Ming-Chi Kuo Predicts iPhone 8 Will Omit Touch ID Entirely, Come in Limited Color Options

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today made ten predictions related to the 2017 debut of the “iPhone 8,” “iPhone 7s,” and “iPhone 7s Plus,” which are expected to be announced in September and launch sometime afterwards (via StreetInsider).

Kuo’s predictions today largely fall in line with all the rumors we’ve been hearing about the 2017 iPhones over the past few months, with a few new tidbits that suggest the iPhone 8 will be industry-leading in terms of its edge-to-edge design, come in limited color options, and that Apple may be removing Touch ID completely from the OLED smartphone.

A combination of leaked iPhone 8 parts via Benjamin Geskin
According to Kuo, the iPhone 8 will have “the highest screen-to-body ratio of any smartphone currently available worldwide,” thanks to a drastic reduction in bezels and an edge-to-edge display that we’ve recently been seeing in various renders. A “notch” for the front-facing camera and sensors will be the only noticeable part of the iPhone 8’s bezel design, Kuo said.

Kuo’s new predictions also continue to corroborate the iPhone 8’s lack of a physical Home button, but he goes on to state that Touch ID will not be incorporated into the OLED smartphone’s display. The analyst didn’t provide any mention of Touch ID moving elsewhere on the iPhone 8, like the back of the device or lock button as has been previously rumored and largely debunked.

Kuo instead referenced advanced features like “3D sensing for facial recognition,” suggesting Apple is ready to ditch Touch ID completely for a new form of biometric security. The analyst said that Apple is still facing technical challenges with implementing Touch ID into a full-screen front-facing display.

“We predict the OLED model won’t support fingerprint recognition, reasons being: (1) the full-screen design doesn’t work with existing capacitive fingerprint recognition, and (2) the scan-through ability of the under-display fingerprint solution still has technical challenges, including: (i) requirement for a more complex panel pixel design; (ii) disappointing scan-through of OLED panel despite it being thinner than LCD panel; and (iii) weakened scan-through performance due to overlayered panel module. As the new OLED iPhone won’t support under-display fingerprint recognition, we now do not expect production ramp-up will be delayed again (we previously projected the ramp-up would be postponed to late October or later).”

Here’s Kuo’s full list of iPhone 8 predictions:

1: Apple will roll out three iPhone models in 2H17, including an all-new design 5.2” (or 5.8” depending on the definition of screen size in use) OLED iPhone & LCD models including 4.7” & 5.5” (front form factor design similar to current ones).

2: OLED iPhone will adopt full-screen design, with the highest screen-to-body ratio of any smartphone currently available worldwide (thanks to a notch display design); the OLED model will also come with a virtual Home button, though the button will not support fingerprint recognition.

3: OLED iPhone will support 3D sensing for facial recognition & improved selfie quality.

4: OLED iPhone & 5.5” LCD iPhone will both come with DRAM capacity of 3GB (for dual-camera requirements), while 4.7” version will only use 2GB DRAM (for only single camera).

5: Three new models will all come with 64GB and 256GB storage options.

6: All three new models will have a Lightning port; however, there will be an embedded USB-C power delivery IC for higher charging efficiency.

7: The output power of the receiver & speaker of OLED iPhone will be more consistent to create better stereo effects.

8: To maintain its boutique image, we think the OLED version will offer fewer options for casing colors than LCD iPhone models.

9: We predict October-November & August-September as production ramp-up schedules of OLED iPhone & LCD iPhone, respectively. “For optimized promotional effect, we think Apple may unveil the three models simultaneously in September, though the launch date of the OLED version may trail that of LCD models, and supply tightness may not improve before 1H18.”

10: We forecast shipments of the three new models in 2017F will be 80-85mn units, with an equal split between OLED & LCD versions.

Another new tidbit includes Kuo’s belief that the iPhone 8 will come in fewer color options than the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus, which the analyst said will help Apple maintain the OLED iPhone’s “boutique image.”

Otherwise, Kuo’s predictions fall in line with previous reports we’ve seen on the 2017 iPhones, including 64GB and 256GB storage capacities, 3GB of RAM for iPhone 8 and iPhone 7s Plus and 2GB of RAM for iPhone 7s, and a Lightning port with the addition of USB-C Power Delivery for faster charging.

Kuo still believes that all iPhones will be revealed in September, but the iPhone 8 will see a wide availability well after the LCD models thanks to a later production ramp-up schedule. In May, Kuo predicted that a “worst case scenario” is also possible, where “severe supply shortages” will persist throughout 2017 for users looking to get their hands on iPhone 8, with supply tightness not improving until the first quarter of 2018.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
Tag: Ming-Chi Kuo
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What is Circle with Disney, how can it moderate kids’ internet usage and how do you set it up?

