Here’s all the best tech gear and gadgetry that survived Shark Tank

You know Shark Tank? the Emmy award-winning reality TV show where intrepid entrepreneurs pitch their startup ideas to a panel of venture capitalists, in hopes of getting funding for their inventions? The show has been airing episodes since 2009, and over the years, it’s seen a wide range of different products. Many of these fail and don’t go anywhere beyond the stage, but a small few find success after the show.

In this article we’ll focus on some of the most interesting and successful tech products that made it past Shark Tank. Just be warned: You should probably check your bank account before this read, as some of these gizmos might make you unconsciously reach for your wallet while you drool on your keyboard. Enjoy!

Rocketskates – Electric motorized skates

I’m sure we can all agree that it’s been some time since roller blades or skates have been “hip.” However, With the recent rise of the “hoverboards” and other motorized get-around-gadgets, maybe it’s time for a comeback?

Enter: Rocketskates. As the smallest motorized skates on the market, these boots boast a support weight of 275 pounds, a top speed of 12mph, and an average range of ten miles. With an included app that allows you to tune the skates to your style, and multiple speeds for various experience levels, these are the futuristic skates that we’ve all been waiting for.

Sunscreenr – UV camera shows suncreen coverage

Do you have sensitive skin, or are worried about your child’s sun exposure? Suncreener is a small, pocket-sized UV camera that shows how well you’ve done at applying sunscreen. For those of the more pallid complexion, this is a must have.

Pavlok Wristband – Smart Wearable That Breaks Bad Habits 

Could you use a slap on the wrist every now and then to keep you focused on your self betterment? Well, the Pavlock wristband might be just the slap you need. This “slap” comes in the form of a shock to your wrist. The idea is to use negative reinforcement to help you break bad habits. Whether it’s getting you out of bed on time or keeping you out of that bar that always gets you in trouble, the Pavlok Wristband is designed to break you of bad habits and keep them gone using varying degrees of shock.

NEO Innovations – Tattoo removal laser

There’s a ton of pocket-sized tech available these days, but tattoo removers aren’t something we expected to be available in such a format. But regardless of how absurd it sounds, that’s exactly what NEO innovations showcased on Shark Tank: a handheld, DIY tattoo removal laser. While the device is neither instantaneous nor 100 percent effective, it definitely gets results. Hundreds of reviews and user stories suggest that the laser works if used regularly over time.

PhoneSoap

You’re probably aware that your smartphone isn’t exactly clean — but if you knew the true extent of its grossness, you’d probably get sick to your stomach. Due to the nature of smartphone use, your phone is a breeding grounds for all types of bacteria, and the option of using sanitizer or liquid soap isn’t necessarily an option.

But not to worry; if you’re writhing at the thought of all the crawlies on your device, check out PhoneSoap. This handy device blasts your phone with UV-C light, which scrambles the DNA of most bacteria and renders them incapable of reproduction. The company also offers a larger size for tablet owners.

Tekdry – Water removal for tech gadgets

So your phone didn’t escape that bath, and the rice just isn’t cutting it? Don’t sweat it. Just get yourself to the nearest Tekdry location and you can revive your drowned phone in less than 30 minutes. The unassuming machines uses a vacuum to rid your drenched electronics of moisture. With support for laptops, tablets, and pretty much any other electronic gizmo that can fit inside the machine, this is a service that the world has been waiting for.

BearTek – Bluetooth smart gloves to control your phone

Wish there was an easier way to control your tunes while you’re riding your bike/snowboard/skis/whatever? Beartek’s Bluetooth smart gloves aim to fix that issue by putting the control in your hands — or more accurately, on them. By using simple thumb-to-fingertip touches, these gloves allow you to wirelessly control music, camera, and phone options. For those that know the dangers of getting lost on the mountainside, being able to call for help with a few finger movements can save a life. They also come in motocross flavor.

Toymail – Plush and message app for kids

Alright parents, we all know handing a smartphone to a child is a scary, scary thing. But in such a connected world, sometimes it’s the only option. Toymail aims to alleviate that stress by providing an adorable alternative.

Billed as a “Fun stuffed animal meets Walkie-Talkie”, the small app-connected plushes are the perfect tool for staying in touch with your little ones in the modern world. With a simple set of options and uses, the stuffed creatures allow loved ones to communicate in a variety of fun ways with children, even including a ‘Remindie’ feature to help kids keep on track.

