Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of iOS 11.2.5 to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming iOS 11.2.5 update to developers and public beta testers, a few days after seeding the fourth beta and releasing iOS 11.2.2, an update designed to mitigate a serious hardware-based vulnerability called “Spectre.”

Registered developers can download the iOS 11.2.5 beta from Apple’s Developer Center or over-the-air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center. Public beta testers can get the beta over-the-air.

iOS 11.2.5 introduces a new feature that allows Siri to play daily news podcasts when queried about the current news. Siri will offer up news from The Washington Post by default, but you can also choose to switch to Fox News, CNN, or NPR.

The new audio news feature, which appears to have been developed for use with Apple’s upcoming HomePod speaker, is invoked when using Hey Siri or asking Siri about the news when using CarPlay or with headphones connected – essentially any situation where you’re not looking at the display of an iOS device. If you activate Siri using the side button or Home button of a device, standard Apple news headlines are provided instead of the audio-based news highlights.

It’s not clear what other new features, if any, will be included in the iOS 11.2.5 beta. We didn’t discover other noticeable outward-facing changes in the first four iOS 11.2.5 betas, so it’s possible this update focuses mainly on bug fixes and security improvements aside from the Siri news update.

If that’s the case, we may not know the extent of what’s in the update until it sees a public release.

Apple is supposed to be releasing an iCloud Messages feature that was pulled from the iOS 11 release, but there has been no indication of when we can expect iCloud Messages to be reintroduced. Should new features be discovered in the fifth beta of iOS 11.2.5, we’ll update this post.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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How to take a screenshot with your Nintendo Switch

One of the coolest features among current game console hardware is the ability to snap screenshots of your gameplay and share them easily on the internet and social media. Sony and Microsoft were first to the gate with super-easy sharing buttons on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but the Nintendo Switch has what may be the best and easiest sharing interface of them all.

It’s incredibly easy to snag a screen grab with the Nintendo Switch, thanks to a dedicated button on the left Joy-Con controller. Taking pictures, however, is just the beginning: Thanks to a function that lets you easily adjust images and overlay text, the Switch effectively offers a built-in meme maker. Here is everything you need to know about taking screenshots with the Switch and turning them hilariously viral.

Step 1: Set up your social media connections

Before you take a screenshot, let’s make sure you’re ready to do something with it. If your Switch is connected to a Wi-Fi network, you can link your Switch user profile to your Twitter and Facebook accounts. To set up your Twitter and Facebook accounts, go to the “system settings” menu on the Switch Home screen. (It’s the gear in the bottom row of round icons.)

On the Systems Settings menu, head down to “Users” and then choose your user account. From there, select “Social-Media Settings.” That menu will offer prompts to connect your social accounts. Enter your usernames and passwords, and you’re set to share.

Once you’re ready, you can tell the Switch to upload your shots to the internet straight from the Album application, without having to transfer the images anywhere else, such as to a computer.

Step 2: Grab your shot

The easiest step in taking a screenshot is actually capturing an image. While you’re playing any game, you can instantly capture a screenshot of whatever you’re doing by hitting the square screencap button on the left Joy-Con right below the bottom arrow of the directional pad. Hit it, and the Switch automatically saves a capture of whatever is on the screen.

While you can capture any game, Nintendo has blocked players from taking screenshots of many of the Switch’s menus, and within certain applications. (Our favorite example: You can’t a take a screenshot of your screenshot “Album”). For the most part, though, you should be able to snag an image of anything from a game you’re playing. The screenshots are automatically saved to the Switch’s internal memory (or a microSD card if you have one installed).

Step 3: Head to the Album

Now that you are linked up and ready to send your screenshots to the internet, you need to go find the one you want to share. The Album application is also on the Home screen lower menu near where you found System Settings. It’s the blue square icon that looks kind of like a photograph, next to the yellow bag icon for the Nintendo eShop.

In the album, you can sort your images and videos with the “filter” function by hitting the “Y” button. Using the filter function lets you alter what you see in the Album to focus on just images, just video, or things you’ve saved from a particular game, to make searching easier. To delete images you don’t want, press the “X” button.

Highlight the image you want to share and hit the “A” button to pull it up to full-screen size. From here, select “Editing and Posting” by hitting “A.” To look at the image without any user interface elements to block your view, press the plus (“+”) button on the right Joy-Con.

