Las Vegas is about to get its first bar where robots mix the drinks

Why it matters to you

Not only can the robot bartenders at this cocktail lounge mix every drink perfectly, they’ll never get tired of doing it. Or so we hope!

There are plenty of different hypotheses about whether the currently happening rise of the machines will be a net positive for humanity or not. But one move which surely won’t win us too many brownie points with our future robotic overlords is to take some of their best representatives and force them to mix and serve us drinks!

Still, that’s the business plan the folks behind an upcoming Las Vegas bar are running with. Called the Tipsy Robot, the results of their plan is a cocktail bar that’s set to open later this month. It allows you to order drinks via iPad, and then have them mixed by one of two smart robots behind the bar, whose arm motions mimic those of a human bartender. That means stirring, shaking, mixing and garnish-adding moves that would have Cocktail-era Tom Cruise fearing for his future job.

The robots — or “Galactic Ambassadors” as they’re known — have previously been used to whip up custom cocktails on the Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas cruise liner. Their new job on the Las Vegas strip represents their first outing on dry land.

As with many uses of automation, one of their big advantages is the continued speed that they’re able to operate at. Throughout their shift, the robots can each pour 120 per hour without taking a break. Customers get to order whichever beverage they want from the expertly-crafted cocktail menu, and even receive an accurate arrival time prediction the moment they place their request.

The retro-futuristic joint will open its doors for the first time at Las Vegas’ Miracle Mile Shops on Friday, June 30. From that point on, it will be open for business 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to midnight on weekends.

In addition to the bionic bartenders, entertainment at the cocktail lounge will come from a live social media wall, photo booth, and — most exotic of all — some human bartenders, should you wish to interact with someone whose chat isn’t all ones and zeroes.

In true “paperclip maximizer” doomsday scenario, we presume these human bartenders will be the first to go when the robots do finally assume control!

AirDroid now lets you manage Android phone files wirelessly from a computer

Why it matters to you

If you’re looking for an easier way to manage your phone’s files without needing a cable, AirDroid now boasts a wireless file-management system.

AirDroid has long been a great way to interact with your phone from your computer, and now the service is getting even better. How? With a new system that will let you manage all the files on your phone without having to ever pick it up.

The new file-management system boasts a number of attractive features, including the ability to browse through all your phone’s files, as well as copy or transfer files over to the device wirelessly. The app also lets you sort through the photos on your device, which could be very helpful for anyone who takes a lot of photos.

AirDroid already allows users to do a number of things straight from their computer, including receive and reply to text messages. That’s a feature that’s been available to iPhone users who own a Mac for some time now — but there’s no official way to do it on Android. That’s where AirDroid steps in.

You can also do things like see your phone’s notifications on your computer, meaning if you’re using your computer, you won’t need to juggle different devices when you get notifications. Last but not least, you can actually use the device from your computer — so you can mirror your phone’s screen and control the phone using your mouse and keyboard.

To use AirDroid, you’ll need to install the app on your phone and create an account. You can then either download the computer client for the app, or access the AirDroid web app — though the web app may not have all the same features that the computer app has.

AirDroid has had a few issues in the last year or so. The app was discovered to have some pretty major security flaws in December. AirDroid claims those security flaws have since been patched.

Google’s stand-alone VR headset will give you more freedom courtside at NBA games

If you have gone to a basketball game and never had to shout at an overzealous fan to get out of the way so you can watch the action, you must have had court side seats. But, in virtual reality, even court side seats do not preclude the occasional butt in the face obstruction. That could soon change. Following Google’s announcement of its first standalone virtual reality headset at this year’s Google I/O, Digital Trends spoke with NextVR co-founder and CEO David Cole about how the new headset will give you more freedom when watching basketball games in VR.

NextVR thinks Google’s standalone headset will bring more court side movements to mobile VR. “For instance, you are watching our center court camera feed and something obstructs the camera like a ref stands in front of the camera, you can physically move your body and look around it,” Cole said. That is thanks to Google’s WorldSense technology, which will allow its headset to track your motions without external sensors. The motion tracking is known as “six degrees of freedom” (6DOF) as you are able to move up, down, left, right, backwards, and forward in a 3D space.

