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10
Apr

The Morning After: Zuckerberg is going to DC


Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Welcome to Tuesday! Facebook’s CEO goes to Washington, Apple launches its latest limited-edition Product RED phones and we check out whether those newly discovered human organs are really just that.

The first hearing starts at 2:15 PM ET.Mark Zuckerberg goes to Washington, DC

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For Facebook’s CEO, this is the start of two days speaking to lawmakers following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. His prepared testimony is already available, so we have a few ideas about what he’s going to say even before the questions start flying. Meanwhile, users who have had their data exposed should see notifications, and Cambridge Analytica has already started to push its version of the facts.

All will be revealed.‘Westworld’ creators have an unusual approach to S2 spoilers

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During a Reddit AMA with Westworld show creators, Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, Nolan made an unexpected announcement — they’d spoil their own show instead of making fans cry or letting them down. Typically, fans try, all season, to connect threads and predict the plot’s resolution without any real idea of what’s happening. The deal was that the creators would do it if Nolan’s comment received 1,000 upvotes, which it did. And so, the video has arrived.

For charity. Apple’s red iPhone 8 and 8 Plus go on sale today

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For over a decade now, Apple has worked with HIV/AIDS charity Product RED. It’s raised over $160 million for the non-profit to date, on the back of sales of scarlet-colored accessories and the occasional special-edition device. Next up: the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus. The deep-red editions will be available to buy online today and in stores from Friday April 13th for the same price as existing models, and while there’s no Product RED version of the iPhone X, a new claret-colored $99 leather folio case is also incoming.

The company claims it can be manufactured for $100 at scale.Leap Motion crafts a reference design for cheap AR headsets

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Leap Motion is a company most famous for building a gesture-recognition peripheral that wound up integrated into PC keyboards. Since then, however, it has built ever-smarter sensors that can bring hand gestures to VR without the use of dedicated controllers. Now, it’s announced Project North Star, a proposed augmented reality headset it plans to open-source next week — and it should be cheap to produce.

In fact, they’re not organs at all.Two newly discovered human organs aren’t what they seem

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For a minute there, 2018 was shaping up to be a year of new-organ discoveries. In January, Dr. J. Calvin Coffey, foundation chair of surgery at the University of Limerick, declared that he had “discovered” a new organ, dubbed the mesentery. Then, in March, fledgling science journal Scientific Reports declared the interstitium, a fluid-filled membrane that surrounds the lungs, digestive tracts and arteries, an organ as well. If verified by the rest of the medical community, these findings could potentially revolutionize our understanding of the human body. There’s only one problem with that: These biological structures aren’t actually organs. Let Senior Editor Andrew Tarantola explain.

It really does depend…Do you need a smart home hub?

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Smart home devices offer a vision of domestic harmony: everything switching on and off as and when you need it to. But not everyone needs a dedicated smart hub to make their setup run smoothly. A smart speaker like the Amazon Echo or the Google Home can serve a similar purpose, with each device’s apps acting as central command. Manufacturers have even begun bundling hubs into other devices like security systems and mesh WiFi routers, making home automation simpler for beginners. But do you actually need one?

But wait, there’s more…

  • WSJ: SpaceX not to blame for ‘Zuma’ spy satellite disaster
  • In pursuit of the perfect AI voice: How developers are humanizing virtual assistants
  • What we’re buying: Toto’s toilet upgrade and an old Game Boy Advance
  • What’s on TV: ‘The Expanse,’ ‘Lost in Space’ and ‘Chef’s Table’
  • IKEA’s first Bluetooth speakers don’t need assembly
  • Cliff Bleszinski’s free-to-play battle royale game ‘Radical Heights’ debuts today

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10
Apr

Intel’s Hades Canyon NUC is a tiny gaming powerhouse


We called Intel’s last NUC the future of tiny desktops. And with this latest model, the Hades Canyon NUC, that’s truer than ever. It has just about everything you’d want in a desktop, thanks to a single chip that houses Intel’s eighth-generation Core i7 CPU and AMD’s RX Vega M GPU. This is one of the first devices to use that hybrid processor, the product of a “frenemy” deal between Intel and AMD. It lives up to the meaning behind the NUC acronym: it’s the “next unit of computing.”

Hardware

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While its predecessor was already impressive, what makes the Hades Canyon NUC stand out is its combination of CPU and GPU power. It would have been unthinkable in a machine this size a few years ago, and it’s still noteworthy today. Intel claims it’s the smallest VR capable machine on the market, and we’re inclined to believe them. Other compact VR desktop systems, like HP’s, are significantly larger.

