Here’s what we want to see from the Surface Studio 2

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

When the Microsoft Surface Studio first came out, it seemed like a timely and ambitious project: An all-in-one, bendable desktop computer with a stunning screen and tons of designer-friendly features.

A closer look revealed some problems with this large addition to the Surface family, including an underwhelming processor and a few too many peripherals to keep track of. Fortunately, it looks like the Studio 2 is in the works, and we have some ideas on how Microsoft’s artist-friendly desktop could be a lot friendlier.

A more powerful processor, please

Sam Lionheart/iFixit

Let’s get this one out of the way early: The Studio 2 needs a far better processor if it’s going to be competitive. When the first Studio came out, it got some internal specs right. Storage options from 1TB to 2TB? That’s good (more on how it could be better below). RAM from 8GB to 32GB? Great. But then people took a look at the processor, and realized it was a 6th-gen Intel chip primarily intended for mobile computers… basically, the exact opposite of what the Studio should have had. The GPU was also an older generation, unimpressive model.

This was a drastic blow against the Studio right out the gate, and we’re still not sure why Microsoft made those horrible processor choices on a machine intended for top-tier professional work. The Studio 2 is the perfect chance to recover from this mistake and put in a processor that’s worth that giant screen and high price. Intel’s new Coffee Lake CPUs are a great opportunity to equip the Studio with what it deserves, and Nvidia has plenty of excellent graphics card lines that would be an excellent improvement. The Studio simply cannot disappoint a second time here.

Knocking that price down a bit

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The Studio had a tough time positioning itself in the market. Was it going to compete more directly against iMacs, or iMac Pros? Microsoft seemed to lean toward the iMac Pro comparison with a price tag that ranged from $3,000 to $4,200: Favorable when looking at the iMac Pro costs, but very high when looking at most everything else.

Microsoft may have better luck dropping the price a little to compete more against high-end iMac models, maybe starting in the $2,000-$2,500 range. Of course, it’s difficult to ask both this and that Microsoft improve the processors. Maybe the difference could be made up with a less-expensive display.

Moving from a hybrid drive to SSD

Sam Lionheart/iFixit

The first Studio had a hybrid drive, but it wasn’t the best: The SSD portion was used to manage the operating system, while the HDD portion was used to store all extra data. This essentially gave the Studio HDD speeds, which was another sore point for those expecting a particularly powerful desktop machine.

We would really like to see the next Studio embrace a full SSD drive for a big speed boost. The storage capacity could be lowered significantly from the 1TB threshold to help make up for the greater expense — we are, after all, more accustomed to using cloud services like OneDrive these days. It would be an easy win for Microsoft and a much needed upgrade for the computer.

Updated and more useful ports

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The Surface Book 2 was the first Microsoft computer to include a USB-C port, but the computer that really needs this option is the Studio. This would help fill in several gaps that the Studio has. First, a fully updated Thunderbolt 3 USB-C port could help people connect their external GPUs, making up for the lackluster Studio GPU (if this goes unchanged in the next model).

Also, such a port would be the perfect way to allow the Studio to connect to other 4K screens for bigger products, transfer large files faster, and of course, charge your extra devices. Microsoft has been hesitant to use USB-C in the past because their studies found that people didn’t understand how to charge laptops properly with USB-C ports (they kept trying to charge their phones in them). However, this wouldn’t really be a problem on the desktop-based Studio, so Microsoft doesn’t have an excuse here.

Make the Dial an onboard feature

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The Surface Dial was touted as the perfect companion to the Studio, a versatile, twist-happy dial that could be programmed for all kinds of design tasks to help make work easier no matter what you were doing. Unfortunately, the Surface Dial didn’t come with the Studio, so you had to buy it separately, a tall order for those who just spent thousands of dollars on a computer.