Before you think you will be running on court to get face to face with Lebron, Cole wants to temper expectations.

Before you think you will be running on court to get face to face with Lebron, Cole wants to temper expectations. “This doesn’t mean you can get up and walk out on court,” Cole said “It is, in its first incarnation, limited to a certain sort of viewing box where we have camera coverage.” With the freedom afforded by a standalone headset, if NextVR can place enough cameras together, you may be able to walk around a basketball arena in VR.

If you have ever watched a basketball game in VR, you have probably been amazed at being court side, but a bit underwhelmed you could only look up down and around. Especially when a player or a referee obstructs your view and you can not adjust your view to look around them. That is because mobile VR headsets such as Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream only give you three degrees of freedom (3DOF) allowing you to look horizontally and around in a 3D space, but you can not move in it.

Watching a basketball game in virtual reality is taxing on the phone. Before you know it, it’s halftime and your battery is dying, your phone is hot, and the VR stream is choppy because of it all. Google’s standalone headset housing everything inside one device sounds like an explosion waiting to happen, but Cole thinks the Qualcomm 835 chip in the headset will be a game changer. “[Qualcomm] 835 is purpose built and beyond to do this computation without totally burning up the battery of the device.” That chip is handling so much it allows for the device to do other things which “lets you watch a full basketball game without killing your battery,” Cole said.

NextVR NBA

Virtual reality has steadily grown from a novelty to burgeoning industry, but there has been an Apple-shaped gap in the market. Outside of sticking your iPhone into Google’s Cardboard VR headsets, iOS users have largely been left out of the current VR wave. Cole sees standalone devices like Google’s as the perfect entry points for those users. “It’s appealing to the iOS user community, because even though [Google’s standalone VR headset] is an Android device, it’s really a VR appliance,” Cole said. “When you buy VR applications, you are buying Daydream applications, and not in any way Android applications.”

That means NextVR could soon bring tens of millions of iOS users their first viewing of a full basketball game in VR. Cole said he could not comment on if he knew about Google’s standalone VR headset before it was unveiled to the world at this year’s Google I/O. But, he did say “we are very familiar with the product.” So, expect NextVR to be a big player when virtual reality no longer needs your phone to be mobile.

Time Warner deal means Snapchat users can see three original shows a day

Why it matters to you

As social media continues to experiment as an entertainment platform, Snapchat is bringing you original shows from Time Warner.

Snapchat may have rebranded as a camera company, but Snap Inc. recently announced one of the largest TV deals for the company yet. On Monday, Snap Inc. announced an agreement with Time Warner to develop original shows for the Snapchat platform.

Snapchat users can expect to see three shows a day before the end of 2017, according to Time Warner. Up to 10 original shows are expected to stem from the agreement. Time Warner is the parent company for multiple TV channels, including HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. Entertainment. Time Warner will advertise on the platform, focusing on millennials as young adults trend toward mobile and streaming entertainment over traditional paid cable.

Neither company shared financial details, but an unidentified source suggested the deal is worth $100 million. The deal covers a two-year time period. An earlier report suggested that agreements with other media companies were not paid for on an up-front basis, but by giving the content creators a cut of the ad revenue.

Snap already has a number of agreements in place for generating original content as the company explores avenues beyond just social media. Much of the original content comes in the form of three to five shows designed in keeping with the social media platform’s much imitated short-lived chats and stories. Snap’s network deals already include an unscripted dating series from A+E, original clips from NBC’s existing shows, originals from Turner, along with several others.

The agreement is part of a growing effort to redefine traditional TV entertainment. Snapchat is not the only social media platform to branch out into original shows — Facebook also recently signed several deals for original videos and Twitter is growing as a platform for live videos. When social media platforms generate more views, they can also generate more revenue through ad sales, which has multiple platforms experimenting with entertainment options.

