Lawmakers call on US to extend conditions of Comcast-NBC merger

When Comcast acquired NBCUniversal back in 2011, the deal came with strings attached: among others, it had to abide by 2010-era net neutrality rules, provide affordable internet to low-income families and avoid discriminating against rivals. Well, all those conditions have lifted… and that’s not making some officials happy. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and Senator Richard Blumenthal have written an op-ed calling on the government to either extend those conditions or institute new rules relevant to the modern era. The communications giant has discovered ways of using its resources to “harm consumers and competition,” the lawmakers argued, and some of those have violated the FCC’s terms for the merger.

Blumenthal and Clyburn note that the FCC had to crack down on Comcast a mere 17 months after the merger after it didn’t offer affordable internet as promised. It has also been busted for discriminating against Bloomberg Television, and just this October faced complaints from smaller cable providers who said Comcast was preventing rival regional sports networks from offering services at fair rates.

And then there’s internet video. While you certainly have many more options for streaming video than you did in 2011, Comcast can provide an “unfair advantage” to the services it supports (such as Xfinity Instant TV and Hulu) by keeping its channels and shows off of competing products. Without the merger terms in place, there’s nothing to stop Comcast from, say, pulling all NBC shows from Netflix.

The two officials are hopeful regulators will see the light, and not entirely without merit. They note that the Justice Department hit AT&T with an antitrust lawsuit over its attempt to buy Time Warner. However, we wouldn’t count on Blumenthal or Clyburn getting a warm reception. The current US administration is focused on wide-scale deregulation, including killing net neutrality and allowing media consolidation. It’s definitely not going to restore net neutrality terms, and it’s unlikely to be enthusiastic about imposing new conditions as a general rule.

Source: Bloomberg

NASCAR developing two different e-sports championships

NASCAR, like a number of other corporations keen on attracting a younger audience, thinks e-sports could be a successful tactic. Two different bodies within the stock car racing association are separately developing e-sports championships that aim to commence this year, one of them perhaps in time for the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 18.

In early January, Sports Business Daily reported that Blake Davidson, the sanctioning body’s VP of licensing and consumer products, was working on an e-sports championship that would take place at tracks during race weekends. Tournament players could choose to play in either NASCAR Heat 2, a more casual, entry-level racing game for the Xbox and Playstation, or opt for the deep-end seriousness of iRacing. Overhauled tracks like Las Vegas Motor Speedway might use their own screening areas to host virtual racing events, but it’s more likely that specially equipped trucks would travel between tracks.

As a work in progress, it isn’t yet clear how many tracks will host events, but International Speedway Corp and Speedway Motorsports Inc., which together own 20 NASCAR tracks, had signed on to the campaign. Involvement by the three independents, including Indianapolis Motor Speedway, isn’t clear. Nor are we clear on details like how the championship and payouts would work. NASCAR hasn’t announced a start date yet, but the digital flag could drop before the season.

Three weeks after revealing Davidson’s work, Sports Business Daily reported that Rob Kauffman, chairman of the Race Team Alliance and co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, was working with iRacing on a separate, team-based e-sports championship. Targeting far more skilled entrants, teams would draft racers to compete in team-liveried cars, each driver competing for some share of a six-figure purse. Races would take place either during the week or perhaps on weekends, and be streamed online. As a team-backed initiative, this RTA push has a likely shot at getting the pro drivers involved.

NASCAR’s might appear to be a latecomer to gaming and big virtual events, but the sport sanctioned Bill Elliot’s NASCAR Challenge PC and console game in 1990, and 1993’s NASCAR-like Daytona USA is one of the highest-grossing games of all time. Pro drivers used NASCAR Racing 2003 Season to train for tracks, iRacing itself was founded on the base code for that video game, and NASCAR and iRacing collaborated on the NASCAR Peak Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing.com in 2010. The 2017 Xfinity Series champion William Byron got his start on iRacing, and at 19 years old is now a rookie in the top flight with Hendricks Motorsport. Last year, Richmond Raceway hosted NASCAR Heat tournament. This year, NASCAR wants to make it permanent.

Related Video:

Via: Jalopnik

Source: Sports Business Journal (1), (2)

Grammarly patches bug that could expose everything you write

Grammarly, a copyediting extension for Chrome and Firefox that points out typos and grammatical mistakes, had a major bug that allowed any website you visit to log into your account and read everything you ever wrote. It made all your documents, history, logs, tweets and blog posts vulnerable to high-tech snoops. Google’s Project Zero, which unearths and tracks vulnerabilities and reports them to software-makers, revealed the bug on February 2nd. Thankfully, the Grammarly team has quickly patched it up and has already auto-updated the extension used by over 20 million users.

