A simple guide on how to pair an Apple Watch with your iPhone

Now that you have your shiny new Apple Watch you’re probably puzzled by how to set it up. Apple has made this process pretty simple. Although this isn’t a guide on how to use it, we will walk you through the initial steps of setting up your new Apple Watch. You may also be wondering what to do if you already have an Apple Watch, but you need to set it up with a new iPhone. Don’t worry — we have you covered. Let’s take a look at how to pair an Apple Watch.

Once you have your Apple Watch all set, we encourage you to read through our guides covering 30 essential Apple Watch tips, the best Apple Watch faces, and the best Apple Watch apps.

How to pair an Apple Watch

Step 1: Press and hold the large side button under the crown until you see the Apple Logo. Wait a few minutes.

Step 2: Your Apple Watch will ask you to choose a language.

Step 3: You will see a screen on your Apple Watch that tells you to open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone to start pairing.

Step 4: Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and choose Start Pairing.

Step 5: You will see a screen on your iPhone that tells you to hold the Apple Watch up to the camera and align it with the viewfinder. Scan the spinning graphic on your Apple Watch with the iPhone.

Step 6: When the pairing process finishes tap Set Up Apple Watch.

*Note: If you are pairing your current Apple Watch to a new iPhone, and when you set up the new iPhone you chose to restore from a backup, then your new iPhone has a backup of your Apple Watch. You’ll see a screen here that says Setup as New Apple Watch or Restore from Backup. Choose Restore from Backup and skip to step 8.

Step 7: Select which wrist you are going to use to wear your watch.

Step 8: Agree to the terms and conditions.

Step 9: Login with your Apple ID.

Step 10: Follow the screens to enable location services, Siri, and whether you want to share diagnostic information with Apple.

Step 11: It will ask you to create a passcode. You can skip this step, but if you use Apple Pay, you will need to create one.

Step 12: Choose if you want to install all apps or choose which ones later. If you have a lot of compatible Apple Watch apps installed on your iPhone, this step may make the syncing process longer, so it is up to you if you want to install them all or choose which ones you want at a later time.

*Note: If you are restoring the Apple Watch from a backup, then you will not see the Install Available Apps screen.

Step 13:  Your Apple Watch will start to sync at this point. Depending on how much data you have this process may take a while, so sit back and relax. Keep your Apple Watch and iPhone close together during syncing.

The best way to manage your Apple Watch

You can press down on the different faces on the Apple Watch and tweak the settings, but the best way to start setting up all your faces, and the different options, is to use the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Everything you do here will automatically sync with your Watch in real time.

For example, if you want to start setting up your faces, you can go to Face Gallery. You can then start to edit and add as many faces as you want. All other settings you will find under My Watch.

Now that you know how to pair and set up your Apple Watch, you can read through our guide on how to back up your Apple Watch to make sure you don’t have to set it up from scratch in the future.

What is Linux? It’s a free operating system you may already use without knowing

Chances are, if you’re browsing for a new desktop or laptop, it will come packed with the latest version of Windows. Heck, you may even be reading this article using a Windows-based PC. Of course, if you’re a dedicated Apple customer, you’re likely using a PC based on MacOS. They’re the two main operating systems dominating the desktop and laptop markets today.

But you’ve undoubtedly heard about a third “free” platform, called Linux. What is Linux, you ask, and is it better than Windows 10 or MacOS? Should you install it? Here’s a bit of information to chew on.

Press the rewind button, please

First, let’s hit the rewind button and jump back to 1991. At the time, Terminator 2: Judgement Day was a huge hit in theaters, and Intel’s first 32-bit processor, the 80386, had become a widely-used chip in PCs. The Windows operating system was still an infant, so Unix was the most-used operating system at the time, both commercially, and in academic institutions.

For the individuals, however, Unix was just too expensive to use. A “free” variant of Unix called MINIX was available, but It didn’t take full advantage of Intel’s 32-bit chip, and couldn’t be modified or redistributed even though the source code was freely available. These factors led a student at the University of Helsinki to create a platform of his own.

