Netgear’s Orbi Satellite takes mesh WiFi networks outdoors

WiFi mesh networking is not for the faint of wallet, but if you’re going to spend the money, Netgear’s Orbi is one of the better systems out there. Until now, it has been geared to indoor home and apartment use, but Netgear has introduced the Orbi Outdoor Satellite (RBS50Y). The device lets you expand coverage by up to 2,500 square feet, making it ideal for use by your pool, garage or guest house.

Mesh networks make it easy to cover tricky homes with lots of rooms and floors by giving you multiple access points, all working on the same network. The downside is the price. The original Orbi and satellite kit, which covers 4,000 square feet, costs $400, and extra satellites cost about $225. By contrast, Netgear’s own R7000P Nighthawk router is less than $200.

Unlike a WiFi extender, the Orbi Outdoor Satellite becomes another node in your mesh, giving you a single network name and seamless handoff when you roam outdoors. And like the main system, it has a dedicated channel for data transfers between the satellite and router, freeing up the main channels for your devices. It also has a guest WiFi network that keeps your family or employees firewalled if you use it for a small business.

The system uses Netgear’s Fastlane3 tech with Tri-band WiFi and quad-stream wireless transfer over the 5Ghz band. The company promises a quick installation “in minutes” via a special button or using the Orbi app. If you have a really big yard, then you’re probably rich enough to afford multiple Orbi satellites, which work together to extend network coverage.

The Orbi Outdoor Satellite is weather resistant to IP56 against dust, water and sub-zero temperatures, and can be installed using a stand or wall mount. It also features an ambient night LED night light that can be turned on or off at specific times.

You’re probably bracing for the price, so here it is: You can get it through Netgear partners, reseller channels and e-commerce sites starting today, for $330.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

Roku aims to take over home audio with its wireless speaker platform

No, Roku isn’t building a wireless speaker, despite rumors hinting at that. Instead, it’s approaching home audio similar to how it tackled TVs: By offering its technology to other companies. Specifically, Roku is unveiling a new wireless audio platform, Roku Connect, that it’ll license to third parties. The company also put together a hardware reference design for a smart soundbar and speaker, which will guide partners as they develop their own hardware. The goal? To make it even easier for consumers to put together their own theater systems and spread speakers throughout their homes.

Tying it all together is the Roku Entertainment Assistant, which will let you control the company’s entire platform with voice commands. You could, for example, say “Hey Roku, play rock music in the living room,” and it’ll start spitting out tunes from your soundbar. It’s not aiming to be a fully featured assistant like Siri or Alexa — it’s entirely focused on entertainment control. As you’d expect, Roku also plans to bring its assistant to most of its TVs and set top boxes, in addition to the speaker platform.

While it might seem strange for Roku — a company that’s practically synonymous with video streaming — to focus so much on audio, the move makes plenty of sense. There isn’t much room left for it to evolve its set top boxes and TVs, now that it’s supporting 4K and HDR on many models. Consumers also tend to ignore their audio setups and rely on TV speakers, and even if they do upgrade to soundbars or home theater systems, they can’t easily be controlled by voice commands. And if you want a surround sound system without stringing wires around your living room, your options are limited to an expensive Sonos setup or proprietary systems from the likes of Vizio and Sony. Simply put, there’s plenty of room for Roku to add something new to home audio.

You can think of the Roku Connect platform as something similar to Spotify’s Connect feature. It lets you broadcast music to speakers and other devices throughout your home using Wi-Fi. It’s partially powered by technology from Dynastrom, a wireless audio company it acquired in November. At the time, we speculated that Roku was building some sort of Sonos competitor, but clearly the company has even larger ambitions.

It’s not charging any licensing fees for its platform, so there isn’t much stopping hardware companies from supporting it. In fact, Roku is hoping Sonos adopts its technology, much like how it now supports Spotify Connect. The company is also open to integrating with other virtual assistants like Alexa. You can expect to see the first products supporting Roku Connect later this year, with more to follow in 2019.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

FAQ: What to Know About Apple Slowing Down iPhones to Prevent Unexpected Shutdowns

By now, you’ve probably seen headlines about Apple slowing down your iPhone, but it’s not nearly as simple or corrupt as it sounds. In this Q&A, we’ve taken the time to explain exactly what’s going on.

