Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset review

Research Center:
Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset AH101

After making a big splash in 2016 with the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the virtual reality market has been quietly moving toward the next generation of flagship headsets. Since the Rift and Vive, we’ve seen a handful of alternatives enter the fray, like the Google Daydream and PSVR — but it’s been a while a brand-new PC VR headset hit the market.

Microsoft aims to change that with its Mixed Reality platform, offering manufacturers like Acer, Dell, and Samsung the technology and software compatibility they need to break into the PC VR space. Microsoft wants Windows Mixed Reality to become the third major player in the VR space.

At $400, the Acer Mixed Reality headset comes with everything you need to get started — two touch controllers, the headset, and even batteries for the controllers. That’s it. There aren’t any external sensors to worry about here. The headset features inside-out tracking, so it uses two front-mounted sensors to detect your position in space, rather than external units like the Vive and Rift.

The Acer headset is a neat, tidy little package — but can it really be a challenger to the two undisputed champions of the VR space? Well, let’s dig into the Acer Mixed Reality headset review and find out.

Click-Clack

The first thing you’ll notice about Acer’s Mixed Reality Headset is its atypical color scheme. The Vive and Rift are both matte black and sleek, while the Acer is glossy blue with just a few black accents. It’s nice to see some color.

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

Unfortunately, the design leaves much to be desired. The Acer Mixed Reality Headset feels like it was snapped together, and would break apart if you dropped it. Oculus’ Rift and HTC’s Vive feel far more expensive. For instance, the headband is rigid plastic, and the wheel used to tighten or loosen it makes sharp, disconcerting clicks when adjusted.

That sharp plastic click shows up in other places, too. The headset can also lift up like a visor, which is nice, but makes the same sharp “oh no, did I break it?” noise every time. It’s not a sound you want a $400 device to make.

Unlike its peers, the Acer is a glossy blue headset with a few black accents — a refreshing change.

Because there’s only one way to adjust fit, with the click-wheel on the back, we found it hard to get the headset into focus. The Rift and Vive have a few different straps you can use to customize the fit, so the headset’s lenses are properly in focus, without having to wrestle with the way it rests on your nose.

Getting the Rift to focus, for instance, is just a matter of moving it up or down on your face, then tightening a strap so it rests there on its own. For the Acer headset, we found ourselves constantly re-adjusting the position. It never felt, or looked, quite right.

The frontal padding, which separates the hard plastic of the headset from your face and the bridge of your nose is thin and flimsy — like the foam covering on a pair of cheap headphones. Additionally, like most VR headsets, it’s not the most breathable, so it gets pretty warm after a while. That’s where the flip-up visor comes in handy — it’s nice to be able to pop out of VR and let your face breath for a few minutes.

But flipping the visor up puts the full weight of the headset is on the top part of the headband, so it will invariably slip down your forehead. That means re-adjusting the whole thing. Again.

Breezy setup

While its not the most comfortable, Acer’s Mixed Reality Headset is at least easy to setup – which bodes well for Windows Mixed Reality overall. Just plug it into your computer via a single HDMI and USB port. There’s no external box, or external power. If your Windows 10 install is up to date, it’ll open the Mixed Reality Portal automatically. If you do need any additional updates, Windows will gleefully prompt you to install them.

The Mixed Reality Portal guides you through the initial setup steps, which include deciding if you want to setup a room-scale experience, or stay seated when you use your headset. If you opt to setup a room scale area, you’ll be asked to move your headset around in a square to set the boundaries of your VR space.

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

Next up, it’ll ask you to setup your controllers. This part is kind of a pain because of a design flaw in the controllers themselves — the Bluetooth Pairing button is only accessible with the battery covers off. So, to pair your controllers, you need to open them up, hold the batteries in so they don’t fall out, then click and hold a weird little button till the controller enters pairing mode. Then pop the cover back on, and do the same thing for the other controller.

If your batteries are lower than you anticipated during this step, there’s no warning, you’ll just have to pair and re-pair until you figure out what’s wrong. It’s not a great experience, so make sure you’re using brand-new or fully charged batteries for the initial setup.

When your controllers’ battery runs low, it’ll just disconnect.

After that, you’re good to go. No need to calibrate anything, or reposition sensors, or anything else.

By contrast, to set up the HTC Vive, you will need three power adapters, and three power outlets — two for the external sensors, and one for the headset itself. The headset needs to be plugged into a separate device which itself plugs into your PC, and that’s all just the hardware setup. Next, you must run the software setup, which will likely involve you repositioning your external sensors so they can see your headset and controllers without any interference. The Oculus Rift uses a similar setup process if you own the Touch controllers.

With the Acer Mixed Reality headset though, you just plug it in and the tutorial takes care of the rest. It’s a setup process you can do confidently if you’ve never even seen a VR headset before.

Useful, but strangely shaped controllers

Like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the Acer Mixed Reality headset comes with a pair of touch controllers. You can also use an Xbox 360 or Xbox One controller, but the headset tracks the touch controllers, so they’re a little easier to use than a standard controller.

Their design blends elements from the Vive and Rift touch controllers, with a flat angled grip and circular constellation tracking ring on the end. These don’t track your finger positions like the Rift controllers, and they don’t feel as sturdy and reliable as the Vive controllers.

Again, there’s an issue here with the plastic used to build the controllers. The tracking rings have just a bit too much flex, and they feel like they’re one good drop away from breaking. Even with the weight added by a pair of AA batteries in each controller, they feel too light and insubstantial.

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

The HTC Vive controllers feel weightier in your hand, and their layout is a bit more intuitive. It’s easier to find each button without looking down at the controllers than it is with the Windows Mixed Reality controllers. The Oculus Rift’s touch controllers still steal the show. They’re more substantial, and your fingers will know where to rest from the first time you pick them up. The build quality eclipses the Mixed Reality controllers with ease.

On the plus side, most of the Windows Mixed Reality experiences show the Mixed Reality controllers in VR space, which is helpful if you need to set them down for any reason. However, because of the inside-out tracking the headset uses, you might lose the controllers if you look away from them.

Which brings us to one crucial flaw — battery life. The controllers don’t burn through batteries any faster than their Vive and Rift counterparts, but the Windows Mixed Reality platform doesn’t do a very good job of communicating how much battery life you have left. The controllers will simply disconnect when they’re dry. You’ll have to leave VR, open the Mixed Reality Portal, then click on the Controllers tab, where it will then tell you which controller is low on battery.

Higher resolution, lower field of view

Internally, the Acer Mixed Reality Headset features a maximum resolution of 2,880 x 1,440, which is slightly higher than the Vive and Rift, both of which top out at 2,160 x 1,200. It’s an improvement, but it’s not one you’re going to notice. Why? Because of a couple important details.

Don’t expect to have a good time browsing the web in VR.

First up, the Acer Mixed Reality Headset — and to be fair, every other VR headset on the market right now — still suffers from a pronounced screen-door effect. Because there are two tiny screens only a few inches from your face, and they’re warped by internal lenses that give the illusion of visual immersion, you’re able to easily discern individual pixels in bright environments.

