Galaxy S8: How to make custom animated GIFs

No matter how you pronounce it, everyone loves a good animated gif!

Samsung introduced the feature for quickly creating custom animated GIFs with the Galaxy Note 7, and the feature has carried over to the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Tucked away in the edge functionality is a quick tool for recording custom animated GIFs from almost anything being displayed on the screen.

It’s quick and easy way to create animated GIFs from your own recorded video or your favorite online sources. A note, however, that certain apps such as Netflix restrict you from screen recording a GIF from their content, but other apps like YouTube and Plex work just fine.

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How to record an animated GIF

Find a video that you want to turn into an animated GIF and get things queued up.
Swipe left from the right edge of the screen to access the edge panel functionality.

• If you’ve already disabled the Edge panel, here’s how to re-enable it.

Swipe to the left twice to navigate to the Smart Select tools.

Tap Animated GIF. This brings up the selection tool for creating an animated GIF.

Tap and drag the animated GIF selection tool to where you want to capture the GIF. It’s the white circle at the top of the selection tool.
Use the corner tools to adjust and change the GIF dimensions.

Tap High quality to choose the quality level of the GIF: high quality or normal quality.

To avoid having static frames in your GIF, tap Play on the video before tapping record.
Tap record to start recording your GIF. Tap stop to end the recording.
You be given a preview of your animated GIF. If you’re satisfied with it, tap Save to save it to your photo gallery, or tap Share to share it via a messaging or social media app.

You’re able to record GIFs up to 15 seconds in length. The GIF file size will depend on the image quality you selected and the length of the GIF, so you’ll want to keep that in mind.

How to draw on your animated GIFs

Another feature built into this feature is the option to draw annotations on your animated GIFs before you save.

Once you’ve captured your animated GIF, tap Draw.
Long press on Pen to bring up the pen tool options.

Tap on your preferred drawing tool.

Tap your preferred color.
Write a message. (This is where the Note 7’s stylus came in real handy).
Tap save.

And that’s it!

Create your own highlights

The animated GIF feature on the Galaxy S8 works best with your own media on apps with a portrait mode. Since the Galaxy S8’s edge features are only available in portrait mode, you’ll need to launch it from your app drawer before launching media streaming apps such as Kodi that switch to landscape on launch.

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The uses here are limitless. You can use this feature to snag clips from your favorite content on YouTube, Plex or other media streaming apps, but the best use, in my opinion, is making custom animated GIFs from videos of your friends, family, and pets. It’s a cool feature that’s been kind of tucked away, but it’s definitely worth messing around with.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II review: The most formidable Olympus camera, ever

If you’re unfamiliar with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 from three years back, it was the company’s flagship compact system camera (CSC), built to a really high standard. We happened to really like it (ok, we loved it).

Now we have the second-generation model, the small and mighty Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II. With a mini-DSLR-like form, weather-sealing, solid magnesium chassis and heaps of manual controls methods, the Mark II is a small camera to be taken seriously.

Its huge price tag, at £1850 body only, is a clue at just how seriously this camera is to be taken. With competition from the Panasonic Lumix GH5, Nikon D500 and a range of full-frame cameras such as the Pentax K-1, Nikon D750 and Sony Alpha 7S, can Olympus’ altogether more complex offering make a dent in the interchangeable lens camera market?

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II review: Design

• 134.1 x 90.9 x 68.9mm; 574g (body)
• 3.0-inch fully articulated LCD touchscreen
• 2.36m-dot electronic viewfinder
• Splashproof, dustproof and freezeproof
• Built-in Wi-Fi for sharing images

So how does the OM-D E-M1 Mark II compare to its predecessor? Aesthetically the cameras are much the same. The Mark II is a touch bigger and heavier than the original, but not by much. The newer camera’s grip is taller, more pronounced and virtually moulds to the hand too, which we find makes it more accommodating for larger pro-spec lenses (we used 7-14mm f/2.8 and 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro M.Zuiko lenses in this test).

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We like the layout of the E-M1 Mark II. The two main control wheels are at your fingertips and easily rotated for changing exposure settings such as aperture and shutter speed or exposure compensation. The button layout of the two cameras is very similar, with minor shifts not really worthy of mention.

The camera is hugely customisable too, which makes it both excellent for pros and potentially confounding for newbies. The various function buttons can be assigned to most controls. We chose, for example, to have the Fn1 button set to access ISO and white balance and the Fn2 button to apply the 2x digiconverter.

