Face Unlock coming to OnePlus 5 with Open Beta, 3/3T might get it too

Yes, Carl, this is something we want.

Alongside the rollout of Android 8.0 Oreo for the OnePlus 5, Carl Pei took to Twitter to announce that the popular Face Unlock feature on the 5T would be making its way to its older brother. This came as exciting news, but we weren’t entirely sure how OnePlus would integrate the feature.

In a post that Pei shared on the OnePlus forums, we now know that Face Unlock will initially be pushed to the OnePlus 5 as part of the OxygenOS Open Beta. Pei says to think of this as “an early test run” where any bugs can be discovered and squashed, and following this, Face Unlock will make its way to all OnePlus 5s as part of a public OTA update.

As if that wasn’t enough, Pei also said this at the end of the post:

You all inspired us to bring Face Unlock to the OnePlus 5. When you share your thoughts and feedback, you impact how we build and maintain our devices. In the spirit of building together, we’d also like to ask our OnePlus 3 and 3T users: Do you want Face Unlock too?

One thread on the forums already shows about 50 pages of people talking about Face Unlock on the 3/3T, so it’s pretty clear that the interest is definitely there. We’re still awfully impressed with how well Face Unlock works on the 5T, so if OnePlus wants to bring it to more of its existing hardware, the more the merrier.

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

Apple and Amazon may set up shop in Saudi Arabia soon

Saudi Arabia has slowly been changing its attitude toward tech over the past two years, trying to lure in foreign investment from Silicon Valley. Now, Reuters reports that both Apple and Amazon are in talks to set up shop in the conservative country.

Apple has a presence in Saudi Arabia, but it’s through third parties. None of the big international tech companies have direct retail in the country, but that may be about to change. Apple’s presence will focus on the company’s popular products; the first Apple Store in the country may open in 2019. Apple is already the country’s second most popular phone provider, despite not having a direct presence, so it’s clearly a smart move for the tech company.

It’s also not a surprise that Amazon is interested in the Middle East. Earlier this year, the online retail giant acquired Souq.com, which was touted as the Amazon of the Middle East. This allowed for Amazon products to be sold in the country. Now, Amazon is clearly looking to move into back-end services, as the talks are heavily focused in its Web Services arena, which provides cloud services to companies. There is currently no timeline for the company’s goals in Saudi Arabia.

Source: Reuters

Chrome OS will finally run Android apps in the background

While it’s no longer a novelty to run Android apps on your Chromebook, that doesn’t mean they run well. To date, most of those apps pause when you switch away — fine for a phone, but not what you’d expect on a computer with a multi-window interface. However, they’re about to become far more functional. Chrome Unboxed has learned that the Chrome OS 64 beta introduces Android Parallel Tasks, which lets Android apps run at full bore regardless of what you’re doing. You could watch a video in a mobile app while you’re surfing the web, or take a break from a mobile game without jarring transitions.

There’s no guarantee that Android Parallel Tasks will reach the stable Chrome OS 64, so you might not want to plan a purchase around the feature. With that said, it’s hard to imagine Google leaving this out. This is a major step toward Android becoming fully integrated with Chrome OS, and arguably a step toward making Chrome OS behave like you’d expect if you’re coming from a more conventional computing platform.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Chrome Unboxed

North Korea gets a modern staple: lousy airport WiFi

North Korea is continuing to slowly embrace modern technology, although not in the ways you might like. The AP’s Eric Talmadge has discovered that Pyongyang’s airport now has WiFi, with $2 getting you 30 minutes of online time. But just like many airport hotspots, it doesn’t appear to be usable — Talmadge couldn’t get a valid login even after enlisting the help of a supervisor, and it had trouble opening a page in the process. It’s unclear whether this was a one-time problem or reflective of poor maintenance, but the signal is definitely there.

