We rounded up every hot smartphone for an ultimate camera showdown

The camera has quickly and easily become one of the most important features of a smartphone. We’re capturing more and more photos every day, and it’s all largely thanks to the simplicity of tapping a shutter icon to snap a shot, as well as the abundance of the camera phone. In 2017, we saw an astounding number of excellent cameras on flagship smartphones ranging from $500 to $1,000. We took eight of our favorite smartphones of the year on a trip to San Francisco, to see which we can crown as the best.

We’re testing the cameras on the iPhone X, LG V30, Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC U11, Huawei Mate 10 Pro, and the OnePlus 5T. But before we dive in, we should clarify our process behind this test.

Our goal is to test the experience of using the cameras on these phones as the average person. We didn’t dive into the settings to make some tweaks, and we made no edits to photos other than adjusting their size. We treated all phones the same — taking them out of a bag, pointing them at a subject, tapping on the subject, and pressing the shutter icon. We tried to mimic what the average person would do, which is simply opening the camera and taking a photo, without dealing with any specific camera settings.

Identifying the “best” photo is also a very subjective task. Sometimes there are clear winners, but there are disagreements as well. When we say we like a particular photo the most, that doesn’t mean it’s undisputedly the best. You may like something else, and that’s fine.

The test spans a few popular photo categories, but we’ll start first with the camera apps on these smartphones first.

Camera launch speed and interface

A phone that lets you access the camera quickly is a winner, and we’re happy to say all eight of these phones let you snap in seconds. Most Android phones, including the Pixel 2 XL, Note 8, S8, OnePlus 5T, and the HTC U11, let you double tap the power button to jump into the camera. The Huawei Mate 10 Pro and LG V30 mix it up by requiring you to double tap the volume down key (this is not the default function on the Mate 10 Pro). Alternatively, you can swipe up from the camera icon on the lock screen for both. The iPhone X is simply a swipe to the left from the lock screen. We found the most convenient and fastest way to launch the camera is with phones that opted for the default Android approach.

Which phones launch the camera app the quickest? It’s impossible to say — all the cameras launch instantly with next to no delay. It’s easier to spot shutter lag, which is the delay from when you tap the shutter icon to when the camera captures a shot. We found the iPhone X, Pixel 2 XL, and the Note 8 outperform the rest, but it’s a small win; the other devices are still incredibly quick. The LG V30 does seem to have the longest shutter lag, but not by much, and it’s far from a deal-breaker.

We believe the iPhone X, Pixel 2 XL, OnePlus 5T, LG V30, Galaxy S8, and the U11 all have the simplest camera interfaces. The Note 8 comes close, but it makes no mention of what you can access by swiping left or right (unlike the S8). The Huawei Mate 10 Pro’s interface has improved from earlier versions, but it’s still the weakest on the list; Pro mode is difficult to find at first, and there are a few features that aren’t fully explained. The Note 8, iPhone X, Mate 10 Pro, V30, S8, and U11 all take the cake for offering the most varied features, and the OnePlus 5T is easily the most bare bones camera app of the lot.

Photo categories:

Broad daylight

The clock tower at the San Francisco Ferry Building stood out as a ripe target for a camera comparison, and right off the bat we’ll say we like most of the photos here. It’s putting them next to each other where you see the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences. The Pixel 2 XL and the HTC U11 shot our favorite images, because they capture a lot of detail and have good color accuracy. Of the two, we’d pick the U11’s photo as the Pixel 2’s photo looks a tad muted in comparison.

Take a look at the lines of the clock tower — they’re almost invisible on the rest of the phones. The California Republic flag right below the clock tower is another good point of focus: The flagpole is almost invisible on the iPhone X and the OnePlus 5T. Barring the Pixel 2 XL, the U11, and the OnePlus 5T, most of the skies have a slight purple-ish tint; it’s very faint on the iPhone X, but it’s obvious on the Mate 10 Pro. The Pixel 2 XL’s photo looks the most realistic here, but we would share the U11’s photo because the sky and the clock tower are a tad brighter and more vibrant.

The losers here came from the Huawei Mate 10 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S8. The photos are bland, there isn’t as much detail, and there are too many purple hues.

We take a lot of photos indoors, and the Christmas tree at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco made an ideal example. It’s easy to pick a winner here: The Pixel 2 XL. The Pixel’s photo just feels like Christmas: It’s warm, has brilliant detail, and there’s good dynamic range — you can see the blue sky through the oval dome at the top.

The HTC U11 is a very close second, and we wouldn’t be surprised if people thought it was better than the Pixel 2 XL. It has cooler tones, and ever-so-slightly better dynamic range at the dome. To clarify, poor dynamic range appears when one part of the photo that’s overexposed or too white, while another part of the photo is underexposed, or too dark. Good dynamic range can balance out the two, allowing you to see details in both bright and dim areas. The U11 and the Pixel 2 XL do a great job in this environment. We like the added warmth in the Pixel’s photo — the colors just pop — which is why it’s our favorite.

The HDR setting on many camera apps allows you achieve good dynamic range by taking multiple shots and combining them with software. We allowed the phones to use it if they turned it on automatically, but did not go out of our way to engage it, because average people simply don’t shoot that way. Some of the phones also offer extra options, under a “Pro” mode, that let you tweak all the settings to capture the perfect shot. It’s great that it’s available, but again, it’s not how a vast majority of people use their smartphone cameras. Most people take their phone out, launch the camera, and tap the shutter icon. That’s how we did it, and that’s how we’re judging these photos.

The iPhone X comes third, and it’s certainly a great photo. It’s has even more blue tones than the U11, and great dynamic range, but it does start to lose some detail in the Christmas tree — likely because the tree is a lot darker. The rest of the phones don’t do as well, but there are some merits: The Note 8 gets points for maintaining a little more detail, and the OnePlus 5T offers decent dynamic range. The poorest photos come from the Mate 10 Pro, because the colors look muted and almost grayscale, as well as the LG V30 and Galaxy S8, because the domes are way too overexposed.

Low-light

Taking photos in low light is even more challenging for a phone than in daylight. High-end smartphones have continued to get better in this category, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement.

In this photo of the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, the iPhone X, Galaxy Note 8, and the Galaxy S8 offer the sharpest photos, with solid detail. Take a look at the neon curls at the top of the “Castro” sign — they are sharpest on the photos taken by the aforementioned phones. The Google Pixel 2 XL is a close second, but there are elements of the photo that look slightly fuzzier and soft.

Our outright favorites come from the iPhone X, the Google Pixel 2 XL, and the OnePlus 5T. The rest of the photos are somewhat overexposed, and some are too yellow. We love the cool, dark nightclub vibes the Pixel photo gives off, but our top pick here is the iPhone X. Take a look at the yellow buildings to the left of the theater — the iPhone illuminates them more than the Pixel 2. We should note, the Pixel does have slightly better dynamic range; you can see more things inside the stores below the yellow buildings, as well as see the faint outline of the horizon in the distance.

The Mate 10 Pro does a solid job here as well, alongside the OnePlus 5T. Our least favorite photo goes to the HTC U11, which is too warm and slightly overexposed. The LG V30 isn’t great either — the static neon sign and several parts of the photo are blurry.

Food

Good lighting:

We’ve all taken our phones out before a delicious meal to snap a photo and share it on social media. You want your phone to accurately capture your beautifully plated meals. It’s difficult to choose a winner in our first test — a delicious meal at Darren’s Cafe in Fisherman’s Wharf — they’re all great photos.

Zoom into the details, and it becomes slightly easier to choose winners. Our overall favorite pick is the Pixel 2 XL and the OnePlus 5T, but they win at a very, very small margin. There’s good contrast in both photos, a spectacular dash of color, and excellent detail.

The HTC U11 also offers great detail, with the Mate 10 Pro and the Galaxy S8 coming in behind. The Note 8 is a tad blurry if you zoom in on the fried chicken, and so is the iPhone X. The worst offender is the V30 — you don’t need to zoom in to see the blur.

Color-wise, it’s an even tougher choice. The photos where the egg yolks pop are our favorites, including the Pixel 2 XL, U11, iPhone X, Galaxy S8, and the OnePlus 5T. The Note 8, V30, and the Mate 10 Pro were a tad bright, but it’s really hard to tell the difference at a first glance.

Our winners remain the Pixel 2 XL and the OnePlus 5T, but we’re incredibly impressed by the output of all these phones here.

Poor lighting:

It’s easier to draw out winners in a more challenging test — low-light food photography. Most restaurants have dim lighting, which can be problematic for food photographers. We had delectable ramen from Waraku in Japantown, but there’s very little lighting in the restaurant. We have a standout winner, though, and it’s the Pixel 2 XL. It manages to capture a great deal of color, very little noise, and good details, offering a photo we’ll be happy sharing on Instagram.

The runner up is the iPhone X. There’s an overall red tint, but it still manages to capture some color, with a good amount of detail — it’s just not as sharp as the Pixel 2 XL. Close behind the iPhone are Samsung’s Note 8 and the Galaxy S8. The color balance is OK, and there’s a decent amount of detail. Next up is a tie between the V30 and the Mate 10 Pro, both of which also have a red tint, but colors are more muted. There’s not an egregious amount of grain, as the details are similar to the Note 8 and the S8.

Our poorest of the lot are the HTC U11 and the OnePlus 5T. The photos are blurry and too grainy, with muted colors; we likely would not share these if we had a choice.

Portrait Mode

It’s almost a requirement now to have some form of a Portrait Mode on flagship smartphones. Portrait Mode is when the subject stays in focus, and a blur effect (bokeh) is added to the background. Most flagship phones have some type of Portrait Mode in place, but there are still those that don’t. You won’t find a photo from the HTC U11 or the LG V30 here. The Galaxy S8 and Pixel 2 XL don’t use dual cameras to identify depth and add a blur — it’s purely software.

That being said, our top picks are the iPhone X, the Pixel 2 XL, and the Galaxy Note 8. The iPhone’s Portrait Mode photo is perhaps a tad too bright for us, but the colors feel natural and the blur is strong and DSLR-esque. The top of the subject’s head is a tad out of focus, but it works because the blur radiates as a circle from the main focal point.

The Pixel 2 XL’s Portrait Mode doesn’t radiate, but it accurately identifies the subject and does a great job of applying the blur around them — only a few strands of hair are blurred. The blur isn’t as strong as the Note 8 or the iPhone X, but it’s solid. The background is a little too muted, whereas the iPhone’s is vibrant and colorful. The Pixel’s photo does look the most natural.

The Note 8 doesn’t handle the subject’s skin tone very well — it’s a little pasty, but the blur is very strong and fairly accurate. There is an overall reddish hue we’re not too fond of in the photo. The Mate 10 Pro comes next, though is perhaps too saturated, and the blur can be a little jarring (look at the top of the subject’s head). The OnePlus 5T does a solid job with placing the blur around the subject, but the effect is very weak. The background looks oversaturated, and the skin tone is worse than the Note 8.

The worst, unexpectedly, is the Galaxy S8. Samsung never emphasized this mode in the phone, and for good reason. The result looks photoshopped, and the blurring is visibly wrong in some places.

In lesser lighting, Portrait Mode may not work as well. Our photo here is in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, as the sun started to make its way down. We were largely in the shade, though, so the lighting isn’t as strong as the previous photo. We left in photos taken with the HTC U11 and the LG V30, so you can compare the difference between a standard portrait photo and one taken with Portrait Mode.

Our top choice is the iPhone X, which offers excellent dynamic range (the background is perfectly exposed). The background is also vibrant and colorful with a strong blur, and you can see a lot of detail on the subject: great details, great blur. The Pixel 2 XL is the runner up. There’s a bit of grain on the subject, but it’s well-detailed, and offers excellent dynamic range like the iPhone. The background isn’t as vibrant or colorful, though.

