Will Smith’s ‘Bright’ is terrible, but that doesn’t matter to Netflix

By most accounts, Netflix’s big-budget Will Smith blockbuster Bright is one of the worst movies of the year. It has a 32% score on Rotten Tomatoes — critics don’t just dislike it; they’ve eviscerated it as an affront to cinema. Yet despite that response, which is particularly disappointing for a film with a $90 million budget, Netflix has reportedly greenlit a sequel with Will Smith attached. That doesn’t make much sense at first, especially since the company can’t bank on big box office returns like other studios. But for Netflix, it turns out hype matters more than quality.

Last year, we noted that Netflix never slowed down in 2016. It brought its streaming service to more countries around the globe, invested even more in original content, added offline viewing, and finally saw the fruits of a deal it made with Disney back in 2012. For the most part, Netflix continued with that strategy over the past 12 months. But the addition of major exclusives like War Machine, a $60 million military drama starring Brad Pitt, and Death Note, an anime adaptation that cost between $40 and $50 million, aimed to make the company a direct Hollywood competitor. (Netflix also spent more than $100 million for the rights to Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.)

Bright, with its huge budget, world-famous star and Christmas release, was the crown jewel of Netflix’s 2017 plan. Why trek out to a cinema in the cold when you could just hit a button and enjoy a new Will Smith movie on your couch? After all, you won’t have to deal with rising ticket prices, expensive snacks and the hell of unruly audiences. That’s been Netflix’s value proposition for years, but now it’s making that argument with the sort of blockbuster that would have sold out theaters a decade ago.

Unfortunately, since Netflix doesn’t release stats for its films, we don’t have any numbers to back up the company’s decision that Bright is successful enough to warrant a sequel. It could be that it saw an uptick in subscribers ahead of the film’s release. Perhaps fewer people canceled their subscriptions than usual in December. Maybe international markets grew much faster than anticipated, thanks to the star power of Will Smith. Whatever the reasoning, the data must have been convincing.

It’s not too hard to see why Netflix subscribers might be interested in Bright. Like many of the company’s original entries, it feels as if it was put together by an algorithm. It has Will Smith as a cop (like Bad Boys!) fighting supernatural forces (like Independence Day and Men in Black!) in a fantasy world (like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones!). Less compelling to audiences, but perhaps more reassuring to Netflix, is that it was also directed by David Ayer, who made the financially successful (but terrible) blockbuster Suicide Squad. He made a name for himself by writing Training Day, helming gritty cop films like End of Watch, and directing Brad Pitt in Fury. His films typically appeared among Netflix’s trending lists, so it was only a matter of time before the company brought him in-house.

Terrible movies being deemed hits is nothing new, but Netflix’s algorithmic production style and opaque markers for success are particularly concerning. More so than with other studios, it doesn’t actually matter if the company’s original content is good, as long as it hits some mysterious metrics. Netflix plans to spend up to $8 billion on original content next year, so you can expect the budgets for its projects to grow even larger.

While Netflix has long been praised for the freedom it gives creators, that strategy could be dangerous as it delves deeper into the world of blockbusters. Rather than being a savior for the worst habits of Hollywood, Netflix could end up being yet another source of trashy big-budget films.

Energous Gets FCC Certification for WattUp Wire-Free Charging Technology

Nearly three years after Energous debuted its wire-free “power-at-a-distance” charging system called WattUp, the Federal Communications Commission has now approved the technology. Specifically, the FCC certification is for the company’s first-generation WattUp Mid Field transmitter, which powers up devices at a distance of up to three feet away (via Engadget).

The news marks the first FCC certification ever for a wire-free charging system, which Energous said will open up “a tremendous opportunity for the electronics industry.” The company mentioned that the WattUp Mid Field transmitter could be used in the future by “nearly any small electronic device,” including smartphones, tablets, smart watches, earbuds, wireless keyboards and mice, smart speakers, and more.

Next, Energous will demonstrate the WattUp technology at CES 2018 in January. CEO Stephen R. Rizzone mentioned that the system’s ability to charge both wire-free and via a traditional mat system will give WattUp an edge on the market.

“Older wireless charging technologies have received limited adoption over the past 15 years, and are confined to contact-based charging only. The FCC certification of Energous’ power-at-a-distance wireless charging transmitter is a major market milestone. It opens up options, outside of just contact-based charging, to Wireless Charging 2.0: an ecosystem where devices can be charged both, via pad and at a distance,” said Stephen R. Rizzone, president and CEO of Energous.