For instance, when you first set up the Acer headset, you’re dropped into the Microsoft Mixed Reality Hub, a swanky mountaintop condo with giant screens on each wall. Those screens can open into web browsers, the Windows Store, or a variety of other applications. However, when you open an application like a web browser, the screen door effect becomes even more pronounced. Against a white background with black text, the screen door effect is not only more visible than it is during games or immersive experiences, and it actively interferes with your ability to comfortably read for even short periods of time. Even making it through a short news article can be – literally – painful.

Again, it’s important to point out this is something every VR headset suffers from, and they’ll continue to suffer from it for the foreseeable future. It’s not a problem in most games — just don’t expect to have a good time browsing the web in VR.

The Acer Mixed Reality Headset might feature displays that are higher resolution than its competitors, but it falls behind in one important metric — field of view. By offering a maximum field of view of 100 degrees, the Acer headset isn’t quite as immersive as the Vive or Rift, both of which feature 110 degrees of vision. All three headsets feature the same maximum refresh rates though, topping out at 90Hz.

Growing pains

The Windows Mixed Reality Hub, that stylish mountaintop condo we mentioned, offers all the basic functionality you’d expect from a VR hub. You can decorate your home, launch apps, browse the Windows Store, and launch a few different applications in VR. If you hate yourself, you can even surround yourself with Twitter windows, so you’re fully immersed in current events – at all times, with no escape.

Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset AH101 Compared To

Google Daydream View (2017)

Samsung Odyssey

Sony PlayStation VR

Oculus Rift

Google Daydream View

3Glasses D2 Vanguard Edition

HTC Vive

Samsung Gear VR

Homido

While it looks good, the Windows Mixed Reality Hub doesn’t do a good job of communicating everything you can do with it. After setup and a brief tutorial that teaches you how to get around in VR, you’re plopped into the middle of your VR living room. The platform doesn’t explain how to launch external apps, which apps are supported, how to browse the web (with Edge of course — you can’t use Chrome), or how to direct Cortana to search for things for you.

That’s right — Windows Mixed Reality is compatible with Cortana. You even get the option to enable her during setup. You’ll go through a brief Cortana tutorial but it’s very brief. It doesn’t explain how to use Cortana to fill out fields in a web browser, or how to bring up a keyboard to enter your username and password in applications that require it.

The Mixed Reality Hub isn’t a bad start, but it isn’t as easy to understand as Oculus Home — not by a long shot.

Where’s the mixed reality?

There’s a good selection of games available on the Windows Store, but currently that’s all you get with the Acer Mixed Reality Headset. SteamVR support is coming soon — likely around the holiday season — so you’ll have to wait a while to get a full VR experience out of the Acer headset.

There’s nothing unique here that other headsets can’t offer – nothing yet, anyway.

What’s currently available is a limited selection of games and VR experiences. One notable absence? Mixed Reality. We couldn’t find any mixed reality experiences available — those front-facing sensors are just sensors for now, not pass-through cameras you can use to layer virtual elements over your real world.

It’s disappointing, given how heavily Microsoft has promoted Windows Mixed Reality as something different from VR. There’s nothing unique here that other headsets can’t offer – nothing yet, anyway.

Our Take

Compared to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, which have had more than a year to mature into fully-featured immersive VR platforms, the Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset feels half-baked.

That said, there’s some potential here. Inside-out tracking, easy setup, approachable price — these things are sure to endear new users to VR, even if the hardware and software won’t. So, should you buy the Acer Mixed Reality Headset in hopes that Windows Mixed Reality will mature, like other VR platforms have?

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and even PSVR. Each of these three options offers up everything that’s missing from the Acer Mixed Reality Headset. They have mature platforms with a lot of games and experiences, they’re well-built and comfortable, and they’re simply a joy to use. Acer also has competitors in the Samsung Odyssey and Dell Visor. We have yet to fully test these alternatives, but we think they’ll prove stiff competition for the Acer headset.

Granted, the Acer headset is affordable. The Vive is more expensive than the Acer headset, coming in at $600, and the PSVR headset is $400 on its own. If you don’t have a PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro, you’re looking at another $300 or $400, respectively.

What about the Oculus Rift? Well we’re glad you asked! After recent price cuts, the Rift is the same price as the Acer Mixed Reality Headset. Setup is a little more complex, and you do have to setup an external sensor, but it provides a much better experience, and its touch controllers are lightyears ahead of the Windows Mixed Reality Controllers.

How long will it last?

The Windows Mixed Reality platform is Microsoft’s next big consumer electronics push, so investing in a compatible headset isn’t a bad bet. It’s going to be around for a while, and it’s only going to get better. However, as the platform gets better, so will the headsets. We think you’re better off holding out and waiting for the next generation.

Should you buy it?

Not right now. The Oculus Rift is clearly a better pick. It’s the same price, it’s a better headset, it has better software, it’s much more pleasant to use and, perhaps most importantly, it’s more comfortable. Windows Mixed Reality might be a worthy investment at some point in the future, but it’s not there yet.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Dell’s mixed reality ‘Visor’ goes up for pre-order in time for the holidays
• Samsung’s leaked mixed reality headset gives us a peek at the future of PC VR
• In its Oregon skunkworks, Intel is plotting to turn your laptop into a VR rig
• HTC may reveal its China-bound stand-alone VR headset later this month
• Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers track well but are a little flimsy

AMD lands prestigious award for its beastly Ryzen Threadripper 1950X

AMD launched its Ryzen Threadripper 1950X desktop processor in August, a massive 16-core chip for massive performance in PC gaming. Now AMD is receiving the prestigious CES 2018 Best of Innovation Award for this processor in the “Computer Hardware and Components” category. Why? For “outstanding design and engineering,” according to the press release.

AMD introduced new Ryzen-branded desktop processors earlier this year that are based on a new CPU design built from (nearly) scratched called Zen. The company set out to cram as much performance as possible into every penny spent while reducing the power requirements in the process. In other words, AMD pushed to create processors with a higher performance and lower power draw with a lower price tag than similar CPUs built by Intel.

But in August, AMD revealed that it wasn’t quite done with its Zen-based rollout in 2017. The company introduced two “extreme” desktop processors built for top-of-the-line gaming and enthusiasts. Filed under the Ryzen Threadripper brand, the 16-core Threadripper 1950X earning AMD the new award at CES 2018 just received a price cut, costing $880. The 12-core Threadripper 1920X model received a price reduction too, now costing $690.

By comparison, Intel’s latest 16-core desktop processor for enthusiasts, the Core i9-7960X, costs a heftier $1,740. Meanwhile, Intel’s latest 12-core chip, the Core i9-7920X, costs $1,100 after a recent $100 reduction. Just in the prices alone, there is a huge gap between the two AMD processors and Intel’s two X-Series chips. But you also have to compare the specifications to really appreciate why AMD is receiving an award.

