Best microSD Cards For Samsung Galaxy Note 8

What’s the best microSD card to use with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8?

2017 is Samsung’s year to make up for the fiasco surrounding last year’s Note 7 —and the Galaxy Note 8 sure seems ready to impress!

If the 64GB of base internal storage on the Note 8 isn’t going to cut it (and you missed out on the pre-order deals that include a 128GB microSD card), you’ll want to invest in a quality microSD card and add up to 256GB of additional storage. That means you’ll have more space for all your music, 4K videos, photos, and whatever else you want to store

• Samsung MicroSD EVO+ 256GB
• SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSDXC card
• SanDisk Extreme PLUS 64GB microSDXC
• Kingston Digital 64GB microSDXC

Samsung MicroSD EVO+ 256GB

Samsung is offering a 128GB microSD card if you pre-order before September 14 — but what if you want more? You can get that 128GB card for $60 or go all out with the 256GB card for $150. Both cards feature read speeds up to 95MB/s and write speeds up to 90MB/s, meaning they will be able to handle whatever you throw at it.

Whichever you go with, you can be sure that it’ll work perfectly with your Note 8 and provide you all the storage space you desire so you never have to delete photos and videos.

See at Amazon

SanDisk Ultra 200GB microSDXC Card

If you’re serious about maximizing your storage, you definitely want to consider this 200GB microSDXC card from SanDisk. With write speeds up to 90MB/s, you’ll be able to record in HD or 4K to your heart’s content. And you’ll still have room to spare for all your movies, music and other data. Amazon regularly has this one on sale for under $80, so this is your best value for sure.

See at Amazon

SanDisk Extreme PLUS 64GB microSDXC

Looking to double your available storage without breaking the bank? This 64GB card from SanDisk is UHS speed class 3, with write speeds up to 50MB/s — more than enough to handle 4K video. With transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s, you’re able to add your favorite music and media in a flash with the included SD card adapter. This card is designed to withstand anything life throws your way — including X-rays — and comes with a lifetime limited warranty. Get yours for $33 from Amazon.

See at Amazon

Kingston Digital 64GB microSDXC Card

This Class 10, UHS-I microSDXC card from Kingston features a 64GB capacity and advertises a read speed of 90MB/s and write speed of 45MB/s. Included is an SD adapter which the microSDXC card slides into when using on a computer or other standard SD device. The Kingston Digital 64GB microSDXC card is currently available for $27, with a 128GB card available for just $55.

See at Amazon

Will you be expanding your Note 8 with a microSD card?

If you’re considering on upgrading your Note 8’s storage, let us know in the comments how much space you think you’ll need, and how you plan on using that extra storage.

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

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Best Buy

Leaked Apple warranty guide shows what it will and won’t repair

It’s pretty tough for individuals and even third-party shops to repair Apple products, and 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, that 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.

Image obtained by Business Insider

Most of the guidance is common-sense, but some things stand out. If a tech spots a dead pixel, for instance, he’s not obligated to fix it unless the customer asks — an arguably shady practice. Apple also has a detailed procedure to check for water or liquid damage, something that’s not very surprising if you own an model prior to the water-resistant iPhone 7 or 7 Plus.

It’s also interesting that Apple will repair, under warranty, a single hairline crack to the front glass, provided that it’s not “accompanied by enclosure damage in the proximity of the crack,” the VMI states. Apple will fix screen damage beyond that out of warranty for a $129 or $149 fee, depending on the model, and AppleCare covers it for a fixed $29 charge.

On the other hand, Apple will shun if you have a bad accident or try to repair the device yourself. In those cases, it’s looking for “intentional tampering or damage,” “disassembled unit or missing parts,” non-Apple batteries and “catastrophic damage.”

Apple has been recalcitrant in the past to even acknowledge product problems, but is arguably improving in that area. It might have changed its tune after the infamous iPhone 6 “touch disease,” dented its quality-control reputation and resulted in lawsuits. In recent months, Apple quietly extended the warranty on first-gen Watch models, for instance, and has been replacing iPad 4s with newer iPad Air 2 models.

