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

• Want to look awesome while live-streaming? The Asus ZenFone V Live can help
• Google kills augmented reality project Tango to focus on ARCore
• Asus NovaGo hands-on review
• 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

Best Buy will stop CD sales as digital music continues to take over

There’s not much reason to shop for CDs when you download or stream all your music, and big-box stores are reacting to that decline. Billboard sources have learned that Best Buy has told suppliers that it will remove music CDs from its stores as of July 1st. The chain was only making $40 million per year from the plastic discs — a drop in the bucket for a retailer this size. Vinyl aficionados will still find records on sale for the next 2 years, according to the insiders, although they may have to be sold next to the turntables themselves.

Target, meanwhile, appears on the cusp of backing out. It reportedly wants to switch from paying for all music CDs and DVDs it receives (and shipping back whatever it doesn’t sell) to only paying for those discs that actually sell. Suppliers would have until April 1st or May 1st to make the switch, depending on the company. And they’re not necessarily willing to cooperate — at least one major music label is “leaning no,” Billboard said, while two others have yet to make a call.

We’ve asked Best Buy and Target for comment.

The move isn’t coming out of left field. Best Buy and Target are nowhere near as important for CD sales as they used to be (Best Buy in particular was once the biggest music reseller in the US), and now stock just a small selection of discs. And they’re unlikely to bounce back when CD sales have been dropping across the board for a while. Why go to an electronics shop with a mediocre music catalog when you can get the physical album you want through an online store, visit a dedicated retail store or stream virtually any song on-demand? Not that they’ll necessarily mind — this won’t be a tremendous loss, and they already sell devices for digital-only listeners. This is more a sign of the times than a devastating blow.

Source: Billboard

Tencent-backed ‘Arena of Valor’ World Cup boasts $500,000 purse

Mobile eSports are becoming a big deal. Last year, mobile MOBA Vainglory‘s big eSports tournament was backed by Amazon. Supercell put on a Clash Royale $1 million tournament last summer, too. Now China’s Tencent Games is getting in on the action with plans for a series of eSport tournaments, beginning with the Arena of Valor World Cup in July of this year. The contest will take place in Los Angeles and offer a prize pool of more than $500,000, according to the press release.

Arena of Valor is a 10-player multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) that pits two teams of five against each other across various maps. The title is a big hit for Tencent and just came to the US in mid-January of this year. The gaming company plans to roll out a series of regional and collegiate tournaments across the country, too, the winners of which can participate in the larger competitions.

Source: Tencent

Nougat is now the most-used version of Android, 17 months later

Google hasn’t quite licked its problems getting users to adopt the latest version of Android. Its latest Play Store user share stats show that Nougat has become the most-used Android release at 28.5 percent… just over 17 months after its summer 2016 debut. Not exactly a speedy transition, then. That still gives it the edge over the older-still Marshmallow release, mind you, and indicates that a large chunk of the user base is running a modern take on Android.

There’s a smaller piece of good news, too: Oreo has climbed above 1 percent after sitting below that milestone since its fall premiere.

The long interval between Nougat’s launch and taking the lead can likely be pinned on the same factors that have dictated Android upgrade cycles for years. Many Android vendors take months to deliver upgrades (due to both their custom software and carrier testing), and stop providing upgrades roughly 2 years after a device launch — you might not see more than one or two major revisions until you replace your phone.

That pattern might not repeat itself going forward. Oreo’s modular Project Treble framework is designed explicitly to reduce the delays for upgrades. It might not dramatically increase the adoption rate for newer Android releases, but it certainly won’t hurt. The challenge, not surprisingly, is increasing Oreo adoption. It likely won’t see a dramatic upswing until more major smartphones ship with Oreo out of the box, such as the Galaxy S9.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Android Developers

‘The Cloverfield Paradox’ would be doomed without Netflix

The Cloverfield Paradox would have been a theatrical failure. It’s exactly the sort of B-grade sci-fi critics tend to eviscerate. So how do you generate hype for a movie that’s practically doomed? If you’re Netflix, you unveil a trailer during the Super Bowl with an unprecedented announcement: you’ll be able to watch the film right after the game ends. No warning, no early reviews. It’s the sort of “holy shit” moment you could only pull off if you’re a global entertainment powerhouse. You could think of it as Netflix flexing its marketing muscles and mocking its competitors, “Do you even stream, bro?”