As for the LCD touchscreen, it is now fully articulated (the E-M1 had a tilt touchscreen only). It’s a lovely screen. When tweaked to its brightest setting, it can be seen clearly even in bright daylight. You’ll need to give the screen a wipe periodically to get rid of smudges that come from using the touch function, though.

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Wi-Fi also works well. The free-to-download Olympus Image Share app gives control over basic camera settings for remote shooting and quick image uploads to your phone.

It’s a shame that the E-M1 Mark II is still limited to a minimum ISO 200, though an extended ISO low mode is available (to ISO 64). The mechanical shutter has a maximum 1/8000sec shutter speed, however, which goes some way to compensating using ISO 200 in brighter lighting conditions with fast aperture lenses. There’s also an electronic shutter which is capable of 1/32,000th second and won’t degrade the 200,000-count shutter life either.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II review: Image stabilisation

• Built-in senor-based 5-axis image stabilisation
• Lens-based stabilisation also available (lens dependent)
• Micro Four Thirds lens mount (Olympus, Panasonic and more)

The old rule for sharp handheld pictures was to use a shutter speed equivalent or greater than the focal length. So 1/30th second for 30mm. In the E-M1 MkII that rule is tossed out of the window, for its image stabilisation system is the best built-in one we have ever seen.

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A revised 5-axis stabilisation gives up to 5.5 stops of stabilisation with any Olympus Micro Four Thirds lens, and a claimed 6.5EV with the Olympus 12-100mm f/4 Pro M.Zuiko lens (which we can’t verify, as we’ve not had that lens in for test).

When using the 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro M.Zuiko lens at 12mm, however, we would normally be able to get sharp handheld shots with a shutter speed of 1/30sec. With stabilisation activated, we were able to achieve sharp images at this focal length with a shutter speed of 1-second or even more. That’s insane. Likewise at 40mm (80mm in full-frame terms), 1/2sec exposures were acceptably sharp.

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We wouldn’t normally give image stabilisation its own section in a review, but the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II merits the feature. It is quite incredible.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II review: Speed

• 121-point on-sensor phase-detection hybrid autofocus system
• Up to 18fps with continuous AF tracking (60fps in single AF)
• BLH-1 battery with 440 shot-life (950 shots in quick sleep mode)

The Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II’s speed is a speedy camera indeed. It’s quick in every way. Start up time, focusing, capture and image playback – the entire experience is satisfying.

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No compact system can match the start up to picture capture time of a similarly priced DSLR, but the E-M1 Mark II is not far off and just about as good as it gets for a mirrorless camera. It’s quicker than the original E-M1 too.

With both electronic and mechanical shutter options for image capture, there is a wide choice of shooting modes. The electronic shutter offers image capture up to a staggering 60fps in the Pro Capture High mode, with single autofocus.

What’s more, half depress the shutter button and the camera can record up to 14 frames before the shutter is fully depressed – you know, in case your reactions aren’t quite as quick as the camera. Which is more than likely.

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If you want continuous tracking AF, then the electronic shutter offers a mere 18fps (detect the sarcasm). We’re not aware of any other camera that can shoot this many frames in succession. Even in the mechanical shutter mode the top burst rate speed is 15fps.

As for the length of burst – which for us is what really counts – at approximately 50 images it’s less than one second in the Pro Capture High mode. However, use the 10fps continuous low mode (with the mechanical shutter) and a JPEG burst will keep going until the memory card is full. It’s impressive.

It’s easy to forget when you have been using the electronic shutter because it is so discreet. Therefore, it’s important to remember to switch back after using the shooting modes with electronic shutter, like Pro Capture High mode. We found a handful of accidental 60fps bursts, when expecting to playback a single image. Oops.

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It’s only really during the processing of these massive Pro Capture High image sequences that the camera cannot be used fully. You won’t be able to view images while buffering takes place, which can be irritating – especially as a raw & JPEG burst in Pro Capture High takes close to a minute to clear. We also preferred to turn off long exposure noise reduction (NR), because the waiting time while the camera processes is too long.

The new 121-point hybrid AF system is, again, impressively quick and marks good progress by Olympus. Autofocus is accurate for static subjects in all lighting conditions. Shooting indoors at night and one time having walked 400m into a dark tunnel, the focusing latched onto subjects quickly.

