Tim Cook on What He Would Do in Mark Zuckerberg’s Shoes: ‘I Wouldn’t Be in This Situation’

“I wouldn’t be in this situation” Apple CEO Tim Cook told Recode’s Kara Swisher in an interview where he was asked what he would do right now if he was Mark Zuckerberg.

Cook went on to say that Facebook should have self regulated to prevent the massive data collection scandal it’s now embroiled in, but the time for that has passed. “I do think that it is time for a set of people to think deeply about what can be done here.”

Image via Recode

It’s clear to me that something, some large profound change is needed… I’m personally not a big fan of regulation because sometimes regulation can have unexpected consequences to it, however I think this certain situation is so dire and has become so large, that probably some well-crafted regulation is necessary.

Cook made the comments calling for regulation in a wide-ranging discussion with Swisher and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, covering topics from privacy to DACA to education, where he also again pointed out Apple’s strong stance on privacy.

As Cook has said many times in the past, “you” are not Apple’s product and Apple does not make its money selling customer data. Cook says Apple sees privacy as a “human right, a civil liberty.”

We could make a ton of money if we monetized our customers. If our customers were our product. We’ve elected not to do that. …We’re not going to traffic in your personal life.

Curation is important to Apple, and that’s one of the ways Cook believes Facebook went wrong. “We curate,” he said. “We don’t want porn on our App Store. We don’t want hate speech on our App Store.”

Apple, he says, looks at every app in detail. “Is it doing what it is saying it is doing?”

Cook also offered up some advice on how people can protect their privacy. He recommends people read and understand the privacy policy of every app and website frequented, use private browsing mode, and think about blocking cookies. “The only way to protect your data is to encrypt,” he added.

Like many of us, Cook says he “finds it creepy” when he looks at something and it chases him “all across the web,” something Apple has actively started blocking with cross-site tracking prevention tools in macOS High Sierra and iOS 11. “I don’t like that,” he said.

Cook was interviewed at the Lane Tech College Prep High School where Apple held its educational event earlier this week. The CEO’s full interview will air on Friday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time or 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on MSNBC.

Tags: Facebook, Tim Cook
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Apple Releases iOS 11.3 Update Solely for New iPad

Apple today released the long-awaited iOS 11.3 update, but it appears the software is only available for download on the sixth-generation iPad, which was announced yesterday at an education event in Chicago.

The sixth-generation iPad went on sale yesterday, but the first orders won’t be delivered until later this week and the device is not yet in stores.

Customers with the new iPad can download iOS 11.3 over-the-air using the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update.

iOS 11.3 introduces a long list of new features, such as Messages on iCloud for storing your iMessages in iCloud to save valuable on-device storage space.

The update also introduces ARKit 1.5, a new version of ARKit that allows developers to do more with augmented reality apps, and it includes a “Battery Health” feature designed to provide iOS users with more information about their batteries.

Other new features include new review sorting options in the App Store, software authentication for HomeKit devices, Business Chat for contacting businesses using iMessage, and more.

It’s not clear why Apple has released iOS 11.3 for the new iPad and not for any other devices, but the surprise launch suggests the release of iOS 11.3 for other Apple products is imminent and could perhaps come later this week.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
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Developer ‘Survios’ Details Process of Porting VR Title to iMac Pro, Says Apple Has ‘A Lot of Passion’ for VR

When Apple launched the iMac Pro last December, virtual reality applications and content creation were headlining features for the high-end computer. Prior to that, the company focused on Metal 2 and VR-based content as major additions to macOS High Sierra during WWDC 2017, also announcing multiple game studios putting their support behind Mac-based VR experiences, like Valve and Epic using the HTC Vive headset.

Today, another VR studio backing Apple’s efforts in this space has become the focus of a new report by Ars Technica. The studio, called “Survios,” was approached by Apple to port its new software “Electronauts” to macOS, part of many VR apps aimed at showcasing the iMac Pro’s top-of-the-line capabilities.

In the new interview, Survios studio head Mike McTyre and software engineer Jason Meisel discussed the “nearly painless” porting process, what working with Apple was like, and the important distinction between Apple’s focus on AR vs VR.

According to Meisel, Apple focused on ease of portability and ensured that early VR Mac developers wouldn’t hit roadblocks during the porting process. Right now on Mac, VR experiences are supported using an optimized version of Valve’s SteamVR platform and Survios developed Electronauts in the Unity game engine, which “can build directly to a multitude of platforms” spanning macOS and Windows.

“Essentially, what they’ve done really well is that they’ve been working with Unity and with Valve to make that whole process of porting a game that already exists using Unity and just get it running on the iMac,” Meisel added.

Speaking on the topic of the small install base of an iMac Pro-only VR title, McTyre said that the studio noticed “a lot of passion” from Apple, and it’s clear that the Cupertino company is planning “a lot more growth” in VR moving forward.

