Popular Date-Based Note Taking App Agenda Expands to iOS

Date-based note taking app Agenda, which we covered in one of our recent lists of top macOS apps, is expanding to iOS devices on May 29 and can be pre-ordered now.

Unlike other note taking apps on the market, Agenda’s date-focused structure makes it ideal for project planning purposes because you can see a total picture of everything you’ve worked on and everything you need to do. There’s a timeline organizational system for keeping track of progress on a project by date, with the option to attach a date to each note, and there’s an option to link notes to your calendar.

Agenda is a date-focused note taking app for both planning and documenting your projects. With its unique timeline, Agenda gives you a complete picture of past, present and future.

Add notes for what is currently on your agenda, while also preparing notes for an upcoming meeting. Use older notes as breadcrumbs to remind yourself why and when you took the actions you did.

An “On the Agenda” feature highlights items that need to be dealt with right away, making them easier to search for and in a special group on the app’s sidebar for higher visibility.

Additional features like saved searches, navigation history, a related notes list, cross linking between notes, and more, also set Agenda apart from traditional note taking apps.

The app includes a full text editor complete with styles, formatting and Markdown support, and notes can be added to categories and tagged for deeper organization. There are also detailed sharing options to make it simple to print and share notes, including a feature for sharing an entire project.

Agenda is a free app, but it offers unique 12-month premium feature packs that include all existing premium features as well as new features added in the 12 months following the purchase. Unlocking premium features for the iOS app alone costs $9.99, while unlocking premium features for both the iOS and Mac apps costs $24.99.

Agenda supports iCloud, so your notes sync across all of your Mac and iOS devices.

Agenda will be available for download on the iPhone and the iPad on May 29, but it can pre-ordered from the iOS App Store immediately. [Direct Link]
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Apple Confirms June 4 WWDC Keynote Will Be Live Streamed

Apple today added a new events page to its main website, confirming that the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on June 4 will be live streamed and available to watch on the Apple website, through the WWDC app, and through the events app on the Apple TV.

Apple previously made it clear that the entire conference would be live streamed through the Developer website and in the WWDC app, but the new event page clarifies that the keynote will be available for all to watch even without a developer account, as it has been in past years.

At the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference, we are expecting to see Apple unveil next-generation versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, with the software made available to developers later in the day for testing purposes ahead of a fall launch.

While we haven’t heard specific details on hardware products coming at WWDC, there are multiple possibilities. Rumors have suggested we could potentially see new iPad Pro models and perhaps a new iPhone SE, and several Macs are due for a refresh, including the MacBook Pro, iMac, and 12-inch MacBook. Last year, these machines were refreshed at WWDC.

We’re also waiting on the AirPower, Apple’s promised charging mat that’s designed to charge the newest iPhones, the AirPods, and the Apple Watch all at once, and alongside the AirPower, we’re expecting a new wireless AirPods charging case. These could see a launch following WWDC.

We’ll have more detail on what we can expect to see unveiled at WWDC next week.

For the June 4 keynote event, MacRumors will provide a live blog both here on MacRumors.com and on our MacRumorsLive Twitter account, along with detailed coverage of everything Apple announces during the week.

Related Roundup: WWDC 2018
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Tips and Tricks for the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar

With the 2016 MacBook Pro, Apple introduced an all-new design that incorporates a Touch Bar, a small touch-sensitive OLED display that offers up contextual controls depending on what you’re doing on your Mac.

Though the Touch Bar has been available, in our experience, many Mac owners don’t take advantage of it, so in our latest YouTube video, we thought we’d share a few tips and tricks that might make the Touch Bar more appealing.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

Customize Your Control Bar

Most MacBook Pro owners are probably aware that this feature exists, but may not have delved into the customization options. Customizing the control strip is the best way to get the most out of the Touch Bar because you can choose the features you use most.

To get to the Control Strip settings, open up System Preferences, choose “Keyboard” and then select the “Customize Control Strip” option at the bottom of the window.

You can choose options like quick access to taking a screenshot, Night Shift, Do not Disturb, Screen Lock, Sleep, AirPlay, Spotlight, Mission Control, and more.

Set the Function Keys as Your Default

Want your function keys back as the default option? There’s a setting for that. Like the Control Strip settings, it is located under Keyboard in System Preferences.

You can choose to have the Touch Bar display App Controls with Control Strip, which will change the available Touch Bar options with each app you use, or you can set it to display the function keys, an Expanded Control Strip, or just App Controls.

If you go to the “Shortcuts” section of the Keyboard settings and select Function Keys, you can also choose to have the function keys display on a per-app basis.

You can also customize the shortcut the Fn key brings up — if you set the Touch Bar to function keys, the Fn key on the keyboard can be set to expand the Control Strip or show app controls. With the Control Strip set as the default, you can always bring up your function keys with the Fn key.

