Best Android Phone Under $700 in 2018

• Best overall
• Best for battery life
• Best in compact size

Best overall

Google Pixel 2

See at Best Buy

The smaller of Google’s Pixel phones is fantastic, thanks to a no-nonsense design and plenty of features to get enthusiasts and average users alike excited. For a starting price of $649, the Google Pixel 2 mirrors the last 5-inch flagship with a manageable size and sleek hardware.

But it has a laundry list of upgrades, including a faster processor, more default storage, a better-calibrated OLED display, and, of course, a stupendous 12MP camera that beats everything else on the market. Plus, the latest version of Android first — and for three years.

The battery life can be a little weak compared to larger phones, but considering it’s $200 less than the Pixel 2 XL it’s easy to say the standard Pixel 2 is a better overall value.

Bottom line: There’s nothing quite like the Pixel, which marries hardware and software into an exceptional Android experience.

One more thing: Verizon will tout the Pixel 2 as an “exclusive” device, but you can buy it unlocked to use on whatever carrier you wish.

Why the Google Pixel 2 is best

If you weren’t a fan of the first Pixel’s looks but enjoyed everything else about it, the Pixel 2 is for you. Available in three awesome colors with a soft-touch metal finish that’s perfect to hold without a case, the Pixel 2 is easy to use in one hand, extremely performant and reliable, and easily has the best camera on the Android market today.

Add to that the fact Google will first give its Pixel phones updates to the latest version of Android, but it’s also promising three years of updates, which is unprecedented in the Android space. Google has done a lot to improve the reliability of the Pixel 2 (despite some early software issues) and battery life has also improved considerably over the first version.

Best for battery life

Huawei Mate 10 Pro

See at Amazon

Unlike its predecessor the Mate 9, Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro is an absolute looker — and it clearly positions itself right next to the flagship competition. Metal and glass are finely crafted and filled with top-notch specs, and its Leica-tuned dual cameras are capable of some wonderful shots with the help of the Kirin processor inside.

Alongside all of that, the Mate 10 Pro hits it out of the park with battery life. The combination of a 4000mAh battery, efficient processor, somewhat-restrictive software and a 1080p display make this a true two-day flagship for many people, and that’s rare today.

The only downside, as ever, is Huawei’s EMUI software. Though it has gotten better with Oreo, it still has many areas that are rough on the eyes, not very functional or inexplicably broken when it comes to integrating with third-party apps.

Bottom line: It’s a true flagship with all of the best specs, and incredible battery life. You just have to give a little in terms of software experience.

One more thing: When searching for a Mate 10 Pro, make sure you’re getting the U.S. unlocked model so that you have proper network bands and warranty support.

Best in compact size

Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact

See at Best Buy

Sony’s new Xperia XZ2 comes in a “Compact” size, and that also brings with it a smaller price — just $649 retail. The 5-inch 18:9 display and rounded body make this feel like a more modern phone than previous Sony models, albeit at the cost of some of that distinctive Sony design language. On the other hand we get water resistance, a rear fingerprint sensor and stereo speakers — making this a phone with very few compromises.

Internally, the XZ2 Compact has top-notch specs despite its smaller size. A Snapdragon 845 processor runs the show, and all of the supporting cast is here to offer up a flagship-level experience — and a 2870mAh battery should be enough for most people. The 19MP rear camera is a good improvement over the last generation as well, even though it still lacks OIS.

Bottom line: For a lower price, you get a little less phone — but this is absolutely a flagship in every way but screen real estate, and some may even prefer its manageable size.

One more thing: The Xperia XZ2 Compact is only available unlocked in the U.S., and won’t be fully available until mid-May.

Conclusion

The Pixel 2 is a fantastic phone with so much going for it, and it happens to be under $700 as well. For a larger size and longer battery life you can pick up a Huawei Mate 10 Pro for about the same price, and for something smaller you can go with the Xperia XZ2 Compact.

Best overall

Google Pixel 2

See at Best Buy

The smaller of Google’s Pixel phones is fantastic, thanks to a no-nonsense design and plenty of features to get enthusiasts and average users alike excited. For a starting price of $649, the Google Pixel 2 mirrors the last 5-inch flagship with a manageable size and sleek hardware.

But it has a laundry list of upgrades, including a faster processor, more default storage, a better-calibrated OLED display, and, of course, a stupendous 12MP camera that beats everything else on the market. Plus, the latest version of Android first — and for three years.