Project Zero researcher Travis Ormandy called the vulnerability a “high-severity bug” since it severely violates users’ expectations of privacy and security. Grammarly told Gizmodo that it managed to issue a patch before it caused problems — Ormandy said the company rolled out a fix within hours of his report — and that there’s no evidence that anybody’s information was compromised. It’s keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity, though… as it should, because the vulnerability had the potential to expose more than just your typos.

Source: Travis Ormandy (Twitter), (2)

How to transfer data from one Nintendo Switch to another

The handheld nature of the Nintendo Switch means that transferring data from one to the other seems like it would be a handy feature. Unfortunately, Nintendo keeps a pretty tight leash on the data in your Switch. There are a few things you can transfer using a MicroSD card, such as sharing screenshots and videos, but you can’t swap game saves, or move over your game library.

It is possible, however, to move your user data and game saves from one Switch to another which may come in handy if you’re swapping consoles. Here is what you need to know about transferring data between two Nintendo Switch consoles.

Transferring user data from one Switch to another

You can make a direct transfer of most of your key Switch data from one console to another without microSD cards or other connections. To do it, you have to have both your original Switch and the Switch receiving the transfer in the same place, and connected to the internet. Unfortunately, that means if your Switch is broken, a transfer probably won’t work.

Set up your Switches

First off, you need both your Switches physically in the same place, connected to the same Wi-Fi network, and must be updated to the firmware version 4.0. You also need to make sure there is space on the “target” console, the one you’re transferring user data to. Specifically, the target console has to have fewer than seven user profiles on it — the maximum you can set up on one Switch — and enough free storage space for the data you will be adding from the “source” console. You might want to have a microSD card handy, just in case.

Sign in as the user you want to transfer on the source console

Using the source console, the one you’re moving the user data from, sign in with the user account you want to transfer. Go into the “Settings” menu (the little icon that looks like a gear on the Switch’s home screen), and navigate down to the “Users” tab. On this menu, scroll down to the option that reads “Transfer Your User and Save Data.”

Sign in on the target console

Now pick up the second, “target” Switch. As in the last step, go to the Switch’s home screen and navigate to the Settings menu. Head down to the Users tab and find “Transfer Your User and Save Data.” Select that option and then select “Target Console” so the Switch knows this is the console receiving the transfer. From here, you have to sign in to your Nintendo account, so have your email and password handy.

Wait for the source console to find the target console

Go back to the source console. It should have detected the target console: If it has, select “Transfer.” A bar will appear showing the status of the transfer. When it’s finished, hit “End” on the source console, and you’re done. The user account and save data will be gone from the source Switch, and will appear on the target Switch.

Transfer screenshots and videos using a microSD card

While you can move save data along with your user profile between Switches, doing so makes the target Switch your “primary” console — which means it’s the only one tied to your Nintendo account, and the only one to which you can download games, for instance. You can also use a given microSD card in one Switch: If you plug your microSD card into another Switch, that Switch will format the microSD card, deleting all the data on it.

The only files you can pass between microSD cards are screenshots and videos. To do that, you need a computer and a microSD card reader to make the transfer.

Plug your microSD card into your Switch

First, you need a microSD card for both the Switches you mean to transfer your images between. You can use a single microSD card to do the transfer, but only if you’re willing to delete all the data on it when you move it from one console to the other. The easier way is to use one microSD card for each console, and move the data between the two, so start by making sure your microSD card is set for each console.

Copy your screenshots and videos to your microSD card

If your card is formatted and ready to go, grab the Nintendo Switch that has the images and videos you want to transfer — the “source” Switch. Head to the “Album” icon on the source Switch’s home screen. You can set where your screenshots and videos are saved in the “Settings” menu, but the default sends your saved images and videos to the Switch’s internal memory. If that is where your images are being saved, you need to copy them to your microSD card so you can take it out of the device.

In the Album, select the image or video you want to transfer and choose the “Copy” option. This will automatically send your selection to the microSD card. You have to do each image and video you want to copy individually, however. Once you have copied everything you want on the card, turn off the Switch and remove it from the device.

Transfer your images and videos to a computer

With the microSD card out of your Switch, plug it into your microSD card reader, and that into your computer. You will now be able to access the files on the microSD card, starting with a folder marked “Nintendo.” Open that folder and look for one called “Album.” Inside are all the images and videos you have transferred to your microSD card, arranged in folders by date.

