WhatsApp co-founder leaves to start a nonprofit

Just about three years after his company’s acquisition by Facebook, Brian Acton has announced he’s departing WhatsApp. Eight years ago Acton, along with Jan Koum, launched the messaging app that now counts more than a billion daily users, quickly spreading across many mobile platforms to create a worldwide community of users even in areas where iOS and Android hadn’t reached yet. Now, thanks to the “flexibility” from selling a company for $22 billion (Forbes estimates his wealth at $6.5 billion) Acton is launching a non-profit that is “focused at the intersection of nonprofit, technology and communications.”

There aren’t a lot of details on his decision or exactly what will come next, but it comes at a time when Whatsapp is moving on from its original form. Beyond squabbles with governments over encryption and privacy, the platform has added filesharing, mobile payments, status updates and acting as a communication tool for businesses.

Source: Brian Acton (Facebook)

The always-cold pillow is no longer a fever dream

The cold side of the pillow is one of life’s oddly satisfying phenomena. But no sooner have you felt its gratifying chill caress your cheek than it vanishes. The cold side of the pillow could be more than just a pleasant sensation for your conscious mind, though. It’s pretty well known that your body dumps heat as you drift off to sleep and your core temperature follows a rough nightly cycle, much like brain activity, hormone levels, breathing patterns and so on. There are various studies that suggest you can game the system, cool yourself down and minimize those restless nights. That’s the intent behind the Moona smart pillow pad: A temperature-regulating pad that keeps the cold side of the pillow cold, indefinitely.

There are a number of temperature-regulating products pitched as sleep aids you can buy already. These range from simple mattress toppers that improve air circulation under the covers to cooling gel inserts for pillows. There are fans designed to slide in between your mattress and duvet, and elaborate mattress covers that pump air or water through a network of channels to create a microclimate under your sheets. From what I can see, though, there’s nothing quite like the Moona pad.

For one, it’s the only “active” device targeting the pillow area exclusively, and also the only such sleep aid with smart functionality. The main bulk of the product is a memory foam pad you slip into your pillowcase, which is tethered to a barrel-shaped hub destined for your bedside table. This cools and heats water, sending it down the tether and pumping it through a mesh of water pockets in the pad. The hub also has sensors that monitor room temperature, humidity and ambient light level.

The pad itself has a built-in sleep tracker, not just so users can observe that information, but also to educate the machine learning side of things. Naturally, you control Moona by way of mobile app, setting up a personalized temperature cycle: How cool you want the pillow when you’re trying to get to sleep, the setting you want during the majority of the night, and the waking temperature.

According to the creators of Moona, you wanna keeps things pretty cool during the night and warm things up in the morning. The change in sensation as the pillow pad begins to heat up is said to rouse you naturally, in the same way sunrise alarm clocks do. Within the app, you can set your bedtime and what time you want to wake up and let Moona adjust the temperature profile automatically. There’s also a nap feature that’ll do exactly the same thing, but condense the temperature changes into, say, a 20-minute window.

The sleep tracking element of the device adds another layer to this. When you first load up the Moona app, it’ll ask you questions about your sleeping habits. Over the first ten days of use, it’ll hit you with follow-up queries and continue to adjust your temperature arc. From then on, it’ll look at your sleep score (having tracked your sleep quality over time), and keep tweaking the temperatures and timings as it tries to find the right sequence for you. You can still adjust the settings manually, of course. You may want the pillow pad to get extra-cold in the summer to wake you up in the morning instead of heating up, for example.

How effective these promised machine learning smarts perform over time, I couldn’t tell you. I did try the pad out briefly, however, and it was glorious. The sustained sensation of the refreshing, cold side of the pillow touching my cheek was extremely pleasant. It’s like eating a delicious chocolate cake but not becoming desensitized to the flavor, where every bite is like the first. The hub part is effectively silent, too, though you can hear the hum of the water pumping around the pad when your ear’s pressed against it.

