32GB Storage Option Now Available for iPhone 7 in Jet Black Color, Starting at $549

Apple has added a new 32GB storage capacity option to the Jet Black iPhone 7 as part of a shake-up to its existing smartphone line-up, putting the glossy finish at the more affordable entry point of $549 for the 4.7-inch version, with a 128GB option now going for $649.

The iPhone 7 Plus is also now available in Jet Black at 32GB and 128GB for $669 and $769, respectively. At the same time, Apple has discontinued the 256GB option for the iPhone 7 in any color across the board.

Apple originally offered the Jet Black iPhone 7 at launch at 128GB and 256GB capacities, starting at $749 and $849 respectively, but didn’t offer the cheaper 32GB option that the other colors are available in. That put a $100 premium on the glossy finish, pricing out more budget-conscious smartphone customers, but it looks as if Apple has had a change of mind.

As part of its existing iPhone range shake-up, Apple has also discontinued its its (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models. Apple’s (PRODUCT)RED iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were first introduced in March of 2017, six months after the debut of the iPhone 7.

(Thanks, Anna!)

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Discuss this article in our forums

UK Network EE Will Offer £5 a Month Cellular Tariff for LTE-Capable Apple Watch Series 3

EE will be the exclusive mobile network in the U.K. to offer a tariff for the new LTE-capable Apple Watch Series 3 when it begins shipping later this month.

Announced at Apple’s media event on Tuesday, the latest version of the smartwatch contains an eSIM that can connect to a 4G LTE network so users can make and receive calls on their wrist, while watchOS apps can make use of the mobile data connection while untethered from an iPhone.

According to the BBC’s Dave Lee, the EE tariff for the Apple Watch Series 3 will be £5 per month for existing EE iPhone contract holders, with the calling function on the watch using the same number as the owner’s phone.

EE customers will be able to sign up for the new tariff when the Series 3 Apple Watch becomes available for pre-order on September 15, costing £399 with cellular connectivity and £329 without. Orders for the new watch are expected to arrive on September 22, which is the official launch date of the device.

EE boss @MarcAllera says the tariff for the cellular apple watch will be £5 a month

— Dave Lee (@DaveLeeBBC) September 12, 2017

Apple only mentioned EE as a U.K. carrier for the Apple Watch Series 3 during its media event yesterday, but it’s likely that other U.K. networks will offer their own tariffs as the market for the LTE smartwatch matures.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 3, watchOS 4
Tags: EE, United Kingdom
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Don’t Buy)
Discuss this article in our forums

Some iPad Pros now cost $50 more due to flash storage shortage

Apple had a lot to say during its iPhone 8 event, but it left out one important detail if you’re in the market for an iPad Pro. The tech titan has quietly raised some iPad Pros’ prices by $50, and according to 9to5mac, it’s all because of the rising prices of NAND flash storage. When you check the Apple Store, you’ll notice that the 256GB and 512GB 10.5-inch Pros now cost $799 and $999, respectively. The 12.5-inch model also got the same treatment, with variants of the same storage capacity setting you back $949 and $1,149.

Manufacturers have been dealing with NAND flash storage shortage for a while now due to the increasing demand for SSDs and the transition from 2D NAND to 3D NAND memory chips, which can pack in more data. Apple itself has been contributing to the shortage due to the consistently huge number of iPhones it ships. As one of the biggest tech giants in the world, it isn’t in as much trouble as smaller manufacturers are. However, it still probably had to pay a premium for memory chips, considering it just launched three new iPhones instead of the usual two.

As 9to5mac noted, Apple CFO Luca Maestri admitted earlier this year that the company has started experiencing “some level of cost pressure on the memory side particularly on NAND and DRAM.” We’re simply feeling the effects of the shortage that’s been going on for months. It’s unclear if Apple plans to bring back the Pros’ old prices once storage supplies stabilize. In case the additional $50 feels too much, you can always go for the base variants — Cupertino didn’t adjust their prices like it did the other models.