The easiest thing to do is to select the entire “Album” folder and copy it onto your computer. Pick somewhere convenient to save the file so that it’s easy to locate later. When the files are copied, eject the microSD card reader and take the card out of the reader.

Get your other microSD card

Insert the microSD card from the second Switch, the “target” Switch, into the microSD card reader, and plug that into the computer. You’ll see the same “Nintendo” folder, and inside, the same “Album” folder. Open the “Album” folder, then keep opening the date folders until you have no more folders to open. If you’ve got screenshots or videos saved, you’ll see them in one of these folders.

Find the images you saved on your computer from the source Switch’s microSD card, and copy it into the folder on the target microSD card. Once the copy is complete, eject the microSD card reader and take out the card.

Put the microSD card back in the target Switch

You’re free to put the target microSD card back into the second, “target” Switch. Since the microSD card is formatted to that Switch, it should work immediately. You will now be able to see the screenshots and videos you transferred by navigating to the target Switch’s “Album” icon on the home screen. Your new images and videos will all be there.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Poll: Would you wear Intel’s new smartglasses in public?

Intel has had numerous AR glasses projects in the works, but now we’ve finally seen the actual product. It’s called Vaunt — and based on the report from The Verge — they actually might do what Google Glass never could.

Vaunt uses an advanced technology that actually projects lasers right onto your retinas, delivering you a running a feed of notifications and information without an actual screen. For example, you might get message notifications or map directions, sent via Bluetooth from your phone directly to your eyes. Vaunt doesn’t even have touch or voice controls — instead, it relies on eye movement to do things like dismiss notifications or disappear from view altogether.

According to Intel, “The design intent was always zero social cost.” But is that really how people feel about AR glasses?

.@Intel is working on a new pair of smart #AR glasses called #Vaunt — and they actually look like normal glasses.

But would you actually wear these in public?

— Digital Trends (@DigitalTrends) February 5, 2018

We can all recall Google Glass and the backlash that followed. Remember the coffee shop that banned them? How about the “Stop the Cyborg” campaign and the proliferation of the term “Glassholes?”

Once word got out, it didn’t take long for Google Glass to disappear altogether. The situation may have been overblown, but there’s no question the public wasn’t ready for wearables that were quite so invasive. Intel’s glasses look like they’ve sidestepped the issue by making them fairly nondescript — and not including a camera built-in. Even better, they even come in multiple styles and work with prescriptions.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Will we ever have unbreakable smartphone glass? We asked an expert
• Intel’s ‘Vaunt’ smartglasses could be the iPhone of augmented reality
• Apple Music makes gains in the U.S., but a possible Spotify IPO looms
• Apple AR glasses: News and rumors about ‘Project Mirrorshades’
• Vuzix built the smartglasses Google wishes it did

Watch live as SpaceX launches a Tesla into space aboard its biggest rocket ever

After years of delays and missed deadlines, SpaceX is finally ready to send its Falcon Heavy rocket into orbit. According to a release, “the first test flight of Falcon Heavy is targeted for Tuesday, Feb. 6th at 1:30 PM ET from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.”

Luckily, unlike the static fire test that happened in late January, the Falcon Heavy’s maiden flight will be broadcast live on SpaceX’s website, and will be free to watch. We’ve embedded the video at the top of this page for your convenience.

If all goes according to plan, this launch will very likely be one of the most spectacular that SpaceX has ever completed. After blasting into orbit and delivering its payload (Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla Roadster), “the Falcon Heavy’s two side cores will return to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 & LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Falcon Heavy’s center core will attempt to land on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.”

In other words, SpaceX intends to launch one big rocket, then immediately recover all three first stage boosters by landing them safely back on Earth. The Falcon Heavy is composed of three Falcon 9 nine-engine cores — all of which are capable of being recovered and reused. It’s one launch and three separate landings: Two on earth, then one on a giant floating landing pad.

Of course, this feat will be extremely difficult to execute, but if there’s any organization that can pull it off, it’s SpaceX. Over the past few years, the company has successfully launched and landed a number of Falcon 9 rockets, and even reused one that was recovered. However, even with SpaceX’s impressive track record  for recovering first stage boosters, the Falcon Heavy’s maiden voyage is anything but a sure thing.