The low monotonous drone could be an issue for some, but it felt like relaxing, white noise to me. After roughly five minutes of laying down, awkwardly asking one of the device’s creators questions from a horizontal position, I had to rise on account of feeling groggy enough that I could nap right there, mid-briefing. One of the main issues for the Moona team, in my opinion, is asking someone to keep this in their bedroom. The thing has been designed to be as inoffensive as possible, but the hub, the pad and the tether won’t blend into your bedroom decor quite like decorative cushions and candles.

Then there’s the fact that it’s quite a niche device for a very specific use case. In the same way air purifiers can be a hard sell because most people don’t care so much about what they can’t see, I don’t imagine people buying this just to see if it helps them get a better night’s sleep. And all of this is important, because the Moona team is taking to Kickstarter today to raise $50,000 to help launch the product. Early bird pricing starts at $219 — $399 being the final RRP.

With Moona basically being production-ready, the hope is to ship units to backers by next summer. But with all crowdfunding projects, you have to remember that it might not get funded, there could be manufacturing delays, and numerous other things could go wrong from now until launch, so proceed at your own risk.

Source: Moona (Kickstarter)

The iPhone X leaves a home button-shaped hole in my heart

The first thing I do every morning is roll over, reach over to my nightstand, and frantically grapple at my phone to stop the alarm from going off. To do so, I instinctively mash the home button several times, with my head still face down on my pillow. Oh sure, I know that I could just hit the Stop button on the touchscreen to turn the offending sound off, but I’m much too groggy at that time to do anything beyond what feels the most instinctual — pressing a physical button.

Now, with the iPhone X, that option appears to be going away. Instead of pressing a button to unlock your phone, you’ll be swiping up from the bottom of the screen. This triggers a cascading window of apps to appear, which you have to drag down and flick away to get to the home screen. According to Senior Mobile Editor Chris Velazco in his brief hands-on with the device, he found it incredibly natural to use, despite the fact he’s been using an iPhone for years.

I don’t doubt his experience, but color me skeptical. I’ve also been an iPhone user for years — ever since the iPhone 3G — and I’m not convinced touchscreen gestures will ever replace the convenience and the practicality of a home button. For one thing, having to swipe up and then swipe again to get to the homescreen doesn’t sound like it’d be much faster than a single button press.

And then there’s the issue of Touch ID going away. Instead of using fingerprint sensors to unlock your phone, the new iPhone X will use Face ID, a facial recognition system that uses a combination of infrared light, the phone’s front-facing TrueDepth camera and specialized neural networks to authenticate your identity. According to Apple, this is a far more secure way of locking your phone. It states that while there’s a 1 in 50,000 chance for someone to steal your Touch ID phone, the chances drop to one in a million with Face ID.

I’ll concede that it does seem pretty cool that you can just look at your phone to unlock it. However, this also requires you to have the phone in front of you. I know for me, I often unlock the phone in my pocket before I even bring it up to my face to look at it, just so I have it ready to go.

There are also times when I need to unlock my phone when it’s charging — in order to install updates, for example — and I reach out to where my phone is sitting on its dock to press the button. When I’m cooking and constantly referring to a recipe on my phone, I like being able to unlock the phone without picking it up — I just touch my thumb on the button to bring it up again. Sure it won’t take that much longer to hover my face over the phone for Face ID, but there’s something about being forced to look at my phone to unlock it that strikes me as needlessly annoying.

Then there’s the issue of using it for Apple Pay. In the demo Craig Federighi did on stage, he had to press the side button twice, look at the phone and then place it on the terminal for Apple Pay to register. Right now, all I have to do get Apple Pay to work is to put my phone on the terminal with my thumb over the home button. It’s unclear if the side-button press is necessary in all instances of Apple Pay, but if it is, that sounds like a small nuisance as well.

These minor pet peeves aside, the main reason why I hold the home button dear to my heart is its simplicity. You press it to do everything — to unlock your phone, to pay for things, to get back to the home screen after watching YouTube for far too long, to turn off the alarm, to trigger Siri and to get out of a crashed app. There’s something comforting about a tactile physical failsafe button that no fancy soft touch gesture could ever replicate.

