Google pays Apple billions each year to be on the iPhone

Google pays Apple $3 Billion per year to be the default search engine on iOS.

One great thing about being in the Google ecosystem is that the company’s services are on the most popular platforms (sorry, Windows 10 Mobile fans). If I wanted to, I could pick up an iPad tomorrow and have access to my purchased books, music, movies, my keyboard, my saved locations, and browser favorites. Another way I’d feel at home on iOS is the fact that Google is the default search engine.

That comes at a cost, however. According to CNBC, Google is estimated to be paying $3 billion for the fiscal year 2017 for the privilege of being the default search provider on iOS, up from $1 billion in 2014. This deal comes with very little cost to Apple, and the revenue accounts for a large portion of the Cupertino company’s services revenue. The arrangement accounts for approximately 5% of Apple’s total operating profits for each year, as well as 25% of Apple’s growth over the past two years.

Google wins in this case as well, because about 50% of its mobile search revenue comes from iOS devices. While some more technical users would notice if Apple switched to Microsoft’s Bing service for the search engine, most users wouldn’t think anything of it. So while Google is paying a hefty amount of money each year to be the default option, not paying that money would likely mean much less revenue from mobile search. At the end of the day, it seems like this is a good working relationship for both Google and Apple, with each company gaining from the arrangement.

Do you use Google Search on an iOS device? Let us know down below!

Best Dual-SIM Android Phone

• Best overall
• Best alternative
• Best phablet
• Best budget pick

Best overall

OnePlus 5

See at OnePlus

The OnePlus 5 continues the company’s tradition of delivering a flagship-class experience for a couple of hundred dollars less than the competition. The highlight of this year’s phone is dual cameras at the back, with a Portrait Mode allowing you to take portraits with a background blur effect.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 835, and while the overall design may not be as groundbreaking as the Galaxy S8, OnePlus has once again managed to get all the basics right.

You can pick up the OnePlus 5 with either 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage for $479, or get the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage for $539.

Bottom line: The OnePlus 5 is a solid choice if you’re looking for a phone with top-notch internals, clean software, and all-day battery life.

One more thing: You can now pick up the OnePlus 5 in a Soft Gold color option.

Why the OnePlus 5 is the best

OnePlus refined its formula for the affordable flagship with the OnePlus 5, offering a phone that delivers top-notch hardware and clean software at a price that’s $200 to $300 lower than the competition.

The highlight with the OnePlus 5 is the dual camera setup at the back. The primary 16MP camera is augmented by a secondary 20MP shooter that acts as a telephoto lens — giving you 2x lossless zoom. Then there’s Dash Charge, which is one of the best fast charging standards available today. With Dash Charge, you can get up to a 60% charge after plugging your phone in for just 30 minutes.

The screen size (and resolution) are unchanged from last year, with the phone featuring a 5.5-inch Optic AMOLED panel. The internals have received a significant bump, however, in the form of the 2.45GHz Snapdragon 835. When it comes to the software side of things, OxygenOS delivers one of the best experiences currently available on Android. The user interface is similar to pure Android, but there are several customization options available to make the phone truly yours.

This time around, OnePlus is offering a single global SKU of the OnePlus 5. That means that the same model will be sold around the world, with no variances across regions. The move allows for easier roaming, as the device has 34 LTE bands for global usage.

OnePlus sells a single version of the OnePlus 5 globally, and that’s a big deal.

Selling a single SKU also means that all models of the OnePlus 5 sport a dual-SIM card tray, with both slots offering LTE connectivity. That’s a big deal.

If you’re rocking Bluetooth headphones, you’ll be glad to know that the OnePlus 5 has both the aptX and aptX HD audio codecs — which deliver vastly improved sound quality over Bluetooth. The phone also has Bluetooth 5, but it’ll be a while before you can take advantage of the standard.

There are a few drawbacks with the device — there’s no waterproofing, and you won’t be able to use the phone on Verizon or Sprint. That said, it

Best alternative

LG G6 (H870DS)

See at Amazon

A brand-new unlocked LG G6 will set you back $649, but the variant up for sale in the U.S. misses out on a few key features. The internal storage is limited to 32GB, and the U.S. model doesn’t have LG’s latest DAC. If you want 64GB storage, 32-bit Quad DAC, and a dual-SIM slot, your best bet is to pick up the Asian variant (model number H870DS).

