‘NBA Jam’ may return for its 25th anniversary

All that’s old is new again in the world of gaming. Over the last couple years we’ve seen both the NES and Super NES receive reboots with their respective Classic editions and that trend could soon extend to iconic software titles as well. According to a report from ESPN, announcer Tim Kitzrow — you know, the guy who coined “he’s on fire!” — is involved in a project to remake the two-on-two baller classic, NBA Jam, ahead of the game’s 25th anniversary.

“I can’t speak anything to the specifics, but I can tell you there is movement in the works to get it done for the 25th year,” he told ESPN. “So I’m hoping that we get a remake that does justice to the original.”

That’s a tall order given the depth and breadth of the game’s impact on pop culture. Released in 1993, NBA Jam became an instant hit. Kids across the country practically poured quarters into the arcade cabinet for the chance to play as the NBA’s marquee players in bonkers two-on-two matchups involving flaming three-pointers and redonkulous dunks.

Kitzrow is working with Microsoft on the remake, according to ESPN. Odd, given that EA still owns the rights to the franchise, having rebooted the game once already in 2010. And while Kitzrow might be onboard, the games original designer, Mark Turmell, has confirmed that he is not. Regardless, the game is due out later this year so start stockpiling your quarters now.

Source: ESPN

Western Digital Debuts New Transportable G-Technology G-SPEED Shuttles

Western Digital today announced the launch of two new products in its G-Technology G-SPEED Shuttle lineup, both of which are designed to be ultraportable RAID storage solutions aimed at meeting the needs of professional content creators who need both super fast transfer speeds and portability.

The new 4-bay G-Technology G-SPEED Shuttle with Thunderbolt 3 supports transfer speeds of up to 1000MB/s and can transfer an hour of 30 FPS 4K footage in minutes. It offers up to 48TB of storage space with removable 7200RPM enterprise class drives that can be set to RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 configurations.

The G-Speed Shuttle with ev Series Bay Adapters offers the same Thunderbolt 3 support but adds integrated ev Series bay adapters to enable cross-functionality with ev Series drives and readers. It offers up to 24TB of storage and transfer rates of up to 500MB/s.

“The value of captured video content is immeasurable as it can’t be easily reshot or recovered if lost. One of the biggest pain points facing film makers is not having the ability to move the massive amounts of footage quickly and reliably to the next stage of the workflow – both physically and virtually. If you’re looking for a fast, high-capacity solution that’s also easily transportable, your options are limited. With the power of Thunderbolt 3, the flexibility to integrate with our ev Series, and a design optimized for mobility, the G-SPEED Shuttle is the perfect solution for any on-the-go project team,” said Scott Vouri, vice president strategy and business development, G-Technology, Western Digital.

The G-Technology G-SPEED Shuttle with Thunderbolt 3 is available in the United States starting today. It’s priced at $1,799.95 for 16TB of storage, $2,299.95 for 24TB of storage, $2,799.95 for 32TB of storage, and $3,799.95 for 48TB of storage.

The G-Technology G-SPEED Shuttle with ev Series Bay Adapters is also available starting today in the United States. It is priced at $1,999.95 for 20TB of storage space and $2,229.95 for 24TB of storage space.

Tags: G-Technology, Western Digital
Discuss this article in our forums

Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 to Developers

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 update to developers, one week after seeding the fourth beta and more than a month after releasing macOS High Sierra 10.13.2, the second major update to the macOS High Sierra operating system.

The new macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 beta can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center or through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store with the proper profile installed.

It’s not yet clear what improvements the macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 update will bring, but it’s likely to include bug fixes and performance improvements for issues that weren’t addressed in macOS High Sierra 10.13.2. It offers additional fixes for the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities that were discovered and publicized in early January and fixed initially in macOS High Sierra 10.13.2.

The update also fixes a bug that allows the App Store menu in the System Preferences to be unlocked with any password.

The previous macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 update focused solely on security fixes and performance improvements, with no new features introduced, and a supplemental update introduced a fix for the Spectre vulnerability.

