In its Oregon skunkworks, Intel is plotting to turn your laptop into a VR rig

Intel isn’t the first company to come to mind when you think of virtual reality. The processor giant is eclipsed by Oculus and AMD and Nvidia and HTC, which focus tightly on cutting-edge VR experiences. It’s not sitting in the shadows – Intel attempted a major breakout in VR with its innovative Project Alloy headset – but others have hogged the spotlight.

That’s OK with Intel, to a degree. The company isn’t in the business of making virtual reality headsets, and it doesn’t plan to enter. Yet Intel is heavily invested in virtual reality for a reason so obvious you may have forgotten – Intel processors power most VR experiences. Sure, AMD’s Ryzen is now available, but it’s only an option for a desktop niche. Most VR-capable PCs have a Core processor, and for Intel, that’s just the beginning. The company also wants to see Intel UHD Graphics power VR headsets.

Intel wants to be a part of the entire VR scene, from the most lavish desktop rigs to budget laptops. Making that more than virtual reality will take a lot of work, so we swung by Intel’s Hillsboro, Oregon campus to discuss the company’s plans in person with Kim Pallister, director of Intel’s Virtual Reality Center of Excellence.

Accelerating high-end VR

Right now, the virtual reality conversation is dominated by the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Owners of these devices tend to be die-hard fans who believe slipping on a headset will soon be an everyday experience, like pulling out a smartphone or booting a PC. They own powerful computers with the latest graphics from AMD or Nvidia – though those video cards are almost always paired with an Intel Core processor.

Intel’s dominance is likely to remain strong, despite the arrival of AMD’s Ryzen processor, but Core processors are just the tip of the iceberg. The company wants to not only accelerate VR but also find ways to free virtual reality from its many restrictions. According to Pallister, this begins with the cable.

Watch people get their first Vive demo. They usually say, ‘How do I get this cable off my head?’

“If you watch people get their first Vive demo, they usually say ‘Where are my feet?’ and then ‘How do I get this cable off my head?’” As Pallister told us, Intel has a way to solve that problem in WiGig, an extremely fast Wi-Fi solution developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance, of which Intel is a member.

Intel and HTC partnered to show a demo of WiGig in real-world use at E3 2017, and we had a chance to try it, loading up Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality for fifteen minutes of pure chaos. The demo was exactly what you’d hope for – VR, but without the wires. Having tried the game before, we knew what to expect from it, and we noticed absolutely zero latency despite the crowded Wi-Fi environment on the E3 show floor. Everything, from image quality to motion control accuracy, felt exactly as with a wired HTC Vive.

WiGig is the most exciting example of Intel’s attempts to improve high-end VR, but it’s not alone. Intel sees opportunities for many other technologies, such as RealSense – which was used to create the Project Alloy concept headset – and even Optane, the company’s high-speed memory technology.

“It turns out that for things like snapping […] into your application, that load time in VR is disorienting,” Pallister told Digital Trends. “There’s a time where it blanks out, and you’re floating in space like, what’s going on? So, reducing that actually increases the comfort level, and we think that’s a thing that will help push Intel Optane.”

AMD is also focusing on ways to improve video memory, as its new RX Vega cards make clear. While their approaches different, it’s clear both companies think lower memory latency is important for tomorrow’s PC entertainment. Virtual reality performance is often measured in frames per second; latency and load times must be improved to fulfill the dream of a seamless virtual world.

Bringing VR to the masses

As exciting as technology like WiGig and Optane may be to the hardcore geeks, they target a niche. Mainstream acceptance is VR’s real challenge, and so far, the technology hasn’t been up to the task. Intel wants to help change that, and it’s using an unlikely piece of hardware to do it – integrated graphics.

“There’s no reason Minecraft in VR isn’t feasible,”

Almost every PC – laptops, in particular – has an Intel UHD graphics chip. Most only have that. If virtual reality hopes to become mainstream, it needs to become compatible with what people already own, or plan to purchase. Intel thinks it can help.

“The PC industry […] works really well when there’s a good, better, best model, and people can pick the price-performance tradeoffs they want,” Pallister explained. In other words, you should be able to choose a price-performance tradeoff you’re comfortable with and still experience VR. To make that possible, Intel must pick its battles, optimizing integrated graphics with realistic goals in mind.

