Google releases Android 8.1 Developer Preview, Beta program updates arriving soon

Back in the swing of releases.

Just in time for some of us to get settled in with Android 8.0, Google has announced that the Android 8.1 Developer Preview is now available. The latest software is available for testing on modern Nexuses and Pixels — that means the Pixel 2 XL, Pixel 2, Pixel XL, Pixel, Pixel C, Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X are all listed here.

You can download the factory image for your device from Google’s developer page if you want to have that software right away. If you need a refresher on the steps, follow our helpful guide on manually updating your Pixel or Nexus!

Update: It looks as though many people are having issues with the manual update process on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, likely due to a bad file upload. We’re having the same issues here — it may be a good idea to wait this one out for a bit rather than trying to force it.

If you don’t want to go through the process of getting things updated manually (we wouldn’t blame you), you can enroll in the Android Beta Program and wait for the update to be pushed out. The Beta Program is also great because future updates will be sent to you automatically, and you’ll even be placed onto the final version of Android 8.1 when it’s released. At the time of writing, the Beta Program is live for older Pixels and Nexuses, as well as the newer Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Per the Android 8.1 Developer Preview website, Google says we’ll be looking at once more DP release in mid-November, followed by a final release of Android 8.1 by the end of the year. Google says this first Developer Preview release is of “beta” quality, and says the associated APIs are already final.

Android 8.1 isn’t going to mark any huge changes in interface, but it should clean up issues and bugs with the initial Oreo release. It’s also set to enable the use of the Pixel Visual Core on the new Pixel 2 and 2 XL, which is a dedicated multi-core processor just for image processing — we’ll see how that plays out once we get the software loaded up.

Android Oreo

• Android Oreo review!
• Everything new in Android Oreo
• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion

How to enable Now Playing on your Pixel 2

You’ll be able to name that song title with Now Playing enabled on your Pixel 2.

Google’s Pixel 2 has arrived, bringing with it some awesome new features to take advantage of. One of the new additions is Now Playing: a function that will detect what song is playing on nearby speakers and show the artist and song title on your screen. We’ve got the details on how to enable it here!

Enable Now Playing

While some features like to hide deep inside settings, enabling Now Playing is a pretty easy task. You can find it under the “Setting up your Pixel” section of Settings. Now Playing works offline and doesn’t send this information to Google but it is worth noting that there’s currently only a catalog of about 10,000 songs it can recognize and detect for you.

Open Settings.
Tap Sound.

Tap the arrow next to Advanced Settings.

Tap Now Playing.

Tap the toggle to enable Now Playing.

Are you listening?

Now Playing is an awesome feature for anyone who enjoys easily discerning what you are listening to. Easy to enable, and with a pretty sizeable catalog it can recognize, it’s an awesome feature and one many of us didn’t even know we needed. Will you be using Now Playing? Is this a feature you’re excited about? Let us know about it in the comments below!

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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Android Studio 3.0 is ready for developers, bringing Kotlin support

It isn’t something we’ll all use, but we can all appreciate it regardless.

Google’s Android development platform, Android Studio, has hit version 3.0 and is now ready for prime time following an initial announcement back at Google I/O 2017. The headline feature of Android Studio 3.0 is support for a new programming language, Kotlin, to live alongside the existing Java that more people are familiar with. With this new version, developers can automatically convert their code to Kotlin to get started with an app in the new language.

But there’s more to Android Studio 3.0 than the new language. It also includes new tools for creating adaptive icons, better managing fonts, writing for Android Things, creating Instant Apps, and more. Android Studio 3.0 also updated its device emulators to include the Google Play Store, a new bug reporter, and a canary version of a quick boot up sequence for the emulators.

There’s so much more to unpack in this big update to Android Studio 3.0, and developers can take a look at it all by downloading it from Google’s Developer site. The vast majority of us who are out here using Android and not writing apps for it can know that the folks making all of this stuff now have new and improved tools to get the job done.

Android Oreo

• Android Oreo review!
• Everything new in Android Oreo
• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion

This GE Sol smart light doubles as an Alexa device and it’s 50% off

Smart savings.

Is this deal for me?

Right now the GE Sol Wi-Fi Connected Smart Light Fixture is 50% off at Amazon. You’ll pay $99.99, which is the best price ever for this item. The coolest part is that this light has Amazon Alexa built right in.

Use your voice and this light can play music from an Alexa-enabled library, tell you the time, tell you the weather, and of course, control your light. You can even schedule your lights. Turn them off every night at bedtime, or schedule them to slowly get brighter each morning to help you wake up peacefully. Or, put the light in your kitchen and use it to set timers. Stick it on your patio to have soft lighting when you’re hanging out late at night. The options are endless.

This smart light received 3.4 out of 5 stars based on 36 customer reviews. It is compatible with GE C smart lights, as well as select smart devices, thermostats, and speakers.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – This is the best price ever for the GE Sol, and the built-in Alexa Assistant makes the deal even sweeter.
• Things to know before you buy! – If you’re interested in Smart Bulbs, you may want to opt for Philips Hue bulbs, which are slightly less expensive and have much better ratings once you have the Hue Bridge.

