Garmin and Samsung wearables could earn you health care savings

Wearable devices for health and fitness aren’t anything new, of course, but insurance companies aren’t really known for their fast response to tech trends. That may be changing, though, as big companies like Aetna and John Hancock have started offering steep discounts on devices like the Apple Watch, as long as customers use the gadgets to track their activity. Now insurance company UnitedHealthcare is looking to integrate both Garmin and Samsung wearables into its own bring-your-own-device program that rewards members for meeting daily walking goals.

The new program, dubbed UnitedHealthcare Motion, allows you to use a Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro, Gear Sport or Garmin Vivosmart 3 to track your steps and earn up to $4 per day (for a maximum of $1,000 per year) in HSA or HRA credits if you reach the company’s specific fitness goals. These include completing 500 steps within seven minutes six times per day at least an hour apart, completing 3,000 steps within 30 minutes and racking up 10,000 total steps every day. The trackers will be available at a discount (or even free) to plan participants via a dedicated page of the UnitedHealthcare website. Qualcomm is involved in keeping the data secure as it is shared with the insurer via the Motion app, as well as integrating devices that people already own.

While a program like this definitely benefits consumers both monetarily and health-wise, it’s probably more about the insurance company saving money in the long run. “Studies have shown walking can be an effective way to help improve well-being and reduce medical costs,” said Qualcomm’s Dr. James Mault in a statement, “and we are seeing how UnitedHealthcare Motion helps people take charge of their health.”

Source: UnitedHealthcare

Dwyane Wade is the latest athlete to have a show on Facebook

Facebook’s next pro athlete-centered show will feature the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Dwyane Wade. The five-part series will premiere on November 20th and will show what keeps Wade busy when he’s off the court. BackCourt Wade follows the three-time NBA champion as he attends Paris and Milan fashion weeks, tries to learn golf and manages his businesses.

Facebook already has a show featuring LA Laker Lonzo Ball, his father LaVar and his two brothers — a series called Ball in the Family that was recently renewed for a second season. It also has a eight-part reality series starring Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch, and all of these shows complement the platform’s growing slate of sports coverage.

Each episode of BackCourt Wade will air on consecutive Mondays beginning next week. You can take a peek at the show in the trailer below.

Source: Facebook

Tip your favorite Twitch streamer with PayPal

If you want to tip your favorite Twitch streamer, you need to use Bits. The video game-centric streaming service just recently added the tipping system of “cheering” with Bits to its mobile app in hopes that more folks would drop some cash. Now you can fund your Bits account or subscribe to streams with PayPal.

Purchasing Bits with PayPal works the same way as with other payment options. Simply click on the “Get Bits” button above enabled video streams and select a bundle of Bits. You’ll now see the PayPal option along with the others, like Amazon. If you’ve used other payment systems in the past, you can click on “Change payment service” and choose PayPal as your funding source. Plus, according to Twitch, “PayPal may be an option when purchasing bits on iOS and Android devices if you reside in a country where Apple or Google offer PayPal for in-app purchases.”

Source: Twitch

MacRumors Giveaway: Win a Powerstation USB-C XXL From Mophie

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with Mophie to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a USB-C Powerstation XXL that’s equipped with both USB-C and USB-A, so it can be used with a wide range of devices.

The USB-C XXL, priced at $149.95, features a 19,500 mAh battery, which Mophie says is enough juice to provide USB-C laptops (the MacBook specifically) with up to 14 hours of additional battery life.

Because it has both a USB-C and a USB-A port, the USB-C XXL can be used to charge all of your Apple devices, from the MacBook to the iPhone and iPad. The USB-C port offers up to 30W of charging, so it can fast charge your iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus when combined with a USB-C to Lightning cable.

With fast charging, an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus can charge to 50% within 30 minutes, so that’s a super handy feature to have available from a portable battery back. At 30W, this charger will work with the 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models, but the charging will go more slowly and you won’t see much gain while the machines are in use.

Over a standard USB-A to Lightning or micro-USB, the USB-C XXL offers 2.4A quick charging capabilities to charge your devices faster.