“We started to do a number of things to say, OK, what would it take to still hit a really high-quality experience, one that doesn’t make people nauseated or things like that, but dials down other areas, in terms of visual fidelity,” Pallister told us.

Intel UHD graphics won’t be powering a game like Elite: Dangerous in VR, but it could be used for other, popular applications. “There’s no reason Minecraft in VR isn’t feasible,” Pallister said. “The important part is that […] it’s still comfortable, cool, and immersive.”

Walking the walk

It’s easy for Intel to say it wants integrated graphics to power virtual reality, but the company is doing more than just talk. That became clear at IFA 2017, where Microsoft provided details about Windows Mixed Reality and several headsets were teased or announced.

Microsoft and Intel have worked closely over the past year to make Windows Mixed Reality possible. “We zeroed in on a collaboration with Microsoft and their Windows Mixed Reality headsets,” Pallister told us. “They’re more focused on how we get to a low-cost headset design […] and we work with them to see how we can deliver a set of experiences on it that will run on mainstream notebook graphics.”

The result is a headset like the Dell Visor, which starts at $350 without handheld controllers. Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and HP also have headsets in the works. All of them are more affordable than the Oculus Rift, yet most also offer a higher display resolution and support room-scale VR without the need for external sensors.

Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

These Windows Mixed Reality headsets will, of course, support the most lavish games, including VR games available on Steam. Yet they also offer an entry-level tier that focuses on desktops and laptops with integrated graphics, and will target a low-latency, 60 FPS viewing experience, instead of the more common 90 FPS.

While that may not be enough to handle a game like zombie shooter Arizona Sunshine, it’s plenty to power 360-degree experiences and games with simple graphics. Minecraft is the popular example, but Intel also showed us a high-resolution prototype of an experience built in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute. It paired high-resolution captures of a museum hallway with motion controls for a detailed, up-close look at several paintings and sculptures. It felt similar to the applications commonly available for smartphone-based VR headsets, but with better image quality and support for room-scale use.

Intel thinks the standardization of experience offered by Windows Mixed Reality is good for everyone. Affordable headsets that deliver consistent quality should bring VR to more homes. “You really need to have that wide audience available so you can have an ecosystem that’s sustainable. Developers, if they’re going to make money off titles, they need to be able to sell units beyond a niche market,” said Pallister. “Bethesda needs to sell Fallout to that whole stack, so they can reach tens of millions of people, not tens of thousands.”

A turning point

Windows Mixed Reality powered by Intel integrated graphics could be a turning point for virtual reality. If it works as promised, it will massively expand the number of VR-capable PCs. The new 8th-gen Intel Core processors bring quad-core performance even to 13-inch laptops and 2-in-1s. It’s hard to imagine such thin systems powering a VR headset, but that’s the goal.

These new headsets will start to arrive through the last few months of 2017 – the Dell Visor, for example, should be on store shelves on October. That dovetails nicely with the launch of Intel’s latest generation of Core processor. Content is the only missing piece of the puzzle – while we already know that Steam will support Windows Mixed Reality, it’s not clear what else is coming to the platform.

Keep your eyes peeled for that information in coming months. If the content does come, it could turn even the humblest laptops – including the one you already own – into a capable VR machine.

Goodbye MIUI, Xiaomi’s Mi A1 is an Android One phone with Google Play

Why it matters to you

The Mi A1 uses Google Android One, not Xiaomi’s own user interface, representing a major departure for the brand.

Xiaomi has launched the Mi A1, a smartphone unlike any from the company before, because it doesn’t have the familiar MIUI user interface over the top of Google Android. Instead, the Mi A1 — as the name actually gives away — runs Google’s Android One software, and was the subject of rumor until now. It’s a first for Xiaomi, and while India seems to be the main target market for the Mi A1, it will also be sold in dozens of other countries around the world.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 has a higher specification than the majority of other Android One phones. Google designed the platform for use on affordable phones, and while the earliest models were relatively basic, newer Android One phones have become more technically impressive, and more expensive. The Mi A1 has a 5.5-inch touchscreen with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, hidden under a piece of Gorilla Glass. It’s set in a 7mm thick aluminum unibody with neatly concealed antenna bands.