Step 4: Editing

Here’s the fun part. Once you select “editing and posting,” you gain access to three new options: “Post,” “Add Text,” and “Copy.” The copy function allows you to create a copy of the screenshot. Saving a copy allows you to move your image to a microSD card, which you can use to upload the image to another device (more on that later). We recommend saving a copy before editing an image no matter what, though, in case you want to make multiple images from a single screenshot.

You can also do some light editing with the Switch itself, using the “Add Text” option. This is how you can turn your images into memes. When you hit “Add Text,” you will be prompted to copy your image, so that you keep the original, unedited version in addition to the one you add text to. The “Add Text” button next pulls up the Switch’s virtual keyboard to let you type text onto the image, which works both with the controller buttons or the Switch’s touchscreen. Type out your message, hit “OK,” then “Accept” (both at the bottom right, accessed with the plus button) to get your text on the image.

From here, you can change the size, color, position, and angle of your text. The menu on the right side of the screen contains all the options — at the top, a slider adjusts the overall size of text, going from smaller on the left to larger on the right, which you can adjust with either the directional pad, the left analog stick, or the Switch’s touchscreen.

Click one of the color squares to select the text’s color, which will include a border of a different preset color to make sure it stands out from the background image. Clicking the third option lets you use the analog stick or directional pad to move the text around on the image, to change its position. You can also use the stick here to adjust its angle, rotating the text as you see fit.

When you have  your text looking the way you want it, you can finalize the process by hitting “Finished.” The new, edited image will appear in your Album.

Step 5: Sharing on Facebook and Twitter

If you’re happy with what you made and want the world to see it, it’s time to hit the “Post” button. You’ll be prompted to pick your Switch User account, which will then pull up your linked social media accounts. If you haven’t linked your accounts, you will be prompted to do so before sharing, but you can switch to your other social media account by hitting the “Change Posting Location” button at the top of the screen.

From here, just compose a message to accompany your image. The Switch automatically adds the #NintendoSwitch hashtag, and a hashtag related to the game you used to make your image, but you can delete them if you want. Once you type your update, hit the “Post” button at the bottom of the screen.

As the Switch advises, you can pull up your social media account on another device, such as a smartphone or a computer, to make sure your update went through.

Step 6: Downloading to your screenshots to a computer

When you pull up an image in the Album, the third option on the menu is “Copy.” This lets you create a copy of the image file and save it to your microSD memory card, so you can take it off our Switch without sending it to the internet. The option is always there, even after you edit an image — just go back to the Album and pull up the screenshot you’re looking to save and hit “Copy.” If you made a copy when prompted while editing your original screenshot, you will have both the version that you snapped from the game and the version that now has text on it.

The “Copy” option brings up a menu that lets you choose the destination to send the copied image, so you need a microSD card installed. (Conversely, if your System Settings save your screenshots to a microSD card, you can use this option to copy the image to the Switch’s internal memory.) When you have picked where you want the image to go, hit the “Copy” button to send it along.

Once you have saved your images, turn off the Switch by holding down the power button, then select “power off” from the power options menu. Remove the microSD card from the Switch and place it in your device’s SD card reader. (Note: Some computers have a built-in microSD card reader, but most people will need to purchase an adapter). The card will have a single file marked “Nintendo.” Click on it, then click on the file marked “Album.”

In the album file, your screenshots and video clips will be divided into files by month, then by day. Select the images you wish to transfer, then download them to your device.

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Former Tinder love gurus introduce Ripple, a swipe-based professional network

What if professional networking was as easy as swiping left or right on your phone? That’s the premise of the new Ripple app (not to be confused with the cryptocurrency app of the same name), which borrows many features from the company that developed it: Tinder, the dating app. But instead of matchmaking for dates, Ripple’s aim is to help you build a professional social network by quickly pairing you with others who share similar interests and attend similar events.

While the swipe-to-like (or dislike) approach is commonly associated with app-based dating, it wasn’t the case at the beginning, according to Ripple CEO Ryan Ogle, who officially unveiled the app and social network during CES 2018. The company, which is backed by the Match Group, operates independently of Tinder.

“One of the things we talked about, the discovery of new people was a big problem,” said Ogle, who was the former chief technical officer of Tinder and also worked at Hatch Labs, the incubator behind Tinder. “Before Tinder was a dating app, we talked about it not being about dating at all.”