No matter how responsible or communicative your children are, ensuring their online activity is safe and healthy is no easy matter. For parents this is a challenge on many levels. What content is children accessing? Which devices are they using to go online? What time of day are they connecting and how long are they spending at different activities?

While modern devices come with their own parental controls, these systems don’t speak to each other. Setting limits on access YouTube on a console can mean that children simply migrate to a different screen once this has been used up.

The Nintendo Switch may be leading the way with its ability to report on what children are playing, but when these limits are used up kids can simply move over to another console, such as an Xbox One or Playstation 4.

That’s where Circle with Disney comes in. It is a one-stop shop to control a family’s internet usage at source. So here’s everything you need to know about the cunning device, including how to set it up.

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What is Circle with Disney?

Circle with Disney is a physical box that wirelessly connects to your home network to monitor, control and report on internet activity.

It’s clever because it does this for all the devices you have in the house and can assign each device to different user-specific limits. Better still, like the Nintendo Switch’s parental controls, you control Circle from an app on your smartphone and get messages directly when limits are exceeded.

It can therefore enable control over specific devices in the home, such as those used predominantly by your children, without impacting on the internet abilities of parents’ devices.

How does Circle with Disney work?

Plugging in and setting up a Circle with Disney box is an eye opening experience. In a matter of days you can clearly see how long each family member is spending at different online activities no matter which devices they are using.

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This information enables you to set up time limits for particular activities – YouTube, Xbox or Pinterest for example – or to block particular sites and services that are not appropriate. Some games can also be specifically limited – like Roblox, which has been really helpful in our family. Once the time is up for a particular user they get the message on their devices and need to ask parents for an extension.

Along with time limits on apps and websites, Circle can also specify bedtimes and off-times for each user. This is very useful ensuring your kids don’t stay up too late, or get delayed checking Instagram in the morning before school.

Performance is good, with the system not slowing down performance of your internet connection and proving itself super stable. One snag to date has been on the change from GMT to BST. Circle failed to update its clock and so the time-specific limits were out by an hour. The guide suggests that connecting a new user to the device with the new time is a work around but we couldn’t get this to work. Instead, we had to set the limits back an hour in the app. This is likely to be resolved in the near future.

How to set up a Circle with Disney box

As with any new technology in the home, it’s essential you set up your Circle with Disney box correctly. So here’s the definitive guide for setting up Circle and reclaiming control of the devices and online services in your household.

Step 1: Unbox and plug in

Circle comes with simple instructions and is easy to set up. Take it out the box, plug it in via any USB power port and then connect to it via your smartphone or tablet.

Download the Circle app. Ensure this is the app called “Circle Home”, don’t just search on app stores for “Circle” as there are other, non-related apps called that.

Step 2: Connect to your network

The Circle Home app will detect your Circle hardware. If it doesn’t, press the button on top to reset it and turn it on. There should be a green light if it is functioning correctly.

The app will then prompt you to connect to the Circle hardware via the Wi-Fi connection on your device. Once that is done you are ready to set up devices and users.

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Step 3: Setup users

The next step is to go through your devices identifying each one, and naming them. This is particularly important if you have multiple tablets or phones in the home as you need to know which is which. This should also include games consoles, Smart TVs, family computers, as well as smartphones and tablets.

With each device named you can set up user profiles for the people in your family. Some time and planning is worthwhile here. You may want to set up all the children’s devices in one “Kids” profile as this ensures they don’t trade tablets and online time.

Alternatively, and this will depend on the age of your children, you may want to have different restrictions, bed times and off times for each of them. If this is the case you need to create their own profiles.

The final consideration here is if you are going to connect Circle to one of the rewards apps. This can grant them more online time for completing household chores or performance at school. If this would be useful you need to have separate profiles for each child to be able to apply rewards individually.

Step 4: Check “Insights”

Once you have the basic settings established, it’s best to let your family use their devices for a few days to see how it works. This will provide valuable information on the “Insights” tab on how they are using their online time.

This information can be used to set additional limits to the apps and services that are appearing there as well as tweak limits on their online time.

Step 5: Set up “Off Time”

Once you have Circle set up as you want it, the Off Time settings can add a useful extra layer of control. For example, in the morning children will have plenty of their online allowance left but may be distracted on devices rather than getting ready for school.

Setting an Off Time for the hour before they leave for school is a convenient way to avoid this distraction and get them out the door on time.

Step 7: Notifications

Whenever a time limit is reached or new device enters the home you are notified via a message on Circle. It’s worth ensuring these messages are forwarded to smartwatches and other devices to give you an instant heads up when something happens.