On the back are two camera lenses: A wide-angle and a telephoto. These work together to take portrait shots with a blurred background, and Xiaomi says its algorithm is adept at understanding edges in this type of shot, for a better defined, more natural image. The telephoto lens provides a 2x optical zoom. The camera app appears to be Xiaomi’s own, rather than the Google camera app we’re used to seeing on Android One phones.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor powers the Mi A1, there’s USB Type-C charging for the 3,080mAh battery, a fingerprint sensor, and a choice of black — with a fingerprint resistant coating — gold, or rose gold color schemes. If this specification looks familiar, it’s identical to the Xiaomi Mi 5X, announced recently. The specifications continue to match up with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage space, and a 5-megapixel selfie camera.

It’s Android One that’s the big news on the Mi A1, and its presence means the phone will receive an update to Android 8.0 Oreo before the end of 2017, and be on the list for Android 9.0 when it’s released in 2018. The Android One interface is stock, just like the Pixel phones, has Google Assistant, and comes without bloatware. It also has the Google Play store pre-installed, along with all other Google services. In China, Xiaomi’s MIUI uses Xiaomi’s own application store.

The Mi A1 will be sold in India from September 12 for the local equivalent of around $235, along with 40 more countries later in the month. These include Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Greece, Poland, Russia, Egypt, South Africa, Columbia, and Mexico. Android One phones aren’t officially sold in the United States or the United Kingdom.

Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes Apple apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest iOS app deals available from the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

Stress Guide

Developed by stress experts, this app is made to help you quantify your level of psychological or physical stress with the iPhone camera. The app also gives you personalized tips on how to cope with stress.

Available on:

iOS

Sketch Bench

Create cool and realistic sketches and paintings with this unique app. Complete lifelike drawings and beautiful paintings, all with this handy tool.

Available on:

iOS

Sigma

Sigma is the perfect companion for your school that will help you keep track of your classes and allow you to add homework into your week’s schedule with ease. With Sigma, you no longer need to carry an extra agenda.

Available on:

iOS

NiteFan

This app will allow you to choose between the sounds of four different fans to help you fall asleep when your head hits the pillow. Play one type of fan or mix them together to create your own custom fan sound.

Available on:

iOS

GymTraining

Download GymTraining now to access free multi-day workouts that are guaranteed to kick-start your fitness. Get a professional-level workout and get your body into the best shape of your life.

Available on:

iOS

Drift

Drift is a simple, elegant, and beautifully designed travel planner that is solely focused on the places you plan to visit. It is perfect for a vacation itinerary and everyday to-do agenda.

Available on:

iOS

E-skin connected shirt promises to turn your body into a controller

Why it matters to you

The e-skin makes gaming an even more immersive, full-body experience.

Researchers from the University of Tokyo have turned the human body into a controller for virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. Dubbed e-skin, the connected shirt enables camera-free motion capture and tracking.

“Our vision was to revolutionize the apparel industry by creating printed circuit fabric,” James Eakin, chief marketing officer for Xenoma, the company behind e-skin, told Digital Trends. “E-skin apparel demonstrates the ability to create an array of sensors and electronics integrated into traditional textile materials which have broad implications for gaming, fitness, wellness, and industrial applications.”

The wireless shirt, which is on display at IFA 2017 in Berlin, allows wearers to move freely, stretch, and perform tasks like running and swinging. The shirt’s 14 strategically placed sensors — in areas like the shoulder, thorax, elbows, and wrist — allow it to pick up signals from these movements and translate them into actions in a connected program.

“Each of the strain sensors and stretchable conductive traces are electrically insulated to withstand sweat and moisture, while remaining comfortable, durable and machine washable,” Eakin said. “The e-skin Hub, which attaches to the front of the shirt, powers the circuit on the shirt and sends the sensor information in real-time over Bluetooth to a phone, tablet, smart watch or PC to be rendered or analyzed.”

The hub can also save log data and display as a graphical interface.

Xenoma launched a Kickstarter campaign for e-skin in August and has so far raised over $51,000 with one day left in its campaign. The early bird shirts are available for $479.

Beyond gaming, the e-skin may also be used for physical fitness and training. In fact, it can be programmed by developers to suit a number of applications, from correcting posture to correcting your golf swing. Eakin explained: “E-skin apparel has broad appeal in personalized training and coaching for helping to improve form and performance while reducing risk of injury. For instance, this could be integrated into analyzing specific body movement for running, yoga, golf, or cycling.

“Aside from the sports and fitness side, we are excited to explore telemedicine and industrial workers safety application fits as well. We think the possibilities for e-skin are endless.”

