Report Claims LG Will Be Sole Supplier of Batteries for Next Year’s ‘iPhone 9’

LG Chemical will be the sole supplier of batteries for Apple’s “iPhone 9” next year, according to The Korea Economic Daily. If the report is accurate, the South Korean firm has scored a big win, since Apple usually takes a multi-vendor approach when it comes to sourcing batteries for its iPhones.

Citing industry insiders, the newspaper said LG has made a sizable investment to bolster the capability of its facilities and that production of the batteries would begin in 2018.

“LG has invested hundred of billions of Korean won for related facilities and plans to start mass production from early next year,” the Korean-language report quoted a source in the chemical industry as saying.

The report added that the battery LG will produce for the so-called “iPhone 9” is L-shaped, a design that’s also previously been tipped for this year’s OLED “iPhone 8” and should allow for better battery life.

The L-shape, which is bent at the bottom, represents an increase in size over current rectangular iPhone batteries and depends on the PCB mainboard being more compact to make space for it. Today’s report also claims the altered shape is expected to result in faster charging speeds.

A report in May claimed the iPhone 9 will launch in two 5.28-inch and 6.46-inch OLED variants, with Samsung expected to be the supplier for the OLED displays.

(Via CNBC.)

Tags: LG, iPhone 9
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Starting August 5th, all MLS games will have video review

After a few years of planning and testing, Major League Soccer is ready to roll out video review in all of its games. For each game, including the playoffs and MLS cup, there will be a fifth referee on the crew with access to all available broadcast replays. That person’s job is to alert the head referee to “clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents” in four specific situations: Goals, penalty kicks, red cards and mistaken identity. Embarrassing referee gaffes have hit some high profile games over the years, and everyone hopes that video review will help, which is why the MLS and FIFA are expanding its usage.

Source: MLS

Amazon keeps popular items stocked by buying from other retailers

Tens of thousands of Amazon sellers might have just sold a whole bunch of their items in one go…to the e-commerce titan itself. According to CNBC, the Fulfilled by Amazon team has emailed thousands of sellers in the US, offering to buy their goods at full retail price so it can have them in store in its warehouses. The Fulfilled by Amazon program already keeps and ships paying customers’ items for them. This particular project was conjured up as a way to reach out to sellers that aren’t part of a program — Amazon is even foregoing additional fees

A spokesperson for the company confirmed the email’s authenticity, telling the publication that Amazon is indeed snapping up items to boost its own catalogue. Even if Amazon can’t make a lot of money from the deal — it’s buying goods at full retail price, after all — it will at least be able to quickly deliver high-in-demand items to people in other locations across the globe.

This isn’t the first time the “Fulfilled by” team has reached out to sellers — the program apparently rolled out in Europe first. Based on the offers the company has sent out thus far, Amazon uses the program to buy stock from third-party resellers when the manufacturer refuses to sell on the website. That’s one of the reasons it’s not a good deal for some people. For instance, Birkenstock doesn’t list items on Amazon, and though it allows some partners to sell on the portal, it doesn’t allow its authorized retailers to sell to resellers either. The retailers will then violate their agreement if they take Amazon’s offer.

Regardless of whether it’s a good deal for sellers or not, it sounds like the company plans to expand the program further:

“When items are unavailable in a particular geography, we provide customers with selection from another marketplace. This offers customers a wider selection of great brands and helps sellers increase sales.

Source: CNBC

GE’s $99 ‘Talking Laundry’ box was built for the blind

Doing laundry might be dead simple for most people, but the visually impaired don’t have it so easy. To make that easier, GE Appliance’s skunkworks division FirstBuild — along with the help of a 14 year-old — has designed a system called Talking Laundry. With a name like that, the invention is pretty self-explanatory: it’s a metal box (below) that audibly tells you how much time is left in a given wash cycle, and simplifies controls to one knob each for a washer and dryer.

Using a board computer and FirstBuild’s Green Bean tools that convert code to machine language, teenage Jack DuPlessis (his dad works for GE and gave him the task) put a prototype together in the span of a weekend. Talking Laundry can even be retrofitted onto existing laundry machines; its sales page states that the module will connect to “most” current and all future laundry units.

Maybe best of all, these are available to buy right now and they won’t break the bank. One unit will control both a washer and a dryer and will only set you back $99 — a far cry from that $16,000 voice-controlled laundry folder.

Source: BusinessWire, GE Appliance

Google Duo adds video chats to your regular call history

Google’s standalone video chat app, Duo, came out last August. Since then, the company has added some nifty features, like voice-only calling to help avoid awkward bedhead conversations. Google has just added a call-log feature to Duo, making it possible to keep and search your call history in your regular calling app.

According to 9to5Google, the new version of Duo (14) integrates with your Android phone’s standard call log and will keep track of your Duo video calls once you give the app permission to do so. You’ll see your Duo calls in your call log history, right next to the rest of the ones you make with your phone app. The video calls will have a cute little video camera icon under the number you called with Duo to help differentiate them from regular calls. The update is available from the Google Play Store as well as from APKMirror, a third-party mirror for updates like this. We’ve reached out to Google to find out if the feature will include voice calls, or will come to iOS, and will update this post when we hear back.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Google

Tech Group Representing Samsung, Google, Microsoft and More Supports Apple in Qualcomm Fight

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a lobbying group that represents Google, eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Netflix, Intel, Samsung, and other tech companies today asked the United States International Trade Commission to reject Qualcomm’s request for an import ban on select iPhone and iPad models.

According to the CCIA, preventing Apple from importing iPhones made abroad would result in harm to consumers by enabling Qualcomm’s anti-competitive behavior. CCIA President & CEO Ed Black gave the following statement on the issue:

“Qualcomm is already using its dominant position to pressure competitors and tax competing products. If the ITC were to grant this exclusion order, it would help Qualcomm use its monopoly power for further leverage against Apple, and allow them to drive up prices on consumer devices.

“What’s at stake here is certainly the availability of iPhones and other smartphones at better prices. But even more critical is the principle of open competition that has been historically important to US economic success. The ITC has a choice whether to further reward anti-competitive behavior – or to reject this anti-free market, anti-consumer request.”

In its ongoing legal battle with Apple, Qualcomm in early July asked the U.S. ITC to block imports of select iPhone and iPad models that use Intel modem chips instead of Qualcomm chips.

Qualcomm requested the partial ban as part of a patent lawsuit that claims Apple devices infringe on six Qualcomm patents related to carrier aggregation and technologies designed to allow iPhones to save battery life while charging.

The lawsuit and import ban request were both filed in retaliation for an ongoing royalty dispute between the two companies, which saw Apple sue Qualcomm back in January for charging unfair royalties and refusing to pay quarterly rebates. Since that date, the legal fight between the two companies has continued to escalate.

Tag: Qualcomm
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MIT engineers create Doctor Octopus’ robotic limbs for real-life uses

Why it matters to you

Additional robot arms could be used for manufacturing, assisting people with limited mobility or, well, anything else you can imagine.

If you are a Marvel comic book geek (or, heck, if you watched Sam Raimi’s excellent 2004 movie Spider-Man 2), you are probably familiar with Doctor Octopus: The scheming scientist character who benefits from the assistance of four highly advanced mechanical arms. In a case of life imitating art, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed technology bringing similar robotic limbs into the real world.

“The Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRL) are a wearable robot that augments its human user by providing her or him with additional robotic limbs,” researcher Federico Parietti told Digital Trends. “These robotic limbs can move independently from the natural arms and legs of the user, and therefore can enable the execution of entirely new, complex tasks that would be impossible with only the four natural limbs. The SRL can also coordinate with the user in order to improve the performance or the safety of normal tasks.”

The control method described in the study involved training wearers to use muscles in their torsos that are not part of our normal movement range. Users who were tested with this control system found that they were able to quickly learn how to control the robotic limbs, independently from their regular limbs.

In terms of what the robot limbs can be used for… well, the sky is the limit. A few particularly beneficial scenarios jump out, though. One is in manufacturing, particularly when it comes to heavy industry. “For example, [in the the aircraft industry], human workers are essential because the tasks are extremely complicated and cannot yet be performed by autonomous robots,” Parietti continued. “However, these tasks are fatiguing and require people to work in uncomfortable positions or to lift heavy tools. The extra limbs can help with all of that, by supporting the body of the user or lifting the tools. They can also secure the user to a scaffold, preventing falls.”

Another possible use involves assisting elderly or rehabilitating patients who experience small locomotion problems. “[In some cases, people] don’t really need to be confined to a wheelchair,” Parietti said. “They would simply benefit from wearing some ‘autonomous crutches’ that can sync with their gait and help them when needed, providing support and avoiding falls. The extra limbs can do just that — and they leave the upper part of the body free to move, meaning that your arms are not busy operating crutches.”

While this isn’t the only high-tech example we have seen of either additional limbs or assistive robot technology, it is definitely captured our imagination. “New exciting research directions include adding more movement possibilities to the robotic limbs, and experimenting our control technique with complex manufacturing tasks,” Parietti noted.

A paper on the work was recently presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA).