Source: 9to5mac

Retro adventure ‘Thimbleweed Park’ comes to Switch on September 21st

You no longer need an iPhone to take the traditional adventure gaming of Thimbleweed Park on the road. Terrible Toybox has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch version of its retro mystery will be available for $20 on September 21st, or about a month after it reached the PS4. Portability is clearly the selling point of this release, but it also gives you a distinct choice of controls — you can use the Joy-Cons or the touchscreen depending on your tastes.

To recap, Thimbleweed is ultimately LucasArts veteran Ron Gilbert’s giant love letter to fans of adventure classics like Maniac Mansion and Secret of Monkey Island. You’re controlling an eccentric cast of characters (including a cursed clown, a game developer and an X-Files-style duo) as they investigate strange deaths and other odd happenings around the title’s namesake town. True to the genre, you have to use phrase-based commands to solve puzzles and pick up virtually every object in sight. It’s definitely not the kind of game you’d expect on the Switch, but it might scratch your itch if you still have fond memories of point-and-click storytelling.

Source: Thimbleweed Park

HP unveils its insanely upgradeable Z-class workstations

No matter how great your latest PC build is, HP’s new Z Workstation lineup can probably top it. The company’s latest Z8, Z6 and Z4 desktop workstations are its most powerful and ridiculously upgradeable ever, it says. The top-end Z8 features 24 RAM slots and up to 3TB of RAM, dual Xeon CPUs (with up to 56 cores), dual M.2 SSDs and dual NVIDIA Quadro Pro graphics cards. It’s aimed squarely at VFX artists, letting them run 3D simulations, edit 8K video and do Nuke compositing, probably all at the same time.

Just to rattle off a few more specs (because there aren’t many machines like this), it offers 10 USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C ports, dual Gig-E ports, seven full-length, full height PCIe slots (nine total) and optional Thunderbolt 3. All of that is housed in a cleanly laid out, tool-free chassis with a 1,700 watt power supply and invective ducting.

Just buying the Z8 box without much inside will cost you $2,439, but if you want, say, a pair of the latest Xeon Platinum 8180 chips with 28 cores each and two of NVIDIA’s 24GB P6000 Quadro graphics adapters, those items alone would run you a cool $35,000. Overall, the new machine boosts the memory, CPU core count, graphics and PCIe bandwidth capacity significantly across the board compared to its previous Z840 flagship model.

The HP Z6 Workstation ($1,919) dials that craziness down a notch, with 384GB of max system memory and fewer slots and ports, but still has the dual Xeon CPU option. The Z4 Workstation ($1,239), meanwhile, lets you install 256GB of RAM and a single Xeon CPU, limited to Intel’s new W-series. The top end of that right now is the Xeon W2155 with 10 cores and 20 threads, and HP hasn’t said whether it’ll support the flagship 18-core Xeon W that’s coming later in the year.

Remember, these prices are for the bare boxes only, not the graphics cards, memory, CPUs and other stuff you’ll need. On the Z4 model, however, the Xeon W 10-core chip is “just” $1,000, so it should be no problem to build a box for around $3,000 to $4,000.

HP also unveiled a few new displays, including the 38-inch Z38c curved display that is a bit of an odd duck for HP’s video-oriented Z lineup. Much like LG’s 38UC99 38-inch screen, it has sort-of 4K resolution (3,840 x 1,600) 21:9 that can’t actually handle full-resolution UHD video, so seems more suited for gaming. It also lacks other features like 10-bit capability, which is becoming increasingly important for 4K HDR video editing and color correctoin.

HP’s Z8 and Z6 Workstations are coming in October, while the Z4 arrives sometime in November. This end-of-year date should help film and VFX houses fit them into their fiscal purchase budgets, because other than the Z4, these aren’t really meant for you or me.

Researchers create robots that can team up when they touch

To make robots cooperate with each other and work together, you have a couple of options. The first is to program them to work with information from their surroundings, with which individual robots can sort of organize and work towards a larger goal. However, that’s not so easy to do. A second option is have one central command center that organizes all of the individual robots itself, but that leaves the system open to widespread failure if that central command goes down for some reason. But researchers have developed a method that bridges those two methods and their work was published today in Nature Communications.

The researchers created individual robots that can work on their own, but when they come in contact with another, they link together and shift control over to a single bot. As a group, they can form a slew of different configurations and can work together under a single control center. Because that single control center isn’t a permanent fixture but is instead interchangeable, if something goes wrong with it, the attached bots can break from it and transfer control to a different, functional robot. In other words, they can self-heal.

The researchers say that they’re now working on using this technology with robots that can move in three dimensions and have flexible joints. And in the future the team hopes that this sort of work leads to robots that don’t have to programmed and built for a specific task, but can have flexible, adaptable abilities. You can watch a video of the robots in action below and videos of the robots’ other capabilities here.

Via: Popular Science

Source: Nature Communications

iPhone X vs. iPhone 8 vs. iPhone 8 Plus: What are the differences?

The iPhone X is more than just another iPhone. It’s a top-to-bottom redesign with a bright and colorful edge-to-edge OLED screen, depth-sensing front cameras, wireless charging, and the most powerful Apple-designed processor ever engineered. In other words, it’s the Cadillac of smartphones, and that’s reflected in its price tag: The iPhone X starts at $1,000.

Getting a new iPhone this year doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, though. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are the other new smartphones announced at Apple’s event, and while they’re still expensive (but not as fancy as the iPhone X), they offer a redesigned all-glass back, an improved camera, slightly faster hardware, and a longer-lasting battery.

How does the iPhone X, Apple’s most powerful iPhone yet, compare to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus? Check out our iPhone X vs. iPhone 8 vs. iPhone 8 Plus specs comparison for all the crucial differences you need to know about.

Specs

iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone X
Size
5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches
6.24 x 3.07 x 0.30 inches
5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 inches
Weight
 148 grams (5.22 ounces)
202 grams (7.13 ounces)
 174 grams (6.14 ounces)
Screen
4.7-inch Retina HD LCD-backlit widescreen
5.5-inch Retina HD LCD-backlit widescreen
 5.8-inch OLED Super Retina HD display
Resolution
1,334 x 750 pixels (326 pixels-per-inch)
1,920 x 1,080 pixels (401 ppi)
 2,436 x 1,125 pixels (458 ppi)
OS
iOS 11
iOS 11
iOS 11
Storage
64, 256GB
64, 256GB
64, 256GB
MicroSD card slot
No
No
No
NFC support
Yes, Apple Pay only
Yes, Apple Pay only
Yes, Apple Pay only
Processor
A11 Bionic with 64-bit architecture, M10 motion coprocessor
A11 Bionic with 64-bit architecture, M10 motion coprocessor
 A11 Bionic with 64-bit architecture, M10 motion coprocessor
RAM
2GB
3GB
 3GB
Connectivity
4G LTE, GSM, CDMA, HSPA+, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
4G LTE, GSM, CDMA, HSPA+, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
 4G LTE, GSM, CDMA, HSPA+, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi
Camera
12-megapixel camera, 7MP front
Dual 12-megapixel rear, 7MP front
Dual 12-megapixel rear, 7MP front
Video
Up to 4K at 60fps, 1080p at 240fps
Up to 4K at 60fps, 1080p at 240fps
Up to 4K at 60fps, 1080p at 240fps
Bluetooth
Yes, version 5
Yes, version 5
Yes, version 5
Fingerprint sensor
Touch ID
Touch ID
None, Face ID
Other sensors
Barometer, 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor
Barometer, 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor
Depth sensors, barometer, 3-axis gyro, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor
Water resistant
Yes, IP67 rated
Yes, IP67 rated
 IP67 rated
Battery
14 hours of talk time, 12 hours of internet use, 13 hours of video playback, and up to 40 hours of audio playback

Fast charging offers up to 50 percent charge in 30 minutes.