Why is Apple slowing down some older iPhone models?

iPhones, like many other consumer electronics, are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which have a limited lifespan. As the battery in your iPhone ages, its ability to hold a charge slowly diminishes.

A chemically aging battery can also have increased impedance, reducing its ability to provide a sudden burst of power when demanded by other components in an iPhone, such as the CPU and GPU. A battery’s impedance will also temporarily increase when it has a low charge and/or in cold temperatures.

A battery with a high enough impedance may be unable to provide power quickly enough to the iPhone when needed, and Apple safeguards components against the drop in voltage by shutting down the device.

Apple recognized that iPhones unexpectedly shutting down on users is not a good experience, and starting with iOS 10.2.1, it quietly implemented a power management feature to prevent these shutdowns. The update was released in January 2017, and a month later, Apple said it saw a major reduction in shutdowns.

How does Apple’s power management feature work?

Apple says it looks at a combination of an iPhone’s internal temperature, battery percentage, and battery impedance, and only if a certain criteria is met, iOS will dynamically manage the maximum performance of some system components, such as the CPU and GPU, in order to prevent unexpected shutdowns.

Does my iPhone have this feature if needed?

Apple said the power management feature applies to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE models running iOS 10.2.1 or any newer software version. The feature was also expanded to iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models running iOS 11.2 or any newer software version.

Any older iPhone models are currently not affected, including the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPhone 4s, iPhone 4, iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 3G, and the original iPhone, even though some of those models have also experienced shutdowns. The latest iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X are also currently not affected.

How do I know if my iPhone is being slowed down?

There are a few different ways in which you can determine if your iPhone is being slowed down temporarily:

– Benchmark your iPhone: Download the Geekbench 4 app from the App Store and benchmark your iPhone. Each CPU workload models a real-world task or application. If your iPhone has noticeably lower scores compared to the averages, it could be due to Apple’s power management feature artificially kicking in.

– Use coconutBattery: Download, install, and open coconutBattery for Mac, connect your iPhone to your Mac with a Lightning to USB cable, and click on the iOS Device tab in the app. Here, you can view your iPhone’s battery capacity, which if low suggests your device may be slowed down only when necessary.

– Wait for battery-related iOS update: Early in 2018, Apple has promised to release an iOS update with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance. This will likely be the easiest solution.

Will the iPhone 8 and iPhone X eventually be affected?

In a statement issued December 20, Apple said it “plans to add support for other products in the future,” and by that definition, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X could eventually be affected.

In a support article titled iPhone Battery and Performance, published December 28, Apple toned down that language a bit and simply said “we will continue improving our power management feature in the future,” so it’s unclear if the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X may be eventually affected.

Apple expanded the feature to iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models when iOS 11.2 was publicly released in December 2017, nearly one year after implementing the changes in the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE when iOS 10.2.1 was publicly released in January 2017.

Is my iPhone slowed down all the time?

Apple is not permanently or persistently slowing down older iPhones. Even if your iPhone is affected, the performance limitations only happen intermittently, when the device is completing demanding tasks.

The power management only occurs in spurts, when needed, and ensures a smoother distribution of system tasks, rather than larger, quick spikes of performance all at once, which was the root cause of shutdowns.

A recent analysis of Geekbench 4 scores for iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 models running iOS 10.2, iOS 10.2.1, and iOS 11.2 visualized an apparent link between lower performance and aging batteries, but this is to be expected since iPhones are artificially pushed to their maximum performance in benchmark tests.

How much is Apple slowing down my iPhone if and when it is?

Apple hasn’t specified exactly how much it is slowing down older iPhones when necessary, but in extreme cases, it said users may notice effects such as longer app launch times, lower frame rates while scrolling, and slightly lower speaker volume. Cellular, GPS, and location services are always unaffected.

An excerpt from Apple’s iPhone and Battery Performance document:

In some cases, a user may not notice any differences in daily device performance. The level of perceived change depends on how much power management is required for a particular device.

