Where to buy the LG G7 ThinQ

Your guide for buying the G7 in the U.S. and Canada.

LG’s playing it safe this year with the G7 ThinQ, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad phone. In fact, based on what we’ve seen so far, the G7 will be one heck of a smartphone that could be very well-deserving of a place in your pocket.

If you live in the United States or Canada and are interested in picking up the G7 ThinQ for yourself, here’s everything you need to know.

United States

AT&T

Although LG devices usually show up on AT&T like clockwork, this year appears to be different.

A spokesperson from AT&T recently confirmed that it won’t be selling the G7 ThinQ, but instead will “launch a new LG device this summer only from AT&T.” We aren’t sure if that’ll be a new phone entirely or a slightly improved version of the G7, but we’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for whatever happens here.

Sprint

If Sprint’s your carrier of choice, you’ll be able to place pre-orders for the phone beginning May 25. Following that, regular sales will begin online and in-stores on June 1.

See at Sprint

T-Mobile

Jumping over to T-Mobile, the Un-Carrier has announced that it’ll officially open pre-orders for the G7 on Friday, May 25 at 5:00 AM Pacific Time.

The phone will cost $30 down and then $30/month afterward, resulting in a final retail price of $750 ($30 more than the Galaxy S9). To help offset the cost, T-Mobile will be running a BOGO promo that’ll allow you to get two G7s for the price of one via monthly bill credits.

Following pre-orders, the G7 ThinQ will be available at participating T-Mobile stores around the U.S. starting June 1.

See at T-Mobile

U.S. Cellular

Similar to Sprint, U.S. Cellular will also start selling the G7 on June 1. The phone will be available in-stores and at uscellular.com, but there’s currently no word on pre-orders through the carrier.

See at U.S. Cellular

Verizon

Last but not least for U.S. carriers, Verizon has confirmed that it’ll open pre-orders for the G7 on May 24 – a day before Sprint.

There’s no word on an official launch, but it’ll likely line up with the June 1 date we’re seeing from everyone else.

See at Verizon

Canada

Bell

It’s been confirmed that the LG G7 will launch on Bell, and it’ll do so on June 1.

See at Bell

Freedom Mobile

Just like Bell, Freedom Mobile will also begin carrying the G7 on June 1. However, further details are currently unknown.

See at Freedom Mobile

Rogers

Once again, Rogers will begin selling the LG G7 on – you guessed it – June 1.

See at Rogers

SaskTel

Ready for a curveball? SaskTel will allow you to purchase the G7 on June 1.

See at SaskTel

Telus

Lastly, Telus has also been confirmed for a June 1 date on which it’ll open sales for the G7.

See at Telus

LG G7

• LG G7 hands-on preview: All about that bass
• LG G7 Specifications: Everything you need to know
• Join the LG G7 forums

Orbit’s discounted smart irrigation controller will help you save money every month

Keep it green for less.

As part of its Gold Box deals of the day, Amazon is offering some pretty sweet discounts on a variety of Orbit’s popular irrigation products. The best deal here is the B-hyve smart sprinkler controller, which is down to $68.20. This normally sells for closer to $100, and we’ve never seen it drop quite this low before. It’s similar to the discounted Rachio system, except it comes in at a fraction of the price with many of the same features.

If you don’t already have a sprinkler system installed at your house, you can opt for the Yard Enforcer motion activated sprinkler for $40.99. This stakes into the ground and you run a hose to it. You can set it to automatically detect motion to activate, which will help keep those unwanted guests from overtaking your garden. Lastly, the programmable hose faucet timer is down to $18.66, and this is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to turn automate watering your grass. You can set the run times from it and let it run as you please, or manually override it for when you need a little extra water.

Irrigation systems can keep your lawn looking green and everything great, but they can also cost you a small fortune on your water bill. These discounted Orbit products will easily pay for themselves over time and help you save money in the long run, so be sure to grab them now.

See at Amazon

GRID Autosport for Android: Everything you need to know

Start revving your engines — GRID Autosport is on its way to Android!

There are a ton of great racing games available for Android, and they all bring something fun and interesting to the table.

