Dyson’s latest fans can purify air without blowing at you

In addition to its Cyclone V10 cordless vacuum, today Dyson also unveiled its updated air-purifying fans. The new Pure Cool tower fan (TP04) and desktop fan (DP04) models may look familiar from afar, but in fact, they are slightly taller and wider than their predecessors — and for a good reason.

First off, that line right down the middle of the Air Multiplier loop is a slit for the new diffused airflow mode. This lets the machines continue to purify air effectively without having to blow air at people, thus solving the old dilemma of whether to turn on the machine on a cold, smelly day (though you can always wait for a potential heater variant from Dyson). There’s even a dedicated button for this mode on the infrared remote.

Another visible change is the new circular LCD just above the filter cover, which is a huge upgrade from the old basic LED screen on the base. With this, it’s much easier to tell what the fan is up to at a glance (and without opening up its app), plus it offers a real-time chart of the types plus amount of air pollutants detected.

Speaking of, yes, this real-time detection is also new thanks to Dyson’s beefed up sensors, so there’s virtually no more delay between a fart and the fan automatically kicking in. This function is otherwise the same old, still sniffing out for ultrafine particles (using lasers), volatile organic compounds plus nitrogen dioxide, while monitoring temperature and humidity along the way.

The larger base is mainly due to the taller and deeper filter which now comes in two parts. The new filter also contains 60 percent more HEPA media and three times more activated carbon than before, so it’ll trap more gases and particles — even down to 0.1 micron large with a 99.95 percent capture rate. Thanks to the aforementioned LCD screen, you can also quickly check the life of the filters without digging into the app.

The most fun feature on the new Pure Cool units is probably their 350-degree oscillation, which is most enjoyable when you manually rotate the devices on the spot. Even though this is very handy for boosting the air purification coverage in a room, you don’t have to go all the way to 350 degrees every time, as the fan lets you toggle between preset angles as well, starting with 45 degrees.

Not to be left out of the smart home game, Dyson is finally leveraging the power of voice control but by way of Amazon Echo. For the first time, you’ll be able to ask Alexa to control your Dyson fan, such as adjusting the airflow speed and toggling night-time mode (quieter fan and dimmer LCD).

Like the Cyclone V10, the new Pure Cool fans are also already available for ordering, with the tower model asking for $549.99, whereas the smaller desktop version is $100 cheaper.

Source: Dyson

LG’s AI-enabled OLED TVs go on sale this month

LG has announced pricing for its 2018 TV lineup. It includes nine new AI-enabled OLED TV models and seven AI-enabled Super UHD TV models, each coming with LG’s ThinQ AI technology. The OLED line includes LG’s Signature W8 series, which will be available in 65- and 77-inch versions priced at $7,000 and $15,000, respectively. The C8 series will come in 55-, 65- and 77-inch versions, which will cost $2,500, $3,500 and $9,000. LG’s OLED TV AI ThinQ E8 series will be available in two sizes — 55- and 65-inch — and they’re priced at $3,500 and $4,500, respectively. Pricing and availability hasn’t yet been announced for the B8 series.

Pricing for LG’s Super UHD TVs with AI ThinQ was also released. The SK9500 model is 65 inches and costs $2,700. The SK9000 line will come in 55- and 65-inch versions priced at $1,600 and $2,200. And lastly, the SK8000 line will be available in 49-, 55-, 65- and 75-inch options, which will range in price from $1,000 to $2,700.

The lineup will begin rolling out to US retailers this month, starting with the C8, SK9500 and SK9000 series. The C8 series will continue to rollout in April as will the W8, E8 and SK8000 series. The latest rollouts include the 49-inch SK8000, which will hit retailers in May, and the 65-inch W8, which will be available in July.

Apple will stop accepting iTunes LP submissions this month

Back in 2009, iTunes 9 offered a way for artists and labels to pack in extra album material like art, videos and bonus tracks. Earlier on Tuesday morning, Metro found a leaked Apple document that spelled doom for the bundled extras. The Verge later confirmed that Apple would, indeed, stop taking new iTunes LP submissions as of this month.

