See A New View: Meet the OnePlus 5T this week in NYC!

The most wonderful time of the year is coming sooner than you think!

It’s not often that we get to look forward to two OnePlus announcements in the same year, but we have good news and better news: the OnePlus 5T is coming, and it’s going to be unveiled at a splashy event in Brooklyn, New York on November 16 starting at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT.

Want to learn more? Read on!

What are we even talking about?

The OnePlus 5 was released this past June, and while it was consistently rated one of the best phones of the year, the company didn’t want to stop there. So it got to work creating the OnePlus 5T, which is going to feature some great improvements over an already-awesome phone.

We don’t know too much just yet — just what OnePlus has told us — but there’s plenty we already do know, including the name.

• It’s going to have a bezel-less design
• It’s going to have an awesome camera
• It’s going to keep the much-loved headphone jack
• And, best of all, it’s going to be available on November 21 if you’re in North America or Europe!

A New View — The launch event

OnePlus has never held a physical launch event before, so it decided to go big for the OnePlus 5T.

Called “A New View”, the event is going to be located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and OnePlus, being a company built on the support of its fans, wants fans to attend.

In fact, the event was so popular that tickets are sold out! For those who did grab one of the coveted few, here’s what they get:

• Reserved seating
• A swag bag upon check-in
• The earliest hands-on experience with the new OnePlus 5T
• Snacks and drinks
• A fun time with Pete, Carl, and the OnePlus team

Pretty great, huh?

What if New York is just too far?

OnePlus can only sell so many in-person tickets to the live event on November 16, so it’s also livestreaming it for everyone to see.

If you want to watch it, it’s simple: just bookmark this page (do it!) and, on the 16th, press play on the video below. Easy!

The video will also be livestreamed on Facebook, and Twitter Periscope. Just go to http://www.oneplus.net/event for more details!

Why should you care?

Are you kidding?! The OnePlus 5T is going to be ridiculous. Not only was the OnePlus 5T one of the best phones of 2017, it was also the most affordable “flagship killer” out there.

The OnePlus 5T is only going to make that better. Picture this: a full, near bezel-less display that takes up most of the front of the phone; an awesome dual camera setup with even better portrait photos; a headphone jack that delivers awesome sound; super fast Dash Charging for all-day battery with just 30 minutes charge; and a beautiful aluminum body that you’re going to love for years to come.

Want to learn more?

Check out all the OnePlus 5T details you can handle!

Best Selfie Camera on a Phone

• Best Overall
• Best Non-Samsung
• Best Budget

Best Overall

Samsung Galaxy S8

See at Verizon
See at AT&T
See at T-Mobile
See at Sprint

Samsung knows how to equip you with what you need to take a selfie. Not only is the Galaxy S8 packed with some of the best front-facing camera hardware — an 8-megapixel camera with auto focus, to be exact — but it also offers a number of extra software features that’ll help sustain your vanity. For instance, the camera app offers Snapchat-like features baked right in, in addition to a robust beauty mode that buffs out your imperfections and makes you look like the freshly airbrushed model you wish you could be. The filters also work on your friends’ faces in group selfies, and if you can’t fit them all into the shot, you can easily switch into the wide-angle selfie mode.

Bottom line: You’ll win at narcissism with the Galaxy S8’s fine front-facing hardware and its accompanying software features.

One more thing: If you need something bigger, the larger Galaxy S8+ shares the same hardware, not to mention it also offers a bigger screen for you to view the end results. And the Note 8 also features the same excellent camera with more features, and S Pen, an dual rear cameras.

Why the Galaxy S8 is the best

Let’s riff on the Galaxy S8’s specifications for a second. The new Galaxy S8 features an 8MP front-facing camera with auto focus capabilities— even in the high end, most phones don’t have auto focus capabilities on the front-facer. The front-facing camera also shoots with a f/1.7 lens, so it takes decent low-light photos, just like the rear-facing camera. It also has HDR capabilities, a selective focus mode for portrait shots, and you can download additional modes as you see fit.

