Photoshop 2018 now supports 360-degree photos, adds new design tools

Why it matters to you

With support for 360-degree content and HEIF, Adobe preps Photoshop for the future.

Adobe is bringing Photoshop up to speed on a number of the latest imaging trends with Photoshop 2018. Announced on October 18 during Adobe Max, Photoshop 2018 includes 360 compatibility, support for the new HEIF format implemented by Apple in iOS 11 and others, and a handful of tools for graphic design, including brush smoothing and variable type.

While 360 photos were supported in earlier versions, the ability to scroll around the entire view was lost, rendering the file into a rectangle. Now, 360 files can be imported using the spherical panorama options from the 3D menu options and exported through the same menu to maintain that scrolling format when sharing. The compatibility brings Photoshop tools, such as cloning and healing brushes for removing objects, into 360 photography.

Photoshop also gains the ability to edit depth map data from dual-camera iPhones, like the iPhone 8 Plus. With that information, Photoshop grants users more customization of the portrait effect than can be achieved inside the iPhone camera app alone. The feature requires an iPhone running iOS 11 as well as iOS 11 on the computer that is running Photoshop.

Photoshop also brings integration with the new Lightroom CC, with the synced photos now accessible on the home screen for easy access. Typing a keyword into Photoshop’s search tool will also bring up Lightroom CC images thanks to the new Sensei search tool integrated into Lightroom CC.

Exporting images is also simplified, with new quick share options in iOS to export to social media or any other installed share extensions, including AirDrop and iMessage. For social media options, the tool allows users to type in accompanying text before sharing.

For Microsoft Surface Studio users, Photoshop now has Dial compatibility, allowing users to adjust brush size and hardness, move through the document history, and zoom using the on-screen dial.

An update to the Properties panel brings another workflow improvement, as it will now display relevant data to whatever elements are selected. For example, if text is selected, the panel will display font options. The idea, Adobe says, is to give users access to relevant information in order to maintain functionality while having fewer panels open. Selecting multiple type layers also allows designers to make changes to all of the type at once.

Photoshop 2018 also brings variable fonts, a feature demoed earlier that allows users to create more custom fonts by adjusting the weight, width, and slant of the font separately. The previously teased curved pen tool is also part of the launch. All paths created from the various pen tools also have new visibility options for changing the color and stroke, making paths easier to spot in busy designs.

For graphic designers, a new brush stroke smoothing slider removes the jagged edges on drawings. Brushes can now also be organized into folders and subfolders to easily find the right brush — a helpful tool now that Adobe has acquired one of the most popular Photoshop brush creators, kylebrush.com. With the acquisition, Photoshop will ship with a number of new brush presets, with additional options available as free downloads from Adobe Stock.

Users will also be treated to two technology previews within Photoshop 2018, features Adobe is bringing to the software but that have not yet been perfected. First, A new painting symmetry tool allows designers to create patterns by mirroring the design on the other side of an axis. The feature first needs to be enabled under the technology previews options inside Photoshop’s preferences, then users have access to the new tool by clicking on the butterfly icon and choosing the type of axis.

Second, Preserve Details 2.0 uses Sensei A.I. technology to minimize quality loss when enlarging an image. Adobe says the tool is better in most cases, but not in every situation, which is why the feature is launching as a technology preview and not a fully integrated tool.

New users also get a helpful new feature with Photoshop 2018, the learn tool. It walks users through the steps for basic edits, highlighting the proper tools to make them easy to find, and includes a sample image to work on.

Photoshop 2018 is part of the Adobe Creative cloud photography plan subscription for $10 a month. Photoshop paired with the new Lightroom CC with 1 TB of storage is $20 a month, with a $5 discount for current subscribers.

With the Google Pixel 2, Bluetooth connectivity issues may finally be resolved

Why it matters to you

Bluetooth connectivity has been an issue for months for Android users, but the Pixel 2 may finally have a fix.

There are already myriad reasons to be excited about the imminent availability of Google’s Pixel 2 smartphone, and now there’s one more that ought to be particularly attractive to drivers. When the second generation of Google’s flagship smartphone ships, it will feature a fix for a Bluetooth audio problem that folks have been complaining about since the Oreo software update in August.

Over the past several months, users have taken to Pixel forums, Reddit, and YouTube to complain about issues with Bluetooth connectivity. Pixel owners seemed to be most affected by the bug, and issues seemed to mainly plague Android Auto and playback in vehicles. Some other folks also noted problems with headphone and Bluetooth speaker playback.

As one Google forum user noted, “After upgrading to Oreo 8.0 and also after applying the Oct 5th update, I can’t play any audio from many native Google apps like Play Music, Maps Navigation, YouTube.”

Another user said, “I updated yesterday and now my phone will not connect with my car’s Bluetooth at all. Prior to this update everything but calls would go through my car’s Bluetooth system.”