See at Amazon

Amazon Prime members won’t have to pay for ‘premium’ Alexa skills

Amazon’s latest perk for Prime subscribers? “Free” access to premium Alexa skills. It’s starting small, with Prime members getting access to an additional six Double Jeopardy! clues within the Jeopardy! skill. If you aren’t ponying up for Prime, but are smitten with the game, those half-dozen hints will run you $1.99 a month, and you can subscribe to them directly within the skill itself.

Developers beyond Sony Pictures Television won’t have access to the skill-subscription tools just yet, but Amazon says it’ll let you know when that’s ready. Like TechCrunch notes, this is interesting for a few reasons; app subscriptions themselves, and how they’ll potentially shape the future of the Alexa business model chief among them. Tying the subscription to a Prime membership is a bit odd too when you consider that an Echo device is kind of pointless without a Prime subscription as it is.

Amazon is still working on a revenue split for developers, too, and told Engadget that it hasn’t finalized its revenue sharing model for that. Typically companies take a 30 percent cut for app sales. If Amazon wants to keep these types of premium skills rolling though, it’ll have to make it worth the extra work for developers.

Honda’s Sports EV Concept puts an AI assistant in the passenger seat

If you thought Honda’s Urban EV Concept was a clever mix of modern electric car technology with boxy retro style, you’d better brace yourself. The automaker has unveiled the Sports EV Concept, which adapts that new-and-old formula to a low-slung, nimble coupe — we can see traces of the 1300 Coupe mixed in with other intriguing design cues (check out the B-pillar wrapping around the otherwise all-glass roof). Frankly, it’s one of the better-looking EV concepts we’ve seen. Honda hasn’t talked performance figures, but the real focus appears to be on the AI under the hood.

Like the NeuV concept from earlier in the year, the Sports EV includes the Honda Automated Network Assistant. Aside from handling basic tasks like navigation, it uses an “emotion engine” that’s supposed to gauge the feelings that influence your driving decisions. Honda wants to foster communication that “unites the driver and car,” which could be rather important when you’re blasting down a twisty backroad.

There’s only one problem at this point: unlike with the Urban EV Concept, Honda hasn’t said if or when the Sports EV might go into production. And that’s a shame. While a finished version probably wouldn’t look as slick (the fascia displays and giant wheels would no doubt be the first things to go), it’s at once very stylish and a welcome nod to Honda’s ’70s-era aesthetics. Having said that, the Urban and Sports concepts remind us of Volkswagen’s I.D.: it hints at a broader shift in Honda’s design direction as it embraces electric cars. Even if the Sports EV never makes it to production, you could see its influence sitting on your driveway in the years ahead.

Source: Honda (1), (2)

Trump announces program to test drones beyond FAA regulations

President Trump and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao announced the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program today — an initiative aimed at exploring expanded use of drones. While the Obama administration began allowing some drone activity to take place in US airspace, a fair amount of restrictions were still applicable. This new program, however, will allow companies and local governments to use drones in ways that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) currently doesn’t allow. That includes “beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights, nighttime operations, and flights over people,” as White House advisor Michael Kratsios said today.

“This program supports the President’s commitment to foster technological innovation that will be a catalyst for ideas that have the potential to change our day-to-day lives. Drones are proving to be especially valuable in emergency situations, including assessing damage from natural disasters such as the recent hurricanes and the wildfires in California,” Secretary Chao said in a statement. Kratsios also said that it could “open the skies for delivery of life-saving medicines and commercial packages, inspections of critical infrastructure, support for emergency management operations.”

The US is still figuring out how best to manage drone technology. Recently, regulations of local governments were pitted against those of the FAA, with the FAA coming out on top, and the FAA is currently trying to change the system that approves drone flights in restricted airspace. This test program could help national and local regulators figure out the best way to manage drones going forward. It could also help commercial companies itching to start delivering packages by drone. Amazon, 7-Eleven, Google and UPS have all expressed interest in using drones for delivery purposes and some of them have already started to do so. Amazon made its first delivery last year in the UK while 7-Eleven has made dozens of deliveries in Nevada using Flirtley’s services. France, Canada, Switzerland and Iceland are all working on incorporating permanent drone delivery systems.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) said in a statement, “The pilot program will evaluate a variety of operational concepts, including night operations, flights over people, flights beyond the pilot’s line of sight, package delivery, detect-and-avoid technologies, counter-UAS security operations, and the reliability and security of data links between pilot and aircraft.” In order to participate in the program, local governments should partner with private sector groups and develop proposals. The DOT will then select at least five proposals for participation. More information on how to apply and how the program will function will be released in the next few days.

Via: Reuters

Source: Department of Transportation

You can’t buy a self-driving BMW until 2021 (and that’s a good thing)

At this point, if you’re an automaker and you’re not talking about autonomous cars, you might want to take a long hard look at your product roadmap. During a briefing at its Mountain View research campus, BMW talked about how it plans to bring a level 3 (autonomous driving in very specific circumstances where the driver should be ready to take over control) car to consumers in 2021 and deliver level 4 and 5 ride-hail vehicles to urban pilot programs the same year. Right now a lot of that strategy hinges on its partners while the automaker maintains the BMW brand.