The battery life can be a little weak compared to larger phones, but considering it’s $200 less than the Pixel 2 XL it’s easy to say the standard Pixel 2 is a better overall value.

Bottom line: There’s nothing quite like the Pixel, which marries hardware and software into an exceptional Android experience.

One more thing: Verizon will tout the Pixel 2 as an “exclusive” device, but you can buy it unlocked to use on whatever carrier you wish.

Update April 2018: The Google Pixel 2 is still our top choice in the sub-$700 segment, but we’ve also added the Huawei Mate 10 Pro as a good choice for a larger size and longer battery life. The Xperia XZ2 Compact joins the list as a great choice in a smaller size. The LG G6+ drops on account of its age, and the OnePlus 5T leaves as we get ready for the OnePlus 6 to launch.

Inside BMW’s Autonomous Driving Campus and plans

Dr. Dirk Wisselmann, senior expert for autonomous driving at BMW, tells me that the automaker’s first level 3 car will have the technical capabilities for level 4 or 5 highway driving. “We can create a software update (for the car) and inform our drivers, ‘We are are very confident on this road. We are very sure nothing can happen. You can sleep if you want to.’” He makes sure to note that this is a best-case scenario.

“The idea is that we really have to develop a car today on a highly sophisticated level.”

We’re sitting in the automaker’s latest research center built specifically for that highly sophisticated car. Or in BMW’s case, two cars. One is the all-electric level 3 iNext that will be sold to the public. On the highway, the car should be able to drive itself under set circumstances.

The other is a fleet vehicle with level 4 (and potentially level 5) capabilities that will be part of BMW’s upcoming branded ride-hailing service.

The automaker plans on delivering both of these vehicles in 2021. BMW has been erring on the side of caution when it comes to autonomy (I’m reminded of this multiple times while in Munich). Who can blame them with the recent Uber tragedy and Tesla Model S accident?

It’s important to remember that cars are not phones or laptops or even electric push scooters. Sure the technology inside automobiles is advancing far quicker than ever, but automakers still have to produce software and hardware solutions that appease regulators and, more importantly, keep drivers safe.

When a smartphone freezes up, you just restart it. When a car freezes up at 80 miles an hour on the freeway, it’s suddenly an uncontrollable death machine. So whatever resources BMW wants to throw at autonomous car research are welcome.

But making sure the automaker’s 2021 plans (and beyond) come to fruition means it’s decided to go all in on self-driving research. With that in mind, BMW opened its Autonomous Driving Campus near its headquarters in Munich, Germany, this week. The facility’s 23,000 square meters (5.6 acres) will eventually accommodate 1,800 employees and 500 vehicles.

While I attended the grand opening of the campus (that’s still under construction), there are already employees at the site working. During a tour of one of the completed buildings, the automaker showed off how it plans to achieve autonomy in the future and change the way it works. Instead of a single team working on an entire system, sub-tasks (features of a system) are assigned to various departments to tackle problems in a fast-paced environment. BMW compared it to how startups work and touted how agile this will allow them to be.

The automaker noted that since deploying its test fleet in California, it has racked up 24 million kilometers (14.9 million miles) in data. But 95 percent of those miles were tested in a proprietary BMW simulator using data from its test cars, Pegasus the open-source scenario database, and a scenario editor. The result is something that looks like a video game where researchers fine-tune edge case situations to see how BMW’s AI reacts to certain events.

Other companies like Mercedes, GM and Waymo also use simulators to test and train their AI. It’s become an important part of the research. It’s nearly impossible to encounter every situation while driving test vehicles. It’s completely impossible to recreate and slightly tweak those situations to account for changing weather and road conditions and the presence of more (or fewer) vehicles, pedestrians and other objects.

Of course, all the car data has to come from somewhere. During a sensor demonstration, BMW shared a new solid-state LiDAR system that it says has double the range and 2.5 times the resolution of what’s currently on the road today. On its test vehicles, laser-based sensors are placed in the front center and sides and rear. The result should be a higher-quality image of a car’s surrounding area than what we’ve seen in the past.

Typically a sensor helps parse the objects it detects and passes it on to the vehicle’s computer. BMW has decided to use the raw data directly from the cameras, LiDAR, radar, etc, combine it and do its own object detection. So instead of three pieces of hardware telling a computer if they see a person, the internal CPU uses the combined raw data to “see” a pedestrian.

