Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire Mechanical Gaming Keyboard review

Research Center:
Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire

If there’s one thing PC gaming requires, its performance. But the associated peripherals need to be just a responsive, because input lag could cost the gamer points or even the match itself. To combat that, Corsair has built the K70 RGB Rapidfire, a full-size mechanical keyboard based on Cherry’s MX Speed RGB switches. These switches promise faster keystroke inputs compared to Cherry’s other switches for PC gaming, like the MX Red and MX Black. There’s no question that the keyboard lives up to its “Rapidfire” name, but at $170, it’s one of the most expensive gaming keyboards around. Is it worth the price? We put it to the test in our comprehensive Corsair K70 review.

Consider it the Porsche of mechanical keyboards

The Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire has no dedicated macro keys, but Corsair stuffs a few media keys in the upper right corner. For starters, there’s an extremely handy volume wheel mounted in the corner along with a mute button sitting to its left. Located under the volume wheel are four dedicated keys for media control — Stop, Backward, Play/Pause, and Forward. These four buttons reside in a special spot above the number pad, under the volume wheel.

On the back, the keyboard measures one inch to play host to a USB pass-through port, a braided fiber USB cable, and a switch for adjusting the keyboard’s report rate. The two feet under the keyboard measure 0.50 inches in height.

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

About a quarter-inch of space separates each key, providing space for the Cherry MX Speed switch LEDs to spill their illumination around each key. Add a clear typeface to each key cap, and you have one gorgeous lighting system that looks great in both ambient light and dark PC gaming caves.

The keyboard features a report rate switch, which adjust how fast the Cherry MX Speed switches respond. It has four selectable speeds and a BIOS mode. This feature essentially controls how many times the keyboard updates the PC with input information. Some PCs and games simply can’t handle ultra-fast input, so the switch lets you adjust the report rate accordingly, to get the fastest speed possible without causing issues.

The report rate is typically referred as a keyboard’s “polling rate.” For the Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire, users can switch between 8ms (125Hz), 4ms (250Hz), 2ms (500Hz), and 1ms (1,000Hz). The BIOS Mode switches the keyboard into a compatibility mode, so that the device can work on older PCs sporting a motherboard that doesn’t support modern PC gaming mechanical keyboards.

Grab a fresh toothbrush while you’re spending $170

The keyboard ships with a detachable “soft-touch” wrist rest. Technically, it’s not soft to the touch, but is patterned with small, shallow divots to provide a sense of softness when in fact it’s just a hard, plastic surface with small indentations. The drawback to these divots is that they can collect junk such as dust, kid funk, and whatever your hands pick up from day to day. This can get ugly and eventually require something like a toothbrush to clean.

The K70 RGB Rapidfire is crazy fast, as the Cherry MX Speed RGB switches do not disappoint.

A similar texture covers the spacebar, though instead of shallow divots, the space bar uses jagged vertical lines to create a rough texture. The keyboard also ships with a keycap puller and two sets of contoured keycaps using a similar texture. Provided for right-handed FPS and MOBA gamers, these two keycap sets promise “maximum grip” and an “enhanced” feel for all those heated multiplayer moments.

On a whole, the K70 RGB Rapidfire is a solid mechanical keyboard sporting an aircraft-grade anodized brushed aluminum frame. Each keycap feels comfortable to the fingertip, confining fingers to each letter without feeling rigid and protruding. And because this is a mechanical keyboard, the switches provide a dull thumping each time users press a key. They’re not sharp and clicky to the ears, but they’re loud enough to keep your significant other up all night if they’re trying to sleep in the same room.

Customization arrives in the name of CUE

At the heart of Corsair’s K70 RGB Rapidfire is the company’s Corsair Utility Engine (CUE) software. Free to download and use, the tool provides all the customization aspects including the lighting system, creating macros, assigning commands to specific keys, and more. The CUE interface breaks all of this down into a toolbar on the left and the main window on the right.

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

The toolbar lists the default profile and all other profiles created by the user, the Actions section, the Lighting Effects section, and the Performance section. It also provides small clickable buttons to create a new profile, create a new folder for organizing profiles, copying profiles, importing and exporting profiles, downloading custom profiles from Corsair, and more.

You can edit the default profile by attaching a custom profile icon, adding a background image, and turning the tabs transparency up or down to give the interface a personal touch. There’s a field for linking the profile to games, so it starts when the game is launched. The default profile is generally set aside for everyday use, and gamers are encouraged to create individual profiles for each game.

Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire Compared To

Brydge 12.3

Logitech MK850

Aukey KM-G3

Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming…

Microsoft Universal Foldable…

Logitech G213 Prodigy

Steelseries Apex M500

Razer Turret

Razer Blackwidow X Chroma

Cougar Attack X3 gaming keyboard

Razer Deathstalker Chroma

Logitech K400

Cooler Master Storm QuickFire

Logitech iPad 2 Keyboard Case by…

Logitech K750 Wireless Solar…

The Actions section is where users can assign commands to keys, create and assign macros, use a key to launch a specific program, launch a timer, quickly switch profiles, and more. For instance, we assigned the ALT + F1 keystroke to the Home button, which allows us to take a screenshot via Nvidia’s GeForce Experience tool. To bring up the GeForce Overlay using the Insert button, we chose “Keystroke” and typed ALT + Z into the text field. The Remap Key option also supports mouse buttons.

Look at all those pretty colors!

The Corsair K70 keyboard supports 13 different lighting effects and 16.8 million colors. The effects include Spiral Rainbow, Rainbow Wave, the Cylon-like Visor, Color Wave, and even two specific to Corsair’s Void headsets. Type Lighting either lights up a single key as they’re pressed, or creates an explosion of color around a pressed key like a colorful atom bomb. Users can tweak all lighting effects such as setting random colors, changing the effect speed, setting two alternating colors, and changing the effect direction (if supported).

The keyboard is highly durable, and the key switches will last forever.

What’s really cool about the Lighting Effects aspect is that users can stack effects. For instance, in our Star Wars Battlefront profile, we first created a lighting effect for the movement keys, assigning them with a static green color and calling the effect “movement.” Next, we created four additional lighting effects for each special ability, assigning a distinct color for each assigned key. We rounded off the profile with a “background” lighting effect using the Rain preset, dimmed colors, and a medium raindrop speed.

The Performance section of each profile deals with the Win Lock button and its associated commands. On this panel users can choose to disable the Windows key and three keyboard commands: ALT + TAB, ALT + F4, and SHIFT + TAB. Users can also change the lock indicator colors for OFF and ON too. Generally, disabling the Windows key prevents the Start menu from popping up and causing annoying video issues and game disruption.

However, we need to provide one note about all the colors, key assignments, and settings. None of this is available without the CUE software running in the background. The only details that users can save in the keyboard’s on-board memory is static lighting, and whatever users set in the Performance section.

This keyboard earns its “rapid fire” name

The Corsair K70 RGB Rapidfire is crazy fast. Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes it’s not. That’s because the Cherry MX Speed RGB switches mounted under the key caps have an actuation point of 1.2 millimeters (mm). This is where the keystroke is registered and sent over to the PC before the key is fully pressed. The actual distance a key must travel between its idle position and making a full electrical contact is around 3.4mm.

Kevin Parrish/Digital Trends

By comparison, Cherry’s highly-popular MX Red switches have an actuation point of around 2.0mm and a key travel (actuation distance) of around 4.0mm. This means the Cherry MX Speed RGB switches are more sensitive, due to the shorter travel time to the actuation point, and shorter travel time to the hard registration point. Cherry says the MX Speed RGB switch is 40 percent faster than its standard MX switch.

We noticed the slightest weight on a key would trigger its actuation. In other words, when your fingers are resting on the keyboard and you’re reading something on the screen, the highly responsive keys could lead to gibberish or deleted sentences in a document if you’re not paying attention to the weight of your fingers.

There’s no question the keyboard lives up to its “Rapidfire” name, but it’s not exactly cheap.

For an extremely fast typist needing to quickly dictate the boss’ speech on the fly, the MX Speed switches should be ideal. But for the average typist, they might be overkill, and in some cases an annoyance. Then again, the average typist probably wouldn’t spend $170 on a gaming keyboard.

When gaming, the fast key stroke helps whenever twitch reactions are a factor. Every stroke of a key meets an immediate reaction. It may sound odd, but the difference is noticeable, especially when compared to mechanical keyboards that use long-stroke key switches. Will it make you a better gamer? Probably not. But the faster perceived reaction can feel reassuring after you’ve downed a few energy drinks.

We can confirm that the keyboard correctly recognizes 10 keys when they are pressed simultaneously. Anti-ghosting is seemingly a thing of the past anyway, and this test proved that PC gamers can quickly cast their multi-key commands without ghosts typing in rogue keystrokes. In the past, anti-ghosting was a sign that the keyboard wasn’t registering the switch actuations properly and were receiving multiple keystrokes, or strokes from keys that weren’t pressed by the user.

