Moto X4 hands-on: Premium looks and features on a budget

The world may be distracted by the advanced, high-end technology of the Galaxy Note 8 and the highly anticipated iPhone 8, but those devices also tend to come with appropriately hefty prices. For people looking for budget-friendlier options that look just as premium and perform respectably will soon have a new candidate to consider. Here at IFA in Berlin, Moto unveiled the X4 — its latest midrange handset which will retail in Europe for €399 in September. It offers dual cameras and an elegant design for the price, and after a brief hands-on with the new handset, I’m pretty taken by how it looks.

Seriously. The first thing I noticed about the X4 is its beautiful, shiny body. This highly-reflective aesthetic seems to be the flavor of the year for smartphones (think: Sony’x XZ Premium and the LG V30), and so far I’m into it. The eye-catching sheen attracts fingerprints, though, and I frequently had to wipe down the handset during my preview. I also liked the X4’s gentle curves, which made it easy to maneuver.

That’s not to say the device is an unwieldy size. With a 5.2-inch full HD display, the X4 is manageable. The screen’s 424 ppi pixel density also helped make graphics on the phone’s Android 7.1 Nougat interface look rich and crisp.

A nice display is an important basic to nail, but the X4 also has plenty of bonus features even at this price. The most interesting of these is the new dual cameras setup on the rear. Like most other phones with a pair of lenses, the X4 can create an artificial depth-of-field effect that blurs out the background to highlight your subject. Moto uses a 12-megapixel f/2.0 sensor in tandem with an 8-megapixel wide-angle version in the X4. However, in my short time testing the new phone, I found this software, which Moto calls “Depth Mode,” somewhat odd.

Like the Galaxy Note 8, the X4 allows you to see the blurred effect as you frame your shot in the viewfinder and adjust the intensity before you snap. But while Samsung lets you tweak the amount of blur after shooting, Moto doesn’t.

That would be a small issue if not for the fact that the depth-of-field effect doesn’t appear to be very accurate in the viewfinder — the blur seems to be a little haphazard. But when I looked at the image afterwards, the coffee cup that I focused on was crisp, while all the background around it was hazy. The X4 was great at identifying object outlines, but the contrast between the sharp and blurred out areas of the photo was so stark that the overall effect was disorienting.

Moto told us that the software we were testing is still an early version, and that it will likely be updated before the phone ships to consumers.

A couple of other new camera features for the X4 include a Panoramic Selfie for the 16-megapixel front camera, which lets you tilt your phone around to take a wider portrait, as well as a “Landmark Detection” tool that helps you identify places of interest around you. I didn’t get to try out the latter, but the wide selfies I shot were surprisingly clear. I couldn’t tell where they were stitched together even upon zooming in to the photo. Neither of these two are particularly novel updates for smartphones, though. Selfie panoramas have appeared on a few other phones, while many third-party AR apps can already recognize landmarks and give you more information about them.

One more distinguishing feature for the X4 is its integration of Amazon Alexa. Like the HTC U11, the Moto X4 lets you talk to Alexa without having to first launch an app or press a button. You can also talk to Amazon’s assistant even when the X4 is locked, and the system will recognize your voice before responding. A Moto rep asked Alexa for the weather on her X4 without waking it from sleep, and it responded quickly. You can’t use Alexa to change things on the handset like display brightness or audio volume, though, since Google Assistant will still be the main controller of those settings. It’s mostly nifty to have Alexa on the X4 to read audiobooks to you or to control smart home devices that still don’t work with Assistant.

The rest of the phone’s specs are reasonable for the price. The X4 runs on a Snapdragon 630 processor with 3GB or 4GB of RAM (depending on the region), and packs a 3,000mAh battery in its IP68 water-resistant body. It also supports Bluetooth 5.0, and uses technology that Moto says allows the X4 to connect to up to four Bluetooth devices at once. Fans of Moto’s Maker customization service will probably be disappointed though — the X4 won’t have personalization options.

Although we don’t yet know how much the phone will cost when it arrives in the US (and it’s coming), it is likely to be in the same range as its European counterpart. If that’s true, the combination of a rich display, elegant body and capable cameras (albeit with some finicky software) for the sub-$400 price makes this a compelling proposition.

Follow all the latest news from IFA 2017 here!

Bang and Olufsen sweats the details on its moving TV

It’s hard to judge Bang and Olufsen’s hardware by the standards of mere mortals, because it’s hard to imagine spending $16,000 on a TV. But there’s something inspiring, and infectious, about the lengths the company goes to in order to ensure you get your money’s worth. Which is why its newest product is both the weirdest-looking, most elegant TV you’ll probably never, ever be able to buy.