When Apple got rid of a tactile home button and replaced it with a haptic version for the iPhone 7, I was unnerved for a few days, but adjusted. When I found out the iPhone 7 didn’t have a headphone jack, I was incredibly annoyed (and still am to an extent), but I learned to live without it. And I know, that if I used the iPhone X for a few days, I’ll eventually get used to not having a home button too.

But a home button wasn’t a problem that I needed to be solved. For extra screen real estate that I never asked for. Of course, there’s always the option of the iPhone 8 for those who want a new phone and still desire a home button. And we really don’t know if the button-less design of the iPhone X will trickle down to the rest of the line. And yes, when push comes to shove, I’ll probably get used to not having that button. But I’d miss it all the same.

Nintendo makes voice chat less of a disaster on Switch

Nintendo has rolled out an update for the Switch Online app that might finally make it usable. See, unlike what Sony and Microsoft did for the PlayStation and the Xbox, Nintendo has chosen to put its new console’s chat functions in a separate app for Android and iOS. Unfortunately, it was clearly not ready upon launch and suffered from a bunch of serious issues, including not being able to use another app on your phone — not even to check important texts and calls — if you don’t want to get kicked off a voice chat. Your screen also has to be on the whole time you’re chatting with friends, which could drain your phone’s battery. This update solves both problems.

In the gaming titan’s update notes on iTunes and Google Play, it said version 1.1.0 of the Switch Online app gives you the power to continue voice chats while using other applications. You can also continue planning matches with other players even if your phone’s screen goes to sleep, unless you activated the Power Saving mode on Android 6.0 and later. If you don’t want to switch off Power Saving completely to be able to enjoy the new feature, you simply have to deactivate battery optimization for Switch Online in settings. While the only other entry in version 1.1.0’s update list is bug fixes, the other two are likely big enough to make the app relatively enjoyable to use.

Source: Nintendo of America (Twitter), (iTunes), (Google Play)

Doubts and Speculation Surround Apple’s Onstage Face ID ‘Fail’ During iPhone X Keynote

Yesterday at a media event held in Apple Park, Apple announced its much-anticipated all-screen 5.8-inch iPhone X, which features a next-generation facial authentication system called Face ID for unlocking the smartphone in lieu of a home button with Touch ID.

During the keynote at the Steve Jobs Theater, Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi took to the stage to demo Face ID. However, much to his chagrin, the facial recognition technology appeared to fail at his first attempt to unlock the iPhone X, forcing Federighi to switch to a backup device to get the demo moving.

Some observers have leapt on the moment as an indication that Face ID is unreliable or a yet-to-be-perfected technology that’s unfit to replace Touch ID fingerprint authentication. Vice News even went so far as to link the onstage incident to a sudden drop in Apple’s share price. Since the demo aired, however, three competing theories have been put forward to explain the apparent “failure”.

One theory is that Apple has adopted the same reboot security measure on the iPhone X that is found on iPhones with Touch ID, and this is what stalled Federighi’s Face ID demo. The moment when he tries to unlock the iPhone X with his face, a closer look at the presentation screen reveals the words “Your passcode is required to enable Face ID”. As several contributors on Quora have pointed out, a similar message is seen when an iPhone with Touch ID is first switched on, or if the phone hasn’t been used in the last 48 hours.

This suggests someone forgot to enter the passcode on Federighi’s iPhone X after a reboot. But if that were the case, the message likely should have stated, “Face ID requires your passcode when iPhone restarts”, which more accurately reflects the equivalent message Touch ID phones display after a reboot.

Another theory put forward is that several unsuccessful attempts had already been made to unlock the device prior to the onstage demo, since Federighi only tries to authenticate Face ID twice before the passcode screen appears, whereas Touch ID takes five consecutive failed attempts before requiring a passcode. It’s possible, but unlikely, and doesn’t really explain the two failed tries witnessed by the audience.