We’re seeing a lot of resources on their end, a lot of effort, a lot of passion. They want to focus on this and work on this. So that might be true now, but that’s just the starting point. It starts here, and let’s see what they add on to that next… I truly believe that they’re going to put a lot more growth into that going forward beyond this. This is just a starting point.

To expand the support of VR on Mac computers, McTyre said that in a few years he hopes to see Macs launch with integrated GPUs that sport minimum spec requirements for VR. Right now, even the iMac Pro development kit includes an external GPU enclosure, and support for eGPUs will launch wide in macOS High Sierra 10.13.4. McTyre hopes this is just a stopgap solution for graphics-heavy apps like VR: “I do think we are not that far off from the built-in GPUs just being good enough to just, out of the box, play VR.”

Photo of the Survios offices in Culver City, California by Samuel Axon via Ars Technica
McTyre also touched upon the difference between virtual reality and augmented reality, the latter of which has been more of a focus for Apple in recent years thanks to ARKit in iOS. Apple has been tied to potential future products that could use either AR or VR, but Survios is specifically focused on VR and McTyre said AR is just “not as far along yet as VR.”

The concept that AR is a version of VR but better, in my mind, is not true. It’s a different experience. Televisions did not make movies obsolete. Movies did not make books obsolete. Mobile gaming did not making console gaming obsolete, and console gaming did not make PC gaming obsolete. It’s all nonsense. We’ve been through this a million times over the last century. It’s a new medium, and AR and VR are different. Is there overlap, just like TV and movies have overlap? But they’re not the same thing.

For more details on Apple’s relationship with VR developers, be sure to visit Ars Technica and read the full interview with Survios.

Related Roundup: iMac ProTags: Apple VR Project, augmented realityBuyer’s Guide: iMac Pro (Buy Now)
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‘MLB The Show 18’: How to master pitching and keep runners off the basepaths

MLB The Show 18 is available now, and it’s a remarkably realistic take on America’s pastime, with challenging batting and base-running features, as well as strategic pitching. If you take the mound without a game plan or a basic understanding of how pitching works in real-world baseball, you’ll find yourself with a soaring earned run average and a heavy deficit when you come up to the plate. Before you even throw a single pitch, check out our tips for how to dominate on the mound and in the field in MLB The Show 18.

The basics of pitching

As the pitcher in MLB The Show 18, you set the pace of the game. Innings unfold as you throw pitches and attempt to get each batter out, and by managing your total pitch count and locating your pitches correctly, you’ll be able to keep runners from crossing the plate and scoring.

The default control scheme for pitching in MLB 18 is meter-based, requiring you to tap a button on your controller a few times in order to determine how effective your pitch will be. After selecting one of your available pitches using the face buttons on your controller and choosing a location using the analog stick, you’ll tap the tap the X button to send a bar moving up the length of the meter. Tap it again, and it will move in the opposite direction, and you must tap it one more time to throw a pitch.

It can be a little overwhelming at first, but the system is actually quite simple. As the bar goes up the meter, hit the X button just before it heads into the red-colored section at the very end. As it comes back down, you want to hit X again so the bar lines up as close as possible with the line near the middle of the meter. If you do this correctly, you’ll throw a nice, hard pitch right where you aimed. To throw the ball a little harder, you can wait for the bar to go into the red area, but you can easily miss your target this way.

As your pitcher works deeper into a game, his energy level will begin to drop. You need to keep careful track of this as you pitch, particularly if he has an inning or two when he throws more than 15 pitches. With a drop in energy comes a drop in velocity and precision. Precision can also be affected by a drop in “confidence,” which is displayed right below energy in the pitching interface. This will go up or down depending on how many hits or runs the pitcher has given up.

How to dominate the batter

You have the advantage at the mound in MLB The Show 18, but if you get careless, you will still see your pitches getting clobbered over the fence. This is relatively easy to avoid if you locate your pitches well and know when to throw each one. Here are the tips you need to know in order to dominate the batter, even after the ball is put in play:

Locate your fastball

Just like in real baseball, pitchers in MLB The Show 18 live and die by their fastball. The fastest pitch in your repertoire, the basic four-seam fastball is a straight pitch that you will make heavy use of – possibly as much as 75 percent of your pitches can be fastballs. Your goal when throwing the pitch isn’t to just blow the ball by the batter, as they’ll quickly pick up on its velocity and smack it into the outfield.

Instead, you have to “paint the corners,” with the pitch. Focus on staying to the low-outside corner of the strike zone, unless that corner is displayed in red for a particular batter, as this means he hits pitches in that location well. If you miss with this pitch, batters are unlikely to hit a home run, and it’s difficult for them to discern whether it’s a ball or a strike until it’s too late to swing. If you start a batter off with this pitch, you’ll have an easier time getting them to swing at “junk” pitches later on.