Not that the airport’s WiFi is likely to get a lot of use, or that you’d necessarily want to use it. When just having a device with active WiFi can frequently lead to jail time or fines, most North Koreans can’t even consider using it — if they could afford the necessary devices, of course. And even if you did get online, you’d likely be using a highly censored, tightly monitored and overall very limited connection. In short: while it’s a notable gesture, it’d be much nicer if everyday North Koreans could enjoy unrestricted WiFi wherever they happen to be.

Source: AP (Popular Science)

Apple may face criminal charges in France over iPhone slowdowns

Earlier this month, Apple admitted to slowing older iPhone models in order to prevent phones with older batteries from suddenly shutting down. Now, Reuters reports that the company may face a legal battle in France over the practice. A French organization called HOP, which in French stands for Stop Planned Obsolescence, filed legal complaints against Apple in Paris this week. It also filed complaints against Epson for similar reasons.

Apple also faces lawsuits in the US, two of which were filed by Chicago’s Atlas Consumer Law group and individuals in California just days after reports of Apple’s practices surfaced. At least eight lawsuits have now been filed in the US seeking class-action while a suit was also filed earlier this week in Israel.

Under French law, planned obsolescence is not allowed and companies found to practicing it can be fined up to five percent of their annual sales.

Via: Reuters

Google pulls the Pixel C tablet from its online store

For now, at least, Google is out of the Android tablet game. The search giant has pulled the Pixel C from its official store, redirecting product page visitors to the Pixelbook. The company hasn’t explicitly outlined its reasons, but it told Engadget in a statement (available below) that it was “common” to stop selling a product after it has been “out for a few years” — and that’s true for the Pixel C, which hit the scene in late 2015. Instead, it suggests that you get a Pixelbook if you’re looking for a “versatile device.”

It’s not certain how well the Pixel C sold (other than not being a blockbuster hit), but there are a number of practical reasons to drop it regardless of its performance. The Pixel C received its last major software update with Android Oreo, and it wasn’t going to be very consumer-friendly to sell a tablet that was going to get nothing but security updates (and then only for another year). And yes, a 2-year-old $599 device just wasn’t going to be very competitive.

At the same time, this a tacit acknowledgment that Google’s Android tablet strategy hasn’t panned out as well those for Apple’s iPads or Microsoft’s Surface line. Android’s stock multitasking experience still leaves something to be desired, and Google has historically done a less-than-stellar job of fostering and promoting tablet-native Android apps. The Pixel C just didn’t fill the role of a laptop replacement as well as it could. We wouldn’t call the Pixelbook a one-for-one replacement for the Pixel C (it’s $400 more expensive and not as portable), but it might be a better fit. It’s a more conventional computer with a windowed interface, and it has access to Android apps if there’s a mobile program you just can’t live without.

Via: Android Police

Source: Google Store

Google Photos compiles your pics in ‘Smiles of 2017’ video

Google wants to give a you look back at the year and it’s doing so with a video called “Smiles of 2017” that compiles some of the photos you saved throughout year. The short movies are reportedly between 40 and 60 seconds long and are paired with typical Google Photos video music. While Google Photos had a “Smiles” slideshow last year as well, it appears that more users are getting access to this year’s version. The videos are appearing in the Assistant section of the Google Photos app or desktop site and if you have one, a notification should let you know.

Snapchat also released its 2017 lookback — a Story that collects some of the Snaps you saved to Memories throughout the year — and Spotify has created a playlist of users’ top 100 tracks of 2017. So, if you really want to review this year (understandable if you don’t), you have a few options through which you can do so.

Valve loses appeal over Steam refund policy in Australia

Valve will have to pay the piper over its former Steam refund policy. Australia’s Full Court of the Federal Court has dismissed Valve’s appeals of a ruling and accompanying fine (worth $2.2 million US) over its allegedly misleading Steam customer guarantees. As the company conducts business in Australia, the country’s Competition and Consumer Commission said, it’s beholden to national consumer protection laws — and that means getting your money back if a game’s quality isn’t up to snuff.