While Google did issue a security patch in October to address the issue, it would appear that it wasn’t a complete fix. Some Android users still noted that they had issues with Bluetooth.

As Pixel owner and software developer Ed Spencer told Forbes, “This has made me think twice about getting another Google handset. In future I’ll get a premium device from a more established manufacturer. I’d rather wait a little longer for Android updates as long as they are more stable.”

Needless to say, such sentiments are a cause for concern for Google, which has finally resolved the problem in Pixel 2 handsets currently being shipped to those who placed pre-orders. “Google is aware of this issue and additional fixes are coming soon. Likely November or early December. For Pixel 2, the first security update (which will initiate the fix) will come in November, after Pixel 2 XL goes on sale in U.K. Each Pixel comes with a headphone adaptor so that they can use usual plug-in headphones,” a spokesperson told Forbes. “Google also has partnered with around 25 companies globally to create Made For headphones if users would prefer this over Bluetooth.”

Get smart: The 25 best educational apps for iPhone and Android

“Educational” is a broad term. When it comes to mobile apps, there’s a diverse range of software that falls under the umbrella of education. You could peruse the top educational offerings in any app store, but locating the best ones — and those that aren’t merely a fad — is more difficult than you think.

Some educational apps are tailored for high-school students, some for soon-to-be college graduates, and others still, are more apt for those who provide an education or those who still pine for knowledge long after school lets out for summer. We’ve looked at helpful apps for teachers and educators, so this list is more focused on apps for students.

Whether you’re specifically looking for ways to exercise your mind, organize your coursework, or expand your knowledge on King Matthias Corvinus’ role in the Hungarian Renaissance, there’s more than one app specifically designed to get the job done. Then again, no app is truly tailored for exploring the global repercussions of the Renaissance. You’ll simply have to settle for our favorites below.

Are you looking for more education-themed articles? See how AI will completely transform education and explore Google’s latest education-oriented Chromebooks.

Udacity (free/$200)

Udacity offers you free online courses. There are hundreds of different topics to choose from, and you can even pay for a nanodegree service that gets you feedback from professionals, coaching, and a verified certification for $200. A nanodegree can be a great choice for those looking to get a job in programming.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

Brainscape

Brainscape claims you can double your learning speed by using flashcards. Brainscape paces the repetition of each concept perfectly, so you retain knowledge more effectively. Rate how well you know each concept and Brainscape will determine the right time to give you another quiz. It’s free to create, share, and find user-generated flashcards. Pro subscription is billed at $10 per month, $30 semiannually, or $36 per year. You can also opt for a lifetime subscription for $80. Subscriptions give you access to unlimited premium content, features like bookmarks, browse mode, card reversibility, and allow you to create flashcards without ads.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

Due ($5)

You can think of the aptly-titled Due as a robust alarm clock, one that functions without an account or Internet connection. With Due, you can set reusable countdown reminders and implement both daily and weekly reminders that capitalize on nearly 60 alert tones. Moreover, reminders sync across your devices and automatically shift as you cross time zones.

Download now from:

iTunes

Ready4 SAT

Ready4’s series of test prep apps, like Ready4 SAT, goes well beyond just drilling you to answer practice questions. It actually aims to teach you the material and test-taking tips in mobile-friendly chunks, so that you can study whenever and wherever you have your smartphone. This free app even tries to match your potential SAT score with schools and academic programs around the world, just in case you need extra motivation to study.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

Photomath

For high-school students who just need a bit more guidance on how to isolate “x” in their algebra homework, Photomath is essentially your math buddy that can instantly solve and explain every answer. Simply snap a photo of the question (you can also write or type), and the app will break down the solution into separate steps with helpful play-by-play so that you can apply the same principles to the rest of your homework.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

GradeProof

Most students don’t have a personal editor to show them how they can improve their writing, one sentence at a time. GradeProof’s AI offers concrete ways to improve your style, check for originality, as well as identify complex grammatical issues that other word processors often miss. While the app itself is free, you’ll need to upgrade to the $10-per-month GradeProof Premium to unleash the full power of this pocket writing coach.

Download now from:

iTunes

Math Motion: Cupcake! ($6)

Not many kids are excited to practice addition or multiplication outside of school, but they might be more enthusiastic about applying their math skills to run a mean cupcake business. From figuring out the cost of each cupcake, fulfilling orders, to paying back business loans to keep the bakery running, Math Motion: Cupcake brings elementary-level math to life in a deceptively sweet — yet palatable — package.

Download now from:

iTunes

edX

Higher education is no longer exclusive to college students or contained within Ivory Towers. EdX makes it possible for anyone with a smartphone to learn from distinguished institutions such as MIT and McGill, and maybe even earn a certificate while you’re at it. You can tune into online lectures, take quizzes, and complete assignments at your own pace, all without having to worry about getting a student loan (though some certificates and courses do cost extra).

