Sophisticated ‘Triton’ malware shuts down industrial plant in hacker attack

Cybersecurity experts at FireEye have issued a warning after a recent hacker attack caused “operational disruption to critical infrastructure” at an unnamed industrial plant. The hackers introduced a malware program that FireEye is calling “Triton” into the security system, likely in preparation for a larger attack.

This was not someone in a basement, either. “The targeting of critical infrastructure as well as the attacker’s persistence, lack of any clear monetary goal and the technical resources necessary to create the attack framework suggest a well-resourced nation state actor,” they concluded.

The location of the plant or the nature of its operations was not disclosed, although Reuters reports that the security company Dragos said it was a plant in the Middle East, while another firm, CyberX, believed the target was in Saudi Arabia.

A security alert was issued for users of Triconex, a safety program that’s widely used in energy facilities such as nuclear plants and oil refineries. The nature of the breach has raised concerns among cybersecurity analysts. “This is a watershed,” said Sergio Caltagirone of Dragos. “Others will eventually catch up and try to copy this kind of attack.”

Cybersecurity firm Symantec says the Triton program has been around since August, and it targets a specific type of safety instrumental system (SIS) and reprograms them. The malware could cause the SIS to shut down plant operations or, with a sophisticated enough attack, nullify the SIS and allow an unsafe condition to escalate, leading to a widespread industrial accident.

In this particular case, when Triton attempted to reprogram the SIS controllers, some instead entered a safe shutdown mode, which halted plant operations and alerted the operators about the rogue software. FireEye believes the hackers accidentally triggered the shutdown while probing the plant’s security systems.

“The targeting of critical infrastructure to disrupt, degrade, or destroy systems is consistent with numerous attack and reconnaissance activities carried out globally by Russian, Iranian, North Korean, U.S., and Israeli nation-state actors,” FireEye said in its report.

The security company noted that the attacker could have easily shut down the plant, but instead continued with repeated attempts to gain control of the SIS. “This suggests the attacker was intent on causing a specific outcome beyond a process shutdown,” they said.

Triton is the third malware program analysts have encountered that’s able to interrupt industrial production. Stuxnet, discovered in 2010, is widely credited with helping to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program. The virus Industroyer was used in 2016 to cause widespread power outages in Ukraine.

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What we’re watching: ‘The Room,’ ‘Mindhunter’ and ‘Star Trek’

This month we’re diving into the film that served as the basis for The Disaster Artist, Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, as well as the Netflix series Mindhunter. Also, Cherlynn Low explains what you’ve been missing in Chinese imperial drama YouTube series, and Dan Cooper has (so many) thoughts about Star Trek: Discovery.

Empresses in the Palace (AKA Hou Gong Zhen Huan Zhuan)

Cherlynn Low
Reviews Editor

I’ll admit – I’m super late to the Empresses in the Palace hype train. That’s because I’ve been far too busy catching up on my ‘murican TV. But then I hung out with my best friend Valerie for a week, and she introduced me to the series, which is entirely available on YouTube. And despite my resistance, I was hooked after episode one.

Here’s the basic premise: Zhen Huan enters the royal harem against her will, after an audition of noble ladies. Her friend joins at the same time she does, and they try to survive treacherous concubines, evil consorts and other villains, all the while trying to win the Emperor’s favor. Some of them even fall in love.

TV shows keep you watching by making you relate to or grow to love its characters. But Empresses reeled me in by creating characters I hate and couldn’t wait to watch die. After each episode, I would frustratedly ask Valerie, “When is that bitch going to die?”

Every character on this show is a scheming manipulator out to protect their position in the palace. The few truly good souls ultimately die, often at the hands of the wicked jerks. Scratch that — everyone dies. Everyone on this show (except the protagonist) dies and you’ll just have to wait for it to see when and how it happens. And oh — count the miscarriages. Oh, the miscarriages.

That’s the beauty of this 76-episode series — I had to keep watching to the very end to see every single person I hated die. But I also love its attention to historical detail. As someone who grew up watching Chinese imperial dramas, I appreciated how Empresses captured what it was like to live in the Emperor’s harem in a refreshingly vivid and realistic way. From the ranks of the ladies in the harem and the food they ate to the gifts they gave each other and how their chambers were furnished, every little detail added to the show’s intricate environment, making it easier to hate the many, many antagonists.

Mindhunter

Rob LeFebvre
Contributing Writer

I have never seen a television series with a more pronounced sense of foreboding and dread. Mindhunter is more than just “based on a true story.” It centers on Holden Ford, idealistic young FBI agent and his irascible career partner, Bill Tench. It’s more than just about discovering the psychological make up of what came to be known as “serial killers.” Mindhunter is, ultimately, about being human. Ford and Tench begin the ten-episode series as explorers. Tench is old-school FBI; he wants to teach local law enforcement around the country about catching the bad guys.

Set in the late 1960s, the social fabric is changing — Tench, and to a lesser extent, the younger Ford — are part of the Hoover-era FBI. That a “behavioral sciences” unit exists at all is a testament to the social upheaval of the times. As is Ford’s sociology-studying college girlfriend, played with unsmiling intensity by Hannah Gross, who brings a feminist perspective to every moment on screen. As we spend time with these characters, joined by the incomparable Anna Torv as driven, hyper-smart, lesbian Wendy Carr, we learn more and more about them as characters. Ford pushes to interview men who have been convicted of unspeakable, repeated homicides. These are the serial killers we know today, but every bit as human as the FBI agents coming into their prisons to interview them. Edward Kemper is incredibly smart; a large man with a serious creep factor, Kemper takes a liking to Ford. The early conversations get the behavioral unit off to a solid start and extra funding, even against the better judgment of their supervising FBI agent, Shepard.