This new model is more than double the size and weight of the previous Skull Canyon NUC. It retains a similar design though, with bright, multi-colored LEDs that light up the front and its prominent skull logo. The bigger frame is worth it, given that it’s packing in around four times as much graphics power as before, and it makes room for even more ports. On the front, it features an SD card slot, two traditional USB 3.0 ports (one of which can charge devices when the NUC is off), an HDMI port, USB-C and a headphone jack.

And it’s even more impressive around the back, where there’s four standard USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 3 capable USB-C connections, two mini displayports, two Ethernet jacks, an HDMI connection and another headphone jack with optical out. That’s more connectivity than you’ll see on any gaming laptop, and it rivals what you’d find on a typical desktop.

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Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Under the hood, which you can access easily by removing the top of the case, you’ve got easy access to all of the internal ports. That includes space for two M.2 SSDs, two DDR4 RAM slots (supporting up to 32GB), and two SATA connections. Like all of Intel’s NUCs, it’s a barebones box, so you’ll have to buy your own RAM, storage and OS to get going. That’s at least another $500 on top of the machine’s $999 price tag, but it’s within the price range of similar mini-desktops.

Another thing worth mentioning: the NUC’s power adapter is comically large. It’s almost as heavy as the device itself. That makes sense, given how much power is going through this little box, but it hinders portability significantly.

In use

The Hades Canyon NUC didn’t feel significantly different than the last model when it came to basic productivity tasks. But the difference was night and day once I loaded up some games. Doom 3 ran between 50 and 60 frames per second with High graphics settings in 1080p. Bumping the quality higher dipped the score to around 40FPS, but that was still impressive. It also had no trouble keeping up with a fast-paced game like Overwatch, where I saw between 60 and 90FPS in 1080p with Ultra settings. In comparison, I had to run the last NUC at 720p with low-quality graphics to make Overwatch playable.

I was also blown away by how well it handled Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, a cinematic indie game that really taxes the GPU. Even with very high settings, it ran between 30 and 40 FPS, which is still playable. Knocking that down to high-quality graphics boosted performance to a smoother 50 to 60 FPS. Overall, the Hades Canyon NUC proved to be a capable 1080p gaming machine.

And just as Intel claimed, it’s a solid VR rig. I had no trouble hooking up the Oculus Rift’s sensors and headset, thanks to its many ports. And games like Superhot, Duck Season, and Serious Sam VR ran flawlessly. There wasn’t any noticeable lag or slowdown, which I sometimes see with low-end VR machines.

Intel Hades Canyon NUC (3.1GHz Core i7-8809G, AMD RX Vega M GH) 7,421 5,761 E16,636 / P13,219 / X3,159 24,082 1.47 GB/s / 599 MB/s
Intel Skull Canyon NUC (2.6GHz Core i7-6770HQ, Intel Iris Pro 580) 6,130 5,634 E5,105/ P3,085/ X844 7,797 2.5 GB/s / 1.5 GB/s
Gigabyte Aero 15X 2018 (2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H, NVIDIA GTX 1070 Max-Q) 6,420 6,558 E18,920 / P15,130 / X6,503 30,270 2.4 GB/s / 1.5 GB/s
HP Omen 15 (2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GTX 1060) 6,727 6,436 E14,585 / P11,530 / X4,417 20,659 1.7 GB/s / 704 MB/s
ASUS ROG Zephyrus (2.8GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ, NVIDIA GTX 1080) 6,030 7,137 E20,000 / P17,017 / X7,793 31,624 3.4 GB/s / 1.64 GB/s
Razer Blade Pro 2016 (2.6GHz Intel Core i7-6700HQ, NVIDIA GTX 1080) 6,884 6,995 E18,231 / P16,346 27,034 2.75 GB/s / 1.1 GB/s
HP Spectre x360 (2016, 2.7GHz Core i7-7500U, Intel HD 620) 5,515 4,354 E2,656 / P1,720 / X444 3,743 1.76 GB/s / 579 MB/s

The Hades Canyon NUC is three times faster than the Skull Canyon NUC in the 3DMark Skydiver benchmark, and I saw similar results in the older 3DMark 11 tests. It was only slightly faster when it came to productivity tests in PCMark 7 and 8, which shows the leap between Intel’s 6th and 8th generation CPUs isn’t nearly as huge as the graphical jump.

