Apple Seeds Second Beta of tvOS 11.2 to Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming tvOS 11.2 update to its public beta testing group, one week after seeding the first public beta and one day after seeding the second tvOS 11.2 update to developers. tvOS 11.2 comes a week after the release of tvOS 11.1, the first update to tvOS 11.

The tvOS 11.2 public beta can be obtained by going to the Settings app on the Apple TV and navigating to the Software Updates section under “System.” “Get Public Beta Updates” will need to be toggled on, and once it is, the Apple TV will download the beta software.

According to Apple’s release notes, the tvOS 11.2 update enables a new AVDisplayManager feature for developers, designed to allow the device to automatically switch video display modes to match the native frame rate and dynamic range of video content.

The update includes support for switching the Apple TV 4K display output to SDR for apps that are GPU-bound when running in HDR and it re-introduces the Unwatched category in Home Sharing for Movies, TV Shows, and Home Videos.

Apple says tvOS 11.2 also adds new features, bug fixes, and security improvements to the tvOS operating system.

Related Roundup: Apple TVBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

iOS 11.2 Public Beta Update Introduces Apple Pay Cash

Apple plans to introduce Apple Pay Cash in iOS 11.2 and watchOS 4.2, and starting today, the feature is available for beta testers. Apple Pay Cash is included in the new iOS 11.2 public beta that is being provided to public beta testers this morning.

Since the beginning of October, Apple employees have been testing Apple Pay Cash in a special version of iOS 11.1 that allowed the feature to be enabled through an internal device certificate. The test was initially limited to corporate employees, but later expanded to retail employees. Apple Pay Cash did not end up shipping in iOS 11.1, but it is apparently ready for iOS 11.2.

Apple Pay Cash works through the Messages app and is designed to allow for quick person-to-person money transfers, much like Square Cash or Venmo. It’s available as a dedicated iMessage app in the built-in Messages app, with cash transferred through iMessage transactions. Though most Apple Pay Cash coverage has focused on the iPhone, money can also be sent using an Apple Watch.

Cash can be sent from a linked debit or credit card, while received cash is stored in an Apple Pay Cash card in Wallet that can be used for purchases or sent to a bank account. Sending cash through a credit card incurs a 3% fee, while sending cash from a debit card is free.

The Apple Pay Cash card available in Wallet is being made available through a partnership with Green Dot, a company that offers prepaid Discover cards. For Apple Pay Cash to work, both parties need to have the feature enabled and activated. Money can only be sent in a one-on-one message, with Apple Pay Cash not available in group messages.

Apple Pay Cash will also be available on the Apple Watch with watchOS 4.2, and users can send cash directly from the Messages app on the wrist-worn device.

To use Apple Pay Cash in today’s beta, both people will need to be running the iOS 11.2 public beta. $10 minimum must be loaded onto the Apple Pay Cash card in Wallet, two-factor authentication must be turned on, and an iPhone 6 or later is required. Apple Pay Cash is limited to the U.S. at this time.

Apple first announced person-to-person Apple Pay as an iOS 11 feature at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, but it was not implemented in any of the iOS 11 betas and towards the end of the beta testing period, Apple confirmed it would be coming in a future iOS 11 update.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
Discuss this article in our forums

Snap and edit pictures like a pro with the best photo apps for Android

When cell phone manufacturers began putting digital cameras into their devices some 15 years ago, a quantum leap occurred regarding the devices’ overall functionality. Prior to this revolution, a cell phone’s role in anyone’s daily life consisted of merely making phone calls and sending text messages. Today, however, everyone has a high-powered digital camera in his pocket or purse, one capable of taking stunning panoramas at the touch of a finger.

That said, what good is the best smartphone camera without the proper apps to make the most of your photos? While the stock camera app on any Android-based smartphone provides an easy way to snap and save pictures, it doesn’t offer quality tools for sprucing up ordinary photos. Although a trip to the Google Play Store might reveal a host of apps for capturing and editing photos, it isn’t always easy to find the best of the bunch. To help, we sifted through the vast sea of apps and rounded up the best photo apps for Android for your perusing pleasure.

For the best Apple iPhone photography apps, check out our list.

The best apps for taking photos

Instagram

One of the world’s most popular photo applications — and the world’s most popular photo-sharing social network – remains one of Android’s greatest resources for capturing all of life’s picturesque sunsets, peculiar landscapes, and delicious dinners. With access to a host of creative tools and filters, Instagram gives users supreme control over the taking and editing of photos. Once the photo receives its fair share of filters and fades, it can then be uploaded to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr to amass even more likes and Internet karma. Aside from snapping and sending snazzy pics, Instagram users can follow their friends’ accounts — or celebrities and hilarious grandmas – to have a constant rotisserie of new pictures streaming through the home feed.

