One in six Americans owns a smart speaker, according to study

There’s no doubt that smart speakers are selling like hotcakes, but how many people own them, exactly? Quite a few, according to NPR and Edison Research. They’ve published findings of a study which estimates that one in six Americans (16 percent) owns a smart speaker of some kind — a huge amount if the study is precise, and a whopping 128 percent higher than a year earlier. About 7 percent of Americans reportedly bought at least one speaker between Black Friday (November 24th) and then end of 2017, with 4 percent of Americans having bought their very first speaker.

Not surprisingly, Amazon still rules this fledgling market. The study indicates that 11 percent of Americans have one of Amazon’s Echo speakers, while 4 percent have a Google Home of some kind thanks to its relatively late arrival. Just how people use their speakers is more complicated. About 66 percent of buyers plan to entertain others by streaming music, asking questions or playing games, while 64 percent anticipate using theirs for smart home control.

These speakers aren’t necessarily replacing the devices you’d expect, either. While 39 percent of owners say they’re using radios less often, and 34 percent say the same for smartphones, you also see significant impacts on TV (30 percent), tablets (27 percent), PCs (26 percent) and even the printed word (23 percent). About 44 percent also said they increased use of voice assistants on their phones, which suggests that these speakers are raising awareness of these AI helpers — no doubt what companies like Amazon and Google are hoping for.

We would take the study with a small grain of salt. It’s based on both a blind 1,010-person phone study and a deeper dive into habits based on an 806-person survey of owners. While both samples are substantial, there’s a good chance the real figures are different. Even so, they indicate that smart speakers are quickly becoming mainstays of life for some people. And with a wave of smart displays on the way, that trend might just continue.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: National Public Media

Apple Health App data being used as evidence in murder trial in Germany

Not everyone uses the Apple Health App that’s pre-installed on their iPhones. But this app is playing an important role in a murder trial in Germany. An Afghan refugee named Hussein Khavari is being accused of raping and murdering 19-year-old medical student Maria Ladenburger, disposing of her body in a river.

Hussein has been on trial since September of 2017, and Ladenburger was murdered in October 2016. The authorities wanted to search the information on his iPhone, but Khavari refused to give them his password to unlock the device, Welt reports.. Investigators then turned to a private Munich company to gain access to his phone. Khavari has admitted to his guilt, but he also disputed some details.

Authorities went through the Apple’s Health app on his phone and learned what kind of activity Khavari was participating in on that particular day — the day Ladenburger’s body was dumped in the River Dreisam. They discovered that a large bulk of his activity consisted of “climbing stairs.” They took this information and made a correlation between the time it would have taken Khavari to drag the body of Ladenburger down to the river, and climb back up.

An investigator of similar build to Khavari went to the scene of the crime to recreate how the police believed he disposed of the body. The investigator’s Apple Health app activity correlated with the information that was recorded on Khavari’s phone.

“Digital evidence is already more common in law enforcement, not only metrics from apps but also facial recognition, recordings from smart speakers, and, of course, smart devices with cameras,” said Sean O’Brien, a researcher at Yale Privacy Lab. Michael Kwet, another Yale Privacy Lab researcher, has suggested that data pulled from smartphones and other devices are likely to be used more in criminal investigations. It seems that the legal-system has not yet found a way to handle these kinds of cases.

“In my opinion, the creators and distributors of software should, first and foremost, have a responsibility to their users,” O’Brien said. “When and where they should hand over data to courts is a more complex question. It would be much better, in my view, not to collect such surveillance data at all. Such data is best kept locally on devices whenever possible. If it is collected, those who handle it have a deep responsibility to defend the privacy of their users.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• KardiaBand helps the Apple Watch inch closer to becoming a medical device
• Yale Assure Lock SL review
• Apple Watch 3: News, new features, and release
• Google reportedly collects Android data when Location Services are off
• Flow tracks pollutant levels in the air to help you breathe easier

Ford teases ‘Mach 1’ electric performance SUV for 2020

At its NAIAS 2018 preview event, Ford just dropped a few details about an electric vehicle it plans to release in 2020. The “Mach 1” (cribbing its name from the famous Mustang model) is an all-electric performance SUV under development by Team Edison in Ford’s recently-opened Corktown facility. It won’t be the company’s only EV either, as chairman Bill Ford revealed the company plans to have 40 electric vehicles by 2022 while investing $11 billion in them.