Wireless charging (Qi standard)

21 hours of talk time, 13 hours of internet, 14 hours of video playback, and up to 60 hours of audio playback

Fast charging offers up to 50 percent charge in 30 minutes

Wireless charging (Qi standard)

21 hours of talk time, 12 hours of internet, 13 hours of video playback, and up to 60 hours of audio playback

Fast charging offers up to 50 percent charge in 30 minutes

Wireless charging (Qi standard)

Ports
Lightning
Lightning
Lightning
Marketplace
App Store
App Store
App Store
Color offerings
Gold, silver, and space gray
Gold, silver, and space gray
Silver and space grey
Carriers
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint
Price
$700
$800
$1,000
DT review
Hands-on review
Hands-on review
Hands-on review

When it comes to raw performance, the iPhone X and both iPhone 8 devices are more evenly matched than you might expect.

All three pack Apple’s new 64-bit, A11 Bionic chip, a powerful new processor consisting of six individual cores — two high-power cores and four power-efficient cores — that balance battery life with performance. An Apple-designed regulator chip doles out tasks to the CPU’s individual cores, resulting in better battery across email, music, and apps that don’t require a lot of processing power.

The processor works in tandem with an Apple-designed three-core GPU that accelerates the iPhone’s machine learning algorithms. Overall, Apple says the A11 Bionic is up to to 70 percent faster than the A10 Fusion (the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus’ system-on-a-chip) in everyday tasks, and up 30 percent faster in graphics-heavy games and apps.

Neither phones mess around when it comes to internal storage. Both the iPhone X and iPhone 8 are available in 64GB and 256 GB flavors, which is ample room for apps, games, music, movies, and any other media you might want to store offline.

But the playing field isn’t entirely even. iPhone X and the iPhone 8 Plus likely have 3GB of RAM (unconfirmed) compared to the iPhone 8’s 2GB. That won’t be especially noticeable day-to-day, but depending on how aggressively you juggle apps and browser tabs, it might cut down on the number tasks that relaunch in the background.

Winner: iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus

Display, design, and durability

The most obvious differences between the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X are aesthetic. From the front, the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus look almost nothing like the iPhone X.

The iPhone X’s 5.8-inch OLED screen has a resolution of 2,436 x 1,125-pixel (with a pixel density of 458 pixels-per-inch); Apple calls it a Super Retina HD screen. The individual pixels in screen brighten or darken as needed, producing an image with superior contrast and color accuracy. Apple’s True Tone technology automatically adjusts the white balance to surrounding lighting conditions, and a prominent “notch” toward the top accommodates the iPhone X’s front camera, earpiece, and depth-sensing sensors.

The X is also the first iPhone to support high dynamic range (HDR). Videos utilize Dolby Vision and HDR10 in their native color spaces, which generally translates to brighter, more vibrant, and true-to-life picture than non-HDR content and screens are capable of delivering.

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus make do with a more conventional 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes, respectively. The iPhone 8 has a 1,334-by-750 pixel resolution (326ppi), and the iPhone 8 Plus has a 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution (401 ppi). They have LCD IPS screens, which doesn’t quite match up to the iPhone X’s OLED vibrancy. Both the 8 and 8 Plus ditch the iPhone X’s edge-to-edge design for a thicker, traditional bezels. So despite the iPhone 8 Plus have a smaller 5.5-inch screen size, it’s actually a bigger phone overall compared to the 5.8-inch iPhone X.

Both iPhone 8 devices retain the circular, fingerprint-scanning home button that’s become one of the iPhone’s most recognizable features. That’s in stark contrast with the iPhone X, which replaces the home button with an on-screen “software bar” across the bottom of the screen. Swipe up from the bottom to get to the home screen, and it disappears when it’s not in use. It doesn’t support Touch ID, meaning the iPhone X can’t be unlocked with a fingerprint.