Download now from:

Google

VSCO Cam

A social media-themed camera application without the fuss of likes and comments, VSCO Cam provides photography lovers a great outlet to share and inspire. With a wide range of presets and photo-altering tools, anybody has the ability to turn everyday landscape shots into a stunning finished product. The app also boasts its own unique processing technology that promises dazzling results not previously seen on Android-based devices. When editing photos, even RAW photos, a simple click of the phone’s screen changes the viewer’s perspective between the original shot and the edited final product, allowing for easy before and after comparisons. After editing, users then have the option to share photos across a number of popular social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and VSCO Journal.

Download now from:

Google

Little Photo

Developer Moment’s Little Photo remains one of the highest rated photo apps on the Google Play Store, featuring an extensive list of effects and filters not typically seen within a free application. Little Photo currently touts more than 70 effects and tools, and promises to continue to add to its enormous list with each subsequent update. Users have the ability to stack multiple filters while editing, allowing for a near infinite amount of possibilities and finished products. For added control Little Photo lets users choose between applying a full filter, or just half-applying the intended effect to achieve vastly different results. Little Photo’s easy to use interface and bevy of available effects and tools doesn’t disappoint; this app is a winner.

Download now from:

Google

Snapseed

For a powerful camera application with professional-quality editing tools, look no further than Google’s Snapseed. With a massive amount of editing options, users won’t have a hard time making even the most mundane of photos jump to life. Snapseed gives users ultimate control over their images by including a host of sliders capable of altering a photo’s vignette, blur, temperature, and many others. The app also satisfies fans of the vintage look by providing the option of applying grainy overlays, ’60s-style film reel effects, or its unique Retrolux filter. Snapseed also allows lets you stack effects on any photo, similar to Layers in Photoshop, making it easy to produce a brand-new result each time you edit a photo.

Download now from:

Google

Open Camera

Open Camera is another great app to use alongside of, or in place of, your default camera app. With multiple focus modes, color effects, white balance, and exposure compensation, Open Camera handles the basics and then some. The overlay grid can be set to aid in balancing photo dimensions, allowing you to aptly channel your inner Ansel Adams when implementing the “rule of thirds.” Photos can be snapped either by touch or remotely via voice commands. Simply say “cheese” and you’ll have that preferential hands-free selfie in no time. The platform can also be optimized for left or right-handed users, and you have the option to lock the app in either landscape or portrait orientation.

 Download now from:

Google

Editors’ Recommendations

• Hands off: Adobe Elements 2018 has new tools that automate photo and video editing
• Turn your phone into a jack-of-all-trades with 100 of the best Android apps
• Snapseed gets a new look, new filters, and faster performance
• How to save Instagram videos with these six free apps and tools
• Save me: How to save photos from Instagram

Bezel-less Mi Mix 2 and Android One Mi A1 lead Xiaomi’s European charge

Chinese tech company Xiaomi has announced it will sell its devices in Spain; but this is no half-hearted soft launch, it’s to become the firm’s third major market, joining China and India. This means Spain will become home to official Xiaomi stores, online and offline, with products beyond smartphones sold through them. It’s also Xiaomi’s first official break into western Europe, and while it didn’t have anything official to say for now, it may be just the beginning.

What’s Xiaomi selling in Spain? The Mi Mix 2 is the headline device, along with the Android One Xiaomi Mi A1, two almost brand-new phones announced by the company a few months ago. The Mi Mix 2 is its second bezel-less device, and it’s a real step forward after the innovative but delicate Mi Mix. The body is still ceramic but it’s grippier, more shapely, and much slimmer at 7.7mm. It’s also a true flagship with a Snapdragon 835 processor, 6GB of RAM, and a 12-megapixel camera with 4-axis optical image stabilization.

It has Android 7.0 Nougat installed with Xiaomi’s MiUI interface over the top, this time with Google Play installed, something that doesn’t happen on the Chinese models. The 6-inch screen extends all the way to the top of the phone, with only a small chin at the other end, where the selfie camera lives. It’s a different approach to Samsung, Apple, and LG, and one which Xiaomi believes singles it out from the crowd. The Mi Mix 2 looks and feels super premium, making the final 500 euro price eye-wideningly tempting, especially considering how expensive 2017 flagship phones have become.

The Mi A1 is at the other end of the scale when it comes to price. It’s 230 euros, but it’s also far from a basic device. The aluminum body houses a 5.5-inch screen and a dual-lens camera, which has a wide-angle and a telephoto lens inside, ready to produce bokeh-style shots with a blurred background. A Snapdragon 625 processor with 4GB of RAM powers Android One, which will be supported with updates from Google for the next two years. It comes with Android Nougat installed, but Android Oreo will arrive before the end of 2017.

That’s not all: Xiaomi will also sell the Mi 6, the Mi Max 2, and several Redmi 4 and Redmi 5 models, which means almost its entire range of current smartphones will be sold in Spain. Additionally, it will also sell Mi Box, the Mi Band 2, the Mi Action Camera 4K, and the Mi Electric Scooter. It’ll do this through its new local online mi.com store from November 8, and in two official Mi retail stores opening on November 11. From November 22, other Spanish retailers will join the fun including Media Markt and Amazon.

Just the beginning?

