Sensory deprivation float tanks can cost a fortune, but this one is different

Until now, if you wanted a sensory deprivation flotation tank in your home you’d better be a tech millionaire or international arms dealer, based on how much they cost. With prices that can easily reach into the tens of thousands of dollars, float tanks simply aren’t something within budget for the vast majority of folks. But a new Kickstarter campaign promises to change all that. Created by the Zen Float Company, it’s an inflatable sensory deprivation chamber which will set you back a more palatable amount of cash. After all, average Joes and Janes need zen relaxation, too!

“Floating, or sensory deprivation, involves lying in a tank or pod filled with about 10 inches of water and 1,000 pounds of Epsom salt,” creator Shane Stott told Digital Trends. “The salt renders you weightless so once you lie on your back you automatically float. While you are in there your skin is absorbing the magnesium and your mind is free of all sensory distractions, allowing yourself to just clear your mind and recharge. The water is heated to skin temp so it’s like you can’t even feel it.”

Unlike some of the pricier options on the market, the Zen Float Tank is fully inflatable (and deflatable) — which also helps if you’re living in a regular apartment, where space is at a premium. It’s made using drop-stitch inflatable technology, the same method used for blow up paddle boards and kayaks. Despite being made out of thousands of finely woven strands, once it’s fully inflated the exterior is rock solid. Setup can be completed in just 15 minutes, and while it requires a bit of weekly maintenance, the water and salt can last up to two years.

“I used to suffer from debilitating anxiety and panic attacks,” Stott explained. “It came to a head one night in Las Vegas, and the only thing I could think to do to escape the attack was to hop into the bath with the water up to my ears. Weeks later, I discovered floating and it was all over from there. Floating changed my life completely, and we have lots of similar stories from our customers. At the time, there were no float spas in Utah so I did some research and built a tank out of a fertilizer tank and aquarium parts.”

Since then, the Zen Float Company has gone from strength to strength — including a previous 2014 Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $300,000. As ever, we offer the usual warnings about the risks inherent in crowdfunding campaigns. However, if you understand these and still want to get involved, head over to the team’s Kickstarter page to pledge your cash. Prices start at $2,905, with shipping set for October 2018.

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Watch 958 drones create a 400-foot tall Time cover in lights instead of pixels

The iconic red border and masthead on Time magazine for the issue now nestled on newsstands wasn’t created by graphic design software. The Time cover for the June 11 issue was instead created by 958 flying drones — and shot by another drone. For the Time special-edition Drone Report, the magazine created the cover in the sky using Intel’s Shooting Star, a fleet of drones and software used to create UAV light shows. The in-flight cover was shot in Folsom, California, on May 3, with the special edition issue available beginning today, June 1.

Time’s cover is the first that was shot on a drone.  The Shooting Star drones can fly up to 400 feet, but even at that height, the drones had to fly closer together than the drone light show coordinators typically fly. Rather than the 10-foot radius the drones typically keep to avoid gusts of wind creating an in-air collision, the drones flew with fewer than five feet between them.

Using Intel’s program to choreograph light shows, the drones created the border of the magazine that’s usually simply drawn onto a photograph with graphics software. The entire “cover” in the air, with all the drones in place, was about 328 feet tall, a buzzing collection of lights in the sky at dusk.

With 958 drones, the cover choreography was one of the largest drone shows in the U.S. The largest so far, to our knowledge, was in China with 1,374 drones, but Intel Shooting Stars broke a record for indoor shows with 100 and also created a 1,200 drone show for the Olympics this year.

Astraeus Aerial Cinema Systems used an airborne drone to capture the image, with LA Drones also working on the project.  The cover was shot at sunset to create a gradient in the sky behind the drones, a time frame that also presented challenges with additional wind and the low light capture.

“I’ve always been amazed at how different an image looks when you put it inside the red border of Time,” D.W. Pine, the creative director at Time, said in a statement. “What’s interesting about this is that the image is actually the border of Time. I’ve looked at that border and logo every single day on a flatscreen monitor, and to see it up in the sky, at 400 feet in the air, it was very moving for me.”