For example, when a child’s YouTube allowance for the day is consumed you will receive a message before they realise the limit has been hit. This enables parents to be one step ahead of children’s requests for more time.

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Step 8: Close loopholes

As the family gets used to having their online time mediated in this way there are inevitable loopholes that will emerge. Limiting a child from accessing YouTube on his or her iPad will naturally lead to them using the PC for this activity instead.

Ensuring you don’t have any devices unassigned to a user enables you to limit activity across the whole home. It can also be a nice way to ensure certain activities are enjoyed on screens in shared family spaces.

Step 9: Guests and parents

While Circle will largely be used by parents to understand and control access to online services by their children, it can also be useful for adults in the home. Creating a parent user enables you to set limits to using the phone before bed or while enjoying weekend time together.

When other children come to visit the family, it’s a good idea to name their device and add it to a guests group. This not only ensures you understand what they are doing online with friends but also notifies you when any new devices enter the home.

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Conclusion

Circle with Disney is unlike any other internet control service we’ve used. While it is possible to achieve similar functionality if you know how to dig into your router settings or customise complex user profiles, Circle offers all this in a simple and well thought out interface that anyone can set up.

Priced at £99 in the UK and $99 in the US, it’s not the cheapest way to control your family’s internet consumption but it does offer a lot of value. For parents, being so easy to set up, getting instant notifications and seeing their children’s online behaviour change overnight makes it worth its weight in gold.

At internetmatters.org parents can find all the advice they will need to keep their children safe online. Designed specifically for parents, the site offers a wealth of up-to-date, unbiased information and advice about how to deal with online safety. Parents can learn about the latest issues and technologies, get great tips on how to talk about online safety with their children and get the best advice on dealing with issues and taking action. Created with experts, Internet Matters provides detailed information, but also signposts to best-in-class resources from individual expert organisations. Our goal is to ensure parents can always access the information that they need, in a format that is clear and concise.

Microsoft’s cloud focus could mean yet more layoffs

Microsoft is going through another reorganization that could result in “thousands” of layoffs, particularly to its sales force, according to TechCrunch, Bloomberg and others. The company is reportedly shifting teams around to emphasize Azure cloud sales, rather than boxed software, which is rapidly becoming a dying business. So far, there’s no news on exactly which groups and regions will be affected.

There’s also no word on how this affects Microsoft’s Surface division, which has seen solid growth until early this year, when sales dropped by 26 percent. However, Microsoft chalked that up to increased competition and its aging lineup of devices. Since then, Microsoft has unveiled a new Surface Pro and the all-new Surface Laptop, which has generally met with solid reviews.

Last year, Microsoft laid off COO Kevin Turner, who oversaw a massive group of 51,000 employees dedicated to sales, marketing, operations and corporate technology. The division was subsequently broken into pieces with Judson Althoff heading the business sales division. Althoff recently criticized Microsoft’s approach to selling Azure, its cloud computing platform, saying it was still using decades-old strategies developed for physical software.

Last year around this time, Microsoft said it would cut 2,850 jobs, shortly after letting 1,850 staff go — all mostly related to its pretty-much-defunct smartphone business. The timing for the latest layoffs isn’t a coincidence, as the company’s fiscal year is nearly over and it’s about to release earnings for its final quarter. The company currently employs around 121,500 people, including 10,000 from its $26.2 billion LinkedIn acquisition.

Source: Bloomberg, Seattle Times, Techcrunch

Gaming smartphones are still a thing in China

If you’ve been searching for a crossover between a smartphone and a PS Vita, look no further. In China, a company by the name of iReadyGo had been making Android-powered gaming handhelds for years — you may recall its shameless PS Vita ripoff back in 2011. The manufacturer then went on to release several dedicated gaming smartphones and was eventually acquired by Snail Mobile, a local gaming-centric mobile virtual network operator, in mid-2014.

Following the W3D from 2015, the company plans to release a new Android smartphone at the ChinaJoy expo later this month, but I managed to spot one lurking around at MWC Shanghai. This upcoming Snail Mobile i7 is a surprisingly well-specced gaming phone for its 1,899 yuan (about $280) price point, especially with its 6-inch 1080p touchscreen, 6GB RAM, 64GB storage, stereo speakers, dual SIM slots and removable 6,000 mAh battery.

Now, the i7 is powered by MediaTek’s 10-core, tri-cluster Helio X20 (MT6797) processor, so it’s more of a mid-range device. You obviously wouldn’t be getting the same level of performance as you would with Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 835, but it’s still a good chipset for this price. It also features a 5-megapixel front camera and a 16-megapixel main camera on the back, though there’s no word on what kind of image quality to expect from them. I couldn’t confirm whether there’s quick charging for the massive 6,000 mAh battery, but at least there’s a USB Type-C port on the device.