Core i9-7960X
Ryzen Threadripper 1950X
Cores:
16
16
Threads:
32
32
Base speed:
2.8GHz
3.4GHz
Maximum speed:
4.4GHz
4.0GHz
Cache:
22MB
32MB
Power usage:
165 watts
180 watts
Price:
$1,740
$880

As the chart shows, AMD clearly accomplished what it set out to achieve with its Zen processor design. The drawback with both cases is that you simply can’t cram the Core X-Series and Ryzen Threadripper processors into any desktop PC. They are large chips that require a specific motherboard chipset and a big seat on the motherboard designed specifically for these CPUs. Spending money on the CPU is just part of the X-Series/Threadripper upgrade process.

“The overwhelmingly positive response from enthusiasts and expert reviewers that greeted the release of AMD Ryzen Threadripper already served as a huge reward for the AMD whole engineering team who built this ground-breaking product,” AMD Chief Marketing Officer John Taylor said in a statement.

Awards are dished out to technology companies through a panel of judges consisting of “industrial designers, engineers, and members of the trade media.” CES, short for the Consumer Electronics Show, takes place in Las Vegas in January every year. It’s a platform for showcasing new products and technologies, and to honor companies for their achievements. The show and awards are sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association.

Editors’ Recommendations

• These are the best processors for building a PC on any budget
• AMD crams desktop performance into ultra-thin laptops with its new Ryzen APUs
• Help your hot new processor chill out with the best CPU coolers
• Want an Alienware Area-51 PC with a 12-core CPU? It won’t use Intel X-Series
• Intel is cramming custom AMD Radeon graphics into an eighth-generation chip

Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $100 on a Sony 4K Blu-ray player

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

You may have already seen Engadget posting reviews from our friends at Wirecutter. Now, from time to time, we’ll also be publishing their recommended deals on some of their top picks. Read on, and strike while the iron is hot — some of these sales could expire mighty soon.

Sony UBP-800X 4K Blu-ray Player

Street Price: $250; Deal Price: $150

If you’re a movie buff with exacting image quality standards, this is a nice opportunity to pick up a recommended 4K Blu-ray player, the Sony UBP-X800. Usually $250, it has fallen drastically in recent weeks. We first saw it at $200, and now it’s all the way down to $150. It likely won’t drop any further, so this is a great price and one at which it is well worth grabbing one.

The Sony UBP-X800 4K Blu-ray Player is our top pick in our guide to the best 4K Blu-ray player. Chris Heinonen wrote, “The superior image scaling of the Sony UBP-X800 was especially impressive, which is important because most people will use this player to watch far more DVDs and regular high-definition Blu-ray discs than 4K Blu-rays. When converting SD and HD images to 4K, the Sony introduced fewer scaling artifacts and did a better job interpolating curves and other shapes—the only player that did better costs twice as much as of this writing. And while most people don’t need yet another streaming device, the Sony supports the major services and has a customizable interface. It also has some convenient features, like the ability to send audio directly to your Bluetooth headphones. Finally, its metal chassis makes it sturdier than other players in its price category, so it feels like a premium home theater component that should stand up better over the long term.”

GoRuck GR1 Backpack

Street Price: $300; Deal Price: $250

If you are the type of person to destroy backpacks and bags, this is a great deal for you. On the off chance you do damage your bag, with the Scars-or-repair warranty, GoRuck will have your bag back in working order in no time. As this bag normally runs at $300 and at $250, plus it’s warranty, it is worth the buy. Also to note, the 21L and the 26L are currently the same price. If you need the extra space, there’s no reason to not pick it up.

The GoRuck GR1 backpack is our tough as nails pick in our guide to our favorite laptop bags. Séamus Bellamy wrote, “GoRuck’s GR1 was designed by a former Army Green Beret to be adaptable and tough as nails in the field and has the lifetime warranty to back it. But don’t let its military pedigree fool you. The GR1’s subtle styling means it performs just as well in the city on the way to a café as it does in hostile territory. I owned a 26-liter GR1 for two years before it was stolen in British Columbia. I replaced it with the 21-liter version of the bag (I’m a short fella) a little over a year and a half ago. Since then, it has been across Spain, was accidentally set on fire in Costa Rica, and has accompanied me to Mexico and up the side of an active volcano in Nicaragua. Where I go, it goes. It’s the best backpack I’ve ever owned.”

Ring Video Doorbell

Street Price: $180; Deal Price: $100

As part of their early Black Friday promotion, Best Buy now has the Ring Video Doorbell for $80 less than the typical street price at just $100. This is the best deal we’ve ever seen for this smart doorbell. Best Buy has 2 color options, Venetian Bronze and Satin Nickel, and shipping is free. Quantities are limited and the sale is scheduled to end Saturday, so now would be a good time to pick up this product if you’re in the market for one. The Ring Video Doorbell is the runner-up pick in our guide to the best smart doorbell camera. Stacey Higginbotham wrote, “The original Ring Video Doorbell costs a bit less than our other picks, though you’ll need to pay for a monthly subscription fee if you want it to record videos for later viewing. Its video and sound quality aren’t as good as those of either the SkyBell HD or our upgrade pick, the Ring Pro, but it has the basic features that anyone buying a connected doorbell could want, including motion detection, the option to connect to the doorbell (from your smartphone or tablet) to see a live view of what’s happening at the door, and night-vision capability. Because it can use batteries, it’s easy for renters to install. It also has slightly faster notifications.”

Bose QuietComfort 25

Street Price: $280; Deal Price: $180

At $180, this is a rare drop for a set of headphones that typically sells for $100 more. We’ve seen occasional discounts on these headphones – they were discounted to $225 in the early spring. At $45 cheaper than that deal, if you’re in need of noise-cancelling headphones and don’t mind that they require a 3.5mm jack or prefer it that way, these are a fantastic pickup. The black/charcoal color is the only one available at this price at this time.

The Bose QuietComfort 25 are the top pick in our guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones. Geoff Morrison wrote, “For the third year running, the QC25 are the best noise-cancelling headphones. Yes, the wireless QC35 offers very slightly more noise reduction on paper, but in subjective testing it was more of a wash, with a slight edge to these over the QC35. The amount of noise reduced is incredible: noticeably and significantly more than the vast majority of noise-cancelling headphones. In our testing, they dropped an average of 24.2 dB of noise, including over 30 dB at some frequencies, and more low-bass reduction than any headphone we’ve tested.”

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to thewirecutter.com.

A live-action ‘Star Wars’ show is headed to Disney’s streaming service

After years of rumors of a live-action Star Wars TV series, it’s finally happening. The only catch? It’ll be exclusive to Disney’s upcoming streaming service, Polygon reports. CEO Bob Iger didn’t have any details to share about the new series, but the fact that it’s coming is still a bombshell for the Star Wars universe. And, of course, it’s also a smart way to sell Disney’s streaming service, which is set to launch in 2019.

Additionally, Disney will be producing three other original series from its Marvel, Monster’s Inc. and High School Musical franchises. Disney revealed a few months ago that it’ll remove its content from Netflix, which includes existing Star Wars films, and move it over to the company’s streaming service in 2019.