Enter the birth of Linux. A computer science student by the name of Linus Torvalds wrote the first signs of Linux specifically for his Intel 386-based machine running MINIX. He didn’t create a complete operating system, but instead what’s known as a kernel, which didn’t depend on the parent MINIX operating system.

This kernel is no popcorn

What’s a kernel? If an operating system were a planet, the kernel would be its core. It’s the basic code that manages everything on your PC, from the processor to the memory, the storage, your peripherals, and so on. When you hear talk about how Windows 10 is provided across all types of devices, it means Microsoft uses the same kernel, or core. It’s the lowest layer of an operating system.

The next layer above the kernel, then, is called the shell. It’s th interface for entering commands to the kernel. With Windows, what you see day to day is the attractive graphical interface layer on the planet’s surface. Underneath that is a layer for rendering the graphical interface (desktop space), and a layer that manages background services, such as the printer, wireless connectivity, notifications, and so on.

What Linus Torvalds created was only a core, which he eventually named Linux, and uploaded to an FTP server. It was first published under his own license, but then he decided to pair it with a shell called Bash, which was created under a free software license called the GNU General Public License (GPL). Eventually, the Linux kernel was provided by itself under the GNU GPL, and developers flocked to create open-source layers for it, and in turn provide a complete, ready-to-use operating system.

Believe it or not, Linux is everywhere

Because the Linux kernel falls under the GNU GPL, it’s widely used outside the PC arena. It can be caught running in automobiles, kitchen appliances, streaming devices, household devices, Internet of Things devices, and so much more. Most of the internet supposedly depends on Linux through the Apache HTTP Server platform installed on internet servers, which is based on the Linux kernel. However, as of late, Microsoft has taken control of the web server market with a 51 percent share, versus Apache’s 18 percent share.

That said, Apache — and the other examples mentioned — is a “distribution” of Linux. A distribution is a unified group of components with the Linux core/kernel at the center, but these releases aren’t all the same despite sharing the Linux core. Microsoft does something similar with Windows 10, although the company keeps the kernel behind locked doors. Microsoft essentially sells different distributions, depending on the hardware: Windows 10 Pro/Home, Windows 10 Mobile, Xbox One, Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 S, and so on.

It’s a tasty Linux buffet

Since the Linux kernel is free to use, you can get different “flavors” of Linux-based platforms. That’s the beauty of Linux. The platform consists of multiple components developed by the Linux community, so not all Linux-based operating systems are alike, despite using the same kernel.

For example, there are more than ten different graphical interfaces that were created for the Linux platform, including popular solutions Unity, GNOME, KDE Plasma, Pantheon, and Fluxbox. But many distributions also include proprietary components, so while they’re free to use, they’re not free to alter and redistribute. Right now, there are more than 75 different distributions available, but only a dozen are endorsed by the Free Software Foundation as 100 percent free software.

Here’s a list of the more popular Linux-based operating systems you can use right now:

• Ubuntu
• Linux Mint
• Fedora
• Debian
• CentOS
• openSUSE
• Arch Linux
• Manjaro
• Antergos
• Solus
• Deepin

Out of the platforms listed above, Ubuntu is likely the most commercially-used Linux distribution. You can get it as an alternative to Windows 10 on desktops and laptops supplied by OEMs, including solutions manufactured by Dell, Lenovo, HP, and Acer. System76 is a company dedicated to manufacturing laptops, desktops, and servers that rely on the Ubuntu distribution.

Of course, there are Linux-based operating systems provided on devices you use every day, but aren’t readily available to download and install. Android and Chrome OS are the prime examples.

Android is mostly provided on smartphones and tablets, but we’ve seen the platform installed on desktops and laptops, too. Google’s Chrome OS platform is only installed on the popular low-cost “Chromebook” laptops. However, given it’s based on the open-source Chromium OS project, you can still find variants of Chrome OS to download and use.