On the gaming side, the i7 comes with a standard set of buttons: a D-pad and a joystick on the left, four action buttons plus another joystick on the right and two shoulder buttons. I got to play a Metal Slug-like game on a pre-production device for a short while and everything felt fine, though I’d obviously need some more hands-on time to make sure that the buttons were durable. A Snail Mobile rep added that the final version will have a more polished finish, which is something to look forward to at the July 30th launch.

Unlike most random Chinese smartphones, Snail Mobile is actually planning to bring its i7 overseas, starting with Hong Kong in August and then the Western markets in the very near future. Better yet, there will also be a premium model with 8GB of RAM plus 128GB of storage later this year, and it’ll apparently cost just a little above 2,000 yuan ($295). It’ll be interesting to see how much traction this peculiar product gets.

Apple Reportedly Investing in LG Display’s New OLED Plant, Will Be Solely Devoted to iPhones

While Samsung remains the world’s the dominant supplier of OLED panels and will supply Apple with up to 92 million OLED screens over the next two years, a new report today suggests that Apple is looking to diversify its supply chain by investing $1.75-2.62 billion into LG Display’s OLED manufacturing. Specifically, Apple and LG Display are said to be considering a deal that would funnel Apple’s investment into LG Display’s new “E6” OLED plant, which would be “exclusively dedicated to Apple orders” (via The Korea Herald).

LG Display’s production on OLED screens is still far off, with its output for Apple predicted to start sometime in early 2019, which still places Samsung as the reigning supplier of OLED components for Apple over the next few years. No deal between Apple and LG Display is confirmed yet, with the companies having “tentatively” agreed upon the investment plans and more finalized details expected to come later in the month.

Apple is reportedly in talks with LG Display to invest about 2 to 3 trillion won (US$1.75-2.62 billion) into the Korean display maker’s new OLED production lines exclusively dedicated to Apple orders.

“Samsung Display is the only display maker that meets Apple’s strict quality criteria for now,” said an industry source on condition of anonymity. “LG Display is said to be meeting about 70 percent level of the requirements, while Chinese display makers are still struggling to catch up with that of LG.”

For the 2017 line of iPhones, rumors have been pointing towards the “iPhone 8” as having an OLED screen, while the iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus will include standard LCD panels. The iPhone 8 is believed to include a 5.8-inch edge-to-edge display, glass body, wireless charging, no physical Home button, and potentially 3D sensing features for facial recognition.

A report out of Korea earlier this year stated that Apple aims to make every iPhone with an OLED screen by 2019, which would fall in line with today’s report of Apple’s and LG Display’s deal being eyed for a 2019 production ramp-up on OLED screens.

Tags: OLED, LG Display
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With Panasonic’s help, Denver is building a smart city within a city

Your city is dumb. The potholed streets, coin-operated parking meters, and drafty brick buildings many of us interact with every day haven’t changed much in a century. But it’s finally happening. From Oslo to San Diego, cities across the globe are installing technology to gather data in the hopes of saving money, becoming cleaner, reducing traffic, and improving urban life. In Digital Trends’ Smart Cities series, we’ll examine how smart cities deal with everything from energy management, to disaster preparedness, to public safety, and what it all means for you.

You can’t really talk about what’s happening in Denver without mentioning what’s happening 5,800 miles away in Fujisawa, the Japanese town Panasonic built on top of its old factory outside Tokyo. Its 600 homes and 400 apartments — all sold out but still filling up — were designed to withstand earthquakes, are all outfitted with solar panels, and are all hooked up to the smart grid. It took over a decade to get Fujisawa up and running, but Panasonic wanted to reproduce it in the U.S. using an already established city.

And it chose Denver.

What’s Denver got?

“We had previously scoured 25, 30 cities throughout the United States.” Jarrett Wendt, executive vice president of strategic innovations at Panasonic, told Digital Trends. “We struggled, frankly, to come up with a business model and plan for replicability.” But Denver offered something special: Leaders promised Panasonic they wouldn’t push back as it tried to implement new technologies. “That was the most compelling argument we heard,” said Wendt. “Essentially the mayor and the governor said, ‘We’re in.’”

“With Pocketgov, residents can report problems, ask questions, and get information about vital city services.”

While the receptive government was helpful, it wasn’t the only factor that brought Panasonic to Denver. Near the airport, at the second-to-last stop off the commuter rail line is Peña Station. Look at it now on Google Maps, and it’s just a big patch of dirt, about 10 miles from the Denver International Airport. The 400 acres that Panasonic and its partners plan to develop aren’t subject to the typical processes that come with being part of a municipality. “Ultimately because of the partnership and the fact that we’re land investors, we essentially have the ability to pull the trigger on new and emerging technology.” Without having to wait for request for proposals, in 18 months, Panasonic has set up Colorado’s first microgrid, smart street lamps, and signed a partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to test self-driving vehicles on a stretch of Interstate 70.