Learn to love the changeup

Breaking pitches such as curveballs and sliders are handy for getting a batter to chase a pitch outside the strike zone, but you need to learn to use the changeup if you want to get batters to swing and miss on a consistent basis. Thrown by the majority of Major League pitchers, it looks like a fastball when it comes out of your hand but is 5 to 15 miles-per-hour slower. This will cause batters to swing too early, either completely missing the pitch or hitting a ground ball to an infielder.

Make sure you keep the changeup located near the bottom of the strike zone. Unlike fastballs and curveballs, which can have success when thrown higher up, the changeup becomes much easier to spot if it’s located up in the strike zone. If a batter picks up on it, it’s one of the easier pitches to knock out of the park.

Pay attention to your pitches’ effectiveness

Near the icon showing which button to use for each pitch, you’ll see a blue circle. This denotes your different pitches’ current effectiveness. At the beginning of an outing, it will be about halfway around the icon, indicating a fair amount of confidence in the pitch. Should you successfully use a particular pitch to get several outs or some swing-and-misses at the plate, the circle will begin to fill up. If you use a particular pitch and it’s consistently hit into the outfield or you can’t locate it for a strike, the semi-circle will shrink.

Not every pitch is going to be working for each game, and if you find that one of your pitches isn’t getting the job done, it’s usually best to just stop using it for the duration of your pitcher’s time on the mound. The sole exception to this is the fastball – you must fight through any issues and try to locate it for strikes, because without it, all your other pitches will be less effective.

Don’t be afraid of walks

Walking a batter in a baseball game used to be embarrassing, as games’ pitching systems made it quite difficult to throw anything but strikes on purpose. This isn’t the case in MLB The Show 18. Even just releasing a ball slightly too early or late can result in it missing your target and landing outside the strike zone. Should you fall into 3-0 or 3-1 counts, it can be tempting to just throw a pitch right down the middle in order to get an easy strike, but you have to learn to accept walks. Occasionally, particularly when you already have two outs, it’s less risky to just give a hitter first base than it is to try to get him out. Learning when to concede a base – and accepting it – will make you a better pitcher.

Throw pitches to trigger double plays

Just because a batter has managed to get a hit or a walk doesn’t mean he’s safe: far from it. By using the right pitches and locations, you can trigger double plays on a regular basis. These are accomplished by forcing a batter to hit a hard ground ball to an infielder, who typically throws the ball to second base before it is thrown to first base.

In order to initiate double plays, make use of the splitter, sinker, cutter, or two-seam fastball. All of these pitches have just slightly lower velocity than the standard four-seam fastball, but with movement that make them difficult to hit with solid contact. This means a lot of ground balls. With the sinker and the splitter, the movement will be vertical, with the ball dropping as it approaches the plate. The cutter will break in the opposite direction of the pitcher’s throwing hand – a lefty throwing the pitch will see it break to the right. The two-seam fastball will break in the same direction as the pitcher’s throwing hand, though typically with less bite than the cutter.

If your pitchers don’t have any of those pitches to work with, a changeup thrown on the outside edge of the plate can also initiate a double play. Just make sure you locate it properly, as missing can result in the batter putting a few runs on the board with one swing.

Make smart throws from the field

Once the ball is put in play and your fielders attempt to track it down, your attention has to shift to where you’re going to throw the ball next. With a runner on first base, for instance, your best option on a simple fly ball will be to throw it to either the cutoff man (done by hitting L1) or the second baseman. If a runner is on second base, he might attempt to tag up on this play, taking third base before you can get the ball in. If he’s already on third base, he’ll likely try to score.

Take a second to examine your individual outfielders’ arm strength and arm accuracy stats, which you can find by examining your roster in the pause menu. A selection of players, such as Starling Marte or Yasiel Puig, will be extremely hard to run on, while others aren’t capable of throwing out base-runners on a regular basis. Regardless of where you send the ball, you can “preload” your throw by holding down the appropriate button before your player catches the ball.

If there are runners on both second and third and a ball is hit into the outfield, you might need to concede the run and just throw the ball to the cutoff man. Typically, you can prevent the runner on second base from moving to third base this way. Should you throw the ball to home, he’s almost guaranteed to take third base.

For more pitching tips, including information on specific types of breaking pitches, check out our MLB The Show 17 guide.

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Google acquires GIF search engine Tenor (and its 300 million users)

It looks like Google wants to make it easier to search for GIFs. The company has announced its acquisition of Tenor, a GIF search engine that was founded in 2014. Details about the acquisition have not been released.

