OnePlus inadvertently left a backdoor on its phones

OnePlus’ security troubles aren’t over yet. Users have discovered that many of the company’s phones from the past few years (including the OnePlus 5) include a Qualcomm testing app, EngineerMode, that lets you get root-level access to the phone without having to unlock its bootloader. An attacker would likely need physical access to your phone to do any damage, but that still means they could insert trackers or otherwise compromise your phone with very little effort.

At first glance, it looks like this is an accident rather than any kind of malicious behavior. The app is normally hidden until you tell Android to show system apps, so you might not notice it unless you went looking for it.

Company chief Carl Pei says his team is “looking into” the software’s presence. If it’s as widespread as it appears to be, there’s a good chance you’ll see a software update removing EngineerMode. However, the discovery isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring. Between this and previously aggressive data collection, it looks like OnePlus hasn’t been paying particularly close attention to security or privacy on its devices. It’ll need to run a tighter ship if it wants to persuade users that its software is trustworthy.

Via: The Hacker News

Source: OnePlus Forums, Carl Pei (Twitter), Elliot Anderson (Twitter)

HTC Vive dropped its Google Daydream headset to focus on China

Throughout the Vive Focus event today, HTC never once referred to the headset as a Daydream VR device, which was a little odd given how it was first teased as one of the two standalone Daydream devices back at Google I/O. Then came this baffling statement from HTC shortly after the keynote: “We still have a great relationship with Google, but will not be bringing a standalone device to the Western markets on Daydream.” In other words, the aforementioned Daydream collaboration between HTC and Google is no more, even though the Vive Focus lives on by way of the Vive Wave VR open platform. This cancellation was later confirmed by Clay Bavor, Google’s Vice President of Virtual and Augmented Reality, though he also implied that the other standalone Daydream headset from Lenovo is still in the pipeline.

Have been using and loving my pre-release @Lenovo standalone headset, running Daydream. More soon. Can’t wait for you to try it. pic.twitter.com/lwb6PCG4tD

— Clay Bavor (@claybavor) November 14, 2017

Pulling out of such a special partnership — let alone passing an exclusivity to a competitor in the process — seemed a little counter-intuitive for any young brand like HTC Vive, so I later caught up with the company’s Vice President Raymond Pao to see if he was losing his mind. As it turned out, he wasn’t, and that this was purely a logistical decision in favor of an apparently huge market opportunity — one that’s buried deep underneath a pile of random Chinese VR headsets.

In my earlier conversation with HTC Vive’s China President Alvin Wang Graylin today, he mentioned that the ever-growing Chinese market now has over 400 VR head-mounted display vendors, and no thanks to their different app stores, APIs plus accessories, developers aren’t willing to deal with the hassle to cover all devices for relatively little return. And because of the lack of quality content plus inconsistent experience, many of those devices — ranging from the cheap mobile-based headsets to the handful of standalone VR headsets — fail to go mainstream or even enter retail. This, Pao said, is where HTC’s Vive Wave can patch things up.

“China is the fastest growing VR market in the world and where mobile VR is most likely to gain mass adoption first,” Pao told Engadget. “It’s also a marker where fragmentation has occurred due to the lack of a leader open platform. Vive Wave is intended to address both these issues, and it’s clear from today’s cross-industry support that the market as a whole is in agreement.”

Specifically, Vive Wave aims to standardize both hardware and software, in order to offer a vast library of VR content across a range of devices with optimal performance. For the former part, it already has 12 manufacturers signed up, and Pao obviously wishes to see even more hardware partners join the party — even if it means adding more competition to his own Vive Focus. On the software side, not only is it about optimizing performance for medium-level hardware to ensure sub-20ms latency, but it’s also about making it as easy as possible for developers to port from Vive, Daydream or Samsung Gear VR.

If Vive Wave is as versatile as it claims to be and that the hardware manufacturers get things right, then it shouldn’t be hard to convince developers from all around the world to tap into the vast Chinese market via this platform. In fact, about 1,200 to 1,300 developers have already inquired HTC to develop for Vive Wave, according to Graylin.

It’s obviously too early to tell whether HTC has placed the right bet, but from a business standpoint, it makes sense for HTC to go all in on this opportunity. Most notably, Google and therefore Daydream have no access to the Chinese market, so HTC would have to go solo to lead the effort in that part of the world, anyway — as it did with the original Vive since Steam isn’t always accessible there (hence the birth of Viveport).

“China is a huge potential market and we have no plans to take Vive Wave outside of it at this time.”

One could argue that HTC should really be covering both sides of the playing field, and after all, the Daydream version of the Vive Focus would have likely been almost identical to this China version, so it only would’ve needed relatively little extra manpower. But on the other hand, building an ecosystem doesn’t scale the same way as building hardware in terms of resources, which is why HTC has taken the safer approach to focus on building up Vive Wave, and solely for China. “China is a huge potential market and we have no plans to take Vive Wave outside of it at this time,” Pao added.