The city has also found ways to automate some services and reduce wait times at the DMV. If you go to the city of Denver’s website, you’ll see a list of things you can do online, from paying parking tickets, to adopting a pet, to checking recreational center hours. “Denver has also launched a mobile app, Pocketgov, as a one-stop-shop to city services,” said Jenna Espinoza, spokeswoman for the office of Mayor Michael B. Hancock. “With Pocketgov, residents can report problems, ask questions, and get information about vital city services like snow plowing, street sweeping, waste services, and more.”

If you wander around downtown Denver, you might notice IKE, which stands for interactive kiosk experience – though you might not realize everything it’s capable of. The interface has big bubbles reminiscent of a mobile phone. It can text you directions from its location, send you the selfie it just snapped for you, and give you real-time train data.

Putting on the brakes

It’s not just autonomous vehicles, but connected cars in general that are key to Denver’s vision of a smart city. By the end of 2022, 20 major car companies — making up 99 percent of the U.S. market — will make emergency automatic braking systems standard. If the system detects a collision is about to happen, for instance, it will apply the brakes.

But many cars already have onboard computers, and Panasonic wants to leverage all the information contained on them. “What we’re doing over the next four years is designing the real first holistic implementation of that integrated software stack,” said Wendt. That’s the in-car software that controls everything from windshield wipers to the traction control in your car, and Wendt thinks companies like Ford and Toyota could do a lot with the information.

Cars could use short-range radio frequencies to communicate with each other, as well as lights and highway signs.

On Colorado’s snowy stretches of highway, for instance, cars could use short-range radio frequencies to communicate with each other, as well as lights and highway signs. They could send each other information about the traffic or weather conditions, so if everyone’s swerving around some junk in the road, your car could alert you to slow down or switch lanes ahead of time.

Away from the highway, Peña Station Next, the neighborhood that will be connected to the rail line, ought to have fewer vehicles on the road.  Easymile will deploy its EZ10 autonomous shuttles in a couple months. The driverless, 12-passenger shuttles will bring residents from around the development to the train station. “Baby boomers are consistently saying they don’t want to be sent out to pasture,” said Wendt. With the shuttle and easy access to the train, cars become less necessary. For everyday travel, the 400 acres will be designed as mixed-use, live-work hubs. The main modes of transportation will be walking and biking, along with the EZ10s. As with other initiatives, the neighborhood, which Wendt calls a mobility center, will act as test-bed. “Let’s test it in a controlled ecosystem on this 400 acres, then we can maybe go to an outlier in the airport, then we have 18 or 19 positions within the city,” he said.

Shedding light

By treating Peña Station Next as a guinea pig community, Denver can dip a toe into new technology pools before jumping in with both feet. Take smart street lights. “There’s little debate whether or not this some of the more impactful technology that can really affect cities in multiple areas, but the deployment of them has been a bear,” said Wendt.

Utility companies often own the existing poles. In Denver, 90 percent of the 50,000 street lamps, are owned by Xcel Energy. If the city wants to not only swap out incandescent bulbs for LEDs but also make them smart, it needs to appeal to utilities’ bottom line.

What proof is there that adding cameras or sensors will pay off? For one thing, pollution sensors could help officials know if the city is on track to meet greenhouse gas targets for its 2020 sustainability goals. Wendt says by deploying these smart lights in Peña, Denver then has real data about improved snow removal, enhanced security, and better parking. “You have to have kind of a playground where you can showcase and then implement with great alacrity,” said Wendt. He expects similar results to come of the carbon-neutral district. Ensuring the area’s buildings and homes meet LEED Gold standards will deliver valuable metrics and could provide a blueprint for future construction.

Denver’s green streak continues when it comes to energy options as well. Colorado is a founding member of the Governors’ Wind & Solar Energy Coalition, and Wendt thinks Denver’s diverse energy options give utility companies the opportunity to act as a service provider: “What I would suspect is that Colorado will lead the way in offering several options for customers to choose whether they want their energy from traditional fossil fuels or solar and wind or a combination.”

The nature of its location means Denver has some challenges not every potential smart city faces, like snow removal. With 4K cameras, officials could have a better view of streets. “Right now if it snows, there’s still a human decision,” said Wendt. “They deploy all of their trucks to the tune of $100,000 each time. If you could be more pointed, meaning you have access to what those intersections look or what those streets look like from a 4K perspective, you could absolutely map out a more strategic roll out.”

“Deployment of smart streetlights has been a bear.”