As BI points out, the VMI is just a guide, and Apple techs will occasionally make exceptions. “There are always those one-off issues that the phone is technically not covered under warranty but we swap the phone anyway under warranty,” one said.

Source: Business Insider

Apple’s AirPods ‘Dominating’ Emerging Wireless Earbuds Market, Say Analysts

Apple’s AirPods have dominated the “truly wireless” earphones market in the U.S. since launching in December, according to new market research conducted by NPD Group. The industry analyst’s Retail Tracking Service found that AirPods accounted for 85 percent of over 900,000 wireless earbuds sold since the start of the year.

Apple’s success in the emerging market was put down to brand resonance, disruptive pricing, and excitement over the AirPods’ W1 chip, which significantly improves the Bluetooth connection and facilitates transfers between different devices. “With a use case centering on frictionless access to Siri and other tasks initiated by voice, AirPods really act as an extension of the iPhone,” said NPD executive director Ben Arnold, calling Apple’s wireless earbuds “a computing device for the ear”.

Apple’s early domination of the category will continue to challenge competing brands entering the totally wireless market. New entrants will have to provide some differentiation in features, sound quality, or associated services and applications in order to stand out. Consumer reception of wireless earbuds is still forming, even as their use case continues to evolve. As Alexa skills and other voice-first content diversifies, headphones, including totally wireless earbuds, are the leading candidate to be the next piece of hardware to drive digital assistant adoption.

Standout competing brands cited by NPD Group included Samsung’s “headphones-slash-fitness tracker”, IconX, which features an optical heart rate tracker and 4GB of memory for music storage, and The Dash from Bragi, featuring an ARM Cortex M4 CPU, as well as 27 sensors designed to detect movement and voice input.

“For these products, audio quality remains important, but takes a backseat to new capabilities added on top of the sound experience,” said Arnold. “With this in mind, it’s not hard to imagine a collection of mobile apps optimized for a voice interface similar to the growing ecosystem of Alexa skills.”

Apple’s Siri is set to gain enhancements with the launch of iOS 11, which could make the company’s AirPods an even more attractive proposition going into the holiday season. For the first time, the virtual assistant will sync what it learns about a user across their devices, and will also be able to perform translations from English to five languages, including Chinese and French.

Apple recently improved its shipping estimates from six weeks down to two to three weeks in many countries, after months of struggling to cater to demand. During Apple’s third quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said AirPods capacity had been bumped up and that the company was “working very hard” to get AirPods to customers as quickly as possible.

Tag: AirPods
Discuss this article in our forums

Behold the cameras destroyed by the solar eclipse

The eclipse came and went amidst a media hullabaloo. Much of the coverage focussed on where and how you could watch the event. And, almost every report carried a word of warning: Protect your eyes. Trump didn’t listen, but most others did. Photography enthusiasts were also probably aware of the fact that the eclipse can also put cameras at risk. After all, the last thing you want is to damage your expensive piece of kit. Well, as it turns out, some people weren’t in the know. As leading camera rental company Lensrentals points out, a bunch of its pricey snappers were damaged by the event. And, it’s got pictures to prove it. Another word of warning: Look away now if you don’t like seeing broken camera equipment.

The photos include one of a Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 lens that had its aperture blades partially melted by the sun during the eclipse. Another image shows a Canon 7D Mark II, which had both its shutter and sensor burned by the heat. The album of horrors also includes pics of a melted mirror on a Nikon D500, and a $11,500 Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II lens — again taking damage to its aperture blades.

Although the majority of the gear came back unscathed, it seems the owners of these rentals didn’t heed the company’s advice. Lensrentals had repeatedly warned customers to attach a solar filter to the end of lenses to protect the lens elements and camera sensor.