In cases that require more extreme forms of this power management, the user may notice effects such as:

– Longer app launch times
– Lower frame rates while scrolling
– Backlight dimming (which can be overridden in Control Center)
– Lower speaker volume by up to -3dB
– Gradual frame rate reductions in some apps
– During the most extreme cases, the camera flash will be disabled as visible in the camera UI
– Apps refreshing in background may require reloading upon launch

Many key areas are not impacted by this power management feature. Some of these include:

– Cellular call quality and networking throughput performance
– Captured photo and video quality
– GPS performance
– Location accuracy
– Sensors like gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer
– Apple Pay

Is there a way to disable the power management feature on my iPhone?

Not currently. The only way to avoid Apple’s power management feature is to avoid installing iOS 10.2.1 or iOS 11.2 depending on which iPhone you have, although many customers have already updated by now, and it is no longer possible to downgrade to software versions earlier than iOS 11.2.

Is Apple purposefully slowing down my older iPhone?

For several years, there has been a conspiracy theory that Apple artificially slows down older iPhone models to incentivize a customer to upgrade to a newer, faster iPhone, and a wealth of misinformation and some sensational reporting about Apple’s power management feature has only fueled that fire.

In a letter to customers, Apple said its power management feature is actually designed to extend the life of an older iPhone as much as possible, rather than having the device frustratingly shut down unexpectedly. In other words, Apple’s intentions are actually quite the opposite of what some are accusing.

Apple denied any kind of planned obsolescence by flat out stating that it never has and never would do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience, to drive customer upgrades.

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. Our goal has always been to create products that our customers love, and making iPhones last as long as possible is an important part of that.

Whether a customer chooses to believe Apple is his or her choice, but there is no evidence to suggest that Apple’s power management feature is designed for any other purpose than to prevent iPhones from unexpectedly shutting down.

Why did Apple apologize then?

Apple apologized because it could have been much more transparent about the power management changes introduced in iOS 10.12.1. The feature was not mentioned in the update’s release notes, and in a statement issued in February 2017, Apple vaguely mentioned “improvements” made to prevent unexpected shutdowns.

From its letter to customers:

We’ve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize.

Given it didn’t fully communicate the changes, some iPhone users with a suddenly slower device may not have realized that they could have simply replaced the battery to regain maximum performance consistently. As a result, some customers may have even unnecessarily purchased a brand new iPhone.

Are other Apple products affected: iPad, Mac, Apple TV?

Apple said the power management feature only applies to select iPhone models listed above. There is currently no evidence to suggest the feature extends to other Apple devices, including any iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch, or Apple TV.

Why is Apple in the headlines now when iOS 10.2.1 was released nearly a year ago?

When iOS 10.2.1 was publicly released, the release notes vaguely mentioned that the software update contained general bug fixes and improvements.

Likewise, when Apple released a statement claiming iOS 10.2.1 had resulted in a significant reduction of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s shutdowns, it still only mentioned “improvements” were made to reduce occurrences of shutdowns.

Apple’s statement in February 2017:

With iOS 10.2.1, Apple made improvements to reduce occurrences of unexpected shutdowns that a small number of users were experiencing with their iPhone. iOS 10.2.1 already has over 50% of active iOS devices upgraded and the diagnostic data we’ve received from upgraders shows that for this small percentage of users experiencing the issue, we’re seeing a more than 80% reduction in iPhone 6s and over 70% reduction on iPhone 6 of devices unexpectedly shutting down.

It wasn’t until December 2017, nearly one year after iOS 10.2.1 was released, that Apple revealed the software update includes a power management to “smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed” to prevent older iPhone models from unexpectedly shutting down.

Apple’s statement in December 2017:

Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.

Last year we released a feature for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE to smooth out the instantaneous peaks only when needed to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down during these conditions. We’ve now extended that feature to iPhone 7 with iOS 11.2, and plan to add support for other products in the future.

Apple’s admission came a few weeks after a Reddit user claimed his own iPhone 6s’ performance significantly increased after replacing the device’s battery, which reignited the conspiracy theory about the company intentionally slowing down older iPhone models. Apple didn’t help itself by remaining quiet.

What are Apple’s next steps?

In its apology letter for its lack of communication, Apple outlined three steps it is taking to address customer concerns and to regain the trust of anyone who may have doubted the company’s intentions.