“Untethered, wire-free charging — such as charging a fitness band even while wearing it — is exactly what consumers have been waiting for. We are now in a position to move our consumer electronics, IoT and smart home customers forward at an accelerated pace.”

WattUp is able to charge any battery-operated device using a technique that Energous likens to Wi-Fi, as long as the device has one of the company’s receivers. A WattUp Power Router (a “transmitter”) emits energy using a radio frequency signal delivered by miniature antenna arrays and custom control chips. Devices with a WattUp “receiver” (consisting of multiple miniature antennas) are then able to convert that RF signal into battery power.

Following the debut of WattUp at CES 2015, speculation pointed towards Apple possibly working with Energous on implementing the receiver technology directly into future iPhones, or at least helping the company build a MFi certified WattUp iPhone accessory. Once rumors of wireless charging in the 2017 iPhone lineup began swirling, Apple and Energous were again tied together, but eventually Apple opted for inductive wireless charging on the iPhone 8 and iPhone X.

Energous doesn’t have any consumer-available products for purchase yet, but it’s expected that the company will announce more news about its WattUp device at CES, which runs January 9 through 12 in Las Vegas.

Tag: Energous
Discuss this article in our forums

Huawei P20 teased as company’s 2018 device plans are laid bare

The Huawei P20 may be the follow-up to the 2017 Huawei P10, according to rumors. Although the Huawei P10’s sequel has been referred to as the P11 on several occasions, it’s possible the firm will break from an annual single-number increase in 2018, skipping ahead to call the new phone the P20.

Rumors are gathering about the Huawei P20, and here’s what we think we know about it so far.

Name and release

When will the Huawei P20 arrive, and will it not be called the P11? At an event held in Israel at the end of 2017, the CEO of a licensed Huawei importer let slip the next Huawei flagship phone would be called the P20, and also revealed a roadmap of products for the next year. It’s not the first time we’ve heard reference to the Huawei P20. In July, the Huawei P20 name was registered as a trademark by the company, along with now obviously false rumors of a late 2017 announcement.

The roadmap shown at the event is likely specific to Israel regarding timing, and lists three new P-Series Huawei phones — named only as P, P Plus, and P Lite — arriving there sometime between April and June 2018. It’s likely Huawei will announce the P20 at Mobile World Congress at the end of February, and an international launch may come before the phones arrive in Israel.

In mid-December, at a Huawei Christmas event in Germany, executives told those gathered — including WinFuture’s Roland Quandt — camera and AI-focused new products would arrive during the first three months of 2018. No mention of the device name was made.

Camera

If the Huawei P20 is the Huawei P11, it makes sense for some of the features leaked and connected to the P11 to also be relevant to the P20. However, while this is very likely, its not certain. If the rumored name of a phone has been wrong once, it could be wrong again, so don’t take anything for granted just yet.

The most intriguing rumor about the Huawei P11 was that its rear camera would have a three-lens array. All three would be branded and enhanced by Leica, and potentially use some of the artificial intelligence features made possible by the Kirin 970 and its Neural Processing Unit (NPU).

Leaked promotional material stated the cameras would take 40 megapixel pictures and have a 5x hybrid zoom, while the selfie lens would take 24 megapixel pictures. Lowlight performance would be enhanced on both using new sensors and optics.

Design

The P-Series is usually Huawei’s “fashion-forward” smartphone, with an emphasis on design. Huawei experimented with minimal bezels around the screen on the Mate 10 Pro in 2017, so will it go even further in 2018 with the P20? A December leak suggests it may adopt a controversial “notch” at the top of the display, much like the iPhone X and the Essential PH-1. Based on firmware examined by XDA Developers, the speculation comes from image files found in the software that help obscure particular areas around the top of the screen, just like a “notch.” The firmware states the unnamed device has a 6.01-inch screen with a 2244 x 1080 pixel resolution, longer than a traditional 1920 x 1080 pixel screen.

Face unlock

Several phones in 2017 featured face unlock, including the iPhone X and the OnePlus 5T, and Huawei will add a similar system to its phones in 2018. During the Honor 7X and Honor View 10 launch in London at the beginning of December, Honor — a sub brand of Huawei — talked about a secure face recognition system coming in the future. It claimed the feature was secure enough for payment use, and so fast it would unlock a phone in just 400ms.

It’s not certain Huawei’s Point Cloud Depth Camera technology will come to the P20, because the phone wasn’t mentioned on stage; but it’s clearly close to being ready, and the P20 is likely to be Huawei’s next major release. If it is part of the P20, expect Huawei’s take on Apple’s Animoji to also feature.

