Netflix adds HDR support for iPhone 8, iPhone X, and iPad Pro

Netflix is adding high dynamic range (HDR) support to more mobile devices. A handful of Android handsets are already benefitting from the picture upgrade, including the LG G6, Sony Xperia XZ Premium, and Samsung Galaxy Note 8, among others. Now, thanks to the release of iOS 11, iPhone users suffering from FOMO can get in on the action too. You’ll be able to binge watch in Dolby Vision HDR on the newly launched iPhone 8, 8Plus, and the upcoming iPhone X. Along with Apple’s new smartphones, iPad Pro (2nd-gen) owners will also receive the bump in picture quality — that goes for both the 10.5 and 12.9 inch models of the tablet.

HDR essentially expands the range of both contrast and color in comparison to standard dynamic range. As a result, bright parts of an image look brighter, and the darker bits also pack more depth. If you’re on Netflix’s premium plan, and you’re selected programme carries the HDR or Dolby Vision tags, then you’re good to go.

Source: Netflix

iFixit Teardown Gives First Look at iPhone 8’s Guts

iFixit this evening got its hands on one of Apple’s new iPhone 8 models in Australia, and has already started ripping it apart in one of the site’s traditional teardowns.

Inside, the iPhone 8 looks a lot like the iPhone 7, but there are some notable differences, like the wireless charging coil that enables Qi-based inductive charging. The coil can be clearly seen in an x-ray taken before the device was disassembled.

The iPhone 8 features an 1,821mAh battery, smaller than the 1,960mAh battery in the iPhone 7. Despite the change, the iPhone 8 continues to offer the same battery life as the iPhone 7 due to processor improvements. Battery capacity was first unveiled last week, but has now been confirmed.

Included on the logic board is the A11 Bionic chip, which is layered over 2GB of SK Hynix LPDDR4 RAM. There’s also a Qualcomm MDM9656 Snapdragon X16 LTE modem and an NXP 80V18 Secure NFC module, among other chips.

Other small tweaks and changes in iPhone 8 include a new Lightning port bracket that seems to reinforce it, a new interconnect/antenna cable over the speaker that iFixit calls “strange,” a lack of gaskets on the pentalobe tabs used for the display, no tri-point screws holding down the display cable bracket, and additional adhesive strips holding the battery in place.

iFixit’s teardown of the iPhone 8 is still going on, so make sure to check out the site for any additional discoveries. We’ll update this post if anything else notable is found.

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are already available in some countries around the world, with deliveries expected to start in the United States at around 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on September 22. Apple retail stores will also be selling the two new devices starting then.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Buy Now)
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You can now race Fast and Furious characters in Anki Overdrive

It’s easy to forget you are holding a phone.

Like most middle-class suburban kids, I grew up around “toy” race tracks. Everything from the simple Hot Wheels tracks you could assemble yourself to the hyper-realistic powered rail tracks we would all race at the local mall on weekends. Every time I’ve played with an Anki Overdrive kit, there’s been a combination of nostalgia and surprise at how well this race kit was aimed at every age group. But I never went and actually bought a kit for myself, and never seriously considered having a space in my house set up for friends to come over and race.

For a couple of different reasons, the latest addition to the Anki Overdrive lineup has changed that. Not just for me, either. As soon as the buy buttons go live, several of my friends will be ready to smash the buy button.

More than just racing

For the uninitiated, Anki Overdrive is about the furthest thing from a model car racing experience you can have while still managing to look exactly like a toy racing experience. You assemble a track made out of flexible sections that clip together magnetically, charge your little cars on a very simple USB-powered pad, and you need a controller to be able to race your car around the track you have built.

Once you actually start racing, it quickly becomes clear this experience is unique. The cars you are racing have an AI, which handles how the car goes around turns and how it switches lanes and a ton of other things. As the driver, you control how fast the car is going and what lane you want to be in, but you’re not really driving the car around the track. Which is good, because you are way too busy doing the other things Anki Overdrive cars can do.

This isn’t just a racing system; it’s a full combat experience. Your car has its own weapons loadout and special abilities that can be accessed from the app. You can fire a grappling hook at the car in front of you, and when it hits the AI, the other car intelligently knows to behave as though it has just been tethered. Your opponent can temporarily hack your car and send you into a spin, and your car will behave accordingly. The only thing separating this from a video game in your living room is all of the real-world parts happening right in front of you.