The cover houses the magazine’s special edition on drone technology, which explores the explosion in UAV technology. The report looks at drone technology from several different angles, including safety and government moderation and drone use in Hollywood.

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Another Mac-less Apple event has come and gone

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Apple kicked off this morning’s WWDC keynote by focusing on the latest software enhancements that will debut this fall with the release of MacOS Mojave with no mention of new Mac hardware. That’s to be expected given Apple traditionally likes to focus on the main features that will power its hardware rather than upstage its work on the operating system by announcing a new Mac.

Still, prior to the keynote, some Apple faithful were hoping that Apple would announce updates to some of its Mac products such as the iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Mac Mini. Given that Intel’s newest 8th-generation processors have been out for some time, now would have at least been a good for a refresh. There’s a small chance it could still happen, but at this point it’s unlikely.

One of the most anticipated hardware updates is the MacBook Pro. Prior to the keynote, constrained inventory on Apple’s online store suggested that an update may be imminent, but that never materialized. Along with a processor update under the hood, industry observers had hoped that Apple would address some of the shortcomings with the device’s keyboard. With keys that are prone to failure, the MacBook Pro keyboard could result in a costly repair if it’s performed outside of the device’s warranty period, leading some to speculate that Apple may announce an updated model with a better keyboard.

.@Apple didn’t announce any Mac hardware updates at #WWDC18. Which are you most disappointed to not see?

(Please RT for a greater sample size)

— Digital Trends (@DigitalTrends) June 4, 2018

Last updated in 2014, the Mac Mini is one product that may be most deserving of an update. The minuscule desktop is one of the cheapest ways to experience a Mac, but sadly it’s hardware has not kept up with the times. The “latest” Mac Mini available today still uses Intel’s 4th Generation processor, codenamed Haswell, while many of the latest desktops from PC rivals running Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system now uses an 8th Generation CPU.

The MacBook Air is another device that could deserve more of Apple’s attention. Considered a lightweight computing staple in many offices, the MacBook Air is a reliable machine, but its design hasn’t changed in years and the laptop only benefited from minor under the hood tweaks. The last time the MacBook Air was updated was last year, and that brought only a slight bump in processing speed. We’ve been anticipating an overhaul to Apple’s entry-level offering, with either an updated MacBook, MacBook Air, or something else entirely.

In the all-in-one space, Apple’s recent launch of the iMac Pro has some wondering when the iMac would be updated. It’s been almost a year since Apple refreshed its regular iMac line, and an update this year could replace last year’s 7th Generation processor with Intel’s 8th Generation CPU this year.

Given all the latest enhancements around MacOS Mojave, hardware updates to its Mac platform would give Apple fresh canvases to showcase its latest operating system.

Instead, it looks like we’ll have to wait until later this year for any new Mac hardware.

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iPhone apps are finally coming to your MacBook. Eventually. Sorta.

SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said Apple is absolutely not merging iOS and MacOS with a large NO! displayed in the background during the WWDC opening keynote. Instead, Apple is bringing UIKit to MacOS so that developers can better “port” their iOS apps over to Macs with minimal code alterations. 

Porting an app from the iPhone and iPad over to MacOS takes additional time and money. But with support for UIKit in the next release of MacOS, Federighi says only a minimal amount of code will be needed, such as adding trackpad support, window resizing, higher resolutions, and so on. Unfortunately, you won’t see an immediate flood of converted apps in the MacOS App Store given Apple’s initiative is a multi-year project. 

For starters, Apple began testing UIKit for MacOS by converting its in-house apps such as Home, News, Stocks, and Voice Memos. At their heart, these apps are carbon copies of their iOS counterparts, only retooled to work in a desktop environment. Apple’s in-house mission appears to be ongoing as well, as developers won’t even have access to this feature until 2019. 

For a while, rumors surfaced that Apple may eventually merge iOS and MacOS — or at least create a scenario like Chrome OS and Google Play where Chromebooks can now natively run Android apps. More recent Apple-related rumors are based on leaks indicating that Apple is working on unifying the platforms, describing a possible UWP-like platform codenamed “Marzipan” where one app runs on all Apple-based devices. 