Tenor was initially launched as a way to search for GIFs both on desktop and on mobile. On mobile, it allowed users to quickly and easily search for GIFs straight from their keyboard. According to Tenor, a massive 300 million Tenor users search for GIFs 12 billion times every month, and its partners include the likes of WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and Google. It’s perhaps the scale of its service that attracted Google to buying it in the first place.

“With their deep library of content, Tenor surfaces the right GIFs in the moment so you can find the one that matches your mood. Tenor will help us do this more effectively in Google Images as well as other products that use GIFs, like Gboard,” said Cathy Edwards, director of engineering for Google Images, in a blog post.

The company became known last year for monetizing the GIF-searching experience through sponsored GIFs, and a handful of high-profile brands, including Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, all jumped on board the new way of advertising.

“The acquisition will enable us to accelerate improvements to Tenor’s service for our users, API partners, content partners, and advertisers,” said Tenor CEO David McIntosh in a blog post. “Tenor will continue to operate as a separate brand to better serve you, and I will continue to lead the Tenor team alongside my co-founders Erick Hachenburg and Frank Nawabi.”

While Tenor will continue to operate as its own brand, it will be interesting to see if the Google acquisition affects its relationship with any other companies. For example, it wouldn’t be all that surprising for the likes of Apple to remove support for Tenor given that Tenor is now owned by what’s perhaps Apple’s biggest rival.

Tenor has generated a lot of interest over the past few years. The company previously raised as much as a whopping $32 million in venture funding, according to Crunchbase.

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Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Apple Watch Series 4

Prykhodov/123RF

It’s that time of year again — the time when Apple rumors begin to fill up every corner of the internet. While there’s already plenty of speculation about the next iPhone, iPad Pro, and even MacBook, the rumors for the upcoming watch have been pretty sparse … until now.

Although we’re just starting to hear rumors about the upcoming Apple Watch Series 4, it looks like this may be a huge year for the smartwatch. Here’s everything we know about the forthcoming Apple Watch Series 4.

Design

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

While the overall design of Apple Watch has become iconic and has been the inspiration for many a smartwatch, it seems time for change. Well, according to a report from KGI Securities, first spotted on 9to5Mac, a design change is coming to the Apple Watch Series 4.

While KGI Securities does not provide a lot of specifics, it predicts that this year’s Apple Watch will feature “a more trendy form factor design.” The firm also suggests that the display on the Apple Watch Series 4 will be 15 percent larger. While we can’t imagine that Apple would actually make the overall case on the Series 4 smartwatch any larger, it could add more display real estate by decreasing the size of the bezels.

Specs

This year’s Apple Watch will almost certainly ship with an upgraded Apple S4 processor. As with every processor update, we’d expect to see better performance and improved efficiency. Since the Apple Watch Series 3 shipped with 16GB of storage, we think it’s unlikely to see a bump in storage for the 2018 refresh.

As for memory, the Series 3 Apple Watch shipped with 768GB of RAM, so we don’t think it would be unheard of for Apple to bump it up to an even 1GB on the Series 4. We’d also like to see Apple move to Bluetooth 5 for the Apple Watch Series 4.

In terms of display, there’s a chance we may see some changes on the Apple Watch Series. First off, the display itself may be larger since KGI Securities is predicting Apple will increase the display size on the Apple Watch Series 4 by 15 percent. There’s also the possibility that Apple will transition to more efficient MicroLED displays for this year’s crop of Apple Watches.

Operating system

The Apple Watch Series 4 will almost definitely run on Watch OS 5. Right now the detail are slim around Watch OS 5, however we should learn all about it at WWDC in June. While we can’t be certain, there are a few features we’re expecting for the next rendition of Watch OS.

New watch face options are the most obvious addition we’d expect to see on Watch OS 5. There’s also a more than decent chance that we’ll see upgraded customization options since the last few iterations of Watch OS have increasingly allowed users to customize the interface.

On the more speculative side, we’d anticipate a native podcast app on Watch OS 5 as well as better health tracking. We’d also hope to see native sleep tracking (especially since Apple bought Beddit in 2017), and period tracking on Watch OS 5.

Battery and charging

Will the Apple Watch Series 4 pack a bigger battery than its predecessors? If a report from KGI Securities is to be believed this Apple Watch Series 4 will sport a bigger battery than its predecessors. In addition to a larger battery, it’s also likely we’ll see better battery life overall on this year’s refresh since Apple continuously finds ways to make its chips more energy-efficient. The transition from OLED to MicroLED display could also significantly increase the battery life for the Apple Watch Series 4.

In terms of charging, we’d hope to see more wireless charging options for the Apple Watch Series 4. Since Apple introduced a wireless charging option with Apple AirPower for it’s Series 3 smartwatch, it’s not too far fetched to think this year’s Apple Watch may offer wireless charging via Qi Standard.