Specification

Along with the Mate Series phones, Huawei’s P Series are the company’s flagship devices, and therefore packed with the latest tech. A rumor from June 2017 suggested the P20 — or P11, as it was referred to at that time — would use the Kirin 970 chip like the Mate 10 Pro, along with a massive 8GB of RAM. The Kirin processor would bring on-device artificial intelligence to the P20, due to the NPU, which links to the camera rumors for the phone.

Software

Huawei customizes Android with its own user interface, called EMUI, so will anything change on the P20? The firmware covered by XDA Developers was based on Android 8.0 Oreo with EMUI version 8.0.1 over the top. Whether this makes it to the final, release version of the Huawei P20 is unknown. The P20, the P11, or any other future Huawei phone was never mentioned in the firmware build, and it’s speculation for now that the two are related.

That’s all we know about the P20/P11 for now, but as soon as more rumors or news arrives, we’ll update you here.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Honor View 10: Everything you need to know
• Huawei Kirin 970: Everything you need to know
• Huawei’s MediaPad M5 may arrive at CES 2018 to remind you tablets still exist
• Huawei Mate 10 Pro review
• Honor View 10 versus Huawei Mate 10 Pro: A battle of David and Goliath

Google may set up retail stores in India to spur Pixel sales

Google could be interested in opening retail stores in India.

The first-gen Pixel flew under the radar in India thanks to an underwhelming marketing campaign by Google, and the company vowed to fix things with its successor. For the Pixel 2, Google started aggressively advertising the device — both via billboards and by launching pop-up stores in major cities across India. And it now looks like the search giant wants to take things to the next level in 2018. According to a new report by Economic Times, Google is planning to set up retail stores in India next year to drive sales of Pixel phones.

Citing three people familiar with the matter, ET says that Google is looking to set up “experience centres” in the country, with the company said to have hired a senior Apple exec to get things going. Google is said to have been encouraged to go the offline route following positive feedback from its pop-up stores, where it set up a dark room to showcase the Pixel’s low-light shooting capabilities.

Google’s retail push is also aimed at highlighting its nascent hardware ecosystem, including the Daydream View headset, the Chromecast, and even the Google Home, which could launch in India sometime next year. Google doesn’t quite enjoy the same brand cachet as Samsung or Xiaomi, and launching retail stores could be useful in increasing awareness of the brand’s hardware products.

Retail stores are the ideal platform for increasing awareness of Google’s hardware ecosystem.

Even though e-commerce sites have seen a meteoric rise in recent years, the offline sector is still dominant in India. The dominance of OPPO and Vivo can be explained by their robust offline distribution network, with both brands catering to customers in tier two and tier three cities. That’s the same strategy Xiaomi followed earlier this year, and the brand is now seeing over 25% of sales from the offline market.

The reason for the offline sector’s continuing dominance could be as simple as customers wanting to get a feel for the device and trying out the features on offer before making a purchase.

At this point, it’s unclear if Google will be applying for a single-brand license or go the franchisee route. Getting a single-brand license gives Google more control over the design of its stores, but the process itself is a lengthy affair — Apple has been trying for over a year to acquire a license.

The Morning After: Wednesday, December 27th 2017

Hey, good morning!

And we’re back! If you had the last few days off, we hope you enjoyed them. If you were working through, well, we can sympathise. Here’s what we’ve been working on over the last 24 hours.

The messaging app could stop working at any time after that point.
WhatsApp will ditch Blackberry OS and Windows Phone by the end of 2017

WhatsApp is bidding farewell to older mobile operating systems as the year draws to a close. Specifically, it’s ending support for BlackBerry OS (including BlackBerry 10) and Windows Phone 8.0 and older on December 31st. Although the Facebook-owned messaging app will continue to work on these platforms, users won’t be able to create new accounts or re-verify existing accounts. Oh, and WhatsApp claims its app could stop functioning at any time, so maybe it’s time for that upgrade.

The WattUp Mid Field transmitter refills batteries from three feet away.
FCC approves first wireless ‘power-at-a-distance’ charging system

Charging your mobile device wirelessly is certainly less of a hassle than plugging it in, but still requires the device be in physical contact with its station to actually work. That’s about to change now that the Federal Communications Commission has approved the first wireless charger that works from up to three feet away.

