The best audio gear to give as gifts

Maybe there’s an audiophile on your list, or maybe you’re shopping for someone who recently acquired a new phone and could use something better than the pack-in headphones. Either way, we have a slew of recommendations in the audio gear section of our holiday gift guide. On our list you’ll find smart speakers from Google and Amazon alike, along with Sonos, whose new “One” speaker includes Alexa built in, with Google Assistant support coming soon. When it comes to headphones, our selections run the gamut from the affordable (Jabra’s Move headset) to the high end (Bragi’s Dash Pro wireless earbuds and these noise cancelling headphones from Sony), with a couple mid-range options in between.

Rounding out the list, we have a soundbar, drum machine, synth app, the Amazon Echo Show and one of our favorite portable Bluetooth speakers. Find all that and many more items in our holiday gift guide, at the link below.

Source: Engadget Holiday Gift Guide 2017

Shell will build 80 high-power EV charging stations across Europe

This year, Royal Dutch Shell has put more of a focus on EVs, adding charging stations to a handful of its UK gas stations and acquiring NewMotion — a Netherlands-based company with 30,000 charging points to its name. Now, as Reuters reports, Shell has committed to building 80 high-power charging stations throughout Europe by 2019.

The plan is in partnership with IONITY — an EV-focused venture between BMW, Daimler, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche that was announced earlier this month. IONITY aims to launch 400 high-power charging stations across Europe by 2020.

For EVs that can handle a 350 kW charging rate, the high-power stations will be able to charge them in just five to eight minutes. Some of the major concerns that limit both how many people buy EVs and how far they’re willing to travel with them are long charging times, too few charging stations and battery limitations. Shell and IONITY’s charging station expansion begins to address those first two issues. As for the last one, carmakers like Porsche and Honda already have vehicles in the works that can take advantage of these high-power charging stations.

Shell’s 80 stations will be built in Belgium, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Via: Autoblog

Source: Reuters

HTC’s U11 is one of the first non-Google phones to get Android Oreo

Unless you have a Google-branded phone or are willing to jump into a beta test, you probably haven’t had an easy upgrade path to Android Oreo. However, it seems like they’re starting to trickle out: HTC is releasing an Oreo update for the unlocked U11 on November 26th (that’s today, if you’re reading this when it’s fresh). There’s no timetable for carrier-locked models just yet, but the company’s Mo Versi has promised that Sprint’s U11 will get a taste of Google’s cookie-branded OS “soon.”

The HTC 10, U Ultra and U11 Life are also in line for Oreo at an unspecified later point.

Oreo isn’t a gigantic update. Its most conspicuous improvements are a prioritized approach to notifications (and notification dots for app icons), picture-in-picture video, a redesigned Google “feed” and new emoji. Many of the big improvements are under the hood, such as a framework that separates third-party software from Android’s core and should streamline future OS upgrades.

Still, this gets the ball rolling on Oreo’s adoption beyond Pixel and Nexus devices. Just 0.3 percent of active Android devices are running Google’s latest and greatest as of this writing, which is lower than the percentage of people using Gingerbread — a version released in 2010. While HTC isn’t going to be as influential in expanding Oreo’s adoption as heavyweight rivals like Samsung, LG or Huawei, it could represent an important nudge in the right direction.

Via: The Verge

Source: Mo Versi (Twitter 1), (2)

SodaStream’s new concentrate lets you mix your own champagne

SodaStream has been inching its way into the adult beverage scene for a little while now and today the company announced that it’s launching its take on champagne. Sparkling Gold is a new concentrate from SodaStream that supposedly tastes like a fruity Riesling and when mixed by the recommended one part concentrate to five parts sparkling water, it contains 10 percent alcohol by volume. Each bottle has enough concentrate for up to 12 glasses of DIY sparkling wine.

Previously, the company also designed a smart SodaStream setup geared towards mixing a slew of cocktails and last year, it launched its Beer Bar that let users mix their own light beer. Most people will probably (rightly) be skeptical of sparkling wine-flavored syrup. But the company says that in taste tests, 76 percent of people said Sparkling Gold was good or very good while only 67 percent and 56 percent of tasters said the same of popular champagne brands Veuve Clicquot and Moet & Chandon, respectively.

Sparkling Gold will only be available through Germany’s SodaStream online store for a limited time. In a statement, SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said, “Fun and exciting concentrates give more users the opportunity to enjoy and even indulge in festive beverages this holiday season… Cheers!”

Source: SodaStream

‘Black Mirror’ trailers preview episodes, leave out release date

Netflix continues to drive internet fans of the Black Mirror series crazy by releasing buzzy new trailers, while still not saying when we can actually watch the damn thing. The first one is for Arkangel, an episode directed by Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, showing the hazards trying too hard to protect your precious snowflakes. After a mother (Mad Men’s Rosemarie DeWitt) briefly loses her daughter, she elects to use a new type of tracking technology called “Arkangel” that, obviously, only makes things worse.

The other is called Crocodile, starring Deep State’s Kiran Sonia Sawar. Sawar is apparently a doctor trying to help a man dredge up memories of a car crash, seemingly with the help of a machine. “Memories can be subjective,” she tells him creepily. “They may not be totally accurate and they’re often emotional.”

In other words, the series looks to continue amp up the Outer Limits/Twilight Zone vibe that we all loved in the first three seasons, while posing some existential questions. “How do you exercise responsibility?” Arkangel producer Annabel Jones asked The Independent earlier this year. “How do you ensure you give your child independence in a world in which you can have a lot of control?”

So, we’re excited already, but when is Black Mirror’s fourth season actually going to drop? According to Netflix’s recent December programming list, it looks like it won’t come until next year. That means it might pop up around the same time as Amazon’s Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams anthology (January 12th, 2018), which would butt two similar shows against each other. Anyway, given Netflix’s recent flood of publicity, it’s hard to believe we won’t hear an announcement about the release date very soon.

Source: Netflix (1), (2)

Apple’s All-New Downtown Brooklyn Store Opens Next Weekend

Apple today announced that it is opening an all-new retail store in Downtown Brooklyn next weekend following several months of construction.

300 Ashland
The store is located in the new 300 Ashland building in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, with an official address of 123 Flatbush Avenue. The grand opening will occur Saturday, December 2 at 10:00 a.m. local time.

The store will be Apple’s second in Brooklyn alongside its Williamsburg location opened in July 2016. It will also be Apple’s 11th store in New York City, with seven locations in Manhattan, one in Queens, and one on Staten Island.

The store is situated near the LIRR’s Atlantic Terminal and Barclays Center, home to the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and the NHL’s New York Islanders.

Apple has also announced that its store in the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo has temporarily closed for renovations. Apple recommends customers visit its nearby Omotesando store during the modernization process.

In related news, Japanese blog Mac Otakara claims that Apple is planning to open a store in Kyoto, Japan by 2019, and possibly two other stores in Tokyo in time for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in the city.

Apple Downtown Brooklyn is the company’s 499th retail store location around the world if the new Visitors Center at Apple Park is included.

Related Roundup: Apple StoresTags: Japan, New York City
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Google Introduces iPhone X Support for Docs, Sheets, and Slides iOS Apps

Google today updated its collection of productivity apps for iOS with support for the iPhone X, so now anyone who uses Google Docs [Direct Link], Google Sheets [Direct Link], and Google Slides [Direct Link] on Apple’s newest smartphone will see full compatibility for the iPhone X’s 5.8-inch screen.

Additionally, the same update has introduced drag-and-drop support for all three apps on compatible iPads. This way, users can easily drag and drop content from other apps right into Docs, Sheets, and Slides using multitasking on iPad. The release notes for each app’s version 1.2017.46204 update reads as follows:

– iOS 11 and iPhone X support
– In iOS 11, easily drag and drop content from other apps into Slides
– Bug fixes and performance improvements

While Google has now introduced iPhone X support into its productivity apps, it still has yet to roll out compatibility for the iPhone X’s screen size with some of its more popular apps, including Google Maps and Gmail. Many other apps were ready with iPhone X updates prior to the smartphone’s launch on November 3, and the list is now growing as more developers update their apps following the iPhone X’s debut.

Tag: Google
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MacRumors Giveaway: Win Impulse Wireless Headphones from IFROGZ

For this week’s giveaway, we’ve teamed up with IFROGZ to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win the IFROGZ Impulse Wireless Headphones.

The Impulse Wireless Headphones, priced at $60, are on-ear headphones that are designed to provide immersive, balanced sound with 40mm drivers.

The IFROGZ headphones are Bluetooth-equipped and work with all of Apple’s latest devices, and there are on-device buttons for turning the volume up, changing the track, and playing and pausing. If you don’t want to use Bluetooth, there’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a built-in mic allows for calls.

IFROGZ uses AeroFoam padding on the earpads of the Impulse headphones for both comfort and passive noise isolation. Over Bluetooth, the headphones will last for 12 hours before needing to be recharged, with up to 58 hours of standby time.

When not in use, the Impulse Wireless Headphones collapse down for easier portability, so you can take them anywhere.

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

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

a Rafflecopter giveawayThe contest will run from today (November 27) at 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time through 9:45 a.m. Pacific Time on December 4. The winners will be chosen randomly on December 4 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

Tag: giveaway
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Hundreds of iPhone Users Complain About the Word ‘It’ Autocorrecting to ‘I.T’ on iOS 11 and Later

At least a few hundred iPhone users and counting have complained about the word “it” autocorrecting to “I.T” on iOS 11 and later.

Image: Sean James via Twitter
When affected users type the word “it” into a text field, the keyboard first shows “I.T” as a QuickType suggestion. After tapping the space key, the word “it” automatically changes to “I.T” without actually tapping the predictive suggestion.

A growing number of iPhone users have voiced their frustrations about the issue on the MacRumors discussion forums, Twitter, and other discussion platforms on the web since shortly after iOS 11 was released in late September.

MacRumors reader Tim shared a video that appears to indicate the issue can cause the word “is” to be autocorrected to “I.S” as well.

Many users claim the apparent autocorrect bug persists even after rebooting the device and performing other basic troubleshooting.

A temporary workaround is to tap Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement and enter “it” as both the phrase and shortcut, but some users insist this solution does not solve the problem.

A less ideal workaround is to toggle off auto-correction and/or predictive suggestions completely under Settings > General > Keyboard.

The issue is notable given Apple just recently addressed a similar bug that caused the letter “i” to autocorrect to “A[?]” on iOS 11 and later. The fix was included in iOS 11.1.1, publicly released in early November.

This similar “it” to “I.T” issue does not appear to be fixed in iOS 11.1.1 and later. It’s unclear if a future software update will be required to address the problem, which MacRumors hasn’t been able to reproduce. Apple did not respond to multiple requests for comment about this particular issue.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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Snapchat Debuts New Filters That Automatically Recognize Food, Concerts, Pets, Beaches, and Sports

Snapchat over the weekend quietly began launching a new intelligent image recognition feature in its app, first spotted by Mashable. The feature automatically recognizes certain objects and events when you snap a picture of them, and provides you with appropriate filters and borders for your images when you scroll through editing options. At launch, recognizable objects include concerts, beaches, pets, sports, and food.

Snapchat’s image recognition is meant to be used when you are taking pictures of real objects and animals, but it also appears to work for more generic images found on the internet. A Snapchat spokesperson told MacRumors that image processing takes place locally on your iPhone, and the company will continuously improve the feature with better accuracy and quality of the recommendations as more people use it.

The update is launching ahead of Snapchat’s imminent redesign, which CEO Evan Spiegel has stated will be a direct response to users who claim the app is difficult to understand. In an earnings letter shared earlier in November, Spiegel said that “our team has been working on responding to this feedback,” and the redesign has been hinted at including algorithmic feeds in the Stories section of the app.

Tag: Snapchat
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