You can now log into HBO and Showtime with your Amazon credentials

Why it matters to you

Whereas you previously had to use your TV provider credentials to get these premium channels, you can now just take advantage of your Prime account.

TV providers aren’t disappearing — they’re just changing their appearances. The latest to adopt a role similar to the giants of industry of days past is none other than Amazon, darling of the cord-cutting generation, and really, TV provider in disguise. With the update to its Amazon Channels service (which allows Amazon Prime members to subscribe to other entertainment networks including HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax), users will now be able to log into these networks’ standalone streaming apps using their Amazon credentials, beginning with HBO and Showtime. Basically, it means that rather than entering your cable credentials to log into the HBO or Showtime app, you can just enter your Amazon information.

See? Amazon = TV provider.

Unsurprisingly, when Amazon first launched Channels back in 2015, the goal was actually to compete more with traditional providers. After all, historically speaking, you could only get access to these premium channels if you were paying for a TV subscription. But that’s clearly no longer the case.

HBO told TechCrunch that it launched a new feature last week allowing subscribers through Amazon Channels to access the HBO NOW app. That means that customers can now use their Amazon credentials to log onto the app through desktop, mobile, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon mobile Kindle and Fire TV devices, PlayStation 3 and 4, and Samsung Smart TVs. And soon, this feature will also come to Roku and Xbox 360 soon.

The Showtime Anytime app also supports Amazon login, which has actually been around since February.

To be fair, Amazon isn’t the first company to offer such functionality. As TechCrunch points out, both Sling TV and PlayStation View also allow their viewers to log into various third-party applications using their respective credentials. But all this to say that while the TV providers of yore may be losing ground to streaming services, the TV provider model isn’t going anywhere.

Awesome Tech You Can’t Buy Yet: Weed-killing robots, mini scuba tanks, and more

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion crowdfunding campaigns on the web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you’ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there — alongside some real gems. In this column, we cut through all the worthless wearables and Oculus Rift ripoffs to round up the week’s most unusual, ambitious, and exciting projects. But don’t grab your wallet just yet. Keep in mind that any crowdfunded project can fail — even the most well-intentioned. Do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

Tertill — Roomba-like weed killing robot

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Despite the fact that the Roomba has been eclipsed by newer, more advanced robotic vacuums in recent years, the premise it was built on — automating mundane tasks with specialized robots — has lived on. Today, there are tons of single-purpose chore-bots on the market, designed for everything from cleaning your grill to sanitizing your countertops with UV light. And now, the company that kicked off the trend, Franklin Robotics, is back with a fresh new addition to the family: a weed-fighting robot called Tertill.

Broadly speaking, Tertill is almost exactly like Roomba. It roves around your space in a random pattern, and performs its job until it runs out of power. But that’s where the similarities end. Unlike vacuum bots, which rely on a charger dock to power themselves up, Tertill gets all its power from the sun. Once it runs out of power, it’ll just hang out and collect solar energy until its ready to go on another weed killing spree.

Additionally, Tertill doesn’t use suction to get the job done, instead relying on a miniature weed-whacker to obliterate newly-sprouted weeds.

Read more here

Radical Moov — Practical hoverboard

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

The hoverboard craze may have gone up in flames both literally and figuratively, but now that the smoke has cleared, a new generation is beginning to rise from the ashes. Startups are revisiting the hoverboard concept, and developing innovative new takes on the trendy, two-wheeled transportation device. The latest addition to the bunch? A gizmo called Radical Moov.

Moov differs from regular hoverboards in a couple of ways. At 9 inches in diameter and 3 inches in thickness, its wheels are bigger than those found on rival products. The result is greater stability, which is helped by a lower center of gravity for the section of the rideable that the user stands on. That’s a good thing because the Moov can travel faster than many hoverboards — around 15 miles per hour — and is also designed for performing a number of sport-style tricks.

The other big change are special sensors embedded in its floor mat, which let users control their ride by subtly shifting their weight. That’s a different approach to normal, but one that its creators hope will provide a more enjoyable riding experience.

Read more here

Micro — ultracompact universal travel adapter

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If you ever plan to visit different countries in a single trip, bringing along a universal travel adapter is crucial. Depending on where you land, the outlets are likely to be completely different than what you’re used to — which means you’ll need an adapter to juice up your electronics.

