HTC allegedly working on a mid-range U11 powered by the Snapdragon 660

HTC is working on a Mini variant of the U11.

The HTC U11 is one of the best phones you can buy today, and it looks like the Taiwanese manufacturer is working on rolling out a Lifestyle or Mini variant that’s targeted at the mid-range segment. According to a series of tweets by noted HTC leaker LlabTooFeR, the device is codenamed Ocean Life, offering a 5.2-inch 1080p panel, 16MP rear and front cameras, Android 7.1.1 Nougat with Sense 9.0, and a 2600mAh battery.

The phone is said to be powered by the Snapdragon 660, and like the U11, it will feature a squeezable frame that lets you perform actions by pressing down on the sides of the device.

Device will also be featured by Sense 9.0Edge Sense HTC USonic

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) July 4, 2017

The Snapdragon 660 is built on the 14nm node, and it features eight Kryo 260 cores clocked up to 2.2GHz. The battery is smaller at 2600mAh when compared to the 3000mAh unit on the 5.5-inch U11, but the smaller screen size and the Full HD panel should balance things out. Interestingly, it looks like HTC will bundle its USonic earphones with the device.

Not much else is known about the upcoming mid-ranger, but we’ll let you know once we hear more. In the meantime, what do you think of a smaller variant of the U11?

Best External Battery Packs for Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge

Give your GS7 and GS7 edge a second life with a battery pack.

Our phones just keep adding new capabilities, but their batteries never feel like they last any longer than the day they came out of the box. A year on, the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are still great phones — but if you find your battery is dying earlier than you’d expect, you may want to check out a portable battery pack for those heavy days.

They’re entirely portable, relatively inexpensive, and could keep your phone going when you need it most. We’ve rounded up the best battery packs to use with your Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

• Aukey Portable Power Bank
• EasyAcc Monster
• Samsung Fast Charge Battery Pack (5,200mAh)
• Unifun 10,400mAh Waterproof Power Bank

Aukey Portable Power Bank (10,400mAh)

This portable battery is Aukey’s bread and butter — a simple 10,400mAh pack with a single USB port to charge up your phone. It has enough juice to charge up your phone twice with a bit left over, and still manages to remain relatively compact.

The metal construction means it can stand up to plenty of bumping around in your bag or pocket. And with Quick Charge tech on board it’ll charge up your phone as fast as a wall plug can. Not a bad deal for just under $30.

See at Amazon

EasyAcc Monster (20,000mAh)

Charge your Galaxy S7 and up to three other devices at the same time with the EasyAcc Monster. They’re not kidding about the name. This thing has enough juice to charge your GS7 around six times over, which makes it great if you’re headed out of town for a few days and aren’t sure if you’ll see a wall socket any time soon.

It has a built-in flashlight and can auto-detect components and adjust the maximum output accordingly, which makes it great if you want to charge up multiple devices on the go. Does the whole family have Galaxy S7s? Charge them all at the same time for just $32 with this battery.

No need to worry about overcharging and shorting, since the EasyAcc has a built-in surge protector, which is ideal since you’ll have to wait 6 hours for this one to charge back up fully.

See at Amazon

Samsung Fast Charge Battery Pack (5,200mAh)

This is actually not the latest battery pack from Samsung, but that doesn’t mean anything when it comes to actually using it. But it does mean you can get a great deal on a really good battery from the same company that made your phone.

With 5200mAh capacity it’s only good for a little more than a full charge of your phone, but in return it’s light and svelte — it’s roughly the same dimensions as a Galaxy S7 edge. That means it’s super easy to slide in a pocket with a USB cable for when you need to top up your phone in the evening.

You can find Samsung’s battery for about $40, or sometimes a bit less if you shop around.

See at Amazon

Unifun 10,400mAh Waterproof Power Bank

Calling all campers! Unifun’s power bank is rugged and waterproof, so you can charge your Galaxy S7 or S7 edge when you’re really on the go. It’s rated IP66 for water and dust resistance, while also having anti-shock and anti-skid protection.

This pack even has a strap hole, so you can attach to a belt loop or clip, which is great if you’re working outside all day or constantly on the go; just run a cord to your pocket and away you go.

It’s a little bulky, at 6 inches by almost 3 inches, but you’d expect something so rugged to be a little on the bulky side. Especially at the price: under $20 for all those features is great.

See at Amazon

What’s your favorite?

Which battery packs are you using to charge your Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge? Sound off in the comments below!