The point is: The Galaxy S8 is not only equipped with an impressive front-facing camera, but it also offers a host of fun software features that’ll keep you snappin’.

Best Non-Samsung

Google Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL

See at Verizon
See at Best Buy
See at Google Store

Both versions of Google’s Pixel 2 phones use the same 8-megapixel sensor, with large 1.4-micron pixels, behind a f/2.4 lens. The Pixels take a different approach to selfie photography, with a fixed-focus sensor, relying on software to bring out more detail and dynamic range in your shots. There’s also a front-facing portrait mode, which uses the same tech as the Pixel’s rear camera to create artistically blurred selfies.

Bottom line: If you’d rather go Google because software updates matter more to you than an abundance of camera features, the Pixel 2 is a bona fide selfie shooter.

One more thing: The Pixel 2’s front-facing portrait mode is a feature you won’t find on any other Android flagship phone right now.

Best Budget

OnePlus 5

See at OnePlus.net
See at Amazon (India)

OnePlus has upped its game in 2017, and the OnePlus 5 includes a 16-megapixel sensor capable of capturing some of the sharpest selfies around, behind a bright f/2.0 lens. OnePlus’s excellent electronic image stabilization works with the front camera too, so videos with the front-facer should be free from camera shake.

While we’re in between phones for OnePlus right now, with the impending launch of the OnePlus 5T, we can expect the new model to feature a selfie camera that’s at least as good as its predecessor.

Bottom line: If you don’t want to pay full price for a premium phone, but you still want a worthy selfie-snapping sensor, the OnePlus 5 is more than up to the task.

One more thing: You may want to hold out and pick up the OnePlus 5T when that launches.

Conclusion

Samsung knows selfies. It’s been attempting to perfect them since the Galaxy S III, likely because it’s a major selling point. And this year, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have had their front-facing cameras overhauled with better features and more capabilities, making either one the most compelling choice for the most vain of smartphone users.

But for the most part, the best smartphone for selfies is the one you already have your hand. So get to snappin’!

Best Overall

Samsung Galaxy S8

See at Verizon
See at AT&T
See at T-Mobile
See at Sprint

Samsung knows how to equip you with what you need to take a selfie. Not only is it packed with some of the best front-facing camera hardware — an 8-megapixel camera with auto focus, to be exact — but it also offers a number of extra software features that’ll help sustain your vanity. For instance, the camera app offers Snapchat-like features baked right in, in addition to a robust beauty mode that buffs out your imperfections and makes you look like the freshly airbrushed model you wish you could be. The filters also work on your friends’ faces in group selfies, and if you can’t fit them all into the shot you can easily switch into the wide-angle selfie mode.

Bottom line: You’ll win at narcissism with the Galaxy S8’s fine front-facing hardware and its accompanying software features.

One more thing: If you need something bigger, the larger Galaxy S8+ shares the same hardware, not to mention it also offers a bigger screen for you to view the end results. And the Note 8 also features the same excellent camera with more features, and S Pen, an dual rear cameras.

Why the Galaxy S8 is the best

Let’s riff on the Galaxy S8’s specifications for a second. The new Galaxy S8 features an 8MP front-facing camera with auto focus capabilities — even in the high end, most phones don’t have auto focus capabilities on the front-facer. The front-facing camera also shoots with a f/1.7 lens, so it takes decent low light photos, just like the rear-facing camera. It also has HDR capabilities, a selective focus mode for portrait shots, and you can download additional modes as you see fit.

The point is: the Galaxy S8 is not only equipped with an impressive front-facing camera, but it also offers a host of fun software features that’ll keep you snappin’.

Updated Novembe, 2017: We’ve updated this post with our list of the best devices with improved front-facing cameras, including phones released in the second half of 2017.

Samsung’s best 55-inch 4K Smart TV is down to just $898 for the first time

If you don’t have a 4K TV yet, you’re running out of excuses.