We tested the continuous AF tracking in reasonable light, selecting a moving subject pre-capture. The best results are in continuous low 10fps and single frame shooting, with the hit rate of sharp shots being very high. There is a little back focusing sometimes, but all in all we’re impressed.

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One major downside to the E-M1 MkII – which is something all mirrorless cameras suffer – is its relatively poor battery life. Olympus has gone some way to addressing this in the E-M1 Mark II with a new BLH-1 battery that gives up to 440-shots on a full charge (we found that figure conservative, though), which is a 25 per cent improvement from the E-M1, but still not outstanding. Select the sleep mode and it goes up to 950-shots, which is more like it, proving good enough to last a full day’s shooting.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II review: Image quality

• 20.4-million-pixel MOS sensor
• ISO 200-6400 (64-25600 expanded)
• 4k video capture

A new sensor in the E-M1 Mark II records images at 20.4-million-pixels, compared to 16-million-pixels in the E-M1. As far as our eyes can tell from identical images between the E-M1 and E-M1 Mark II, this increase in resolution has not come at the expense of image quality in low contrast light.

For stationary subjects, the class-leading image stabilisation can in effect boost the camera’s performance in low light. This is because the level of light entering through the lens can be increased by using a slower shutter speed to still get those shots nice and sharp (of course this does not apply to moving subjects, unless you want the movement all blurry.)

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In the low light of a church and with no tripod to hand, without stabilisation we would have needed to use ISO 6400 for sharp shots with the exposure settings of f/11 and 1/30sec. With the image stabilisation system at our disposal, however, the ISO 200 setting could be used thanks to the slower possible shutter speed of 1-second.

With control over lighting and in ideal lighting conditions, the E-M1 Mark II is highly capable of sharp and dynamic pictures, with a pleasing colour rendition. It’s only in the less-than-ideal lighting conditions that the smaller-scale sensor of this camera is pushed – namely its dynamic range, for scenes containing both high brightness and deep shadows. Even with +3EV in post, however, we still found crisp detail in shadow areas, with very little luminance noise and only a hint of magenta colour noise.

We found evaluative metering often led to some slight overexposure, so it can be worth dialling in -0.7EV exposure compensation to avoid that loss of detail (or use HDR mode). It is much easier to recover detail from shadow areas than highlights, too.

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Overall, the E-M1 Mark II isn’t the best for high-ISO shooting, but it’s so full of features that it helps remove the need to shoot above ISO 6400 quite as often. Olympus really has done what it can to offer solutions to highlight just how strong Micro Four Thirds can be.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II review: High Res Shot mode and 4K video

• 50-megapixel (8160 x 6120) Hi Res Shot mode (tripod only)

There’s another trick up this camera’s sleeve, too. In ‘High Res Shot’ mode, the E-M1 Mark II records a raw & JPEG image at a resolution of approximately 50MP – that’s a huge increase from the 20-megapixel standard – by shifting the sensor eight times (using the stabilisation system in a different way) and taking a photo in each position, then combining these pictures into one.

High Res Shot mode is only suitable for stationary subjects (unless you like the blur of movement) and you’ll need a way of keeping the camera still, preferably with a tripod. In addition, a cable release or shooting wirelessly via the Image Share app helps for best results. One thing to note: the tripod bush beneath the camera has moved, meaning the battery door isn’t necessarily accessible when a plate is attached underneath.

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There’s also 4K video capture, which has finally been introduced into Olympus’ range. The camera is a very able performer, with crisp and dynamic 4K footage at 24fps (with a 237Mbps bit rate). Coupled with the excellent image stabilisation and smooth focus, the E-M1 Mark II is ideal for those handheld videos.

Verdict

The E-M1 Mark II is not only better than the original model in every way, it’s better than most mirrorless in every way too.

Principal to its success is the built-in image stabilisation – which is the best sensor-based system we’ve ever used – and its super-quick reactions across the board, from start up, to autofocus, burst speed, capture and playback.

Of course, no camera is perfect. The Mark II’s issues aren’t inconsolable ones, though, as it’s only the high price point and relatively small sensor size compared to some similar-price cameras that we would call into question. Such larger-sensor cameras do have the upper hand when it comes to high-ISO image quality too. And this Olympus is a different animal to a full-frame DSLR, for good and for bad.

