The LG G7 launch needs to be perfect, but LG has a dismal track record

LG doesn’t need an absolute hit, but it does need to dramatically limit its mistakes.

2017 was a big year of improvement for LG, even though it didn’t translate into massively improved sales. After the dreadful G5 and extremely niche V20 in 2016, it rebounded to make the very good and severely under-appreciated G6 and V30. They were both good phones that were not only huge improvements over their predecessors but also just solid offerings compared to the rest of the market.

The problem, as ever, was getting absolutely steamrolled by the launch of the Samsung’s latest phones — in this case, the Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note 8. Everything LG did with its G6 launch was utterly flatted by the Galaxy S8, and then the same fate befell the V30 launching just a week after the Galaxy Note 8.

With the upcoming LG G7 ThinQ (henceforth referred to as just “LG G7,” for my sanity), LG has the opportunity to launch its phone comfortably in its own little bubble. The Galaxy S9 hype has slowed; the Huawei P20 is out the door; we don’t have any concrete info on the HTC U12 launch. The OnePlus 6 launch is likely to be the only thing within a couple weeks of LG’s announcement on May 2.

With those structural obstacles out of the way, LG has a good window to launch its latest flagship. Now it just needs to execute on its own launch to keep this from being a repeat of 2017.

If the LG G6 and V30 were any indications, the G7 will be a good phone. LG’s hardware has improved a lot in the last generation. The company has generally stayed away from gimmicks and kept a full feature set. We expect the phone will have top-notch specs, a good display (perhaps using new MLCD+ technology) and a focus on audio quality. LG has always had a good camera story, and I’m not worried about that continuing this year. The software continues to be a weak point, but not a deal breaker, and I can only hope LG manages to improve in that respect.

So yes, the phone should be good. It may even be great. But I’m not worried about the phone itself as a product — I’m worried about how LG can dramatically reduce or eliminate its launch struggles, and give the G7 a chance in the market.

1) Tighten up the launch timeline

First and foremost, LG must get the launch timing right. It was confident enough to announce weeks ahead of time that the G7 will be announced on May 2. Now, how long will we have to wait after that for it to actually be in stores?

The LG G6 was announced on February 26, and didn’t launch in the U.S. until April 7, over five weeks later. The LG V30 launched on August 31, and took a month to hit U.S. stores — September 28. The LG G7 has to do better here. We need to see pre-orders almost immediately after the announcement, and a retail launch within a couple weeks, for LG to reasonably expect people to ride the hype of its launch into early sales.

2) The price has to be right

None of the rest of this matters much if LG doesn’t get the pricing right on the G7 — and that means, unfortunately for LG, undercutting the competition a bit. LG pretty quickly realized after the Galaxy S8 launch that it’d need to drop the price of the G6 to start competing in a lower price bracket. It didn’t take long before the G6 could be had for $499, and that’s where it stayed throughout most of the year. The V30, on the other hand, has kept a high price in the range of $750-850 even as the new Galaxy S9 and S9+ are on the scene and eating its lunch.

When it comes to the G7, it’s going to be imperative for LG to be priced more like the Galaxy S9, about $720, rather than the Galaxy S9+ at $850. I’m sure the G7 will be a fine phone, but people aren’t clamoring for a new LG flagship in the same way they are a Samsung one — and one way to get people in the door is to just be downright cheaper with the same type of experience. $699 is only $20 less than the Galaxy S9, but having that price start with $6__ sure would be great for LG.

3) Stop with the variants

It’s already difficult enough for LG to garner public attention to its phone launches, and then it goes on and makes them even more confusing by releasing different regional variants and special editions in the weeks and months after. Phones with different hardware features and internal specs just confuse people, and it’s not a good look. With the LG G7, I’d love to see LG contain itself solely to the original launch device and perhaps some other color options. No LG G7+ or LG G7S or any of that nonsense — just release the phone, making it the same (within reason) around the world, and don’t let the pressure of carriers around the world dictate exclusive versions.

Part of this frustration with different variants is also rooted in pricing. The G6 and V30 had (and in many cases still have) widely different prices between carriers and regions. Today you can buy a V30 from AT&T for $749 but the same phone is $840 from Verizon — and Sprint has the 128GB LG V30+ for $949. It’s all confusing, and even though customers don’t really cross-shop between carriers much they do know when they feel like they’re getting a bad deal.

We’ll see how LG plans to do this all when it announces the phone on May 2. Centering the launch around an event in New York City gives me hope that LG is taking things seriously — now we just need to see the execution.

The Morning After: NTSB’s tiff with Tesla

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Morning! Fortnite is back, and we’ve spent some time with a very special iPhone 8 Plus. It’s RED. And then there’s Vizio’s 2018 TV lineup.

Guess what color.Taking a deep look at Apple’s Product RED iPhone 8 Plus

Since the special edition iPod Nano in 2006, Apple’s continued to sell Product RED versions of its products to raise funds for the fight against AIDS. And here’s the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in stores today. Chris Velazco ogled, and indeed, it’s red. A really nice, deep red.

Its CEO cut a plea deal with federal and state prosecutors.Backpage.com pleaded guilty to human trafficking

The Justice Department revealed Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer pleaded guilty to federal charges of money laundering before the site was seized on April 6th. The business entered a guilty plea in Texas to a charge of human trafficking. Ferrer is now facing up to five years in prison and is cooperating in the prosecution of site co-founders Michael Lacey and James Larkin.

Good luck telling the difference on that $80 Crosley you bought at Target.Apparently high-definition vinyl is coming next year

Austria-based Rebeat Innovation has begun the work to bring vinyl into the 21st century. Of course, that involves lasers. Specifically, converting analog audio information into a digital 3D topographic map of the music, and then etching that into a platter with light. According to Pitchfork, this process will result in around 40 percent longer playing times per side, 30 percent more amplitude and will offer better sound quality overall.

Twin Galaxies proved his performances weren’t recorded on arcade hardware.Billy ‘King of Kong’ Mitchell’s ‘Donkey Kong’ scores were a lie

It’s over. Billy Mitchell has had his long-contested Donkey Kong high scores stripped from the Twin Galaxies leaderboards and the organization has notified Guinness World Records of its decision. More than that, all of his records have been removed from the forums, and he’s banned from TG’s competitive leaderboards wholesale.

For $5 a month, the service doesn’t get you everything, but it gets you a lot.ESPN+ is the sports-streaming cord-cutters have been waiting for

After months of rumors and speculation about what it would look like or how much it would cost, ESPN’s standalone streaming service finally launched yesterday. It’s called ESPN+ and it’s priced at $5 a month, which will get you both live and on-demand content. The first thing you should know about ESPN+ is that it isn’t meant to replace the traditional ESPN network but is designed to complement it.

There might be too many great TVs to choose from.The real star of Vizio’s 2018 TV lineup is value

If you’re in the market for a 4K TV this year, Vizio’s latest lineup is filled with several compelling options. First, there’s the new P-series Quantum, which is Vizio’s brightest and most feature-packed TV ever. But the rest of the company’s P- and M-series sets are also cheaper and better equipped than before. In short, this could be your 4K TV upgrade.

Light leaking and excessive noise distract a bit from the excellent picture quality.BenQ HT2550 4K projector review: great value, but not perfect

BenQ’s HT2550 is one of the first inexpensive projectors on the market to put a true 4K image on the screen. With a 4K source, the image is noticeably sharper than 1080p source material, though not every viewer might appreciate that. It offers HDR10 with accurate colors, provided you do some minor tweaking first. The biggest downside is light leaking around the edge of the image and, occasionally, excessive noise. Contrast and brightness aren’t as good as some of its rivals, but the HT2550 has sharper 4K than both of those models.

A “critical failure with one of [the] account service databases” took the game offline.‘Fortnite’ is back online after a day-long blackout

Recent gaming hit Fortnite is finally playable again across all platforms after a server outage and emergency update took it offline for almost a day. According to a Reddit post by a company employee, a “critical failure with one of [the] account service databases” made the login and matchmaking systems unstable. To make up for the delay, Epic is giving Battle Royale players a free Back Bling gift this weekend and a pack of Battle Stars next week; those who still load up the game’s original Save The World mode will also get some in-game freebies.

It’ll be months — if not years — before Facebook fixes some core issues.Facebook can’t move fast to fix the things it broke

Facebook’s old motto was “move fast and break things,” a sort of hacker rallying cry that put product evolution over basically everything else. Realizing that the demands placed on a massive, publicly traded company required a new outlook, Facebook officially changed that motto to “move fast with stable infrastructure” in mid-2014. For all the changes, however, the company’s endless drive for growth continued. After watching Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg get grilled by committees from both chambers of Congress over the past two days, it seems that Facebook can’t move fast enough.