Update July 2017: Updated with the latest battery packs, pricing and links for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge

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The Morning After: July 4th, 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Happy Independence Day! After everyone else sets off fireworks today, Elon Musk and the crew at SpaceX will turn attention to their next rocket launch on the 5th or 6th. But, of course, the big news is Tesla’s Model 3, and we even have a new iPhone rumor.

It’s happening.Tesla will deliver the first 30 Model 3s on July 28th

Over the years, Tesla hasn’t always delivered vehicles on time. Recently, problems with building its 100kWh battery packs hampered Tesla’s deliveries, but those issues appear to be resolved, and CEO Elon Musk says the Model 3 is almost here. In fact, there will be a “handover party” for the first 30 sedans on July 28th, and Musk is promising 20,000 cars per month by December.

A long time coming.The (re)making of ‘Crash Bandicoot’

Three years ago, Sony promised gamers another trip to N.Sanity Beach, and last week it delivered. We took a peek behind the scenes with developer Vicarious Visions as team members explained their love for the game, and how they tried to stay true to Naughty Dog’s original vision throughout the myriad changes. Bonus: Check out exclusive footage from an early version of the iconic first level from 2015.

One of these makes sense.Two video-game-turned-TV shows debut this week

Netflix is getting ready to release season one of its animated Castlevania series, but the other game coming to TV is more of a surprise: Candy Crush. The Mario Lopez-hosted game show will premiere on CBS Sunday night.

Goodbye, TouchID?The next iPhone reportedly scans your face instead of your finger

The latest iPhone 8 rumors suggest that Apple is having trouble slipping a fingerprint scanner underneath the new phone’s OLED screen. As a result, it may rely on 3D facial recognition instead of TouchID for password-less unlocking

Running late.Windows 10’s ‘Timeline’ feature won’t arrive this fall

We were expecting to see Microsoft’s new Timeline feature in the next big Windows 10 update, but a tweet from VP Joe Belfiore reveals that is not to be. It’s not cancelled, but users can expect to see it first via Insider beta builds after the Fall Creators Update drops.

But wait, there’s more…

• What we’re using in July: Google WiFi
• ‘Baby Driver’ is an ode to iPod nostalgia
• SpaceX’s capsule ‘re-flight’ is a space travel milestone

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t subscribe.

LeEco’s assets frozen by Chinese court as debts mount

Chinese firm LeEco’s financial situation is deteriorating rapidly. A Shanghai court has frozen $180 million in assets owned by co-founder Jia Yueting, his wife Gan Wei and three subsidiaries, according to Chinese news site Tencent and the Financial Times. The order was carried out on behalf of the China Merchants Bank, reportedly because of missed interest payments by LeEco’s mobile, watch and other divisions.

Not long ago, LeEco was a relatively unknown consumer electronics giant in China. After the company and its founder launched not one, but three different EV projects (Faraday Future, the LeEco LeSee and Lucid Motors) the firm developed a much higher profile.

Signs of trouble started popping up last October, however. LeEco was planning to build an EV plant in Nevada, but after doing some due diligence, the state’s treasurer told Bloomberg that LeEco didn’t seem to have the money to build a billion dollar plant. A former Lucid Motors executive also told The Guardian that he left because LeEco was “being run like an old-school Hong Kong company.”

The Lucid Motors Air, revealed in December 2016 at the LA auto show (AOL)

The next month, Jia admitted that LeEco had a cash problem. “We blindly sped ahead, and our cash demand ballooned,” he said. “We got over-extended in our global strategy. At the same time, our capital and resources were in fact limited.”

Things started getting worse at an alarming speed after that. First, the LeEco Nevada plant was delayed, then LeEco revealed it was selling its Silicon Valley US headquarters and later, a planned purchase of TV maker Vizio was cancelled. Shortly after that, Jia stepped down as LeEco CEO, the company laid off much of its US workforce and, most recently, LeEco admitted it was still losing massive amounts of money, despite a $2.4 billion emergency loan.

Jia and some of his family have also put up their own holdings as collateral for the loans. A bond sale to raise funds was canceled, however, after regulators questioned the company’s ability to pay them back. As FT points out, the freezing of some LeEco assets is a possible sign of a looming bankruptcy, as it may kick off an avalanche of similar demands from other creditors.

Source: Financial Times, Tencent (translated)

Xiaomi Redmi 4 review

Three years after it set foot in the Indian market, the Xiaomi juggernaut is unstoppable, and with each budget smartphone, the company sets new benchmarks in terms of value for money offering as well as sales figures.

