Premiere Pro can now automatically match color using artificial intelligence

Adobe is mixing the robust tools of its professional video applications with the automation of artificial intelligence. Ahead of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show next week, the company announced several new features for both video and audio software, including Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, and Character Animator. Creative Cloud members have access to the updates today.

A major goal across the board was to speed up workflows, as video creatives are continually asked to deliver content in more formats across more devices, and further improve how all the Creative Cloud programs talk to each other.

Auto color matching comes to Premiere Pro

Adobe Sensei, the software company’s AI platform, powers two new Premiere Pro tools designed to speed up the editing process by automatically matching colors between separate clips and optimizing the blend of dialog with other audio tracks.

Checking the Color Match option will automatically adjust a clip to match a reference clip, which can be used to match footage from different cameras or shot at different times of day. An optional face detection feature will help achieve better skin tones when color matching.

Experienced editors need not worry: Premiere still allows users to fine-tune color by hand after the AI has done its thing. Adobe’s Patrick Palmer, senior project manager for editing, says the tool is designed to empower creators by offering a color matching shortcut while ultimately leaving the final results up to the video editor. A new side-by-side comparison view helps to quickly compare how Color Match is working.

The second Sensei-powered shortcut is called Auto Ducking. While working with audio inside Premiere Pro, checking the auto ducking option will automatically adjust the audio to prioritize one source, typically dialog. For example, the auto ducking can lower the volume of the background music when there’s dialog, then turn the volume back up after the dialog ends.

Like Color Match, Adobe is working to give video editors control over just how Auto Ducking plays out, including adjustments for sensitivity and fades. Adobe says video editors maintain the final control over the effect down to the keyframe level.

The update also includes enhancements when working with motion graphics templates, including new controls for rotation, scale, and position. Motion graphics are also now available inside the integrated Adobe Stock option, allowing editors to browse by type or search for a specific effect.

Adobe also rolled out new transitions and effects for 360-degree video. Moreover, additional headsets are now compatible with Premiere Pro thanks to integration with Windows Mixed Reality.

Faster motion graphics in After Effects

After Effects gains a similarly inspired update designed to streamline workflows. A new Master Properties option will allow graphics editors to adjust a single element that occurs in multiple locations all at once. For example, the tool allows an editor creating a credits intro to change the font in one step, rather than adjusting every credit individually.

The puppet tool also sees enhancements. The Advanced Puppet Engine gives users more control over the smaller details of the animations, particularly organic movements like the wind in a flag. The option to add animation pinpoints creates more precise animations, Adobe says.

Working with charts and graphs is also faster thanks to reusable graphics that automatically adjust when new data from a CSV or JSON file is imported.

VR and 360 content gets a boost, as well, with Adobe Immersive Environment allowing creatives to preview projects on a headset without exporting out of the program, and an option to adjust flat graphics to fit the spherical format.

Additional updates released today include a new ability in Adobe’s audio mixing and recording application, Audition CC, to directly import Premiere Pro projects while keeping sequences and tracks intact. Character Animator, a relative newcomer to Adobe’s portfolio, has also been updated with new animation triggers and particle effects for animating full-scene effects like snowfall.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Adobe enables faster workflow with updates to XD, InDesign, and Illustrator
• Bid farewell to lengthy Photoshop cutouts with new AI-powered tool
• Corel VideoStudio 2018 aims for simpler, faster video edits
• Lightroom CC adds distortion-fix tools, voice control in latest update
• Adobe is giving away free software for schools to foster creative problem-solving

Google plans to ban cryptocurrency mining extensions from the Chrome Web Store

Extensions platform product manager James Wagner reports that Google is cracking down on all Chrome extensions that include a cryptocurrency mining component. Starting now, Google is rejecting all cryptocurrency mining extensions submitted to the Chrome Web Store. Those that are already listed will be delisted by late June. Meanwhile, extensions with blockchain-related purposes not tied to cryptocurrency mining will remain on the store unscathed. 

So what is Google’s beef with cryptocurrency mining extensions? The company has no problem listing extensions with a single purpose of openly mining digital coins in the background. Instead, Google has an issue with developers uploading and listing Chrome extensions advertising one specific functionality, but secretly mine digital coins in the background without the user’s consent.  