CEO Tim Cook said in April that he didn’t feel his customers actually wanted the two platforms to merge, as both serve a specific purpose. “One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well. And if you begin to merge the two … you begin to make trade-offs and compromises,” he said. 

Although MacOS Mojave will introduce a completely revamped App Store, whether developers jump on the UIKit MacOS conversion bandwagon is a wait-and-see scenario. Many popular app developers are currently sticking with web-based versions, such as Twitter who pulled its MacOS app in February in favor of its “full” web experience. Twitter’s app still resides on the App Store for iOS, Google Play, and the Microsoft Store. 

With MacOS support for UIKit, Federighi’s humorous denial, and Cook’s desire to keep the two platforms separate, hopefully rumors of a possible merge are now put to rest. Perhaps this announcement is a positive sign that apps from Facebook, Netflix, and so on will finally stock the somewhat lackluster MacOS App Store shelves. 

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iPhone apps are finally coming to your MacBook. Eventually. Sorta.

SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi said Apple is absolutely not merging iOS and MacOS with a large NO! displayed in the background during the WWDC opening keynote. Instead, Apple is bringing UIKit to MacOS so that developers can better “port” their iOS apps over to Macs with minimal code alterations. 

Porting an app from the iPhone and iPad over to MacOS takes additional time and money. But with support for UIKit in the next release of MacOS, Federighi says only a minimal amount of code will be needed, such as adding trackpad support, window resizing, higher resolutions, and so on. Unfortunately, you won’t see an immediate flood of converted apps in the MacOS App Store given Apple’s initiative is a multi-year project. 

For starters, Apple began testing UIKit for MacOS by converting its in-house apps such as Home, News, Stocks, and Voice Memos. At their heart, these apps are carbon copies of their iOS counterparts, only retooled to work in a desktop environment. Apple’s in-house mission appears to be ongoing as well, as developers won’t even have access to this feature until 2019. 

For a while, rumors surfaced that Apple may eventually merge iOS and MacOS — or at least create a scenario like Chrome OS and Google Play where Chromebooks can now natively run Android apps. More recent Apple-related rumors are based on leaks indicating that Apple is working on unifying the platforms, describing a possible UWP-like platform codenamed “Marzipan” where one app runs on all Apple-based devices. 

CEO Tim Cook said in April that he didn’t feel his customers actually wanted the two platforms to merge, as both serve a specific purpose. “One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well. And if you begin to merge the two … you begin to make trade-offs and compromises,” he said. 

Although MacOS Mojave will introduce a completely revamped App Store, whether developers jump on the UIKit MacOS conversion bandwagon is a wait-and-see scenario. Many popular app developers are currently sticking with web-based versions, such as Twitter who pulled its MacOS app in February in favor of its “full” web experience. Twitter’s app still resides on the App Store for iOS, Google Play, and the Microsoft Store. 

With MacOS support for UIKit, Federighi’s humorous denial, and Cook’s desire to keep the two platforms separate, hopefully rumors of a possible merge are now put to rest. Perhaps this announcement is a positive sign that apps from Facebook, Netflix, and so on will finally stock the somewhat lackluster MacOS App Store shelves. 

Editors’ Recommendations

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Measure, Apple Books, Shortcuts: Our favorite new and updated apps in iOS 12

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Surprise, surprise — iOS 12 comes after last year’s iOS 11. Apple just announced the latest version of its mobile operating system at WWDC 2018, and while there are a few new features in iOS 12, the update focuses more improving performance, and refining existing experiences. It also introduces new apps, and has pretty great tweaks to some already on our iPhones.

We’ve rounded up our favorite new apps coming in iOS 12, as well as a few updates coming to existing Apple apps.

Measure

With the introduction of ARKit 2.0, Apple is adding a new tool in iOS called Measure. Think of this app as the Calculator app — it’ll be handy, but only at certain moments. Measure turns your iPhone into a measuring tape, delivering measurements for objects large and small. Simply point your iPhone’s camera at an object — even small photos — and it will provide you with length, width, height, and other proportions. While you may worry about the accuracy of these measurements, Apple said its state of the art hardware along with its ARKit framework should provide extremely accurate measurements, no matter what you choose to size up.

