a fingerprint sensor in its U.S. phones, but consumers don’t care about the reasoning — they just want a fingerprint sensor.

For a phone this high-end and expensive, it’s just downright frustrating to not have this core smartphone feature found in phones as cheap as $200.

It’s water resistant and dustproof

Like most Sony phones of the last few years, the Xperia XZ Premium is IP68 water resistant and dustproof. The ratings mean you can submerge the phone in up to one meter for an extended period without incurring damage. And, of course, there are no port covers to worry about.

More: What do IP ratings mean?

It runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat

We may be beyond it by the time the phone is released but the Xperia XZ is currently certified for Android 7.1.1 Nougat, which means that it will support all the latest goodies from Google, including rounded icons, image keyboards, and more.

Sony’s skin continues to be very light and very fast, and there’s no question that the company has learned its lesson in deviating too far from Google’s recommendations. This isn’t Samsung; Sony doesn’t have the customer loyalty, nor the resources, to develop great custom skins, so the more it keeps to Google’s Android the better.

Most of the XZ Premium’s interface is unchanged from the Google Pixel, and the launcher even includes the Google Now feed to the left like Google’s own launchers. Sure you get some Sony apps and icons, but it’s nothing offensive or getting in your way. And of course because Sony sells unlocked and not through carriers, you don’t get any extra carrier bloatware.

The price is high — probably too high

As you’d expect for a phone with the title “Premium” right in the name, the Xperia XZ Premium is expensive. It goes on sale in the U.S. on June 12, and the price tag is $799. That’s the upper edge of what most people are willing to pay for a phone — the only other mainstream offering challenging that price is the Galaxy S8+ at $825.

With a price like that, it makes you really question whether the Xperia XZ Premium could be a true competitor. For all of its great improvements, features, and design, it still has a handful of missteps that are tough to overlook when there are other great phones out there for less money.

T-Mobile Tuesdays 1-year anniversary kicks off 12 hours of giveaways

If you want to play the games, you could get some sweet prizes.

T-Mobile’s weekly giveaway system, simply called T-Mobile Tuesdays, has already been around for a full year. To celebrate, T-Mobile is offering some solid incentives in its T-Mobile Tuesdays app and kicking off 12 hours of giveaways — totaling millions of dollars — over on its Twitter account, even if you’re not a T-Mo customer.

Play ⚾️! Tell us how you rep your fav team for a chance to win a $1.5K @OfficialMLBShop e-giftcard. Use #Thankiversary & #MLBShop! #contest pic.twitter.com/6fIrBAguSH

— T-Mobile📱 (@TMobile) June 6, 2017

For the regular T-Mobile Tuesdays crowd in the app, you’re looking at a free T-Mobile hat, $0.25 off Shell gas, and two free movie or game rentals from Redbox. As always, you just have to be a T-Mobile customer and download the app to register for the deals.

If you want to hunt down the big gifts on Twitter and enter to have a shot, you’ll be in the running for some big prizes. T-Mobile is offering gifts like one year of free Lyft rides, a year of free movie tickets and big gift cards upwards of $2000 to various retailers.

The OnePlus 5 will be unveiled on June 20, pop-up events will sell the phone right away

Get ready for the launch event.

OnePlus has announced that it will unveil its new OnePlus 5 via an event on June 20. The online event is set for 12:00 p.m. ET.

After the online event is over, OnePlus will be hosting a handful of satellite events in major cities on June 20 and 21 to give fans an opportunity to see the OnePlus 5, get free swag and be one of the first to actually buy the phone. You can see full details on the launch page, but here’s the gist:

• New York (Meatpacking District): 7 p.m. ET June 20
• Paris (Colette store): 11:00 a.m. June 21
• Copenhagen (3 store): 4:00 p.m. June 21
• Berlin (LNFA Conceptstore): 6:00 p.m. June 21
• Amsterdam (Daily Paper): 6:00 p.m. June 21
• London (details soon)
• Helsinki (Elisa): 5:00 p.m. June 21
• Oulu (Elisa): 5:00 p.m. June 21
• Tampere (Elisa): 5:00 p.m. June 21
• Turku (Elisa): 5:00 p.m. June 21

You can get your brain going on what you want to see by checking out its launch page and then set yourself a reminder for June 20.

OnePlus 5

• Latest OnePlus 5 rumors
• OnePlus 5 confirmed to have Snapdragon 835
• OnePlus 3T discontinued to make room for OnePlus 5

OnePlus

Skip your Starbucks run and try Vtin’s Bluetooth headphones for just $7

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with a set of Bluetooth headphones you’ll want to instantly impulse purchase!