Take a Screenshot of Your Touch Bar

Though it’s not obvious, there’s a way to take a screenshot of the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro. Just hold down Shift + Command + 6 all at the same time, and the screenshot will be saved to your desktop.

Accessibility Options

There are several Accessibility-related options that can be enabled for the Touch Bar for those who need them, including VoiceOver, Zoom, and Switch Control to display the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro’s screen.

To check out and enable Touch Bar Accessibility options, open up System Preferences and choose the “Accessibility” icon. VoiceOver controls for Touch Bar are enabled automatically when VoiceOver is turned on, while the other options are under “Zoom” and “Switch Control.”

For more information, make sure to check out Apple’s Accessibility support document for the Touch Bar.

Improve Touch Bar with Third-Party Apps

There are a few ways to make the Touch Bar more useful through third-party apps.

With Better Touch Tool, you can create your own shortcuts for the Touch Bar. The possibilities are extensive, ranging from tools to empty the trash on your Mac to accessing apps to seeing the time, date, and your battery level. Check out Reddit for some suggestions on how to use this tool.

Similarly, the TouchSwitcher app for the Touch Bar is designed to let you launch and switch between apps by adding a list of your most recently used apps to the Touch Bar.

Do you use the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro? What are your favorite use cases for the feature? Let us know in the comments.

Tag: Touch Bar
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Think your apartment’s tiny? This micro-house is no wider than three human hairs

Remember the brilliant scene in Zoolander where the lovably dimwitted Derek looks at a scale model of a proposed school and rages, “What is this? A center for ants? How can we be expected to teach children to learn how to read if they can’t even fit inside the building?” We’d hate to see Zoolander’s reaction to a new building created by researchers from the Femto-ST Institute in Besançon, France. Forget about being too small for children to fit inside; this scale model is too tiny for most kids to even see.

Created as a demonstration of a brand-new nanorobotic system, the appropriately-named “micro-house” measures just 300 x 300 micrometers, the measurement used to describe one one-millionth of a meter. To put that in perspective, a human hair is about 100 micrometers in diameter. The nanoscale house is tiny enough that it can sit on one end of an optical fiber.

“We chose a micro-house made with an optical fiber and a silica membrane because these are the materials we use in our institute for our research,” Jean-Yves Rauch, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “Before the house, we assembled and installed at the end of cleaved optical fibers, other elements — such as silica mirrors, filters, or lithium niobate photonic crystals — but these are military applications and we are not allowed to show the images. So to represent the enormous potential of our µRobotex station, we chose to make a micro-house to demonstrate and popularize for the general public the potential of our vacuum assembly station with the robotic arm inside the chamber.”

Making the house involved a precisely robotically controlled ion gas and special gas injection chamber, guided by a dual beam scanning electron microscope. Using this technique, it was even possible to detail some “tiles” on the roof of the residence. In all, it’s an amazing demo of what is possible to achieve with nanoscale manufacturing — provided you’ve got a steady-handed robot to offer a bit of assistance, that is!

“We are at the beginning of the vacuum micro assembly adventure and we already know some potential applications,” Rauch continued. “Applications are mainly in the field of sensors: magnetic field sensors, optically searchable virus or bacteria sensors, [and] micro and nano sensors in gases or liquids.”

However, Rauch added that there are plenty of other applications that we don’t know yet and that will only play out as technologies such as this become more mature.

A paper describing the work was recently published in the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology.

Editors’ Recommendations

• These awesome 3D printed houses offer a glimpse into the future of construction
• Kate Spade Scallop Touchscreen review
• PlayStation VR price drop makes the peripheral even harder to pass up
• EA used machine learning to make A.I. better than you at ‘Battlefield 1’
• Flippy the burger-flipping robot is now working alongside humans at CaliBurger

Moto G6 Plus review

Research Center:

Moto G6 Plus

The Moto G series has consistently bossed the budget smartphone market since it was first introduced five years ago. A lot has changed since then – not least Motorola passing from Google to Lenovo ownership. Fears that new management might mean a drop in quality seem to have been unfounded as Motorola has continued to turn out a host of great value devices every year. But the competition is improving, making it increasingly tough for Motorola to stay on top.

We’ve been particularly pleased in recent months by devices like the HTC U11 Life, the Honor 7X, and the Nokia 6.1, so we were interested to see if the Moto G6 Plus could match up to or surpass the rest of the field. The Motorola line-up is confusing this year – we’re talking about a lot of different phones, including three G series devices with a lot of similarities. Strangely the U.S. is only being offered the Moto G6 and Moto G6 Play, while the rest of the world is treated to the headlining Moto G6 Plus. Motorola hasn’t given us a reason why. In any event, here’s what Americans are missing.