After the huge success of Redmi Note 4 and Redmi 4A, the company has recently launched the successor of Redmi 3S that was launched last year – Redmi 4. Apart from being an iterative upgrade, the Redmi 4 packs in a fingerprint sensor this time around and comes in three memory variants.

The Redmi 4 looks like a capable phone on the specifications sheet in the budget smartphone market where some compromises are certain. Can Redmi 4 rise above those to offer a great value-for-money smartphone and hit new sales records? Let’s find out in this comprehensive review.

For this review, I took the mid-variant of the Redmi 4, the one with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, for a spin. The retail unit was provided by Xiaomi for the purpose of this review.Show More

Design

With a unibody metal construction, the Redmi 4 follows the design language of Redmi Note 4. There are curved edges with a curved 2.5D glass on the front which aids the ergonomics. The highlight of the design is of course the compact form factor owing to the 5-inch display. It fits quite well in one’s palms and single-handed usage is a breeze.

The build quality is excellent and it feels solid, and the matte black variant looks great and gives a very premium feel.

However, the three capacitive buttons behind the display are not backlit. It is disorienting at first, but you impulsively know where your thumb needs to go after a few days of usage.

The Redmi 4 might be a budget phone but there’s no compromise on the aesthetics. In fact, with this outing – like before – the company sets the standards for what affordable smartphones should look and feel like in 2017.

Display

The Redmi 4 sports a 5-inch HD display with a 1280 x 720 resolution. There’s a 2.5D curved glass, similar to the Redmi Note 4. It’s toughened glass, although there’s no Gorilla Glass protection.

While the specifications sheet watchers would’ve liked a Full HD display, I think it would’ve been an overkill on a 5-inch budget smartphone and obviously hurt the battery life.

The HD display nevertheless looks fantastic in terms of color reproduction and viewing angles. The images and text looks sharp, and it is clearly one of the best displays on smartphones in this price segment. Maintaining a perfect balance, it is a crisp and vivid display without the colors looking oversaturated.

Performance

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 octa-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz coupled with Adreno 505 GPU, the Redmi 4 comes in three memory variants – there’s one with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage, another one with 3 GB of RAM along with 32 GB of storage, and the top variant with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage.

The mid variant that I used for this review had just over 25 GB free memory out-of-the box.

The Snapdragon 435 is a pretty snappy chip, and the Redmi 4 chugs along nicely in daily usage. In my three weeks of usage, I haven’t really encountered any sluggishness or lags. You can also play most of the graphic-intensive games, albeit with a few frame skips here and there or graphic settings turned down. One of the impressive things is that even while gaming, the phone did not get hot.

The 4,100 mAh battery on the Redmi 4 saves you from the constant battery anxiety. A day and a half on a single charge is easily manageable for most casual users which is impressive really. Even on moderate to higher usage, the phone managed to offer more than a day of battery life.

Hardware

Just like the Redmi Note 4, the Redmi 4 packs in an IR blaster that you can configure to use your phone as a remote control for several electronic appliances at your home. The fingerprint scanner located at the back is quite good, and apart from authentication, can also be used to take photos, especially those selfies.

The dual SIM smartphone features a hybrid slot, so essentially, you can either use two SIM cards or one SIM card and one microSD card. If you need to use two SIMs and are a content hog, maybe you’d like to opt for the top variant that offers 64 GB internal storage.

While the battery life on the Redmi 4 is stellar, it is disappointing that there is no fast charging support on the device. The issue is magnified in phones which pack in larger batteries because it takes even longer to charge the phone completely.

Camera

Xiaomi Redmi 4 packs a 13MP rear camera with LED flash that can manage some great shots with good color reproduction and sharpness.

Outdoors in daylight, the phone really surprises with details it manages to capture and overall clarity. Even the macro shots and close-up portraits turn out to be great. The PDAF works quite well and the camera focuses on subjects in a snap.

In low light, the camera manages to click some decent shots, but there’s a lot of noise in the pictures. Even indoors, the photos take a hit and are average at best. But this is a budget smartphone we’re talking about and it does better than what most in this segment manage to achieve.

Xiaomi deserves credit for its impressive camera algorithms that makes the Redmi 4 a fast and dependable shooter.

The 5-megapixel front-facing camera manages decent selfies that are good enough for social sharing. There’s nothing special there, although most would not expect that anyway.