The Samsung 55-inch MU8000 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV is down to $897.99 on Amazon. This is its lowest price ever and its first time ever dropping below $900. This price is also available at BuyDig and B&H.

This is a 2017 TV model with incredible 4K image quality and smart streaming functionality. It has 4.4 stars based on 180 user reviews.

The 55-inch is not the only TV in the MU8000 series on sale today. The whole lineup has dropped in price:

• 49-inch MU8000 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $697.99 (from $900) – This is the smallest TV in the series and features a 60Hz refresh rate compared to 120Hz for the larger models. At BuyDig and B&H.
• 65-inch MU8000 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $1,297.99 (from $1,500) – At BuyDig and B&H.
• 75-inch MU8000 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $2,297.99 (from $2,700) – At BuyDig and B&H.
• 82-inch MU8000 4K Ultra HD Smart TV for $3,297.99 (from $3,798) – At BuyDig and B&H.

See at Amazon

Microsoft now sells Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ online

Microsoft is now selling the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+) online.

As first spotted by MSPU, Microsoft is now selling Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones at its online store

Through its online shop, Microsoft is offering both versions of the Galaxy S8 either unlocked or in AT&T or Verizon variants. The standard array of colors is also available, including choices of black, silver, or orchid gray. As for pricing, you’re looking at $724.99 for the unlocked S8 or $824.99 for the unlocked S8+. Carrier variants differ in price slightly. If you’re looking for a discount, however, you might want to wait until November 23, when Microsoft will be offering $150 off the unlocked models for Black Friday.

That Microsoft sells the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ isn’t new, but the smartphones’ arrival at Microsoft’s online store is. Microsoft first began selling the Galaxy S8 earlier in 2017, but it kept sales restricted to its physical retail stores so store reps could “ensure a best-in-class customer experience.” Though the “Microsoft Edition” versions weren’t functionally different from Samsung’s standard-issue Galaxy S8 handsets, Microsoft associates were available to help customers set up their devices, which also presumably entailed installing any Microsoft apps they might want to take advantage of.

As you might expect, Microsoft is taking the opportunity on its Store page to pitch its recently released Microsoft Launcher as a way to customize the experience and help the GS8 work in concert with your Microsoft account and Windows PC. It may not be Windows phone, but as we’ve seen with our own experiments, the GS8 with a complement of Microsoft apps can make for a pretty solid Microsoft phone.

See at Microsoft

How I turned my Samsung Galaxy S8 into a Microsoft 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

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Unlocked

Google Home can now be used as an intercom with Broadcast feature

And you thought in-home intercom systems were dead.

Alongside the Pixel 2, Pixelbook, and all of its other hardware announcements, Google also used its October 4 event to unveil a host of new features coming to its Google Home speakers. A lot of these were simply said to be “coming soon”, but the new Broadcast feature that was announced is officially rolling out now.

You might have had a home intercom system if you grew up between the 70s and 80s, and that’s exactly the kind of functionality Broadcast offers. Simply tell your Google Home, “Ok, Google, broadcast” and then whatever message you’d like, and your voice will then be played on all Google Homes connected throughout your house.

For example, you can say “Ok, Google, broadcast it’s time for dinner” to get everyone’s attention that it’s time to eat without having to holler up and down flights of stairs – something every parent has likely had to do once or twice.

Broadcast is available for users in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia.

You can use Broadcast for all sorts of messages, but for common, everyday things, Google Assistant will play a charming message rather than your voice. For example, saying “Ok Google, broadcast it’s dinner time” will play a dinner bell sound on your Google Homes.

In addition to using Broadcast while you’re home, you can also use the feature on your phone with the Google Assistant to do the same thing. If you’re just getting out of the office and want to let your family know you’re on the way, get your phone, say “Ok, Google, broadcast I’m on the way home”, and your message will be sent to all of the Google Homes back home.

Broadcast is rolling out now to users that have Assistant on their Google Home and phones set to the English language in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia with more languages scheduled to come out “soon.”