“Over the past few months, there has been a rise in malicious extensions that appear to provide useful functionality on the surface, while embedding hidden cryptocurrency mining scripts that run in the background without the user’s consent,” Wagner said. “These mining scripts often consume significant CPU resources and can severely impact system performance and power consumption.” 

Google says that 90 percent of all Chrome extensions with an embedded mining script fail to comply with the company’s policy of adequately informing users about the full behavior of a listed extension. To solve the problem, Google is banning all extensions with a cryptocurrency mining component rather than investigating each one individually to see if they meet the company’s disclosure policies. 

But Google has a far bigger task than banning cryptocurrency mining extensions in Chrome. Malicious Chrome extensions are still a problem on the Chrome Web Store even though their presence decreased around 70 percent over the last several years. Just as hackers target Windows because it’s the most-used operating system on the planet, they are targeting the Chrome browser too because it commands nearly 70 percent of the global browser market. 

“What we’re seeing is an increase in criminal use of extensions,” says William Peteroy, CEO of the security firm Icebrg. “And when we start to see criminal pickup on things it absolutely meets our bar that this is something we need to pay attention to.” 

For example, in August, a financial Chrome extension called Interface Online hid banking malware and avoided detection by 58 anti-virus applications. When Google finally figured out what was going on, it removed the extension from the Chrome Web Store. But due to the malware’s elusive nature, hackers created another extension and uploaded the malware again undetected. Google removed it a second time after receiving complaints from infected users. 

Google’s latest Chrome extension crackdown follows its move to ban cryptocurrency advertisements from its AdWords network starting June. The ban has nothing to do with advertisements running mining scripts in the background, but rather the schemes associated with “unregulated or speculative financial products.” One such scheme is an initial coin offering where investors purchase tokens to get a new cryptocurrency off the ground, but the digital coin developers disappear with the money. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• A sneaky extension for Chrome, Firefox prevents its removal, hijacks browser
• Google will ban cryptocurrency ads from its AdWords network in June
• DuckDuckGo’s new app, browser extension grade websites on their privacy
• The 2019 Acura RDX Prototype shows off style, performance, and technology
• Google Images altered to calm legal grumblings made by Getty Images

Acer’s faster Nitro 5 gaming notebook offers GTX 1050 Ti, Intel Optane

Acer offers a wide range of gaming notebooks, from the Nitro 5 on the low end to the Predator line on the high end, with the Aspire VX and V Nitro slotted in between. The Nitro 5 has been primarily known for its entry-level take on dedicated gaming notebooks, and Acer apparently wants to beef up its reputation for high performance as well in the latest 2018 update.

To begin with, Acer will now offer Intel’s latest and greatest high-power “H” line of CPUs in the lineup, including the six-core Core i7-8750H that should dramatically improve the machine’s processing power. The option of Intel’s new Core i7+ version is also quite meaningful. That means that the new Nitro 5 will make sure those significantly faster CPUs have the fastest access to gaming data thanks to Acer also incorporating Intel Optane memory to reduce load times and speed up responsiveness.

“These latest eighth-gen Intel Core mobile products are our highest performing, designed to push the limits of gameplay and content creation. In these new Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i7+ products, we’re bringing together high-end CPU performance capabilities, increased system responsiveness and fast load times with Intel Optane memory, and built-in blazing fast Gigabit WiFi – all in a laptop design,” Intel’s Vice President of Client Computing Group Chris Walker said in a statement.

And it’s not just the CPU that’s receiving an update. Now, the Nitro 5 can be configured with up to an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 TI GPU, which in our testing is significantly faster than the GTX 1050 that maxed out the previous version. That should make the notebook significantly faster in running today’s titles at 1080p with higher graphics settings.

In terms of memory and storage, the new Nitro 5 offers some serious power for many gamers. Buyers can now install up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM (doubling the previous 16GB maximum), and configure up to a 512GB PCIe solid-state drive (SSD). Paired with the aforementioned Intel Optane memory, loading copious amounts of data into the system should be fast and efficient.