The third, more concerning explanation, of course, is that Face ID simply failed to recognize the Apple executive, suggesting the feature has accuracy issues that the company is still working to resolve. Indeed, while Face ID was generally lauded by the media during hands-on iPhone X demonstrations after the keynote, at least one journalist reported “plenty of missed unlocks”, and even problems activating Face ID that were only resolved after repeatedly turning the display off and on again, which they called “a little worrying”. A similar issue may have befell Federighi on stage.

Apple claims Face ID can recognize a user’s face under a variety of conditions and in poor light, despite everyday changes in appearance, such as applied make-up or beard growth. It is also said to boast a mismatch error rate of 1 in 1,000,000, compared to 1 in 50,000 for Touch ID, thanks to multiple neural networks built into the iPhone X’s dual-core A11 bionic neural engine. With the iPhone X officially up for pre-order on October 27, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Related Roundups: iPhone 8, iPhone X
Tag: Face ID
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How to buy the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X in the U.K.

Apple announced three new iPhone models during its September 12, 2017 event: The iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X. All will be released between now and the beginning of November, in the United States, the United Kingdom, and a long list of other countries. Have you decided which one you’re going to buy?

Our hands-on review of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X, should help you make a decision. If you’re still not sure, take a look at our guide to all the differences between the three phones.

It’s a tough choice. Once you’ve made up your mind, where can you find the best deals? Here, learn how to buy the new iPhones in the U.K.. We also have a comprehensive guides on how to buy the iPhone 8 and how to buy the iPhone X if you’re in the U.S..

Ready to spend some cash?

Pre-order and release dates

Apple has staggered the release of its new iPhone models. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be available for pre-order on September 15, from 08:01 a.m. GMT. The iPhone X won’t come at the same time, and eager buyers will have to wait for pre-orders to open on October 27, from 08:01 a.m GMT. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will be released on September 22. The iPhone X will be released on November 3.

Apple

All the new iPhones will be available to pre-order through Apple’s online store, and available in its retail stores — sorry, we mean its retail “town squares” — from the day of release. However, as always with new Apple releases, if you want one on release day it’s wise to pre-order.

• The 4.7-inch iPhone 8 comes with either 64GB of storage space for 700 British pounds, or with 256GB for 850 British pounds.
• Apple offers financing on both models over two years, with the iPhone 8 64GB starting at 33.56 British pounds each month, and the 256GB iPhone 8 costing 40.75 British pounds each month.
• There are three colors: silver, gold, or space grey. All cost the same amount.
• The 5.5-inch iPhone 8 Plus comes in the same colors and storage capacities.
• The 64GB iPhone 8 Plus is 800 British pounds, or 38.35 British pounds a month over two years with Apple’s finance option.
• The 256GB iPhone 8 Plus is 950 British pounds, or 45.55 British pounds a month over two years.

• The 5.8-inch iPhone X comes with the same storage capacity options, but only in silver or space grey.
• The 64GB iPhone X is 1000 British pounds, or 47.95 British pounds each month with Apple’s finance. The 256GB iPhone X is 1,150 British pounds, or 55.15 British pounds each month.

Major networks

Apple isn’t the only place you’ll be able to buy a new iPhone. All the U.K. networks will sell them too. Buying an iPhone without a contract through a network will likely cost the same as it does through Apple; but if you want to sign up for a new two-year service agreement, then offers and up-front prices will vary.

• At EE, both iPhone 8 models and the iPhone X will be available. At the time of writing it’s encouraging you to register for more details.
• O2 will sell all three new iPhone models, but doesn’t have any prices or tariffs available yet. The registration page does confirm pre-orders with the network will begin on September 15.
• No surprises with Three, as it also requires you to register interest in the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X.
• Patience is also needed at Vodafone. You can register for the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, along with the iPhone X. It’s the only network stating it will sell the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus as Pay As You Go phones on its registration page, but we’d expect all the others to do so.

Retailers

Retailers, both on the high street and online, will also sell the new iPhone models.