Well, here’s hoping that one day the Vive Focus will still make it to other markets in some shape or form (and preferably in a darker shade of color), so long as Google is genuinely fine with that after this little breakup.

Adobe Scan uses AI to find documents in your photo gallery

Adobe introduced a new feature for Scan, the iOS and Android app that converts scanned documents into editable PDFs using your phone’s camera. Thanks to the latest update, Scan can look through your phone’s pictures and find receipts, documents, forms and more thanks to AI. It will then turn them into editable and searchable PDFs that you can edit in Acrobat and then export to Microsoft Office. While the scanning is free, advanced PDF features will require a $10/month in-app subscription.

Scan also now allows you to search by name or date to find files. It is compatible with iOS 11’s Files feature, and Android users can search while offline. The app update also claims to deliver clearer and cleaner scanned images, especially in the case of shadows or folds. iOS and Android users can download the Adobe Scan update today.

Via: The Verge

Source: Adobe

Control Ecobee’s smart thermostats with Google Assistant

You no longer have to be picky about which voice assistant you use to steer Ecobee’s smart thermostats. Google Assistant now offers control over Ecobee3 and Ecobee4 models, letting you tweak the temperature from your phone or an Assistant-equipped speaker like those in the Home lineup. It’s a relatively simple addition, but it means that Ecobee’s thermostats now respond to voice commands from three of the major voice assistants (Alexa, Assistant and Siri) in some capacity — sorry, Cortana fans.

The move gives Ecobee an edge over Nest’s thermostats, which already had Alexa and Google Assistant support but still lacks the native HomeKit support it would need for Siri. You don’t necessarily want to pick a thermostat just for its voice input options. However, it can make a big difference if you have smart speakers or live in a household where there’s a dominant mobile platform.

Source: BusinessWire

New Streaming TV Service ‘Philo’ Launches at $16/Month for Viewers Not Interested in Sports Content

The latest TV streaming service, Philo, will provide subscribers with a cost that undercuts the price of competing “over the top” services by excluding sports-related content (via Business Insider). This means Philo starts at $16/month for access to 37 entertainment networks, which you can watch on your iPhone, MacBook, connected TV, Roku, and soon the Apple TV.

Philo started by providing programming to college students on campuses across the United States, and is led by CEO Andrew McCollum, who was a founding member of Facebook. The company gained strategic investments totaling $25 million from five programming partners, including A+E, AMC, Discovery, Scripps, and Viacom. Every channel in the basic $16/month tier is listed below:

– A&E
– AMC
– Animal Planet
– AXS TV
– BBC America
– BBC World News
– BET
– Cheddar
– CMT
– Comedy Central
– Discovery Channel
– DIY
– Food Network
– FYI
– GSN
– HGTV
– History
– IFC
– ID
– Lifetime
– Lifetime Movies
– MTV
– MTV2
– Nickelodeon
– Nick Jr.
– OWN
– Science
– Spike
– Sundance Channel
– TeenNick
– TLC
– Travel Channel
– TV Land
– Velocity
– VH1
– Viceland
– We TV

For $20/month you can watch everything listed above, with the following channels added:

– American Heroes Channel
– BET Her
– Cooking Channel
– Destination America
– Discovery Family
– Discovery Life
– Logo
– MTV Live
– Nicktoons

Because TV providers sell content in bundles, Philo’s lack of sports programming also hinders some of its entertainment offerings, including any channels owned by Disney and Fox. There also won’t be any content from CBS or NBCUniversal. Still, Philo comes in quite low when compared to starting prices of other services like Hulu Live TV ($40/month) and YouTube TV ($35/month), and is more competitive with Sling TV’s low-tier offerings ($20/month).

In terms of features, Philo lets you watch any channel live or save an episode of any show onto a DVR with storage that lasts for 30 days. You can also stream in HD on up to three devices at once. Although not appearing at launch, Philo also plans to debut a “Social TV” aspect in the future, with subscribers able to see which episodes their friends are on in a TV show, see a friends list of users actively watching something, and synchronize viewing of an on-demand show with a friend. Social TV features are expected to launch in 2018.

More information on Philo can be found on the company’s website here, including a seven day free trial.

Tag: Philo
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Supply Chain Hints at Apple Releasing Augmented Reality Headset No Later Than 2019

Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta Computer, a primary assembler of the Apple Watch, has revealed that it is working on an augmented reality product for an undisclosed company that some industry observers believe is Apple.

Google Glass Enterprise Edition
Quanta’s vice chairman C.C. Leung suggested the device will be a “headset-like gadget with a fully transparent lens that allows users to see through and interact with the environment,” according to Nikkei Asian Review.

“Currently, we see such a device available in the market no later than the year 2019,” he told reporters after the company’s earnings conference.

Leung noted that if an augmented reality device could carry a price tag lower than $1,000, it would likely become a hit in the market, although it is unlikely he has any knowledge of Apple’s pricing plans if they even exist yet.

Quanta is the second Apple supplier to mention involvement with an augmented reality product after fellow Taiwanese company Catcher Technology said it has been tapped to supply parts for an undisclosed wearable device.