Aside from the higher storage, better audio capabilities and two SIM card slots, the LG G6 H870DS is identical to the version sold in the U.S. You’re getting a 5.7-inch QHD panel with a resolution of 2880 x 1440, Snapdragon 821, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, microSD slot, dual 13MP cameras, and a 3300mAh battery. The chassis is IP68 certified, and is compliant with the MIL-STD-810G standard.

The main downside with the H870DS variant is that there’s no warranty, and you miss out on wireless charging, which is limited to the U.S. model. That said, you can pick up the H870DS for $499 from Amazon.

Bottom line: For $499, the LG G6 H870DS is a very compelling device if you’re willing to forgo wireless charging.

One more thing: The Asian variant has LTE bands for GSM carriers in the U.S., so you won’t be able to use the phone on Verizon or Sprint.

Best phablet

Huawei Mate 9

See at Amazon

A large screen, big battery, high-end internals, and Leica optics — the $479 Mate 9 has it all. The 5.9-inch Full HD screen makes it ideal for viewing multimedia on the go, and the dual rear cameras — a 12MP RGB sensor alongside a 20MP monochrome lens — combined with the Leica tuning gives the Mate 9 an edge in this segment.

The Mate 9 also offers global LTE bands, and the phone is compatible with over 1334 carriers in 217 countries. As it is a GSM device, it is limited to T-Mobile and AT&T in the U.S.

Bottom line: The Mate 9 is an all-rounder that delivers amazing value for money.

One more thing: The Mate 9 is the first phone to feature Amazon’s voice-based assistant, Alexa.

Best budget option

Honor 6X

See at Amazon

Retailing for just $199, the Honor 6X gets a lot of the basics right. The phone has a chassis crafted out of aluminum, a 5.5-inch Full HD panel, Huawei’s own Kirin 655 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, and a dual camera setup at the back.

You also get a dual-SIM card tray, but LTE connectivity is limited to the first SIM card — the second SIM is automatically switched to 2G.

The Honor 6X also received the EMUI 5.0 update a few months ago, bringing Android 7.0 Nougat and a redesigned user interface that fixed a lot of issues from earlier versions. Oh, and there’s an app drawer now.

Bottom line: If you’re looking for a budget phone that offers great value for money, the Honor 6X is a great choice.

One more thing: The Honor 6X is a GSM-only device, and as such it isn’t compatible with Verizon or Sprint.

Conclusion

The OnePlus 5 is your best choice if you’re looking for a future-proof phone with dual-SIM capabilities. The phone has a great display, top-of-the-line specs, and a software experience that’s one of the best available. Support for 34 LTE bands means you’ll be able to use the phone in most countries around the world, and with two SIM card slots available, you won’t need to switch out your primary SIM card.

Best overall

OnePlus 5

See at OnePlus

The OnePlus 5 continues the company’s tradition of delivering a flagship-class experience for a couple hundred dollars less than the competition. The highlight of this year’s phone is dual cameras at the back, with a Portrait Mode allowing you to take portraits with a background blur effect.

The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 835, and while the overall design may not be as groundbreaking as the Galaxy S8, OnePlus has once again managed to get all the basics right.

You can pick up the OnePlus 5 with either 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage for $479, or get the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage for $539.

Bottom line: The OnePlus 5 is a solid choice if you’re looking for a phone with top-notch internals, clean software, and all-day battery life.

One more thing: You can now pick up the OnePlus 5 in a Soft Gold color option.

Update: Updated August 2017 with the OnePlus 5 as the best overall pick, and changed out the rest of the recommendations with newer arrivals.

Insta360’s next camera may shoot orbiting video while stationary

If you’ve tinkered with a consumer 360 camera lately, chances are you have already tried the “round view” or “little planet” viewing mode in the companion app for a good laugh. But what if you could take things to the next level so that rather than spinning a 360 video on a fixed spot, you could actually spin around a subject such as yourself? That’s the impression we’re getting from an exclusive teaser video provided by Insta360 today.

You see, all four clips in the video orbit around a person with one arm sticking up, and it’s most likely that there’s a 360 camera stuck in the hand (it’s invisible due to the nature of image stitching). And yet somehow, it’s as if the camera is also flying though smoke and glitter in the first two clips, then under a flock of pigeons in the following clip, and finally around a boat in the last segment.