The official launch also means official after sales support. This will begin with a dedicated team in China, while Xiaomi builds partnerships in Spain. Xiaomi is also planning to open more stores in Spain, including Barcelona. It’s not starting from scratch in Spain either. Prior to any official launch, there were 200,000 MiUI users already, and it will tap into that fanbase to help promote its products now they’re available outside of importers. The target, according to Wang Xiang, Xiaomi’s senior vice president of global operations, is to own 10 percent of the Spanish market after 12 months.

Is the Spanish launch the first of more western European countries for Xiaomi? It remains noncommittal; but didn’t shy away from dropping some hints. It’s paying close attention to the market response to the device lineup, and will use it to judge possible future releases, its Mi Notebook range, for example, and it’s research which could easily be applied to other European countries.

Xiang also repeatedly referred to the European Common Market, saying he sees little reason why those outside Spain couldn’t order a Xiaomi device online. However, we won’t know if this is really possible until after the store opens, and we can see delivery and payment options. He didn’t say more European countries would welcome Xiaomi officially in the near future, but the scale of the Spanish launch shows it’s serious about making it a success. If it is, other countries are sure to follow.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The Mi A1 is a Xiaomi phone that runs Google’s Android One
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2: Everything you need to know
• Beautiful blue Xiaomi Mi Note 3 has an iPhone-challenging dual-lens camera
• Xiaomi may make a phone to give Android One some much-needed tech cool
• Maze Alpha 4G hands-on review

Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes Apple apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest iOS app deals available from the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

Wallz HD Wallpapers

If you want the highest quality wallpapers, this might be the app for you. With tens of thousands of editable wallpapers, this app features a high-quality collection of HD wallpapers and backgrounds.

Available on:

iOS

Weather Now

Beautiful 3D images of our planet draws your attention for so long that you may forget that the application has other useful features that allow you easy access to precise, global weather information.

Available on:

iOS

Pilsy

Keep your 21 precious pills under control! Track your cycles and mood changes. Customizable, powerful, and intuitive design, will help you to control your cycles and be able to predict your mood.

Available on:

iOS

GoCitizen Mobile App

Immigration can be hard and expensive. The GoCitizen mobile app helps make it easier and was developed by an immigration attorney with you in mind. Download the app and answer simple questions to find out if you qualify to apply for citizenship, DACA, a green card, or other immigration benefits.

Available on:

iOS

Traffic Time

Traffic Time makes it easy to view and share exactly how long it will take to reach all of your favorite destinations.

Available on:

iOS

Tweety Pro

View your Twitter timeline and mentions on the lock screen or inside any app to quickly get updated about the world around you with Tweety.

Available on:

iOS

Editors’ Recommendations

• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time
• Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Huawei Mate 10 Pro review: Best Android flagship for battery life

Huawei’s best flagship yet brings bulletproof battery life, new Oreo-based software, and an AI-enhanced camera to rival the Pixel 2.

The quick take

It’s taken us a while to get here, but Huawei finally has a phone that can stand at — or at least near — the top of the Android pile. A fresh new design, dependable performance, and an excellent low-light camera complement staple “Mate” features like epic battery life and a big screen. But unfortunately, some software hiccups remain.

The Good

• Beautiful new glass design
• Excellent performance, expansive storage
• Multi-day battery life in most cases
• Excellent still camera with great low-light capabilities

The Bad

• Glass body is scratch-prone
• Video camera isn’t the best
• EMUI software still has some weird issues

Huawei Mate 10 Pro Full Review

If you’ve followed the Huawei Mate series in the past, you might be expecting the Mate 10 Pro to be a giant, barely-manageable slab of a phone — the kind of device on which you’d struggle to type out a one-handed message, and which would inevitably protrude awkwardly from your jeans pocket. You might also be expecting weird software and a camera that doesn’t quite live up to expectations.

Some, but not all of those things apply to the Mate 10 Pro, Huawei’s new flagship phone for late 2017.

The Mate 10 line in fact consists of two high-end phones, but we’re focusing on the Mate 10 Pro here, which is the only model coming to the U.S. and most of Western Europe. We’ll get to the standard Mate 10 in the future, but the short version is you get slightly lower specs than the Pro, no water resistance, a bigger screen area and a headphone jack. (For what it’s worth, the regular Mate 10 is also supremely slippery compared to the Pro, on account of the larger area and lack of sharp chamfers on the body.)

There are two Mate 10 phones, but most of us will only have the chance to buy the Pro.

But with its 6-inch, 18:9 screen, and minimal bezels, the “Pro” model just feels like a big phone in the hand, as opposed to a colossus like the Mate 9. The overall heft is comparable to something like the OnePlus 5, with its 5.5-inch 16:9 panel — big, sure, but not a tank. And while Huawei’s software remains an acquired taste, with some weird quirks, the Mate 10 Pro ranks among the best when in battery life and photographic prowess.

It’s another step in the continuing evolution of Huawei and one that makes for one of the best handsets of 2017.