“This is just a few of the pieces of gear we’ve gotten back that have shown damage from the eclipse,” wrote Lensrentals. “[They] will hopefully serve as a warning to those who are already prepping for the next eclipse in 2024.”

Source: Lensrentals

Daimler and Via to launch ride-sharing shuttle service in Europe

Minivans, while not the most exciting form of transportation, could have a role to play in society’s shift away from car ownership. Daimler, the company behind Mercedes-Benz, is teaming up with Via to launch a new ride-sharing service across Europe. Like UberPool, it will be an on-demand system that allows passengers to set their own pick-up points and destinations through a smartphone app. Mercedes-Benz will supply the minivans, while Via — which already runs a similar service in New York City, Chicago and Washington DC — manages the software. It’s basically a bus service, but with dynamic routes and no predetermined stops.

The new transport system will launch in London later this year. The pair then hope to license the underlying technology to public transport operators in Europe. It’s not clear if that offering will include a fleet of Mercedes-Benz vans, or whether they expect operators to supply their own vehicles. Regardless, the two companies believe Via’s “On-Demand Shuttle Operating System” will allow cities to “improve mobility while reducing congestion, and without incurring any additional infrastructure costs.” Daimler is so confident that it’s investing $50 million in the joint venture.

Via is already experimenting in Europe. In March, the company partnered with UK bus operator Arriva on “ArrivaClick,” a ride-sharing service in Sittingbourne. The service still seems to be running, however the area is too small to pose any real threat to Uber and city-focused services such as Gett, Kabbee and the Daimler-backed MyTaxi. In London, Daimler and Via will also be up against Citymapper, the navigation app-turned bus operator. Following a trial in May, the company has decided to launch a weekend bus service. Unlike Via and UberPool, however, this will be a traditional bus experience with a clearly defined route and stops.

Source: Daimler

We want to live in the space colonies NASA engineers dreamed up in 1975

At the peak of the Space Race, both the Russian and the United States space agencies were developing plans to establish permanent space colonies in orbit around our planet and beyond. In fact, in 1975, NASA’s Ames Research Center gathered 19 professors at Stanford University for 10 weeks with intention of not only designing what a human space colony would look like, but also figuring out how these systems might function as self-sufficient, long-term human outposts. The team of researchers was given a theoretical budget of roughly $35 billion dollars (or about $200 billion in 2017 when adjusted for inflation) to create these apparatuses.

While these massive structures may seem straight out of vintage pulp fiction, these colonies were well within our technical and engineering capabilities 40 years ago, and it’s even been argued that a series of such permanent colonies could be readily constructed for less than what the U.S. spends annually on its military.

The Ames Research Center studies concluded with three main design concepts: The Bernal sphere, the O’Neill cylinder, and the Stanford torus. While each design has its own unique structural shape, they all rotate to create a centrifugal force to induce gravity for inhabitants inside. Once constructed in-situ, these colonies would revolve around the Earth in the same orbit as the moon in a sliver of space between the Earth and moon known as the Lagrangian libration point.

At the time of these proposals, NASA had just launched the Pioneer 10 probe carrying a “interstellar greeting card” to grant salutations to any extraterrestrial life too haphazardly drifting through the cosmos. It wasn’t so long ago that the future of extended manned space exploration and colonization never seemed more feasible. In just 14 years mankind went from hurling the most rudimentary of satellites into orbit to quite literally teeing off on the moon using a makeshift six-iron — a true testament to the ingenuity and boundless curiosity of our species.

Unfortunately, more than 40 years have passed since this conference and unfortunately we are still without a drifting Logan’s Run-esque colony glinting in orbit or even the most primitive of terraformed bubbles. Perhaps this will change in the near future — especially if Elon Musk has his way. Whether we ever actually leave these space rock and become a multi-planetary species is anyone’s guess. Only time will tell…

Nokia 6 vs. Moto G5 Plus: Back to the basics

HMD Global has a compelling phone in the Nokia 6, but Motorola has been doing this for a lot longer.