That group’s stated mission is to “accelerate both the development and adoption of electric vehicles,” but this is the first project we’re getting any information about. Last year, the company vaguely referenced an electric SUV with 300 miles of range, as well as plans for a hybrid Mustang and F-150. The demo reel at this event showed off the hybrid F-150 that could power one’s house in case of an outage, which is also due to arrive in 2020. Appropriately, the Mach 1 reveal comes at an event where Ford also showed off a performance gas SUV in the Edge ST and a “Bullitt” special edition of the Mustang. Whatever Mach 1 is, it appears the Tesla Model X will have some competition… eventually.

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

Source: Ford (Twitter)

Hulu is now the exclusive streaming home for ‘ER’

If you grew up watching American TV, there’s a good chance you’ve seen at least a little bit of the hospital drama ER. But if you’ve wanted to watch it online, your legal options have been limited unless you’ve been willing to buy it from services like iTunes. However, it just got considerably easier… for some people, at least. Hulu has announced that it’s now the first and only place where you can stream all 15 seasons of ER. If you want to see what George Clooney was doing before he became an A-list movie star (or directing Hulu originals), you just have to fire up a web browser.

Hulu hasn’t said whether or not its exclusive is just for the US or applies worldwide — we’ve asked the company if it can elaborate. If it’s international in scope, that rules out ER streaming in most countries given that Hulu is virtually non-existent outside of the US and Japan.

Either way, it’s a coup for Hulu as it fights for exclusives that could give it an edge over Amazon and Netflix. It also partly addresses an ongoing problem with access to classic shows on streaming services. While there have been previous deals to stream well-known shows like Seinfeld, there have still been conspicuous omissions like ER. It’s now that much easier to recreate your old TV viewing habits without spending a fortune in the process.

Source: Hulu

Fox Innovation Lab showcases Wes Anderson VR and Movies Anywhere

During CES, a Fox Innovation Lab event focused on tech it’s pushing this year like HDR10+, but the most important parts were a slick VR experience tied to Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs and discussion of the recently-launched Movies Anywhere. While VR experiences built around movies are hardly new, this one took an unusual tack.

Fox

Bryan Cranston, Scarlett Johansson and Jeff Goldblum provided voices for the dogs they play in the movie, talking as themselves or in character while I viewed them in VR, sitting on set pieces in the stop-motion animation studio as animators walked around in the background. The combination of dogs talking in “real time” before you while animators whisk by accelerated behind creates a surreal effect that also highlights all the work that goes into making a movie like this. The full experience is going to be released later this month tied to the Sundance Film Festival, initially for Google Daydream headsets.

The other part of the event was a chance to talk to some of the people behind Movies Anywhere, as we checked in on the digital locker setup. After some initial waiting, I was able to successfully link all of my accounts to the service, and even use it to search out and buy movies very easily. According to general manager Karin Gilford, people have already moved around 80 million movies onto the new platform, which unlocks titles across iTunes, Amazon Video, Vudu and Google Play, and have streamed more than 3 million hours.

Something we can expect to see more of is tie-ins between movies that are just arriving in theaters, like Fox’s exclusive featurette pushed with The Greatest Showman. That’s because they’ve found people tied in with the service see more movies in theaters than the average person. Other than potential deals with new partners, the push in 2018 will be to improve the experience on TV screens, new features and making it a better companion for film fans.

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

Meltdown and Spectre flaws loomed large over CES

The Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities hung like a shadow over the festivities of CES. What’s typically a celebration of consumer electronics was instead a stark reminder of just how far-reaching these issues are. And that’s especially the case for Intel and AMD, both of whom unveiled fast new processors that are still vulnerable to future Spectre exploits. They each had statements about what they’re doing to secure their hardware, but there was no escaping that the threat of Spectre is the new normal. That’s particularly troubling when tech companies are hoping to launch smart home solutions that seep into every aspect of ours lives.

Intel faced the brunt of the early criticism, when initial reports pegged the potential exploits as something that affected only its chips. It turns out that’s not the whole story. The Meltdown vulnerability is specifically aimed at Intel’s hardware, but Spectre will be an ongoing issue for every modern CPU. All the same, no massive security hole was going to put a stop to Intel CEO Brian Krzanich’s opening CES keynote — not when its big-budget show was being held at a giant music venue at the Monte Carlo hotel.

After an opening act that featured virtual instruments and a virtuoso child dancer, Krzanich went into crisis response mode almost immediately. “The collaboration among so many companies to address this industry-wide issue across several different processor architectures has been truly remarkable,” he said, praising the unusual way competitors rallied together. “Security is job number one for Intel and our industry. So the primary focus of our decisions and discussions have been to keep our customers’ data safe.”