Shortcuts

One of the most exciting new apps on iOS 12 is called Shortcuts. Apple’s newest iOS app allows you to create customized shortcuts for a variety of third-party apps. For example, you can easily create a shortcut to order your coffee on your way to work, or turn on your favorite playlist when you hit the gym. The feature works a lot like the existing app IFTTT, but for iOS apps. In some apps, you’ll see pre-defined shortcuts, and in others you will need to manually configure them directly from the Shortcuts app. You’ll be able to have Siri trigger these shortcuts by saying a custom phrase as well.

Messages

Love Animoji? How about Samsung’s AR Emoji? Well, with the iOS 12 update, you can have the best of both worlds. Apple is releasing four new Animoji (a koala, dinosaur, ghost, tiger) in iOS 12, bringing the total number of Animoji characters to 20. Your Animojis will get a little more lively as well, with the introduction of “Tongue Detection.” With Tongue Detection your favorite Animojis can now wag and stick out their tongues when you stick out your tongue. Finally, Apple is adding an entirely new feature called Memoji, which allows you to create animations of yourself to send via Messages or FaceTime. The feature is similar to the AR Emoji feature found on the Samsung Galaxy S9, but it has much more customization features, and Apple’s face-tracking is far superior. Sadly, all of this is only available on the iPhone X, but that’s likely to change this fall as the same hardware is likely to be in all its upcoming iPhone devices.

FaceTime

After years of people begging for group chat to make its way to FaceTime, it looks like Apple is finally bringing the goods. With iOS 12, Apple has added group chat to FaceTime, allowing you to add up to 32 people to your group chat. The best part? You can use Memoji in FaceTime group chats. If 32 people sounds like a lot to manage, don’t despair. iOS 12 allows you to quickly see who is speaking by enlarging their image.

Books

• 1.
  iBooks
• 2.
  Apple Books

Earlier this year, Apple said it was completing a major redesign for it’s iBooks app with iOS 11.3. After first appearing unfinished on the developer beta, it mysteriously disappeared before iOS 11.3 made it’s way to iPhones and iPads around the world. It looks like the wait is over with iOS 12. Apple Books is the official name of Apple’s updated iBooks app that will ship with iOS 12. Books is a complete redesign that removes a lot of clutter that came along with the original iBooks app. There’s a “Now Reading” pane as well as an updated Book Store that offers better suggestions on books to purchase. In addition to all the new e-book features, you’ll also find a nice new tab dedicated for audiobooks.

Stocks

• 1.
  Old Stocks app.
• 2.
  New Stocks app.

Stocks is one of those apps that most people likely uninstall. Since its release, it has only been available on the iPhone, and it hasn’t seen much of an update for quite a while. That’s changing in iOS 12. Stocks is getting a makeover. You’ll now be able to see how stocks perform over time, and there’s now Apple News built in, so you can tap on individual stocks and get the latest news about the company directly within the app. Apple hasn’t forgotten about iPad users either, as the app is finally making its way to the iPad. In fact, you’ll even be able to find the app on macOS Mojave coming later this fall.

Voice Memos

Like the Stocks app, Apple’s Voice Memos app hasn’t gotten a lot of love over the past few years. It’s a simple app meant to do a single task, yet it’s extremely helpful. In addition to a modest design update, Voice Memos will now store your recordings on the iCloud server. You’ll be able to instantly access them from any linked iOS device, and you can also find them on the new Voice Memos app on macOS later this fall when Apple releases macOS Mojave.

Ready to download iOS 12?

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

iOS 12 is currently in developer beta, but it will arrive as a public beta in the next few weeks. You can follow our guide on how to install iOS 12, but do remember to backup your phone, or install the beta on a secondary device — there are quite a few bugs we’ve spotted.

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How to get the iOS 12 developer beta on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

At this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple unveiled the latest version of its mobile operating system — iOS 12. While the update mainly focused on delivering a faster and more responsive OS across a range of older iPhones and iPads, it also packs a host of new apps and features. 

As usual, the public beta doesn’t launch until later in the summer, and the final version won’t be released until the fall, alongside new iPhone devices. But for those who can’t wait that long, you can still try the developer beta, but it will cost you some cash. Here’s how to install it right now.