Bloomberg was among the first to report on Apple’s work on an augmented reality headset. It said Apple aims to have the technology ready by 2019, and could ship a finished product as early as 2020, which is a slightly longer timeline.

The headset’s custom operating system, based on iOS, is reportedly dubbed “rOS” for “reality operating system.”

Apple hasn’t finalized how users will control the headset and launch apps, but it is investigating touchscreens, Siri voice activation, and head gestures as it creates prototypes, the report said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook alluded to any headset being at least a few years away during a recent interview about augmented reality.

“Today I can tell you that the technology itself doesn’t exist to do that in a quality way,” Cook said. “We don’t give a rats about being first, we want to be best in creating people’s experiences. Something that you would see out in the market any time soon would not be something that any of us would be satisfied with.”

Cook has repeatedly expressed a “profound interest” in augmented reality, which he favors over virtual reality. Apple’s ARKit platform on iOS 11 enables developers to integrate augmented reality features into iPhone and iPad apps, potentially laying the foundation for what’s to come.

Related Roundup: Apple VR ProjectTags: Quanta, nikkei.com
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10-Year-Old Unlocks Face ID on His Mother’s iPhone X as Questionable Mask Spoofing Surfaces

A new video has surfaced of a 10-year-old child unlocking his mother’s iPhone X with his face even though Face ID was set up with her face.

The parents, Attaullah Malik and Sana Sherwani, said their fifth-grade son Ammar Malik simply picked up his mother’s new iPhone X without permission and, to their surprise, unlocked the device with his very first glance.

We are seeing a flood of videos on YouTube from iPhone users who have gotten their hands on the new iPhone X and are trying to trick the Face ID. When my wife and I received our iPhone X, we had no such intention. However, things changed right after we were done setting up our new iPhones on November 3rd. We were sitting down in our bedroom and were just done setting up the Face IDs, our 10-year-old son walked in anxious to get his hands on the new iPhone X. Right away my wife declared that he was not going to access her phone. Acting exactly as a kid would do when asked to not do something, he picked up her phone and with just a glance got right in.

The younger Malik was then consistently able to unlock his mother’s iPhone X, according to his parents. He was even able to unlock his father’s iPhone X, but only on one attempt, which he has since been unable to replicate.

WIRED reporter Andy Greenberg suggested that Sherwani re-register her face to see what would happen. Upon doing so, the iPhone X no longer allowed Ammar access. Interestingly, after Sherwani tried registering her face again a few hours later in the same indoor, nighttime lighting conditions in which she first set up her iPhone X, the son was able to regain access with his face.

The parents clarified that no one ever entered the iPhone X’s passcode after any of the failed unlocking attempts. That’s important, since when Face ID fails to recognize you beyond a certain threshold, and you immediately enter a passcode, the TrueDepth camera takes another capture to improve its reliability.

Apple explains in its Face ID security paper:

Conversely, if Face ID fails to recognize you, but the match quality is higher than a certain threshold and you immediately follow the failure by entering your passcode, Face ID takes another capture and augments its enrolled Face ID data with the newly calculated mathematical representation. This new Face ID data is discarded after a finite number of unlocks and if you stop matching against it. These augmentation processes allow Face ID to keep up with dramatic changes in your facial hair or makeup use, while minimizing false acceptance.

Given no passcode was ever entered, we can assume that Face ID never learned and adjusted for the son’s face.

The same Face ID security paper states that the probability of a false match is higher among children under the age of 13, because their distinct facial features may not have fully developed. Given the child is only 10 years old, and Apple’s information, what’s shown in the video isn’t a surprising flaw.

Nevertheless, the video is further evidence that Face ID isn’t 100 percent foolproof given just the right circumstances. If you are concerned about this, Apple merely recommends using only a passcode to authenticate.

In related news, Vietnamese security firm Bkav recently shared a video in which it was able to spoof Face ID with a mask. The video is generating headlines since Apple said Face ID uses sophisticated anti-spoofing neural networks to minimize its chances of being spoofed, including with a mask.

The mask was supposedly crafted by combining 3D printing with makeup and 2D images, with some special processing done on the cheeks and around the face. Bkav said the supplies to make it cost roughly $150.

We’re skeptical about the video given the lack of accompanying details. For instance, Bkav hasn’t specified whether it disabled Face ID’s default “Require Attention” feature, which provides an additional layer of security by verifying that you are looking at the iPhone before authentication is granted.

Even if the video is legitimate, it’s hardly something that the average person should be concerned about. The chances of someone creating such a sophisticated mask of your facial features would seem extremely slim.

Apple so far has not responded to the videos, beyond pointing reporters to its existing Face ID security paper we linked to above.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTag: Face IDBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Fitbit Ionic review

Fitbit is probably the most well-known company in the fitness tracker world, but smartwatches are new territory. The closest they’ve come to making a smartwatch was 2015’s Fitbit Blaze, but even that wasn’t all that smart.

