Nike can make a pair of custom shoes in under an hour
If you’ve been itching for a custom pair of kicks, then you’ll want to take note of Nike’s latest announcement. This month, the athletic company will open Nike Makers’ Experience at the Nike By You Studio in New York. Part of that experience is the ability to create your own custom Nike shoes. And you don’t even have to wait for them: From start to finish, the process takes less than 90 minutes.
While you can seemingly customize almost every aspect of the shoe, the silhouette is one area where you’re pretty locked in. The final product will be based on the Nike Presto X, which was specifically designed for Nike Makers. You can either choose the regular version of the shoe or a slip-on.
After that comes the real customization options: color, patterns, text and more. For example, if you’re celebrating a special occasion, you can input text about it (Happy Birthday! or something similar) and the Nike Makers’ Experience will create a custom pattern for you. While the breadth and depth of the customization options aren’t clear, the possibilities seem to be endless.
Once you have chosen your final design, it will take less than an hour for your Nike Makers’ Experience kicks to be ready: not too shabby at all for a custom shoe. Before you go running off to the studio, though, you should know that (at least for now) this is an invite-only gig for Nike friends and family as well as a few Nike+ members. Let’s hope they open it up to a wider audience soon.
Source: Nike
Truly wireless earbuds are coming for your headphones
One of the dominant trends of IFA 2017 was the sheer volume of companies, both known and not-so known, that launched Bluetooth earbuds. The “truly wireless” revolution that was kickstarted by Bragi and embraced by Samsung and Apple is now a bandwagon that everyone is jumping on.
A recent Wirecutter roundup listed more than 20 companies making truly wireless earbuds, and we can expect that number to increase exponentially soon. At the show we took a closer look at offerings from mid-lower-end players like Philips and higher-end ones like B&O Play.
Speaking with representatives at the show, it’s clear that the advent of the Bragi, back in 2014, sparked a flurry of internal discussions at many audio companies. But many didn’t begin working on their own product until the launch of AirPods and the iPhone 7, which did away with the headphone port.
The slow (and contentious) demise of the smartphone’s headphone jack is prompting a wave of interest in wireless audio. And that, as consumers are gently encouraged to ditch the wire connecting them to their phones, they might as well abandon the ones that you’ll find in traditional Bluetooth headphones.
The numbers back it up, too, analysts NPD believe that around 900,000 pairs of wireless earbuds have been sold in the US since the start of the year. Of that figure, however, it’s thought that 85 percent of them were sold by Apple, with the rest fighting for the remaining 15 percent.
One of the smartest things that Bragi did was to embrace what could have been the fatal flaws in its design. These earbuds are super small, with limited battery space and it’s far, far too easy to lose them — all points that would dissuade plenty of wary customers from purchasing them. But by offering a charging case, supplied alongside the earbuds, Bragi solved both problems by forcing users to develop a habit of only ever moving their earbuds from their skulls to the dock.
The case is just as important as the earbuds, which is why B&O made a big deal of making theirs look like a scaled-down sunglass case. You could easily plonk it down on the table in a restaurant and no-one would bat an eyelid.
There’s also the issue of sound quality, which requires some elegant audio engineering to get around how cramped these devices are. By and large, most of them that we tried at the show didn’t sound too bad, although it’s clear that — for now — they’ll never be as expressive as a pair of larger cans.
But being good enough, especially if users are only listening to low-resolution Spotify streams while they navigate a crowded subway station or office, will probably suffice. And the convenience of wire-free listening is probably enough to allay concerns from all but the snootiest audio snob.
What’s likely, however, is that as more companies build their own entrants to the market, that we’ll see prices crater. And since there still seems to be some room for innovation, expect to see plenty of nuanced takes on the form — and yeah, a million and one copycats as well.
Follow all the latest news from IFA 2017 here!
Google’s new Street View cameras help AI map the real world
Google’s Street View cameras haven’t changed significantly in 8 years, and that’s a problem when the technology world most certainly has. How is the company supposed to fulfill its AI ambitions with 2009-era hardware? Thankfully, it won’t have to. Google has revealed to Wired that it’s implementing a brand new camera design that should not only produce higher quality Street View imagery, but will prove crucial to Google’s use of AI to index real-world locations.
The new setup is actually simpler (there are just two cameras instead of the array from before), but takes sharper “HD” photos that make it easier for Google’s image recognition algorithms to single out individual buildings and street signs. This should let Street View not only give you a more accurate result when you plug in an address, but could help answer complex or less-than-specific questions. Want to know what’s in the red building next to the convenience store on the corner? Google might soon answer that without needing exact addresses or names. It might even glean store hours from signs.