Compatible devices

First, make sure your device is capable of running the iOS 12 beta. Like iOS 11, iOS 12 is only compatible with 64-bit devices — which means 32-bit devices like the iPhone 5 won’t be able to run the update.

Here are the supported iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices:

• iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X
• iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, iPad Mini 4 iPad 9.7-inch, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch, iPad Pro 10.5-inch
• iPod touch (sixth generation)

Purchase a Developers Account

To download the iOS 12 developer beta, you’ll have to purchase a membership for Apple’s Developer Program. You can enroll either enroll as a single person or with an organization. Either way, you’ll need to provide basic personal information such as your legal name and address. The membership does come at a cost though — you’ll have to shell out $100 per year.

Included in the membership are software and tools — you’ll have the ability to download and install the latest beta OS releases. This includes iOS 12, macOS Mojave, watchOS, and tvOS. For those looking to develop their own apps, you’ll also have the ability to invite users to try them via TestFlight Beta testing before releasing them on the App Store, and more.

Once you’ve created your account, you’ll have to register your device on Apple’s Developer site. After entering your login and password information, you’ll then be able to access the Developer portal.

Back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Before you update to the iOS 12 beta, you should make sure to back up your device’s data. That way if you lose anything while downloading the new OS, it’ll be easy to restore things back to the way they were.

You can choose to back up data on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch via iCloud or via iTunes on a PC or Mac.

Here’s how to back up an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iCloud:

• Connect your device to a Wi-Fi network.
• Open Settings, select your name, and tap iCloud. (If you’re using iOS 10.2 or earlier, you’ll have to scroll down and tap iCloud).
• Tap iCloud Backup. (For those on iOS 10.2 or earlier, tap Backup). Also, make sure that iCloud Backup is turned on.
• Tap Back Up Now.
• You should also make sure to check the backup is completed. You can do this by opening Settings, tapping on your name, go to iCloud > iCloud Storage > Manage Storage and tap on your device from the list.

If you choose to back up your device using a computer, you can use the built-in backup function via iTunes.

Here’s how to back up an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iTunes:

• Make sure your iTunes is updated to the latest version, open it up, and plug your iOS device in.
• Follow the onscreen steps if a message asks for your device password or to Trust This Computer.
• Select your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch when it appears in iTunes.
• You can save Health and Activity data from your iOS device or Apple Watch by selecting Encrypt and creating a passcode. If you don’t want to save your Health and Activity data, you can just click Back Up Now.
• After the process is done, you can check to see if the backup finished successfully by clicking iTunes Preferences > Devices (on a Mac) or Edit > Preferences > Devices (on a PC).

Downloading iOS 12 beta

To download the beta, go to developer.apple.com while on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch and click on the Downloads section. You’ll then be brought to a list of all different betas — you’ll want to tap download next to iOS 12. Once you agree to the terms and services, you’ll be able to tap Install followed by Restart to finalize the download on your device.

Installing iOS 12 beta on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Once your device restarts, head over to Settings > General > Software Update. You’ll then be able to tap Download and Install, which will prompt you to enter your passcode. After agreeing to the Terms and Conditions, your device will begin to download the beta. After the download is complete and your device reboots one more time, you’ll officially be running iOS 12.

Do be aware that there are some quirks in betas, so we don’t recommend installing iOS 12 on your primary phone at the moment. We’ll update this post when the public beta is available.

Editors’ Recommendations

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My five problems with the iPhone that iOS 12 doesn’t fix

Apple

Dear Apple: Thanks for the Memojis and all. You created tools to let us stop wasting our time on our iPhones and then gave us an even sillier way to spend our time. But no matter: In general, the iPhone is a perfectly-crafted piece of hardware.

But that software? Mmmm … It’s getting a little funky, my friends. Despite all the fanfare at Monday’s WWDC event in San Jose where Apple announced iOS 12 — which promises to make your iPhone faster and less annoying — there’s still a bunch of basic, obvious stuff that’s wrong with the iPhone.

Here’s my list of five glaring failures in the platform that iOS 12 won’t do a darn thing about. Should I hold my breath for lucky 13?