Ultimately, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II is currently the best Micro Four Thirds camera for advanced photographers. That, in a nutshell, is why it’s well worth its asking price.

Alternatives to consider

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Panasonic Lumix GH5

• £1699 (body only)

The 4K king. Panasonic take a more functional than designer stance, but the GH5 is one exceptional mirrorless model. It’ll give the E-M1 MkII a run for its money in almost every department.

Read the full article: Panasonic Lumix GH5 review

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Nikon D500

• £1799 (body only)

If there’s a camera to put into context the E-M1’s high price, it’s the Nikon D500. Ok, so it doesn’t have an articulated LCD screen, but with a larger APS-C sensor those image conscious will be lured in by its potential.

Read the full article: Nikon D500 review

The Morning After: Friday, June 9th 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

As this week wraps up we’re getting you ready for E3, and digging into Boston Dynamics’ new owner. Plus: A peek inside the new iMac.

The Japanese company has a ‘vision of catalyzing the next wave of smart robotics.’Softbank buys Boston Dynamics (and its robots) from Google

It’s been over a year since Google’s parent company Alphabet said it wanted to sell its robotics company Boston Dynamics, and now it has a buyer: Softbank. The Japanese company has been working on its own robots for years, including the helpful Pepper, and now they’ll be under the same umbrella as Handle, Big Dog, Atlas, WildCat and all the rest.

So many leaks that the company put out their own images.OnePlus shows off the OnePlus 5 – at an intentionally specific angle

It’s only been two days since OnePlus announced the June 20th launch date for its upcoming OnePlus 5 flagship phone, but it didn’t take long before leaks started to appear. With that dual camera, LED flash, antenna bands and shade of gray, commenters were quick to point out the heavy resemblance between this device and the iPhone 7 Plus, which is presumably why OnePlus decided to post the above image to make a point. Indeed, from this angle, the OnePlus 5 appears to feature a unique outline running from the side to the top. But, well, besides that, it still looks a lot like an iPhone.

It’s not done yetNASA’s Mars 2020 concept is perfect for Space Batman

NASA showed off a futuristic-looking concept of the Mars 2020 rover with a shiny black body and intimidating wheels at the Kennedy Space Center. If you think that it looks like it popped right out of a superhero movie or a video game than an actual vehicle meant to explore the red planet, then you’re right.

The ultimate GoProGoPro finally shows its all-in-one 360-degree shooter.

The first action camera from GoPro made for shooting 360-degree video is this Fusion. It has a 5.2K resolution but is still only a shade larger than the Hero5 Black. Despite this early preview, key facts like how much it will cost are still unknown.

Throw-and-go aerial selfie revolution isn’t quite here just yet.Flying the DJI Spark drone by waving your hand isn’t as great as it sounds

James Trew has been waving his arms at drones for the last few weeks. No, his brain hasn’t finally broken — he was testing out the DJI Spark. The drone, which can be controlled by gestures. may have an innovative new control method, but James believes it’s not quite the spontaneous, simple experience it needs to be for new drone owners.

But it isn’t easy and it will void your warrantyIt is technically possible to replace the RAM and CPU in a new iMac

While we tested what it’s like to use one of Apple’s newest all-in-ones, iFixit took their usual route of pulling one apart to see what’s inside. They found CPU and RAM that aren’t soldered to the motherboard which is a good thing for upgrades and repairs, but there’s just one small catch. Accessing them requires removing the screen and voiding your warranty.

And new ‘collaborative gameplay’ is on the way‘Pokemon Go’ anniversary celebration includes big IRL events

We’re coming up on one year since the launch of Pokemon Go, and after some ups and downs, it’s time to celebrate. The game’s developers are planning events worldwide as well as in game. More importantly, they also mentioned that gyms will shut down temporarily while they work on some new “collaborative gameplay” features that could bring head to head battles into the app.

It’s all CG, but it’s a start.‘Life is Strange’ studio’s ‘Vampyr’ arrives this November

The makers of Life is Strange, Don’t Nod, has decided to go full-tilt fantasy on its new game, Vampyr. A new trailer shows more of the studio’s supernatural take on 1918 London and confirms a November release date on PS4, PC and Xbox One.The new teaser, however, doesn’t reveal much in the way of gameplay, only showing pre-rendered footage of people lurking moodily in dark places. With the developers promising players a semi-open world, fast-paced combat, and an environment where every in-game action carries a consequence, it’s all sounding rather ambitious.