The only thing that’s certain is that, regardless of whether SpaceX is successful or not, the Falcon Heavy’s first launch will be thrilling to watch. We’ll be following it closely, and will update this post with new information as it becomes available, so be sure to check back for updates.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Elon Musk posts pics of huge Falcon Heavy rocket ahead of debut launch
• SpaceX just fired its most powerful rocket ever. Next stop, a Tesla in space
• After delays, the SpaceX Falcon Heavy is set to launch on February 6
• Setback for SpaceX as its next-gen rocket explodes during testing
• Prepare for liftoff! Here’s 7 crazy facts about the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket

US regulators are trying to figure out what to do with cryptocurrency

Both chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and chairman Christopher Giancarlo of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will warn Congress tomorrow about how risky cryptocurrencies are for investors and the financial system as a whole. According to prepared testimony published today, they will advocate for reviewing the smattering of rules guiding cryptocurrency exchanges, and potentially replacing them with federal regulation. Ultimately, they want to safeguard everyone without stifling innovation.

“A key issue before market regulators is whether our historical approach to the regulation of currency transactions is appropriate for the cryptocurrency markets. Check-cashing and money-transmission services that operate in the U.S. are primarily regulated by states. Many of the internet-based cryptocurrency-trading platforms have registered as payment services and are not subject to direct oversight by the SEC or the CFTC. We would support policy efforts to revisit these frameworks and ensure they are effective and efficient for the digital era,” Giancarlo and Clayton wrote in an op ed in The Wall Street Journal.

Virtual currencies fall into the jurisdiction between the SEC, CFTC, the Treasury Department and state regulators. For example, the SEC has claimed that public initial coin offerings (ICOs) are securities and subject to investor protection, while the CFTC has considered virtual currencies to be commodities and overseen cryptocurrency derivatives since 2015, according to Reuters. But neither have the authority to regulate the market or exchanges…yet, which is what we may learn at the hearing when both chairmen go before the Senate Banking Committee.

Sources in Congress told Reuters that the hearing will mostly explore whether both of the agencies can actually oversee exchanges, as well as protect investors from market volatility and fraud, especially from cybercrime.

Recent events have reminded us of cryptocurrency’s relative insecurity, from quiet but significant thefts during ICOs to the hacker who made off with $534 million in NEM tokens from the exchange Coincheck a week ago. And as the leading cryptocurrency bitcoin dips below $7,000 today from a high of $18,000 last month, the whole market’s stability is uncertain.

“The CFTC and SEC, along with other federal and state regulators and criminal authorities, will continue to work together to bring transparency and integrity to these markets and, importantly, to deter and prosecute fraud and abuse,” Giancarlo and Clayton wrote in the op ed. “These markets are new, evolving and international. As such they require us to be nimble and forward-looking; coordinated with our state, federal and international colleagues; and engaged with important stakeholders, including Congress.”

Source: Reuters

What’s on TV: Winter Olympics, ‘Shadow of the Colossus’

Now that football is done, it’s time for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics to take center stage. NBC will make all the programming available for live viewing this year, which should be easy since so much of it will occur during prime time viewing hours. Check out the streaming schedule to find out when your favorite events will be on. For gamers, the big release this week is a throwback as Shadow of the Colossus debuts in rebuilt form on the PS4. On streaming, Netflix caught us all by surprise with The Cloverfield Paradox, but this weekend we’ll check out the scheduled season finale of Star Trek: Discovery on CBS All Access. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

• A Bad Moms Christmas
• Homeland (S6)
• Only the Brave
• 10 Cloverfield Lane / Cloverfield
• The Sandlot (25th Anniversary Edition)
• LBJ
• Suburbicon
• Shadow of the Colossus (PS4)
• Blackhole: Complete Edition (PS4, Switch)
• Marooners (PS4, Xbox One)
• Dandara (Switch, Xbox One, PS4)
• Bleed 2 (PS4, Xbox One)
• Mercenaries Saga Chronicles (Switch)
• Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition (Xbox One, PS4)
• Little Triangle (Xbox One, PC)
• Overdriven Reloaded: Special Edition (Xbox One)
• ACA NeoGeo 2020 Super Baseball
• Pinstripe (Xbox One)
• Dragon Quest Builders (Switch)
• Aegis Defenders (PS4)
• Starpoint Gemini Warlords (Xbox One)