Ten years ago, Nokia was on a high — the N95 launched to critical acclaim, and the company could do no wrong. Nokia had a commanding lead in the mobile space with a market share of 40%, selling over 130 million phones in just the last quarter of 2007 alone.

The exact opposite scenario was playing out at Motorola. The company was in second place behind Nokia in 2006 on the back of the first-generation RAZR, which turned out to be massive hit. The momentum didn’t last long, however, as the RAZR was overtaken by newer and more innovative devices from the likes of Nokia and Research In Motion. The downturn led to Motorola losing nearly half of its market share in just under the course of a year, leading to the company splitting into two halves and an eventual sale to Google.

Nokia also suffered a similar fate a few years after that, with the Finnish company uncharacteristically late in recognizing the potential of the smartphone. Exclusivity with Windows Phone didn’t help matters much, and Nokia ultimately had to sell off its devices unit to Microsoft in 2013. The company is back, albeit in a new avatar. Nokia is licensing its brand name to HMD Global, the Finnish company made up of ex-Nokia staffers. Thankfully, Nokia is siding with Android this time around.

Following its acquisition by Google and subsequent sale to Lenovo, Motorola managed to carved out a niche for itself in the handset segment by focusing on a clean software experience coupled with fast updates.

Nokia is taking a similar approach — the company is focusing on the budget segment, combining its expertise in industrial design with an uncluttered software experience to differentiate its phones from the rest of the pack. With the Moto G5 Plus leading that pack, it’s time to see if the Nokia 6 has what it takes to hold its own in this segment.

Hardware

The Nokia 6 is one of the best-looking budget phones you can buy today. The design aesthetic is classic Nokia — solid aluminum unibody construction, chamfered sides, and a matte finish at the back. The antenna lines are tucked away at the top and bottom, and if you’re using the matte black edition, you’ll barely notice them. The phone certainly looks premium, and the build quality is right up there with the best phones in the market.

Motorola finally switched to a metal back for its budget phones with the G5 Plus, but the phone has plastic inserts at the top and bottom for the antenna bands, and the sides are also made out of plastic albeit with a metallic feel. The design is a significant improvement over the G4 Plus, but when seen next to the Nokia 6, the Moto G5 Plus fails to impress.

There are pros and cons to both phones on the design front. While the Nokia 6 is the better-looking device, it is quite large for a 5.5-inch phone. With dimensions of 154 x 75.8 x 7.8mm, the Nokia 6 is about the same size as the Pixel XL, but the sharp edges make it uncomfortable to hold the phone. The fingerprint sensor is also annoying, as the surface area is too small.

Featuring a 5.2-inch 1080p display, the G5 Plus is much more manageable, and Motorola thankfully moved away from the ugly square fingerprint sensor from last year to a larger sensor at the front. However, the G5 Plus has a significant camera hump at the back. The Nokia 6 also has a slight hump, but it’s nowhere near as noticeable as the G5 Plus.

The Nokia 6 feels like a first-generation product in a few areas. The power and volume buttons are too close together, and you’ll inevitably end up hitting the volume down key when you’re trying to switch on the screen. Nokia could have solved that particular problem by making the power button textured, like Motorola did with the G5 Plus, but that isn’t the case.

Both phones feature microUSB charging ports, and it looks like we’ll have to wait one more generation to see Nokia and Motorola roll out budget devices with USB-C.

The G5 Plus is sold in a confusing array of configurations around the world. In the U.S., the phone is available with 2GB of RAM and 32GB storage for $229, and with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage for $299. In India, the phone comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB storage for ₹14,999, which comes out to the equivalent of $235.

The Nokia 6 doesn’t have this problem — you’ll get one variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB storage throughout the world. Nokia will roll out a model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage, but that isn’t available just yet. When it comes to the pricing, the Nokia 6 costs $229 in the U.S. and ₹14,999 in India — same as the G5 Plus.