But wait, there’s more…

• Those awkward AirPods will automatically link up to your Apple TV
• Oppo’s 4K Blu-ray players are the first with Dolby Vision HDR
• Roli expands its modular music gear with the touch-friendly Seaboard
• Super realistic racing returns with ‘Project Cars 2’ in September
• The trailer for life-creating sim ‘Everything’ could make gaming history and win an Academy Award

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.

Valve releases the first multiplayer campaign for ‘Dota 2’

Dota 2 isn’t just an ever-repeating, five-on-five race to destroy your enemy’s base. Every so often, Valve adds temporary cooperative game modes to the MOBA that unite the toxic player base against an entirely different end goal. In the build-up to The International 7 — a yearly tournament that’s like the Wimbledon of Dota — Valve has just released the most elaborate of these yet. It goes so far as to call “Siltbreaker: Act I” the first multiplayer Dota campaign, since it plays more like a quest-centric RPG than anything else. Unlike the core MOBA, though, it’s not free-to-play.

To try out Siltbreaker — both this first act and the second, which arrives next month — you need the $10/£8 International Battle Pass. Valve puts out these “compendiums” several times a year ahead of major tournaments or competitive seasons. They unlock in-game rewards like the Siltbreaker campaign and players are tempted to level up their Battle Pass with their wallets or by completing challenges and achievements as part of the normal game. For your time and/or money, you win exclusive hero cosmetics, loading screens, audio modifiers and various other bonuses that are the Dota equivalent of crack.

What’s particularly important about the International Battle Pass is that some of the proceeds are pumped straight into the prize pool for the upcoming championship. This funding tactic is why the annual Dota tournament consistently boasts the highest money pot in eSports. The International 7 kicks off in early August, and already the prize pool stands at over $14 million.

Source: Dota 2 blog

Apple CEO Tim Cook to Attend White House for Kushner-Led Tech Summit

Apple CEO Tim Cook will visit the White House later this month for the first meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump’s American Technology Council, a report revealed on Thursday. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella are also expected to be in attendance, but Facebook has not yet responded to its invitation to the event.

The meeting, which was formed as part of an effort to modernize government technology and digital services, will include a gathering of top executives followed by smaller sessions on specific topics, such as technology sales to government agencies and cloud computing, according to Bloomberg.

The council will be led by Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner and will be attended by government officials including the U.S. chief technology officer, said people with knowledge of the matter. Eleven companies have been invited to participate in the June 19 summit, .

The meeting comes just a few weeks after Cook and Nadella publicly criticized the Trump administration for its decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. Technology companies including Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook have also been critical of a proposed U.S. travel ban on passengers from majority-Muslim countries, with the companies being among 97 that filed a legal brief in February opposing the ban.

Trump held a roundtable discussion with tech executives in December, before his inauguration. The meeting focused on jobs, trade, immigration, and China relations. Afterwards, industry leaders said an area of broad agreement was the potential for the Trump administration to innovate in government services.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Donald Trump
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Apple Music Loses Exclusive Streaming Deal With Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is making her entire back catalog of music available across all major streaming services, bringing Apple Music’s exclusive content deal with the singer to an end (via TechCrunch).

Beginning today, rival services including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Tidal will all be able to list the artist’s existing discography, including Swift’s album “1989”, which has sold 10 million copies worldwide, it was also announced on Friday.

The move potentially marks a change in the way artists see streaming services, which have previously been criticized for underpaying content creators. With Spotify boasting 50 million paid subscribers and Apple Music now on 27 million, the sheer number of listeners appears to be making up for the decline in physical album sales.

Swift famously got into a spat with Spotify in 2014 because her music was available on the service’s free ad-supported tier. The singer said at the time: “I think there should be an inherent value placed on art,” contrasting it with how on “Beats Music and Rhapsody you have to pay for a premium package in order to access my albums. And that places a perception of value on what I’ve created.”

At the center of the split was Spotify’s refusal to let any music only appear on its paid tier and not its ad-supported tier, which led Swift to pull almost all her music from the service.

Swift later berated Apple Music, when the service initially declined to pay royalties to artists if their music was played during the free three-month trial of the service. Apple later reversed course and agreed to pay artists for the free plays, leading to better relations with Swift, who went on to become a promotional figure for the service in several ads and even an exclusive concert film.