It can be unlocked with a face, however. The iPhone X packs a special depth-sensing sensor module consisting of a light transmitter, a light receiver, a proximity sensor, and an ambient light sensor that records depth data. This combined with data from the front camera builds a complete 3D image. It’s called True Depth, and it’s the technological underpinning of the iPhone X’s FaceID, iOS 11’s Animoji, and a new feature that prevents the phone from locking when you’re looking at it.

Apple says a custom neural network crunched through more than than 1 billion images to develop True Depth’s image recognition software, and the machine learning-powered system can perform up to 600 billion operations per second. It’ll capture the unique contours and shape of your face over time, so it’ll still recognize you if you change your hair style or grow a beard. Furthermore, Apple claims that it’s much more secure than Touch ID — the company stated the chances a random person could use their fingerprint to unlock your iPhone is 1 in 50,000, but that the odds of the same thing happening with Face ID is 1 in 1,000,000.

The iPhone X, iPhone 8 and 8 Plus feature a combination of aluminum and glass that’s durable, IP67 water-resistant, and shock-proof, and both eschew a 3.5mm audio jack in favor of a Lightning port, volume rocker, and power button. (On the iPhone X, Siri has been remapped from the home button to the sleep/wake button.)

Winner: iPhone X

Battery life and charging

The iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus are nearly an even match when it comes to battery life, though the iPhone 8 will last less longer.

Apple doesn’t typically disclose battery capacity, but it said the A11 Bionic processor’s energy-efficient cores and other optimizations result in battery life that’s improved over last year’s 7 and 7 Plus. The company claims the iPhone X lasts up to two hours longer than the iPhone 7, or about 21 hours of talk time. The iPhone 8 Plus matches the 21 hours of talk time, but the iPhone 8 only offers 14 hours of talk time. The iPhone 8 Plus has slightly better battery life than the iPhone X, but it’s a marginal improvement.

None of the three iPhones have a leg up in the charging department as they all support wireless charging, specifically the Qi standard — placed on a compatible dock, they charge without the need for a plugged-in Lightning cable. You’ll have to by a third-party charger to take advantage of this, as you won’t find one in the box. Apple’s own wireless charging mat won’t be available until 2018.

Both phones have fast charging. Thanks to a high-speed wall adapter included with all three, the new iPhones can charge up to 50 percent in 30 minutes.

Winner: iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X

Cameras

The iPhone X and the iPhone 8 Plus both have dual-camera setups, and they are almost equally matched.

The iPhone X’s primary shooter consists of two sensors, one wide-angle 12-megapixel lens with a f/1.8 aperture and a telephoto 12-megapixel lens with a f/2.4 aperture. Both have optical image stabilization (OIS) that counteracts the jerkiness of your hands and footsteps. The iPhone 8 Plus has the same set up, but the telephoto 12-megapixel lens has a f/2.8 aperture, and only the primary wide-angle lens features OIS. Both support Portrait Lighting, an enhanced version of the iPhone 7’s Portrait Mode. With Portrait Lighting enabled, you can switch between settings like Contour Light, Natural Light, Stage Light, Stage Light Mono, and Studio Light to fine-tune the iPhone’s DSLR-like bokeh effect.

The iPhone 8 trades down for a single 12-megapixel rear shooter. Still, Apple says it’s improved over the 12-megapixel camera in the iPhone 7.

The new iPhones can shoot in resolutions up to 4K at 60 frames per second (up from 30 frames per second on the iPhone 7) and 1080p (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) at 240fps (from 60fps).

It’s more of the same on the selfie side of things. All three iPhones have a 7-megapixel camera that can shoot up to 1080p at 30fps. But the iPhone X has far more handy features it can do with the depth-sensing cameras on the front.

Winner: iPhone X

Software

Despite the fact the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus all ship with the same software on-board — Apple’s iOS 11 — the iPhone X has a few extras.