Hatch Baby – Smart baby changing pad

If your child isn’t quite to the making phone calls age, but you still want to make sure -EVERYTHING- is okay, then saunter up to the Hatch Baby with your bundle of joy and find out everything you could possibly want about your baby sans mind reading.

Tracking everything from how much your baby has grown to how big it’s diaper loads are, you’ll have everything you and your pediatrician will need to know about your child’s health at your finger tips via a digital display readout.

Kwikset Kevo – Bluetooth enabled deadbolt lock

Have a bad habit of locking yourself out of the house? Or maybe your tired of employees losing their keys and you’re running out of spares? Install the Kwikset Kevo to enable a whole new way of granting access.

Usable with any bluetooth enabled smartphone, Kevo gives users the ability to send friends and family digital keys that can be granted and revoked at any time, enabling the key holder to unlock the deadbolt with a touch.

Linka – Smart Bluetooth bike lock

Now that you’ve got your house locked down, you’re eyeballing the rest of the keys on your chain. How about your bike lock? Bluetooth enabled Linka will take away the anxiety of leaving your bike behind.

It automatically unlocks as you approach, screams and calls for you when someone tries to steal it, and taddles using GPS and sister devices if they succeed.

GeoOrbital Wheel – Electric wheel for bicycles

Is your daily commute missing something, and your too tired to figure out what? How about some horse power! The GeoOrbital Wheel is easy to install and controls via a thumb throttle that attaches to your handle bar. Powered by a removable 36v battery, the impressive front wheel component can carry you for 20 miles with no pedaling, and will assist when you do.

Revolights – Bicycle lighting system

Revolight’s revolutionary front and back wheel lights will definitely turn some heads. With an innovative design that attaches directly to your bike’s existing wheels, the device uses uses accelerometers (instruments to measure acceleration) to sense which wheel is on the front and back, illuminating both in a way that makes conventional lights look downright boring.

Coolpeds – Briefcase electric scooter

If your travel route isn’t particularly bike friendly, or you spend more time logging hours in convention centers and labyrinthian offices, maybe Coolped’s Briefcase Electric Scooter is the motorized solution you need.. The scooter is packed with intelligent safety features and environmentally friendly components. It even has safety measures in case your tires go flat. Plus, if you run out of power you can kick it old school.

Qball – Throwable wireless microphone

Have you ever been in a lecture hall, classroom, or any other large space where you really wish you could hear what the heck was being said? Toss the speaker the Qball: a soft blue ball that functions as a wireless microphone. With a standalone presenter mic and a receiver that connects to nearly any available speaker system, Qball makes it easier than ever for your voice to be heard.

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Deal: Pre-order the Huawei P20 and get free Bose QC35 II headphones

These headphones usually cost £329.95.

The Huawei P20 and P20 Pro are here, and they’re two of the most striking phones Huawei’s kicked out in some time. Pre-orders are opening up across the world where they’ll be sold, and if you happen to live in the UK, you’ve got access to a pretty insane offer.

Available right now from Carphone Warehouse, anyone that pre-orders the P20 or P20 Pro can get the Bose QC35 II headphones for free. These headphones typically cost £329.95, and they’re some of the best Bluetooth cans that money can buy.

This offer is available on a pay monthly contract, upgrade contract, and if you buy the phone SIM-free. Once you place your pre-order, simply go to Huawei’s promo website between April 20 and May 19, fill out your information, and claim your prize.

You can only get the QC35 IIs in black, but I can’t imagine anyone will be complaining about the restriction in color choice.

You’ll need to make your pre-order on or before April 5, so be sure to act fast!

See at Carphone Warehouse

Moment announces four new products for its Filmmaker Collection

There’s an anamorphic lens, gimbal counterweight, lens filter adapter, and iPhone X case.

Smartphone cameras are better than ever, but if you like taking things to the next level, you’re probably quite familiar with Moment. Moment sells a variety of lens attachments for the Pixel 2, Galaxy S9, and iPhones, but these are all focused on photography. Now, Moment is stepping into videography with its all-new Filmmaker Collection.

Moment’s Filmmaker Collection is made up of four products, but perhaps the most fascinating is its anamorphic lens. Although it’s not necessarily cheap at $149.99, the lens offers a 1.33x zoom and uses a cinematic aspect ratio of 2:40:1 Cinemascope. Moment says the lens will help you get “sweet flares and letterbox screen”, and describes it as “the holy grail of video.”