Via: Polygon

EA acquires ‘Titanfall’ studio Respawn

Despite Respawn continuing to support its fantastic mech shooter Titanfall 2 with new content nearly every month after releasing it a year ago, the game’s playerbase has dwindled. In a recent interview, the studio’s CEO noted that the game’s lower-than-expected sales were due to a holiday release window crowded with huge AAA games like Battlefield 1. He said the game likely wouldn’t have any more big content releases coming after August, leaving the future uncertain — but only for the game. EA, which had published the studio’s two previous Titanfall games, just announced that it has acquired Respawn in a deal valued over $400 million.

We’re excited for one of the world’s leading game studios to be joining EA!

Learn more about Respawn joining EA here: https://t.co/0KiLI1YSbm pic.twitter.com/3cQMVFtNdn

— Electronic Arts (@EA) November 9, 2017

The press release points out that Respawn already has a few projects underway in partnership with EA. One, a third-person Star Wars game, was announced in May 2016. This comes in stark relief just weeks after the publisher shut down the studio Visceral, which had been working on a Star Wars game for years in a long, tortured development process. Respawn is also developing a VR experience and another title in the Titanfall universe, though the press release didn’t elaborate whether that would be the awaited Titanfall 3 or another mobile game.

Speaking of, the South Korean company Nexon that had published the Titanfall mobile game was reportedly in talks to buy Respawn, according to documents acquired by Kotaku. EA outbid Nexon with an offer that included up to a combined $455 million in cash, stock options and payments awarded for meeting performance milestones.

Source: Business Wire

Microsoft’s version of AirDrop is available to Windows Insiders

AirDrop is one of the most convenient features of being in the Apple ecosystem. It’s unsurprising, then, to learn that Microsoft has been working on its own version of the file sharing feature for Windows computers. It’s called Near Share, and it’s included in the latest build of Windows 10, currently available to Windows Insiders.

The feature requires that both devices be running Windows 10 and have this build installed. It works over Bluetooth; if Near Share is enabled for your PC, you’ll see a share icon in the apps you use (or you can right-click and choose the Share option in Windows Explorer.) After you click on it, you’ll see a list of devices in Bluetooth range that you can share to. After the recipient accepts the file, it’ll appear on their computer. It’s worth noting that Google is working on a similar feature.

The new build for Windows also includes other features, such as the option to mute a tab that is playing audio in Microsoft Edge, the option to limit the bandwith that Windows Update uses, improvements to Books context menus, and more. You can see the full list of updates at Microsoft’s blog.

Via: The Verge

Source: Microsoft

Sharp’s $77,000 camcorder shows that 8K is coming soon

Sharp has unveiled an 8K camcorder that is undoubtedly aimed at the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but will be equally at home on a film set. Looking like an old-school ENG news camera, the 8C-B60A captures 8K, 10-bit 60fps video onto a large, Super 35mm sensor that’s around the same size as the one on Red’s Helium Weapon 8K. The custom 2TB SSD pack, developed in collaboration with Astrodesign, can hold about 40 minutes of 8K video.

With a large sensor and PL mount that can handle lenses from Zeiss, Leica and others, the 8C-B60A should be able to capture beautiful, cinematic images and not just sports and news. To handle such unweildy images (7,680 x 4,320, or about 33 megapixels), Sharp is using Grass Valley’s HQX codec that reduces file sizes while requiring minimal processing, making storage, transmissions and editing chores easier.

While other companies like RED and Sony have released 8K cameras, Sharp’s model has a lot of features that are clearly for broadcasters. That includes an integrated top-handle and viewfinder, simultaneous recording and output to, say, a truck or studio, and that distinctive ENG look, complete with a shoulder pad.

While $77,000 is clearly a lot, it’s chump change for big broadcasters and producers. By unexpectedly introducing a camera like this, Sharp is pushing the 8K agenda ahead for broadcasters, particularly in Japan. Sharp happens to make 8K televisions as well, so once we all get bored of 4K, it wants to have the next thing to sell us.

Source: Sharp

Apple Working on Fix for Bug Causing iPhone X Display to Become Temporarily Unresponsive in Cold Weather

Over the course of the last week, there have been a growing number of complaints from users who have discovered that the display of the iPhone X becomes unresponsive in the cold.

Users on both reddit and the MacRumors forums have noticed that their iPhones immediately refuse to recognize some touch input when exposed to cool outdoor temperatures. As it turns out, there is a software bug causing the issue, which Apple says will be addressed in an upcoming update. From a statement to The Loop:

“We are aware of instances where the iPhone X screen will become temporarily unresponsive to touch after a rapid change to a cold environment. After several seconds the screen will become fully responsive again. This will be addressed in an upcoming software update.”

Apple says its iOS devices operate best between temperatures of 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F), but some of the people who are experiencing issues have seen display problems within these temperature parameters. Reddit user darus214, for example, had his iPhone X act up when it was 45 to 50ºF outside.

I’ve noticed that my iPhone X screen becomes very unresponsive as soon as I step outside. It literally takes 2 seconds from going inside to the cold outdoors and my screen stops being very responsive. I try swiping on websites and it doesn’t register my finger. It’s very noticeable. Is anyone else having this problem?

Not all iPhone X users are experiencing problems with the display in cold weather, and those that are see the problem occur as soon as cold exposure happens rather than after a period of time, which does indeed suggest a software issue. Most affected users have said that the problem clears up after a few minutes. From the MacRumors forums:

I have a space gray 256gb iPhone X and I really like the phone, except…

I live in Finland and here is cold (-30-5°C) about 6 to 7 months in a year. Yesterday I noticed that when I’m outside and temperature hits about -1°C (~30°F) my iPhone X’s display becomes working incorrectly. Some touches aren’t recognized and some are not accurate at all. Problem solves itself after about 3-5 minutes of use, or when I go back indoors.

This is driving me crazy. Anyone else having this kind of problem with the phone?

It’s not clear when Apple will fix the cold weather bug, but a fix could come in iOS 11.2, which is currently in beta testing. Apple this morning released iOS 11.1.1, an update that addresses an autocorrect bug that caused “i” to correct to “A[?]” on some devices.

Related Roundup: iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus review: Almost to Infinity

Buy now from Samsung.com

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge might have been two of the best phones of 2017, but the well-documented issues faced by the Galaxy Note 7 have cast a shadow over Samsung’s mobile efforts. From two fantastic smartphones to a phone that would have been near-perfect had it not spontaneously caught fire, 2016 was a year to remember and forget for Samsung, and its next flagship was always going to come under intense scrutiny.

Don’t miss: Where to buy the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus

Ahead of its Unpacked event last month, Samsung flooded media with advertising designed to begin the painstaking process of rebuilding the customer faith that took years to accumulate. Then came the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, two phones that push the boundaries further than ever before, but do they offer enough?

In previous years, Samsung’s Galaxy S flagship(s) would almost certainly be the best phones of the year, but this year LG, Huawei, and Sony have all bought their very best to the market, and Samsung’s issues have presented a rare chink in its armor. Do the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus continue past trends of being the best Android smartphones? Find out in our Samsung Galaxy S8 review!