But sometimes you just want a pure, realistic racing experience. Android has a couple racing sims available, but nothing that will compare to GRID Autosport. Developed by Codemasters Racing and Feral Interactive, GRID is set to finally cross the finish line and arrive on Android in the coming months — and we’re confident it’s going to be worth the wait!

What makes GRID Autosport is so special?

This game is made by Codemasters Racing, so you know it’s good.

Oh, you need more than that? Well, besides the fact that it’s made by the premier racing game developers in the industry, the game is aiming to take the graphics, gameplay, and glory you experience playing games on console and bring the experience to mobile. Who doesn’t want that?

GRID will feature 100 cars to collect and 100 circuits to burn rubber on through the bevy of game modes.

That means a full racing experience without shoddy upgrading systems and energy systems limiting how and when you race (looking at you, EA’s Need For Speed: No Limits). To accomplish that, Codemasters and its co-developers at Feral Interactive will likely set a premium price of around $10 for the privilege to play GRID Autosport — but if you’re a racing fan, that’s a pittance to pay for the mobile racing game you’ve been waiting for.

GRID will feature 100 cars to collect and 100 circuits to burn rubber on through the bevy of game modes including a full-fledged career mode along with options for time trails and quick races. There’s also an amazing physics engine for realistic damage when you crash into the wall or tire barricades. That attention to detail and realism means a lot, especially when you’re just starting out and crashing into a bunch of stuff all the time.

When new cars or tracks are available, you should be able to download them in game for free, as that’s how it works with the iOS version. And that’s amazing.

GRID Autosport is currently available on Steam and iOS if you want to learn more about the game or pick it up on another platform, although it’s a paid title so it’s really up to you if you want to buy it across multiple platforms or just wait for it to come to Android.

What sets it apart from other racing titles like Real Racing 3?

When we’re talking about games offering realistic racing experiences for mobile, the first game that should pop to your mind is Real Racing 3. It’s one of the more popular free games for Android and has been the pinnacle of the racing scene on Android for a good number of years now.

Not to slight Real Racing 3, as it’s still a great game five years on from its initial release — but GRID Autosport looks primed to absolutely blow it out of the water in terms of realism, physics, and depth of gameplay.

And you’d expect such from a paid title vs. a free game, right? GRID sells for $10 on the iOS App Store, and we’d expect a similar price set for its Google Play release.

When is it coming out for Android?

The short answer is it’s coming soon with no exact release date set.

Back in September 2017, Feral Interactive announced that they hit a bump in development that has pushed back the Android release to “the first half of 2018”. Which means racing fans should expect to see it pop up on the Google Play Store by July at the latest, assuming there aren’t further development delays.

The developers also mentioned that the game will use Vulcan graphics API which is to say it’s going to look absolutely gorgeous when it finally arrives.

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Connect another light to your smart home with the $17 TP-Link soft white LED bulb

Ok Google, turn on the living room.

The TP-Link soft white dimmable A19 smart LED bulb is down to $17.27 on Amazon. This smart bulb fluctuates a lot in price, but it has been holding steady around $20 or more for the last few months. This drop is one of the best we’ve seen since the holiday shopping season last year.

TP-Link’s smart bulbs are some of the easiest to set up. They connect quickly to your smart home and work with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft’s Cortana. The Kasa app works on both Android and iOS and lets you turn your light on and off from anywhere. The bulb is dimmable so you can make it as bright as you want it to be. Users give this series 4.1 stars based on 4,329 reviews.

I use a TP-Link Kasa smart bulb with colors. It’s currently $38, but if you really want the ability to change from white to blue to orange, that’s the one you want.

See on Amazon

Where To Buy an Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+

Your phone doesn’t have to come from your carrier.

You can buy a Galaxy S9 or S9+ just about anywhere, and in the U.S. most people will typically buy directly from their current carrier or one they’re in the process of switching to. But you don’t have to buy from a carrier — you can buy a GS9 or S9+ unlocked, and even have a choice of multiple retailers from which to get it.