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

My Study Life

School life is complicated. To help you stay on top of your schedule and often conflicting deadlines, My Study Life is more than just a day planner and school calendar — the app even sends reminders to your mobile device whenever you have upcoming deadlines. As one of the few ad-free agenda apps on the market, My Study Life’s colorful interface gives you all the info you need regarding your day at a glance.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

Mendeley

If you already use Mendeley Desktop to manage your research citations and collaborate with classmates, then the Mendeley app is a no-brainer. After all, the app is a PDF reader that lets you annotate and search across the journal articles you need for your paper or your class readings, directly on your mobile device. Once you’re back at your computer, the app will also sync your mobile notes to keep you organized.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

OneNote

Now that Evernote is charging users who want to use its app on more than two devices, Microsoft’s OneNote is looking like a decent alternative for your mobile note-taking needs. It helps that the app is usually pre-loaded on new Windows 10 devices, and works across all platforms. Not only can you record a lecture and snap photos while “handwriting” your notes with a stylus or pen, but you can back up your class notes to OneDrive and Office 365.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

Periodic Table

More than just another interactive periodic table, this Periodic Table app from the Royal Society of Chemistry incorporates everything from podcasts to videos to help you learn about the elements. Don’t worry about being overwhelmed by all the information though, as the app showcases different levels of data to satisfy everyone, from a novice to an AP Chemistry student.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

StudyBlue

Studying is the mainstay of an education. With StudyBlue, you can create and share a plethora of mobile flashcards, study guides, and quizzes, or choose from an extensive collection of student-authored flashcards and flashcard decks. Afterward, accept the score you earn or try again to top it.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

WolframAlpha ($3)

Queried by Apple’s Siri, WolframAlpha utilizes a vast collection of algorithms and data to answer any questions you might have about, well, anything. The knowledge engine is surprisingly accurate, culling answers from a variety of sources, with thorough instructions on how it arrived at the answer.

Download now from:

iTunes Google Play

Dropbox

Moreso a tool for organizing your education than receiving it, Dropbox allows you to access all your photos, documents, and videos on nearly any device. You’re given 2GB upon signing up, with options for syncing and adding files to your favorite list for offline viewing on the go. It’s very useful for sharing files.

Download now from:

iTunes Google play

Metal vs. plastic vs. glass: Which is the best phone material?

One day phones will be made from stardust and unicorns. For now, though, we have three choices.

Phones all look the same once you scrape away a few details. They’re rectangles designed to fit (mostly) into one’s hand and a display where we can tap and poke the things we see to find other things poke and tap. You can even make phone calls with them!

It’s those details, though, that makes the difference. Speakers, bevels, buttons and the physical size are the things that make a Galaxy Note different from a Moto E4. They also are a big part of the price and what we use to decide which one is better for our own uses. One of those details that’s always a point of discussion and sometimes a point of detraction is what the body of a phone is made of. Oddities like wood or gold phones aside, you’ll find three different materials are being used to make phones is all sizes: metal, plastic, and glass.

Which one is best?

Metal

Metal, done very well.

Plenty of phones use a metal band or a faux-metal finish over plastic trim, but there are also plenty that are made of metal. Usually, that means some manner of aluminum alloy that’s very thin and light because the buying public is in love with thin and light. Nobody wants a 3-pound phone built from cold forged steel to lug around all day.

Metal screams premium.

For many, metal equals premium. Seeing an aluminum phone polished or anodized with a crisp finish does make a phone look good, so naturally, a lot of people associate them with high-quality, even if only subconsciously. But this isn’t always the case as aluminum can actually be cheaper than other materials. Blame our perception here.

A metal phone can be a great phone. It can also be a poor phone. Let’s look at the pros and cons.

Pros

• That premium look. As mentioned, a phone that’s well built will always look good with a metal design. Metal is beautiful and we can’t help but feel that anything beautiful is automatically premium. For many, having a premium phone is important.
• It’s “modern”. Metal is a big part of the industrial design school of thought. Minimal markings and no extraneous parts to take away from a single piece of metal with a certain shape is a complete design aesthetic, and it often ties in well with a premium look. There are plenty of fans of this type of design.
• Heat transfer. That way a cold metal phone feels when you first pick it up provokes a thought. It doesn’t have to be a good thought, but if you ever noticed that your phone felt cold you were thinking about it. Touch is one of our senses, and it’s an important one.

All of these “pros” work together to give the impression that the small metal object you’re holding is simply a superior product. Some people feel differently, but most people can’t say a phone like a Pixel or ZTE Axon Pro felt bad or was built poorly.