The upgraded cameras first entered service in August, but it’ll likely take a long while before most of the Street View imagery you see comes from those cameras. However, it’s reasonable to say that Google would like to see improved data sooner than later. It’ll improve results in Maps, of course, but it could also help with VR (even if just through sharper imagery) and Waymo’s self-driving car platform. You could give your car vague directions and still expect to reach the right destination, for instance. However Google uses the Street View upgrade, you’ll see the effects for years to come.
Via: The Verge
Source: Wired
Sports brands are giving wearables another shot at success
Wearables are only as good as the apps they’re compatible with. And companies making health-focused products, like smartwatches, fitness bands and even hybrids of these two, are starting to realize that. But in order to have applications that lure people to your platform, whether you’re Apple, Samsung or Fitbit, often it’s better if you have a hand in developing them. That’s why, especially at IFA 2017, many tech firms are teaming up with brands from different industries to add a new element of usefulness to their wearables. In some cases, that often includes special-edition products created between two companies.
Just days before the tradeshow here in Berlin began, Fitbit introduced its highly anticipated Ionic smartwatch, featuring a 1.42-inch LCD touchscreen, a new wearable operating system called FitbitOS and the ability to make contactless payments. While those specs are enough to get Fitbit fans excited, the start of a partnership with sportswear giant Adidas was what stood out most. The multi-year deal will see Adidas make an athlete-focused version of the Fitbit Ionic in 2018, which is expected to launch with exclusive content including personal training programs.
This fresh partnership is interesting for many reasons, the first being that up until a couple of years ago, Adidas was making its own fitness wearables designed to compete with Fitbit’s own. With the Fit Smart, launched in 2015, Adidas created a wrist-worn wearable that could measure calories burned, heart rate, running distance covered, pace and count your steps. Adidas also bought Runtastic in 2015 and, earlier this year, said it would be shutting down its aging fitness platform MiCoach and consolidate it with its new acquisition.
Runtastic’s suite of apps, which range from running to nutrition, have been compatible with Fitbit’s products for years, and it’ll be interesting to see if Adidas turns any of those into something exclusive for Ionic users.
At SXSW 2017, Adidas’ Head of Digital Sports Stacey Burr told Engadet that her team was working with third-parties on “personalized” experiences. “It’s not just about, ‘Can we develop a new piece of hardware that is a standalone Adidas ecosystem,’” Burr said back then. “You’ll be seeing that we’ll be opening up a bunch of our content and know-how to other third party devices, and [making] it more of an open platform scenario so that we can extend onto other people’s devices as well.”
As it turns out, we now know one of those was Fitbit. The move shouldn’t come as a surprise though, since its biggest rival, Nike, has been on a similar route with Apple since the early days of the iPod. Most recently, Apple released a Nike+ edition of its Watch Series 2, which comes with exclusive bands and two special watch faces. Adidas declined to comment on this story. A company spokesperson said that it was too early to discuss its Fitbit device, since it won’t be out until next year.
Meanwhile, Samsung took to IFA 2017 to reveal a partnership with Speedo. The collaboration between the South Korean tech titan and the swimwear maker consists of an app for the new Gear Fit Pro 2 and and Gear Sport. With the Speedo application, which will be available exclusively for these new devices, users can track their swimming laps and monitor the time each takes to complete. In addition to that, the app measures your burned calories and distance traveled. Naturally, it will communicate with Samsung’s native S Health app, allowing you to easily view your overall fitness data there as well.
Of course, the idea is that swimmers who own a Fit Pro 2 or Sport will want to rely heavily on the Speedo app to keep track of their stats. Not only that, but Samsung obviously hopes that those who love the Speedo brand will feel enticed by its new products. Then there’s the deal Samsung inked with Spotify, which will see the music-streaming service launch its first wearable app on the Gear Fit Pro 2 and Gear Fit. That’s a major accomplishment for Samsung, considering Spotify still hasn’t officially arrived on the Apple Watch, arguably the most popular smartwatch on the market right now.
These kind of partnerships aren’t just happening in the wearable space. The smartphone world has gadgets like Huawei’s P10, created in tandem with Leica. For Huawei, this means having a camera powered by an iconic brand such as Leica on one of its phones, while Leica itself benefits from getting more exposure and exploring an unfamiliar market. The same goes for Fitbit and Adidas, Samsung and Speedo or Nike and Apple. If they can win over and share each other’s consumers, they all come out on top. That’s magnified further when these companies work on pacts that may be exclusive, even if they happen to be temporary.