A budget sheep in wolf’s’ clothing

Looking back at the first few entries in the Moto G series, they managed to offer a decent feature set at a reasonable price, but with chunky plastic bodies they were never going to blend into flagship company. Budget design has really moved on.

The Moto G6 Plus is a big phone, but it looks modern and sleek. The glass front is home to a 5.9-inch display with fairly small bezels top and bottom. There’s a recessed fingerprint sensor below the screen. Flip it over and you’ll find a beautiful curved glass back that slots neatly into the pleasing line of the frame.

The familiar M logo has that signature round camera module above it, which makes this device instantly recognizable as a Motorola. We can’t help feeling that the camera protrudes a bit too much – it even extends beyond the slim, transparent case that Motorola includes in the box.

Whether or not you like the distinctive look, the camera module is the first thing that touches down on every surface when you put your phone down, and it tends to catch on pockets and collect a lot of dust and lint.

The Moto G6 Plus is a big phone, but it looks modern and sleek.

Up top you’ll find the SIM and MicroSD card tray, while there’s a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom edge. The right-hand side sports the volume rocker with the power button below it.

Our review unit is the Deep Indigo version, which looks great when it catches the light. There is also a Nimbus option, which is gray. Because it’s a glass sandwich, you’re going to have to contend with finger smudges, and it won’t react well to unexpected tumbles onto the sidewalk, but that’s par for the course nowadays.

Motorola does include a transparent case in the box, which is handy, but definitely detracts from the gorgeous finish on the back. Camera module aside, the Moto G6 Plus is a great-looking budget phone.

It doesn’t have an IP rating, but it is water resistant, so you shouldn’t have anything to fear from splashes or rain.

Display is decent

The 5.9-inch display boasts a resolution of 2,160 x 1,080 pixels with a modern, 18:9 aspect ratio. It’s an IPS LCD, which is to be expected at the budget end of the market – though OLED screens are better.

Simon Hill/Digital Trends

We found it perfectly pleasant to read on and plenty big enough. The only problem we encountered with it was the brightness levels, which doesn’t deal well with sunshine, making it hard to read outdoors.

For a budget device, this display is more than adequate.

Performance doesn’t live up to the specs

While its slightly smaller sibling, the Moto G6, makes do with a Snapdragon 450 processor, the G6 Plus gets upgraded to the Snapdragon 630. It comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, or you can upgrade to 6GB of RAM.

It looks good, performs well, and offers some features you simply don’t expect to find in a budget phone.

Performance is not as fast as we hoped it would be. We ran into some sluggishness navigating around and jumping in and out of apps, but nothing too egregious. To be fair, this is something we noticed after switching from a much more powerful flagship. If you’re upgrading from an older phone, it’s probably going to feel fast.

We played PUBG: Mobile without issue, but on the lowest settings. There were no problems with Super Mario Run, or Star Wars Commander. It got warm while playing PUBG: Mobile, just like every other phone does, but it also chewed through the battery life at an alarming rate – more on that later.

The benchmark results are good:

• AnTuTu 3D Bench: 90,483
• Geekbench 4: 876 single-core; 4,167 multi-core
• 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: 833 OpenGL; 709 Vulkan

That makes the Moto G6 Plus significantly faster than the Moto G6 which got lower scores across the board. It’s also slightly better than the HTC U11 Life and the Moto X4, but it’s about the same as the Nokia 6.1. You should never rely on benchmarks alone, but it’s fair to say that the Moto G6 Plus is a good performer in its price bracket. We did encounter the odd stutter, but we think that it’s likely something to do with the software.

It runs Android 8.0 Oreo and we expect it to get Android P, which is good, but there’s more on top than in previous Moto phones.

We’ve praised Motorola in the past for sticking close to stock Android and only adding a handful of useful features and apps, so it saddens us to see bloatware creeping in on the G6 Plus. Making Outlook the default email app on an Android phone is annoying and it can’t be uninstalled, just disabled. If people want Outlook they can easily install it for free – don’t force it on them.

We still like Moto Actions, which offers shortcut gesture for turning on the torch and snapping a screenshot, and Moto Key is handy, allowing you to use the fingerprint sensor to log in to some websites. But the Moto app is growing, and it seems determined to collect data and fire useless suggestions at you, which is a trend we’re not so keen on.

One thing that some people will be delighted to find is an FM radio app. You don’t get earphones in the box with the G6 Plus, but if you plug in your own they can act as a receiver for FM radio.

Overall performance is good, but we can’t help feeling it’s not quite as good as it could be with this hardware and we’d prefer a lighter touch on the software front.

Camera is a budget delight

The dual-lens camera trend is well established, but it’s not something you really expect to find in a budget device. However, the Moto G6 Plus pairs a 12-megapixel sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and a 5-megapixel sensor with an f/2.2 aperture.