Price and Release

Pricing for the next Apple Watch is unknown but we would anticipate a modest price increase over the Apple Watch Series 3 to account for the larger display and improved internals. We also anticipate a Wi-Fi model as well as a more expensive LTE version as we saw last year.

While it’s tricky to guess exactly when the Apple Watch Series 4 will be released, our best guess is in September 2018. For the past few years, Apple has announced Apple Watch refreshes alongside its iPhone, and we expect that tradition to continue.

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Nuu G3 review

Research Center:

Nuu G3

The budget smartphone market continues to be competitive. Gone are the plasticky and bulky smartphones that crawled along due to low RAM and plenty of bloatware — they’ve been replaced with a breed of budget phones that manage to work well, while looking stylish. That’s the balance the Nuu G3 is striving towards, and if it came out a year or two ago, the G3 would undoubtedly have turned heads. But it’s 2018, and the Nuu faces some stiff competition from the likes of Motorola, Honor, and Nokia.

Nuu is a Chinese smartphone brand that released its first smartphone in 2012. You can find some of its devices at retailers like Best Buy and Walmart, but the brand is still relatively unknown in the U.S. Nuu hopes to change that with its latest budget phone, which costs just $200.

An appealing design

At a quick glance, the Nuu G3 doesn’t look like its price tag. Its aluminum case is sandwiched by glass, a little unusual for a budget phone, but don’t expect the same durability you’d find on a flagship phone like the iPhone X or Galaxy S9. Nuu doesn’t use Gorilla Glass or any other hardened glass, which means a single drop would likely shatter the screen and rear. You’ll definitely want to be cautious about dropping it. A case is included in the box, but it’s meant more to guard against scratches, not drops.

There are two color options for the Nuu G3: Blue and taupe. We reviewed the former, but no matter what color you choose, you’ll find the phone to be a fingerprint magnet. That’s no fault of Nuu, however, as it’s also a problem with high-end phones that use glass.

The G3 has a 5.7-inch, 18:9 aspect ratio screen — a relatively-new trend that’s already seeping into the budget market. It means the phone is a little longer, and you’ll be able to see a little more content on vertical-scrolling apps. This aspect ratio is usually paired with a “bezel-less” design, where the edges surrounding the screen are incredibly thin. We wouldn’t exactly call the G3’s design bezel-less, but they are indeed small and unobtrusive. The volume rocker and power button are on the right edge of the phone, with the latter button having a handy pattern so it’s easy to distinguish.

We managed to fool the Face Lock feature on the Nuu G3 with a photocopy of a selfie.

Flip the Nuu G3 over and you’ll find a dual-camera system with a LED flash to the right. The fingerprint sensor is housed directly below the camera. This setup looks an awful lot like the new Galaxy S9 Plus, but there’s a giant “Nuu” logo at the bottom to remind you it’s not a Samsung phone. The fingerprint sensor responds quickly, without the need to frequently adjust our finger.

On the bottom of the G3 are bottom-firing speakers, as well as a USB Type-C charging port. The phone’s audio capabilities fall firmly in budget phone territory — it’s nothing to write home about. Sadly, there’s no headphone jack. There’s a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter in the box instead, so you can still use standard headphone, but if you have Bluetooth earbuds, you’ll have to rely on Bluetooth version 4.2.

Nuu G3 Compared To

Vivo Apex

Asus Zenfone 5

LG V30S ThinQ

Alcatel 5 Series

Cat S61

Honor 7X

Google Pixel 2

LG V30

Samsung Galaxy S8 Active

HTC U11

Nokia 8

ASUS Zenfone 3 Deluxe Special…

Motorola Droid Turbo

LG Optimus G Pro

T-Mobile myTouch 3G

Overall, the Nuu G3 is an attractive package for its price. It’s lightweight and comfortable in the hand, but it also feels a little cheap. There doesn’t seem to be a reason as to why the company went with an all-glass design when polycarbonate would be more durable — especially since there’s no wireless charging — and the lack of a headphone jack is Nuu just hopping on the bandwagon. Still, it’s an good-looking phone that looks like a more modern version of the Galaxy S7, minus the home button.

Decent performance

For a budget phone, the Nuu G3 packs impressive specs. There’s a 2.3 GHz MediaTek octa-core processor, along with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage that’s expandable thanks to a MicroSD card slot. There’s also a dual-SIM card slot, which isn’t too common on budget phones in the U.S.

Steven Winkelman/Digital Trends
Steven Winkelman/Digital Trends

Specs don’t paint a full picture, however. The Android operating system on the Nuu G3 takes up quite a bit of the available storage — nearly a quarter of 64GB to be exact. While you’ll still have a little bit more than 50GB of onboard storage left when you turn on the phone, it’s annoying to think so much space is devoted to the OS.

The Nuu G3 is also a little slower than the competition. There’s a little lag when swiping between apps, and apps open slowly. We compared the length of time it took to open a few apps on the Nuu G3 and found it lagged behind the $200 Honor 7X in every instance.