Ultimately, as saturated as the wearables market is, anything you can do to make your products stand out from the rest of the pack can only be seen as a positive. And if you’re a struggling brand like Fitbit, making a special edition of your flagship product with one of the world’s most famous brands is, at the very least, a safe bet.
Moleskine Announces New Smart Planner That Will Digitize Appointments Into Apple’s iCalendar Format
After announcing the “Smart Writing Set” earlier in February, Moleskine today unveiled the newest product in this line, called simply the “Smart Planner.” The new planner will allow users to jot down appointments and reminders within a weekly calendar area of the notebook, which will then be automatically digitized and synced to Apple iCalendar or Google Calendar formats (via TechCrunch).
Moleskine’s Smart Writing products work with the help of an invisible grid, made with Ncode technology, that enables the connected Moleskine Pen+ device to recognize where it is on the page and within the notebook. Previous devices in the Smart Writing Set would sync hand-written notes from a paper tablet into the Moleskine Notes app, but the company’s new Smart Planner is one of the first to introduce direct calendar syncing compatibility.
Like other Livescribe systems, the Smart Planner as it’s called uses paper embedded with sensors that can read and sync anything written by the Moleskine Pen+. Meetings and appointments written on the planner part of the paper are synced automatically to the user’s Google or Apple account and placed appropriately on their calendar.
TechCrunch explained that when users write down meetings and appointments within the planner part of the paper, the notebook and Pen+ intelligently recognize the text as a calendar appointment, and convert it into an entry on the correct date in the user’s chosen calendar app. This requires both the planner and Pen+, and Moleskine said it will begin selling a set of the new Smart Planner on September 12 for $199. If users already have a pen, they can buy just the Smart Planner for $29.
Tags: Moleskine, iCalendar
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YouTube for iOS Gains Support for Lower Latency Chat and Live Streaming iPhone’s Display
YouTube for iOS is gaining a new feature that will allow iPhone users to stream video directly from their device screen, reports TechCrunch.
This will allow YouTubers to stream iOS games and apps on their iPhones directly to YouTube without having to use the standalone YouTube gaming app.
The screen-streaming feature has been available on Android for some time, but to implement it on iOS, YouTube needed to add support for the Apple ReplayKit API, which it has now done.
In addition to a feature for live streaming what’s on the iPhone’s screen, YouTube is also gaining lower latency streaming for better creator/watcher chat interactions and improved chat moderation tools.
YouTubers can quickly pause chat with a new keyboard shortcut and they can opt in to an automated chat moderation system that will cause YouTube to flag and hold potentially inappropriate messages until they can be reviewed.
YouTube says its new features are rolling out to users around the world today. The YouTube app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Tag: YouTube
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Apple CEO Tim Cook Pledges Support to Employees Affected by DACA in New Letter
Apple CEO Tim Cook this morning sent out an email to employees following the announcement that United States President Donald Trump will phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program over the course of the next six months. Trump has called on Congress to replace DACA with new legislation by March 5, 2018.
In the email, Cook says Apple will work with members of Congress to advocate for a legislative solution that will continue to protect the children of immigrants, and he says Apple is working with impacted Apple employees to provide support, including access to immigration experts.
Team,
America promises all its people the opportunity to achieve their dreams through hard work and perseverance. At Apple, we’ve dedicated ourselves to creating products that empower those dreams. And at our best, we aspire to be part of the promise that defines America.
Earlier today, the Justice Department announced that President Trump will cancel the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in six months if Congress does not act to make the program permanent.
I am deeply dismayed that 800,000 Americans — including more than 250 of our Apple coworkers — may soon find themselves cast out of the only country they’ve ever called home.
DACA recognizes that people who arrived in the United States as children should not be punished for being here illegally. It lets these Americans, who have successfully completed rigorous background investigations, go to school, earn a living, support their families, pay taxes and work toward achieving their dreams like the rest of us. They are called Dreamers, and regardless of where they were born, they deserve our respect as equals.
I’ve received several notes over the weekend from Dreamers within Apple. Some told me they came to the U.S. as young as two years old, while others recounted they don’t even remember a time they were not in this country.
Dreamers who work at Apple may have been born in Canada or Mexico, Kenya or Mongolia, but America is the only home they’ve ever known. They grew up in our cities and towns, and hold degrees from colleges across the country. They now work for Apple in 28 states.