Related Roundup: macOS High SierraTag: Meltdown-Spectre
Discuss this article in our forums

CAT S41 review: Truly a niche device

As our mobile devices move towards thinner and more elegant form factors, we lose track of a lot of the aspects the really matter in a phone. Battery life. Durability. These have been falling by the wayside since the days of the flip phone. When was the last time you didn’t worry about your phone’s battery or looked down terrified when you dropped your phone without a bulky case?

CAT (yes, that Caterpillar) explored these aspects in its new device, the CAT S41.

This isn’t a top-tier Android device. It doesn’t have the most impressive spec sheet, and you’re not going to get Note 8-level performance out of this thing. This phone is made for a special kind of user, who values ruggedness and battery life over everything else.

How does the S41 fare as an ultra-rugged piece of technology? Let’s find out.

Design

Are you tired of using a bulky case on your phone? What if your phone was a bulky case? That’s what the CAT S41 feels like. It’s made of a thick, rubberized material reminiscent of a tire — fitting for a device from a company that makes construction equipment.

The shell raises from the screen a bit, which will keep it from taking too much damage from unexpected drops. Think about the design like an Otterbox Defender case built into the device. This might be a great option for those who value durability above all else.

See also:

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active: Why?

Why does the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active exist? Don’t get me wrong, there is always something good about having choice in the Android space, but more so than any other year before it, this Active …

This rugged design continues throughout other aspects of the phone, such as the physical navigation keys. This was pretty nostalgic for me, since I haven’t had physical keys on a device since the Droid Charge (shudder). They are very tactile and responsive, which is important to me as a keyboard critic and enthusiast (don’t hate). Double-tapping the home key turns the screen on, which is nice for those who don’t want to shift their hand position.

The phone’s got a microSD and SIM card tray, power and volume keys, a headphone jack, a microUSB charging port, and a bright orange “Push to talk” key. Each ports is covered by a flap made of the same material as the shell, and shields the ports from water, dust, and more. It’s IP68 rated, so you could theoretically drop it from 1.8 meters or submerge it in two meters of water for up to 60 minutes.

The “Push to talk” key is the real indicator of who this device is for. A group of CAT S41 users would be able to rapidly exchange information when close together. This will be most useful on construction sites for coordinating workers doing separate tasks. If you’re not a construction worker, you can also remap the button to execute different actions via short or long presses. This isn’t the Bixby button — you can use the key for pretty much anything.

See also:

Everything you need to know about IP ratings

It’s a great time to be a tech lover. Looking back on the smartphone releases of 2016, the biggest problem we might have is that virtually every new device is great. In fact, many of …

The button also has an underwater mode, which locks the screen and allows you to take photos under water. I’m not sure why you would want to submerge this thing on purpose,  but it’s nice to have.

Display

The CAT S41 sports a 5.0-inch Full HD IPS LCD display with Gorilla Glass 5. Overall, I feel very mixed about it. The color is fine. It has a respectable pixel density, at 441 PPI. But the bezels make the display feel more encased in the device than other options. Compared to something like the Razer Phone, which has large bezels that house front-facing speakers, the CAT phone’s display feels outdated. It has more bezels within the screen portion itself too.

For general use and web browsing, the screen performs quite well. Colors are quite saturated (though not as technically accurate as something like the Pixel 2), which makes for a pretty satisfying experience overall.

The CAT S41 can be used with gloves on, which is pretty rare. This adds to the construction-friendly nature of this device, since many hard labor workers will be wearing gloves while working.

Performance & hardware

Performance might be one of the CAT S41’s weakest spots. I noticed plenty of lag and stuttering around all areas of the OS, even when moving around the home screens. It’s not huge, but the stuttering can be annoying, and it detracts from the experience of the device quite a bit. These caveats probably won’t be all that noticeable on the job, though. It might be slower than their primary device, but as a work phone this should work just fine.

This lag is likely due to the device’s sub-par MediaTek Helio P20 processor. This mid-range chip was released over a year ago, so obviously you’re going to see some substantial performance differences between it and new chips in 2017. The SoC features a Mali T880 GPU, which is also decidedly mid-range, as is apparent during heavy gaming sessions.

Editor’s Pick

Best of Android 2017 – Which phone has the longest battery life?