As much fun as the Anki Overdrive system is, this setup is very high maintenance. The individual track pieces and the cars you put on it need to be kept very clean for the cars to behave the way they are supposed to, and that can be impressively time consuming. Things like fingerprints on the track can cause your car to lose traction and spin out, and because the track itself can become quite large, it’s likely many people will be setting tracks up on the floor where things like pet hair can quickly become a problem. As long as you remember to keep the area around the track extra clean this isn’t a huge issue, but if not these small things can quickly come together to ruin a racing session.

Surrounded by references I don’t understand, but still love

The full title for this package is Anki Overdrive: Fast and Furious Edition, and it’s not hard to figure out why. The kit comes with two vehicles from the films, and the app has been visually redesigned so you feel like you’re a part of the film world. There’s even a movie-style poster in the box to tie together the Anki Overdrive world with the Fast and Furious world. The Fast and Furious logos are all over the track as well, so it’s clear as soon as you see one of these set up what you’re about to play.

One minor problem: I have never seen a Fast and Furious movie. I know who most of the actors are, but am totally unfamiliar with these characters. I know lots of people who love the franchise, though, so over the course of a week I started inviting them to play a few races with me. The response was surprisingly universal, and incredibly positive.

When you start racing, there’s a campaign mode themed around elements from the movies. The first chapter of the campaign teaches you all of the racing mechanics as you race against Dom, Letty, Tej, and Hobbs. Once you’ve got a handle on all of the game mechanics, you can download the second chapter and things get a lot more aggressive. Suddenly the AI becomes a lot more challenging to race and battle against, forcing you to constantly adjust your strategy to pull off the win. The way Anki has blurred the lines between racing model cars and a fully formed video game is truly impressive, and bringing these Fast and Furious characters to life makes it all the easier to dive in to this experience.

It’s not clear how intentional this is, but it seems like the AI for these characters extends beyond the actual race. When racing, you’ll hear clips and phrases from the movies as a turn is taken extra tight or when victory seems to be at hand, but in some cases even the vehicle selection seemed to come from character preference. Hobbs and Tej would regularly choose the armored Hummer-looking International MXT, while Dom and Letty would opt for the iconic Ice Charger. If I chose the Ice Charger before Dom or Letty, it seemed like the AI would regularly choose the more traditionally racer-like Phantom Nuke that wasn’t a part of the Fast and Furious kit over the International MXT. When I would share this information with friends who enjoyed the movies, they each laughed and explained how well that fit with the movie personas.

As you get better at the game, so do your AI opponents.

Campaign mode in this Fast and Furious Edition is all about earning money and reputation. In the first chapter you are unlocking new abilities and learning how to race against these characters, but the second chapter requires you to carefully spend the money you earned in those races to improve your vehicle. These improvemets are saved to your account, so when you bring your phone and car to another Anki Overdrive track you are able to bring those unlocks with you. As you increase your reputation through unlocking stars with each race, your cars level up. This is a good and bad thing for you, because the AI cars are leveling up as well while you race. As you get better at the game, so do your opponents.

By the time you’ve completed the Campaign mode, your Anki Overdrive cars are very well equipped and make racing against other human players a lot of fun. If you find yourself in a tough spot where the AI has started to outsmart you in Campaign mode, you can invite a friend over and they can join you in these Campaign race fights to help take the enemy down. There’s a surprising amount of flexibility in this system, and it all eventually leads to full human on human races as you continue to improve your individual vehicles. Like before, Anki hopes you’ll max out one car and feel compelled to buy other cars so you have lots of different options to choose from when you race.

Surprisingly fun for every age

The Anki Overdrive system has always been a blast, but the new Campaign mode and the Fast and Furious tie in really complete this package. The new software really makes the $170 starter kit feel worth it, even for someone like me who maybe doesn’t get every Fast and Furious reference. Anyone can pick up the controller and learn to drive in this system, and the way the whole experience feels like a futuristic game feels like a genuine lea forward in model racing entertainment.

This is something I can sit and play with my kids or pack up and take to a friend’s house over a round of drinks and get the exact same level of entertainment out of it. There aren’t many other things in the world you can say that about, which makes this something truly special.