Warranty

Corsair provides warranty information on its website. Corsair will cover the keyboard for up to two years after purchase regarding defects in the material and workmanship. In other words, if it doesn’t work as advertised, then Corsair will repair or replace the keyboard, or refund the customer’s money. But don’t wait too long — Corsair will keep 10 percent of that money as a “usage” fee for each year since the date of purchase.

Our Take

Corsair’s K70 RGB Rapidfire mechanical keyboard lives up to its name. It’s highly responsive due to the use of Cherry MX RGB Speed switches, and is ideal for not only PC gamers who demand super-fast input, but typists who need a “sensitive” keyboard for quick and accurate text input. That said, it may be over-sensitive for customers looking for a flashy new keyboard for general use.

Is there a better alternative?

An online search for a mechanical keyboard using the same Cherry MX Speed RGB switches provided very few results. Corsair seems to dominate the MX Speed RGB market, although G.Skill’s Ripjaws KM570 mechanical keyboard sells for a cheaper $120. The limited number of products on the market is surprising given the MX Speed switch first appeared in April of 2016. Corsair uses this switch in the $200 K95 RGB Platinum mechanical keyboard, too.

How long will it last?

As stated, the keyboard switches have a durability of 50 million keystrokes. For PC gamers, certain keys will wear out before others, but that’s still a long lifespan if you’re not playing in tournaments each day. That said, the $170 pricetag should be a worthwhile investment for the next several years. Given the MX Speed RGB switch is rarely used, competing products may be scarce for a while.

Should you buy it?

Yes, if you have $170 to spend on a mechanical keyboard dedicated for PC gaming. The keyboard is attractive, the keys are responsive, and the switches will last forever, making this peripheral a great buy.

Verizon Wear24 review

Research Center:
Verizon Wear24

Smartwatches, the Dick Tracy-inspired gadgets that track your workouts and buzz when you get a text message, are a little more commonplace than they were a few years ago. Now, there’s a smartwatch at every price point, with luxury Swiss brands like Movado and Tag Heuer filling out the high end and ZTE, Misfit, LG, Huawei, and others sitting somewhere in the middle.

Given the well-established competition, it’s a little surprising that Verizon, the U.S.’s largest cellular carrier, is jumping on the smartwatch bandwagon. The Wear24, a watch made in partnership with Taiwanese company ODM Quanta, boasts high-end hardware in a lightweight, $300 package. It’s got a waterproof body, a colorful display, and 4G LTE connectivity.

Despite that laundry list of features, Verizon’s Wear24 falls short in crucial respects. Namely, it omits sensors the competition doesn’t. That’s not to say Verizon’s first attempt at a smartwatch isn’t good, but it’s tough to recommend the Wear24 over similarly-priced watches from Apple, Huawei, Samsung, and others.

Elegant minimalism

On paper, the Wear24 seems pretty compelling. Verizon’s first smartwatch has an unibody that measures 13.4 x 42 x 42mm and weighs 85 grams, making it smaller and lighter than the ZTE Quartz (14 x 46 x 46mm and 89 grams).

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

The Wear24 is round and compact, and elegant — there’s a single physical button on the side, and lugs that protrude a little too much. It’s a little heavy, but on the whole, the Wear24 is minimal — if a little bland.

It’s IP67 rated for water- and dust-resistance, meaning it’ll emerge unscathed from watery depths up to 3 feet, and packs a 1.39-inch, AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 400 x 400 pixels. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, like most Android Wear smartwatches, and it comes with 768MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, and a 450mAh battery that supports wireless charging.

It’s fast, too. The Wear24 flew through Android Wear 2.0’s menus in our testing, never once showing signs of slowdown in the course of a long work week using Google’s activity-tracking Fit software, turn-by-turn Google Maps directions, and a deluge of Trello, Facebook Messenger, and email notifications running in the background.

On the whole, the Wear24 is tastefully — if a little blandly — designed.

Our testing didn’t seem to make a dent in the Wear24’s battery. Despite the battery’s comparatively smaller, 450mAh size (the cheaper ZTE Quartz packs a 500mAh), the Wear24 tended to last about a day and a half on a charge. Even with Wi-Fi and LTE enabled and the brightness cranked to maximum, we struggled to run the Wear24’s battery down below 25 percent. That’s much better than we managed with the LG Watch Sport, which frequently fell short of the 20-hour mark, and it’s on par with the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear S3, both of which last about a day.

On the subject of the Wear24’s battery, we found the charger — a wireless dock that comes packed in the box and plugs in via MicroUSB cable — to be a nice touch. It’s much easier to use than the Huawei Watch 2’s finicky magnets, and a lot less finicky than the ZTE Quartz’s clip-on charger.