This is all rather mind-boggling, to say the least. If it weren’t for the arm plus the lack of shadow, we’d be leaning towards this being a drone footage or some sort of clever selfie trick — like swinging a camera around on a string? There’s also the possibility of this feature being purely based on software which, if compatible, it’d make a sweet update for existing Insta360 users. But then again, this may require more onboard processing power so chances are slim.

Little else is shown in the video except for the “August 28” date plus the “everything epic in one” tag line towards the end. Furthermore, Insta360’s updated homepage appears to be hinting at a new consumer-level 360 camera. We’ve tried poking for more information but the company reps wouldn’t budge; all they added was that the footage shown here is non-final, which means there’s more to look forward to when the big day finally arrives. And of course, when GoPro finally manages to launch its Fusion 360 camera, it’ll be interesting to compare its reality-warping OverCapture feature with Insta360’s upcoming trick.

Facebook’s Messenger AI will sniff out Spotify tracks for you

Facebook Messenger integrated Spotify into its chat extensions back in April of this year, then added a way to create group playlists within the chat app a month later. Now, the music streaming service is showing up in M, Facebook Messenger’s AI assistant. The chat bot monitors the words in your conversation, then pops up with hopefully relevant responses like “you’re welcome,” “no problem,” or suggestions like “send birthday greetings” or “save bookmark.” Now, though, when you mention playing music in a chat, you might find a new little popup that says “Find Music” next to the Spotify logo.

When you tap on the new music option, you’ll get a sheet that shows you the last few tracks you’ve played, a search field to find more music, and a spot to start creating a group playlist. You can share any track you find here to the conversation, whether your conversational partner is a Spotify member or not. Any recipient can tap a little play triangle to preview the song, and you’ll be able play it via the Spotify app if you have it installed. If you don’t like this feature, you can turn off M Suggestions at any time in your Profile settings — but it will turn them all off, not just Spotify.

Via: VentureBeat

What we’re playing: ‘Tacoma,’ ‘Final Fantasy’ and ‘A Dark Room’

Welcome back to Gaming IRL, a monthly segment where several editors talk about what they’ve been playing in their downtime. This month, we’ve enjoyed (to varying degrees) two flavors of Final Fantasy, explored Fullbright’s new game, Tacoma, and lost ourselves in a “button-tapping mash-up between an idle-clicker and a text adventure.” To open proceedings, UK Bureau Chief Mat Smith talks about how, when it comes to Final Fantasy XII, third time’s a charm.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

Mat Smith
Bureau Chief, UK

My Final Fantasy completion list (barring those pesky online ones, pschh) had one glaring omission: the (ironically rather MMORPG-styled) Final Fantasy XII. Now that it’s arrived on PS4, I got another chance to strike that iteration off the list — and as they say, third time’s the charm. Yep, I first bought the game at launch for PS2, but I barely inched through it, busy wrapping up university and preparing for a move to Japan. This meant that the lengthy fantasy space opera RPGs had to wait. I already noticed that it had a different allure from other Final Fantasy titles. A few hours of playing the game had revealed interesting (for once) protagonists, mysteries to be solved, and a world that seemed big — ready to be explored. Unfortunately, I wasn’t ready.

The second time, I picked up the 2007 International edition for my Japanese PS2 at launch — such enthusiasm! I got roughly halfway through, combining my nascent kanji-reading skills with English dialogue, but came unstuck by a section that involved matching NPC conversations together. I wasn’t willing to let the internet do the work for me, so, again, I paused.

In 2017, ten years since that edition, I now got to play a more polished version that showcases the game at its best: high-resolution textures and character models that were already highly detailed back in 2006, as well as a revamped soundtrack with some live instrumentation massaged into the previously all-digital score.

It’s the characters and the voice acting that stand the test of time. I’d argue they’re better than what we got with FFXV (another divisive entry), and just so delightfully otherworldly. There are chunks of Shakespeare, elvish-nordic intonation to everything the bunnywomen Viera clanswomen say, pissed-off princesses and so much more. The phrasing, the delivery, everything works so very well — so well that only a handful of contemporary games can match it even now.

Battles are dealt with using the gambit system, which is a huge change from the timer gauges that I became used to on PS1 RPGs. Gambits are little programmable nuggets that tell your party members (both the one you’re in control of and the rest) what to do. Weak to fire? Fire spells, please. Dead ally? Throw a phoenix down in their direction. With time (and more slots unlocked as you progress), it grows into a rich, customizable system that allows your party to fight for itself, largely, as you make tweaks for bosses and toggle your gambits to suit each situation.

The system allowed me to build my characters in an educated way, and cut a swath through the game. I still haven’t finished it (busy month, OK?), but I’ve gone about 20 hours beyond my last attempt, picking off side quests and hitting up in-game distractions on the way. Once it’s done, I’ll be back on track with Final Fantasy. Or at least, I will after I work my way through some of that multiplayer Final Fantasy XV.

Tacoma

Devindra Hardawar
Senior Editor

Tacoma won me over almost immediately. The game starts off in a tiny shuttle, with an adorable AI chattering along as you dock onto the abandoned Tacoma space station. We don’t know why the crew disappeared; your job is just to find the ship’s AI and bring it to your employer. That’s all pretty typical for a sci-fi game today — but then you have to interact with the ship’s computer. Instead of typing something onto a keyboard or touchpad, your character, Amy, inputs letters using American Sign Language (ASL). It’s a small moment that takes only a few seconds, but it blew me away with its elegance.

ASL isn’t something you typically see as an input method in science fiction, and yet it seems to fit perfectly. It’s the sort of thoughtful touch we’ve come to expect from Fullbright, the studio that wowed us with Gone Home back in 2013.

Tacoma evolves the concept of exploration-driven narrative that we saw in Gone Home in some unique ways. In addition to rummaging through their rooms and offices, you can also watch augmented reality recordings of the crew, who are all represented with simplistic polygonal models. It’s almost like viewing their digital ghosts. Since they typically involve several people, you’ll have to get used to rewinding the AR footage and following different characters around the ship.

This process might sound frustrating, but I found it endlessly engrossing. It helps to humanize the crew in new ways: You can hear intimate conversations between couples, or moments of quiet desperation when the crew starts to run out of air. Those conversations also give us a glimpse at the world outside the space station, where AI is getting more powerful than ever, and workers unite to fight back against soulless corporations (what else is new, right?).

Tacoma, ultimately, is full of short, memorable moments. It could be longer, and it never quite reaches the dramatic heights of Gone Home. But it’s yet another solid attempt by Fullbright at exploring the narrative potential for games.

A Dark Room

Rob LeFebvre
Contributing Writer

Amirali Rajan’s mobile game A Dark Room begins with an homage to a common text adventure trope. You wake up in the dark with a headache and blurry vision. The room you’re in is cold, and the fire is dead. The only thing you can do is light that fire. With this single tap, you’re drawn into the mystery.

A Dark Room itself is a button-tapping mashup between an idle-clicker and a text adventure. Instead of typing in commands, you tap on them: gather wood, bait traps, build huts. A wandering builder comes to your fire, offering her services to make more things, like a cart, more traps, or another hut. Each new living space brings more villagers, and you’ll build up an impressive bunch of workers who will automatically gather wood, hunt and bait animal traps and (eventually) mine iron, coal and steel. You’ll need to keep them all supplied with resources, which is where the crafting comes in: Supply the builder with wood, leather, fur and other basics to craft items, which in turn can be used to supply workers or craft more complicated things, like weapons and caravans.

As your village gets larger, you’ll get to travel outside of it, encountering the post-apocalyptic wasteland represented on an ASCII character map. You’ll encounter crazed survivors and immense beasts, so you’ll want to carry some weapons and armor with you. Through it all, the game reveals its mystery with special text messages about the unknown builder’s past and her strange reluctance to supply you with more items. The constant need to gather wood and check traps, as well as manage the village’s workload and explore the world outside of my always growing town, keeps me coming back to A Dark Room again and again. While the initial loop is intriguing and fun, managing the larger sets of variables later in the game gets pretty complicated, making for much deeper gameplay than you’ll typically find in a mobile title.