They help customers in our retail stores. They engineer the products people love and they’re building Apple’s future as part of our R&D teams. They contribute to our company, our economy and our communities just as much as you and I do. Their dreams are our dreams.
I want to assure you that Apple will work with members of Congress from both parties to advocate for a legislative solution that provides permanent protections for all the Dreamers in our country.
We are also working closely with each of our co-workers to provide them and their families the support they need, including the advice of immigration experts.
On behalf of the hundreds of employees at Apple whose futures are at stake; on behalf of their colleagues and on behalf of the millions more across America who believe, as we do, in the power of dreams, we issue an urgent plea for our leaders in Washington to protect the Dreamers so their futures can never be put at risk in this way again.
Despite this setback for our nation, I’m confident that American values will prevail and we will continue our tradition of welcoming immigrants from all nations. I’ll do whatever I can to assure this outcome.
Tim
Over the weekend, Cook tweeted that Apple employs 250 “dreamers,” aka people who came to the United States at a young age when their undocumented parents immigrated to the country. “I stand with them,” said Cook in the tweet. “They deserve our respect as equals and a solution rooted in American values.”
Cook and 300 other business leaders also signed an open letter last week urging President Trump to preserve the program or to pass the bipartisan DREAM act or other legislation for a more permanent solution, but it went unheeded.
With DACA suspended, the government will not accept new applications from undocumented immigrants to defer deportation and offer work permits.
While the current 800,000 DACA enrollees are not expected to be immediately impacted and can renew their two-year permits until October 5, if a new solution isn’t offered by Congress, people who grew up in the United States and have lived in the country since childhood could face deportation to countries that are essentially foreign to them.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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Apple Seeds Tenth Beta of Upcoming tvOS 11 Update to Developers
Apple today seeded the tenth beta of an upcoming tvOS 11 update designed for the fourth-generation TV, just under a week after seeding the ninth beta and three months after releasing the first beta during the 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference.
Registered developers can download the tvOS 11 update by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C cable and installing the beta software using iTunes.
tvOS 11 didn’t receive a lot of attention at the Worldwide Developers Conference because it’s a modest update, but according to Apple’s release notes, it does introduce a few new features to the operating system.
tvOS 11 brings automatic switching between light/dark mode based on local time, Home screen syncing options that keep multiple Apple TVs in a household in sync, new background modes and notification support, Focus API improvements, custom sound support, network-based pairing and development support, improvements to Mobile Device Management, and more.
The tenth beta of tvOS 11 most likely focuses primarily on bug fixes and other small refinements, as the first nine betas did. Apple’s new tvOS 11 update is available for both registered developers and public beta testers and will see a public release this fall.
Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Don’t Buy)
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Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review: Do Bigger Things, at a Bigger Price
This review is brought to you by MNML Case, an ultra-thin case that showcases the beauty of your new phone and fits like a glove! Get 15% OFF your Note 8 MNML Case until the end of September with the promo code: 15N8
After the disaster of last’s year Galaxy Note 7, Samsung is looking to redeem itself and the decision to continue with the Note brand is a rather bold one. Will the Galaxy Note 8 be able to rebuild the Note brand in a positive light and regain the trust of Samsung’s customers? And are there enough improvements to make it a top contender in the second half of 2017’s smartphone onslaught? Find out in our full Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review!
Design
On the exterior, the Galaxy Note 8 delivers a very familiar design that we’ve gotten used to from Samsung over the last couple of years. Glass is the main material of choice filling up the entire front and back and a sturdy metal frame wrapping around the perimeter holds it all together. One thing that you’ll notice that is quite different from last year’s Note 7 or the more current Galaxy S8 is that the body is much more square and angular. Even the dual curved display is less pronounced this time around.
Instead of a completely smooth taper between the glass and metal all the way around, the Note 8 has a much more distinct separation between the glass and metal and the sides are much flatter, giving a phone that’s usually slippery a lot more grip. Of course, the biggest drawback with any phone made predominantly of glass or any shiny materials is how prone it is to fingerprints. Depending on the color, it may be more or less visible but you’ll still want to keep a cleaning cloth handy if you want your phone looking pristine at all times.
The only other major cosmetic design change is that the camera housing on the back is black instead of being color matched with the body of the phone. On the black version it blends in seamlessly but on any other color you’ll get a visor-like appearance which looks pretty cool to my eyes but it’s a design choice that not everyone is going to like.
Display
The infinity display that was first introduced with the Galaxy S8 has made it’s way over to the Note 8. This means super thin bezels on all sides and a screen that takes up almost the entire front. The thinner bezels allows Samsung to fit in the largest screen we’ve ever seen on a Galaxy Note.