First, Apple has reduced the price of out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements by $50 (from $79 to $29 in the United States) for any customer with an iPhone 6 or newer. The discount is available worldwide between now and the end of 2018, with prices varying based on local currencies.

Next, early in 2018, Apple has promised to release an iOS update with new features that give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.

How do I get my iPhone battery replaced?

Depending on your location, you can receive a battery replacement by sending in your iPhone or scheduling a Genius Bar appointment.

To get started, visit the Contact Apple Support page, click on See Your Products, sign in to your Apple ID account, select which iPhone, and click on Battery, Power, and Charging and then Battery Replacement.

After completing the above steps, you should have options available to you to bring in your iPhone to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider, mail the device to an Apple Repair Center, or both.

If you choose to bring it in, you will be prompted to schedule an appointment at a nearby Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider. If the store or service center you visit has replacement batteries in stock, the repair could take just a matter of hours, but otherwise it could take up to 3-5 business days.

If you choose to mail it in, you will be asked to fill in your shipping address and billing information to pay for the $29 battery replacement fee, plus shipping costs and local taxes. Shortly after, Apple will send a postage paid box to the address you provide to send your iPhone to an Apple Repair Center.

Apple says the mailed-in battery replacement process takes approximately 5-9 business days, although your mileage may vary. Be prepared to possibly be without your iPhone for awhile if you choose this option.

Does my iPhone battery have to fail a diagnostic test to qualify for a reduced-price battery replacement?

Apple distributed a memo to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, that states customers with an iPhone 6 or newer can request a $29 replacement battery “regardless of diagnostic result.”

If a customer is requesting a free battery replacement under the terms of Apple’s limited one-year warranty, however, the battery must fail the diagnostic test, meaning it has lower than 80 percent capacity with fewer than 500 full charge cycles.

I already paid to have my iPhone battery replaced recently. Am I eligible for a partial refund?

Apple distributed a memo to Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, that states customers may be eligible for a refund if they paid for a battery repair or replacement at a higher price.

In other words, if you paid Apple’s standard $79 out-of-warranty fee to replace the battery in your iPhone 6 or newer, you should contact Apple Support or visit an Apple Store to inquire about a partial refund.

We’ve heard that Apple may only honor refunds for full-price battery replacements initiated after December 14, and there may be other requirements, so your mileage may vary. We recommend contacting Apple Support for more details.

How do I contact Apple Support?

Visit the Contact Apple Support page to reach a specialist by phone, online chat, or email, or to schedule a Genius Bar appointment at an Apple Store. Apple also operates a support account on Twitter.

Related Roundups: iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, iPhone SEBuyer’s Guide: iPhone 8 (Buy Now), iPhone 8 (Buy Now), iPhone SE (Don’t Buy), iPhone 8 (Buy Now)
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New Lofree ‘Four Seasons’ Bluetooth Keyboard Fixes Quirks of Original

Keyboard maker lofree has launched a modified version of last year’s popular crowdfunded Bluetooth mechanical keyboard, which we reviewed here on MacRumors back in March. With the original input device, lofree’s designers attempted to re-imagine the typing process by recreating the experience of operating a traditional typewriter, but in an elegant retro-modern design.

The new lofree Four Seasons keyboard comes in four new colors including Spring (Vernal White), Summer (Aestival Blue), Autumn (Autumnal Gray), and Winter (Hibernal Black). Several design changes have also been implemented that may help the lofree appeal to a wider audience.

While appreciating the original lofree’s aesthetic and Mac compatibility, we criticized it in our review for some odd layout quirks, such as the decision to line up the number key row so that 1 is slightly right of Q, 2 is right of W, and so on. Happily, the layout has been reconfigured on the second generation lofree to more closely match the keys on a typical Apple keyboard and respect the muscle memory of Mac-based touch typists.

In addition to the repositioned number keycaps, the backspace and caps lock keys have been made longer, while the dual mechanical Gateron switches under ‘enter’, ‘shift’, and the space bar have been replaced by a single mount, to provide a more comfortable, stable typing experience. Lofree says it has also optimized the sideboard buttons to further extend the lifetime of the Four Seasons version.