BMW also believes mapping is part of that data-gathering package. “It’s very important. We see it as a different sensor. With our onboard sensors, we are creating a live map of just what’s happening around the car and we have a live map coming from Here,” Dr. Wisselmann told Engadget. The live information and saved map data are overlaid to make sure the car is where it says it is.

Nokia’s Here maps was acquired by BMW, Audi and Daimler in 2015. Mercedes uses it to for Active Distance Assist Distronic on the new S-Class to slow a car down if the map determines an upcoming corner is too sharp for the car’s current speed.

BMW’s iNext won’t be the first level 3 car available for purchase. That distinction goes to Audi’s 2019 A8. Unfortunately, there are regulatory issues that determine when and where the technology can be deployed. BMW is hoping by 2021 countries (and states) will have figured out how to accept vehicles like the iNext and A8.

Meanwhile, the automaker is determining how to actually navigate the autonomous future. The new Autonomous Driving Campus is not just a solid step in the right direction, it’s a huge leap both financially and in how it builds cars generally. If an automaker isn’t working on this issue, it risks being left behind.

BMW wants to make sure it does this right. It wants to be cautious. Seriously, they told me that over and over again. But that’s important. Not just for the automaker but for the entire industry. Being careful about introducing these types of features keeps drivers safe and cars out of headlines.

BMW is known for fast cars. But fast doesn’t necessarily mean unsafe and a giant facility dedicated to making sure its first self-driving cars are conservative on the roads is a good thing.

Ray tracing explained: The future of hyper-realistic graphics

Ray tracing has long been gaming’s holy grail. A method of creating hyper-realistic lighting and graphics, for years ray tracing has been promised as the technology that will take games the next step closer to total realism. Ray tracing has perennially been just on the horizon, but at GDC 2018, but NVIDIA and Microsoft both showed off technology that could make ray tracing a reality.

Typical graphics technology, struggle with how light works. Most games used rasterization, which draws a frame almost the same way someone paints a picture, one bit at a time, and with a lot of approximation. Ray tracing hews closer to how light works in the real world, by modelling millions of beams of light, and calculating how they’d bounce around a scene.

This is actually the technique that movie studios use to make modern special effects look so good. But those film studios have render farms of dozens of computers running for hours or even days to ray trace each individual frame in a special effects shot. A game needs to be able to crank out at least 30 frames per second on your one lowly computer. There just hasn’t been enough computational power in the average computer to run ray-traced graphics.

But here’s where there’s some interesting news. At GDC 2018, Microsoft and NVIDIA demoed new technology that supports ray-tracing in games. Microsoft’s tech, called DXR, adds software support for ray tracing to DirectX 12, the toolset that underpins most Windows games. NVIDIA announced support for DXR as well as hardware-acceleration for real-time raytracing for its Volta line of graphics cards. AMD also announced driver support for DXR, and some updates to its own ray tracing technologies called ProRender.

NVIDIA’s RTX is potentially really exciting. Hardware acceleration is part of what makes things like playing back HD video so smooth on most modern computers, and it’s probably crucial to real-time ray tracing. NVIDIA, Microsoft, Epic Games, Remedy and a few other studios have shown off incredible demos of ultra-high quality game footage using ray tracing and being rendered in real-time.

It’s a huge technical achievement to get footage like this rendering in real time, but there are a few reasons why it may still be a while before you see ray tracing in your favorite games.

UK reportedly preparing for a Russian-backed cyberattack

As tensions between the UK and Russia continue to mount, both sides appear to be bolstering themselves for retaliatory cyberattacks. The Times reports that Prime Minister Theresa May has been receiving intelligence risk assessments regarding a potential Russia-based cyberattack that might result in the release of embarrassing or compromising information about UK ministers, members of parliament and others. Unnamed security sources told The Times that in the case of an attack on UK infrastructure, British officials were prepared to launch their own cyberattack against Russia.

British intelligence officials are on the alert for such an attack that may serve as retaliation for both the UK response to a nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter as well as this weekend’s strikes on Syrian chemical weapon storage facilities, development centers and bunkers — in which the US, France and the UK all participated.