1. What’s up with Wi-Fi?

Every morning, I get on the subway and try to log on to the public Wi-Fi system. Every day, it’s a crapshoot. The Control Center makes it easy to turn Wi-Fi on and off, but that’s really only half the battle, isn’t it? I need to select a network and join it. Walk into a hotel and try to get on the network, and you’ll have to unlock your phone, open the Settings app, invariably back out of whatever submenu you were in, scroll to the Wi-Fi section, wait for it to populate, and finally click to select a network.

What the hell.

Siri can detect that I order the same mocha Frappuccino every morning and proactively help me order one, but the iPhone can’t let me quickly access the Wi-Fi menu?

2. Settings in general are terrible.

And speaking of the Settings menu, why is it so miserably designed? Each individual app has a submenu within the Settings menu, but most also have settings built into the apps themselves, and in general those are far more useful. Still, features replicate. Take the Facebook app, for example. Want to hush Facebook notifications? You can do it either from the app’s settings menu or the iPhone’s main Settings app. Or from the Notifications subsection of Settings, which takes you to the same place as the app. Do they all do the same thing? Who knows?

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Settings menu is grouped into sections, but the groupings are just weird to my eyes. Gray bars separate subsections, but Apple doesn’t name them – that would be too easy. The first big group is clearly “Networking,” but beyond that it devolves quickly into “stuff we connected for some unclear reason.” Sure, Notifications and Control Center go together, I guess. “Controls.” Under that is really common stuff? Toward the bottom is the third-party apps you’ve installed, but some Apple apps are ghettoized there too. Like I said, weird.

3. Why don’t volumes work in any logical way?

Up late and bored a few nights ago, I grabbed my iPhone X to check the news. The insomniacs among us likely share a similar routine: In the Control Center, I turned the volume to zero. Then I clicked that little half moon icon: Don’t disturb me, but far more important, don’t disturb my wife, who’s fast asleep. Then I flipped the little hardware switch on the left side of the phone, which sets the ringer to silent. Three different ways to turn off the volume. Three. Different. Ways.

Feeling safe, I popped open the browser and hit my favorite news site, and followed a link in a story. YouTube opened. A video started playing. Loudly.

I … I don’t understand.

4. Force touch exists.

The 3D touch settings feature that Apple created adds really interesting functionality. Press and hold the camera button and you’ll get the option to rearrange icons – and the same holds true for every icon on the home screen. Deep press the icon and you’ll get a neat submenu with some common features. It’s cool, but you’d have no way to know it’s there other than randomly trying.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Control Center is a key issue here. If you were trying to find the mystery shortcut to Wi-Fi (which I’m still convinced exists somewhere), you might consider deep pressing the Wi-Fi button. Do so and you’ll stumble across a handy submenu with some extra features. That doesn’t work on the Do Not Disturb icon, however. The Timer and Flashlight submenus actively make me want to use these features; the Alarm menu is nonexistent, despite how obviously useful it could be.

Apple: Give us a little icon to show when there’s more down there. Please.

5. Deleting iMessages leaves me iAnnoyed.

I know, I sound like a cranky old man when I complain about text messaging, but that’s my whole point: Things that ought to be no brainers with the iPhone at this point have been over-engineered and over-designed to the point that the simple has become complex. Take iMessages. Say your ex sends you a boozy message or 18 at the crack of dawn – something really classy. To delete it, you can swipe left from the main screen, but this will delete the entire messaging history. Maybe you want to save one or two?

Click a message to enter, long press an individual message, find the “more” menu at the bottom of the screen, and you can delete individual messages or all of them. Why not a Force Touch? Who knows? Why is it multiple steps like this? Who knows? Why is that person still texting you, anyway?

My point is, the basics should be obvious. How to make a phone call. How to turn the volume on and off. How to silence an annoying notification. And too often, iOS buries them through complications that have us jumping through hoops. I’d love to see the simple things addressed, before Apple continues development on animated dancing icons.

