Deal: Sony Xperia XZs on sale for $399 ($200 off)

A good phone for the right person.

Back in April, Sony launched the Xperia XZs. The XZs first hit virtual store shelves with a steep price tag of $700, and when you combined that with the XZ Premium that made it obsolete just a couple months later, the XZs became a pretty tough sell. However, with a new discount on the phone currently available through Amazon, it might actually be worth checking out now.

The XZs’s retail price previously went down from $699 to $599, but right now on Amazon, you can purchase the phone for just $399. For that price, you’ll be getting a phone with a 5.2-inch 1080p display with curved 2.5D Gorilla Glass 4, 3.5mm headphone jack with a High-Res DSEE-HX LDAC, 64GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB), 4GB RAM, dual-SIM support, and a 19MP rear camera that lets you record super slow-motion 960 FPS videos.

Sony originally shipped the XZs with Android Nougat, but the phone was updated to 8.0 Oreo in late November. In addition to all of the goodies Oreo brings by default, the update also introduced Xperia Actions and Reminders.

The battery on the XZs isn’t the largest (2,900 mAh) and the processor isn’t the newest (Snapdragon 820), but even so, it’s still a compelling buy for the right person at $399.

See at Amazon

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

Now you can tell your aunt how cute her cat is even faster.

Instagram’s added a heap of new features to its app throughout the year (both big and small), and the latest addition to it aims to make commenting on photos/videos easier than ever.

As part of a server-side update that’s rolling out to the Instagram app now, Android users will start to see a new “add a comment” button below posts that enables you to type and send a comment without having to leave your main feed.

Prior to this update, you’d have to tap on the comment icon to go to the comments section and then type your thoughts. It’s a process that worked fine, but being able to say a few words about a post without having to actually leave your main feed is a nice touch.

Instagram with (left) and without (right) the new comment button.

Instagram confirmed to Engadget that this feature first started rolling out to iOS last month. The new comment button has already shown up on Andrew Martonik’s phone and my own, but the rollout seems to be a bit buggy at the moment. The button shows up and works just fine on some posts, but it’s just nowhere to be seen on others.

Have you seen this on your Instagram app?

Instagram is testing a standalone messaging app because why not

Pandora Android TV app gains Premium support, refreshed UI, and more

A new look and feel for your tunes.

Pandora might not be the first music streaming service to come to your mind, but even as the likes of Spotify and Apple Music continue to grow, there’s no denying its place in the streaming market. Pandora announced earlier this month that it’d (sort of) be expanding on-demand listening to Plus and free members, and now the company’s released a fairly large update to its Android TV app.

Perhaps one of the biggest additions to this update is support for Pandora Premium. Pandora Premium first launched back in March as a way for users to stream songs on-demand in addition to custom radio stations, and the expansion of it to Android TV is very welcome.

Also new is support for Google Assistant, a new search bar, an Autoplay feature that’ll make sure the music never stops, and a user interface that’s been refreshed to look more modern.

The v4.0 update for Pandora’s Android TV app is available in the Play Store now, and you can grab it by clicking/tapping the button above.

Amazon Prime Video finally makes its way to Android TV

Future Apple Watch models could get EKG heart monitoring

We’ve already seen an EKG band for the Apple Watch, but now Apple is reportedly working on bringing the feature directly into its smartwatch, Bloomberg reports. With EKG monitoring, the Apple Watch would be able to track electrical signals from your heart, allowing it to detect things like irregular heartbeats. Think of it as a major upgrade over the device’s current heart tracking, which is more focused on fitness. In November, Apple announced a joint project with Stanford to track irregular heartbeats with current Apple Watch models, but that’s still limited by its sensors.

According to Bloomberg, one way Apple could implement an EKG is by having users hold the sides of the Watch, which would then send a weak electrical current to their heart. Of course, as with any potential new feature though, it could work differently once it’s finalized. There’s also a chance that Apple gives up on implementing the feature entirely. But given just how useful it could be — better tracking could help people prevent strokes and heart failure ahead of time — that seems unlikely.

Source: Bloomberg

Instagram live videos can be sent as direct messages

It’s easy to start a live Instagram video, but how do your friends know you’re broadcasting if they don’t catch the usual alert? As of now, you can ping them yourself. Instagram has added the option to send live videos as direct messages, so you can ensure pals tune in when you’re livestreaming your vacation. You can also send a video as a viewer if there’s a must-see stream. This only works while videos are live, we’d note, so recipients will have to check replays like everyone else.

The feature is available today for both Android and iOS users. It’s not going to make a dramatic impact, but it could be a big help for personal streaming where you only expect a handful of people to watch. And that’s the point, really — Instagram wants the feature to be widely used by everyone, not just celebrities who can expect hundreds or thousands of viewers as a matter of course.

