CNBC: Secret team at Amazon is working on health care projects

A report by CNBC connects several threads that apparently lead to an Amazon stealth team working on health related projects. Dubbed 1492 (because healthcare from Columbus worked out great for so many people), the team is apparently working on hardware and software projects. Late last fall, CEO Jeff Bezos mentioned that Alexa and Echo devices could be a tool for both providers and patients. Separately, the company is investing in cancer-testing startup Grail and recently hired the former director of healthcare and life sciences at Box.

Specifically, CNBC points to job postings dealing with the use of medical records as examples. There’s no mention of its Lab126 that was reportedly restructured after delivering hardware including the original Echo and Fire Phone.

As machine learning and AI services expand, big name companies in tech are looking for ways to grab a piece of the immense health care market, and Amazon could be poised to do that via Echo hardware backed by Alexa. Previous rumors have pointed to Apple using the iPhone to dive deeper into your medical history, while Google’s DeepMind Health AI project processes big data for hospitals.

Source: CNBC

Windows 10 preview connects your Android phone to your PC

Microsoft is acting on its promise to make PCs and phones live in harmony. It just posted a Windows 10 Insider Preview (on the Fast ring) that introduces the first batch of features integrating Windows with your mobile devices. If you have an Android phone, you can link it to your PC to continue your web browsing on the bigger screen. Once it’s set up, you only have to use your browser’s usual sharing option to punt a website to your computer. The preview is missing iPhone support and many of the slicker features Microsoft promised in the Fall Creators Update, such as seamless document syncing, but it could be worth a try.

Thankfully, that’s not the only addition in the preview. Cortana now shows certain web search results without prompting you to launch an external web browser, and you can tell the assistant to restart, log out or even turn off your PC. In Windows 10 Mobile, you can also switch to a portrait view while you’re using the PC-like Continuum mode. Fast ring releases like these aren’t for the faint-hearted (expect bugs), but it’s clear this is more than just bug fixes.

Via: The Verge

Source: Windows Experience Blog

Walmart cancels early SNES Classic Edition preorders

If you’re one of the lucky folks that got a preorder in at Walmart for a Super Nintendo Classic Edition unit last week, you might want to sit down. Walmart is canceling all of the preorders, claiming that it was “mistakenly made available last Friday evening ahead of the official release date.” The retailer has started notifying customers today.

Walmart’s Deserie Dulaney’s email states that while the company must “regrettably” cancel the orders, it has not charged anyone’s credit cards, as is standard procedure. Anyone who used PayPal or a Gift card will get refunds. “I do hope you’ll give us another chance to earn back your business,” said Dulaney in the email.

This doesn’t mean that no one will get a SNES Classic Edition, however. The official launch date is September 29th; you’ll be able to get back in line to order the item then for $80. The worry, of course, is that the new Nintendo mini-console will suffer the same shortages as last holiday’s Nintendo Entertainment System Classic and has since been discontinued.

Via: Thanks, Robert

Apple Supplier Foxconn Confirms Plans to Build TV Display Factory in Wisconsin

Apple supplier Foxconn today announced plans to invest $10 billion in the United States, which will go towards building a new factory in Wisconsin that will employ 3,000 or more workers.

Foxconn is sharing the news at an event at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, says Recode.

The upcoming factory will produce large LCD displays that are meant to be used in televisions and other similarly sized electronics, but Foxconn chairman Terry Gou has said Apple is willing to invest in the factory, so it could be expanded to smaller displays in the future.

According to the Trump administration, the factory could grow to employ as many as 13,000 workers, while also encouraging Foxconn to build additional facilities in other parts of the country.

Foxconn has been mulling a U.S. factory for several months and has been in talks with both the U.S government and several state governments. Foxconn considered several locations for the factory before settling on Wisconsin.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tag: Foxconn
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Everything you can do with your Amazon Echo Show

Adding a screen to Amazon’s newest Alexa voice assistant means that the Echo Show can do some things the speaker alone can’t. Whether you want to watch a TV show, get a cooking tutorial, or see your calendar, the Amazon Echo Show can help out. Developers are racing to catch up on new capabilities rolling in after the device’s launch. Here are a few things you can now do with the Echo Show — just remember that you have to enable these skills in your app. We’ll update as the Show learns new tricks.

Watch

Need to see the news? Bloomberg and CNN both have updated skills that allow you to watch what’s happening in the world. Say, “Alexa, open CNN” or “Alexa, open Bloomberg” for a briefing. CNBC, People Magazine and “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” also have flash briefings. If you’d prefer to escape from the real world for a bit, you can say things like “Alexa, play “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” or any of Prime’s other great movies. YouTube videos work, too. “Alexa, play [insert song name here] on YouTube” will bring up some choices, although it’s not as easy to find a specific video due to the volume of selections available.

Cook

Following Alexa’s verbal cues for a recipe can be a bit difficult, so Allrecipes and Food Network are taking advantage of the screen to show you visual guides as you cook. Tell Alexa to “ask Food Network for vegetarian lasagna recipes,” and the Echo Show brings up Alexa’s top picks. You can select a recipe and sometimes watch a video of a chef making the recipe. The Food Network skill can email you the full recipe with step-by-step instructions, while on screen you’ll see the ingredient list, difficulty level, rating, chef’s name, and photo.

Book

With the OpenTable skill, you ask Alexa to book a reservation at a restaurant. The display will then show you available times, so you can select which one you want.

Read

Amazon thinks looking at a few days of weather forecasts is easier than hearing them read aloud. Same with your calendars — if you have your Google or Outlook account synced. Some skills aren’t fully ready for Show-time, so the Jeopardy! skill, for example, just reads the clues and displays them on screen.

Monitor

The Echo Show works with a few security cameras, so you can see the feed on the 7-inch touchscreen.  Vivint, August Home, Nest, Amcrest, EZViz, IC Realtime, Ring, Logitech, and Arlo make cameras or video doorbells that work with the device. Nest Cam also works with Petnet, a smart pet feeder. You can direct Alexa to ask Petnet to feed your kitty a cup of food or view your pup if she triggers Nest’s motion alarm.

Call

All Alexa devices now have the ability to call other Alexa devices, but only the Show lets you do video calling. You can see which of your contacts have an Echo, Dot, or Show in the app and then give them a ring. There’s also a “drop-in” feature that doesn’t give the other party a chance to reject your call. It’s meant to be a video intercom feature that can be used by people to check in on their elderly parents — even if they live in another state. It’s got some people spooked about hacking, though Amazon says it’s safe. Some are also a bit leery of the Show’s always-on camera. You can press the mute button at the top to turn off the mic and camera, but there’s no privacy shutter like the family-friendly Nucleus intercom.

Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501VI Gaming Laptop Review

Research Center:
Asus ROG Zephyrus

Is the era of the big, bulky, red-and-black gaming laptop nearing an end? Asus seems to think so. With the latest addition to the venerated Republic of Gamers brand, Asus has shed conventions and forged ahead to create a new breed of gaming laptop. During our Asus ROG Zephyrus GX501VI review, we discovered just how far Asus is willing to go to pack unbelievable gaming power into the slimmest package possible.

For $2,700 the Asus ROG Zephyrus features an Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor, 16GB of RAM, an ultra-fast 512GB solid state drive, a 1080p 120Hz G-Sync display, and last but not least, an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q design.

With hardware like that, it’s easy to see why the Zephyrus might usher in a new era of gaming laptops. Is this the first of a new breed, or proof that traditional gaming laptops have life left?

Now I am become the Zephyrus, destroyer of laps

The Asus Zephyrus marks a departure from the aesthetic that has defined the Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand since its inception. Rather than decking out an ultra-thick laptop in red and black, Asus opted to go a different route with the Zephyrus, adopting a look similar to the company’s new Strix series of hardware.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

It’s impossibly thin at .7 inches, and surprisingly light at 4.9 pounds. On top of its startling dimensions, the edges offer glossy, chamfered bezels, and the lower edge features a polished copper-colored finish. The ROG logo is set into the top panel in chrome amid a sea of black, brushed metal.

It’s a striking design, but on closer inspection, certain elements don’t quite hold up. The first thing you’ll notice is the unusual keyboard and touchpad layout. The keyboard is pushed to the bottom edge of the laptop, with the touchpad situated alongside, where a numpad normally would be.

The Zephyrus marks a departure from the aesthetic that’s defined the ROG brand since its inception.

Between the display and the top of the keyboard lies an empty expanse, the keyboard’s “forehead.” That’s where the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q design resides slumbering, waiting. It’s a weird layout, necessitated by the inclusion of an incredibly powerful GPU, which requires an awful lot of room to breathe.

Slim laptops, especially slim gaming laptops, tend to have trouble with heat, and the Zephyrus is no exception. It gets hot, and it gets hot fast. After only about twenty minutes of gaming the previously mentioned “forehead” was hotter than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, topping out at about 120 degrees.

It’s not dangerously hot, but it is uncomfortably hot. Even through jeans, with the Zephyrus in your lap, you’ll have to shift it around pretty frequently to stay comfortable. Wearing shorts, well — don’t wear shorts and have this thing in your lap.

In fact, the Zephyrus is best when it’s not anywhere near your lap. In that way, it’s a laptop in name only.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Internally, though, the Zephyrus does an admirable job of keeping itself cool, thanks to an interesting design decision. Normally, opening a laptop only swings the screen into position — but on the Zephyrus, it pushes open a hidden vent in the lower body, and tilts the entire laptop upward. This open undercarriage helps Asus keep the laptop thin despite its powerful hardware. It’s a neat trick, but also one that looks and feels hacked together.

All the ports!

Thin and light laptops usually have a bit of a port deficiency. Keeping things trim means making some unfortunate sacrifices, but the Zephyrus bucks that trend by including a full complement of ports. It features four USB Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack.

Comparatively, the Razer Blade featured the same complement of ports, minus that extra USB Type-A port. It’s a small difference, but having two on either side allows a certain degree of flexibility — you can set up your keyboard and mouse, while having room to plug in your phone, and some other accessory.

Walking the right-hand path

As one the Zephyrus’ most noticeable design peculiarities, the position of the keyboard and touchpad definitely raises some eyebrows. It’s a necessity, due to the GTX 1080’s voracious hunger for air, which requires that it have as much ventilation as possible so it doesn’t end up producing enough heat to collapse in on itself like a dying star, vaporizing the entire planet — along with your $2,700 laptop.

There’s noticeable latency, and the touchpad itself is insensitive when it comes to detecting tap-to-click.

So, in lieu of a typical keyboard/touchpad layout, the Zephyrus presents something of a puzzle. With the keyboard pushed to the bottom edge of the laptop, can you still use it as a laptop? Not exactly. Sure, you can still type with this thing in your lap, but it’s awkward. Your hands end up perched on the bottom edge like a couple of hungry birds.