As part of our Best of Android 2017 series, we’ve been putting this year’s best flagship smartphones through a set of rigorous tests to find out which truly deserves to be called the best. No …

Where the processing of this phone drop the ball, other features lift it back up. The S41 comes with an absolutely enormous 5,000 mAh battery which makes it last an incredibly long time. I was able to go a full two days of consistent use. It will last even longer if you’re a light user with a lot of standby time. The closest flagship we could compare this device to is the Razer Phone, which lasted a respectably long time with it’s 4,000 mAh battery. We ran our own battery test software on this device as well, and it beat out even the best ranking phone from our Best of Android battery test by miles, coming in at 23 hours and 18 minutes. That is extremely good.

It great to see a headphone jack present in this phone, but I wish it used USB Type-C instead of microUSB. Every device has trade-offs, but for the price it would have been nice if the S41’s specs were just a bit better.

One thing to note about the CAT S41 is its MIL-STD-810G certification. This certification was established by the United States military to test equipment and ensure it is up to their standards — it can cover a number of different environmental conditions such as temperature, explosive atmosphere, and salt fog, among other thing. Most consumer electronics certified with the standard are rated specifically for shock. That said, CAT specifically stated the S41 is certified for thermal shocks and salt mist spray.

Because the anticipated consumer for this device is a construction or hard labor worker, this certification is very important. If you want to read more about the MIL-STD-810G certification, check out the Wikipedia entry.

Cameras

Don’t use this phone as your main imaging device.

It’s hard to put it any other way — the CAT S41 cameras are bad. The 13 MP rear shooter is incredibly soft in anything but the most ideal lighting situations, and the front-facing 8 MP camera streaks when exposed to any significant light source. The front camera actually seems to do slightly better than the rear in many situations, which is pretty strange. Don’t use this phone as your main imaging device.

The rear camera tends to oversaturate photos more than any other smartphone camera we’ve tested. Images in standard look like the saturation slider was pulled a bit too far to the right in editing software. There is an interesting settings menu here that allows you to tweak aspects of the camera to your liking, but they didn’t seem to do much.

One interesting feature this phone has is the ability to take “Picture-in-Picture” shots, which takes an image with the rear and front camera at the same time, allowing you to pin the second image anywhere on the screen. I’m not really sure how this feature would be useful, but I’m also not a construction worker, so I’ll have to defer to those guys on this one.

The video mode is capable of 1080p video at 30 fps, but it suffers from the same saturation and softness issues as the photo mode. Another weird feature Caterpillar decided to include is the ability to record using filters like Negative, Aqua, and Sepia. I can’t see why you would want to use these modes in, well, any circumstance, but the option is there for those who want it.

Software

The CAT S41 is running Android 7.0 Nougat, which, at time of writing, is a 17-month-old build of Android. We do not expect new devices to launch with 7.0 Nougat at this point. Newer, more secure builds of Android have been out for months. The target buyers of this phone probably won’t care as much about timely software updates, but the fact that it runs such an old version of Android makes us feel like it might not ever receive one.

The S41 features CAT’s extremely light user interface. It feels mostly stock, with a few small UI tweaks like some custom icons, which make the phone feel more like a Caterpillar device. There’s a registration app, FM Radio, App toolbox, and a “Catphones” app which is just a link to the online support page. The most useful app built into the phone out of the box is the “Share” app, which allows you to charge other devices with the massive 5,000 mAh battery packed in this thing. You can usually only do this with devices using USB Type-C, so it’s nice to see this feature available, especially since it has one of the biggest batteries on the market.

If you’ve used a Nexus or Pixel device, the software essentially reflects what you would see on one of those devices. I’m always happy to see a built-in FM radio, but you will need to use some wired headphones as an antenna for this to work. Still, it’s very nice to have.

Specs

Gallery

Pricing and final thoughts

The Caterpillar S41 is one of the most rugged devices we’ve seen to date. The physical keys, IP68 weather resistance, and Gorilla Glass 5 make it a respectable choice for those working in dangerous environments. However, this is not a consumer device. The sluggish processor and less-than-ideal camera will keep away anyone wanting to use their device for more than the simplest tasks.