The new lofree Four Seasons retains the adjustable backlight and remains compatible with iOS, Windows, and Android. With a month to go, the lofree Indiegogo campaign has already raised $108,803, which is 1,088 percent over its original $10,000 goal. Early bird customers can purchase one for $140 plus shipping (currently expected in March). You can find more information over on the official campaign page.

Tag: Lofree
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Best New Year’s resolution apps for Android for 2018

Get fit with a little help from your phone!

Fitness doesn’t have to mean going to the gym anymore, and that’s because of the great fitness apps available on our phones. Now you can bring the feel of the gym to wherever you are, which means more easily fitting it into an overburdened schedule. We’ve found some of the best fitness apps out there, and we’ve collected them for you. Whether you are looking to track your progress or find the perfect workout, we’ve got five apps that are worth checking out.

Pocket Yoga

Yoga has been around for centuries, and it’s health benefits are no joke — yoga can help with flexibility, muscle strength, posture, and much, much more. Not everyone has the time or money to make it to classes at a yoga studio though, and that’s where this app comes in. There are five sets of workouts, each one in a different background, which they call “environments”. You choose the duration, your difficulty level, and your environment. During each workout, there is a running animation showing you proper posture, along with audio instructions as though there was a yoga instructor there with you. If you want to practice specific poses, there is a massive list to choose from. Each pose includes an infographic listing off category, difficulty, description, and benefits. For every 15 minutes worth of practice, you’ll earn a Karma point. These points are used to buy new environments, each for between 3 and 27 Karma points.

Finding a few minutes to be with yourself and concentrate on your health and fitness can be difficult. More to the point, not everyone is in a place where working out in a gym is feasible. Spending some time working on yoga poses each day has measurable health results without being high impact or stressful on your body like some workouts. You also get the added benefit of a little slice of peace of mind while you go. This app runs in at $2.99 and is definitely worth taking a look at.

Download: Pocket Yoga ($2.99)

Progression Fitness Tracker

The gym isn’t a scary place for everyone, and for those who like to keep track of all their workouts, Progression Fitness Tracker is a great tool. Build customized workouts for from hundreds of exercises, which can be filtered alphabetically, by equipment required, or by muscle group targeted. There are also pre-built workouts if you don’t want to build your own from scratch. Each exercise has an infographic page which includes instructions on the proper form, equipment required, links to videos on YouTube of the exercise performed correctly, and the muscles targeted. The app is certainly meant to be used during your workout since it tracks how long it takes you to complete each rep. It also clocks in your full workout duration, and your calories burned and can be synced up with Google Fit.

This app definitely seems developed for people who already have some idea of what they are doing at the gym, especially with their emphasis on including equipment heavy exercises. However, with the instructions and links to videos, it’s still friendly to novices. If you’re going the gym route then Progression is a fantastic choice. Progression Fitness Tracker comes in two forms. We’ve been talking about the free version today, but for $3.99 you can go pro. The Pro version lets you see stats from every workout session you’ve ever input, all of your statistics, the ability to import and export data, and the knowledge that you will have a pro membership forever. If you’ve been looking for a good tracking app for your workouts, Progression is a fantastic app to take a look at.

Download: Progression Fitness Tracker (Free)

Calorie Counter-MyFitnessPal

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain weight, or just maintain where you are at currently, tracking your calories is definitely advantageous. You could be working out like a beast 6 days a week, but if you don’t know what kind of calories you’re eating each day, you’re probably not going to hit your goals — which is where the Calorie Counter from MyFitnessPal comes in. When using the app, it’ll ask you to sign up or log in to my fitness pal, and then gets your height, weight, and activity level. From what you input about your fitness goals, the app will come up with a calorie goal for you to try and hit each day.

You can log all your meals, as well as snacks, and can get the app to remind you about logging your meals each day. You can add your favorite foods or recipes so you can add them to your daily count. If you aren’t motivated enough to input your own recipes, there are hundreds upon hundreds of foods, each with a breakdown of its nutritional information for you. There is even a tracking tool to help keep you on track for your weight and measurement goals.

This Calorie Counter also connects with plenty of other fitness-related apps like Fitbit Tracker, and RunKeeper, as well as Misfit devices. We’re not sure anybody ever has fun tracking their calories each day, but this app definitely makes it simple and easy to do. No charts necessary here, just find your food, add it to your meals for the day and you’re done. Counting calories can definitely help to keep you on track to meet your fitness goals, and Calorie Counter from MyFitnessPal does an excellent job of it. The app is absolutely free, but you can upgrade to a pro membership for $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year.

Calorie Counter-MyFitnessPal (Free)

Beachbody on Demand

When it comes to getting into shape, not everybody wants the same thing out of a workout program, and gyms aren’t always the most welcoming for newcomers. Whether you’re just starting out on your fitness journey, or you’re just trying to get past that recent plateau in gains, Beachbody on Demand has options for you. There are well over a dozen different programs to check out, with everything from low impact yoga to the insanity of P90X.

Beachbody on Demand does require a subscription, but it’s affordable at about $30 for three months. When you open up a workout program, you’ll be able to see all the materials for that program, which include equipment and occasionally, food plans. You can choose to stream the videos directly from your phone, use a Chromecast to view them on your TV or set up your tablet on a table. This means you can take your workout plan to an empty room of the house, a park, or the gym to get everything you want out of that new program. You can even download all the videos to your phone so that using data isn’t an issue when you are making new habits.

Download: Beachbody on Demand (Subscription after Free Trial)

Sworkit Lite

Sworkit brings you circuit training in bite-sized pieces. Sworkit is designed to fit into your schedule, which means that you can set how long you’d like to workout—whether you’ve got a full hour to spare or just 5 minutes. They have pre-made workouts in 4 main categories: Strength, Cardio, Yoga and Stretching. You also have the ability to build your own personalized workout from dozens of exercises or copy a popular workout from one of their lists. There are over 160 exercises to choose and build with, and over a dozen workouts you can copy and customize. If you choose from the Sworkit workouts you have several options like what part of the body to focus on, and how long you’ll be going for. During the workout, you’ll get a video of each exercise to help ensure you have proper form.

Sworkit Lite is the free version of the app and is fantastic in its own right. You can also pick up Sworkit Pro for $2.99 which gives you more exercises, the ability to save more custom workouts, adjustable interval lengths between exercises, a complete workout history, and the ability to sync with MyFitnessPal or Google Fit. This app is fantastic for anyone with a busy schedule since it’s designed to get your workouts in just five minutes. If you’re just getting started, this is a great place to get moving with.

Sworkit Lite (Free)

Questions?

Fitness definitely doesn’t have to be difficult when it comes to keeping track of things or getting started. You’re supposed to sweat while working out, not beforehand! Hopefully, these apps can help to track your fitness and help you to meet all of your goals whether you’re just getting started, or you’re well on your way. So what do you think, did we hit the nail on the head or are we missing a few? Let us know in the comments!

Updated January 2018: We’ve added Beachbody on Demand to this list of awesome apps!

Brits are paying more for music streaming than ever before

The UK economy might be slowing, but a new report shows that Brits aren’t averse to paying for the things they love. The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) revealed today that sales of music, movies and video games reached a record high in 2017, helped mostly by digital services like Spotify, Valve, Netflix, Amazon Sky, Apple and Google.

Over the last 12 months, Brits spent £7.24 billion on music, films and games, an 8.8 percent rise on the previous year. Digital services accounted for 71.9 percent of that, driving the UK entertainment market to its fifth straight year of growth.

The ERA’s breakdown shows what we’ve come to expect in terms of winners and losers. In terms of music, physical sales and downloads fell by 3.4 percent and 23.1 percent respectively. Music streaming, however, rose by a whopping 41.9 percent. It’s a similar picture for films, which saw both physical retail and rental sales fall drop again last year (by 17 percent and 16.3 percent). Movie downloads and streams, on the other hand, were up 22.2 percent.

Not all physical formats slipped last year, though. Following a 16.4 percent decline in 2016, demand for console games helped physical game sales grow by 2.1 percent. Digital sales saw a steeper rise (12.1 percent) and accounted for more than two thirds of total game sales.

Vinyl also gets a special mention. After reaching a 25-year high in 2016, sales of vinyl albums rose by 33.7 percent to an impressive £87.7 million.