Krzanich went on to assure the audience that Intel hasn’t heard about anyone using these exploits to steal customer data. And he also gave us more clarity about the company’s response, noting that it plans to fully patch its product line from the past five years by the end of the month. As for reports of fixes slowing down processors, he reiterated Intel’s line about the impact being “highly workload dependent.” Microsoft gave us a bit more insight into what that means the next day — basically, you can expect noticeable slowdowns with Intel’s chips from 2015 and earlier.

As for AMD, its CTO, Mark Papermaster, told press and analysts that it still believes there is “near zero risk” for its users. Thanks to architectural differences from Intel, the Meltdown (aka “Rogue Data Cache Load”) vulnerability doesn’t affect AMD’s chips. When it comes to the two Spectre vulnerabilities, he said Variant 1, otherwise known as “Bounds check bypass,” will be fixed through OS and software patches.

Papermaster reiterated that there’s “near zero risk” for its architecture to Variant 2, or “branch target injection.” Specifically, he noted, “vulnerability to Variant 2 has not been demonstrated on AMD processors to date.” That carefully worded statement leaves room for the possibility that hackers could come up with new exploits that take advantage of that flaw.

This CES was a particularly ill-timed launch for one of the strangest collaborations in the tech industry: Intel’s new 8th-generation Core CPU with AMD’s RX Vega GPU. When we first heard about the chip, we were intrigued by the possibilities. It finally gives computer makers the flexibility to make ultraportables with solid gaming chops. But now, with the threat of Spectre, the chip’s luster is ruined a bit. Similarly, it’s just tough to get too excited about AMD’s upcoming Ryzen desktop CPUs. Even its promising Radeon Mobile GPU, which could bring even faster performance to laptops than its Intel collaboration, is still tainted by its connection with AMD’s affected processors.

In an interview with Engadget, Jim Anderson, AMD’s Radeon head, said, “Regardless of Spectre and Meltdown, we are always focused on continuing to improve our security. … It’s key for two very important markets for us, both data center and the commercial PC market.” As for any potential performance hits, Anderson said the impact should be “negligible.” Since our chat with AMD, Microsoft has halted patches for Windows systems running the company’s chips. It turns out the update ended up bricking some machines. Microsoft blamed AMD’s documentation for not conforming with earlier instructions, and it’s unclear when the patches will resume.

It’d be bad enough if Spectre affected only individual devices, but this year at CES, tech companies also doubled down on connected platforms built on user data. LG has its ThinQ AI, and Samsung is bringing Bixby and SmartThings to more products. And on a similar front, we’re also seeing more companies integrating with smart assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. It’ll be more important than ever to ensure that smart home platforms are secure locally in your home, and that the servers powering all of the assistants are also as secure as possible. (Google, Amazon and Microsoft all say they’ve patched their servers against known exploits.)

The worry isn’t that a hacker could discover your Netflix guilty-watch queue. Instead, there’s the potential for them to tap into smart home platforms to track your location, use your home cameras to peep on your family and access the microphones spread throughout your home. Indeed, we’ve already seen how vulnerable connected baby monitors were, which allowed people to spy on kids and potentially communicate with them. As gadgets reach deeper into our lives, so does the potential for serious attacks.

Tim Alessi, LG’s director of product marketing for home entertainment, assured us that the company has “always had a history of making our devices as secure as possible.” And when it comes to the widespread data collection that LG’s ThinQ smart devices will employ, he noted, “We’re not just collecting data for data’s sake. It’s to help people get the most out of their TVs. And, during setup, it’s very clear during the opt-in process to make their own decision.”

LG Electronics marketing VP, David Vanderwaal, showing off the company’s new CLOi AI-powered robot and smart home devices.

Steve Marcus / Reuters

Going into CES this year, we knew the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities would be something every major tech company would be thinking about. And their response was what you’d expect: They’re working hard to fix the immediate issues, and they’ll keep an extra eye on security in the future. Intel, which initially deflected blame, vowed to be more transparent with the public.

Spectre (esp v1) is most useful for untargeted watering hole style attacks, very often used by nation states. That one is a big danger.

Meltdown (v3) is a privilege escalator, the sort of which we will see get found twice a year at minimum.