About this review

We’re publishing this review after just over three weeks with the Huawei Mate 10 Pro (BLA-L29), which was provided by Huawei for review. I (Alex Dobie) have been using a global dual-SIM version of the phone in “mocha brown” on the Vodafone UK networks in Manchester, London, and Chester, as well as Munich, Germany while roaming on Vodafone.de.

Our phone arrived with software version 8.0.0.112 and the October 5 Android security patch. It was quickly updated to 8.0.0.113 to focus a battery life bug, then to 8.0.0.115. Most of our impressions here are based on this version.

Huawei Mate 10 Pro Video Review

So shiny

Huawei Mate 10 Pro Hardware

Huawei is going all-in on glass with the Mate 10 series, and the results, in the case of the Pro, are spectacular.

It’s Huawei’s best-looking handset by a considerable margin, with a curved glass back panel complemented by brushed aluminum side walls. I’ve been using the “mocha brown” variant, which flickers between a maroon brown and a rose gold depending on the light, matching the gold color of the metal frame.

A spectacular glass design makes for Huawei’s best-looking phone ever.

In a change from the Mate 9 Pro, the display is now completely flat, which means it lacks the front-to-back symmetry of the older device, but I’m largely fine with that. The back panel — now fashioned out of Gorilla Glass 5 — retains the same gentle curve as before, which helps with the ergonomics. And there’s a unique stripe pattern around the camera lenses adds flair to the chassis when viewed from the back. You’ll need to look closely to make out the shaded pattern, but when you do, you’ll notice other examples of attention to detail, like the symmetry of the camera modules, and the slight grain texture to the color under the glass.

The back of this phone is inevitably going to pick up scratches — mine already has one highly visible nick on the back, alongside a couple of less obvious ones. This is hardly a unique complaint, though, as glass designs dominate the high-end space. Same deal with the overall slickness of this phone. There’s an oleophobic coating on the back now, which means it’s not as much of a fingerprint magnet as other glass handsets, but this also makes it a bit more slippery in the hand.

And there’s a fingerprint scanner around the back too, which does fingerprint scanner things. It’s easy to reach, extremely quick, and has optional bonus features like swipe gestures to bring down the notification shade.

Around the front, that 6-inch display is impressive, even with a slightly lower resolution than other flagships. It’s “Full HD+”, which means 2160×1080 — 1080p and change. It’s a Samsung AMOLED panel, with all the punchy colors, excellent daylight visibility and pitch blacks we expect. (And, since it’s a big focus elsewhere in the smartphone world right now — no, I haven’t noticed any significant burn-in in my couple weeks of testing.)

Only 1080p and change, but the Mate 10 Pro boasts a fantastic AMOLED panel.

The innards of the Mate 10 Pro are packed with the very latest silicon from Huawei: The Kirin 970 CPU, based on an efficient 10nm process, and the first to feature Huawei’s AI hardware, the Neural Processing Unit. We’ll get to the NPU layer, but for now let’s just say it’s benefits are mostly contained behind the scenes.

You also get 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, plus dual-SIM support in the model I’ve been using. Powering all that is a ginormous 4,000mAh battery — a staple Mate series feature, and about the biggest capacity you’ll find a high-end phone. That’s backed up by Huawei’s lightning-fast SuperCharge features.

More: Huawei Mate 10 series specs

Battery life, then, is predictably awesome. We’ll detail just how awesome later in this review.

Oh, and the whole thing is also water-resistant, rated IP67, so no worries about using it out in the rain — that’s basically table stakes for a high-end phone at this point. At the same time, you’ll need to dongle up or go wireless for your audio needs, as there’s no 3.5mm jack.

Headphone jacks going away in high-end phones seems pretty much an inevitability at this point, but that doesn’t make the day-to-day inconvenience of the #donglelife any less irksome. (There’s a dongle in the box, by the way.)

That’s a lot of high-end hardware contained in a phone that’s still easy enough to carry without employing a second hand. The design of the Mate 10 Pro is more mainstream than most precious Mates, but better for it, and with no compromises in performance or battery life.

Sure, some buyers will prefer the heftier size of the regular Mate 10, but after a few weeks with the Pro, I’m not missing the old 16:9 aspect ratio at all.

EMUI 8

Huawei Mate 10 Pro Software

Software, for a long time, was the undoing of many a Huawei flagship. Over the past year, though, the company’s EMUI interface has started to improve considerably, with a new look in EMUI 5.1 and fewer annoying compatibility issues and bugs.

Superficially, not a lot has changed in the 2017 version of EMUI, despite its leapfrogging over the numbers six and seven. EMUI 8 still looks a lot like the previous iteration of Huawei’s UI — the basic design language is the same, even though it’s now based on Android 8.0 Oreo. The look and feel is just fine — it’s clean and inoffensive, though there’s less of a coherent design language running through EMUI compared to Samsung or Google’s software.

Case in point: You have clean, modern settings icons right next to app icons that look like they’re out of a mid-2000s Windows XP theme. And although you can apply an endless number of themes, there’s nothing in Huawei’s Themes store that looks as sharp as the latest designs from Google and Samsung.