This is water under the bridge for the most part, since Valve has already altered its practices to allow refunds within two weeks. However, the end to its case is bound to set an “important precedent,” as the ACCC said. Digital stores that operate in Australia will have to accommodate its refund policies regardless of what’s acceptable in their home territories. This doesn’t mean they have to implement the same policy worldwide (like Valve did), but they at least have to make exceptions.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: ACCC

Apple apologizes for confusion over slowdowns with older iPhones

Apple has been in hot water for the last few weeks after the company admitted that it sometimes reduced processor speeds on iPhones with aging batteries as a way to balance performance and battery life. Today, the company is apologizing for not being more transparent with its customers and released more details on how exactly iOS manages battery and performance.

For starters, the company says that “we have never — and would never — do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades.” That’s been perhaps the biggest point of contention among unhappy owners who feel that Apple has reduced their phone’s performance as a way to drive more sales.

To help mitigate the confusion Apple caused, the company is now offering reduced out-of-warranty battery replacement. For $29, you can get a new battery for your phone regardless of whether it’s covered by AppleCare or not; that’s down from the old $79 fee. Additionally, Apple says it is going to release an iOS update early next year that’ll give users more info on the health of their iPhone’s battery so they can see if its condition is affect phone performance.

Apple also explained what various users have figured out over the last week. First, it explained the circumstances under which batteries age and degrade over time, something that’s unavoidable for any battery-powered device at this point. The company also notes that older, chemically aged batteries are “less capable of delivering peak energy loads, especially in a low state of charge” — the issue that led to unexpected shutdowns on some phones.

To mitigate that, iOS 10.2.1 included a feature that “improves power management” to avoid unexpected shut downs in the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus and SE. “With the update, iOS dynamically manages the maximum performance of some system components when needed to prevent a shutdown,” Apple writes. “While these changes may go unnoticed, in some cases users may experience longer launch times for apps and other reductions in performance.” Apple later rolled this out to the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus with iOS 11.2.

Apple said that in recent months, it has heard more feedback from users about degraded performance in specific situations, which the company believes is coming from “continued chemical aging” of batteries coupled with minor bugs and a “normal, temporary performance impact” that comes with software upgrades. The company didn’t originally consider the batteries in the equation but now believes the the original batteries in older phones are likely playing a role.

Ultimately, Apple appears to have wizened up and explained exactly what’s going on here, which is really what it should have done from the start. The explanation for how iOS balances performance and battery life seems reasonable, but it’s something that consumers should be made aware of. We’ll be keeping an eye out for the next version of iOS and what exactly the new battery health indicator tells users. In the meantime, if you have an older phone and want to get as much power out of it as you can, it might be worth taking advantage of the reduced battery replacement program.

Source: Apple

iMac Pro Now Available for Pickup at Apple Stores in Australia and Japan

Following initial shipments of the iMac Pro that have started to be delivered to customers over the past few days, the iMac Pro is now available for pickup at many Apple retail stores in Australia and Japan.

Apple’s website lists the iMac Pro as available for pickup today at around half of its retail locations in Australia and Japan, but for now it appears that only the base model has immediate availability, allowing customers to place orders online from store stock.

While we’re currently seeing pickup available only in Australia and Japan, it’s possible other countries with personal pickup could see similar availability once the clock rolls around to Friday in those countries.

Since the workstation is highly customizable, many customers may still prefer to order from Apple’s online store, where exact tech specs, accessories, and software add-ons like Final Cut Pro X can be selected as desired.

iMac Pro starts at $4,999 for a base 8-core model in the United States, with 10-core models available from $5,799, and these configurations are currently estimated for delivery by early to mid January from Apple’s U.S. online store. 14-core and 18-core models start at $6,599 and $7,399, but they don’t ship for 5-7 weeks.

Online, every configuration has optional upgrades available for storage, memory, and graphics, with prices topping out at $13,199 for a maxed-out, high-end model with an 18-core Intel Xeon processor, 4TB of SSD storage, 128GB of ECC RAM, and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics with 16GB of HBM2 memory.

Related Roundup: iMac ProBuyer’s Guide: iMac Pro (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums