Adobe is finally pulling the plug on its Flash software, but not anytime soon

Why it matters to you

With Adobe Flash out of the picture, there will be one less major attack vector used by hackers on the internet.

On Tuesday, Adobe provided a roadmap for terminating its Flash software for good.  The death will not be swift and quick like it was on Android, as the company does not plan to cease updating and distributing Flash Player until the end of 2020. This will provide enough time for content creators to migrate their existing Flash-based content to newer, more secure platforms like HTML5.

“Several industries and businesses have been built around Flash technology — including gaming, education, and video — and we remain committed to supporting Flash through 2020, as customers and partners put their migration plans into place,” the company said.

Adobe’s Flash software transformed the internet from flat, boring pages with static images and animated GIFs to interactive experiences. For some websites, Flash was even the primary interface, requiring lengthy page loads. But as the spotlight on Flash increased, so did its use by hackers as they studied and exploited every flaw in the code to attack unsuspecting web surfers.

Part of the problem stems from the use of browser plugins, which are separate pieces of software that plug into a web browser. They disrupt the secure environment created by the parent browser, cause browser instability issues, and are highly susceptible to hacking.

To solve this ongoing problem, utilities, services, and content are now pushed into the web code itself as seen with HTML5. Graphics rendering can be handled by WebGL while YouTube playback is enabled using simple web-based code, not a stand-alone player. However, if utilities and services are not served up in web-based “apps,” then they’re likely integrated into the actual browser, eliminating the need for plugins.

That said, HTML5’s maturity has seemingly pushed Adobe into a corner. Flash on the internet has essentially become obsolete. It is a huge, consistent attack vector and the only means of viewing Flash content is through the Flash Player plugin. Browser vendors are moving away from plugins, halting Flash content playback automatically and will eventually block Flash content altogether. With Adobe Flash now pushed into the corner, the only answer is to leave the dance altogether.

Until the end of 2020, Adobe will remain committed to its Flash software. That means dishing out security patches and maintaining its compatibility with web browsers and operating systems. Adobe also plans to add capabilities and features “when needed.” More importantly, Adobe will work to terminate Flash early in “certain geographies” that distribute an unlicensed, outdated version of Flash Player.

“Adobe will also remain at the forefront of leading the development of new web standards and actively participate in their advancement,” the company said. “This includes continuing to contribute to the HTML5 standard and participating in the WebAssembly Community Group.”

Adobe is still in the web-based content creation business despite pulling the plug on Flash. Animate CC is a tool for interactive animations that can be published on multiple platforms including HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, and more. Premier Pro CC is a tool for editing videos that can be played on websites that support the HTML5 standard.

10 great Honor 8 tips and tricks that you need to know about

China’s smartphone industry is growing, and has been creating a whole host of great smartphones. While still relatively unknown in the west, Huawei’s sub-brand, Honor, has been pumping out great budget smartphones for some time now. We loved the Honor 8 in our review back in 2016, and our hands-on review with the Honor 9 made it clear that Honor’s best is only getting better. But Huawei’s proprietary OS, EMUI (Emotion UI), can be something of a mystery to people not already familiar with it — and that’s why we’ve put together this list of our favorite Honor 8 tips and tricks to help you really understand your phone.

Enabling the app drawer

If you’re coming from another Android-based smartphone, you’re probably used to keeping all of your apps in an app drawer — unlike iOS, which pools apps on successive home pages. Huawei’s EMUI, while based on Android, takes more than a few style tips from iOS. And so, the default setting for Huawei’s smartphones sees apps plonked on the home screen, just like iOS. Thankfully for Android users, EMUI 5 allows you to switch between the home screen and app drawer model by going to Settings > Home screen style > App drawer.

Still not happy with your app drawer? Then check out our guide on the best custom launchers to get the experience you crave!

App twin

If you share a smartphone with your significant other, or run multiple Facebook or WhatsApp accounts for business purposes, then Huawei’s App twin feature might be what you’ve been waiting for. Added in the EMUI 5 update, App twin gives you an additional login for Facebook and WhatsApp, with the ability to switch between both easily. To enable App twin, go to Settings > App twin, and turn it on. A twinned app will then be displayed on the home screen, and you can use it to log into your additional account. But a quick warning for anyone running a custom launcher — since this feature uses the Huawei home screen, it currently only works with the stock EMUI 5 launcher!

Fingerprint ID isn’t just for unlocking

The fingerprint scanner has always been one of Huawei’s strongest features, with fast unlocks capable of unlocking smartphones within 0.4 seconds (according to Huawei’s site), and the fingerprint scanner on the Honor 8 is no different. But did you know that the little circle on the back of your Honor 8 can be used for more than just unlocking? Navigating to the options menu at Settings > Fingerprint ID reveals multiple uses.