Microsoft should solve this problem by simply making the Dial a built-in feature of the Studio. Let’s face it, no one is using the Dial on any other device, and making it an extra accessory along with the Surface Pen is too much clutter. Instead, build it into the design of the Studio and let users program it themselves from there. It’s a tidier, more reasonable solution that works even when the Studio is vertical and doesn’t involve awkwardly stamping a big button onto the fragile screen.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) review
• Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 vs. Surface Book 2 15
• Here’s what we want to see from the next Surface Pro
• Here’s what we want to see from the Surface Book 3
• Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 3 vs Microsoft Surface Book 2 13

These U.S. carriers have updated the LG G6 to Android Oreo

Where are ya, T-Mobile?

The LG G6 was one of 2017’s most underappreciated phones, but despite its lacking popularity, it’s still important that LG updates the phone on a timely manner for those that did throw their cash down for it.

A lot of carriers in the U.S. have recently updated the LG G6 to Android 8.0 Oreo, and to help you keep track of which companies have committed to the update, here’s the list as it currently stands.

AT&T

According to numerous reports over on Reddit, the LG G6 on AT&T is being updated to Oreo. AT&T’s website isn’t updated to reflect these changes at the time of publication, but that should be fixed soon.

The update increases the G6’s security patch to April 2018 and has all of the Oreo features you’d expect — such as picture-in-picture, notification dots next to app icons, Google’s handy Autofill API, and more.

Sprint

If you purchased the LG G6 on Sprint, you’re also in luck!

Android 8.0 Oreo started rolling out to the Sprint G6 in late May, and it weighs in at a hefty 1808.5MB.

Interestingly enough, the G6 on Sprint gets a more recent security patch with an update to the May 2018 one.

Verizon

Last but not least, Verizon was actually the first carrier in the United States to start updating the G6 to Oreo.

Verizon’s update measures in at 1893.0MB, and like the Sprint variant, comes with the older April 2018 security patch.

Unlocked LG G6 finally gets Android 8.0 Oreo update

LG G6

• LG G6 review!
• LG G6 specs
• LG G6 vs. Google Pixel: The two best cameras right now
• Everything you need to know about the G6’s cameras
• LG forums

Verizon
Sprint
T-Mobile
AT&T
B&H

Android Oreo

• Android Oreo review!
• Everything new in Android Oreo
• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion

Where to watch the BlackBerry KEY2 announcement

The KEY2 event will begin on June 7 at 10:00 AM ET.

The BlackBerry KEYone stood out as one of 2017’s most interesting and unique phones, and this year, BlackBerry’s going to follow it up with the KEY2. We’ve already come across quite a few leaks and rumors speculating about what the phone will come equipped with, but soon we’ll be able to lay the rumor mill to rest.

BlackBerry’s holding an event in New York to announce the KEY2, and while we’ll be in attendance, you can watch the entire thing without having to put a foot out the door. The company’s hosting a livestream on YouTube, and you can tune in by simply tapping/clicking the video above.

The livestream will begin at 10:00 AM ET on Thursday, June 7.

What are you hoping to see from the KEY2?

I’m excited for the BlackBerry KEY2 because virtual keyboards are still terrible

BlackBerry KEYone

• BlackBerry KEYone review
• KEYone vs. Priv: Battle of the BlackBerry keyboards
• BlackBerry KEYone specs
• The latest KEYone news
• Join the discussion in the forums

Amazon
Best Buy
BlackBerry Mobile

Destiny 2: Forsaken update for PlayStation 4 – Everything you need to know!

It looks like Forsaken may bring a lot to Destiny 2

Destiny 2 has been getting a lot of flack recently, well since it was released in some circles, and Bungie has been tworking hard to address the fans problems with the game. A lot of the issue with the last 2 expansions is there were largely already done by the time Destiny 2 was released so there wasn’t a lot that Bungie could do to address the issues.

With Forsaken Bungie has a chance to really change the game for the better. Like the Taken king from Destiny 1, Forsaken is adding a huge amount of new gameplay, story, powers, weapons and essentially altering the groundwork of the base game. Let’s take a look at what we know so far and what it might mean for us as players.

Find it at Amazon

What is the Forsaken update?

Forsaken is the newest expansion for Destiny 2 which seems to center around the Reef, one of the social spaces in Destiny 1 and home of the Prison of Elders. In this new storyline, Cayde-6 has been using the prison to store away some of the worst villains in the Solar System and, you guessed it, they break free.