About this Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S8 review:

To bring our readers, and viewers, the most comprehensive review experience possible, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus were reviewed by two different members of Android Authority. While Joshua Vergara put together the video linked above, I, Nirave Gondhia, put together the in-depth written Samsung Galaxy S8 review encompassing both of our opinions to provide the definitive Android Authority view on Samsung’s latest flagship.

We have both been testing international versions of the Galaxy S8 with model number G950F on build number ending 1AQC9 running Android 7.0.1, with the March 2017 security updates. Our usage with the Galaxy S8 Plus (model number G955U on build number ending 1AQD9) was limited to only a few days and we’ll be following up this review with additional testing around the battery, display, and performance in the coming days.

Design

Over the past few years, Samsung has transitioned away from its plastic past to a refinement of its glass and metal build, and the Galaxy S8 presents the future of this design language. There’s two sizes to the Galaxy S8 but neither comes with an Edge moniker, with Samsung calling its taller curved screens the Infinity Display. The focus with this year’s phones isn’t the curved display however, but more so how Samsung has managed to squeeze so much screen real estate into the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Thanks to the switch to a 18.5:9 format and the removal of the home button and Samsung branding on the front, we have phones that feel a lot smaller than they should.

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We have phones that feel a lot smaller than they should

Think back to previous phones with displays of 5.5-inches or larger and they felt great at the time, but even the Galaxy Note 7 feels positively large compared to Samsung’s latest flagships. The 5.8-inch display inside the Galaxy S8 comes inside a body that’s slightly taller but narrower than the Galaxy S7 (148.9 x 68.1 mm vs 142.4 x 69.6 mm). Similarly, the Galaxy S8 Plus is a little taller and wider than the Galaxy S7 Edge (159.5 x 73.4 mm vs 150.9 x 72.6 mm) despite a screen that’s 0.7 inches smaller.

Both phones are a little thicker at 8 mm and 8.1 mm respectively, but the difference is negligible compared to the much better in-hand experience. The added screen real estate sees a bump in the weight as well, at 155 grams and 173 grams respectively, but this helps the Galaxy S8 feel more premium in the hand.

Moving around the phone, the volume keys are on the left and the power button on the right, as with previous Samsung phones. The left sees the addition of a dedicated shortcut for Bixby and Bixby Home, Samsung’s new AI assistant, which we’ll touch on later. Up top is the SIM card tray while on the bottom, you’ve got the headphone jack, USB Type-C port, and single bottom-firing speaker.

The back is where Samsung has made arguably the worst design decision on the Galaxy S8; removing the home button means Samsung had to find a place for the fingerprint sensor and they chose to combine it with the heart rate monitor next to the rear camera. While other OEMs have chosen to put fingerprint sensors in the center of the device, Samsung’s decision means it can have its logo right underneath the camera, but as a result, the fingerprint sensor is cumbersome to use.

The position doesn’t feel natural and on the regular Galaxy S8, it’s a stretch with large hands, while on the Galaxy S8 Plus, it’s awkward unless you have very large hands. As you’ll often be fumbling blindly to find the fingerprint sensor, you may end up with fingerprints on the camera lens itself, so Samsung has included a reminder when you launch the camera to wipe it down.

The location of the fingerprint sensor does render a very good sensor near-useless

Being forward-thinking and attempting to redefine the meaning of a big phone isn’t without its challenges, and while Samsung has made an excellent attempt, the location of the fingerprint sensor does render a very good sensor near-useless. However, thanks to other biometric options, it’s a small compromise for what is one of the best-designed smartphones ever made.

Thanks to a taller screen, the removal of the home button, and bezels that are slimmer than ever, Samsung has managed to put a bigger screen in a footprint that’s barely bigger than last year. Samsung is known for making stunning smartphones and the Galaxy S8 is its best yet, ushering in a new era of smartphone design and laying down a marker for Samsung’s rivals.

Display

All of this leads to what we’ve come to expect from Samsung displays – an extremely vivid Super AMOLED display that punches colors harder than before and is a joy to use. Rated as one of the first HDR-capable smartphones, the Galaxy S8 screen ups the brightness and color saturation of the screen when viewing content like YouTube and apps that support HDR, such as Netflix. It’s a noticeable improvement when switching in and out of the app, but it means that the Galaxy S8 offers the best mobile entertainment experience on a smartphone to date.

The 18.5:9 aspect ratio means Samsung has managed to pack more pixels into its display, with the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus both offering displays at 2960 x 1440 pixels. On the Galaxy S8, this translates to a pixel density of 570 pixels per inch, while on the Galaxy S8 Plus this is a little lower at 529 pixels per inch.

The additional pixels mean a taller display overall, but there is some pillar-boxing when watching widescreen content so you’ll have black bars on the sides. You might find the bars distracting for most media content, but you can force apps to full screen mode either through the display settings menu or by tapping the icon in the recent apps menu.

Out of the box, both phones come with the display scaled down to Full HD+, but you can tweak this and things like color saturation in the display settings.

Samsung has found a way to preserve the original unlocking experience of previous Galaxy devices

The removal of the home button means a switch to soft keys, but Samsung has included a pressure sensitive area near the bottom of the display which vibrates when pressed hard enough and can be used for unlocking the phone when it’s asleep. Samsung has found a way to preserve the original unlocking experience of previous Galaxy devices, but the soft keys work well enough that you may almost forget the pressure sensitive button exists. On-screen keys allow you to swap the position of the “recent apps” and “back” keys, but unlike with other manufacturers, there’s no option to add an additional key for the notification menu.

Running the Galaxy S8 display through our testing, we found the screen has a max brightness of 373 nits with auto brightness turned off and 515 nits with it turned on. During sunlight we found a visible punch in the brightness and although the display isn’t technically the brightest, it is definitely pleasing to the eye. With a color accuracy of 7180 Kelvin, the Galaxy S8 doesn’t have the most accurate display in its default out-of-the-box state, and has a warm tone, but with all of these effects turned off, the display is the closest we’ve come to the ideal temperature of 6500K with a temperature of 6440K.

Overall, the addition of so much real estate is a more than welcome trade-off to Samsung removing the home button and much of the experience remains the same otherwise, including the Edge UX and Always On Display, which have a couple of actionable additions. Past Samsung devices have always sported great looking displays, but the Galaxy S8 is in a class of its own and offers one of the most immersive experiences on a smartphone to-date.

Performance

As the latest Samsung flagship, you can expect the latest processing package and the Galaxy S8 doesn’t fail to deliver. Depending on your market, you can either expect the latest Exynos 10nm chipset or the Snapdragon 835, both coupled with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of on-board storage, which is expandable via a microSD card. The Exynos version comes with the Mali-G71 MP8 GPU while the Snapdragon 835 has the Adreno 540 GPU.

Related: Let’s give it to Samsung for making 64 GB standard in the Galaxy S8

As you might expect, there are no performance concerns with the processing stack that powers the Galaxy S8. During our Samsung Galaxy S8 review process we’ve noticed no issues with performance in applications or while gaming. When running Super Mario Run and Jade Empire – which are both heavy mobile games – there were no issues with dropped frames or lag.

The Galaxy S8 also powers the DeX, Samsung’s new docking accessory that allows you to turn your Galaxy S8 into a full desktop computer. It’s testament to the processing power of both chipsets that they’re able to deliver a full desktop experience with little more than a couple of small hiccups and ever so slight latency when recognizing the input from a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

When the iris scanner can see your eyes unobstructed, it is lightning fast

The only noticeable performance issue I personally experienced is with the iris recognition which, like on the Galaxy Note 7, fails to work properly if you wear glasses. Samsung warns you to remove glasses or contact lenses when setting up the iris recognition, but this means you’ll have to either look over the top of your glasses or lift them up for iris recognition to be useful. Josh hasn’t had any issues with this, so it might be an issue with my handset and when the iris scanner can see your eyes unobstructed, it is lightning fast.

Hardware

As you might expect, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus come equipped with a heavy hardware stack which includes expandable storage, a 32-bit audio DAC, dual-band Wi-Fi, and a plethora of connectivity options.

You can connect to two Bluetooth speakers or headphones at the same time and play audio through both simultaneously

The Galaxy S8 is also one of the first phones to support Bluetooth 5, which brings with it a much longer range and the ability to have an active connection with two different devices. In the real world, this means you can connect to two Bluetooth speakers or a speaker and headset at the same time and play audio through both simultaneously.

Right next to the USB Type-C port on the bottom of the phone is the single bottom-firing speaker and the headphone jack. The loudspeaker has the same issues that are inherent to its design, mainly a tinny sound, and overall, it’s decent at best. Samsung’s acquisition of Harman Kardon should eventually result in much better audio, but it likely came too late for the speakers on the Galaxy S8.

However, with the headphone jack, Samsung has taken a different approach by focusing on headphones instead of including a third-party DAC or built-in amp. Instead, they’ve included a pair of high-quality earphones made by AKG, and while we have a full review of these headphones coming soon, we can say they are significantly better than the headphones included with any other phones.

The headphones are surprisingly “bassy” for small earphones and feature a premium feeling design that includes a fabric cable and in-line controls. Diving deep into the sound settings, there’s a bunch of equalizer toggles that can be used to cater the audio experience to your preferences. There’s an Adapt Sound tutorial that helps you tune the output to your own ears and the result is a headphone experience that manages to be surprisingly deep for the average user. Given what’s happened in a short-space of time, we expect Samsung’s acquisition of Harman Kardon to result in a vastly improved audio experience on future flagships.

Battery life

The biggest issue facing Samsung with the Galaxy S8 is the fear that still resides from the Galaxy Note 7’s batteries catching fire spontaneously. Personally, I think the company has played it a little safe with the battery capacity inside its new flagships, in a bid to prevent any issues with the battery.

Rather than stretch the boundaries like they did with the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung has opted for the rather safe capacities of 3,000 mAh for the Galaxy S8 and 3,500 mAh for the Galaxy S8 Plus. This means the Galaxy S8 battery is the same size as the Galaxy S7, while the Galaxy S8 Plus is slightly smaller than the 3,600 mAh battery found inside the Galaxy S7 Edge.

The Galaxy S8 battery life has proven to be on par with most flagships, but not spectacular

Over the past two weeks, the Galaxy S8 battery life has proven to be on par with most flagships, but not spectacular. During an average 18-hour work day, the Galaxy S8 offered around 4 hours of screen-on-time for Josh, and on occasion, this stretched to five hours. In comparison, the battery life for me offered around 3.5 to 4 hours of screen on time from a 14- to 18-hour work day. TouchWiz gives you lots of different power saving features and combined with the Super AMOLED display, you can stretch out the battery life even further.

As mentioned before, our time with the Galaxy S8 Plus has been limited, so we’re not able to comment on the battery life yet. However, we’ll be publishing the results of our battery testing for both phones in the coming week. From real world usage with the regular Galaxy S8, it’s clear that the battery life will vary according to your usage, but we seldom had to top the phone up before bedtime.

Camera

Samsung has refined its camera over the past few generations of its phones to produce what is arguably the all around best smartphone camera on the market. The Galaxy S8 camera may not be heavily changed from the Note 7, and even the Galaxy S7 Edge before it, but enhancements in the overall picture taking experience mean Samsung’s legacy of high quality photography continues.

The big changes in the cameras come at the front, where Samsung has included an 8 MP shooter with a Smart Autofocus system. Autofocus is not something found too often on front-facing cameras and selfies benefit from the higher megapixel count, resulting in good photos in most lighting conditions. In low light, the pictures lose some sharpness as the shutter requires more time, but this is expected, especially from a camera that lacks image stabilization.

The main camera is a 12 MP shooter with large dual pixels, f/1.7 aperture, optical image stabilization, phase detection autofocus, and an LED flash. The interface is largely like before, prioritizing swipes and certain gestures to keep shooting simple and as easy to use in one-hand as possible. There are no new modes in the camera, though there is the addition of 1080p recording at 60 frames per seconds for smooth video recording. Video recording also sees the addition of manual controls in the Pro mode, including manual focus for finer control over the focus of your videos.

Galaxy S8 camera samples:

Samsung touts that the camera has multi-frame processing, which means it takes multiple shots of the same image and puts them together to get the best colors and detail from a scene. This aside, the experience and quality are almost identical to the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy S7, with images featuring high amounts of saturation and detail in all but the very darkest of conditions. The camera isn’t the most accurate – Samsung devices never produce the most accurate photos – but the bump in saturation and detail mean the photos look more appealing to the eye compared to other phones.

The only real difference in the camera UI is the addition of a small eye icon in the bottom left of the viewfinder, which fires up the biggest addition to the camera, and the phone itself: Bixby.

Software

Samsung’s take on the mobile assistant comes in the form of Bixby, which can be found throughout the phone in a lot of different ways. Bixby isn’t the first time Samsung has attempted to offer a virtual assistant, after all the company did launch the infamous S Voice on the Galaxy S3. Despite much hype, it ended up being a poor imitation of Apple’s Siri – and more recently, Google Now – and S-Voice was heavily criticized, quickly forgotten, and slowly it got relegated to the status of one of the first apps you disable when you get your phone.

Samsung is hoping that Bixby doesn’t suffer the same fate as S Voice

Samsung is hoping that Bixby doesn’t suffer the same fate and seemingly recognized its weakness with S Voice through the acquisition of Viv, an AI platform that was developed by none other than the makers of Siri. That said, Bixby does not include Viv technology right now, though that will likely change in future iterations.

Samsung’s assistant focuses on three key areas: Vision, Voice and Home.

We’ll start with Bixby Vision, which manifests itself in the camera through the little eye icon. Tapping this fires up Bixby Vision, which brings augmented reality to the camera in a bid to provide information in real time, based on the objects in the viewfinder. The premise of Vision is that it’s meant to be able to deliver reviews on restaurants, shopping links for items, and related images all in real time. While our initial demo looked impressive, Bixby Vision is in a very early stage.