There’s been no huge visual overhaul in EMUI this time around.

EMUI 8 does have some genuinely useful features that I wish were part of stock Android, though. The one-handed mode is quick and easy to activate and the shortcuts for hiding the navigation bar altogether (or using a floating button layout) is handy in certain situations. Incoming messages give you the option to use split-screen mode if you’re watching fullscreen video. And the dual-SIM versions of both Mate 10 phones support Wi-Fi calling and VoLTE on both SIMs at the same time.

That’s in additions to some small functional rearrangements like the consolidates Settings menu, which now has fewer top-level options, and is easier to get around.

And it should go without saying, but with Oreo, a cutting-edge CPU and six gigs of RAM, the Mate 10 Pro absolutely flies through everyday smartphone tasks and any games you’ll find on Google Play.

There are also some (basically bad) feature decisions that seem needlessly different, like the fact that the lock screen only shows you notifications since you last locked your phone. (Not even iOS does this anymore.) And UI scaling also seems a little off in places, regardless of how adjust the font size and display size, it’s hard to get everything looking consistent. And although Google Feed support in the launcher is nice, the transition between the two is far from seamless. This is the one place that I’ve found software lag, ironically.

One or two of Oreo’s new features are a little wonky on the Mate 10.

Oh, and Oreo’s colored music playback notifications aren’t supported. Maybe that’s a good thing for you. Unfortunately for those of us who use Spotify, parts of that app’s notifications are shown in black on a black background. And the Mate 10 likes to display the annoying “app running in the background” notification even with music and podcast apps, which other Oreo phones don’t do.

Stuff like this — new Android features not quite working right initially — is, unfortunately, vintage Huawei.

We’re getting a little bit nitpicky here, but with good reason. This is an expensive phone, and the software design is the main area where it’s outdone by most of its competition.

AI is the big, shiny marketing message for the Mate 10 series, but right now it’s almost impossible to showcase the phone AI hardware outside of a couple of preloaded apps — Microsoft’s Translator is the main one, alongside the stock camera app. Huawei also says it’s using the NPU in its machine learning-based performance tuning, which should help the Mate 10 keep more of its responsiveness over time.

That’s fine — nothing wrong with that, but for the moment, for almost everyone, it’s kind of a sideshow. AI and the “Neural Processing Unit” is about future-proofing the Mate 10 for all the apps in the coming year with AI features — that’s a good thing, but it’s future stuff.

The bottom line is the Mate 10 Pro’s software is basically fine. It’s not horrible at all. It’s not as pretty as a lot of other flagships, but it’s usable.

However, if EMUI 5 was a deal-breaker for you, don’t expect to see anything new in 8.

Dual f/1.6

Huawei Mate 10 Pro Cameras

Huawei has talked up its dual camera capabilities ever since it first teamed up with Leica 18 months ago. The results, on phones like the P10 and Mate 9, have been decent, but rarely spectacular. Until now.

The Mate 10 Pro’s rear cameras finally hit that tip-top flagship level — the point where it can legitimately match competitors like the Galaxy Note 8 and Google Pixel 2. That’s an important accolade when you’re charging £699 for a phone.

This is a dual-lens setup with f/1.6 apertures — you get a 12-megapixel RGB sensor with OIS (optical image stabilization), and a 20-megapixel black-and-white sensor. So on paper it’s a pretty familiar photographic loadout for Huawei — the RGB camera fills in color detail, and the monochrome camera fills out detail.

Now, finally, Huawei and Leica’s cameras are worthy of the hype.

But the improved optics and some serious post-processing advancements push the Mate 10’s camera to new heights. The cameras produce the same astounding dynamic range we’ve seen from earlier Huawei cameras, now with more fine detail and infinitely improved low-light capabilities. Speaking of which, Huawei’s manual mode is a joy to use, and even without a tripod you can coax out some clear, bright, impressive long exposures.

At the launch event Huawei made a lot of noise about the Mate 10’s AI scene detection, which can tell the difference between a cat and a cupcake (to give but one example) and adjust settings accordingly. In fact, it’ll automatically identify the top 13 shooting scenarios and tweak the settings for best results, including selective saturation for food, or higher ISOs for anything that might move suddenly. It’s a great showcase for the new NPU, and one of the few that’s really easy to demo. In my experience, scene detection worked almost flawlessly, though it’s hard to say what kind of impact it had on the resulting photos.

AI helps the Mate 10’s camera distinguish a cat from a cupcake.

Huawei’s wide aperture mode also comes into its own on the Mate 10 Pro’s superior hardware — this is the mode that lets you refocus shots after the fact through software magic. Both the accuracy of its edge-detection and the quality of the resulting photos has improved a ton since the previous generation, making the illusion of depth even more believable. But, of course, those f/1.6 lenses mean you get some pretty rich bokeh without the need for software trickery.

You can use wide aperture mode with the dedicated monochrome camera as well, and it actually works surprisingly well, even at a distance. This combination of features let’s you produce shots unlike those taken on any other smartphone.