On top of being a beast at gaming, the Hades Canyon NUC manages to keep everything cool as well. The CPU and GPU hovered at a safe 55c as I was gaming, reaching up to 70c during demanding sequences. That’s mostly due to the new closed-loop liquid cooler, which also helps to keep fan noise down. It makes the NUC a great option for a home theater/PC gaming machine, but be aware that it doesn’t support YouTube HDR or 4K Blu-ray playback. As Anandtech reports, the AMD GPU doesn’t support YouTube’s VP9 codec, and it doesn’t meet the standards required for playing 4K Blu-ray securely.

Pricing and the competition

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Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

There’s also a $799 Hades Canyon NUC model, but it runs the slower Core i7-8705G chip, and it’s not powerful enough to run VR. If you’re going down this path, it’s worth spending the extra $200 for the faster and more flexible hardware. As for other options, there are also larger mini-desktops like Zotac’s Zboxes, which pack even more powerful graphics.

Wrap-up

Finally, Intel has a NUC that’ll satisfy tinkerers and gamers alike. It’s the sort of machine you could move around easily, especially if you prefer to game with a large desktop monitor instead of a small laptop display.

While the Hades Canyon NUC is more of an experiment, than a mainstream consumer product, it’s still groundbreaking. We’ve never seen such power in something so small. It’s a sign that desktop computing is going to look very different in the next few years.

10
Apr

Vizio’s new P-series TV is its brightest yet


Today, Vizio announced a new flagship display, the 65-inch 2018 P-Series Quantum 4K HDR Smart TV. It has up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness and is billed as Vizio’s brightest TV so far. The bezel-less display also has an Active Full Array Max backlight with 192 local dimming zones for the company’s “purest black levels.” Quantum Color Spectrum technology means that this display can produce over one billion colors. A 240Hz refresh rate equals a natural, smoother picture.

Last year’s P-Series had the same 240Hz refresh rates, but only 128 local dimming LEDs. Both have over one billion colors, but the peak brightness of this latest display appears to be much greater than the 500 nits of the previous year’s line. In contrast, this year’s M-Series features 600 nits of peak brightness, 48 dimming zones and a 60Hz refresh rate with a price of $1,000 for a 65-inch display.

The display also comes with Vizio’s proprietary SmartCast OS, which features apps like Netflix, Prime Video and Vudu. Google Chromecast is also built directly into the display. Users can also take advantage of voice control thanks to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility. We’ve been impressed in the past with Vizio’s balance between great quality and a price point that won’t break the bank, and this new flagship is no exception. The PQ65-F1 is available now on Vizio.com, with availability soon at select retailers, and carries an MSRP of $2,199.

10
Apr

(PRODUCT)RED iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Now Available to Order


As promised, special (PRODUCT)RED editions of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus unveiled yesterday are now available to order on Apple.com and through the Apple Store app on iPhone and iPad in the United States and several other countries.

The new models are available with 64GB or 256GB storage for the same prices as the equivalent iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus models in Apple’s standard space gray, silver, and gold colorways, which remain available.

  • iPhone 8 / (RED) / 64GB: $699
  • iPhone 8 / (RED) / 256GB: $849
  • iPhone 8 Plus / (RED) / 64GB: $799
  • iPhone 8 Plus / (RED) / 256GB: $949

The first deliveries will arrive to customers Friday, April 13, and in-store availability at Apple Stores and select authorized resellers will begin on the same day in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

Availability in Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and other regions will follow later in April, followed by Chile, Colombia, India, Israel, Turkey, and more regions in May.

While the (PRODUCT)RED edition iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus had white front bezels, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus versions have black front bezels. Otherwise, these iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus models are identical to those unveiled last September, with the new color likely introduced to boost sales.

Apple’s new (PRODUCT)RED edition iPhone X Leather Folio is also available to purchase for $99 starting today from Apple.com, Apple Stores, and the Apple Store app in dozens of countries around the world.


The products are part of Apple’s 11-year partnership with (RED), founded in 2006 by U2 frontman Bono and activist Bobby Shriver. The brand and its licensed red-colored products helps to raise funds for The Global Fund, which helps people affected by HIV or AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in eight African countries.

For each (RED) product sold, Apple makes a contribution to The Global Fund, raising over $160 million to date.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8Tag: (PRODUCT)REDBuyer’s Guide: iPhone 8 (Neutral)
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10
Apr

Facebook Launches Help Center Tool to Check if Your Data Was Shared With Cambridge Analytica


Facebook today launched a new section of its Help Center focusing on user data breaches following the Cambridge Analytica scandal that’s been ongoing for the past few weeks. The updated Help Center tool allows you to check to see if any of your Facebook data was shared with Cambridge Analytica (via Matt Navarra).

The tool specifically details whether or not you or any of your friends ever logged into “This Is Your Digital Life,” a quiz app that Cambridge Analytica used to steal information and tailor political messages towards Facebook users. If you or someone you know was affected by the app, Facebook details what information was shared with Cambridge Analytica, including topics like public profile, page likes, birthday, current city, and more.

Besides the new tool, Facebook has been sharing numerous blog posts in recent weeks about the security and privacy of its users. Most recently, chief technology officer Mike Shroepfer outlined several changes coming to Facebook APIs that will limit the amount of data that apps can collect from users. The company also promised to more prominently notify users of what apps are using their data in links atop their News Feeds, which started appearing for some users yesterday.

Facebook’s Help Center tool launches the same day that company CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be testifying before Congress at 2:15 p.m. PT. According to prepared remarks released by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Zuckerberg is expected to state that Facebook “didn’t do enough” to prevent multiple issues from spreading on the social network, namely data privacy.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has commented on the ongoing Facebook data scandal, telling Recode’s Kara Swisher “I wouldn’t be in this situation,” when asked what he would do right now if he was Mark Zuckerberg. He elaborated: “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.”

On that topic, Zuckerberg responded by stating that Cook’s comments were “not at all aligned with the truth,” and that just because Facebook is free to use doesn’t mean that the company doesn’t care about its customers.

As of the most recent reports, 87 million people have been affected by the Cambridge Analytica scandal on Facebook, 70 million of which are located in the United States.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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10
Apr

LG G7 ThinQ: Rumors, Specs, Release Date, and More!


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The LG G6 was a solid phone that got overshadowed by the competition. With the G7 ThinQ, LG isn’t going to let that happen again.

When talking about underrated phones from 2017, it’s almost impossible to not mention the LG G6. LG made a huge comeback following the disaster that was the G5, but devices like the Samsung Galaxy S8 simply ate the G6 for breakfast and didn’t leave it with much of a fighting chance to stand out from the crowd.

LG needs a winner this year with the G6’s successor, and this is everything we know so far about its upcoming flagship.

April 10, 2018 — LG will unveil the LG G7 ThinQ in New York on May 2

And it’s official: LG has confirmed that it will unveil its next flagship at an event in New York City on May 2. The LG G7 ThinQ will have similar AI-assisted features as the LG V30S, and will be making its debut in Seoul on May 3, a day after the unveil.

April 6, 2018 — LG’s next phone will be called the “LG G7 ThinQ” and come out this May

There’s been some debate over what LG would call its next flagship for months, but all of the rumors and speculation can finally be put to rest. TechRadar recently acquired hands-on photos of the device, and it shows the phone booting up with the name of LG G7 ThinQ. Oh brother.

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This follows the same naming scheme we saw with the LG V30S ThinQ at CES this year, and it marks an — interesting — shift for LG.

The photos also show the G7 ThinQ with the long-rumored notch in its display, and specs are said to include a Snapdragon 845, 4GB RAM, and 64GB of internal storage. A release is said to be scheduled for this May, meaning we may get an announcement as soon as this month.

LG’s adopting the notch, because why not?

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Amidst all the announcements coming out of MWC 2018, LG gave certain attendees an early look at its upcoming flagship phone for 2018. The photos captured of the device were pretty blurry and not all that detailed, but thankfully TechnoBuffalo teamed up with designer Ben Geskin to give us a clear look at what we can expect from LG later this year.

First off, let’s get the elephant out of the room – LG’s next flagship will, unfortunately, have a notch. This is a trend a lot of Android OEMs are rushing to adopt, and it’s one I’m not a fan of seeing. LG will likely use a software trick to hide the notch with a black status bar, but even with that in place, a notch is still a notch.

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The phone will have hardly any bezels surrounding said notch (save for a small chin at the bottom), and the back will be made out of glass and feature a fingerprint sensor and dual-camera setup.

While it’s not the worst-looking phone I’ve ever seen, I’m not sure playing copycat is the right move for a company whose mobile division has been losing money quarter after quarter. An original design would have played in LG’s favor considering how many other companies are also trying to mimic the iPhone X, but that doesn’t appear to be what we’re getting.

Mr. Phone also gave us an early glimpse as to what the G7 will look like thanks to a collaboration with @OnLeaks, and as you can see from the video below, it confirms most everything we’re already expecting.

