Fiio BTR1 Portable Wireless DAC Review – No headphone jack, no problem

It’s been a year and a half since we’ve first seen the idea of a headphone jack-free smartphone implemented, with the iPhone 7. For fans of wired audio, it’s been a war we’ve been losing since that time. Several major Android players, like HTC, Motorola, and Sony have unapologetically followed in Apple’s footsteps. Fortunately, Samsung and LG are sticking to their guns, at least for the time being.

But chances are that, if you don’t want to carry around a dongle, you’ll soon be forced into wireless headphones. So should you start the emotional process of parting with your beloved headphones? Well, hold on. Fiio has come up with a way bridge both worlds.

External DAC/amps aren’t anything new, but the BTR1 is different. It’s tiny, barely weighs anything, and is wireless (and affordable!). That is, you connect to your wired headphones to the headphone jack on it and stream audio from your smartphone like you would do to a wireless headphone. The benefit isn’t just that you can keep your wired headphones and buy any smartphone you want, but superior audio, which is a field that Fiio is well-recognized. Let’s see if the BTR1 is a successfully executed endeavor.

Design

For this kind of idea to work, the wireless DAC has to be small. It also needs to be exceptionally lightweight, so that it’s effortless to manage. Traditional external DACs can be as big as smartphones themselves and can weigh you down. For the BTR1 to work, it needs to be barely there.

Fortunately, this describes it almost completely. No, the BTR1 isn’t as slim as a mere dongle, but it’s not far off. It’s about the footprint of a traditional flash drive, and weighs only 20 grams.

Micro-USB charging port on the bottom.

Sizable attachment clip on the back.

Still, it may be awkward for the unit just hang from the end of your headphones. That is why Fiio incorporated a robust clip on the back. You can attach it to your clothing, or like I like to do, just throw it in my pocket.

For a device that aims high but only costs $50, it’s common that we get a mediocre build. This doesn’t happen to be the case here. The BTR1 is mostly cased in a metal shell, with an attractive ridged texture and solid buttons. There’s of course also plastic in the construction, but overall, the unit conveys sturdy and premium feelings. It’s not often manufacturers go above and beyond.

Function

As expected, there are few exterior features on the BTR1. This thing is ultimately a pass-through for wireless music, so it shouldn’t be complicated.

3.5mm jack on top.

Front and center is the main button, which primarily serves as the power button but also plays/pauses the music. On the right side of the unit is simply a volume rocker. And towards the bottom on the front is a small LED to indicate status.

Getting started is also a simple process. The BTR1 will be in pairing mode at its first boot-up, and lock-on to the mobile device thereafter. One thing we appreciated is that the volume control on the unit adjusts the volume on the phone end, so you don’t have to annoyingly deal with two separate volume sets like on with many other Bluetooth pairings. However, a drawback of that is coarser volume attenuation – a concern for sensitive headphones.

Volume rocker on the side is solid.

There are more functions baked into these few buttons via multiple or long presses. This means there’s a bit of a learning curve associated with navigating the BTR1 proficiently, but many are intuitive, like long-pressing the volume buttons to switch tracks or pressing the main button to answer/end a phone call (yes, the unit has a microphone to administer phone calls). But we were stumped when we wanted to pair it with another device, and we had to look at the manual for that (holding the main button for five seconds only from an off state). Speaking of which, the BTR1 can stream to two devices at the same time despite not having Bluetooth v5.0.

From the manual, we also found that Fiio generously incorporated a custom sound effect. You access it by double-pressing the main button, and a green LED lights up at the center of the button. It, unfortunately, isn’t a multi-option or customizable EQ feature; it only has one preset that you select or not. But it does sound pretty good. Bass gets a slight boost and the sound gets fuller and more 3D-like.

The 205 mAh capacity of the unit is rated at about 8 hours of playback, and we got close to that. Mind you, battery life is volume dependent, and we used low-impedance earphones. Speaking of volume, don’t expect the amp in this little guy to be able to push demanding headphones. Fiio pits the impedance recommendation between 16 and 100 ohms. This will be fine for most people, and almost all portable headphones are within this range.

Audio

Considering the small size of the BTR1, it’s reasonable to not expect much in terms of audio quality. What capable DACs out there can be this small? Well, turns that AKM made such a chip, called the AK4376. It can impressively do 384 kHz and 32-bit decoding and sports a notable signal-to-noise ratio of 116 dB. We put that number to the test, plugging in our sensitive 9 ohm Shure SE846 earphones, and we were surprised to hear an almost silent noise floor. Very impressive for a tiny, wireless streamer.