Measuring in at 6.3 inches but with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, the screen is much taller than it is wide and in comparison to last year’s Note 7 or the Fan Edition, the size difference is mostly noticeable in height while the change in width is almost undetectable by feel. The added height does make the phone quite tall but it doesn’t feel any less manageable or harder to operate than any other big screen Android phone currently available.
Despite its height, the Note 8 doesn’t feel any less manageable or harder to operate than any other big screen Android phone.
The screen is the usual Samsung Super AMOLED technology that brings all the typical characteristics that we’ve seen on previous Samsung phones such as vibrant colors, high contrast, and inky dark blacks. With a resolution of 2,960 x 1,440, or 3K QHD+, it’s incredibly sharp but in order to enjoy the display to its fullest potential, you’ll have to change the display resolution in the settings as the phone defaults to 1080p the same way the Galaxy S8 does.
The Note 8’s display overall is absolutely gorgeous and the large size is fantastic for all kinds of use cases such as watching YouTube videos, playing games, casual web browsing, and productivity. It’s also bright enough that viewing the screen comfortably outdoors is a non-issue.
The big bonus with the Note 8’s screen is its mobile HDR certification.
The big bonus with the Note 8’s screen is its mobile HDR certification meaning the phone can play back true HDR content that allows for better color accuracy and contrast.
HDR content is still somewhat scarce but should be a little easier to access (provided you have the right plan) due to the Note 8 recently being added to Netflix’s list of HDR supported devices.
Performance
The increase in RAM is definitely a welcome change and it certainly helps the multitasking experience feel much smoother.
The Galaxy Note 8 checks all the right boxes in terms of 2017 flagship specs. There’s a Snapdragon 835 running the show but this year Samsung has bumped up the RAM to 6 GB. It’s not the first time we’ve seen Samsung put 6 GB of RAM on a phone but it’s the first time that it isn’t on a regional exclusive. The increase in RAM is definitely a welcome change especially for a device that’s meant to be a productivity/multimedia powerhouse and it certainly helps the multitasking experience feel much smoother.
The typical every day experience such as swiping and scrolling through menus, web browsing and jumping in and out of apps are also quite smooth and the Snapdragon 835 does a great job of handling more intense tasks such as playing high end games with very smooth frame rates.
Hardware
Obviously we can’t talk about the Note 8 without mentioning the S Pen, after all, this is the hallmark feature that defines the Galaxy Note line. The actual hardware of the S Pen itself remains practically identical to last year. It features the same clickable top, a 0.7 mm ballpoint-sized tip, and over 4,000 levels of pressure sensitivity. The major changes to the S Pen are really within the accompanying software features which we will dive into in the software portion of the review.
The actual hardware of the S Pen itself remains practically identical to last year.
Other hardware on the Note 8 includes pretty much everything that you would want except for the kitchen sink. There’s a microSD card slot for additional storage should you need more than what the phone offers internally (a 128 GB and 256 GB version were announced, but at launch we’re only getting the 64 GB base model).
Fast wireless charging capabilities, Bluetooth 5 and gigabit LTE support are all on board, and an IP68 certification means it is dust and water resistant and can withstand submersion in up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.
For all you headphone jack lovers out there, you’ll be very happy to know that the Note 8 still has one.
For all you headphone jack lovers out there, you’ll be very happy to know that the Note 8 still has one as Samsung is one of the few smartphone manufacturers left that is choosing to keep this feature intact. At least for now.
For external audio, the Note 8 doesn’t offer anything special and this has been a weakness of a lot of Samsung smartphones over the years. The Note 8 comes with a single bottom-firing speaker that is easily muffled by the palm of your hand when holding the phone in landscape and the audio quality can sound distorted at max volume. It’s certainly a serviceable speaker but audio is clearly an area that Samsung doesn’t put too much emphasis on improving. For those that expect more out of their smartphone audio, consider the LG V30 or the HTC U11.
Besides external audio, the other unfortunate part of the Note 8’s hardware is the placement of the fingerprint sensor.
The other unfortunate part of the Note 8’s hardware is the placement of the fingerprint sensor. It still sits on the back to the side of the camera which isn’t the most ergonomic location, but at least Samsung did make some improvements to it that makes this one surprisingly better to use than the one found on the S8.
The fingerprint sensor is now slightly more recessed making it easier to find by feel and Samsung repositioned the camera flash and heart rate monitor to sit in between the cameras and fingerprint sensor giving you more room for error when reaching for the fingerprint sensor.