At $449, this is truly a niche device. Construction companies will likely be more than happy to purchase them for their workers, but for the average consumer that just wants a rugged handset with a huge battery, something like the Galaxy S8 Active is likely a better fit.

Disclosure: E-Commerce Content is independent of editorial content and we may receive compensation in connection with your purchase of products via links on this page. This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more details.

These are the phone trends that will dominate 2018

The last 12 months saw the release of some of the most desirable smartphones ever conceived. From Samsung’s curved Galaxy S8 to Apple’s face-tracking iPhone X, to Google’s astonishing Pixel 2 camera smarts — 2017 has been a very good year for smartphones.

But there’s always more ahead.

As we stride forth into 2018, we’ve been speculating about what the next dozen months might have in store for us. There will be further refinements, mass adoptions of certain trends, and a whole new batch of tempting handsets. Here’s what we expect to see this year in smartphones.

Under-glass fingerprint sensors

One of the strongest mobile trends in 2017 was the shift towards bezel-less phones with screens that span from edge to edge. Coupled with a fresh 18:9 aspect ratio, which we expect will be standard from now on, this allowed manufacturers to pack more screen into devices that could still be used one-handed. But this trend necessitated the displacement of the fingerprint sensor to the back of the phone, or, in the case of Apple’s iPhone X, its disappearance.

There’s another solution – manufacturers could put the fingerprint sensor under the display. We’ve seen this kind of technology from Qualcomm and Synaptics, and both Apple and Samsung have been the subject of related rumors. We expect at least one top-tier smartphone maker to roll it out in a 2018 flagship. If it works well enough, wider adoption is sure to follow.

Facial unlocking tech

Apple wasn’t first with the idea of Face ID, but it did improve on existing facial recognition tech in phones with biometric authentication that’s secure, fast, and usable in a variety of lighting conditions. We’re not sure if facial recognition is the new security standard, but we are sure that we’re set to see more of it this year. Many manufacturers offer some form of facial recognition already, though it’s generally not as secure as Apple’s Face ID. Samsung also offers iris scanning, which is more secure, but not as fast and convenient to use.

Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

It seems likely Apple will roll Face ID out in more iPhones this year, and we think all the top manufacturers will feel compelled to follow suit with something similar. As more people use it, facial unlocking tech should improve, but we think it will remain one of several biometrics on offer, rather than the only one.

More augmented reality baked into your phone

Augmented reality has been around for a long time, but we’ve yet to see a truly killer app. With increasingly powerful smartphones and big plays in the form of Google’s ARCore and Apple’s ARKit, that could change in 2018. There are some fun ARKit apps on iOS already, and Google Lens shows how AR might merge with the artificially-intelligent assistant in your phone. We think there’s plenty more augmentation to come, and AR could take off in a big way this year.

Dual cameras on every phone

For anyone who loves to be able to zoom in on their subject, or achieve a blurred background bokeh effect that emulates a DSLR, dual cameras have delivered in 2017. We’ve seen great examples in devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8, Apple’s iPhone X, and the Huawei Mate 10 Pro. A dual camera is fast-becoming an expectation, and not one that’s confined to the flagship fleet, as evidenced by the Moto G5S Plus with its dual 13-megapixel snappers.

A dual camera is fast-becoming an expectation

We expect to see dual cameras of varying quality in a host of smartphones this year, although we don’t feel they’re essential – the single-lens Pixel 2 XL is our current pick for the best smartphone camera.

Wireless charging becoming a staple

We’ve long enjoyed the advantages of wireless charging, not least the ability to pop your phone on the bedside table in the dark without any fumbling with cables and have it fully charged the next morning. Now that the top two smartphone manufacturers, Samsung and Apple, have embraced it, we think wireless charging will become a standard expectation. We’re also starting to see many more great options for wireless charging pads.

Even more exciting is the prospect of wireless charging across distance. We’ve seen a few different  technologies pursuing this over the last few years. Could 2018 be the year that we finally see a working example in a mainstream phone? Probably not, but we can hope.

Artificial intelligence could make life easier

Google’s Pixel 2 or 2 XL represent the current pinnacle of software smarts, with artificial intelligence lending a hand to create better photos, recognize objects, and help you schedule your day-to-day. We’re also seeing a big AI play from Huawei with the dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) in its proprietary Kirin chip, which it hopes will help us to make mundane unconscious decisions so we can get on with our lives. Amazon is also trying get Alexa into as many smartphones as possible.

It can be tricky to cut through the hyperbole with AI, but there is real potential here, and it’s something that every smartphone manufacturer is working on. We’re sold on the possibilities, but we hope to see more concrete examples of AI in our phones actually benefitting us in 2018.

Foldable displays

The concept of a foldable smartphone has been around for a few years now. What if our regular smartphone could fold out to the size of a small tablet? Or maybe people would like a phone that folds down like an old clamshell for greater portability. Thanks to some patent filings, rumors suggest the Samsung Galaxy X may include this feature, but we don’t think you should hold your breath. Developments in foldable displays could well enable new designs and shapes, and greater durability, but we’re not really expecting a flurry of foldable phones in 2018.

Towards the end of 2017, the ZTE Axon M took a step in this direction by combining two 5.2-inch displays with a hinge, but it failed to impress and didn’t feel useful. An actual folding display would surely look better, but is it something we need? We’re not convinced that there’s a compelling reason for a device like this, and if we do see one in 2018 it’s likely to be a novelty.

Better batteries

We hope that battery life will increase every year, but all too often efficiency gains are squandered by increasingly svelte designs. One area where battery tech in smartphones has notably improved is the speed of charging, and we think that will continue in 2018. There’s no end of exciting research into how to squeeze more out of lithium-ion batteries, or replace them with something superior, but we’ve been to enough rodeos now to know better than to predict it will happen this year.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Huawei may be releasing a foldable smartphone next year
• iPhone 8 Plus review
• Apple iPhone 8 review
• Samsung Galaxy X: Rumors and news leaks
• Best phone of 2017

Cultivate a healthy mind, body, and soul with the five best yoga apps

It seems as though there is a new exercise program or diet fad every year. We all want to be healthy, keep our weight under control, and keep those stress levels down to a minimum. If you’re always making promises to yourself that this is the year you will be healthier, but you always seem to end up breaking them, then you might want to try yoga.

Yoga has been with us for as long as we can remember. It isn’t a quick-fix fad. Yoga is more than just another way to exercise. It can be a profound change in the way you live your life. It’s a holistic mind and body workout that mixes stretching, muscle strengthening, meditation, and relaxation.

Are you ready to start making a change today? Say “namaste” to five of the best yoga apps for Android and iOS. If you want to improve your yoga skills, you should also check out Nadi X, the wearable technology that promises to do just that.

Go deeper into your fitness routine and take a look at our picks for the best fitness trackers and the best fitness apps for iPhone and Android.

Daily Yoga

This app is suitable for all levels, whether you’re a yoga beginner or already advanced. You will find more than  200 guided classes dedicated to yoga, pilates, meditation, and even workout plans. The app guides you through step-by-step instructions so that you can master things like full splits, shoulder stands, and many other hard poses in a safe way. You can share your workouts and calories burned with Apple’s Health App if you wish. To access all the premium content, you can subscribe to a monthly plan at $8 per month or you can pay $40 for the year.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Simply Yoga

Simply Yoga guides you through a series of videos lasting between 20 minutes and an hour that cover more than 30 poses that you can do in the privacy of your own home. When you are ready to move to the next level, you can opt to purchase the full version of the app, which includes the second level of workouts, the ability to create custom routines, landscape mode, and no more ads.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Pocket Yoga ($3)

As the name suggests, Pocket Yoga is something you can have with you at all times, so that you can do it anywhere. With more than 200 illustrated poses and detailed voice instructions, Pocket Yoga is a comprehensive guide to yoga exercises. You can preview various practices and play your own music. The app will log progress every step of the way. Pocket Yoga is also compatible with Apple TV, so you can stream sessions via AirPlay. If you wear the Apple Watch, Pocket Yoga will use it to display the current pose, time remaining, your heart rate, calories burned, and a lot more.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Yoga Studio

With more than 80 yoga and meditation classes, ranging from 10 to 60 minutes at any difficulty level, Yoga Studio guides you through poses with HD video classes. It has a robust catalog of more than 280 poses, which should be enough for most people. This app can serve beginners as well as experts. It also works with Apple TV so that you can play the videos using AirPlay. The app lets you choose from a selection of background sounds or music, or you can create a playlist from your music library. If you want access to all the features, you can pay a subscription of $2 per month or $20 for the year.