Things are about to change though, as Fitbit is now going all-in on smartwatches. But is Fitbit’s first take at a smartwatch worth your hard-earned cash, or are you better off going with a device from Google, Apple, or Samsung? Find out all the details you need to know in our Fitbit Ionic review.

Review notes: I’ve been using the Fitbit Ionic as my main fitness tracker for roughly two weeks. The Google Pixel 2 XL has been my smartphone companion of choice for the duration of this review.Show More

Design

Fitbit has made huge strides on the design front in recent years. The company’s Charge 2 and Alta HR look more like fancy bracelets than fitness trackers. That design philosophy hasn’t translated over to the Ionic.

Related: Fitbit Charge 2 review | Fitbit Alta HR review

The Fitbit Ionic is inelegant and clunky

Its aluminum frame is angular and boxy, which makes it look much less elegant than the Apple Watch or LG Watch Style. Although, “Elegant” doesn’t seem to be the route Fitbit wants to take here. The company says the Ionic’s design is all about space exploration and space in pop culture. That’s a nice concept. I don’t think it makes for a smartwatch that people will want to wear every day.

It looks a lot like the Fitbit Blaze, which I wasn’t a huge fan of either.

Ionic’s look doesn’t reflect how it feels, though. After a few moments with the Ionic on my wrist, I could  tell Fitbit put a lot of work into making the device feel every bit as high end as you’d want it to. The case and buckle are made of aluminum. The strap offers a nice balance between plasticky and rubbery. It’s never gotten caught on any of my shirt sleeves, though the stock strap might not be the best fit for everybody. I’ve found the sport strap to be more comfortable due to the more classic watch strap-style clasp.

The size might not be for everyone.

My wife, who has slightly smaller wrists than me, tried on the Ionic and wasn’t as big of a fan of the size. The watch casing itself isn’t the problem, rather the angle at which the strap connects to the case. No matter how tight or loose she makes the strap, there is always too much room on both sides of the casing. Check out the picture below to see what I’m talking about:

Speaking of straps, the Ionic’s are interchangeable, making it easy to swap out a sport strap for a leather or classic one if you want it to look a little classier. Unfortunately the straps are proprietary, so you can’t use any other strap you have lying around.

On its front, the Ionic sports a slightly curved 1.42-inch LCD touchscreen display, with a layer of Gorilla Glass 3 on top. It’s very easy to see the display outdoors in direct sunlight, and there’s also an ambient light sensor so the brightness will auto adjust for different conditions.

You can choose to set the display to “always on” mode if you don’t mind charging up your device more often, or you can set it to only activate when it senses you’re looking at it. A simple raise of the wrist will activate the display in this case.

Editor’s Pick

Fitbit Flex 2 review

If you’re reading this, you’re probably already aware that there are tons of different fitness trackers on the market that provide a wide range of tracking capabilities. There are plenty of high-end offerings, like the Garmin …Around back, the Ionic features an optical heart rate sensor, though it has much less of a bump than other Fitbit devices. This means you won’t get any weird marks on your wrist if you wear it too tight.

There’s one last thing to mention on the design front—the Fitbit Ionic is water resistant! It took Fitbit a very long time to make a water resistant fitness tracker (Garmin, Misfit, and others have been doing it for years), so it’s very nice to see the Ionic sport has a 5 ATM water resistance rating.

Smartwatch features

Contactless payments seem to be all the rage nowadays, and Fitbit is throwing its hat into the ring with Fitbit Pay. You can use Fitbit Pay at any store that accepts contactless payments, and there are already a handful of major banks that work with the service. As we’ve learned with Android Pay and Apple Pay, it might be a little while until your local bank adds support for Fitbit Pay.

If you have a bank that works with Fitbit Pay, you’re in for a seamless experience.

If you have a bank that works with Fitbit Pay, you’re in for a seamless experience. Just long-press the Ionic’s left side button, touch the watch to the payment terminal, and that’s it. Don’t worry, all purchases are protected by your bank’s fraud protection, and Fitbit says it uses industry-standard tokenization to keep each and every transaction private.

Paying with your wrist is super convenient since you aren’t required to pull out a physical card. From a fitness tracker’s perspective, it’s even more convenient. When you’re out on a run around town and need to stop for a quick drink, having a watch capable of making contactless payments means you don’t need to carry around a credit card or cash.

Editor’s Pick

Best smartwatches (November 2017)

Smartwatches are still a very new thing to a lot of people, and for good reason. You don’t absolutely need one to get through the day, and some of the best smartwatches are much too expensive …One of my biggest gripes with the Blaze was that it could only relay call, text, and calendar notifications, and I’m happy to say that’s not the case here. The Ionic will be able to relay calls, texts, calendar events, emails, and pretty much any other app notification you receive on your smartphone.

The problem is, the notifications you receive aren’t actionable. That means you can’t reply to messages, dismiss phone calls, or even send quick canned responses from your wrist like many other smartwatches can. You can swipe away notifications you receive, but that only clears them from the watch, not your phone.