If the thought of being on camera whenever you step into downtown Denver makes you squirm, Wendt thinks you’re being naive if you don’t think it’s already happening in cities across the camera. “If you’re already on camera, let’s make those cameras actually legitimate and clear enough to actually mean something,” he said. “Instead of blurry images, let’s have imagery that matters.” And while the city may have use for measuring pedestrian foot traffic, he said with Panasonic’s system every facial image is blurred automatically. What about cybersecurity? Wendt mentioned Dallas, which recently had its sirens hacked to blare in the middle of the night. “I don’t think anything is hack-proof,” he admitted.

Espinoza said Denver’s Information Governance Committee adjusts policy as necessary to keep information transparent, yet protect residents. “For example, with property data, anyone could place a request for personal information on homeownership for a particular house, but technology has made it easy to look up multiple houses, by address or name, very quickly,” she said. “The availability of the data hasn’t changed, but accessibility has.” A real estate agent would have legitimate use for such information and it would make their job easier, but the consequences could be serious for someone escaping a domestic violence situation. “This requires more thoughtfulness on the part of government on how to treat these instances in a case by case matter,” said Espinoza.

The smartlight at the end of the tunnel

There isn’t a projected date for when Peña will be fully operational. Even Fujisawa isn’t 100 percent complete yet. In some ways, the transformation of Denver is just getting started. In others, it’s already been a long haul. “It’s almost like a hilarious statement to say that a baseball stadium spearheaded this, but it did,” said Wendt of Coors Stadium, which opened in 1995. “That moment in time began to transform the downtown area.”

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“The city’s population has increased 25 percent since 2000,” said Espinoza. “We’re adding more than 1,000 people a month.” The city is feeling the squeeze, especially when it comes to traffic. “We recently spent $30 million to add one lane for one mile to a major north-south arterial, and we are preparing to spend $1.2 billion to add lanes to Interstate 70 and reconnect the urban street grid northeast of downtown,” she said. “These are important improvements, but they are built on an outdated supply model that we cannot sustain financially and which do not contribute to the human fabric of our city.”

If Peña turns out to be a reliable source for testing solutions that then get expanded, it could help Denver manage that growth. “I think you’re probably going to look at a city that has grown rapidly over 20 years but has managed to have a real roadmap,” Wendt predicted.

Like a phoenix from the flames, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is back

Why it matters to you

Samsung is giving some people the chance to buy a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 phone that (probably) won’t explode.

The Galaxy Note 7, which Samsung previously recalled due to a problem which caused some batteries to explode, has been re-introduced as the Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition. The new phone will initially be released in South Korea in limited numbers; but Samsung hasn’t entirely ruled out launching the device outside its home market in the future.

If you’re questioning why you’d want to buy a phone that once had the unfortunate desire to burst into flames, it’s not exactly the same as before. Samsung hasn’t reused returned Galaxy Note 7 phones for the Note 7 Fan Edition, or Note 7 FE as it’s also known; but has chosen to refurbish the Note 7 phones that hadn’t been sold. Therefore the devices are made of unused components, rather than ones which may have been compromised before.

The big internal alteration is a new 3,200mAh battery, down from the 3,500mAh cell used in the Galaxy Note 7 when it was originally launched. The battery’s physical size and proximity to the device’s body was a contributing factor to the Note 7’s problems, and altering the design like this should avoid the same thing happening again. Additionally, Samsung says the battery and phone have been through a, “rigorous eight-point battery safety test.” Samsung is highly unlikely to put out a second Note 7 phone that has even the slightest chance of exploding.

Another alteration is the addition of the software used on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, including the Bixby virtual assistant. Samsung would have almost certainly updated the original Note 7’s software to include Bixby at some point, should the phone have stayed on sale. It’s not clear if Bixby’s complete functionality has been carried across, but Bixby Home and Reminder are both mentioned. The hardware appears to be identical, with the S Pen stylus, IP68 water resistance, plus the iris recognition feature. You’ll know a Galaxy Note 7 Fan Edition is in your hands because it has “Fan Edition” engraved on the back.

Samsung will put 400,000 Note 7 Fan Edition phones on sale in South Korea on July 7 for the local equivalent of about $610. That’s around $200 less than the Note 7 cost at launch. The Note 7 Fan Edition’s release not only allows Samsung to claw back some of the investment it made in producing the device, but also minimize the environmental impact that would have been caused by disposing of so many unused phones.

Will the Note 7 Fan Edition be sold elsewhere? Samsung says it will decide if the phone is sold overseas at a later date. Rumors of a refurbished Galaxy Note 7 have spread for a while, but sales in the U.S. have rarely been mentioned.