The anamorphic lens will work on iPhone, Pixel, and Galaxy S / Note phones with Moment’s Photo and Battery Photo Cases.

Also part of the Filmmaker Collection is a gimbal counterweight. The counterweight can easily attach to the DJI Osmo Mobile 2, Zhiyun SmoothQ, and Evo Shift gimbals, and it can be configured to weigh 60g, 90g, and or 120g. There’s a rubber pad to ensure it stays in place, and Moment says this will help you achieve even smoother video. The counterweight has a price of $39.

Moment’s gimbal counterweight (left) and lens adapter (right)

Rounding out the Filmmaker Collection is the Moment Filter Mount that allows you to use a regular 62mm filter with any of Moment’s lenses, as well as a Battery Photo Case for the iPhone X. These two products cost $39 and $99, respectively.

Pre-orders for Moment’s Filmmaker Collection are open now on Kickstarter, and shipping is expected to begin in June.

See at Kickstarter

Would you buy a flat-edged Galaxy S9?

If it was an option, would a flat panel be preferable to curved glass?

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are some of the best phones money can buy right now — and if you like to keep up with the latest tech, you might already have one. One of the reasons the S9 is so popular is because of its incredible build quality and design. Samsung spared no expense, crafting the phone out of beautiful curved glass and metal.

Curved glass is beautiful, but it isn’t always ideal for everybody.

There’s just one problem: curved glass isn’t always functional. It’s gorgeous, and it feels great in the hand, but despite Samsung’s best efforts for accidental touch rejection, it’s still not uncommon to inadvertently touch the sides of the Galaxy S9 during regular use. Curved glass is also incredibly fragile, and much harder to protect; curved glass screen protectors are few and far between, and cases have limited space to attach to the phone and struggle to provide full coverage.

I really don’t think I’d mind a flat-edged Galaxy S9 variant, like we saw last year with the Galaxy S8 Active. Sure, last year’s Active model wasn’t quite as pretty as the standard Galaxy S8, but it was still a handsome phone, and in exchange for the flat display, we got a much larger battery — the S8 Active carried a whopping 4000mah cell, and the difference in longevity was definitely noticeable.

Curved displays aren’t all bad, though. Sit the Galaxy S8 next to the S8 Active, and you’ll notice that the latter is bigger in every dimension than the standard model, despite both phones having a 5.8-inch display. Curved glass allows the display to wrap around the sides, making the phone significantly easier to hold and use one-handed.

Phones with curved edges are considerably narrower than phones without, making them easier to use one-handed.

It also just looks and feels great. There’s nothing quite like running your finger across the curved edge of your phone, whether you’re accessing Apps Edge or swiping in from a menu panel in the Google Play Store. And who doesn’t love the look of a glowing edge when you receive notifications with the screen face-down?

Even four iterations into the Edge design, however, Samsung still hasn’t given many practical uses for the curved glass from a software perspective. Apps Edge is nice, but most users end up disabling it after a few days. Likewise, the ticker-style widgets that scroll through an edge of the display can be handy, but ultimately feel a bit limited.

Still, maybe a curved display doesn’t need software tricks, and allowing for a narrower chassis is useful enough. Any improvement to a phone’s usability is a plus, after all. I’m personally pretty indifferent towards curved displays. I don’t specifically hold out for them in a phone, but they’re certainly a nice aesthetic touch and I do love that they make phones a bit more narrow. Still, it’s always a bit of a relief when I go back to flat-edged phones, mostly because I like to use glass screen protectors when to prevent scratching.

See at Samsung

What’s your take on curved displays? Does a flat Galaxy S9 sound up your alley, or are you happy with the curves on your S9 as it is? Let us know in the comments below!

RAVPower’s $96 27000mAh power bank has USB ports and a built-in 3-prong outlet

Charge everything in your world.

RAVPower’s 27000mAh universal power bank with three USB outputs and one 3-prong AC outlet is down to $95.99 with code APRAV27K. It sells for $130 without the code and has never dropped lower than that through direct discounts.

The 27000mAh capacity is huge. That’s a lot of juice to charge your phones, tablets, or quite literally anything you can plug into it. Thanks to the 3-prong AC outlet, you could power a blender on the road with this thing. In addition to that outlet, which maxes out at 70W, there are also two USB-A outputs and one USB-C output. The AC outlet has its own dedicated on/off switch along with a flap to cover it up when not in use. When out of power, the device can recharge fully in just about five hours, and it has eight LEDs to indicate how much power it has. There are also built-in air vents and a fan to keep it cool.

See on Amazon

The Porsche Design Mate RS is a Huawei P20 Pro with an in-display fingerprint sensor and a $2000 price tag

More phone than you need.

As Huawei is wont to do, alongside the beautiful overkill of the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro, the company unveiled the latest in its collaboration with Porsche Design, the Mate RS.

The phone, which costs starts at €1550 (around $2000 USD) depending on the storage size, is basically a smaller, squatter P20 Pro with a few niceties that somewhat (ok, maybe not) justify its higher price tag: an in-display fingerprint sensor like the one we saw from Vivo and Synaptics at CES (along with a rear fingerprint sensor for good measure) and between 256GB and 512GB of internal storage. There’s also wireless charging on board, which is why the phone, at 8.5mm thick and 183 grams, is slightly thicker and heavier than the P20 Pro. That means the tri-camera setup is included on the back, including the whopping 40MP main sensor, and the bewildering 24MP sensor on the front.

Like previous PD phones, it has prominent Porsche Design branding and only a small Huawei insignia on the back, and the color choices — deep black or a China-exclusive red — are in keeping with the company’s particular clientele.

The Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS (full name) will be available in May from Porsche Design stores and other select retailers.

See at Porsche Design

PlayStation VR accessory guide

There’s more to owning a PlayStation VR than you may realize.

As gaming VR systems go, PlayStation VR has been a hit so far. The initial launch gave us a decent slate of games, but in the months since we’ve seen plenty of new titles arrive, and with triple AAA titles like Fallout 4 in VR coming it’s time to take a look at what you need to enjoy this headset long term. Outside of a fresh controller and the new PlayStation Camera, this is what you need to fully enjoy your PlayStation VR!

All-in-one stand

By the time you have the headset, camera, Move controllers, and regular DualShock 4 controller set up, it dawns on you that there are not enough USB ports on your PS4 to charge everything. This sucks if your goal is to let everything charge overnight, especially if the other outlets in your living room aren’t easily accessible. There are several solutions to this particular dilemma, but the Power A charge and display stand is one of the better options out here at about $35.

It’s a simple stand for the headset itself, but also charges the three controllers used to fully enjoy PSVR. The controller dock lets you press down to release from the dock, and looks nice in the process. It’s a solid solution all around, especially if room on your entertainment center is limited.

See on Amazon

BD&A Travel Case

You aren’t always going to be playing PSVR at home, especially if you have friends who also have PS4s and want you to come convince them to grab one of these headsets for themselves. Your PlayStation VR is more than light enough for quick travel, but the lenses and display in the headset are fragile and need to be treated as such.

Carrying cases are a simple solution to your portability problem. All you really need is a nice sturdy body to keep from basic bumps and something to keep the lenses safe when you’re moving around. At around $16The BD&A travel case offers a great deal for keeping your headset safe and secure when you’re on the move.

See on Amazon

Hyperkin Sanitary Mask

This isn’t always something people think about, but passing germs from person to person through a VR headset is a possibility. There’s plenty of ways to deal with this, but if you’re planning on showing off your PlayStation VR to a huge group of people, you might consider upgrading from small alcohol wipes to a full sanitary mask. Hyperkin Sanitary Masks gives you a full sanitary mask that makes cleanliness while sharing a concern you don’t need to worry about. For only $10 for a 10 pack of masks, you’ll feel great sharing this experience with your closest friends and family while still being sanitary.

PlayStation VR is already one of the better headsets for multi-user VR because the headset is never pressed firmly against your face, but a sanitary mask removes any potential by creating a temporary barrier on your skin. Yes, this is basically a condom for your VR headset. Stop giggling and put it on.

See on Amazon

Stationary Bike

Wandering around your living room in PlayStation VR is fun, but there are other ways to enjoy this headset, namely on a stationary bike. VirZoom’s VR exercise bike, coming at $400, lets you really immerse yourself in the feeling of being in VR making it excellent for a virtual bike ride.

This stationary bike is a full fitness monitoring system, and it works by putting you in VR and making it feel like you’re really going for a bike ride around town. There are several experiences included with the bike itself, but the mechanics may one day also translate to motorcycle experiences or other racing games. The bottom line is full immersion, and we’ve yet to see what the limits are for that in the home!

See at Amazon

Thrustmaster VG T300RS racing wheel

While there aren’t many available just yet, racing games in VR deliver a whole new kind of awesome. Since VR is all about immersion, having the ability to feel a steering wheel in your hands as you take a curve at breathtaking speed, or being able to ghost the break just enough to drift between your rivals makes the already awesome racing games that are available even better.

Although it comes in at a hefty price tage, $347 for the Thrustmaster VG T300RS racing wheel is worth the experience. It has a solid sturdy feel in your hands, mostly because of the brushed steel and rubber grips that make the 11-inch wheel feel strong enough to take you through every race. With haptic feedback, you’ll feel it as you take turns way too fast and burn out as a result, and you’ll feel it if you get tagged by another car mid race. In terms of immersion, this adds layers and layers of new experiences for the racing genre of games, and this is still only the beginning.

See at Amazon

Kinsal Ergonomic Leather High-back Swivel Chair

Needing somewhere comfortable to sit down is especially true when playing PlayStation VR since several games are made to be played this way. Since you could be hanging out in the same place for several hours, a swivel chair can be a serious boon. It will help you to manage your cables and allows you to keep your balance while you spin and interact with your game.

The Kinsal Ergonomic chair has a high back, which also gives you adjustable lumbar and neck support. This makes it easier than ever to get comfortable in your chair and settle in for the long haul, and at $170, you’ll feel great getting the most out of your chair and games. It’s also a larger chair to give you plenty of room to settle in and enjoy yourself. This chair can also lean all the way back, and its height is adjustable. All in all, it delivers a super comfortable, and highly adjustable experience to help elevate your experiences in VR.

See at Amazon

Amazon Basics Microfiber cleaning cloths

The time will come when no matter how carefully you take care of your PlayStation VR, it’s going to need to be cleaned. When that happens, having a small stock of Amazon Basic’s microfiber cleaning cloths is a solid plan.

The biggest problem with cleaning a VR unit is ensuring that there isn’t any dust hiding near the lenses, or in the nooks and crannies of the headset. These cloths help to be sure that wiping your headset down doesn’t take more than a few moments, and that no debris is left inside to aggravate you at an inopportune time. At $12 for 24 of these cloths, you won’t be breaking the bank to keep your VR headset clean.

See at Amazon

Hyperkin VR Lens Protector

If simply cleaning your lens before and after play doesn’t seem like enough to keep your lens intact, purchasing these lens protectors would be the best thing to do. For only $10, this is a simple and cheap way to keep your headset lens in tact.

These protectors will keep your VR lenses from getting any scratches on them while playing the VR headset. To insure no damage to your headset, these are the best way to keep it safe. Make sure to put them on as instructed, as these are a bit tricky and can make a different to your VR experience if put on incorrectly.

See at Amazon

PlayStation Aim Controller

When Farpoint came out, it came with an awesome new accessory built specifically for shooting things in VR. The PlayStation Aim controller works as its own controller complete with all of the buttons that you are used to with your DualShock 4 controller. It looks a bit like the gun that it is emulating, but the important part is that when you are in VR it feels like you are carrying a rifle around. It uses the same technology as PlayStation Move controllers, which means there is a globe that glows when the controller is turned on.

It never hurts to have an extra controller around, however, if yours should get busted or lost. Although they come in at a hefty $60, it never hurts to be safe, and you feel pretty cool holding one while killing aliens.

See at Amazon

Mantis Headphones

While your PlayStation VR does come with a pair of decent earbuds that get the job done, the Mantis Headphones offer a great clip on alternative. These headphones deliver great sound, and since they clip onto your headset it’s easy to customize where, and how, they sit against your ears. They’re also far more solid when you’re playing games that require a lot of movement.

These headphones are available for $50 from Mantis, and it’s a solid investment. They even match the color scheme of your PlayStation VR so that they don’t look out of place when your headset isn’t in use.

See at Mantis

PlayStation Gold Headset

PlayStation has released a new Gold headset that has fixed many problems we saw with the older headset. A newer design and better on-headset controls are just a few examples that really make this headset new and improved. The Gold headset was also created with PlayStation VR in mind, which makes a perfect add on to your VR accessory collection.

These new headphones may be a bit of an investment, with the $100 price tag, but they are well worth the price. Not only are they great for PlayStation VR, but when you set them up with the companion app, you get extras to some great games that makes the headset worth it.

See at Amazon

Updated March, 2018: We’ve updated this list with new accessories to maximize your PlayStation VR experience as well as the new lowest prices.

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How to fix Galaxy S8 battery life problems

Battery life on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ is actually pretty good — but it fades over time.

After the first couple of months using a phone where battery life seems great, things can go south as we load up our new device with all kinds of things and turn on every last feature. The Galaxy S8 and S8+ aren’t immune to battery shortcomings if you push them hard enough, and that means you’ll be looking for ways to scale things back and return to great battery life.

We have a handful of solid tips here to help you get the most out of your Galaxy S8 or S8+ battery, whether you’re currently happy with its longevity or not. Read on.

Use power saving mode

The easiest way to save precious battery power is to use one of the built-in power saving modes. You can find them in Settings, Device maintenance then Battery. You can also toggle power saving mode in the quick settings area of the notification shade.

It’s all about finding a balance between features and battery longevity.

The power saving mode most people will use is the “mid” level, which tries to strike a balance between saving power and letting your phone do everything you need. When you tap “mid” you’ll see what it does — decrease brightness, lower the screen resolution, limit CPU performance and disable both background network usage and the Always On Display. It’ll add up to a couple hours to your battery life over the course of the day, but you probably wouldn’t want to use this all the time.

You can also tweak the parameters to maybe find a middle ground that works for you — just tap “Details” and see what you can change. For example you may keep the CPU speed limiter on, but also turn on background network usage so apps continue to sync when you’re not actively using them.

For the dire situations when you have very little battery or don’t have any idea when you’ll find power again, look at the “max” power saving mode. This mode dramatically turns down your screen resolution, limits performance further and turns off even more features — all in the name of letting the battery last as long as possible, while giving you the basic phone functions you need.

Uninstall unused apps

This is one of the easiest ways to cut down on battery drain, and also one that so many people forget as they use their phone over weeks and months. We all install apps that we use once or haven’t touched in a month, and those apps can sometimes be using battery even though you don’t need them. Head into Settings then Apps and scroll through to see if there are any apps hanging out that you’ve forgotten about and don’t need any more.

Remember, you can always re-install the app later on down the road if you think you need it again. There’s little need to keep an unused app installed and potentially running on your phone.

Check for power-hungry apps

The last couple versions of Android introduced some really nice system-level features that take care of runaway apps, but every once and a while they can get carried away. If you notice your battery draining faster than usual, it could be one or two apps causing it — whether they’re running when you aren’t aware, or are just using more battery than they should even though you’re using them. Go to Settings, Device maintenance then Battery to see what apps are using notable amounts of juice.

These settings are a bit confusing, but powerful if you want to tweak things.

This is best to do at the end of the day to get an accurate picture of just how much battery an app is using, but the bottom half of this settings screen shows what percentage of the day’s battery has been used by any given app. You’ll see usual culprits like social media apps or photo apps, but if something looks out of the ordinary you can tap on that app and hit “save power” to completely limit that app from running in the background. We wouldn’t advise you do this for lots of apps, but if something’s being problematic you can remedy that here.

For a bit of background, the system also automatically throttles back apps that haven’t been used in 3 days (customizable up to 7 days), so chances are any runaway app that you’re not using won’t be able to muck things up for too long anyway. If you don’t want an app to ever be throttled in the background, you can select it in the “unmonitored apps” area at the bottom of the settings pane.

Lower the screen resolution

One quick setting you can change semi-permanently to improve battery life without really hurting your experience is to reduce the screen resolution. Just go into Settings, Display and Screen resolution to see your options. By default the Galaxy S8 and S8+ actually don’t run at their max resolution — they stick at “FHD+” instead, because the processor doesn’t have to work as hard to run the phone, which saves you some battery.

If you’ve moved up to “WQHD+” for the best-looking screen possible, you can scale it back down to save a little battery life. We wouldn’t recommend going with “HD+” unless you’re really trying to save juice … but in that case you may be better off considering the overall power saving mode instead.

Reduce screen brightness

Samsung’s AMOLED displays keep getting more efficient, but the screen continues to be a notable drain on a phone’s battery life. You can simply lower the screen brightness on your Galaxy S8 to save battery life — either by using the slider in the notification shade, or in settings then display.