Notifications still aren’t actionable on the Ionic.

It’s also a little odd that you have to swipe up from the bottom of the Ionic to access your notifications, which is the opposite of pretty much every other operating system I’ve ever used.

Out of the box, the Ionic comes with roughly 2.5 GB of storage space for music files. You can either use that space to load up your favorite playlists, or download some of the top stations from Pandora. Once loaded onto the watch (the process takes some time), you’ll be able to listen to those playlists with your favorite pair of Bluetooth earbuds without needing your phone nearby.

The Ionic will become more powerful in the future as more developers build apps for Fitbit’s newly launched smartwatch platform. As you may recall, Fitbit bought popular smartwatch maker Pebble last December to help beef up its smartwatch efforts. The Fitbit App Gallery (Fitbit’s new app store) is a product of that acquisition.

Right now there are only a handful of third-party apps available in the Fitbit App Gallery, including AccuWeather, Pandora, Starbucks, and Strava. That number will grow quite a bit over time, but for now, app selection is pretty limited.

Hopefully the Fitbit OS lag issues can be resolved with a software update.

With the introduction of the Ionic, Fitbit built its very first smartwatch operating system called Fitbit OS. Navigating around the UI is intuitive (aside from the notifications), though it has its quirks. Swiping around the interface results in quite a bit of lag, no matter where you are in Fitbit OS. I’ve found it to be especially laggy when typing in my PIN before making payments with Fitbit Pay. I’m hoping these issues can be resolved with a future software update.

The Ionic comes with 17 pre-installed watch faces, and there’s a good mix of digital and analog faces to choose from. One small quirk I’ve noticed—changing your watch face is slow as molasses. It takes almost a full minute for the watch to sync up after you select a different watch face.

Performance and hardware

The Ionic is a fitness tracker at its core, and it’s a damn good one. Throughout the day it’ll track your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, active minutes, floors climbed, sleep, and heart rate. As for the basics, the Ionic is just as accurate as other fitness trackers out there when it comes to tracking your steps, calories, and active minutes.

The Ionic is a fitness tracker at its core, and it’s a damn good one.

The device will tracks a handful of different sport profiles like running, treadmill running, cycling, hiking, weights, and swimming. There’s also an interval timer and “workout” mode built into the device.

When you’re out on a run, the watch will display your distance, pace, total time, steps taken, calories burned, and heart rate. All of these metrics will also be tracked when you’re cycling, with the addition of current speed and average speed. When you’re swimming, it’ll track your total yards and number of lengths. For weight tracking and workouts, you’ll only get heart rate information, time, and calories burned. There’s no rep counting in weight mode yet, but as Garmin is learning the hard way, it’s not always easy to accurately track reps.

Once you wrap up your exercise, you’ll be shown additional details like bpm average/max and elevation gain/loss. Even more granular details can then be found in the Fitbit app after the syncing process wraps up.

Don’t miss: The best fitness trackers | The best GPS running watches

If you find yourself going on an impromptu run, the Ionic has a handy auto run feature which will automatically begin tracking a run after a few minutes. This will also trigger the GPS.

Auto run shouldn’t be confused with SmartTrack, Fitbit’s automatic activity recognition feature. When SmartTrack is triggered (usually around 15 minutes into an exercise), the Ionic will track how long you were active, how many calories you burned, and your heart rate zones. The GPS won’t activate for this.

Below are a few screenshots from a hike that the Ionic automatically recorded:

The Ionic is great at tracking distance and pace thanks to its built-in GPS with GLONASS. This is the first Fitbit with a GPS since the Surge, so folks looking for a more powerful Fitbit device finally have another option. GPS accuracy is in line with other devices like the fenix 5 and vívosport. In most cases it takes only a few seconds to lock into GPS mode at the beginning of a workout.

Fitbit’s PurePulse heart rate sensor is here too, and it will automatically track your resting and active heart rate throughout the day. The Fitbit app does a great job at showing your resting heart rate over a period of one week, one month, three months, and one year.

In terms of accuracy, I’ve found the Ionic’s heart rate sensor to be somewhat accurate compared to the Polar H10 chest strap, though not as accurate as I’d like.

For this particular workout, I took a three-mile run on the treadmill. Both the Polar H10 and Ionic reported my max heart rate to be 199 bpm, while the fenix 5 only reported a 157 bpm max heart rate. Overall though, the fenix 5 was the closest to the H10’s data, as both devices show a slow climb in heart rate over the 30-minute workout. The Fitbit Ionic struggled to keep up with my rising heart rate around the middle of the run, though it eventually managed to catch up with the H10.

Fitbit Ionic heart rate data

No matter which fitness tracker you’re using, you should know that wrist-based heart rate sensors aren’t going to be as accurate as chest straps. The technology is still limited because there are so many variables (skin type, hair) involved that can throw off the sensor.

Unfortunately the Ionic is unable to pair with other heart rate sensors, so those looking for more accurate heart rate tracking are out of luck.