• An alternative to going directly to a single network, Carphone Warehouse will sell the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X on the network of your choice under one roof. No prices or deals have been announced yet, and like all the networks, it’s suggesting you register interest at this early stage.
• All three new iPhone models will be available with Mobile Phones Direct, but prices have been revealed yet. It’s pointing everyone towards a registration page for now.
• Online retailer Mobiles.co.uk promises, “incredible pre-order prices” on September 15; but has yet to confirm any details. It has a registration page to receive more information on both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X.

Other networks

There are many mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) in the U.K., and several have joined in with the pre-registration fun for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. Register here for GiffGaff, and here for Sky Mobile. Virgin Mobile will sell the iPhone 8, but hasn’t put up a registration page yet.

We’ll be updating here when more offers are announced, and when networks start releasing tariff plans, so check back soon.

How to completely reset your Google login across every device

How to kick everyone and everything off your Google account and force them all to log back in.

It’s something nobody wants to think about and hopes they never have to do, but it is important to know how to change your Google account password so that every device and service needs to log in again.

This isn’t just changing your password. Think of it as the next step if you think someone may have gained access to your Google account. You won’t lose any of your Google account data, like emails or contacts, but you will need to set up any two-factor app passwords again so if any of your apps would delete their data when this happens you probably won’t be able to get it back.

Think of this as a last-ditch effort to stop someone from taking over your online identity; you still should change your password every six weeks the “normal” way.

All of this information is available from Google, but it’s spread out across several different help topics and places online. It’s never fun to search for every step, especially when you’re frustrated, so here is everything you need to know in one handy spot.

What you’ll need

• A working Google account. If someone already has access and has locked you out, you need to contact Google support.
• An Android or iOS phone that can get text messages. If you use a VoIP service for messaging, make sure it can get short codes and authentication tokens via SMS. Your best bet is to have a phone with a working SIM card and account.
• A second way to get online, just in case.

Let’s begin!

Account recovery options

Start by going to your Google account security page. Notice the https and make sure the URL you visit has the same prefix so you know it’s a real Google page. On the page you’ll see options for Account recovery; make sure they are all correct. If you never set any, do so now.

Sign out other sessions

Open your Gmail through a web browser in desktop mode. You won’t be able to do this through an app. At the very bottom left of the page you’ll see Last account activity: with a time after it and right under you’ll see Details. Click or tap on Details. A new window will open that tells you information about how, where, and when your account has been accessed. You should review them, but the important thing here is the button labeled Sign out of all other web sessions. Click or tap that. It does just what it says — logs you off everywhere else. Close the web browser.

Revoke access

Visit your Google account permissions page and remove access for everything listed except the phone in your hands and the other device you’ll be using. Again, notice the https URL prefix. To remove a device or app, click or press on it in the list and you’ll see a button that says Remove. This does what you think: it revokes access permissions and logs the device or app out of your account.

This step makes sure the only thing connected to your account is the thing in your hands.

Next, revoke all your app passwords. Head back to your Google account security page (again, https!) and scroll halfway down the page. Under the section marked Password & sign-in method you’ll see an entry for App passwords. Open it, and you’ll need to provide your password. Then proceed to delete any special application passwords you’ve used or are using. This is important! It’s a pain to enter new App passwords for 2FA, but this makes sure someone isn’t using a third-party app to grab your data. Just Do It.

Change your password

Stay on your Google account security page because you will need to change your password now. You’ll see the entry under the section marked Password & sign-in method. Pick a good password.

You’ll need to log in again using this new password on every device that uses your Google account.

Password managers

Your password doesn’t have to be extra long to be secure. It just needs to be random.

• iLovePuppies is a terrible password.
• 1<3PuPp13z is a fair password.
• PuPp13s&t65Rm is a great password.

Don’t bother trying to use something you will remember, instead find a good password manager. You should use a different password for every single login that asks for one. You’ll never be able to remember every password if they are all random!

More: The best password manager For Android

Two-factor authentication

You need to set up two-factor authentication for your Google account if you haven’t already. We recommend you use two-factor authentication on every login that supports it!