Luckily, there are tons of universal travel adapters on the market right now. You can pick one up for under $20 on Amazon right now — but the thing is, most of them suck. Most of them aren’t equipped with fuses, and virtually all of them are bulky and inconvenient for travel.

Micro is an attempt to change that. Unlike most universal travel adapters, this one is designed to be slim, sleek, and travel friendly. In addition to a super clever form factor, it also features a swappable fuse system. This means that if you plug into an outlet with a load that’s too high for your device, it it’ll blow the adapter’s replaceable fuse instead of frying your expensive electronics.

Read more here

Zenbivy — comfortable, non-restrictive sleeping bag

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

If you’ve ever gone camping or backpacking and spent the evening in a mummy bag, you know just how awful they can be. Sure, they’re great when it comes to providing warmth and keeping your pack light, but when it comes to comfort, they’re a bit lacking. Most are shaped in such a way that they severely restrict your range of motion and bundle your feet together. But what if it didn’t have to be like that? What if there was a sleeping bag that was just as warm and lightweight, but that also didn’t restrict your movement while you sleep?

Enter the Zenbivy. It’s a fresh new take on the traditional sleeping bag, and has been redesigned from the ground up with comfort in mind. Instead of using the mummy bag design, the Zenbivy system separates the bag into two distinct pieces: a base layer and a down comforter. Much like the layering system worn by hikers on the trail, these two pieces work in conjunction with one another to deliver warmth and comfort, essentially maintaining the same level of performance found in a traditional sleeping bag.  The difference is that Zenbivy offers far more wiggle room, so you’re not stuck in a cocoon all night.

Read more here

Scorkl — ultracompact respiration tank

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

If you’ve always wanted to try scuba diving but have been scared off by the high cost of gear and the prolonged certification process, this new Kickstarter gizmo just might be your dream come true. The Scorkl, as it’s called, is designed to provide a scuba-like experience with the ease and simplicity of snorkeling.

In a nutshell, Scorkl is a compact and lightweight scuba system that comes with a miniature air tank, an always-on regulator, and a pressure gauge. This system allows users to dive in relatively shallow waters and stay submerged for up to 10 minutes at a time. Scorkl’s designers say that it’s safe for use down to 20 meters below sea level, provided the diver is scuba certified — although they recommend that most users stay above the 10 meter mark just to be safe. And the best part? You can refill it with a bike pump.

Read more here

Awesome Tech You Can’t Buy Yet: Weed-killing robots, mini scuba tanks, and more

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion crowdfunding campaigns on the web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you’ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there — alongside some real gems. In this column, we cut through all the worthless wearables and Oculus Rift ripoffs to round up the week’s most unusual, ambitious, and exciting projects. But don’t grab your wallet just yet. Keep in mind that any crowdfunded project can fail — even the most well-intentioned. Do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

Tertill — Roomba-like weed killing robot

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Despite the fact that the Roomba has been eclipsed by newer, more advanced robotic vacuums in recent years, the premise it was built on — automating mundane tasks with specialized robots — has lived on. Today, there are tons of single-purpose chore-bots on the market, designed for everything from cleaning your grill to sanitizing your countertops with UV light. And now, the company that kicked off the trend, Franklin Robotics, is back with a fresh new addition to the family: a weed-fighting robot called Tertill.

Broadly speaking, Tertill is almost exactly like Roomba. It roves around your space in a random pattern, and performs its job until it runs out of power. But that’s where the similarities end. Unlike vacuum bots, which rely on a charger dock to power themselves up, Tertill gets all its power from the sun. Once it runs out of power, it’ll just hang out and collect solar energy until its ready to go on another weed killing spree.

Additionally, Tertill doesn’t use suction to get the job done, instead relying on a miniature weed-whacker to obliterate newly-sprouted weeds.

Read more here

Radical Moov — Practical hoverboard

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

The hoverboard craze may have gone up in flames both literally and figuratively, but now that the smoke has cleared, a new generation is beginning to rise from the ashes. Startups are revisiting the hoverboard concept, and developing innovative new takes on the trendy, two-wheeled transportation device. The latest addition to the bunch? A gizmo called Radical Moov.

