Verizon Throttling Netflix Traffic as Part of Temporary Video Optimization Test

Some Verizon Wireless users this week began noticing throttled streaming speeds when watching content from streaming services like Netflix and YouTube, and Verizon today confirmed to Ars Technica that it has indeed been throttling speeds as “part of a temporary test” of a “new video optimization system.”

“We’ve been doing network testing over the past few days to optimize the performance of video applications on our network,” a Verizon spokesperson told Ars. “The testing should be completed shortly. The customer video experience was not affected.”

Reports of throttled speeds first surfaced on reddit earlier this week, after Verizon users noticed that Netflix’s speed test site was returning streaming speeds limited to approximately 10Mb/s, while other speed test tools, like Ookla Speedtest, were returning normal results. Similar throttled speeds were also seen when using YouTube and the actual Netflix service.

It wasn’t clear what was going on until this morning, when Verizon told Ars Technica that it was conducting a temporary test of a new optimization system. According to Verizon, the optimization test did not impact actual quality of video, which is true in most cases, but some YouTube users noticed downgraded quality resolved through using a VPN. Other video services, including Verizon’s own Go90 video service, are also impacted.

With Netflix, the 10Mb/s limit doesn’t impact Netflix video quality when watching on a mobile device, but it has the potential to be an issue when tethering and watching on a device that can stream Netflix’s Ultra HD 25Mb/s video. According to Verizon, the video optimization limits are used regardless of whether a user is tethering.

But will that actually harm your Netflix video? Probably not, as long as you’re watching on your mobile device and not tethering. Netflix says its Ultra HD quality video can require 25Mbps but that’s apparently just for non-mobile devices. For mobile devices, Netflix offers a few quality settings including “Unlimited,” which it says “may use 1GB per 20 minutes or more depending on your device and network speeds.”

When Verizon introduced its unlimited streaming data plan in February of 2017, the company said it would not throttle video or manipulate data, and Verizon was noncommittal when asked by Ars Technica if the alleged “temporary test” marked a change in policy. “We deliver whatever the content provider gives us,” the company said. “We’re always looking for ways to optimize our network without impacting our customers’ experience.”

As The Verge points out, what customers experienced appeared to be more of a hard cap than network optimization, raising some questions about Net Neutrality.

Verizon says its testing should be completed shortly, after which speeds will presumably go back to normal.

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TouchArcade iOS Gaming Roundup: RuneScape, Layton’s Mystery Journey, Full Throttle Remastered, and More

This week I’m finally allowed to talk about what should be some pretty massive news for iOS gamers who are also old-school MMORPG players: RuneScape for mobile was announced, and it’s coming in late 2017 / early 2018 for Android and iOS. If the name RuneScape doesn’t ring a bell, it’s a browser-based MMORPG that was first released back in 2001. Like EverQuest and Ultima Online, players who were into RuneScape were really into RuneScape. It has even earned Guinness records for the world’s largest free MMORPG and the most updated game.

In addition to the RuneScape that has been updated over the years, Old School RuneScape, which is a modern reboot of (as the title might indicate) the old version of the game, is also coming to mobile. For whatever reason, the Old School iteration is far more popular on Reddit than the modern version. I’m ultra-excited for these mobile ports, as RuneScape is deep in the category of games I’ve heard a lot about, but never really had the time to sit down and play. Being able to get into the game on my phone really lowers that barrier of entry, and better yet, it’s totally cross platform and mobile players will be playing the same game on the same servers as the “real” browser and PC client.

Meanwhile, we’ve continued to follow the puzzling drama of Honor of Kings versus the Chinese government. It’s a scuffle that seems hard to believe as a thing that’s really happening. If this is the first you’ve heard of Honor of Kings, the basic gist is that it’s a MOBA by Tencent that is absolutely on fire in China. They’ve got 200 million active players, and the game accounts for 40 percent of Tencent’s total mobile games revenue, which amounted to $883 million generated by the game just in Q1 this year. People play it so much that Tencent has actually put restrictions on just how long you can play it in a single day.

However, amidst legitimate fears of children becoming addicted to such massively online releases, the Chinese government has this week labeled Honor of Kings as ‘poison’ in the state-run People’s Daily paper, and has threatened further action against Tencent to crack down on the influence such games have over vulnerable young gamers. It’s a reality that’s hard to believe. I typically write off describing games as “addictive” as marketing hyperbole, but in the case of Honor of Kings, this seems to be something the Chinese government is genuinely concerned about.