Cons

• Bends and dents. Metal deforms fairly easily — especially light, malleable metal like aluminum —and tends to keep its new shape, at least the types used to build phones. We’re not talking about people on YouTube bending phones for a living; we’re talking about sitting on your phone and bending it or dropping it and putting a big dent in that premium shell. (Buy a case?)
• RF transmission. This means your LTE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth signals. Radio frequencies of the safe variety have a tough time transmitting through dense material. This can mean your phone needs to have antenna lines or glass cutouts for the antennas and probably won’t support wireless charging if it’s made of metal.
• Heat transfer. The same thing that makes a metal phone feel solid and cold when you first pick it up will also make it feel hotter after you’ve used it for a while. Heat sinks and heat pipes (also made of metal) try to offset this, but a metal phone will always have a hot spot where the chipset is. And sometimes they can get uncomfortably hot.

The same material that can make a phone feel premium can also stop it from having premium features, like smooth lines without antenna bands or wireless charging. And they look a lot less premium when you dent or bend them.

Plastic

Moto Maker was awesome.

Plastic comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Man-made materials have that advantage. That means plastic can also come with a number of different finishes, and phones can feel slimy or even soft when made of plastic. Plastic is also cheap and very workable which means curves and design elements can be used with plastic that isn’t feasible with other materials.

Any shape and any color, and tough as nails.

Some plastic phones look and feel great. Of course, others don’t. Consumers can be influenced by their experience enough to think all plastic phones are a slippery, glossy, slimy mess even when they’re not and the general perception is that Plastic phones are cheap. But a plastic phone can be great, too.

Pros

• Cost. Not the cost to the consumer, but the costs of making the phone from beginning to end. Using plastic means manufacturing equipment is easier to tool, which means designers have more freedom to work with the shape, which means phones don’t always have to look like a flat slab and still be reasonably priced. We love things that look nice and things that are reasonably priced. We love it more when they are both.
• Resilliance. Plastic is tough. Like football helmet tough. You might be able to break plastic but it will take a lot more abuse than metal or glass, and for the most part, it will snap right back into shape if it gets bent or dinged.
• RF transmission. Plastic can be designed to be tough but still allow radio waves to pass through with very little signal loss. When you’re building or using a phone, this is important.
• Millions of colors. You can make plastic that’s any color imaginable. Companies like Nokia (the Nokia of old, R.I.P.) and Sony have put this to the test and orange, lime, pink, yellow and even brown phones have all been offered and had their fans. Black is also a color for folks who like to keep things tamer.

Plastic gives a manufacturer the freedom to build a phone that’s tough and beautiful. And we’ve seen some very high-end phones from almost every manufacturer that were plastic, and nobody complained that they were plastic.

Cons

• They feel bad. At least, they can. One of our favorite phones was LG’s G2. One of the phones we always complained about when it came to the finish of materials was the LG G2. It was the phone that coined our use of slimy when talking about bad plastic. Don’t even get us started on the Galaxy S III.
• They can stain. The plastic on the phone can be stained by a colorful case or spending too much time in a cup holder in Florida-style weather, and some plastic finishes can stain you or your clothes. Remember the orange red Nexus 5? It did both.
• They look cheap. Not all of them, of course. HTC, as well as that Nokia of old, built some gorgeous phones that were plastic. The LG Optimus 3D was not my favorite phone. Not even close. But it was plastic and the body, the build, and the finish were stunning. But for every good plastic phone you can buy there will be four or five bad plastic phones in equally bad plastic clamshells on a hook at Walmart. That makes people equate plastic with cheap.

All the plastic phones that were tough, looked good and came in a plethora of colors have to compete with the bottom-of-the-barrel plastics used in phones that have none of those qualities. It’s not fair to compare things this way, but you usually won’t find a phone you think is plain ugly or that feels slimy that’s not made of plastic. Stereotypes are real.

Glass

Everybody into the pool!

We started seeing glass phones with the iPhone 4 and Nexus 4. They aren’t completely glass, of course, but there are plenty of phones with full glass backs to go with the full glass front. They can be beautiful and give a look that compliments a great design. They can also be fragile; phone screens break all too often and so do glass backs.

It only looks wet.

Using glass also adds to a phone’s price. Cheap pieces of soda-lime glass you may find at the hardware store aren’t suitable for a phone. Instead, specially made ultra-clear low-expansion glass and composites like Gorilla Glass are used and can add a lot to the final price. Exotic materials like synthetic sapphire can be exceptionally clear for the wavelengths of light a person can see, and very scratch-resistant. They are even more expensive, often prohibitively so.

Pros

• RF transmission. Glass is dense, but still allows for radio waves to pass through fairly easily. This means your LTE signal, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth will be stronger without any long antenna cutouts.
• They look great. Phones with a glass back can have a feeling of depth if anything is under the glass. Glass can also shimmer and give the illusion of being wet. Both of these effects together can make for a stunning look. Samsung is a total pro at this, and its recent glass-backed Galaxy phones are simply beautiful.
• They feel good in your hand. Glass can be polished until it’s very smooth. Because it’s inert it will also feel solid and cold like metal does. When you hold a glass-backed phone in your hand it just feels like a luxury product. Everyone loves luxury products, even if it’s only an illusion.

