The Morning After: Thursday, August 3rd 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

This morning we have free advice on how to sell tablets, the latest financial data from Tesla and two big screens (one of them is on a phone).

Seems simple when you think about it.Here’s what Apple had to do to sell more iPads

Lower the price.

Just wait until the MTA gets hold of one.Hyperloop One’s passenger pod takes its first 192MPH ride

Just weeks after Hyperloop One demonstrated a working, albeit slow, version of its levitating sled, the company has made another leap forward. This time around, the startup has successfully tested its XP-1 passenger pod, reaching speeds of up to 192MPH and levitating off the track as it accelerated.

Check out that Command Line.Windows 10 preview rolls out with eye control and more

Microsoft hasn’t adjusted the default color settings for the Windows Console in 20 years, but if you clean install its latest Insider Preview, there’s something new waiting. This release also includes support for control via eye-tracking, and the implementation of its Fluent Design System on the Edge browser.

Extra tall.LG will put a 6-inch OLED screen on the V30

We’re expecting to see the LG V30 unveiled on August 31st, and last night the company announced its next flagship device will have a 6-inch 1440p FullVision OLED screen. This is LG’s first OLED phone since the G Flex 2, and, while it drops the curve gimmick, we’re pretty sure users will enjoy the extra screen space.

Worth it?Samsung’s 88-inch Q9 TV costs $20,000

Samsung already had a 75-inch 4K QLED TV on sale for $9,000, but upgrading to 88 inches means the price will more than double. We guess it really depends on how much you value the guests at your next Super Bowl party.

Part of the Stone Island fall collection.AirPod pockets are the latest ridiculous fashion statement

It’s hard to see these little sewn-in AirPod slots as anything more than vanity ports for the terminally fashion-conscious.

Speakers, headphones and maybe a turntable.Back to school 2017: the best audio gear for students

High-quality audio equipment is a key element of any educational experience, right? That idea may not be peer reviewed, but there’s no time like the present to start developing your audiophile tastes, and we have a few recommendations on what hardware you should pick.

Sign up now to be number 455,001 in line.Tesla is getting 1,800 Model 3 reservations per day

Now that the Model 3 has started to ship, we’re watching Tesla’s earnings reports for information on how many it can build. So far, the company says its projections are still on track, and that it expects production to hit 5,000 cars per week by the end of this year. As far as what’s on the way, Elon Musk confirmed the Model Y crossover will share a platform with the Model 3, while Tesla’s next big unveiling will be an electric semi-truck.

But wait, there’s more…

• Plex pushes Live TV broadcasts to Apple TV, Android
• Netflix queues up a new slate of anime originals
• Verizon Selects rewards program collects and shares a lot of your data
• Blue Satellite wireless headphones review
• Inside DJ Alison Wonderland’s live show controlled by Surface Book and Kinect

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.

Nissan’s door alert honks at you to check the backseat

The last thing you want is to forget items in the back of a car during these relentless summer days. But even with all the technical wizardry found inside modern vehicles, there’s really nothing stopping you from just being plain absent-minded. And, before you know it, your car ends up reeking of leftover food or your gym clothes. However, Nissan’s new warning system is aimed directly at your backseat.

The first-of-its-kind mechanism taps into the rear door switches to detect if they were used prior to and after a trip. It then notifies you to check them via an alert on the instrument panel. If that doesn’t work, and you put the car in park and start walking away, it will give you another heads-up using the car horn. Thankfully, it won’t be a massive honk that could disturb an entire neighborhood. Instead, it will make a series of quick chirping horn sounds. If that too isn’t to your liking, you’ll have the option to disable the audible part of the warning (or the entire system) using the car display.

The brainchild of two Nissan engineers, who also happen to be mums, the rear door alert could also help prevent actual disasters for parents and pet owners. It will debut with the 2018 Nissan Pathfinder SUV next month, and will be added to additional models in the coming years.