The BeoVision Eclipse is the first product to emerge from the partnership between B&O and LG, a role that was, until recently, filled by Samsung. The OLED, 4K, HDR display with Dolby Vision is obviously beautiful, with deep blacks and wonderfully bright colors. The set is available in 55- and 65-inch models, and runs a version of LG’s webOS that was given a graphical tweak to match B&O’s more refined taste.

Then there’s the sound bar, which stretches beyond the display on both sides, looking more like a car bumper than a premium audio product. The device packs 450 watts of 3-channel sound and you can hear it even over the din of a crowded trade show floor. The slightly weird design was a conscious choice by B&O, however, both to improve sound quality and to make the set look as distinctive as possible.

You can see the company’s attention to detail, however, in the aluminum grill that you can get to sit over the speaker bar. The holes at the top are drilled smaller to the ones on the bottom, and have been specifically designed to improve airflow for improved bass.

Similarly, the company has built both an articulating stand and wall bracket in order to tuck the TV away when it’s not in use. That way, the rest of your expensive furniture won’t all be pointed at the TV when you invite your judgy friends around for a social engagement.

Even the stand itself was labored over, as the company agonizing about whether to use it to store the TV’s cables. They decided against it in the end, because cable management would have made it less elegant and clumsier than its current incarnation.

It’s the sort of dedication that always impresses, and while it would be impossible for most people to buy one, it’s still nice to see. Both models are available in September, with the smaller one setting you back at least $10,990, and its larger sibling priced at $15,990.

Tom Cas contributed to this report.

Follow all the latest news from IFA 2017 here!

Haunting ‘Abandoned Places’ float in digital space

“Art is never finished, only abandoned,” Leonardo Da Vinci supposedly said, which is maybe why abandonment itself is a popular theme among artists. Abu Dhabi-based Brazilian artist and designer Fábio Araujo has highlighted that loneliness by putting his compact, incredibly detailed “Abandoned Places” creations adrift in a flat, digital sea. Though they resemble movie miniatures, Araujo created the pieces by digital manipulation using an Apple MacBook, Photoshop and Wacom Cintiq tablet.

“I’m a designer but fascinated by abandoned buildings and places; these places always have some history behind old walls,” Araujo told Arch Daily. “I like the colors of rust and nature taking care of the place. There is a mystery in abandoned places that attracts me.” The set includes three pieces: An abandoned house and car, deserted amusement park and an overgrown industrial plant

In an earlier interview, Araujo described his technique on “Aquarium,” a previous creation. “I used a blue texture for the background image, a real image of an aquarium, and incorporated aquatic photos of boats, divers and an island. Using Dodge and Burn, I created shadows and markings on the glass partitions and drew over the aquarium to finalize the piece and make it real.”

For “Abandoned Places,” Araujo even created a video (below) with water flowing through the yard of the abandoned house, a deer eating grass in the factory and an operating “Tickets” sign for the theme park. Each piece is accompanied by sounds like crickets, water and wind.

Despite the theme of his latest piece, Araujo doesn’t exactly subscribe to Da Vinci’s artistic process. “I learned that my greatest difficulty was the anxiety I had wanting to be finished with the art,” he said. “Over time, I learned that the longer I spent on a project and the more details I put into it, the better the outcome.”

Via: Arch Daily

Source: Fabio Araujo (Behance)

Alexa’s new kid-friendly skills have a layer of parental control

Amazon’s Alexa skills let you add all sorts of functionality to your Echo devices, and there are more coming every day. You can order a pizza, manage your video streaming binges, find out when your package has shipped and even book a hotel with your voice. But why should grown-ups have all the fun? Amazon has just announced kids skills in the US, which have a layer of parental permissions to help adults feel safe in adding them to their children’s Echo devices.

Amazon also announced a bevy of kid-friendly activities and games that are available right now as part of the new push. Kids can check out The SpongeBob Challenge, Sesame Street and Amazon Storytime right now, along with games like The Tickle Monster Game! and Zoo Walk on their own devices. Amazon also says that hundreds of developers are interested in making kid skills, with more on the way.

Parents get a bit of control, too. The first time you ask Alexa to enable a skill that’s been identified for kids, it will ask you to give the skill permission in the Alexa app. You’ll need to verify your identity with a one-time text code sent to the phone number in your Amazon account or with the security code of the credit card on file. You’ll be able to manage permissions on Amazon.com thereafter.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Amazon

Garmin Vivoactive 3 hands-on: More than just a running watch

Garmin’s image as a niche fitness brand catering for a group of hardcore athletes does the company a massive disservice. Because the newest generation of its Vivoactive and Vivomove watches have the potential to be some of the best on the market.

The flagship Vivoactive 3 comes with all of the features you’d expect from a high-end smartwatch, just with less of the cruft. It ticks the usual boxes, including GPS run tracking, an optical heart-rate sensor and basic notifications. But, in addition, you get the benefit of extreme battery life, guided workouts and mobile payments through NFC.