Here are a few benchmark results for comparison:

• Geekbench CPU: Single-Core 804; multi-core 3037
• AnTuTu 3DBench: 73,660
• 3DMark SlingShot Extreme: 658

The same-priced Honor 7X hit 63,311 in its AnTuTu benchmark score, and the rest of the scores aren’t too far off. We still managed to find better performance on the Honor phone despite the scores slightly favoring the Nuu G3. Regardless, performance is still satisfactory. If you expect to perform a lot of tasks at the same time on this phone, however, you will run into a few hiccups.

The display on the Nuu G3 is surprisingly solid, with good viewing angles and vibrant colors. It’s a 5.7-inch HD ( 1,440 x 720p) IPS display, and the biggest downside is that it’s not too sharp. It’s easy to discern individual pixels on the screen.

Ships with Android Nougat

The Nuu G3 runs Android 7.1 Nougat — it wouldn’t be an understatement to say we were more than disappointed to see a new phone shipping with a version of an operating system that launched in 2016. The upside, however, is that you won’t find a ton of bloatware on the G3. Other than an odd browser that looks extremely similar to Chrome, the phone runs a near-stock version of Google’s Android OS.

As is the trend of 2018, there’s a Face Lock feature on the G3 that lets you unlock the device with your face. Don’t expect this feature to rival the level of security with Face ID on the iPhone X — we were able to easily unlock the phone with a color photocopy of a selfie. It’s purely for convenience, and it works relatively well.

Cameras are a mixed bag

The dual-camera system on the Nuu G3 is nearly flush with the case and looks absolutely handsome. While two rear cameras are a nice touch on a budget phone, it’s not going to yield the same results you’d find on other dual camera phones. In fact, it won’t even yield results as good as its closest competitor, the Honor 7X.

A single drop would likely shatter the screen and rear.

The primary lens on the Nuu G3 packs 13 megapixels, and the secondary lens has 5 megapixels. The primary lens is meant to do the heavy lifting, and the secondary helps create a bokeh effect for Portrait Mode photos.

In broad daylight, photos from the G3 are perfectly acceptable. There’s good detail, solid color, and the camera reacts quickly — though some photos can look a little washed out. In any other lighting condition, things start to drastically change for the worse. There’s a significant amount of noise, and a good chunk of detail is lost when shooting in low-light. Since there’s no optical image stabilization, you’ll need to hold the phone very still, lest you want to end up with blurry photos. This is made worse as the camera shutter button is slow to react in poorer lighting conditions. The front camera has 13 megapixels, and again selfies look solid in bright light. In any poorer lighting conditions, expect the photo to come out a fuzzy.

Nuu really wanted to the G3 to be feature-packed, and it definitely shows in the camera app. How well those features work though, is somewhat of a mixed bag.  Portrait Mode offered the best results. Similar to the Live Focus feature on the Samsung Galaxy S9, the Nuu G3 allows you to adjust the degree of background blur and see the results instantly in the viewfinder. Unlike the Galaxy S9, however, you’re not able to adjust the blur once the photo is taken. We encountered a few instances where the background wasn’t evenly blurred, but we’re still impressed with how well it performed.

For a budget phone, the Nuu G3 packs some pretty impressive specs.

There’s a Beauty Filter on board that also masks any imperfections on your skin — smoothening it all out to make it look like you’re wearing makeup. It’s not good at all. There’s a slider that lets you control the strength of the effect, but it doesn’t seem to work, and the result often makes your entire face blurry.

In the right conditions, you can get Instagram-worthy photos on the Nuu G3. Otherwise, this is a camera that will easily frustrate. If you want a decent camera in this price range, the Honor 7X is your best bet.

Slow charging, day-long battery

The G3 is powered by a 3,000mAh battery capacity, with support for fast charging. We had no problem making it through a day of moderate use. After quite a bit of browsing the web, using social media apps, watching YouTube videos, and taking photos, the G3 hit 47 percent around 6 p.m. — that’s after taking it off the charger at 8:30 a.m.

That being said, charging is slow. We charged the phone with both the included 5 watt charger as well as another quick charger, and the G3 still took more than 2 hours and 40 minutes to fully charge back up.

Price, availability, and warranty information

The Nuu G3 costs $200, and it’s available on the company’s website. It only works on GSM networks, meaning you can only use it on T-Mobile and AT&T, not Verizon and Sprint.

The phone comes with a one-year warranty that covers defects in workmanship and materials. To use the warranty, you’ll need to contact Nuu to obtain a return service authorization. You’re also responsible for the shipping. Although it’s a pretty standard warranty, if you need to take advantage of it, be prepared to go without a phone during the repair period.