Bungie is describing it as a western revenge story, dark and gritty.

On the Bungie Livestream they talk about you being outside the Vanguard authority as you hunt the escaped prisoners down. Bungie is describing it as a western revenge story, dark and gritty, which sounds great, though Nathan Fillion’s Cayde-6 is always light-hearted so I’m not sure how that will play out.

There are a lot of new gameplay mechanics, one called Baron Hunts, where you chase down and kill the “reverse magnificent seven” as Bungie call them, each with their own special abilities and skillset to test you. We don’t know a lot about the Barons right now, or the Scorn nation as a whole. What we do know is a sniper Baron and a melee Baron are key parts of the enemy combatant lineup, which will require some new tactics to take on effectively.

What new worlds are there?

There are two new playable areas in this update, the Tangled Shore and the new Raid area Dreaming City. The Tangled Shore is going to be where the storyline for Forsaken will be played out. A twisted interconnected group of busted up asteroids, the Shore is described by Bungie as an otherworldly landscape with tumbleweeds, very western and gritty. Like all the other playable areas, it will have missions and public events to help with the grind as well as the new collectibles that are available.

The Dreaming City is where the Awoken, one of the playable races in Destiny 2, come from. This new Raid area looks to be unlike any other before it, with a full story to explain the Awoken and persistent changes over time. Bungie has said what one Raid team does affect the Dreaming City for all the subsequent Raid teams who play it after, with secrets and quests to do inside the City that alter everything about it. This new dynamic will hopefully bring some much-needed replayability to these Raids.

Talk to me about Weapons and Armor

Of course there will be a whole new collection of exotic and legendary weapons and armor in Forsaken. From what we have seen on the live stream there is a definite western feel to a lot of the armor, we get a close up of boots with spurs on them, and some hand cannons that look suspiciously like Captain Mal Reynolds’ pistol from Firefly. There really isn’t a lot of detail on this yet, it’s still very early but we will keep you up to date as we hear more. what we do know about though is the new weapon class.

The bow seems to be an almost one shot kill weapon in PvP. if used correctly.

The bow is being introduced for the first time in Destiny 2: Forsaken, well you could use a bow as Hunters super but this will be a different kettle of fish. Available in short, medium, and long-range types, the bow seems to be an almost one shot kill weapon in PvP and may come in all three slots, kinetic, energy, and power, for the maximum destructive force.

Bungie has also tweaked how players can handle weapons allowing you to use the same weapon in all three slots if you want to — Shotguns are going to be insane in PvP so get ready for shotty shotty shotty matches — I can see some amazing all bow matches happening and that sounds awesome.

Do we get new PvP?

Yes we do, with a twist as well. Gambit mode is a PvP mode that also incorporates PvE. You start with two teams but instead of fighting directly with each other you are in two separate arenas fighting waves of enemies and collecting motes as you kill them. These motes can then be used to do multiple things. You can use them to summon your big bad to end the match, you can use them to shut down the other team’s mote bank until they have killed the miniboss that protects it, or my personal favorite, you can teleport one of your teammates over to their arena to cause some mayhem!

I get the feeling Gambit is going to become the main event for Bungie, with the clearly sporting nature of the event — you get to stand opposite your opponents before the match and emote at them — this will be a chance for Destiny 2 to make a name for itself in eSports in a way it hasn’t before. the addition of being able to affect the other team while still having AI enemies is exciting to me, I’m not really a big PvP guy so mixing the two makes me far more likely to try it out.

Anything else we should know?

The last two things are supers and collections. Collections are what they sound like, an area in the Director where you can see all the assorted collectibles in the game, from exotics to ghost shells, the collection tab will let you know what you have and don’t have. This is something a lot of people love to have in games, I’m not a hoarder personally but I know a lot of gamers who don’t feel complete until every little thing is in their hands. There is also a section called Triumphs, similar to collections, but instead collecting physical things you collect prestige for completing challenges. We are unsure if any mechanical bonus comes from completing collections or triumphs but we will keep an eye out.