Bragi Dash Pro true wireless earbuds review

Research Center:
Bragi Dash Pro

They’re not headphones! Bragi describes its Dash and Dash Pro as wearable computers, which means before you dive into our Bragi Dash Pro review, a little background is in order.

Bragi’s first “hearable,” last year’s fully wireless Dash, promised to track exercise, respond to gestures, and even had a “transparency mode” that selectively lets outside sound in. With multiple sensors, “micro components,” and a waterproof design that was both flashy and elegant, they were unlike anything we’d ever tested. Unfortunately, as our Dash review concluded, they also came with some serious limitations, including buggy functionality, poor call quality, and connection issues. To quote Spaceballs, “Even in the future nothing works!”

But Bragi didn’t bail. Promising a better connection, flashy new features, and nearly double the battery life, the Dash Pro are Bragi’s second shot at evolving headphones. Are they finally ready to deliver?

Out of the box

Inside a black and yellow box, the Dash Pro come packed in a drawer alongside containers for their accessories. Like the original, the Dash Pro arrive nestled within a sturdy metal charging case, the beaded black buds mounted on magnetic chargers.

Those who have ponied up for the Dash Pro Tailored by Starkey ($499, plus a visit to a Starkey-authorized audiologist for gooey imprints of your ear) will get a few added perks, including a monogrammed shell for the charging case, monogrammed nameplates on the buds, and of course, custom-molded earpieces.

Both the tailored and standard Dash Pro ($329) ship with a tiny microUSB charging cable, but the two deviate in other accessories. The standard Dash Pro come with removable FitSleeves and tips to conform to your ears and keep out water. The fitted pair come with tiny replaceable earwax guards called Hear Clear filters – Starkey uses the same style in its hearing aids. They require cleaning with a toothbrush (never a Q-Tip, according to Bragi) and replacement over time, and they’re hell to put back in if you drop one.

Hang on to that manual

With so much tech, you might think setting up the Dash Pro would be complicated and challenging — and you’d be right. Bragi promises “a simple one-touch setup” for the Dash Pro, but the instruction manual and experience say otherwise.

Getting started requires charging the headphones and case in your computer, downloading the Bragi updater, installing the Bragi app for Android or iOS, and even jabbing a paperclip into the case, all leading up to that “one touch.”

These are the most complicated to configure wireless earbuds we’ve ever encountered.

We were then finally able to connect to the Dash Pro in our phone’s Bluetooth menu, but there’s a snag there, too. The Dash Pro connect to your phone in two ways: The left bud connects to Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) to send sensor data to Bragi’s app, while the right connects via your phone’s Bluetooth menu directly for audio. If you connect to the wrong one, you’ll see an “X” after the “Dash Pro” in your phone’s Bluetooth menu.

Whoops. We got it wrong the first time, but after some more paperclip pin-holing to reset and re-pairing, we were finally ready to jam! But no, it turns out we weren’t. Our first pair was a dud, and Bragi had to send another pair.

Even setting aside the defect, the Dash Pro are just too finicky to setup. These are the most complicated to configure wireless earbuds we’ve ever encountered, and we have tested dozens.

On the road

Taking the Dash Pro out and about is the best way to understand their appeal. They turned plenty of heads on the bus, and we even ended up giving a tutorial to one fascinated rider. With the phone in our pocket and control at our fingertips, we really got that futuristic feeling.

To start with, you never need to turn the Dash Pro on or off, the buds simply rest in the charger when not in use, and turn on when inserted. A familiar female voice tells you when they’ve connected, and announces other alerts.

You control the headphones with taps, swipes, and in a futuristic twist, head movements. The sensors pickup head movements for fielding calls with just a nod or shake, and after calibrating it in the app, you can add other functions like skipping songs or navigating menus. There’s even a “Virtual 4D Menu” that’s all gestures. While it’s definitely cool in theory, accuracy wasn’t always consistent in practice. At times, we had to head-bang pretty hard to get the Dash Pro to read movements.

If you would prefer not to violently nod in public, the Dash Pro also have tiny touch panels. Swiping forward or backward on the right earbud controls volume quite well, though the max volume is lower than we’d like, requiring you to turn up your phone often. Swiping on the left bud controls Transparency mode, which conveniently allows you to monitor the world around you while you rock out. It’s especially useful for the custom pair, which offer excellent passive noise isolation. Swiping down on the left bud initiates a “wind shield,” but it’s hard to activate, and it pops and clicks in heavy wind. If wind is fierce, you’re better off just leaving Transparency off. It isn’t great for busy locales (or windy streets) where sharp exterior sounds tend to bombard your ears.

While a bit less accurate, the tap controls also work relatively well: Single, double, and triple taps control playback, while a quick hold calls up Siri. The app also allows you to add in more functions. Tapping or holding the left bud is less relevant, used mostly for hearing workout data. There’s also a “cheek tap” feature which can call up Siri, among other things, but we only ever got that working once.

Running the company’s new Bragi OS 3, the updated app is more functional than ever, from customizing controls to reviewing workout stats. It’s a big improvement, though we still wish it was a little easier to find the basics — specifically the full list of controls, which can only be accessed by clicking outside the app.

Smarter than your average earbuds

Controls are novel, but the Dash Pro do much more than give you cute ways to pause your tunes.

Bragi’s new translation feature, a partnership with iTranslate, theoretically allows you to speak and understand up to 40 foreign languages in real time. It’s a very cool concept, but there are some serious hurdles at present, not the least of which is the fact that whomever you speak to will need their own Dash earbuds to carry out a conversation.

You’ll appreciate the Dash Pro more while working out, where the dozens of sensors prove their mettle.

Barring that, you can still use iTranslate with the buds, but you’ll need to pass your phone back and forth to communicate. Even then, iTranslate is spotty. A quick convo with our Spanish colleague was as frustrating as it was illuminating, with sentences frequently being misread or mistranslated.

You’ll appreciate the Dash Pro more while working out, where all those dozens of sensors prove their mettle. The system automatically catalogs stats like heart rate, distance, step count, speed, calories burned, and more with relative accuracy.

The coolest part is Auto Tracking, which can be set to turn on whenever you begin running, biking, or swimming (the Dash Pro are waterproof up to three feet for 30 minutes), and it actually works. The buds knew exactly when we started our workout, pausing and resuming at our whim, and they could sense our speed when we get on a bike within the first few pedals.

Audio performance and phone calls

Bragi has touted audio improvements for the Dash Pro, including bigger bass, but to our ears the boomier sound is a step back. We enjoyed the original Dash’s sound signature, which offers relatively impressive detail and well-balanced sound. In the new version, bass takes center stage – especially in the fitted version.

Bass heads will no doubt appreciate the added oomph, and it certainly brings some unbridled power to hip hop and rock tracks. However, it’s more bloated and forceful than we’d like, at times dominating the lower midrange. This may well be exaggerated in the Starkey model, as the custom seal affords little room for frequencies to escape, naturally enhancing the lower register. The result is sometimes akin to listening to a brass band with the tuba section lined up out front.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

When bass is held in check, though, the lighter upper register does offer solid detail for wireless earbuds, providing a clean and relatively tight midrange, and some pleasant stereo spacing for subtler moments, like acoustic guitar slides or reverb splashes from side to side.

Call quality, which was dire on the Dash, has improved, especially for outgoing calls. Oddly enough, though, incoming voices were relegated almost entirely to the right earbud during testing. The left earbud also seemed to partially disconnect and reconnect between songs, or whenever volume got extremely low, emitting an audible clip. The bug eventually caused Bragi to send us yet another pair (that’s three if you’re counting), but due to supply issues we haven’t received it yet. We’ll update this review if they change our mind, but even owners of this flawed pair will only notice the blips if they’re listening very intently.

Despite this hiccup, we still experienced far fewer wireless disruptions than with the original Dash. But they’re not perfect. We heard a few signal cutouts walking outside with with the phone in our back pocket, as well as a few instances of the left earbud cutting out entirely.

Battery boost

The Dash Pro’s five-hour battery runtime is perhaps its biggest improvement, requiring us to charge the case only once during testing. They won’t display a battery icon on your phone like most new wireless buds, but instead Bragi offers a novel solution: You shake the buds to activate lighted rings on the outer shells, with blue, green, and red representing full, medium, and low. The charging case has its own LED indicator, too.

Warranty information

The Dash Pro have a one-year limited warranty, which the company says may differ by country and does not apply to accessories or “alterations due to normal wear and tear, or any other damages caused solely by the customer,” including failure to follow instructions. You can find out more at Bragi’s website.

Bragi Dash Pro Compared To

V-Moda Forza Metallo Wireless…

Optoma NuForce BE6i

Jaybird X3

Apple AirPods

Sol Republic Amps Air

NuForce BE Sport 3

Jabra Sport Pulse Wireless Special…

Jabra Halo Smart

Plantronics BackBeat Go 3

Erato Apollo 7

Bragi Dash

Jabra Sport Pace Wireless

Jabra Sport Coach

Jabra Sport Wireless Plus Bluetooth

Monster iSport Freedom

Our Take

Bragi’s new Dash Pro packs in even more features than the company’s original “wearable computer,” including nearly double the battery life, new gesture controls, and impressive workout functions. However, an extremely finicky setup process and bugs in the system cancel out many of the new benefits.