Moov differs from regular hoverboards in a couple of ways. At 9 inches in diameter and 3 inches in thickness, its wheels are bigger than those found on rival products. The result is greater stability, which is helped by a lower center of gravity for the section of the rideable that the user stands on. That’s a good thing because the Moov can travel faster than many hoverboards — around 15 miles per hour — and is also designed for performing a number of sport-style tricks.

The other big change are special sensors embedded in its floor mat, which let users control their ride by subtly shifting their weight. That’s a different approach to normal, but one that its creators hope will provide a more enjoyable riding experience.

Read more here

Micro — ultracompact universal travel adapter

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

If you ever plan to visit different countries in a single trip, bringing along a universal travel adapter is crucial. Depending on where you land, the outlets are likely to be completely different than what you’re used to — which means you’ll need an adapter to juice up your electronics.

Luckily, there are tons of universal travel adapters on the market right now. You can pick one up for under $20 on Amazon right now — but the thing is, most of them suck. Most of them aren’t equipped with fuses, and virtually all of them are bulky and inconvenient for travel.

Micro is an attempt to change that. Unlike most universal travel adapters, this one is designed to be slim, sleek, and travel friendly. In addition to a super clever form factor, it also features a swappable fuse system. This means that if you plug into an outlet with a load that’s too high for your device, it it’ll blow the adapter’s replaceable fuse instead of frying your expensive electronics.

Read more here

Zenbivy — comfortable, non-restrictive sleeping bag

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

If you’ve ever gone camping or backpacking and spent the evening in a mummy bag, you know just how awful they can be. Sure, they’re great when it comes to providing warmth and keeping your pack light, but when it comes to comfort, they’re a bit lacking. Most are shaped in such a way that they severely restrict your range of motion and bundle your feet together. But what if it didn’t have to be like that? What if there was a sleeping bag that was just as warm and lightweight, but that also didn’t restrict your movement while you sleep?

Enter the Zenbivy. It’s a fresh new take on the traditional sleeping bag, and has been redesigned from the ground up with comfort in mind. Instead of using the mummy bag design, the Zenbivy system separates the bag into two distinct pieces: a base layer and a down comforter. Much like the layering system worn by hikers on the trail, these two pieces work in conjunction with one another to deliver warmth and comfort, essentially maintaining the same level of performance found in a traditional sleeping bag.  The difference is that Zenbivy offers far more wiggle room, so you’re not stuck in a cocoon all night.

Read more here

Scorkl — ultracompact respiration tank

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

If you’ve always wanted to try scuba diving but have been scared off by the high cost of gear and the prolonged certification process, this new Kickstarter gizmo just might be your dream come true. The Scorkl, as it’s called, is designed to provide a scuba-like experience with the ease and simplicity of snorkeling.

In a nutshell, Scorkl is a compact and lightweight scuba system that comes with a miniature air tank, an always-on regulator, and a pressure gauge. This system allows users to dive in relatively shallow waters and stay submerged for up to 10 minutes at a time. Scorkl’s designers say that it’s safe for use down to 20 meters below sea level, provided the diver is scuba certified — although they recommend that most users stay above the 10 meter mark just to be safe. And the best part? You can refill it with a bike pump.

Read more here

Awesome Tech You Can’t Buy Yet: Weed-killing robots, mini scuba tanks, and more

At any given moment, there are approximately a zillion crowdfunding campaigns on the web. Take a stroll through Kickstarter or Indiegogo and you’ll find no shortage of weird, useless, and downright stupid projects out there — alongside some real gems. In this column, we cut through all the worthless wearables and Oculus Rift ripoffs to round up the week’s most unusual, ambitious, and exciting projects. But don’t grab your wallet just yet. Keep in mind that any crowdfunded project can fail — even the most well-intentioned. Do your homework before cutting a check for the gadget of your dreams.