But wait, there’s more…

• Can Facebook really apply the EU’s data-privacy rules worldwide?
• Hyperloop TT begins construction of its first test track
• Tesla ends formal agreement to cooperate with NTSB on Model X crash
• Amazon celebrates its Ring acquisition with $100 smart doorbells
• How to actually get work done on an iPad
• White Castle serves up plant-based meat with the Impossible Slider
• GTA IV will lose some of its in-game music over licensing issues

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Police across the US are buying an affordable iPhone cracker

More and more authorities in the US are getting access to an affordable device that can unlock iPhones, according to Motherboard. The publication’s investigation has revealed that a number of local and regional police forces, including Maryland’s and Indiana’s, have either already bought or are thinking of buying a new piece of iPhone-cracking technology called GrayKey. It reportedly works even on phones running iOS 11, Apple’s latest mobile platform, and even if authorities are using it on an iPhone X. Motherboard says the State Department already has one of its own, while the Secret Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration are planning to buy some.

Based on an earlier report by Malwarebytes, GrayKey is a small box that can unlock two iPhones at a time. (See the two connectors in the image of the device below?) It was developed by Atlanta company Grayshift, which is run by long-time US intelligence agency contractors and a former Apple security engineer, according to Forbes. To use GrayKey, all cops need to do is connect a phone to it for two minutes. They simply have to wait a bit after it’s unplugged to see a black screen pop up with the passcode — how long they’d have to wait depends on how complex the passcode/passphrase is.

[Image credit: Malwarebytes]

But more than being easy to use, it’s incredibly affordable for what it can do. If you’ll recall, the feds paid Israeli company Cellebrite $900,000 to crack open the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone after Apple repeatedly refused to do it for them. Currently, Cellebrite unlocks phones for at least $5,000 each, but even that amount is comparably enormous to how much cops have to spend for every GrayKey unlock.

There are two GrayKey variants available: one will set government agencies back $15,000, while the other will cost them $30,000. They can use the more expensive of the two to unlock as many iPhones as they want. The cheaper version has a limit of 300 devices, but even that isn’t so bad when you do the math — that’s only $50 per device.

FBI chief Christopher Wray called encryption a “major public safety issue” when he revealed that the bureau couldn’t get to the evidence stored in 7,775 devices it failed to access the previous year. It’s unclear whether they already ran the iPhones in that pile through a GrayKey, but (short of telling tech giants to add a backdoor to their devices) he urged companies to work with the government in creating a way to access phones owned by suspects.

So, why are authorities still calling for a backdoor when devices like GrayKey already exist? As Motherboard points out, phone-cracking devices exploit security holes, which Apple, Google and other phonemakers can patch up anytime. A backdoor would ensure they can access data whatever the device is and even if it’s running the latest mobile OS.

Source: Motherboard

Firefox for iOS Updated With Automatic Tracking Protection and New iPad Features

Mozilla has updated Firefox for iOS with some notable changes, including new iPad features and default tracking protection in both regular and private browsing sessions.

The additional privacy measure means users get automatic ad and content blocking when browsing unless they opt out, while those who want to selectively deploy Tracking Protection need only tap the menu button and slide the feature’s toggle.

On the iPad front, Mozilla has added the ability to re-order multiple open tabs to prioritize them. To do so, long-press a specific tab and drag it into the desired position. Meanwhile, in Split View, it’s now possible to share and open links by dragging and dropping them to and from Firefox to any application, whether they’re in an email or a tweet.

Firefox has also implemented new keyboard shortcuts for standard navigation, as well as several improvements for easier tab tray navigation, like Command-Option-Tab to get to and from the all tabs view. Users seeking more details on the full range of keyboard shortcuts available in Firefox can check Mozilla’s online guide.

Firefox for iOS is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tags: Firefox for iOS, Mozilla
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Russia Bans Access to Telegram Encrypted Messenger Service

A Russian law court has ordered that access to the Telegram encrypted messaging service should be blocked, according to Russian news agencies on Friday (via Reuters).

The development follows last week’s news that Russia’s media regulator had filed legal proceedings to block the app in the country because the company refused to enable state security services to access users’ messages.

The Telegram platform allows people to communicate with each other using end-to-end encryption, meaning no-one – not even Telegram – has access to messages sent between users.

The app has over 200 million users globally. They include Kremlin staff, who use Telegram to coordinate conference calls with Vladimir Putin’s spokesman. Many government officials also use the messenger app to communicate with media, according to Reuters.

When Reuters asked a person in the Russian government on how they would operate without access to Telegram, the person, who asked not be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, replied by sending a screenshot of his mobile phone with an open VPN app.

Telegram becomes the second global network after LinkedIn to be blocked in Russia. In 2016, a court found LinkedIn guilty of violating a law that requires companies holding Russian citizens’ data to store it on servers within Russia.

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.

Tags: security, Russia, privacy, Encryption, Telegram
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GTA IV will lose some of its in-game music over licensing issues

Grand Theft Auto IV, the game that keeps on giving for Rockstar Games, hits its tenth anniversary this month. That’s quite a feat, but as Kotaku UK reported, it also means that it’s losing the rights for a bunch of in-game songs. The developer told the site that “due to music licensing restrictions, we are required to remove certain songs from the in-game soundtrack … in particular, a large portion of the Russian pop station, Vladivostok FM.”

The last time this happened, Rockstar didn’t tell players, who unknowingly downloaded a patch that deleted a Michael Jackson song. This time, at least, players will be in the know. There are currently nearly 30 songs, mostly Russian pop, on Vladivostok FM. They add some flavor to sections of the game when you’re driving or at the Bahama Mamas Club in Episodes From Liberty City.

Rockstar didn’t say whether it would delete all the songs or just some of them. The music is supposed to be cut on April 26th, according to Kotaku’s sources, but there is a silver lining. “We are replacing some of those songs with a new set of songs on that station,” said Rockstar. “We will update our customer support website with new information as soon as it is available.”

iMovie gets some attention with an iPhone X-ready update

After a few months without updates, Apple has shown some attention to the mobile version of its free iMovie video editor with a new update. It’s now fully compatible with the iPhone X’s Super Retina Display (and that notch), and according to the notes, finally takes advantage of the Metal API for direct access to your iPhone GPU. Unfortunately, judging by a few early reports, that doesn’t seem to do much for video rendering time, but maybe there are benefits that just haven’t been uncovered yet.

Source: iTunes

How to Specify Your Activity Type in the Apple Watch Workout App

When you open the Apple Watch Workout app, the main screen by default offers you 10 quick-start workout types that you can use to track your exercise. These include Walking, Running, Cycling, Elliptical, Rower, Stair stepper, HIIT, Swimming, and Wheelchair.

If you want to track a more specialized activity that isn’t covered by these types, then you’ll want to note the tenth option on the main screen, called Other. Selecting Other allows you to label your activity more accurately by choosing from over 60 pre-defined workout categories – you can find Apple’s full list at the end of this article.

The neat thing about using the Other option is that once you’ve recorded a workout and given it a custom label, that workout type will subsequently appear in the main Workout screen as a quick-start option for the next time you need it.

How to Categorize an Activity in the Workout App

Launch the stock Workout app on your Apple Watch.
Using your watch’s Crown, scroll down the list of activity types and tap the Other option to begin your workout, or tap the three circled dots at the upper right of the option’s icon if you want to define a specific time or calorie goal before the workout starts.
When you’ve completed the activity you want to track, swipe right on the metrics readout and tap End.

Tap the grey Name Workout button near the top of the workout summary.
Scroll through the alphabetical list and tap the category that best describes your workout. (Apple includes a convenient list of popular categories at the top.)
With your activity now labeled, scroll down to the bottom of the workout summary screen and tap Done.It’s unclear whether using these additional categories affects the way Apple Watch’s biometric sensors work (although we do know that using Other earns you the calorie or kilojoule equivalent of a brisk walk whenever sensor readings are unavailable). Either way, using specific labels ensures the Activity iOS app offers you a more informative exercise log, which makes it easier to filter to display specific workouts.

To learn how you can customize the Workout metrics for your chosen activity on Apple Watch, check out our how-to guide.

Full List of Apple Watch Workout Categories

• American Football
• Archery
• Athletics
• Australian Football
• Badminton
• Barre
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Bowling
• Boxing
• Climbing
• Core Training
• Cricket
• Cross-Country Skiing
• Cross Training
• Curling
• Dance
• Downhill Skiing
• Equestrian Sports
• Fencing
• Fishing
• Flexibility
• Functional Training
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Hand Cycling
• Handball
• HIIT (stands for High Intensity Interval Training)
• Hiking
• Hockey
• Hunting
• Jump Rope
• Kickboxing
• Lacrosse
• Martial Arts
• Mind & Body
• Mixed Cardio
• Paddling
• Pilates
• Play
• Racquetball
• Rolling
• Rugby
• Sailing
• Skating
• Snow Sports
• Snowboarding
• Soccer
• Softball
• Squash
• Stairs
• Step Training
• Strength Training
• Surfing
• Table Tennis
• Tai Chi
• Tennis
• Track & Field
• USA Football
• Volleyball
• Water Fitness
• Water Polo
• Water Sports
• Wrestling
• Yoga

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4Tag: WatchOS 4Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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RAW photo editor Luminar is now up to 12 times faster with Jupiter upgrade

Skylum

Photo editing platform Luminar just got faster. On Thursday, April 12, Skylum launched Luminar 2018 Jupiter, a speed-focused upgrade for the company’s photo editor and RAW processor. The company boasts speed improvements of up to five times on Windows and up to 12 times on Mac and claims improved RAW conversion with the update as well.