Tags: Apple Music, Taylor Swift
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Customising the Huawei Watch 2: Straps, colours and faces for perfect personalisation

A smartwatch is a more personal gadget than many of the other devices in your tech arsenal. Getting a smartphone or pair of headphones that fit your unique needs and individual style is key, but a smartwatch like the Huawei Watch 2 takes tech personalisation to new levels.

Building on a hugely impressive set of specs – including a stunning 1.2-inch circular AMOLED display, inbuilt GPS, an integrated heart-rate sensor, and Google’s latest Android Wear 2.0 operating system – the Huawei Watch 2 is a device that oozes appeal in its luxurious looks. It’s about more than its standard appearance, however.

Key to the Huawei Watch 2’s appeal is its extensive customisation options. This is the most personalised of personal gadgets and will fit effortlessly into your lifestyle, no matter what your tastes, needs, or style. Here are some of its top customisable features.

Customising the Huawei Watch 2: Apps

This isn’t a watch that comes with only a handful of pre-installed apps. With Android Wear 2.0 software on board, the Huawei Watch 2 comes with the Google Play Store, giving you instant access to a world of compatible apps directly from your wrist. Many of these no longer need a synced smartphone to work either.

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Whether you’re after on-the-go tunes through Google Play Music, instant access to your online cycling community through Strava, or simply want to indulge in some watch-based gaming, it’s all just a couple of taps away to make for your personalised app experience. And with the Huawei Watch 2 playing host to 4GB of internal storage, there’s plenty of space for all these apps too.

Customising the Huawei Watch 2: Colourful Combinations

Before you get to download all those apps, there’s an initial choice to make about which watch to purchase, as the Huawei Watch 2 comes in two guises: the standard, sporty-focused model (dubbed simply the Huawei Watch 2); and the more refined Huawei Watch 2 Classic.

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Both watch options are a pleasing 12.6mm thick, with the Classic’s 47g form slightly weightier than the 40g Watch 2. Which model is best for you will depend largely on your personal taste.

The Huawei Watch 2 has been crafted from rugged, hard-wearing plastic and plays host to a stunning ceramic bezel that’s six times harder than stainless steel, helping the watch better stand up to daily scuffs and scratches.

It comes in a variety of colours, too. For those who favour understated style, the black model is elegantly refined. You don’t have to hide your inner energy, however, with vibrant orange and modernly cool green models also available.

By contrast, the elegant Huawei Watch 2 Classic features a stunning, stainless steel body for a more refined finish.

Customising the Huawei Watch 2: Straps

Whether opting for the Huawei Watch 2 or Huawei Watch 2 Classic, you can switch out the device’s strap to give your Watch a fresh new look. It’s the Classic, however, that brings the most strap-based customisation options.

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Whatever your style, there’s a watch strap to fit your needs with Huawei offering a selection of luxurious leather and hard-wearing silicon strap options. From the classic black or tan leather to more eye-catching polka dot designs, there is a strap style ideal for you.

Giving you ultimate control over your watch’s customisation, the Huawei Watch 2 Classic also supports all 22mm watch straps. This standard sizing means you’ll be able to pop the strap off your old analogue watch and add it to your new smart offering, or choose from the thousands of traditional 22mm watch straps out there to find a fit and look perfectly attuned for you.

Customising the Huawei Watch 2: Watch Faces

The joy of smartwatch customisation is that you don’t have to sit with the same style day after day. What’s more, switching up your look is completely free thanks to easily interchangeable digital watch faces, something the Huawei Watch 2 is filled with as part of its Android Wear 2.0 software make-up.

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Whether you’re after a smartwatch with the look of a traditional chronograph or a more modern digital display, there are dozens of options available to choose from. You can mix them up as regularly as you like, too, with one office-suitable face swapped out for a party-ready style in a matter of seconds.

You can add more options, too, with hundreds of additional Android Wear watch faces able to be downloaded from the Play Store that’s now built directly into the watch itself and can be accessed using the watch’s inbuilt 4G capabilities, so no need for a synced smartphone.

Customising the Huawei Watch 2: Creative ‘Complications’

Once you’ve picked your watch face of choice, it’s time to crank the customisation gauge up to 11 and get down to making the Huawei Watch 2 truly your own. You can do this by altering certain elements of the watch face, including its colours, switching up the hue of the surrounding style, numbers and watch hands.