Snapdragon 625 would have made the Nokia 6 a much more enticing phone.

When it comes to the internal hardware, the main difference between the Nokia 6 and the G5 Plus is the chipset. The Nokia 6 is powered by the Snapdragon 430, whereas the G5 Plus is running the Snapdragon 625, a staple in this segment. Nokia’s decision to use an older processor affects the Nokia 6 when it comes to the overall performance. There is a noticeable lag in everyday usage, even when doing routine tasks like browsing and switching between apps.

The Snapdragon 430 is just not powerful enough to drive the 1080p panel, and that’s immediately noticeable when you start using the phone. The Snapdragon 625 would have made the device much better, seeing as how the G5 Plus does not have any performance issues.

Both devices have decent 1080p LCD panels, but the one on the G5 Plus gets brighter under harsh sunlight. Motorola also lets you tweak the color balance of the display, and Moto Display is one of the best ways to view incoming notifications without turning on the screen.

Battery life

The Nokia 6 and Moto G5 Plus have the same battery capacity at 3000mAh, but there’s one key difference between the two — Nokia doesn’t offer any fast charging options, and Motorola’s TurboPower is one of the best fast charging standards out there. As a result, the Nokia 6 takes an agonizing two and a half hours to fully charge. The G5 Plus, on the other hand, takes just over an hour and a half.

I’m still evaluating the battery life on the Nokia 6, but it’s unlikely you’ll run out of juice in the middle of the day. The phone has excellent standby time as well. As for the G5 Plus, you’ll easily get a day’s worth out of the device, even under heavy usage.

Software

You don’t see Motorola getting outmatched in the software department very often, but the Nokia 6 manages to do just that. I received the August security update immediately after setting up the device, and it looks like Nokia will follow through on its promise to deliver monthly security updates. That is particularly noteworthy when you consider that the Nokia 6 is targeted at the budget segment. By contrast, the Moto G5 Plus is still on the March security patch.

The Nokia 6 is also running a newer version of Android — Android 7.1.1 Nougat — versus Android 7.0 Nougat on the G5 Plus. Aside from adding a blue accents, Nokia didn’t alter the overall user interface from stock Android. You get a Pixel-style drawer to access your apps, the standard two-shade notification pane with customizable quick toggles, and a card-style layout for the recents menu.

The Nokia 6 has a few pre-installed apps in India — Amazon, Prime Video, and Kindle — and you’ll be able to sign in to your Amazon account when setting up the phone. Nokia’s clean approach to software and its ability to deliver updates gives it a distinct edge in this category, and hopefully the company will continue to issue security and platform updates regularly.

Nokia is doing a magnificent job of rolling out timely software updates.

Motorola has done well to differentiate its software experience from other manufacturers that are also offering an unadulterated version of Android. The user interface itself is unchanged, but you have the option to control various facets of the phone through gestures with Moto Actions. You can put the G5 Plus face-down on a surface to automatically silence notifications and incoming calls, chop twice to toggle the flashlight, do a double twist motion to launch the camera, and so on.

There’s also a gesture to shrink the size of the screen if you’re looking to make the interface even more conducive to one-handed usage, and One Button Nav lets you swipe on the home button to go back or access the recents pane. Motorola walks you through the feature while enabling it, and it definitely makes it easier to use the phone one-handed. Then there are the small things — like the battery indicator that encircles the clock widget.

Nokia also has gestures for a few actions, but they’re tucked away in the settings. You can turn the device over to reject a call, and mute the ringer when you pick up the phone to take a call. You’ll also be able to open the camera by pressing the power button twice.

Camera

Motorola had a long history of rolling out mediocre cameras in its phones, but the brand turned things around magnificently with the G5 Plus. Simply put, the G5 Plus has the best camera in the budget segment. As for the Nokia 6, if the overall performance is its primary drawback, the camera comes in a close second.