Cons

• Glass breaks. There is nothing any company can do to make thin glass unbreakable. That means when you drop your phone (and you will) you have to worry about breaking both sides.
• Glass scratches. Everything will scratch, but glass seems to be the best at doing it. No matter what a company tells us about the Mohs scale or hardened polymers, glass will scratch. Scratches on a phone with the wet and deep illusion like a Galaxy S8 look terrible when they have a big scratch across the back.
• Glass is slippery. When your hands are damp holding a glass phone is like squeezing an ice cube. It can pop right out of your grip and when you consider that glass breaks and glass scratches, you have a recipe for disaster.

Glass-backed phones can look amazing. That silky wet look of a Galaxy S8 or the disco ball look of the Nexus 4 makes for a beautiful looking piece of gear. We want our expensive things to be beautiful.

Unfortunately, glass is also a really risky material to use in a phone. It needs to be thin (glass is heavy!) so when you use hardened treated materials like Gorilla Glass the risk of breaking increases because hardened glass is more brittle. It’s a catch-22 situation that we gladly put ourselves in because of how great it looks.

So which is the best?

That depends on just who you ask.

If you were to ask me, I would say that glass is the best. I like the way it looks and I like the way it feels. I know it will break or scratch easily, and I’ll take that risk. I’d also tell you that plastic is probably the real best because it is more workable, more resilient, and is better for radio transmission. And good plastic can both look good and feel good. But I like glass better.

Glass is best. No, wait. Metal. Or Plastic.

While there is no one winner here, there is a loser. Metal. Metal looks and feels good, but it’s a horrible material to build a phone with. It’s easy to bend, it’s easy to dent, and radio waves hate it. But there are plenty of people to tell me I’m wrong.

That’s OK. The important thing is that you buy what you like, and because so many different companies build Android phones there’s a good chance it’s out there. I might be on team glass and you might be on team metal but you don’t have to use my phone and vice-versa!

Your take

Which team are you on? Do metal or glass look so good that their shortcomings are forgivable? Or do you just love plastic and the range of colors or the soft feel of a quality finish?

Get into the comments and let us all know which you like and why. Then be happy we have more to choose from than a single phone or its plus version.

Continue the conversation in the forums

Monument Valley 2 will be available for Android on November 6

Step back into the world of M.C. Escher.

The original Monument Valley became an instant hit when it debuted on Android back in 2014, and since its sequel was announced earlier this year, we’ve been dying to get our hands on the title. Monument Valley 2 was first released for the iPhone earlier this summer, and after months of waiting, we finally have a light at the end of the tunnel for the game’s Android availability.

According to a launch trailer that UsTwo Games released on its YouTube channel, Monument Valley 2 will be available to for Android on the Google Play Store and Amazon Underground starting on November 6. You can still pre-register for the game on the Play Store, and while this won’t provide you with earlier access, it will alert you when the title’s ready to download so you can start playing ASAP.

The original Monument Valley is still a load of fun to play even to this day, and just like its predecessor, Monument Valley 2 won’t bombard you with microtransactions every other second (something that a lot of mobile games have become accustomed to).

Monument Valley 2 will likely cost the same $4.99 that it does on Apple’s App Store, and while handing over cash for an app or game is something that a lot of people still aren’t keen about, this one is shaping up to be very deserving of your dollars.

Monument Valley 2 is available for pre-registration in the Play Store

The Pixel 2 doesn’t support wireless charging, and that’s heartbreaking

Wireless charging may not be as important as water resistance or a great camera, but to me it’s essential.

I’ve had a good run: since about April, I’ve been consistently using a phone with wireless charging. It started with the LG G6 in late February, continued with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ in April, transitioned somewhat awkwardly to the Moto Z2 Play and Z2 Force with an optional Moto Mod, and went right through to the end of summer with the Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30. Oh, and the iPhone 8 Plus, too.

Sure, there were some blips in between — the HTC U11, the OnePlus 5, the BlackBerry KEYone — but for the most part, the wireless charging pads next to my bed and in my office have been in near-constant use this year.

Wireless charging is still more of a want than a need, but it’s so, so convenient.

That’s coming to an end with the Pixel 2 series. While the phone is practically overflowing with 2017’s best hardware specs, including water resistance, its metal chassis negates the one thing that I’ve come to take for granted from most flagships today. Wireless charging has insinuated itself into my life in ways I didn’t expect; popping a phone onto a charger for a few minutes to top it up before leaving the house is convenient in ways that hunting for a plug never will be. People can criticize Qi charging’s finicky nature — you must place the phone just right, or else — but it doesn’t take long to find the sweet spot.

Wireless charging hasn’t exactly taken off, even with Apple’s newfound support of the standard. It’s the very definition of a want versus a need, and its benefits aren’t clear until it’s had sufficient time to call attention to itself. When first placing a phone on a wireless charger, you may ask, ‘So what? This ain’t all that.’ And that first time, it may be true. But do it again and again, and then buy a second charging pad for somewhere else in your house, and it quickly becomes indispensable.