We didn’t have great expectations, but we were pleasantly surprised by the camera. It garnered great results on a sunny day at the coast. The colors are accurate and vibrant, and it captures a decent amount of detail. It also did well with close-ups in the automatic mode, creating a pleasing background blur.

The problem with the camera in the Moto G6 Plus is that it’s relatively slow. It takes a while to load up, it takes a while to change modes, and it takes a while to actually snap a shot. The autofocus is also a little flaky at times, switching unexpectedly and bringing the wrong thing into sharp relief.

Predictably, noise creeps in quite quickly in low-light conditions, but, on the whole, it performs well for a budget phone.

We found the software a little confusing. There are some extra modes you can choose from, but once you select one you must deselect it to get the menu to come back. Spot Color turns everything except the color you select to black and white, which is fun, but we think the Portrait mode will be the one most people are interested in.

We shot a few different portraits, but the results were mixed. While it produces a strong bokeh effect, blurring the background and keeping the subject sharp, you could argue the effect is a little too strong and it frequently messed up the edges. You might find that you get more pleasing results with the automatic camera settings.

The front-facing 8-megapixel camera takes good selfies and is going to be perfectly adequate for most people.

There are also Slow Motion and Time Lapse modes, which are nice to find on a budget device, though when we tried the Slow Motion mode, the quality was far from great.

Battery life

You’ll find a 3,200mAh battery in the Moto G6 Plus, which should be enough to see you through a standard day with change. You may even manage two days with light use.

There are some caveats, however. We found that a combination of cranking up the screen brightness and playing games like PUBG: Mobile online saw the battery dip very quickly. That’s to be expected to some extent, but around 50 percent in a single half hour game seems excessive.

We didn’t have great expectations, but we were pleasantly surprised by the camera.

The good news is that the Moto G6 Plus can charge up lightning fast with the TurboPower charger in the box. If the battery is low, it refills very quickly, but charging slows as the battery fills up, which helps protect it and extend its life.

Even though the glass back would allow it, there’s no support for Qi wireless charging – that’s a feature that still hasn’t reached the budget market yet.

Price, availability, warranty information

We disappointed that the Moto G6 Plus isn’t being offered in the U.S. as we’re confident it would do well. It’s probably because of how close it is to the Moto X4, though we prefer the G6 Plus.

Moto G6 Plus Compared To

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S

LG G7 ThinQ

Huawei P20 Pro

Nuu G3

Vivo Apex

Asus Zenfone 5

LG V30S ThinQ

Google Pixel 2

LG V30

HTC U11

Nokia 8

ZTE Axon 7

Alcatel Idol 4S

LG Optimus G Pro

T-Mobile myTouch 3G

In the U.K. you can expect to pay 269 British pounds, which is around $360 directly converted. But if we compare the U.K. and U.S. pricing on the Moto G6 (220 British pounds and $250 respectively), we’d expect the G6 Plus to be offered closer to $300 if it did go on sale stateside.

You can return the Moto G6 Plus for a full refund within 14 days if you decide it’s not for you and there’s a standard one-year warranty for faults.

Our Take

The Moto G6 Plus is an excellent budget smartphone and we’re struggling to point to anything better at this price. It looks good, performs well, and offers some features you simply don’t expect to find in a budget phone.

Is there a better alternative?

The top flagships are obviously better, but they’re also three times the price or more. If you could scrape together another 200 British pounds, then you could snag a OnePlus 6 or import a Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S. An extra 80 pounds would be enough for a Nokia 7 Plus.

If you’re in the U.S. and want a Motorola, then you’re going to have to choose between the slightly slower Moto G6 at $250 or the older Moto X4, which has recently dropped to $300. We recommend you try the Nokia 6.1, which costs $270, and has the same processor as the Moto G6 Plus.

You could also check out the Honor 9 Lite at $250, or the Honor 7X at $200, but we think the G6 Plus is worth the extra cash.

How long will it last?

We expect it to get a few software updates and it should serve you well for a couple of years, provided you use the case provided or buy one. We can’t see it getting a lot of support beyond Android P and we think improvements in processors and battery life will push you towards an upgrade within two years.

Should you buy it?

Yes, if you can get it where you live then the Moto G6 Plus is likely to be the best phone you can buy for the money. There’s no doubt that it’s the king of the current G series crop.

No sun? No problem — this solar panel harvests energy from raindrops, too

TzahiV/Getty Images

We are used to solar panels which can harvest power from sunlight during the day. But how about a new type of solar cell that is able to generate power from raindrops, even when the rain falls in the middle of the night? Yes, it sounds impossible, but it’s actually just been demonstrated by researchers at China’s Soochow University.

The new type of solar panel incorporates a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), a means of converting mechanical energy, aka motion into electricity.

“Solar cells have become one of the most widespread solutions in the crisis issues of the environment and energy,” Zhen Wen, an assistant professor in the Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials at Soochow, told Digital Trends. “However, the power generation from a solar cell is affected by various weather conditions — for example, rainy weather. The intermittent and unpredictable nature of solar energy is an inevitable challenge for its expansion as a reliable power supply system. Scavenging alternative energy from the environment with different types of energy harvesters, to compensate for the insufficient part, is urgent.”

Wen notes that the concept of creating a combined solar cell and triboelectric nanogenerator was first proposed by researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology in a paper published in 2015. This work moves the concept on, though, by creating a true hybrid device, rather than simply putting a nanogenerator on a solar cell. Instead of a chunky creation made up of two independent energy harvesting units, this is a true double-sided solar panel capable of adding a 10 percent boost in overall output. Because solar panels generate just a fraction of their regular output when it’s raining (and pretty much nothing when the sun’s not out) it could solve one of the biggest challenges faced by solar power.

But you may be waiting a while until you can actually use one on your house. According to Wen, a completed full-size prototype could be up to half a decade away, after which it would no doubt take some time to actually come to market. Still, by then it may be even more effective.

“We are very confident that our device can [also] harvest wind energy if we slightly modify our TENG nanogenerator structure, because TENG can various mechanical energies form environment such as wind into electricity,” Wen continued.

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal Nano.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Tiny dents in solar cells could make them more efficient than ever
• Wind and solar could supply 80 percent of U.S. energy needs
• From robotic bees to bacteria, the tech that is making for a greener tomorrow
• Forget oil, Saudi Arabia to create world’s largest solar power project
• Cell phones in Amazon trees alert rangers to illegal logging, record wildlife

Here’s what we learned from Mark Zuckerberg’s EU hearing on privacy

After being grilled by the United States Congress last month, Mark Zuckerberg again found himself testifying before a governmental body — this time the European Parliament. In addition to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Zuckerberg addressed issues related to the GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, a law going into effect in the EU on Friday, May 25.

“We haven’t done enough to prevent [Facebook] from being used for harm. We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility. That was a mistake and I am sorry for it,” Zuckerberg said in his opening remarks.

Overall, Zuckerberg’s testimony before the European Parliament was very similar to his testimony before Congress. Lawmakers got a direct shot at Zuckerberg, and he delivered a set of highly practiced remarks to assuage their fears. However, he did also go into details on how Facebook intends to comply with the GDPR, an issue he didn’t have to broach with U.S. lawmakers.

“We do expect to be fully compliant on May 25, so in three days,” Zuckerberg continued, but pointed out that he’s still critical of overly strict regulations. “I don’t think the question here is whether or not there should be regulation, I think the question is what is the right regulation.”

The GDPR presents a complication for Facebook, and its stated mission of “making the world more open” so it will be interesting to see how Zuckerberg reacts to European lawmakers’ inquiries. The GDPR itself would require companies like Facebook to default to the highest privacy settings available on the platform, which is in stark contrast to Facebook’s current way of doing business, which starts users out with all the privacy settings flung wide open.

“The GDPR has more prescriptive standards and substantial fines [than previous regulations]. For example, it requires a higher standard of consent for using some types of data, and broadens the rights individuals have for accessing and transferring their data,” Facebook’s statement on its GDPR compliance reads. “Failure to comply with the GDPR can result in significant fines — up to 4 percent of global annual revenue for certain violations.”

The regulation does only cover European users, so Facebook will likely keep its current privacy defaults for anyone not in the EU. European users however, will likely end up seeing their settings change once the law goes into effect. The GDPR would also require companies like Facebook to give users the power to opt out of any data collection, and allow users to see exactly what data is being collected, why it’s being collected, how long it will be retained, and whether or not it will be shared with third parties.

It’s a massive peek behind the curtain for companies like Facebook, which profit directly from the collection and sale of user information.

Editors’ Recommendations

• What Is the GDPR? The EU’s Online Privacy Law: Explained
• Watch Mark Zuckerberg’s second day of congressional grilling here
• You’ll never read Facebook’s new data policy, so we did it for you
• Twitter’s updated privacy policy sheds light on just what happens to your data
• Trying to understand Facebook’s Community Standards? Here’s the gist

HP Spectre x360 15 vs. Dell XPS 15 2-in-1

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

When it comes to convertible laptops, power and versatility don’t always go hand in hand. However, a new-generation of hardware that combines Intel processing with AMD graphics on the same chip and a 2-in-1 form factor, promise to turn that paradigm right on its head.

Both HP and Dell have impressive offerings in that new market niche, but how do they compare? In this head to head, we pit the HP Spectre x360 15 vs. the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 to see which offers the best bang for buck when it comes to powerful, portable and convertible computing.

Design

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The design of a 2-in-1 laptop is arguably more important than it is in a standard laptop, because it not only needs to operate as a good-looking, functional laptop, but as an easy to hold tablet too. Both the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 and HP Spectre x360 15 do a reasonable job in both states of being, but they do have their quirks that help differentiate them in specific ways.

The XPS 15 2-in-1 isn’t quite as good a notebook laptop as the Spectre x360 15, because its keyboard has an extremely short travel distance to save space. That does make it more of a comfortable, low-weight device when in tablet mode, but it means that it’s just not as nice to type on as the HP counterpart. Then again, the Spectre does suffer from being rather chunky for a modern laptop. It’s not the lightest device either.

The standard-laptop functionality of the HP device extends into its port selection too. Where the XPS 15 2-in-1 has gone all-in on USB-C — offering four of them alongside an SD card slot — the Spectre x360 15 offers a USB-A port alongside a pair of newer Thunderbolt 3 ports and an SD card slot. That’s a nice touch for contemporary backwards compatibility, though it may also date the HP 2-in-1 in years to come.

Performance

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

One of the most exciting elements of both of these 2-in-1s, is that they can be configured to use the new Intel eighth-generation G-series processors, which combine an Intel CPU core with AMD Vega graphics. Each has their own options in that respect, with the $1,300 XPS 15 2-in-1s offering an i5-8305G, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of solid state storage, up to an i7-8705G with 16GB of RAM, and up to a terabyte of storage for up to $2,550.

In comparison, the HP Spectre x360 15 also offers a non-G Intel Core i7-8550U CPU with an MX 150 and 8GB of RAM for $1,270 at the low-end, and an i7-8705G with 16GB of RAM, and up to two terabytes of storage at the top end, with a price tag just north of $2,200.

Although there is a little tussling between the two systems in terms of pricing at the top end, both offer similar specifications for similar prices at the mid-range. In our testing, they performed very close to one another in both day-to-day tasks and 1080p gaming. These are both seriously fast systems that will feel snappy and capable for years to come.

The differentiator between them however, is in their displays. Where the Spectre laptop can only be configured with a 4K IPS panel, the Dell offering has a 1080p option that can save you a lot of money and battery life. That said, the XPS 15 2-in-1’s display is gorgeous. In our testing we found it to be comparable with market leaders like the Surface Book 2. The HP Spectre’s has a sharp, vibrant image, but it falls behind the XPS 15 2-in-1 in terms of contrast ratio and overall brightness.

Portability

Dan Baker/Digital Trends

When it comes to tablet mode operation, portability in a 2-in-1 is a must. That’s where these two devices start to differentiate from their otherwise relatively comparable designs. Where the HP Spectre x360 15 is 14.13 x 9.84 x 0.76-inches, the XPS 15 2-in-1’s slimmer keyboard and overall framework give it a trimmer design at 13.9 x 9.2 x 0.63-inches, narrowing to just 0.36-inches at its thinnest. That, combined with a weight difference of nearly a third of a pound, makes the XPS 15 2-in-1 just that bit easier to handle in both tablet mode and when in transit.

The Spectre x360 15 does claw its way back into the lead in terms of battery life though. With a massive 84-watt-hour battery under the hood, it managed six and a half hours in our web-browsing test, where the Dell option only managed four and a half.

Neither are great though, and we’d put most of the blame on the 4K display, even if the hefty CPU/GPU combination chip is quite power hungry in its own right. If you were to opt for the 1080p screen on the XPS 15 2-in-1, we’d put money on the results being reversed.

Heft is a hard sell, but the XPS 15 2-in-1 wins out

Although neither the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 or the HP Spectre x360 15 are better laptops than some of their non-convertible competition, they do offer a pretty unique package. The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 just happens does it a little better.

Performance between the two devices is much the same, but the Dell 2-in-1 has a nicer display overall and with the option for 1080p — something that’s far more fitting for a 15-inch laptop display — can be more kindly to your bank balance and battery life.

While the HP 2-in-1 certainly has a better keyboard, its slightly bulky design and increased weight mean that we found it more comfortable to use as a laptop with some impressive gaming chops, though tablet use is pretty untenable. The XPS 15 2-in-1 didn’t blow us away in every area either, but it does things just that little bit better than the HP competition and offers the better overall 2-in-1 experience.

Editors’ Recommendations

• HP Spectre x360 15-inch (2018) review
• Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 review
• Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 vs. Dell XPS 15
• Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 vs. Surface Book 2 15
• Dell XPS 15 9560 review

Dead rising: Old phones we want to see zapped back to life

Mobile phones are now old enough for people to be nostalgic about the devices they owned years ago. Perhaps it was their first phone, or one that had a particular feature which made it stand above the rest, or it was a trendsetter that made you feel great when you took it out of your pocket.