Monday

• Kevin Can Wait, CBS, 8 PM
• Lucifer, Fox, 8 PM
• Supergirl (winter finale), CW, 8 PM
• The Wall (season finale), NBC, 8 PM
• WWE Raw, USA, 8 PM
• Man With A Plan, CBS, 8:30 PM
• Better Late Than Never (season finale), NBC, 9 PM
• The Alienist, TNT, 9 PM
• The Resident, Fox, 9 PM
• Superior Donuts, CBS, 9 PM
• 9jkl (season finale), CBS, 9:30 PM
• The Best of U.S.: 2018 Winter Olympics, NBC, 10 PM
• The Good Doctor, ABC, 10 PM
• Breaking Their Silence: Inside the Gymnastics Scandal, Lifetime, 10 PM
• Scorpion, CBS, 10 PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11 PM

Tuesday

• Fred Armisen: Standup for Drummers, Netflix, 3 AM
• Ellen’s Game of Games (season finale), NBC, 8 PM
• WWE Smackdown, USA, 8 PM
• The Flash, CW, 8 PM
• The Fosters, Freeform, 8 PM
• Lethal Weapon, Fox, 8 PM
• NCIS, CBS, 8 PM
• The Middle, ABC, 8 PM
• Fresh Off the Boat, ABC, 8:30 PM
• Black-ish, ABC, 9 PM
• Black Lightning, CW, 9 PM
• Inside the NFL (season finale), Showtime, 9 PM
• Inside West Coast Customs, Velocity, 9 PM
• The Challenge, MTV, 9 PM
• LA to Vegas, Fox, 9 PM
• The Mick, Fox, 9:30 PM
• Baskets, FX, 10 PM
• Chicago Med, NBC, 10 PM
• Drunk History, Comedy Central, 10 PM
• Bellevue, WGN, 10 PM
• The Quad, BET, 10 PM
• Undercover High, A&E, 10 PM
• Hate Thy Neighbor, Viceland, 10 PM
• The Detour, TBS, 10:30 PM
• Another Period, Comedy Central, 10:30 PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11 PM

Wednesday

• The Path, Hulu, 3 AM
• Queer Eye (S6), Netflix, 3 AM
• Big Brother: Celebrity Edition, CBS, 8 PM
• Riverdale, CW, 8 PM
• The X-Files, Fox, 8 PM
• The Librarians (season finale), TNT, 8 PM
• Grown-ish, Freeform, 8 PM
• Alone Together, Freeform, 8:30 PM
• Dynasty, CW, 9 PM
• 9-1-1, Fox, 9 PM
• The Magicians, Syfy, 9 PM
• Law & Order: SVU, NBC, 9 PM
• The Amazing Race, CBS, 9 PM
• Channel Zero (season premiere), Syfy, 10 PM
• Angela Rye’s State of the Union, BET, 10 PM
• American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, 10 PM
• Slutever, Viceland, 10 PM
• Corporate, Comedy Central, 10 PM
• Knightfall, History, 10 PM
• Match Game, ABC, 10 PM
• Criminal Minds, CBS, 10 PM
• Waco, Paramount, 10 PM
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (season premiere), TBS, 10:30 PM
• Trixie & Katya Show, Viceland, 10:30 PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11 PM

Thursday

• In The Cloud, Crackle, 3 AM
• The Four (season finale), Fox, 8 PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8 PM
• 2018 Winter Olympics, NBC, 8 PM
• Grey’s Anatomy, ABC, 8 PM
• Beyond, Freeform, 8 PM
• Supernatural, CW, 8 PM
• Scandal, ABC, 9 PM
• Arrow, CW, 9 PM
• Van Helsing, Syfy, 9 PM
• Black Card Revoked, BET, 10 PM
• Lip Sync Battle, Paramount, 10 PM
• Portlandia, IFC, 10 PM
• Thursday Night Darts, BBC America, 10 PM
• Desus & Mero, Viceland, 11 PM
• The Rundown with Robin Thede, BET, 11 PM

Friday

• The Grand Tour, Amazon Prime, 3 AM
• Breathe, Amazon Prime, 3 AM
• Grand Prix Driver (S1), Amazon Prime, 3 AM
• Fate/Apocrypha, Netflix, 3 AM
• My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman: George Clooney, Netflix, 3 AM
• The Trader, Netflix, 3 AM
• When We First Met, Netflix, 3 AM
• Seeing Allred, Netflix, 3 AM
• The Ritual, Netflix, 3 AM
• Fly Guys, Facebook, 12 PM
• 2018 Winter Olympics, NBC, 8 PM
• Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, CW, 8 PM
• Child Support (season finale), ABC, 8 PM
• Jane the Virgin, CW, 9 PM
• Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC, 9 PM
• The Trade, Showtime, 9 PM
• Eddie Griffin: Undeniable, Showtime, 10 PM
• Strike Back, Cinemax, 10 PM
• High Maintenance, HBO, 11 PM
• 2 Dope Queens: Sarah Jessica Parker, HBO, 11:30 PM