—Matt Linton (but not the Gospel Rock singer) (@0xMatt) January 13, 2018

Other major chipmakers, like NVIDIA and Qualcomm, aren’t worried about the implication of Spectre. The former claims that its GPUs are entirely immune, while Qualcomm’s CEO, Cristiano Amon, seems confident that the company’s December patches were enough to mitigate any major issues. He also pointed out that mobile users download software from app stores, which are far more secure than desktops and servers that can run software from just about anywhere.

Until we start to explore entirely new processor designs, we won’t be entirely free from the dangers of Spectre. And that’s not an easy feat. The x86 CPU architecture powers nearly every desktop, notebook and server. And Spectre remains a flaw in ARM-based mobile processors. While there’s a chance that chip makers might be able to tweak their existing designs, that could have unintended consequences. Up until now, the main push for chip companies has been to shrink their existing technology down to smaller fabrication techniques. But, more than ever, there’s a need for whole new architectures, which could take years and untold amounts of R&D funding to develop.

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

LG CLOi photo: Steve Marcus/Reuters

Lunar lava tubes may provide access to vast polar ice reservoirs on the moon

We may be able to easily access substantial quantities of water on the moon, thanks to ancient lava tubes near the lunar north pole. That’s the conclusion of the SETI Institute, after analyzing new data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Small openings on the surface could be “skylights” leading to huge subterranean caves formed hundreds of millions of years ago.

Pascal Lee of SETI presented the findings at the Ames Research Center in California. “The highest resolution images available for Philolaus Crater do not allow the pits to be identified as lava tube skylights with 100 percent certainty, but we are looking at good candidates considering simultaneously their size, shape, lighting conditions and geologic setting,” he said.

The openings to the pits are as large as 100 feet across, leading to permanently shadowed caverns that consist of long winding channels formed by rivers of flowing lava.

SETI

Extracting ice from the lunar soil on the surface would be an arduous task, and so having access to underground glaciers would make the process of obtaining water much easier. Although it’s not yet known that ice is present in the lava tubes, it could be in massive quantities, similar to findings in cold lava tubes on Earth. In addition, solar power could be used for such an endeavor, as the skylights provide relatively easy access to the lunar surface.

This area might even be a good location for a long-term lunar base, according to Science Alert. Not only would exploration of the subterranean caves provide invaluable insight into how the moon was formed, it could pave the way for further lunar missions and even expeditions to Mars.

“Exploring lava tubes on the Moon will also prepare us for the exploration of lava tubes on Mars,” Lee explained. “There, we will face the prospect of expanding our search for life into the deeper underground of Mars where we might find environments that are warmer, wetter, and more sheltered than at the surface.”

These are not the first caves of this nature found on the moon — more than 200 have been discovered by scientists, with many leading to underground lava tubes. The polar location is what has researchers intrigued, however, as water is known to be present in the permanently shadowed areas at the lunar poles.

The ice miners working on the lunar surface would also have a phenomenal view. “The Apollo landing sites were all near the Moon’s equator, such that the Earth was almost directly overhead for the astronauts,” Lee said. “But from the Philolaus skylights, Earth would loom just over the crater’s mountainous rim, near the horizon to the southeast.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• NASA is sending its strange ‘Martian igloo’ into orbit for a trial run
• Newly discovered moon cave could house mankind’s first lunar colony
• This ‘inflatable space yacht’ could be in orbit by 2022
• Martians may call these massive domed greenhouses “home”
• Water is not only available on Mars, it’s easily accessible, NASA finds

With the Google Arts and Culture app, selfies are now an educational tool

App Attack is a weekly series where we search the App Store and Google Play Store for the best apps of the week. Check out App Attack every Sunday for the latest.

Thanks to front-facing cameras on smartphones, we take the opportunity to snap selfies whenever possible. This week, we have an app with a new feature that builds on this tendency — to indulge in narcissicm — by throwing in a bit of educational value to go along with it.

If you’ve been on any of your social media apps lately, you might have seen people uploading strange side by side comparisons, with their selfie on one side and a portrait on the other. With the Google Arts and Culture app — available for iOS and Android — you can now take a selfie and match with artwork that looks like you.

This is reminiscent of the days when doppelgänger generators were all the rage and everyone was dying to know which celebrity they looked like. While I wasn’t as excited with my results as I was back in 2010, when I found out my doppelgänger was Hayden Panettiere, it was still entertaining.

After downloading the app, you’ll have to scroll down to the section that reads “Is your portrait in a museum?” Once you tap “Get Started,” you’ll be taken to a page where Google explains it won’t use data from your photos for any other purposes, and you can either cancel or accept.