Size wise, the Mophie USB-C Powerstation XXL is heftier than your average iPhone battery pack, but it’s still portable at 6 inches long, 3 inches wide, and an inch tall, plus it looks quite nice with its fabric-wrapped body.

We have four USB-C XXL Powerstations to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

a Rafflecopter giveawayThe contest will run from today (November 17) at 11:15 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time on November 24. The winners will be chosen randomly on November 24 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Tags: giveaway, Mophie
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Apple Park Visitor’s Center Now Open to the Public

The Visitor’s Center at Apple’s new Apple Park campus opened up to the public this morning, allowing Apple fans to visit the Cupertino location to check out the campus and purchase souvenirs and snacks.

It features a cantilevered carbon fiber roof that was designed to look like it floats, along with staircases, stone walls, and terrazzo floors that match the aesthetic of the rest of the campus.

Inside, there’s a large 3D model of Apple Park that provides guests with information about the campus through an augmented reality experience provided through dedicated iPads.

A store area offers the a range of Apple products and accessories, including Apple Park-exclusive T-shirts, hats, postcards, baby onesies, playing cards, and tote bags. A cafe built into the Visitor’s Center offers coffee, tea, and snacks.

On the roof, there’s a roof terrace that offers views of the main building and the landscaping, which includes more than 9,000 trees. While visitors can view the rest of Apple Park from the Visitor’s Center, the other areas of the campus are off limits.

The Apple Park Visitor’s Center is open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, it opens at 10:00 a.m. and closes at 6:00 p.m., and on Sundays, it opens at 11:00 a.m. and closes at 6:00 p.m.

Tag: Apple Park
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YEVO 1 truly wireless earbuds – the best you can buy, but at a steep price

Unboxing Yevo’s first foray into the truly wireless market – aptly if rather unoriginally dubbed the 1 – is a bit of an adventure.The box is black, textured – almost (but not quite) leather-feeling – with silver foil lettering and a folding flap concealing the goods. Under said flap is a plastic covering (which by the way, is an absolute pain to put back in place), under which sits the Yevo 1, encased in foam. It seems like an awful lot of packaging for such a little thing. The whole package does have a premium feel to it, though it almost feels like faux premium. It’s tough to explain. Anyway! Packaging isn’t terribly important, as it almost always ends up in the trash about five minutes after the product is removed from it, but hey – why not mention it.

Build

The YEVO 1 is built well. The semi-gloss finish is classy, reflecting a sense of class without picking up fingerprints the way full-gloss does. YEVO has conveniently included three different sizes of tips to fit all ear canals, which is more or less standard for earphones these days. The earbuds themselves are extremely smooth, utilizing a buttonless design and rounded pentagon aesthetic that differentiates it a bit from the standard bulbous earphones. The touch-based interface gives it a very sleek appearance, unbothered by buttons and charging ports.

As solid as the design of the ear buds is, though, the case seems to lack that polish. It’s a simple design; a two-piece casing with an aluminum ring to cap it, and a sliding rack – inside which sit the earpieces. The casing is made of the same semi-glass plastic as the earpieces, but the seam between the two pieces of the case is very obvious. I feel like it would have been better suited as a single piece aluminum casing, rather than the two-piece plastic one, especially for the price tag.

The rack slides out of the case very smoothly – almost too easily, really – and the magnetic closure holds it closed admirably. Each earpiece fits snugly in the rack, held in place by the six charging pins that snap into the chassis when you insert them. The cap at the end of the rack – made of the same plastic as the rest of the case – also houses a rather-oddly shaped Micro-USB port and five small LEDs. These LEDs are clever in their implementations, displaying the battery life of the case when closed and that of the headset when open.

Check out that weird, squared off MicroUSB port.

While I personally would have preferred to see a USB-C port – which would have allowed the case to serve as an external battery for a phone as well as for the YEVO 1 – and perhaps a more recent Bluetooth standard than 4.1 – the YEVO 1 nonetheless offers strong build quality and aesthetic anyone would be proud to be caught dead wearing.