For now, Bixby Vision does do a great job at looking up reviews of wine

Scanning a restaurant name brings up no related info, and scanning a simple water bottle doesn’t bring up any shopping links. Samsung has teamed up with various apps and services to have a wider range of data and while most partnerships seem to be in early stages, Vision does do a great job at looking up reviews of wine. Samsung has partnered with Vivino to bring wine reviews, average selling price, and ratings directly to Vision, and it works as well as the regular Vivino app does.

On the left of the Galaxy S8, you’ve got a dedicated shortcut button to launch Bixby Home, which aims to integrate various apps and services into a single screen in a similar way to Google Assistant. A new reminders app means you can set a reminder from within an application using the share menu and then it appears as a reminder within Bixby Home. While it works well enough overall, you do need to use all of Samsung’s apps that feed into it, rather than say, Google’s native Android apps. For some users, this won’t be an issue but for others, a reliance on Samsung’s apps over others could be a deal breaker, especially as Google’s own apps feed into Assistant which is also present on the Galaxy S8.

For now, Home is the most interesting part of Bixby, at least until Bixby Voice launches later in the year. Voice is expected to offer a lot of the conversational tone, that Google offers with its Assistant, but the biggest issue for Samsung is how long it will take for Bixby Voice to launch. We expected Bixby Voice to be available around the time of the Galaxy S8’s launch later this week, but instead, it’s likely to only be available in South Korea, with an US launch scheduled for later this spring.

Samsung has shown with Samsung Pay that it’s not the fastest at rolling features out to new markets, and with places like Germany not expected to get Bixby Voice until the end of the year, it’s likely that future devices will benefit more from Bixby Voice than the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. Like with all assistants, Samsung will improve Bixby and it will get better with time, but right now, it’s lacking features that make it truly outstanding.

We wish the Bixby button could be customizable so you could launch other apps or services

That said, Samsung clearly recognizes that Bixby will take time to mature into the platform it has the potential to be and it’s likely that giving users the choice of Google Assistant is a way to mitigate this. Josh and I both like having a dedicated button to launch Bixby Home, rather than just a home screen, but we do wish it could be customizable so you could launch other apps or services, like Google Assistant, instead. Just days ahead of the Galaxy S8’s launch, Samsung blocked an unofficial method for remapping the button to other features.

Bixby aside, the rest of the Galaxy S8 software is mostly identical to previous years with a little refinement for the various Galaxy S8 features that we’ve already mentioned. The experience on the Galaxy S8 feels familiar, as Samsung has been working hard to give you their version of services that we already somewhat have.

Unlike previous years where a multitude of tutorials became the standard, the Galaxy S8 instead allows you to dive into the settings menu and learn everything the phone can do at your own pace. Samsung’s Nougat interface is one of the better-looking ones, and the plethora of features means there’s an abundance of customization options. The Galaxy S8 proves that Samsung has tried to do everything at once, and while there may be some redundancy, the addition of so many features offers more customization than what’s found on most devices.

Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus specifications

Display	5.8-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED 2960 x 1440 resolution 570 ppi 18.5:9 aspect ratio	6.2-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED 2960 x 1440 resolution 529 ppi 18.5:9 aspect ratio
Processor	U.S.: 64-bit octa-core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad) Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 10 nm process Global: 64-bit octa-core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad) Samsung Exynos 8895, 10 nm process	U.S.: 64-bit octa-core (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad) Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 10 nm process Global: 64-bit octa-core (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad) Samsung Exynos 8895, 10 nm process
RAM	4 GB LPDDR4	4 GB LPDDR4
Storage	64 GB USF 2.1	64 GB USF 2.1
MicroSD	Yes, up to 256 GB	Yes, up to 256 GB
Cameras	Rear: 12 MP Dual Pixel sensor, f/1.7 aperture, OIS Front: 8 MP sensor, f/1.7 aperture	Rear: 12 MP Dual Pixel sensor, f/1.7 aperture, OIS Front: 8 MP sensor, f/1.7 aperture
Battery	3,000 mAh Fast charging	3,500 mAh Fast charging
Wireless charging	Yes, Qi and PMA	Yes, Qi and PMA
Water resistance	IP68 dust and water resistance	IP68 dust and water resistance
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO,1024QAM Bluetooth 5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps) ANT+ USB Type-C 3.5 mm headphone jack NFC Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou)	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO,1024QAM Bluetooth 5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps) ANT+ USB Type-C 3.5 mm headphone jack NFC Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou)
SIM	Nano SIM	Nano SIM
Software	Android 7.0 Nougat	Android 7.0 Nougat
Dimensions and weight	148.9 x 68.1 x 8mm 155 g	159.5 x 73.4 x 8.1 mm 173 g

Galaxy S8 photos

Samsung Galaxy S8 review – price & final thoughts

The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus continue Samsung’s recent penchant of combining outstanding smartphone design with an excellent display to create an all-around fantastic experience. The switch to the taller display has allowed Samsung to cram even more screen real estate into its new smartphones and in doing so, the company is setting the new standard for big-screen devices. Think back to what a big screen phone meant a couple of years ago and compare it to the Galaxy S8 and it’s clear that the future is much brighter, and we’re now closer than ever to phone that is all display.

With the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge both proving to be excellent smartphones, Samsung sought to refine its smartphone experience further and achieved that, albeit with some trade-offs. The biggest of these is that a major selling feature – Bixby – is in its very early stages and, as a result, it’s not as useful as Samsung led us to believe. That said however, the Galaxy S8 is arguably the best phone for most users, but it might not be the best phone for users who want specific features.

For the all-around big-screen experience, Samsung has knocked it out of the park and while the likes of LG and Huawei definitely come close, the design of the Galaxy S8 means it stands tall above the competition. Thus concludes our Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S8 review. What do you think of Samsung’s latest S series devices? Let us know down in the comments.

Buy now from Samsung.com

Related coverage

The truth about Bluetooth 5 – Gary explains

Samsung DeX hands-on and reactions

Galaxy S7 Edge revisited: Is it still worth it?

What do you think of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, and which of these would you buy? Personally, I find the smaller Galaxy S8 much more comfortable in the hand, but what do you think? Hit up the comments below!

Twitter can’t separate verification from validation

2016 was a dumpster fire of a year for Twitter. Abusive language and toxic interaction became the norm across the microblogging site as it saw a dramatic rise in activity from users on the far right and their crystallization into the Alt-Right movement. But for as painful as last year was for the company, 2017 has seen it steadfastly refuse to do little else but pour more gasoline on the flames.

The face in the shrubs you see above is one Jason Kessler. You might remember him from the “Unite the Right” rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia this past August. He was not only the event’s organizer, he also made sure to weigh in on the death of protester Heather Heyer. After suspected Nazi sympathizer James Alex Fields Jr plowed his vehicle into a crowd of people, Kessler took to Twitter to declare her a “fat disgusting communist” and that her death was “payback.” Kessler then doubled down on his actions, claiming “It was right to troll Heather Heyer. I media was depicting a marty [sic], not a human being.”

But if the blue checkmark is more of a public service announcement indicating that the account is held by a public figure and not a status symbol, why is Twitter’s verification so widely sought by the user community as a mark of legitimacy?