Using your heart rate data, the Ionic will also give you a measurement of your Cardio Fitness Level, which will help you get a better understanding of your overall fitness compared to other people your age and gender. Tucked away in the heart rate section of the Fitbit app is your Cardio Fitness Score, which is an estimate of your VO2 Max. VO2 Max is the maximum volume of oxygen your body can take in during exercise at your maximum performance.

Not only can you see your Cardio Fitness Level compared to other people, the app will give you pointers on how to improve your score. Losing weight and exercising more frequently can help give you a better score, for instance.

The Ionic also has a feature called Fitbit Coach, which is basically the same thing as FitStar on the Blaze. Just open up the Coach app on the watch and you can choose three different workouts: 10-Minute Abs, 7-Minute Workout, or Treasure Chest. Each one of these options will walk you through a different exercise right on the watch itself, which is incredibly handy if you want to exercise but need a bit of guidance.

I wish Fitbit Coach offered more pre-installed workouts, but Fitbit says more will be added in the future.

Fitbit Coach is basically the same thing as FitStar on the Blaze.

Earlier this year, with the introduction of the Alta HR, Fitbit also unveiled two new sleeping features which are featured on the Ionic: Sleep Stages and Sleep Insights. Sleep Stages uses the heart rate sensor to estimate the amount of time you spend in light, deep and REM sleep, as well as the time you spend awake each night. Sleep Insights uses all the data your Ionic collects to provide personalized guidance on how to better improve your sleep.

Both of these features work flawlessly on the Ionic. The Sleep Stages graph is very easy to read and understand, and you can isolate each stage (awake, REM, light, and deep) for an even more granular look at your sleeping patterns.

Sleep tracking works flawlessly on the Ionic, and it’s only going to get better over time.

Fitbit also included a new hardware component on the Ionic: a relative SpO2 sensor. The sensor, using a combination of LEDs and a small camera, will attempt to detect changes in a user’s blood oxygen levels. Eventually Fitbit wants to use it to detect sleep apnea, though it’s not implemented on the device yet. The sensor isn’t available in the Fitbit SDK yet, either.

If you find yourself in stressful or frustrating situations from time to time, the Ionic will try to help calm you down. The watch features a Relax that will walk you through two-minute breathing sessions. This feature is certainly useful for those who need help calming down, but I wish the Ionic was able to track your stress. Many devices in Garmin’s lineup feature all-day stress tracking based on heart rate variability, allowing you to see when you’re the most/least stressed throughout the day.

I’m hoping Fitbit adds a feature like this soon.

In terms of battery life, Fitbit says the Ionic will last over four days on a single charge in smartwatch mode, or 10 hours in GPS mode. I’ve found this to be pretty accurate. I think most people will be able to achieve around four days with regular use, though your mileage may vary if you’re using the device’s GPS more frequently.

The charging cable included with the Ionic is pretty bad. It’s magnetic and easy to attach, but the magnet isn’t very strong and falls off if you adjust the watch at all while it’s charging.

Display	1.42-inch color LCD touchscreen 348 x 250 resolution 301 ppi Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Battery	Smartwatch mode: 4+ days GPS mode: 10 hours Lithium-polymer battery
Memory	2.5 GB Saves 7 days of motion data, daily totals for 30 days
Materials	Case and buckle: aluminum Strap: flexible, durable elastomer material similar to that used in many sports watches
Sensors and components	3-axis accelerometer 3-axis gyroscope Optical heart rate monitor Altimeter Ambient light sensor Vibration motor Wi-Fi antenna (802.11 b/g/n) GPS NFC
Water resistance	5 ATM
Notifications	Call, text, calendar, email, music control and much more
Compatibility	Android, iOS, & Windows
Dimensions	Case: 1.15 x .83 inches Large band: fits wrists 6.7 – 8.1 inches in circumference Small band: fits wrists 5.5 – 6.7 inches in circumference
Colors	Blue Gray / Silver Gray, Slate Blue / Burnt Orange, Charcoal / Smoke Gray

The Fitbit app

I’ve been a big fan of the Fitbit app for a long time. It’s easy to use, intuitive, and much friendlier-looking than Garmin’s Connect app.

The main screen (Dashboard) gives you quick access to your activity for the day, last night’s sleep, how many days of the week you’ve exercised, your current heart rate, weight, and water and food consumption. The next page over is where you’ll find all your challenges. The page after that lets you brows through Fitbit Coach exercises. You can’t download any of these workouts to your Ionic, however—clicking on each exercise prompts you to download the separate Fitbit Coach app.

The fact that Fitbit devices are so popular means you’ll have a better chance of finding someone to compete with. The Fitbit app makes it easy to connect with other Fitbit users and compare activity stats with one another.

The app will also give you badges and trophies based on your performance for the day and over time. It’s a great feeling when you receive one of these notifications on your wrist.

Fitbit devices are also compatible with dozens of third-party services, such as MapMyRun, Lose It!, MyFitnessPal, Endomondo, and many more. This means if you’re already invested in a certain workout app and still want to use the data from your Ionic, you can.