Fiio also didn’t forget about wireless transfer bit-rate. There’s no point in processing power if the audio data is poor. The BTR1 uses the aptX Bluetooth audio codec, which caps at 384 kbps streaming. It isn’t the least compressed aptX HD codec, but the standard aptX rate is where most streaming services cap their “High” audio quality setting, so it should be fine for most people.

But does all this actually equate to great audio? For the most part, yes. Of course, this tiny DAC isn’t going to be able to compete with larger offerings, but it does punch well above its weight. What we appreciated the most is that the sound signature sounds like it’s tuned by someone who knows what they’re doing. We praised Fiio’s fantastically balanced sound in its flagship X7 Mark II audio player, and the company’s DNA is even detectable in this little guy. All areas of the sound have the presence they should and are cleanly articulated. It’s also a full and engaging sound, as opposed to a sterile, “referenced” one.

Again, balance is the prominent aspect. So you won’t find a strong, boomy bass, V-shaped sound signature, or bright treble. There’s enough impact in each range to capture your attention but not past that. Fortunately, if you do want more oomph, then there’s that sound effect feature on the unit that we talked about.

No, you won’t get the most detailed or clearest reproduction you’re able to with a portable DAC, but BTR1 surprisingly gets a good of the way there (while delivering a refined sound). The same goes for soundstage width and dynamics – the BTR1 isn’t the most skillful here but well-done for the unit’s size.

Final Thoughts

If you are reluctant to give up your wired headphones and are eyeing a smartphone without a headphone jack, then the BTR1 is quite frankly a no-brainer. Even if you have a headphone jack, there’s still benefits here. You’ll get better audio quality than a standard phone DAC will provide, and you’ll have the convenience of wireless by being able to detach from your phone. The BTR1 is only $50, so it’s even worth it if you were only to use it sometimes (like when you’re traveling and doing a lot of walking). Great job Fiio.

Official BTR1 Webpage

Here’s how you can watch Nvidia’s GTC 2018 keynote kicking off at 9 a.m. today

It’s that time of year again: The delightful tradition of drinking green beer, getting ready to hide colorful eggs, and sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see what Nvidia has up its sleeves for 2018. The company’s GPU Technology Conference kicks off on Tuesday, March 26, starting with a keynote you can stream right here at 9 a.m. PT. 

Nvidia’s conference is all about providing developers with numerous sessions dealing with artificial intelligence, gaming, cloud services, science, robotics, data centers, deep learning, and so much more. It’s a good way to grab interesting news that otherwise would go unannounced and tend to fall within the context of a specific session. But typically, the keynote is where Nvidia cooks up its tastiest meat. 

We’re not exactly sure what Nvidia plans to discuss during the keynote. There is a good chance the company will introduce its next family of add-in GeForce graphics cards, the GTX 20 Series. These cards may or may not be based on Nvidia’s latest GPU design, Volta, first introduced in its $2,999 Titan V and Tesla V100 graphics cards. 

Nvidia may also introduce add-in cards built specifically for cryptocurrency mining. These cards may or may not be based on Nvidia’s Volta architecture too, or they could be the recently leaked dedicated cryptocurrency cards based on a modified version of the company’s older GP102 “Pascal” chip powering Nvidia’s GTX 1080 Ti graphics card. 

But given the nature of the rumor mill, there is more to the story than what we provided here. Rumors claim that Nvidia merely introduced “Volta” in 2017 as a new architecture for the enterprise and data center markets while “Ampere” will be the 2018 replacement making its debut during the keynote. Meanwhile, 2017’s “Pascal” architecture for the gaming market will supposedly be replaced by 2018’s “Turing” design in July. 

This would be a departure from the norm for Nvidia. For instance, Nvidia’s GeForce cards in 2012 are based on the “Fermi” architecture whereas cards released in 2014 and 2015 are based on its “Kepler” design followed by “Maxwell” in 2016. The current “Pascal” design made its debut in the current GeForce 10 Series in 2017 while “Volta” appeared in the Tesla V100. 

Seemingly throwing a monkey wrench into that specific rumor is the Titan V: A Volta-based add-in graphics card for the desktop PC. Technically it could serve for “every industry” although Nvidia typically reserves its “Titan” branding for gamers. But you won’t see the “gaming” term used anywhere on the product page, as according to Nvidia, the card really isn’t meant for gaming. It targets the professional market, such as machine learning. 