Online gaming will also be enhanced in the Nitro 5. Acer is equipping the Intel Wireless-AC 9560 2×2 MU-MIMO 802.11ac wireless adapter that promises gigabit performance. USB-C, HDMI 2.0, and gigabit Ethernet ports will be on hand for wired connectivity.

All of this will feed imagery to a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display, and audio duties will be handled by Acer’s TrueHarmony technology with Dolby Audio Premium support. The notebooks aesthetic remains similar to the previous version, with the same hairline finish on the black chassis and red accents that firmly identify the Nitro 5 as a gaming notebook.

Acer is planning to release the new Nitro 5 in May. Pricing will start out at $749, which is roughly in line with pricing on the current models. If Acer maintains the same basic pricing scheme, then high-end systems should come in somewhere north of $1,100 given the addition of more RAM, Intel Optane memory, and a faster GPU.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK
• Dell calls revamped XPS 15 the ‘smallest performance 15.6-inch laptop’
• Intel shows off world’s first six-core mobile CPUs, adds Optane to everything
• Intel promises its new CPUs will match Nvidia’s potent GTX 1060, thanks to AMD
• HP Spectre x360 13 (Late 2017) Review

This 10-course bundle may be your ticket to a six-figure career in Project Management

You’ve been thinking about getting a new certification to move you ahead at work; in fact, it’s been on your to-do list for a long time. Being a Project Manager is the ultimate goal, and you know you’d be perfect for the job with the right certification. With tuition costs that seem to climb with every passing year and limited free time on your hands, how are you supposed to attend classes and afford any kind of certification? Project Management Professionals are sought after in nearly every field, and even if you’re convinced that you can’t afford the time or money to get your certificate, can you afford not to? Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Becoming a certified Project Management Professional, or PMP, is absolutely within your reach. Online certification is just as recognized as classroom learning today, and it’s far more convenient, too. The professionals at iCollege want you to start your journey to becoming a PMP as soon as possible!

Take this 10-course bundle which features over 100 hours of content. If you’ve seen other Project Management courses advertised before but couldn’t decide which one to get, this is the one because it includes courses on:

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Certified Associate In Project Management (PMI-CAPM)
• Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP)
• CompTIA Project+ PK0-003
• Six Sigma Green Belt
• Sig Sigma Black Belt
• PRINCE2 Foundation
• PRINCE2 Practitioner
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Service Operation

If you were to buy these courses individually it would cost you close to $3000, but for a limited time you can get this entire bundle for just $49. Yep, you read that right. You’ll save 98% off the regular price on these courses that may help you jumpstart a new career!

See at Android Central Digital Offers

OnePlus 6: News, Rumors, Release Date, Specs, and more!

This is everything you need to know about the OnePlus 6!

OnePlus has been on a cycle of releasing two smartphones per year: a major release in the spring, and a minor tweak of that previous phone in the fall. It’s nearly spring 2018, which means it’s nearly time for another OnePlus phone. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming OnePlus 6!

April 3, 2018 – OnePlus confirms Snapdragon 845, 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage for OP6.

OnePlus phones typically come with the latest and greatest processing internals around, and although we weren’t expecting the OnePlus 6 to be any different, OnePlus has confirmed a few of the specs we’ve been anticipating for some time.

On its forums, CEO Pete Lau made it official that the OnePlus 6 will have the Snapdragon 845 processor, 8GB RAM, and 256GB of storage. It’s unclear if OnePlus will also offer a 6GB RAM option with less storage like it did with the 5T, but we should know more about that very soon.

The design

The OnePlus 5T was the first time the company increased the size of its displays, and it looks like there will be more refinements coming with the OnePlus 6. The 6 will keep the stretched out design, but will add a notch up top, similar to… some other phones you may have seen. In addition to a high-quality display, OnePlus is also expected to move to a glass back, hopefully including Qi wireless charging in the process.

According to the image, the fingerprint reader will still be mounted on the rear of the phone, though earlier rumors suggested there would be an in-display fingerprint sensor. The dual cameras are still present, though this time in the center instead of the upper left. Of course, this is a leaked image and should be taken with a grain of salt until the official announcement is made.

Not too long after that first photo was shared, Evan Blass shared the above one on Twitter – further confirming much of what we were already expecting. The dual cameras are positioned in a vertical fashion, the fingerprint sensor lies below them, and there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack (yay!).

However, unlike the previous photo, Blass’s shows the back of the OnePlus 6 to have a textured, wood-like finish. OnePlus experimented with a lot of different back materials with the OnePlus One in 2014, and finishes like Sandstone White and Lava Red for the 5T show that the company is trying to stand out with its design. I’m guessing this isn’t the only special back material we’ll see for the 6, and it’ll be exciting to see what else OnePlus has up its sleeve.

Official picture of the OnePlus 6’s notch.

And, of course, the OnePlus 6 will have the infamous notch. This is something we were already anticipating, but OnePlus confirmed our suspicions while speaking to The Verge on March 28.

OnePlus’s reasoning for the notch is that it gives users more screen real-estate as opposed to using a more traditional design, and co-founder Carl Pei argues that it’s more thought-out than a lot of the notches we saw during MWC 2018.

The notch will be hidden whenever you’re watching a video, the clock has been moved to the left of the status bar, and we’ll also see the same gesture system that OnePlus added to the 5T with its OxygenOS Open Beta in late January.

More: OnePlus 6 supposedly leaks with iPhone X notch and glass back

Specifications

Of course, a phone isn’t just a pretty external design. The internal hardware needs to be up to snuff to push pixels and take all of our lovely Instagram photos. Fortunately, it seems the OnePlus 6 will be up to the task. Early benchmarks suggest the phone will ship with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845, the same chip that will likely be found in every other flagship device this year. Benchmarks have been gamed in the past — so take this all with the same grain of salt as before — but it’s a safe bet for OnePlus to include all the latest internal hardware with the OnePlus 6, just like they’ve done in previous generations.

A new image recently popped up revealing numerous specs for the OnePlus 6, and while we can’t confirm any of the information presented, it does allow us to build the following spec sheet:

More: Exclusive: OnePlus 6 has 19:9 notched display, Snapdragon 845, top benchmarks

The software

We haven’t seen any leaks for specific software features coming with the OnePlus 6, but it’s safe to expect the same vanilla Android style that OnePlus has used since 2014. OxygenOS is a known quantity at this point, featuring a few key improvements over what ships in Google’s Pixel line. There will surely be an Open Beta for users who like to live on the bleeding edge and try new features at the cost of stability. Expect a true dark theme, expect gesture controls and a few other little niceties that add up to a great software experience.

Price and availability

This is still up in the air at this point, but we can make an educated guess based on OnePlus’ previous devices. The OnePlus 5 retailed for $479, while the OnePlus 5T goes for a cool $499. It’d be nice if the OnePlus 6 kept that same price, but another small price increase isn’t out of the question.

That same leaked image mentioned above suggests that the OnePlus 6 will cost as much as $749, but it’s unclear what currency this is representing. The same post compares the OnePlus 6 against the iPhone X and Galaxy S9+ with $1517 and $1200 price tags, respectively, so either way, we can probably expect OnePlus’s next flagship to cost a good deal less compared to most other OEMs.

As for availability, the OnePlus 3 was released in June of 2016, and the OnePlus 5 in June of 2017. Some early reports suggest we may see an earlier release this year, but June is a safe bet.

Stay tuned for more!

This is what we know — and a bit of what we’re guessing — about the OnePlus 6 for now. We’re expecting an earlier than normal release this year, so stay tuned for more coverage!

OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 5

• OnePlus 5T review: Come for the value, not the excitement
• OnePlus 5T specs
• Should you upgrade from the OnePlus 3T?
• OnePlus 5T vs. Galaxy S8: Beast mode
• All of the latest OnePlus 5T news
• Join the discussion in the forums

OnePlus
Amazon

Updated 4/03/18 – Added specs confirmation from CEO Pete Lau.

Apple Music vs. Spotify vs. Google Play Music: A music subscription showdown

Our lives are filled with subscriptions, but none can impact our lives quite like a music subscription.