The rest of the photos are largely just OK. The OnePlus follows behind the Pixel due to its good dynamic range and solid details, but the blurring isn’t as accurate around the subject. The overall photo is a tad too dim. The Mate 10 Pro is next, with a detailed photo and good blur, but the background is overexposed. The subject’s skin tone is a little too pasty.

The poorest Portrait Mode photos came from the S8, which has poor blur accuracy, jarring bokeh, and the photo is just too dim. The Note 8 is not good at all either — the background is completely overexposed, and that ruins the rest of the photo.

We’re not going to compare the photos from the LG V30 and the U11, because they did not have a Portrait Mode. The photos are good, but it highlights what Portrait Mode can do to make them great.

Selfie

But what about selfies? Selfies may be one of the most popular uses of camera phones, but unfortunately most smartphones don’t put a lot of focus on the front camera as much as the rear one.

Our pick is easy here: The Pixel 2 XL. It offers a great amount of detail and looks sharp, and best of all there’s still a good dynamic range in the background. The iPhone X, HTC U11, Note 8, and V30 follow suit with solid detail, but the U11 stands out for its brilliantly blue sky, and great dynamic range. The overall photo is a little too dim, though. The rest of the phones in the aforementioned list have overexposed backgrounds.

We like the Mate 10 Pro’s details on the subject — it even surpasses some of the phones we just mentioned, but it’s ruined by its pathetic attempt at dynamic range. The background is far too white. The Galaxy S8’s photo is too soft, and it suffers from a very white background as well.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

iPhone X

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Google Pixel 2 XL

Two phones stand out even further for offering a Portrait Mode with the selfie camera — the iPhone X and the Pixel 2 XL. The Pixel blows the iPhone out of the competition here. The photo is rich in detail, it’s sharp, has great dynamic range, and a solid blur. The iPhone’s blur feels out of place, and the overexposed background is disappointing.

Special features

Some of these smartphones have special features, like the Huawei Mate 10 Pro’s black and white mode; the LG V30’s wide-angle lens; the iPhone X’s studio lighting features for a more personalized portrait; and the Note 8, Mate 10 Pro, and iPhone X’s 2x optical zoom. We explore these features in our full-length reviews of these phones, and we recommend you check them out there.

So which is the best?

If you haven’t noticed, there’s one phone that’s been in our top picks for almost every category, and that’s Google’s Pixel 2 XL. It’s truly the best camera phone of the year, with its spectacular dynamic range, great color accuracy, brilliant details, and overall reliable performance in all types of lighting conditions.

The iPhone X is our runner up, stealing the show with the rear camera Portrait Mode. HTC has cemented third place, and we honestly think it’s one of the most underrated smartphones of the year.

The rest of the phones in our comparison are by no means bad camera phones at all. They take excellent photos, and have genuinely good features that make them fun to use. But they’re not the cream of the crop.

These smartphones may have great cameras, but there’s a lot more to a phone. Check out our smartphone reviews to learn more about what each phone has to offer.

Editors’ Recommendations

• OnePlus 5T review
• Google Pixel 2 XL review
• HTC U11 Life review
• LG V30 review
• OnePlus 5T vs. Pixel 2: Battle of the Android superstars

Oreo for the OnePlus 5T coming as early as this week

The wait will soon be over.

The OnePlus 5T is one heck of a phone, and while there’s not much to complain about, one slight annoyance is with the fact that it shipped with (and is still running) Android Nougat. OnePlus has already updated the OnePlus 3, 3T, and 5 to 8.0 Oreo, and it looks like the 5T will soon get its own taste of Android’s latest.

OnePlus’s Germany Twitter account sent out a Tweet on December 27 with a message that translates to “Christmas is over, but we still have a present for you! 😉 How about the Open Beta for Android Oreo on the #OnePlus5T?”