When unlocked, you can press-and-hold your fingerprint scanner to answer calls, take pictures, and stop alarms — but the most useful options are below these: the Slide Gestures. When enabled, sliding a finger down the scanner can pull down the notification shade, or you can swipe left and right to navigate through your Gallery app. Best of all, the Slide Gestures do not require an assigned fingerprint to function — so if you’re unsure about biometric security for whatever reason, you can still get some use out of your fingerprint scanner.

Use Knuckle gestures for screenshots

One of the weirdest EMUI features is the ability to knock on your screen to take a screenshot. Yes, you read that right — rap twice on the touchscreen with your knuckle, and your Honor 8 takes a screenshot. You can also use a knuckle to draw around an area to take a screenshot of a selected area, and knocking firmly with a knuckle and drawing an “S” starts a scrolling-screenshot (ideal for taking pictures of long websites), while rapping with two knuckles at once will start and stop full screen recording. Finally, you can also turn on additional options to access your camera, Chrome, and other apps by drawing corresponding letters on your screen, all with your knuckles.

This is perhaps one of the best additions to stock Android that Huawei has made — rapping on the screen makes taking screenshots so much easier (and who remembers what combination of the power and volume key works on other devices?) You can access the settings for this by navigating to Settings > Smart assistance > Motion control.

Smart assistance options

After you’re done looking at the Knuckle gestures, it’s worth going back a screen and taking look at these settings for more options to make your life easier. Smart assistance > Smart key gives your fingerprint scanner even more functionality — including the ability to open selected apps by pressing, pressing-and-holding, or double-pressing your scanner. My personal set-up has the double-press opening the camera, and pressing-and-holding opening Google Now — great for taking quick snaps and getting answers quickly, since using your fingerprint scanner also unlocks the screen.

You can also find other options here, including the ability to turn on one-handed UI — great for those without the huge hands required to reach across a large screen. When turned on, swipe the navigation keys at the bottom of the screen to shrink your view onto one side of the screen or the other.

Using the camera to its fullest

The Honor 8 rocks two rear-facing cameras, and has the ability to take some truly stunning shots. But there are a few tricks that you need to be aware of to take perfect shots every time.

Firstly, to get that true depth-of-field that makes your snaps go from “good” to “wow,” you’ll need to enable your wide-angle mode. From the camera screen, select wide-angle mode by hitting the second icon from the left (the contracted lens next to the lightning bolt). From there, tap on the screen to focus your lenses on whichever element of the picture you want at the forefront of the image. After setting your focus, you can also adjust the brightness of the image by using the slider that appears to the right of the focus reticule.

If you missed the focus, you can easily change that in the finished image. Thanks to the camera software, your Honor 8 remembers the entire composition of the shot; including the detail of the background of the image. Navigate to the image in your gallery, tap on the now-familiar wide-angle icon in the top right, then tap wherever you want the focus shifted to. Voilà — the perfect image again and again!

Manage your app management

The jury is out as to whether shutting down apps benefits your energy consumption and available RAM as a whole — and regardless of your views on this, app management is baked pretty hard into the Honor 8’s OS. Unfortunately, it can be a bit overzealous at times, closing apps that it shouldn’t be closing, including ones that you’re listening to at the time. Apps like Pocket Casts and SoundCloud are often victims of this, and it’s rather annoying to have your audio randomly interrupted. If that ends up affecting you, you’re going to want to stop it from happening.

Thankfully, it’s easy to do so. Go to your main app drawer (or home screen), and find Phone Manager > Battery > Close apps after screen lock and set the Close all option to off (not blue). Then, hit the settings gear in the top-right corner, and make sure that Close excessively power-intensive apps is also set to off.

Low power modes

The worst has happened and you’ve been caught out without a charger! Oh no! But not to fear — the Honor 8 has some great power saving options built in.

First, consider turning your screen resolution down to 720p. Rendering a full HD 1080p screen at all times can be a drag on your battery, and if you’re not currently watching an HD video on Netflix or YouTube, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two. Navigate over to Settings > Battery > Low resolution power saving and check the box to get an hour or so extra out of the battery.

In the same settings area, you can also find Power saving mode and Ultra power saving. If you’re familiar with power saving modes on other phones, then you know this reduces the screen brightness, limits the background activity of apps, disables email auto-sync, and reduces sound and visual effects. Check this box if you need your Honor 8 to make it through a long day, but still need access to the majority of apps.

Ultra power saving is a bit more extreme — this mode reduces the amount of battery used considerably by shutting down all but the most essential features of the phone: The ability to receive phone calls, text messages, and a handful of other apps you can add to the home screen while Ultra power saving is enabled.

Don’t like the limitations of power saving mode? Pick yourself up one of the best portable battery chargers for extra power on the go.