Software

The Redmi 4 runs MIUI 8 on top of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. MIUI is Xiaomi’s proprietary customization layer on top of Android. It is heavily skinned, and a totally different UI altogether than stock Android.

My biggest grouse with this phone is that it runs Android Marshmallow in the second quarter of 2017. Xiaomi does offer a beta version of Android 7.0 Nougat for users interested in testing the same, and expectedly it would be released to the general public soon enough.

Thankfully though, MIUI 8 is one of the better Android skins out there and has a lot of fans. There’s evident attention to detail and unlike most skins from Chinese players, the user experience is polished and quite cohesive.

See also:

What’s new in MIUI 8

May 10, 2016

MIUI packs in several useful apps like FM radio, recorder, compass, torch, and more. There’s also a security app which bundles a lot of utilities for maintenance and optimization of the software.

If you’ve used a Xiaomi phone in the past, MIUI is a comfortable territory for you. However, if this is your first one, getting comfortable with MIUI is not much of a task. It is an intuitive interface packed with nifty little features everywhere.

Specifications

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

The Redmi 4 is definitely the new benchmark for other budget smartphones to match up to.

Starting at ₹6,999 ($108) for the base variant, the Redmi 4 ticks all the right boxes and there is hardly anything to complain. It’s a great package with solid chassis, Qualcomm’s newer chipset, decent camera, and great battery life. The only shortcoming of the device is lack of Android Nougat out of the box.

If you can up your budget, the middle variant at ₹8,999 ($139) is the best pick of the three since it offers just the right balance of performance and price. The top spec’d variant at ₹10,999 ($170) is of course great too, but you can also look at other options in the market at that price or go for it only if you need all that storage.

In all likelihood, Xiaomi’s got another winner on its hands in terms of sales. If you’re planning to pick up a budget smartphone right now, it’s hard to look further than Redmi 4. At this stage, one can safely say that it’s hard to go wrong with a Xiaomi.

BBC to spend £34 million to win kids back from Netflix

The BBC is set to announce £34 million worth of new incentives in order to win back kids from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Video.

Falling viewing figures of children’s TV has forced the Beeb to assess kids’ viewing habits and it has realised that they no longer sit and watch linear programming.

It will therefore “respond” by investing heavily in online entertainment, including video, live online programme extensions, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, quizzes, guides, games and apps.

The £34 million of new investment, which will be on top of existing budgets for CBBC and CBeebies programming, will be spread across the next three years.

• You now need to register and sign in for BBC iPlayer: Here’s why

A BBC source explained to BBC.co.uk that the rise of US technology firms and streaming companies has forced the broadcaster’s hand: “The way children and young people are watching and consuming programmes and other content is changing fast, and the BBC needs to respond,” he said.

“This investment will mean we can reinvent how we serve our youngest audience in the years ahead, while continuing to produce outstanding programmes on CBeebies and CBBC.

“Investment in British content – particularly for the young – is vital, unless we want more of our culture shaped and defined by the rise of West Coast American companies.”

It is thought BBC iPlayer will become even more key in delivering new kids content.

The best Apple Watch straps you can buy right now

The Apple Watch strap is really easy to change, and the choice of alternatives is huge, so checking to see what the best Apple Watch strap you can buy is research that will pay off. Apple makes its own Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch Series 2 straps, but the official straps it sells are very, very expensive. Beautiful though they are, there’s no need to be limited to Apple’s range of replacement bands, regardless of how much you have to spend.

Like putting your phone inside a case, changing the strap on your watch is the quickest way to give it an entirely new look, and it’s easy to build up a collection that goes with different outfits, or for when you’re doing certain activities. We’ve gathered together a list of our favorite straps and bands for the Apple Watch here.

Third-party straps

Nomad Sport Strap ($50)

To accompany its Rugged Strap, Nomad has introduced the Sport Strap, a silicone Apple Watch band with built-in lugs that extend all the way across the Watch’s body, a strong stud-and-hole fixing, and a similar sporty design to Nike’s strap. It’s made from super soft LSR silicone which comes in a two-tone color scheme, in either black and grey, or black and green. It’s hypoallergenic and resists sweat nicely, while staying cool underneath thanks to a channel for airflow. It’s definitely suited to fitness-types, and is quite a large, statement-making strap. It costs $50 but unfortunately, it’s only for the 42mm Watch.