2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) means you need more than a password to prove it’s really you. For most people, this means a special code sent to your phone via SMS or an authentication app (preferably the latter). It’s an extra step, but it is the best way to make sure nobody except you can ever have access to your accounts.

More: Two-factor authentication: What you need to know

More: How to set up Google two-step verification to protect your Gmail account

Encrypt Chrome Sync

If you use Chrome and have it save things like logins or credit card numbers, you’ll want to encrypt the sync data. That means that you will need to provide a password to sync Chrome on any device. chances are it’s already encrypted using your Google credentials (which you just changed) and you’ll be asked to sign in again if you’re not on your phone. But you can use a different password for encrypting this data if you want.

This is actually easiest to do using the Chrome app on your phone.

• Open the Chrome app.
• Tap the overflow (three vertical dots) button.
• Tap Settings near the bottom.
• Tap your account name at the top.
• Tap Sync midway down the window.
• Scroll down to Encryption and tap it.
• In the pop up, choose to Encrypt all synced data with your own sync passphrase.
• Enter your new password.

If you do this, you will need to use this password when you want Chrome to sync with your account. Existing sessions will ask for the new password the next time you open them.

Sign back in to everything

This method will disconnect every single device and app connected to your account. That means phones, tablets, Chromecasts, Google Home and everything else that might be hooked in like web apps or Android apps. If you changed the password using your phone, the services from Google will be able to switch over mostly seamlessly, and apps should just let you authorize the next time you use them.

Other devices, like Google Home or Google Wifi, will need to be logged in through their app. And web services like IFTTT or Pocket will also need to be reauthorized.

This sounds a little extreme and it’s not something you should need to do regularly. But if you think someone has worked their way into your account this is the right way to get rid of them!

Thoughts?

Have you ever gone through this procedure? Share your story down below!

Sony Xperia XZ1’s scanner comes with a 3D printing service

When Sony introduced the Xperia XZ1 at IFA, the Japanese tech giant said it was seeking partnerships with 3D printing services to go with its pre-loaded 3D scanning app. Now, Sony and Sculpteo have revealed that they’ve teamed up to give people the power to 3D print anything anytime they want to, using only the XZ1. You don’t need to fire up your computer during any part of the process at all.

When you fire up the 3D Creator application, you’ll find Sculpteo’s 3D printing services integrated into its interface. Want to immortalize a childhood toy that’s falling apart or to produce a three-dimensional print of your own face? Just scan it (or yourself) with 3D Creator and send the file straight from within the app to Sculpteo’s machines. You can even pay from within the application and then send the finished product anywhere in the world. The 3D-printing outfit will print your creation using multi-colored materials and in the size your specify.

The tech titan highlighted XZ1’s 3D Creator app at IFA, and it’s easy to see why — the pre-loaded application has the ability to generate realistic 3D scans of objects and people in under a minute. Sony even demoed what it can do by using the app to scan my colleague’s, Cherlynn Low’s, head, and the result was surprisingly detailed and life-like. By making Sculpteo’s services a built-in feature, Sony has made the XZ1 more attractive to builders, makers, creatives and anyone else who wants an easy way to scan and print objects. The XZ1 will be available on September 19th, so you only have to wait a few more days, though you’ll have to be prepared to spend $700 to get one.

Source: Sculpteo

The Morning After: Wednesday, September 13th 2017

Hey, good morning! Today you wake up to three new iPhones to choose from — just don’t mention the iPhone 9. We’ve crammed yesterday’s lengthy showcase into 13 minutes of evocative language and imagery, spec-sheet chest beating and, erm, retail announcements.

Wait, where’s the home button?
Apple’s $999 iPhone X packs an edge-to-edge display and dual cameras

Apple CEO Tim Cook just unveiled the biggest redesign of the iPhone we’ve seen yet. The iPhone X (that’s “ten”) is dominated by a massive screen that takes up the entire front of the display. Just as on Samsung’s Galaxy S8, the bezels are barely there, though the iPhone X has a cutout at the top of the phone to allow for the front-facing camera and sensors. The lack of bezels means the phone isn’t that much bigger than the iPhone 8, yet the display is bigger than the iPhone Plus models with 5.7 inches of screen to paw at.