That’s partly thanks to the hybrid zoom mode, which uses the extra resolution of the 20MP sensor to zoom in more clearly than you’d get from digital zoom alone. It’s no substitute for a real telephoto lens, but it works better than you might expect. Again, the improvement from Mate 9 to Mate 10 in this area was what really surprised me.

It’s not a perfect performance, though. I’ve found photos from the Mate 10’s selfie camera to be a little softer than other phones like the Note 8 and Pixel 2. It’s not bad, just not the very best, and shots often have an artificial look to them even with beauty mode turned off. And the same goes for the Mate 10’s video capabilities. You’ll get perfectly good looking 4K video most of the time (recorded in the still-not-widely-supported h.265 codec), but stabilization isn’t as reliable as those two phones, there’s a little smudging in darker areas, and overall video’s just not quite up to the level of other phones in this price bracket. Google’s Pixels, or any current-gen Samsung or LG phone will deliver more reliable video performance.

Lots of juice

Huawei Mate 10 Pro Battery Life

So — this is a phone battery with a 4,000mAh battery. It’s not a question of whether it has good battery life — that’s pretty much guaranteed, unless something’s gone badly wrong elsewhere. No, instead the question is what can you do with all that juice.

Well, the Mate 10 Pro’s battery is dependable enough to take you from an early start, through an entire day exploring a big city, through the usual dance of phone calls, browsing, tweeting, music listening and Instagramming, and still have enough juice left over in the evening for some night photography. A busy day out in London took me to the 35 percent mark by sundown — at a point where, based on my usage, most other phones would be thoroughly dead.

If you like to hear screen-on-time numbers, mine were approaching 7 hours with extensive use on WiFi and LTE. That’s not a normal day, by far, and most people will easily be looking at a second day per charge from this phone.

Huawei’s SuperCharge technology makes up for the lack of wireless charging with some of the fastest charging speeds I’ve seen — up to 5A at 4.5V for quicker, cooler refills. Technologically, it’s very similar to OnePlus’ Dash Charge, only Huawei’s now boasts safety certification from TUV.

Super Charge hasn’t changed at all since the Mate 9, but as a side note, it’s funny how the phone shows your battery percentage to one decimal place when you plug in, so you can literally watch the numbers tick up. Who knows if that’s anywhere near accurate, but it’s a nice touch.

The bottom line

Should you buy the Huawei Mate 10 Pro? Yes

Huawei will tell you the Mate 10 is all about onboard artificial intelligence and everything that AI can bring to the smartphone experience.

And AI is all well and good. What makes the Mate 10 Pro a great buy today is its excellence in the core smartphone experience. Things like getting to the end of the day on a single charge, no matter what you’re doing. And taking excellent photos even in challenging night-time conditions.

AI future-proofing is all well and good, but there are more important reasons to buy the Mate 10 Pro today.

That’s not as exciting and futuristic as NPUs and AI, but it’s far more meaningful to most people who’ll use this phone. So get the Mate 10 Pro if you want a beautiful phone with extra-long battery life and one of the best creative cameras — and if you can deal with software that’s occasionally a little unconventional-looking.

Software weirdness being the main negative in a Huawei phone review is nothing new, but EMUI’s quirks are far from the Achilles’ heel that they used to be. The Mate 10 Pro is one of the best phones of the 2017, and a worthy alternative to that Note 8 or Pixel 2 XL you might’ve been thinking about.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active coming to T-Mobile and Sprint by end of November

It was a tough wait for this tough phone to come to more carriers.

Samsung’s rough-and-tough Galaxy S8 Active launched over two months ago exclusively on AT&T, and now it’s finally making an expansion to new carriers as has been rumored. Both T-Mobile and Sprint are picking up the hardened version of the Galaxy S8, and they won’t involve any hardware changes or anything else exclusive — both will get the same phone, in the “meteor grey” color, but now certified for use on their respective networks.

People were immediately drawn to the Galaxy S8 Active for a number of reasons, not the least of which being its 4000mAh battery and lack of a glass back, but having it exclusive to AT&T was always a pain. Now, you can at least choose from three carriers here in the U.S. — not quite as good as offering it unlocked as well, but we can’t complain too much.

The big battery is nice, but this isn’t necessarily a better phone than the standard GS8.

But before you go run out and get the Galaxy S8 for its big battery, we should note that it has some downsides that don’t make it an immediate winner compared to the standard Galaxy S8. Even though it has a much larger battery and flat display that’s easier to use, its plastic-coated shatter-resistant display is dramatically easier to scratch and its hardened exterior is arguably too big and bulky to justify if you’re not going to be tough on the phone.

Galaxy S8 vs. Galaxy S8 Active: What’s the difference?

If you’re coming to the Galaxy S8 Active from a place of needing a rugged phone that can take a beating, though, the GS8 Active is a pretty clear winner compared to a bunch of other phones that put their toughness first and kind of forget about the quality of the overall smartphone experience. The best feature of the Galaxy S8 Active is that it’s a Galaxy S8 at its core, with no missing qualities in that respect.