Intelligence sources told The Times that British politicians could be singled out in a Russian attack and that the nation’s cyber-intelligence agency and the Ministry of Defense were prepared to retaliate “proportionately.” “It wouldn’t be impossible that they get through in some way that really hurts us. If they aggressively come after us, we will certainly have the ability to do some stuff to them. But unlike Russia, we abide by the law, so anything we do would be proportionately done,” said one source. Another added, “They’re more likely to revert to targeted information and try and cause as much embarrassment and chaos as possible.”

Via: Reuters

Samsung Expected to Begin iPhone X Plus Display Production in May

Samsung will begin manufacturing OLED displays for a new iPhone X and iPhone X Plus next month, according to Taiwan’s Economic Daily News.

Mockup of iPhone X and iPhone X Plus alongside iPhone 7 Plus via Reddit user SpaceKonk
The report claims Samsung will restart its production line in May, with plans to double its production capacity in June. The timeline appears to be slightly ahead of schedule, as it was supposedly believed that Samsung would not begin production until the end of June, or the beginning of the third quarter.

The report is a good sign that Apple’s widely rumored trio of 2018 smartphones will be released simultaneously, including a new iPhone X, a larger iPhone X Plus, and a mid-range LCD model with Face ID. The new smartphone lineup will likely be announced in early September and available to order later in the month.

This would contrast with Apple’s staggered release of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X last year. While all three models were unveiled in September, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus pre-orders began September 15, while iPhone X pre-orders didn’t begin until October 27, nearly a month and a half later.

The delayed launch of the iPhone X was attributed to reported production challenges with the TrueDepth camera system powering Face ID. Those issues have since been resolved, and shouldn’t have any effect on the 2018 launch.

All in all, getting your hands on Apple’s flagship new smartphone may be quicker and easier this fall. But, as with any iPhone launch, pre-order availability will likely be limited, so early adopters will probably still need to act fast.

Related Roundup: 2018 iPhonesTags: Samsung, OLED
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Apple Watch Earth Day Challenge Requires You to Complete 30 Minutes of Exercise on April 22

Apple’s next Activity Challenge for Apple Watch wearers will be centered around Earth Day this Sunday, April 22, with notifications that should begin appearing on Friday, April 20. The Earth Day Challenge requires you to do any workout for 30 minutes or more on April 22, and record your activity within the Workout watchOS app or any other app that adds workouts to the Health iOS app.

As is tradition with Activity Challenges, once you complete this feat on Earth Day then Apple will grant you a new achievement badge within the Activity app on iPhone, as well as various iMessage stickers that you can use to decorate your messages to friends and family members. 2018 marks the second year Apple has launched an Earth Day-specific Activity Challenge, and its goal is the same as it was in 2017.

Apple will be celebrating Earth Day a variety of ways this upcoming week, with employees in retail stores again wearing green shirts instead of traditional navy blue as a way to mark the annual environmental-focused event. In the past, Apple has marked Earth Day by adding a green leaf accent to the Apple logos of its retail stores, and shared Earth Day videos, Apple Music playlists, and featured apps in the App Store.

For Activity Challenges, this is the fourth one in 2018, following a Ring In The New Year Challenge in January, Heart Month Challenge in February, and International Women’s Day Challenge in March. If Apple keeps following its annual Activity Challenge schedule, the next physical trial for Apple Watch owners will take place around Mother’s Day in May.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4Tag: Activity ChallengeBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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cPass wants to be the European MoviePass for all entertainment

It might surprise you to learn that MoviePass has been offering unlimited movie tickets as a monthly subscription for over five years now. But the name only really rocketed into the public consciousness last summer, right after the price per month dropped below $10. MoviePass struggled to keep up with the wave of new interest, and its continued, rapid growth caught the attention of many. Enter cPass, a new service hoping to fill a MoviePass-shaped hole in Europe. Only it doesn’t want to limit itself to movies. Co-founder brothers Puya and Pedram Vahabi hope cPass will become an all-you-can-eat subscription for all kinds of entertainment.

As it stands, cPass is a MoviePass-inspired clone with only a limited number of beta accounts currently live in London. It operates in much the same way: subscribers reserve tickets for same-day showings through an app, turn up at the theater and use their cPass to pay for the seat. A monthly fee of £9.95 (around $14) entitles you to one standard ticket per day, which is to say 3D, IMAX and other premium types of screenings are off-limits. The cPass is tantamount to a debit card, with the movie theater itself collecting the full purchase price for each ticket.