The U.S. unlocked Galaxy S9 is designed to work on all major carriers, including Verizon and Sprint, and in terms of hardware it’s identical to what you’d get from those carriers. There are differences in software, too, but for the better — you don’t have carrier customizations or pre-loaded apps to contend with. There are also zero hoops to jump through if you ever want to switch carriers — being unlocked from the get-go, you can just switch SIMs and be on your way.

You really should consider buying your Galaxy S9 or S9+ unlocked — and when you do here are the places you can buy one, and the reasons why you’d choose each retailer.

Amazon

When buying unlocked from Amazon, it’s important to be sure that you’re buying the proper model. Amazon does sell proper unlocked Galaxy S9 and S9+ models with full U.S. carrier compatibility and warranties, but third-party sellers also offer international models — ones that may not have complete carrier compatibility and definitely don’t have a U.S. warranty. We’ve linked to the proper model below.

Amazon offers 12-month no-interest financing for purchases of $599 or more using its self-branded credit card. This isn’t as generous as what Samsung or carriers may offer, but it does help you spread out the cost of these expensive phones when buying unlocked.

See at Amazon

Best Buy

Best Buy has the Galaxy S9 and S9+ available unlocked right next to the carrier versions. In many cases, the unlocked models will be listed for less than the carrier ones as well, though you won’t see all of the purchase incentives the carriers offer. There aren’t any concerns over getting the right model — Best Buy only sells the U.S. unlocked version of the phones.

You can also get 12-month no-interest financing from Best Buy on your Galaxy S9 or S9+ purchase using its store credit card.

See at Best Buy

Samsung

If you’re going to buy a Galaxy S9 or S9+ unlocked, Samsung is the simplest way to go — though it may not always be the cheapest. There’s a better chance you’ll find a discount on Amazon or Best Buy, but there’s never anything wrong with buying direct from the manufacturer on Samsung’s website.

One huge benefit of buying from Samsung directly is that you can get your Galaxy S9 or S9+ with more internal storage. For an extra $50 your can move to 128GB of storage, or for $120 you can get 256GB of storage. This is only available from Samsung’s online store, so if you need more storage, this is your only choice.

You can also get 24-month no-interest financing for Galaxy phone purchases, which is on par with the terms that carriers offer.

See at Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint

Apple Drops to #4 Spot in Annual Fortune 500 Rankings

After retaining the #3 spot on the Fortune 500 list for the past two years, in 2018 Apple has dropped one place and now sits at #4 on the list of the top U.S. corporations based on gross revenue. Apple’s displacement on the list came due to Exxon Mobil rising from #4 in 2017 to #2 in 2018.

The full top five spots were Walmart at #1, Exxon Mobil at #2, Berkshire Hathaway at #3, Apple at #4, and UnitedHealth Group at #5. Other technology companies on the list include Amazon at #8, AT&T at #9, Verizon at #16, Alphabet at #22, and Microsoft at #30.

Fortune broke down Apple’s spot on the list, mainly citing the “overall saturation of smartphones” as a potential reason for the company’s inability to rise higher in the rankings. Fortune discussed similar problems for Apple in the company’s profile last year, stating at the time that “Apple finally appeared to hit a wall” in reference to its reliance on iPhone sales.

Apple took a small step back, from No. 3 to No. 4, despite a 6% gain in annual sales, but it led the way in profits with more than $48 billion in net income. In short, the Apple juggernaut continues at tremendous scale and despite the overall saturation of smartphones, which make up the vast majority of the company’s sales and profits. In an unusual move, Apple introduced three new phones, the upgraded iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, as well as the redesigned iPhone X (pronounced “ten”), powered by facial-recognition technology. Services likes Apple Pay and Apple Music continued to rise too.

Going back eight years, Apple’s previous rankings include 5th place in 2015 and 2014, 6th place in 2013, 17th place in 2012, 35th place in 2011 and 56th place in 2010. This year marks 24 years that Apple has been on the Fortune 500 list, with $229.2 billion of revenue and $48.3 billion of profits in the 2017 fiscal year. Although it lags behind the companies in revenue, Apple still beats the top three Fortune 500 companies in terms of annual profits, with Walmart at $9.9 billion, Exxon Mobil at $19.7 billion, and Berkshire Hathaway at $44.9 billion.