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Where you can really customise the watch to your needs, however, is with the watch face Complications, those small elements such as the date or a second timezone that appear on your selected watch face.

Thanks to the watch’s Android Wear 2.0 software, certain Huawei Watch 2 watch faces let you choose what goes where. If a real-time step-counter is more important to you than the date, or you favour instant call access over heart rate details, that’s all possible. Just long press the screen, hit the customisation button and attune those Complications to what you want, whenever you want.

‘Artificial tongue’ can tell fine whiskey from hooch

Are you absolutely sure you can tell the difference between a top-tier whiskey that comes in a handcrafted wooden box and the cheapest one from a grocery’s liquor aisle? Uwe Bunz’s synthetic tongue can, and it leaves no room for doubt. It can differentiate between every bottle of whiskey based on their brand, age, blend and even country of origin. The researcher from Heidelberg University, Germany says it can’t ID an unknown blend from scratch, but it can tell whether the sample you have is the same as a known one. “If you buy a crate of expensive whiskies,” he said, “you can test if they are actually what you think they are.”

While Bunz calls his creation an artificial tongue, it’s actually a fluorescent solution. You simply mix in a whiskey sample if you want to identify it. In that sense, it works just like the organ. “Our human tongue consists of 6 or 7 different receptors — sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami, and hotness — and they’re able to identify food by differential reactions of those elements,” he said. “The combination of differential receptors gives you an overall taste impression of what you eat.”

The solution was able to tell 33 different whiskies from each other during Bunz’s tests, since it gives off a unique reaction for each one. Even better, it’s much quicker and cheaper to use than current techniques employed to determine the authenticity of drinks. Bunz is now planning to create a version for red wine, but it has lots of other potential applications. According to his paper, it could also be used to detect counterfeit prescription drugs and perfumes in the future.

Source: New Scientist, Physorg

OnePlus confirms OnePlus 5 design and camera with official image

OnePlus doesn’t care about keeping its next phone under wraps.

The company is set to announce the OnePlus 5 in less than two weeks, but we already know a lot about the phone through leaks. And now, thanks to OnePlus, we even what it looks like. Sure, a high-res image of the OnePlus 5 surfaced a few days ago, showing off the dual-camera setup and overall look of the device’s top half, but OnePlus has just one-upped that leak with an image of its own.

On the official OnePlus Twitter account and OnePlus Google+ page, OnePlus posted an image of the OnePlus 5’s top half with the tagline “Dual Camera. Clearer Photos.” So, that’s it. Everyone knows what the OnePlus 5 will look like when OnePlus officially unveils it in 12 days. It’s unclear if the company planned to reveal the phone over social media or if it felt pressured by the recent image leak.

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Whatever the reason may be, the cat is out of the bag now, though the phone won’t be officially unveiled until 12pm EST on 20 June. At that event, we will likely hear more specific details, including features, pricing, and a release date. In the meantime, check out Pocket-lint’s rumour round up for more information about what the phone is thought to feature and maybe cost.

We also have a guide on how to stream the OnePlus 5 event.

A continuous hard edge, refined over 3 years. https://t.co/KVXBWmhBt8 pic.twitter.com/KBNppQ0R0U

— OnePlus (@oneplus) June 8, 2017

Hackers demand ransom from The Witcher developer to not reveal details of new game

CD Projekt Red is in a bit of a bind. The developer behind The Witcher 3 and Gwent: The Witcher Card Game has revealed that hackers have obtained design documents of its next title, Cyberpunk 2077, and are demanding cash to prevent a massive leak.

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most eagerly anticipated role-playing games, considering how good the last Witcher instalment turned out to be – one of the best RPGs ever, in our opinion. The developer has released few details about it so far, however, so any leak would be lapped up by fans.

Polish firm CD Projekt Red remains resolute in its decision to refuse the hackers’ demands. It stated, via Twitter, that the design documents stolen are from early in the development process and, while they will reveal certain story points and spoilers for the game, are unrepresentative of its current vision.

pic.twitter.com/eP2OatjZZW

— CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) June 8, 2017

CD Projekt Red has urged gamers who don’t want their experience of Cyberpunk 2077 spoiled before it has been released not to read any leaked documents about it.

We wonder if an extended trailer or other official information might also be released next week, during E3 2017, to soften the documents’ impact. We do know though that CD Projekt Red will not have its own stand or behind closed doors demo area this year.