Our Take

The Nuu G3 is a good looking phone for its price. On paper, it offers a lot of impressive features for a budget phone, but the quality of those features are a mixed bag.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes. The Honor 7X comes in at the same price, offers more features, and has the added benefit of being faster and more durable, with a capable camera.

If you’re willing to wait a few more months, the Nokia 6 (2018) is an excellent alternative that comes in at about a hundred dollars more. The Nokia 6 features a stunning design, a speedy Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor, and comes preloaded with the Android One edition of Android 8.0 Oreo.

How long will it last?

We expect the Nuu G3 to last about one to two years. Since we’ve already experienced some lag, we expect performance to get worse as time goes on. Also, while the glass may seem like a nice addition, a single drop could easily destroy it, and impact the phone’s usability.

It’s also worth noting that the Nuu G3 ships with Android 7.1 Nougat. The next version of Android is only months away. While Nuu would not confirm an upgrade to Android 8.0 Oreo or Android P is on the table cards for the G3, a representative told Digital Trends it may be possible to update the phone to Oreo — though not over traditional over-the-air updates. The representative said users may need to mail their phones if Nuu decides to update the G3 to Android 8.0 Oreo, which is preposterous.

Should you buy it?

No. While the Nuu G3 may look great, there’s a lot to be desired in terms of overall performance. For the same price, we recommend buying the equally handsome, but much more capable, Honor 7X.

Google’s Play Movies and TV app tells you where to stream your shows

There was a time when you either watched something on a physical disc, or you streamed it through one of the very few services available. There was a choice, but it was also easier to keep track of. Now with so many streaming services available, it can be tough to figure out where a show is streaming. Google is looking to make that easier with a major update to its Play Movies and TV app for Android that shows you where you can stream the show or movie of your choice.

If you think this sounds somewhat similar to the TV app that Apple introduced in 2016, you’re not wrong. That app has a similar functionality, aggregating shows and movies across various services and showing them to you in one place. There is another similarity too: When Apple’s TV app launched, one major service that wasn’t integrated was Netflix. That is also the case with the Google Play Movies and TV app as well, at least for now.

Google is working with 28 streaming services, according to TechCrunch, with more presumably on the way, but Netflix isn’t one of them yet. Netflix did eventually come to the Apple TV app, albeit with limitations, so there is no reason that it couldn’t eventually come to Google’s app. Apple’s app currently supports 60 services to Google’s 28.

Supported services include bigger names like Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, as well as standard offerings from networks like HBO Now, Showtime, Starz, and more. This isn’t limited to content that Google offers for sale or rent either, so even if something isn’t in Google’s catalog, the Play Movies and TV app will still show search results and let you see where to watch what you’re looking for.

What the newly updated app won’t show you is if the movie or TV show you’re searching for is available on a live TV streaming service like Sling TV, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, or even Google’s own YouTube TV. Granted, this seems like it could be a more difficult feature to implement, and Apple’s TV app doesn’t do this either.

If you’re not seeing these features just yet, don’t worry. Google says that the features will come to Android phones and tablets in the U.S. over the next few days. The Play Store website is also being updated to include similar functionality.

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Here’s how — and where — to get Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad for yourself

Apple wants to play a bigger role in the education sector, and has unveiled an all-new 9.7-inch iPad that not only improves on the specs of last year’s 9.7-inch iPad, but also on the price, specifically when it come to schools.

The new iPad offers a number of awesome features, including a beautiful 9.7-inch Retina display, an A10 Fusion processor, a battery that should last for 10 hours, and, for the first time in a non-Pro model, Apple Pencil support. The device is available in three different colors — silver, gold, and space gray.

Whether you want the iPad straight from Apple, or you prefer to get it from your preferred carrier, here’s how to get your hands on the new 9.7-inch iPad .

Apple

Perhaps the best way to get the new iPad for yourself is straight from Apple. Apart from the actual iPad, you’ll also be able to get the Apple Pencil for $100, if you’re a consumer, or $80 if you’re a school. Last but not least, if you want a smart keyboard cover with you’re iPad, you can get it for $40. Here’s a rundown of the iPad pricing you’ll get from Apple.

• 32GB iPad: $330
• 128GB iPad: $430
• 32GB iPad with cellular: $460
• 128GB iPad with cellular: $560

Verizon

Apple isn’t the only company offering the new 2018 9.7-inch iPad. If you prefer to get it through Verizon, you’ll also be able to get your hands on the cellular version of the new iPad, which is perfect for those that want to bundle it into their data plan. Here’s the pricing of the cellular iPad through Verizon.

• 32GB iPad with cellular: $460
• 128GB iPad with cellular: $560

The device will be available online and through Verizon retail stores starting March 30.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile has announced that it too will be selling the new iPad, though it hasn’t really given any details as to pricing or the models that it will have on offer. It did, however, mention that the device would be available in stores or online starting on March 30, like other carriers.