South Korean court refuses Qualcomm’s request to suspend antitrust order

Qualcomm may have to change its licensing practices in Korea.

Back in December, South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) fined Qualcomm 1.03 trillion won ($912 million) for unlawful licensing deals relating to its modem sales and patents.

Qualcomm said that the KFTC’s claims were “inconsistent with the facts,” and the chip vendor filed two lawsuits with the Seoul High Court, one seeking a reversal of the ruling and the other for a stay on a corrective order that would see the company alter its licensing model in the country.

The court found that the corrective order doesn’t cause “irreparable harm” to Qualcomm, which is why it rejected the company’s motion to suspend the ruling. The order requires Qualcomm to engage in “good-faith negotiations” with chip companies looking to license its patents and “negotiate possible amendments with current licensees upon request.”

Qualcomm said that it will file an “immediate appeal” of the order to the Korean Supreme Court. The corrective order is separate from the $912 million fine the KTFC is seeking, and Qualcomm will be appealing that as well:

The Court’s decision to deny Qualcomm’s stay application does not impact Qualcomm’s appeal of the underlying KFTC decision, which the Seoul High Court will consider later. Qualcomm continues to believe that the KFTC’s decision is not supported by the facts and law, and was the product of a hearing and investigation that denied Qualcomm fundamental due process rights.

Qualcomm also intends to preserve and pursue its arguments that the KFTC’s underlying decision exceeds its authority and principles of international law by inappropriately seeking to regulate intellectual property rights arising under the laws of other nations, including the United States.

How to fix out-of-sync audio on your NVIDIA Shield

How do I fix out-of-sync audio on the NVIDIA Shield Android TV?

If there’s one thing that’s frustrating with watching streaming digital content it’s when the audio is just off from the video. Once you notice it you can’t not notice it.

And for whatever reason, it’s an issue that’s been affecting my NVIDIA Shield Android TV for the past few months — and I’m not the only one. It’s a common enough issue that it keeps popping up in forums and affecting some of the most popular streaming video apps.

Video with the audio out of sync is just plain awful, and there appears to be no rhyme or reason for why this issue seems to affect the NVIDIA Shield. Fortunately, there are some tips to get your Shield back in sync.

Make sure your software is up to date

This one is an obvious one, but you should always make sure that you’re Shield is running on the latest updated version. It’s the best practice to set your devices to automatically check for new updates so you don’t have to manually check yourself. And actually install the updates when they pop up (I’m as guilty as anyone for putting updates off).

Some people found the issue fixed by simply updating to the latest build, while others found the issue persists or seems to be specific to a particular app. That’s when it may be time to dive deeper into the Shield’s advanced settings.

Check the latest Shield TV software release at NVIDIA

Adjust the audio video sync

If you’ve found that a specific app or video file is just slightly out of sync, you can manually adjust the audio video sync in the advanced display and audio settings.

Select the Settings icon.
Select Display & Sound
Select Advanced settings.
Select Audio Video Sync.
Use the slider to match the bouncing ball to the sound.

Make an adjustment and then return to your streaming video to see if it made an impact. NVIDIA specifically states this tool is ideal for those using a USB DAC for audio or using a digital receiver to pull in a TV signal.

Give everything a hard reboot

The makeshift solution that worked for me involved unplugging the Shield console leaving it turned off for a few minutes. While a fresh boot seemed to get things back in sync for a little while, the audio would slowly start to fall back out of sync after a short while.

I reached out to NVIDIA’s support team, and they offered the following steps as a possible solution, which they said should fix any audio latency that may be caused by interference caused by other devices on or located within my wireless network. NVIDIA recommends you connect to a 5GHz Wi-Fi network if possible.

Power cycle your wireless router by unplugging the power cord and waiting 15-20 seconds before powering it back on.
Unplug all the cables and keep the Shield off for 2-3 minutes.
Plug in the power cable, a controller through USB, and an Ethernet cable directly from the router. Do not connect an HDMI cable.
When the device powers up, let it idle for a few minutes then continuously tap the A button for a few seconds.
Leave the device in this state with the HDMI cable for 15 to 20 minutes.
Plug the Shield into a TV via HDMI and test the audio playback in a video.

These steps worked for me and they should work for you, too. However, due to where my router is located in my house I’m unable to have the Shield plugged in via Ethernet, so I have to go back to a Wi-Fi connection. I won’t be terribly surprised if the audio falls back out of sync again.