And in professional networking, Ogle says existing systems, notably Linkedin, don’t do the things users actually want it to do. According to Ogle, they don’t help users build business relationships effectively, they don’t prioritize the right people, they don’t care about the context, and they’re static directories. With Ripple and its tools for social discovery, Ogle thinks the app is far more effective in building a professional network.

“Linkedin was created more than 15 years ago, but it’s a web-based platform shoehorned into mobile,” Ogle said. “When I go to Linkedin, 90 percent of the people are recruiters or trying to get something from me[A] vast majority of people don’t need that all the time.

“We want to build the opposite, a user-first network [and] match people with opportunities,” Ogle added. And what he means by a user-first network is that Ripple will introduce users to relevant people; help them get connected quickly and easily and get the most out of their professional network.

When you launch the app, the Ripple Feed presents you with other users that it thinks you would pair well with, based on the interests you indicated, users you are connected to, your location, events you’re attending, and groups you are part of. It can even connect you with nearby users via near-field communication, and you can quickly “face connect” by taking a photo of them (provided they’re also on Ripple) and using facial recognition. And like Tinder, you can swipe right to connect, or left to skip. Over time, the app improves its searches.

In addition, the app is designed to be an active network. Users will also see information from Twitter, Medium, and news sources that are relevant in a professional context. Ultimately, the goal is to not only get you connected quickly but also stay engaged. It eliminates what Ogle refers to as the dead space in current professional social networks, where users don’t know anything about the people they connect with.

As a brand new social network, Ripple still needs refinement. We had some issues registering an account, and we also couldn’t edit the interests we selected, which, for some reason, Ripple considers them your skills. But the bigger hurdle is getting more people to use Ripple. Ogle acknowledged that Ripple won’t be perfect at the beginning (it’s asking users for feedback to help improve the system), and, like Tinder, he believes it’s best to start with a small group of quality users.

The app is available to download for iOS and Android.

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These are the 7 best horoscope apps for iOS and Android

Are you into astrology? It’s not as gimmicky as it might sound — after all, we all need a few words of encouragement every now and again. If you truly believe in the celestial bodies above, or you just like to have fun with horoscopes, having the right app will save you from having to look up your horoscope on the internet. If you’re looking for daily readings, or simply want to know what your future might hold in relation to your sign, then the best horoscope apps can help.

If you’re searching for love, take a look at this astrology based dating app.

TimePassages

TimePassages, one of the most popular astrology apps, is now a free app that you can use right on your iPhone. Astrology charts let you discover the meaning behind your sun, moon, and rising sign. You can also find out if someone is compatible with you using the compatibility meter which shows you the potential for love or even the likelihood of successful business relationships. The app is free to use with in-app purchases starting from $1 and going up to $10 for an unlimited pass.

Download now for:

iOS

Horoscoper Club

This is a great astrology app that allows you to play quizzes online and challenge friends. You get your free daily horoscope on love, career, health, and more. You can get instant advice using Tarot Cards, but the app also gives you access to numerology, moon phase, Mercury retrograde, and zodiac compatibility. This app also has an instant messaging feature to let you chat in real time with one friend or even create group conversations. Subscription packages range from $2 up to $45 for a 12-month premium package.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Chaturanga Astrology

Unlike most horoscope apps, Chaturanga actually allows you to chat with an astrologer. You can ask the first question for free, but if you want to ask additional questions, you’ll have to buy a pack or pay for each individually. The app also specializes in a variety of topics, including relationships, career, and business. It’s even compatible with the Apple Watch, even if you’re an Apple aficionado.

Download now for:

Android iOS

iHoroscope

iHoroscope allows you access to daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly horoscopes. The app also allows you to chat with a psychic, and if you ask questions, you’ll receive your answers in mere minutes. Apple Watch integration is just an added plus.

Download now for:

Android iOS

The DailyHoroscope

If you just want an in-depth app that allows for different types of horoscopes, then The DailyHoroscope might be the app for you. The app provides you with your daily horoscope, along with access to yearly Chinese horoscopes, your zodiac compatibility, and even a druid horoscope. This app is also compatible with Android devices, as well as the iPhone and iPad.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Horoscope and Tarot

This app lets you see your daily, weekly, and monthly horoscope. It also provides a daily tarot reading and lets you ask an astrologer questions. The app even features several games — including Mood Ring and the Magic Love Ball — and supports the both English and Spanish languages.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Astrolis Horoscopes and Tarot

This app uses the position of the planets to provide your horoscope, giving you quick insights into your future career and love life. You can also personalize the app so that it gives you your horoscope immediately upon launching, which saves you from having to navigate to the appropriate screen. The app provides tarot readings, too, which you can then share via Facebook, Twitter, and email.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Are you looking for more apps? Check out our picks for the best apps for Android and the best apps for iPhone.

Update: We added TimePassages and Horoscoper Club.

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This little Time Machine camera captures and saves 10 seconds of the past

Ever wish you could go back in time because you just missed the perfect photo op? Startup Roader is launching a new camera that let’s you go back in time — for about 10 seconds anyway. The Roader Time Machine is a wearable camera that continuously records, but only saves video when the user hits the button within 10 seconds of that missed moment.

While wearing the camera, the Time Machine buffers everything it sees, but in order to prevent a data overload, deletes everything after 10 seconds. Rather than shooting a traditional photo, pressing the shutter button on the Time Machine instead tells the camera to save those last 10 seconds as a video clip.

The lifelogging camera records in two square formats simultaneously, with both a 640 x 640 30fps option and a 1088 x 1088 30 fps video. The smaller of the two files is sent to a smartphone, a process that takes only about 20 seconds, while the larger file is saved on the 16GB of internal storage for uploading to a computer later. (A 32GB version of the camera will also be available).

With a square format designed for social sharing, the Time Machine has between six and seven hours of battery life, allowing wearers to record a good chunk of their day.

The camera was actually inspired by a meteor strike in 2013, which got Dutch entrepreneurs Sjoerd Pitstrastarting and Joost Godee wondering how they could capture of video of something that just happened.

The Time Machine isn’t the first camera that can actually record a few seconds of the past. In Panasonic’s 4K photo modes, a preburst option shoots up to 60 images before the shot. In this mode, however, a half press of the shutter button (to focus the shot) tells the camera to start recording, helping to capture the moment even if the photographer was a second late on the actual full press of the shutter.

One of the main problems with wearable lifelogging cameras is sorting through all that footage to find the shots that are actually interesting and worthwhile and Time Machine looks to solve that problem by giving users 10 seconds to push the button to save that memory, rather than recording the entire day. Other wearable cameras, like the family-oriented Benjamin Button, use AI to determine what moments to save.

Roader expects the Time Machine to launch this spring, with a retail price of $199. Pre-orders from the Roader website are available with a $50 discount.

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Award-winning, safety-focused KikaGo charging cable lets drivers go hands-free

Multitasking while driving can be dangerous, especially if you are trying to navigate an unfamiliar route. The danger becomes even more heightened if others in the car are creating a noisy environment. Hoping to make this everyday situation much safer, Kika Tech unveiled KikaGo, a USB-C charging cable that has a noise-cancellation microphone built into the plug, at this year’s CES conference.

KikaGo offers a truly hands-free experience even in noisy car environments due to the noise-cancellation aspect of the microphone. The microphone allows drivers to speak at a normal volume to control all aspects of their favorite navigation and message apps.

The artificial intelligence aspect of KikaGo is the hallmark of the product. The more a driver communicates with KikaGo, the smarter the technology becomes, which allows it to quickly differentiate and pick out the driver’s voice from a noisy environment where multiple people are talking inside a car.

“While multiple people are talking in [a] car, [KikaGo’s software] recognizes who the audience is and actually listens to the key audience instead of listening to everyone,” Tami Zhu, Kika Tech’s general manager, told Digital Trends.

KikaGo was such a hit at CES that it won four Innovation Awards in the following categories: Smart Home, Software and Mobile Apps, In-Vehicle Audio/Video, and Tech for a Better World. The product will officially be released at some point soon for Android users. Apple users however, will have to wait as KikaGo won’t have Lightning compatibility until late 2018.

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Keep your hands on the wheel with the 7 best iPhone 7 car mounts

Smartphones are so integrated with cars these days, they might as well be standard equipment. With our trusty mobiles on board, we can play our favorite tracks through the stereo, respond to emails with our voices, get directions, and even avoid speed traps with community-based traffic apps like Waze. Fumbling with your phone while driving is incredibly dangerous though, so to keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road, we’ve compiled the seven best car mounts for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Fire up that Bluetooth and let’s get started.

iOttie Easy One Touch 3

• Car placement: Dashboard or Windshield
• Adjustable: Yes
• Warranty: 1-year warranty
• Price: $24.95

The iOttie Easy One Touch 3 is one of the highest-rated car mounts on the market for good reason. With a sticky gel pad that can adhere to most surfaces, it can be mounted just about anywhere, and as its name suggests, it can be locked and released with the push of a finger. It also features a trick telescopic arm that provides four different viewing angles, so no matter what car it’s being used in or what driver is using it, the Easy One Touch 3 can get the job done.

If you don’t happen to have an iPhone, fear not — iOttie’s one-size-fits-all design can accommodate a variety of smartphones and their protective cases with no issues.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

TechMatte MagGrip

• Car placement: Dashboard or Windshield
• Adjustable: Yes
• Warranty: 1-year warranty
• Price: $7.99

Simple yet effective, the MagGrip by TechMatte boasts the features of more expensive units at a much more accessible price. Its suction cup gel pad allows it to be mounted on the windshield or dashboard with no residue, and convenient magnet bonds hold your cellular companion steadily in place. Like the iOttie, TechMatte’s products are universal, meaning this mount will likely work with whatever smartphone you happen to own. It’s also available as an air vent mount if you’re into that sort of thing, and if you aren’t happy with it, TechMatte offers a 30-day money back guarantee.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Kenu Airframe+

• Car placement: Air Vent
• Adjustable: Yes
• Warranty: 1-year warranty
• Price: $24.95

If you’d prefer to keep your dash and windshield clean and clear of clutter, an air vent car mount is probably what you’re after. With that in mind, we’d like to introduce you to the Kenu Airframe+, arguably the best vent car mount available.

The Airframe+ uses a rotating rear clip than can be used on nearly any type of vent, whether it be horizontal, vertical, or angled. You can even insert a credit card into the back and the Airframe+ becomes a hands-free smartphone stand. Speaking of phones, the mobile itself is held in place with a spring-loaded compression mount, which is both stable and adjustable for bricks of almost any size. Best of all is the unit’s portability, because at just 2.7 inches long, the lightweight Airframe+ fits easily inside a pocket.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Mpow Air Vent Car Mount

• Car placement: Air Vent
• Adjustable: Yes
• Warranty: 18-month
• Price: $5.99

Minimalism is the name of the game with Mpow’s air vent car mount. The device measures just a few inches in diameter and features a low-key design, making it a great choice for those who want to save space and money. Yes, at $9.50 it is slightly costlier than the popular WizGear, but you get two for the price as well as a longer warranty with this option.

The Mpow uses a magnet to hold your iPhone in place, and buyers have two options for setup — affix an adhesive metal plate to the back of the phone or place it inside the protective case. Either way, the mount won’t damage your mobile or leave sticky reside on your dashboard, and the phone can spin freely once the magnet takes hold. As a bonus, it doubles as a kickstand for YouTube or Netflix sessions.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

IPOW Dash Pad

• Car placement: Dashboard
• Adjustable: Yes
• Warranty: 1-year warranty
• Price: $12.89

We’ve covered dash mounts, windshield mounts, and air vent mounts so far, but there’s another option we haven’t touched on yet. The Ipow Dash Pad is essentially a silicone rubber mat that uses friction to stay in place, and since there’s really no installation involved, this is a great choice for someone who switches between vehicles often.

Ipow’s Dash Pad is surprisingly adjustable. Two rubber mounts on the base can be slid and moved to accept mobiles of all shapes, and they work in horizontal and vertical orientations for both 9 and 14-millimeter thick phones. It’s probably the simplest car mount on our list, but in many cases, simple is all you need.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

AboveTEK Long Arm Universal Car Phone and Tablet Mount

• Car placement: Windshield
• Adjustable: Yes
• Warranty: Contact manufacturer, supposed lifetime
• Price: $17

This windshield mount seems to be a popular choice. Available on Amazon for less than $20, this universal mount is capable of handling pretty much every smartphone out there, including your beloved iPhone 7. It even has the ability to hold certain small tablets, thanks to its widemouthed cradle.

It uses a soft, sticky suction cup that mounts on your windshield. It’s then bolstered by a long, flexible arm that comes with its own support for resting on the dashboard. Then, the rest is history! With cars featuring extremely raked windshield angles and expansive dashboards these days, the AboveTEK car mount certainly has its merits.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Mpow Long Arm Cell Phone Holder

• Car placement: Windshield
• Adjustable: Yes
• Warranty: 18-months
• Price: $9.99

As Amazon’s #1 best seller, the Mpow long arm mount is similar to the AboveTEK, but not nearly as heavy-duty and rated for things like tablets. And so thus, it can be had for less than $10, which makes it far more enticing.

It can mount to wherever there’s a flat surface and the long, flexible arm, means there are multiple ways to mount the holder to your liking. Need to flip it? No worries, 360-degree rotation is also available thanks to its swivel-ball mount.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

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Boox Max 2 and Boox Note Pro hands-on review

Research Center:
Boox Max 2

E Ink screens are wonderfully versatile, and are surprisingly underused outside of ebook readers like the Amazon Kindle, and quirky devices like the Yotaphone. Boox — a name that’s pronounced like “books” — has been in the industry for years, but is only now branching out into selling its own hardware. At CES 2018 we met with the company to see its two latest products, the Boox Max2 and the Boox Note Pro, two big-screen, tablet-like devices that allow you to do so much more than just read the latest book.

We spent the most time using the Max2, which beats even the 12-inch iPad Pro when it comes to screen size. The massive E Ink Mobius display measures 13.1 inches and it has a 207dpi resolution. That’s higher than any other tablet of this size out there, and it makes a big difference. The screen is glorious — pin-sharp detail and crisp text, exactly what you want from a device like this. The screen is surrounded by a plastic bezel and wrapped in a very lightweight and slim metal body. It’s comfortable and easy to hold with one hand, and the sheer size gives a magazine-like reading experience.

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

While reading on an E Ink screen is always the No. 1 reason for buying one, the Boox Max2 does plenty more. It comes with a Wacom stylus to annotate PDFs, take notes during meetings or class, or even write music. There are built-in templates for all this, plus for artists, there are a variety of brushes and fonts to draw on the pressure sensitive screen with. E Ink screens have a reputation for being slow, but the Max2 is fast and fluid, and the stylus is brilliant to use, with notes and text appearing instantly. Everything can be saved and exported using a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or Micro USB connection.

Alongside the Micro USB port is a Micro HDMI port, which when connected to a computer turns the Max2 and Note Pro into a second display. This won’t be a feature for everyone, but could be useful for anyone who wants to avoid reading long documents on a PC screen. This is where E Ink screens excel — they don’t strain your eyes, which is why they’re so great for reading in bed.

Reading on an E Ink screen is always the number one reason for buying one.

Is the Max2 suitable for bedtime reading, considering its size? Possibly. Its definitely light enough, but it’s far from subtle. That’s where the Boox Note Pro comes in. It’s has a more sensible 10.3-inch screen size, with slim bezels running down the sides, yet still offers the same high resolution screen and speedy operation. The design is less businesslike as well. The two ebook readers have plenty of power with a 1.6GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, and either 32GB or 64GB of storage space. The 4,100mAh battery should last around a month without recharging with average use.

Both Boox tablets run Android 6.0, and have custom user interfaces over the top. It’s not like using your smartphone, despite the presence of Google’s operating system. The Max2 has several physical buttons to accompany the touchscreen, while the smaller has a single home button below the screen. Operation is swift, although don’t expect it to be as fast as using an Android tablet or an iPad — E Ink screens and devices don’t work like that. The user interface is fine, although it was a little confusing to use, and finding your way out of apps was often confusing or took too long. This should disappear after you’ve used it for a while though.

There’s plenty of file support — 11 different types in all, including PDF and some comic book formats — and additional features that make it a cool creative tool as well. They are quite expensive. It’s $800 for the Max 2, and $500 for the Note Pro, and both should be available to buy soon. While these prices sound high when compared to Amazon ebook readers, it’s in line with other similar examples like the Sony DPT-S1 and the ReMarkable tablet.

We liked the Boox ebook readers a lot. The build is excellent, they feel great in the hand, and the screens look superb. Most of all, we liked the versatility. Read magazines, books, and music, take notes, listen to audio through the speaker, and even the bonus of it working as a second monitor. If you’re investing in a big-screen ebook reader, definitely consider a Boox.

