Tidal Offering Free 12-Day Trial Starting on Christmas, Including High Fidelity Tier

Tidal today announced that starting on Christmas Day anyone will be able to try out its music-streaming service for free for a period of 12 days. This free trial will include the company’s $19.99/month High Fidelity tier that includes lossless sound quality, and it does not require a credit card for you to start so all you will need is an email address (via The Verge).

Tidal’s new Apple TV app
To celebrate its free trial, Tidal will release exclusive content every day of the 12 day trial. The content will range from four new original shows to interviews, music videos, and documentaries on Rapsody and Trombone Shorty. Additionally, free trial users will have a chance to win concert tickets, but to which specific show was not mentioned.

Tidal has been in the news recently for its reportedly dire financial state, with the company believed to have enough capital to last only another six months. In the wake of that news, Tidal launched a new app for Apple TV and Android TV devices so users can listen to music and watch videos on a larger screen. With the new free trial, more users will have a chance to check out the service’s features and potentially bump up its “stalled” user growth.

Tag: Tidal
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LG G6: Specs, problems, availability, and more!

Here’s everything you need to know about the LG G6!

After a flirtation with mods in the LG G5, LG decided to change things up in a big way for 2017. The mods were gone after only one try. Additionally, LG got rid of the removable battery — a long time staple for power users — in favor of an all-glass build. The dual cameras are back and better than ever, as in LG’s brand of Android.

This is everything you need to know about the LG G6.

Check out our reviews

Honestly, the LG G6 doesn’t do anything poorly. It’s well-designed, gorgeously-engineered, and comes off as a mature, reliable piece of equipment. As MrMobile said in his review, it wears its chunkiness on its sleeve, not trying to hide its metal frame with sloping glass. As a result, it may feel a bit squat next to the Galaxy S8, but I’ve grown to really love that solidity, both in my hand and my pocket.

donm527
04-02-2017 01:07 PM

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The LG G6 has clean strong lines and thick frame leans on the industrial side. Bezels down to a minimum and screen framed with the right amount of chin. Silver has a business classy look to me while the murdered out black reminds me of my LG G2 days and very nice too.

You say the S8 UI looks clean but can’t understand how you can say that compared to the G6. The G6 would be closer to stock…

Reply

It’s waterproof, drop-resistant, and covered in glass, just like the Galaxy S8. And while it lacks this year’s Snapdragon 835 platform, I’ve yet to worry about its performance, since the Snapdragon 821 — which powers the Pixel and Pixel XL — is still so good, and feels so new.

The bottom-firing speaker is good, the headphone quality is great, as is the call quality and LTE reception. I had some trouble connecting to one particular LG Bluetooth speaker, and the Bluetooth volume was unexpectedly low on another speaker, but that’s the extent of the bugs I’ve found so far.

• LG G6 review
• LG G6 second opinion: This one’s the best
• LG G6, one month on: A great phone, and the best LG has ever made

It’s got a big screen, but feels really compact

The LG G6 is the first of likely many phones with a non-standard screen aspect ratio. Specifically, its 2:1 (or 18:9, for a more standard comparison) screen makes it considerably taller than most phones out there today, but coupled with the near-elimination of bezels around the bright, beautiful IPS display, it’s one hand-friendly.

The screen really is beautiful. Contrast is great for an IPS display, an area where Samsung’s AMOLED panels traditionally take the lead, and colors are punchy and accurate. Indeed, LG’s 2880×1440 pixel screen is Dolby Vision HDR certified, as well as HDR 10 certified, two competing standards that, with the help of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu and others will make it much more pleasant to watch video content on a relatively small phone screen.

How the LG G6 was made

It’s got wireless charging, but only in the U.S. and Canada

For some reason, LG decided to keep one of its best features, wireless charging, limited to the North American market. It’s not a huge deal — most people rely on Quick Charge wired charging through the USB-C port — but it’s strange nonetheless. Still, the phone’s 3,300mAh battery may need a top-up, wired or wireless, once or twice throughout the day, as we’ve found the phone to have less-than-stellar uptime compared to phones like the Pixel XL.

These LG G6 features are limited to some regions

Its two cameras are wonderful and creative

Like the G5 and V20, the LG G6 has two cameras on the back, each 13MP in resolution but with differing focal lengths, that transition seamlessly using toggles in the simple-yet-powerful camera app.

We’ve spent some time playing with G6’s optics, and while the regular, optically-stabilized is great indoors and out, it’s the wide-angle sensor that we’ve grown to love, especially when taking landscape photos that capture the whole field of view.