Animoji, an animated emoji feature, taps the iPhone X’s depth-tracking camera to generate custom animated messages that use your voice and reflect your emotions. Facial expressions like eyebrow raises, smirks, frowns, smiles, and nods are mapped onto emoji and sent with a voice message. Face ID, the iPhone X’s stand-in for Touch ID, ties your phone’s lock screen to your likeness. The front scanners record your facial structure so that when you glance in the iPhone X’s general direction, it unlocks instantly.

iOS 11’s other features are a bit more egalitarian. ARKit, Apple’s augmented reality framework for AR-enabled experiences, benefits from the A11 Bionic chip. The CPU handles world tracking, scene recognition, and keeps graphics at a steady 60fps, while a dedicated image signal processor adjusts for lighting conditions in real time.

There’s plenty new to explore in iOS 11. You can create PDFs from webpages in Safari, and use the iPhone’s keyboard one-handed. There’s a new screenshot tool that lets you mark up your snapshots with a variety of different stylus styles and fonts. And you can now type to a more natural-sounding Siri. You can read more about all the new features in our iOS 11 guide.

Winner: iPhone X

Price and availability

The iPhone X may be more capable than the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, but it’s also a lot more expensive. The iPhone X starts at $1,000 for 64GB in silver, and space grey. Pre-orders start on October 27, with availability beginning November 3.

The iPhone 8 is $700 for 64GB in silver, gold, and space grey colors, or $50 more than the iPhone 7. The iPhone 8 Plus costs $800 and comes with the same storage options and color choices. Both go on sale September 15, with availability beginning September 22.

iPhone X
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
64GB
$1,000, or $49.91 a month with the iPhone Upgrade Program

$700, or $34.50 a month with the iPhone Upgrade Program

$800, or $39.50 a month with the iPhone Upgrade Program

256GB
$1,150, or $56.16 a month with the iPhone Upgrade Program

$850, or $40.75 a month with the iPhone Upgrade Program

$950, or $45.75 a month with the iPhone Upgrade Program

Overall winner: iPhone 8

The iPhone X might be expensive, but it’s a quantum leap forward for the world’s most valuable technology company. It’s the first Apple-made smartphone with an edge-to-edge OLED screen and a depth-sensing camera. It’s the first to do away with the iPhone maker’s iconic physical home button. And it’s the first with wireless charging. But it’s also the first with a $1,000 price tag. The iPhone X may have new bells and whistles, but they’ll cost you can arm and a leg.

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus may not have the iPhone X’s vibrant screen, or three-dimensional facial scanning, but you are paying up to $300 less. Rumors suggest the iPhone X will also be in short supply, so you may have to wait even longer to get your hands on it.

It basically comes down to this: If you’re satisfied with a speedier processor, wireless charging, and a longer-lasting battery, you’ll be perfectly happy with the iPhone 8. If any of the iPhone X’s features seriously appeal to you, though, you might want to consider springing for it. But your wallet won’t thank you.

New HP Z displays pack plenty of features for every home or office budget

Why it matters to you

If you need a new display for the office or at home, HP’s updated display portfolio provides plenty of options for all budgets.

On Wednesday, HP introduced new products for professionals spanning three new “Z” desktop workstations, and seven new displays. The updated desktop portfolio includes the HP Z8, the Z6, and the Z4 workstations that will begin rolling out in October. But in this installment we’re simply focusing on the mainstream-friendly HP Z Displays that can be used in the home or office. One of these include the curved Z38c display packing a Ultra HD resolution.

HP Z38c Curved Display

For starters, we have HP’s new curved display. It sports a curvature with a 2,300mm radius, making it slightly less “curvy” than a panel with a 1,800mm (1800R) radius. For reference, a screen perfectly optimized for the human eye’s natural field of view would have a 1,000mm radius, but manufacturers have yet to reach that point with an affordable price tag.