Mac users will see the biggest speed improvements when using the Details Enhancer tool on large files, like the 12-times speed improvement on the tool when working with a 72 Mb file from the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Working with a similar file size, RAW develop speed sees a 9.8-times improvement. Filters like the golden hour filter, polarizer, and dehaze see a six- to seven-times boost. RAW imports are about 4.6 times faster. Speed will also vary based on hardware — Skylum used a MacBook with an Intel Core i7 processor, 1536 GB GPU to generate those numbers.

Luminar’s move over into the Windows space is a bit more recent (and with some features missing), but users on a Windows platform will also see a speed boost. Compared to the previous version, Jupiter is up to 2.4 times faster in RAW develop, with filters, details enhancer, LUT mapping and color adjustments in the HSL panel between three to five times faster.

Along with the speed boost, the editing software also sees an improved conversion on those RAW files. Skylum says that the conversion is more accurate at calculating exposure. Gradients are also cleaner, the company says. The update also sees fewer artifacts like halos and chromatic aberration, along with expanding support to new cameras.

Automatic lens corrections, like the enhanced RAW engine, are available on both Mac and PC.

The Windows version, which just launched last year, is also beginning to catch up with the older Mac version with a handful of features, including batch processing and remote sharing. Skylum also enhanced the clone and masking tools and expanded workflow options through plugins.

“Our loyal community of users continues to offer ideas for additional features that would benefit their respective workflows, and we continued to listen, learn, and improve,” Alex Tsepko, CEO of Skylum, said in a press release. “Our goal is to produce a fast, easy, and feature-rich imaging software that can offer both single-click solutions as well as custom functions for those [that] want absolute control.”

The Jupiter update is still part of Luminar 2018 — which means that current users of the 2018 version can upgrade for free. Owners of Luminar 2017 can upgrade for $49 and new users can download the software for $69.

Luminar launched less than two years ago and has since seen several changes. The company rebranded from Macphun when adding Windows compatibility last year. Luminar is also expected to gain file management features during 2018.

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• If you’re a Northeast Xfinity customer, your internet will soon be faster
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Thanks to A.I., there is finally a way to spot ‘deepfake’ face swaps online

The ability to use deep learning artificial intelligence to realistically superimpose one person’s face onto another person’s body sounds like good, wholesome fun. Unfortunately, it’s got a sinister side, too, as evidenced by phenomenon like the popularity of “deepfake” pornography starring assorted celebrities. It’s part of a wider concern about fake news and the ease with which cutting- edge tech can be used to fraudulent effect.

Researchers from Germany’s Technical University of Munich want to help, however — and they are turning to some of the same A.I. tools to help them in their fight. What they have developed is an algorithm called XceptionNet that quickly spots faked videos posted online. It could be used to identify misleading videos on the internet so that they could be removed when necessary. Or, at the very least, reveal to users when they have been manipulated in some way.

“Ideally, the goal would be to integrate our A.I. algorithms into a browser or social media plugin,” Matthias Niessner, a professor in the university’s Visual Computing Group, told Digital Trends. “Essentially, the algorithm [will run] in the background, and if it identifies an image or video as manipulated it would give the user a warning.”

The team started by training a deep-learning neural network with a dataset of more than 1,000 videos and 500,000 images. By showing the computer both the doctored and undoctored images, the machine learning tool was able to figure out the differences between the two — even in cases where this would be difficult to spot for a human.

“For compressed videos, our user study participants could not tell fakes apart from real data,” Niessner continued. On the other hand, the A.I. is able to easily distinguish between the two. Where humans were right 50 percent of the time, making it the equivalent of random guesses, the convolution neural network could get compressed videos right anywhere from 87 percent to 98 percent of the time. This is particularly impressive since compressed images and video are harder to distinguish than uncompressed pictures.

Compared to other fraudulent image-spotting algorithms, XceptionNet is way ahead of the curve. It’s another amazing illustration of the power of artificial intelligence and, in this case, of how it can be used for good.

A paper describing the work titled, “FaceForensics: A Large-scale Video Data Set for Forgery Detection in Human Faces,” is available to read online.

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• A.I. perfectly predicted last year’s Super Bowl score. What happens to betting?
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• Social (Net)Work: What can A.I. catch — and where does it fail miserably?