If you want, you can also turn off automatic brightness here so that even in bright conditions the screen doesn’t ramp up and use up more battery. Just realize that the amount of battery you save by doing so may not be worth it when you consider you won’t be able to see your screen as well in those conditions.

Turn off unused radios

If you’re looking to save battery at the cost of convenience, you should turn off both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth when they’re not in use. You can toggle either one from the notification shade quick settings, which makes the process easy.

Going a step further, you can also turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth scanning, which is actually used to help with location services even when both radios are technically turned off. You can find this in Settings, Connections, Location then Improve accuracy. By turning off these two switches your phone won’t use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth at all unless you have them turned on — the one downside being that it may take marginally longer to locate your phone in the world if your data connection and GPS aren’t functioning properly.

Last resort: a battery pack

No matter how much you tweak and change on your phone, sometimes that just isn’t enough — after all, the battery isn’t getting any larger either way. For those times when the power you need out of your Galaxy S8 or S8+ is more than you can reasonably achieve with the built-in battery, check out the battery pack and battery case options available out there.

Most of the battery cases out there are a pretty terrible compromise of bulk for not very much battery power, so we would recommend a compact external battery pack that offers fast charging instead. Samsung makes its own line of battery packs that will quickly charge the Galaxy S8 and S8+ while matching its look, but there are tons available out there from Anker, Aukey and more.

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Update March 2018: Refreshed to reflect the Galaxy S8 and S8+’s new Oreo software.

Google Play Movies & TV gets streaming service integration and watchlist

There’s also a tool to help you find something new to watch.

Google Play Movies & TV has long been Google’s answer to Apple’s iTunes for renting/selling movies and TV shows, but today it’s being taken a step further and being transformed into a service that helps you find the perfect content to watch no matter what platform it’s on.

Upon opening the updated Play Movies & TV app, you’ll see a new section at the top asking “What are you in the mood for?”. You can then select different categories to help you narrow down what you’re looking for, such as Comedy, Action, Recent, Classic, Highly Rated, etc. As you select these filters, suggested titles will change in real-time based on what you’ve chosen.

Once you find something you’d like to watch, tapping on it will take you to a page to learn more about said show. However, instead of just giving you the option to buy or rent it with Google Play, you’ll now have options for watching it on other streaming services that have it. For example, if you choose Silicon Valley, you’ll see an option for watching it on HBO GO and HBO NOW.

Google says its currently partnered with two dozen streaming services and TV Everywhere apps, including Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, ABC, HGTV, Showtime, CBS, and many others.

You’ll also find thumbs up and thumbs down buttons when looking at a certain title that’ll help Google better determine what shows/movies it thinks you’ll like best, and there’s a new Watchlist tab that makes it easier than ever to find titles you’ve been saving to watch at a later date. When something is added to your Watchlist, you’ll get notifications of price drops, if it’s added to a streaming service, and when it becomes available to rent/buy directly through Google Play.

The new Google Play Movies & TV app is rolling out to Android phones and tablets in the United States over the coming days. What’s your take on the new look and features?

Download: Google Play Movies & TV (free)

Court rules that Google owes Oracle for unfair use of Java in Android

Google could have to pay as much as $8.8 billion in damages.

For nearly 8 years, Oracle and Google have gone back and forth in a lawsuit in which Google was accused of unfairly using Java for the development of Android. The two companies have had their fair share of wins and losses over the years, but now a federal court in California has settled things once and for all.

The court ruled that Google didn’t have the proper rights to use Java to the extent that it did when creating Android, and as such, might have to pay up big time to Oracle. It’s unclear how much Google owes, but during a trial in 2016, Oracle demanded $8.8 billion in damages.

Although Java is a free and open-source programming language, Oracle says that things change when it’s used to power a physical device or to enhance a competing platform.

Java was originally developed by Sun Microsystems Inc. in 1995, but Sun was then purchased by Oracle in 2010 for $7.4 billion in January of that year. Eight months later, Oracle sued Google.

Speaking on the matter, Sun Microsystems co-founder, Scott McNealy, said —

[Java] is the foundation upon which our digital world is built. Google stole that foundation, used it to build Android, and destroyed Oracle’s market in the process.

Google previously argued that it did no wrong seeing as how Java was made for desktops and Android was a mobile operating system, but as we can now see, that wasn’t a good enough reason for the courts.

Do you think the court made the right decision? How much should Google be liable for? Sound off in the comments below.