Wireless charging reaches the iPhone.
Apple’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus wrap more power in a glass-backed design

After all those tantalizing leaks, you won’t have to wait much longer to handle one. Both iPhone 8 models, which mark a return to glass-backed design, with a powerful-sounding new processor inside, will go on preorder September 15th, with a launch date of September 22nd. The major takeaway is the addition of Qi wireless charging on both, as well as even more camera improvements. For the bigger iPhone 8 Plus, prices start at $799, while iPhone 8 shoppers will have to contend with an entry-level price of $699. And yes, all three colors (silver, space gray and gold aluminum) will be coming to both phones. We got to play with both.

Sizing up the competition.How does the iPhone X fare against the best phones of 2017?

Bezel-less phones are here. But Apple faces internal competition as much as external. Why buy the iPhone 8 Plus when the iPhone X comes a little later? Or why spend hundreds more on Apple’s highest-specced phone when Android rivals can do similar for less. Chew over these facts, my friend.

Dick Tracy mode activated.
Apple Watch Series 3 adds LTE

No disrespect to the iPhone X, but the biggest news of the day may have been about Apple Watch. This third revision is upgraded with an eSIM and LTE connection, which means it’s able to work independently of the owner’s phone for extended periods while maintaining the same case size. It’s also ready for phone calls or streaming from Apple Music all by itself, and even with a new dual-core CPU, Apple claims it can manage 18 hours of battery life under normal use. The Series 3 with GPS starts at $329 while adding built-in LTE pushes the price up to $399.

Just what UHD needed.
Apple TV 4K is here, along with cheaper 4K movies

Apple finally unveiled a 4K and HDR-ready version of its living-room box, but what’s most important is the video that will flow through it. Once you’ve purchased a 4K TV and this $179 box, all of your iTunes purchases (unless they’re from Disney) will be automatically upgraded to 4K if available, and Ultra HD movies cost the same amount as HD. Nice, right?

New game? Y/N
Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition is coming back in 2018

Nintendo says that due to demand, it will resurrect the tiny retro console in 2018. Shipment timings are yet to be announced, but this is big news for fans who thought they were going to miss out after the console began disappearing from store shelves. Until then, you’ll have to make do with that tiny Super NES Classic Edition, which lands at the end of this month.

But wait, there’s more…

• ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ will be directed by J.J. Abrams
• AT&T offers free HBO with its cheaper unlimited plan
• Forget that other phone, Samsung says Note 8 presales are the best in the series’ history!
• Oh and Samsung wants to launch a foldable Galaxy Note in 2018
• IKEA’s Place app for iOS previews furniture in your home

‘Destiny 2′ launches Guided Games matchmaking for high-level raids

Destiny 2 improves upon its predecessor in many ways. In short, it offers a more satisfying, shared-world experience. Building upon that, the game’s developer Bungie is today launching the Guided Games beta. The feature essentially delivers the matchmaking system for high-level activities that the first title lacked. Players may have noticed the longer-than-usual server maintenance downtime today, which brought with it a a massive patch. Download it and you’ll get Guided Games.

The Guided Game Beta is live! Clan members can form a Clan Fireteam and queue as Guides for Nightfall Guided Games https://t.co/jzyvGsXzmc

— Bungie Help (@BungieHelp) September 12, 2017

Announced back in May, the new mode allows clan members (known here as “guides”) to invite one or two players (dubbed “seekers”) to join them for raids and Nightfall missions. Seekers can scroll through the available teams, before picking the one that suits them best. The in-game menu tells you how long a mission will last and that voice chat is required. In the beta, at least, seekers will require a Nightfall ticket to participate. The postmaster should have some ready and waiting for you. How you will come by more remains to be seen. Guides, on the other hand, can queue up without restrictions.

Bungie has already laid out the first-month activities it has planned for players. And, Guided Games is dropping just in time for today’s Leviathan raid.

Source: Bungie (Twitter)