We wake up to music. We go about our days to music. If we’re happy, we’re singing along. If we’re sad, we’re crooning. If we’re mad, we will scream out every last note. Music makes us better, brings us together, and I owe my life to rock and roll! Music subscriptions have the power to make our lives brighter, louder, and happier. There are plenty of music subscriptions worthy of their price tags, but in the battle for your monthly stipend, there can only be one winner.

So, how do three of the biggest names in music — Spotify, Google Play Music, and Apple Music — stack up in our comprehensive comparison?

• Pricing
• Platform Availability
• Sign-Up and Set Up
• Music Selection
• Music Quality
• App Layout and Performance
• Verdict

Pricing

Things are relatively even here. For a single, non-student subscriber, Play Music, Apple Music, and Spotify each cost $9.99/month in the United States. For a family of up to six users, Google Play Music, Apple Music and Spotify each cost $14.99/month, though Spotify’s family plan requires you all to live at the same address — and Spotify turns off your family plan if its location tracking determines you don’t.

For college students who can prove their educational status, you can find discounts on Apple Music and Spotify, letting you pay $4.99/month instead of $9.99/month. Google Play Music does not have a student discount at this time.

Google Play Music and Spotify both offer free, ad-supported tiers in addition to their paid services, but Apple Music does not. Apple Music offers 3 month trials while Google Play Music and Spotify only offer 30 day trials.

Winner: Apple Music

Apple Music offers a student discount and a family plan that is blissfully free of hoops to jump through. Apple Music also offers the longest trial period in order to let users thoroughly evaluate the service before handing over their money.

Platform availability

Apple Music is only available on computers via iTunes, while Google Play Music and Spotify have web clients usable on just about any computer with a browser and internet access. Spotify Connect allows Spotify to be compatible with a wide, wide array of smart devices with a stable, consistent UI, as it can tie in to Apple AirPlay, Google Cast, Sonos, and much more.

Google Play Music has a 10-device limit (and 5 phone limit), and you can only deauthorize 4 devices a year. Computer browsers do not count towards the Play Music device limit unless you use them to upload or download songs.

Winner: Spotify

While Google and Apple are fight over hardware, Spotify is skipping right past them, delivering the most accessible music service with the most accessible UI for managing that playback on any device with Spotify Connect.

Sign-up and Set-up

Signing up for any of these services is fairly standard. Google Play Music is connected to your Google account, Apple Music is connected to your Apple ID, and Spotify can be connected to a Facebook account or a traditional email. All three services require your credit card information before beginning your trial of their paid services, and you can set up a subscription for each of these services in less than five minutes.

Apple Music and Google Play Music ask you about your music preferences before setting you free to build your streaming library, but Spotify doesn’t bother, instead building its recommendations and famed algorithms based on what you actually start listening to, searching for, and saving to your library.

Winner: Spotify

Spotify allows you to sign in with Facebook, connect your PayPal account for quick and easy payments, and then get your groove on. No picking five bands you like or tapping and untapping genres in some bizarre bubble-popping game. Get in, get out, and get on with your bad self!

Music selection

Apple Music claims it offers over 45 million songs in its streaming library. Thanks to iTunes Match, if you bought music in iTunes that’s in the Apple Music library, it’ll be added to your library and a ‘Purchased Music’ playlist for your easy browsing. However, iTunes music is not available in Apple Music, as they are two separate Apple services.

Spotify claims it offers over 35 million songs in its streaming library. While you can mix personal music into Spotify on the desktop client, you cannot upload them to your cloud-based Spotify library and cannot sync them across devices. Spotify also has a 10,000 song limit to the songs you add to your library.

Google Play Music offers over 30 million songs in its streaming library — but that’s only half the story. Google Play Music allows you to supplement the streaming library with your own uploaded and purchased music. If there’s a song that’s not available, you can purchase it on Google Play, or any other music store and upload it to your library. You can upload 50,000 songs to Google Play Music and listen to them on all of your devices. You can also listen to music on YouTube Music and ad-free on YouTube Red — which are bundled with Google Play Music’s subscription.

Winner: Google Play Music

Google Play Music might have the smaller of the three streaming libraries, but the ability to blend it with your personal library means that you can have all your streaming and purchased music in one place and mix it to your heart’s content.

Music quality

Apple Music streams at 256 kbps, slightly lower than the 320 kbps that Spotify streams at when users have set their settings to Extreme. Google Play Music’s music quality is capped and coverted into 320 kbps MP3s when uploading music of various file types, and that is the quality attributed to much of its streaming library.

Apple Music allows you to disable streaming on cellular data and to limit the music quality while on data to avoid lagging on slow data and cut back on data used, but Apple Music doesn’t allow you to set your audio quality levels for Wi-Fi streaming or downloaded content. Apple Music is also the only service here that allows you to download individual songs rather than full albums or full playlists.

Spotify allows you to set different audio qualities for streaming and downloaded music, but Spotify doesn’t distinguish between Wi-Fi and cellular data, so if you set your streaming to Extreme, you better be careful about what you stream on the road. Spotify also only allows users to download up to 3,333 songs for offline streaming, and only on 3 devices.

Google Play Music allows you to set different music qualities for streaming via Wi-Fi versus mobile data, as well as disable streaming over mobile data, but you cannot set the quality for downloaded music. It’s also worth noting that Google Play Music has a ‘cache while streaming’ option that will automatically download music as you stream it so that you have something to listen to offline even if you forgot to deliberately download anything.

Winner: Google Play Music

With separate controls for Wi-Fi and mobile streaming and automatic caching, Google Play Music offers quality control and streaming control that help the app sip data outside the comfort of home Wi-Fi, and it streams at the same 320 kbps Spotify does.

App layout and performance

Spotify features a luscious dark theme and an easy-to-navigate app with five bottom-situated tabs. Settings are only accessible from the Your Library tab, but the app is responsive and smooth. There are some misleading and at times downright annoying aspects of Spotify’s queue management and Add to Queue, and you cannot reorder a playlist on Android or the web, only from iOS devices and the desktop client. Spotify steers users towards new music and Made For You’s Daily Mixes over new music, but it’s never hard to find that last station you were jamming out to.

Apple Music’s app is eye-searingly white, hiding its four sections under a slide-out hamburger menu. The default section is Library, with Apple Music steering you back towards the music you’ve recently added and playlist rather than towards discovery. Apple Music’s Android app is not Apple’s priority, and it shows, as the app is riddled with bugs, especially while downloading and playing music, two of the most fundamental actions of a music app. The gestures around the Now Playing window are also odd, with Apple Music eschewing the standard swipe left/right to switch tracks to instead minimize or maximize the Now Playing window.

Google Play Music has had just about every feature shoved into it but the kitchen sink over the last 5 years, and it is sorely in need of an overhaul. That doesn’t mean Google Play is unusable at the moment — far from it, in fact. Google Play Music organizes its app through a hamburger menu, just like Apple Music, but there are far more tabs here for far more functions, from Podcasts to Recents to Charts. There is also an easy toggle for Downloaded only mode in this hamburger menu, which makes the Home tab an easy-to-use list of Recent Activity and a shortcut to Shuffle all downloaded music.

Managing playlists and now playing queues is still a breeze in Play Music compared to Spotify and Apple Music, and you can save your currently-playing queue into a new playlist for easy listening at a later date. The playback window in Play Music zooms in on its album art, which is fine for high-quality artwork, but tiny artwork becomes a horrid blur. The shuffle, repeat, and Cast buttons also become lost in busy artwork.

Winner: Tie — Spotify and Google Play Music

It’s hard to declare a winner here when all three apps are in need of some work, but we can declare Apple Music the loser, between the depressingly regular bugs and the space-wasting layout.

Overall winner: Google Play Music

Google Play allows you to combine the best of both worlds: listen to millions of songs in their subscription library ad-free and listen to the music library you’ve curated over your digital lifetime in order to build your ultimate library and your ultimate playlists. Play Music is available on just about every non-Apple platform (sorry, Windows Phone), and while it may need a UI overhaul soon, the service offers the best utility and selection, so long as you don’t burn through your device limit.

Plus it gets rid of YouTube ads for subscribers in the United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and Korea. Sorry, rest of the world.

Subscribe to Google Play Music ($9.99/month single or $14.99/month family)

Winner for social listeners and college kids: Spotify

Spotify is a music streaming service that is social at its very core. You can follow what your friends listen to, and you can share playlists on Spotify easier than any other music service, even if editing them on Android is a complete pain. Spotify Connect also ensures that no matter where you are or what you want to listen on, you can probably use Spotify Connect to listen to your music on it. If Spotify irons out its kinks with the Family plan and lifted some of the arbitrary limits it has put on users, it could be the best.

Subscribe to Spotify Premium ($9.99/month single or $14.99/month family)

If you’re a college student, Spotify actually is the best, because it’s $4.99 a month for Spotify Premium and standard (ad-supported) Hulu! Just make sure you can keep proving your college status, because Spotify can test or take away the Student perks with little warning.

Subscribe to Spotify Student ($4.99/month)

The only scenario where Apple Music wins

If you live in a family that has completely bought into the Apple ecosystem but just happens to have an Android phone or two in the house, then Apple Music makes sense as it will tie in to more of your products.

If you are an Android user, please do not pay for a service that does not see your experience as a priority. Apple Music is also a hard sell without a web client because one of the most popular places to listen to music is at work, and who wants to install iTunes on a work computer?

What’s your favorite? Sound off in the comments below!

Samsung’s newest fast wireless charging stand is already $30 off

Charge without the wires.

Samsung’s fast wireless charging stands are down from $69.99 to just $39.99 in both black and white. This price drop brings the popular wireless charging option down to a new all-time low. You can grab it from Samsung or Best Buy for $10 more.

It is compatible with all Qi devices, including Samsung’s Galaxy S8, S9, Note 8, and other devices like the iPhone 8, iPhone X and more. The multi-colored LED halo shows off the charging status. It comes with a fast charge wall charger as well, which many other options don’t.

This is Samsung’s 2018 version of the charging pad, which only just hit the market back in February.

See at Amazon

Modern Dad drives a Tesla Model 3!

It’s the future, eventually …

Subscribe to Modern Dad on YouTube!

Priorities shift as we get older — and also when price tags shift exponentially. The need-it-right-this-second feeling you get from a smartphone — even one that costs a ridiculous $1,000 or so, as is the case with today’s top-shelf devices — just isn’t quite as pressing when you’re paying mortgages and starting to give serious thought to your kids’ college costs.

Getting old sucks. Don’t do it.

But every now and then you get something that takes a look at that veil of responsibility, takes a peek inside, and then threatens to take both hands and just rip it the hell open. I remember that feeling with the Treo 750 in my late 20s. (Which, long story short, is the reason you’re even reading this in the first place.) And for the past couple years I’ve had that same sort of feeling with a much more expensive toy — the Tesla Model 3.

I’m only on my second car. My first was a 1985 BMW 325e that had more wrong with it than I care to recall. (But you’ve never really lived until you’ve driven a car with a busted odometer and a brake master cylinder that, shall we say, was a bit of a trickster.) My current literal daily driver is a 2005 Honda Civic (stick!) with a mere 84,000 miles. It no longer has the car seats in the back, but it does show the stains of being the first vehicle your kids grew up in.

Eventually, it’s going to be time for something new. And I really want that to be a Tesla Model 3.

The Model S is just too damned expensive. I can’t buy a car that costs nearly as much as my house. But the Model 3? It’s not inexpensive. But it’s also not out of the realm of possibility. That’s workable.

This is the perfect car for me — even if it’s not the perfect car for me right now.

So much has been said about the Model 3 already that I’m not going to rehash it too much here. It’s a fun drive. It’s heavy, but bottom-heavy because of the batteries. So it sticks to the road, even while you feel every last one of those 3,800 pounds — a good 1,300 or so more than what I’m used to driving. You notice.

And that 15-inch touchscreen. I wasn’t sure I’d dig it. But it pretty quickly became second nature, even if there’s still plenty of room for improvement. (To say nothing of my almost never needing the option to heat the seats or the steering wheel in Florida.) It’s half car info, half map, with a fairly intuitive UI. Things pop up over the map, which is always. Underneath as a point of reference.