Snapchat’s original mini-shows stream from the platform’s Stories section, mixing content from media companies with individual users.

Rock-climbing VR game could help people safely overcome a fear of heights

Why it matters to you

This virtual reality project could be a valuable therapy for helping users address their phobias.

For the final project of their immersive environments class, six students at the University of Washington have developed a rock climbing simulator they think could help people overcome a fear of heights.

“My team and I decided we wanted hands-on experience developing a virtual reality game in Unity so we decided to make a virtual reality rock climbing game,” lead designer Sanjana Galgalikar told Digital Trends. “We chose the rock climbing game because it was a feasible project that could be accomplished in the three weeks we had to do the project.

“We didn’t intentionally make a game to treat a phobia; we just wanted experience developing and designing a fun game in VR. During user testing, we realized that this game had potential to be used in helping those with a fear of heights conquer their fear, without requiring them to face it physically.”

As you can see from watching the video above, even without the added verisimilitude of a VR headset, the effect is pretty dizzying. It may look more like a piece of cubist art than a realistic landscape, but the effect is surprisingly realistic.

The game consists of three levels for the user to play through. The first level requires users to climb from one block to the next, the second involves different elevations and mountains to scale, and the third involves swinging techniques that have to be performed correctly for the user to climb to the top of the climbing wall. Controls are carried out using an HTC Vive remote control, with the controller’s trigger letting users pick up objects or grip onto rocks.

“As of now, we don’t plan on further developing the project,” Galgalikar continued. “But several of the team members including myself have a newfound interest in pursuing research and career opportunities in AR/VR after working on this project.”

While virtual reality is still predominantly considered a storytelling medium, there are some interesting examples of it being used to help treat conditions that require prolonged exposure therapy, in which patients can benefit from being given the chance to experience a particularly traumatic event in a controlled manner. In other words, should Galgalikar and her team ever return to this project, it could turn out to be something pretty interesting.

Oh, and for the record, if they do expand on it they should totally call their vertiginous virtual reality project “VR-tigo.”

Best Smartwatch For Kids

• Best overall
• Best value
• Best on Verizon

Best overall

VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX

Find on Amazon

Instead of a tool for connecting to a smartphone, VTech created an experience that is mostly toy but partially useful. Amid all the games and onboard camera tricks you’ll find a functional calendar for appointments, a voice memo app, and several other tools that work well with the smartwatch aesthetic. This is a great way to get kids thinking about using technology for more than entertainment, without completely pulling them away from the shiny world of fun things.

Bottom line: If you have a youngster who wants a smartwatch just like you, this is a fantastic place to start.

One more thing: This watch comes in Blue and Purple, depending on what color you think your child will prefer.

Why VTech Kidizoom is the best

Smartwatches are already luxury accessories, and for kids they become little more than toys. VTech’s smartwatch for kids has a few games, but also lets them take photos from their wrist and have some fun with the photos. It’s a fun way for a kid to emulate their smartwatch-wearing parent without needing to be tethered to a smartphone, and it actually includes some tools that could be useful. Calendar access, for example, gives you an teaching opportunity. Calculator apps let children explore math on their own. There’s plenty of fun to be had here, but the need to charge the watch regularly in order to use it and the availability of actually useful apps could become tools for teaching children how to care for their hardware and use it properly.

Best value

Supvin U80 Smartwatch

Find on Amazon

U80 is a barebones traditional smartwatch. It pairs to a phone via Bluetooth 4.0 and acts as notification sync. It’s a limited experience, but one that covers the basics of smartwatch use and fitness or sleep tracking. It’s simple, and the biggest feature here is the price. If you’re looking for a very basic smartwatch, this is where you start.

Bottom line: This is the beginner smartwatch you buy for a kid on their first smartphone, who really wants something inexpensive.