Final Fantasy XV DLC

Sean Buckley
Associate Editor

I never planned on playing Final Fantasy XV. After a decade of disappointing sequels and spin-offs, I’d written the franchise off. Then a surprise Christmas gift beckoned me to revisit the franchise, and I found myself obsessed with the game’s lush open world, uncharacteristically active battle system and bizarre product tie-ins. I fell in love with its characters too — a cast of four best friends on an epic road trip to save the world. It was an experience that left me wanting more, and I spent months looking forward to DLC that promised to show me character-focused vignettes that had been left out of the main story.

Then a terrible, wonderful thing happened: The Nintendo Switch came out. Between The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 and Arms, the new console dominated my free time. It wasn’t until recently that I got back to Final Fantasy XV‘s two released DLC packs — Episode Gladiolus and Prompto. I have mixed feelings.

Both DLC chapters fill in parts of the story that were left out of the main game. We learn why Gladiolus came back to the party with a new scar, and a little about where Prompto was in the final chapters of the story — but neither of these characters was directly playable in the core game. It makes the DLC packs interesting, because they not only give you control over a new character, but change Final Fantasy’s gameplay mechanics to better suit that character’s personality. Prompto’s adventure took this idea to an extreme. Not only does the short episode explain more about the photographer/gunman’s extremely vague backstory, but it completely changes the style of the game from a fast-paced action RPG to a pseudo third-person shooter.

The new gameplay style was a fun challenge, and I loved being able to spend more time with one of my favorite characters — but so far, Final Fantasy XV‘s DLC has left me wanting. It just doesn’t answer enough questions, particularly when it comes to Prompto. The core game leaves gaping questions about the character, both when he leaves your party and when he returns — and his downloadable adventure just barely answers half of them.

I don’t regret playing the Final Fantasy XV DLC. I just wish it did a little more.

“IRL” is a recurring column in which the Engadget staff run down what they’re buying, using, playing and streaming.

Apple Aiming to Bring Apple Watch to 23 Million Aetna Subscribers

Apple and Aetna are discussing ways to offer discounted Apple Watch models to millions of consumers with Aetna insurance, reports CNBC. Citing people with knowledge of Apple’s plans, the site says Apple and Aetna held discussions last week that included senior officials from Apple, Aetna, and several hospitals.

Aetna already offers a program that provides the Apple Watch at no cost to its 50,000 employees and subsidizes the cost for some subscribers, but the insurance company is said to be negotiating with Apple to offer a free or discounted Apple Watch to all Aetna members.

Apple’s Myoung Cha, who has the title “special projects, health,” led the discussions, said one of the people. The move by Aetna is part of its push to increase customer interest in a healthier lifestyle and a better tracking of diet, said one of the people.

Aetna is said to be aiming to implement some kind of program early in 2018, and its goal seems to be an expansion of plans that were announced back in September. At that time, Aetna said it was planning to subsidize the cost of the Apple Watch for large employers and individual customers.

Aetna also said it would develop several iOS health initiatives with “support” from Apple, offering “deeply integrated” health apps for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch to Aetna customers.

The company’s plan to offer discounted or free Apple Watch models to subscribers comes as Apple is on the verge of introducing a third-generation Apple Watch. Rumors suggest the upcoming device features an LTE chip that allows it to be decoupled from the iPhone and there’s also a possibility we’ll see a redesign.

We expect to see the third-generation Apple Watch introduced alongside new iPhones in September.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3, watchOS 4
Tags: cnbc.com, Aetna
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Facebook Rolling Out New Trending News Section on Mobile

Facebook is introducing a new “Trending News” section to the Facebook app on iOS and Android devices, designed to make it easier for Facebook users to access current and trending news stories, reports TechCrunch.

Trending News aggregates news stories from a wide range of sources and ranks them by the number of publications that are sharing a particular story. The Trending News section can be accessed by going to the “Explore” tab and then scrolling down to the specific “Trending News” section, which Facebook began introducing on iOS a few weeks ago.

From there, news stories are displayed in a list, and tapping a story allows users to read headlines from a range of sources, watch videos, see photos, and view top Facebook posts about the topic. Trending Topics that are seen in the Facebook search feed also share a similar design when tapped.

Facebook first announced plans to redesign its Trending Topics section back in May, with the update aimed at allowing users to see how publications are covering a particular topic as well as relevant discussions from friends and public figures.

Facebook can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

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