We’d expect the Oreo open beta to be available for the 5T within the next few days, and when this happens, OnePlus should launch it in all of its supported countries (not just Germany).

Weihnachten ist zwar vorbei, aber wir haben trotzdem ein Geschenk für euch! 😉 Wie wär’s mit der Open Beta für Android Oreo auf dem #OnePlus5T! pic.twitter.com/LvKR3A6duC

— OnePlus Deutschland (@OnePlus_DE) December 27, 2017

The OnePlus 5T’s software experience is already pretty fantastic, but additions like picture-in-picture, Google’s Autofill API, and adaptive notification icons will only make it better.

Oreo stable update now rolling out to the OnePlus 5, Face Unlock coming soon

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

Connect Anker’s compact Bluetooth keyboard to your phone for $19

Freshen up your desk space with some new accessories by Anker

Anker’s ultra compact Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard is now on sale at Amazon for just $18.99 when you enter promo code ANKERKYB at checkout. This deal saves you $5 off its regular price.

This slim keyboard has a rechargeable battery that lasts for six months between charges (based on two hours of use per day). It can be used with your smartphone, tablet or computer via Bluetooth or with the included USB cable.

If you’re in need of a wireless mouse, the Wireless Vertical Mouse by Anker is on sale for $13.99 when you enter promo code ANKERMIC at checkout.

These products all come with an 18-month warranty.

See at Amazon

Instagram now shows posts from accounts you don’t follow in your main feed

Like it or not, recommended posts are now part of your feed.

Throughout December alone, Instagram’s made some fairly big updates to its main feed. The middle of the month saw a new option to follow hashtags to keep up to date with trends/topics that you’re interested in, and just about a week ago, Instagram started rolling out an in-line comment feature to make it even faster to leave your thoughts on photos/videos.

Now, Instagram is launching a new “Recommended for You” section in your main feed that shows posts from accounts you don’t follow that it thinks you’ll like. Instagram has made sure this section of posts looks different from regular accounts/hashtags you follow, and TechCrunch says Recommended for You shows between three and five posts at a time.

Instagram’s been showing recommended content in the Explore tab for a while now, but this is the first time we’ve seen the social network push these recommendations into the main feed. You can’t permanently remove the recommended posts, but tapping on the three dots and then the “Hide” option will make these disappear until you’ve gone through all of the new ones from who you’re actually following.

It’s good that Instagram isn’t completely forcing this new feature down users’ throats, but we can’t imagine this is a change that’ll be welcomed with open arms. What are your thoughts on all of this?

Instagram’s Android app gets ‘add a comment’ button in main feed

New ThinQ Speaker brings LG into the smart home game using Google Assistant

This was basically an inevitability.

LG is continuing its tradition of pre-announcing things ahead of big trade shows, and has just dropped details on some of its home audio lineup for CES 2018. There are some new portable speakers and sound bars, but the most interesting part of the announcement is the new “ThinQ Speaker.” The ThinQ Speaker brings Google Assistant in yet another package, joining the ranks of several other companies that announced similar devices earlier this year.

LG had announced Google Assistant compatibility with its appliances and other devices as well, so it was only a matter of time before we got a Google Home-like speaker running Assistant as well. It makes sense that LG would want to have something from its own brand out there as the voice conduit for controlling your other LG devices. If that “ThinQ” brand looks familiar at all, it’s because LG announced that would be its brand going forward for its connected and “smart” home products. Presumably that’s pronounced as “think” — we sure hope so.

Beyond simply being a Google Assistant device, LG is touting that its partnership with Meridian Audio will provide better quality than comparable speakers out there. To that point, LG calls the ThinQ Speaker a “premium audio product” and refers to it offering “high-quality sound in addition to its smart capabilities. Despite its focus on quality, given what looks like a relatively compact size we can only guess it’ll land somewhere above the standard Google Home but obviously well under the Google Home Max.