That battery life.
Garmin’s new Vivofit lasts for a year with an always-on color display

Garmin just launched the Vivofit 4, which combines an always-on color display with its predecessor’s claimed year-long battery life. You can now check your activity goals or the time without having to either wake up the screen, kill your battery or settle for a drab monochrome display. Logically, the band includes Garmin mainstays like Move IQ automatic activity detection and the Connect online community to get you motivated. The new band still connects with your smartphone, of course. The biggest deal for many might just be the price of the new band,: Garmin has lowered the price again, dropping the Vivofit 4 to $80 where its ancestor cost $100.

But wait, there’s more…

• The new space race is postponed until 2018
• You no longer need a VR kit to play ‘Star Trek: Bridge Crew’
• The best washing machines (and their matching dryers)

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.

Lenovo’s standalone Daydream VR headset pops up at the FCC

HTC may have ditched its Google Daydream headset, but Lenovo still appears to be on track. An FCC filing has surfaced for a Mirage Solo standalone VR headset “with Daydream.” There aren’t any shocking revelations (unless Bluetooth 5.0 and a 4,000mAh battery will make you gasp). However, it’s the listing’s very existence that matters — this indicates that you’re finally close to seeing what Daydream VR is like when you don’t need a phone.

Just when you’ll see it is the tricky part. It would be logical for Lenovo to introduce the Mirage Solo at CES in January, but whether or not it ships anywhere near the show is another matter. Remember how Lenovo unveiled its Windows Mixed Reality headset at CES this year, but didn’t ship it until October? You won’t necessarily wait that long, but you certainly shouldn’t expect to cure the winter blahs with a dedicated Daydream headset.

Via: LetsGoDigital (translated), XDA

Source: FCC

Face ID Can’t Be Used to Approve Family Purchases on iPhone X

Increasing numbers of iPhone X owners with children are finding that they are unable to approve family purchases using Face ID. The scale of the frustration was recently highlighted by ArsTechnica, which linked to a page on Apple’s support forum containing hundreds of complaints.

Basically, iPhone X users are unable to use facial authentication with the “Ask to Buy” feature, which lets parents approve their kids’ iOS purchases and downloads. On iOS devices with Touch ID, parents – or “family organizers”, as Apple calls them – can use Touch ID to approve Ask to Buy, but iPhone X owners are forced to enter their password manually on every occasion, which could quickly become a nuisance for device owners with big families.

The inability to approve family purchases with Face ID is noteworthy, given that Apple has marketed it as a functional like-for-like replacement for Touch ID, but with enhanced security and speed. The frustration surrounding the missing functionality appears to have come to a head only recently because of the popularity of App Store gift cards over the holiday season.

Face ID is generally very secure in everyday use cases, and while some attempts to fool the feature have been successful, many involve complicated technical methods and a good deal of preparation.

That said, we have seen evidence of a 10-year-old child unlocking his mother’s iPhone X with his face, even though Face ID was set up with her face. Apple itself also notes that Face ID often fails to identify between identical twins, while the probability of a false match is higher among children under the age of 13, because their distinct facial features may not have fully developed. These caveats have led some to speculate whether Apple is erring on the side of caution in choosing not to deploy Face ID for family purchase approval.

In early 2013, Apple settled a class action lawsuit originally filed by parents after their children ran up hundreds of dollars on in-app purchases in freemium games. In 2014, the company entered into an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission, promising to provide $32 million in refunds to parents whose children purchased unauthorized in-app items.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTag: Face IDBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

World’s largest amphibious plane takes maiden flight (but stays clear of water)

Now here’s an aircraft Captain “Sully” would’ve been more than happy to have landed in the Hudson. It’s the world’s largest amphibious airplane, and this week it successfully completed its maiden flight after eight years in development.

Made by the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the AG600 has a wingspan of 38.8 meters (127 feet), making it a little larger than an Airbus A320 — the aircraft Captain Sullenberger famously landed in the river off Manhattan in 2009. The new plane is powered by four turboprop engines, has a maximum takeoff weight of 107,000 pounds (53.5 tons), and can carry up to 50 people.

Able to stay in the air for up to 12 hours and fly 2,800 miles, the aircraft’s first-ever flight left from Zhuhai Jinwan airport in China’s southern province of Guangdong, about 50 miles west of Hong Kong. The airport is right by the sea … but is not in it. Indeed, footage of the AG600’s hour-long maiden flight shows it flying over water but not actually landing on it. Or taking off from it. An aquatic takeoff and landing is set for 2018.