There are a few companies tapping into that nostalgia today, most notably HMD Global and Nokia, along with BlackBerry to a certain extent — but the pool of devices that are ripe for a reboot is greater than the Nokia 3310, Nokia 8810, and a keyboard-equipped BlackBerry.

Here are some of the old phones we’d like to see come back with a modern spin.

Nokia N-Gage

The original N-Gage launched in 2003, and was a response to handheld gaming machines from Nintendo, Sega, and others. It’s mobile gaming intentions are clear from the shape, which lends itself to two-handed use, just like a console controller. The only thing was, at the time, the games were almost universally terrible. A gaming phone without decent games was destined for failure, and so it was.

Today, that’s not the case, and mobile gaming is a multibillion-dollar global industry. The majority of games are playable on all phones, but we’re stuck with third-party gaming controllers if we want to recreate the exact same shape the N-Gage offered 15 years ago. Nokia is enjoying a resurgence at the moment, and its retro phones are huge hits among phone fans. Why not give the N-Gage another shot?

Motorola Razr V3i

Big surprise, right? The Motorola Razr is accepted as a design classic, and a phone many of us have owned at some point. The V3i was one of the final Razr models introduced before Motorola closed the range and updated it to the less-successful Razr2. It was the epitome of the model line, and the almost perfect implementation of the flip phone style.

Motorola has reintroduced the full Motorola name on its latest Moto G6 phones, indicating it’s keen to trade on its massive legacy. How about a new Razr when foldable screens are possible? We’re not far away, and have seen the first versions already — the ZTE Axon M for example. Calls for a rebooted Razr have come for years, but now the technology is nearing the point where a modern interpretation that retains the original’s charm is possible.

Motorola Aura R1

Forget any reboot; we wish an original R1 was sat on our shelf inside a glass case right now. The Aura R1 has a circular screen, like a smartwatch, covered in sapphire crystal, and the body is made from stainless steel. It’s related to a flip phone, but instead of flipping open the top of the shell swivels to reveal the keypad, an action made possible with an incredibly intricate gear system designed and made in Switzerland. The gears were visible through a panel on the back of the phone.

Smartwatches imitate mechanical watches today, but this work of art was a phone imitating a mechanical watch. Don’t change much, Motorola — just bring back the Aura in some form. A pocket smartwatch, perhaps?

LG Chocolate

LG really cracked design with the Chocolate range. While the U.S. only saw a handful of Chocolate phones — which weren’t actually made of chocolate, sorry — in Europe and Asia the range was more expansive, and included the touch sensitive red buttons on the case, which became a Chocolate phone trademark. Most were slider phones, but toward the end of the line in 2009, the BL40 wide-screen phone with a full touchscreen came with a very different look. It even had a 21:9 aspect ratio, reminiscent of the 18:9 and 19:9 ratio trend we see today. We’d love to see LG tap into the design talent that produced the Chocolate range again.

Nokia 7280

One of the most unusual mainstream phones ever made, the Nokia 7280 was often referred to as the Lipstick Phone, and to understand why, you just have to look at it. It didn’t hide its fashionable status either, with the tiny screen becoming a mirror when it wasn’t showing anything.

Why would we want to see another? Why not? It’s totally unlike anything else out there, just as it was back in 2004 when the 7280 launched. Put a capable camera on the back, and the ergonomics, design, and overall simplicity will do the rest.

Palm Pre

Why would we want the Palm Pre to come back? BlackBerry’s KeyOne has proven there is demand for a phone with a physical keyboard, and it’s catering to those interested in such a device almost on its own. Those who remember the Palm Pre will no doubt dream of a webOS (the phone’s operating system) mobile revival, but the software has gone on to thrive on televisions. Instead, an Android-based Pre-style phone, with cute pebble-like design, wireless charging, and a slider keyboard would no doubt attract plenty of attention today.

The return of collaborations

Not a phone specifically, but a way of making phones. A decade ago, fashion brands were paying attention to phones and several unusual and interesting partnerships sprung up in the technology industry because of it. Prada joined with LG, Giorgio Armani teamed up with Samsung, and D&G sided with Motorola. Today, fashion brands edge toward smartwatches, which are a more natural extension than phones for these companies, but we’d still like to see more top designers get involved with shaping phones today. We love limited editions, and while OnePlus and Huawei among others have interesting collaborations today, we’d like to see more. Just as long as it’s not only a collection of wallpapers and a special box. Put some effort in, please.

These are our favorites that we’d like to see given a new lease of life in the near future. Do you have any old phone favs that would benefit from a modern spin?

Editors’ Recommendations

• Ugly, weird, and expensive: The craziest phone designs ever
• DT Daily: What’s ‘Next’ for No Man’s Sky’s big universe?
• A rebooted Palm smartphone could launch on Verizon later this year
• Google’s new recommendation program showcases the best phones for business
• Ear plugs at the ready? The horror of tech companies making music

How to Mount a Google Home Mini

The Google Home Mini is small and lightweight, making it easy to mount on a wall.