The last big inclusion is the new supers. Destiny has always had amazing supers for your characters to do and Forsaken seems to be no exception. While they all seem to be a part of the same themes as before each one I have seen adds a new twist to give you a chance to differentiate the type of Hunter or Warlock you want to be. One of the clips shows a Warlock teleporting around before blasting void energy “like an anime character” as one Bungie team member said, or the new double-handed hammer for the Titan to lay the smack down in a big way on multiple enemies. All the supers look to add something new and exciting to Destiny 2.

When can I buy it?

Destiny 2: Forsaken is due for release on September 4th, 2018 and is available for pre-order on the PlayStation Store. At the moment it seems you can pre-order just the expansion or the expansion and the annual pass, though we don’t know what the annual pass will give us. Essentially, like the Taken King, you will be paying full price for a whole new game worth of content, we will have to wait and see if the cost is worth it.

Are you excited for Forsaken or are you done with Destiny 2? let us know in the comments.

Pre-Order now at the PlayStation Store

PlayStation 4

• PS4 vs. PS4 Slim vs. PS4 Pro: Which should you buy?
• PlayStation VR Review
• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

Amazon

MIT can charge implants with external wireless power from 125 feet away

Smart implants designed for monitoring conditions inside the body, delivering drug doses, or otherwise treating diseases are clearly the future of medicine. But, just like a satellite is a useless hunk of metal in space without the right communication channels, it’s important that we can talk to these implants. Such communication is essential, regardless of whether we want to relay information and power to these devices or receive data in return.

Fortunately, researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital may have found a way to help. Scientists at these institutes have developed a new method to power and communicate with implants deep inside the human body.

“IVN (in-vivo networking) is a new system that can wirelessly power up and communicate with tiny devices implanted or injected in deep tissues,” Fadel Adib, an assistant professor in MIT’s Media Lab, told Digital Trends. “The implants are powered by radio frequency waves, which are safe for humans. In tests in animals, we showed that the waves can power devices located 10 centimeters deep in tissue, from a distance of one meter.”

These same demonstration using pigs showed that it is possible to extend this one-meter range up to 38 meters (125 feet), provided that the sensors are located very close to the skin’s surface. These sensors can be extremely small, due to their lack of an onboard battery. This is different from current implants, such as pacemakers, which have to power themselves since external power sources are not yet available. For their demo, the scientists used a prototype sensor approximately the size of a single grain of rice. This could be further shrunk down in the future, they said.

“The incorporation of [this] system in ingestible or implantable device could facilitate the delivery of drugs in different areas of the gastrointestinal tracts,” Giovanni Traverso, an assistant professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, told us. “Moreover, it could aid in sensing of a range of signals for diagnosis, and communicating those externally to facilitate the clinical management of chronic diseases.”

The IVN system is due to be shown off at the Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Data Communication (SIGCOMM) conference in August.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Drug testing could get a boost from MIT’s ‘body on a chip’
• Stanford’s rice-sized implant treats diseases by zapping individual nerves
• 7 ambitious DARPA projects that will help out the military of the future
• Meet the Australian ‘techno-artist’ growing a web-connected ear on his arm
• Tummy ache? Swallow this sensor-studded pill to get a diagnosis on your phone

12 cool houseboats that will set your imagination adrift

With oceans, lakes, and rivers taking up a major chunk of the Earth’s surface, it was only a matter of time before structures typically reserved for land began to make their way to the water. As far back as the early 1900s — and likely earlier — the concept of creating a house on water began taking shape, popping up in water-friendly cities such as Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Portland, Oregon. Over the years, countries like Zimbabwe, India, and Laos have utilized houseboats to entertain tourists, travel from city to city, or simply enjoy some time spent off land.

While there still exists a community of these traditional houseboats, the market for lavish floating homes is at an all-time high. This new crop of luxurious, contemporary, and — at times — outrageous floating homes took the real estate world by storm, and we’ve found 11 of our absolute favorites from around the globe. With most of these designs coming from the minds of brilliant architects the world over, the following homes are truly works of incredible art and stunning construction. If the thought of a house that can sink makes you uncomfortable, we’ve also rounded up some of the wildest shipping container homes.