LG’s also got some really fun camera modes that take advantage of its symmetrical screen, which can be divided into two perfect squares. You may not want to use the word ‘twofie’, but the phone can take two square photos at the same time using the front and back cameras.

• Everything you need to know about the LG G6’s cameras
• Our first LG G6 camera samples!

Only the Korean unit gets the Quad DAC

One of our favorite features from the LG V20 and V30, the Quad DAC that makes music incredibly inviting, full and sonorous, is not coming to the North American or European models of the G6. Citing higher costs, LG says that there just isn’t a big market for audiophile components in smartphones — but that doesn’t exactly assuage our frustrations.

Fortunately, the LG G6+, which is available as an Amazon Prime Exclusive, has the same Quad DAC in the U.S.!

Get a microSD card, because the storage won’t last

Another strange decision, especially in light of the Galaxy S8 coming with 64GB of storage by default — the North American and European LG G6 only comes with 32GB of internal storage, with no option to buy a higher-capacity model. Sure, 32GB should be fine for most people, but it won’t last forever, which is why we recommend you buy a big, spacious microSD card for it.

Don’t buy an LG G6 without a microSD card

The launcher is still pretty terrible

We like the software on the G6 — it’s LG’s most restrained take on Android to date, and there’s very little to complain about. But the launcher, which eschews the app drawer and adds ugly borders around all homescreen icons, is pretty bad.

Our recommendation? Download Nova Launcher, Action Launcher, Evie Launcher, or something that resembles the opposite of whatever LG is thinking.

More: How to make the most of an extra-tall home screen on the Galaxy S8 or LG G6

Those colors are gorgeous

Black or platinum — doesn’t matter. Both colors are really, really nice, and they shimmer and reflect light in their own unique ways. I haven’t been a big fan of the generic silver that seems to ship with every phone these days, but LG’s take on it, called Platinum, is really something else altogether. And then there’s the shiny, fingerprint-friendly black color, which I’ve been using. I love it; as long as you keep it clean, it’s one of the crispest-looking phones I’ve ever had in my pocket.

There’s also a white variant, but it’s not coming to the U.S.

Which color LG G6 should you buy?

There’s a Prime-Exclusive version

The G6 has joined the ranks of other Android phones that are sold by Amazon for $50 in exchange for advertisements being shown on the phone’s lock screen. The Amazon version of the G6 is unlocked and ready for use on AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. The LG G6+ is also available from Amazon, costing only $499. For the extra $100 over the Prime-Exclusive G6, the G6+ includes 128GB of storage instead of 32GB, and the 32-bit Quad-DAC that will make your Sennheisers sound like heaven.

More: LG G6 joins Amazon Prime Exclusive for $399 as the G6+ and Q6 make their U.S. debut

It’s not perfect

Like any phone, the G6 has its fair share of problems, especially when it comes to overcoming some of the endemic software problems LG is known for.

For starters, it doesn’t have a super large battery, but there are things you can do — optimizations and such — to prolong the inevitable. And LG’s software, while not great, is the best it’s ever been — you just have to know how to wrangle it.

Common LG G6 problems and how to fix them

It’s a lot cheaper than the Galaxy S8

So here we come to the final decision. At between $400 and $500 depending on the carrier, and cheaper unlocked, the G6 is a lot cheaper than the Galaxy S8. That’s a lot of money to save on a phone that’s better in some ways (it’s much easier to pick up off a table, and the fingerprint sensor placement is so much better) and nearly as good in others. The Prime-Exclusive version of the G6 is significantly cheaper at $399, so don’t forget that if you don’t mind seeing advertisements.

If you’ve made up your mind, you can learn everything you need to know about the phone in our forums!

Then you can figure out which carrier to buy it from.

Where to buy the LG G6 in the U.S.

If you want something newer, get the V30

The LG V30 comprises a lot of what makes the G6 so good and adds a number of photo- and video-centric features, along with a more powerful Snapdragon 835 chip and a Quad DAC that you don’t get with the main G6.

While it’s quite a bit more expensive, if you’re looking for most of what makes the G6 great, and a bit extra, check out the V30.

LG V30: Everything you need to know!

LG G6

• LG G6 review!
• LG G6 specs
• LG G6 vs. Google Pixel: The two best cameras right now
• Everything you need to know about the G6’s cameras
• LG forums

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OnePlus could be hit with patent infringement lawsuit over its face unlock feature

A company specializing in facial recognition tech says OnePlus infringed on its patents.