Saturday

• 2018 Winter Olympics, NBC, 8 PM
• Planet Earth: Blue Planet II, BBC America, 9 PM
• Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, Showtime, 9 PM
• Falling Water, USA, 10 PM

Sunday

• 2018 Winter Olympics, NBC, 7 PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8 PM
• Our Cartoon President (series premiere), Showtime, 8 PM
• Star Trek: Discovery (season finale), CBS All Access, 8:30 PM
• Counterpart, Starz, 8 PM
• Here and Now (series premiere) , HBO, 9 PM
• Homeland (Season premiere), Showtime, 9 PM
• The Radical Story of Patty Hearst, CNN, 9 PM
• Victoria, PBS, 9 PM
• After Trek (season finale), CBS All Access, 9:30 PM
• The BET Social Awards, BET, 10 PM
• The Chi, Showtime, 10 PM
• Divorce, HBO, 10 PM
• Crashing, HBO, 10:30 PM

[All times listed are in ET]

Here is everything we know about the Asus ZenFone 5

The Asus ZenFone 4 may have only made it to North America a few months ago, but it looks like the company is already gearing up for the launch of the ZenFone 5 family.

It makes sense. The ZenFone series has been the Asus flagship series for some time now, and although it’s not on the same level interms of sales as the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S series or the iPhone, it still does pretty well in some markets. What should we expect from the ZenFone 5? And when will we see it? Here’s everything we know.

Design

Renders of the ZenFone 5 have leaked online through a report from WinFuture. The leak reportedly comes from the phone’s manual, and shows the model number “Asus X00PD.” While we’re not certain, the report from WinFuture notes that this very well could be the Asus ZenFone Max.

The render shows a lot about the features of the phone. For starters, it could be one of the first Asus devices to feature an 18:9 display aspect ratio, putting the phone well and truly in 2018. The display also may have rounded corners, which is a nice design trend that we’ve seen on flagship and midrange phones over the past year. The render seems to show that the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the back of the phone, and there will be a headphone jack on the top of the phone.

The render shows a dual-sensor camera on both the back and the front. It’s possible that Asus could be looking to implement an iPhone X-like facial recognition technology with the front-facing dual-sensor cameras.

Unfortunately, based on the renders, it doesn’t look like Asus is adopting USB-C for the ZenFone 5 — instead, the phone may stick with a MicroUSB connector.

Of course, the render only shows one phone — and the ZenFone 5 will likely be a family of phones. We wouldn’t be surprised to see all of the phones offer some of the same features, like an 18:9 display.

Specs

When it comes to specs, there’s a lot we don’t know about the phone. According to a report from Android Authority, benchmark leaks have shown a phone with the model number X00PD to have a Snapdragon 430 chip, but apart from that, we don’t know much about the device.

Pricing and availability

We also don’t know all that much about the ZenFone 5’s pricing or release date. Some speculate that the phone will be launched at Mobile World Congress 2018 at the end of February, though considering that the Zenfone 4 only launched in the U.S. a few months ago, it’s also possible the company could hold off for a bit.

We’ll update this article as we hear more about the Asus ZenFone 5.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• Google kills augmented reality project Tango to focus on ARCore
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• Asus announces suite of new All-In-One desktops, mini PCs, and more
• Asus Zenbook UX330UA review

Android Oreo is finally on more than 1% of devices

Android Oreo debuted in August, and it’s just now pushing 1%.

Last month, Android Oreo was on just 0.7% of devices, and Marshmallow was still the leader in total distribution share. A month later, the landscape has changed — but not too much.

According to Google’s latest numbers, a snapshot of devices connecting to the Play Store during a seven-day period ending February 5, Android Nougat — that’s version 7.0 and 7.1 — now has a cumulative total of 28.5%, which puts it ahead of Marshmallow’s 28.1%, and into the outright lead.

Oreo, on the other hand, gained a slight 0.4% over last month, edging past 1% in total. We’re still waiting on Samsung to announce its massive worldwide rollout for the Galaxy S7 and S8 lines, which should boost Oreo considerably, but until then, the gains will continue to be limited.

Elsewhere, every older version of Android, from Gingerbread to Marshmallow, dropped slightly between last month and today, though it’s still smarts to see 2010’s Gingerbread up there more than seven years after its debut.

Android Oreo

• Android Oreo review!
• Everything new in Android Oreo
• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion