The iPad 3 goes from ‘revolutionary’ to obsolete at breakneck speed

Why it matters to you

As the third-generation iPad becomes a vintage Apple product, repair options for the device shrink drastically.

If you own an iPad 3, you may finally have an excuse to upgrade to a newer model.  Apple officially confirmed that te third-generation iPad is now a vintage and obsolete product, after MacRumors reported on an internal memo released to Apple Authorized Service Providers earlier this week. Both Wi-Fi and cellular versions made the list. They join the original iPad as the second iPad to hit the list.

While the terms vintage and obsolete are used pretty interchangeably, there is a slight difference.  In Apple parlance, vintage products are those that were discontinued more than 7 years ago and for which hardware service is no longer available under any circumstances. Vintage products, on the other hand, still have hardware and repair service in California and Turkey.

When it was introduced in 2012, Apple marketing materials hailed the iPad 3 as “revolutionary.” While revolutionary may be a stretch, it did feature a number of firsts for an iPad.  The iPad 3 was the first to feature the Retina display, the first to have an iSight camera (the iPad 2 had a 0.7 megapixel rear-facing camera), and the first to have quad-core graphics processing. It was also the first to have LTE capability, although this was only available in certain parts of the U.S. and Canada.

Even with its impressive specs, the iPad 3 was the shortest-lived iOS device in history. Seven months after its introduction, the iPad 3 was discontinued and replaced by the iPad 4. This may be the reason the iPad 3 was placed on the vintage and obsolete list while its predecessor, the iPad 2, continues to to supported.

If you own an iPad 3 and live in California, you’re in luck. California is the only state in the U.S. where Apple retail stores and Apple service providers will still make repairs to your iPad.  If you live outside of California, you’ll need to look for a service provider in California should you need a repair.

The iPad 3 should continue to have limited hardware support in California for at least the next two years. Apple typically waits seven years after a product has been off the market before rendering a product obsolete and ending all hardware service.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Here are the 26 best iPad keyboard cases, from the Mini to the Pro
• The best iPad cases and covers for the new iPad (2017)
• The 100 best iPad apps for your Apple tablet (October)
• Check out these excellent deals on refurbished Apple products to save big
• Take up to $210 off new and refurbished iOS tablets with our top 6 iPad deals

Razer Phone hands-on review

Research Center:
Razer Phone

Razer, a company known for making gaming laptops and peripherals, made heads turn earlier this year when it bought smartphone startup Nextbit. Is a gaming-focused company going to make a phone made for gamers? Yep, that’s pretty much what we found the new Razer Phone to be in our hands-on review — a high-performance Android smartphone geared at providing the best multimedia experience.

If you’re thinking of a phone with a powerful graphics processor that lets you play PlayStation- or Xbox-level games, think again. The Razer Phone has a spotlight feature that makes it unique, but it’s far from groundbreaking for the mobile gaming industry.

Utilitarian design, bold speakers

The Razer Phone is as utilitarian and straightforward as you can get with smartphone design — it’s a no-frills rectangular slab of metal. The rear features Razer’s logo and nothing else other than a low-profile dual camera setup on the top left.

Razer’s known for its use of green in its products, and the company is offering 1,337 Razer Phones with a limited edition green logo on the back. Yes, really.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

On the right edge sits a flat power button that doubles as a fingerprint center, and on the left edge are two circular volume up and down buttons. They’re clicky, and responsive. We’ll have to see how easy the fingerprint sensor is to access, because it’s in an uncommon location. The bottom edge houses a USB Type-C port.

Razer doesn’t care about the “bezel-less” smartphone trend that most flagship smartphones have adopted this year, where the edges around the screen are skimpy. Instead, there are two thick bars on the top and bottom of the screen, but they’re not just wasted space — they’re stereo speakers.

The Razer Phone is a no-frills rectangular slab of metal.

The speakers are driven by dual amplifiers and utilize Dolby Atmos, which makes it feel like you’re in a theater. The audio can get incredibly loud, with clear highs and solid bass, and it’s easy to distinguish sound coming from the left and the right in games and music.

It definitely enhances the multimedia experience, but you’ll be disappointed to hear there’s no headphone jack. Instead, the Razer Phone comes with a USB Type-C to 3.5mm headphone jack THX-certified digital-to-analog converter (DAC). We didn’t get a chance to test it out, but we will in our final review. What’s even more disheartening is the decision to use Bluetooth 4.2 over the latest Bluetooth 5 for connecting wireless headphones. Bluetooth 5 offers faster data transfer speeds and much-improved range.