If you’ve used Face Unlock on the OnePlus 5T, you’ll know that it is the one of the fastest biometric authentication systems available today. Unlike the Galaxy Note 8 — which uses an infrared sensor for scanning your irises — the authentication system on the 5T relies on the front 16MP camera and clever software tweaks. The feature uses over 100 identifiers to uniquely identify your face, and while it isn’t touted to be as secure as the fingerprint sensor at the back, it doesn’t get fooled by a photograph.

However, a report by MySmartPrice alleges that OnePlus’ face unlock feature infringed on patents by SensibleVision, a company specializing in facial recognition and biometric authentication tech.

The report cites SensibleVision CEO George Brostoff, who claims that Face Unlock infringed on at least one of the company’s patents — specifically its illumination patent:

We have not licensed our patents to OnePlus or their supplier. From the video on Forbes, they are likely infringing at the very least on our illumination patent.

Brostoff also said that this isn’t the first time another company infringed on the illumination patent, and that SensibleVision notified “several companies” over the years. In the case of OnePlus, Brostoff said the company’s legal firm is looking into the issue:

We have a legal firm that handles these type of matters, so I cannot comment more specifically.

Delving deeper into SensibleVision’s claims, the illumination patent in question deals with using the display as a source of illumination for the camera:

A camera is used for providing images to the facial recognition software where the display operates in a first mode for displaying images to a user and in a second mode for illuminating the user’s face for detection by the camera.

In essence, any device that uses a camera for biometric authentication and has a screen that can be used a light source infringes on SensibleVision’s patent, as highlighted in the application:

It doesn’t look like SensibleVision has filed a lawsuit against OnePlus yet, so we’ll have to wait until that happens to get a better understanding of the company’s claims.

OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5

• OnePlus 5T review: Come for the value, not the excitement
• OnePlus 5T specs
• Should you upgrade from the OnePlus 3T?
• OnePlus 5T vs. Galaxy S8: Beast mode
• All of the latest OnePlus 5T news
• Join the discussion in the forums

OnePlus
Amazon

Do you customize ringtones/notification sounds?

Our forum users talk about whether or not they bother with customizing ringtones on their phone.

A few years back when phones weren’t nearly as powerful or capable as they are now, one of the things that everyone seemed to do was get big on customizing their ringtone/notification sounds. Whether it was with pre-installed tones or ones you could buy through your carrier’s clunky mobile storefront, ringtones used to be the thing.

Now in late 2017, that’s changed for a lot of people. I can’t tell you the last time I actually cared about what my phone sounded like when I got a call, text message, or new Twitter notification, and for quite a few of our forum users, they seem to be in the same boat.

DMP89145
12-21-2017 06:35 PM

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Stock Ringtones are fine with me… Just need to know you’ve got a phone call, right?

Reply

Devhux
12-21-2017 07:09 PM

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I’ve noticed more and more when I’m out that quite a few people don’t bother with changing the default notifications & ringtones anymore. Yes, there are exceptions like a friend of mine who has custom ringtones and text alerts for everyone, but that seems to be the exception these days.

Reply

Mike Dee
12-21-2017 07:22 PM

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I don’t care as much about ringtones….most custom ones are obnoxious

Reply

On the other hand, there are still a lot of folks that make time for these customizations.

B. Diddy
12-21-2017 02:23 PM

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I can’t remember the last time I used preinstalled ringtones, because they’re almost universally lame — and I include iPhone ringtones. Especially iPhone ringtones.:'(

I just find a sound file online and download it to the /Ringtones directory. You actually don’t have to install Zedge to do this — just do a Google search for a particular ringtone or sound file you want. If its in Zedge,…

Reply

Retinella
12-21-2017 08:31 PM

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Oh good god no. The stock ringtones are terrible. I get all of my ringtones and notification sounds from Zedge.

Reply

idiotekniques
12-21-2017 09:09 PM

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I’m not a fan of the stock ringtones either. I changed all mine.

I customize the ringtone for my gf, my sister and some family and that’s it for that. I customize SMS tones for my gf, sister, and a few good friends and everyone else gets a standard ring.

Then most apps get their own notification sound from Viber to Voicemail and everything in between.

I can say I don’t think I used more…

Reply

What about you – Do you still customize your ringtones and notification sounds?

Join the conversation in the forums!

The Morning After: Friday, December 22nd 2017

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

As we prepare for the holiday break, there’s some surprising news from Google’s parent company and our big smartphone camera head-to-head competition.

Interesting.Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will step down as executive chairman at Alphabet

Since Google co-founder Larry Page took over for him as CEO in 2011, Eric Schmidt has served as executive chairman of the company and maintained that role through the formation of its parent company Alphabet. On Thursday Schmidt announced he’s transitioning to become a “technical advisor on science and technology issues.” He said, “Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet’s evolution for this transition.”