Filter out blue light with Eye Comfort mode

If you’re not familiar with the science, “blue light” refers to the color of the light coming from your screen. The theory goes that the blue-tinted lights emitted by your smartphone’s display have an effect on your body’s circadian clock, making it harder for you to settle down and relax in the evening. So many phone manufacturers, Huawei included, are now offering a screen mode that helps to filter out the blue light during the evening, replacing it with a tint that lessens the effect. You can access Huawei’s Eye Comfort mode on your Honor 8 easily — just swipe down the notification shade (hopefully using your fingerprint scanner), hit the downward arrow in the top-right corner, and press the eye icon to activate.

If you never remember to turn it on, then you can set a schedule for the mode to come on automatically during the night — when you will likely need it the most. To access it, navigate to Settings > Display > Eye comfort, and then set your start and end time.

How to use split-screen mode

We’ve all been in the situation where we’re having to juggle multiple tasks at once. You need to send that email, but this cat video is really funny. It’s because of these all-too-common situations that we’re seeing more and more devices ship with the ability to show two apps at once. While most split-screen modes are designed primarily for phablets and tablets, you can nonetheless try out split-screen mode on the (relatively!) small screen of your Honor 8.

To activate EMUI 5’s split-screen mode, simply long-press the overview button on the bottom-right of the screen (the square one), and your screen will split in two, the bottom view offering you a list of previously open apps. Just tap one and get going!

Like Knuckle gestures, this one seems like a gimmick, until you come to a situation where having multiple screens open at once really helps. Watching a recipe video and want to take notes? Bust open Google Keep in your split-screen mode and take notes while the video streams uninterrupted.

Hungry for more content centered around your Honor 8? Then check out our round-up of the very best Honor 8 cases. Or are you thinking about an upgrade? We’ve broken down everything you need to know about the Honor 9.

Your next phone could charge in millisecond with Drexel’s battery breakthrough

Why it matters to you

Thanks to Mxene, your next smartphone might recharge in milliseconds instead of minutes or hours.

Smartphones are modern society’s lifeblood. They keep us connected with our social circles and the services we depend on, like our banks, smart home hubs, and connected cars. There’s just one problem: They run on batteries. But if nanomaterials researchers at Drexel University have their way, we might never have to worry about sitting anxiously by a charger again.

The key is MXene, a two-dimensional material consisting of two parts: A hydrogel (a gel with a liquid water component) and an oxide metal. It’s structurally dense enough to shield radiation and filter water, as the research team at Drexel demonstrated in 2011. But it’s also highly conductive, making it a good candidate for battery membranes.

That’s thanks to MXene’s chemical makeup, which optimizes the flow of electrodes — the places where energy is stored in batteries for charging — through it. Batteries hold ions in ports called “redox active sites” to hold a charge, and the number of ports a battery contains is directly proportional to the amount of charge it can hold.

Unlike the battery membranes of today, which have limited paths for ions to get to ports, MXene creates multiple paths for the ions to travel through. And MXene’s naturally high conductivity helps move the ions along quickly, ratcheting up the effective recharge rate.

“In traditional batteries […] ions have a torturous path toward charge storage ports, which not only slows down everything, but it also creates a situation where very few ions actually reach their destination at fast charging rates,” Maria Lukatskaya, a researcher on the team, said. “The ideal electrode architecture would be something like ions moving to the ports via multi-lane, high-speed ‘highways,’ instead of taking single-lane roads. Our macroporous electrode design achieves this goal, which allows for rapid charging — on the order of a few seconds or less.”

The end result might be a battery that takes mere “tens of milliseconds” to fully recharge instead of minutes or hours. Yuri Gogotsi, a materials science and engineering professor, said that MXene’s application in the real world could lead to better laptop batteries and electric car batteries. “If we start using low-dimensional and electronically conducting materials as battery electrodes, we can make batteries working much, much faster than today,” he said. “Eventually, appreciation of this fact will lead us to car, laptop, and cell phone batteries capable of charging at much higher rates — seconds or minutes rather than hours.”

Mxene isn’t commercially viable just yet — Gogotsi guesses it’s at least three years away from making its way into mass-manufactured products like cell phone batteries. But the team’s committed to exploring new applications in the near term.

Your next phone could charge in millisecond with Drexel’s battery breakthrough

Why it matters to you

Thanks to Mxene, your next smartphone might recharge in milliseconds instead of minutes or hours.

Smartphones are modern society’s lifeblood. They keep us connected with our social circles and the services we depend on, like our banks, smart home hubs, and connected cars. There’s just one problem: They run on batteries. But if nanomaterials researchers at Drexel University have their way, we might never have to worry about sitting anxiously by a charger again.

The key is MXene, a two-dimensional material consisting of two parts: A hydrogel (a gel with a liquid water component) and an oxide metal. It’s structurally dense enough to shield radiation and filter water, as the research team at Drexel demonstrated in 2011. But it’s also highly conductive, making it a good candidate for battery membranes.