Tag: Fortune 500
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Speculative Report Claims ‘Low-Priced’ HomePod Will Fall Under Beats Brand

A questionable new report from Apple’s supply chain claims that the company’s rumored “low-priced” version of the HomePod will be placed under the Beats by Dre brand instead of the expected Apple branding. The report comes from Chinese news site Sina, which also says the $199 speaker will have MediaTek as the supplier, a change from Apple’s decision to give Inventec sole supplier duties on the first HomePod (via LoveiOS).

Reports about a cheaper HomePod began appearing quickly after news of lackluster sales for the first version of the speaker emerged earlier this year, with former KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and other industry watchers predicting a low-cost speaker priced between $150 and $200. What’s new in this week’s report is the idea of a Beats-branded version of the HomePod, but it’s unclear exactly what form the speaker would take, what features it would carry over from the $350 version of the speaker, and where Sina is sourcing the news from in the first place.

It seems unlikely that Apple would somehow combine the HomePod and Beats brands into one product, and due to all of this it’s important to take the new report with a dose of skepticism. Beats last updated its Pill line of speakers with the Pill+ in 2015, which ran for $230 at launch but nowadays is priced closer to $130 when purchased on sale. Pill devices lack persistent “Hey Siri” functionality, likely due to their lack of constant AC power, so it also seems unlikely that Apple would extend that feature beyond its own line of devices, currently including the iPhone, iPad, HomePod, and Apple Watch.

In his prediction, Ming-Chi Kuo said that Apple is “mulling” a “low-cost version” of the HomePod in an effort to boost short-term shipments. Apple’s main selling point on the $350 HomePod is its high-quality audio playback, with reviewers agreeing that the speaker blows other smart speakers out of the water in terms of audio performance, but Siri’s performance, the lack of certain languages, and Apple’s walled garden ecosystem (particularly excluding any music service besides Apple Music) left many to wonder if the price was actually justified.

As a point of comparison, two of Apple’s rivals sell entry-level versions of their smart speakers for as low as $50 in the United States, including Amazon’s Echo Dot ($49.99) and Alphabet’s Google Home Mini ($49.00). The smaller, cheaper devices allow users to expand features of the connected speaker system into other rooms around their home, without having to spend a lot of money on purchasing the base speakers multiple times.

For now, the HomePod still lacks a few features Apple announced prior to the speaker’s launch, namely AirPlay 2 support and multi-room audio, both pegged for release through a firmware update sometime later in 2018. Although there have been many reports about a cheaper HomePod, none have yet hinted at a potential launch window for the rumored lower-cost speaker.

Related Roundup: HomePodBuyer’s Guide: HomePod (Buy Now)
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‘Procreate Pocket’ Gets Major 2.0 Update With New Interface, Hundreds of Handcrafted Brushes, and More

Illustration app Procreate today updated its Procreate Pocket iPhone app to version 2.0, which developer Savage describes as “reengineered from the ground up” and “an entirely new app.” Procreate Pocket 2 is powered by Silica-M, the same graphics engine that powers Procreate for iPad, as well as Apple’s own Metal technology.

Savage says that with the upgraded technology boost in version 2.0, Procreate Pocket can now create canvases with rich P3 color depth, and users can choose from 136 hand-made brushes that include pencils, inks, wet painting, and digital-only abstract effects. Procreate Pocket also now includes “almost every Procreate feature from iPad,” like ColorDrop, QuickLine, Perspective Guides, Layer Masks, custom brush creation, and more.

The developer specifically optimized Procreate Pocket 2 for iPhone X users, with features that take advantage of 3D Touch and haptic feedback.

“We literally threw the Procreate Pocket 1.0 codebase away and started fresh. Every pixel and every line of code is new, and we’re so happy to finally bring Silica-M to our iPhone users,” said James Cuda, CEO and co-founder of Savage.

The app is also gaining two new features not yet available on iPad, including Brush Set export and import, allowing artists to easily share their creations through online marketplaces or expand their own libraries with thousands of custom brushes from other users. The second addition is a 30 second time-lapse export, which uses a custom built algorithm to remove non-essential frames from any time-lapse and offers a shortened version that can easily be shared on social media.

Procreate Pocket 2 is available today on the iOS App Store as a free update for existing users, and those who haven’t downloaded the app yet can do so for $4.99 [Direct Link].

Tag: Procreate
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New Samsung ad compares Galaxy S9 to iPhone 6, for some reason

Samsung may be ordered by a U.S. court this week to pay Apple anything between $28 million and $1 billion at the culmination of a lengthy case that found the Korean company to have infringed various Apple patents linked to the iPhone.

Whether the misdemeanors ever caused any red faces at Samsung isn’t clear, but it certainly hasn’t stopped the company from ripping into its rival periodically over the years, targeting the iPhone in a series of ads that aim to promote its own Galaxy handsets.

The most recent effort landed on YouTube a couple of days ago, though the content of the ad is bound to leave some scratching their head in confusion.

The latest in its “Moving On” series, where Samsung hopes to persuade iPhone users to ditch their handset in favor of one of its own, shows a woman becoming frustrated with her Apple-made handset while traveling.

Samsung features its flagship Galaxy S9 phone in the ad, but, rather oddly, puts it alongside the iPhone 6, a phone that Apple launched in 2014. Yes, that’s four years ago.

OK, it soon becomes clear that Samsung wants to highlight the frustrations of battery throttling, a system Apple secretly built into many of  its phones that slows performance when the battery ages, in order to prevent sudden crashes. Apple apologized to its customers after the system was uncovered at the end of last year, and offered to replace iPhone batteries at less than half the usual price. On top of that, a recent iOS update included a performance management feature that lets iPhone owners turn off battery throttling.

In Samsung’s ad, the woman’s slow iPhone 6 keeps letting her down, prompting her to visit an Apple Store. The helpful assistant tells her she can turn off the performance management feature to speed things up, but that it may lead to unexpected shutdowns. “Or you can just upgrade it,” he adds, though a new $29 battery for her current phone would also help.

Remembering a guy she saw earlier on the plane with a smug look on his face as he played on his shiny new Galaxy S9, she opts for, you guessed it, the Galaxy S9. And in the ad’s final shot, she looks really happy for it.

We get that Samsung wanted to target the hassle caused by battery throttling rather attack the iPhone 6, but a different kind of ad would’ve compared the Galaxy S9 to its more obvious rival, the iPhone X. If you’re currently trying to decide between the two, then be sure to check out Digital Trends’ informative comparison guide to help you make the right choice.

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Google Duo should let you share your screen, but it doesn’t work right now

Android users have been looking forward to the possibility of screen sharing with Google Duo for several months now, and while the feature has rolled out, it hasn’t been quite what users were hoping for. In fact, it’s totally broken. When I tested the feature with my friends’ Android devices, we found that we were only able to see a frozen image of the calling party’s display, or in some cases, a gray frame instead of an image at all.

Womp womp.

Theoretically, the functionality should be quite straightforward. Back in October, Android Police shared an APK teardown that made clear that the feature would soon be coming to Google Duo. All you would need to do is tap on the new screen-sharing button, which is located closest to the floating mirror button, and then Duo would ask for permission to record your screen. Once you gave permission, you would see your home screen with a red outline denoting what part of your screen you’re sharing, as well as a floating button featuring pause and stop functionality. The person on the other end of the line would still be able to hear you, but would see your screen instead of your face — or a blank screen.

Again, this was all in theory.

Despite the hype and anticipation, this does not appear to be the experience most people are having. As Android Police noted and we verified, the screen you try to share is frozen, and remains this way even if you attempt to switch camera angles, and even if you actually try to end the screen share session. Only be ending the call altogether can you get out of the frozen mode, which needless to say, is not the best user experience.

Of course, when features first begin rolling out, they often experience a few hiccups like this one, so it’s likely that Google will soon release yet another update to Duo to make our lives a little bit better (and screen sharing actually possible). Until then, we’ll just have to sit tight and believe that the feature will soon be not only available, but functional too.

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