Have you had this issue with the NVIDIA Shield?

We want to know if this is a common issue with Shield TV owners. Have you dealt with delayed audio video sync? What fixes have you tried?

NVIDIA Shield Android TV

• Read our Shield Android TV review
• The latest Shield Android TV news
• Shield vs. Shield Pro: Which should I buy?
• Join the forum discussion
• Complete Shield Android TV specs

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The Note 8 and the LG V30 won’t have Oreo at launch but does it really matter?

It depends on just who you ask.

So we’re going to be able to buy the Note 8 or the LG V30 (or both) soon. They have more in common than being the “luxury” model from the companies who make them: they are both launching with Android Nougat instead of Oreo. How much does this really matter, and to whom?

These two phones are important to the companies selling them, the people who will be buying them, and to the Android ecosystem as a whole. And more often than not, these three different groups of things don’t have the same goals or needs. And that’s important when talking about what it means to launch with an older version of Android.

For the Android Platform

We’ll start with the Android ecosystem here because it’s the easiest to talk about. It matters.

Android, like every other computing platform, exists and prospers because of the companies and people building applications that run on the platform. When developers stop spending time and resources to make third-party apps, even the best platform can die off. We’ve seen this happen with Windows on mobile. Most anyone who has used a Windows phone will tell you it was a great product or at least a great starting point for something bigger. Because developers weren’t there, sales never took off and Microsoft has had to halt the platform while they reimagine it. When it returns, the same thing might happen if the apps people want and need aren’t available.

Developers want as many people as possible using their app.

For Google — which is Android’s caretaker — phones not running the newest version that can take advantage of the newest features is not an ideal situation. Developers build apps that appeal to the largest number of users, and an app that only 3% of the total user base can use isn’t it. Developers can either target the version with the most users, work to provide multiple copies of their apps or build apps in a way to work on both the new and the old, or go for that 3% of users with the new version. We all know what happens, and new apps launch without new Android feature support and don’t get updated to use them until there are enough users to justify it (if they get updated at all).

Compare this to iOS, where thousands of apps are ready the minute a new version is released and the rest soon follow. Google could force developers to update within a certain period, but that would drive developers away because phones just aren’t running the latest version. And by not forcing them to do it, developers just aren’t. It’s a catch-22 and there is no way to fix it, other than getting the companies who build phones to ship with the latest version as well as update older models on day one.

For the users

For you and me, a new phone launching with Nougat doesn’t matter much at all. And it won’t for a while.

This isn’t universal. Regular readers of Android Central may be enthusiasts who feel that they need to have the latest version of Android for one reason or another. I’m one of them, and you might be, too. But for the user base as a whole, a phone running Android Oreo will still be downloading and installing apps without any of the latest features because developers aren’t incorporating them yet. See the 3% circle above.

More: Android Oreo will look like Android Nougat for almost everyone

Features built into Android are a little different, but once a manufacturer makes its changes to Android many, if not most, of them aren’t visible or recognizable. And some have been there for a while because manufacturers have added them already. If you buy a Note 8 or a V30 today, you just won’t miss much from Oreo until the Galaxy S7 sees a platform update. That’s when there will be enough users for developers to justify targeting Oreo. The few apps that take advantage of things like the Autofill API or emojis and fonts as app resources instead of system resources will be a treat for the few people who get to use them, but there will be no big shift towards building out those apps for a while.

This situation is getting better than it used to, and in a few years, it might be more important for a phone to launch with the latest version when it comes to the user experience. But right now, it’s not.

For the manufacturers

It matters and it doesn’t matter. For the companies making Android phones, a new version means a lot of new work. And it’s more than just spending time and money to update their software for Android Oreo.

Samsung and LG want to build phones we want to buy. That’s the core philosophy of their mobile divisions and every company’s mobile division. That means they want the software on their latest phone to be well-tested in the field and as bug-free as possible. Because Google’s timeline might not match up with theirs, that means shipping the latest version may be risky. Android is getting pretty good about shipping new releases without critical bugs, but when you add an entirely new layer of complexity to the picture it becomes a risk not worth taking. In this case, using last year’s version of Android doesn’t matter too much.

Companies making these phones have to make a phone everyone loves and that’s hard.