“This is an historic result which demonstrates the benefits of innovation and investment in new technology. New digital services are bringing ever increasing numbers of the UK population back to entertainment with 24/7 access to the music, video and games they want,” said ERA CEO Kim Bayley. “In the past the growth of the market tended to be dependent on the release schedules of games publishers, film studios and record labels. Now we are seeing a market which is also driven by digital platforms and technologies.”

Via: Musically

Source: ERA

The Morning After: Wednesday, January 3rd 2018

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

A brand new year means brand new stuff, and most of it will be revealed in a few days at CES. We have a preview to help you get ready, plus some other top news items that surfaced at the start of 2018.

It’s time.CES 2018: what to expect

Before we head back to Las Vegas, you can prepare for all the new technology by checking out this CES 2018 preview. Cars, TVs, drones and phones — if it plugs in, logs on or has a smart assistant then we’ll probably get a look at it next week.

Even if it passes the tests.Yes, Apple will replace your iPhone battery

In the old days (of 2017 and prior), Apple would balk at replacing iPhone batteries that still had considerable life left according to its diagnostic tests. Now, as part of changes made in response to revelations about how iOS slows down devices in response to aging batteries, Apple is reportedly ready to replace batteries even if they appear to have more than 80 percent of their original capacity. Note, the service still carries a cost of $29 (temporarily down from $79).

Our bodies are ready.LG is bringing an 88-inch 8K OLED TV to CES

Look at it.

The dream is dead.Microsoft stops selling the Xbox One Kinect adapter

When the Xbox One launched, Microsoft packed one of its Kinect sensors in with each console. Now, a few years later, it’s ceased manufacturing and Polygon reports that Microsoft has ended sales of the adapter you’d need to make it work with newer systems like the Xbox One S or One X. Now how will we play Boom Ball 3 for Kinect?

Computer Love.BDSM 2.0: castration and extortion in the digital age

Go inside the life of a techdomme who makes up to $10,000 a day using basic IT tools and lightweight hacking to control men who get a thrill from being extorted, humiliated and, basically, ripped off. (NSFW warning: This story may contain links to and descriptions or images of explicit sexual acts.)

One cord to rule them all.Samsung’s latest curved QLED monitor packs Thunderbolt 3

If your laptop supports Thunderbolt 3 then this ultrawide monitor could make the perfect base station for it by connecting data and power through just one cable.

Got a Nintendo DS emulator handy?Fans make 80 new levels for ‘New Super Mario Bros.’

Meet Newer Super Mario Bros. DS.

But wait, there’s more…

• The best mobile games
• Spotify faces $1.6 billion lawsuit over song licensing
• YouTuber Logan Paul faces backlash over clip showing a corpse
• Google used a popular tax trick to shelter $19.2 billion
• LG’s 2018 TVs get faster and smarter with Google Assistant, Alexa
• LeEco founder reportedly refuses to return to China
• Smart lock maker Otto folds before releasing its first product

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.

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SpaceX shows a video flyby of its Falcon Heavy rocket

SpaceX is getting ready to launch the secret Zuma mission on January 5th, but that Falcon 9 launch is small potatoes compared to what’s to come later this month. It’s putting the Falcon Heavy through static firing tests ahead of its debut launch (possibly in January), with an early Tesla Roadster on board. To build up some hype, SpaceX has unveiled a drone video of the triple-booster craft perched on its test-firing pad.

With more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff—equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft at full power—Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two.

A post shared by SpaceX (@spacex) on Jan 2, 2018 at 6:03pm PST

The scale of the craft is pretty impressive, as the video clearly shows. “With more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff — equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft at full power — Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two,” SpaceX notes.

Details of the mission are still sketchy, but Musk has said that the rocket will go into a “billion year elliptic Mars orbit” with a cherry read Tesla Roadster onboard as dead weight. Why? For the lulz, of course. “Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring,” Elon Musk wrote last month.

Before that happens, however, SpaceX will need to static fire all 27 of the Falcon Heavy’s Merlin 1D engines at once for the first time. A launch will only proceed if that goes perfectly, which is certainly not a given. Even if things do go to plan, there’s still a pretty good chance, Musk has said, that the Heavy and Roadster will blow up before escaping Earth’s gravity.