Download now for:

Android iOS

5 Minute Yoga

If you don’t have enough time during the day for an extended yoga session, this app can help by offering yoga activities for five minutes. The barebones app is good for beginners, as it offers simple poses with a timer to make sure you’re doing them for five minutes. There is an optional premium subscription that you can pay monthly or annually. Prices range from $2 to $10 for a full upgrade.

Download now for:

Android iOS

Editors’ Recommendations

• Put your health first and get into shape with the best iPhone fitness apps
• The 20 best news apps that are fast and fluid on your iPhone or Android
• From reading more to eating less, there’s an app to help with every resolution
• Run your way to better health with the 10 best running apps
• The 10 best messaging apps for Android and iOS

Facebook hints at big changes coming to Messenger app in 2018

On Tuesday, January 16, Facebook Messenger Vice President David Marcus published his prediction for Messenger in 2018. While many of his predictions seem pretty straightforward, they may offer a few hints at changes we can expect this year.

A more social Messenger

Facebook is going all in on creating more meaningful interactions on Messenger in 2018. Marcus’ post suggests improvements in Messenger to foster both these interactions both online and in real life.

Since Marcus’ post is a teaser, there’s not a lot for us to go on. However, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a large-scale rollout of M Suggestions this year. The artificial intelligence-based bot, similar to Google Assistant, provides recommendations on restaurants and events based on your chats.

We also expect features that make sharing information easy to come to Messenger this year. In his post, Marcus writes, “We coordinate real-life get-togethers, we hash out our opinions on the latest news of the day, we dissect our favorite TV shows, and we replay and relive key sports moments.”

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a huge stretch to expect features like in-app video and news searches this year since the company released similar features in its Facebook Spaces app for Oculus Rift in 2017.

Improved real-time communication

Facebook Messenger has become an essential way for families to communicate. It’s also an important tool for relief workers. After Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico in 2017, Facebook sent its connectivity team to the island to provide emergency relief. In 2018, it looks like Messenger will focus on ways to improve connectivity in challenging environments.

Marcus writes, “This year, you will see us continue investing in real-time communications to make sure that no matter where you are, you can easily stay connected to your loved ones.” While he doesn’t explain the improvements, we would anticipate improvements with video and calling features in places with limited or poor data signals. 

A streamlined Messenger app

It’s no secret that Messenger has become a little unwieldy over the past few years. With all the new features introduced in Messenger over the last few years, the design seems to be an afterthought. Marcus tackles this head-on and tells readers to, “Expect to see us invest in massively simplifying and streamlining Messenger this year.”

While the particulars remain to be seen, we would love to see a more refined user interface that would allow you to easily organize chats. An app drawer, similar to that in iMessage, would be another welcome addition.

2018 will be more visual 

With more than 17 billion video chats in 2017, it’s no surprise that Facebook will focus on improving visual features in Messenger. In his post, Marcus says “people will expect a super fast and intuitive camera, video, images, GIFs, and stickers with almost every conversation.”

Again, Marcus doesn’t provide specifics, but we definitely expect to see a larger selection of filters and stickers this year. It also wouldn’t be a big surprise to see a Bitmoji rival and sticker creator make its way to Messenger to this year as well. Improved facial recognition and photo tagging abilities would also be a logical addition too since these will be featured on  Facebook Portal.

Lots of bots

Messenger bet big on bots in 2017. Last year the company worked with small businesses and global brands to create more than 200,000 bots for Messenger.

Marcus writes, “Look for investment in rich messaging experiences not only from global brands, but small businesses who need to be creative and nimble to stay competitive.” Since many of these bots provide very rudimentary features, we would expect to see improvements in overall user experience this year. We also expect larger brands to follow the lead of brands like Apple Music and Lego in creating marketing solutions made for the Messenger platform. 