Moto G5S Plus goes on sale September 29th for $230

We said the Moto G5 and G5 Plus were “still the best budget phones” when we reviewed them earlier this year, and now Motorola is rolling out the upgraded version of its larger device. The G5S Plus improves on its predecessor with a larger screen (5.5-inches compared to 5.2), a rear camera module with dual 13MP sensors instead of just one, a front-facing camera that’s 8MP (up from 5MP) and a new all-metal body that replaces the original’s plastic frame that had metal tacked on.

Unfortunately, other features like NFC or USB-C are still left out, for the price they’re still very good phones. That’s why it’s so good to hear that these upgrades don’t change the price, as the G5S Plus launches at the same $230/$300 mark (for 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage) as the G5 Plus. It’s currently available for preorder from Motorola, and starting September 29th will go on sale from Best Buy, B&H, Fry’s, Motorola.com, New Egg, Ting and Walmart.com.

Source: Motorola

Kodak’s app and chatbot will scour your photos for forgotten gems

If you’re like me, you have thousands of photos on your phone, most of which you will have long forgotten. And let’s be honest, you probably don’t scroll through all of them often, if at all. I certainly don’t. Well, Kodak Moments — the photo-printing division of Kodak Alaris — has updated its app and introduced a new Facebook chatbot, both of which will pore over your photos on Facebook or those stored in your phone’s camera roll and pick out images that qualify as a “Kodak Moment.”

Both the updated “Kodak Moments” app from the company and its Moments Assistant Facebook bot use algorithms and AI to figure out which of your photos might be worth resurfacing. They take into account things like location, facial recognition, quality, relationships, engagement and photo tagging in order to find meaningful photographs that you might want to see again and, more importantly, buy prints of. “Once we display images that people may have forgotten about on premium products with an option to immediately physically share, we expect to make money from the prints and the photo-products that we sell,” Kodak Moments’ Chief Marketing Officer Rob Smith told Fast Company.

Some have found that these services don’t do a particularly good job at finding photos you might want to see again. But if you want to check them out, the app and chatbot are available now.

Via: Fast Company

Source: Kodak Moments (1), (2)

Turnout for iPhone 8 Launch in Australia ‘Bleak’ as Customers Hold Out for Upcoming iPhone X

Apple’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are already available for purchase in countries like New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and China, and in Sydney, one of the first cities where the two devices became available, lines were short and there was little demand for the new smartphones.

The iPhone 8 launch in Sydney saw “a bleak turnout,” reports Reuters, with fewer than 30 people lining up outside of the Sydney Apple Store on George Street. In past years, hundreds of people have lined up for new iPhones on release day.

Apple customers on Twitter have also noted shorter lines in other locations.

This is the extent of the line up for the new iPhone in Brisbane. Just a dozen deep. Clearly not as much excitement as in previous years. pic.twitter.com/iJGg6S3k3Z

— S Marshall-McCormack (@ShannonMM9) September 21, 2017

The perceived lack of demand for the iPhone 8 and mixed reviews about the device caused Apple stock to fall as low as $152.75 on Thursday. Hints of demand issues first popped up last Friday, when iPhone 8 pre-orders kicked off.

Ahead of a standard launch, pre-order supplies of new iPhones often sell out online, but that was not the case with the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus. Hours after the two devices became available for sale, there was still plenty of stock, with September 22 delivery dates available either online or with in-store pickup.

Many customers appear to be waiting for the higher-cost iPhone X, Apple’s new flagship device that will become available for pre-order on October 27. Priced starting at $999, the device features an edge-to-edge OLED display, upgraded cameras, and a new facial recognition system.

Supplies of the iPhone X are rumored to be extremely constrained, and it’s been suggested that Apple will not be able to supply adequate amounts of the devices to meet demand until well into 2018.

Related Roundups: iPhone 8, iPhone X
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Buy Now)
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Run the Jewels’ video game tour continues in ‘FIFA 18’

Killer Mike and El-P, collectively known as Run the Jewels, are no strangers to video games. Previously they appeared in Gears of War 4 as multiplayer characters, and now the duo are lending their talents to FIFA 18. Or, at least, their iconography. You can outfit your virtual footballer in kit featuring the group’s trademark fist and gun logo on a teal jersey reminiscent of the album art for Run the Jewels 3, and there’s also a black variant. More than that, the soundtrack features and exclusive track from the group, “Mean Demeanor.”