That the Pixel 2 doesn’t have wireless charging isn’t enough to quell my affection for it, nor dissuade me from buying the larger Pixel 2 XL when it’s available in Canada, but it goes a long way to make me consider the Galaxy Note 8 as my daily driver in the long-term. And with companies like Starbucks expanding their support for in-store wireless charging, and Ikea doubling down on home furniture with the feature built in, it’ll be interesting to see whether, a year from now, people actually give a damn.

In the meantime, my Note 8 is propped up on its Convertible, and it’s looking pretty damn good right now.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Moto X4 preorders starting soon, Alexa Moto Mod coming November

Solid mid-ranger? Check. Confusing Moto Mod? Check.

Motorola’s announced just a few smartphone this year, and one of them is the Moto X4. The X4 was first announced at IFA in August, but U.S. availability was never fully disclosed. Thankfully, that’s changing today.

You’ll be able to pre-order the Moto X4 starting on October 19, and when the device officially goes on sale on October 26, it’ll be available from Best Buy, B&H, Fry’s, Jet, Motorola, Newegg, Republic Wireless, and Ting. You might notice that Amazon is missing from that list, but that’s because it’s getting a special version of the phone.

The Moto X4 is the latest handset to join Amazon’s Prime Exclusive line of devices, and it’s by far the highest-end smartphone to make its way to the program yet. Prime Exclusive phones come with Amazon apps preinstalled and advertisements on the lock screen, but because of this, they also have discounted prices compared to their regular unlocked counterparts.

The Prime Exclusive Moto X4 will save you $70.

The Moto X4 normally costs $399, but with the Prime Exclusive version, you’ll be able to pick it up for just $329. Pre-orders begin on October 18 at 10:00 PM PT for this model, and it will start shipping on October 26.

In addition to the Moto X4, Motorola also announced that the recently leaked Alexa Moto Mod will be available for purchase from Amazon, Best Buy, Motorola, and Verizon this November. It’s officially being called the Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa, and it’s one of the most…interesting…Moto Mods we’ve seen yet.

The speaker features a stand on the back so you can pop it up on a table, desk, or another flat surface, but it also attaches to the back of your Moto Z for charging its battery that should last for about 15 hours with mixed use. However, unlike all other Moto Mods, there’s no cutout for your Moto Z’s camera. So, if you’ve got the Alexa speaker attached to your Moto Z, you’ll need to pop it off in order to take photos. It’s a ridiculous design choice, and it kind of defeats the whole purpose of Moto Mods in the first place.

In any case, the Moto Smart Speaker with Amazon Alexa will cost $149 when it’s launched next month.

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

Sonos One review: Adding Alexa is just the start

The best way to stream music wirelessly in your home is getting smarter, but still has plenty of room to learn.

Sonos is one of those products that’s simultaneously extremely complex yet blissfully simple. Or let’s put it another way: It’s a complex product for the folks who made it. That’s a good thing, because sometimes the more work that goes into making something, the easier it is for those of us actually using it. And that’s the case with Sonos.

At its simplest, Sonos is this: A family of speakers that hook into your Wifi to play audio content from all kinds of streaming sources. Apple Music. Spotify. Sirius XM. Google Play Music. Amazon Music. Locally. … The list of sources that can hook into Sonos is long. All of Sonos’ speakers can act independently, or in groups, so you can have the same thing playing on multiple speakers in the same room — in stereo pairs, even — or the same thing playing throughout the house. It can serve as your home entertainment system’s audio, or as a semi-movable system, depending on how much you mind luging things around.

That sounds a little complex, maybe. But it’s not. You really just plug in the power cord, hook things into your Wifi, add in your music sources — and that’s it. It just works. And it sounds damned good in the process.

What Sonos has lacked for some time now is some real smarts. That means smart assistants, of course. And, now, that means Amazon Alexa.

And that brings us to the $199 Sonos One — the first Sonos speaker that doesn’t just play music for you. It’s also listening for you and can do anything that Amazon’s own $50 Echo Dot can do.

I’ve been using Sonos One at home for a week as part of a beta process, following the launch of Sonos One at an event in New York City. It’s lived in my home alongside the best Amazon Alexa devices. It’s played music and answered questions and obeyed commands.

Here’s what you need to know — so far — about Sonos One.

See at Amazon   See at Sonos

Sonos One as a speaker

Yes, Sonos One looks a lot like the $199 Sonos Play:1 speaker (which you’ve been able to find a little cheaper of late). And, yes, it’s based off that entry-level speaker. But at the launch event they were quick to tell us that only two parts are shared between the two devices, and that Sonos One has been nearly completely redesigned and rebuilt from the inside.

As a listener on the outside, though, things aren’t all that different.

If you loved the Sonos Play:1 speaker, you’ll love Sonos One.