Source: Instagram

Apple now requires that games disclose odds of ‘loot box’ rewards

Apple has always operated its app business with an eye to protecting its customers from potentially shady business practices. From early guidelines around app content to more recent bans on misleading apps, Apple has a heavier hand in what shows up in the App Store. Now Apple has added a new requirement for games that offer loot boxes with randomized rewards for purchase. If your game offers them, you have to now disclose the odds of receiving the rewards promised.

Loot boxes are in vogue right now, with console titles like Hearthstone, Overwatch and Star Wars Battlefront II offering randomized rewards that can impact gameplay in some cases. The latter game has come under fire by consumers (and governmental bodies) who perceive the implementation of loot boxes as inherently unfair and possible addictive like gambling. While EA has taken steps to fix the system in Star Wars Battlefront II and Need for Speed: Payback, the practice and perception still exist, hence the new Apple rules.

As noted by Polygon, the regulations are similar to those in China, which require game developers to post the probability of getting specific items as well as the actual items received on the titles’ official websites. While Apple isn’t specific on how such information should be communicated to players, having the rule should at least help let players know a bit more about what they can expect from these loot boxes. Whether that changes their behavior or not is another matter entirely.

Via: Polygon

Source: Apple

Nearly three years later, ‘The Witcher 3’ runs in 4K on Xbox

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s performance on Xbox hardware has never been what I’d call “great.” So, when Microsoft announced that CD Projekt RED’s massive single-player RPG was one of the games getting an “enhancement” patch for the One X I got pretty excited. Finally, the game would be playable on the system I got it for. The patch recently arrived, and with it an “advanced” tab in the display options. You can pick from either 4K Mode or Performance Mode. The former gives you 4K graphics at a locked 30 FPS on a UHD display. For 1080p TV owners, that translates to super-sampled visuals and 60 FPS in my brief tests.

Performance mode latter prioritizes frame-rate over maximum visual fidelity, using a dynamic resolution system to target 60 FPS. Which ever mode you pick, both feature high-dynamic range video. The developer notes that HDR will also be coming to PS4 Pro “soon.” It’s a bit curious that CD Projekt RED would update a two-and-a-half year old game at this point, but where the One X is concerned stranger things have happened.

Source: CD Projekt RED

Supermassive black holes may control galaxy formation

Scientists have suspected for awhile that the supermassive black holes at the center of most galaxies affect the formation of stars within that galaxy. Now, in a study published this week in The Astrophysical Journal, scientists may have found the mechanism for how that happens. A team led by Shelley Wright, a physics professor at the University of California San Diego, found that the winds generated by these energetic stellar objects blow throughout a galaxy and affect the way stars form.

Wright and her team studied a supermassive black hole contained within a quasar at the center of a galaxy called 3C 928, which is over 9 billion light years away. This supermassive black hole is a peek into our early universe, giving us an idea of what our galaxy might have looked like as it was forming.

When scientists look at the galaxies that are closest to us, they find that the mass of the galaxy is closely correlated with the mass of the supermassive black hole at its center. That wasn’t the case for the much-younger galaxy being studied. The galaxy is much less massive than it should be, given the mass of the supermassive black hole and expected resulting correlation.

The implication here is that the mass of the supermassive black hole was in place long before the galaxy was formed. In fact, the energy from a quasar (a supermassive black hole surrounded by a luminous accretion disk of gas and dust) may actually control how the galaxy grows.

Understanding how our early universe formed and why it grew the way it did is invaluable when it comes to learning our place in it now, so this is a fascinating revelation about galaxy formation. This discovery is from a large set of data on distant quasars, so it will be interesting to see what other results emerge as scientists analyze it further.

Source: Keck Observatory

Wirecutter’s best deals: An acclaimed gaming mouse gets a price cut

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read their continuously updated list of deals here.

Logitech G703 Wireless Gaming Mouse

Street price: $85; deal price: $50

If you’re in the market for a wireless gaming mouse, this is the lowest price we’ve seen on the Logitech G703, the upgrade pick in our gaming mouse guide. The $50 price is available for the white color only, while the black color is $15 more at $65, still a good deal we have up on the page now. The white color’s price is easily a new low on this wireless mouse, however, and we doubt it will last long.

The Logitech G703 is our upgrade wireless pick in our guide to the best gaming mouse. Thorin Klosowski and David Murphy wrote, “If you’re looking for a wireless gaming mouse, the Logitech G703 is the best option because it fits multiple grip styles, is reasonably priced for a wireless gaming mouse, and its six buttons are plenty for most people. It also has the same accurate sensor and customization software as the G502. It was a favorite among our panel testers in the wireless category, and one tester even liked it more than our main pick. No panel tester hated the G703’s styling or comfort, but a couple testers felt it lacked character and looked too basic. We had no issues with interference or latency, but Logitech includes an extension adapter in the box in case you do.”

Vitamix 5200 Blender

Street price: $400; deal price: $300

At $300, this matches the lowest price we’ve seen for the Vitamix 5200. Usually over $400, we’ve only seen a few dips that took it under $350 in the last year, one during Black Friday sales and the second today. At $300, this is as good a price as you’ll find on this blender. Only the black color is available at the deal price.

The Vitamix 5200 Series is our upgrade pick in our guide to the best blender. Christine Cyr Clisset and Lesley Stockton wrote, “For the fifth year running, a Vitamix blender performed best, overall, in our testing. The classic 5200 was our top pick in 2014 (the Pro 300 the year before), and once again it was the only one in our tests that could make creamy peanut butter and puree soup without spewing molten liquid up the sides of the jar, and it has the best range of speeds (far better than the equally priced Blendtec Designer).”

iRobot Roomba 690

Street price: $325; deal price: $275

At $275, this deal is back again, matching the lowest price we’ve seen on our more durable robot vacuum pick, the iRobot Roomba 690. Usually $325, we’ve seen a number of deals on this robot vacuum in recent weeks, starting with pre-Black Friday sales, but we still haven’t seen it go lower than this price. You can save an additional 5% with REDcard (free to join) if interested.

The iRobot Roomba 690 is our more durable pick in our guide to the best robot vacuum. Roomba Liam McCabe wrote, “Compared with our main pick, the iRobot Roomba 690 has a shorter battery life and a steeper price, and it’s a little more likely to get stuck mid-cycle. But we think it’ll last longer than those models because it’s based on the same design as the Roomba 650, our main pick from 2013 until early 2017, which has a years-long track record for reliability and owner satisfaction. It’s meant to be repaired over time, and the brand has always done an excellent job keeping replacement parts available. On balance, the Roomba 690 cleans and navigates about as well as the EcoVacs Deebot N79 and Eufy RoboVac 11. It can also connect to Wi-Fi, so you can control it with your phone or with Alexa voice commands.”

SmartLab Toys Smart Circuits Electronics Kit

Street price: $40; deal price: $26

Just before we posted our new guide for the best electronics kit for kids and beginners, our top pick dropped to an all time low of $25, but right now it’s on sale for $26, still a very nice deal. The street price of this electronics kit is hovering around $40 this year, down from $50 in 2016, so this is a healthy discount. If you’re still looking for a last minute gift for kids this electronics kit has free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime.

The SmartLab Toys Smart Circuits Electronics Kit is the top pick in our guide to the best electronics kit for kids and beginners. Signe Brewster wrote, “The Smart Circuits set received more positive reviews than any other kit, as well as the most enthusiastic feedback, from our testing panel because the 50 included projects—everything from a homemade drum kit to a conductivity tester—were easy to put together and fun to use. The Smart Circuits instruction booklet is also the best we saw: It strikes the right balance between presenting easy-to-follow diagrams and delivering thorough context, allowing kids to build something quickly or to dig deeper into the explanations. The kit’s pieces are sturdy too, though we are skeptical of how long the connecting wires will last.

Because great deals don’t just happen on Thursday, sign up for our daily deals email and we’ll send you the best deals we find every weekday. Also, deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to thewirecutter.com.

Google enables third-party Assistant devices in Japan and the UK

The Assistant SDK is the key to enabling Google’s AI helper in third-party devices. It’s a big deal, then, that it’s now available in more corners of the world. Google has expanded the developer toolkit’s support to several new countries, including Australia, Canada (both English and French), Germany, Japan and the UK. While Assistant-enabled devices have certainly been available in other countries, this makes it easier for hardware companies in those countries to get the ball rolling and cater to local audiences. On top of this, the SDK itself is becoming more powerful.

If a device is using the kit, you can now customize its location (either through its latitude and longitude or a street address) to get area-specific results. Also, there’s a new Device Action feature that lets manufacturers outline the features their hardware supports using only the code needed to perform that action. If it’s a thermostat, for instance, you can tell Assistant to change the temperature and expect your home to become warm and toasty.

These moves could be crucial if Google wants Assistant to take off. Now that Amazon’s Alexa is available in many more countries than before, it potentially becomes the voice helper of choice — if Google didn’t expand the SDK, it risked losing hardware partners that couldn’t even consider using Assistant before. And it’s safe to say this is good news if you’re immersed in the Google ecosystem and want Assistant in as many places as possible.

Via: VentureBeat

Source: Google Developers