The Google Home Mini is an impressive little puck that can play music, automate your home and tap into the search powers of Google for only $49 — or $29 if you get it on sale. At either price, it’s not hard to buy a few to have them placed at different spots through your house.

You could have the Home Minis placed on different tables or shelves, or you can go a step further and have the speakers mounted on your walls. These are the best options for mounting a Google Home Mini!

• Double-sided tape
• The Mini Back Pack by Dot Genie
• USB Cover Plate Mount by Dot Genie
• Simple Built-In Mini Mount by Dot Genie
• Incipio Wall Mount
• ECHOGEAR Outlet Shelf

Double-sided tape — quick and easy

This method firmly falls into the “If it looks stupid, but it works, it isn’t stupid” category. But this is the cheapest, fastest and easiest mounting method. The Google Home Mini is pretty light, so just grab some double sided tape (I used some mounting squares from 3M), stick one side to the Home Mini and then just stick the Home Mini to the wall. Done!

If you want to go one step further, you can get a custom length micro-USB power cable to reduce clutter.

3M Mounting Squares

Mini Back Pack by Dot Genie — best for renters

This solution is a lot more elegant. The Mini Back Pack features a plastic clip for the Home Mini itself, then the USB power supply slides in. A tiny micro-USB power cable completes the ensemble, and the whole thing is light enough that a power jack has no problem supporting it. The user still has easy access to the side touch controls and the physical mute switch.

This is the better option for renters and apartment dwellers who can’t drill into their walls, or someone who isn’t entirely sure which rooms they’d like the mount the Home Mini in.

The Mini Back Pack by Dot Genie is available in black and white for $15.

Mini Back Pack by Dot Genie at Amazon

USB Cover Plate Mount by Dot Genie – getting cleaner

Dot Genie has another option that requires a bit of manual labor, but results in a cleaner setup. USB wall plates are nothing new, but this mount goes a step further: one side of the mount has a normal USB-A port for charging your phone or other electronics, while the other side is specifically designed to power and mount a Google Home Mini. This way, you still have full access to the regular power ports, but a clean design for your smart speaker. As with the other mount, the speaker and mute switch are unobstructed, and you can access the side touch controls.

Dot Genie’s USB Cover Plate Mount for the Google Home Mini is available in black, white and chalk; either in a 1-pack for $15 or a 5-pack for $45.

USB Cover Plate Mount at Amazon

Simple Built-In Mini Mount by Dot Genie – maximum effort

Dot Genie has one last option, with this one requiring the most effort but achieving the cleanest design. If you don’t own your home, this product probably won’t be for you because it requires drilling into the walls. You also need to run power through the wall, and you won’t have easy access to the mute switch and controls. Having said all that, the aesthetic may well be worth it: your Google Home Mini looks and acts like an intercom, which is perfect if you use the broadcast feature. You can place the mount anywhere in your house that you can run a Micro-USB power cable to, so you can use your wall plugs for your other gadgets.

The Simple Built-In Mini Mount by Dot Genie is available in white in a 1-pack for $15, or in a 5-pack for $50.

Simple Built-In Mini Mount at Amazon

Incipio Wall Mount — a mix of all worlds

This next method is a combination of some of the others. A plastic piece clips onto the back of the Google Home Mini, this time with two holes for nails. This lets you place the Home Mini at any height you’d like, but also have something much more permanent than tape. Again, you can use any micro-USB cable with the Home Mini, so feel free to buy one that’s the perfect length or color to match your decor.

The Incipio Wall Mount is available in white for $15.

Incipio Wall Mount at Google

ECHOGEAR Outlet Shelf – the most flexible option

This next product is still great, even if you don’t use it for a Google Home Mini. The ECHOGEAR Outlet Shelf is another wall plate replacement, this time with a shelf on top that can be used for your smart speaker, Wi-Fi router, toothbrush and anything else you can think of. The shelf supports anything up to 10 pounds, so even heavier speakers like a Sonos would work .There’s a hole in the back of the shelf, specifically so you can run cables through to your device. There’s no messing with any wiring, so apartment dwellers and home owners alike can use this.

The ECHOGEEAR Outlet Shelf is available in white for $15.

ECHOGEAR Outlet Shelf at Amazon

What say you?

Have you mounted your Google Home Mini? Let us know how you did it in the comments below!

This article was updated in May 2018 with the addition of the USB Cover Plate Mount, the Simple Built-In Mini Mount and the ECHOGEAR Outlet Shelf.

Google Home

• Google Home review
• Google Home Mini: Everything you need to know!
• Google Home Max review
• These services work with Google Home
• Google Home vs. Amazon Echo
• Join our Google Home forums!

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