That’s thanks to MXene’s chemical makeup, which optimizes the flow of electrodes — the places where energy is stored in batteries for charging — through it. Batteries hold ions in ports called “redox active sites” to hold a charge, and the number of ports a battery contains is directly proportional to the amount of charge it can hold.

Unlike the battery membranes of today, which have limited paths for ions to get to ports, MXene creates multiple paths for the ions to travel through. And MXene’s naturally high conductivity helps move the ions along quickly, ratcheting up the effective recharge rate.

“In traditional batteries […] ions have a torturous path toward charge storage ports, which not only slows down everything, but it also creates a situation where very few ions actually reach their destination at fast charging rates,” Maria Lukatskaya, a researcher on the team, said. “The ideal electrode architecture would be something like ions moving to the ports via multi-lane, high-speed ‘highways,’ instead of taking single-lane roads. Our macroporous electrode design achieves this goal, which allows for rapid charging — on the order of a few seconds or less.”

The end result might be a battery that takes mere “tens of milliseconds” to fully recharge instead of minutes or hours. Yuri Gogotsi, a materials science and engineering professor, said that MXene’s application in the real world could lead to better laptop batteries and electric car batteries. “If we start using low-dimensional and electronically conducting materials as battery electrodes, we can make batteries working much, much faster than today,” he said. “Eventually, appreciation of this fact will lead us to car, laptop, and cell phone batteries capable of charging at much higher rates — seconds or minutes rather than hours.”

Mxene isn’t commercially viable just yet — Gogotsi guesses it’s at least three years away from making its way into mass-manufactured products like cell phone batteries. But the team’s committed to exploring new applications in the near term.

Ingenious pipeline could be a much-needed lifeline for dying coral reefs

Why it matters to you

This cooling network could save coral reefs at risk due to climate change.

Recently, the U.S. lost half of its Caribbean coral reefs in one year due to climate change. Data later confirmed that the thermal stress on the coral system was greater than the previous 20 years combined. These so-called “bleaching events” occur when corals are stressed by changes in the environment and expel their symbiotic algae. The exodus of algae causes the reef to turn completely white, thus the term bleaching. Professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, Mo Ehsani, believes using a system to deliver cool water directly to colonies at risk could reverse this dire trend.

Ehsani has been testing fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) products for nearly three decades and founded, QuakeWrap, a construction company specializing in FRP commodities, in 1994. To prevent bleaching, Ehsani plans to pump cooler water to at risk coral through a lightweight FRP pipe. Unlike traditional rigid concrete or steel, FRP pipes are more cost effective and much easier to construct and install.

“It’s almost like a hose,” Ehsani explained to Popular Science. “It’s not subjected to any major loads or stresses. We can drop it right into the ocean, and it can handle the stresses.”

Dead coral after a massive bleaching event near Lizard Island

These cooling system will theoretically be powered by renewable, clean energy created on site by floating wave energy converters for an added dose of sustainability. Ehsani is currently trying to attract interest from the Australian government for a preliminary pilot program in the Great Barrier Reef. This would be a seemingly logical next step for both parties considering the world’s largest coral reef system has seen its fair share of massive bleaching events in recent years.

From 3D-printing coral models to more advanced aerial reef mapping, there is a host of clever tactics being considered to help minimize the effects of climate changes on our coral colonies. Currently, increased ocean temperatures are the predominant cause of coral bleaching, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Once affected by bleaching, a healthy coral reef can recover — albeit more susceptible to future bleaching events — so long as surrounding oceanic temperatures return to their normal range. Seeing as 2016 was the hottest year on record for the third consecutive year in a row, these sturdy coral systems may need more than their innate stalwartness to withstand a perpetually warming planet.

Best Philips Hue Alternatives

What’s the best alternative to Philips Hue? Here are our favorites!

Philips Hue smart lights are some of the coolest on the market and they’re definitely some of the most popular, but they can be quite expensive, especially once you get into colored bulbs. If you’re looking for a less expensive alternative or just something other than what’s popular, then check out these other awesome options.

• GE Link Starter Kit
• LIFX A19 Wi-Fi Smart Bulb
• Lucero A19 Smart Bulb
• Cree BA19 LED Bulb
• Sylvania Lightify by Osram
• Flux Bluetooth Smart LED bulb
• Z-Wave

GE Link Starter Kit

This starter kit from GE features two A19 LED bulbs and a link hub, allowing you to control all GE bulbs through the Wink mobile app. Although these bulbs only come in a soft white, they’re great for general use around your home, while still having complete control over scheduling. The GE Link starter kit is also compatible with Amazon Echo, but requires the Wink hub. Pricing starts around $35.

See at Amazon

LIFX A19 Wi-Fi Smart Bulb

The LIFX Wi-Fi bulb provides 16 million colors and 1,000 shades of white, connecting over your Wi-Fi network without the need for a hub. Simply download the LIFX app and gain control of lighting effects and custom schedules to suit your needs. Each A19 bulb only consumes 17 watts of energy and has a lumen count of 1017. LIFX bulbs even work with Nest Protect and Thermostat, flashing the lights when smoke is detected or switching the lights on and off automatically to make it appear as if someone is home while you’re away on vacation. You can order the LIFX bulb starting at $50 for one. LIFX bulbs are Amazon Certified to work with Alexa.

See at Amazon

Lucero A19 Smart Bulb

This colorful LED Bluetooth bulb from Lucero can be customized through the Lucero Smart Bulb app, where you can sync with your music and even control up to 50 bulbs in various groups (up to five). With over 16 million colors, there are plenty of options to suit your mood while managing to stay energy efficient at only 7.5 watts. These affordable smart bulbs are available for just $32 each.

See at Amazon

Cree BA19 LED Bulb

The daylight (5000K) dimmable Cree LED bulb is compatible with multiple platforms, including Amazon Echo, Wink, WeMo, and more. After setting up with a compatible hub, you can schedule your Cree bulbs to turn on and off at any specific time, adjust brightness, or even customize them to work while you’re away from home as an extra security measure. Each Cree bulb is only 11.5 watts and is available for about $15 each — not bad for its 22-year lifespan.

See at Amazon

Sylvania Lightify by Osram

The best feature of the Lightify bulbs by Osram is that they’re compatible with Alexa. If you have an Echo in your house, then these will work right out of the box (so long as you have a hub), so you can control your lights with just your voice!

Lightify comes in RGBW, tuneable white, and soft white, so you have your choice of light temperature to best suit your room. Just download the Lightify app, and you’re on your way. These bulbs fit into standard sockets, and you can adjust color temperature in the RGBW and tuneable white bulbs to best fit your mood or needs (soft white when it’s time to chill, daylight to help you stay awake). Pricing starts at $40 for a bulb, but you can get a 2-pack for $70.

See at Amazon

Flux Bluetooth Smart LED bulb

Flux bulbs are color-changing bulbs that work via Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi like the other bulbs on this list, which means you won’t be able to control them with you’re not at home. That being said, you can still schedule actions, like having the bulbs turn on when you’re away from home or to wake you up in the morning.

Flux bulbs feature over 16 million colors, which you control directly from the Flux app. You can control the mode (strobe, shifting colors, etc.), and these will even sync with music on your phone to add some extra atmosphere to your dance party.

Flux bulbs come in 7 or 10-watt iterations and are available for around $30.

See at Amazon

Z-Wave

Z-Wave isn’t a bulb, but a technology that allows many switches to be used to wirelessly control normal, everyday lightbulbs. With any Z-Wave switch, you can control not-smart bulbs via a great smart home hub — no need to pay through the nose for smart bulbs that last decades (though they are a pretty solid investment).

The light of your life

Which smart lights do you use? Sound off in the comments below!

Updated July 2017: These are still the best available alternatives to Philips Hue.

Moto Z2 Force hands-on: I can’t believe it’s not breakable

Motorola’s latest flagship has a shatterproof screen and a crazy-fast processor, but at first glance you can’t really tell.

Perhaps the biggest compliment and criticism one can level at the Moto Z2 Force is that it doesn’t look unbreakable, or even particularly new. From the front, you’d have to squint pretty hard to tell it apart from the $408 Moto Z2 Play released in June, and its resemblance to the flagship Moto Z Force Droid Edition released last year is uncanny.

This is in large part due to the adherence to Motorola’s increasingly busy Mods accessory lineup, which snap on to the back of the phone with a satisfying click that continues to impress even a year later.

But the Moto Z2 Force does have some notable improvements both over its predecessor, which was held to Verizon, and to the Moto Z2 Play, which we lauded with praise earlier this summer.

Moto Z2 Force Hands-on video

For the quick take on the Moto Z2 Force, be sure to watch our hands-on video above. After you get a feel for the phone, read through for our full initial impressions!

Moto Z2 Force Hardware

You’d be hard-pressed to tell this unbreakable screen isn’t glass.

For starters, though the Moto Z2 Force resembles all the Moto Z phones before it, its default color is Super Black, which finds Motorola jumping on the Matte Black trend that began with the Galaxy S7 and OnePlus 3T. While there are other colors — Fine Gold, and a T-Mobile-exclusive Lunar Grey — the Super Black model is really the one to get.

On the front of the phone, you’ll find the Quad HD Super AMOLED display, which looks great and gets extremely bright — its automatic brightness mechanism makes the phone quite usable in the sunshine, something you definitely couldn’t say about the original. But the real victory here is what you can’t see: the seams between the company’s ShatterShield layer and the display itself. What began as a fairly opaque differentiator on the Moto X Force was improved on the Moto Z Force and is now completely integrated into the chassis on the Moto Z2 Force.