The sound is comparable to the Play:1. (Sonos would tell you it’s a little better.) And that is, to my ears, really good considering the size, and the price. A single Sonos One (like the Play:1) is able to crank out a surprising amount of sound. It’s still not the same as a larger speaker with a sub, but I’ve found it plenty good for the price. While Sonos still likes to keep the actual wattage a mystery, it’s more than enough for your average kitchen space. Or even a small living room. I’ve been dragging it outside, and it’s been great for background music in the backyard.

Sonos One sets up and presents itself just like any other Sonos speaker. (I’ve also got a Play:1, Play:3 and Play:5 in my home.) Nothing’s changed in that regard.

No, the big deal here is the addition of a six-microphone array so that Sonos One can hear you. They’re tucked into the top of the speaker, and that’s led to a redesign of the controls as well. Gone are the mechanical buttons, replaced by an obvious play/pause button in the center, flanked by confusing volume up (on the left) and volume down buttons. You might be tempted to think that the ring of pinholes is some sort of touch panel for volume (a la swiping on the top of Google Home speakers), but it’s not.

There’s also an LED for power in the middle, and an LED for the microphone just above it. The mic and its light are hardwired together, Sonos says. Tap the microphone button and the light goes off, and the speaker is no longer listening for you at all. Light’s off? It’s not listening, and whatever you say is between you and to whomever you say it.

On the back of the speaker you’ve still got threads for a wall mount, and an ethernet jack. There’s also a physical button for pairing, which you shouldn’t have to ever use more than once.

Sonos’ TruePlay feature is still here as well. That’s where you wave your phone around and it works with the speaker to custom-tune it for whatever room it’s in. It’s neat, it works, and it’s still only available with an iPhone. (And at the time of this writing, TruePlay doesn’t yet work with the iPhone 8.)

Sonos One as a smart speaker

OK, so it plays music just like any other Sonos speaker. But it’s the addition of Amazon Alexa that’s key here. It’s also where things get a little complicated.

First is that this is very much still a work in process. Sonos is in the middle of revamping its app, and it regularly updates the speaker firmware, too. Meanwhile, Sonos and Amazon have added support for existing Alexa-enabled devices, both first-party Echoes from Amazon, and third-party devices. Sonos also has been very clear that as more people use Sonos One (including in this beta round), it’ll continue to improve. That’s important for a few things I’ve experienced.

But first, the basics: Sonos One works just like, say, an Amazon Echo speaker. Say “Alexa, do a thing,” and Alexa will do a thing through Sonos One. If you can do it on an Echo, you can do it on Sonos One. Set timers, turn on lights, ask questions, whatever. …

There’s no visible cue that Sonos One has heard you — no flashing ring of lights like on an Echo or Dot, or flashing blue bar on the Echo Show. Instead, you get a little ding to let you know Sonos heard you and is ready to keep listening.

I’ve also got a number of Echo devices stashed throughout my house. And every single one of them tends to pick up my “Alexa, do a thing …” command better than Sonos One, particularly when I don’t pause after saying “Alexa.” When I’m making coffee at 5 a.m., it comes out more of “Alexasetatimerforfourminutes.” My Echo Show in the kitchen figures that out the first time, every time. Sonos One, on the other hand, just sits there unless I’m more deliberate in my speech.

Then there’s the issue of all these devices figuring out which one heard you first, and best. If I say “Alexa, do a thing,” should Sonos One take the lead, or should a nearby Echo device? That’s a problem called “arbitration,” wherein these things have to talk to each other to decide who’s best for what. And it’s definitely still a work in progress. I can be in the kitchen, just a couple feet away from the Sonos One, and the OG Echo 30 feet away in the living room will the one that gets triggered instead. That’s something Sonos told me it’ll continue to improve over time as more people start to use Sonos alongside Echo devices. (And to be fair, it’s a problem every always-listening system has to cope with.)

Integration with Alexa works, but it’s still a little rough around the edges.

Another gripe is that currently if you trigger any Alexa-enabled device on your account, it’ll attenuate the sound coming out of any Sonos speaker at the time. So when my 7-year-old decides to play the Frozen soundtrack on her little Robot clock thing, or someone simply asks Alexa a question somewhere else in the house, it mutes whatever Sonos speaker might be playing at that time, even if it’s on the other side of the house. That’s annoying.

And finally there’s still just some overt complication in getting all of these things to play nice with each other in the first place. Since we’re talking integration with Amazon Alexa, Sonos One defaults to Amazon services, which makes sense. If you use a different music service as your main source of tuneage, you’ll be jumping through some extra verbal hoops. And I’ve found myself just heading back to (much-improved) the Sonos app most of the time. (That’ll be something you’ll have to do anyway if you rely on Spotify, as voice commands aren’t yet available for Sonos One through Alexa.)

That’ll get better at some point, too, and presumably as Sonos adds more assistant services (Google Assistant is coming sometime in 2018), we’ll get better choices for default settings.

