Official: Google to announce Pixel 2 on Oct. 4

The Pixel 2 phones will be announced on October 4. Stay tuned!

Google hasn’t yet sent out invitations to its next event, but it is beginning to tease it. After sightings of a billboard in Boston suggested that we “ask more of our phone,” Google has thrown up a homepage for the entire world with the same notion — the Pixel 2s are coming.

Dubbed Ask More, the page is quite simple and requests users share their email address to sign up for notifications about the upcoming event, which is officially slated for October 4. No word on where it will be — last year’s Pixel launch was in San Francisco — but we’re hoping it’s somewhere warm.

There’s also a short teaser video showing people searching for common fixes to widespread phone problems. Smart, Google.

The news comes just hours after the company’s larger Pixel XL 2 passed through the FCC, confirming that it will be built by LG, while we understand that the smaller Pixel will be built by HTC.

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Google Pixel and Pixel XL review
• Google Pixel XL review: A U.S. perspective
• Google Pixel FAQ: Should you upgrade?
• Pixel + Pixel XL specs
• Understanding Android 7.1 Nougat
• Join the discussion in the forums!

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These Android phones support wireless charging

Does your phone support wireless charging?

Wireless charging has been around for a few years now, but sadly it hasn’t become as widely adopted as we’d like. And while Qi and Powermat and the various companies backing them fight it out, smartphone users are left in the cold.

However, many popular phones are beginning to embrace wireless charging, and if that’s something you’re looking for in your next phone, here’s a list of those lucky devices.

The best wireless charging pads for Galaxy S8

Note: All devices below support Qi charging. Devices marked with a * do not offer support for AirFuel or PMA wireless charging.

• Samsung Galaxy Note 8
• Samsung Galaxy Note 5 *
• Samsung Galaxy S8
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
• Samsung Galaxy S8 Active
• Samsung Galaxy S7
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
• LG G6 (U.S. versions) *
• Moto Z (with Mod) *
• Moto Z Play (with Mod) *
• Moto Z2 Force (with Mod) *
• Moto Z2 Play (with Mod) *

While wireless charging may not be as fast as a traditional plug, being able to plop your phone on a wireless charging block/stand/mat while at your desk, eating dinner, or sleeping can make a world of difference to the phone and its user.

We’ll update this list periodically with new devices that support this wonderful feature.

Update September 2017: Added the newest phones that support wireless charging.

Save big on DOSS Bluetooth speakers today only

You can find Bluetooth speakers just about anywhere these days, but not all of them are created equally. Some of them will offer better sound or last longer than others, and finding the right speaker can be a hard task. As part of today’s Amazon Gold Box deals of the day, DOSS Bluetooth speakers are on sale with prices starting as low as $19.99.

You may not have heard of DOSS before, but the speakers included in this sale are extremely well rated. Its Touch Wireless Bluetooth speaker has a 4.4 out of 5-star rating with over 5,100 reviews, and is an Amazon Best Seller. The others have similar ratings with around 200 reviews each.

These are the speakers included in today’s deal.

• DOSS Touch Bluetooth Speaker – $23.97 (Was $33.99)
• DOSS SoundBox Color Bluetooth Speaker – $19.99 (Was $28.99)
• DOSS Rugged Bluetooth Speaker – $44.99 (Was $59.99)

These prices are all-time lows for these speakers. If you’re looking for a new Bluetooth speaker to have around the home or office, you’ll want to check one of these out now!

See at Amazon

More from Thrifter:

• Which warehouse shopping club is best for you?
• Five free travel apps to help you save big on hotel stays

For more great deals be sure to visit our friends at Thrifter now!

How to Fix the “Too Much Light” Error on PSVR

The Sun has decided you can’t play PlayStation VR? What is Even Happening?.intro

The PSVR and Move Controllers are far more affordable than the Rifts and Vives of the world, but that price comes with a few drawbacks. Unlike other headsets, the PSVR uses bright lights that are tracked by the PS4 Camera, which can be affected by external sources.

If, like me, you live in an especially bright area of the world, I live in the desert, it’s always bright, then the light coming through your windows may be enough to block your PS4 Camera from receiving the light signal from your PSVR or Move Controllers.

Read more at VRHeads!

Android Oreo gets its first update with September patches

Android Oreo has received its first minor update in the form of the September security patch.

Google’s Pixel and Nexus devices are receiving their first updates since Oreo was pushed last month in the form of a minor patch with September’s security patches. While some people already began receiving over-the-air updates (disguised as a downgrade to Nougat), the update is now official with factory images and downloadable, sideloadable (is that a word?) over-the-air (OTA) files available from Google’s website.

The files are currently available for all Oreo-compatible devices but the Nexus Player, including the Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P, Nexus 5X, Pixel C tablet. The Nexus 6 and 9, while still on Nougat, have also been updated with the latest security patch.

The September update patches the newly-revealed BlueBorne vulnerability that reportedly affects nearly two billion Android devices with Bluetooth support.

How to manually update your Pixel or Nexus device

Android Oreo

• Android Oreo review!
• Everything new in Android Oreo
• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion

Voter registration websites make some records vulnerable

Those government websites that allow you to change voter registration details might seem convenient, but they also make you vulnerable to ID theft and could be used to manipulate elections. That’s what a team of Harvard researchers found when they took a closer look at those types of websites that 35 states and Washington, DC provided to their residents during the 2016 Presidential elections. They determined that the websites give attackers an easy way to mess with election proceedings, similar to what might have happened in Riverside County, California.

If you’ll recall, a number of voters in Riverside found themselves unable to cast a ballot during primary day because their details were inexplicably changed. Time’s follow-up report published this year said Russian hackers might have used the county as some kind of a test bed for their next attacks designed to rig election results in the US. With these registration websites in place, attackers can replicate what happened in Riverside en masse.

They’ll be able to easily change your address, assign you to a different precinct or change your party affiliation. How? The study’s co-author, Latanya Sweeney, used Delaware as an example. She told IEEE:

“With Delaware, you have a choice. You can either provide the person’s name, date of birth, and zip code; or you can provide the person’s driver license number and date of birth. If you were playing the role of the attacker, the question is where could you get a Delaware voter’s zip code. And the answer is the Delaware voter list.”

Hackers can easily buy that list for $10. And if they need your name, date of birth and other details, they can also scour the dark web and buy packages of data from information brokers for a few bucks. Considering how much info we give various companies and how many cyberattacks happened these past years — one voting machine supplier recently leaked 1.8 million voter records, for instance — hackers will definitely be able to gather enough info to access a lot of people’s registration details.

Sweeney says one of the few things preventing widescale attacks on voter registration systems is Captcha, though the technology is also becoming easier to crack. Also, 10 of the 35 states at least keep a record of web access and change logs, so officials can switch back to the old copies of records that show tampering. To ensure that these websites won’t cause problems in the future, the researchers are holding a workshop for state officials and their IT departments. Team member Ji Su Yoo explained that they’re not trying to get rid of voter registration websites. They simply want to “push everybody to have a good and productive conversation about how to implement them in a way that is really secure.”

Via: IEEE Spectrum

Source: Technology Science

Snapchat adds 3D Bitmoji to its augmented reality features

Last year, Snapchat bought Bitstrips, the company behind those now-ubiquitous Bitmoji you see everywhere. And Snapchat has also been working on World Lenses, which use AR to apply filters and emoji to the world around you. Now, Snapchat has combined the two: Starting today, you’ll be able to use Bitmoji with Snapchat’s World Lens on iOS and Android.

To access 3D Bitmoji World Lenses, all you need to do is tap the camera screen in Snapchat when you’re using the rear-facing camera (not the front-facing camera). If your Bitmoji account is connected to Snapchat, then you’ll be able to see 3D Bitmojis as an option in the Lens carousel at the bottom of the screen. You can also direct and influence the animations by walking around and moving your phone.

Snapchat’s been constantly upgrading and developing their filters and lenses, and they’ve been immensely popular. As they integrate Bitmoji more and more into their own services, they’re becoming a great way to communicate, as well as a fun way to experiment with AR.

Apple says too many faces ruined its Face ID stage demo

When Apple OS chief Craig Federighi tried to demo Face ID on stage during Cupertini’s annual iPhone event, it didn’t quite work as he expected. “Your passcode is required to enable Face ID” popped up, eliciting a nervous chuckle out of Craig and forcing him to switch to the spare demo phone. While people were quick to say that Face ID failed its first test, the hiccup apparently happened not because iPhone X’s star feature didn’t work, but because it worked too well. Apple told Yahoo’s David Pogue that Face ID failed on stage, because it tried authenticating a lot of faces other than Craig’s.

You know how your iPhone would lock up after failing to authenticate someone else’s fingerprints a few times? Apple examined the demo device’s logs and found that the same thing happened to it. “People were handling the device for stage demo ahead of time, and didn’t realize Face ID was trying to authenticate their face,” a company rep explained. “After failing a number of times, because they weren’t Craig, the iPhone did what it was designed to do, which was to require his passcode.”

While it’s great that the feature is working exactly as intended, it shows why facial authentication might not be ideal for everyone. If you frequently let family members or friends use your phone, will your iPhone X lock up all the time? In that case, it might be better to switch it off completely — or get another phone altogether.

Via: 9to5mac

Source: Yahoo

Facebook’s ‘Crisis Repsonse’ provides info during a disaster

Last year, it was reported that Facebook was working on an always-ready crisis hub that would bring together its Safety Check feature with posts and videos relating to an ongoing emergency. Today, it announced that the tool is going live.

Crisis Response is a section of Facebook reachable from the site’s homepage on a desktop or from the menu button on a phone. It includes Safety Check, which will continue to work as it does now, as well as links to articles, photos and videos from or about the crisis. The hub also allows users to request or give help to communities affected through the Community Help tool and people can even get fundraisers going through Crisis Response.

Crisis Response starts rolling out today and should be available to all users in the coming weeks.

Source: Facebook

Apple’s Beautiful Chicago River Store Opens October 20

Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts this week announced that the iPhone maker’s upcoming store along the Chicago River opens Friday, October 20.

Apple’s new Chicago River store via MacRumors reader David Sexton
The two-floor store will be located on North Michigan Avenue, near the historic Michigan Bridge, along the river’s north bank. The flagship location will feature glass walls and a carbon fiber roof, which at one point had a white Apple logo on it, making it look like a giant MacBook Air when viewed from above.

Apple has removed its logo from the roof as of late August, and it’s unclear if it will be added back at some point.

The store was designed by Apple’s longtime architectural partner Foster + Partners, and pays homage to architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style homes in Chicago. Based on plans from 2015, the building spans 20,000 square feet and replaces a vacant food court. Construction has been ongoing for over a year.

A lengthy staircase leads from street level to a walkway in front of the store. The building will also be accessible via elevator.

Ahrendts, speaking at Apple’s first-ever event at the Steve Jobs Theater on Tuesday, also said Apple’s iconic Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan will reopen late next year. She said the glass cube at street level will eventually be reinstalled, and the lower level will be greatly expanded with a new design.

Ahrendts said Apple’s retail stores collectively welcome over 500 million visitors per year. Apple has 497 stores around the world.

Apple’s nearby store at 679 North Michigan Avenue opened in July 2003.

Related Roundup: Apple Stores
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