The final question here is the pricing. Both T-Mobile and Sprint will announce specific launch dates and pricing on their own, so we’ll have to wait a bit to see how much it’ll set us back compared to AT&T, which charges a hefty $850 for the phone.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Unlocked

Press release:

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Active Expands to Sprint and T-Mobile

Featuring military-grade durability and a long-lasting 4000mAh battery, the Galaxy S8 Active extends availability starting in November

RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ – Nov. 7, 2017 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc. today announced the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, previously only on AT&T, will now be available through Sprint and T-Mobile in Meteor Gray starting this month. The Galaxy S8 Active delivers military-grade durability with a long- lasting battery to get the most out of your day and the performance you expect from a Galaxy S smartphone.

The Galaxy S8 Active features:

• Military-grade durability – Engineered from high-strength aluminum and protective bumpers for military-grade durability, the shock, shatter2, and dust and water-resistant3 Galaxy S8 Active withstands tough hits and falls.
• Shatter-resistant screen – This device features a shatter-resistant screen that protects against accidental drops while delivering the bright, vivid colors of the 5.8-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED Display4.
• Long-lasting battery – The Galaxy S8 Active contains a large, long-lasting 4,000 mAh battery that can go more than a day of usage on a single charge5. With Samsung’s most advanced fast charge and fast wireless charge6 capabilities, you can quickly and conveniently power up to get on with your day.
• Powerful performance – Featuring a 10nm processor, the device enables heightened speed and efficiency. It’s gigabit LTE ready, with support for up to 1 Gbps, so you can download files wherever your daily adventures take you.
• Advanced camera – The advanced Dual Pixel 12MP F1.7 rear camera and 8MP F1.7 Smart autofocus front camera deliver bright and sharp photos, even in low-light conditions.
• Meet Bixby – Bixby7 is a smarter way to use your Galaxy S8 Active and helps you get more done. It makes it easier to navigate through select apps, services and settings with a combination of voice commands and touch. Voice capabilities allow you to do many things normally done with touch, such as completing simple tasks like turning on the flashlight, taking a screen shot or a selfie. You can use the camera to identify landmarks, translate foreign languages or shop for products online right from the phone.
• Activity Zone – With a simple swipe to the right of the home screen or the press of the Bixby button, Bixby greets you with quick access to active lifestyle features such as a stopwatch, barometer, compass, and flashlight.
• Government-trusted Security – The Galaxy S8 Active is secured from the chip up with Samsung Knox, the defense-grade mobile security platform designed to protect the integrity of the device. Samsung Knox8 has become a trusted and robust security solution with 29 governments trusting it to secure their workforce. It also offers a selection of biometric features such as fingerprint and iris scanners.
  To learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, visit: http://news.samsung.com or http://www.samsung.com/galaxy.

This $6 Belkin cleaning kit can keep your laptop’s screen looking like new

Come on, when’s the last time you even bothered to clean the screen you’re reading this on?

The Belkin Screen Cleaning Kit is down to $5.90 on Amazon. This kit has sold around $9 for the last few weeks. For most of the summer it was selling around $7. Either way, this is the lowest price we’ve seen since May.

You can use this solution to clean your TV, smartphone, and tablets, too. Grab a 24-pack of microfiber cloths to use on multiple devices.

Features include:

• Extra-large, scratch-free microfiber cloth
• High-quality total cleaning solution for notebooks
• Specially developed to safely clean notebook screens
• Alcohol- & residue-free cleaning solution
• Wipes displays completely clean

The kit has 4.5 stars based on 915 user reviews.

See on Amazon

Best Wireless Headphones for the Google Pixel 2

What are the best wireless headphones for the Google Pixel 2?

The Google Pixel 2 is a great phone, but you’re going to need a quality pair of Bluetooth headphones thanks to the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Fortunately, there are a plethora of options to choose from, from “Made for Google” options like the Pixel Buds to tried and tested classics. We’ve tried to round out a list that offers a good variety of styles and price points, so you should be able to find the right pair for your needs.

• Google Pixel Buds
• Bose QuietComfort 35
• Jabra Move Wireless
• Libratone Q Adapt
• Bowers & Wilkins PX
• Sony H.ear Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones
• Jaybird X3 Sport

Google Pixel Buds

Google unveiled its own wireless headphones alongside its new Pixel phones, and the Pixel Buds look like a compelling option for anyone in need of a fresh new pair of Bluetooth headphones — with advanced smarts built in!

Arguably the biggest feature you get by pairing the Pixel Buds with a Pixel 2 is the ability to trigger the Google Assistant with a quick tap and also use Google’s impressive language translation technology to translate up to 40 supported languages into English nearly instantaneously. This feature is only available for Pixel phones and as such make them a really intriguing option — especially if you love to travel to far-off lands where that live translation feature could come in extremely handy.

Google sure would sure be happy if you bought them when they go on sale. You can join the waiting list on the Google Store so you’re notified immediately when they are available for purchase.