Only on Verizon

GizmoPal 2

Find on Verizon Wireless

LG’s GizmoPal 2 is a wrist-mounted phone with some simple features for both parents and children. For kids, pre-programmed messages and emoji can be sent to a list of approved contacts. Two-way calling ensures your child can reach and be reached when necessary, and there’s a fitness function onboard for jump rope or step counting. The big feature for parents is real-time tracking through the Android app, which gives you GPS coordinates and offers notifications if your child strays from GPS boundaries you have set up.

Bottom line: This is a simple, friendly watch for kids who aren’t ready for their first phone yet.

Conclusion

While there are certainly some great Android Wear watches out there, these are the best options for most kids. VTech offers a great fun accessory that doesn’t require a phone. U80 is an inexpensive way to offer base smartwatch features. If you’d prefer the smartwatch be more for your peace of mind than your child’s entertainment, Verizon has you covered with the GizmoPal 2 exclusive.

Best overall

VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX

Find on Amazon

Instead of a tool for connecting to a smartphone, VTech created an experience that is mostly toy but partially useful. Amid all the games and onboard camera tricks you’ll find a functional calendar for appointments, a voice memo app, and several other tools that work well with the smartwatch aesthetic. This is a great way to get kids thinking about using technology for more than entertainment, without completely pulling them away from the shiny world of fun things.

Bottom line: If you have a youngster who wants a smartwatch just like you, this is a fantastic place to start.

One more thing: This watch comes in Blue and Purple, depending on what color you think your child will prefer.

Update, June 2017: This article was updated to remove the AT&T Filip 2 which is no longer available.

Google Play Music’s exclusive station for the Galaxy S8 is a Top 40-lover’s dream

Whether you love Danish pop or Nickelback (why?), the New Release Radio plays all the popular hits.

I made a very, very big mistake while shuffling through the Samsung-exclusive radio station on Google Play Music. I forgot that there are a limited number of skips for those of us without monthly subscriptions — and then my last skip landed me on a Nickelback song.

Anyway, if you haven’t already heard from the Android subreddit, there is a Play Music radio station called New Release Radio curated especially for Galaxy S8 and S8+ users. (Except that it’s not because there is apparently a run-around to get it permanently added to your Play Music account.)

The radio station was actually announced back in April, by way of the official Google blog:

…with the launch of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+, Google Play Music will be the default music player and music service on new Samsung phones and tablets globally. We’re also collaborating with Samsung to create special features in Google Play Music just for Samsung customers.

The radio station is curated specifically for broadcasting mainstream music releases from around the world. If you’re into the latest pop music, like Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, or I guess Nickelback, it’ll keep you privy to what’s new from them and any other related artists. You’ll also get a couple of hits from overseas; I myself encountered Danish pop. If you’re more into the niche genres of music, however, or perhaps you simply abhor popular culture, New Releases Radio might not be something you’ll have on repeat.

Google Pixel 2 rumor roundup

What do we want from the Google Pixel 2?

It’s June, which means that we’re only a couple of months away from a new, delicious version of Android, and if history is any indicator, 4 to 5 months away from brand new Pixel phones.

Up until recently, we thought this year’s crop was to be a fairly predictable update to last year’s — two devices built by HTC with improved specs and a newer version of Android. But things change.

Walleye and Muskie

After the Pixel and Pixel XL were released in October, the rumor mill reformed to contribute some logical and some less logical propositions.

The first rumor that made sense was that HTC would once again be the manufacturer of two Pixel 2 models in 2017 and that perhaps the company had signed a multi-year contract with Google for the privilege.

The second rumor somewhat corroborated the code naming trend of previous years: references to devices named “walleye” and “muskie”, two freshwater fish native to parts of the U.S. and Canada, continued the aquatic animal-based naming conventions of many Nexus devices as well as the Pixel and Pixel XL. Those devices were codenamed “sailfish” and “marlin”, while the Nexus 5X was “bullhead” and the Nexus 6P “angler”.

Both “walleye” and “muskie” were expected to be HTC-built devices, with updated designs similar to that of the original Pixels.