I’m holding my breath until iOS 13 comes out. I’m looking forward to some notifications about it. If it can find them.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Common iOS 11 problems and advice on how to handle them
• iOS 12 will make your iPhone faster and less annoying. Here’s what’s coming
• 28 iOS 11 tips and tricks to help you navigate Apple’s latest update with ease
• Here are five new features we want to see in Apple’s iOS 12
• How to block text messages on iOS and Android

MacOS Mojave hands-on review

The MacOS Mojave developer preview is out now, with a beta just around the corner. So, how does it stack up to MacOS High Sierra?

Well, where MacOS High Sierra did most of its work behind-the-scenes, MacOS Mojave leaps onto center stage, basking in the spotlight. Instead of bundling together a bunch of file system and security updates, Mojave revels in the revamping the MacOS user experience.

Lights out

MacOS Mojave is all about front-end updates, new visual elements, new apps, and all sorts of new stuff to get your hands on. First among which is a feature that Mac users have been clamoring for: Dark Mode.

What exactly is ‘Juneteenth?’

Available in your System Preferences, under General, the new Dark Mode swaps your Mac’s familiar frosty gray-and-whites for a classy evening look. With Dark Mode enabled, your menu bar and dock look less like translucent frosted glass and more like translucent smoked glass.

Apps from Apple take this transformation one step further, trading white backgrounds for a few shades of gray-and-black. It also changes the trash can icon. The day-time theme trash can is silver, the night-time theme trash can is what I can only assume is space gray.

Apple also rolled out a “dynamic wallpaper” that changes depending on the time of day where you are.

Taking this day-and-night theme a step further, Apple also rolled out a “dynamic wallpaper” that changes depending on the time of day where you are. Start out with a sand dune at dawn and end the day with a sand dune alone beneath a shroud of stars.

They don’t seem like much, but these new features change the character of your MacOS experience — in a good way. The nuts and bolts of the operating system are unchanged but the texture becomes definitively modern, tasteful, and slick.

Setting up shop

Mac users have a variety of opinions about the Mac App Store but the consensus seems to be somewhere between “it’s awful” and “it could be better.” Thankfully, Apple is taking those criticisms seriously and rolled out a revamped App Store experience with MacOS Mojave.

What’s in store for the app store? (I’m sorry.)

The biggest change here is how the store is organized. The bar on the left lets you jump between major categories and browse through regularly updated lists of carefully curated apps, like the iOS App Store ever since iOS 11. It’s a small change but a welcome one, making the App Store more accessible and putting apps on display more prominently.

We’re going to see more iOS apps on MacOS in the near future. At least, that’s the hope.

Along with the new App Store, you’ll also get a couple new apps in the Mojave update — an Apple News app, a new Stocks app, an Apple Home app, and finally the Voice Memos app is making its MacOS debut. These apps made their way to MacOS via Apple’s new slightly unified back-end framework.

MacOS apps are typically built with Apple’s AppKit, and iOS apps are made with UIKit, but some behind-the-scenes changes bring these two development tools closer together, which means we’re going to see more iOS apps on MacOS in the near future. At least, that’s the hope.

News also has a new icon — N, for News.

In addition to some new apps, a major change is coming to an old favorite: FaceTime. Finally, you can ditch Skype entirely — if you haven’t already just replaced it with Discord — and use FaceTime for all your group video chat needs. The new FaceTime supports group calls with up to 32 people — which sounds like a total nightmare.

For regular-sized group conversations, involving just a couple people, it works well. Unfortunately, you’re still stuck FaceTiming with just Apple devices so most of the time you’re probably going to be stuck using Skype anyway — or Discord, which is an excellent alternative. It’s great that FaceTime supports group calls now, but let’s be real: It should have had that feature a long, long time ago.

Stacks and screenshots

This one’s another quality of life change but it’ll make a difference for anyone who takes a lot of screenshots — like we did for this review. Just right click on your desktop and you can have your files automatically arrange themselves into stacks.

Also known as ‘not-folders.’

Stacks aren’t folders, but they play a similar role. By clicking on one of these stacks, they automatically expand so you can open the file you want to open, and once you do, they close right up again.

Screenshots also got a bit of a makeover in the MacOS Mojave update. They behave like they do on iOS, which means once you snap one (with Command + Shift + 3) it slides over to a little corner of your screen where you can just pop it open and make any changes you want before saving it to the desktop.