We’ll update this article when we hear more about pricing and availability for the 2018 9.7-inch iPad.

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Here is everything you need to know about Apple’s new education tools

On Tuesday, March 27, Apple held its education-focused event in Chicago at Lane Tech College Preparatory High School where the company unveiled a more affordable 9.7-inch iPad. To push for use of the iPad within the classroom, Apple also launched a wide variety of new educational resources.

From apps and updates to products, we rounded up all of Apple’s new education initiatives.

iWork with Apple Pencil

Since the new 9.7-inch iPad comes with support for Apple Pencil, Apple’s iWork suite — which includes Pages, Keynote, and Numbers — has been updated to include more features. You will be able to draw, write, or sketch with the Pencil within each of the productivity apps. Using both Pages and Keynote, users will be able to add drawings into their reports and can now write in Numbers when creating lab reports.

Currently in beta mode, Pages also includes a Smart Annotation feature allowing teachers to add comments within documents in real time — which will anchor to specific text. The app will also receive a book creation feature — available for both iOS and macOS — where users can create digital books like short stories or travel books. To create a book, you will be able to use different templates in addition to iWork’s new drawing tools or images and videos from the Photo library. Classmates can collaborate on books in real time using either the iPad, iPhone, Mac, or iCloud.com and the finished product can then be exported and shared in iBooks.

Another feature in Pages is Presenter Mode which allows you to use your iPad or iPhone as a virtual teleprompter. Not only can the text auto scroll at an adjustable speed, but you will be able to customize text size, spacing, font, or background color during playback.

Swift Playground adds augmented reality feature

In 2016, Apple introduced its Everyone Can Code program which teaches kids how to code via its Swift Playgrounds app. The programming app now incorporates augmented reality using Apple’s ARKit technology. Students can now program an animated character into their game and place it within their physical space using the iPad’s camera.

Apple is incorporating AR into everyday lesson plans as well. For example, a new ARKit app called Froggipedia will allow students to dissect a virtual frog using the Apple Pencil stylus. Another app like Free Rivers by the World Wildlife Fund will help teach students about protecting rivers, as well as preserving communities and protecting habitats.

Everyone Can Create curriculum

Everyone Can Create is a free curriculum developed with the help of creative professionals and educators. The program offers a range of free learning resources and teaching guides that allows students to find different ways to express themselves and discover or develop new skills.

Using the program, teachers can find ways to integrate music, drawing, filmmaking, and photography into topics or assignments. Aside from lessons and student guides, the program also includes ideas and examples to help incorporate creativity into already existing core subjects like English, math, science, and history. Starting later this spring, Apple Stores will be teaching the curriculum as part of its regular Today sessions for educators.

New ClassKit framework and Schoolwork app integration

Integrated into Apple’s Classkit — its new developer framework meant specifically for creating educational apps on iOS — Schoolwork is a new app that makes it easier for teachers to complete tasks such as creating assignments. With a Handouts feature, the app allows teachers to create and send assignments to students that include anything from web links to documents and PDFs. Schoolwork can help to incorporate more apps into the curriculum as well. Teachers will be able to assign an activity within an app and then direct students to the specific point within that app.

As far as student progress, it also gives teachers the ability to check up on how a student is doing — they will be able to see a student’s overall class performance, check on students’ app activities, and progress on assignments. But Apple made it clear that all student data will be private, and that only teachers will have access to the information. Schoolwork will officially launch in June, giving educators plenty of time to get the hang of it before the new school year starts.

Logitech Crayon and Rugged Combo case

To accompany the new 9.7-inch iPad, Logitech announced the Logitech Crayon stylus and Logitech Rugged Combo 2 case. The Crayon — which is priced at $50 — is the first digital pencil designed for the new iPad — which includes low latency and support for tilt. It works with a large number of apps, including Apple’s newly updated Pages, Keynote, and Numbers apps along with Microsoft Office. Since it has an eight-day battery life, it should be able to last students throughout the entire school day on a single charge. It will also connect to the iPad automatically, so there is no need to go through the process of pairing it.

The Rugged Combo 2 case is designed to sustain daily wear and tear within the classroom. It can protect against drops from up to four feet, has a secure-sealed design that is spill-resistant, and includes a detachable keyboard that is pry-resistant with silent keys. It also has a kickstand that you can adjust to comfortably type or write notes, use apps, and watch videos. As for price, the case will run for $100.

Upgraded Apple School Manager Program

With the Apple School Manager program, administrative IT officials are able to create accounts for students and staff, manage devices, and buy content. Apple announced the program will now allow administrators to create profiles either individually or in bulk — with the ability to create up to 1,500 Apple IDs at once. It will also include 200GB of cloud storage, which is an upgrade from the 5GB available before.

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