True wireless

The Wear24 is one of the few Android Wear smartwatches to support 4G LTE. In real-world terms, that means you can use it in lieu of your smartphone — Android Wear 2.0’s native calling features let you answer and place calls with your cellphone plan’s number, or respond to incoming texts.

You can dictate messages or tap text out letter-by-letter on Android Wear 2.0’s tiny keyboard. Alternatively, a nifty handwriting tool turns the letters you doodle with a finger into text.

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

There’s also Smart Replies, which uses on-device machine learning to generate short, contextually relevant message replies. When you get a text message from a friend asking if you’re free this evening, for example, you’ll get options like, “Sounds good,” or, “Can’t make it.”

Mobile data doesn’t come free, of course — adding the Wear24 to an existing Verizon data plan is $5 a month. But if you’re the kind of watch wearer who appreciates the freedom of being able to ditch your smartphone when heading to the grocery store or go for a jog, the convenience might be worth the cost.

The lack of an ambient light sensor means it won’t adjust the brightness automatically.

That said, we were disappointed by the Wear24’s speaker quality, which tended to sound tinny and washed out. The speaker comes in handy on those rare occasions when you aren’t wearing earbuds and your smartphone’s out of reach, and we would’ve liked to see more attention paid to it for that reason.

The Wear24 isn’t without other drawbacks. The screen is less sharp than the Huawei Watch 2’s display (290 ppi versus 326 ppi); its body has a lower IP rating than the Samsung Gear S3 and the LG Watch Sport (IP67 versus IP68); and it doesn’t have removable wrist straps, meaning you’re stuck with the thin, flimsy silicon bands that come permanently bolted to it.

While it has GPS, the Wear24 doesn’t have a heart-rate sensor — so you won’t be able to track fitness activities more accurately, unlike comparably-priced watches. The lack of an ambient light sensor means it won’t adjust the brightness automatically, and it does feature Near Field Communication (NFC) radio, but it doesn’t support Android Pay. The LG Watch Sport, Huawei Watch, and Moto 360 use NFC to let you tap to pay at retailers that accept Android Pay, Google’s payments platform, but the Wear24 inexplicably doesn’t.

Android Wear 2.0

The Wear24 is one of the first smartwatches to ship with Android Wear 2.0, the latest version of Google’s smartwatch operating system. That’s a good thing, because it’s a huge improvement over its predecessor.

Verizon Wear24 Compared To

Motorola Moto 360 (2015)

LG Watch Sport

Huawei Watch 2 Sport

Huawei Fit

Apple Watch Series 2

Martian Passport MP100WSB

Garmin fenix 2

LG G Watch R

Netatmo June

Neptune Pine

Motorola Moto 360

Martian Notifier Watch

Samsung Gear 2

Phosphor Touch Time

Samsung Gear Fit

In contrast to the first version of Android Wear, which we found to be a little clunky and confusing, Android Wear 2.0’s interface is fast, intuitive, and simple. Swiping down from the top of the watch brings up quick settings, and swiping up scrolls through your notifications.

The watch face options are improved as well. Apple Watch-like Complications — animated widgets for watch apps — show updates and notifications in real time. By default, the Wear24 offers the choice of a battery indicator, step counter, and weekday planner, but third-party apps add their own Complications. Swiping left lets you customize the layout and appearance of Complications, or swap watch faces entirely.

Kyle Wiggers/Digital Trends

The Wear24 misses out on one new feature of Android Wear 2.0 — hardware shortcuts. Unlike the LG Watch Sport, which has a rotating dial that serves as a scroll wheel or zoom adjustment in Android Wear apps, the Wear24’s inputs are pretty much restricted to touch. Short of pressing the crown to access apps and the Google Assistant, most interactions are of the tapping and swiping variety.

The Wear24, unsurprisingly, ships preloaded with Verizon’s Messaging app, which handles texting on the watch and phone. It’s optional — you can use Android Wear 2.0’s default messaging app, if you choose — but Verizon’s app helpfully dismisses text message notifications on your phone if you’ve viewed them on your watch, and vice versa. That said, it also encourages you to purchase in-app stickers, which is why we recommend avoiding it.

Warranty, availability, and pricing

Verizon offers a standard 12-month limited warranty on the Wear24, which protects against defects in material and workmanship under normal use and service. If you’re claim is approved, the carrier will repair your damaged Wear24 using new or refurbished parts. It doesn’t cover moisture damage, “unauthorized” modifications, damage caused in shipping, or Wear24 devices purchased from unauthorized third parties.

The Verizon Wear24 is available from Verizon for $350 unlocked, or $300  on a two-year contract. It comes in steel, black and rose gold, and is available on Verizon’s website and brick-and-mortar stores.