Google Home

• Google Home review
• These services work with Google Home
• Google Home vs. Amazon Echo
• Join our Google Home forums!

Google Store Best Buy Target

Android 8.1 will reduce storage sizes of infrequently used apps

A new tool to save your precious storage.

Google officially released the Developer Preview for Android 8.1 Oreo in late October, and after getting a chance to go hands-on with the latest build of our favorite mobile OS, we discovered a lot of minor tweaks compared to the current 8.0 release. Since then, a new commit has been discovered in the Android Open Source framework for 8.1 that should greatly benefit phones with lower storage amounts.

Discovered by the folks at XDA Developers, the commit is designed to decrease the size of applications that are installed on your phone once they’ve been detected as being inactive for a certain period of time. Inactive apps are essentially those that haven’t been used for some time, and this is determined by a field in the OS called sysprop pm.dexopt.unopt_after_inactive_days.

Once an application is detected as being inactive, it’s stopped from running through Android’s dexopt tool to prevent them from taking up precious space on your device.

No action is required on the user’s part to make this happen, and as ingenious of a system as it is, it’s not perfect. OEMs are required to enable the feature in order for their devices to use it, and it’s only available for 8.1 and not 8.0. In other words, while Pixel and Nexus devices will be able to benefit from it in about a month or so, it’ll likely be quite a few more months before other hardware can take advantage of this.

Android Oreo

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

Touring the solar system with a new book of NASA photos

It’s easy to get jaded by images of our solar system, especially when NASA probes like Cassini make it look so routine. A new book called The Planets, written and curated by Nirmala Nataraj with a forward by Bill Nye and featuring hundreds of stunning NASA images, should cure you of your cynicism. As Nye puts it, we haven’t exactly been doing this for a long time. “You are looking at images with a clarity and sharpness that our ancestors probably couldn’t even imagine, let alone capture,” he said.

The pictures were chosen not just to make your jaw drop, but chronicle some of NASA’s more notable findings. So, alongside recent photos of Saturn and its moons like Titan and Enceladus, it includes the first ever photo of Earth taken from the moon’s perspective, snapped by the Lunar Orbiter 1. On top of the eight planets, there are also shots of the Sun, Kuiper Belt objects, ex-planet Pluto and its moon, Charon.

Nye provides a brisk history of how the solar system was formed, starting with the sun itself and moving on to the inner rocky planets, the “Jovian” gas giants and finally the outer Kuiper Belt objects. He also gives readers some advise on how to peruse the book. “Are we alone out here in the cosmos, suspended on the arm of the Milky Way?” Nye asks. “To find your own answer to these universal questions, save the best for last and look at our Earth from space as astronauts do. It will change you.”

Those words are brought to colorful life by the images from NASA’s archives, including Mercury’s Caloris Basin (above), multi-hued jet streams emanating on Saturn’s hexagon, Pluto’s heart-shaped Sputnik Planam, Jupiter’s atmosphere and recent images of Saturn’s rings and moons from Cassini. Many of the images are taken with ultraviolet and infrared cameras, and include false color to enhance storm systems, mineral deposits and other features.

Sure, you can find all these images on NASA and other websites, but there’s something about seeing them collected together in a high-quality printed book ($40 in hardcover from Chronicle Books). It’s a great way to take a tour of our beautiful but mostly inhospitable solar system, and a reminder not to screw up our own Goldilocks planet.

Via: Co.Design

Source: Chronicle Books

Embark’s semi-autonomous trucks are hauling Frigidaire appliances

Last year, Otto made a 120-mile beer run. Now Frigidaire and Ryder have partnered with autonomous trucking company Embark to deliver smart fridges from Texas to California. You know, so you have a place to store the brews. Embark thinks that freeways are the ideal test grounds for its autonomous efforts because there aren’t any traffic lights, pedestrians or oncoming traffic to deal with. Which makes sense. All a truck needs to do, basically, is stay in its lane, maintain speed and keep a safe distance from other cars.