Tertill — Roomba-like weed killing robot

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Despite the fact that the Roomba has been eclipsed by newer, more advanced robotic vacuums in recent years, the premise it was built on — automating mundane tasks with specialized robots — has lived on. Today, there are tons of single-purpose chore-bots on the market, designed for everything from cleaning your grill to sanitizing your countertops with UV light. And now, the company that kicked off the trend, Franklin Robotics, is back with a fresh new addition to the family: a weed-fighting robot called Tertill.

Broadly speaking, Tertill is almost exactly like Roomba. It roves around your space in a random pattern, and performs its job until it runs out of power. But that’s where the similarities end. Unlike vacuum bots, which rely on a charger dock to power themselves up, Tertill gets all its power from the sun. Once it runs out of power, it’ll just hang out and collect solar energy until its ready to go on another weed killing spree.

Additionally, Tertill doesn’t use suction to get the job done, instead relying on a miniature weed-whacker to obliterate newly-sprouted weeds.

Read more here

Radical Moov — Practical hoverboard

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

The hoverboard craze may have gone up in flames both literally and figuratively, but now that the smoke has cleared, a new generation is beginning to rise from the ashes. Startups are revisiting the hoverboard concept, and developing innovative new takes on the trendy, two-wheeled transportation device. The latest addition to the bunch? A gizmo called Radical Moov.

Moov differs from regular hoverboards in a couple of ways. At 9 inches in diameter and 3 inches in thickness, its wheels are bigger than those found on rival products. The result is greater stability, which is helped by a lower center of gravity for the section of the rideable that the user stands on. That’s a good thing because the Moov can travel faster than many hoverboards — around 15 miles per hour — and is also designed for performing a number of sport-style tricks.

The other big change are special sensors embedded in its floor mat, which let users control their ride by subtly shifting their weight. That’s a different approach to normal, but one that its creators hope will provide a more enjoyable riding experience.

Read more here

Micro — ultracompact universal travel adapter

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

If you ever plan to visit different countries in a single trip, bringing along a universal travel adapter is crucial. Depending on where you land, the outlets are likely to be completely different than what you’re used to — which means you’ll need an adapter to juice up your electronics.

Luckily, there are tons of universal travel adapters on the market right now. You can pick one up for under $20 on Amazon right now — but the thing is, most of them suck. Most of them aren’t equipped with fuses, and virtually all of them are bulky and inconvenient for travel.

Micro is an attempt to change that. Unlike most universal travel adapters, this one is designed to be slim, sleek, and travel friendly. In addition to a super clever form factor, it also features a swappable fuse system. This means that if you plug into an outlet with a load that’s too high for your device, it it’ll blow the adapter’s replaceable fuse instead of frying your expensive electronics.

Read more here

Zenbivy — comfortable, non-restrictive sleeping bag

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

If you’ve ever gone camping or backpacking and spent the evening in a mummy bag, you know just how awful they can be. Sure, they’re great when it comes to providing warmth and keeping your pack light, but when it comes to comfort, they’re a bit lacking. Most are shaped in such a way that they severely restrict your range of motion and bundle your feet together. But what if it didn’t have to be like that? What if there was a sleeping bag that was just as warm and lightweight, but that also didn’t restrict your movement while you sleep?

Enter the Zenbivy. It’s a fresh new take on the traditional sleeping bag, and has been redesigned from the ground up with comfort in mind. Instead of using the mummy bag design, the Zenbivy system separates the bag into two distinct pieces: a base layer and a down comforter. Much like the layering system worn by hikers on the trail, these two pieces work in conjunction with one another to deliver warmth and comfort, essentially maintaining the same level of performance found in a traditional sleeping bag.  The difference is that Zenbivy offers far more wiggle room, so you’re not stuck in a cocoon all night.

Read more here

Scorkl — ultracompact respiration tank

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

If you’ve always wanted to try scuba diving but have been scared off by the high cost of gear and the prolonged certification process, this new Kickstarter gizmo just might be your dream come true. The Scorkl, as it’s called, is designed to provide a scuba-like experience with the ease and simplicity of snorkeling.

In a nutshell, Scorkl is a compact and lightweight scuba system that comes with a miniature air tank, an always-on regulator, and a pressure gauge. This system allows users to dive in relatively shallow waters and stay submerged for up to 10 minutes at a time. Scorkl’s designers say that it’s safe for use down to 20 meters below sea level, provided the diver is scuba certified — although they recommend that most users stay above the 10 meter mark just to be safe. And the best part? You can refill it with a bike pump.