That said, Nvidia’s possible new strategy is to develop two GPU architectures versus one. The company’s gaming and cryptocurrency cards may rely on the “Turing” architecture while the next Tesla and Titan cards may rely on the “Ampere” architecture. Everything here is speculation, of course, as we wait for Nvidia to spill the official beans during Tuesday’s keynote. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• Nvidia’s next gaming cards could be the GTX 11 Series, not the GTX 20 Series
• New report says Nvidia unlikely to reveal new GeForce cards in March
• 65 inches. 4K. 120Hz. Nvidia’s BFGD is all the monitor you will ever need
• Nvidia’s top-end GTX graphics cards could more than double in price
• Intel promises its new CPUs will match Nvidia’s potent GTX 1060, thanks to AMD

Need Photoshop? Here’s how to get it without overpaying

As you probably expected, getting your hands on a copy of Photoshop is going to cost you. But just how much Adobe’s industry-leading image editor costs depends on how you buy it. Since Adobe moved to the Creative Cloud, there are now several options for how you pay for Photoshop — and some may be more affordable than you realize.

Due to the different plans, discounts, and other variables, there’s no one-size-fits-all Photoshop plan. So, to help simplify things a bit, we’re going to break down the three main plans Adobe has that will get you access to Photoshop, as well as break down the various costs depending on how often you’d like to pay. Before that, though, here’s a brief rundown on the current state of Adobe Photoshop.

Photoshop CC

Photoshop used to be named using version numbers, like many other software programs. Since making the switch to a subscription-based service, however, Adobe has simply called it Photoshop CC (for Creative Cloud). Version numbers still exist under the hood, but it’s no longer something you need to worry about — if you have an active CC subscription, you will always have the latest version of Photoshop. Updates happen automatically and without the need for an additional purchase.

As part of the transition to a subscription service, Adobe also changed up how you go about paying for Photoshop. Now, rather than paying for a one-time perpetual license, you pay a monthly fee. This means the license expires if you cancel your subscription, but it also means you’re not faced with an initial cost of several hundred dollars.

Part of the subscription process is the option to choose a Creative Cloud plan that best fits your needs and budget. There are multiple plans to choose from, so here are the pros and cons of each.

Single app plan

The first option available is Adobe’s Single App subscription plan. As the name suggests, this plan lets you use a single app from Adobe’s Creative Cloud platform for $20 per month or $240 per year. You also get 100GB of cloud storage and access to Typekit, a massive font library, and Adobe Portfolio, an online platform for sharing your work.

If that sounds like a steep price, that’s because it is, relatively speaking. A first look, you may assume the single app plan would be the most affordable choice, but you shouldn’t follow through on that assumption. The single app plan works better for other apps in the Creative Cloud lineup, but when it comes to Photoshop, Adobe has a better options that give you far more bang for your buck.

Creative Cloud Photography plan

Simply labeled the “Photography plan,” this option includes Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic CC, and Photoshop CC all for $10 per month or $120 per year. You also get Typekit and Portfolio access, but cloud storage starts with just 20GB.

It doesn’t take a degree in mathematics to see this offer is a much better deal than the single app plan. Not only do you get Photoshop CC, you also get access to two versions of Adobe Lightroom. Even if 20GB isn’t enough cloud storage for you, don’t fret. Adobe also offers a version of this plan with 1TB of Creative Cloud storage for $20 per month or $240 per year — again, a much better deal than the Single App plan. Cloud storage isn’t required for Photoshop, but if you want to access your assets from everywhere, and particularly if you use Lightroom CC, you may want to consider investing in the 1TB upgrade.

Creative Cloud all apps plan

If your needs go beyond what the Photography plan has to offer, your best option is to go ahead with the $50-per-month Creative Cloud All Apps plan, which gives you access to every single app in Adobe’s portfolio and 100GB of Creative Cloud storage.

You really only need this option if there are other Adobe apps you plan on using, like Premiere Pro, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, Audience, and so on.

Student and Teacher discounts

None of the aforementioned prices take into account the student and teacher discounts Adobe offers. Assuming you have an official affiliation with a school or institution, Adobe offers its All Apps plan for $20 per month for the first year. That’s $30 less each month that you’ll be shelling out, but do note that after your first year, you’ll be billed $30 per month as long as your affiliation remains intact. Still, not a bad deal for the entire Creative Cloud suite.

Editors’ Recommendations

• What’s the difference between Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic?
• From classic to cloud: How I learned to love Lightroom CC
• If Lightroom is still slow for you, Adobe promises help is on the way
• Find your type: Here’s our guide for adding fonts to Photoshop
• Bring out your inner Michelangelo with the best drawing apps for the iPad Pro

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.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• Here’s all the best gear and gadgetry you can snag for $50 or less
• Here are the 7 best camera straps for every type of photographer
• From weird to practical, 18 small travel essentials you’ll actually want to pack

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