Outside the panel’s form factor, the Z38c is based on In-plane Switching (IPS) technology, which provides super-rich colors and wide viewing angles. HP doesn’t say what type of color spaces this panel supports, but you should see better colors than what you get on older panels based on the formerly widely-used Twisted Nematic (TN) technology. But the company does state that the panel packs 111 pixels per inch.

Other notable features include a USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C port that can charge your mobile device, a three-sided micro-edge bezel, Ultra HD resolution, LED backlighting, and a maximum brightness of 300 nits. That’s standard as of late, especially for displays based on IPS technology.

Z38c
Screen size:
37.5 inches
Screen resolution:
3,840 x 1,600 @ 60Hz
Screen type:
IPS
Curvature:
2300R
Aspect ratio:
21:9
Brightness:
300 nits

Contrast ratio (static):

1,000:1

Contrast ratio (dynamic):

10,000,000:1
Response time:
14ms on to off
Inputs:
1x DisplayPort 1.2
1x HDMI 2.0
Ports:
3x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C
Availability:
Now
Price:
$1,200

HP Z “N G2” Displays

Here we’ve grouped the four “N” panels together. The Z22n and the Z23n are essentially the same save for their sizes, providing identical inputs, outputs, brightness levels, and resolutions. Things change with the 24-inch Z24n display, which sports an odd 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, and a 16:10 aspect ratio. It also has a higher brightness level, and additional Type-C ports capable of charging devices.

As for the Z27n, it’s a 27-inch monitor that returns the aspect ratio back to 16:9 while cranking up the resolution to 2,560 x 1,440 and the maximum brightness level to 350 nits. Otherwise, it has the same inputs, outputs, contrast ratio, and response time as the Z24n panel.

Like the curved display, these four models are based on IPS technology, promising rich colors and wide viewing angles: 178 degrees horizontal, and 178 degrees vertical. For the Z24n and Z27n, you could technically daisy-chain three panels from a single workstation by using a DisplayPort-to-DisplayPort cable with the first monitor, and a Type-C-to-DisplayPort cable between the first and second panels.  You would then use another Type-C/DisplayPort cable to connect the third panel to the second.

Z22n G2
Z23n G2
Z24n G2
Z27n G2
Screen size:
21.5 inches
23 inches
24 inches
27 inches
Screen resolution:
1,920 x 1,080 @ 60Hz
1,920 x 1,080 @ 60Hz
1,920 x 1,200 @ 60Hz
2,560 x 1,440 @ 60Hz
Screen type:
IPS
IPS
IPS
IPS
Aspect ratio:
16:9
16:9
16:10
16:9
Brightness:
250 nits
250 nits
300 nits
350 nits

Contrast ratio (static):

1,000:1
1,000:1
1,000:1
1,000:1

Contrast ratio (dynamic):

10,000,000:1
10,000,000:1
10,000,000:1
10,000,000:1
Response time:
5ms gray to gray
5ms gray to gray
5ms gray to gray
5ms gray to gray
Inputs:
1x VGA
1x HDMI 1.4
1x DisplayPort 1.2
1x VGA
1x HDMI 1.4
1x DisplayPort 1.2
1x DVI-D
1x HDMI 1.4
1x DisplayPort 1.2
1x DVI-D
1x HDMI 2.0
1x DisplayPort 1.2
Ports:
2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
1x Audio out
3x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C
1x Audio out
3x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C
Availability:
Now
Now
December
December
Price:
$200
$230
$350
$500

The Other Z “G2” Displays

These last two are variants of the 24-inch monitor revealed in the previous group. The Z24i is nearly identical to the Z24n, only the DVI-D port is swapped out for a VGA port. There’s also no audio output, no USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-C ports, and one less USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A port. Otherwise, you get the same resolution, screen brightness, contrast ratio, and so on.

As for the Z24nf, this is the only panel in the pack with a 23.8-inch form factor. It’s essentially a carbon copy of the Z24i, only it sports a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio instead. The maximum screen brightness is lower, too, at 250 nits, but you can daisy-chain the panel just like the Z24i and the Z24n.