Read more here

App Attack: Find Garfield’s comics, step up your photo game with Halide

Looking for even more control over your iPhone camera? Need a Pokémon Go replacement this summer? This week, we’ve got two apps that can help you step up your camera game, as well as keep you on your toes with a popular cat.

Halide

While reviewing photos, you can add them to your favorites or delete them.

Focus Peaking highlights the sharpest contrast in red.

Live histogram shows you the right exposure.

Halide is an app that lets you take the iPhone camera a step further — it gives you the DSLR-like features, without having to carry around a bulky device.

The iOS camera only provides basic editing options like cropping, and adding color filters. Halide, on the other hand, gives you advanced settings to capture a more powerful photo by focusing on detail before you snap a photo. It includes features like smart auto-focus and manual focus, along with full manual controls that let you adjust the ISO, exposure, and white balance. Its gesture-based interface has controls that can be customized to your liking after you start to get used to it.

While I do own a DSLR camera, I’ll admit that I’m still a beginner (correction: extreme beginner). I don’t often switch from automatic to manual, because otherwise I’d end up spending more time trying to figure out how to adjust the settings perfectly than taking a photo.

I assumed because it’s an app it would make the process of using the manual mode much easier. I learned the opposite — it definitely still requires background knowledge of how the settings themselves function to take quality photos.

While the app is very much for professionals, the controls are easy to use — tap on the icons or slide your finger on the bar at the bottom to make adjustments. When going through your gallery, you can put those Tinder skills to use by swiping right to add a photo to your favorites or left to delete it. You can add options like grid overlay and a built-in level, which helps to keep your photos straight.

The histogram is also a nice addition to help you find the right exposure and contrast, and Focus Peaking highlights what’s in focus in red. It’s also really convenient to adjust the shutter speed by swiping the right side of the screen up or down to the desired number.

If you’re a complete beginner who isn’t at all familiar with white balance or ISO sensitivity, this app is still worth downloading because it might be an easier way for you learn the basics. You get to see your changes in real time — without worrying about switching back and forth between settings on a basic DSLR camera.

Halide is currently only available on iOS for $3, and features like histogram, focus peaking, and RAW require having the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, iPhone 7, 7 Plus, or iPhone SE. With summer finally here, this app might just be the motivating factor to getting outside to take some (Instagram-worthy) scenic photos.

Garfield Go

If you thought Pokémon Go was enough to keep you entertained last summer, there’s now Garfield Go (the original grumpy cat). This time instead of trying to find Pokémon, you’re helping Garfield get his comics back — they’re scattered around the world in treasure chests thanks to Odie. To find the treasure chests, you first have to find coins spread out near them. But Garfield being Garfield, to get his help you’ll have to feed him — me too, Garfield, me too.

Even though the style and layout of the game is almost exactly the same as Pokémon Go, the basic augmented reality is entertaining, and the graphics are bright and colorful. When I first started playing, I believed the coins you have to collect throughout the map would be in close proximity. After all, Garfield is known as the cat who considers breathing a form of exercise. I envisioned myself collecting all the coins within a few steps of my phone and easily advancing to the next level.

But I was wrong. Really wrong. This game makes Garfield look super active. I only collected a few coins where I was sitting before I received a pop-up telling me the treasure chests were out of range and I needed to get up and go outside — the struggle.

Once you do land on a coin, you’re greeted by a hungry Garfield who won’t budge until he eats. Feeding him is basically the same as throwing a Poké Ball or berry at a Pokemon except this time, you’re throwing the food into Garfield’s food bowl. There’s different junk food you can throw — ranging from pizza to the classic lasagna– and other food can be purchased with the coins you collect.

Throwing food into the bowl is more difficult than it sounds. Garfield doesn’t mess around though — if you don’t feed him in three tries, you’re brought back to the map to move on to another coin instead. Once you do feed him, a bar appears at the top of the screen labeled “hot and cold” forcing you to move your phone around as it hints whether or not you’re close to the treasure chest to collect a comic.