Gallery

Should you buy it?

Yes— but only if you’re okay with having a so-so smartwatch.

The Fitbit Ionic is available from Fitbit.com and Amazon for $299.95. I think that’s a fair price for what you’re getting. Yes, it’s pricey but the Ionic is miles better than any other device Fitbit has made, and that comes at a cost.

This is the best Fitbit you can buy, period. It’s an incredible fitness and sleep tracker, comes with a built-in GPS, allows you to pay for things from your wrist, and it’s water resistant. If you don’t care about smartwatch features and are looking for a high-end Fitbit device, buy the Ionic.

If you don’t care about smartwatch features and are looking for a high-end Fitbit device, buy the Ionic.

The software still needs some work. Fitbit OS is pretty laggy and notifications are limited right now. Comparing the Ionic’s smart features to other smartwatches on the market, there’s no contest—there are better devices out there.

However, these other devices (Apple Watch, Android Wear watches) are smartwatches first, fitness devices second. You’ll want to keep that in mind before casting the Ionic aside. I have no doubt that Fitbit’s Ionic 2 or Ionic 3 will address many of the pain points listed here. But for now, just know that you’re getting a fantastic fitness watch and a so-so smartwatch.

What are your thoughts on the Ionic? Have you used one? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Next: Garmin vívoactive 3 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. 

Lola Travel

Lola is the new app from Kayak co-founder Paul English focused on business travel. Lola makes personalized recommendations and offers 24/7 travel agent support.

Available on:

iOS

System Activity Monitor

Take a deep dive into your iPhone or iPad to see what’s going on inside. System Activity Monitor App is an iOS activity monitor that provides a unique Dashboard view for all iOS devices. It is the best activity monitor of its kind.

Available on:

iOS

Healthy CrockPot Recipes

The Healthy Crock Pot Recipe app contains recipes with a wide range of ingredient content to help you create quick, convenient, and most importantly, healthy meals.

Available on:

iOS

iLax

The iLax app is a file and video manager. You can download and manage documents and videos from Dropbox.

Available on:

iOS

GeoMEMO

GeoMEMO allows you to write memos on a map against your current location or favorite place. Memos can contain addresses, telephone numbers, photos, URLs, and more, and they can also be classified into any category of your choice.

Available on:

iOS

My Own Clock

Customize the way you tell time with this extremely personalized app. You can use any image from your Camera Roll as the background for your clock, and choose from eight fonts and several colors and textures.

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

Learn your way around the Windows 10 Command Prompt, plus how to watch Star Wars

Even if the days of regularly needing to pull up the classic Command Prompt in Windows are long gone, that’s not to say it doesn’t occasionally have its uses. If you find the idea of a black screen with a flashing cursor intimidating though, never fear, we’re here to help. This is our guide on how to use Command Prompt and some of the most useful commands to know.

If you’ve never come across the Command Prompt, or CMD before, then this will be a great starting-off point. The Command Prompt can be a powerful tool, which is why knowing how to manipulate it for what you need can be extremely useful.

To use any of the following commands you need to bring up the Command Prompt itself. The quickest and easiest way to do that is to type “CMD” into your Windows search box and click the resulting “Command Prompt” button. An alternative method would be to press the Windows key and “R.” Then type “cmd.exe” in the resulting “Run” window and press “Enter.”

Note: you may need to run it in administrator mode to perform some of these commands. If that’s the case, right-click the Command Prompt icon and select “run as Administrator.”

For more general Windows tips and tricks, check out our guide to enabling God mode and more.

Most useful commands

You don’t need to know all of the Command Prompt commands to find some use in it. These are our favorites and some of the ones we consider the most useful.

Help – Arguably the most important of all Command Prompt commands, typing “Help” will give you a list of available commands. If you don’t learn anything else from this guide, know that ‘help’ is only four short letters away if you ever fall down a CMD rabbit hole.

“command” /? – While it requires you input a command in the quoted section (without the quote marks), this one will tell you everything you need to know about any of the commands in this list. Good if you want more detailed information about what they do and to see examples of how they work.

IPConfig – If you have networking issues, IPConfig will be very useful for all sorts of reasons. Running it tells you a lot about your PC and your local network, including the IP address of your router, the system you’re using at the time, and what the state of your various network connections are.

Ping – Need to confirm whether your internet is officially down, or if there’s just some software problem causing an issue? Ping something. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Google.com or your own personal remote server. Whatever you choose, if you get a response, you know a connection is there. Also useful for checking if local network systems are functioning properly.

Chkdsk – Full name Check Disk, “Chkdsk” looks at your chosen drive for errors. Although there are plenty of Windows and third-party tools for checking a drive for errors, Check Disk is a classic that works well and could save you from losing data if it finds a problem soon enough.

SFC – Short for System File Checker, the command, in this case, is “SFC /scannow”. It will scan through all of Windows’ system files to look for any errors and repair them if it can. Warning! This one can take some time.