In other news, San Diego Comic Con is happening right now. While mobile gaming-relevant announcements at the event are typically few and far between, Telltale came out swinging by announcing a whole slew of sequels to existing popular series. Batman is gaining a second season titled Batman: The Enemy Within, which will be released on August 8 for PC and consoles with mobile coming at some point in the future. Additionally, the fabulous The Walking Dead by Telltale is moving on to a third and final season cleverly titled The Walking Dead: The Final Season. The game will follow the conclusion of Clementine’s story, who throughout the series has evolved from a child side-character into the primary protagonist. Last, but not least, The Wolf Among Us is also getting a second season, although no details exist beyond the fact that it’s coming.

Following up on the world of Hearthstone as we rocket towards the release of the upcoming expansion, Knights of the Frozen Throne, a new event has kicked off in game that rewards packs of cards for the new set. The Frost Festival gives players various quests to complete in game which revolve around competing in Hearthstone’s limited Arena format. Of course these packs can’t be opened until the new set launches next month, but much like the previous Midsummer Fire Festival, participating in The Frost Festival is a great way to get a ton of free stuff in game.

Among the many new iOS games which were released this week is a totally new entry in the unbelievably fantastic Professor Layton puzzler series titled Layton’s Mystery Journey. If you’ve never played a Layton game before, it’s a franchise that got its start on the Nintendo DS and features various mysteries which are solved via completing increasingly difficult puzzles.

The release of Layton’s Mystery Journey on iOS is incredibly significant as the mobile debut actually has arrived before the 3DS version of the game is released outside of Japan. The $15.99 asking price has armchair App Store game pricing economists up in arms, particularly when you consider the inclusion of 15 different IAP unlockable costumes, each coming with their own additional puzzle. In total, with everything unlocked, Layton on iOS will run you just shy of $40, which is the same price as the same game on the 3DS.

A ton of other great games were released this week as well, including a mobile port of Full Throttle Remastered, the bluffing party game Triple Agent, a strange WWE-themed deck building clicker titled WWE Tap Mania, the grand strategy game Realpolitiks Mobile, and tons more. It’s weeks like this that makes keeping up with iOS gaming incredibly difficult as there are more great games released on the App Store than anyone realistically even has time to play.

Last, but not least, when I posted that Sorcery! was free a few weeks ago there were a number of comments posted by readers saying how much they enjoyed it. Well, if that was your first taste of interactive fiction on iOS, there’s a lot more where that came from. We put together a list of the best five interactive fiction games, which has a much broader definition than you might think. Definitely give that a look if you enjoyed Sorcery!, or like the idea of playing modern versions of games that play a lot like the old Choose Your Own Adventure novels from when you were a kid.

That’s all from me this week, and as always if you appreciate these roundups and are hungry for more information surrounding the world of iOS gaming, be sure to check out TouchArcade. We post iOS game news, reviews, previews, guides, and more all week long.

Tag: TouchArcade gaming roundup
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Review: Elgato’s $300 Thunderbolt 3 Dock Offers a Solid Set of Ports in a Slim Design

Over the past few months, I’ve taken a look at a number of Thunderbolt 3 docks that all hit the market around the same time, including models from OWC, CalDigit, Belkin, and Kensington. There’s at least one more major player in the market, so today I’m sharing my thoughts on Elgato’s $300 Thunderbolt 3 Dock. Elgato’s dock has a lot in common with many of its competitors, including a slim horizontal design of brushed aluminum and plastic, an array of ports for expanding the capabilities of your Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac, and more.

The dock looks nice on a desk, with a black matte plastic front and back wrapped by a brushed aluminum enclosure that’s rounded around the sides. A small Elgato wordmark is printed in the front left corner of the dock’s top, but it doesn’t mar the overall look of the accessory, which remains rather unobtrusive. Measuring just under 8 inches wide, Elgato’s dock is slightly narrower than some of the other docks, which to my eye makes it look a bit better sitting on the foot of my LG UltraFine 5K display. Belkin’s dock at a little over 8 inches also fits pretty well, but wider docks like OWC’s and Kensington’s overhang a bit.

Of course, everyone’s desk setup is different so variations of around an inch in the width of all of these docks may not be a deal-breaker, but it’s worth noting this is the narrowest of the horizontal designs I’ve tested. At about 3.15 inches deep and an inch high, Elgato’s dock is otherwise pretty much on par with competing docks in terms of size.