LG naturally isn’t giving us pricing or availability information, which is standard for one of these pre-CES announcements, but we sure hope it comes in competitively as this market gets increasingly saturated.

Press release:

LG UNVEILS 2018 SPEAKER LINEUP WITH PREMIUM SOUND, EASE OF USE AND SMART CAPABILITIES

Latest Audio Products Bring Great Sound and Advanced Intelligence to Audiophiles and Casual Listeners Alike

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Dec. 27, 2017 — LG Electronics (LG) is announcing its premium lineup of audio products that promises to change the way people think about home speakers. New for 2018 is Meridian Audio’s advanced high-performance audio technology that delivers more natural and warm sound. From immersive Dolby Atmos® sound bars to portable Bluetooth speakers and its latest artificial intelligence (AI) speaker, LG has something for everyone this year.

“Sound technology has come a long way since LG introduced the first radio to the Korean market almost 60 years ago,” said Tim Alessi, head of product marketing at LG Electronics USA. “Our latest lineup of audio products has been designed for those listeners who value premium sound with smart-enabled capabilities, and demonstrates how LG continues to push the boundaries on how people enjoy music and movies.”

The Next Wave of Sound Bars

The new SK10Y sound bar delivers 550W of powerful output and supports 5.1.2 channels by harnessing the power of Dolby Atmos technology. A unique aspect of the technology is that “sound objects” can be precisely placed anywhere in a three-dimensional space for an immersive sound from all directions, including the ceiling, which enhances realism and the effect of being in the middle of the action. To create such powerful, textured sound, the SK10Y is equipped with multiple speakers – including a pair of powerful up-firing speakers – to surround the listener from every angle. Users can adjust the volume of the up-firing speakers to optimize the sound with the height of the ceiling in room.

With LG’s partnership with Meridian Audio, the SK10Y speaker benefits from innovative audio enhancements designed to deliver an unsurpassed listening experience. As a pioneer of high-performance, high-fidelity audio and an authority on Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and the field of psychoacoustics, Meridian equipped the SK10Y with a high level of performance including its Bass and Space technology that gives listeners a rich, uncompromising sound. Meridian’s Height Elevation technology raises sound above the sound bar to the level of the screen, bringing extra clarity to speech and music. The LG SK10Y is also compatible with high-quality lossless audio files to perfectly recreate sound recorded in the studio.

From a design perspective, the SK10Y’s harmonious, modern-looking edges and slim profile allows it to seamlessly fit underneath many of LG’s 2018 OLED or SUPER UHD TV models. The device is also extremely accessible, with full connectivity to hubs, speakers and other smart devices supporting Chromecast. Simply say “OK Google” to easily request to begin playing your favorite song, podcast or audio clip from your favorite online streaming service.

Portable Speakers for Any Occasion

LG’s portable PK series speaker enables premium sound and mood lighting features in a fun, convenient package that can be taken anywhere. And with Meridian Audio’s advanced technologies, the PK speakers offer powerful and undistorted bass, as well as optimized speech and vocals. Furthermore, these speakers are compatible with the APT-X HD Bluetooth standard for streaming 24-bit music over a wireless connection for a listening experience that comes close to the original.

Premium Speaker with Google Assistant

LG is also announcing its first premium smart AI audio product, the LG ThinQ Speaker, which not only produces high-quality sound but comes with Google Assistant built in. LG teamed up with Google to ensure that the LG ThinQ Speaker delivers all the conveniences that come with having a digital assistant at your side. And LG ThinQ Speaker isn’t only a smart companion, it is also a personalized voice-activated interface for LG’s smart home appliances.

Speakers for Getting the Party Started

For all the party-goers and music producers, LG has several speakers that combine powerful audio capabilities. These all-in-one speakers offer a variety of features designed to get everyone on the dance floor moving, such as 1,800W output, DJ capabilities, karaoke modes and lights. What’s more, the newest party speakers feature durable form factors, easy-to-use interfaces and many connectivity options to download or stream an unlimited number of dance tracks.