Guess which one won.Tested: the best smartphone cameras compared

So which smartphone has the best camera? We put the iPhone X, Pixel 2, Note 8 and Mate 10 Pro to the test in scenarios that are particularly tricky for smartphone cameras and their small sensors: scenes with high contrast, backlighting or substantial vibration.

Tablet-top gaming.‘Civilization VI’ comes to the iPad for $30

If you have a relatively new and powerful iPad, then you can play Civilization — yes, the full game, mods and all — on it. Not sure the experience is worth $30? The first 60 turns are free.

Take your chances.Apple now requires that games disclose odds of ‘loot box’ rewards

Apple has added a new requirement for games that offer loot boxes with randomized rewards for purchase. If your game has them, you now have to disclose the odds of receiving the prizes promised.

An important upgrade.Razer gives its phone a major camera update

Our review of the first Razer Phone showed it has plenty of power, a quad HD display and loud front-facing speakers, but the camera doesn’t quite measure up. Now Razer has released an update that promises better colors, shadows and low-light performance. The tweaks won’t stop there, either — Razer says another update is incoming that will put its performance on par with the cameras found in other flagship phones.

But wait, there’s more…

• Now YouTube will play full-size vertical videos on iOS
• Fat Shark’s 101 starter set is a gateway to drone racing
• MoviePass has over 1 million subscribers
• In 2017, society started taking AI bias seriously
• Google’s ’12 Days of Play’ sale has $1 movie rentals, plus cheap games, books and apps
• Future Apple Watch models could include EKG heart monitoring

The Morning After is a new daily newsletter from Engadget designed to help you fight off FOMO. Who knows what you’ll miss if you don’t Subscribe.

Craving even more? Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter.

Have a suggestion on how we can improve The Morning After? Send us a note.

Amazon TV shows are hopping aboard Eurostar trains

Thanks to our need for constant amusement, whether you’re on a plane, train or automobile, these days you never have to look at a rubbish book again. The Eurostar high-speed train network has had a bring-your-own-device entertainment service of its own for a while now, but a new partnership with Amazon means Prime Video-exclusive TV shows are joining that catalog. Provided you’ve hopped onto one of Eurostar’s newer e320 trains, you can connect to the on-board WiFi, load up the Eurostar app and you’ll find shows like The Grand Tour, Transparent and Man in the High Castle ready for streaming. And whether you’re going from London to Paris or Brussels to Lille, there’ll be something on there to keep the kids quiet for an hour, too.

The addition of Prime Video shows arrives alongside Eurostar’s updated app, which includes better booking, mobile ticketing and loyalty card features. Watching Jeremy Clarkson complain about everything might not be as relaxing as the underwater VR experience Eurostar offered passengers over the summer, but you can’t argue with free.

Source: Amazon

Manchester City signs second FIFA pro as ‘dedicated PS4 player’

Sports teams the world over are adding gamers to their rosters, but it’s particularly common in football. Manchester City FC signed its first eSports pro, Kieran “Kez” Brown, last summer, and today the club’s announced Marcus “ExpectSporting” Jorgensen (aka Marcuzo) has become the second pad warrior to join the squad. Jorgensen previously competed for Danish football club Brøndby IF, with his biggest win to date being the FIFA Interactive Club World Cup held this past August.

Jorgensen’s first start for Man City will be in late January for the FUT Champions Cup in Barcelona. Interestingly, he’s joined the club as its “dedicated PS4 player,” which means by default, Kieran Brown will only be seen with an Xbox controller in hand from now on. We didn’t realise the scene has matured to the extent that FIFA players are now platform exclusives, too.

Source: Manchester City FC

Report Claims iPhone X Sales Not as Strong as Expected in the U.S.

Sources in the semiconductor packaging and testing service industry claim that pre-orders for the iPhone X are not as strong as expected in some markets, such as the U.S., Taiwan, and Singapore, although supply remains tight in other markets including Japan (via DigiTimes).

In contrast, Apple Watch sales are said to have been impressive across the board, with shipment estimates reaching 27 million units, which is higher than an earlier forecast putting the number around 23 to 25 million units.

iPhone X shipments are expected to reach 30-35 million units in the fourth quarter of 2017 and level out or dip slightly going into next year, according to the same sources from the upstream supply chain.

Today’s report casts a different light on steady improvements in iPhone X supplies which have seen shipping estimates fall to 1 to 2 weeks in several countries. According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who frequently shares accurate information from Apple’s supply chain, the supply increase is due to better-than-expected improvements in production since the device’s launch, rather than weakening demand.