One of the biggest issues with swiping across a smartwatch display is how slow getting anywhere in a menu is. Samsung got around this problem by adding a rotating bezel to the Gear S2 and S3, while Apple kinda/sorta uses the digital crown for a similar purpose. Garmin’s been a little smarter than both, and made one half of the Vivoactive’s case sensitive to capacitive touch. So you can just swipe up and down to quickly get around the various menus and options in no time at all.

Then there’s the fact that you can send canned responses to text messages from inside the watch, assuming you have a compatible smartphone. And you can access the small, but perfectly formed ecosystem of apps that Garmin has formed around the watch. No, you can’t order an Uber from your Vivoactive 3, not yet, at least, but you can track the distance between you and your forthcoming ride. Which probably makes more sense for most folks who aren’t in love with the idea of never using their phone at all.

And, unlike so many other devices that call themselves smartwatches, the Vivoactive 3 has class-leading battery life. In fact, in a world where so many timepieces last for less than two days on a charge, the fact that the Vivoactive 3 will last for seven days at a time is magical. Hell, you’ll even get 13 hours of GPS usage in a single session, a huge improvement on the sort of figures you see on the Apple Watch and Android Wear.

We’ll be able to confirm (or deny) how well it lives up to its own hype when we grab it in for review, but it’s certainly promising. And if you’d like to buy one ahead of our verdict, you can do so when it launches for the sum of $300 with a stainless steel case, or $330 for a nicer-looking slate one.

Then there is Garmin’s Vivomove HR, a hybrid that puts connected smartwatches from several other brands to shame. Much like its big sibling, the Vivomove comes with an optical heart rate sensor, activity tracking and a five-day battery life. Lurking beneath the lower third of that analog face, however, is an OLED display that activates when you tap the number six on the dial. Then the hands will move to the 10:10 position and you’ll be able to swipe through basic activity, smartwatch and fitness dashboards.

In fact, from the slightly janky first edition, the Vivomove HR has evolved into a much more elegant version of Nokia / Withings’ Steel HR. Similar to that device, the Vivomove will also live on as an analog timepiece for a further two weeks when its main battery is depleted. And, all told, the Vivomove’s a pretty device, the sort that you’d be proud to wear both to a gym and a fancy dinner. If you want one, it’ll set you back $200 for a basic sport version and $300 for the premium edition.

Rounding out the trio is the slender Vivosport, a fitness tracker that’s the same size as a MiBand, but comes packing GPS. Much like the other two, and many other Garmin devices, the Vivosport will track your activity and runs, not to mention counting reps in the gym. The optical heart rate monitor will also keep track of your vitals, and stress, while the GPS can also be used to monitor your position should you feel unsafe.

The only problem will be to convince folks to spend $200 on a device like this, since it wouldn’t look out of place next to $70 Fitbits and $20 MiBands. If GPS is a must, but you don’t want a fully-featured watch, then it’s probably worth investigating. But don’t be surprised if people look shocked when you tell them your fitness band cost you two Benjamins.

Tom Cas contributed to this report.

Follow all the latest news from IFA 2017 here!

House cancels net neutrality hearing after companies don’t commit

The September 7th meeting to discuss the future of net neutrality in Washington, D.C. has been cancelled. Why? Alphabet, AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, Facebook, Netflix and Verizon executives wouldn’t commit to attending, according to Reuters. At the end of last month, lawmakers agreed to extend the deadline in hopes that company heads would attend. The reality is that in private, the companies have been apparently reticent to sign any sort of permanent rules under the current administration.

For example, FCC chairman Ajit Pai has called net neutrality a “mistake” in the past, and believes that the internet shouldn’t be classified as a utility.

Apple recently came out swinging for “strong, enforceable internet protections.”

“Our deep respect for our customers’ security, privacy and control over personal information extends to our customers’ broadband connectivity choices,” it said in a comment. “We work hard to build great products, and what consumers do with those tools is up to them — not Apple and not broadband providers.”

How Congress will proceed from here is anyone’s guess, but if the current sentiment stands, it could lead to a repeal of 2015’s ruling.

Source: Reuters

The smartwatch market is actually performing pretty well

While the wearables field is proving a tough space for many companies, smartwatches are apparently doing quite well. In a report from International Data Corporation on this year’s second quarter earnings, sales numbers show that wearables are up 10.3 percent year over year. That number includes a small — nearly one percent — but notable first time drop in annual growth for basic wearables, like most Fitbit trackers, that don’t run third party apps. On the other side of that, though, smartwatch growth topped 60 percent this quarter compared to the same time last year.