While the dock itself is slim and weighs just over two thirds of a pound, as with competing docks it has a large external power brick. In fact, it’s the exact same power brick used by Belkin and Kensington, but with a small Elgato mark stamped into the top. A 0.5-meter Thunderbolt 3 cable is also included in the box.

Unlike most other docks, Elgato’s does not include any LEDs to show whether or not it has an active connection to power or a computer. It’s not really an issue, as for the most part a dock is meant to just work when it’s plugged in and it’s easy to tell whether or not that’s the case.

Matching what is becoming standard for the latest docks, Elgato’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock supports up to 85 watts of charging power, letting you power even a 15-inch MacBook Pro over the same cable used to transfer data and eliminating the need for a separate power adapter while connected to the dock. Docks such as OWC’s at 60 watts may be unable to keep up with the power demands of a 15-inch MacBook Pro under heavy load.

Elgato’s dock also has roughly a standard set of ports, with a single USB 3.0 (5 Mbps) Type-A port and a pair of 3.5 mm audio jacks (one mono mic input and one amplified analog stereo output) on the front for easy access. The rear of the dock includes a Gigabit Ethernet port, two more USB 3.0 Type-A ports, a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports, and a DisplayPort port. My usual complaint of wanting more USB ports such as the five offered on OWC’s dock still stands here, but three is the number just about every other manufacturer is going with.

Unlike many other docks, Elgato’s supports standalone USB charging, so an iPhone, Apple Watch, or other accessory connected via USB will continue to charge even if the dock isn’t connected to a computer or a connected computer is turned off.

I ran a few speed tests using Elgato’s dock paired with CalDigit’s 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 Tuff external SSD and found speeds of around 345 MB/s read and 325 MB/s write through the Type-A USB 3.0 port, which is pretty typical for docks like this but a bit slower than connecting directly to a computer via USB 3.0.

Connecting the drive to one of the dock’s Thunderbolt 3 ports using USB-C yielded read and write speeds of around 500 MB/s and 460 MB/s respectively, which is pretty close to the 505/485 MB/s speeds seen connecting directly to a 10 Gbps MacBook Pro. Of course, connecting a drive this way means you no longer have a Thunderbolt 3/USB-C port available for an external display if your setup requires it.

Using a combination of Thunderbolt 3/USB-C, DisplayPort, and appropriate adapters, Elgato’s dock can support a single 5K display at 60 Hz or a pair of up to 4K displays at 60 Hz. Elgato has a support document outlining the various display configurations that can be used with the dock.

While Elgato’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock works out of the box without the need for any drivers or other software, Elgato does offer a Thunderbolt Dock Utility to add some additional functionality. The utility runs as a simple menu bar app that makes it easy to eject any drives connected to the dock before manually disconnecting them or the dock.

The utility also enables high-power USB support that bumps all USB 3.0 ports to 1.5 A for faster charging while also adding support for Apple’s external USB SuperDrive. Once enabled by the utility, high-speed charging does not require the utility to be running and also works if the host computer is sleeping.

At a list price of $300, Elgato’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock is competitive with other docks such as CalDigit’s TS3 and OWC’s dock. Belkin and Kensington come in at $50 more for their docks. At the $300 price point, it would be nice to see some additional features such as more USB ports or an SD card slot. Certain customers might also appreciate eSATA or FireWire ports that are offered by some competitors, although usage of these interfaces continues to shrink.

Elgato’s Thunderbolt 3 Dock is available now from Amazon.

Note: Elgato provided the Thunderbolt 3 Dock to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this review. No other compensation was received. MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.

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This new travel app uses AR to keep kids entertained on layovers

Why it matters to you

Traveling with kids? An new AR app can help stave off the boredom while waiting for flights at Heathrow.

Augmented reality can do a number of different things, from turning selfies into animals to creating virtual scavenger hunts, but now one more feature can be chalked up to the emerging tech — entertaining kids on an airport layover. On July 20, London’s Heathrow Airport announced the new kids’ travel app, Around the World with Mr. Adventure, a kid-friendly game that hides digital badges throughout Terminal 2.

In the game, players use any iOS or Android device’s camera to explore the airport, discovering hidden digital badges. When users discover a badge, the app plays a 3D animated video. Kids (or kids at heart) can then take a photo with a digital character based on the Mr. Adventure series, including Mr. Adventure himself and Little Miss Explorer.

Five badges are hidden around Terminal 2 — when kids find all five badges, they can trade the digital badges for the real thing with iron-on badges available from information desks. The app, the airport says, is designed to keep kids entertained while waiting for flights.

“As summer sees a greater number of families visit Heathrow, we want to ensure they receive the best possible start to their holiday adventures,” said Iona Harper, Heathrow’s senior experience manager. “The Mr. Adventure app is a great, fun experience for Heathrow’s tiniest travelers, encouraging discovery for the next generation of explorers.”

Through the peak of travel season, costumed characters Mr. Adventure and Little Miss Explorer will also add to the experience, helping kids find the badges with appearances until September 10. The airport also has kids’ activities and workshops planned for the busy travel season, along with continuing to offer perks like free play areas and Kids Eat Free menus.

The Mr. Adventure characters are based on the Mr. Men Little Miss series, a storyline that launched over 45 years ago with a popular TV show added in the 1990s. Today, the story includes over 90 characters and has sold over 250 million books.

Heathrow expects 365,000 passengers will be traveling with children during just the summer travel season alone. Friday, July 21 is slated to be the airport’s busiest day of the season with over 130,000 passengers expected to travel through Heathrow.

The Around the World With Mr. Adventure app is available as a free download on the App Store and Google Play.

Access to ‘Pokemon Go’ Pokestops could be protected by the First Amendment

Why it matters to you

The legal dispute between Milwaukee County and Candy Lab could have far-reaching effects on app developers’ ability to create augmented reality experiences.

In February, Milwaukee County in Wisconsin adopted a local ordinance that required developers of augmented apps to secure permits if their games were to be played in public parks, in response to the popularity of Pokemon Go. Now, a judge has ruled this legislation as unconstitutional, citing the First Amendment.

When Pokemon Go was at its peak last summer, parks around the country were being swarmed by players looking to catch new monsters and take their unhatched eggs for a walk. As these public spaces became overrun with Pokemon trainers, the county drew up permit requirements, according to a report from Ars Technica.

Developers were asked to provide estimates of how many players parks could expect to receive and at what times, which is obviously very difficult to predict with any accuracy. What’s more, applying for a permit could cost as much as $1,000 — which is small change for Pokemon Go developer Niantic, but only because the game is incredibly lucrative.

Studios responsible for less prominent augmented reality titles simply did not have the resources to comply with the ordinance. As a result, Texas Rope ‘Em developer Candy Lab decided to sue Milwaukee County in an attempt to have the permit requirement thrown out.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller issued a preliminary injunction that will prevent Milwaukee from enforcing the requirement until the case goals to trial, which is expected to happen in April 2018. His argument was that the current status quo will harm developers more than the injunction will harm public enjoyment of county parks.

However, Milwaukee County looks set to make a case for the permit requirements to be upheld. It argues that Texas Rope ‘Em should not be protected by the First Amendment as it does not convey “thoughts or ideas,” with its gameplay purportedly focusing solely on the collection of randomly generated cards, without any plot.

The next year is going to be make-or-break for AR, as Apple attempts to bring the technology to new heights with its ARKit development platform. As such, it is time that rules and regulations pertaining to this kind of software are hashed out — even though it will be several months until a verdict is reached in this particular case.

Valve patches ‘Team Fortress 2’ bug that could install a trojan when you died

Why it matters to you

Keeping yourself safe online is rarely easy, but it’s good to know that with gaming at least, some developers are staying on top of things.

Dying in a first-person shooter is not usually as big a deal as in other genres, but in one case researchers found it could be very detrimental to your PC. Valve has now fixed a bug brought to its attention, which in Team Fortress 2 and various other Source titles, allowed hackers to remotely install trojans and other malware upon a player’s death.

Described by researchers as a “buffer overflow vulnerability,” the exploit was one that had to be loaded onto a victim’s machine through a custom map file. There, the researchers were able to install a custom ragdoll model file, which would, in turn, be loaded up when a player died. But instead of displaying a realistic or comical figure during death, that file executed malicious code.

Discovered by One Up Security, the bug has now been patched by Valve for all affected Source games, including Counterstrike: Global Offensive, TF2, Half-Life 2 Death Match, Portal 2, and Left 4 Dead 2. However, they do suggest that Source mod makers update their mods with the patch linked. One Up Security also provides guidelines and advice for mod makers to help them avoid the potential problems caused by this sort of exploit.

However, users can also take steps to protect themselves from exploits through games. For starters, One Security’s Justin Taft suggests that games should not be installed on work machines. He suggests that gameplay should be maintained on an entirely separate network to business-related functions.

He highlights in his discussion of the bug that this unlikely to be common place, as games are quite a common sight in break rooms and on the home computers of employees — but recommends as much separation as possible to avoid this kind of exploit from affecting corporate interests.

For average gamers who want to add some extra security to their own setup to avoid any potential future exploits that leverage Valve’s popular Source titles, he recommends disabling third-party content with a specific console command. That will leave you unable to enjoy some of the wider variety of custom maps and mods out there, but if security is more important to you than gameplay, it may be worth considering.

New MIT robot is able to inspect for underground pipe leaks

Why it matters to you

MIT’s robotic pipe inspector could help keep urban infrastructure safer and more efficient.

It’s a fact — machines will take a whole lot of jobs in the next decade. They’re putting people out of work as this is being written. But let’s look on the bright side for a moment — machines will also do tasks that are too dangerous or even impossible for humans to perform, such as performing below-ground inspections to detect pipe leaks.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a robotic system that swims through pipes to detect any problems before they burst. By detecting leaks early, the technology may help preserve precious water and the integrity of our cities’ infrastructure. The team, which has called itself PipeGuard, recently won $10,000 in a $100,000 MIT competition.

Current leak detection systems can be tedious and expensive, and are often not suited for the type of systems used in developing regions. The MIT approach instead was designed to be quick, affordable, and adaptable to pipes that are made of materials like wood, clay, or plastic.

But it has been no easy feat. It took the team nine years of research, development, and testing to create the oversized badminton birdie that is currently undergoing trials inside the 12-inch concrete pipes under Monterrey, Mexico.

The robot consists of a soft rubber housing with battery and storage, a flexible support that can measure the pipe’s change in size, and a membrane sensor that gets tugged by the outgoing water flow when it passes over a leak. If both the support and the membrane are flexed, than the robot can determine it has just passed over a bump rather than a crack in the pipe.

The robot was previously field tested in a rusty, mile-long section of pipe in Saudi Arabia, and it was able to detect leaks while ignoring false alarms.

“We put the robot in from one joint, and took it out from the other. We tried it 14 times over three days, and it completed the inspection every time,” You Wu, a graduate student working on the project, said in a statement. The robot also outperformed conventional detection methods, being up to ten times more sensitive, according to the researchers.

For its upcoming tests in Monterrey, Mexico, the team will attempt to develop a collapsible version of the robot that would be able to expand like an umbrella so it can fit in pipes of various sizes. Wu and his colleagues will describe the system in detail at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in September.

Lenovo’s Yoga 920 2-in-1 may pack Core i7 processor and up to 16GB RAM

Why it matters to you

If you’re looking for a powerful convertible laptop with an emphasis on style, the upcoming Yoga 920 could be right up your street.

Lenovo may well be targeting Microsoft’s Surface range of convertible tablets with its upcoming Yoga 920. Although it has not made an official announcement about its specifications, a Federal Communications Commission filing, as reported by MSPowerUser, gives us an in-depth look at what the 2-in-1s internal hardware should be like and it is rather impressive.

Although one of the world’s most successful laptop manufacturers, Lenovo is not alone atop the mountain. It faces stiff competition from long-standing hardware companies like HP and Dell but Microsoft’s Surface line has carved out a solid niche for itself in recent years thanks to its strong performance and convertible functionality. Lenovo’s new Yoga lineup looks set to try and steal away some of that audience.

The Yoga 910 is designed as the world’s thinnest Intel Core convertible laptop and now we learn that the Yoga 920 is designed to take that formula and up the performance ante.

Full specifications per the FCC filing suggest it will have a choice of Core i5-8250U and Core i7-8550U processors, with eight, 12 or 16GB of DDR4 memory. They will be paired up with up to four solid-state drives (SSD) of the M.2 PCIExpress form factor, offering between 256GB and one terabyte of storage space each.

Other features include wireless support for 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1, with USB Type A and Type-C (x2) ports, one of which will be used exclusively for charging. It will also support the Lenovo Active Pen 2 stylus. There is also a fingerprint sensor with full support for Windows Hello, which may offer facial recognition too.

Like the Lenovo Yoga 910, the 920 will sport the 13.9-inch, 4K resolution display, with some suggestion that there may be a 1080P HD option.

Schematics on the FCC’s website also give us a look at the layout of the new convertible laptop. The keyboard now has a full-size right-Shift key and a more defined Enter key, too. It also has a web cam located in the top part of the bezel, despite the plastic surround being incredibly thin.

Although there is no hard pricing or release date info, the expected price tag for the Lenovo Yoga 920 is around $1,300.

Everything you can do right now in the Nintendo Switch Online app

The Nintendo Switch Online app launched this week on both iOS and Android devices, giving players the ability to interact with their console’s games even when they leave the system at home, but it can be a little confusing to use for those more familiar with the Xbox and PlayStation apps. Instead of giving users a standard interface to add friends or purchase content, the app acts as a companion for specific Nintendo games.

At the moment, the Nintendo Switch Online app works exclusively with Splatoon 2. If you don’t own it, the app is useless. It will allow you to log in using your Nintendo account, and you can receive chat invitations, but there is no way to accept them without a Switch and a copy of the game. Splatoon 2 is out July 21, and if you do have the game, the app gives you important game information. Here’s how to find you way around the Nintendo Switch Online app.

Check scheduled game stages

Once you’ve signed into the Nintendo Switch Online app, click on the Splatoon 2 tile at the bottom of the screen to launch “SplatNet,” the game’s mobile companion. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a menu with four icons. Click the one on the left — three diamonds in a line — to view the scheduled multiplayer stages in the game. Scroll down and you can view the planned maps for a full 24 hours. If you scroll back up to the top, there are also options to view the ranked battle and league battle schedules, as well. Click on any of the stages and you can view your win percentage across all three ranked modes.

Get new gear

The second icon in the SplatNet menu, the squid, will take you to a summary page that offers up a little information on your play performance and gear, but if you click the bag in the top right corner, you’ll be taken to the Gear Shop. Here, you can grab exclusive gear, which will be sent to your Splatoon 2 game. The items available through the app are only available for a limited time and you can only order one at a time, but they offer stat bonuses that are better than most of the gear you’ll find in the game thus far. To purchase and equip the new gear, talk to the character “Murch” in the game. He’s seated just to the right of the multiplayer lobby.

View your statistics

To view detailed statistics on how you’re performing in Splatoon 2, you’ll use the two rightmost icons on the SplatNet menu. The scroll icon will take you to “My Stats,” which gives you information on individual weapons, your performance in league battles and the campaign, and even how many times you’ve disconnected from the game. The two-arrow icon will take you to “Battle Stats.” This page gives you a rundown of your performance in up to 50 previous matches, including the total points you’ve earned, how many times you eliminated enemies, and even the gear you and other players had equipped.

Chat with friends who play Splatoon 2

To voice chat with other players using Nintendo Switch Online, everyone must have the app installed and a copy of Splatoon 2. Once you’re in the game, enter the multiplayer lobby and scroll down until you find the “Online Lounge” option. Select this, and choose to create a room and have a notification sent to your iOS or Android device. Then, in the app, you’ll see an option to invite friends from your Switch friend list, as well as your Facebook account, Twitter, and other messaging services. Once they’ve received a notification, they must enter your Online Lounge from the multiplayer lobby in order to chat. Answering a phone call or using another app while in the Online Lounge will end the call, so don’t go checking your Twitter account while you’re chatting.

Galaxy Note 8 renders give clean look at boxier design, Infinity Display

We just can’t wait for the Galaxy Note 8, can we?

After last year’s debacle, I think it’s safe to say, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 may be the most hotly anticipated Galaxy Note ever. Whether you wanted to upgrade last year but never got the chance — or worse, upgraded and had to give your Note 7 back — there are many users out there who’ve been waiting for a new Note more anxiously than in years past. And while we’ll have to wait until August to see much of the Note 8’s software, we’re getting yet another look at its sexy exterior with some new casemaker renders from BGR.

The front of the device matches the Galaxy S8, but we see the new dual-camera setup on the back of the phone alongside that rear-mounted — and quite high-up — fingerprint scanner. The ports on the bottom of the phone match the S8, as well, except for that distinctive S Pen slot next to that single speaker grille. These are renderings made by casemakers, so while some details might change, the port placement is more than likely dead on, which will make reaching that fingerprint scanner while using the Note 8 an interesting affair without a gripping aid like a Spigen Style Ring.

We’ll have to wait till there’s a phone in our hands later this summer to see how things shake out, but that waiting game will thankfully be over soon.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

• Galaxy Note 8: Everything we know so far
• All Galaxy Note 8 news
• Should you buy the Galaxy S8+ or wait for the Note 8?
• The buttonless future of Samsung phones
• Join our Galaxy Note 8 forums