Once you accept the terms and conditions, a small square appears for you to align your face with and take the photo. After you snap your photo, the app will analyze your features using computer vision technology to match your selfie with historical artwork.

When swiping through each portrait you’ve matched up with, you’ll notice that it lists each one by percentage of how close the resemblance is. It’s also in descending order, so the ones you resemble the most will appear first. You can then choose to share them to your social media channels, as well as email and text messages.

When I had my friends try it, we were mostly laughing at some of the matches. But each time we tried it, there was always at least one portrait that did strike a strange resemblance.

The funny part about this app is not only seeing who you’ve matched up with, but how closely the camera zooms in on your face. It’s similar to the way your parents would take photos of you in high school, when they fully zoom in on only your head so it’s a “nice” up-close shot that you never want anyone to see.

Since it has to analyze your features closely, it makes sense that it zooms in so closely. But for an app that’s getting so much recognition, you’d think they would try to make these selfies a bit more flattering. Let’s just say, you won’t be sharing these on your actual Instagram account — instead they’ve been finding their way to Instagram Stories where it only lasts 24 hours.

But of course, you can’t forget the educational aspect of Google Arts and Culture. By tapping on the portrait you’ve matched with, it will provide you with the title of the artwork, its artist, and the collection it’s from. You’re able to learn more about it by tapping on “View Artwork,” which brings you to the full version of the portrait and additional details such as the date it was created, the type of painting, its origin title, and more.

While taking selfies of yourself is fun, it also seems to be Google’s way of hooking you in. There’s tons more to do on the app when it comes to art and culture. You can explore thousands of collections from museums around the world, read articles about artwork or features on artists, and you can also favorite tons of collections to save within the app.

For those who want to experience seeing and exploring artwork in person, the app will also ask your permission to track your location in order to make recommendations of museums nearby. It’ll provide you with all the information you need, such as the exhibits that are currently running, the distance to each museum, operating times, and pricing.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best selfie apps for iOS and Android
• Best Halloween apps for the ultimate spooky October 31
• How to take the perfect Portrait Mode selfie with the iPhone X
• Selfie-style answers let celebs respond to frequently asked questions on Google
• Feiyu Tech’s Vimble 2 is both a smartphone gimbal and a selfie stick

Best mobile workstations

While gamers consider themselves at the pinnacle of PC performance, the budgetary constraints of even that consumer group means it will always fall behind the true power-users of the world: the workstation users. Whether you’re running CAD software, complex simulations, or video editing, you need a workstation that’ll give you all the power and operational longevity that you need.

That’s what this guide will teach you all about. We’ve scoured the product listings and testimonials all across the web and combined it with our not-inconsiderable experience to bring you a list of the best mobile workstations available today.

HP ZBook 17 G4

HP has provided some fantastic consumer laptops in recent years and that pedigree extends to the workstation space too. As much as it has a number of solid workstation options though, the ZBook 17 G4 is our favorite of the bunch, with a combination of powerful hardware options, a large display, USB Type-C ports, and manageable weight.

Starting at $1,350 and peaking at $3,570, the HP ZBook 17 G4 can come with anything from a seventh-generation Core i7 7300HQ CPU, right up to an Intel Xeon E3-1535M. Depending on the model you opt for you can have up to 64GB of memory, Intel HD or Nvidia Quadro graphics with up to 16GB of dedicated GDDR5 video memory, and a couple of terabytes of storage space in solid state and hard-drive varieties.

You can also opt for displays from a 1,600 x 900 LED screen, all the way up to a full-4K Dreamcolor anti-glare panel.

All models come with a 96-watt-hour battery, which should be good for a long stretch of time in the right circumstances, and each model weighs in at 6.9 pounds before extras.

The combination of a large battery, powerful internal hardware, and reams of options, make the HP ZBook 17 G4 a fantastic choice for whatever tasks you’re taking on. It’s not as specific as some of the other entries on this list, but it’s a mobile workstation that will do anyone proud.

Buy one now from:

HP

Lenovo Thinkpad P71

Although its standard builds are a little more restricted than HP’s, Lenovo’s Thinkpad P71 has plenty of options for those looking for a mid-range to top-tier workstation solution. With a choice of Intel Core i7 and Xeon E3-1535M CPU, up to 64GB of RAM, and more than a terabyte of solid-state storage space, there is plenty of general performance to be had. Combine that with up to a Quadro P5000 with 16GB of GDDR5 for graphics, and you have a powerful system capable of taking on anything you throw at it.