Our Take

Verizon’s Wear24 is a pretty good smartwatch, but it needs to be cheaper. At $300 on a two-year contract, and $350 unlocked, it’s just not good enough to justify the asking price. The competition has sharper screens, heart-rate tracking features, ambient light sensors, Android Pay support, and more. The Wear24 handles Android Wear basics, like notifications, messaging, and watch faces, just fine. But its princely price makes it hard to recommend.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes. The ZTE Quartz, which is admittedly bigger and bulkier than the Wear24, is a good deal less expensive at $192. The LG Watch Style is a close second, but it’s $50 more.

If you’re the uncompromising type, consider the Huawei Watch 2 Sport or the LG Watch Sport for their better screens, heart-rate monitors, and NFC sensors that support Android Pay. The former, unlike the Wear24, doesn’t support 4G LTE, but it’s cheaper than the unlocked Wear24 at $300.

How long will it last?

The Wear24 is Verizon’s first Android Wear smartwatch, so it’s a little difficult to tell how long the carrier will support it. But if other Android Wear devices are any indication, we expect it to receive updates for at least 2 years.

Should you buy it?

No. Simply put, the Wear24 is an expensive smartwatch with deal-breaking shortcomings — namely, the lack of heart-rate monitor and support for Android Pay. There are far more competitive options at its $300 to $350 price range.

How to repost on Instagram

If there is one word at the heart of social media, it’s this: sharing. When people post something on social media, they want people — whether it’s their close friends and family, or the entire world — to see it. Photos, videos, and lame jokes flow freely, which makes it all the stranger that Instagram doesn’t have an easy, readily apparent way to share content you find in your feed. If you really want to learn how to repost on Instagram — an action we omitted from our roundup of some of the more popular Instagram tips and tricks — there are a couple things you can try. Sharing a photo of your friend’s latest creation or a touching graduation video isn’t as difficult as you might think.

Use a reposting app

App stores abhor vacuums. If there is a niche to be filled, some app developer will try to fill it, so it should come as no surprise that there are several apps available that allow users to repost content on Instagram, such as Repost for Instagram and Insta Repost. These apps tend to be free — with ads — and are pretty straightforward. As an example, we’ll use the apt-titled Insta Repost.

Step 1: Once you’ve downloaded and installed the app, open Instagram. Find a post you want to repost, and tap the button in upper-right corner that resembles three gray dots.

Step 2: Tap the button labeled Copy share URL.

Step 3a: Insta Repost will then automatically launch. You will be given a prompt allowing you to choose Repost now or Save to repost later. If you want to post immediately, choose the first option.

Step 3b: If you chose to Save to repost later, the post will be filed under the Saved section in Insta Repost, which you can access by tapping the star tab on the top. Then, when you want to repost said content, simply tap the saved post in question.

Step 4: Whether you choose to repost now or later, you will eventually arrive at a screen like the one featured below. Once here, tap the Repost button at the bottom to post the image or video to your Instagram account.

Take a screenshot and post it

There are plenty of reasons not to install a reposting app. Maybe you don’t want to clutter up your phone’s storage with more apps, or you don’t like the idea of giving yet another app access to your photos and files. Regardless, if you don’t want to use an app to repost, you can always just take a screenshot of a post you like and share that.

The process to take a screenshot differs from platform to platform, but, thankfully, we have guides on how to take a screenshot on an iPhone and how to take a screenshot on an Android phone. Once you take the screenshot, just go to Instagram and upload it as you would any other photo or video in your camera roll. Note that you should credit the creator of the original post!

Make your Windows 10 PC a lot prettier with new Windows Store themes

Why it matters to you

It’s easy to add some flair to your Windows 10 PC — just open the Windows Store and select from a number of free themes.

Windows has long offered ways to customize its look and feel. For example, you’ve been able to select the background image for your desktop, change the color scheme for Windows title bars and other elements, and choose your own sounds for various system events. In addition, themes have made it easy to select a specific look and feel with just a few mouse clicks.

Windows 10 allows for much of the same personalization and also offers a variety of themes. As of the Windows 10 Creators Update, Windows desktop themes are available in the Windows Store to download and install on your fully updated machine. They’re free, and Microsoft spent some time on the Windows blog announcing that some new themes are available.

As Microsoft describes Windows 10’s themes:

“Choose from endless options to make your PC yours, including hundreds of wallpapers, sound options, and custom accent colors. Themes include plants and flowers, landscapes, animals, natural wonders, cityscapes — anything to suit your style. The photography, art, and illustrations you see come from creators across the globe.”