Boox Max 2 Compared To

Kindle Oasis (2017)

Kobo Aura H2O Edition 2

Kobo Aura One

Kindle Oasis

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 2015

Kindle Voyage

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2013)

Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight

Kobo Aura HD

Kobo Mini

Sony Reader PRS-T2

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

Spring Design Alex

Barnes & Noble Nook

Sony PRS-700

You’ll soon be able to get Google AMP quality without that pesky AMP URL

Every good thing seems to come with a price, and when it came to Google’s fast-loading webpages, that price was seeing an Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)-specific URL instead of a normal web address. But luckily, it looks like Google’s no longer charging us with those URLs.

This week, Malte Ubl, the tech lead for the AMP Project, announced that a new version of the AMP Cache would make its debut. In short, the team is changing how AMP works in Google Search and other platforms, and will thereby allow linked pages to “appear under publishers’ URLs instead of the google.com/amp URL space.” Best of all, this change won’t have any effect on the speed or privacy that comes along with AMP Cache serving. 

“When we first launched AMP in Google Search we made a big trade-off: To achieve the user experience that users were telling us that they wanted, instant loading, we needed to start loading the page before the user clicked.” Malte explained in a blog post. He continued, however, “Privacy reasons make it basically impossible to load the page from the publisher’s server … Instead, AMP pages are loaded from the Google AMP Cache but with that behavior the URLs changed to include the google.com/amp/ URL prefix.”

But now, Google is looking into a new version of the AMP Cache that is predicated upon the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Packing standard, which should make the AMP addresses look like, well … any other web address. Thus far, Google’s tests have proven satisfactory, and Malte wrote, “The next steps are moving towards fully implementing the new web standard in web browsers and in the Google AMP Cache.” The goal is for Web Packaging to become “available in as many browsers as possible,” he noted. “In particular, we intend to extend existing work on WebKit to include the implementation of Web Packaging and the Google Chrome team’s implementation is getting started.”

The new changes are expected to begin reaching users in the second half of 2018, but in order to take advantage of this upgrade, you’ll have to be sure to update your browser. 

Editors’ Recommendations

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• What’s a headphone amp, and do you really need one? You’d be surprised
• The best unlimited data plan: Verizon vs. T-Mobile vs. AT&T vs. Sprint
• The best Google Chrome extensions to revolutionize your workday
• Microsoft pulls Store app that lets you safely install Google’s Chrome browser

You’ll soon be able to get Google AMP quality without that pesky AMP URL

Every good thing seems to come with a price, and when it came to Google’s fast-loading webpages, that price was seeing an Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)-specific URL instead of a normal web address. But luckily, it looks like Google’s no longer charging us with those URLs.

This week, Malte Ubl, the tech lead for the AMP Project, announced that a new version of the AMP Cache would make its debut. In short, the team is changing how AMP works in Google Search and other platforms, and will thereby allow linked pages to “appear under publishers’ URLs instead of the google.com/amp URL space.” Best of all, this change won’t have any effect on the speed or privacy that comes along with AMP Cache serving. 

“When we first launched AMP in Google Search we made a big trade-off: To achieve the user experience that users were telling us that they wanted, instant loading, we needed to start loading the page before the user clicked.” Malte explained in a blog post. He continued, however, “Privacy reasons make it basically impossible to load the page from the publisher’s server … Instead, AMP pages are loaded from the Google AMP Cache but with that behavior the URLs changed to include the google.com/amp/ URL prefix.”

But now, Google is looking into a new version of the AMP Cache that is predicated upon the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Packing standard, which should make the AMP addresses look like, well … any other web address. Thus far, Google’s tests have proven satisfactory, and Malte wrote, “The next steps are moving towards fully implementing the new web standard in web browsers and in the Google AMP Cache.” The goal is for Web Packaging to become “available in as many browsers as possible,” he noted. “In particular, we intend to extend existing work on WebKit to include the implementation of Web Packaging and the Google Chrome team’s implementation is getting started.”

The new changes are expected to begin reaching users in the second half of 2018, but in order to take advantage of this upgrade, you’ll have to be sure to update your browser. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• Bluewave Get Hi-Fi Wireless Headphone Amp review
• What’s a headphone amp, and do you really need one? You’d be surprised
• The best unlimited data plan: Verizon vs. T-Mobile vs. AT&T vs. Sprint
• The best Google Chrome extensions to revolutionize your workday
• Microsoft pulls Store app that lets you safely install Google’s Chrome browser