The Nokia 6 has a 16MP imaging sensor with 1.0-micron pixels and f/2.0 aperture. The G5 Plus, meanwhile, has a 12MP sensor with 1.4-micron pixels and f/1.7 aperture. The camera app on the Nokia 6 is sparse, offering toggles for flash, timer, HDR, and Panorama modes. There’s also a Beautify setting that removes blemishes, and you can switch between the front or rear cameras or start recording a video from the main interface.

Motorola’s camera app is even more utilitarian, but you can now enable a dedicated shutter button if you’re not a fan of the touch-to-shoot implementation.

Nokia 6 on the left (top if you’re seeing this on a phone), Moto G5 Plus on the right (bottom).

The Nokia 6 takes its time to dial in on a subject, and if you set HDR to auto, there is a delay from the moment you take an image to it showing up in your gallery. Photos taken from the phone come out decent in daylight conditions, but the G5 Plus pulls in much more detail and contrast — both in daytime and low-light shots.

Which should you buy? Moto G5 Plus

The Nokia 6 has a much better design, and the phone will receive faster updates. Although the phone is taller than most 5.5-inch devices in this segment, its weight is properly balanced, and the build quality is top-notch.

However, the main drawback with the Nokia 6 is the overall performance — you’re going to encounter lag in everyday usage with this phone. Nokia would have fared much better with either a 720p panel or by switching to the Snapdragon 625, which is standard in this segment. Furthermore, the camera in its current state does not come close to what you get with the G5 Plus.

Motorola’s isn’t as quick as it used to be at rolling out updates, but you still get a clean software experience that’s devoid of any bloatware. Also, the G5 Plus has the same 3000mAh battery as the Nokia 6, but TurboPower makes a huge difference if you’re looking to top up the phone’s battery in the middle of the day.

The Nokia 6 is a valiant first effort from the storied Finnish manufacturer on Android, but as an overall package, the G5 Plus offers more for your money.

See at Amazon

See at Amazon India

Where is YouTube TV available?

YouTube TV has region specific programming, here’s how to see if you can access it.

YouTube TV is the newest method of cutting the cord to your cable provider, while still being able to watch the shows you’ve gotten hooked on over the years. While anyone can get a subscription to YouTube TV, you’ll need to be in a covered market in order to watch local programs like the news.

We’ve got the details on where you need to be, to access everything YouTube TV has to offer.

What countries can access YouTube TV?

For the time being, only users in the U.S. will be able to take advantage of YouTube TV. This is probably because it won’t be immediately available to all parts of the US, and Google wants to get it rolled out completely before looking to other countries. If it does roll out to other countries it’s going to be a while before we hear about it.

What are the currently covered areas for YouTube TV?

YouTube TV delivers both local, and national programming, and that’s where things get tricky. Right now, YouTube TV is available in over 30 different Metropolitan markets and the local programming therein. However, if you don’t live in one of these markets you can still sign up for YouTube TV to access national programming and recorded programs.

• Atlanta
• Baltimore
• Boston
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Cincinnati
• Cleveland
• Columbus
• Dallas-Fort Worth
• Denver
• Detroit
• Greensboro
• Harrisburg
• Hartford
• Houston
• Jacksonville
• Kansas
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• Louisville
• Memphis
• Miami-Fort Lauderdale
• Minneapolis-Saint Paul
• Nashville
• New York City
• Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne
• Philadelphia
• Phoenix
• Pittsburgh
• Salt Lake City
• San Antonio
• San Diego
• San Francisco Bay Area
• Seattle
• St. Louis
• Tampa
• Washington DC
• West Palm Beach

Will it be expanding?

Yes, Google initially rolled out YouTube TV to 10 major metropolitan markets. Since then it’s already expanded into more than 40 markets, with more room to grow. Considering in just a few months it has more than tripled the markets it’s available in, it’s a solid bet to continue to see this kind of growth.

This means that even if you aren’t in a city with YouTube TV right now, that may change sooner than you think.