Meanwhile, there are also Linux-based distributions created specifically for the server market. These include Red Hat Enterprise Linux for datacenters, SUSE Enterprise Linux Server, and the non-desktop version of CentOS.

There’s love for gamers, too

Game developer Valve Software, the company behind the widely-popular Steam distribution platform, set out to create an operating system because CEO Gabe Newell didn’t like the way Microsoft controlled the Windows-based gaming ecosystem. He wanted the gaming market to remain as an open platform, so Valve introduced the Linux-based SteamOS operating system in September 2013.

Unfortunately, Valve’s “Steam Machine” initiative didn’t gain any traction. Yet despite the Steam Machine disappointment, Valve remains dedicated to improving, supporting, and providing SteamOS as a Windows alternative for PC gamers.

Raspberry-flavored Linux in your Pi

Even the Raspberry Pi computer board has its own operating system based on the Linux kernel. If you’re not familiar with Raspberry Pi, it’s a single, credit card-sized board packing everything you need to create a small computer. There is an infinite number of use cases for the little $35 computer, ranging from an educational Minecraft-themed laptop, to a monitoring system for tracking pesky squirrels.

Powering the Raspberry Pi is a spinoff of Debian called Raspbian that’s optimized for the device. There are other operating systems for the Raspberry Pi too, such as Ubuntu Mate, RISC OS, and even the Windows 10 Internet of Things Core, but Raspbian is the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s recommended operating system.

Adding to that, the Raspberry Pi Foundation introduced Raspberry Pi Desktop in late 2016. It’s based on Debian and the “Pixel” graphical interface originally introduced in the Raspberry Pi’s Raspbian operating system. It can be installed on any PC or Mac, and includes educational, programming, and general applications such as Python and Sonic Pi right out of the box.

The pros and cons of Linux

As with any operating system, there are pluses and minuses when using a Linux distribution. The big benefit is that Linux-based distributions are more secure because hackers generally target Windows-based PCs. They’re also typically not running excessive processes in the background, so the platform feels responsive, and programs experience better performance.

Then again, you won’t see the very latest hardware immediately supported by Linux-based distributions, given that manufacturers mostly focus on Windows and MacOS platforms first. Plus, finding answers to your problems will take more investigative work than usual. So unless you purchase a device with a Linux distribution already installed, the only technical help you’ll receive will be through the Linux community.

On the software side, many popular programs simply aren’t available for Linux distributions. The same holds true for gaming, though the Linux library is slowly growing thanks in part to Valve’s SteamOS platform. Adding to that, you’ll need patience when understanding how the Linux platform works, what tools and alternatives are available, and how to get more control over the PC by learning new commands.

Again, there are different distributions catering to different skill levels and needs. Thus, if you prefer an install-and-go situation, Ubuntu may be your best Windows alternative (or Elementary OS if you’re on MacOS). Unfortunately, picking the right Linux distribution for your skill level and needs may be more daunting than learning how to use whatever you pick.

Linux is the quiet kid of the trio

Ultimately, Linux is the quiet kid in the room while Microsoft (Windows) and Apple (MacOS) struggle to talk over each other. All three present their unique pros and cons, but the quiet kid has an army of solutions whereas the two loud mouths offer single experiences behind walled gardens.

Still, as of late, Microsoft has become a bit friendlier with the quiet kid. The company made Ubuntu available on the Windows 10 store in July, and incorporated the Bash shell into Windows 10 a year prior to that.

If you’re interested in ditching Windows or MacOS, investigate the vast Linux-based options made available to you. Determine your needs and your skill set before taking the plunge because, even if the operating system is easy to use, leaving familiar desktop territory is a difficult process. You’ll want to find a solution to make the transition less painful, so you’re up and running on a Linux distribution in no time.

This shape-shifting wheelchair transitions from seated to standing positions

Why it matters to you

Its creators hope this futuristic wheelchair design could help improve life for millions of people around the world.

From autonomous wheelchairs to air-powered ones with no electronic parts, we have covered some pretty nifty innovation taking place in the world of wheelchairs. Another one to add to the collection is a wheelchair called Laddroller, a futuristic shape-shifting design that’s able to neatly transition between seated and standing positions.

It was designed by architect Dimitrios Petrotos, who was inspired to do so after being hired by a wheelchair-bound client a few years ago to redesign an apartment so that it was fit for her use. Petrotos proceeded to carry out tweaks like lowering light switches and furniture, before realizing that this was an inadequate way of solving the problem. Even if he was able to change an apartment, he realized, it wouldn’t be possible to do the same for the entire world.

Jump forward a few years, and Petrotos and his team developed the Laddroller wheelchair. Last year, an earlier version of it was among the entrants in last year’s Cybathlon, the world’s first bionic Paralympic Games. Now Petrotos wants to develop the project further to enter the next Cybathlon race, which will take place in Zurich in May 2020 — just prior to the Olympics in Tokyo.

After that, he hopes to mass produce his unique wheelchair, thereby having the opportunity to potentially change the lives of millions of people.

“The placement of the [wheelchair’s] bigger wheels in the front makes it useful in the city, eliminating the constant need of ramps, where competitive wheelchairs get stuck at the smallest obstacle because of their small caster wheels,” Petrotos told Digital Trends. “Moreover, the modular design makes Laddroller easily portable in the trunk of a car because all its components can be detached easily — something that other standing wheelchair just can’t. All these, along the manual propulsion in case the batteries run low, will make Laddroller the best power standing wheelchair in the market.”

Right now, the wheelchair isn’t available to buy, although there’s still every chance to get involved. On Kickstarter, Petrotos is currently raising funds to support his Cybathlon 2020 campaign.

Should it raise its funding target, rewards will include everything from a chance to get your name on the finished wheelchair’s seat to your own copy of the blueprints right through to an opportunity to be hands-on involved in the final race. You can’t say fairer than that.

Divoom Timebox Mini review

Roaming the halls of the IFA tech conference in September, we were immediately charmed by this eye-catching pixel art display. On closer inspection, it turned out to be the front of a Bluetooth speaker which hooks up to your iPhone or Android smartphone via an incredibly feature-packed app. It can play music, display the time, alert you to incoming notifications on your phone, and a whole lot more.

Best of all it can be customized to show any retro pixel artwork of your choice – including your own creations. Dig into our Divoom Timebox Mini review to learn about the full potential of this delightful Franken-gadget.

Portable and lightweight

Best of all it can be customized to show any retro pixel artwork of your choice

The Timebox Mini is a plastic box measuring 3.5 inches wide and about 1.5 inches thick. The front sports an 11 x 11 chunky pixel display with a thin bezel. On the back, you’ll find a speaker grille with a Micro USB charging port at the bottom, flanked by two standard 3.5mm jacks for input and output.

Up top, there are volume controls and a play/pause button. On the right side, you’ll find the power button and a cycle button that goes through a few different functions. On the bottom, there are tiny rubbery feet to give it some space between your desk or nightstand. The Timebox Mini is very light and highly portable. It comes in a range of different colors including black, red, white, pink, blue, green, and teal – our review unit is red.

Feature-packed app

To use your Timebox Mini, you download the app for Android or iOS and pair your smartphone via Bluetooth. It’s quick and easy to set up and the app is absolutely packed with functionality. You can tap into weather, calendar, clock, or alarms. You can choose from an extensive gallery of existing artworks and animations, or create your own (more on that in a moment). You can even have your Timebox Mini show notifications from your phone, for example, flashing up the Facebook or Twitter icons when you have incoming alerts or informing you of incoming calls and emails.

It’s fun to get animated pixel art with your music. We were excited at the idea of it matching animations to music, but sadly it doesn’t work with streaming services, only with the music you have stored on your phone in MP3 format. There’s even a sleep function that plays supposedly soothing sounds — some are, some aren’t — with matching colors for a chosen length of time to help lull you off the sleep.

The kitchen sink approach continues with the option to display block colors, play games, use it as a stopwatch or scoreboard, or even chat through it with text and voice messages. This last function requires you to create an account and connect with a friend who also has a Timebox Mini, but it means you could send a message and have it display on the Timebox Mini on their desk at work.

Retro pixel art fun

The feature attraction here is obviously the pixel art display. Originally, pixel art popped up in old 2D video games where graphics were severely limited. Talented artists used individual pixels as building blocks to make up a recognizable image, a bit like a mosaic. Even though graphical capabilities have moved on, pixel art is still hugely popular and the Timebox Mini is a great way to dip into it.

This is a great little gift that’s impressively versatile and genuinely fun.

Go into the design section of the comprehensive app and you can create your very own artworks pixel by pixel. There are a few block colors to choose from, or you can use the RGB slider to get the exact tone you want. Then it’s a simple case of tapping the individual pixels to light them up. Once you’re done you can save your creations or share them. There are lots of artworks available in the app that other users have created and uploaded.

It’s a speaker, too

If you’re anything like us you already have a scattered tribe of Bluetooth speakers in your home and, to be honest, there’s nothing special about this one on the audio front. It features a 5W 2-inch driver that’s plenty loud and clear enough for use as an alarm clock or speakerphone. It can also fill a small room with music, but it obviously lacks the range and quality of something bigger. Check out our picks for the best Bluetooth speakers if you’re an audiophile.

We’re excited by the prospect of technology like the Tempow Audio Profile inside the forthcoming Moto X4, which allows you to simultaneously connect to four Bluetooth speakers and play perfectly synced audio through them. That could be a great way of getting more use out of Bluetooth speakers like the Timebox Mini.

Battery life

There’s a 2,500 mAh battery inside that’s good for around 10 hours of music playback, but it will obviously drain faster if you’re using the LED display. We found it lasted a full day of mixed use with plenty left in the tank, so charging every few days should be enough. It comes with a Micro USB to USB cable, but you’ll have to provide your own wall charger.

Tap the power button once and you’ll get a remaining power display in the shape of a battery icon. When it does run out of battery, you can charge it fully back up again in around three hours.

Cute and incredibly versatile

Kids absolutely love the Timebox Mini and it’s the sort of device that can slot into any environment because it’s so customizable. It works well as a fun desk toy or a retro alarm clock. Some people will like the notifications and speakerphone functionality. Others will just enjoy creating space invaders or watching it animate in time to their music. Put two together, and you have a super cute, unique way of communicating.

The Timebox Mini costs $60 right now on Amazon and we think it’s well worth it. This is a great little gift that’s impressively versatile and genuinely fun.

Best Android Phones with Expandable Storage

• Best overall
• Best smaller phone
• Other alternatives
• Best mid-range option
• Best budget pick

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

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See at T-Mobile
See at Verizon
See at AT&T
See at Sprint
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Samsung’s Galaxy Note series is back in style, with an enormous near bezelless display, new S Pen features and Samsung’s first dual camera system in a smartphone. The Note 8 takes everything we loved about the Galaxy S8+, including the slick industrial design and futuristic-looking software, and ramps it up further. The display is the best you’ll find on any phone, with brightness up to 1200 nits, ensuring visibility even in the most challenging summer conditions.

The Note 8 features everything you’d expect from a modern Samsung phone — water resistance, wireless charging, and 64GB of storage, plus microSD. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chip in the U.S., or Samsung’s own Exynos equivalent internationally, with a hefty 6GB of RAM for smoother performance.

Bottom line: The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is just about the most expensive Android phone you can buy right now, but with good reason — it’s also one of the very best.

One more thing:If you’re buying in the U.S., you’ll miss out on some of the more exotic color options, like blue and gold. (In Europe, you’ll have black and gold to choose from.)

Why the Galaxy Note 8 is the best

A gorgeous phone loaded with features, and top-notch performance.