The varying degrees of autonomous vehicles the automaker is set to drop in 2021 are nothing new. BMW announced those plans way back in March. But at the briefing, Dr. Klaus Buettner, BMW’s head of the autonomous group, explained why it wasn’t rushing level 3 vehicles onto the road and how important its partners Intel, Mobileye, Delphi and a host of tier one suppliers are to making that dream a reality.

The company’s desire to meet driver expectations is key. BMW isn’t excited about the idea of a vehicle with level 3 features that stop when the car hits 37 miles-per-hour (like Audi’s Traffic Jam Pilot). “Some years ago we were at the exact same point as Audi. So should we introduce a low-speed system? And we found out the customer benefit was not so high,” Buettner said. Essentially, the feature would disengage when traffic sped up beyond the top speed of the system. Then when traffic slowed down, it could be re-engaged. So the driver would be constantly turning on the level 3 option only to have to turn off as traffic conditions changed. Instead, BMW wants a level 3 car that can handle traffic from zero to 130kph (81mph) on a divided highway without the driver needing to pay too much attention. That’s what it will deliver in 2021.

While it’s building that for consumers, it’ll be preparing level 4 and 5 vehicles for a ride-hailing pilot program that will also launch in 2021. So far it has not made any decisions if it’ll work with companies like Lyft or Uber or launch its own taxi system.

Getting all these cars ready for the road means a lot of testing. To accomplish that BMW built two 7 series prototypes. One with level 3 in mind, the other meant to get the automaker ready for level 4 and 5. When the cars are on the road, if it weren’t for the custom paint job, you probably wouldn’t notice these were prototypes. The company is using three cameras behind the windshield of varying focal length that look standard on the car. The LiDAR sensors (one on the level 3 car, three on the level 4/5 cars) are in the bumper and, like the radar and other sensors, look like they belong.

So don’t expect to see a roof rack of gadgets coming out of BMW anytime soon. That said, the company has two cars on the road right now in the Bay Area, but by 2019, there will be 100 rolling around San Francisco and Silicon Valley. It’ll also be testing cars in China as well as Europe. Even if BMW removes the custom graphics on the cars, you’ll still be able to pick them out from a crowd if you get close enough.

Like Cadillac, BMW is adding a light bar to the steering wheels of its autonomous and semi-autonomous cars. Apparently, GM isn’t the only company that found out the steering wheel is the best way to let drivers know what driving mode they are in. So don’t be surprised if you see this feature coming from other automakers in the future.

Finally, BMW talked about the importance of its partnership with Intel and Mobileye. The trunk of its car (like the trunk of all these test cars) is filled with computers and other equipment. It’s not only betting on Intel’s Mobileye to deliver the in-car computer powerful to drive its future cars, it’s hoping Intel’s background in back-end computing will help its vehicles maintain a connection with its servers and, by proxy, with each other.

Meanwhile, the automaker is being a bit more transparent about its plans to be part of the eventual self-driving future. It wants to make sure everyone knows it’s moving forward, but doing so at its own pace to make sure it delivers an experience that’s on brand. If you’re a BMW driver, you probably appreciate that.

Researchers observe the first known interstellar comet

To date, every comet humanity has seen inside the Solar System has come from the Solar System, whether it’s the Kuiper Belt or the billions of comets believed to make up the Oort Cloud. Now, however, it looks like astronomers might have found a comet of interstellar origin. They’ve used Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS 1 telescope to track C/2017 U1, an object with a very eccentric, hyperbolic orbit (that is, moving quickly enough to escape gravitational pull) that wasn’t connected to the Sun. The trajectory suggests that it’s a comet which escaped from a nearby star, rather than something knocked out a familiar path and drawn in by the Sun’s gravity.

These are preliminary findings, and there’s more work to be done before researchers can be completely sure. If they confirm the orbit, though, it’ll expand our understanding of space: we’ll have tangible evidence that star systems can “swap” comets if the circumstances are right. The concept wasn’t far-fetched given that comets are fairly common, but it’s good to have tangible proof.

Via: Sky & Telescope

Source: IAU Minor Planet Center

AT&T’s Netgear mobile hotspot promises twice the speed of LTE

AT&T has just announced the first mobile hotspot router, the Netgear Nighthawk, that can connect to the telecom company’s “5G Evolution” network, which AT&T claims offers up to twice the speed of typical 4G LTE. The service is only available in parts of Austin and Indianapolis, and previously only to Samsung S8 users. The Netgear router will cost $50, and you’ll need to have at least a $20 per month data plan to use it.

“5G” isn’t really a thing, yet, as the governing body that decides what specifically goes into each generation of wireless tech hasn’t come up with standards for the tech or its deployment yet. AT&T was outbid by Verizon for the actual 5G spectrum itself, too. AT&T’s 5G Evolution network, then, is faster LTE with some extras.

Still, Netgear’s new mobile hotspot will provide better speeds on more devices as a mobile Wi-Fi router, and while 5G Evolution is still restricted to two locations, there are at least three more cities AT&T is looking to roll it out to, with a nationwide push in late 2018.

Via: PR Newswire

Source: AT&T