How to set up Google Home with multiple users

Google can differentiate between up to six Google accounts, making it easy for the whole house to use!

Google Home works by recognizing your voice, letting you listen to music, add items to your shopping list and even check the day’s news. With multi-user support, that goes a step further allowing up to six different accounts to link to a single Google Home. This means that every account can receive personalized responses from Google Home to help them on their day.

We’ve got the details on using Google Home with multiple users here!

Note: Multi-user support is only available in the U.S. and the UK at the moment.

• How to add an additional account to Google Home
• How to adjust Google Home preferences
• How to personalize the news sources Google Home reads to you

How to add an additional account to Google Home

When adding an account that does not belong to you, the user will need to go through the setup process on their own phone. This includes teaching Google Home to recognize their voice so that their preferences are used when talking.

Open Google Home.
Tap the device icon in the upper right corner.

Tap Link your Account (you may see “Multi-user account is available” instead).

Tap Continue.
Teach Google Home your voice by following the commands on screen.

Tap Continue.

How to adjust your preferences with Google Home

Open Google Home.
Tap the device icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

Tap the menu button for Google Home (it looks like three vertical dots).

Tap Settings.

Tap More under Google Assistant settings.

Tap the feature you would like to adjust.
Tap a checkbox to change your preferences.

Tap the back arrow to save your changes.

How to change the News sources Google Home reads to you

Open Google Home.
Tap the device icon in the upper right corner of the screen.

Tap the menu button for Google Home (it looks like three vertical dots).

Tap Settings.

Tap More under Google Assistant settings.

Tap News.
Tap Add new sources.

Tap a checkbox to select new sources.

Questions?

Have you added multiple accounts to your Google Home? Have you been having issues getting Google Home to cooperate with multiple users? Be sure to drop us a comment below, and let us know about it!

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• Google Home review
• These services work with Google Home
• Google Home vs. Amazon Echo
• Join our Google Home forums!

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OnePlus 3/3T get an updated launcher with dynamic icons in latest open beta

OnePlus continues to improve OxygenOS with a host of new feature additions.

The OxygenOS open beta 10 is now rolling out to the OnePlus 3T (open beta 19 for the OnePlus 3), offering a slew of new features. The OnePlus Launcher has picked up an update to version 2.1, adding support for dynamic icons for the weather and calendar apps, along with controls for home screen grid and custom customizations. The app drawer now stores a history of your five most-recently used apps, and newly installed apps will be denoted by a blue dot.

You’ll be able to see the battery status of connected Bluetooth devices, and add links to email addresses in texts. Animations for incoming calls have also been redesigned. Here’s a breakdown of all the changes in the new OxygenOS open beta build:

All new OnePlus Launcher v2.1:

• Supports dynamic icons for Weather and Calendar
• Added ‘Home screen layout’ under launcher settings for grid and icon customizations
• Grid layout will be kept irrespective of display size changes
• Added search history records in app drawer, displaying the 5 most recent apps on the first row
• Newly installed apps will now be tagged with a blue dot for easier recognition
• You can access icon pack resources on the Play store directly under launcher settings
• User interface improvements during widget selection
• Launcher version information is now visible under launcher settings

Other additions:

• Added an option to display battery status of connected Bluetooth devices
• Added OnePlus widget (Not usable on Shelf)
• Email address recognition within the text message contents
• Size of clock widget is now adjustable
• Updated UI style for Clock

Optimizations:

• Smart Callback works better
• Incoming call animations redesigned
• OnePlus font optimizations for select languages
• Compatibility optimizations for various Bluetooth devices

If you flash a beta build, you’ll continue to receive updates for upcoming beta releases, but not stable builds. You’ll have to switch back to the stable channel to pick up stable OTA updates. Head to OnePlus’ downloads page to try out the latest beta for the OnePlus 3/3T. The new features should make their way to the stable channel shortly.

OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 3

• OnePlus 3T review: Rekindling a love story
• OnePlus 3T vs. OnePlus 3: What’s the difference?
• OnePlus 3T specs
• Latest OnePlus 3 news
• Discuss OnePlus 3T and 3 in the forums

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How much mobile data does streaming media use?

Here’s the breakdown on how much data streaming music and video use so you know how much to budget.

The things most of us love to do with our phones is also the thing that eats the most data: stream music and video.

Modern phones and streaming services were made for each other. Your phone is capable of delivering high-quality content through the screen or its audio components and streaming services like YouTube, Netflix and Spotify were made to deliver them. The first popular media-centric phone was the iPhone. Both Apple and Google owe a lot of their success to this because it was also the best way to watch YouTube in the palm of your hands.