The Verge reports that while there will be no more submissions accepted, existing ones that you’ve bought will still work as always. Any iTunes LPs that are currently in the iTunes Store will similarly continue to be available. As noted by The Verge, these have never been a huge part of Apple’s music strategy, so it makes sense that they’d phase it out sooner or later.

Source: The Verge

FDA greenlights 23andMe’s direct-to-consumer cancer risk test

Cancer screening isn’t all that accessible — you typically need an obvious genetic background that suggests you’re at risk, which doesn’t help if you slip between those cracks. You shouldn’t have to run that gauntlet for much longer. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a 23andMe direct-to-consumer test that details the risks of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer based on BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations. Once the report is available, you wouldn’t have to worry about qualifying for a screening — you could send in a saliva sample and find out on your own terms.

23andMe had previously offered genetic health risk tests, but suspended them in order to get FDA approval. The agency had greenlit disease and deficiency-related health risk tests in 2017, and had streamlined its approval process later that same year.

The company is quick to warn that this test doesn’t rule out cancer, and won’t diagnose you if you already have it. You’ll want to turn to health care providers if you’re going to take any action, 23andMe said. And the cancer it’s looking for isn’t very common. There’s a 2 percent risk of it for Askhenazi Jewish women, but less than 0.1 percent for everyone else. It’s the first approved test of its kind, however, and it hints at a future where those who aren’t willing to wait for formal screenings (or are denied access) can take action early enough to potentially prevent cancer.

Source: FDA

Indie brawler ‘Way of the Passive Fist’ is out now on Steam and PS4

If you love stylish, ’90s-style 2D side-scrolling brawlers like Golden Axe or Aztez, you’ll dig the debut release from Household Games, a new studio made up of DrinkBox Studios, Queasy Games and Silicon Knights members. Way of the Passive Fist is available now on PlayStation 4 and Mac/PC/Linux via Steam for $15. It will also go live on Xbox One at midnight, March 7th.

The single-player beat ’em up focuses on a pretty unique fighting style. Instead of spamming the attack buttons, you need to time your parries, deflections, dashes and dodges to pile up a combo meter, which will let you unleash massive offensive melee attacks when you face the huge bosses at the end of each level. There’s also a ton of accessibility features for those who need to customize their gameplay style due to preference or a disability. You can fully remap the controls to play with one hand, for example, and modify the visuals for specific visual impairments or flashing light sensitivity.

“We genuinely aimed to give players a different arcade brawler experience and the team has delivered on that promise,” said Household Games founder Jason Canam in a statement. “Players will quickly learn that timing is everything in Way of the Passive Fist and how satisfying the perfectly timed defensive fighting gameplay can be. It’s been a long time coming, it’s well worth the wait.”

Source: Household Games/Twitter

Intel is funding the future of large-scale VR environments

If you’ve donned a VR headset and immersed yourself in a proper virtual reality ‘experience,’ you might have seen chills, thrills, and…not too many people at once. Today, Intel released a demo showcasing a software solution to the crowd problem the company created with The Glimpse Group. The demo part of the Intel Arena Project, as it’s named, situates the viewer in the middle of a big basketball stadium with 2,500 fans in the seats, most of which are individually rendered. Functionally it’s a proof-of-concept to show such a population can be rendered in a VR experience, but the collaboration is also publicly releasing the software and process documentation to help creators build their own large-scale virtual reality scenes.

Glimpse Group elaborated on the demo during an Unreal design event promoting the engine’s new Datasmith feature, which was used in the Intel Arena Project. The demo itself is a bit of an ad showcasing the Intel hardware that was used to make the demonstration (the (i9 chipset and Optame memory drives), which makes sense given the chipmaker’s sponsorship of the project. But the white paper Glimpse Group will release concurrently with the demo and software could help creators make large-scale environments in their VR projects.