The Vahabi brothers have worked on several startups over the past 12 years. Some gained traction, others didn’t. Currently, Pedra is a UX designer at Amazon and startup mentor at Google Launchpad. Puya is a research scientist at Pandora and lecturer for UC Berkley’s School of Information.

Puya doesn’t deny MoviePass has influenced their latest side gig. “Just one of the factors we consider when we choose the next project to work on is if someone else is showing there’s need,” he told me.

There is a key difference between the services, however, in that cPass has no formal agreements with any of the UK’s cinema chains. The company does have a partner that acts as the middleman, turning taps in the app into ticket reservations. The cPass network, then, includes any theater in London that has a basic online presence and accepts card payments. In the short-term, the plan is to avoid any structured agreements.

MoviePass has had its fair share of growing pains, but so far there hasn’t been any industry pushback to cPass. The UK Cinema Association (UKCA), which represents theater operators, has expressed skepticism about the service. “cPass is in the recruitment phase, building a subscriber base without any actual offer,” the UKCA told its members in a letter seen by Deadline.

The only dealings theater chains have really had with cPass thus far was to ask that their logos be removed from its website when it first went live. Listing names was fine, cPass was told, but using logos (especially without consent) implies a formal level of involvement that could be misleading.

cPass isn’t particularly close to launching to the public, though, so we’ll have to see how that shakes out. At the moment, it’s simply filling a few seats that might otherwise be empty. But two of the UK’s biggest chains, Odeon and Cineworld, offer their own unlimited passes for £17.99 and £17.90 per month, respectively. If and when cPass begins poaching these users, the potential for animosity obviously heightens. That’s a pretty big if, mind.

The problem cPass has is one of sustainability. It’s simple math: if a subscriber pays £10 per month and goes to, say, ten screenings that cPass pays full ticket price for, that’s a significant shortfall. But Puya is confident cPass could be profitable within a few years, as long as investors keep pumping money into it to keep it afloat. As it stands, I’m told cPass is on track to officially launch to the public around September/October time, though that could be accelerated. If money’s tight, one option could be to introduce a slightly cheaper subscription tier offering one ticket per week, but the founders insist unlimited movies for £10 per month is definitely viable.

As much as that’ll get people through theater doors, UKCA CEO Phil Clapp believes it may also be a cause for concern for operators. Where streaming services and digital downloads have brought the price of watching films at home down, ticket prices for the silver screen have increased. The worry is that cPass-like services will devalue the cinema experience. If moviegoers become accustomed to a cheap subscription service that subsequently folds, normal ticket prices may seem unreasonable by comparison, impacting attendance.

On the other hand, if a subscription service was to thrive, this new middleman finds itself in a position of power. With 5 million members, cPass could decide it no longer wants to pay face value for tickets. Theaters might be forced to agree to discounted rates or risk being blacklisted from the service. These scenarios are completely hypothetical, of course, but could result in less money flowing the way of distributors, production houses, and all other stakeholders that rely heavily on box office takings to keep making movies.

Puya admits cPass is a high-risk concept, which is why everyone isn’t doing it, but there are ways to make it profitable. You’ve probably already guessed where the value lies — just like MoviePass, it’s in user data. “There’s gonna be a promotional platform that we will build in parallel,” Puya said. The idea is serve ads and promotions within the app, with users also having the option to pay more per month to opt out of data collection. Puya was keen to stress that all data will be kept in-house and only used for targeted ads, rather than being sold to third-parties.

“We will 100 percent respect European privacy laws, and any modifications in the UK in the future.” Stricter data protection regulations are coming into force across the EU very soon, of course, but Puya is also mindful of the huge Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal that’s dominating the data debate right now. It doesn’t help that MoviePass has recently been scrutinized for the way it handles user data after some questionable comments from its CEO and a shady location tracking feature discovered within the app.

Still, creating an internal ad platform is how cPass intends to make most of its money, but with such slim margins, a large user base is essential. Expanding geographically is one way to achieve this. The plan is to start out in London, then spread across the UK before slowly rolling out to other European cities. But making the service and the app a must-have is just as important. In fact, the ad platform is only slated to be introduced after cPass has become a much richer service.

This starts with better personalization features. “We need very sophisticated algorithms to bring [subscribers] to the right place at the right moment. We need user profiling, personalization and state-of-the-art recommendation systems,” Puya said, adding “there is your competitive advantage.” And while MoviePass has now moved into actually distributing films, having a stake in their success, cPass wants to go in a different direction, branching out into other kinds of fun. “We don’t wanna stay just within the context of cinemas, but all entertainment events.”