Customer service comes to Messenger

Expect to see more businesses transitioning at least some of their customer service resources to Messenger. A recent study, commissioned by Facebook found that “56 percent of people surveyed would rather message a business than call customer service, and 67 percent expect to message businesses even more over the next two years.”

This year, we expect to see more brands rely on Messenger as a platform to market and sell products to highly targeted audiences.  With Facebook’s new Messages Objective, brands now create ads that allow prospective customers to immediately be connected to a live customer service representative or bot. Sephora, the multinational cosmetics chain, saw an 11 percent increase in makeover bookings with used Facebook’s targeted ads along with Messages Objective.

As the owner of the two most popular messaging services in the world (Facebook owns WhatsApp), Facebook seems to be focused on improving user experience on Messenger this year. While we don’t know exactly what changes Messenger will make, we do expect to see improvements on its A.I. features as well as a more streamlined user interface.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Goodbye, Messenger Day — Facebook simplifies Stories with design makeover
• Facebook Messenger is now used by 1.3 billion people worldwide
• New Facebook Messenger tool could let businesses broadcast mass chat messages
• Enjoy photos in all their 4K glory with the latest Facebook Messenger update
• Facebook is rolling out peer-to-peer PayPal payments for Facebook Messenger

Apple is ‘listening,’ but won’t release a major MacBook Pro upgrade this year

Although Apple’s usual hardware refresh of the MacBook Pro line is expected to take place in 2018, a new report suggests that it won’t make any major changes to the platform. This, despite the fact that the chief design officer at Apple, Jony Ive, recently stated that Apple was “listening” to fans’ concerns over various elements of its Mac hardware lines.

Apple’s MacBook Pro laptops are far from poor. In our review of the latest 13-inch model, we found it to look and feel exquisite, with a beautiful screen, loud speakers, and a great touchpad. However, the keyboard was rather disappointing, battery life leaves a lot to be desired, and that Touch bar addition felt pretty redundant. Apple fans have also previously criticized the range for underpowered internal hardware and a lack of ports.

While the hardware may continue to improve in 2018, it doesn’t seem like this year will see anything in the way of a design overhaul. In a discussion with anonymous sources from the upstream supply chain, DigiTimes discovered that Foxconn will have a greater hand in manufacturing 2018 MacBooks. The report also claims that Apple has no plans for a major upgrade to any of the MacBook or MacBook Pro models in 2018, despite the last refresh happening in 2016.

One potential change which could come about though is more favorable pricing. Although it would require Apple to pass on the savings, Foxconn is said to be a slightly more affordable manufacturer than its traditional partner, Quanta. Quanta will still manufacture the majority of 2018 MacBooks, but having Foxconn pick up a larger portion of the supply could open up the door for price cuts.

If all of this (lack of) news leaves you a little despondent about your next upgrade, don’t forget that there are many great alternatives to the MacBook Pro out there. We even put together a guide to the best options for traditional MacBook fans, many of them much cheaper and more powerful to boot.

If you had to ask us what our favorite laptops available today are though, the list is slightly different. Have a look at our guide to see the best notebooks you can buy right now.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Apple ‘listening’ to Mac concerns, but no word on hoped-for improvements
• Dell’s refreshed Latitude laptops get to work with 8th-gen Intel Core, 4G LTE
• Sony is bringing a sequel to last year’s fantastic OLED (and more) to CES 2018
• Reviews arrive days before the iMac Pro launch, and it’s a big performance jump
• Is Google’s Pixelbook a worthy competitor to the Surface Pro?

Ingenico’s latest mobile POS reader runs Android out of the box

With the Moby M70, Ingenico is offering a mobile POS solution running Android 7.0 Nougat.

Ingenico is one of the largest integrated payment solution providers in the world. Even if you haven’t heard the name previously, if you’ve used a credit card reader at a retail store recently, chances are it was made by either Ingenico or Verifone. Ingenico has been offering POS (point of sale) systems for over 35 years, and the company is now rolling out its next-gen mobile POS solution, dubbed the Moby M70.