Heading over to the Windows Store, you’ll find a solid selection of themes that can provide a real boost to your PC’s look and feel. Assuming that you have Creators Update installed, you can go to the Action Center > All settings > Personalization > Themes and click “Get more themes in the Store,” or click here to go straight to the Windows Store’s collection of themes.

When you apply your theme, it will change the color of your screen elements, apply a background, and more. You can select your own individual elements by heading to the Themes section of Settings and choosing what you want to customize. For example, you can choose your own system sounds by clicking on the Sounds option.

Whether you’re into cityscapes, nature scenes, or art, you’re likely to find a theme to fit your desires. Themes are free to download and install, and Microsoft promises to add new themes with each Windows 10 update. Themes are an option for U.S. users only, however, which one hopes will change at some point and open up the selection of free themes worldwide.

OnePlus 5 is now up for sale in India exclusively on Amazon

You can now pick up the OnePlus 5 in India.

The OnePlus 5 made its debut in India late last week, and the phone is now up for sale exclusively on Amazon India. The variant with 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage costs ₹32,999 ($510), and the version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage is available for ₹37,999 ($590).

Both variants are currently in stock, and if you’re ordering today, you’ll be able to take advantage of several launch day offers. Customers with SBI credit and debit cards get a flat ₹1,500 cashback, and you’ll be eligible to receive ₹500 in credit toward Kindle e-books once you sign in to the Kindle app. You can also get ₹250 as Amazon Pay balance after streaming a video on Amazon’s Prime Video.

OnePlus’ service partner Servify has teamed up with Kotak to offer subsidized 12-month accidental damage insurance for those opening a Kotak 811 account and paying ₹1,000. If you’re a Vodafone subscriber, you can get up to 75GB of free 4G data along with free access to Vodafone Play for three months.

As a refresher, the OnePlus 5 offers a 5.5-inch Full HD Optic AMOLED display, 2.45GHz Snapdragon 835, dual cameras at the back that include a 16MP sensor augmented by a 20MP telephoto lens, 16MP front camera, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3300mAh battery and Dash Charge. On the software front, you’re getting a relatively customization-free skin with OxygenOS 4.5 atop Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

The phone has a lot going for it, as Andrew Martonik noted in his detailed review:

You’re getting a jam-packed and future-proof spec sheet, an above-average display, solid speaker, good battery life, fast charging and a well-built aluminum body. The software is slick, fast and consistent in ways that few phones can match, and doesn’t include piles of features that get in your way.

Interested in seeing what all the fuss is about? Head on over to Amazon India from the link below to get your hands on the OnePlus 5.

See at Amazon India

T-Mobile launches speedy LTE-U service in six cities

The war over speedier LTE data is heating up in a big, big way. T-Mobile has launched LTE-U (that is, LTE riding on unlicensed frequencies) in parts of a handful of cities, including T-Mobile’s home turf in Bellevue as well as Brooklyn, Dearborn, Las Vegas, Richardson and Simi Valley. If you have a compatible device (just the Galaxy S8 for now), it’ll take advantage of public 5GHz wireless to give your service a boost. And if that’s not fast enough, both T-Mobile and AT&T are offering a peek at the next wave of not-quite-5G speeds.

Both carriers have announced that they’re field-testing LTE-LAA (LTE License Assisted Access) that promises hundreds of megabits per second by combining open 5GHz wireless with licensed airwaves. In practice, that could deliver performance better than your internet connection at home. AT&T’s San Francisco test managed a brisk 650Mbps, while T-Mobile’s Los Angeles experiment has reached an even quicker 741Mbps.

It’ll likely be a while before you see LAA in real life. Remember, AT&T’s existing faux 5G service is barely up and running — it’s going to take longer before a faster technology is ready for American networks. And that’s not including the need for manufacturers to hop aboard. Still, both tests are promising. Just as sped-up 3G made it easier to wait for LTE rollouts several years ago, LTE-LAA could give you a taste of 5G-like speeds while you wait for true 5G to reach your city.

Source: T-Mobile, AT&T

Apple buys a company making eye-tracking glasses

Apple wasn’t shy about its augmented reality plans at WWDC this year, and it’s backing up those goals with yet another acquisition. MacRumors has learned that Apple recently bought SensoMotoric Instruments, a German company that makes eye-tracking glasses and platforms for both augmented and virtual reality. It’s not discussing the terms of the deal or long-term plans (it only offered a stock confirmation to Axios), but the nature of SensoMotoric’s tech could hint at what Apple wants.

The glasses in question can follow your gaze in real time for all kinds of practical applications, such as improving athletic performance (by training athletes to focus on the right areas) or figuring out which store displays catch a shopper’s attention. In VR, you can use the eye tracking to either control the interface or minimize motion sickness.

Apple is reportedly testing augmented reality glasses, so it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see the company use SensoMotoric’s work in its own hardware. Don’t be sure that this will result in a tangible product, though. It’s easy to see Apple improving augmented reality on iOS devices by using the front camera to see what you’re staring at. Just don’t count on VR uses — while Apple is embracing VR support, it’s more interested in AR as of late. Whatever happens, the deal holds a lot of potential.

Via: AppleInsider, Axios

Source: MacRumors

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Apple Pencil for $85

Apple today began selling a certified refurbished Apple Pencil for $85 on its online store in the United States. A brand new Apple Pencil costs $99 in the country, so purchasing a refurbished model yields a savings of $14. The deal does not yet appear to be available in any other regions.

A refurbished Apple Pencil isn’t brand new, but Apple says it undergoes a thorough cleaning process and inspection to ensure it meets Apple’s quality standards, including full functionality testing. It’s then repackaged in a new box with a Lightning adapter, an extra tip, and the appropriate documentation.

Apple Pencil is a stylus designed specifically to work with iPad Pro, giving artists a tool with a level of precision far beyond that of a finger.

Designed to mimic the feel and sensation of using a pen or a pencil, the Apple Pencil has built-in sensors to determine orientation and angle, and to detect a range of forces for pressure-sensitive drawing and writing. Apple has optimized the iPad Pro and iOS to ensure the Apple Pencil has minimal latency.

With iOS 11, iPad Pro users are able to add handwriting and drawings alongside text, and search handwritten notes using Spotlight.

A refurbished Apple Pencil comes with Apple’s standard one-year limited hardware warranty covering manufacturing defects.

Tags: refurbished, Apple Pencil
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What’s on TV: ‘Crash Bandicoot,’ ‘Modern Warfare’ and ‘Okja’

This week Netflix is preparing to premiere its next big film, from director Bong Joon Ho (Mother, The Host, Snowpiercer) called Okja. It’s also time for the return of two familiar video games, as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is available in standalone form on the PS4, along with the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy that has been fully rebuilt, retuned and remastered. The latest Fast and the Furious movie is ready for streaming on-demand, while on TV it’s time for a series finale with Pretty Little Liars, as well as season finales for Doctor Who and iZombie. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

• The Fate of the Furious (VOD)
• Power Rangers (4K)
• T2 Trainspotting (4K)
• Trespass
• CHiPS
• The Pink Panther Film Collection
• Straw Dogs (Criterion)
• The Big O: Complete Collection
• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy (PS4 – 6/30)
• Diablo III: Eternal Collection (Xbox One, PS4)
• Diablo III: Rise of the Necromancer (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
• Final Fantasy XV: Episode Prompto (PS4, Xbox One)
• Valkyria Revolution (PS4, Xbox One)
• Elite Dangerous (PS4)
• Danganropa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls (PS4, PC)
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (PS4)
• Elite: Dangerous Horizons (PS4)
• Cryptark (PS4)
• Poi (PS4, Xbox One)
• AereA (PS4, Xbox One)

Monday

• Big3 Basketball (tape delayed), Fox Sports 1, 8PM
• American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 8PM
• So You Think You Can Dance?, Fox, 8PM
• Shadowhunters, Freeform, 8PM
• 2017 NBA Awards, TNT, 9PM
• Preacher, AMC, 9PM
• POV (season premiere), PBS, 9PM
• Superhuman, Fox, 9PM
• Stitchers, Freeform, 9PM
• Whose Line is it Anyway?, CW, 9PM
• Drone Racing League, ESPN2, 10PM
• Talking Preacher, AMC, 10PM
• Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge, NBC, 10PM
• #Murder, TV One, 10PM
• The Therapist, Viceland, 10:30PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11PM

Tuesday

• Casual, Hulu, 3AM
• Chris D’elia: Man on Fire, Netflix, 3AM
• America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
• Pretty Little Liars (series finale), Freeform, 8PM
• WWE Smackdown, USA, 8PM
• Animal Kingdom, TNT, 9PM
• The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros, MTV, 9PM
• Famous in Love, Freeform, 9PM
• Deadliest Catch, Discovery, 9PM
• iZombie (season finale), CW, 9PM
• Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
• Queen Sugar, OWN, 10PM
• Wrecked, TBS, 10PM
• Fear Factor, MTV, 10PM
• Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
• World of Dance, NBC, 10PM
• Team Ninja Warrior (season finale), USA, 10PM
• Downward Dog (season finale), 10 & 10:30PM
• The Jim Jefferies Show, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
• Desus and Mero, Viceland, 11PM

Wednesday

• Okja, Netflix, 3AM
• Big Brother (season premiere), CBS, 8PM
• Little Big Shots, NBC, 8PM
• Kingdom, DirecTV Audience, 8PM
• Hood Adjacent with James Davis (series premiere), 9PM
• Big Star Little Star, USA, 9PM
• Catfish, MTV, 9PM
• The F Word with Gordon Ramsey, Fox, 9PM
• The Magicians, Syfy, 9PM
• Major Crimes, TNT, 9PM
• Broadchurch (season premiere), BBC America, 10PM
• Cleverman (season premiere), Sundance, 10PM
• Queen Sugar, Own, 10PM
• Blood Drive, Syfy, 10PM
• To Tell the Truth, ABC, 10PM
• Lip Sync Battle, Spike TV, 9:30 & 10PM
• The Ultimate Fighter, FS1, 10PM
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, TBS, 10:30PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11PM

Thursday

• Beat Shazam, Fox, 8PM
• Boy Band, ABC, 8PM
• Hollywood Game Night, NBC, 8PM
• Battle of the Network Stars (series premiere), ABC, 9PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
• The Wall, NBC, 9PM
• The Tunnel, PBS, 9PM
• Love Connection, Fox, 9PM
• King of the Road, Viceland, 9PM
• Zoo (season premiere), CBS, 10PM
• The Mist, Spike TV, 10PM
• The Night Shift, NBC, 10PM
• The Gong Show, ABC, 10PM
• Queen of the South, USA, 10PM
• Party Legends, Viceland, 10PM
• American Boyband, Viceland, 10:30PM
• Comedy Knockout, TruTV, 11PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11PM

Friday

• Gypsy (S1), Netflix, 3AM
• All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals (S2), Amazon Prime, 3AM
• Little Witch Academia (S1), Netflix, 3AM
• Danger & Eggs, Amazon Prime, 3AM
• Vice, HBO, 7:30PM
• Killjoys (season premiere), Syfy, 8PM
• Masters of Illusion (season premiere), CW, 8PM
• Dark Matter, Syfy, 9PM
• Wynonna Earp, Syfy, 10PM
• Tanked, Animal Planet, 10PM
• Playing House, USA, 11 & 11:30PM

Saturday

• Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series @ Daytona, NBC, 7PM
• Doubt, CBS, 8PM
• Doctor Who (season finale), BBC America, 8:30PM
• Turn, AMC, 9PM
• In an Instant, ABC, 9PM
• Orphan Black, BBC America, 10PM

Sunday

• Sunday Night Baseball, ESPN, 8PM
• The Wrong Crush, Lifetime, 8PM
• Power, Starz, 9PM
• Claws, TNT, 9PM
• Grantchester, PBS, 9PM
• American Grit, Fox, 9PM
• Fear the Walking Dead, AMC, 9PM
• Talking Dead, AMC, 10PM
• Prime Suspect, PBS, 10PM
• Kevin Hart Presents, Comedy Central, 11PM
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM
• Legends of Chamberlain Heights, Comedy Central, 11:30PM

(All times listed are ET)

Astronomers capture best picture yet of the star in Orion’s armpit

Betelgeuse isn’t just an etymological inspiration for Michael Keaton’s best role, it’s a colossal star forming the right shoulder in the well-known constellation Orion. Astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Northern Chile to photograph it, producing the most detailed image yet of any star besides our own sun.

While scientists knew that Betelgeuse’s surface wasn’t uniform, this high-resolution photo reveals that its inner temperature isn’t, either. These temperature fluctuations on the star’s surface resemble those happening on our sun’s, a similarity more stunning due to the differences between the solar bodies: Betelgeuse is 1400 times larger, meaning if it sat at the center of our solar system, its edges would almost reach Jupiter.

The high-resolution photo might also tell us about the gigantic star’s future as it continues to mysteriously lose mass. Astronomer and author of a paper accompanying the image recently published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Iain McDonald of the University of Manchester, told Gizmodo that Betelgeuse’s eventual supernova will produce different elements depending on whether it explodes sooner or later. The image will likely give more clues on when that might happen — but also how elemental production factors in to the universe’s creation.

“We want to understand how the process [of element production] works in stars that are long gone,” McDonald told Gizmodo, “since it’s those stars that let us know how the elements we’re made of were made.”

Via: Gizmodo, DIAS

Source: “The inhomogeneous sub-millimeter atmosphere of Betelgeuse” (PDF)