A display with a 120Hz refresh rate

Loud and rich stereo speakers aren’t the only feature that makes the Razer Phone a multimedia machine. It has an 5.72-inch IPS LCD with Quad HD (2,560 x 1,440 pixel) resolution, and support for a wide color gamut and HDR. The screen looks colorful and sharp, though the blacks aren’t as deep as an OLED panel (like the iPhone X).

But that’s not what’s unique. The Razer Phone is the first smartphone to support a screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. Most smartphone screens refresh 60 frames per second, but the Razer Phone supporting up to 120 frames per second means the interface, apps, and games feels far more responsive, fluid, and fast. We’ve seen this in Apple’s iPad Pro, and the technology is similar here.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

An FPS counter at the top of the screen showed us that it isn’t displaying a constant 120 frames per second. When on a static screen, the frame rate ranged between 0 to 25. When we opened Chrome and Twitter and scrolled through, the frame rate went as high as 120. Scrolling felt incredibly smooth and everything loaded up quickly. It’s especially noticeable when playing games. Everything in Riptide GP2 felt far more responsive, though we’ll have to test the experience with another smartphone to gauge the difference.

It’s the first smartphone to support a screen with a 120Hz refresh rate.

To make sure the graphics card can keep up with the high refresh rate of the screen and prevent screen tearing, Razer built UltraMotion, which is its own version of Nvidia’s G-Sync but for mobile phones. Again, it makes sure the graphics card and screen are working together to prevent visually misaligned objects.

What’s neat is Razer lets you set the frame rate to 60, 90, or 120, and you can even set it by game. Here, you can also customize how your game looks by changing the display resolution, CPU clock speed, and frame rate, in case you want to optimize for performance or battery life.

Raw performance, massive battery, and dual cameras

Speaking of performance, the Razer Phone can go toe-to-toe with any Android flagship phone in terms of raw specifications. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor with a whopping 8GB of RAM. You’ll find 64GB of internal storage, and there’s a MicroSD card that lets you expand it if you need more space.

We only spent a brief time with the phone, but we saw zero issues with performance switching between apps and moving through the Android OS. We played Riptide GP2, and it ran without a hitch. We’re not quite sure if 8GB is necessary, but it’s always a topic of debate.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Razer claims its phone will perform better than others, and that’s largely because of how the Razer Phone handles heat. The hotter a phone gets, the slower it runs. On the Razer Phone, a heat pipe and a few layers of thermal shielding transfer heat to the phone’s frame, using it as a heat sink. With this design, the Razer Phone runs cooler, making it able to sustain better performance for longer periods of time when you’re playing intensive games.

The 120Hz refresh rate of the screen can be detrimental to battery life, which is why Razer packed in a massive 4,000mAh battery. We’ll have to do more testing to see how long it’ll last, but you’ll be happy to learn you can charge it up super fast. The phone utilizes Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4.0 technology, and Razer said you can go from 0 to 50 percent within 35 minutes. That’s impressive for a phone with such a large battery capacity.

Despite having a dual-camera setup, there’s not much interesting about the Razer Phone’s camera.

Despite having a dual-camera setup, there’s not much interesting about the Razer Phone’s camera. It has a 12-megapixel wide-angle lens with a f/1.75 aperture, and a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with a f/2.6 aperture. We didn’t have much of a chance to test the camera, but photos snapped quickly, and there was plenty of good detail and color accuracy. You won’t find many features like slow motion or Portrait Mode in the camera app, though — those will come in a later update.

At the moment, you can only zoom in with 2x optical zoom, like the iPhone. This also isn’t intuitively designed, as to use the zoom feature you have to pinch and zoom on the screen, but there’s no indicator that says when you’re switching from optical to digital zoom. Razer said it’s looking into making this more clear, like Apple and Samsung do with their respective camera apps.

The front camera is a standard 8-megapixel lens with a f/2 aperture. It’s nothing to write home about.

Pure Android, and Nova Launcher Prime

The Razer Phone runs pure, stock Android 7.1.1. There’s no bloatware at all. Some of the stock apps like the dialer and messaging app are themed to Razer’s green color, but you can customize them to your liking.

Customization is a huge part of the software experience on the Razer Phone, and it’s largely thanks to the launcher — Nova Launcher Prime. Nova Launcher is a third-party launcher that lets you tweak everything on the home screen to your liking, and it has been around on the Google Play Store for quite some time. It’s also our pick for the best Android launcher, as you can install it over any traditional launcher on any Android phone.

Razer Phone Compared To

Google Pixel 2

LG V30

Sony Xperia XZ1

Huawei Honor 9

Essential Phone (PH-1)

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Moto X4

Asus Zenfone AR

ZTE Blade Z Max

OnePlus 5

Moto Z2 Force

Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom

Moto Z2 Play

Motorola Moto E4

Huawei Nova 2 Plus

With Nova Launcher Prime, you can make your Razer Phone look like a Google Pixel, enable dark mode, customize how your icons and folders look, and more. It’s a great launcher, but it can be overwhelming for people not used to tuning every option of the home screen. Still, you don’t have to use all its features. The Razer Phone’s interface is simple to use and barebones.

You still get access to Google Assistant by pressing and holding the home button, or by saying “OK Google,” or “Hey Google.” If you want the latest version of Android — 8.0 Oreo — you’ll have to wait until the first quarter of 2018.

Availability and price

Razer is targeting gamers, Android enthusiasts, and a young demographic with the Razer Phone. The company said it’s focusing on people who use “landscape mode” the most, and that’s evident in the high-quality stereo speakers, and the 120Hz refresh rate. It still feels as though it fits a niche audience, but it’s a powerful, raw slate that puts you in control of your smartphone.

You’ll get a selection of recommended games during the setup process of the phone that Razer says works best with the phone, such as Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition, Tekken, RuneScape, and World of Tanks Blitz.

It will set you back $700, which is comparable with other smartphones with these specifications. In the U.S., you’ll be able to purchase it unlocked from Razer’s website on November 17, but you can pre-order it now. Come November 17, you’ll also be able to pick it up at select Microsoft Stores around the country, as well as Amazon.

Editor’s Recommendations

• LG V30 review
• ZTE Axon M hands-on review
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8 boasts a 6.3-inch display, and a smaller, safer battery
• Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review
• Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro hands-on review

Macphun Luminar 2018 review

“Luminar 2018 simplifies photo-editing for amateurs and pros.”

Editing a photo can be as easy as applying a one-tap filter in Instagram or as complex as creating a multilayered piece of artwork in Adobe Photoshop. Macphun Luminar 2018 is the in-between, covering the gamut from easy to advanced.

We had a sneak peek of the product back in October, but the company announced the final product will be available on November 16, 2017 (discounted pre-orders are being taken now). In addition, the once Mac-only software will come to Windows, however, certain features will not show up in the Windows version until later. (The company will also change its name from Macphun to Skylum in 2018, to reflect its new position as a multi-platform developer).

Macphun says Luminar 2018 was rebuilt from the ground up to enhance the performance, with the same tools from previous versions, plus some new options that deliver results in less time. While some new features, like a digital asset manager (think Adobe Lightroom’s Library), won’t be launching until next year via a free software update, we took a spin with a pre-release copy for our Luminar 2018 review. What we found is an affordable and excellent photo editor that will appeal to amateurs and pros alike.

User interface

The controls in Luminar 2018 are familiar enough for photographers who have used other editing platforms, including Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop, to make an easy transition. But when it comes to workflow, Luminar 2018 has a few, essential differences.

Upon launching Luminar 2018, you’ll find a menu of presets along the bottom. Essentially filters, presets let you entrust the software to apply edits automatically and quickly. It’s not only ideal for those who don’t have the time, patience, or experience to deal with photo editing, it’s great for advanced users as a means to get a head start on the editing process — have the computer do the brunt of the editing, and then go in and fine-tune it.

Presets are organized by category, including the type of edit (basic or “dramatic”) as well as the type of photo, like portrait or street. Users can also save their favorites to organize the most used options into their own category.

Luminar 2018 simplifies editing for amateurs and pros alike.

Each filter has a percentage slider that lets you adjust the overall intensity. At the same time, clicking on a preset opens a workspace on the right, which displays all the settings that you can tweak specifically.

For example, the Auto Smart Enhancer is a preset that uses artificial intelligence to analyze and enhance all aspects an image. We thought the preset did a good job adjusting the exposure and contrast, but it also bumped up the saturation of the colors. For more control, you might prefer to make colors pop using the hue, saturation, and luminance (HSL) sliders. Simply by dragging the saturation slider back down, you can override that single aspect of the Auto Smart Enhancer and move on to adjust colors manually through HSL. In short, Luminar never locks you in to a preset’s default settings.

You can bypass the presets, of course, and start the photo-editing process from scratch. You can either select a workspace from popular options (e.g., portrait or landscape), or add specific sets of adjustments individually. The latter lets you add only the settings you need while leaving the unneeded tools out of the workspace for a clutter-free interface.

Each customized workspace can be saved. You can create a workspace dedicated entirely for color correction, exposure, or special effects, for example. Customization options are seemingly endless, and it’s one of Luminar 2018’s biggest strengths.

Luminar also allows for localized edits, as every adjustment can be selectively applied using the brush tool. This is one of the ways in which Luminar combines the one-click simplicity of presets with the advanced editing features of a program like Photoshop.

Editing experience

Luminar is a sort of mix between Lightroom and Photoshop. Sure, the image management feature isn’t here yet, and it’s not the graphic design powerhouse that Photoshop is, but it mixes the broad strokes of RAW processor with the fine tuning abilities of a powerful image editor, including support for adjustment layers. For the unfamiliar, layers allow users to choose different blending modes — similar to Photoshop — as well as adjust the opacity. With layers, you also have options for masking and copying entire sets of adjustments. These layers can be removed, and you don’t “damage” the original image, and it’s why photo-editing experts rely on layers in their workflow.

Luminar 2018 adds a number of unique filters and adjustments. One favorite of ours is the sunrays filter, which lets you add artificial light rays and adjust the glow of the surrounding area. When done right, the effect looks realistic.

Dodge and burn is also new, and it mimics a technique from film days. While it isn’t new to photo editing, Luminar 2018 simplifies the tool so that it’s easier to use. Another tool we like is a digital polarizing filter that adjusts the intensity of a blue sky without requiring any masking.

While the brush tools are certainly useful, we missed Lightroom’s ability to change brush size with a simple swipe on a trackpad or flick of a scroll wheel. Luminar 2018 also doesn’t include an auto-mask option, where the computer helps detect the edges for a more accurate selection. And with some tools, like the healing brush, we found working on a 45-megapixel file a bit slower in Luminar 2018 compared to Photoshop.

Excellent mix of editing tools for pros and amateurs

Luminar 2018 mixes some of the best tools from the most popular editing programs with automated presets, easy-to-use sliders, and layers. The program’s customizable workspaces let you turn on the features you use often, and hide away those that you won’t ever use.

Luminar 2018 adds a number of unique filters and adjustments, like sun rays and dodge and burn.

The promised 2018 update will make the program more comparable to Lightroom, but Luminar offers a few tools Lightroom doesn’t, including the sunrays filter and polarizing filter. On the other hand, Lightroom offers a handful of features not found in Luminar, including auto-masking options and faster healing brush performance.

Macphun told Digital Trends that it doesn’t expect Luminar to unseat Lightroom or Photoshop, but it does see it as a strong contender. In fact, the company sees customers using Luminar, Lightroom, and Photoshop together. And Luminar complements Adobe’s products, as well, via Lightroom and Photoshop plug-ins. You can apply a preset to a photo in Luminar, and then fine-tune the image Photoshop, for example.

Luminar sells for $69 for new users or $49 for owners of earlier editions, with a $10-off pre-order discount until Nov. 16. The same software license can also be used on up to five different computers within the same household. As a newcomer to the family, the Windows version won’t immediately have feature parity with the macOS version. Certain workspaces, clone and stamp tools, blend modes, luminosity masking, flip and rotate, and a few other features will arrive via a free update by the end of the year.

Overall, Luminar 2018 is an excellent photo editor for beginners and hobbyists, with enough features to appease even some professional photographers. For photographers looking to break away from Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription platform, Luminar is worth their time to try the free trial and see if the tools match their style and workflow.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Photoshop 2018 now supports 360-degree photos, adds new design tools
• Enlight Quickshot edits your photos in one tap — or even before you shoot
• Adobe’s new Lightroom leverages the cloud for cross-platform photo editing
• What’s the difference between Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic?
• Sony Xperia XZ1 review

Google pulls flight API search, putting its competition in a tight spot

Why it matters to you

If you use any number of bargain-flight apps, they may be affected by Google’s change.

Several aggregator apps for finding the best airfare prices will soon need to find a new way to integrate travel deals — Google recently quietly announced the closure of QPX Express API, code that allows third-party apps to pull flight search data into their own programs.

QPX Express API allows other apps to pull in-flight data to compare aspects like prices and flight times. While it’s unclear which platforms currently use the system, the API has, in the past, helped power searches inside Kayak and Orbitz, along with apps from specific airlines and smaller travel startups. QPX Express is a lighter version of the original QPX designed for small businesses, though it looks like the original QPX will still be available. Without the QPX Express, these smaller apps will have to find new solutions for in-flight flight data from multiple sources.

The QXP Express API will close down on April 10 — new signups have been disabled as Google leaves a few months for apps currently using the platform to find alternatives. The change was only announced through an updated FAQ page, which also says that the fees are dropping as the program closes, with the $0.035 per query rate now at $0.02.

With the quiet announcement, Google did not say exactly why it is shutting down the service, but the change probably has something to do with Google Flights and Google Trips. With Google’s own flight-booking system steadily gaining new tools, shutting down the QXP Express leaves Google Trips with that API, while leaving competitors without the tool.

Google acquired ITA Software, the company that created GPX, during a deal that spanned 2010 and 2011. Part of the agreement required Google to keep the API open to third-party apps for five years while integrating the program into their own programs. Google later developed the API into QPX Express in 2013, a lighter version of the software. Google has since expanded Google Flights to include predictions on when ticket prices will rise.

The flight app originally created by ITA, OnTheFly, will also shut down next month, with Google suggesting users instead use Google Flights or the still functioning ITA Matrix search.

Google didn’t offer a list of suggestions for replacing the QPX Express API, but there are similar services. According to TechCrunch, Fareportal, Skyscanner, and Skypicker offer similar flight- search APIs.

Exactly which apps will be affected by the change isn’t yet clear, but users shouldn’t be surprised if a favorite travel app looks a bit different next spring.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Be forewarned of delayed flights via the Flightsayer app
• New DJI feature lets some drone pilots fly with more privacy
• Anamorphic app review
• Google redesigns its Science Journal app as a digital science notebook
• Protect your credit card info with the free ‘Skimmer Scanner’ Android app

Breakthrough technique allows engineers to 3D print ‘marine-grade’ steel

Why it matters to you

New material could be used for 3D printing everything from oil pipelines to medical implants.

Investigators at several research institutions, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Ames National Laboratory, Georgia Tech University, and Oregon State University, have made a major breakthrough in the 3D printing of 316L, a type of versatile “marine-grade” stainless steel.

316L is a superior material to other marine grade steels — used in everything from oil pipelines and kitchen utensils to medical implants and engine parts — which have high strength, but low ductility. Ductility refers to the important ability of metals to plastically deform and adapt when they are put under stress. This quality, the opposite of brittleness, allows them to absorb energy and makes them more durable.

After designing the new steel material’s underlying microstructure with computer modeling, the researchers used two different laser 3D printers to fabricate thin plates of 316L for mechanical testing. They found that the new material can be up to three times stronger than steels manufactured using conventional techniques. “This opens the door for 3D printing real components,” Morris Wang, a materials scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, told Digital Trends.

At present, the work is still very much in the research stages, but it suggests that ultra-strong 3D-printed stainless steel could not be too far away. This would allow the aforementioned applications — such as engine parts, medical implants and more — to be made significantly tougher. In particular, the researchers think the advance could have applications in fields like aerospace and the oil and gas industries, where it is important to improve the durability of metal components because of the extreme conditions that they face. Although, hey, what self-respecting D.I.Y. 3D-printing enthusiast would turn down the opportunity to incorporate new ultra-tough materials into their workshops?

“Our next goal is to apply 3D-printing technology to other lighterm but more brittle materials, to see whether we can make them stronger and more ductile,” Wang continued. However, he added that the team is only focused on the research side and that, “We’ll leave industry people to commercialize our findings.”

A paper describing the work, titled “Additively manufactured hierarchical stainless steels with high strength and ductility,” was recently published in the journal Nature Materials.