These days you can find Bluetooth headphones starting around $20 up to as much as $500, but picking the right pair can be a hard task. Is there a benefit to dropping a large sum of money on a set of headphones, or will the basic ones do just fine? This is a question that is easier to answer by trying the cheaper ones and seeing how they work for you. Vtin is currently offering its Bluetooth sports headphones for just $6.99 with coupon code TPQZL422. This is a savings of $9 from the regular price and drops them down into total impulse purchase territory.

• QY8 Upgraded Version. Featuring latest Bluetooth CSR4.1 and built-in gold-plated antenna design, the signal is two times stronger than the common one, supporting 33ft(10meters) working range. It also allows pairing with two devices simultaneously.
• High-Quality Sound. CVC6.0 noise-isolation technology can filter the majority of ambient noise to ensure crystal clear sound. APT-X audio decode tech provides you high stereo music experience with deep bass. Built-in HD mic makes it can be used as a hands-free kit.
• Long Battery Life. Adopted high-performance polymer lithium battery, the Swan series sports headphone allows about 7hours playing time and 175 hours standby time. The remaining battery life of the earphones can be display on the IOS status bar.
• Unique Design. With a buckle, you can adjust the cable length as you like, gaining better sound experience while exercising.
• Stylish Appearance. With UV process, they are sleek, in black with silver detail. Ergonomic in-ear design offers you snug and stable fit. Ideal for exercising, running, cycling, walking and all kinds of indoor or outdoor activities.

Sure, you won’t get top of the line audio quality, and they may not last for years to come, but they are $7. Think about the things you spend that on daily, like coffee, fast food, snacks, and more. Cut back on those extras for just one day and try out these headphones that you’ll be able to use for the months to come. Your future self will thank you.

See at Amazon

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Merge VR launches $1 million fund to fuel VR and AR developers

There are a lot of great ideas out there — they just need the resources to make them happen.

Hoping to spur VR and AR development to grow the platforms even further, Merge VR has announced it is launching a $1 million fund for developers who build for Merge platforms. Several studios are participating in the Merge VR Developer Fund, including React VRX, Draw & Code, Steelehouse Productions and Chicken Waffle.

Marge already offers up its Cube Dev Kits at no cost, and hundreds have already been delivered around the world. But if you want to try and take your VR or AR idea to the next level, you can also apply to get funding from the Merge VR Developer Fund.

As an applicant you’ll obviously need to offer up a proposal of your app or game experience, a breakdown of your budget needs, information on your team, and a portfolio of previous work. If you think you have what it takes and could use the funding to get your ideas out there, hit up the Merge VR Developer Fund page to learn more.

Press release:

June 6, 2017 – San Antonio, TX — Merge VR today announced it has created a one-million-dollar Merge Developer Fund to support the AR/VR developer community building apps for the Merge platforms, including the award-winning Merge Cube.

Launched in 2015, the company’s VR Goggles are compatible with both iPhone and Android devices to experience VR apps, 360 video, 3D movies and more. The team is currently gearing up for the widespread launch of its newest product, the Merge Cube, that allows users to hold and interact with holograms. Merge first unveiled it at CES 2017 where it won the award for “Most Unique Product.”

Merge is openly inviting developers all over the world to join them in shaping the future of AR. “We created the Merge Developer Fund to broaden our support of the dev community,” says Jeremy Kenisky, Merge VP of Creative. “The Merge Cube introduces an entirely new experience to the world, and the developer fund provides an awesome opportunity for devs to get creative and be ambitious.”

Studios already participating in the Merge Developer Fund include React VRX, Draw & Code, Steelehouse Productions and Chicken Waffle.

“When a kid can pick up a physical object and see it turn into something else in the palm of their hand — then play with it, it’s magic,” says Chad Lee, CEO of React VRX. “Developing products that create this magic is exciting for us. We can design so many interesting things around the cube and hope to partner with Merge to make it ‘Toy of the Year’!”

“As soon as we encountered Merge VR and their vision to open up immersive technology to a younger audience, we were inspired,” says John Keefe, Co-founder of Draw & Code. “Now, the Merge Cube is quite literally putting this exciting tech into the hands of the next generation.”

As the only VR goggles rated ages 10 and up, the marshmallow-soft Merge VR Goggles have become a favorite among younger VR explorers and educational institutions. Since first releasing the goggles in the US, retail distribution has expanded to more than 5,000 stores in 13 countries and is rapidly growing.

Merge Cube Dev Kits are available at no cost, and more than 400 have already been delivered to developers around the world including museums, schools and Hollywood studios. Developers interested in learning more or applying for funding can visit dev.mergevr.com/fund.