Amazon is doing what it does best: Making money hand over fist

With the first quarterly earnings report of 2018, Amazon shows no sign of slowing down. It reported sales of $51 billion in the past few months, which is an increase of 43 percent from this time last year.

As revealed last week, Amazon also reported that subscriptions for Amazon Music and Amazon Music Unlimited more than doubled in the past six months. Seeing as streaming music is a big part of the Echo experience, the rise in subscriptions is likely a result of an increase in Echo sales as well. As is typical with the online retail giant, it doesn’t usually break down revenue by division. But we do know that of that $51 billion, $32 billion was from product sales, while $19 billion was from the sale of services.

Amazon also continues to see its AWS cloud storage solution as a huge asset, especially since it’s grown substantially in the past few months. “AWS lets developers do more and be nimbler, and it continues to get even better every day,” said CEO Jeff Bezos in a statement.

This is a very positive outlook of the company, especially on the heels of Jeff Bezos’ mention that Amazon now has over 100 million paid Prime subscribers globally. It’s also been busy investing in other areas, like the acquisition of Ring, a kid-friendly Alexa and potentially a cube-shaped update to its Fire TV. It’s not afraid of exploring uncharted territory either, such as delivering packages directly to your car.

Still, Amazon hasn’t always had it easy. It had to fix an exploit where Alexa could listen in and record your private conversations and it’s recently faced a barrage of criticism from President Trump for not paying its share of taxes and for putting local retailers out of business.

We’ll update this report with any additional insights from the earnings call later this afternoon.

Apple Officially Discontinues AirPort Wireless Router Lineup

Apple has officially ended development on its AirPort line of products, which includes the AirPort Express ($99), the AirPort Extreme ($199), and the AirPort Time Capsule ($299).

“We’re discontinuing the Apple AirPort base station products. They will be available through Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last,” an Apple spokesperson told iMore.

Apple has not updated its AirPort products since 2012 (Express) and 2013 (Extreme and Time Capsule), and in late 2016, Bloomberg said that Apple had stopped development on the AirPort lineup with the AirPort engineers reassigned to other products.

Apple reportedly began shutting down its AirPort unit in early 2016, in an effort to “sharpen” its focus on the “consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue.”

Following news that Apple had shuttered the AirPort unit, the company began selling third-party routers in January of 2018 when it offered the Linksys Velop Mesh Wi-Fi System.

Apple’s AirPort base stations provided unique benefits that are not available through third-party options like built-in Time Machine backup support in the Time Capsule and AirPlay functionality for the AirPort Express.

Apple plans to continue to sell the three AirPort products online and in its retail stores until available supplies are exhausted. No price drops have been implemented at this time.

Related Roundup: AirPort
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How did Google get away without updating Gmail for almost 7 years?

Gmail was given an large update yesterday that most of the world is loving, but there’s no question it’s been a long time coming.

With a reported 1.4 billion users, a near decade and a half of history behind it, and one of the world’s wealthiest and prolific technology companies responsible for it, it’s a surprise how infrequently Gmail is updated. Although 2018 has brought us sweeping changes and updates to the way the online email client works, Google’s last major overhaul of the service was in 2011. There aren’t many major tech products that could go so long without losing relevance.

So, how did it get away without an update for so long?

To give that some context, Windows 10 has been out for less than three years and we’re approaching its fourth major update. Microsoft’s own Outlook has been re-released every few years with major updates, and even Thunderbird, Mozilla’s somewhat ostracized email client, has had regular updates every month for close to a decade.

Those regular updates are expected by modern technology users and yet Gmail doesn’t seem to conform to that ideal at all. That seven-year gap Google took in overhauling the email service has yielded some neat features, like email snoozing, a confidential mode, better rights-management for businesses, and two-factor authentication to emails themselves for improved security, but they were a long time coming.

Not all of these are necessarily ground-breaking either. The new look and feel of the overhauled Gmail is based on Google’s Material Design ethos. While that’s a welcome change for those who felt the traditional Gmail was looking a little dated, Material Design first premiered in 2014. We’ve also recently begun seeing hints and leaks of a potential sequel to that aesthetic in future releases of Chrome and Chrome OS.