The marketing department might not feel the same way, though. There’s one big issue that is hard to work around when the Note 8 or V30 launches with Nougat — when to push out updates for them, as well as the Galaxy S8 and G6.

Users who paid the extra money to buy the premium model aren’t going to be happy if they are seeing other phones getting an update before they are. Users who bought the high-selling consumer model can feel like they have been waiting longer and should be first. Samsung and LG want both camps to be happy with the brand and purchase from them the next time, so this can get dicey. Most folks buying phones aren’t going to be concerned, but the most vocal folks are and balancing resources to satisfy everyone becomes part of the update process. Because of the release cycle for the Note and V series, this becomes a thing every year.

But does it really matter?

Nope.

You and I shouldn’t be concerned with the trials and troubles billion-dollar companies go through to make phones. All we should care about is feeling like we got our money’s worth when we buy them.

Worry about what you like and not a company’s bottom line.

People buying the V30 or Note 8 will be able to take advantage of all the features built into either and will have their choice of a million plus apps to install from Google Play. By the time we need to have a newer version of Android to use the apps we really want, it will be there. And in the meantime, most of what’s new isn’t going to be missed by anyone buying.

And for those that will miss it, Google has a phone coming every autumn for you.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

• Galaxy Note 8 hands-on preview
• Complete Galaxy Note 8 specs
• Galaxy Note 8 vs. Galaxy Note 5: Which should you buy?
• Which Galaxy Note 8 color should you buy?
• All Galaxy Note 8 news
• Join our Galaxy Note 8 forums

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LG V30

• LG V30 hands-on!
• Full LG V30 specs
• LG V30 vs. G6 vs. GS8
• The V30 is the first phone to support 600MHz spectrum
• Join our LG V30 forums

TalkTalk wants to exit the mobile business

TalkTalk wants to ditch its mobile business and focus on cheap home broadband, according to the Financial Times. The company has long been a ‘quad-play’ provider, offering TV, mobile, landline and broadband bundles in the UK. You can buy each service individually or combine them to save money, much like Sky, BT and Virgin Media. It’s a simple proposition: TalkTalk’s bundles are normally cheaper, but in return you have to put up with a slightly inferior service. Now, however, it’s looking to give up on mobile altogether, which can only be interpreted as a tactical retreat.

TalkTalk launched its first mobile plans in 2010 by piggy-backing on Vodafone’s UK network. The company is still a ‘mobile virtual network operator,’ though it’s since switched to O2’s infrastructure (its deal with Vodafone meant it couldn’t offer 4G). As the Financial Times reports, TalkTalk had considered creating its own mobile network that could be utilised in conjunction with O2’s cables. It eventually scrapped the project, however, preferring to “work closely with [O2 owner] Telefonica UK on the right platform and customer offering.” The company has 913,000 mobile subscribers at the moment, some of which are on quad-play bundles.

According to the Financial Times, TalkTalk is trying to strike a deal that would involve selling a rival’s SIM cards alongside its broadband packages. If the company sidled up with O2, for instance, you would receive a discount for taking out an O2 smartphone plan with one of TalkTalk’s home internet offerings. “We are in advanced discussions with a number of potential partners, including O2, to agree a low touch, retail arrangement that will enable us to continue to offer a compelling mobile service to all our broadband customers,” a spokesperson for TalkTalk told the FT.

The large and embarrassing TalkTalk hack of 2015 still looms over the company. Management tried to shake its fragile image with a simpler, “all-in” pricing structure and a family-focused marketing campaign last October. It doesn’t seem to have worked, however. TalkTalk is up against mounting competition in the mobile space too. EE continues to work on its TV offering, while Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone experiment with “free,” zero-rated data deals. Throw in the various MVNOs such as Tesco Mobile, Giffgaff and iD, and suddenly TalkTalk has a hard time standing out. Bowing out, while not ideal, might be its best bet financially.

Source: Financial Times

The Morning After: Tuesday, September 5th 2017

This morning: The future of your kitchen, why Apple might not fix your iPhone, and the world’s top how-to requests for Google.

Changes are coming.
The smart-kitchen revolution is a slow one

Of all the spaces in our homes, the kitchen is the one that has seen the least change in the last few years. Sure, that countertop CD player has given way to an Echo, but you’ve probably not invested in a smartphone-controlled oven or DRM-enabled juicer. Look hard enough, however, and you can see more radical shifts in the appliances world on the horizon. IFA offered up a glimpse of what we might see — eventually.

Leaked Apple warranty guide shows what it will and won’t repair
If you try to take your iPhone apart, forget about Genius help.

It’s pretty tough for individuals and even third-party shops to repair Apple products, and it’s often hard to predict whether Apple itself will repair, decline to fix or replace a busted iPhone. However, Business Insider has unearthed a 22-page Visual/Mechanical Inspection Guide, or VMI, which shows what qualifies as an “eligible repair.” It’s reportedly used to conduct a physical damage inspection and assess cost, “basically half the training for iPhone techs,” an anonymous Genius told BI.

Just look at what they did for smartphones.
Fitness wearables will live or die by their apps

Wearables are back again. From Fitbit’s debut Ionic smartwatch to Samsung’s Gear Sport, these fitness-focused watches also run the companies’ own proprietary platforms, each offering their own app selection. For them to succeed, Samsung, Fitbit and Garmin, which also unveiled a new watch at IFA 2017, must now race to stock their stores with the best apps. That’s good news for smartwatches in general because the influx of wearable apps could do for smartwatches what it did for smartphones years ago.

The 17-year-old still needed his mom to sign off on the deal.Highest-paid ‘Overwatch’ pro lands $150,000 salary deal

eSports teams are now trying to outbid each other for the industry’s rising stars. One of these hotshots, North American Overwatch player Jay “sinatraa” Won, just signed a $150,000-per-year contract, reports ESPN. As a result, sinatraa will be earning $100,000 more than the league minimum, with revenue-sharing options available. He also happens to be 17 years young.

But wait, there’s more…

• Google reveals its most-searched how-to tips
• Samsung’s second dual-camera phone is much more affordable
• Behold, the cameras destroyed by the solar eclipse
• What’s on TV: ‘Destiny 2,’ ‘Bojack Horseman’ and ‘You’re the Worst’

Google taps Xiaomi for its most powerful Android One phone

You’d be forgiven for thinking Android One was dead and gone. Google’s initiative to bring stock Android to emerging nations through cheap, local handsets roared to life in 2014. By 2015, however, it was already being rebooted, with the tech giant promising to further lower prices. That same year it came to Africa, and is currently available in Japan, Turkey, and the Netherlands, among other regions. Now, Android One is getting fitted with upgraded hardware courtesy of Xiaomi. The Chinese manufacturer’s new Mi A1 handset was just announced in India, and will cost $234. That’s significantly more than the $50 Android One phones we’re used to. The switch to a higher price point indicates a shift in Google’s strategy — as it looks to capture a bigger slice of the world’s mobile-first market.

Of course, for that price you get a lot more bang for your buck. Overall, it seems the phone is a variant of the Xiaomi Mi 5X. It boasts the same specs as its older sibling, albeit with Xiaomi’s MIUI software coating swapped out for stock Android.

For the uninitiated, the Mi A1 offers a full-metal body and 5.5 inch, full HD display. Its 7.5mm thickness also makes it slimmer than flagship devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S8. It packs a dual camera setup like Xiaomi’s own high-end handset, the Mi 6. This includes both a 12MP telephoto and wide-angle lens. The front-facing selfie snapper, on the other hand, comes in at 5MP. Inside, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, 4GB RAM, and 64GB storage (expandable up to 128GB). In terms of looks, Xiaomi hasn’t done away with its bezels, like it did with the Mi Mix.

#MiA1 will be retailing at Rs. 14,999! #FlagshipDualCamera #XiaomiGlobalLaunch in India! pic.twitter.com/aDKSw5uzVd

— Mi (@xiaomi) September 5, 2017

Those specs wipe the floor with other Android One devices. And, of course, the phone will come packing Google’s stock OS — along with a bunch of pre-loaded software, including Google Assistant and Google Photos. Upgrades will also be more frequent (you can expect Android Oreo for the Mi A1 before the end of the year). The same goes for future versions of the OS, such as Android P.

Thanks to the release of Android Go (a special configuration of Android Oreo for low-end phones), it seems Google’s plans for emerging markets are expanding. But, as its latest partnership proves, that doesn’t mean Android One is being put to bed.

The Xiaomi Mi A1 will also be available in around 40 regions, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, Poland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Mexico. Although prices for those counties have not yet been announced. The device lands in India on 12 September.

Source: Google (blog)