Deals: 2015 iMac and 2017 MacBook Air Sales at eBay, HomeKit Switches at Home Depot, and More

Top-rated eBay shop ElectronicsValley today has the 27-inch 5K iMac from October 2015 for $1,299.99, down from $2,299.99. This model has a 3.3 GHz Intel Core i5 6th Generation processor, 8GB of RAM, 2TB of hard drive storage, and was the first of Apple’s iMacs to come with the updated Magic Mouse 2 back in 2015. ElectronicsValley describes the iMac as “New,” and its customers have left a largely positive feedback percentage of 99.1 percent on its store.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

ElectronicsValley often has multiple New-condition Apple products on sale, currently including sales on last year’s MacBook Air refresh:

• 13-inch MacBook Air, 2017, 1.8 GHz, 8GB RAM, 128GB HD – $861.59, down from $999.00
• 13-inch MacBook Air, 2017, 1.8 GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB HD – $1,062.59, down from $1,199.00

Also today, The Home Depot is offering select Leviton dimmers and switches for up to 30 percent off, including a few HomeKit-compatible switches. The company has a 2-pack of the Leviton 15 Amp Decora Smart Switch for $62.96, down from $89.94. The switch can connect to Apple’s Home iOS app and allow users to control lights on their iPhones and iPads or with Siri. There are a few other switches available, all with limited stock and with sale prices that will expire by the end of the day.

A few other deals worth mentioning today include savings on Speck’s Presidio Power case for the iPhone 7, priced at $30.00 for a limited time, down from $99.95. Amazon and Best Buy also continue to offer notable savings on BeatsX, with both retailers pricing the headphones at $89.99, down from $149.99, in select colors.

For those who are interested but haven’t yet taken advantage of ongoing deals from DirecTV Now and Sonos, be sure to head to our full Deals Roundup for more information on each sale. The limited time offers for a free 32GB Apple TV 4K with DirecTV Now and bundle of two Sonos One speakers have been around since November 2017 and January 2018, respectively, and are expected to expire sometime in the spring.

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Quick Takes: iTunes LP Submissions Ending, Free Apple Music With Select New Vehicles, and More

In addition to our standalone articles covering the latest Apple news and rumors at MacRumors, this Quick Takes column provides a bite-sized recap of other headlines about Apple and its competitors on weekdays.

Tuesday, March 6

Apple confirms it will stop accepting new iTunes LP album submissions at the end of March: Apple says existing LP albums will not be removed and will remain available to download via iTunes on Mac or PC.

Commentary: iTunes LPs, introduced in 2009, are interactive albums with multimedia such as lyrics, liner notes, artist and band photos, performance videos, and more. A lot of this content can now be found in Apple Music, so it’s no surprise that Apple is beginning to phase out this long-forgotten feature.

Get up to six months of free Apple Music with the purchase of a new Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, or Ram: The offer is available between May 1, 2018 and April 30, 2019. CarPlay is a standard feature in all of those vehicle brands, while some models include built-in BeatsAudio speakers.

Commentary: The six-month offer only applies to first-time Apple Music subscribers. If you’ve already taken advantage of Apple Music’s standard three-month trial period, you’ll only receive an additional three months of complimentary service. Volkswagen is also offering a similar deal in Europe.

Microsoft begins accepting pre-orders of new Surface Pro with LTE Advanced: The new Surface Pro gains cellular connectivity, with support for 20 LTE bands, but it’s otherwise the same as the previous generation. The tablet-notebook hybrid starts at $1,149, but only a higher-end $1,449 model is available currently.

Commentary: While the Surface Pro isn’t part of Apple’s ecosystem, the tablet has received favorable reviews from The Verge and CNET, and some customers may prefer its versatility over the cellular-enabled iPad Pro.

House near Apple Park smashes Sunnyvale real estate record: A two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in Sunnyvale, near Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, recently sold for $2 million in cash. At $2,358 per square foot, it’s reportedly the highest price per square foot for a home in Sunnyvale ever.

Commentary: Sunnyvale is situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, where companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook are headquartered. With these tech giants often offering six-figure salaries, it’s no surprise that real estate prices continue to rise in the area. The previous record was $2,175 per square foot, according to the MLS.

For more Apple news and rumors coverage, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also visit our forums to join in the discussion.

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