An obvious next step is music, from events at your local jazz cafe to bigger concerts. The idea is the user pays an additional subscription fee for topics they’re interested in for all-you-can-eat entry to those events, not just movie screenings. After all, who wants to go to the movie theater every day? cPass is currently doing market research, running simulations and the like to see what realm it’s best placed to move into next.

Whether it makes it that far is anyone’s guess, though. We already know a cheap monthly subscription that promises unlimited entry to the latest blockbusters is attractive to people, and that data is big business. But with profitability being a dim light at the end of a very long tunnel, we could just have another Sliceline on our hands.

Some quotes have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Source: cPass

Engadget UK giveaway: Win a ‘Pacific Rim’ edition Honor 7X

Giant mind-controlled robots fighting even bigger inter-dimensional alien monsters is a tale as old as time, and what better way to show your appreciation for the unashamedly action-packed plot of the Pacific Rim franchise than with a physical totem? Thanks to our friends at Honor, this week we’re giving away a special edition Honor 7X created to celebrate the recent theatrical release of Pacific Rim Uprising. There are only ten of these devices in existence, and we’ve got one to send the way of a lucky UK-based reader. Head to the Rafflecopter widget below to enter this week’s competition up to three times — after you’ve given the rules a quick look beforehand, of course.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

• Entries are handled through the Rafflecopter widget above. Comments are no longer accepted as valid methods of entry. You may enter without any obligation to social media accounts, though we may offer them as opportunities for extra entries. Your email address is required so we can get in touch with you if you win, but it will not be given to third parties.
• Contest is open to all residents of the UK, 18 or older! Sorry, we don’t make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so direct your anger at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
• Winners will be chosen randomly. One (1) winner will receive one (1) ‘Pacific Rim’ Honor 7X.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Make sure that the account you use to enter the contest includes your real name and a contact email or Facebook login. We do not track any of this information for marketing or third-party purposes.
• This unit is purely for promotional giveaway. Honor and Engadget / Oath are not held liable to honour warranties, exchanges or customer service.
• The full list of rules, in all its legalese glory, can be found here.
• Entries can be submitted until April 20th at 11:59PM BST. Good luck!

Sony shrinks its Digital Paper E Ink tablet

Sony is one of the few companies persisting in E Ink stylus devices, despite the fact that they’re way less practical than a tablet and surprisingly expensive. It has just unveiled a new model, the DPT-CP1 that helps (a bit) on the latter count. It’s much the same as the A4 (13.3-inch diagonal) DPT-RP1 released a year ago, but has a smaller, 10.3-inch diagonal (A5) sized screen instead.

The benefits of Sony’s Digital Paper E Ink tablets are clear with the DPT-CP1. It has an excellent, highly readable 1,404 x 1,872 black and white screen, but is just 5.9 mm thick, weighs about 8 ounces and can go a month on a single charge. It also has a certain x-factor, thanks to the stylus and ability to let you read, jot, sketch and work in longhand on a more paper-like screen than other products.

The problem, however, is the price: It costs 70,000 yen (around $650). That’s $100 less than the 13.3-inch model, but it’s still not an impulse purchase like, say, a Kindle. It’s an interesting product, though, so hopefully Sony will keep making them, and making them cheaper. In any case, it’s only available in Japan and isn’t likely to come to North America.

Source: Sony (Japanese)

Samsung may use blockchain for its global shipping system

Samsung is considering shifting to a blockchain-based system to keep track of its product shipments around the world. According to Bloomberg, the head of blockchain at the company, Song Kwang-woo, said that it could slash shipping costs to the tune of 20 percent.

Blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrencies, but the ledger system can have widely applicable uses. Within shipping, the blockchain method of recording, verifying and sharing transactions could reduce the amount of time it takes to trade paperwork and to arrange scheduling with port authorities.

The key here for consumers is that the electronics giant’s switch to blockchain for shipping could decrease the amount of time between when a product launches and when it arrives in stores or at a consumer’s front door. It could also make for fewer product shortages.

It’s unclear what kind of time frame Samsung is working with and where the company is within this process. However, it will certainly be interesting to see whether Samsung officially makes the switch and whether other major tech companies follow suit.

Source: Bloomberg