Editor’s Recommendations

• Cosmonauts launch 3D-printed satellite from the International Space Station
• The Netherlands is home to the world’s first 3D-printed concrete bridge
• MIT’s new software lets anyone build a functioning 3D-printed robot
• Engineers have found a way to 3D print more realistic bones for medical use
• Introduce your kids to the magic of 3D printing with Toybox

Deal: Get 4 lines of unlimited data on MetroPCS for $100 out-the-door

MetroPCS is currently offering 4 lines of unlimited talk, text, and data for $100/month with all taxes and fees included. To sweeten the deal, they are also offering free phones for each line of service (minus sales tax). While they may not be top-tier devices, you can still get a MetroPCS plan on the cheap without having to worry about shelling out even more for devices as well.

Here are the devices you can get as part of the promotion:

• Alcatel Fierce 4
• Alcatel Fierce A30
• Coolpad Defiant
• LG Aristo
• LG K20 Plus
• Motorola Moto e4
• Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime
• Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime
• ZTE Blade Z Max
• ZTE Avid TRIO

Sales tax on free devices are not included. Requires port-in of eligible wireless number not currently active on T-Mobile network.

Here’s what you’ll get with MetroPCS Unlimited data plan:

• Unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE data (users of more than 35GB in a month may notice temporary reduction in speeds during times of high network traffic)
• Coverage on T-Mobile’s network
• Video streaming at SD quality (480p)
• Mobile hotspots (tethering) is not included

Special note on 4/$100: Requires activation of new line of service to be eligible. If new line deactivates, ALL lines lose promotional rate

See at MetroPCS

Amazon Echo Show now does Dash Buttons, still doesn’t do YouTube

What’s better than a physical Dash Button that only buys one thing? A virtual Dash Button. Lots of virtual Dash Buttons, actually.

If you’ve been waiting on the Amazon Echo Show to gain a little more usefulness, well, today it’s gained a little more usefulness, as noted by AFTV News. Amazon’s first Echo with a screen can now show virtual Dash Buttons. Just tap a button to buy a thing. Instead of, ya know, searching for the thing on the Echo Show and then tapping to buy it. Actually, it’s a cool little thing, and indeed it is useful if there’s something you need to reorder a lot. And I’d argue it’s actually more useful than a single-purpose physical Dash Button.

But you know what’d make the Echo Show actually useful again? YouTube.

Amazon Echo

• Tap, Echo or Dot: The ultimate Alexa question
• All about Alexa Skills
• Amazon Echo review
• Echo Dot review
• Top Echo Tips & Tricks
• Amazon Echo vs. Google Home
• Get the latest Alexa news

See at Amazon

Amazon Fire TV review (2017)

The new Amazon Fire TV is a great streaming dongle for the casual viewer, and it comes up just a bit short if you truly care about specs.

At first glance, there’s a lot to love about the new Amazon Fire TV. It’s moved from a set-top box (and we really need to stop using that term given the thinness of most displays) to a dongle. It’s added support for HDR10 along with the 4K we’ve enjoyed in the previous generation. And it gives you access to nearly every streaming service you could possible want. (At this point I’ll cast an eye Apple’s way.)

But trade-offs are a thing with the new Fire TV. Calling any product “imperfect” is a cliché, but it’s also true. For as good as the Fire TV is, I’ve found a couple hiccups that stop me from recommending the inexpensive streamer — it’s a mere $69 — outright.

Let’s dive into it — the 2017 version of the Amazon Fire TV.

See at Amazon

Watch this

Amazon Fire TV: Video review

Hardware matters

Amazon Fire TV: That dongle trade-off

The newest iteration of the Amazon Fire TV is either a decent leap forward or a bit of a step back, depending on your point of view. For those who care more about what’s going on on the screen, you can look forward to HDR10 support, as well as an updated operating system.

The third-generation Fire TV is the first to run Fire OS 6, which is based off Android 7.1 Nougat. (That’s a leap from Android 5.1 in previous generations.) That’s mostly a bigger deal for developers than it will be for end users. The user interface looks pretty much the same — colorful and crowded — and apps work the same as they did before, for better or worse.

• Form factor: HDMI dongle
• Price: $69.99
• Max resolution: 4K (60Hz) at 30fps
• Video: H.265, H.264, VP9, HDR10
• Audio: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital
• Processor:Amlogic S905Z
• GPU: Mali-450 MP3
• Storage: 8GB internal (~5GB available)
• RAM: 2GB
• Wifi: 802.11ac
• Operating system: Fire OS 6.0 (based on Android 7.1.2 Nougat)

But the upgrade to Android 7.1.2 means developers have some new toys to play with. Fire OS 6 now supports picture-in-picture — handy for those times you want to hop out of whatever it is you’re watching to check out some other app. (How well individual apps will do this remains to be seen.) And it also supports recording and time shifting — that is, play/pause and fast forward/rewind. Now we just have to see someone actually take advantage of it.

Behind the television, you’ll find a new form factor for the Fire TV. Gone is the streaming box, and instead you’ll be joining that #donglelife. The new Fire TV is a small box with an HDMI plug hanging out of one corner and a Micro-USB port for power opposite it. And that’s it.

The new Fire TV and remote, minus the power cord, which you’ll need.

And inside the new Fire TV you’ll find, well, exactly what you’d expect. Hardware meant to stream video and not much else. In fact, this is where things have taken a little bit of a backward turn.

No more built-in Ethernet — you’re left with the 802.11ac Wi-Fi. If you want Ethernet, you’ll have to pony up $15 for an adapter. And no more expandable storage either. Amazon’s shunned the microSD card and you’ll have to make do with the built-in 8GB of storage. Disappointing? Sure. But remember that we’re still expecting a beefier Fire TV box at some point.

So we’ve got a new operating system with PiP and recording and a new dongle instead of a box. The third top-line feature has to do with audio and video. For the former, Fire TV supports Dolby Atmos, which audiophiles sporting a 5.1 or 7.1 (or for the really hardcore, 7.1.4, with quad overhead speakers) system can take real advantage of. On the video side we now have HDR10. That’s the open-source variant of HDR that most folks will tell you isn’t as good as the proprietary (and licensed) Dolby Vision. Why Atmos and not Vision? The system-on-a-chip used by the new Fire TV supports the former but not the latter.

The technical stuff is one way to look at the new Fire TV. It’s a dongle, not a box, with support for HDR 10 (but not Dolby Vision) and Dolby Atmos for audio. I’m generally less concerned by that and more with how it works. But it turns out in this case you can’t ignore one fo the other.

For the most part this new Fire TV works pretty much exactly the same as the previous-generation Fire TV. The home screens look nearly identical. (If something’s changed significantly, I haven’t noticed.) Apps still work as they did before. The menus seem just a tag less laggy, which is always a good thing. But unless you’re looking side by side as I’ve been it’s pretty much as wash.

The remote control is nearly identical, too. It’s just a tad taller, and the battery door fits a little differently, but that’s it from an end-user perspective.

It’s a Fire TV, period. Amazon’s landed on a consistent experience in an interactive hardware update that checks a couple technical boxes it didn’t before, while still leaving room for improvement.

And ya know what? That’s not bad at all in a $69 box (erm, dongle) that does 4K and HDR. You get what you pay for here. For better or worse.

Using the Fire TV

Amazon Fire TV Software: Same as it ever was

So what’s it like to use? Amazon’s user interface is still pretty good, though it’s certainly on the busy side, bordering on messy. All of the apps I used before still work on this new version, and they work exactly the same way. (Though this is where I’ll mention that the PlayStation Vue app is still ridiculously slow on Fire OS — much more so than on Android TV or Apple TV. Is that a platform thing? Or just the way the app is coded? I don’t know.)

The real question for me is this: How into Amazon’s services are you, and how much do you want to pay for streaming hardware? (And if you’re a PS Vue customer, are you willing to put up with a laggy guide experience.)

If you’re way into Amazon content, go for it. You’ve got movies and TV shows and Amazon Music and Prime Photos and all that in one easy-to-use place. And remember that the Movies Anywhere app works on Fire OS, so you’ve got access to any movies you’ve bought on Google or Vudu or Apple.

When it comes to 4K and HDR content, remember that it all comes down to source. That is, the source of your internet — speeds most certainly matter here — and the source of your content. Not everything is streamed natively in 4K. And there are plenty of shows that are in 4K resolution but not HDR. Amazon does a decent job of showing you what you’re seeing. So will Netflix. (Remember, though that’ll you’ll need to have Netflix’s most expensive plan.) Other services might not show you the stream quality. It’s a crapshoot.

The short version is not everything will be true 4K, and not everything will be HDR. But when it’s all firing on all cylinders, it looks pretty darn good — and again, in a hardware platform that’s a mere $69.

Should You Buy It?

Yes, but …

The Amazon Fire TV is definitely in the “Don’t think, just buy it” category. Because you get a whole lot here in a $69 streaming device. If all you want to do is watch shows and maybe play around with a few apps and not worry that this isn’t the fastest experience with all the bells and whistles, then go for it. The Fire TV ain’t bad at all. And, actually, you do get a few bells and whistles, with 4K resolution and HDR10 and Dolby Atmos.

But if you just have to have Dolby Vision instead of HDR10, then you’ll want to look elsewhere — either the new Apple TV (which is really good) or the NVIDIA Shield TV. If you want to have a better app experience, again, you might want to look elsewhere. (Especially if you rely on PlayStation Vue.)

The new Fire TV will stream content just fine. It just doesn’t quite tick off all the boxes. But then again, it’s only a $69 piece of hardware.

See at Amazon

If you need an Ethernet adapter

One last thing here. I would recommend seriously considering Amazon’s $15 Ethernet connector. Remember that a hardwired connection is one of the things you lose with the new Fire TV dongle. And while every network is different, and speed tests can vary by server, I’m seeing a 3x improvement in speeds in my wired Apple TV 4K than in the Fire TV over my Wi-Fi.

Should that be a deal-breaker for you? I can’t answer that. And an $85 streaming box is still about $100 less than an Apple TV or NVIDIA Shield TV, which are the other boxes I’d recommend without hesitation.

An Ethernet adapter for a dongle is clunky, but for some it might also be a necessity.

See at Amazon

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Razer Phone is official! A killer Android phone made for gamers

Razer’s first step into the smartphone world is now official.

On stage at its London event today, Razer took the wraps off of its first smartphone. Simply called the Razer Phone, the Android device brings Razer’s gaming gravitas to the mobile world.

The fact that Razer was working on a smartphone hasn’t exactly been a secret. Following its acquisition of Nextbit, makers of the unique Robin smartphone, in early 2017, Razer hasn’t been shy about teasing its plans to expand from its bread and butter of gaming peripherals and laptops to the smartphone market. What remained a mystery, until now anyway, was how it would differentiate the Razer Phone from the competition.

As you might expect, Razer is gearing the Razer Phone toward mobile gamers with some pretty beefy specs. One of the more intriguing inclusions is a 5.72-inch 2560 x 1440 display with an absurdly fast 120Hz refresh rate and a wide color gamut. Razer is also talking up the phone’s audio prowess, with dual front-facing speakers, THX certification, and Dolby Atmos support. Internally, you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage.

Razer says its smartphone is the first to ship with Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+, which will allow the 4,000 mAh battery to charge from zero to 85 percent in an hour. Around back, the Razer Phone sports dual 12MP cameras, which will allow for some cool depth of field effects. Razer promises more features, like slo-mo and portrait mode, will arrive in future updates. All of this is packed into a matte black exterior that screams of the Nextbit Robin design language, albeit with Razer’s iconic logo on the rear.

As for games, Razer has included what it calls Game Booster, which it says will let you manually optimize gameplay for performance or battery life. Razer also says it is planning gaming partnerships that will result in games that are optimized to run well on the Razer Phone.

Story is developing …

Razer Phone hands-on: A phone for gamers (but not a gaming phone)

The idea of a smartphone built just for gamers is not a new one (recall my throwback video featuring the Nokia NGage from 2003). For PC-gaming goliath Razer, updating that idea for 2017 means blending bold design –like a special 120Hz screen and loud speakers– with uncharacteristic restraint (there’s no manufacturer software skin aside from Nova Launcher) and a spec sheet that more than makes up for the lack of Chroma LEDs. Looks aside, a “Nextbit Robin 2” this is not.

But to hear Razer tell it, this isn’t a phone for hardcore gaming. The company isn’t launching a special catalog of titles or even the long-rumored PC-to-phone streaming service. Rather than being a gaming phone, this a “phone for gamers” … and that distinction is an important one to keep in mind if you’re considering pre-ordering one of these.

Confused? Not for long. Join me for the MrMobile first look at the Razer Phone; check out Android Central and Windows Central’s take on the same; and be sure you’re subscribed to theMrMobile on YouTube so you don’t miss the full Razer Phone review when it drops!

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