As we watch across ten episodes, we realize that we’re seeing three broken individuals confront the worst humanity has to offer. Torv plays Carr with a dry, clinical perspective. Hers is the academic world; the benefit is in many years of careful, replicable academic study and publishable papers. Yet we see her longing for companionship when she begins to leave cans of tuna out for a barely-heard lost kitten in her laundry room. We see Tench, the veritable old school man’s man veteran FBI agent. A stickler for the rules, Tench allows himself a grudging respect for Ford’s results while remaining wary of Ford’s less-than-proper investigative techniques and language. Tench has a young boy with autism at home; you can see his paternal instincts at war with his disappointment that his own son is unable to even hug him. Ford, played by Groff with an earnest enthusiasm, is truly gifted at reading the criminals he interviews, yet can barely make sense of his relationship with his girlfriend. It’s not until the final episode of the season, directed by David Fincher, where Holden finally must deal with the emotional fallout of his early success.

Mindhunter is a tour-de-force with incredible acting, deft direction brilliantly shot scenes and a “true” story that will engage anyone interested in the depths of our shared human condition. It’s not a procedural nor a thriller; most of the action takes place during conversations (some taken from real interviews from the actual behavioral unit) between the characters. The serial killers are human — devastatingly so — and to watch the actors imbue them with three-dimensional spirit and intelligence is a sheer pleasure. As I finished the amazingly stunning final episode, I was struck again and again by this show’s ability to astonish, not with gore, jump scares, or other supernatural twists, but with solid plotting, incredible dialogue and a stylish take on the late 1960s as seen through the eyes of the establishment. Give this one a chance, if you haven’t already, and be prepared for a masterpiece.

The Room

Timothy J. Seppala
Associate Editor

Somehow, I’ve made it the last 14 years without seeing The Room in its entirety. I knew the story behind it and that the movie had a cult following, but aside from the infamous bellybutton sex scene I saw (heavily edited) on Adult Swim at some point, I’d never seen the “Citizen Kane of bad movies.” I’d always wanted to watch it, but because it isn’t streaming, I didn’t quite have the access. Which, in hindsight is probably for the best. Why? Because as I discovered this weekend, watching it with a theater full of die-hard fans is the superior way to experience Tommy Wiseau’s writing and directorial debut.

People were throwing plastic spoons, cheering the awkward panning shots of the Golden Gate Bridge and counting every successful pass of a football. It felt like a party, honestly. Or a Rocky Horror midnight screening. At one point, I leaned over to my date and said this would probably be better than it already was if alcohol were involved.

Yeah, the movie is absolutely terrible. But unlike some of the dreck I’ve watched on Amazon or Netflix, it has heart. Wiseau tried to make an amazing movie, but he fell so, so, so short. Whether it’s the green screen reflecting off his actor’s faces in myriad rooftop scenes or a seeming total disregard for continuity, everything about the movie feels like a bad community college film-class project. That goes for the script’s random plot threads that are never resolved like Claudette’s breast cancer revelation, too.

But that didn’t matter to the 300 or so people in the theater Saturday night; we just wanted to see how many times an apartment door would get left open.

Star Trek: Discovery

Daniel Cooper
Senior Editor

“Time is a predator, it’s stalking you,” snarls Dr. Soran towards the climax of Star Trek: Generations. It’s emblematic of Star Trek’s core anxiety: that time is running out, and you’ll never get it back. Which is odd, because Star Trek has outlasted all of its rivals to become the elder statesperson of science fantasy. Star Trek was a cross-media cinematic shared franchise platform universe zeitgeist long before Disney started buying them in wholesale. And yet, Star Trek: Discovery is here, and its biggest problem is… time.

An aside: if you don’t believe me, then re-watch the first ten Trek movies, where at least eight of them concern our anxieties around aging. The first six explicitly document the life of Peter Pan fan James T. Kirk as he fights the urges to grow up, beyond the captain’s chair of the Enterprise. Generations and Insurrection, meanwhile, see Picard battling villains who will stop at nothing to aggressively reclaim their youth. Hell, look at the subtext of the Borg: a race that has embraced technology to avoid dying.

Time hamstrung Discovery’s production schedule, mostly thanks to Sonequa Martin-Green’s tenure on The Walking Dead. The delay helped foment tensions between CBS and Bryan Fuller, the hotshot producer called in to revive the franchise. Clashes with the top brass meant that Fuller walked away, blaming a lack of time due to his other commitments on shows like American Gods.

Then there’s Discovery’s placement within the Trek canon, which places it just a decade before the original dayglo adventures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Which serves to highlight all of the jarring inconsistencies where we’re expected to see switches-and-velour as an upgrade. Yes, it’s a TV show, and one that didn’t want to be hamstrung by the production design of a show made 50 years prior. But that doesn’t stop your suspension of disbelief being ruined by every damn inconsistency and technology change.

The worst thing is that it would have been so easy not to ruin things simply by setting matters in Star Trek’s ostensible present, rather than its past. Swap in different names for the Klingons, Sarek and Harry Mudd, and the show would have worked so much better as a sequel to Nemesis. Imagine it: an exhausted, jaded Federation, knackered from conflicts against the Borg, Dominion, Son’a and Romulans would look like easy prey to a new, gothic horror-inspired race from beyond the Beta Quadrant.

The official line was that the creators wanted to set Discovery before a time where Replicators and Holodecks were easy shortcuts. Writers wanted to mine more drama out of simple crises, like resource scarcity and missing parts, and you can’t do that if there’s a magic box that makes anything you need. Which is why it’s so frustrating that the show then burned that bridge by featuring “synthesis machines” and a “holographic battle simulator” in the first six episodes.

Time is also an issue with Discovery’s 50-ish minute running time, which is barely enough to contain the multitude of shows contained within. There’s a conventional Trek show in there, about the trials of the brave few exploring the galaxy and trying to make the world a better place. But there’s also a more Battlestar Galactica-esque show about the compromises people have to make in times of war. Sadly, aside from Lt. Stamens glowering at Lorca a couple of times, that narrative is barely hinted at.

Then there’s the touching character drama of this much-hated criminal being reintegrated into society on a warship full of misfits. The plot of episode seven, for instance, is basically geared toward simply encouraging Burnham to engage romantically with Tyler. But that, like the other plotlines, are suffocated by the sheer volume of story each Discovery episode is trying to tell. Oh, and let’s not even go into the Klingon scenes, which see stock characters bellowing cliches at one another — even if Voq does turn out to be Ash Tyler, the tedious scenes of Voq looking bored won’t feel retrospectively justified.

As a consequence, Discovery takes plenty of shortcuts, including making each character act according to plot, rather than consistent with their nature. Only performances by a universally excellent group of actors banish some of the bumps evident in Discovery’s writing. But even their heavy-duty work can’t compensate for how lightweight and uneven everything feels — take Choose Your Pain, where Lorca is captured and rescued in less than half an hour.

This lack of weight means that you get scenes like the one in the aftermath of an attack on Corvan II, when the survivors emerge blinking into the light. Of course, there has to be a wide-eyed kid staring at the sky wondering what magical superhero saved them from doom in the nick of time. On first watching, I howled with laughter at the jarring levels of cheese being thrown at my TV,

Time is money, of course, and Star Trek has always been an expensive show to make, while a lot of that cash goes to the basics. It meant that the show often couldn’t afford pricey location filming or anything too grand — it’s why so many episodes from TNG through to Voyager feature plenty of action scenes in caves, in reality, a concrete semi-permanent set on Stage 16 of the Paramount lot. As a consequence, Star Trek had to rely upon its semi-secret weapon: the actors, who did the heavy lifting when the budget could not.

Deep Space Nine featured a drawn-out, bloody war against the Dominion, with the toll on Starfleet being immense. The show couldn’t show too much violence, blood or corpses, so instead, the team just pointed a camera at Avery Brooks and used the face of TV’s finest glowerer to show the real cost of the conflict. In contrast, Discovery’s war has affected naught but the dirt-smeared rubes on Corvan II, save for the odd snipey chat between Lorca and Cornwell that sounds more like C-Level executives arguing over spreadsheets.

“Who is this for? I don’t understand how this is meant to appeal to me, a Star Trek fan,” said Rich Evans on re:View, adding “this isn’t Star Trek.” I see where he’s coming from, but also reject anyone who believes that Star Trek has a definable series of parameters about what it is or is not. Star Trek is a show about everything and nothing on a week-by-week basis. Don’t like the tense submarine duel of Balance of Terror? Don’t worry, you can watch comic knockabout The Trouble With Tribbles instead.

Star Trek, as an idea, has accommodated a joyful enviro-romp about saving the whales and an hour-long treatise on the price of a person’s soul for the greater good. It has locked a survivor of torture and one of their former captors in a room and forced them to duke it out for the notion of forgiveness. It asks the big questions, and the small, and can excite, terrify, make you laugh or all of those things at once. The idea that Star Trek is about anything, beyond the power of humanity to overcome its problems, is bunkum.

And yet, I see Evans’ point, because Discovery doesn’t feel like the sort of Star Trek we’ve seen before, or to put it another way, it’s not “my” Star Trek. To enjoy it means that you need to let go of that sense of ownership that can so often lead to toxicity and try and appreciate it on its own merits. And, fundamentally, it’s an intriguing show that, at its best, helps you to overlook its numerous and jarring flaws. You want to spend time with this crew and you’re invested in their future, even if you know it’s going to disappoint.

But hey, Star Trek: Discovery is getting a second season, and my hope is that they’ll iron out some of the more nagging issues second time around. But I’m prepared to give it time.

“IRL” is a recurring column in which the Engadget staff run down what they’re buying, using, playing and streaming.

Rainbrow: New Eyebrow-Controlled Game for iPhone X Takes Advantage of TrueDepth Camera System

Washington University computer science graduate Nathan Gitter has released Rainbrow, an eyebrow-controlled arcade game for iPhone X.

The simple game requires players to use their eyebrows to move an emoji face up and down the screen to collect stars, worth one point each, while avoiding other emoji obstacles such as cars, basketballs, and ducks.

Simply raise your eyebrows to move the emoji up, frown to move the emoji down, or make a neutral expression and the emoji stays still. Note that if you raise your eyebrows, and keep them raised, the emoji will continue to move in an upwards direction, and vice verse when maintaining a frowning expression.

While there are no levels, the game gets increasingly difficult as more obstacles appear. The goal is simply to get the highest score possible, but players can only compete against themselves right now. Gitter told us that he plans to integrate Apple’s Game Center for multiplayer competition in a future update.

Rainbrow is a novel concept since it’s an early example of a game using ARKit, an iOS 11 framework that can detect the position, topology, and expression of a user’s face in real time using the iPhone X’s new TrueDepth camera system.

Gitter told us he believes there is a lot of future potential for face-based apps, especially for those that improve accessibility. He pointed us to another face-controlled game that was released earlier this week, Nose Zone, which tasks players with destroying targets by pointing at them with their nose.