And until March, that’s how we left things, until “taimen”.

Taimen

A Taimen in the wild

In March, it came out that a third potential Pixel device was being produced, codenamed “taimen”, likely bigger than both “walleye” and “muskie”.

At the time, we didn’t know much about the device, but in recent weeks it’s come out that “taimen” would be built by LG, not HTC, and would be larger than the “XL” version of HTC’s Pixel sequel, “muskie.” It was then revealed that Google in fact cancelled the “muskie,” the larger of HTC’s Pixels, for “taimen,” leaving one HTC- and one LG-built Pixel phone for 2017.

We still know very little about what this LG-built Pixel looks like, or its specs, but we can speculate as to why Google added LG to the equation this year.

A long history of collaboration

Google and LG have a long history of collaborating, all the way back to 2012 with the Nexus 4. LG has built three Nexus devices over the years (Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Nexus 5X) and was the first manufacturer to boast a new phone running Android 7.0 Nougat in 2016 with the LG V20.

So the relationships are there, and the comfort is there. And with LG reaffirming its dedication to quality control — Google was also affected by the bootloop issues on the Nexus 5X — with the LG G6, Google probably feels more comfortable letting the Korean company take another stab at the project.

LG Display

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Google wants to spend nearly a billion dollars with LG Display to secure OLED panels for its upcoming Pixel phones.

LG Display is a separate company from LG Electronics, which creates phones, but the two are connected, and it stands to reason that Google would give the latter a manufacturing contract to ensure the success of the former.

OLED displays are the future of screens, and Google wants a piece of the market.

OLED displays are the future of mobile optics, and LG is ramping up production for its own devices and to compete with Samsung Display, which largely has the market cornered. The first Pixel phones were affected by enormous and frustrating manufacturing delays, and though Google never specifically pointed to a shortage in OLED displays, experts believe that is exactly what was keeping the phone off the market for so long. With its sequels, Google wants to avoid that problem, and giving LG the rights to manufacture one of its Pixels goes a long way to making sure that happens.

Design

Right now, we know almost nothing of the Pixel 2’s design(s). One GFXBench listing implies that at least the smaller “walleye” will sport a 5.6-inch QHD display with a 2:1 aspect ratio — the same as the LG G6 — so it’s expected that both units will have a low-bezel design, likely with a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone.

That larger screen should address the main design criticism of the original Pixels: their large bezels, which look even sillier now that the Galaxy S8 and LG G6 are on the market.

Whether the new Pixels will be waterproof, have wireless charging, or possess dual cameras remain to be seen, but it would not be too off-base to assume that waterproofing would be on the table this year, given that both the HTC U11 and LG G6 are at least nominally water-resistant.

Specs

Expect at least a Snapdragon 835, if not something newer.

As for specs, we know a few things about the phones: that they’ll run at least the Snapdragon 835 SoC — it’s possible a newer Snapdragon 836 will be on the market by then — and have 4GB of RAM, which the market has settled on as the norm for most flagship smartphones.

It’s also safe to assume that the camera will be another point of pride for Google this year — even with two different manufacturers, it’s likely the “walleye” and “taimen” models will sport the same camera sensor, or sensors, and be optimized using Google’s increasingly good HDR+ algorithms.

And given that the phones will have larger screens this year — the smaller Pixel 2 is expected to be 5.6-inches at a 2:1 aspect ratio, so expect a larger 5.9- or 6-inch “taimen” model of the same shape — it’s possible they’ll have larger batteries. The Snapdragon 835 has already shown itself to have considerably better efficiency than the 821 found in the original Pixels, so even with the same-sized batteries the new Pixels should have improved uptime, but we should also see slightly larger cells as well.

As for storage breakdown, it’s expected that Google will keep the default size at 32GB, offering a 128GB model for $100 more. Last year’s Pixel XL costs $120 more than the smaller version, and that difference isn’t likely to go down this year, especially given the change in manufacturers. Expect the “taimen” version of the Pixel 2 XL to be $120 to $150 more than the “walleye.”

