IKEA Launches New Apple-Inspired Ad Campaign for Qi Charging Furniture

IKEA today has launched a new “tribute campaign” to Apple and the inductive wireless charging features of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X, playing off of popular Apple catchphrases like “This changes everything” and “Think different” (via DesignTAXI and The Verge).

Images via The Verge
The campaign is called “This Charges Everything,” and includes multiple other references to Apple’s advertising campaigns of years past, as well as a few jokes aimed at the internet’s wish for AirPower to be called “Apple Juice.”

The new IKEA ads are aimed at the RIGGAD LED lamp with Qi wireless charging, which runs for $69.99, and the VARV Table lamp with Qi wireless charging, which runs for $79.99. Other Apple references include: “One more thing… it’s also a lamp,” “Link different,” and a question asking Siri “what lamp should I buy?”

IKEA has quite a few pieces of furniture and home accessories with Qi pads, including bedside tables, floor lamps, and individual charging pads (single and triple) that you can place anywhere.

IKEA teamed up with advertising agency ACNE to build the campaign for “This Charges Everything.” According to Morten Kjær, Creative Director at IKEA Creative Hub, “IKEA has been very progressive with wireless charging, and we are thrilled that new iPhone owners finally can make use of one of the most powerful lamps we’ve ever made.”

The new campaign has been shared to time with today’s launch of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which are the first of Apple’s iPhones to ever support wireless charging through the Qi standard. When it launches in November, the iPhone X will also support the feature and will be able to charge through IKEA’s furniture. For a look at current and upcoming Qi-supported charging pads, check out our roundup here.

Related Roundups: iPhone 8, iPhone X
Tags: wireless charging, Qi, Ikea
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Buy Now)
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Here’s a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Apple’s Pre-Order ‘War Room’

BuzzFeed News has put together a video of how Apple prepares for an iPhone launch day around the world.

When iPhone 8, Apple Watch Series 3, and Apple TV 4K pre-orders began at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time last Friday, dozens of Apple engineers were assembled in a so-called “war room” to ensure the process went smoothly.

For around three hours, these engineers sat in front of at least 10 TVs forming a larger display, which appears to show the system status of pre-orders in launch countries. One engineer had a map of the world open on his iMac.

“Over half of the orders that night will come in through the Apple Store app,” said Apple’s retail chief Angela Ahrendts. “We turn the whole world on at once. I think you saw the map with everything lighting up all over the world.”

BuzzFeed reporter Nicole Nguyen then visited UPS’s Worldport shipping facility in Louisville, Kentucky, a major hub for Apple products.

Nguyen said the volume of Apple products is so large that UPS has to set aside time to sort just those deliveries. Apple’s launch day haul took up an entire large room, and the products later traveled along miles of conveyor belts.

UPS delivers some of the orders to Apple retail stores, while others arrive directly at customers’ doorsteps.

Apple retail stores usually attract long queues of customers on launch days, but the crowds have been smaller for today’s iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus launch. Many customers are likely waiting for the iPhone X, which launches November 3.

Tag: Angela Ahrendts
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How to Use the iPad’s New Flick Keyboard in iOS 11

The QuickType keyboard on the iPad has been updated in iOS 11 to introduce a super handy new Flick feature designed to let you enter numbers and symbols without the shift key.

When you upgrade to iOS 11 and take a look at the keyboard on the iPad, you’ll notice that all of the keys now display letters and number/symbols. A tap lets you enter the main letter on the keyboard, while a flick lets you enter the secondary symbol or number. Here’s how to use it:

Bring up the iPad’s keyboard, either in an app or using the search feature.
Tap on a key if you want to enter the standard letter or symbol.
To enter the “flick” symbol, touch a key and then pull downwards.
As you pull down, the symbol will replace the letter on the keyboard and it’ll be entered into the text field.
Typing symbols and numbers this way is simple, intuitive, and a lot faster than taking the time to use the shift key. With this keyboard, you can still access the special characters and accent marks by holding down on a key.

Turning Off the Flick Key Option

Open the Settings app.
Tap “General.”
Select the “Keyboard” option.
Toggle off “Enable Key Flicks.”

Compatibility

The new key flicking feature is available for almost all iPads that are able to run iOS 11, with the exception of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. With the larger iPad Pro model, you won’t be able to use key flicks. It is, however, available on all other iPad Pro models, the iPad Air and later, the iPad mini 2 and later, and the 5th generation iPad.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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The Chinese Room made a VR parable for Google Daydream

Indie developer The Chinese Room is releasing its first-ever virtual reality game. So Let Us Melt is a sci-fi parable about a machine lost in a paradise of its own making. Exclusively available on Google’s Daydream VR platform, the title sees the developer reuniting with Bafta award-winning composer Jessica Curry.