We’ll get an MLCD+ display instead of an OLED one

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Most all flagship phones are shipping with AMOLED or OLED displays, but after sub-par reviews of the V30 and Pixel 2 XL’s screens, LG will be changing gears and trying its hand at a new type of panel – MLCD+.

MLCD+ is fairly new in the mobile space, but it sounds promising. Compared to traditional IPS LCD screens, MLCD+ uses 35% less power, uses the RGBW matrix, and has a max brightness of 800-nits.

The V30’s OLED panel wasn’t necessarily bad, but it also paled in comparison to Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Note 8. A new type of screen could help LG differentiate itself from the rest of the market, but a lot of this will hinge on the company’s execution of it.

The phone should be powered by the Snapdragon 845

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As great as the G6 was, one of the main reasons you might have been inclined to choose the Galaxy S8 over it was because of the processor it shipped with. The G6 launched with the Snapdragon 821, and while the 821 was a perfectly fast CPU, the S8 launched just a few weeks later with the much newer 835.

This year, however, we aren’t expecting LG to make the same mistake. A report from The Investor last May said that LG would be partnering with Qualcomm to release the G7 with its Snapdragon 845 processor, and towards the end of December, a list was found showing that the G7 would launch with the 845 in February.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 is a big improvement compared to the 835, offering speed improvements, better camera performance, faster cellular speed, and a lot more. If LG can get this inside the G7, that’ll put it on a much more level playing field than what we saw with the G6 and S8 last year.

Based on the information we have and historical trends, we think this will be a close match to the G7’s final specifications:

Operating System Android 8.1
Display 6-inch MLED+ with notch 2880 x 1440 resolution, 18:9 aspect ratio
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
RAM 4GB
Storage 64/128GB, micro SD expansion (assumed)
Battery 3300mAhNon-removableQuick charging (either USB-PD or Qualcomm Quick Charge Qi wireless charging (assumed)
Audio 3.5mm headphone jack 32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC
Rear cameras Dual cameras, one standard lens and one wide-angle
Water resistance Yes, IP68
Colors Black, silver

LG G6

  • LG G6 review!
  • LG G6 specs
  • LG G6 vs. Google Pixel: The two best cameras right now
  • Everything you need to know about the G6’s cameras
  • LG forums

Verizon
Sprint
T-Mobile
AT&T
B&H

Updated April 6, 2018: Refreshed with the latest news about the G7!

10
Apr

Anyone can pilot the mini Tenergy TDR Sky Beetle drone for just $28


Don’t let this deal fly away.

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Tenergy’s TDR Sky Beetle Mini RC Drone is now on sale at Amazon for just $27.95 as part of its Gold Box deals of the day. This is the lowest price ever for this drone, and it’s at a perfect price point to buy for someone who may have never had a drone before or is only slightly interested in the hobby so far. It normally sells for around $43 and has sold for as much as $45 in the past.

This drone includes auto hovering which stabilizes and suspends it in mid-air automatically without you needing to control it. There’s also just one button to touch for takeoff and landing which makes piloting this drone something anyone can do, from children to grandparents. It also features three stunt moves to impress on-lookers and integrated apps for iOS and Android. With its onboard camera, you can view first-person footage from your smartphone using the integrated iOS or Android app.

For easy transportation, and to keep it safe, the drone fits right inside the center of the controller so you don’t have to worry about breaking propellers or losing it in your bag.

See at Amazon

10
Apr

Moto G6 and G6 Plus: Rumors, specs, release date and more!


This is everything you need to know about the Moto G6 series!

Motorola’s G line of phones has always been about offering the most bang for your buck, and the company looks like it will continue that trend with the Moto G6. According to recent leaks, there will be three mid-range phones this year: the Moto G6, G6 Plus and G6 Play.

This is everything you need to know about the Moto G6 series!

The design

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If the leaks are to be believed, the G6 series is going to look an awful like 2017’s Moto X4. It appears to have the same all glass design, with the same knurled trim around the dual rear cameras. The fingerprint sensor is still on the front on the standard G6, but moves to the middle-back on what we believe is the G6 Plus. The volume and power buttons are grouped together on the right side of the phone, and… that’s really all we know for now. There’s a chance Moto will move the devices to charge with USB-C, but we have no way of knowing that just yet. We’re also not sure if Moto is keeping or eliminating the headphone jack on these devices.