Software

Like last year, the Pixel 2 series should launch with Android 8.1, a version that will remain exclusive to the phones for some time.

That strategy allowed Google to roll out some great new features for all phones running Android 7.0 Nougat while keeping some exclusive features for the Pixels, which ran Android 7.1 when they launched a few months later. At the same time, Google’s excellent Pixel Launcher remains unique to the lineup, as does Project Fi support, which should fall over to the phones, too.

We don’t know anything specific about what we’ll see in Android 8.1 right now, but we’re keeping our ear to the ground and will update this as we know more.

Pricing and availability

Another piece of the puzzle for which we’re waiting to hear more is pricing and availability. It wouldn’t be out of order to think that the Pixel 2 lineup will debut towards the end of October or the beginning of November, and will maintain a $649 / $749 price point for the smaller and larger phones, respectively.

We’re hoping that Google ups the default storage to 64GB and that all of our spec wishes come true, but we only have a few more months to wait before we find it all out.

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Project Fi’s latest offer gives you a free Google Home if you buy a Pixel

The offer is good through July 29.

Who doesn’t like free stuff? And who doesn’t like smart little virtual assistants you can talk to? Google Home is both, and you can get one in your own home if you purchase a brand new Pixel or Pixel XL smartphone through Project Fi.

You can read up on the terms for the free Google Home promotion here. The Pixel starts at $649 at Project Fi’s online storefront. You can buy one outright or pay for it over the course of 24 months.

Project Fi is a phone carrier offering from Google. It offers mobile data service on three mobile networks, and it uses Wi-Fi to make calls and send texts. It’s also a prepaid carrier, and you pay ahead for the month of use rather than after — as is common with a standard mobile operator.

If you’re wondering if Project Fi is something worth subscribing to yourself, be sure to take the Fi Fit Quiz.

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HTC’s vibrantly colored Solar Red U11 will be on sale beginning tonight

The company is kicking off its summer sale with a new color for the U11 and deals on a bunch of other stuff, too.

As if almost perfectly timed with the rampant heat waves rolling through the greater part of North America, HTC has announced that the extremely attractive (the author’s own opinion) Solar Red U11 will be on sale starting tonight.

HTC has been slowly teasing the sale of the highly coveted, almost fire-like variant of the U11 on Twitter for the past few days:

We’ve heard you and your wait is almost over… #HTCU11 pic.twitter.com/jj7ATMcS9r

— HTC USA (@HTCUSA) June 18, 2017

You spoke, we listened — We’re happy to announce that you’ll be able to pre-order the Solar Red #HTCU11 starting tonight at 12:00am EST. pic.twitter.com/SgPnf4lFFj

— HTC USA (@HTCUSA) June 19, 2017

The new Solar Red color morphs ever-so-slightly from a bright, bustling orange to a fiery, reddish-gold, depending from which angle you look at it. It utilizes the same “liquid glass” surface as the rest of its brethren, including the cool-as-a-cucumber “amazing silver” model we reviewed earlier this month.

If you’re on the fence about whether to log on and join the rest of the gang in purchasing HTC’s latest device, take a gander at our review. Android Central’s own Andrew Martonik was particularly impressed with the phone’s responsiveness:

HTC continues to offer the smoothest, most consistent software performance outside of a Pixel or Nexus. Through what is surely a combination of obsessive software engineers and plenty of licensed technology, the U11’s interface performance is immaculate. It’s a sort of subconscious fluidity that’s tough to describe. Touch response is perfect, scrolling feels just right and apps are blisteringly fast. No stutters, no hiccups, no issues at any point — no matter how smooth my other phones are sometimes, they’re never this consistently perfect.

HTC is also launching its “Kick off to Summer” sale. There will be discounts for the HTC U Ultra, HTC 10, and HTC Bolt. Accessories such as JBL’s Reflect Aware Type-C headphones will also be on sale for half-off with the purchase of a new device. Check it out.

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