These minor changes definitely make a huge difference as smudging the camera lenses is a much rarer occurrence. But while Samsung’s changes to the fingerprint sensor are appreciated, its location still desperately needs to change to a friendlier position.
If you’re still not a fan of the fingerprint sensor, Samsung’s alternate unlocking methods such as facial recognition and the iris scanner are available. While I personally prefer the fingerprint sensor as my main way of unlocking the Note 8, the iris scanner and facial recognition are just as reliable in terms of accuracy.
My biggest concern and probably a main concern of many during the Note 8’s official announcement was how long this phone would last on a single charge. It has a 3,300 mAh cell which by 2017 standards is by no means small but is smaller than what we would have expected for a phone with such powerful specs and massive 6.3-inch QHD+ display.
Battery life on the Galaxy Note 8 has been far better than anticipated, even at QHD+ resolution.
In my experience, battery life on the Galaxy Note 8 has been far better than anticipated. Screen-on time is typically around the five hour mark with anywhere between 15 to 18 hours off the charger allowing me to comfortably get through a full day.
By no means am I a light user when it comes to smartphones either. Along with the usual social media, emails, and web browsing, I play games and watch YouTube for several hours per day and the Note 8 has managed to satisfactorily meet my needs. This was also all while running the screen at QHD+ resolution which didn’t seem to make as much of an impact on the battery life as I might’ve thought.
Camera
One of the more drastic changes to the Note 8 this year is the addition of dual cameras on the back.
One of the more drastic changes to the Note 8 this year is the addition of dual cameras on the back, a feature that is becoming increasingly more popular on smartphones.
It was only a matter of time before Samsung jumped on the bandwagon and they couldn’t have picked a more perfect phone on which to to do it. The Galaxy Note 8 camera utilizes a wide angle and telephoto lens setup similar to the iPhone 7 Plus or the OnePlus 5 and the secondary telephoto lens allows the Note 8 to achieve 2X optical zoom.
Both sensors are 12 MP with f/1.7 aperture on the main sensor and f/2.4 on the secondary, but Samsung’s super fast dual pixel autofocus is only available on the main camera. Both sensors feature optical image stabilization, which is a first for any smartphone utilizing dual cameras and guarantees that all of your photos and videos are optically stabilized regardless of which lens you decide to use.
Both sensors feature optical image stabilization, which is a first for any smartphone utilizing dual cameras.
While the ability to instantly zoom in by 2X is available on the viewfinder at all times, the caveat is it isn’t always optical. If the camera detects that the lighting situation isn’t optimal, the camera will not switch lenses. This behavior is intentional though, as the camera software decides that sometimes better results can be achieved through the main sensor. Other phones like the iPhone 7 Plus and OnePlus 5 react the same way.
Aside from optical zoom, the secondary sensor is being leveraged to create a depth effect or bokeh that we’ve seen from many smartphones using dual cameras. Samsung is calling their take on it “Live Focus” as it allows you to adjust the background blur before you take the shot and adjustments can also be made after the fact as well.
My favorite part of the Live Focus mode is the ability to dual capture. This means that a photo is simultaneously captured from both the wide and telephoto lens with only a single press of the shutter button, saving you the hassle of switching back and forth between lenses when you want to capture two focal lengths of the same subject.
With the exception of the new 2X zoom button, Samsung’s camera app remains practically identical to the one found in the S8. There’s a handful of shooting modes such as panorama, slow motion, virtual shot, and a pro mode for full manual controls but the experience isn’t overwhelming. The camera app is also packed with a wide variety of image filters and snapchat-esque effects that adds a unique level of creativity and fun to the camera.
General picture quality isn’t much different from what we’ve already seen on the Galaxy S8 but by no means is that a bad thing. It’s usually pretty safe to assume that you’re getting a great camera experience with a Samsung flagship and the Note 8 doesn’t fall short of that expectation. Photos from the Note 8 are packed with detail, vibrant colors, and some of the best dynamic range offered on a smartphone.
Optical image stabilization along with fast dual pixel autofocus, makes it easy to capture photos with tack sharp focus in a reliable fashion.
The optical image stabilization along with the fast dual pixel autofocus makes it easy to capture photos with tack sharp focus in a reliable fashion. This also allows for photos in low light to maintain plenty of detail and the camera’s good dynamic range prevents highlights in night time scenery from being overblown. It’s only in the worst of low light situations that noise starts to be noticeable, but for the most part Samsung’s image processing keeps the images quite clean.