Things have come a long way since then, but one thing hasn’t changed. We love to watch and listen with our phones. But the advent of HD video streaming and high-bitrate audio streaming means that it also gobbles up the data like never before. Let’s break it down to see just how much data you use when you fire up your favorite streaming app.

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Streaming audio

While some services offer super-HQ streaming music, most services use the same scale: Low, Normal and High. And most use the same bitrate (the number of bits per second that are transmitted digitally) to define each category. Here’s how they look and how much data each will consume.

• Low quality is typically 96kbps. On average, Low-quality audio streaming uses 0.72MB per minute or 43.2MB per hour.
• Normal quality is 160kbps. Normal-quality music streaming uses 1.20MB per minute or 72MB per hour on average.
• High quality music is 320kbps. High-quality streaming music uses 2.40MB per minute or 115.2MB per hour on average.

“Average” is the key word here. Most services offer streaming service that auto-adjusts based on your network conditions, and some (Apple music and Beats Music are an example) use lower quality bitrates for all categories. But most any other service, including Google Play Music and Spotify, follow these guidelines when you don’t have things set up to auto-adjust.

Streaming video

As you can imagine, streaming video uses a lot more data than audio does. There’s just more information being transmitted. And your network conditions play a big part in how the media is streamed because nobody likes buffering, Thankfully, apps are smart enough to ask for a video stream that will work with the available network speeds and buffering is mostly a thing of the past. Mostly. Note that this hidden feature will usually override your settings when it has to, but if you ask for an HD or 4K video, you’ll get it if it can be delivered.

Here’s how the streams break down on average.

• Low quality video is very low-quality. think 240p or 320p. Low-quality settings will use about 0.3GB (300MB) per hour.
• SD quality video is standard 480p video. SD-quality video uses about 0.7GB (700MB) per hour.
• HD quality video is between 720p and 2K (remember, the app adjusts the stream). HD-quality video uses about 0.9GB (720p), 1.5GB (1080p) and 3GB (2K) per hour.
• UHD quality video uses a lot of data. A 4K stream uses about 7.2GB per hour.

Again, these are averages and Netflix has helped by telling us how much data their service uses. Compression, variable quality based on network conditions and your phone’s cache will all factor in here, but these numbers are a pretty safe bet.

How much can I stream on my data plan?

A typical data plan that’s not unlimited (and not from T-Mobile or other company who practices zero-rating) comes in 2GB, 5GB and 10GB flavors. If you wanted to stream media while using your data connection, here’s what each tier will allow:

• A 2GB plan will let you stream

  • 47 hours of low-quality music
  • 28 hours of normal-quality music
  • 17 hours of high-quality music
  • 6.5 hours of low-quality video
  • 2.8 hours of standard definition video
  • 2.2 hours of 720p video
  • 1.3 hours of 1080p video
  • 0.6 hours of 2K video
  • 0.25 hours of 4K video

• A 5GB plan will let you stream

  • 117 hours of low-quality music
  • 70 hours of normal-quality music
  • 42.5 hours of high-quality music
  • 16.25 hours of low-quality video
  • 7 hours of standard definition video
  • 5.5 hours of 720p video
  • 3.25 hours of 1080p video
  • 1.5 hours of 2K video
  • 0.6 hours of 4K video

• A 10GB plan will let you stream

  • 234 hours of low-quality music
  • 140 hours of normal-quality music
  • 85 hours of high-quality music
  • 32.5 hours of low-quality video
  • 14 hours of standard definition video
  • 11 hours of 720p video
  • 6.5 hours of 1080p video
  • 3 hours of 2K video
  • 1.2 hours of 4K video

We followed the industry standard 1,000MB = 1GB formula here and not the “real” calculation of 1,024MB in one GB. That’s because your carrier might do the same. And remember — these are close estimations. Because of how data is compressed and bitrates changed based on every situation, my measurements may be a little different than yours. And none of this takes any rounding your carrier might do into account. To us, 1.7MB is 1.7MB, not 2MB.

Streaming HD media uses a lot of data. Know this before you decide how much you need.

One thing these figures show is that you’re always better off using Wi-Fi to stream high-quality media. Besides the data savings, Wi-Fi also has a more robust signal that will mean less degradation or compression. Your internet company probably optimizes media traffic, but not nearly as much as your wireless carrier does. You can also use services that let you download or pin your media while you’re on Wi-Fi and play it back later.

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Just be aware that if you watch 8-hours of HD video every day, you’re going to need upwards of 300GB of data. That means you’ll need an unlimited plan that doesn’t have the fine-print telling you “unlimited” stops at 22 or 24GB then gets too slow to stream. Such an animal doesn’t exist, and carriers that zero-rate aren’t going to serve you 2K video (or even 1080p).

Uses these numbers to plan out how much data you need for streaming if you’re shopping for service.