The keyboard itself is of average quality. Though the key caps are a little flimsy, the travel is nice — not too deep, not too shallow. You never forget you’re typing on a laptop, though, and it has a familiar, soft landing at the end of each keystroke. That’s not uncommon on a laptop this thin, but it’s unfortunate for a gaming laptop — where the keyboard will see rigorous use. For example, the much thicker Alienware 15 R3 was able to accommodate deep key travel, and a metal back-plate that gave each keystroke a clicky, tactile feel.

The Zephyrus’ keyboard also features RGB backlighting, which can be controlled via the included Asus ROG software. The backlighting doesn’t leak around the keys too much, unless you’re in a completely dark room.

Moving on to the touchpad, it’s important to note that the positioning, while novel, creates a problem for left-handed users. Namely, the laptop is almost unusable if you’re left-handed. Normally, the positioning of a touchpad – in the center — is nice and non-partisan. Right-handed users can use it, left-handed users can use it, everyone’s happy. But here, the Zephyrus takes a hard-line stance. This touchpad is for right-handed users only, because it’s on the right.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

That might be a blessing in disguise for lefties, though, because it’s not a very responsive touchpad. While it supports Windows Precison Touchpad gestures, it feels just slightly off. There’s noticeable latency, and the touchpad itself is insensitive when it comes to detecting tap-to-click. Using the clicker buttons is the only way to go.

In addition to its novel, if not always convenient positioning, the touchpad feels cramped. At 2.313-inches it is small for a laptop of this size, and it’s taller than it is wide, which is an unusual match with the widescreen display. The Razer Blade, for instance, has a 4.1-inch wide touchpad, which feels luxurious by comparison.

Before moving on, let’s talk about the numpad. That’s right, the Zephyrus has a numpad, hidden underneath its touchpad. There’s a button you can push that toggles the touchpad into a numpad, which isn’t a bad idea — in theory. But when you’re using an numpad, tactile feedback is incredibly important, and it’s totally absent here.

Asus ROG Zephyrus Compared To

Alienware 15 R3 (2017)

Razer Blade (2017)

MSI GS63VR 6RF Stealth Pro

Alienware 13 R3

Acer Predator 15

MSI GS60 Ghost Pro

Acer Predator 17 G9-791-79Y3

Alienware 15 (2015)

Asus ROG G501

Digital Storm Triton

Acer Aspire V15 Nitro Edition

AVADirect Clevo P157SM-A

MSI Global GT60 Dominator Pro

Lenovo IdeaPad Y500

Origin Eon 17-S

It’s quicker to use the number keys above the keyboard than it is to toggle the numpad on, look at it, and punch in the numbers you need — then punch them in again when you realize your finger slipped a bit and you put in the wrong numbers.

Dull, drab, but smooth!

G-Sync makes an appearance on the Asus Zephyrus. It’s a welcome surprise, since high-refresh-rate displays are still something of a rarity on gaming laptops.

With a refresh rate of 120Hz, the Zephyrus’ 1080p display panel is capable of refreshing 120 times per second, which means games will look impossibly smooth — provided they’re also hitting 120 frames per second. However, there’s a bit of a problem. Well, a couple problems.

First up, the display itself is not that vibrant. With a contrast ratio of 870:1 it looks fine, but some images and videos just appear drab. Images lack the sense of depth and definition you get out of higher-contrast displays like the panel on the Razer Blade 2017, with its contrast ratio of 1040:1. To be fair it is a lot better than what you’d see on most gaming laptops, but to the naked eye it’s a bit lifeless.

There’s a narrow gap between the Razer Blade and the Zephyrus here, but it’s the difference between a superb display and an acceptable one. At $2,700, you’re not wrong to expect more than adequate.

Additionally, 1080p isn’t as pleasing to the eye as it once was — especially not on a gaming laptop. Everyday productivity apps look pixelated, and interface elements in games are a little too jagged when you look closely. Your games will be smooth, but they might not be as vibrant or detailed as they would be on a 1440p, or 4K panel.

Looking at color gamut, you can see the Asus Zephyrus lands right in the middle of the pack, managing to render 75 percent of the AdobeRGB color space. It’s perfectly average performance, with its nearest competitors, the Razer Blade, Alienware 15 R3, and MSI G63VR, all delivering nearly identical scores, give or take a single percentage point.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Color accuracy is a bit of a different story. The Razer Blade and Alienware 15 R3 lead the pack with average color error scores of 1.36 and 1.31, respectively. That means each of these displays are capable of rendering colors accurately enough, that any discernible error is almost imperceptible. A score of below 1.0 would mean that those errors would be indiscernible to the human eye. None of these laptops are quite that accurate however.

The Asus Zephyrus scored well, hitting 1.87, meaning it may not be accurate enough for high-sensitivity photo or video editing, but it’s definitely accurate enough for gaming and everything else.

Headphones required

The more time we spent with the Asus Zephyrus, the more we realized that this laptop is just a vessel for the GTX 1080 and its dark power.

The Zephyrus devoured the competition, making mincemeat of all but the most capable gaming laptops.

At every step of the way, sacrifices were made to pack the GTX 1080 into such a slim and attractive package. The speakers were one such sacrifice.

The speakers inside the Zephyrus are weak, even for by laptop standards. The two top-firing speakers are slim, quiet, and inadequate for anything beyond system alerts. Fire up Spotify or one of our other favorite streaming apps, and music is whispery, insubstantial, and lifeless.

At full volume, the speakers lose all definition, and sound crashes together while somehow managing to ti also seem just slightly too quiet. Thankfully, the Zephyrus has that headphone jack, so you can plug in your favorite gaming headset and get going. Just make sure you mute the built-in speakers.

Adequately average

Featuring an Intel i7-7700HQ processor, the Asus Zephyrus offers an impressive amount of computing horsepower for such a small system. To be fair, the i7-7700HQ is the gaming CPU du jour, and nearly every other system on our list featured one of these little guys.

So here, the Zephyrus and its competitors are on a level playing field. But keep in mind, variations in performance here are so miniscule that they’re likely attributable to individual variations in the processor itself, rather than anything special their manufacturers did to juice the processor performance.

Just look at those scores. With the exception of the MSI G63VR, which featured a 6th-generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ processor when we tested it, the Zephyrus is separated from its competitors by razor-thin margins. On single core performance, the Zephyrus came in second with a score of 4,573 to the Alienware’s winning score of 4,735.

On multi-core performance, the Zephyrus moved ahead to first place, hitting 14,735. The Alienware 15 R3 is in a close second with 14,349, and the Razer Blade fell to third with 13,762. So, what does that mean in practice? Not much. These variations in performance would be almost imperceptible in actual use, since each one of these laptops features a very powerful quad-core processor.

The most instructive result is actually from the MSI GS63VR, which features the previous-generation version of the same processor in the Zephyrus, Razer Blade, and Alienware 15 R3. Its single core performance wasn’t too far from what we got out of the Zephyrus, but its multi-core performance is significantly lower.

That means picking up the latest-generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ actually has a substantial impact on your everyday performance — which we can see in our Handbrake test.

The Zephyrus managed to complete a 4K video encode in just under eight minutes, with the Razer Blade and Alienware 15 R3 completing the same encode in roughly the same amount of time. The MSI G63VR took a bit longer, thanks to the older CPU in the model we tested, finishing the same encode in a little over 9 minutes.

Now, that’s not a huge difference. But over time, and during everyday use, that little extra edge you get from having a quicker processor will help the Zephyrus keep up after a few years of use.

Nimble storage

For the most part, the Zephyrus is a portable GTX 1080, but that doesn’t mean Asus neglected every other component to make room for that monstrous graphics card. Nope, the Zephyrus ships with a 512GB solid state drive, and it’s incredibly fast.

That’s important for a number of reasons. A quick hard drive isn’t really going to boost your gaming performance, but it will make sure you’re not hamstrung by slow read/write speeds when loading up games — especially open world games.

In this arena, the Asus Zephyrus managed to outrun all of its nearest competitors on both read speed and write speed. Hitting an impressive read speed of 2,408 megabytes-per-second, and a super-fast write speed of 1,536 MB/s, the Zephyrus is as quick as its namesake — a Roman wind god. Because wind is fast. Okay, let’s move on.

Hard drive speed is one area where the Zephyrus handily beats the Razer Blade, nearly doubling its read speed, and more than quadrupling its write speed.

Behold the GTX 1080 in its natural habitat

Here it is, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Now we set loose the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, pitting it against its lesser kin, and await the inevitable blood bath.

Okay, it’s not a total bloodbath, and that’s important for a few reasons. The GTX 1080 is an incredibly capable card, second only to the ultra-premium version, the GTX 1080 Ti. But this is card is something else, something new — it’s a GTX 1080 with Max-Q design, one of the first on the market.

As a testbed for Nvidia’s Max-Q design, it’s an admirable effort, but it’s hard to recommend.

Nvidia cooked up Max-Q design as a way to make powerful gaming laptops as thin as possible, by reducing their overall footprint. There’s a lot Nvidia did to achieve that goal, but one of the main components of Max-Q design is power management. Graphics cards perform better when they have more power pumped into them, but Nvidia found diminishing returns after a certain point. Plus, all that extra power meant those cards generate a lot more heat, so they need bigger, louder, fans. That’s where gaming laptops get their characteristic thickness.

So, graphics cards with Max-Q design use a combination of hardware engineering, underclocking, and software management to ensure everything is running at peak efficiency — at that point right before those diminishing returns start. Engineering for efficiency means Max-Q graphics cards can get by with smaller fans, and gobble up less power while still delivering impressive gaming performance.

Which is why the Zephyrus is super-thin, but still manages offer killer gaming performance. That’s also why it will always be a little slower than a “regular” GTX 1080 laptop.

Specifically, the mobile GTX 1080 without Max-Q design is capable of hitting 7.9 teraflops, to the Max-Q version’s 6.6 teraflops. We have a full breakdown of how teraflops impact your gaming performance, but simply put, it’s just a metric for measuring a graphics card’s brute strength, their ability to crunch numbers. That might seem abstract and weird, but it means the Max-Q version of the GTX 1080 is almost 20 percent slower than the regular edition, on paper.

But what about the real world?

Looking at the results from our 3DMark tests, the Asus Zephyrus comes in first in each benchmark, but the margin of victory is important to note. Remember all the sacrifices Asus made to cram a GTX 1080 into the Zephyrus? The inconvenient keyboard, the heat issues, the slightly cut-down performance? Well, now we get to see how much that trouble was actually worth.

Not much, unfortunately. The Zephyrus came in first in each of our other real-world gaming tests, but only by slim margins.

In For Honor, the Zephyrus managed an impressive 113 frames per second with every graphical setting pushed all the way up. The Alienware 15 R3, with its lesser GTX 1070 graphics card, managed to keep up with 107 frames per second.

Looking at similarly demanding games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, that margin remains almost the same across the board. The Zephyrus hit 72 frames per second on ultra-high detail settings in Deus Ex, while the Alienware 15 R3 hit 68 FPS.

In Battlefield 1 though, the Zephyrus pushed further ahead of the competition, hitting 121 FPS on ultra-high detail settings — just enough to make the most of that 120Hz display panel. The Alienware 15 R3 topped out at 81 FPS. All right, that’s a pretty good margin, one which might justify all the sacrifices the GTX 1080 requires.

The Zephyrus’ performance be judged as excellent, or lackluster, depending on your goal. It’s great for a portable gaming laptop. The Max-Q version of the Nvidia GTX 1080 beats a variety of competitors that are thick, and also defeats the Razer Blade, a model of thin-and-light gaming performance, with ease.

On the other hand, the Zephyrus is a $2,700 laptop. Its level of performance is great, but it often lands just slightly ahead of the GTX 1070-powered Alienware. Gamers who don’t care much about portability will see the Max-Q hardware as underwhelming.

Ultra-light and ultra-short

The Asus Zephyrus weighs just 4.9 pounds, making it much more portable than the Alienware 15 R3, which weighs nearly eight pounds. That said, the Zephyrus isn’t exactly what you’d call portable. Because of its nature as a thin and light laptop, one which is occupied by the bloodthirsty spirit — the GTX 1080 — the battery life leaves much to be desired. With a 50 watt-hour battery, the Zephyrus just doesn’t have enough battery power to satisfy its dark hunger.

In our Peacekeeper benchmark the Zephyrus fared poorly, lasting just over two hours before the battery ran down. To be fair, the Alienware 15 R3 only lasted about 40 minutes longer on the same test. On our more forgiving video loop test, the Zephyrus managed to last a bit over three and a half hours, while the Alienware 15 R3 managed just over four hours flat.

If you were considering the Zephyrus a capable everyday driver, these battery results should give you pause. Despite its slim build and light weight, it’s just not very portable — especially since you’ll need to carry around the charger everywhere you go.

ROG-lite

The Zephyrus comes with an array of Asus ROG-branded software utilities, most of which serve important roles in maintaining the laptop itself. Hitting the ROG button on the keyboard — the one shaped like an angry eye — pops open the ROG performance center, illustrating your CPU and GPU temperature, alongside some other important information.

There’s also the Asus ROG Aura utility, with which you can tune the backlighting on the Zephyrus’ oddly-placed keyboard. Aside from the Asus utilities, there’s not really any bloatware here. Everything included serves a purpose.

Warranty

The Asus Zephyrus is covered by a standard one year warranty, covering parts and labor in the event of any manufacturer defects. Given the cost of this machine, however, you’ll probably want to buy an extended care plan just in case.

Our Take

The Asus Zephyrus is one of the lightest, slimmest, and most powerful gaming laptops on the market today. Built from the ground-up to support an Nvidia GTX GeForce 1080 graphics card with ultra-slim Max-Q design, does the Zephyrus serve as a test case for a new kind of gaming laptop? Or is it more of a cautionary tale?

Is there a better alternative?

There are better alternatives, but that depends on how you define better. Are there more powerful alternatives that are just as slim and light as the Zephyrus? No.

Nvidia makes some big promises for Max-Q design, and for the most part it delivers. You get an ultra-thin laptop with a — slightly underclocked — GTX 1080 inside. But the Zephyrus makes a lot of compromises to make that happen, and it’s hard to say that they all pay off.

Opting to go with a more sensible, but only slightly less capable, card like the GTX 1070 or even the GTX 1060, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches. Not only will you have a lot more options, you might even save some money.

For instance, the Razer Blade offers solid gaming performance in a stylish package with a killer display, and it starts at $1,900. The MSI G63VR is also a good pick that’s nearly as thin and light as the Zephyrus, and a whole lot cheaper at $1,700.

How long will it last?

The copper-colored accents, brushed-metal exterior, and high price suggest a premium build quality, but that’s just not the case. The display panel has a fair amount of give, the interior of the laptop is almost entirely plastic, and the bottom plate that opens up to vent hot air into your lap is remarkably flimsy. It’s thin, and buckles inward any time you handle the laptop while it’s open.

Considering all of that, it’s hard to see the Zephyrus lasting as long as a premium laptop should. If it’s parked on a desk for most of its life, it’ll probably be fine, and it’ll last a few years at least before its internals start to feel dated.

Should you buy it?

If you need serious graphical horsepower in a compact and easy-to-carry package, then yes, you should buy the Asus Zephyrus. If you want a great gaming laptop, you should probably look elsewhere. The Zephyrus was built to accommodate its graphics card, and while it succeeds in delivering a huge amount of graphical power in a small size, it sacrificed a lot of other elements to make that possible.

For $2,700 the Zephyrus requires an awful lot of compromise. As a testbed for Nvidia’s Max-Q design, it’s an admirable effort. But as a gaming laptop, it’s hard to recommend.

Radeon RX Vega benchmarks appear online thanks to an AMD employee

Why it matters to you

Here is a possible close look at how at least one Radeon RX Vega graphics card will compare against Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 GPUs.

AMD’s official reveal of its new lineup of Radeon RX Vega graphics cards takes place in a matter of days, so naturally we are now seeing leaked benchmarks and images. The latest benchmarks were supposedly conducted by AMD’s Senior Technical Marketing Specialist Jason Evangelho, who goes by the alias TheGameTechnician in 3DMark. Does that make them unofficially official?

The benchmarks are based on the 3DMark Fire Strike test. However, there’s no information regarding which Radeon RX Vega card was tested, or if it was set to silent or gaming mode. We presume the number would stem from the latter given you want the best possible numbers when comparing results against Nvidia’s competing products.

Here are the Radeon RX Vega numbers along with three GeForce GTX 10 Series cards sold by Nvidia’s partners:

Base Clock
Memory Clock
FireStrike GPU Score
MSI GTX 1080 TI Gaming X
1,924MHz
1,390MHz
29,425
MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X
1,924MHz
1,263MHz
22,585
Radeon RX Vega #1
1,630MHz
945MHz
22,330
Radeon RX Vega #2
1,630MHz
945MHz
22,291
Radeon RX Vega #3
1,536MHz
945MHz
20,949
Colorful GTX 1070
1,797MHz
2,002MHz
18,561

Given the official reveal of AMD’s Radeon RX Vega products is happening just days away, we are likely seeing close-to-final performances. Then again, we are not exactly sure what AMD plans to do regarding these cards during its special event at SIGGRAPH 2017 (July 30 — August 3). AMD may simply be formally introducing the Radeon RX Vega family with a launch date before the end of 2017, giving the company more time to tweak even greater performance out of the hardware.

As for images of the Radeon RX Vega, one can be seen here. The photo supposedly reveals a reference edition model that will be used in a FreeSync versus G-Sync benchmark test against the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card. However, there is nothing in the photo that indicates that the photo is based on AMD’s new Vega design. For the Radeon Vega Frontier Edition, AMD prints the Vega logo on the protective cover, but that likely may not be the case for a reference model used for testing.

The Radeon RX Vega graphics card is a highly anticipated product from AMD. It’s the company’s return to the high-end graphics market since the release of its Radeon R9 Fury cards in 2015. After that, AMD focused on the mainstream market with affordable solutions that support virtual reality: the Polaris-based Radeon RX 400 Series and the most recent Radeon RX 500 Series.

Meanwhile, Nvidia slowly rolled out its GeForce GTX 10 Series cards addressing the entry-level (GT 1030, GTX 1050, GTX 1050 Ti), mid-range (GTX 1060), high-end (GTX 1070, GTX 1080), and enthusiast (GTX 1080 Ti, Titan X, Titan Xp) markets. At least on the high-end markets and above, AMD has some catching up to do.

AMD’s upcoming Radeon RX Vega cards are meant to complement the company’s new Ryzen desktop processors. AMD used Vega when displaying Ryzen’s performance prior to the processor family launch and it should be no coincidence that Vega-based cards are arriving in the same timeframe as AMD’s two enthusiast Ryzen Threadripper processors arriving in August.

Tell your emergency contacts where you are with Trusted Contacts from Google

Why it matters to you

Getting in touch with a loved one in an emergency situation can be frustratingly difficult — especially if you’re on different platforms. Google’s iOS release of Trusted Contacts fixes that problem.

Google’s Trusted Contacts app, which allows friends and family to request each other’s location, has just landed on iOS. The app originally released last December exclusively for Android, though the update means that emergency contacts can now check in no matter what devices they’re using.

“Whether it’s hiking alone or walking down a street after dark — sometimes you want to know someone’s got your back,” Google wrote in a blog post announcement debuting the app. “To help you feel safe and give your friends and family peace of mind, today we’re launching Trusted Contacts. This new personal safety app lets you share your location with loved ones in everyday situations and when emergencies arise — even if your phone is offline or you can’t get to it.”

In addition to the iOS release, Google has made a handful of helpful additions to the service. Users are now given the option to control how quickly their location is shared, which is particularly important for those who need help but lose wireless service. New contacts can now be added by phone number, and a total of 25 languages are now supported, now including Amharic, Greek, Persian, Bahasa, Macedonian, Burmese, Nepali, Serbian and Urdu.

The update follows another safety-minded decision by Google to start delivering “SOS Alerts” at the top of Maps and search listings. These alerts are designed to deliver crucial information in the event of catastrophes like natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

In order to use the app, simply install it on your Android or iOS device (there is also a web interface on desktop), then assign “trusted” status to selected contacts. Those folks will be able to see if you have been moving around and whether your phone is online. If you feel unsafe, you can start sharing your specific location.

Alternatively, if you have been offline for a while or your activity seems otherwise suspicious, your contacts can request to see your location. Of course, you can decline this request, but should you be unable to get to your phone in a real emergency, your last-known location will be automatically shared.

While other apps, like Apple’s Find My Friends, have similar functionality, Trusted Contacts differs in that it doesn’t share your location automatically. While selected contacts can see a broad overview of your whereabouts and activity, you won’t have to worry about your privacy being invaded. “Of course, you can stop sharing your location or change your trusted contacts whenever you want,” Google noted.

Moving forward, Google says that the app could be made more robust to help in widespread emergencies, like earthquakes and other natural disasters. As Google product manager David Tattersall told Mashable, “It basically means then that as long as you’ve got your phone in your pocket, someone can always find you in case of an emergency. You’re always findable.”

Update: Added information regarding the app’s release for iOS.

Moto Z2 Force vs. Moto Z2 Play: Which modular marvel is worth your money?

The Moto Z2 Play has proven itself to be a competent, well-rounded midranger, especially for those who don’t require the latest processor or display technology. However, Lenovo recently announced the Z2 Force, which boasts stronger specs in many areas. Will they make a difference where it counts, though, especially in terms of everyday usage? Below, we pit the Moto Z2 Force vs. Moto Z2 Play to find out which one comes out on top.

Specs and performance

Lenovo Moto Z2 Force

Lenovo Moto Z2 Play

Size
155.8 x 76 x 6.1mm (6.13 x 3 x 0.24 in)
156.2 x 76.2 x 5.99mm (6.14 x 3 x 0.24 in)
Weight
5.04 ounces (143 grams)
5.11 ounces (145 grams)
Screen
5.5-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED P-OLED touchscreen
5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED touchscreen
Resolution
1,440 x 2,560 (538ppi)
1,920 x 1,080 (401ppi)
OS
Android 7.1.1
Android 7.0 Nougat
Storage
64GB (U.S.) 128GB (International)
32GB
MicroSD card slot
Yes
Yes
NFC support
Yes
Yes
Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
Qualcomm Snapdragon 626
RAM
4GB (U.S.) 6GB (International)
3GB
Connectivity
4G LTE, GSM, CDMA, HSPA+, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
4G LTE, GSM, CDMA, HSPA+, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
Camera
Dual 12MP rear, 5MP front
12MP rear, 5MP front
Video
4K
4K
Bluetooth
Yes, version 4.2 (update to Bluetooth 5 coming with Android 8.0)
Yes, version 4.2
Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes
Other sensors
Gyroscope, accelerometer, ambient light, proximity sensor
Gyroscope, accelerometer, ambient light, proximity sensor
Water resistant
Yes (water-repellent nano-coating)
Yes (water-repellent nano-coating)
Battery
2,730mAh
3,000mAh
Ports
USB-C, Moto Mod connector
USB-C, Moto Mod connector
Marketplace
Google Play
Google Play
Color offerings
Super Black, Fine Gold, Lunar Grey (T-Mobile exclusive)
Lunar Grey, Fine Gold
Availability

Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Best Buy

Verizon, Motorola

Carriers
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, U.S. Cellular
Verizon
Price
Starting at $750
Starting at $408
DT review
Hands-on
3.5 out of 5 stars

The Z2 Play features Qualcomm‘s Snapdragon 626 processor, which is a strong chip on its own, but easily outclassed by the Snapdragon 835 found in the Moto Z2 Force. The Z2 Play’s 3GB of RAM also pales in comparison to the Z2 Force’s 4GB. While the Z2 Force comes with 64GB of storage in the United States, the Z2 Play is only available in a 32GB configuration.

Although the Z2 Play handled a wide variety of tasks with ease in our testing, it wasn’t flawless. Graphics-intensive games caused some hiccups, which is less likely to be an issue with the Z2 Force’s superior silicon. If gaming is important to you, or you’re a power user who juggles many different apps simultaneously and could use the extra gigabyte of RAM, the Z2 Force will likely better serve your needs.

Winner: Moto Z2 Force

Design

Not much has changed in terms of the way these phones look and feel, though, that’s somewhat to be expected. Lenovo had to keep as much similarity between the two phones as possible, so the Moto Mods that are currently available would remain compatible with the new Z line. Both devices support a range of attachments, including Hasselblad’s TrueZoom mod and JBL’s SoundBoost 2 speaker, as well as the recently-released Moto TurboPower pack and the upcoming 360-degree camera.

While the Moto Mod issue has limited what could be done in terms of design, the first Moto Z was an attractive device, and so are both of these phones. Lenovo shaved about a millimeter off the original Z Play, however, and two millimeters off the Z Force. The mix of materials has also slightly changed, and the antenna band now circles the metal slab that comprises the rear of the phone. This creates a two-tone effect in both devices, though it will likely be covered up by a Moto Mod, or one of the interchangeable Style Shells.

Overall, however, the Z2 Force and Z2 Play have almost identical proportions. They feel similar to hold, and you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart unless you knew precisely where to look. Fortunately, even if you spring for the less-expensive Z2 Play, you won’t be sacrificing anything in terms of design.

Winner: Tie

Display

While both the Z2 Force and Z2 Play feature a 5.5-inch AMOLED display, there is one major difference between them. The Z2 Force’s screen sports a 2,560 x 1,440-pixel resolution, while the Z2 Play touts only a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel resolution. Although the full HD panel is certainly sufficient, the added clarity offered by QHD makes the display on the Z2 Force the superior option.

No matter which Z2 you buy, both benefit from Moto Display, a feature where you can glance at notifications simply by waving your hand above the phone. It’s a small addition that really differentiates Lenovo’s products, and leverages the AMOLED technology and proximity sensors in a clever, practical way.

Winner: Moto Z2 Force

Battery life and charging

Lenovo has made a controversial choice with the Z2 Force, and that’s the decision to slim down the battery from last year’s model. Although the phone’s predecessor offered a 3,500mAh battery, the Z2 Force only has room for a 2,730mAh unit. This would be frustrating for most devices, but it especially hurts the Z2 Force, given that long life was such a huge part of its predecessor’s appeal.

Fortunately, the Z2 Play has a larger battery, though it too is considerably smaller than the one in the device it has replaced. The Z2 Play’s 3,000mAh battery provided nearly two full days of use in our testing. Lenovo seems to have traded longer battery life for thinness, and while we preferred the extra 500mAh found in last year’s Z Play, the newer midranger still managed to exceed our expectations. Hopefully, the Z2 Force is also not terribly affected by the slimmer design.

Both the Z2 Force and Z2 Play also offer TurboPower, fast-charging tech that provides eight hours worth of juice in 15 minutes with a specialized wall adapter.

Winner: Moto Z2 Play

Camera

The photography experience looks to be very different between these two devices. Lenovo has jumped aboard the dual-camera train with the Z2 Force, trading last year’s 21-megapixel lens for a pair of 12-megapixel ones, each with an f/2.0 aperture. In terms of the front-facing camera, there’s a 5-megapixel shooter for selfies — same as the Z2 Play.

Speaking of the Z2 Play, its camera setup is much more conventional. A single, 12-megapixel lens is all the phone employs, and we found it to be pretty mediocre in our testing. Broad daylight shots were solid, but the Z2 Play struggled in low-light scenarios. The lack of optical image stabilization and the occasional, small shutter lag also resulted in blurry photos from time to time.

We’re expecting an improvement across the board with the Z2 Force, and the tricks that many phones with dual lenses employ — like depth-of-field for portraits, in the case of the iPhone 7 Plus and OnePlus 5 — should make things a little more interesting. For example, one of the Z2 Force’s cameras shoots exclusively in monochrome, allowing for true black-and-white photography. If Lenovo can deliver better low-light performance and speed up the shutter, the Z2 Force has a much better camera.

Winner: Moto Z2 Force

Software

Both the Z2 Force and Z2 Play run the latest version of Android, version 7.1.1 Nougat. The Moto brand is known for keeping the operating system as close to stock as possible, and as such, the company doesn’t make any dramatic changes or tack unwanted layers onto the experience.

The Z Force Droid, however, was a Verizon exclusive last year, and so it inherited all of the carrier’s apps, as well as a heap of bloatware that couldn’t be uninstalled (only disabled). Thankfully, the Z2 Force will arrive on other networks this go-around, meaning there could be less unnecessary apps to put up with depending on where you go to buy your phone.

Winner: Tie

Price and availability

Motorola will make the Z2 Force available for $800. Meanwhile, carriers are charging a bit less, at least at launch.

Verizon has listed the full price for the Z2 Force at $756. However, customers who enroll in a two-year contract with the carrier will be able to snag one at $15 a month over 24 months. Meanwhile, Sprint’s Z2 Force runs $792, with the option of $33 over 18 months. Finally, T-Mobile is charging $750 outright, or $30 over 24 months. Some carriers are sweetening the deal with a free Instashare projector Moto Mod, too, which typically runs $300.

Meanwhile, the midrange Z2 Play comes in at half the price, starting at just $408. So long as you don’t mind missing out on the better processor, display, and camera, you can save roughly $400 and nab a phone that’s compatible with the same Moto Mods and features a bigger battery. It’s a convincing offer if you’re not swayed by the latest tech, as the Z2 Play has more than enough power for most users. Besides, you’ll have more cash to spend on some Mods, which can get pretty pricey.

The Z2 Play is currently a Verizon exclusive, though that will change at the end of the summer when Motorola says it will make an unlocked version available through its website. Whether the phone will arrive on any other carriers down the line remains to be seen.

Winner: Moto Z2 Play

Overall winner

There’s no getting around it — the Z2 Force will be a better phone, with state-of-the-art internals that the Z2 Play simply cannot compete with. However, the $300 price differential between the devices, along with the Z2 Play’s better battery life, complicates the comparison. Ultimately, the one you choose will be based on your priorities. If a tighter budget or maximizing time between charging is important to you, the Z2 Play is likely a better fit. But if you want the most powerful modular phone on the market, the Z2 Force is a serious flagship with a price tag to match.

Google kills Google Instant in effort to optimize Search for mobile devices

Why it matters to you

While search results will no longer load as you type them, the search experience on mobile should be better.

As it continues to push toward mobile devices, Google decided to retire Google Instant, a groundbreaking feature that essentially showed users search results as they typed their search query.

The feature was first introduced at Google by Marissa Mayer in 2010, who at the time was the company’s vice president of search and user experience. There are, however, some major differences with how we handle searches now and how we did seven years ago — the biggest being that the majority of search queries happen on mobile devices. It seems as though Google has simply decided that the Google Instant experience does not work that well on mobile devices.

“We launched Google Instant back in 2010 with the goal to provide users with the information they need as quickly as possible, even as they typed their searches on desktop devices,” said a Google spokesperson in an interview with Search Engine Land. “Since then, many more of our searches happen on mobile, with very different input and interaction and screen constraints. With this in mind, we have decided to remove Google Instant, so we can focus on ways to make Search even faster and more fluid on all devices.”

It’s important to note the difference between Google Instant and auto-complete. Google killing Instant does not mean that suggestions will not continue to pop up in a drop-down menu as you type. What it does mean is that the results of those suggested queries will not render in real time until you complete your query.

The move makes sense. When we are using a smaller screen already taken up largely by a keyboard and search bar, loading search results in real time does not really make for a great user experience. Still, the feature was somewhat helpful on desktop and it will be a little sad to see it go.

The removal of Instant Search is already taking effect, so when you enter a term into the search bar on the Google home page, you will not see results load automatically. You will, however, still see the drop-down menu with suggested queries, which should continue helping you save time as you search.

Google has been making a number of steps toward improving how it gets information to the user. Last week, the company announced that it was updating “the feed” with better ways to customize the information shown to you.