As a result of the improved production, Kuo believes iPhone X shipments in the fourth calendar quarter could be higher than previous estimates, although he too expects the acceleration to cause shipments in the first quarter of 2018 to be flat or slightly lower compared to the fourth quarter.

Apple is rumored to be launching a trio of new iPhone models in 2018, including 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch models with OLED displays and a 6.1-inch model with an LCD display.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4, iPhone XBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now), iPhone X (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

Quadcopter kit from Fat Shark has wannabe drone racers in its sights

Most of the drones flying off the shelves this holiday season come packed with sensors powering clever automatic modes for snazzy video shots and to ensure sure your bird doesn’t career into the side of a building or disappear into a tree.

That’s all well and good, but what if you’ve grown tired of your Phantom 4 Pro or Mavic and now desire a more exhilarating experience than your current drone provides? In that case, a diminutive racing drone could be your best bet.

Competitive drone racing is buzzing toward the mainstream thanks to the Drone Racing League (DRL) and backers that include Sky Sports, The Grand Tour, Swatch, and Bud Light. ESPN’s coverage is playing its part, too, and the best racers are picking up some serious prize money.

The sport, if you didn’t already know, involves competitors strapping on first-person view (FPV) goggles and firing up their drone to tackle complicated neon-lit courses featuring hoops, turns, dives, and climbs.

Aware of the growing interest in drone racing, Fat Shark, which has been in the goggles game for a while now, is launching its 101 drone training system “for anyone looking to get into sports drones.”

The $250 kit has everything you need for your first foray into the world of drone racing, including a custom-designed quadcopter, race-ready Recon goggles, and a professional-grade radio controller that lets you pull every move imaginable (though it may take a considerable amount of practice to perfect them all).

As for the all-important drone, Fat Shark has forgotten to tell us its top speed (can it go as fast as this one?), so we’ve reached out to the company and will update later.

Besides the quadcopter and extras, you’ll also get free access to the DRL simulator (worth $20) and three months of free Academy of Model Aeronautics membership and insurance. In addition, the radio controller “plugs directly into a computer for direct integration with the DRL simulator and can also be used to pilot the quad in stabilized or advanced mode,” Fat Shark says on its website.

The 101 Kit is available now for preorder through select retailers (Amain, GetFPV, or Ready Made RC), with the first shipments set to go out in the middle of January, 2018.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Don’t settle for the stock setup. Deck out your Phantom 4 with these accessories
• Wish you could fly? Here are the best drones on the market right now
• Re-create “Top Gun” in your backyard with the FPV Rockee drone
• A drone you can’t crash? It’s finally here, thanks to AR and smart glasses
• The best ski and snowboard goggles

Google gets into the holiday spirit with 12 days of deals on Google Play

It’s the season to … watch movies and use the latest apps? At least that’s what Google is helping us do, thanks to its latest round of deals on the Google Play Store — appropriately titled the 12 Days of Play.

As the name suggests, you’ll get 12 days of deals from Google Play, starting on Friday December 22 and running until January 2. The deals actually seem to be pretty nice, and they’ll span across all areas of the Google Play Store. In other words, whether you’re into movies, new apps, games, music, or even books, you’ll be able to save some cash in the next couple weeks.

So what deals can you expect? Well, for starters you’ll get some pretty big discounts on movies. All the movies. You’ll be able to rent any movie for 99 cents, which is a pretty sweet discount from the usual couple of dollars. You can also rent any three episodes of your favorite TV show for the same price — 99 cents. New subscribers to HBO Now can also get 50 percent off of their first three months of subscription through Google Play — so you’ll be able to start Game of Thrones from episode 1 at a fraction of the usual cost.

Perhaps gaming is a little more your thing. If that’s the case, then you’ll be happy to know that Google is offering up to 80 percent off of some of the premium games on Google Play, including Minecraft Story Mode Season 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and more.

Want to listen to Christmas carols but don’t have a music subscription? Google Play Music is offering new subscribers a hefty four months for free. If you prefer to listen to the radio, you’ll also get a discount on TuneIn radio — which is being offered at 40 percent off for a year-ong subscription to TuneIn’s app.

Last but not least is books. Google is offering $5 of Google Play credit toward any book that costs more than $5. You’ll also find a range of discounts on some of the store’s top titles.

Discounts can be found all across the Google Play Store, so if you’re interested in checking out a full list of them, head to Google Play’s holiday hub.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Google Home review
• Google Pixelbook Review
• Everything you need to know about Google Assistant
• Get the Google Pixel and Pixel XL at a discount from the Google Store
• Google Daydream View (2017) review