The Level 2 autonomous semis (think: Tesla’s Autopilot and Cadillac’s Super Cruise) will have a driver behind the wheel for insurance, of course. But once a Ryder driver drops the trailers at a designated spot in El Paso before the journey begins, Embark’s systems will be driving until the load reaches Palm Springs. From there, another Ryder driver will complete the last-mile trip. The reason for this push is one of available manpower. Or, in this case, a steady decline of it. Two years ago, the American Trucking Association estimated that there could be a shortage of 175,000 drivers by 2024.

“More than 50 percent of all drivers will retire in the next two decades and there aren’t nearly enough young drivers joining this industry to replace them,” Embark CEO Alex Rodrigues said in a statement. “By allowing automation to work together with local drivers to handle less desirable long haul routes, we will be able to increase productivity to address the current 50,000 driver shortage wile also creating new local driving jobs that attract younger drivers for the industry.”

The pilot program has already completed a handful of the 650-mile trips as of October, with more expected to follow. Rodrigues says that this is the first time someone had demonstrated an end-to-end autonomous driving system for semis.

Commercial trucking is ripe for innovation. Diesel-maker Cummins announced an EV big rig in late August, and Tesla plans to launch its own alt-fuel variant this week. Given the latter’s pushes into autonomous driving, it isn’t a stretch to think it’ll have self-driving trucks on the road at some point in the future as well. Then there’s Otto, Uber’s self-driving truck company.

While the company has been embroiled in a lawsuit with Uber over allegedly stolen trade secrets, it has kept plugging away. In June Otto showed off its new trucks built with off-the-shelf 64-channel LiDAR arrays. You know, the type from Velodyne — not Alphabet.

Via: Wired

Source: BusinessWire, Embark

AT&T and Verizon team up to build hundreds of new cell towers

Verizon and AT&T announced today that they will be jointly constructing hundreds of new cell towers across the US. Tillman Infrastructure will build the towers — designed for both companies’ use — and together Verizon and AT&T will lease them. “It is imperative to reduce operating costs,” Verizon’s Chief Network Officer, Nicola Palmer, said in a statement. “We are reviewing all of our long-term contracts as they come up for renewal and we are excited to develop new vendor partners to diversify our infrastructure providers.”

Tillman is a relative newcomer to the cell tower space. Its parent company, Tillman Global, was founded in 2013, while tower big shots like American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications have been around since the 80s and 90s. “We need more alternatives to the traditional tower leasing model with the large incumbents. It’s not cost-effective or sustainable,” said Susan Johnson, AT&T’s senior vice president of global supply chain. “We’re creating a diverse community of suppliers and tower companies who will help increase market competition while reducing our overhead.”

While it makes sense from a business standpoint to share cell towers, it will also benefit consumers as the new towers will help fill in areas that are currently lacking wireless coverage. Verizon recently came under fire for cutting off service to thousands of rural customers, many of whom didn’t have access to other wireless providers.

Construction on the first round of towers will begin in early 2018.

Via: The Verge

Source: Verizon

YouTube will stop showing the suggested video links you didn’t click

Have you ever clicked a YouTube creator’s suggested video link when it pops up mid-clip? No? You’re far from alone. YouTube has revealed that it’s removing the ability to promote videos, playlists or livestreams through in-video notifications as of December 14th. The streaming service isn’t shy about the reason why: few people were actually interested in these links. Only 1 in 20 people actually clicked on them, and many of those people were taken to a dead livestream. Users said it felt like spam, according to YouTube.

The company doesn’t think this will cause too many problems. Cards and end screen video links are more effective, YouTube said. For third-party links, it wants you to use video descriptions, channel pages or even your channel artwork.

YouTube told us this will remove existing in-video notifications, which could lead to some awkward moments in videos where presenters point to pop-ups that no longer exist. On the balance, though, this appears to be positive news if you’re a YouTube fan. It should mean fewer intrusions while you’re viewing on the web, and fewer creators going out of their way to plug one video while you’re watching another.

Source: YouTube