The highlight of the Moby M70 is that it runs Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box. There have been mPOS solutions based on Android before, but where the Moby M70 differs is that it comes with full access to the Play Store. That’s a huge deal as it gives developers the ability to distribute apps directly through the Play Store.

Traditionally, Android-based POS solutions were locked down, and any apps that were designed for a particular platform had to be certified individually. Ingenico is getting around that by decoupling the card reader — the bit that handles the transactions — from the tablet itself. Essentially, the Moby M70 is an Android tablet that is paired with Ingenico’s RP457c card reader.

Coming to the hardware on the tablet side, the M70 features four Cortex A35 cores along with dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 4.1, and a 4160mAh battery.

Ben Wagner, Director of Product Management, Solutions at Ingenico North America offered more insights into how the Moby M70 functions. The RP457c is a standalone unit that undergoes PCI and EMV certification, and then the module is connected to the back of the Moby M70 tablet via USB. The card reader itself is certified for PCI PTS SCR 4.1, EMV L1 and L2, EMV L1 contactless, Visa payWave and Mastercard contactless, which means it’ll work with a majority of credit and debit cards as well as mobile payments services available today.

Wagner also mentioned that Ingenico is rolling out an SDK that gives developers the ability to create customized apps that take full advantage of the tablet. The goal with the Moby platform is to reduce time to market for merchants.

The POS is sold as a turnkey solution, and while the first variant in the series has a screen size of 7 inches, Ingenico is envisaging variants with screen sizes varying from 8 to 12 inches to cater to various use cases. For instance, in a restaurant setting, where a more portable solution would be needed, the 7-inch M70 would come in handy.

The M70 is now widely available to merchants in the U.S., and Ingenico is also offering a white-label solution for those looking to customize their tablets.

What CES tells us about VR and AR in 2018

Generally speaking, CES is a decent lens to view trends for the year.

As fast as the tech industry seems to move, smartphones in particular, there are some general trends that can be easily observed at CES. Products are put on display from every corner of the world, and of the few that make it to release this year, only a few will be worth remembering. Still, CES is a solid way to see where the industry thinks people will spend their money, and that paints a decent picture of what we can expect for the year.

Here’s what CES tells us about VR and AR in 2018.

Virtual Reality — ditching the tethers, keeping the games

Virtual Reality products at CES this year all had a similar theme: freedom from limitations. This was more easily observed from HTC with its wireless adapter for the Vive and Vive Pro, but the trend continued all over the place. Intel showed off its WiGig adapter for VR headsets, TPCast announced support for Windows Mixed Reality, and it quickly became clear wires were going to be on the way out by the end of the year.

But it’s not just wires people want to ditch; phones are on the way out too. Lenovo’s Mirage Solo and Oculus Go made big appearances at CES as options for totally standalone VR experiences that would previously have required a phone to act as the brains. Oculus has been teasing high-end standalone VR for over a year now, and Google’s efforts to expand Daydream were made clear during its conference late last year. It’s clear we’re going to see quite a bit from these two companies as mobile VR moves beyond the phone.

The one thing that is absolutely remaining the same this year is the purpose of VR for most consumers — entertainment. These headsets are leaning heavier than ever on games and movies, including a renewed focus on VR180 capture from Google. While there are certainly practical applications for these headsets popping up every day, the dominant focus this year will continue to be fun.

Augmented Reality — eventually we’ll have glasses worth wearing

If you were hoping this was the year augmented reality made its way to your glasses, I have some bad news for you. This year is going to be more about commercial applications for AR, like the glasses made in partnership with FLIR. In a kind of sad way, most augmented reality hardware manufacturers are only now starting to catch up to where Google was with Glass years ago.

This year all of the augmented reality most of us will experience is going to continue to live on our phones. Google will expand its ARCore experience to a ton more phones, and Apple will keep pushing ahead with ARKit. It’ll be at least another year because we see glasses people actually want to wear, and likely another year after that before those glasses are available from a company most people are willing to give their money to.

Are you looking forward to anything specific in the VR or AR world this year? Share you thoughts in the comments!