Is there a better alternative?

Those eyeing similarly futuristic features can check out the Here One from Doppler Labs, or Nuheara’s IQbuds. However, while those earbuds offer augmented audio that goes well beyond Bragi’s Transparency Mode, they don’t offer workout features. If you want a pair of true wireless buds for the workout grind, checkout Jabra’s more affordable Elite Sport true wireless buds, which offer fewer features, but are quick and easy to use.

Other alternatives include The Headphone, Bragi’s toned-down buds, or Apple’s AirPods, both of which offer great battery life and stellar performance for their affordable price points. If you’re dying for the Dash Pro, we’d advise against the custom-fitted version. Frankly, sound performance isn’t enhanced enough to justify the $170 upgrade, and while the fit is inherently near perfect, we never had issues with the original Dash there.

How long will it last?

That’s difficult to assess, seeing as we’ve had issues with two pairs already. That said, the headphones appear to be robustly built, and Bragi has exhibited great customer service.

Should you buy it?

Unless you just have to have the latest tech, no. Battery life, features, and overall connection have improved since the original, but so has the competition. While the Dash Pro show real promise, complicated setup and buggy functionality have us once again pressing pause on Bragi’s “hearable” future.

Crazy vine robot will grow to rescue survivors, put out fires, and more

Why it matters to you

A quick-growing soft robot could be used in search and rescue missions — or even to crawl through your blood vessels for surgery.

Just when you thought you had seen every kind of robot under the sun, researchers at Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Barbara come along and introduce you to something totally new. In this case, it’s a quick-growing soft robot that’s able to extend itself up to 236 feet in length, and navigate through some impressive tight spaces — all by pumping itself up with air.

“We’ve developed a soft robot that extends from its tip in order to navigate its environment,” Professor Elliot Hawkes, lead researcher on the project, told Digital Trends. “It’s pretty different from traditional mobile robots, because the body doesn’t move, but rather grows in length. This has some interesting advantages, [such as the fact] that it creates a structure as it moves, which can later be used to move materials through.”

The robot was inspired by the natural world. While we’ve seen plenty of robots inspired by animal locomotion, in this case it was inspired by natural organisms such as vines which cover great distances by growing. It also exhibits some surprising superpowers, including the ability to manipulate itself in such a way that it can lift a 100-kilo crate, extend under a door gap that is just 10 percent of its diameter, and even spiral on itself in a way that allows it to form a freestanding structure for sending out a radio signal.

E.W. Hawkes, L.H. Blumenschein, and J.D. Greer

The soft robot determines which direction it should “grow” in via image recognition, taken from a tiny camera sensor located at the robot’s tip. For now, it’s powered by pneumatic air pressure, although the researchers say later iterations could also grow using liquid, which opens up a number of new potential use-cases.

“One of the areas we’re most interested in is search and rescue,” Hawkes continued. “We imagine growing the robots through rubble and debris to help find trapped survivors. The robot could deliver water or oxygen to the survivor, and possibly pry rubble off the survivor. We’re also looking at a much smaller scale [version], hopefully with applications in endovascular surgery.”

Yes, you read that correctly: the long-term goal is that this could be made small enough to one day fit inside blood vessels for surgery. “We’re down to 1.8mm diameter right now,” Hawkes said. If there’s a more versatile robot project in 2017, we’d love to see it!

A paper describing the vine robot was published in the journal Science Robotics.

Samsung confirms Galaxy Note 8 launch for August 23

A year later, the Note line is hotter than ever.

Samsung will launch the Galaxy Note 8 on August 23 at various Unpacked events around the world, though the main one will be in New York City starting at 11 a.m. ET.

The company sent out press invites with a silhouetted phone slightly boxier than the Galaxy S8, replete with an S Pen overlaid on top, In other words, nothing surprising.

The date lines up with previous rumors, and gives Samsung a few weeks to get the phone onto store shelves prior to the unveiling of Apple’s new iPhone model. Samsung is also expected to spend some time reassuring the media, and potential customers, that the new Note model is free of battery defects, and that its ]eight-point battery test](https://www.androidcentral.com/samsungs-new-8-point-battery-safety-check) is the best in the industry.

This year’s Note is expected to have a 6.3-inch Infinity Display, a Snapdragon 835 processor and 6GB of RAM, along with dual 12MP rear cameras, a 3300mAh battery, an updated S Pen, running Android 7.1 out of the box.

More soon!

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

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