Obviously there’s no Android Auto on board. While AA isn’t perfect, I’m still convinced it’s the best UI in a car for minimal distractions. But the Model 3 handles multimedia and contacts through Bluetooth just fine, which is to say it’s still better than so many other infotainment systems out there.

That the car is electric is a huge selling point for me. First, just the idea of getting off fossil fuels and all the environmental (and political) headaches that come along with that. But also because sending that much power straight to the wheels is just something you have to experience before you die. No, there’s no Ludicrous Mode, but doing zero to sixty in (more or less) 5 seconds is more than enough acceleration pretty much any everyday circumstance. It’ll get you out of as much trouble as it might get you in.

The rest of the car? Interesting, if not overly exciting. The interior actually is a little ho-hum, even if I think it’s improved on the Model S only by getting rid of those trash cans that they called door handles. (Whoever designed those never had a kid in a car. Ever.) A frunk is fun. The buttons instead of door handles are actually kind of cool, and I got used to them quick enough.

Decided to sacrifice a phone trip to Paris in favor of a Tesla trip to Florida! #Model3 coverage coming soon (and yes, a #P20 review too, eventually)! pic.twitter.com/XlldN5B4x9

— Michael Fisher (@theMrMobile) March 27, 2018

So why did I ultimately cancel my reservation? The math just wasn’t lining up for me right now. I don’t need a new car right this second. And then there’s the thing with the federal tax credit. I still needed to come in on the low end of the options here — the car I drove was $56,500, and not the $41,000-spec’d version I’d actually order — and I just don’t know when I’d be able to order, or if the credit would be available when that time comes. And I’m not going to force myself to buy this car before I can afford it.

Do I still want it? Hell, yes. And I’m still going to try to get one at some point. I think Model 3 — and Tesla — will still be around when that time comes. In the meantime, I’ll be saving. And I’ll be ready.

Be sure to check out MrMobile’s video, too!

I drove the Model 3 in the Tampa Bay Area along with the one and only MrMobile. Be sure to watch his video below for even more hot frunk action!

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This 38-piece ORIA precision screwdriver kit is 50% off for a limited time

At home repairs.

Being able to repair your own gadgets at home can save you a lot of money in the long run, and this 38-piece toolkit can help you do just that. Right now, you can pick one up at Amazon for just $7.50 when you checkout using the coupon code ORTTHA101, saving you 50% on the purchase. The set includes 28 screwdriver bits, handlebar, extension bar, Phillips and flat screwdriver, flexible extension shaft, ESD tweezer, SIM card ejector pin, LCD suction cup and more.

It’s made from a high-quality hardened metal and comes with its own carrying case to keep all the pieces organized. These tools make it easy to replace displays, swap hard drives, fix your glasses and so much more. Be sure to use the coupon code above to save 50% on this purchase for a limited time only.

See at Amazon

Unlocked Galaxy Note 8 in the U.S. is being updated to Android 8.0 Oreo

The update is a little over 1122MB.

Wireless carriers in the U.S. have recently been updating the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 to Android 8.0 Oreo, but those that bought the phone unlocked have been missing out. Thankfully, after months and months of waiting, the update is finally being rolled out.

We just received the 8.0 Oreo update on our U.S. unlocked Galaxy Note 8 today, and it weighs in at a little over 1122MB. This also changes the Samsung Experience to v9.0 and the Android security patch has been changed to the March 2018 one.

Like we’ve come to expect with Oreo, this update includes features like picture-in-picture, smoother performance, adaptive notification dots, Google’s Autofill API, and more.

Samsung also notes that the Note 8 now supports high-quality Bluetooth codecs, such as AAC and Sony LDAC, new settings for the default video player, the ability to use the Clock app in landscape mode, and more.

The update is rolling out to unlocked Note 8 handsets in the U.S. now, so keep an eye out for the new software over the next couple days.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

• Galaxy Note 8 review
• Galaxy Note 8 vs. Galaxy S8+
• Which Note 8 color is best?
• Complete Galaxy Note 8 specs
• Join our Galaxy Note 8 forums

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