While there is a small border when you turn the screen into the light, the gap is gone, and that’s probably the biggest advantage over the Forces of past. I didn’t get a chance to use the Moto Z Force for any length of time, and I definitely didn’t get to drop it, scratch it, or attempt to inflict damage to the ShatterShield screen in any way, it’s nice to know that should my clumsiness cause a fall onto cement, the screen will stay in tact.

That said, ShatterShield is not glass but a plastic-like compound that, though much more resistant to breakage than glass, is also more susceptible to scratches. In our limited time with the phone, both Andrew Martonik and I racked up some pretty nasty scratches on the screen that, while not visible to the naked eye, can be seen when tilted to the light. This isn’t a great first impression.

The phone also retains the more rounded front fingerprint sensor that debuted with the Moto G5 series earlier in the year, though Motorola’s made some improvements to the unlock speed by increasing the surface area of the reader itself. We also find the “Moto” logo on the bottom of the device instead of the top when compared to the Moto Z2 Play, along with a reversal of front-facing camera and flash placements. All very subtle.

Around back, the only real difference between the Z2 Force and Play is the new dual camera setup. The camera array, which we’ll deal with shortly, consists of 12MP sensors, as opposed to a single sensor on the Moto Z2 Play, but other than that you’d be hard-pressed to tell the two apart. Even the 6.1mm thickness is only 0.1mm greater than the Moto Z2 Play.

Despite being thicker than the Z2 Play, though, the new Force does not have a headphone jack. A USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack is included in the box, but you’ll be turning to Bluetooth or a dongle should you need to get tunes from the thing — or listen to the single front-facing speaker, which is just as tinny and underwhelming as most phone speakers. C’est la vie.

Moto Z2 Force Specs

We’ve got a pretty thorough listing of specs, so let’s get to the finer points. Like most flagships this year, the Moto Z2 Force comes with a Snapdragon 835 platform, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage — at least in the U.S. International variants, such as those sold in Brazil, will come with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, while China is getting an extra-special 6GB/128GB version, because of course it is.

Despite looking like last year’s model, this is one of 2017’s most powerful phones.

Along with the higher-resolution screen and faster internals, this is definitely Motorola’s most powerful-ever phone, which is great to see, but the original Moto Z Force was no slouch, either. The company appears, however, to be resting on the strength of its Moto Mods ecosystem, in which there are four separate batteries, to shore up its significantly smaller battery this time around. The original Z Force was a scant 7mm thick, with a 3500mAh cell; its sequel knocks 0.9mm from its waist and 22% from its battery capacity in the process. Not a great trade-off, in my opinion, even with the addition of a Moto Mod.

We’ve also got Qualcomm’s X16 baseband chip, which means Gigabit LTE support on T-Mobile and, in some parts of the country, AT&T. So far, I’ve experienced excellent speeds using the Verizon model, though nothing surpassing 150Mbps on my home network of Telus.

Moto Z2 Force Cameras

No optical image stabilization is a huge disappointment.

Motorola went with two rear camera sensors this time around, one color and one monochrome, the purpose of which is to offer depth effects and a true black-and-white mode.

Both sensors are identical 12MP Sony IMX386 parts paired with f/2.0 lenses. Unlike last year’s Moto Z lineup, neither lens is supported by optical image stabilization, an enormous oversight and a decision that was probably not taken lightly given the advantage it would bestow to low-light imagery. The lenses are also narrower than the Moto Z and Z Force: f/2.0 lets in less light than f/1.8, so it would be incumbent on Motorola to figure out how to use both cameras at once to improve low-light performance. We’ll see.

Of course, Motorola has largely painted itself into a corner with its design, since the camera equipment has to fit into a narrow protrusion near the top middle of the phone, but the reality is still disappointing.

Moto Z2 Force camera samples. Left to right: Regular, Depth, Black-and-white

So is the trade-off worth it? It’s not clear if the phone uses both cameras at all times, or only when calling the depth effect, which is accessed through a separate mode, but so far I’m impressed with the photos I’ve taken. Moreover, the dedicated monochrome sensor allows for true black-and-white photos straight from the sensor, something that only Huawei has offered until now with its Mate and P series. It’s an interesting decision given how OnePlus and LG have differentiated themselves by using two color sensors at different focal lengths, and it remains to be seen whether Motorola made the right choice.

Of course, the company is also banking on users buying (or being gifted) the Hasselblad Moto Mod, which offers a larger sensor and 10x optical zoom, alongside a Xenon flash.

Moto Z2 Force Software

On the software side, the experience is largely identical to what you’ll find on the Moto Z2 Play: Android 7.1.1 with some Motorola tweaks, most of which are highly welcome.