Should you buy it? Sure, but …

As a speaker, Sonos One is pretty great. And it should be — it’s basically a Play:1, which is where I’d point anyone looking to get into that ecosystem.

There’s lots of potential here, but it’ll take time for that to play out.

As a smart speaker, Sonos One still has plenty of room to grow. That’s not necessarily the speaker’s fault — this is the sort of thing that gets better as it reaches critical mass. The more people using it, the better Sonos and Amazon understand how it’s being used.

The wireless, all-over-your-house music aspect of Sonos is still among the best I’ve used. Better than Google. Better that Amazon. And the Sonos app makes it easy to parse content through any of your music services. (That includes podcasts, by the way.)

The Alexa end of the equation still needs some work. At this point it’s hard to recommend a $199 speaker as your sole source of Alexa when you can buy a $50 Echo Dot to do the same thing — and also control any other Sonos speakers you already own. (That Sonos is offering up the Play:1 at a rare discount and giving current owners $25 of an Echo Dot may be the company trying to tell us something to that extent.)

For my money, though, I’d have no qualms about buying a Sonos One over a Play:1 right now. Out of those two speakers, one has more potential than the other.

It’s just that Sonos and Amazon still have some things to work out.

See at Amazon   See at Sonos

The Rushpack may be the last water bottle you ever buy

Keep your important items on hand while you work out and stay hydrated with the Rushpack water bottle!

The way we work out sure has evolved in the 21st century. Used to be that you’d just go out for a run or hit the gym and that was that. These days, you’d be a fool to leave the house without all your essential daily carry items likely includes your phone, your credit cards and ID, your keys, a pair of headphones and more. Ideally, you’d like to keep all those crucial items on you or nearby as you work out, but who wants to run with full pockets?

No one, that’s who.

Enter the Rushpack: a water bottle designed to carry all your stuff so you don’t have to. I mean, think about it — you need to stay hydrated while you work out, so why juggle another item when you can instead keep all your stuff together on the water bottle. That’s smart.

If you’re tired of strapping your phone to your arm with a sweaty armband case, the Rushpack offers an elegant solution with a rugged sleeve made of industrial grade neoprene complete with pockets built in to carry your cards, keys, and most importantly your phone — stretchy enough to expand and accommodate even the largest phones.

The water bottle itself is available in 32oz or 62oz sizes and is made of premium stainless steel and is vacuum-insulated to prevent condensation. The lid features a convenient flip-up straw along with a spot for connecting a carabiner. If you’ve ever struggled with carrying around all your essential items during a workout at the gym you’ll know the value of this water bottle. It’ll also work great with a pair of Bluetooth headphones as you’ll be able to keep your phone close without having to keep it on your body.

Interested in backing this project? Perks start at just $25 for a RushPack sleeve — compatible with most 64oz or 32oz water bottles — or pledge $59 to get the 32oz Rushpack in your choice of camo or black. Want to double up the volume? Pledge $69 and get the 64oz Rushpack. As with other Kickstarters, the perks continue to scale up as you pledge more money. If you’ve got some fitness freaks on your holiday shopping list, you may want to consider the Double or Triple Rushpack perk which will save you over $100 in the long run.

This is the first Kickstarter campaign by the Sweat Rush team, but they’ve already surpassed their funding goal with more than a week remaining in the campaign. They expect to start delivering perks to backers by December making the Rushpack a great gift option for the holidays.

We know it can be risky to back Kickstarter projects, but the Rushpack is one that we’re confident to share with our readers. We’ll be periodically sharing more awesome Kickstarters in the future that are as awesome as this one.

See the Rushpack on Kickstarter

Facebook slips a screen-sharing feature into Live videos

Facebook has quietly launched a new feature for Live videos that makes sharing your screen a painless experience. Instead of downloading a third-party service, you can now simply click the “Share Screen” button that appears once you enter the Live module on desktop. TheNextWeb’s Matt Navarra has discovered the new sharing option, which doesn’t seem to be experimental, because we were able to activate the feature for our account even outside the US.

When you click on the Share Screen option for the first time, a pop up will ask if you want to add the “Facebook Screen Sharing” extension. We tested it out and successfully installed it on Chrome. After that, a module will appear asking if you want to share your entire screen or if you just want to share a specific tab or a specific application. As TheNextWeb said, it’s pretty basic — you can’t insert a video of yourself on the lower corners while you stream your screen, for instance. It doesn’t produce the clearest videos either, but if you don’t stream for a living anyway, the option looks good enough to use whenever you want to share with friends.

NEW! Facebook screen sharing option on FB Live via https://t.co/Luozcvmz9G (desktop / laptop) pic.twitter.com/1CN2nsaUrT

— Matt Navarra ⭐️ (@MattNavarra) October 17, 2017

Source: TheNextWeb, Matt Navara (Twitter)