Hackers say Nintendo’s hidden golf game on Switch is gone

Back in September, intrepid hackers prying into the Nintendo Switch found a game hidden in the system’s code: FLOG, a version of the classic NES title ‘Golf.’ After further examination, the dataminers found that you could only access it on July 11th, and guessed that the game was a tribute to the late, great Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, who passed away on that day earlier this year. In other words, you could play it if you fudged the date on your console and didn’t connect it to the internet — until now. Hackers reported that the latest Switch update (4.0.0) wipes FLOG from the console’s firmware.

Switch update 4.0.0 stubs “flog” — all code to launch it removed, and flog executable overwritten with (signed) garbage. https://t.co/6Q47sHn7Ud

— Michael (@SciresM) December 24, 2017

Nintendo had previously refused to acknowledge FLOG, let alone say whether it was a conscious tribute to Iwata (more proof: You can only access it by pointing your Joy-Con controllers outward, as Iwata had done during Switch demonstrations). Sadly, it seems the old golf simulator game is gone, along with any notion whether it was part of a larger effort to emulate games from the NES.

Via: Polygon

Source: SwitchBrew

Watch a developer erase his face with the iPhone X

The iPhone X’s Face ID sensors have shown great potential for art, gaming and just weird apps, but a Japanese developer has taken another tack with the device. Using Unity, ViRD game developer @noshipu, aka Kazuya Noshiro, completely erased his face, except for his mouth and eyes, as shown in the 10-second clip below. Calling the trick “optical camouflage,” Noshiro admitted that he has no clue what it can be used for. “If you want to make your face transparent, we’re recruiting,” he joked.

iPhoneXで顔だけ光学迷彩っぽくなるやつできた pic.twitter.com/aPXJcHi8Y4

— のしぷ (@noshipu) December 27, 2017

Noshiro didn’t say exactly how the trick worked, despite curiosity from his followers. However, one person asked him if he fixed the camera to pre-record the background, and he admitted “that’s correct.” So in other words, he likely first recorded what was behind him, then masked out his face — bar his eyes and mouth — and inserted the background. The iPhone X’s motion sensors could synchronize everything with the camera movement.

The effect shows the potential of sensor-laden phones like the iPhone X — which are bound to become more common with Face ID-like security — and how ARkit can work with other developer platforms like Unity. Sure, it seems perfectly useless, which is why it might also make a pretty sweet Snapchat filter.

Via: DesignTaxi

Source: Noshipu (Twitter)

Apple’s original graphical OS will be available for free in 2018

If you’ve ever wanted to try Apple’s graphical interface on the Lisa, the computer that preceded the Mac, you’ve been relegated to either using an emulator or (if you’re lucky) tracking down one of the rare, expensive machines. Thankfully, it’s about to get much easier. The Computer History Museum’s Al Kossow has revealed that the source code for the Lisa’s operating system and programs will be published for free sometime in 2018. And this isn’t some unofficial effort — Apple is reviewing the code itself.

Virtually everything you’d need to give the OS a spin will be available, Kossow said. In fact, the only thing that isn’t likely to be released is the American Heritage Dictionary used for LisaWrite’s spelling checks. Sorry, you’ll just have to proofread your work when you travel back to 1983.

You probably won’t be dual-booting the Lisa’s software right away, since it was intended for a different processor (the Motorola 68000) and much stricter memory limitations. However, the very availability of the code might be crucial to preserving a key part of computing history.

The Lisa (named after Steve Jobs’ eldest daughter) was the first result of Jobs’ fateful visit to Xerox PARC, where he was blown away by researchers’ work on mouse-driven visual interfaces and set out to create a version of it that would be accessible to a mainstream audience. It was slow, limited and wildly expensive ($9,995, or about $24,560 in 2017 money), but it laid the groundwork for the Mac and virtually every other mouse-based computer that followed. The availability of the Lisa’s code should keep the vintage computer’s spirit alive well after the last system stops working, and could offer an insight into what Apple’s engineers were thinking at the time.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Google Groups

Cryptocurrency windfall — Pineapple Fund gifts $1 million to Internet Archive

The anonymous benefactor of the Pineapple Fund, a bitcoin wallet with tens of millions of dollars worth of the cryptocurrency, announced a donation of a million dollars worth to the Internet Archive. The funds will go towards maintaining the archive’s vast website records, helping to provide “permanent access to websites, software books, [and] music,” forever.