Moto Display continues to showcase just what ambient screens should look like, while the company’s lo-fi, near-stock design is about as good as you’ll get from an OEM. Given that I’m using a Verizon unit, I had to disable a number of apps and stubs that I will likely never use, but customers that don’t want the hassle can pick up an unlocked version, updated straight from Motorola, in the coming months.

So far, so so

I’m certainly not writing off the Moto Z2 Force, since it’s only been in my hands a few hours, but my impressions of the phone are decidedly mixed. In eliminating a proper sequel to the Moto Z, it has been forced to compromise on camera specs and battery life, two of the original Force’s biggest advantages.

The Moto Z2 Force does a lot of things well, but its success will depend on its camera and its battery.

But the Moto Z2 Force is also an impressive piece of hardware, packing a lot of power into a very compact and well-made exterior. Every buyer will be getting at least one Moto Mod to start his or her collection, and Motorola is banking that, upon using one, more will follow. At the same time, add-ons can’t make up for what appear to be decisions that many customers will not be impressed by, especially since some of them appear to be regressions from the 2016 models.

With most carriers charging between $750 and $810 for the phone, the Moto Z2 Force needs to have a strong marketing push behind it, something that it can achieve with Lenovo’s deep pockets. That the phone is available at all four U.S. carriers, a first for Motorola, is a windfall for the once-powerful brand, and a confidence booster for an impressive line of smartphones that, despite a slow start, has emerged as a strong competitor to Samsung and LG in the Android space.

Much of the Moto Z2 Force’s lasting impression will come down to the quality of the camera, and the longevity of the battery. Everything else, despite being familiar, is already here. It just needs to clear those remaining hurdles.

Where to buy the Moto Z2 Force

Moto Z2 Force Edition

• Moto Z2 Force is official
• Moto Z2 Force specs
• This is the Moto 360 Camera Mod
• Join the discussion in the forums!

LG’s display arm invests billions to take OLED mainstream

LG’s much-coveted OLED screens are set to become more attainable to the average Joe. The South Korean company has announced plans to invest a further 7.8 trillion Korean won ($7 billion) into production over the next three years in a bid to meet rising demand from smartphone and TV manufacturers.

Around $2.5 billion will be spent on developing a new line of larger OLED screens, while $4.5 billion has been earmarked for a separate line of flexible OLEDs. Both production lines will be located in Paju, northwest of Seoul, furthering the company’s commitment to beef up domestic production facilities by 2019. Taking into account ongoing investment, this move bumps LG’s total OLED venture to 15 trillion Korean Won ($13.5 billion).

“We’re clearly seeing the possibilities the OLED business offers, not only in the global TV segment, but also in the smartphone and automotive markets,” said Dr. Sang-Beom Han, CEO and Vice Chairman of LG Display. “We plan to actively respond to customers’ demands by expanding OLED capacity in a timely manner and developing diversified flexible displays that are fit for various applications.”

Via: Yon Hap News Agency

Netflix will stream Matt Groening’s fantasy cartoon ‘Disenchanted’

It’s been almost 30 years since Matt Groening launched his yellow nuclear Simpsons family on the Fox network. It’s been about 18 since he took to the stars with Futurama. Both series have been successful, with plenty of recent merchandise, VR celebrations and mobile games to keep fans invested in the respective animated universes. Groening is headed to Netflix with his next project, Disenchantment, another animated series for grown ups. This time, however, Groening will explore the epic fantasy genre via the misadventures of the “hard-drinking young princess Bean, her feisty elf companion Elfo, and her personal demon Luci.”

“Ultimately,” said Groening in a statement, “Disenchantment will be about life and death, love and sex, and how to keep laughing in a world full of suffering and idiots, despite what the elders and wizards and other jerks tell you.”

Disenchantment has an all-star voice cast as well. The lead voice actors feature BoJack Horseman‘s Abbi Jacobson as Bean, Nat Faxon from The Cleveland Show as Elfo and American Dad’s Eric Andre as Luci. The cast will also have Futurama‘s John Dimaggio and Ren and Stimpy‘s Billy West along for the ride. The animation is being created by the same studio that does Futurama, Rough Draft Studios. The show itself will appear on Netflix in ten episode blocks starting in 2018.

Source: Netflix

YouTube stars are blurring the lines between content and ads

Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner are just some of the celebrities under the microscope for using social media to shamelessly plug sponsored products. Advertising without proper disclosures has become a growing problem with influencers that have thousands or millions of followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And it’s happening on YouTube as well, where it’s often hard to tell whether videos from big-name “content creators” are paid ads or genuine reviews.

Your favorite YouTubers are covering smartphones, makeup, clothing, sneakers, video games and other consumer goods. But how do you know if they’re doing it because they simply love something or if it’s a brand endorsement? There’s nothing wrong with the latter, though it does turn problematic if they’re not telling you about it. And as the influence of YouTube personalities grows, particularly among millennials, more and more companies are looking to those personalities to promote their products.