That’s not to say you have to spend a mint, though. Don’t need a 4K display? Go for the 1080P option instead. Prices start at $1,343 and can range all the way up to more than $5,000, so there is plenty of scope for fitting a Thinkpad P71 to your budget and hardware requirements.

Also of note is the default operating system options that this mobile workstation comes with. You can opt for a Windows 10 installation, but there are also options for Ubuntu and Red Hat Enterprise Linux installs too.

If you want to expand its capabilities in the future, Lenovo also has a number of accessories, ranging from external DVD drives to workstation docks, with support for additional display connectivity.

Buy one now from:

Lenovo, Amazon

Dell Precision 5520

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

If you need an extremely light mobile workstation, Dell’s Precision 5520 should definitely be on your radar. At under four pounds, this is the lightest laptop on this list, and it’s rather compact, too. The 1080P versions do come with just 56 watt-hour batteries, but the 4K version has a 97 watt-hour version, which in our tests was able to keep the system running for more than five hours.

Options beyond the display resolution include a range of Intel Core processors, with i7 and Xeon CPUs to choose from. You can go up to 32GB of RAM if you need, and there are options for up to a terabyte of PCI Express solid-state storage. The only limiting factor in this workstation’s customization is with the graphics, which are either Intel HD or Nvidia Quadro M1200 only.

Pricing for the Precision 5520 starts at $2,000, and can set you back upwards of $3,700 if you opt for a high-end edition. However, at the time of writing (and regularly otherwise) Dell offers enormous discounts, in some cases as much as 40 percent, so if you time it right you will be able to snag yourself one of these systems at a comparative bargain price.

Buy one now from:

Dell , Amazon

Microsoft Surface Book 2 15-inch

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Although not technically classed as a workstation, the Surface Book 2 is one of the most versatile workhorse laptops we have come across in a long time. Its hardware is no way near as impressive as some of the other entries on this list, but with its extremely long battery life and a powerful processor/memory combination, it will perform a variety of intensive tasks for much longer than most.

Starting at $1,500 for the 13.5-inch version and going all the way up to $3,300 for the top of the line 15-inch variant, the Surface Book 2 comes with up to a Core i7 processor, up to 16GB of memory, up to a terabyte of solid-state storage, and the option of an Nvidia GTX 1060 graphics chip.

The Surface book 2 is also incredibly versatile. Its “dynamic fulcrum” hinge means that you can completely detach the screen from the keyboard, giving you an extremely portable tablet as and when required — it weighs in at just 1.7 pounds in tablet mode. Better yet, with a battery life that lasted as long as 20-hours in some of our tests, you don’t need to keep yourself near a socket to get the most out of your device.

Buy one now from:

Microsoft, Amazon

Razer Blade Pro

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Who said that a mobile workstation can’t be fun and good looking, too? While the Razer Blade doesn’t quite have the internal hardware to match some of the other systems on this list, it’s far from a pushover, and it’s much prettier than most. It packs powerful consumer-grade hardware into an attractive shell with features like keyboard backlighting and a slimline build, which could make it a great device to bring from home, especially if you like to game in your off-hours.

Internally, the Razer Blade Pro has a couple of different options, which differ depending on whether you opt for the “Full HD” version or the 4K version. With the Full HD you get an Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU, with 16GB of memory, 256GB of solid-state storage, and a two terabyte hard drive. All of that is paired up with an Nvidia GTX 1060, which powers the 17.3-inch 1080P IPS panel, with a 120HZ refresh rate. Although that lineup is a little weak compared to some of the other entries in this series, it’s perfectly viable for less-intensive enterprise applications and at-home gaming.

The 4K version, however, ups the ante and offers a lot more at a higher price. It comes with an overclocked Intel Core i7-7820HQ processor that reaches 4.3GHz, 32GB of memory, up to two terabytes of solid state (RAID 0) storage, and an Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics chip. Better yet, its battery is upgraded from 70 watt-hours to 99 watt-hours. In our testing we still found battery life lacking, but it’s good that the option is there.

The Razer Blade Pro is a workstation that’s the best of both worlds. If you’re a gamer at home and can bring your system to work with you, it’ll do a good job, but if you need more raw power at the office, there are better alternatives on this list. Prices start at $2,300, though you can spend just shy of $5,000 at the top end.