The enormous screen size (and equally sizeable price) won’t be for everyone, but the Galaxy Note 8 delivers expandable storage and top-tier performance, speedy software and impressive features in a phenomenal hardware chassis. This is a phone which excels at everything it does, despite some concerns over the placement of that rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

That the Note’s slightly wonky biometrics stand out as a major criticism just shows how great the rest of the phone is. Samsung’s symmetrical metal and glass design language has reached new heights this year, and the company’s SuperAMOLED “Infinity Display” provides an enormous 6.3 inches of display realestate in a handset that’s still (just about) pocketable.

There’s 64GB of space built in, but that SD slot will ensure your Note 8 should never run out of space for photos, videos and music.

Best smaller phone

Samsung Galaxy S8

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See at T-Mobile
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See at Best Buy

The Galaxy S8 is the best-looking small Android phone out there. With a 5.8-inch screen inside a small physical body, the S8 is all screen. On the inside, it has the same core internals as the Note 8, only with 4GB of RAM and only one rear camera. (The same main camera as its S Pen-toting brethren.)

Yes the fingerprint sensor is slightly awkward to use, but the GS8’s iris scanner is dramatically improved to make up for it. And it only takes one look at the industry-leading display to start to forgive Samsung’s decisions on the back.

Though its software can be a little overwhelming to novices, you can’t argue that Samsung continues to pack in hundreds of features to a single phone, making sure there’s something in here for everyone’s needs. Samsung continues to take this approach of offering more more more with just a few compromises — and it continues to work.

Bottom line: If you don’t want to deal with the added size or expense of a Note 8, the GS8 gives you almost all the features of the larger model in a smaller package, for less dough.

One more thing: Want a bigger battery and an almost-Note-8-level screen? You’ll want to check out the Galaxy S8+.

Other great alternatives

Here’s the thing about microSD slots in Android phones: They’re not exactly a rarity. In fact, the majority of our favorite flagships from the past year have included expandable storage. A few great, recent examples include:

• LG V30
• HTC U11
• Honor 9
• Huawei Mate 9

The mid-range option

LG G6

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See at AT&T
See at Sprint
See at T-Mobile

LG’s high-end offering from earlier in 2017 now firmly fits into the “mid-range” category — meaning it doesn’t perform quite at the level of some of the others on this list, but it is possible to track down a G6 for considerably less than its higher-end rivals.

The features a tall yet ergonomic 18:9 aspect ratio, and it’s powered by the still-capable Snapdragon 821 processor, and 4GB of RAM. All that technology is wrapped up in a sturdy metal and glass design that’s both functional and beautiful.

Bottom line: The LG G6 is a solid all-rounder with capable cameras, and a hand-friendly 5.7-inch display, thanks to its 18:9 aspect ratio.

One more thing: Depending on which country you buy in, your G6’s feature set may differ. In the U.S. it comes with wireless charging. In Asia it comes with a Quad DAC for better wired audio. (In Europe, you get neither. Womp womp.)

Best budget pick

Honor 6X

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The Honor 6X doesn’t feel like a budget phone in that it has a premium anodized aluminum chassis and dual cameras at the back. The internal hardware is also astonishingly good, with the phone featuring a 14nm Kirin 655 SoC, 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, and a 3340mAh battery. The 5.5-inch Full HD display is one of the best in this segment, and the main 12MP camera at the back is joined by a 2MP secondary sensor that adds depth information to images, leading to a bokeh effect.

The Honor 6X has a hybrid dual-SIM card slot, which means that the secondary SIM card slot doubles up as a microSD slot. And now that it’s updated to EMUI 5.0 and Android 7.0, the software is a lot more accessible.

Bottom line: The Honor 6X offers a lot of value for its $199 price tag.

One more thing: Like other Huawei phones sold in the U.S., the Honor 6X will not work on Verizon or Sprint.

Conclusion

If you want a phone that has expandable storage, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is still your best option. Sure, it’s expensive, but the Note 8 boasts top-of-the-line hardware, a stunning metal and glass design, and two of the best cameras in this space. Water resistance and fast wireless charging make it an even more compelling choice. Add all that and throw in a microSD slot that supports up to 256GB of expandable storage and it’s easy to see why the Galaxy Note 8 is the most feature-rich Android phone around.

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

See at Best Buy
See at T-Mobile
See at Verizon
See at AT&T
See at Sprint
See at Samsung

Samsung’s Galaxy Note series is back in style, with an enormous near bezelless display, new S Pen features and Samsung’s first dual camera system in a smartphone. The Note 8 takes everything we loved about the Galaxy S8+, including the slick industrial design and futuristic-looking software, and ramps it up further. The display is the best you’ll find on any phone, with brightness up to 1200 nits ensuring visibility even in the most challenging summer conditions.

The Note 8 features everything you’d expect from a modern Samsung phone — water resistance, wireless charging, and 64GB of storage, plus microSD. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chip in the U.S., or Samsung’s own Exynos equivalent internationally, with a hefty 6GB of RAM for smoother performance.

Bottom line: The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is just about the most expensive Android phone you can buy right now, but with good reason — it’s also one of the very best.

One more thing:If you’re buying in the U.S., you’ll miss out on some of the more exotic color options, like blue and gold. (In Europe, you’ll have black and gold to choose from.)

Update, October 2017: Our new champion is the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, with the S8 closely following for folks who prefer something smaller. We’ve also refreshed this page to focus on phones that have SD expandability, not necessarily adoptable storage.

What Microsoft’s Acquisition of AltSpace means for PSVR

Here’s hoping for a truly Cross Platform social space in the coming months.

AltSpace has delivered some excellent experiences for those who’ve given the app a try. At one point it seemed like it could be the future of social experiences in VR, before announcing over the Summer that AltSpace would be shutting down. That shutdown was averted by Microsoft acquiring AltSpace, but that means a lot of different things. What you might be curious about is whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for ever seeing AltSpace for PlayStation VR.

We’ve got the breakdown for you here!

Read more at VRHeads

Android One Moto X4 shipments facing up to two week delay

Android One Moto X4 shipments will now arrive between October 18 and 25 rather than this week.

The Moto X4 might have let long-time Moto X fans down with its drastic departure from previous entries in the series, but the device is still important for one big reason – it’s the first Android One phone to launch in the United States. The Android One version of the Moto X4 is being sold exclusively through Google’s Project Fi, but customers that pre-ordered the phone are now facing shipping delays.

One customer took to Reddit to share an email that they received from Project Fi, and in that email the following message is present:

Thanks for ordering a new Android One Moto X4 from Project Fi. A production delay has impacted the estimated ship date for your new device, and your device should ship between 10/18 and 10/25. You’ll receive a separate shipping confirmation as soon as your order ships. If you have already planned to trade in another device with your order, you’ll still have a full 30 days to send in your old phone after you receive your Android One Moto X4.

Google doesn’t elaborate as to what sort of production delay caused the issue, but for the sake of Android One’s success here in the U.S., hopefully it isn’t anything too major.

Customers that pre-ordered the Android One Moto X4 and chose expedited shipping were originally supposed to have their phones delivered at some point this week, but they’ll now have to wait an extra one or two weeks before actually getting their hands on their new gadget. This isn’t good news no matter how you look at it, but hopefully Google and Motorola will manage to get the existing kinks worked out as fast as possible to make the phone as good as it possibly can be.

Moto X4 hands-on: Familiar name, entirely different phone

This $99 Brother monochrome laser printer has copying, scanning, and duplex printing

This deal is $30 below the average street price!

Is this deal for me?

The Brother HL-L2380DW monochrome laser printer is down to $99 on Amazon. The street price for this printer is somewhere between $133 and $140. The last time we saw a deal on this model it dropped to $85 back in August.

When I first saw this deal it had a 15% off coupon that brought the total down to $84.15. That coupon seems to be exclusive to Amazon Prime members and have other caveats. You may be able to get that price, you may not, but $99 is nothing to sneeze at.