Holy shit @runjewels kits in #FIFA18. Take my damned money. Take it all. @KillerMike @therealelp this is amazing. pic.twitter.com/U52V66W21i

— Dominic (@Dibble75) September 21, 2017

Now, this isn’t the first time RTJ has graced a game from EA (“Blockbuster Night Part 2” was in Battlefield: Hardline), but FIFA soundtracks are a bit different, hitting a huge audience around the world. More people probably are probably familiar with Blur’s “Song 2′ thanks to FIFA ’98 than other means, for example. If this keeps up, the RTJ’s “Call Ticketron” dreams of playing at Madison Square Garden might come true next tour.

Source: Dibbie75 (Twitter), Electronic Arts

Netflix for iOS Updated With HDR Support for iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X

Netflix today updated its iOS app to add support for iOS 11 and Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) video on compatible devices.

According to Netflix, Dolby Vision is available on iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, and the 12.9 and 10.5-inch iPad Pro models. Netflix’s HDR content is also available on the new Apple TV 4K.

Netflix first promised to introduce HDR quality content for mobile viewing back in March, and support comes just as the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are launching.

HDR titles can be found on Netflix by searching for “HDR.” There is a limited amount of HDR content available on Netflix, and much of it limited to Netflix-created television shows and movies.

To view HDR content, Netflix requires subscribers to have a premium plan, priced at $11.99. The $11.99 price provides access to HD and Ultra UD content along with the ability to watch on four screens at once and download videos on four phones or tablets.

Netflix can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
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Expanded watchOS 4 Heart Rate Monitoring Features Not Available on Original Apple Watch

watchOS 4 introduces an expanded Heart Rate app that’s able to track your current heart rate, your resting heart rate, average heart rate while walking, and your recovery rate after exercising, providing more information about your overall health. It’s also able to send alerts if it detects a heart rate above 120 when you’re not exercising.

These features are available on the new Apple Watch Series 3 models and the Apple Watch Series 2 and Series 1 models that were introduced in 2016, but some of the features are not available original Apple Watch models sold in 2015.

As Twitter users discovered after downloading watchOS 4 earlier this week, the original Apple Watch is only able to display current heart rate with a much simpler interface for the heart rate app, with no sign of resting heart rate or average walking heart rate. The app does offer the heart rate graph with a tap on the display, though.

Original Apple Watch image via @jgirl125a
It’s not entirely clear why the original Apple Watch doesn’t offer the full range of heart rate features, but it may be due to hardware limitations. The first Apple Watch offers an original S1 processor, which has since been significantly upgraded in Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 updates, and its battery life is not as robust.

Apple discontinued the original Apple Watch in 2016 when the Series 2 was introduced, replacing it with the Series 1 Apple Watch. The Series 1 model is similar to the original Apple Watch, but features an upgraded S1P processor. The Series 2 Apple Watch uses an S2 processor, and the Series 3 Apple Watch uses an S3 processor.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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How to Hide Text Previews for Every App Notification on iOS 11’s Lock Screen

iOS 11 has introduced a simple blanket solution for those who want to hide text previews for all of their apps at one time, bringing about a quick remedy for anyone concerned about privacy on iPhone and iPad. In previous iterations of iOS, you could only toggle the “Show Preview” notification setting on or off for select apps, and the feature was largely exclusive to a few of Apple’s own first-party apps, like Messages.

With iOS 11, that option has extended to individual third-party apps, and Apple has now introduced an overarching “Show Previews” toggle for all apps installed on your iOS device.

Hiding Text Previews for All Apps on the iOS Lock Screen

Open the Settings app.
Tap “Notifications.”
Tap “Show Previews.”
Tap “When Unlocked.” With this setting turned on, every app that you have notifications enabled for will appear on the Lock Screen, but without the actual content of the notification displayed. You can quickly make that content appear with a simple press (but not tap) of your finger on Home Button to activate Touch ID, unlocking your device and confirming it’s you who wants to read the various messages.

If you choose “Never” in the same area of Show Preview settings, these notification previews won’t show notification content even when the iPhone or iPad is unlocked.

Preview notifications hidden (left), and then shown after the iPhone is unlocked (right)
The same options are also available for each individual app, allowing for more granular control over your notification privacy settings in iOS 11. If you don’t want the same setting for all of your apps, visit Settings > Notifications > scroll to the desired app > and then scroll to the bottom of the app’s notification page to find Show Preview settings for that specific app.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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