Furthermore, how did Twitter see fit to verify Kessler’s account yesterday? This unusual action has many of the site’s users questioning the move. According to Twitter support via CEO Jack Dorsey,

We should’ve communicated faster on this (yesterday): our agents have been following our verification policy correctly, but we realized some time ago the system is broken and needs to be reconsidered. And we failed by not doing anything about it. Working now to fix faster. https://t.co/wVbfYJntHj

— jack (@jack) November 9, 2017

The real question many are asking is whether Kessler’s Twitter account does fit that definition. He’s certainly made headlines over the past few months and become part of the public discussion on America’s racial inequalities, even if sometimes that discussion is how to chase neo-Nazis from their own press conferences.Whatever opaque reasoning Twitter used in reaching its decision to verify his account, it was apparently wrong given the strength of the community’s backlash. But instead of issuing an explicit apology to the community and revoking his checkmark as they had recently done (albeit temporarily) to conservative activist Laura Loomer, Twitter instead suspended the issuance of verification outright and tweeted the following:

Verification was meant to authenticate identity & voice but it is interpreted as an endorsement or an indicator of importance. We recognize that we have created this confusion and need to resolve it. We have paused all general verifications while we work and will report back soon

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 9, 2017

Now, the problem isn’t so much that Twitter can’t sufficiently explain how its verification process works or why it chooses the accounts that it does approve, nor is it so much the company’s mealy-mouthed non-answers when situations like this arise. These are both significant issues, to be sure, but they’re only part of a larger problem: the fact that Twitter can’t seem to stop making matters worse. These faux pas keep happening, the “inadvertent” errors flowing nearly as freely as anonymous death and rape threats, and it needs to stop.

Muslims are out in full force at the scene of the NYC #ISIS attack today rubbing it in everyone’s face. Aimlessly walking around in hijabs. pic.twitter.com/UV0DOikmJy

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) November 1, 2017

This is not the first time that Twitter has made questionable decisions regarding who it verifies. Alt-right leader and famed punch-receiver Richard Spencer earned himself a blue check, as has professional crank/Infowars host Alex Jones. Heck even Laura Loomer, the conservative activist who got caught crowdfunding her bail before being arrested for interrupting a Shakespeare in the Park performance, used to be verified. It was only after she creep-shotted a pair of Muslim women and complained of NYC’s lack of non-Muslim cabbies was she temporarily stripped of her check. Milo Yiannopoulos, actor James Woods and conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich are other controversial figures that have been verified at one point or another.

But not Julian Assange.

Despite Wikileaks’ continued demands that members of its organization be verified, Twitter’s blue check has remained as elusive to Assange’s account as life outside of an Ecuadorian closet has remained to it’s owner. So what is the difference? If Twitter’s argument that verification isn’t an endorsement any more than retweets are is true, then why are incendiary users like Milo granted elevated status on the site while Assange is relegated to the unwashed masses? If the verification check doesn’t also carry clout, why was Laura Loomer so peeved when her account was temporarily unverified?

Even when Twitter does take action against abusive users, it’s often little more than a slap on the wrist for verified accounts. Take Roger Stone, for example. His account was recently perma-suspended after he publicly threatened CNN news anchor Don Lemon, demanding that he be “confronted, humiliated, mocked and punished.” This wasn’t even the first time that Stone has had his account locked. In April, he threatened Media Matters communications director Laura Allison Keiter. “I’m watching you and know what you’re up to. Better watch your ass,” Trump’s former adviser tweeted.

Milo was even worse. Before his account was banned in July, Yiannopoulos, among his other sleazy escapades, led a concerted harassment campaign against comedian Leslie Jones over her role in the Ghostbusters reboot, forcing the SNL star to temporarily quit Twitter. It only took publicly-posted photographic evidence of Tila Tequila’s Nazi salute to get her account canceled. And even when alt-right leaders like Richard Spencer do get put in Twitter time-out, it’s not often for long.

Twitter appears to have largely turned a blind eye to these conservative antics, even when they’re coming from the Oval Office bathroom at three in the morning. President Trump has flouted Twitter’s terms of service for years, yet Twitter remained oddly silent for a long time as to why his tweets, even those that obviously violated the site’s terms of service, were allowed to stay — and it’s surely not because of the Covfefe Act.

“The rules are the rules,” Twitter’s VP of Trust and Safety, Del Harvey told reporters in July. They just only apply to the president some of the time, it seems.

That’s not to say Twitter has been sitting on its thumbs all year. The company did recently find and ban hundreds of accounts linked to Russian-backed actors who used the site to potentially sway the 2016 presidential elections. And only 11 months after the fact. Twitter has also made efforts to prevent third-party developers from leveraging its data for surveillance tools, stepped up monitoring and banning for terror-related accounts (935,000 of them since 2015, in fact), and tweaked notification and privacy settings to help reduce the amount of abuse users have to take regularly. But despite these efforts, the site remains littered with nazis and abusive bots of unknown origin.

Twitter’s response to abuse issues has often been too little, too late, the company admits, which explains why it let Rob Kardashian’s revenge porn photos remain live for a half hour before removing them. And, more often than not, these efforts are started only after massive public outcry. When actress Rose McGowan came forward with her account of sexual assault at the hands of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, Twitter saw fit to suspend her account. It wasn’t until the #WomenBoycottTwitter movement took off did Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, respond with platitudes of improving the site’s abuse controls.

To its credit, Twitter has taken concrete actions towards making good on Dorsey’s promises. The company has increased its scrutiny of abusive behavior, become more transparent about the efforts it is undertaking to curb harassment, clarified its rules on which behaviors will be banned and even teamed with the Anti-Defamation League to stamp out abuse across the internet.

Yet, even as it tries to clean up its site (and reputation), Twitter seems incapable of making it through a work week without making dubious judgement calls. From its ad hoc account banning to borking search terms to exclude LGBT content, but allow for “white genocide”, Twitter just can’t get out of its own way.

Indeed, many of the company’s newest features aren’t anything the user community has actually asked for. There are no plans for an edit button but now you’ll get notifications for ongoing events at the top of your timeline for some reason. The site is overrun with wannabe Nazis, so of course Twitter has been hard at work developing a Save for Later feature and has made it easier for you to slide into the DMs of corporate brands. And who has time to develop systemic protections against anonymous death and rape threats when you’re busy figuring out how to DM orders to Denny’s before you arrive and redesigning default avatars?

And which genius thought that a 280-character limit was the answer to literally any shortcoming of the site? Congratulations everybody, now every Twitter Nazi and Proud Boy will be able to really dive into the nuanced reasoning behind their desire to exterminate minorities.

In the end, maybe these aren’t bugs but rather features. Twitter is a business, its value is based on the volume of its use, not the quality of its interactions. But we appear to be quickly reaching a breaking point within the user community where the hassle of being on the site outweighs the benefit of actually using the service. We’ve already seen a number of major accounts wash their hands of the site, and unless the company wants to hire Kevin Durant to supplement its MOA numbers, Twitter needs to stop making excuses and start making progress.