Questions?

Do you still have questions about whether you can watch YouTube TV? Are you in a covered area? Let us know about it in the comments below!

The Morning After: Monday, September 4th 2017

Morning to you all. We’re still diving deep into Europe’s biggest tech show: the weekend included pianos that can talk with Alexa, and testing out both LG and Nokia’s newest phones’ photography — including selfies.

Watch out, Hollywood.
The LG V30 is better for video recording than photography

LG’s new V30, unveiled at IFA 2017, is the first smartphone to offer a glass lens with a f/1.6 aperture, and has some rather cool video-recording tools that should excite aspiring Spielbergs. To see if it really lives up to the sales promises, Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low took the V30 on a trigger-happy tour of Berlin’s Tier Garden, and found it a versatile, powerful camera. In fact, its filmmaking features are truly standout.

It doesn’t do justice to the label’s imaging heritage.
Nokia 8’s dual-camera is good, but rival phones offer more

Well, the Nokia 8 broke cover before IFA 2017, but it’s one of several phones vying for your cash ahead of a certain company’s next phone. It’s the most accomplished Android phone Nokia has made, but with a tradition of pushing mobile imaging forward, how does the 8 stack up against the mighty cameraphone competition in 2017? We took an early device around Berlin to see how it fared.

The WW8800M with QuickDrive promises to finish your load in 39 minutes.
Samsung’s AI-powered washer is just trying to save you time

Samsung’s annual washing-machine innovation is the WW8800M washer, sporting QuickDrive technology, which promises to complete a full load of laundry in just 39 minutes — typically, it’s about 70. Samsung is betting heavily on the artificial-intelligence powers of its WW8800M to make laundry day less of a chore. The washing machine pairs with an app dubbed Q-rator, which offers modes including Laundry Planner, Laundry Recipe and HomeCard Wizard. The app’s first two features let you do things like pick your desired cycle and adjust the temperature and number of spins.

But wait, there’s more…

• Bosch’s stain scanner knows what you spilled on your shirt last night
• Here are all the big launches from IFA 2017
• Nintendo and Western Digital bring branded SD cards to Switch

EE’s new broadband router is a 4G MiFi for the home

EE and parent company BT both offer fixed-line broadband services already, but today EE is launching a new router that uses 4G to keep the whole household connected. The “4GEE Home Router” is basically a bigger, beefier MiFi that needs no formal installation. Just plug it into a power outlet, connect your phones, tablets and PCs to it via WiFi — up to 32 devices are supported — and enjoy download speeds of up to 90 Mbps (actual speeds will vary, of course).

The 4G router isn’t particularly cheap to run, especially if you’re an internet addict that’s forever streaming and downloading. It’s available on 18-month contracts starting at £25 per month for a 10GB usage cap, and topping out at £100 each month for 200GB of data. Should you hit your monthly cap, add-ons are available for £10 for 5GB, £15 for 10GB and £20 for 20GB.

There’s also a pay-as-you-go option for lighter users. You can buy the router outright for £130 including 10GB of pre-paid data, but add-ons thereafter are a fiver more expensive than they are for contract customers (£15 for 5GB and so on). Running all your devices on 4G data might not be very economical, but EE’s new router is pitched primarily at those in rural areas where fast fixed-line broadband infrastructure is lacking.

The 4G router is basically EE’s version of Relish, an ISP that first launched a 4G home broadband service back in 2014. Where available, Relish offers unlimited data (bound by a vague acceptable use policy, mind) through its 4G router for £20 per month. A rolling monthly contract option is also available for £22 per month and a £50 upfront payment.

Despite its simple, flexible and cheap pricing model — especially when measured against EE’s 18-month contract options — Relish never really took off. In fact, at last count, UK Broadband (the company behind the Relish service) only had 15,000 customers. Three agreed to buy UK Broadband for £250 million this past June, but not for its customers. Instead, it was spectrum the carrier was after.

Source: EE