Performance

I’ll get the bad stuff out of the way first; YEVO 1 utilizes NFMI technology, which while exciting in its own right is still a technology that’s very-much in development. It’s excellent when it works, but even when it doesn’t the drops and stutters are only occasional and never long. The touch controls, while creating a sleek, crisp aesthetic, are a bit unwieldy at times – the lack of tactile or audio feedback makes it tough to tell what’s going on, and clumsy to manipulate.

Now for the good. The sound quality is probably the best I’ve heard in a pair of truly wireless earbuds, with exceedingly crisp audio and high volume. As with all earbuds, the YEVO 1 struggles a bit with bass, but again – it’s probably the best of the ones I’ve tested personally.

There are a number of great features packed into the little guys but my favorite is Audio Transparency, an adjustable setting that either allows sound from the outside world in, or blocks it altogether. This setting, like all others contained in the 1s, is configurable from the companion app – and it works really well. I was able to hold a conversation while listening to music with no problem whatsoever. It’s a little startling at first, but very clever once you get used to it.

The YEVO 1s are also compatible with Siri/Google Assistant/Cortana – a single, long press on the right earpiece pulls up voice commands for your favorite assistant. I wasn’t able to get Alexa to work on my V30, but I’m sure it’ll become available in time – one of the nice things about the YEVO 1s is that since it has built-in memory settings, it can likely be patched via software.

Value

I’m just going to get this out of the way – $249.99 is a lot of money for a pair of Bluetooth earbuds – truly wireless or not. The Rowkin Bit Stereo is $129.99, Apple’s AirPods are $159, and even the Samsung Gear IconX runs $199.99. While I firmly believe that the Yevo 1 is better than both of those products, I still have a bit of trouble recommending them at that price. If you have $250 laying around, and if you want to get the cream of the wireless earbuds crop, the Yevo 1 is for you. If $250 is just too much, though, you can easily settle for one of the options listed above and probably sleep just fine at night with the decision.

Buy the Yevo 1 on Amazon

Frame – Wallpapers (Review)

Customizing our devices can include a lot of different facets, but everything starts with the wallpaper. This is the quickest and easiest way to express your personality, while also attempting to find something that fits in with the theme you’re attempting to achieve.

One such application which has been on the Play Store for a bit is called ‘Frame – Wallpapers‘. This app offers a bit of a different feel and interface compared to something like Backdrops or Wallpapers HD.

Interface

When you download Frame for the first time, you’ll be greeted with a few screens to scroll through before being able to access the various sections. Once you’re in, you’ll be able to scroll through five different sections:

• Photo of the Day
• Latest
• Popular
• Featured
• Settings

The application pulls its resources from Unsplash and mostly includes nature and building wallpapers, but there are some other goodies thrown in the midst. At the bottom of the app, there are three buttons to check out: Home, Search, Favourites. This provides a little bit of a better way to find the best wallpapers and to ensure that you don’t forget which wallpapers are your favorites.

Downloading an image is rather easy, as you can just tap on the picture of your choice, and then select from the pop-up toolbar at the bottom. From here, you can either download the picture, share it with your friends, or automatically set the picture as your wallpaper.

Extra goodies

The other problems with wallpapers is that they may not be perfectly optimized for your specific device. Frame helps with this thanks to a settings feature which allows you to adjust the Download Quality.

The ‘Full’ option offers a high-quality image, and an “average file size”, while the ‘Raw’ option offers the “highest quality” and a “larger file size”. This will help make sure that you are getting the best image possible for whatever device you may be using at the time.

Not everything is rosy

While Frame is a great app and offers an excellent experience and interface, we ran into some issues in our time with the app. The first was a rather major problem, as the ‘Popular’ and ‘Featured’ sections were completely blacked out.

‘Popular’ Problems

We’ve tried using the app on multiple devices and from different Play Store accounts, and the issue continued to be present. We also could not find exactly how to easily favorite images to download later.

The problems don’t stop here as it seems that the ads that appear when you download wallpapers can cause the app to crash. This means that if you’re bored and have been scrolling for a while, you’ll likely lose your place on the list and will have to start from the beginning.

Is it for you?

We still would recommend for everyone to check out Frame, but there are definitely some reservations about the app. Currently, the last update to the app came back in February of 2017, so we’re hoping this hasn’t turned into abandonware.