The main appeal of this game are the prizes you win if you’re lucky enough to land on a particular treasure chest. The prize list includes plush versions of Garfield, Odie, and Pooky, as well as gift cards for Starbucks, Amazon, and Dominoes.

Garfield Go is available on Android and iOS for free. If Garfield wasn’t already miserable enough, you can also use in-app purchases to buy him different hats to wear like a top hat, fedora, or a party hat.

Get your own WiFi HD waterproof endoscopic camera for only $32.99!

Typically when you hear the word endoscopic camera it’s being said by a doctor for the purpose of looking inside a patient. But these bendable snake cameras can be used for many everyday things beyond medical applications.

Get your very own endoscopic camera for only $32.99! Learn more

The versatility of an endoscopic camera can allow you to investigate what’s clogging a drain, peer inside the tight spaces of your car, or give you an inside look at any tough to reach areas of your home. The camera head is adjustable and waterproof, making it perfect for inspecting underwater areas, gaps or holes.

Best of all, you can get your very own WiFi-enabled waterproof endoscopic camera for just $32.99 via Android Central Digital Offers! With an 8-way adjustable LED, this waterproof, 2 MP resolution camera can slip into the tight or dark spaces or fingers or eyes can’t and send a feed right back to any device you’re using via WiFi.

Typically, endoscopic cameras like this are sold for $49.99, but you can get yours and save 87%! What a deal!

Save 34% on this handy endoscopic camera! Learn more

So what are you waiting for? You never know when you may need a versatile endoscopic camera to get you out of a jam. But act fast — this deal won’t be around forever!

How to get the best Gear VR experience from your phone

These tips will help you get the best experience on Gear VR out of your phone!

Your Samsung phone is capable of plenty of awesome things, but one of the best experiences it can deliver is giving you access to Gear VR. You’ll want to make sure that your phone is up to the task though, and there a few things you can do to get better performance while you’re in VR. This goes from checking your battery, to closing extra apps, and more.

Here’s how to get the best experience from your phone!

Read more at VRHeads.com

The case for killing off the Bixby button

Even when Bixby Voice eventually arrives, there’s no reason to keep the annoying, user-hostile hardware button.

This week there was at least some good news around Bixby, Samsung’s maligned AI thing from the Galaxy S8. Two months after launch, Samsung announced that Bixby Voice would finally be arriving… in the form of a beta program, in one country, the United States.

On one hand, the glacial pace of Bixby’s development is understandable. It’s far more complex in scope than most traditional voice assistants — in supported apps, Bixby needs to be able to support any function you could otherwise access via touch, and navigate the labyrinthine mess of verbal communication to get there.

Still, we’re months into the (very finite) lifespan of this phone, and outside of Korea, Bixby Voice only exists in beta form for U.S. English. That’s not great.

We could be well into 2018 before many non-English languages get Bixby Voice.

Other flavors of the English language will have to wait even longer, to say nothing of other tongues with large addressable audiences, like German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. Earlier in the year, the ETA for German was Q4 2017. The Samsung support page stating that timeframe now 404’s, and in light of other delays I wouldn’t be surprised if we were well into 2018 before Bixby Voice had any real non-English Western language support.

In some territories where the local language isn’t a big priority for Samsung, a Galaxy S8 owner might go most or all of its supported lifespan with the Bixby button just opening Hello Bixby. If I were a GS8 owner in somewhere like the Netherlands, Romania or Japan… well, I wouldn’t be holding my breath.

And even then that’s for the initial rollout of Bixby Voice features in a handful of Samsung applications. Support in other third-party apps will take even longer to build out.

It’s not a good look considering how central Bixby — and Bixby Voice in particular — was to Samsung’s messaging around the GS8 launch back in March. Now, this delay wouldn’t be such a big deal were Bixby not permanently, unchangeably mapped to a physical hardware button on the phone’s left border. (A button which The Verge’s Dieter Bohn correctly calls a monument to the company’s inability to ship a feature on time.)

You might think the Bixby button would be easy enough to ignore. That’s what I and others on the AC team have tried to do over the past couple of months. But through a combination of its placement, precariously close to the volume rocker, and the fact that it automatically overrides all other input, it’s become a perpetual annoyance.