On the front of the Note 8 there’s an 8 MP front-facing shooter that offers Samsung’s smart autofocus for sharper and clearer selfies, but Samsung’s softening at times can be aggressive causing too much detail in the face to be lost.
Software
The Galaxy Note line has always offered a slightly tweaked version of the software found in the Galaxy S flagship and with the Galaxy Note 8, the experience is largely the same as that found on the Galaxy S8 with a few key changes. The ultimate productivity device brings the now-familiar S Pen menu that pops up whenever you detach the pen (or when you click the button while hovering over the screen). With it comes a refinement in the features of Samsung’s stylus.
There’s not a lot new with the S Pen this year, with Samsung instead choosing to listen to user feedback and simply tweak a few features. The useful translate feature just got a lot more useful with the ability to now translate full sentences, whereas you could only translate individual words before. The Galaxy Note 8 also comes with the Pen Up coloring-in app preloaded, which offers access to a community of millions of Galaxy Note users around the world and tons of helpful presets for you to color in and create with.
The biggest new S Pen feature is Live Message, which lets you add a little flair to your everyday communication.
The S Pen also has some handy productivity features and last year’s Screen Off Memo has been improved so you’re now able to write up to 100 pages of notes, edit them and pin them to the Always On Display, which is one of the fastest ways to jot down something when you’re in a hurry.
The biggest new feature is Live Message, which lets you record the pen strokes of writing a short message, turning it into an animated GIF. Added effects like sparkles and neon lighting add more flair and the effect is pleasing GIFs that you can send to friends and anyone else. It’s not exactly productive but it’s fun and practical and lets you add personality to your daily communication.
Samsung is hoping the Galaxy Note 8 is the perfect multitasking tool and the new App Pairing feature definitely lets you take full advantage of the large screen. This lets you pair two apps together and save the shortcut to your Apps Edge or to the home screen; when pressed, both apps open together in Multi Window. Imagine a shortcut to let you open the calendar and Gmail together for increased productivity or Facebook and WhatsApp messenger for constant communication. App Pairing is great if you often find yourself switching between apps and is a subtle but clever addition.
The last notable feature in the Galaxy Note 8 may not be new but it is useful for those that have multiple social accounts. Called Dual Messenger, it lets you create multiple instances of the same single-account app (such as Facebook, SnapChat or WhatsApp) on the one phone, so you no longer need multiple phones to be able to use two numbers with WhatsApp or a personal and professional Facebook profile. It won’t be for everyone and Samsung wasn’t first (we saw it on the Huawei Mate 9 last year), but if this is a problem that affects you, Dual Messenger could be the answer.
With the introduction of the Galaxy S8, Samsung brought their own AI assistant, Bixby, into the fold and that feature has now made its way over to the Note 8. This includes the dedicated quick-access hardware button that sits just below the volume rocker. On the Note 8 you get the full Bixby experience out of the box including Bixby Voice. Bixby has certainly made some great strides since the Galaxy S8 but it still has its issues.
When it works, Bixby is fantastic and Samsung has it going in the right direction, but it still needs some polishing.
Bixby works wonderfully for doing phone-related tasks such as changing the screen brightness or having the phone download an app off the Play Store for you, but for factual or internet-related questions the experience can still be hit or miss. Most times it’s purely due to Bixby struggling to understand your every word to properly formulate a response.
When it works, Bixby is fantastic and Samsung has it going in the right direction, but it still needs some polishing. The bright side is that you have Google Assistant to fill in where Bixby falls short, allowing you to get the best of both worlds.
See also:Google Assistant vs Siri vs Bixby vs Amazon Alexa vs Cortana – Best virtual assistant showdown!
Google Assistant vs Siri vs Bixby vs Amazon Alexa vs Cortana – Best virtual assistant showdown!
7 days ago
The main drawback to the Note 8’s software is that it’s launching with Android Nougat and while Nougat is still very current, with Android 8.0 Oreo being official it does make you wonder when the Note 8 is going to get the update. Hopefully it happens sooner rather than later because it would be a shame for a phone as current as the Note 8 to fall behind in software updates right out of the gate.
With every new Galaxy device, we see a smartphone UI that’s consistently getting better, and growing into one of the best on the market.
These changes and tweaks aside, the rest of Samsung’s UI is all about software refinement. The software on the Galaxy Note 8 looks similar to the Galaxy S8, with very few changes in appearance but that’s not a bad thing. Samsung has improved its interface over the past few iterations and with every new Galaxy device, we see a smartphone UI that’s consistently getting better, and growing into one of the best on the market.