Nonetheless, Frame is free to download and has a 4.5-star rating based on almost 3,500 reviews. If you want to give it a shot, hit the button below and let us know what you think about it.

Download Frame – Wallpapers!

Gear Up: Skinit offers another great skin and case option for the Galaxy Note 8

In a world of shiny glass phones and scratches galore, there are a few different options to consider to keep your device protected. While most everyone has already heard of dbrand and SlickWraps, some folks may not have heard of a company called Skinit.

This company has been around for some time, but isn’t the first to be suggested, despite some pretty awesome offerings. Today, we’re going to take a look at two options from Skinit, including a skin and one of the company’s standard two-piece cases.

Carbon Fiber Skin

First up, we’re going to take a look at the Carbon Fiber skin that I received to review for my Galaxy Note 8. I am a huge fan of skins for protecting my devices from being scratched, but hands-down, the biggest pain with these is the installation.

Unfortunately, Skinit didn’t reinvent the wheel here, as the installation process is pretty much the same as any other skin. The problem that I ended up finding lied within trying to ensure that the camera holes were properly lineup.

I ran into an issue when it came to lifting and reapplying the skin, as the top portion of the skin became a bit stretched out. Once I was finally able to get everything lined up and applied, then the skin worked just as advertised.

Considering the fact that I’m a bit bigger of a guy, I have a tendency of sweating a bit here and there. This is important to note because the Carbon Fiber skin became a bit more slippery if my hands were even a little bit moist.

There was enough grip to help keep the sometimes-unwieldy Galaxy Note 8 in my hands, but I did have to worry about. I felt the need to wipe down the skin often enough that it became annoying.

Nonetheless, the Carbon Fiber skin from Skinit did the job, and did it well enough to keep it on my phone for awhile.

Skinit Pro Case

Not everyone wants to use a skin as it offers no more than just protection from scratches. If you’re looking for something with a bit more protection, then we’re here to show off the Skinit Pro Case for the Galaxy Note 8.

First of all, the Pro Case comes in two different pieces, with a soft, inner shell, and a hard exterior. As you would expect, the inner shell should be placed on the phone first, and then you can fit the outer shell to lock everything into place.

If you were worried about whether Skinit provided access to all of the necessary ports, then there’s no concern here. The Pro Case gives you easy access to all of your ports and buttons, and leaves more than enough space around the camera cutout to keep getting those awesome pictures.

As was the case with my Galaxy S8 Case Roundup, the Skinit Pro Case also makes life a bit easier for those who use the fingerprint scanner. Being able to find the edge of the rear cutout makes finding the scanner faster than if you didn’t have a case at all.

Since the buttons are covered by the soft inner shell, this makes it easy to find them when you aren’t looking, even for those who use the Bixby button. There’s a nice tactile feel to the buttons, so that everything is accessible with ease.

When it comes to protection, there’s not much to worry about here with the Pro Case. The case will definitely keep your Galaxy Note 8 protected in the event of an accidental drop. However, due to the curved display, I would still recommend picking up a screen protector to help keep your Note 8 in pristine condition.

Conclusion

While Skinit doesn’t have the same brand recognition as dbrand or SlickWraps, the company offers more than a few different options, putting it ahead of the pack. We’ll have how well the skin holds up over time, but I’m sure it will perform quite nicely.

If you want to check out more of Skinit’s offerings, hit the button below where skins start at just $14.99 and include options for your favorite sports teams, comics (Batman FTW!), and other designs. Let us know what you think about these offerings from Skinit and if they are something you’ll be considering for your device of choice.

Buy the Galaxy Note 8 Skinit!

Build.com’s In-Home Preview lets you test-drive your appliances in AR

You can’t exactly take your furniture for a test drive (not yet, at least), but the next best thing just may be the introduction of augmented reality to a growing number of home improvement platforms. The latest to jump on the AR bandwagon is Build.com, an exclusively online home retailer that is not opting for a brick-and-mortar experience, but just may be the next best thing. With “In-Home Preview,” the company is leveraging Apple’s ARKit development platform, and promises to “take users beyond just visualizing how a product will look in their home.” In fact, folks can now interact (virtually, of course) with various appliances, turning a faucet on and off, moving handles, and more.