More: New leak shows off the Moto G6, G6 Plus and G6 Play in all their glory

Specifications

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Three different models means three different levels of performance, and three different price points to best match your budget. We don’t know every detail just yet, but this looks like an almost-complete picture of the G6 series’ specifications. As always, take these specs with a grain of salt until the phones are officially announced:

Operating System Android 8.0
Display 5.7-inch, FHD+ resolution 18:9 aspect ratio 5.93-inch, FHD+ resolution 18:9 aspect ratio 5.7-inch, HD+ resolution 18:9 aspect ratio
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
Camera 12MP + 5MP rear combo unspecified front camera 12MP + 5MP rear combo unspecified front camera 12MP rear camera unspecified front camera
RAM “up to” 4GB “up to” 6GB “up to” 3GB
Storage 64 GB microSD expansion (assumed) 64GB microSD expansion (assumed) 32GB microSD expansion (assumed)
Battery 3000mAhNon-removableTurboPower fast charging 3200mAhNon-removableTurboPower fast charging 4000 mAhNon-removableTurboPower fast charging
Colors Black

Announcement and availability

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This one’s easy: Motorola has sent out press invitations for an event in São Paulo, Brazil on April 19. South America is one of the biggest markets for the Moto G line, so it makes perfect sense to announce the latest devices in Brazil.

We haven’t heard about potential prices yet, but we can look at last year’s phones for a rough estimate. The G5 and G5 Plus sold for €199 (roughly $245) and $279 respectively. With the G6 Play taking over the bottom tier of the G line, we’re not sure if that means the standard G6 will become more expensive than the standard G5. Still, expect the phone to land in the $200-$300 range, depending on region and specs. We’re not sure when the phones will go on sale in each region, but Motorola usually has a quick turn-around between announcement and release.

More: Moto G6 devices to be announced on April 19

Stay tuned for more!

April 19 is rapidly approaching, and we’ll have a hands-on look at the new Moto G phones. Stay tuned to Android Central for more!

10
Apr

Web standard brings password-free sign-ins to virtually any site


Tech companies have been trying to do away with web passwords for years, but now it looks like they’ve reached a key milestone. The FIDO Alliance and W3C have launched a Web Authentication standard that makes it easier to offer truly unique encryption credentials for each site. That, in turn, lets you access virtually any online service in a PC browser through password-free FIDO Authentication, not just specific services. You can continue to use familiar methods like fingerprint readers, cameras and USB keys, and it can serve both in place of and in addition to passwords.

It’s about more than convenience. That same uniqueness reduces the chances that a password compromised on one site can be used on another — intruders shouldn’t have free rein with your accounts even if they punch through a site’s defenses.

The functionality is useful right now in Mozilla’s Firefox browser, and should come to both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge in the “next few months.” Opera has also publicly committed to the technology (there’s no mention of Apple bringing it to Safari). No, you can’t immediately forego all your passwords, but this could let you depend on biometric logins much more consistently than you have in the past.

Source: W3C

10
Apr

Ford’s new Focus pulls in Co-Pilot360 driver assists


Ford is taking the wraps off of its new ‘global’ Focus, and besides the new styling, we’re interested because as usual, the car will help introduce a hefty suite of driver-assist technology. Last month Ford pledged to put assists in more cars with its Co-Pilot360 package, and there should be plenty to choose from in the Focus. Its Adaptive Cruise Control can manage stop and go traffic, recognize speed limit signs and keep the car centered in the lane. In what Ford says is an industry first, the adaptive front lighting system not only uses the cameras for auto high beams and curve prediction, it can also read road signs to help adjust patterns. Also, the Focus is the first car in its segment with evasive steering assist to help avoid collisions.

Most of the details unveiled apply to the European and Chinese versions of the vehicle due to go on sale this year before the car comes to North America in 2019, and which tech is available where may vary. Still, it should be easy to figure out which one might be a good fit, because Ford says it has cut the number of available configurations from 360 to as few as 26.

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Ford

That’s even with the availability of a built-in FordPass Connect modem (just like the new Ranger) that enables vehicle location, door unlock and even remote start via its app. It’s also good for a WiFi hotspot supporting up to 10 devices.There’s also an option for a wireless charging pad inside, while the Sync 3 system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto runs on an 8-inch touchscreen.

The last bit of new technology is inside the gearbox, where the 8-speed automatic transmission uses “adaptive shift scheduling” that varies by driving style to time its shifts, and adaptive quality control which monitors vehicle and environmental info to make for smoother shifts. Based on its three body styles (sedan, hatchback and wagon), Ford says the Focus will come in a “luxurious Focus Vignale, sporty ST-Line, adventure oriented Active and upscale Titanium” in Europe and “ST-Line and Titanium” in China.