Buy one now from:

Nomad

Burkley 3-in-1 Double Tour/Cuff/Band ($130)

If you’ve lusted after a Double Tour strap for your Apple Watch, but don’t want to splash out on a Hermès model, then take a look at Burkley’s version. The Double Tour strap is actually part of a three-piece set, with a standard leather band, and a cuff-style strap. It’s possible to mix-and-match the set to make a Double Tour Cuff strap, too, so it offers plenty of versatility. Burkley’s genuine leather is soft, but does take a while to work-in, and the Double Tour gets more comfortable over time. It’s $130 for the set, making it good value for three leather straps. It’s available in several colors and for both the 38mm and 42mm Apple Watch.

Buy one now from:

Burkley

Burkley Holo Strap

Burkley’s Holo Strap for the Apple Watch is perfect for those weekends out in your sports car, with the top down, headed towards the coast. Or, at the very least, imagining you’re doing that. The classic styling makes it a beauty, while the soft, padded, genuine leather, and is lightweight and comfortable. We love the little design touches, such as Burkley’s logo stamped on the strap loop. It’s sold for $100 at the time of writing, and comes in several colors, for the 38mm and 42mm Apple Watch.

Buy one now from:

Burkley

Native Union Active Strap ($100)

A clever mix of style and function, the Native Union Active Strap has water-resistant leather on the outside and a fluroelastomer grip on the inside. This hypo-allergenic material’s pattern also keeps sweat from building up underneath the band during exercise, while the classy leather ensures the watch is suitable for everyday wear. It’s very comfortable and extremely lightweight, too. We love the hint of yellow that peeps through, which gives the subdued color scheme some punch.

Buy one now from:

Native Union

Southern Straps Nato Strap ($25)

A more textured nylon strap than the Nyloon example below, the Southern Straps band also has stitching running down each section, giving it a different look. It feels very hard-wearing, and has been double bonded and heat sealed to make sure it doesn’t just fall apart under tough conditions. We love the khaki and red version seen here, which comes with a choice of colors for the Apple Watch connectors, and in either 38mm or 42mm sizes. Let down slightly by the strap loop, which sometimes pinched wrist hairs.

Buy one now from:

Amazon Southern Straps

Nyloon Watch Band ($39)

Nyloon’s nylon watch band feels like it’ll last a while and withstand some rough treatment, which is just what you need from this popular style. We’ve been wearing the Napier design, which comes in navy blue and red, and found it comfortable and stylish. The shiny hardware is attractive, and the Apple Watch adapter pieces have spring-loaded bars, so you can swap out the strap for another 20mm or 22m version of your own choice.

Buy one now from:

Nyloon

Nomad Leather Strap ($60)

Nomad’s classic leather strap received a makeover recently, losing the stitching for a sleeker, flatter look. We particularly love Nomad’s straps due to the custom designed Watch adapters, which change the look of the Watch’s face considerably. Both the adapters and the buckle have a matt finish and also come in black, ready to match your Watch model. It’s still quite a masculine design, but less so than the previous strap. The Horween leather is wonderfully supple out of the box and needs only a few hours to bed in.

Buy one now from:

Nomad

Nomad Rugged Strap ($40)

If you like the stylish custom Nomad Watch adaptors, but don’t want a leather strap, then its new silicone strap may appeal. Incredibly soft, completely waterproof, and friendly to the skin, it’s the ideal accompaniment to the new swim-proof Apple Watch Series 2. The hardware comes in sliver or black, and the latter attached to a black watch gives a very cool stealth look. Unlike some silicone straps, the Nomad doesn’t get sweaty thanks to a special channel on the underside of the strap, but it did catch the hair on my arm occasionally.

Buy one now from:

Nomad

Pad & Quill Field Strap ($100)

Pad & Quill’s Field Strap is an interesting take on the fabric Watch strap, combining very hard wearing Cordura fabric with classy and comfortable leather, along with nickel hardware. The leather is stitched to the fabric on the underside, making the strap very easy to wear. Leather is also incorporated into other areas to give the band some visual excitement. The black and gray color combo is our pick, as it’s versatile enough to match most outfits and situations. Next to Nomad’s silicone strap, this is one of the most comfortable Apple Watch straps we’ve worn recently.

Buy one now from:

Pad & Quill

Ullu Watch Band ($100+)

Using sustainable leather sourced from Italy, Thailand, Africa, and the U.S., these handcrafted leather bands are beautiful, and come in a wide range of rich colors. Available for both Apple Watch sizes, there’s a choice between premium or hand-colored leather, or moving up to the more expensive options of ostrich, stingray, or alligator leather. You can pick a case for your iPhone or iPad in the same color, for a complete matching look.

Buy one now from:

Ullu Shop

Lunatik Epik Apple Watch Kit ($46+)

If just changing the strap isn’t enough to transform the look of your Apple Watch, how about wrapping the body up in a chunky case at the same time? That’s the solution provided by Lunatik and its crazy Epik watch straps. The body is made from aluminum and protects the Apple Watch, while still allowing the sensors room to work, and the strap is made from silicone. It all works and fits together as one, giving your Watch a look like no other.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Incipio Premium Leather Band ($30+)

Made from leather with stainless steel metalwork, Incipio’s Watch strap is more subtle than many other leather options, with a slimmer, sleeker profile. Made for the 38mm and 42mm watches, the strap comes in a choice of two shades of brown, or a darker black color. Incipio’s smartphones cases are great, and this strap has a classic design that’s sure to appeal to anyone who doesn’t want too much flash on their wrist.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Pad & Quill Lowry Leather Cuff ($130)

Renowned for its high quality, great looking leather Apple accessories, Pad & Quill makes three different straps for the Apple Watch, but we’ve singled out the Lowry Leather Cuff. Made from full grain leather in black, chestnut, or tan colors, with hand finished stitching and nickel buckles, the look is rugged yet classy. Suede on the underside of the strap makes it comfortable to wear. The one problem? It’s only for the 42mm Apple Watch.

Buy one now from:

Pad & Quill

Monowear Design Nylon Strap ($25)

Monowear Design has a wide range of straps for the Apple Watch, but its Nylon range stands out as good value, plus there are several customization options to ensure it perfectly matches your own watch. The strap comes in various colors, while the buckle and adaptors come in stainless steel, silver, space black, rose gold, or gold. Straps are sold for the 38mm and 42mm Apple Watch.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Fitbit’s smartwatch project hit by staff walkouts

Fitbit has been developing its very own smartwatch, and has been buying companies such as Pebble to strengthen its team and to ultimately produce a product that consumers will want to buy.

• Fitbit GPS smartwatch rumours: Everything we know so far about Project Higgs

However, according to a Bloomberg report, the smartwatch project is having a tough time after several people working on the project have left, which has affected development of the dedicated app store. Fitbit’s smartwatch will run its own operating system, rather than something like Google’s Android Wear.

This means it needs its own OS and its own app store and because the Fitbit watch will have formidable competition in the form of the Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Gear watches and various other Android Wear watches, coupled with the fact that wearables in general are not as popular as first thought, developers are less keen to produce apps specifically for Fitbit.

Damian Mehers, who developed a version of Evernote for the Galaxy Gear, has been quoted as saying: “I’m more focused on the big boys like the Apple Watch and Android Wear. I could consider developing for Fitbit if there was a compelling device and a large enough user base”.

However, Fitbit says the smartwatch project is still on track and the app developer program has been well-received. The upcoming smartwatch is “well positioned to succeed”.

Apps for the Fitbit smartwatch will be written in JavaScript, which should in theory make it easy for developers to create apps, but going down the Android Wear route would have immediately given the smartwatch access to a vast store of apps and a large community for support.

The app store may in fact be downloaded to an iOS or Android device, where users can then download apps and send them to the watch via Bluetooth.

• Fitbit delays launch of GPS smartwatch and wireless headphones until autumn

Fitbit’s smartwatch is expected to adopt a square shape, similar to the Apple Watch, but according to Bloomberg’s report, several people inside the company don’t believe it will succeed. They consider it substandard to the Apple Watch 2, the product it was initially meant to go up against, but now that its release has been pushed back to at least the fall, it will end up going head-to-head with the Apple Watch 3 instead.

Apple iPhone 8 in pictures: Renders and leaked photos

The iPhone turns 10 this year and to commemorate the occasion, industry analysts are expecting Apple to release not the usual two, but three iPhones. We’re expecting there to be the regular ‘S’ incremental updates to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but Apple is also expected to unveil the iPhone 8.

The new iPhone should introduce some radical design changes, not least because it’s 10 years, but because Apple has been seen as lacking a bit in the innovation department lately. Features expected for new phone include a bezel-less display, vertical rear camera array, a metal and glass build, and an embedded Touch ID sensor.

Because of the expectation and hype surrounding the next iPhone launch, graphic designers have taken to the drawing board to come up with designs based on rumours, as well as features they’d love to see.

Of course, not all of them will right, some are obscure while others could be seen as a little ordinary. But they do give us a rough idea of what to expect when Tim Cook holds the iPhone 8 aloft on stage in September.

Some of the renders and photos in this piece imply the Touch ID sensor will be embedded in the display, following several reports it would be mounted on the back. However a recent report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the iPhone 8 may ditch Touch ID entirely in favour of facial recognition. We’re sticking with the idea of an embedded fingerprint scanner for now, though.

Jermaine Spit

We got our first look of what the iPhone 8 could look like way back in 2015, even before the iPhone 6S was released. This first render was dreamt up by Jermaine Spit and gave the iPhone 8 two screens, one on either side.

One screen would be a 2K display for watching movies, TV shows and the like, while the other would be a low-power 480p display for everyday tasks and to maintain strong battery life. Spit’s iPhone 8 follows a similar design language to the iPhone 4 and 5, with a metal band around the middle with glass front and back panels creating a sandwich.

It’s highly unlikely the iPhone 8 will come with two screens, we have heard rumours to suggest it will feature an all glass design.

Twitter

This iPhone 8 concept plays on the rumour of a bezel-less display, but that’s about it. It looks like someone has just stretched the screen to the edges.

It looks good though, and loses the home button, something else Apple is expected to do in favour of an embedded Touch ID fingerprint scanner.

iPhone8Look.com

iPhone8Look.com has come up with this concept image of what it thinks the next iPhone could look like. We have to say though, we severely doubt Apple’s next smartphone will look anything like it. 

It looks far too thin, too square and the camera locations look way off too. Still, it’s nice to have a go, eh?

Veniamin Geskin

Veniamin Geskin’s idea of what the iPhone 8 will look like is an interesting. It plays on the rumour of an edge-to-edge curved display, similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and shows what could potentially be an incredibly good looking smartphone.

It’s not clear from the image if the home button has remained, but it does look as though Geskin has kept the dual-lens camera of the iPhone 7 Plus.

Techconfigurations

Techconfigurations has come up with a rather farfetched concept for the iPhone 8. It takes the rumour of a curved edge display and make both sides of the phone curved to create a sort of squashed cylinder effect.

The dual-lens camera from the iPhone 7 Plus remains, but in this particular render it has been moved to top centre of the rear panel as opposed to being in the top corner. It’s unlikely Apple will move the camera, since it has been in the top left corner (as you look at it) since the very first version.

ConceptsiPhone

ConceptsiPhone has uploaded a short video to YouTube to show off its idea of what the iPhone 8 could look like. It’s possibly the most realistic one yet and conforms with many of the rumours we’ve already heard.

There’s no physical home button, with the fingerprint scanner instead embedded into the display. The bottom of the iPhone 8 also hosts a touch panel, similar to the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro. It can change its functions depending on what app is being used. 

It also has an edgeless display, along with incredibly slim bezels top and bottom. The video also depicts a dual-lens camera and connector pins, similar to those on the iPad Pro. 

ConceptsiPhone

ConceptsiPhone has uploaded a second video to YouTube showing a newly designed iPhone 8, that builds upon the version in the previous video. The new variant, designed by Thadeu Brandão, keeps the home button in place, but gives it some new dynamic features. The screen will take up the entire front of the device, stretching all the way over the home button and to the bottom of the phone. The home button then becomes part of what looks like a Touch Bar, similar to the design on the previous ConceptsiPhone video. 

The use of the home button changes depending on what application you’re using. It could be to take a picture in Camera, be assigned various editing functions in Photos or offer quick access to relevant apps, for example Instagram and Whats App to share pictures when in Photos. It looks utterly gorgeous and if the iPhone 8 looks anything like it, consider us sold.

Incriptor

Another iPhone 8 concept has appeared on the ConceptsiPhone YouTube account, from designer Incriptor. The concept design shows the iPhone 8 with a glass screen that covers the entire front of the device, and sees the removal of the home button. But this design does introduce a new feature that we’ve not heard of before, a second screen on the rear.

The second screen is used to show notifications such as WhatsApp messages, Instagram notifications and heart rate readings. The rear of the phone appears to be all-glass, so integrating a second screen could be possible. Just how useful a secondary display on the rear of the iPhone would be remains to be seen.

iDrop News

Twitter user @VenyaGeskin1 has pinned a tweet to his timeline showing this rendered model of the iPhone X. It shows the new, vertical camera array on the rear that has been recently rumoured, and an elongated power button on the right hand side. There is also no obvious Touch ID sensor on the rear (something that has been recently suggested would make an appearance), which implies Apple will integrate the fingerprint scanner into the screen on the front. 

Both renders show the iPhone X with a full-screen display, with minimal bezels all the way around. It shows apps arranged in the same way as iOS users will be all too familiar with, although now includes information such as current song playing, with controls, along the bottom. We wonder if this area of the screen will be customisable to show different control centre information.

VenyaGeskin1

Geskin has also posted pictures of what is claimed to be a CNC-machine dummy model of the iPhone 8/X. Like the renders above, it shows a vertical camera array and longer power buttons, and it also shows no Touch ID sensor on the rear. However, it also doesn’t show an Apple logo, something we know should feature on the new phone, so we can’t be sure how close to the final design this dummy model is.

The model also shows an incredibly shiny metal frame, similar to the rear of the old iPod Classic. Whether this will be the only colour finish for the frame remains to be seen. We’d expect Apple to offer the new iPhone in black and white front and rear colours at least. 

iDrop News

iDrop News has posted a new set of renders of the alleged iPhone 8, this time focusing on a possible function area at the bottom of the screen. Because the iPhone 8 is expected to feature a bezel-less display, a feature such as a function area could be possible. The renders show it being used for many different purposes, depending on what app is being used.

For example on the home screen, controls for music could be seen all the time, to save swiping up to access the control centre. But when you’re in the photos app, the function area would change to editing controls. It’s also been suggested that Apple could implement the Touch ID fingerprint sensor in the function area, but this is still up for debate. 

Schematic drawings have shown the sensor being on the rear, while others have reported it will stay on the front, so for now, we’re none the wiser.

OnLeaks x GearIndia

Twitter tipster @OnLeaks has teamed up with GearIndia once again to produce a video showing a render of the iPhone 8, based on leaked CAD drawings. The video shows what could perhaps be described as our closest look at Apple’s commemorative smartphone yet.

It shows the edge-to-edge display we’ve come to expect, a vertical rear camera module, and implies the Touch ID sensor will be embedded into the screen, as it’s nowhere to be seen on the rear. 

BGR

News site BGR obtained what it said were actual design mock ups of the iPhone 8, and so were the best look yet of its final design. All the features we’ve come to expect are present, such as a vertical camera array and bezel-less front screen. Because the phone in the pictures is just a dummy model, it doesn’t make it clear where the Touch ID sensor will go. The lack of button on the back would suggest it will be in the screen, but from this model in particular, it’s hard to tell. 

EverythingApplePro

YouTube user EverythingApplePro got his hands on what he says is the official dummy model that Apple sends to case manufacturers, so that they can get the dimensions and cutout areas spot on. While it doesn’t look much different to other renders and leaked photos we’ve been before, it’s good to see the phone in the flesh and on camera. This dummy model still implies the Touch ID sensor will be embedded in the screen.

Master Lock Select Access Smart is a digital safe for your keys

Master Lock, an American security company with nearly 100 years of experience, has released the Select Access Smart digital safe to keep items such as keys protected from thieves and to give access to trusted people.

The Select Access Smart is a relatively compact box, measuring 13cm high and 8cm wide, and is constructed from zinc. Master Lock knows it will be used outside most of the time, so has tucked electrical components away behind a bumper to make sure they’re weatherproof.

Master Lock’s new safe is controlled via the Vault eLocks smartphone app, available for iOS and Android. As long as you have your phone on you, and Bluetooth is turned on, you can press the button on the front of the safe to open it. You don’t need to get your phone out your pocket and hold it near the box.

The owner or admin of the safe can give permission for any of their contacts to be able to open it via Bluetooth, and can set whether access is permanent, or just on a temporary basis. Access can even be set by day and time, so you could give limited access to a builder for example, just for when you know they’re going to be at your house when you’re out.

However, if the app isn’t installed, access can still be granted by entering a numerical code on the backlit keypad on the front of the safe. Not only can the app be used to grant access to other users, but it can also warn of any suspicious activity, such as someone trying to break in.

The built-in battery claims to last for two years, but when it does eventually run out, and someone still needs access before replacing the CR123 cylinder battery, a jump function can give a small boost of battery so the keys can be accessed.

The Master Lock Select Access Smart is available now for £109.