Created in mid-December, the Pineapple Fund is effectively one bitcoin millionaire’s attempt to spread some of their success. The original announcement for the fund was made on the bitcoin subreddit where “Pine” claimed they had more money than they would ever need thanks to bitcoin, so would be donating more than $80 million worth to various charities and organizations. To date, the fund has gifted a million dollars, or around 66 bitcoins, to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, charities like Watsi and The Water Project, and the SENS research foundation.

Just because the latest donation isn’t aimed at saving lives though, doesn’t mean it’s less important. The Internet Archive has been operating since 1996 and helping to preserve the history of the internet. All encompassed in the “Wayback Machine,” the Internet Archive makes sure we never forget how far we have come since those early message boards and Geocities sites.

As much as that is great for those deep dives you make to remind yourself how terrible web design used to be, as VentureBeat points out, it serves another valid purpose in maintaining the true history of website content. That way companies and governments cannot whitewash history or pretend something didn’t happen. While social media users make sure that’s the case with their screenshot abilities, the Internet Archive is a legitimate source of historical truth on the internet.

The Archive’s Katie Barrett published a thank you message to Pine and said how great it was to see those who originally dreamed so big with bitcoin seeing a return on their confidence.

“We so admire this donor using bitcoin as the currency of giving this season, and are honored to be the recipients of such a gift. Whoever you are, you are doing a world of good. Thank you,” she said.

All of this is only possible as of late thanks to the extreme spike in the value of bitcoin. While the Pineapple Fund’s creator plans to give away more than 5,000 bitcoins in total (see them here), if they had done so at the start of 2017 that would have amounted to just over $5 million. Today, it’s worth more than $80 million and who knows how high it might go by the time they’re finished with their philanthropic goals.

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Helli helmet automatically calls an ambulance if you crash your motorcycle

We’ve covered some pretty darn smart motorcycle helmets here at Digital Trends. But while a lot of them offer superior protection in the event of an accident, a new helmet wants to go even further — by promising to call emergency services and text your relatives if you’re in a crash.

Called Helli, it’s the creation of a startup in Pakistan, where only 3 percent of households have cars, and people are therefore far more likely to drive a motorcycle. In addition to calling for an ambulance and your next of kin in the event of an accident, the Helli helmet also comes equipped with Bluetooth, speakers, blood oxygen sensor-based heart rate monitor, and a dashcam.

“We started developing this for two key reasons,” Waqas Khalil, managing director of manufacturers Let’s Innovate, told Digital Trends. “The first one is the fact that a few of our team members use motorbikes to commute, and it was almost impossible to get hold of them while they were commuting. We looked at the options available and everything was either too expensive or way too basic. So we thought let’s develop a helmet that would solve the connectivity problem, but also at the same time increase rider safety. This is where we started incorporating emergency SMS, rider heart rate, and health systems into the helmet using a companion app.”

At present, the team is in closed beta phase for the project, with riders busy testing and providing feedback on the device. The helmets are also being put through the necessary stress testing to improve their shape and strength. Khalil said that the team is working toward a launch sometime in the middle of 2018, or sooner if everything goes perfectly.

“Our pricing tiers vary depending on the market and the feature set in place,” he continued. “Our initial launchpad is Pakistan or relatively low income markets, where a basic version of Helli would cost between $70 and $150, [depending] on taxes.”

This isn’t the first smart helmet we have covered. Previous crowdfunding favorite Skully demonstrated the market for connected bike helmets — only to run into financial problems. Given the possibility for Helli to save lives, let’s hope it can manage to deliver on all its promises!

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