Upon first opening Rainbrow, a prompt asks for permission to access the front-facing camera. As with any app, this permission can be toggled on or off at a later time in the Settings app under Privacy > Camera.

Rainbrow’s privacy policy, which all apps with face tracking are required to have, says that depth data is collected only for gameplay purposes, only stored on the device locally, and only for the duration of a game session. The policy adds that depth data is never stored remotely, given to third parties, or used for any non-gameplay purposes.

Rainbrow is free to download on the App Store for iPhone X. Gitter told us he may add an optional in-app purchase to unlock new emoji characters in the future, but he does not plan on implementing ads into the game.

Gitter works at mobile app studio SwiftKick Mobile in Austin, Texas. His personal website says he’s available for iOS design and development work.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTag: TrueDepthBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Don’t expect to buy AirPods as a Christmas gift

Still scrambling to find an audio gift for the holidays? You’ll probably need to rule out Apple’s AirPods. Both MacRumors and 9to5Mac have discovered that the Siri-enabled earbuds are out of stock at most of Apple’s online and retail stores around the world, major American store chains (like Best Buy and Walmart) and even carriers. AT&T might have supply, but there’s a real chance you’ll have to pay a premium and cross your fingers. You might not even get a pair as a post-holiday consolation prize — Apple, at least, doesn’t expect to ship new AirPod orders until 2018.

Of course, there are other and sometimes better options out there. Apple’s newer Beats earphones (such as the BeatsX) use the same wireless chip with more conventional designs, while Jaybird’s Run buds give you completely wireless audio in a workout-friendly design that’s also less Apple-centric. You’re not stuck if your lucky recipient just wants Bluetooth audio.

Nonetheless, the lack of stock is bound to create headaches. In some ways, it’s a repeat of what you saw last year: Apple just didn’t have enough supply to go around. This time, however, it’s more likely due to demand than technical hurdles. That not only suggests that Apple may have a bona fide hit on its hands, it hints that all-wireless earbuds are here to stay — and that’s good news even if you’d rather pick up Samsung’s IconX or one of the growing number of alternatives.

Source: MacRumors, 9to5Mac

Honor View 10 versus Huawei Mate 10 Pro: A battle of David and Goliath

The Honor View 10 is Honor‘s latest mid-range device, and it comes with the power to challenge flagship devices thanks to the Kirin 970 processor, 6GB of RAM, and a strong camera suite. But can Honor’s View 10 stand up against one of the big boys? Specifically, how does it stand against the might of sister company Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro? We took a look to find out.

Specs

Honor View 10

Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Size
157 x 75 x 7mm (6.18 x 2.95 x 0.28 inches)
154.2 x 74.5 x 7.9mm (6.07 x 2.93 x 0.31 inches)
Weight
172 grams (6.07 ounces)
178 grams (6.28 ounces)
Screen
5.99-inch IPS LCD display
6.0-inch AMOLED display
Resolution
2160 x 1080 pixels (403 pixels per inch)
2160 x 1080 pixels (402 pixels per inch)
OS
EMUI 8.0 (over Android 8.0 Oreo)
EMUI 8.0 (over Android 8.0 Oreo)
Storage
128GB
64GB, 128GB
MicroSD card slot
Yes, up to 256GB
No
NFC support
Yes
Yes
Processor
HiSilicon Kirin 970
HiSilicon Kirin 970
RAM
6GB
4GB, 6GB
Connectivity
GSM / HSPA / LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac
GSM / HSPA / LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Camera
Dual sensor 16MP & 20MP rear, 13MP front
Dual sensor 12MP & 20MP rear, 8MP front
Video
2160p@30 fps
2160p@30 fps, 1080p@30/60 fps
Bluetooth
Yes, Bluetooth 4.2
Yes, Bluetooth 4.2
Audio
Headphone jack
No headphone jack
Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes
Other sensors
Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, barometer, compass
Water resistant
No
Yes, IP67-rated
Battery
3,750mAh
4,000mAh
Charging port
USB-C
USB-C
Marketplace
Google Play Store
Google Play Store
Colors
Navy Blue, Midnight Black
Midnight Blue, Titanium Gray, Mocha Brown, Pink Gold
Availability
HiHonor
Amazon
Price
TBD
$950
DT review
Hands-on review
4 out of 5 stars

Some mid-range devices today are known as flagship-killers, because they deliver the same specifications as premium smartphones, but for hundreds of dollars less. That is what we’re seeing in a specs comparison between the Honor View 10 and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro. Both handsets come with the same Kirin 970, with the same neural processing unit (NPU) that allows for on-device artificial intelligence processing — so it’s fair to assume these devices will be more or less equal. While we expect there to be a slight difference in the benchmarks between devices, it’s not likely to be a difference users will notice day to day.

There is a slight difference between the available storage and RAM on each device; while each has 128GB of storage and 6GB on the top models, the Mate 10 Pro also has a 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM model, making that version an objectively less powerful machine than the View 10. Still, it is debatable how much of an impact RAM has on smartphone performance, so we’re not letting that dictate too much in this competition. The Mate 10 Pro does lose out again, though, with the lack of a MicroSD card slot to expand available memory — the View 10 can use a MicroSD card to boost available storage by up to 256GB.

Neither the Honor View 10 or the Huawei Mate 10 Pro has taken advantage of the increased strength and range of Bluetooth 5.0 — they are both stuck with Bluetooth 4.2. This is less of an issue for the View 10, as it includes a headphone jack — but the Mate 10 Pro doesn’t include a 3.5mm port and therefore needs to rely on Bluetooth for most audio, so the lack of the most recent version of Bluetooth is a disappointment.