Google also drew inspiration from its own Inbox application in some of the new features. Snoozing emails – effectively asking them to come back later – has been a part of Inbox for years now, and so have smart replies – the machine learning powered system that can automatically type out a reply for you. Other email clients too have enjoyed these sorts of features for some time.

None of this is to say that the updates to Gmail aren’t welcome. The hundreds of millions of Gmail users will no doubt enjoy the update to their chosen email service. However, it does appear that Google isn’t overly interested in keeping the service as up to date as some of its other offerings – despite it being one of the company’s most popular products. Arguably, its most important one after search.

That could very well be because of the declining relevance of email itself, especially among younger users. Many still use the comparatively antiquated communication method, especially in the workplace, but we’ve been reporting on its waning relevance since the last time Google updated Gmail. A lot of conversations that may have happened over email seven years ago, are now being played out on platforms like Twitter, Slack, and other messaging apps.

While it seems unlikely that email and Gmail itself are going to disappear from popular use any time soon, it could be that as far as Google is concerned at least, email is not the primary focus of the company that it used to be. When Gmail was originally launched, Google was merely building off of a burgeoning search empire, but today it’s a company that produces the most popular web browser in the world, powers the Android OS for billions of smartphones, has its own desktop operating system, and has even dabbled in VR and robotics. Suffice to say, Google is a very different organization from the one that launched the email service back in 2004.

Don’t get me wrong — I’m happy to see Gmail be brought into the fold. And who knows? Perhaps this latest update to Gmail will start a new era of regular feature improvements for the platform. But considering it’s taken seven years for this update to arrive, it could be even longer before we see the next one.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here’s how to get the new Gmail right this second
• Massive Gmail redesign rollout starts today for home and business
• How to delete your Gmail account
• DT Daily: Google reskins Gmail with an eye on privacy, security
• Gmail to get much-needed visual updates and advanced security features

Modder turns a Wii U controller into a PC, still plays Wii U games

Most video game fans aren’t using their Wii U consoles as much as they did a few years ago — if they ever bought the system at all — but Nintendo’s underwhelming machine still has a few uses, it seems. A modder has managed to turn the system’s GamePad controller into a PC with Windows 10, and he didn’t sacrifice its gaming functionality to do it.

Using the GamePad as a shell, modder Banjo Kazooie added several other parts, including an LCD screen, 4GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, an Intel m5 processor, and a copy of Windows 10. Upon booting the system up, it runs just like any other Windows 10 PC, with icons and menus available to select with a stylus.

The hilarious kicker, however, is what else he had the Wii U do: Play Wii U games. Through an emulator and a small board containing a copy of Super Mario Bros. U, the game is still fully playable while being run through Windows. It looks just about identical to the version running on a standard Wii U, with very little input lag. Pressing the Wii U’s “home” button brings up the Windows menu, from where the game can quickly be closed.

It’s a bit of a misnomer to say the Wii U was modded for this project — the console itself remained untouched. However, with the price for the GamePad currently at about $200 on Amazon, you probably shouldn’t try this unless you really hate your Wii U.

We’re not sure what would bring someone to turn a Wii U GamePad into a fully functional PC, but chances are pretty good that your Wii U is currently sitting in storage as it collects dust. Perhaps having an extra portable computer wouldn’t be such a bad thing!

Just recently, hackers have managed to get another program, the GameCube and Wii emulator “Dolphin,” running on a Nintendo Switch. The ability to do this was discovered after an exploit was found in the Switch, which couldn’t be fixed with a simple software patch. Though games aren’t running too well on the emulator at the moment, it’s only a matter of time before the kinks are worked out.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Nintendo Switch passes lifetime sales of Wii U in less than one year
• Nintendo Switch hack lets you run GameCube and Wii emulator Dolphin
• My Nintendo rewards program will soon offer free Switch games
• Nintendo sells a whopping 15 million Switch units, gets a new leader
• ‘Super Smash Bros.’ is coming to Nintendo Switch with the Inklings in tow

Best Verizon Phones in 2018

• Best overall
• Best for features
• Best modular phone
• Best for video

Best overall

Google Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL

See Pixel 2 at Verizon
See Pixel 2 XL at Verizon

The Google Pixel 2 isn’t just a great phone; it’s a duo of phones in different sizes that both pack some serious power. Available as the 5-inch Pixel 2 and the 6-inch Pixel 2 XL, Google’s strategy is clear: simplicity and speed. And it delivers.

The designs may not be particularly inspiring, but the Pixel 2 has some very solid specifications, including a Snapdragon 835 processor, 4GB of RAM, and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. In addition, the 12.2MP f/1.8 camera arguably leads the industry as the best camera on any smartphone.

Bottom line: The Pixel 2 offers the best Android experience around, and promises timely updates for at least two years.

One more thing: The Pixel 2 XL has had various display issues, but most of them have been fixed with software updates.

Why the Pixel 2 is the best

The Pixel 2 is simply as Android as Android gets.

There’s simply no better way to experience Google’s vision for Android than with one of the new Pixels. Both phones feature identical specifications, offering the same unbeatable performance no matter your preferred size — though you’ll find significantly smaller bezels on the Pixel 2 XL. From the moment you turn it on, the Pixel 2 is speedier than any other Android phone on the market, and lighter, too; you won’t find a lick of bloatware on the Pixel 2.

A clean app list isn’t the only advantage of owning a Pixel 2, though. Google is always looking to make its various services more easily accessible, and the Pixel 2 achieves this with Active Edge, which launches Google Assistant whenever you squeeze the sides of the phone. There’s also the Now Playing feature, which automatically identifies songs playing around you — even if you’re offline.

It’s also hard to beat the Pixel 2’s camera. Though many modern phones have adopted a dual lens system for features like portrait mode photography, Google is betting that its machine learning technology can achieve better results with a single camera — turns out they’re right. The Pixel 2 takes absolutely stunning photos, and its users receive unlimited storage in Google Photos to back up their shots without any loss in quality.

Best for features

Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+

See at Verizon

If stock Android isn’t a priority for you, you might want to look into the Galaxy S9 or the larger S9+. The curved glass design is beautiful and comfortable to hold, and Samsung’s display tech is unrivaled. The cameras are pretty great, too — the S9 is the first phone to feature dual apertures, allowing for more optimal settings in different lighting conditions. The S9+ even features a second rear camera, used for telephoto zoom.

Between water resistance, wireless charging, micro SD expansion, Samsung Pay, and even a headphone jack, the Galaxy S9 packs every feature you could possibly want in a modern smartphone, and it does it all in a relatively small package.

Bottom line: Few phones pull off beauty and brawn as well as the Galaxy S9.

One more thing: The S9 and S9+ don’t have the best battery life. You might want to keep a portable battery pack handy.

Best modular phone

Moto Z2 Force

See at Verizon

The Moto Z2 Force wears many hats; it’s Motorola’s current flagship, it’s one of the most durable phones on the market thanks to its ShatterShield display, and it’s by far the most modular phone around.

No other manufacturer offers the level of customization that Motorola provides through its Moto Mod ecosystem of accessories, turning the Moto Z2 Force into a Swiss Army Knife that can act as a projector, a loudspeaker, and more — the possibilities are seemingly endless.

Bottom line: The Moto Z2 Force is an incredibly versatile phone that’s just as durable as it is modular.

One more thing: While it’s unlikely to crack, the Moto Z2 Force’s ShatterShield display is very prone to scratches.

Best for video

LG V30

See at Verizon

If you’re passionate about videography, look no further than the LG V30. Its dual camera module takes stunning photos with options for wide angle or telephoto shots, and the camera app features an incredibly powerful array of video tools, including manual controls and even LOG video with LUTs.

The V30 looks equally great on paper. The Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB of RAM ensure top-notch performance, and it’s even capable of microSD expandability.

Bottom line: The V30 is a great tool for video professionals as well as an excellent and well-rounded phone.

One more thing: LG’s included quad DAC provides incredible audio quality when using headphones with the V30.

Updated April 2018: The Galaxy Note 8 has been replaced with the newer Galaxy S9 and S9+.

Today’s best deals you won’t want to miss

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

Today you can get big discounts on Amazon hardware, an Acer 24-inch monitor, an electric kettle, and more! Don’t pass these up.

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

How to change/customize clock faces on Fitbit Versa

So many options to choose from!

It’s taken Fitbit a while to create a smartwatch with a design that most everyone can get behind, but they finally pulled this off with the Versa.

The Fitbit Versa is currently one of the best smartwatch options to choose from for folks rocking an Android phone, and just like any good smartwatch, the Versa has a variety of clock faces to choose from so you can customize its appearance to your exact liking.

The process for doing so isn’t the smoothest around, so if you need a helping hand, we’ve got you covered.

How to change your clock face

If you’re getting bored with your current clock face and want something new, here’s what you need to do.

Open the Fitbit app on your phone and tap the Versa icon in the upper right-hand corner
Tap the Clock Faces tile and select All Clocks
Once you’ve found a clock face you like, tap on it and hit Select

A loading bar will appear, and after a small vibration and a loading screen on your Versa, the new face should automatically pop up.

There are a number of categories to choose from, including By Fitbit, Stats Heavy, Digital, Analog, Fitbit Labs, and All Clocks. To view more of the clock faces in a collection, tap the View All button.

How to customize an existing clock face

Depending on the clock face you choose, you may be able to control more minute aspects of its design – such as its colors, time format, etc.

Not all clock faces do a good job at indicating whether or not they come with these additional options, but assuming you’ve got one that can be customized, this is what you’ll do.

Open the Fitbit app on your phone and tap the Versa icon in the upper right-hand corner
Tap the Clock Faces tile
If your current clock face can be customized, you’ll see a small gear icon by its name

After taping the gear, you’ll be taken to the settings page for your clock face

Fitbit Versa and Android: Top 10 things you need to know

Fitbit

• Fitbit Versa vs. Fitbit Ionic: Which should you buy?
• Fitbit Versa hands-on: Fitbit’s finally getting serious about smartwatches
• Fitbit Versa and fitness: Everything you need to know
• Best Fitbit fitness tracker

Fitbit Ionic
Fitbit Versa
Fitbit Charge 2 HR

Best apps for Samsung Phonecast right now

The Samsung Gear VR is great for watching video content, but if you want to watch apps that aren’t built for VR you’ll have to use Samsung Phonecast VR to take advantage of that virtual screen real-estate.

One of the drawbacks of the Gear VR is that not all apps are built to be immersive. But that doesn’t mean you can’t watch your favorite videos on a gigantic virtual screen. Samsung Phonecast VR places you in a picnic with a view of a 200 inch screen that can play videos from popular services such as YouTube, Sling TV, and more.

The viewing experience is very similar to using the Netflix app on the Gear VR and is a great way to feel like you’re in a cinema while you’re in a much smaller space. Here are some of the best apps to use with Samsung Phonecast right now.

See in Oculus Store

Officially supported video apps

YouTube has a large collection of 360 videos but the vast majority of content that creators share is in 2-D. You can make your favorite creators larger than life and browse through all of the latest videos on a massive screen using Samsung Phonecast VR.

VLC is a media player that supports a wide variety of formats. If you want to watch content that you’ve saved on a massive screen, the VLC app is officially supported by Samsung Phonecast VR.

Plex is a solid addition to any home that purchases a large amount of media content. It organizes your media and lets you view it on a variety of devices including PCs, phones, consoles, and tablets. With support for Samsung Phonecast VR you can add another device to your list.

TV apps are aplenty in the Google Play Store. And you can watch Direct TV LLC, Xfinity, Sling TV, and Hulu through Samsung Phonecast VR. It’s a great setup for if you want to watch your favorite shows when other people are using the TV, though you may want to use headphones.