Just like with Bright, Netflix’s awful but wildly successful Will Smith film, it doesn’t matter if The Cloverfield Paradox, directed by Julius Onah, is any good. It’s a vehicle for hype — just take a look at how the internet reacted to its surprise availability last night (yes, I was a part of that too). While there were other high-profile trailer premiers during the Super Bowl — notably a glimpse at Solo and Mission Impossible: Fallout — only Netflix could immediately turn that hype into viewers. Disney will have to keep people’s attention for months to make them see Solo. That’s power.

It helps that the Cloverfield franchise has a certain amount of clout among genre fans, as well as a history of surprising audiences. The original 2008 film was produced in secret by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, unveiled to the world as an untitled teaser and relied on viral marketing to generate buzz. (To put things in perspective, that campaign made heavy use of MySpace and text messaging.) Some media watchers speculated that it could be a Lost tie-in, or a sequel to Godzilla. A large part of the film’s early appeal is that we simply didn’t know what it was. 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane, meanwhile, was announced just two months before its release and also relied heavily on viral marketing (and a wide-eyed John Goodman).

While the Cloverfield movies aren’t directly related (though the trailer for the Netflix film implies a strong connection to the original), they don’t need a meticulous shared universe, a la the Marvel films, to have some marketing power. At the very least, we know a Cloverfield story is going to be some sort of exercise in science fiction. They’re almost like feature-length Twilight Zone episodes with much better special effects. Genre fans are going to lap up every entry in the series, but Netflix also knows that the name is enough to intrigue mainstream viewers just looking for something to watch.

In many ways, this surprise release is the best outcome possible for The Cloverfield Paradox. I found it to be an entertaining film, with a great cast and some genuinely inventive set pieces. But it’s also the sort of film that wouldn’t have had much legs in theaters.

Netflix/Scott Garfield

Last year’s Life only brought in $30 million on a $58 million dollar budget, while Passengers earned slightly over $100 million after costing $110 million. Both of those films also featured major film stars, like Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence and Jake Gyllenhaal. The most recognizable name in The Cloverfield Paradox is Zhang Ziyi, who isn’t exactly a huge box office draw in the US. Rather than letting it languish in cinemas, Paramount and Bad Robot were able to make the film “immediately profitable” with the Netflix deal, according to Deadline. Given that the movie’s estimated budget was around $45 million, the streaming giant likely had to shell out well above that to secure distribution.

By launching the film as a surprise, the studios were also able to avoid an onslaught of negative reviews from critics. The Cloverfield Paradox currently has a disastrous 16 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. (In comparison, 10 Cloverfield Lane was beloved by critics with a 90 percent score, and the original film had a solid 77 percent.) Of course, general audiences weren’t really swayed by Bright’s critical bashing (27 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), but Netflix probably grabbed a few extra watchers who might have been dissuaded by reviews.

A take like this, from Indiewire’s David Ehrlich, isn’t exactly pull-quote material: “It’s worth remembering that the Cloverfield movies were only able to successfully disrupt conventional distribution methods because they’re good. The best thing you can say about this one is that it’s free with your Netflix subscription.”

Netflix/Scott Garfield

If anything, The Cloverfield Paradox shows just how much clout Netflix has today. If Amazon or Hulu announced they would be debuting a film like this right after the Super Bowl, would they have generated as much hype? Not likely. Netflix, with its more than 110 million subscribers, showed that it was able to do the impossible: It saved a doomed film from oblivion.

Woman of color-led, sci-fi thriller released worldwide day + date w/ big Netflix muscle for black director, his super producer + POC cast. No advance press, ads, trailer. Straight to the people. Gamechanger. Congrats to helmer #JuliusOnah + my dears JJ, Gugu, David. #Cloverfield pic.twitter.com/m186Hprhqz

— Ava DuVernay (@ava) February 5, 2018