As is becoming usual with mid-range devices, the View 10 is packing the same power as the Mate 10 Pro — but it brings users more utility, thanks to the inclusion of a MicroSD slot and the headphone jack. The Honor View 10 takes this.

Winner: Honor View 10

Design and display

Looking back at 2017, it seems obvious this year will be seen as the advent of the bezel-less smartphone. Both the Honor View 10 and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro are up to date with the latest tech trends, and that includes the massive edge-to-edge displays that take up most of the front of each phone. They’re stunning; both devices have slim bezels around the edges of the screen and a small forehead and chin at the top and bottom. You will find the fingerprint scanner, which is also the home button, on the chin of the View 10, while that scanner is hidden on the back of the Mate 10 Pro.

But enough of that, on to the displays. They’re both 6 inches in size (the View 10 is actually 5.99 inches, but who’s counting), and packing an 18:9 aspect ratio and 2,160 x 1,080-pixel resolution. They’re both sharp, bright displays, but the Mate 10 Pro has an edge with the vivid colors and deep blacks afforded by its HDR AMOLED display. The IPS LCD on the View 10 just can’t match the peerless quality of the OLED panel, and while the Honor phone still looks amazing, it’s here we see the Mate 10 Pro’s higher price really start to show.

While both phones feature similar bezel-less designs on the front, flip them over and you’ll see a difference. We likened the Mate 10 Pro to a supercar, and it’s easy to see why. Its smooth metal unibody is covered with heat-treated glass, and the camera lenses have a distinctive and stylish strip highlighting their position. Take a look at the Honor View 10, and it’s just a little … boring. The metal unibody isn’t unattractive, but it’s bland compared to the Mate 10 Pro.

In terms of durability, you will definitely be wanting a case for the Mate 10 Pro. There’s something about glass-backed phones that stirs our anxiety, and a protective case can help ease that feeling. The View 10 is less of an issue, thanks to the lack of glass on the back, but you still probably want to keep it protected. The Huawei Mate 10 Pro also has IP67 water-resistance, so it will survive a dip in the toilet where the Honor View 10 might not — but we don’t recommend testing that.

The View 10 might be able to keep up with the Huawei Mate 10 Pro’s power, but it struggles to match the gorgeous design and AMOLED display on the flagship device. The Mate 10 Pro takes it.

Winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Camera

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro comes with an impressive camera; by pairing with Leica, Huawei has given users a camera comprised of a 12-megapixel lens and a 20-megapixel monochrome lens, both with an aperture of f/1.6. It’s capable of two-times optical zoom and the blurred bokeh effect, and using the monochrome lens alone creates some amazing black-and-white photos, without the need for a filter. It’s a fantastic camera, and it produces some stunning images. The NPU really comes into its own here, suggesting camera modes depending on what you’re looking at. We found it reliable, and it often picked the best mode for the occasion.

We haven’t had a real chance to play with the Honor View 10’s camera yet, and while Honor’s pedigree is good — the Honor 7X has one of the best budget phone cameras around — we’re struggling to see how it will match the Mate 10 Pro’s superior snapper. It will have the same NPU smarts, but the dual-sensor 16-megapixel and 20-megapixel camera most likely won’t deliver the spectacular results we’ve seen from the Leica lens on the Huawei phone. Don’t get us wrong — we’re expecting it to be on par with the OnePlus 5T’s excellent camera — but we can’t see it beating the Mate 10 Pro.

Around the front of each device, you will find your front-facing camera. The Mate 10 Pro has a respectable 8-megapixel lens, but the View 10 beats that with a 13-megapixel lens. If you’re an avid selfie-shooter then that might sway you toward the Honor device, but for everyone else, they’re both good front-facing snappers that take solid shots. Video capabilities swing the other way — both can shoot 2160p video at 30 fps but the Huawei Mate 10 Pro has the advantage here, being capable of shooting at a full 60 fps at 1080p as well.

While we’re expecting the Honor View 10 to do very well in our camera tests, we can’t reasonably expect it to match a camera that is second only to the Pixel 2 in image quality. The Huawei Mate 10 Pro takes this.

Winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Battery life and charging

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Both of these devices are packing hefty batteries. We have not had a chance to test the 3,750mAh battery in the Honor View 10, but based on that large capacity, we’re going to assume it should make it easily through the day — shooting for 1.5 days shouldn’t be outside the realms of possibility. However, the 4,000mAh monster inside the Huawei Mate 10 Pro regularly lasted an incredible two days between charges, making it one of the lengthiest lasting flagship smartphones out there.

Neither manufacturer has moved into wireless charging yet, but both devices are using Huawei’s SuperCharge technology for fast charging. That pretty much puts them on a par in terms of charging speed; both should be able to charge from empty to full in about 90 minutes.

We’re expecting the Honor View 10 to do extremely well in our battery tests, but the extra capacity on the Mate 10 Pro speaks volumes. The two-day battery capacity wins every time.

Winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

Software

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Both of these handsets are running Huawei’s proprietary Emotion UI 8.0 (EMUI) over the latest version of Android, Android 8.0 Oreo. It’s a heavily reskinned version of Android, and it’s likely to be a culture shock to anyone who is used to stock Android. Older versions of EMUI received scorn for looking too much like iOS, but as time (and updates) have passed, EMUI has slowly evolved into its own entity. It is smooth and responsive, though new users may struggle with the layout of some of the options. Still, it’s easy to remove most of the pre-installed apps, and the additions are generally useful, once you get used to the operating system.

Since both phones are running the same operating system, it’s too hard to pick between them. The View 10 does have a better face unlock system than the Mate 10 Pro, but we don’t feel it’s worth adding extra points on for something that can be easily patched in later. This is a tie.

Winner: Tie

Price and availability

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro is currently available internationally, though a U.S. release has not yet been confirmed. Rumors point to an official January launch for the phone, as well as a potential deal with AT&T. If you really can’t wait, then Amazon currently has stock you can grab. As is usual for Huawei phones, there is no support for the CDMA band, so Sprint and Verizon customers will have to look at other phones.

The Honor View 10 is primed to launch January 8 in the U.K., with prices starting at 449 pounds. We haven’t seen any U.S. pricing for it yet, but we’d wager you’re looking at around the $500 mark, like the OnePlus 5T. A U.S. release date is similarly unknown, but you can sign up to be informed over at Honor’s website. Like the Mate 10 Pro, the Honor View 10 lacks banding for Verizon and Sprint, so you have to avoid this phone if you’re locked in with those big guys.

Availability is all over the place for Huawei and Honor phones in the U.S. right now, so we’re going to judge this on value. If you’re looking for flagship power, and you’re not too fussed about the frills, then the Honor View 10 represents an incredible bargain — and despite what we said about the design, it’s not bad looking, really. We’re giving this one to the Honor View 10 — it’s just such a bargain.

Winner: Honor View 10

Overall winner: Huawei Mate 10 Pro

It’s not much of a David versus Goliath when the little guy loses. But we have to be real here — even though the Honor View 10 packs flagship specs and a bezel-less design into a mid-range package, and even though it lands a good few hard punches on the Huawei phone, it still loses out overall. The strong showing from the Huawei Mate 10 Pro’s AMOLED display, the exceptional camera, and the gorgeous supercar-like looks just take the Mate 10 Pro out of the View 10’s league. Pound for pound, the Huawei Mate 10 Pro is simply the better phone.

But that’s not to say you shouldn’t buy the Honor View 10. If you’re on a budget or don’t like the idea of putting down almost $1,000 for a phone (and you’re not alone), then the Honor View 10 is likely to be the phone for you. It’s an extremely strong looking mid-range phone and it could easily be the mid-range smartphone of early 2018.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Honor View 10: Everything you need to know
• Honor View 10 vs. OnePlus 5T: Which midranger reigns supreme?
• Honor View 10 hands-on review
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro vs. Google Pixel 2 XL: Can Huawei top the Android powerhouse?
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro vs. LG V30: Can Huawei’s A.I. beat LG’s edge-to-edge screen?

Google’s new photography apps give your photos and videos a quirky touch

App Attack is a weekly series where we search the App Store and Google Play Store for the best apps of the week. Check out App Attack every Sunday for the latest.

We can never have too many photos and videos on our camera roll, which also means we can never have too many camera apps. This week, we have a few different options that will help push those memories you capture even further.

As part of its “Appsperiments” research project series, Google released three new apps built specifically for mobile photography. We decided to give each one a test run to find out if they’re worth using.

Selfissimo

Taking selfies can be hard, and that’s where Selfissimo steps in to help. Currently available on iOS and Android, it takes photos of you whenever you stop moving, so that you don’t need to awkwardly reach for the shutter button. At first I thought Selfissimo sounded like a strange concept for an app, but it’s so easy to use that it almost becomes addicting. The only downside is that it only allows you to take the photos in black and white.

Once you open the app, the photos will begin as soon as you tap “Start.” As each photo is taken, a compliment will flash across the screen for that extra boost of confidence. If you aren’t a fan of these, you can easily toggle off the setting within the app. If you’re satisfied with your photo reel, simply tap the screen to end the photo session and you’ll be brought to all the selfies you took.

The photos don’t automatically save to your phone — you’ll have to individually choose from among them or else they’ll disappear. I felt like this feature was a little annoying, only because it’s possible that you’d forget to go back in and save the ones you liked before starting another photo session. But those who are trying to save up storage will be grateful that it lets them control exactly what saves to the camera roll.

When first trying out the feature, you might find yourself feeling a bit weird as you become accustomed to the motions of it. I couldn’t help but compare it to earlier seasons of America’s Next Top Model, where the models can’t seem to get the hang of posing on the right counts, but you’ll eventually get used to it. It’s also great for when you’re taking those group photo selfies and can’t quite extend your arm far enough while also pressing the shutter button — we’ve all been there.

Scrubbies

Scrubbies is a bit of a different take on boomerangs and loop videos, and it’s only available for iOS. After taking a video through the app, you’re then able to manipulate the speed and direction of video playback. This allows you to go back and capture specific moments you want to highlight.

It’s simple to use and only takes a few seconds to complete. Open the app and tap on the camera button in the left-hand corner. Once you press the record button, capture the exact footage you’d like. If you need to stop the video but don’t want to lose what you’ve already recorded, you can also press the pause button on the right side and then pick back up when you’re ready.

Once you’re satisfied with your footage, the fun part comes in. Scrubbing with one finger plays back the video, while scrubbing with two fingers records the playback. The act of scrubbing the video back is actually extremely amusing. You start to notice minor details of the video that you didn’t notice before.

When you’re done manipulating the video, you can scrub with two fingers to finalize it. Once app records the playback you’ve created, it’ll turn it into a video that you can save and share. The gallery located in the right-hand corner of the app also saves your original footage, so you can go back in and start scrubbing from scratch.

Storyboard

With Storyboard, you can make your videos look like comics. While it’s only available for Android, the app gave me serious MacBook photo booth vibes. Using Google’s research technology, it selects different frames of your video and then arranges them to create a comic book-style layout.

It’s also extremely simple to use and has a friendly user interface. All you need to do is access your videos, choose your preferred one, and then tap to load load into the app. After processing your video, it will then give you a variety of layouts one by one. To see all of the different options, all you need to do is slide the page down. This will give you all the different styles available for your video that you can choose from.

Once you’re done searching through the options, you can then tap on the finished product and share it. While the app definitely gives your videos a more old-school style, it was fun to see which specific frames the app would choose. It was also interesting to swipe down each time and see all of the different layouts that would appear at random. While I’m not sure if I would use it often, it’s definitely a great app to use if your video is filled with photo-worthy frames.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Try three new photo apps as part of Google’s ‘appsperiments’ project
• 27 iOS 11 tips and tricks you should know to navigate Apple’s latest update with ease
• How to use Apple Clips, the perfect video app for your social feeds
• Master your new iPhone with these helpful iPhone X tips and tricks
• Apple adds more indoor maps for select airports and malls to iOS 11

Is this gesture-controlled steering wheel genius or madness?

It might take a decade or so, but it’s starting to look like self-driving cars are the way of the future. But before we get there, how do you feel about a gesture-controlled steering wheel? It might sound strange, but ZF believes that it has the potential to make cars safer and easier to use.

At first glance, the concept of putting a touchscreen on a steering wheel might seem strange, if not crazy — but it isn’t meant for current cars. Rather, ZF hopes that it will make self-driving cars easier to control. For the foreseeable future, even the most advanced self-driving cars will need a way for human drivers to take control, so we aren’t getting rid of steering wheels anytime soon. However, those cars will also need a way for users to input directions, set destinations, and other tasks. A touchscreen is a natural fit for that sort of thing, given that we already use them on devices every day.

The embedded touchscreen does present its own unique challenges, however. One of the most pressing is the fact that in modern cars, the airbags are stored inside the steering wheel. As a potential workaround, ZF found a way to store the airbag in the rear-rim of the steering wheel. In the event of an accident, the airbag will wrap around the wheel, protecting the driver’s face from the touchscreen.

Juergen Krebs, VP of engineering for ZF, believes that the company’s touchscreen steering wheel may very well be the future of how we interact with our cars.

“ZF’s advanced steering wheel concept represents an important step in the evolution of automated driving while helping to enhance safety and driver awareness,” Krebs said in a statement. “As we prepare for Level 3 automated functions, the hand-over of control between vehicle and driver using highly accurate feedback will be critical. We believe our new concept is the most intuitive and provides the clearest feedback to the driver.”

Those hoping to get a better look at ZF’s futuristic steering wheel can see it for themselves next month at the company’s CES booth in Las Vegas.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Tired of Twitch? Here’s how to stream on Microsoft’s Mixer
• As self-driving cars evolve, so will your car stereo. Here’s how
• Want to be your own mechanic? Here’s how to jack up a car (and do it safely)
• The electric Tesla pickup is closer than ever, and it’s not what we expected
• Land Rover is going 100-percent electrified in two years. Here’s the plan

Oh yeah! Robot joins Olympic torch relay, bashes through a wall on the way

Robots were the stars of the show during day 41 of the Olympic torch relay in Daejeon, as a robot created by the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) carried the torch for a leg of the journey “without fear of cold or even being out there in his birthday suit,” as seen in the above video from Apirang News.

Even more impressive, Hubo took time out from his duties to cut through a brick wall while still holding the torch aloft. Hubo then passed the torch through the hole in the wall to his creator, Professor Oh Jun-ho.

The professor then passed the torch along to another robotic creation, this one a human-controlled “walker” dubbed the FX-2. A joint venture between the Hubo Lab and Rainbow Robotics, the FX-2 was built for the torch relay and revealed to the world for the first time. FX-2 is six feet tall and features two fully articulated hands with five fingers each.

“We aim to be the most connected and technologically advanced Games ever,” Committee President Lee Hee-beom said in a press release. “Today was a chance for us to show the world some exciting technologies that will be showcased during the Games.”

Organizers say it’s the first time a humanoid robot has carried the Olympic torch in the relay, although an underwater robot carried the torch during an earlier leg of the journey.

Hubo won the Robotics Challenge in 2015, an international competition held by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to evaluate disaster response capabilities of robotic technology.

Another local celebrity also participated in the relay: baseball pitcher Park Chan-ho (he went by Chan Ho Park when playing in the U.S.), a former All-Star who played for seven different MLB teams during his 16-year career.

During the games, South Korea will utilize 85 different robots to assist attendees and maintain the venues, according to Business Insider. Some robots will roam the airport, directing visitors to the various attractions in four different languages. Robotic vacuum cleaners, delivery robots and fishing robots will be also utilized.

The robot revolution will certainly continue, as Japan hopes to have an entire “robot village” for the 2020 Summer Olympics, complete with self-driving cars.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Gomer is a soft-robotics A.I. hoping to bring some cheer to your life
• Counting down the 10 most important robots in history
• Honda just rolled out 4 of its cutest robot designs yet
• Like a mechanical shadow, Toyota’s new robot mimics your movements in real time
• Don’t call it a gimbal — Freefly Movi is a ‘cinema robot’ for iPhone shooting

Oh yeah! Robot joins Olympic torch relay, bashes through a wall on the way

Robots were the stars of the show during day 41 of the Olympic torch relay in Daejeon, as a robot created by the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) carried the torch for a leg of the journey “without fear of cold or even being out there in his birthday suit,” as seen in the above video from Apirang News.

Even more impressive, Hubo took time out from his duties to cut through a brick wall while still holding the torch aloft. Hubo then passed the torch through the hole in the wall to his creator, Professor Oh Jun-ho.

The professor then passed the torch along to another robotic creation, this one a human-controlled “walker” dubbed the FX-2. A joint venture between the Hubo Lab and Rainbow Robotics, the FX-2 was built for the torch relay and revealed to the world for the first time. FX-2 is six feet tall and features two fully articulated hands with five fingers each.

“We aim to be the most connected and technologically advanced Games ever,” Committee President Lee Hee-beom said in a press release. “Today was a chance for us to show the world some exciting technologies that will be showcased during the Games.”

Organizers say it’s the first time a humanoid robot has carried the Olympic torch in the relay, although an underwater robot carried the torch during an earlier leg of the journey.

Hubo won the Robotics Challenge in 2015, an international competition held by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to evaluate disaster response capabilities of robotic technology.

Another local celebrity also participated in the relay: baseball pitcher Park Chan-ho (he went by Chan Ho Park when playing in the U.S.), a former All-Star who played for seven different MLB teams during his 16-year career.

During the games, South Korea will utilize 85 different robots to assist attendees and maintain the venues, according to Business Insider. Some robots will roam the airport, directing visitors to the various attractions in four different languages. Robotic vacuum cleaners, delivery robots and fishing robots will be also utilized.

The robot revolution will certainly continue, as Japan hopes to have an entire “robot village” for the 2020 Summer Olympics, complete with self-driving cars.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Gomer is a soft-robotics A.I. hoping to bring some cheer to your life
• Counting down the 10 most important robots in history
• Honda just rolled out 4 of its cutest robot designs yet
• Like a mechanical shadow, Toyota’s new robot mimics your movements in real time
• Don’t call it a gimbal — Freefly Movi is a ‘cinema robot’ for iPhone shooting

Best Verizon Wireless Deals of December 2017

No matter what T-Mobile says, you can actually find some pretty great deals on Verizon.

Verizon Wireless has some of the largest coverage for customers in the United States, and although T-Mobile likes to continually poke fun at the carrier for having high monthly rates, there are actually some really solid deals to be found if you know where to look.

You can typically find quite a few deals being run by Verizon at any given time, but if you only want to look at the best of the best and don’t have time to sift through the garbage, that’s where we come in.

These are best deals on Verizon Wireless right now.

$300 off Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL

Thanks to its practical design, buttery smooth software, and downright fantastic camera, Google’s Pixel 2 is easily one of 2017’s best phones. However, all of that greatness comes at a cost. The regular Pixel 2 starts at $650, and if you want to get its larger brother – the Pixel 2 XL – you’ll need to hand over a minimum of $850.

However, if you’re on Verizon, the carrier is currently offering a pretty incredible deal that’s almost impossible to pass up. As long as you purchase a Pixel 2 or 2 XL on a monthly installment plan, you can get $300 off the total cost. There’s no need to trade-in your current phone and you don’t even have to add a new line of service. Just buy a Pixel 2, pay for it month-to-month, and save 300 bucks.

The $300 discount is paid over the course of 24 months as a monthly bill credit, but once all is said and done, you could end up paying just $350 for a brand-new Pixel 2. Not too shabby.

See at Verizon

Get an Asus ZenFone V Live for free

Verizon’s Pixel 2 deal is tough to beat, but what if $350 is still more money than you’re willing to spend on a phone? What if you want to spend around, oh, $0.00? Some carriers might tell you to kindly excuse yourself from the store if you ask them this, but Verizon will gladly give you an Asus ZenFone V Live.

The ZenFone V Live obviously isn’t the best Android phone ever made, but it’s also not the worst. It’s got a metal body and 2.5D curved glass, front-facing fingerprint scanner, 5-inch 1280 x 720 HD display, Snapdragon 425 processor, 3,000 mAh battery, and Android 7.1.1 Nougat. You’d typically need to spend $168 for the ZenFone V Live, but when switching to Verizon or adding a new line of service, you get it for absolutely nothing when purchased through a monthly installment plan.

See at Verizon

Buy two cases, get one free

After you’ve got your shiny, new phone, you’ll probably want to get a case to protect it. Verizon carriers a surprisingly extensive selection of cases for a lot of its most popular devices, and if you purchase two of them, you’ll be able to get one for free.

You’ll find cases from Otter Box, Incipio, Tech21, and many others, and Verizon even sells Google’s live and fabric cases. I’m absolutely in love with the fabric case for my Pixel 2, and being able to get three of them for $80 is actually a great deal considering just how well they’re made.

See at Verizon

Fitbit Charge 2 and Alta HR for $129

For a lot of people, being more active will be at the top of their new year’s resolutions. Smartphones are awesome tools for logging your calorie and water consumption throughout the day, but if you really want to keep an eye on your physical activity, the best way to do this is with a fitness tracker.

Fitbit’s line of activity trackers are some of the most popular around, and Verizon is currently selling the Fitbit Charge 2 and Alta HR for $129. Both of these wearables typically cost $149, and you don’t need to be a Verizon customer to take advantage of these savings. Just add either Fitbit to your cart, checkout, and you’ll be good to go.

See at Verizon

Carriers

• Which unlimited plan should you buy?
• Verizon’s Unlimited plans: Everything you need to know
• Everything you need to know about the T-Mobile ONE unlimited plan
• Everything you need to know about the AT&T Unlimited plan
• Everything you need to know about Sprint’s Unlimited Freedom plan
• Join the Discussion