Just about any app you want

Samsung’s support website says that “Apps that are not listed in PhoneCast VR are not supported” but you can actually open a plethora of apps with it. Just select “Go to Labs” and scroll through your installed apps. You can use this to watch a video service like Crunchyroll or use it to message people on Slack or WhatsApp using a 200 inch screen.

Some of these are more feasible that others, scrolling through Twitter on a 200 inch screen is a bit odd, but it’s great that you can watch videos from apps that aren’t listed as officially supported.

Summing things up

Samsung Phonecast VR adds a much needed feature to the Gear VR headset by letting you watch video content from apps that aren’t meant for VR. As a result, you get to watch videos on virtual screen larger than anything you could reasonably fit into your home.

At the moment Samsung Phonecast VR is only available for select devices. It doesn’t support a number of older Galaxy phones and also doesn’t support the new Oculus Go. Also, it’s worth pointing out that like using Netflix on a Gear VR, battery limitations make binge watching content through Samsung Phonecast VR difficult.

Samsung Phonecast VR supports quite a few apps already and the ability to watch other apps through it makes it a strong contributor to your VR library.

See in Oculus Store

CRISPR pioneer wants to make an at-home test that detects disease

Biotech company Mammoth Biosciences is working on a simple, portable test that would give everyone, from healthcare professionals to just people at home, the ability to detect various diseases, infections and cancers quickly and easily. The test would use CRISPR to determine which bacteria, viruses or genetic mutations were present in a person’s blood, saliva or urine and a companion app would inform users about what was detected. “Imagine a world where you could test for the flu right from your living room and determine the exact strain you’ve been infected with, or rapidly screen for the early warning signs of cancer,” Mammoth CEO Trevor Martin said in a statement. “That’s what we’re aiming to do at Mammoth — bring affordable testing to everyone.”

Mammoth was co-founded by CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna and her lab demonstrated CRISPR’s ability to detect types of HPV in a Science paper published earlier this year. CRISPR is a defense mechanism used by bacteria to hone in on and cut strands of DNA at a specific location. Researchers are exploring how to use CRISPR to treat ALS, Huntington’s disease, HIV and sickle cell disease. And it has also demonstrated promise in making pig organs more viable for transplant as well as illuminating the genetic components of human embryo development.

Though the test is still in development and will likely take a few years to hit the market, Mammoth scientists envision a credit-card sized disposable paper strip that anyone could use. CRISPR proteins would hunt for various diseases and infections and would trigger the release of a reporter protein that would light up once particular ones were found. Users would then upload a photo of the test to an app and Mammoth would provide the results as well as professional advice within an hour. The company also sees similar tests being useful in other industries such as agriculture, forensics and petroleum.

An MIT lab also credited with pioneering CRISPR technology is working on a similar test. Recent research from the scientists showed how a simple paper strip loaded with CRISPR enzymes can detect viruses like Zika and dengue in human samples.

“Mammoth’s technology exemplifies some of the most urgent, impactful and untapped potential in the CRISPR space,” said Doudna. “With use cases ranging from individuals to larger healthcare systems, agriculture, mining and beyond, Mammoth is taking CRISPR out of the lab to create something that is transformative for the general public.”

Source: Mammoth Biosciences

Arcade classic ’10-Yard Fight’ is the Switch’s first football game

Nintendo has been keen to capitalize on nostalgia, however, its latest attempt has us scratching our heads. Next week the Switch will have a football game to call its own, but rather than, say, a classic Madden, Mutant League Football from EA or Tecmo Bowl, we’re getting 10-Yard Fight for $7.99. The game originally appeared on the NES back in 1985, a two-year delay after its arcade debut.

It’s more of a racing game than it is a replication of the gridiron, with players pushing forward for a first down to extend the time clock. As Polygon notes, there are nine players on each side of the line rather than 11, and your choices are either running as the quarterback, passing or handing the ball off to a running back. There’s no “HB Off Tackle” or other plays to choose from here.

The Switch port is the original arcade version, and there will be a two-player mode as well. For an idea of how the NES version played, take a gander at the video embedded below.

Source: Polygon