Source: Nissan

TalkTalk’s made a simple circular TV remote just for kids

It’s never been easier to keep the kids entertained. YouTube, the BBC, Sky, Virgin Media, Disney and more all have apps dedicated to shows for the little ones, and parents can trust everything on there is age-appropriate. TalkTalk has been building a walled playground of its own for kids bounce around in, but for the big screen in the living room, not the coffee-table tablet. Key to this is the new Kids TV Remote launching tomorrow. The £5 peripheral is colourful and simple, with so few buttons that most sprogs should get to grips with it pretty quickly.

What’s ultimately more important is the new “Kids Zone.” One press of a button on the special round remote changes the entire TalkTalk TV UI, dropping little ones into an easily navigable menu of on-demand shows (you’ll need the £5 per month children’s TV package for this, mind). They are isolated to the Kids Zone until an older member of the household enters a code on the primary remote, so guardians needn’t worry about them messing around outside the digital playpen.

Parents also have control of what’s shown in the Kids Zone, so they can hide whatever cartoon crack they think their children might be getting a little too obsessed with. They can also set viewing hours to stop sprogs going square-eyed, with a bedtime setting that’s particularly clever. If a show finishes a few minutes before the designated cut-off point, the child won’t be able to play another episode, hopefully minimising the potential for bedtime tantrums when you start running a bath halfway through the opening credits of Peppa Pig.

Deliveroo is giving riders GoPros after a rise in acid attacks

Following the sharp rise of acid attacks, especially in inner city areas, food delivery service Deliveroo has introduced new measures aimed at keeping its riders safe as they navigate the streets. The startup announced today that it’s hired 50 new staff members to oversee rider welfare, who will be serve as physical points of contact in each of Deliveroo’s main markets.

Technology will also play a part, with new apps features allowing riders to alert the company to problem areas and GoPro cameras capturing footage of potential attacks. Deliveroo says that in the past three weeks alone, 71 delivery workers have removed themselves from a delivery over fears for their safety. As well as liaising with police and other local authorities, the company’s new hires will also help reassign riders to new areas.

Last month, two food delivery riders — one from UberEats and one from Deliveroo — were among five people injured in the space of 90 minutes during an attack in North London. They were targeted by moped riders who threw acid in their faces and attempted to steal their vehicles.

Currently, Deliveroo classes riders as self-employed, rather than employees. However, MPs have urged the UK government to close these so-called ‘gig economy’ loopholes and have them official classed as “workers.”

Contractors aren’t entitled to holiday and sick pay, but Deliveroo Managing Director Dan Warne says the company “will do everything we can to protect our riders,” which will involve maintaining close ties with the police and local emergency services, as well as regular safety training.

The first such event will be held in conjunction with Hackney Council on August 3rd, with additional sessions being added over time.

Apple Used Bluetooth Low Energy Audio for Cochlear Implant iPhone Accessory

Late last month Apple revealed it had partnered with hearing aid company Cochlear to launch the first Made For iPhone Cochlear implant, which can stream audio from an iOS device directly to a surgically embedded sound processor.

Now, in a new Wired article titled “How Apple is Putting Voices in Users’ Heads – Literally”, the company has offered up a few more details on how it was able to achieve the technical feat of transmitting high bandwidth data to such a low-powered device.

To solve the problem of streaming high-quality audio without draining the tiny zinc batteries in hearing aids, Apple’s accessibility team essentially had to create a more advanced version of the existing Bluetooth Low Energy profile.

Bluetooth LE is only meant to be used to send low-bandwidth data signals, like getting heart rate monitor readings from wearables, so Apple developed a more advanced version called Bluetooth Low Energy Audio (BLEA), which can stream high quality audio whilst preserving the LE profile’s battery-extending properties.

Apple has had BLEA in the works for some time, and the profile appeared in patents dating back to 2014, but this is the first time Apple has spoken about using the profile in an actual consumer product.

Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s director of global accessibility policy, summarized the company’s efforts with the following comments:

While our devices have been built to support hearing aids for years, we found that the experience of people trying to make a phone call was not always a good one. So we brought together a lot of people in different areas around the company to start investigating ways to make the process easier.

Our goal was to get rid of all those extra things that need batteries and can get in the way, so when a phone call comes in you just hit the button to answer it and that sound is streaming into your hearing aid.

The technical detail about the Bluetooth profile is revealed in the context of the story of implant wearer Mathias Bahnmueller, a 49-year-old who suffers from hearing loss and uses the system developed by Apple and Cochlear. Called the Nucleus 7 sound processor, the device won FDA approval in June and is the first of its kind in the hearing aid industry.

The extended article is certainly worth a read, and Tim Cook has already shared the piece on Twitter, saying he is proud of the work Apple is doing in this area.

Tags: wired.com, accessibility
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Apple adapted Bluetooth LE for ultra-low power hearing aids

Last month, Apple and Cochlear teamed up to showcase the latter’s new made-for-iPhone implant for folks with hearing loss. Now, Wired has revealed that the pair had to stretch the boundaries of possibility to make one of its signature functions work. After all, pushing audio from a phone to any sort of earpiece will rinse its battery, which ain’t great for hearing aids that are in constant use. That’s why Apple cooked up a way to push audio to devices using a tweaked version of the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol.

Bluetooth Low Energy Audio (BLEA) is, as the name implies, a way for devices to push sound around without guzzling power. It’s been in the works at Apple for some time, and the company even described how it wanted it to work in a patent filing from 2014. With it, users of the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor implant can push audio from their iPhones — including live speech picked up by its microphone — without troubling the battery.

The fact that Apple is now comfortable enough talking about it means that BLEA may now make its way into other devices. We’ve known for a while that the Bluetooth SIG has been pushing for its own way of reducing power consumption for its audio products. With the drive towards wireless headphones and the death of the 3.5mm audio jack, ensuring that gear won’t crap out on us on long trips gets ever more important.

Source: Wired

A vending machine selling clothes is Uniqlo’s next big idea

Why it matters to you

Uniqlo’s machine will save you time if your local clothing store always has long lines. And will certainly be useful if you need a shirt out of hours.

Anyone that’s been to Japan knows all too well how vending machines live on virtually every street corner, so you shouldn’t be too surprised to learn that one of the nation’s biggest companies has decided to launch its own dispenser in the U.S.

But this is Uniqlo we’re talking about, so its vending machine will be offering things to wear rather than drink. That’s right, it’s built a vending machine that sells clothes.

In what could be a world first, Uniqlo plans to launch 10 of the 6-foot-high vending machines at locations across the U.S., including airports and shopping malls, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Uniqlo

The clothes-filled contraptions will have digital displays and allow shoppers to select the size and color of items, which are expected to be limited to two pieces: down jackets and heat-retaining shirts. Browse the selection, hit the buy button, and your purchase will drop into the tray inside a box or can.

As there’ll be no fitting room attached (now there’s an idea, Uniqlo), you’ll have to try on your purchase in full view of passing shoppers, or wait till you get home. If it doesn’t suit, you can get your money back by returning it to a Uniqlo store or by mailing the item to the company. In other words, stuffing it back into the tray and yelling for a refund will get you nowhere.

The dispensers could certainly come in handy if you’re on vacation and forget to pack a warm jacket. In that case, you can simply quickly grab one from a Uniqlo machine as you head out of the airport.

Uniqlo is the biggest clothing retailer in Japan but has had a tougher time cracking the American market with its reasonably priced, mostly casual range of clothing.

The company’s marketing chief, Marisol Tamaro, told the Journal that it’s currently “trying to understand where we can be more successful without making a big commitment.” Time will tell if its vending machine strategy represents a breakthrough moment.

If you fancy the experience of buying clothes from a vending machine, then drop by the Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles from August 10, Houston Airport from August 17, or the Queens Center mall in New York City from August 22 and make your selection. Uniqlo said it’ll reveal additional locations for its dispensers soon.

Tethered drones to help Secret Service provide security for president

Why it matters to you

Following in the footsteps of a growing number of businesses and organizations who see the benefits of the technology, the Secret Service is now testing it for surveillance work to protect the president.

It wasn’t that long ago that the Secret Service was caught off guard by a rogue quadcopter crash-landing on the White House lawn. Two years on and the president’s security team is finally embracing the technology, using it in the coming weeks to help provide protection for Donald Trump.

The Secret Service plans to deploy a “small” camera-equipped, multi-rotor drone as part of efforts to protect President Trump when he vacations at his golf club in New Jersey this month, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The drone, whose make and model has not been disclosed, will monitor the perimeter of the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.

Flying at a height of around 300 to 400 feet (91 to 122 meters), the flying machine will carry specialized equipment such as a thermal imaging camera for nighttime surveillance. Data transmission and power will run via a tether, allowing it to fly for extended periods, Reuters said.

The exercise will help the Secret Service decide if the technology can become a permanent addition to existing security measures that help keep an eye on the president at engagements around the country.

It’s currently looking at “several types of drones and tethered systems” to learn more about their effectiveness in providing security. But security personnel admitted there could be an issue with its debut operation this month as the drone may fly within range of private residences. People in the area will be told of the drone flights in advance in a bid to avoid any disputes, the report said.

Security operations for the president usually use manned aircraft from local, state, and federal government agencies, but these can be noisy and fail to provide around-the-clock surveillance. With that in mind, the drones could prove a useful, as well as more cost effective, alternative to current systems.

Autonomous and remotely controlled surveillance copters are already being built by a number of companies, Boston-based CyPhy among them. Its versatile Parc hexacopter receives power via a microfilament tether, allowing it to stay in the air for lengthy periods, returning only for maintenance. Data such as video also transmits via the tether, adding an extra layer of security. The machine was recently used by police in Boston to monitor activities during the Fourth of July celebrations.

Nokia 6 hits UK shelves SIM free for £200

If you’re British and you’ve a hankering for a SIM free Nokia 6 then you’ll want to stop by Carphone Warehouse where you’ll now find one for sale for £200.

Besides that legendary logo you’re getting a solid phone that’s built like a tank, a fairly vanilla Android 7.1 experience and of course, that attractive price. If you go on pay-as-you-go terms you’ll pay even less, £189.99 to be precise for the privilege of taking a carrier SIM and £10 of credit.

You’ll get it in four colors; Blue, black, copper and silver. Out front is a 5.5-inch 1080p display, inside you’ll get a Snapdragon 430 processor, 32GB of internal storage which is expandable, 4GB of RAM and a 3000mAh battery. Round back is a 16MP camera. There’s certainly a lot of phone for £200.

SIM free the Nokia 6 is exclusive to Carphone Warehouse in the UK so if that’s what you want then that’s where you’ll have to go. The Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 are also available. Hit the link below to get started.

See at Carphone Warehouse

Microsoft starts testing Windows 10’s built-in Eye Control

The latest Insider preview build for Windows 10 is rolling out, and it’s bringing that eye-tracking support Microsoft recently mentioned. Users with a compatible eye tracking device (which right now means certain hardware from Tobii) can control their PC and even type just by looking at the relevant spot onscreen. Still, the most surprising change is available via the command prompt. As described on the Command Line blog, it’s overhauling the default colors in the Windows console for the first time in 20 years.

Experiencing the new color scheme will require a fresh installation (Microsoft says it doesn’t want to overwrite anyone’s custom settings — a configuration tool will be released soon), but it’s supposed to help things look better on new monitors. There are also tweaks supporting 3D objects within Word, Excel and PowerPoint while the Edge browser has a new look made to match Microsoft’s Fluent Design System with transparency and “delightful” animations.

Source: Windows Blog, Command Line Blog