Buy one now from:

Razer

Editors’ Recommendations

• HP’s ZBook x2 brings the 2-in-1 form factor to workstations
• Battle of the high-end laptops: HP Spectre x360 vs. Microsoft Surface Book 2
• HP supercharges Spectre x360 15-inch with Intel 8th-Gen Core and AMD Vega graphics
• The most expensive iMac Pro costs over $13,000, and here’s what you could get on a PC
• Battle of the 15-inch 2-in-1s: HP Spectre x360 vs. Microsoft Surface Book 2

Stay organized with the best to-do list apps for Android and iOS

One of the largest lessons in life is that you can’t always remember everything you’re supposed to do. But learning that isn’t the trick — it’s choosing to do something about it to ensure you’re going to remember to do what you really need to. There are a hundred and one ways to remember to do things, from knotting your hankie, to tying string around your fingers. But why not put that phone of yours to use, and turn it into your invaluable and ever-patient personal assistant?

To-do list apps are some of the oldest available apps on both iOS and Android — but how do you know you’re getting the right app to match your lifestyle? Well we’ve done the heavy lifting for you and put together a list of the best to-do list apps currently available for both iOS and Android. Take a look below and install whichever takes your fancy.

Google Keep (Free)

Google’s suite of apps are a mixed bunch, but they’re usually pretty good — and Google Keep is among the very best. Keep’s strength is a relatively simple design; let users store whatever they like in the app, and make it accessible from as many places as they want. Google Keep isn’t just for to-do lists; it also allows for written notes, voice memos, and pictures to be stored and organized with a series of custom tags and categories. You can also invite collaborators to contribute to individual notes — perfect for planning, or in the case of to-do lists, perfect for shared shopping lists.

It’s a simple but powerful tool. Changes that you make on shared notes will reflect on collaborator’s devices almost instantly, and everything you’re involved in can be accessed from your desktop as well. It’s completely free, included with every Google account, and it’s available on both Android and iOS devices. It doesn’t have much in the way of deeper options, like repeating tasks, and the reminder system is somewhat shoddy (though it does have a Chrome extension for reminders at home) — but it’s still a great choice if you just need something simple and don’t want to fuss around.

Download now from:

Android iOS

Todoist (Free/premium options)

If you want a dedicated to-do list app, then Todoist is worth checking out. It’s one of the biggest to-do apps around, with a dedicated following, and years worth of proven effectiveness. You can sign-up with your Facebook profile or Google account, and getting started is as simple as typing your first task in and hitting submit. Setting up new tasks is just as simple — type your task and hit enter. You can also set a deadline for the work to be completed by, and assign a priority to the task, as well as assigning it to a group of similar tasks. Completing tasks involves ticking off the box to the side of the task, and there’s a certain satisfaction to be had just ticking off tasks — though you’re missing the point if you only make tasks to complete them.

It’s not perfect — if you want all the features you’re going to have to pay for them. Setting reminders on tasks, extra active projects, comments on tasks, and automatic backups are all premium features, and subscribing to Todoist Premium will put you back about $29 a year. Still, if you’ve tried it out and you think it’s worth the money, $29 isn’t unreasonable for a year’s worth of organization.

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Android iOS

Evernote (Free/premium options)

Another to-do list that comes with a ton of other options, Evernote is perhaps the go-to app for note-taking. Like Google Keep, it supports multiple methods of taking notes and reminders, including voice memos, full lists, and photos. Evernote takes this a step further, though, with the ability to add video and attach Word documents or PDFs to your lists. Like Google Keep, any time you add something to Evernote, it will sync across all of your devices, but unlike Keep, there is an option for offline access to your files — but only if you pay for the Premium version.

Evernote’s paid options are a touch on the pricey side at $35 a year for Evernote Plus, or $70 a year for Evernote Premium. But those obviously come with a whole raft of extra options, like offline access, extra storage, and the ability to add password-support to lock down your notebooks. Still, only you can decide whether this is worth your money or not, and we always recommend using the free version for a while to gauge whether it’s worth springing for.

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Android iOS

Wunderlist (Free/premium options)

If you’re not a fan of Todoist’s gamified style, or you simply want a more forgiving free option, then check out Wunderlist. It has many of the same options that make Todoist great, with an easy method of setting up new tasks, simple collaboration between users, and the ability to assign tasks to specific groups. But where Todoist restricts many of its features to premium users, Wunderlist is a lot more generous with providing access, so free users can access time-based reminders, assign colleagues to tasks, and leave comments. That said, you’re generally restricted to how many of those you can do at one time — only 25 assignees per shared list — so you could see it as an even more insidious way of tempting people into a premium subscription.