Still, let’s assume they’ve done all the tests to prove it can actually handle water-based activities. Certainly, whoever has ordered 17 of the aircraft is convinced of its capabilities.

The plane can be kitted out for firefighting activities and marine rescue duties. Military applications are also possible, and with state media describing the AG600 as a “protector spirit of the sea, islands and reefs,” there’s speculation it could at some point be used in operations in the disputed South China Sea region.

China is investing heavily in developing its own aviation-based engineering industry, and the huge amphibious plane, whose first flight was broadcast live on national TV, is seen as a boost to its long-term ambitions in that field.

Miao Wei of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the media the AG600 demonstrates that “the development of civil aviation industry in our country was lifted to a new level and that our capacity of independent research and development in this area has increased by a big margin.”

While China’s new amphibious aircraft is the largest of its kind in production, it’s not the largest water-based airplane to have ever flown by a long way. That accolade goes to Howard Hughes’ H-4 Hercules, better known as the Spruce Goose, which had a wingspan of 97.2 meters (319 feet) — two and a half times longer than the AG600 — and weighed 400,000 pounds (200 tons), nearly four times that of the AG600.

Intended to transport troops and cargo during World War II, work on building the plane started in 1942. But by the time it was completed in 1946, the war was already over.

In the end, the Spruce Goose only made one very short flight to prove its viability. It took place in 1947 and lasted less than 60 seconds.

The aircraft is now on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville in Oregon.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Airbus hybrid-electric plane project gets a boost from Rolls-Royce
• That laptop ban may soon get a whole lot worse for plane passengers
• Diesel-powered drone remains in flight for a record five days
• Drones can help when disaster strikes, but only when they’re allowed to
• U.S. firm in talks to use its tech to help find missing Malaysia Airlines plane

NASA hopes to send a probe to Alpha Centauri in 2069

If you thought NASA was playing the long game with its plan to put people on Mars in the 2030s, you haven’t seen anything yet. New Scientist has learned that a team at the administration’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has started planning a mission that would send a spacecraft to the Alpha Centauri system in… 2069. Yes, that’s 52 years away, and timed around the 100th anniversary of Apollo 11’s trip to the Moon. The probe would look for signs of life around the potentially habitable exoplanet Proxima b, giving humanity a much better look than it could get with observation from home.

So why the long wait? Simple: the technology to make this trip realistic doesn’t exist yet. The JPL is counting on propulsion technology advancing to the point where the results would come back in time to be meaningful. When Alpha Centauri is nearly 4.4 light-years away, a ship traveling at a tenth the speed of light would take 44 years to arrive. As such, it’s doubtful that you or even the next couple generations of your family would live to see the results. The probe wouldn’t reach the system until around 2113, and of course the data wouldn’t get back to Earth until 4.4 years later at best.

Nonetheless, it’s notable that NASA even has a mission like this on its radar, assuming budget cuts and other decisions get in the way. It’s starting to think about its role in the very long term, when interstellar exploration won’t just be limited to telescopes. And if the time frame gets you down, take heart. Breakthrough Starshot is hoping to launch a small probe that would both depart much sooner and travel much faster, arriving as quickly as 20 years. Think of NASA’s 2069 mission as a backup if Starshot doesn’t work, or a follow-up that could study the star system in greater depth.

Via: Outer Places

Source: New Scientist

LeEco founder ordered to return to China to answer debts

The Chinese tech giant LeEco might have once been dubbed the “Netflix of China,” but that lofty acclaim has made its fall from grace all the more brutal. Now, the company’s founder, Jia Yueting, has been ordered to return to China by the country’s Securities Regulatory Commission by the end of the month in order to face the company’s incredible debts.

LeEco’s problem was that it grew too fast. The company kept adding to its product offerings, moving from an online streaming service into hardware such as TVs and cars. The problem was the company wasn’t making money and didn’t have a solid financial foundation to support this rapid growth.

Jia has vowed to pay back his company’s mounting debts, as the company borrowed more and more cash from creditors in order to stay afloat. Last week, the company’s Hong Kong arm, called LE Corporation Limited, filed for liquidation. Jia is now on China’s list of official debt defaulters.

It’s unclear whether Jia will comply with the Chinese government’s order to return to the country to face the music. He’s previously vowed to repay the debts LeEco owes, but how exactly he’ll do that isn’t apparent. Jia appears to currently be in the US, according to his latest post on Weibo. It includes a holiday message and picture at Faraday Future, which is an electric car company with close ties to LeEco facing its own financial woes.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: China Securitiesy Regulatory Commission