The game is split into several chapters, each around five to seven minutes in duration. The Chinese Room describes it as an “interactive animated film” with simple controls, making it an ideal entry point for those new to VR. Players assume the role of Custodian 98, a sentient machine that tends to a utopia known as Kenopsia: An environment built to accommodate cryogenically frozen humans upon their awakening. If the premise isn’t enough to get you excited, the gameplay (which looks packed with the atmospheric hallmarks associated with the studio’s influential back catalog) probably will.

The Chinese Room isn’t the first British indie developer to take a stab at VR. Google Daydream already boasts a sci-fi title, dubbed Earthshape, from Thomas Was Alone creator Mike Bithell. And, in 2015, Samsung’s Gear VR nabbed Land’s End from Ustwo (makers of the hit mobile game Monument Valley).

“This is a game about friendship, and parenthood, and what we leave behind, about being lost and getting found again,” said The Chinese Room director and co-founder, Dan Pinchbeck. “And, fundamentally, it’s about a little machine that goes on a big adventure, and we’re really proud of it.”

So Let Us Melt is out now on the Google Play Store priced at $9.49.

Source: The Chinese Room

Xbox One gets third-party camera support for game streaming

If you’re serious about video game streaming, you most likely have a PC with a decent capture card, microphone, camera and software like XSplit or OBS. It can be expensive and a little convoluted, which is why Sony and Microsoft are making their respective consoles better all-in-one streamers. On the Xbox side, Microsoft has added third-party USB camera support for “Insiders,” or beta testers, on its “Preview Alpha Ring.” It only works with Mixer, the company’s Twitch rival, and strictly for broadcasting video — so you’ll still need a headset or microphone to handle your vocal chords.

Mixer, formerly known as Beam, lags far behind Twitch in popularity. For most streamers, then, this new feature will be fairly insignificant. Still, it’s a welcome addition, and one that could persuade a few extra players to try Microsoft’s streaming platform. Should that happen, it could also persuade Twitch, YouTube, Facebook and others to patch in similar support. That would help Microsoft and — were the same features to be replicated on the PlayStation 4 — Sony to close the gap between console streaming and console-streaming through-a-PC setups. Professional webcams, after all, will always best Microsoft’s Kinect and Sony’s PlayStation Camera.

Starting today for Alpha Insiders: 3rd party USB camera support for @WatchMixer streaming on Xbox One. For more: https://t.co/EMZ5VFHYIC

— Larry Hryb 👶🏼 (@majornelson) September 21, 2017

If you’re part of the Mixer community, hold tight. USB webcam support is rolling out now to Insiders, and should be completed “in the coming weeks.” In a blog post, the team said it would need feedback from Xbox One owners before it’s comfortable offering the feature to everyone. “We won’t release this feature broadly until we’re confident in the experience, so the more webcams we can get testing on, the better,” Microsoft’s Josh Stein said. If you’re not an Insider already, you can always join by downloading the appropriate app from the Store on your Xbox One.

Via: Major Nelson (Twitter)

Source: Mixer

One Gamer Fund heard you liked video-game charities

It’s an exciting time to be Seven Siegel. Siegel is the executive director of Global Game Jam, the world’s largest 48-hour hackathon, but more important, he’s a former game developer with an MBA in nonprofit management. This makes him particularly suited to work in an emerging niche market blending philanthropy with cutting-edge technology: video game charities.

There are dozens of charities in the video-game industry, including heavy hitters like the Gamers Outreach Foundation, which puts gaming equipment in children’s hospitals around the nation; AbleGamers, which helps people with disabilities play their favorite titles; and Take This, which advocates for mental-health awareness in the gaming industry. And there are more community-led nonprofits popping up all the time.

“We’re seeing it on the individual level with Desert Bus for Hope, with the Mario marathon, with Awesome Games Done Quick,” Siegel says. “These are all charity events that aren’t big industry things. These are all people getting together with their love of games and making some good happen.”

There are so many charities in the video-game universe nowadays that Siegel decided it was time to round some up and see what kind of good they could do together. Yesterday, he launched One Gamer Fund, a collection of seven big gaming charities under one fundraising banner, a la United Way.

The participating charities — AbleGamers, Child’s Play, Games for Change, Global Game Jam, IGDA Foundation, Stack-Up and Take This — will receive half of all the money raised in Good Shepherd Entertainment’s big Steam sale this weekend, plus proceeds generated by the initiative’s collaboration with t-shirt retailer The Yetee. Twitch streamers are also getting in on the action, raising money for One Gamer Fund via the Tiltify fundraising tool today through Sunday, September 24th. And there’s always direct donations on the group’s website.

“It’s amazing,” Siegel says. “Gaming as a medium is very young compared to movies and then definitely compared to the all-time reigning champion, books. Games are really young. And people recognize movies can produce social change, and we can have these great documentaries that can change people’s minds, and books can pass on messages and we’ve seen that — and we’ve reached the point where, if you look at society as a whole, we’re at the early-adopter phase.”

Most of the money Siegel expects to raise this weekend will come from the Good Shepherd Steam sale, which features serious discounts on the publisher’s library of indie games, including RunGunJumpGun, Oh…Sir!! The Hollywood Roast, Hard West and Train Fever. Siegel says Good Shepherd has been an incredible asset as One Gamer Fund has come together. Good Shepherd’s chief creative officer, Devolver Digital co-founder Mike Wilson, even helped make the entire Steam collaboration happen — front-page placement and all.

One Gamer Fund was initially going to partner with another distribution service, but last month, that deal suddenly fell through. Siegel discovered he didn’t have a home for the Good Shepherd sale via an email, just before he boarded a flight to PAX West.

“I’m about to get on a plane for six hours — I’m going to Seattle for PAX — and I’m freaking out, I’m emailing Mike,” Siegel recalls. “And then I get on the plane, I get off the plane, I check my phone immediately, and Mike has already reached out to Steam, communicated with them, sold them on the idea and got it going in that area.”

That’s how Good Shepherd rolls, Siegel says: “We’re getting much more out of this than they are. So it’s really showing to me that Good Shepherd really cares and is willing to put their donated money where their mouth is.”

It isn’t pure goodwill driving Good Shepherd here, of course. Charity work can be a boon to any business, and while individuals in the industry have proved their desire to help underserved communities through the power of video games, publishers haven’t exactly jumped on the philanthropy train. There are a handful of initiatives, like Activision’s Call of Duty Endowment and Riot Games’ recent foray into nonprofit work, but compared with companies like Unilever or Nestle, the gaming industry falls short.

That’s silly, to Siegel — he regularly gives talks at conferences like PAX West about the corporate benefits of charity work. He says 85 percent of Americans will switch to a product if the company supports a cause they believe in, and that figure jumps to 90 percent if we’re just talking about millennials.

“My sneaky-sneak ulterior motive for this Steam sale is for people to see, other game companies to see, like, ‘Wow, Good Shepherd really succeeded with this Steam sale, even with giving away half their proceeds,’ Siegel says. “And they’ll follow suit and they’ll say, ‘We should do this, too, and we should hop on board. We should give more to charity and work with charities more and diversify the charities we work with so that we can really impact gaming on all levels.’”

As far as ulterior motives go, that’s a truly good one.

Walmart wants to deliver groceries straight to your fridge

Walmart is hoping you trust the company enough to let its delivery drivers into your home even if you’re not in. The retailer has teamed up with smart home accessories-maker August Home to test a new delivery method in Silicon Valley, which entails giving drivers access to your house so they can put groceries in your fridge. After making sure nobody’s home to answer the door, the driver will use the one-time smart lock passcode you pre-authorized for him to go in and put the items where you specified.

Even if you’re not physically around, you can supervise the process from start to finish. You’ll receive a notification when the driver arrives, and you can watch the delivery through the August app if you have the brand’s security cams installed. Walmart eCommerce Strategy & Business Operations VP Sloan Eddleston said the method presents a convenient option when you need it. If you’re short on time to prepare for a party or any other event, for instance, you can rush back home and start cooking instead of having to go to grocery first.

Walmart aims to offer the option to more customers in the future, but it’ll probably be impossible to use the same method everywhere and every time. A lot of people don’t have smart locks and smart security cams, and even those who do might not be comfortable letting random delivery personnel inside. Eddleston says they can tweak the method and do whatever works best for customers, such as delivering groceries to their garage instead of inside their house.

Source: Walmart

Apple Celebrates Launch of iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and Apple Watch Series 3

As it traditionally does on product launch days, Apple today has celebrated the launch of the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and Apple Watch Series 3 by sharing a few images of customers around the world buying and trying out the devices for the first time.

The new iPhone and Apple Watch models went on sale (or will soon go on sale) at 8 a.m. local time around the world today, and Apple posted pictures of customers purchasing the devices at Apple Stores in London, Singapore, Taipei, and Sydney.

Apple Orchard Road, Singapore
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are Apple’s latest smartphones, with a glass back design, inductive wireless charging, Retina HD displays, faster A11 Bionic chips, and advanced augmented reality capabilities.

Although the new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus launched first in countries like New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and China, a Reuters report last night referenced “a bleak turnout” for the smartphones. Fewer than 30 people were said to have lined up outside of the Sydney Apple Store on George Street, in comparison to the hundreds who typically show up for an iPhone launch. Most Apple customers are likely waiting for the iPhone X, coming November 3.

Apple Taipei 101
Since the devices launched in other countries, the first sets of unboxing, speed test, and durability videos have been posted online. The iPhone 8 is said to be as resistant to scratches as the iPhone 7, but it emerged from a bend test with higher marks than the previous generation iPhone models.

Apple Regent Street, London
For the Apple Watch Series 3 Apple has made improvements to the wearable’s health and fitness metrics, improving heart rate sensing and enhancing a few user interface elements in watchOS 4 to make it easier to sync to gym equipment and be warned of an elevated heart rate. Series 3 models also include faster dual-core processors and LTE connections in cellular models, letting users stream Apple Music, send texts, and more without needing their iPhone nearby.

Apple Sydney
Apple also launched the Apple TV 4K today, which introduces the ability to view 4K HDR content on Apple’s set-top box. The company confirmed yesterday that the new 4K content on iTunes is limited to streaming only, and can’t be downloaded directly to the Apple TV to view offline, so only HD quality versions of films and below can be downloaded.

For more information on all of the new Apple products launching today, be sure to check out our roundups for each of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, Apple Watch Series 3, and fifth-generation Apple TV 4K.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4, iPhone 8
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now), iPhone (Buy Now)
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T-Mobile and Sprint ‘Close’ to Finalizing Merger Deal, John Legere Said to Lead Combined Company

T-Mobile and Sprint are said to be “close to agreeing” to terms regarding a deal that would merge the third and fourth largest United States wireless carriers together. People close to the deal told Reuters that Sprint parent company SoftBank would own 40 to 50 percent of the combined company, while T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom will gain the majority stake.

The terms of the deal are expected to be finalized by the end of October, “though talks may still fall through,” the two sources said. Previously, U.S. antitrust officials told Sprint that a merger with another wireless carrier would face intense scrutiny because having four major carriers in the U.S. was important to maintaining a competitive market. During those talks a few years ago the situation of the companies was reversed — since T-Mobile had yet to gain in popularity — with Sprint seeking to acquire T-Mobile for more than $20 billion.

Now, those concerns are said to come into play again with regulatory scrutiny expected to face any deal between Sprint and T-Mobile “over concerns that the U.S. wireless market is becoming too concentrated.”

T-Mobile US Inc is close to agreeing tentative terms on a deal to merge with peer Sprint Corp, people familiar with the matter said, a major breakthrough in efforts to merge the third and fourth largest U.S. wireless carriers.

Once terms are finalized, due diligence by the two companies will follow and a deal is expected by the end of October, though talks may still fall through, the sources said.

If the merger happens, the resulting company would have revenues topping $70 billion and more than 130 million subscribers, falling in line behind the two other major U.S. carriers — Verizon and AT&T — in terms of subscribers.

The combined company would be led by T-Mobile CEO John Legere, according to the sources, thanks to T-Mobile outperforming Sprint under his leadership. The new company would also undertake a “massive” effort to cut costs early on.

Tags: Sprint, T-Mobile
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DxO Labs Says iPhone 8 Plus Has Best Smartphone Camera They’ve Ever Tested

DxO Labs has declared the iPhone 8 Plus has the best smartphone camera it has ever tested in a new in-depth review.

iPhone 8 Plus set a new record with an overall DxOMark Mobile score of 94, two points higher than its smaller iPhone 8 sibling. iPhone 8 Plus also topped the Google Pixel and HTC U11, which both scored 90 points, as well as last year’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus which scored 88 and 85 points respectively.

DxO said iPhone 8 models do a better job of capturing HDR scenes. In the comparison below, it found the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus offer better detail preservation and overall exposure than the iPhone 7 Plus. The performance matches that of the Google Pixel, which was released nearly one year ago.

In low light, DxO said the iPhone 8 Plus camera’s exposures are generally accurate, with some underexposure in very low light.

iPhone 8 Plus
DxO said the iPhone 8 Plus is the highest-performing smartphone camera it tested in relation to the bokeh effect, which makes the subject in the foreground sharp while creating an out-of-focus blur in the background.

iPhone 8 Plus
Google Pixel
DxO said the iPhone 8 Plus improves slightly over the iPhone 8 in its color performance by completely avoiding visible color shading, even in low light.

DxO said, overall, the iPhone 8 Plus is an “excellent choice” for the needs of “nearly every smartphone photographer.”

It features outstanding image quality, zoom for those needing to get closer to their subjects, and an industry-leading Portrait mode for artistic efforts. It is at the top of our scoring charts in nearly every category — and in particular, its advanced software allows it to do an amazing job of capturing high-dynamic range scenes and images in which it can recognize faces.

DxO says it has analyzed the image and video quality of over 10,000 cameras, lenses, and mobile phones, and its tests are generally respected within the industry. The company also sells some consumer-facing products like the DxO ONE camera, which can be plugged into an iPhone’s Lightning connector.

The full review is a worthwhile read for additional photos and analysis of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus cameras.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
Tag: DxOMark
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone (Buy Now)
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