See at Google

Bose QuietComfort 35

When it comes to over-ear noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones, the Bose QuietComfort 35s are basically the gold standard. The Bose brand is synonymous with high-quality audio products and the QC 35s are a great example of their craftsmanship.

Featuring some of the best noise cancellation you’ll find, these are ideal options for your noisy commute or for frequent travelers who want to cut out the sound of the airplane engines. Cutting out that distracting noise is important and with 20 hours of battery life, you can wear them comfortably for hours without worrying about these dying on you.

Sure, these puppies will set you back $429, but you absolutely get your money’s worth. They’ve been reviewed well by most people who’ve tried them, including AC’s own Phil Nickinson, who called them nearly perfect. If noise cancellation and comfort are your biggest factors when buying headphones, you gotta consider Bose.

See at Amazon

Jabra Move Wireless

Not looking to break the bank on headphones? You’ll want to consider the Jabra Move Wireless on-ear headphones. They’re lightweight and durable with a headband made of stainless steel and dirt-resistant fabric on the ear cups. You get up to 8 hours of music playback and 12 days of standby time on a single charge.

These headphones were selected by the Wirecutter as the best wireless Bluetooth headphones you can buy after testing 115 headphones. They say the sound quality and comfortable fit belies the lower price, so if you’re looking for Bluetooth headphones that sound great at a great price, pick up a pair for as low as $67 for the black pair or up to $95 for red.

See at Amazon

Libratone Q Adapt

These on-ear headphones from Libratone are featured in the Google Store as a “Made for Google” certified accessory. They’ve got a great look to them and feature adjustable noise cancellation, a touch interface for controlling playback and volume, and a built-in microphone for taking calls.

While the Pixel 2 did away with the headphone jack, there’s a good chance that you still own several products that use them, so Libratone has included an optional 3.5mm cable for those times when you’d prefer a wired connection.

There’s an older model of these headphones available on Amazon for $200, but we’ve been told that the newer, “Made for Google” version that supports Fast Pairing and Google Assistant are currently exclusively available through the Google Store.

See at Google

Bowers & Wilkins PX

If you’ve got money to burn on your Bluetooth cans, you may be interested in the Bowers & Wilkins PX wireless headphones. B&W is a trusted name in audio equipment and its latest wireless headphones have been earning rave reviews.

The main attraction here is the outstanding noise-canceling and sound quality, making these an ideal choice for any audiophiles living that big city lifestyle. They’re also quite adaptable, supporting both 3.5 mm and USB-C wired connections.

AC’s own Tom Westrick picked up a pair of his own recently and praised them for their comfort and sound quality, which he says are better than any other pair of headphones he’s tried — and for a price of $400, you’d definitely expect a premium experience.

See at Amazon

Sony H.ear Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones

Sony’s wireless over-ear headphones are jam-packed with features such as noise-canceling, NFC connectivity, and a handy carrying case for traveling. They’re wireless with Bluetooth 4.1 technology, but also include a 3.5mm cable with inline volume controls. They have digital noise-canceling that adapts to your surroundings to cut out unwanted sound and deliver high-resolution audio to your ears.

They’ve got a sleek and comfortable design that you can wear for hours, and you can expect up to 20 hours of playback time on a battery charge. If they die, you’ve got a wired connection available, so make sure you got your headphone adapter with you.

You save a bit of cash by buying used on Amazon for $250, or you can get a new pair starting at $380.

See at Amazon

Jaybird X3 Sport

Jaybird has been making quality headphones for quite some time and the Jaybird X3s are no exception.

You can get a full week of workouts on a single charge and a quick 15 minutes of charging will get you a full hour at least. If you rely on your tunes to get you through a workout, check out the Jaybird X3 wireless earbuds and enjoy.

These headphones come in Blackout or Sparta (white) colors, and they’re sweat- and rain-proof, so you can pour your heart and soul into every workout without worrying about frying them. Pricing starts around $100.

See at Amazon

What have you tried?

What are your favorite wireless headphones that you’ve tried? Any thoughts on the options we’ve listed here? Let us know in the comments!

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

Google Store
Project Fi
Verizon
Best Buy

Google Search and Maps will soon show restaurant wait times

A new tool for planning your night on the town.

Whether you’re out and about with friends, family, or just want to hit up your go-to restaurant on your own, there’s no worse feeling than getting to your favorite eatery only to find out you’ll have to wait an hour before being served. With the latest update to Google Search and Maps, this will soon be a thing of the past.

Search and Maps already show up-to-the-minute data for how busy a certain business or location is, but coming soon to these two services, you’ll be able to see how long wait times are at restaurants.

To see these times, just search for the place you’d like to eat at, go to the business details, and where you can already see stats for how busy a place is, there will be new information under “Plan your visit” that tells you how long people typically wait based on the current time.

If you want to get even more detailed stats, you can also tap on the hour bars to see wait times for specific hours throughout the day to get an idea of when you’ll wait the longest to grab your favorite slice of pizza or homemade chili.

Wait times will soon appear on Search and Maps, and Google says they’ll be available for millions of restaurants around the globe.

Google Maps makes it easier to find parking with your phone