This is the exact same model printer I use at home. I’ve had it for several years now and it has not let me down. It prints fast and clear, and it costs little to maintain because I don’t have to worry about colored ink. The toner lasts forever. If it doesn’t, this printer is also compatible with Amazon’s Dash Replenishment program that can automatically detect and order new toner when your current supply runs low.

Other features include:

• 2.7inch Color Touchscreen Display to Navigate and Scan to Cloud Services Dropbox, Google Drive, Evernote, Onenote and More
• Wireless and Wired Networking or Connect Locally via USB
• Mobile Device Printing via Airprint, Google Cloud Print, Brother iPrint&Scan, Cortado Workplace and WiFi Direct.
• It prints sharp, professional BLACK and WHITE pages at up to 2400 x 600dpi resolution. This product also enalbles high-quality color scanning.
• Class 1 Laser Product, power output is enclosed

Brother offers a one year warranty on the printer, too.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – This is a really great printer that’s easy to use and won’t disappoint you… insofar as printers are capable of disappointment. This deal price is also around $30 off the street price.
• Things to know before you buy! – This printer is part of Amazon’s Dash Replenishment program, which can automatically order you new toner when the current supply is low. If you add a Hammermill Dash Button to the mix, you’ll never have to worry about running out of supplies on your printer ever.

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Google testing automatically playing videos in YouTube app

Autoplay videos don’t appear to have rolled out to all users, and there is an option to turn them off.

Google’s been known to play around with new features in its many apps from time to time, and the YouTube app is no exception to that rule. In the company’s latest experiment, videos in the YouTube app are now automatically playing on the Home page.

When scrolling through the Home section of the YouTube app, videos will now automatically play with no audio and overlay subtitles so you still know what’s going on in the clip. The video starts from the beginning and appears to play all the way through if you allow it to do so.

The very first video at the top of your Home page will begin to play upon opening the application, and as you scroll through other videos listed here, that previous one will stop playing and then start up the next one below it.

The use of subtitles over audio makes the feature a lot less intrusive.

Videos that automatically play without your permission are always a bit of a hassle, but I’m alright with its implementation here for the most part. The fact that subtitles are used in favor of audio keeps the feature a lot less intrusive than autoplay videos on the Facebook app for example, and if you’d like, you can turn the feature off entirely.

To do this, go to Account -> Settings -> General -> Play as you browse. The featured is turned on by default, and along with being able to toggle it off, you also have the choice of only having it work when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. It definitely seems like Google should have the default set to Wi-Fi only as not to strain people’s monthly data limits, so we’re hoping this is tweaked if/when Google releases autoplay to the public.

Google Play Music and YouTube Red are the best deal in streaming right now

Snapchat now lets you call an Uber and make dinner reservations

Context cards are rolling out to Snapchat starting today, and more partners will be added as time goes on.

Although Snapchat may still be seen by a lot of people as the app with funny face filters and not much else, a new feature is coming to the application today that injects a whole lot of contextual data to geotags.

This contextual info will be shown in “context cards”, and they’ll automatically be added to geotag filters you’re already adding to your snaps. For example, if you’re at Starbucks and add a filter to your snap with the Starbucks geotag, people that view your snap will now see a “More” tag at the bottom of your picture or video.

Swiping up from this More tag will reveal the context card for that location, and here you’ll find business reviews, links to restaurant menus, times that locations are open until, phone numbers for stores, etc. However, thanks to Snapchat’s many partners that it’s working with for context cards, you can actually do more than just browse static information.

If your friend shares a photo from a restaurant that you’d like to try, you can make a reservation to have dinner there later in the evening from Bookatable, OpenTable, or Resy. If you want to quickly head over to a new hiking trail a buddy of yours shared, you can call a ride from Uber or Lyft right within Snapchat. Add this together with TripAdvisor rankings, Foursquare reviews, and more, and context cards are shaping up to be one of the better additions to Snapchat in a while.

Context cards are rolling out to Snapchat starting today in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Snapchat now lets you record 60-second Snaps…sort of