Cls – Command Prompt command results might be useful, but they aren’t the most well organized or easy to read. If the screen is getting too full, just type “Cls” and hit enter to clear it.

Dir – If you’re using the Command Prompt to browse your file system, the “Dir” command will display all of the files and folders within the current folder.

Netstat – This command displays all sorts of information about existing connections to your PC, including TCP connections, ports on which your system is listening, Ethernet statistics and the IPRouting table.

Exit – Does exactly what you would expect it to do. Don’t want to reach for the mouse or can’t seem to click that “X” in the top-right corner? Just type “exit” and hit enter to leave the Command Prompt behind.

Shutdown – Although you don’t necessarily need to shut down your Windows 10 PC at night, you can do it through the Command Prompt as well as the Start Menu. Just type “Shutdown,” and hit enter and your PC will take itself to bed.

Less known, but still worth learning

Not all of the Command Prompt commands are ones you’ll need to use regularly, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some handy functions among the less common ones. These are some of our favorites that often fly under the radar.

Ipconfig /flushdns – An extension of the IPConfig command and useful when you’re running into bizarre network or connection issues, or changed your DNS server, this one will often clear up any problems you have. This clears the Windows cache of DNS details, meaning that Windows will start using your preferred option instead.

Assoc – Used to view and change file associations — the type of file: .txt, .doc etc. — “Assoc” can be a useful command to know. Typing “assoc [.ext]” where ext is the file type in question, will tell you what it stands for. “.txt” will tell you that it’s a text file. If you want to change that, you can type something like “assoc .log=txtfile” and all .log files will then be considered text files. Note: This is a powerful command and should be used with caution. CommandWindows has a detailed guide on its more advanced functions.

Cipher – Cipher can be used to view and alter encryption information for your system’s files and folders. Depending on the additional parameters applied, you can have it encrypt files to protect them from prying eyes, create brand new encryption keys, and search for existing encrypted files. For the full list of parameters, Microsoft’s breakdown is comprehensive.

Telnet – Telnet is not commonly used for accessing modern devices remotely, but some can still require setup through the Terminal Network (Telnet) protocol. It’s not activated in Windows 10 by default, so to use it you’ll need to turn it on. Open Programs and Features by searching for it in the Windows search bar, or by going to the Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.

Once there, click “Turn Windows features on or off,” in the top left-hand corner.

Then tick the box next to Telnet Client and click the Ok button.

Once enabled, Telnet can let you access remote devices or servers, though bear in mind it is completely unencrypted (a hacker’s dream). Commands will be very situation specific, but will look something like “telnet DigitalTrends.com 80” which would have you attempt to connect to DigitalTrends.com on the 80 port. It won’t work, but that’s what a typical command might look like.

& – This command will let you run two commands at once. All you need do is put “&” between them and both will execute at the same time.

| clip – Putting this command after your original command will copy the output directly to your clipboard. Say you want to copy down your IPConfig information, all you’d need to input is “ipconfig | clip” and the results will be added to your clipboard, so you can paste them anywhere you like.

You can also copy and paste in a similar manner to the main Windows interface.

nslookup – Want to find the IP address of any website? This command will do it for you. Simply type “nslookup” followed by the URL in question and the Command Prompt will spit out an IP address.

A few handy tricks

Although the above commands are the most useful when using the Command Prompt, there’s more you can do. In learning how to use the Command Prompt, it’s good to also take note of these handy tricks.

Function keys – Although not so commonly used in modern software the Function, or “F” keys can do quite a lot in a Command Prompt setting.

• F1 lets you paste in your last command, character by character.
• F2 pastes the last command only to a specified character.
• F3 pastes it entirely.
• F4 deletes a command up to a specified character.
• F5 pastes the last used command without cycling.
• F6 Pastes “^Z”.
• F7 gives you a list of previously used commands.
• F8 pastes cyclable used commands.
• F9 lets you paste a command from the list of recently used ones.

Driverquery – Although this is a command, it’s not likely to be one that many use. However, should you ever wish to see a comprehensive list of all of the drivers currently operating on your PC, typing “driverquery” into the Command Prompt is a great way to do it.

Change CMD color – If you don’t like the white text on black background coloring of the Command Prompt, you can change it to whatever you like. Simple right click the boundaries of the window, select “properties” and then navigate to the “colors” tab.

Compare files – If you have two files which are similar, but you’re not sure which is which or what differs, the file compare feature of the CMD may come in handy. To activate it, type “FC” followed by the two file name locations, including drive letter. An example might be: “fc C:UsersTestDesktoptest.txt C:UsersTestDesktoptest2.txt”.

Watch Star Wars – Yes, you read that right. You can actually watch the original Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (not everyone’s favorite) right within the Command Prompt. It’s in ASCII graphics but the entire movie is there if you know the right command trick. You’ll need to enable Telnet as explained in the above section of this guide, but once you have, paste in “telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl” and enjoy.

Now that you know your way around the Command Prompt, it’s a good idea you learn some of the tricks and tips for the Windows 10 Task Manager too.

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