Specifications
| Display | 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity 2960 x 1440 resolution 521 ppi 18.5:9 aspect ratio |
| Processor | US: 64-bit octa-core (2.35 GHz Quad + 1.9 GHz Quad) Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 10 nm processor
Global: 64-bit octa-core (2.3 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad) Samsung Exynos 8895, 10 nm processor |
| RAM | 6 GB LPDDR4 |
| Storage | 64/128/256 GB MicroSD expansion up to 256 GB |
| Cameras | Rear camera – Main: 12 MP wide-angle AF Dual Pixel sensor with ƒ/1.7 aperture, OIS – 12 MP telephoto AF sensor with ƒ/2.4 aperture, OIS Front camera |
| Battery | 3,300 mAh Non-removable Fast charging on wired and wireless WPC and PMA wireless charging |
| Water resistance | IP68 dust and water resistance |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz) VHT80 MU-MIMO 1024QAM Bluetooth v5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps) ANT+ USB Type-C NFC, MST Location: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou |
| Sensors | Accelerometer Barometer Fingerprint Sensor Gyro Sensor Geomagnetic Sensor Hall Sensor Heart Rate Sensor Proximity Sensor RGB Light Sensor Iris Sensor Pressure Sensor |
| SIM | Nano SIM |
| Software | Android 7.1.1 Nougat |
| Dimensions and weight | 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6 mm 195 g |
Gallery
Pricing & Final Thoughts
There isn’t a whole lot fundamentally wrong with the Galaxy Note 8 and save for a few minor issues like the fingerprint sensor placement, the Note 8 offers enough firepower to satisfy Note users old and new. The experience that the Note 8 offers is fantastic, but despite how good the Note 8 is, most people including the most die-hard of Note fans will probably find the price this year to be extremely hard to stomach. It’s the most expensive Galaxy Note we’ve seen to date with a starting price of $930 dollars unlocked for the base model and can run as high as $960 dollars through U.S. carriers and €999 in Europe.
The Note 8 is as exciting a phone as many people, myself included, expected it to be but Samsung might have fizzled out some of that excitement with its hefty price tag.
The Galaxy Note is always one of the most exciting smartphone releases each and every year and even more so this year simply because we were unsure if there would even be another Galaxy Note after last year’s disaster. The Note 8 is as exciting of a phone as many people, including myself, expected it to be but Samsung might have fizzled some of that excitement with its hefty price tag. If you buy one will you regret it? Most likely not, but you might have to think twice about dropping that amount of cash before you do.
Pixelmator Pro is an AI-powered Photoshop alternative for your Mac
Pro image editing tools like Adobe Photoshop are vital in the creative world, but let’s face it: not everyone can justify paying $10 or more per month, every month, just to get more than rudimentary tools. You may not have to in the near future, though. The Pixelmator team is previewing Pixelmator Pro, an upgraded version of its long-serving (and historically more affordable) Mac app geared toward serious creatives. The editor promises many of the features you’d expect in a high-end app, and a little bit beyond — there’s even a dash of AI-like technology involved.
The software is non-destructive (that is, you can always reverse changes), with a heavily revamped interface that merges everything into a single pane. It’s more Mac-like, Pixelmator says, and theoretically reduces clutter by eliminating floating toolbars. There’s a new bunch of layout tools (such as multi-object alignment and spacing guides) and a new, Metal 2-powered painting engine that’s both fast and adds clever tricks like paint blending. Photographers will like the support for RAW processing, including multi-layer edits that preserves all their detail, while Recipes let you save custom effects to apply them
However, the centerpiece may be the inclusion of machine learning-based tools through Apple’s CoreML framework. The AI technology gives you a repair tool that can intelligently remove and replace whole elements of an image with natural-looking results, and snap to only the object you want to remove when selecting it. Adobe has had smart editing tools like this for a long time, but CoreML makes them relatively easy to implement — now, even a smaller developer like Pixelmator can give you those features.
The software is due to ship sometime in the fall, no doubt contingent on the release of macOS High Sierra (needed for Metal 2 and CoreML). Pixelmator has yet to divulge the price, but it tells The Verge that it wants to make Pro “as affordable as possible.” Given that the current version of Pixelmator costs $30, that might not be hard. The studio could charge significantly more and still undercut many pro apps. This probably won’t replace software like Photoshop if certain features are crucial to your workflow, but it might fit the bill if you’re a creative on a budget and aren’t tied to any one app.
Via: 9to5Mac, The Verge
Source: Pixelmator
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