“We rigorously test each HP Z Display to help ensure it’s a reliable, long-life visual solution, and back it up with the HP Zero Bright Dot Guarantee, HP’s most stringent pixel policy, which  replaces the screen if even one bright sub-pixel fails,” the company says.

Z24i G2
Z24nf G2
Screen size:
24 inches
23.8 inches
Screen resolution:
1,920 x 1,200 @ 60Hz
1,920 x 1,080 @ 60Hz
Screen type:
IPS
IPS
Aspect ratio:
16:10
16:9
Brightness:
300 nits
250 nits

Contrast ratio (static):

1,000:1
1,000:1

Contrast ratio (dynamic):

10,000,000:1
10,000,000:1
Response time:
5ms gray to gray
5ms gray to gray
Inputs:
1x VGA
1x HDMI 1.4
1x DisplayPort 1.2
1x VGA
1x HDMI 1.4
1x DisplayPort 1.2
Ports:
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
Availability:
Now
Now
Price:
$290
$230

Apple’s iTunes update removes the desktop iOS app store

While Apple expanded its iPhone lineup today, a software update delivered for iTunes on Windows and Mac PCs is slimming things down a bit. Once users install version 12.7 they will no longer have access to the App Store from the desktop. As described on Apple’s support page, a focus toward “music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, and audiobooks” means that you’ll usually need to use your iOS devices to manage the apps installed on them. What it adds in this update is the ability to sync with devices running iOS 11 and social music sharing for Apple Music subscribers.

Other changes include a previously announced move for iTunes U content, which is now in the Podcast section. Redownloading ringtones can be handled on-device (with iOS 11), while Internet Radio stations have moved to the music library. Some users may have been used to managing apps and ringtones from the app, but pulling that section out could be part of a long-anticipated quest to solve the bloated, sprawling mess that Apple’s desktop music app has become.

Of course, if you absolutely need to restore a ringtone or app that’s no longer available, Apple says that will still be possible if you plug the device into your PC with a USB cable.

Follow all the latest news from Apple’s iPhone event here!

Via: MacRumors

Source: Apple Support

Equifax waives credit freeze fees after facing backlash

Equifax has learned the hard way that people that people don’t appreciate having to pay $10 for protection when it’s not their fault their personal details were compromised. Especially if that $10 solution has its own security flaw. That’s why it’s now offering to waive all credit freeze fees to prevent identity thieves from opening credit lines in the names of the 143 million Americans affected by the massive cyberattack it suffered. You won’t even have to give up your right to join a class action by taking up the bureau on its offer. The bad news is that it will only waive fees for the next 30 days, so you may want to tell your friends to tell their friends to take advantage of the offer while it lasts.

@mariocataldo In response to consumer feedback, we are waiving fees for removing and placing Security Freezes for the next 30 days. -Tim

— Equifax Inc. (@Equifax) September 12, 2017

The oldest credit bureau in the US admitted earlier this month that attackers got into its system and stayed there to access 143 million US citizens’ info from mid-May through July 29th. It originally offered free credit monitoring for a year and charged a fee if you wanted to freeze your credit report. Pretty soon, though, those who forked 10 bucks over discovered that the PIN codes they got to lock their accounts were generated using the time and date they made their request. If you bought a PIN on September 11th, 4:20 PM, for instance, your code would have the numbers “0911” and “1620” in it. That method makes the PINs easier to crack.

In addition to making its credit freezes free going forward, Equifax says it will give you a refund if you already paid for a PIN code. However, to be completely sure that nobody opens a credit line in your name, you’ll have to pay to freeze your info with Experian and TransUnion, as well. A reader forwarded an email exchange with Equifax to the The New York Times, wherein the credit bureau said it’s preparing a service that can lock your Equifax, Experian and TransUnion files at the same time. The company rep told the NYT reader that the service will be available “soon,” but it’s unclear if it will also be free.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Equifax