Not bad, not bad at all

For something as simple as an operating system update, Mojave manages to pack enough quality-of-life changes in that you’ll definitely find something to like about this update. Even though Mac users enjoyed the back-end changes Apple made in the last MacOS update, the Mojave update feels a lot more people-focused. With that in mind, it’s no surprise to see Safari receive some major security updates. Now, you’ll get a warning box every time a website requests information from Safari, and Apple redesigned the browser’s back-end to make it harder for ads to track you from site to site.

Apple has lavished so much attention on its iOS products for so long, that it’s easy to feel neglected as a MacOS user. That’s why these small changes feel so important. The Mojave update serves as a reminder that Apple is paying attention to MacOS users, even if it doesn’t always seem like it.

Editors’ Recommendations

• MacOS Mojave brings Dark Mode, stacking, and a redesigned App Store to Macs
• iPhone apps are finally coming to your MacBook. Eventually. Sorta.
• Here’s what we want from MacOS in 2018
• Live updates: How to watch Apple’s WWDC 2018 keynote
• The latest version of MacOS now supports storing your messages in Apple’s cloud

Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 is made for Windows PCs with ‘innovative form factors’

At its keynote presentation at Computex 2018, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 850, a new chipset made exclusively for Windows PCs. While the first generation of Qualcomm-powered laptops shared the Snapdragon 835 with Android phones, the next generation will get its own chip. Qualcomm says the 850 is separate from the 845, and has been optimized for use with Windows PCs, including for form factors outside of traditional laptops.

One of the most fascinating details in the presentation was the inclusion of support for “innovative form factors.” When asked about what that could mean, Qualcomm stated that we should look forward to some more innovation in the kinds of machines we’ll see.

“The first generation of the platform was fairly traditional,” said Miguel Nunes, a senior director at Qualcomm. “What you’ll see on the 850 is a lot more aggressive design from a form factor standpoint. We’re even working with OEMs on even next-generation products, so you’ll see some creative designs in the future.”

Beyond that, we didn’t get much of a hint as to what these new designs would be. From some of the photos included, the most eyebrow-raising design includes what is either an oversized Touch Bar or a touchpad that’s been moved above the keyboard. Beyond that, these look like the usual assortment of convertible and detachable 2-in-1s.

Qualcomm’s Always Connected PCs were always known for two primary things: Battery life and LTE connectivity. The Snapdragon 850 continues those features, claiming a 20 percent increase in both battery life and gigabit LTE speeds. Thanks to the new X20 modem, Qualcomm can now boast LTE speeds of up to 1.2Gbps, as well as increasing throughput in areas with a weaker cellular signal. Nunes called this next generation of gigabit LTE the “foundation building block as networks prepare for the move to 5G.”

In addition, Qualcomm states that the Snapdragon 850 includes a 30 percent increase in performance, which should please those disappointed by the lackluster CPU performance in the first generation of Qualcomm PCs.

On a technical level, there’s not much difference between the Snapdragon 850 and the 845, other than the fact that one has been optimized for Android phones and the other for Windows PCs. Nunes insisted that there was a lot that goes into optimizing the platform to work in a PC form factor versus a phone form factor.

“It goes into how the software gets managed, how it’s tailored to the PC user experience, how it throttles, how it aggressively ramps cores — it’s a whole solution,” said Nunes.

The first generation of Always Connected PCs was fairly limited. It was just three devices: The higher-end HP Envy X2, the detachable Lenovo Miix 630, and the more-affordable Asus NovaGo. Despite the fact that claimed battery life was impressive across the board, we haven’t yet been able to test them out. Performance was always a concern for Qualcomm devices, but the reception doesn’t seem to have dissuaded Qualcomm or OEMs from pushing forward with new devices.

Editors’ Recommendations

• HP reopens pre-orders for its first ‘always connected’ Windows 10 PC
• The best touchscreen laptops
• Microsoft is giving Always Connected PCs a performance boost and more apps
• Asus ROG Phone shrinks your gaming PC and puts it in your pocket
• HP’s first Qualcomm-powered PC, the HP Envy X2, suffers a slight delay