“Smartwatches recorded double-digit year-over-year growth, with much of that increase attributable to a growing number of models aimed at specific market segments, like the fashion-conscious and outdoor enthusiasts in addition to the technophile crowd, lower price points, and a slowly-warming reception from consumers and enterprise users alike,” said IDC’s wearables research manager, Ramon Llamas, in a statement. “Factor in how smartwatches are taking steps to become standalone devices, and more applications are becoming available, and the smartwatch slowly becomes a more suitable mass market product.”

Apple was a big leader with nearly 50 percent year over year growth during the second quarter, while, as reported previously, Xiaomi took the top spot in the wearables market. Though Fitbit has dropped to third place and its second quarter year over year change was an over 40 percent decrease in growth, its upcoming Ionic watch could help it grab some of the fast-moving smartwatch growth. Fossil, which entered the wearables market top five for the first time, has done well with its slew of smartwatches produced by its Fossil brand as well as high-end brands like Armani that fall under its umbrella. And Misfit — another Fossil brand — has its snazzy-looking Vapor smartwatch set to launch in October.

The next big wearables star could be clothing and earwear, which according to IDC, showed triple-digit growth. “These products are still in their initial stages, but by targeting specific market niches (performance tracking clothing for professional athletes) or providing unique value propositions (audio adjustment or language translation for earworn devices), these products are offering solutions to problems other than simply reporting data, and gaining traction,” said Llamas.

Via: CNET

Source: International Data Corporation

littleBits’ Droid Inventor Kit teaches kids tech with ‘Star Wars’

The latest addition to the littleBits line of products is a Droid Inventor Kit — part of the Force Friday II toy launch ahead of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. “We’ve created a gender-inclusive product that celebrates kids’ own self-expression and ingenuity, while showcasing the same characteristics of imagination, grit and invention that are embodied in the Star Wars franchise,” said littleBits CEO Ayah Bdeir in a statement.

The kit comes with everything kids need to build their own Droid along with an app that includes instructions and how-to videos. Stickers and 17 special Star Wars in-app missions are also included as well as 20 authentic Droid sounds from the films. Challenges accessed through the Droid Inventor app also encourage children to play with the parts and littleBits technology in order to come up with different types of Droids, like one that can deliver items or one that can guard their rooms. Rearranging electronic blocks can also unlock new powers.

Some of the Droid features include Force Drive, which lets kids guide their creation with a wave of their hand, self navigation, wherein the Droid can maneuver itself around objects, and a draw mode that lets the Droid draw secret maps or messages.

The Droid Inventor Kit is available now for $100 through Walmart, Amazon, the Apple Store, the Disney Store and littleBits.com.

Source: littleBits

Microsoft unlocked 1080p Mixer game streaming on Xbox One

Testers have had their hands on the customizable Xbox One interface for a bit, and Microsoft has listened to their suggestions. Specifically, the home screen now supports up to 40 pinned items and your background image will be easier to see, according to a post on the Xbox forums. More than that, you can broadcast your gameplay via Mixer at 1080p. There are a handful of other tweaks (like support for Arabic and Hebrew languages), so be sure to check the links below. Or, if you’re a member of the Alpha Ring preview, the patch might already be on your console.

Alpha #Xbox Insiders, a few updates coming to you today, based on feedback: Up to 40 dash pins, 1080p Mixer broadcasting & more

— 💬 Larry Hryb (@majornelson) August 30, 2017

Via: Windows Central

Source: Xbox forums

Netatmo to Add HomeKit Support to ‘Presence’ and ‘Welcome’ Cameras

Netatmo today announced plans to add HomeKit support to its existing Welcome and Presence home security cameras.

Both cameras will gain HomeKit compatibility through an upcoming software update that will enable HomeKit for both new devices and those that customers have already purchased.

“Having both our security cameras compatible with Apple HomeKit through a software upgrade demonstrates our ability to constantly provide our existing and new users with the most advanced technologies. All our cameras will benefit from the HomeKit transition, no matter when they were commercialised. Netatmo products are long lasting capital goods. Through regular software updates, we ensure they offer the best services to our clients” explains Fred Potter, Founder and CEO of Netatmo.

Presence is Netatmo’s outdoor security camera that’s able to detect people, cars, and animals outside of the home and send activity notifications to users. Presence features 1080p videos with a 100 degree field of view and a 65 foot detection range, making it ideal for keeping an eye on the outside of your home.

Welcome is Netatmo’s indoor home security camera with a 120 degree field of view, a live video feed with audio, facial recognition, and night vision support.

When HomeKit support is added, both the Presence and the Welcome will be accessible in the Home app and will be able to respond to Siri voice commands. In addition to viewing a camera feed, Siri commands can be used to adjust the accompanying light on the Presence outdoor camera.

Netatmo plans to add HomeKit connectivity to Presence in the fall, while HomeKit compatibility will be added to Welcome in early 2018.

Tags: HomeKit, Netatmo
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