It’s a pretty nifty feature that allows you to remodel your home with a bit more information than you might’ve had previously. For example, if you’re looking to revamp your kitchen, you can scroll through Build’s iOS app, and select a faucet that best matches your existing appliances. But not only will you be able to “see” what it looks like once installed, you’ll also be able to play around with it, adjusting the water temperature (if you turn it to hot, you’ll see steam), changing water flow and spray patterns, and more.

Similarly, those hoping to install new lights can check out various lighting fixtures, rotate them 360 degrees, or even move them up and down and down by virtually adjusting a chain. And if you want to see how you would switch these lights on and off, you can do that too from within the app.

Different finishes can also be applied to suit various aesthetics, and as it stands, the AR experience includes products from Delta Faucet, Kichler, Hansgrohe, Progress Lighting, Miseno, and Park Harbor.

“Customers have always told us how important it is to ‘touch and feel’ products before making a purchase. Now, we have a way to bridge that physical world with the digital,” said Dan Davis, Build.com’s chief technology officer. “Our website offers more than 800,000 products and we are aiming to have over a 1,000 available in the ‘In-Home Preview’ feature.”

The Build.com app is now available for the iPhone and iPad. You’ll need to have iOS 11 and have an iPhone 6s or newer mode in order to take advantage of the AR functionality. An Android app could soon follow with the AR Core technology.

Editors’ Recommendations

• 9 ARKit apps to try on your iPhone or iPad using iOS 11
• Anthropologie hands you AR and CGI tools to design your living room
• Weekly Rewind: Techie tiny homes, AR fighter jets, SpaceX bloopers
• Apple iPhone X review
• MAC Virtual Try-on Mirror review

Torchcity makes securing your home as easy as screwing in a lightbulb

Securing your home is as easy as screwing in a lightbulb. After all, keeping yourself and your loved ones safe is of the utmost importance, so why shouldn’t it be of the utmost convenience, too? With Torchcity, you ought to be able to combine a surveillance camera, sensors, and of course, wireless LED lighting, all into a single device.

“Making our homes smarter shouldn’t be rocket science,” the team notes on its Kickstarter page. “At Torchcity, we envision smart homes to be the future living and should be as easy as installing a light bulb.” Rather than depending on a consortium of various devices, Torchcity claims to deliver an all-in-one solution.

Embedded in the light is a camera lens, which claims to give users the ability to view “every corner of the room at once,” and in full HD, no less. Thanks to an embedded motor, homeowners can adjust the camera angle by 18 degrees at a time, allowing them to monitor the entirety of the room. Footage from the camera can be streamed directly to your smartphone, and can be stored in Dropbox or other cloud solutions. If you see something out of the ordinary, Torchcity’s built-in microphone and speakers support two-way audio, so you can speak to folks in your home, and hear their responses. So whether you need to communicate with a loved one or scare off a potential intruder, this smart light bulb could help.

Torchcity also claims to double as a smoke and gas detector. Featuring “industry-standard smoke and gas sensors,” you ought to be able to keep tabs on any dangerous situations within your home. Should the Torchcity detect unusual levels or either smoke or gas, users will receive a smartphone alert, while folks at home will see six red LED lights blinking as an alarm sounds. And to ensure that you can’t just ignore the sound, the alarm isn’t deactivated until a user presses the stop button from within the app.

Of course, as a lightbulb first and foremost, Torchcity can also help illuminate a room. Fully controllable through the companion app, users can control the temperature and color of a light from afar. Claiming a broad spectrum of colors and various tonalities (warm for the evening and cool for the day), the Torchcity hopes to help create the right ambiance for every setting.

You can pre-order the smart light from Kickstarter for $199, and delivery is expected in April.

Editors’ Recommendations

• All Alexa-enabled devices you can utilize with Amazon’s Echo lineup
• Brighten your home in 64,000 shades of white through Wiz Connected Lights
• Get a more holistic view of your home with Notion sensors and Nest
• You don’t need wires or even a smart home hub to use iHome’s new sensors
• Digital Trends 2017 Home Awards