In terms of premium cost you’re looking at a charge of $5 per month — or $60 a year. That’s pretty steep compared to Todoist’s $29, but you have to weigh up the pros and cons of each. If you think you’re likely to need a premium account for medium-scale collaboration, Todoist may be your bag. If you’re only looking to organize yourself, then it’s hard to beat Wunderlist’s free option.

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Android iOS

Microsoft To-Do (free)

Organizational tools rarely exist in a vacuum. If you’re wedded to Microsoft’s ecosystem with Outlook emails and Office work, then you might be excited to learn that Microsoft has its own to-do app. Created by the Wunderlist team after Microsoft bought the app back in 2015, Microsoft To-Do bears a striking resemblance to Wunderlist — and that’s certainly not a bad thing; setting up new tasks is easy, and it offers much the same in terms of tools and features.

Where Microsoft To-Do differs is with an emphasis on My Day — namely, the idea that you start each day with a clean slate and take a moment at the start of each day to write down what you really want to get achieved that day. It’s a neat and fuss-free philosophy on life, and aims to make users really focus on the here-and-now. It’s definitely not for everyone, and if you really like planning ahead, then Microsoft To-Do allows for that too. It even has a smart suggestion tool built in that will suggest tasks for you based on your previous record. It’s a neat little idea, and we dig it.

The future seems to have Microsoft To-Do pegged to replace Wunderlist, and you can import your Wunderlist tasks if you’re coming from that app. Integration to other Microsoft services is planned for the future, so watch this space if you’re heavily into that.

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Android iOS

Clear Todos ($5)

Clear Todos is a simple app for people who don’t need a complicated and cluttered app to keep themselves organized. Available only for iOS devices, (Android users can check out Clear List for a similar experience) Clear Todos uses a clear and elegant style to make sure that you have a list of what you need to do, when you need to do it. Customizable color themes allow for quick and easy differentiation between projects, and iCloud sync ensures that all of your devices (iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch) are constantly up-to-date. A simple gesture based system means that you’re rarely stuck in menus wondering what to do, and its simple set up ensures that you can just grab it and go.

Unlike many of the apps on this list, this app does come with a paywall — but since many of the others come with the option of monthly subscriptions, it easily balances out. If you like just paying once and being done with it, and just want a simple app to help with your organization, then Clear Todos is probably for you.

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iOS

Ike (Free)

Supposedly based on former President Dwight ‘Ike’ Eisenhower’s organizational method, Ike takes a more lighthearted approach to the to-do list. The core of the app is based around priority; mark the most urgent tasks as such and build your day around dealing with those most crucial of jobs, forming a “priority matrix.” It makes more sense as you delve further into the app.

Thankfully, the lighthearted approach we mentioned helps to take some of the edge off the central premise. You can attach images to tasks, which means that recurring tasks become far more enjoyable; attaching that goofy picture of your dog to your “walk the dog” task is a small crutch, but it makes getting out of bed at 6 a.m. every day slightly easier. You can attach voice notes to tasks as well, set location-based reminders, and customizable celebrations that play whenever you complete a task. It’s a capable to-do list app, made slightly sillier.

Upgrading to Ike Pro is a one-off payment of $2, and unlocks access to location reminders, audio recordings, and all of the customizable themes, along with a few extras. How can you go wrong for $2?

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Android

Habitica: Gamify Your Tasks (Free)

You might have thought that a to-do list app couldn’t get much more different — well, think again! Habitica is a completely different take on the to-do list, and it’s apparent from the moment you boot up the app. Instead of being asked to fill in your first task, you’re asked to create a character. What? Well, Habitica uses a gaming RPG-style to motivate you to complete your daily tasks. Complete tasks and your character gains experience and gold that can be spent on making them more powerful. Don’t try and cheat the system either; based on a few questions asked during your character creation, Habitica will assign you a few tasks to get you started. Fail to complete your daily tasks, and your avatar will take damage! Won’t somebody think of the player characters?!

Habitica is a bit more daunting to set up, with a system of different types of tasks and rewards to sort out before you can really get going, but if you’re really into the idea then it’s worth the time needed. So what are you waiting for? Get leveling and grind that dish washing!

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Android iOS

Organizing yourself is only the start; don’t forget to spend a little bit of time unwinding with our picks for the best meditation apps on both iOS and Android. And if you need something to make sure you keep those New Year’s resolutions, look no further than this selection of New Year’s resolution apps!

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