Popular YouTube personality iJustine at a promo event for Quest Nutrition

YouTube’s guidelines are quite clear. Creators need to be transparent both on its backend (read: ticking a box in settings) and with viewers: “All Paid Promotion needs to conform to our Ad Policies. In addition, creators and brands are responsible for understanding and complying with their legal obligations to disclose Paid Promotion in their content, including when and how to disclose and to whom to disclose (so be sure to check and comply with your legal obligations).”

A spokesperson added, “Our policies make it clear that YouTube content creators are responsible for ensuring their content complies with local laws, regulations and YouTube community guidelines. If content is found to violate these policies, we take action to ensure the integrity of our platform, which can include removing content.” The issue is that, often, YouTubers tend to believe that by saying “X company sent me this,” they’re doing their due diligence. This may be enough if a brand sent a product without any expectations but not if there was compensation in exchange for coverage.

“Our policies make it clear that YouTube content creators are responsible for ensuring their content complies with local laws, regulations and YouTube community guidelines.”

Rules from the Federal Trade Commission, the government agency tasked with protecting consumers in the US, requires that any paid partnership be explicitly labeled as “ad” or as “sponsored.” Anything else beyond that could be considered a violation of the FTC Act. Last year, the FTC settled charges with Warner Bros. for deceiving consumers during a marketing campaign for the game Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. The company failed to disclose that it paid “thousands of dollars” to YouTubers — including megastar PewDiePie, who has more than 56 million subscribers — to post positive reviews on Google’s platform and other social media sites.

There was a similar case in 2015, when the FTC filed a complaint against YouTube network Machinima for deceptive advertising of Microsoft’s Xbox One. Machinima paid a number of influencers to endorse the console and “several of its games,” none of which disclosed that they received compensation “for their seemingly objective opinions.”

The audience appreciates upfrontness and honesty. Their appetite for bullshit is short and no one likes feeling duped.

Casey Neistat

Casey Neistat, one of the biggest YouTubers of the moment, says that it’s important for video makers on the site to always be honest with viewers. “The audience appreciates upfrontness and honesty,” he says. “Their appetite for bullshit is short and no one likes feeling duped. If the content is good, ad or not, it’s usually appreciated, but transparency is very important when communicating with an audience that signed up for you (the person), not the ads.” Neistat, who has nearly 8 million subscribers on YouTube, recently received backlash over a video titled “FIRST DAY OF SUMMER,” which was made after Samsung asked he if could show off the camera features of the Galaxy S8.

Neistat says he was was paid to make it, but there’s no sign of it being an advertisement on the video itself or in the description of it. There’s only a message at the end of it that reads, “This video was filmed entirely on the Galaxy S8. Every single shot. No color correction. #NoFilter.” You can see why his audience might feel he tricked them into watching a commercial. Part of the confusion, along with there not being a clear “ad” or “sponsored” label on the video, is that Neistat is essentially a brand ambassador for the South Korean giant. He was even featured in a TV ad for Samsung products during the Oscars earlier this year.

Casey Neistat speaking at VidCon in 2016

The FTC declined to comment for this story, but Engadget learned that the agency’s Endorsement Guidelines also apply to paid brand ambassadors. In other words, while these individuals may not necessarily need to label online content with the words “ad” or “sponsored,” they are still required to be fully transparent about their business partnership with any company.

Jacques Slade, who runs a popular YouTube channel about sneakers, says one of the main issues is properly educating influencers on the ethics and laws they should be following. “I think a lot of it is probably more … I don’t want to say ignorance, because that sounds like a really harsh word, but a lack of understanding when it comes to branding, deals and stuff like that,” he says. Slade, known as Kustoo on YouTube, says he’s always honest with his audience and makes it a top priority to disclose when a company sends him a product to review — which he may end up keeping “for free.” Although he doesn’t label some of his videos as ads because he wasn’t paid to make them, he lets viewers know when it’s not something he bought himself.

According to a source who works for brands that have relationships with YouTube influencers, as long as there’s a financial compensation, they are told to label their videos as “ad” or “sponsored.” If they don’t, the clients will follow up and make sure it gets done. “The rule of thumb is that when there is an ‘expectation for coverage,’ whether there is an exchange of money, a unique experience or anything else,” the source said, “‘sponsored or ‘ad’ is required.” The problem is, it seems some YouTubers simply don’t do it. YouTube says it will remove content if that’s the case, but a source claims the company has never actually taken those measures.

“I am always tempted to make a fun explainer video to help inform new creators,” Neistat says. “But there’s a liability that goes with being the arbiter of information like that, and I am not sure I am willing to assume it.” He’s probably right to avoid taking on that responsibility. It should be on the brands who pay influencers, YouTube and even the FTC. That said, Neistat believes that his fellow YouTubers should “assume a greater responsibility,” because ultimately they’re only hurting their own reputation and the people who love watching them.