The most irksome scenario is something Daniel Bader and I have experienced over and over again. When you double-tap the power key to launch the camera, there’s a non-zero chance that you’ll brush the Bixby button at the same time. Maybe not every time, but a statistically significant number. And when you do so, the phone… well, derps.

I have lost so many potentially great photos because the Galaxy S8 derps nearly every time I double tap the power button to open the camera

— Daniel Bader (@journeydan) June 14, 2017

The Bixby button will launch Hello Bixby over the top of whatever’s running, including the camera. So in the case of the camera shortcut, the GS8 will lag as it attempts to load both at the same time, first giving you a second or so of lockscreen, then a second or so of viewfinder, then whatever useless info Hello Bixby decides to conjure up.

The Bixby button also bypasses the lock screen — a feature which can’t be turned off — and that’s led to another common annoyance for GS8 owners on the AC team. Once again, you brush the Bixby button as you’re taking the phone out of your pocket, and once again, first thing you see is Hello Bixby, as opposed to anything useful.

Samsung has preemptively tanked any goodwill Bixby might have been able to earn.

The sum of all these annoyances is, for me, a sense of antipathy towards Bixby in general. I don’t care that it might do something useful eventually. Until such time as it does, it’s an unnecessary burden on an otherwise great phone. For regular users, I suspect Samsung might have preemptively tanked any goodwill Bixby might have been able to earn. Right now it’s a feature which deserves to be ignored, and yet the hardware button, through its placement and its behavior, makes it impossible to ignore.

Samsung’s vision for Bixby Voice sounds great. If it actually works, it’ll take us one step closer to Star Trek “computer”-like natural language interaction. But the button needs to go. There are countless other ways for Samsung to activate Bixby Voice, even when the phone is off. A double-tap of volume up, for instance, is less likely to trigger accidental presses. Or something along the navigation bar — a virtual button would allow Samsung to telegraph when Bixby Voice can spring to life, avoiding user disappointment in unsupported apps.

At best, the current Bixby button placement and behavior is premature. At worst, it’s a reason against buying the next Samsung phone.

Some other odds and ends for a working Sunday:

• We’re heading into OnePlus 5 launch week, and needless to say you’ll want to watch Android Central pretty closely this Tuesday. (We’ve arleady gotten a sneaky look at the full chassis, front and back, in a TV spot in India.)
• I’ve been getting to grips with the HTC U11 this past week. Between lackluster battery life and a pretty lousy display, I wasn’t a massive fan of the HTC 10, and the 10 Evo — the Euro version of the Bolt — flew under my radar. But the U11 is a huge improvement across the board. More next week, but I’m tempted to say HTC is back on track. Battery life in particular is awesome for a 3,000mAh device.
• Oh, and in a stupid but fantastic move, UK review units come bundled with an actual juicer for you to squeeze!
• The Honor 9 is on the way, earlier this year than in previous release cycles. Given the (likely) more expensive price point of the OnePlus 5 this year, I’m curious to see what Huawei’s online sub-brand can do around the $400 mark. Check out our preview for more!
• Finally, if you want some great wallpaper for your new OnePlus 5, or any other AMOLED phone, check out this phenomenal shot of Jupiter from NASA’s JunoCam.

That’s it for this week. I’ll leave you with a note that as much as Bixby annoys me, the Galaxy S8 still ranks as our best overall Android phone.

The Indie Megabooth is a calm bubble floating above E3 chaos

One of the best experiences at E3 wasn’t actually at E3. The Devolver parking lot was positioned directly across the street from the flashing lights, gigantic banners and thumping booths packed inside of the Los Angeles Convention Center, and it offered a calm yet energetic alternative to the mainstream madness. This year, the Indie Megabooth shared Devolver’s lot, exposing a rotating selection of independent games each day to the periphery of E3 — which was plenty. Trust.

We asked a trio of independent developers about how it felt to showcase their work in the Indie Megabooth, attached to the most prominent video game convention of the year. In the video above, we hear directly from Nathanael Weiss, the creator of Songbringer; Jacob Burgess, a voice actor in Masquerada; and Ben Myres, game designer of Semblance.

Follow all the latest news from E3 2017 here!