Source: SpaceX (Instagram)

Samsung Announces First QLED Curved Monitor With Thunderbolt 3

Last month, LG announced a new set of Thunderbolt 3 monitors to be officially unveiled at CES 2018. Not to be outdone at the January event, Samsung today unveiled the first curved display with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity.

The 34-inch CJ791 monitor features a 3,440 × 1,440 UltraWide QHD resolution with a 21:9 aspect ratio, while the single Thunderbolt 3 cable delivers a connectivity speed of up to 40 Gigabits per second to a range of docks, displays, and peripheral devices, including Macs and external GPUs. The Thunderbolt 3 interface also allows the CJ791 to supply up to 85 watts of charging power to USB type-C compatible MacBooks.

The specs can’t quite match LG’s upcoming 34-inch UltraWide 34WK95U, which has a 5K resolution of 5120 x 2160 pixels, but apart from multi-peripheral connectivity, Samsung is eager to promote the CJ791’s QLED display as ideal for gaming and entertainment. With “precise” performance across 125 percent of the sRGB color spectrum, a 4 milliseconds response time, and a sharp 1,500R curvature and ultra-wide 178-degree viewing angle, the CJ791 should still turn some heads at this year’s CES. The company is also touting the monitor’s built-in Game Mode, with a dynamic gamma setting that allows the CJ791 to adjust the color and contrast of individual scenes as they’re displayed.

There’s no word yet on the price of the 34-inch CJ791, but hopefully more should be revealed when CES opens its doors on January 9 for four tech-filled days at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Stay tuned to MacRumors for all the highlights.

• Review: LG’s $1500 38UC99 UltraWide Display Offers a Giant, Desk-Filling Workspace

Tags: Samsung, Thunderbolt 3, CES 2018
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LG Display to Become OLED Panel Supplier for This Year’s ‘iPhone X Plus’

LG Display saw its shares surge to a one-month high on Wednesday following a report that the company will begin supplying OLED panels to Apple’s new range of iPhones this year (via Financial Times).

LG’s stock rallied on an Electronic Times report that the South Korean firm would make over 15 million OLED panels for Apple’s 2018 range of iPhones. LG is already a supplier of LCD panels, currently used in the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but Samsung dominates supply of OLED displays for Apple’s flagship iPhone X. Indeed, last week LG Display revealed in a regulatory filing that it didn’t supply any of the OLED panels currently used in the iPhone X.

iPhone X Plus mockup by Benjamin Geskin via iDrop News
However, that could change this year, since Apple is expected to launch two new 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch iPhone models with OLED displays in 2018. According to today’s report, LG Display will supply Apple with the 6.5-inch OLED panels, while Samsung will supply the 5.8-inch or 6-inch OLED panels.

Reports have been trickling out since July 2017 that Apple has invested billions of dollars in LG’s OLED production capability for smartphones, but the fruits of its investment were thought to be some ways off. LG was initially reported to have secured 45,000 panels per month for future iPhones from 2019, while as recently as September it was suggested that Apple would have to wait until at least next year before it could move beyond Samsung for significant supplies of OLED panels. However, Wednesday’s report suggests LG could secure its position as the number two supplier of OLED screens for Apple’s iPhones as early as the second half of 2018. LG is said to be planning to mass-produce the panels for Apple at its Gen 6 flexible OLED production line located in Paju, South Korea.

LG came in for scrutiny recently after it emerged that the firm supplied Google with the Pixel 2 XL’s OLED displays, some of which were reportedly prone to screen burn-in or image retention issues. It remains unclear whether the problems stemmed from LG or other factors were involved, although the smaller Pixel 2 and original Pixel phones – both with Samsung-supplied OLED displays – have experienced far fewer issues. It’s also worth noting that Apple says OLED displays can show “slight visual changes” after extended long-term use and minor screen burn-in is considered normal.

The new iPhone X and iPhone X Plus will likely launch around the usual timeframe of September to October, potentially alongside a new 6.1-inch mid-range model with an LCD display.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTag: LG DisplayBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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