Here’s what we want to see from the next Surface Pro

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Microsoft’s Surface Pro is in an odd place at the moment. Last year, the Surface Pro 4 was followed by an updated model just called the Surface Pro, which makes it seem like Microsoft is trying to reboot the Surface Pro line. That leads us to wonder if the next Pro model will be called the Surface Pro 2 (in which case there would be two different models with that name), the Surface Pro 5, or some other classification we haven’t heard yet.

Well, we’ll probably find out sometime in fall 2018. Whatever the new Surface Pro is called, we can talk about the things it needs to change to remain a popular professional hybrid tablet. Let’s take a look at the top items on our wish list.

Important upgraded specs

The updated Surface Pro model maxes out at a dual-core, i7 processor and 8GB of RAM. Since it was released, Intel has introduced Coffee Lake U-series processors: This provides an excellent opportunity for Microsoft to upgrade the Surface Pro chip to a new, more powerful line and ditch the m3 entry-level processors that may not be able to keep up with all modern business needs.

For a tablet, 8GB of RAM is fine, and Microsoft has other devices to upgrade to if you want more, so we don’t necessarily expect RAM to receive its own (no doubt expensive) upgrade. However, a max of 256GB of storage does feel a little low to us, especially when the iPad Pro offers up to 512GB for its top model. We wouldn’t be surprised if bigger storage options make a debut on the next Pro.

USB-C ports

When the 2017 Surface Pro was announced, people were hopeful that it might contain a powerful USB-C port for ultra fast connections, new charging options, sending 4K video to separate screens, and a bunch of other useful USB-C features. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided that users were literally too stupid to understand how to use a USB-C port, and decided to not include it.

Well, it’ll have been a year since then, and it looks like Microsoft has finally decided to embrace USB-C. The company is already planning a Surface USB-C dongle for older devices, to launch in 2018, so this would be an excellent opportunity to include a USB-C port onboard a new Surface Pro model. There’s precedent for this, too — the Surface Book 2 upgrade included a USB-C port. Perhaps the Surface Pro could even use more than one.

A better screen for on-the-go work

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

There’s nothing especially disappointing about the Surface Pro display, but it could definitely use an upgrade. First, 12.3-inches is a little on the small side for those who use their Pro as a primary computer, and an upgraded display size would definitely raise interest levels. Plus, the display hardly changed at all between the Pro 4 and 2017 Pro, so it may be time for an upgrade.

Second, it may be time for the Surface Pro to upgrade to 4K, which would go along great with a larger screen, and really help any designers or videographers that depend on the Pro to complete important tasks.

Finally, the Pro’s screen doesn’t deal with natural light very well. If you’re trying to use it on the move or at the café, glare can quickly become an issue. Microsoft could make the new model more appealing to busy workers by adding anti-glare properties.

New and changed peripherals

We would love to see more peripherals make their way onto the next Surface Pro. For example, while you can get fingerprint scanning via a Type Cover for today’s Pro, it would be excellent if fingerprint detection was built into the next model.

We’ll also remind you that Microsoft has filed a patent for haptic feedback for the Surface Pen, which means the new Pro Pen could come with advanced control features that make a mouse even less necessary.

A battery that lives up to reports

Microsoft claims the Surface Pro battery lasts “up to 13.5 hours,” which sounds impressive on paper. In the real world, it’s more problematic. Our own tests with the 2017 Surface Pro found that the hybrid only got close to that number on the looped video test, where the battery lasted for 10 hours and 16 minutes.

For live web browsing, the battery shot down to only around 5.5 hours. This is a tough ask for a work computer that needs to last throughout a professional day: It would be great if Microsoft could improve battery life so that it actually matched spec claims, instead of just playing a numbers game.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) review
• The Surface Pro being discounted by up to $300 from Microsoft Store and Amazon
• Microsoft confirms new Surface products will arrive later this year
• Here’s what we want to see from the Surface Book 3
• Office Depot just slashed the price of a Surface Pro Core i5 model in half

Moto Z3 Play vs. OnePlus 6: Can Motorola’s latest beat our midrange pick?

Moto Z3 Play Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Smartphone giants like Apple and Samsung continue to churn out massively popular (and expensive) phones each year, but there are plenty of affordable phones that offer a similar, high-end experience. The Moto Z3 Play and OnePlus 6 are two excellent examples of relatively inexpensive phones that pack a big punch.

But they each have their own strengths and weaknesses. So which phone should you pick? We put the Moto Z3 Play and OnePlus 6 head-to-head to find out in a specs comparison.

Specs

Moto Z3 Play
OnePlus 6 

Size

156.5 x 76.5 x 6.75 mm (6.16 x 3.01 x 0.27 inches)

155.7 x 75.4 x 7.8 mm (6.13 x 2.97 x 0.31 inches)

Weight
156 grams (5.50 ounces)
177 grams (6.24 ounces)

Screen size
6.01-inch Super AMOLED display
6.28-inch AMOLED display

Screen resolution
2,160 x 1,080 pixels (402 pixels per inch)
2,280 x 1,080 pixels (402 pixels per inch)

Operating system
Android 8.1 Oreo
Android 8.1 Oreo

Storage space
32GB, 64GB
64GB (with 6GB of RAM), 128GB, 256GB (both with 8GB of RAM)

MicroSD card slot
Yes, up to 2TB
No

Tap-to-pay services
Google Pay
Google Pay

Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 636
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

RAM
4GB
6GB, 8GB

Camera
Dual 12MP and 5MP rear, 8MP front
Dual 16MP (OIS) and 20MP rear, 16MP front

Video
Up to 4K @ 30 frames per second, 720p @ 120 fps
Up to 4K at 60 frames per second, 1080p at 240 fps, 720p at 480 fps super slow motion, HDR

Bluetooth version
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0

Ports
USB-C
3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C

Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes

Water resistance
Splash-resistant coating
No

Battery
3,000mAh

TurboPower charging

3,300mAh

DashCharge

App marketplace
Google Play Store
Google Play Store

Network support
Sprint, U.S. Cellular
AT&T and T-Mobile

Colors
Deep Indigo
Midnight Black, Mirror Black, Silk White

Price
$500
 $530

Buy from

Motorola, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, Amazon Prime Exclusive Phones
OnePlus

Review score
Hands-on review
4.5 out of 5 stars

Performance, battery life and charging

Motorola’s latest phone, the Moto Z3 Play, packs some pretty decent specs for a midrange phone. You will find a Snapdragon 636 processor along with 4GB of RAM.

But while the OnePlus 6 is comparatively priced to the Moto Z3 Play, it’s in a class all its own. The base model packs a Snapdragon 845 processor and a whopping 6GB of RAM, specs that rival flagship phones that cost hundreds of dollars more. The Z3 Play simply doesn’t stand a chance when it comes to performance, which doesn’t mean you won’t find snappy speeds — it just won’t be as fast as the OnePlus 6.

Things are a bit more on a level playing field when it comes to battery capacity and charging. Although the Moto Z3 Play features a slightly smaller 3,000mAh battery compared to the 3,300mAh battery you will find on the OnePlus 6, it has a smaller display and will likely last a longer period of time. That is based on our experience with the Moto Z2 Play, as Motorola said the Z3 Play should have similar battery life. Neither phone offers wireless charging, but both have their own proprietary fast-charging systems to add some juice quickly; OnePlus’ Dash Charge technique should charge your phone faster, but not by much over Motorola’s TurboPower technology.

Overall, we are giving the win to the OnePlus 6 for this category. While the Moto Z3 Play has awesome battery life and TurboPower charging, performance won’t be as strong as the OnePlus 6.

Winner: OnePlus 6

Design and durability

Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends.com

The Moto Z3 Play looks a lot like it’s predecessor, the Moto Z2 Play. Both phones are thin, feature a pronounced camera bump, but the newer model has much slimmer bezels around the screen. On the back, both have ugly pogo pins, which is where you connect Moto Mods. The all-glass Z3 Play looks good for a mid-range phone but put it next to the OnePlus 6 and there’s no competition.

The OnePlus 6 could easily be mistaken for a flagship phone. It has a gorgeous glass body with a discreet camera bump on its back. On the front, you will find a nearly bezel-less display, save for the tiny top notch (which you can hide through software).

As for durability, the Moto Z3 Play’s body is constructed of Gorilla Glass 3, while the OnePlus 6 features stronger Gorilla Glass 5. And although the Moto Z3 Play has a splash-resistant coating, neither phone has an IP-rating to protect against water damage.

We’re calling this round for the OnePlus 6. It offers a much more refined design, and should be able to take a tumble better than the Moto Z3 Play.

Winner: OnePlus 6 

Display

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

If you’re a fan of big displays, you’re in luck: Both the Moto Z3 Play and OnePlus 6 have 6-inch screens. On the Z3 Play, you’ll find a gorgeous 6.01-inch AMOLED display with a 2,160 x 1,080 pixel resolution. With a 402 pixels-per-inch (PPI) measurement, the display is pretty sharp.

The display on the OnePlus 6 is quite similar. The AMOLED screen is slightly larger at 6.28-inches, and so is the 2,280 x 1,080-pixel resolution. It has the same 402 ppi, though.

For this round, we have to call a tie. Both the Moto Z3 Play and the OnePlus 6 feature gorgeous AMOLED screens. And while the OnePlus 6 may have a slightly larger display, the resolution differences are barely noticeable.

Winner: Tie

Camera

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Smartphone shutterbugs rejoice: Both the Moto Z3 Play and OnePlus 6 feature a dual-camera setup on the rear. On the Moto Z3 Play you will find a 12-megapixel primarily lens alongside a 5-megapixel, depth-sensing, secondary lens. The main lens has an f/1.7 aperture.

On the OnePlus 6, you will find two 16-megapixel lenses with an f/1.7 aperture as well optical image stabilization on the main lens. We have typically seen better camera performance on the OnePlus 6 over the Moto Z Play series, but we haven’t fully had a chance to test the Z3 Play’s camera yet. Both phones have Portrait mode features and can shoot slow-motion video.

For now, we’re going to call this round a tie. We need to do more camera testing on the Moto Z3 Play before we can call a definitive winner for this category.

Winner: Tie 

Software and updates

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Both the Moto Z3 Play and OnePlus 6 run Android 8.1 Oreo, without many flourishes — it’s similar to stock Android. OnePlus does offer way more customization options, but the Motorola software also adds in handy gestures such as double twisting the phone to launch the camera.

If you’re looking to keep the latest version of Android on your phone, however, you may have better luck with the OnePlus 6. Historically, OnePlus has been quick to push OS updates out to its handsets, while Motorola tends to take a bit longer.

We are giving this category to the OnePlus 6 simply because OnePlus has a much better track record of quickly updating its devices compared to Motorola.

Winner: OnePlus 6

Special features

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

OnePlus does offer a quite a number of software features, but there is nothing groundbreaking that stands apart. The Moto Z3 Play has Moto Mods, which you can easily snap onto the back of the phone to add extra capabilities. There are about 14 mods you can attach, ranging from a camera, a battery, a wireless charging module, and a photo printer.

The Moto Z3 Play is the clear winner.

Winner: Moto Z3 Play 

Price

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Moto Z3 Play arrives this summer and it will be available through Motorola, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, and a number of retailers. We anticipate the phone will sell for around $400 or $450 for the 32GB model, although we have yet to receive final pricing. We do know the phone will cost $500 with a battery mod bundled in. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you will also be able to purchase the Moto Z3 Play at a discount through the Prime Exclusive Phones program.

The OnePlus 6, on the other hand, is only available through the OnePlus website. It comes in at $530 for the 64GB base model. The 128GB variant is available for $580, and you can pick up the 256GB model for an additional $50. The phone ships unlocked but will not work on CDMA carriers like Sprint or Verizon.

Overall winner: OnePlus 6

OnePlus 6 Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

While the Moto Z3 Play is a good midrange smartphone, you simply get a lot more bang for your buck with the OnePlus 6. The OnePlus comes with a better processor, more RAM, and a larger display. Unless you’re a true Moto enthusiast with lots of Moto mods, picking the Moto Z3 Play over the OnePlus 6 is a hard sell.

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Seaside or pine forest? This alarm clock wakes you to the scent of your choice

Like a lot of people, we’re usually woken up in the morning by the insistent beeping of our smartphone alarm. That is a method that is certainly effective at rousing us from slumber, although it’s not exactly enjoyable. Could there be a better way? That is the question that the folks behind a new Kickstarter campaign clearly asked themselves. To answer it, the Google-accelerated French startup Bescent has created an alarm clock capable of combining sight, smell, and sound for an altogether more pleasant wake-up experience.

The so-called Sensorwake olfactory alarm clock offers a mix of blue halo light, five preloaded melodies and — most excitingly — scent capsules. There are 16 different scents in total, ranging from the smell of ground coffee or orange juice to the evocative aroma of the seaside, a pine forest, or a freshly cut grass meadow. These scents have been created in collaboration with Swiss fragrance manufacturer Givaudan and use dry diffusion without any “liquids, heating elements, mist, or mess.” A single capsule promises to last up to 30 wake-ups, after which you simply slot in a new one to repeat the process.

“Like many teenagers and young adults, I hated waking up early,” Bescent CEO and founder Guillaume Rolland told Digital Trends. “I needed an alarm, but I thought there had to be a more soothing way to be woken up than the loud cell phone alarm I was used to. Seeking a more motivating way to wake up, I turned to the sense of smell. In 2015, when I was 18, I began building prototypes in my garage. That same year I represented France at the Google Science Fair and my innovation was recognized as ‘one of the top 15 that could change the world.’”

Rolland said that Sensorwake will appeal to anyone who wants to wake up in a better mood. (And, let’s face it, pretty much everyone falls into that category.) He continued that he sees the product having a particular appeal to both people who frequently travel for work and students who want to wake up better rested for class.

As ever, we offer our usual warnings about the risks inherent in crowdfunding campaigns. However, if you wish to go ahead and get involved you can do so by visiting the project’s Kickstarter page. Having only been up and running for a couple of days, the Sensorwake olfactory alarm clock has already smashed through its crowdfunding target, suggesting that Rolland was quite right in thinking that there is an audience for this.

An alarm clock with two scent capsules will set you back $59, while other higher-priced options come with more capsules. These capsules are also available to buy separately. Shipping is set to take place in November.

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Microsoft dumps a 40-foot data center to the ocean floor off Scotland’s coast

Microsoft’s Project Natick isn’t about a new two-in-one tablet or piece of clever software. Instead, the company wants to sink self-sufficient data centers to the ocean floor. Phase two of its push to revolutionize the data center began on Wednesday as Microsoft’s team dropped a container-sized prototype on the seafloor near Scotland’s Orkney Islands. 

According to Microsoft, the 40-foot prototype contains 12 racks playing host to 864 servers and their associated cooling systems. The team assembled and tested the prototype in France, shipped it to Scotland via a flatbed truck, lowered it onto the ocean floor, towed it out to sea, and connected a cable consisting of fiber optics and power. It now sits quietly with the fish 117 feet below the ocean surface. 

Powering this submerged data center is the European Marine Energy Center that relies on tidal turbines and wave energy converters to generate electricity from sea movement. Wind turbines from local farming lands contribute to the power as well. All of this power is piped from the Orkney Island power grid through a cable attached to the data center. At full capacity, the data center uses just under a quarter of a megawatt of power. 

While the idea might seem like something out of science-fiction, the realities of water-bound computing, especially on a large scale, are very positive. The remote nature of such a facility would mean it would require fewer on-site staff (if any at all), it would be naturally resistant to weather and the environment, possibly even more so than solid ground structures, and perhaps most importantly, would require almost no active cooling. 

Keeping a data center at a chilly operational temperature is one of the biggest challenges for modern operators, with the likes of Facebook looking to innovate by only using renewable energy and recycled waste heat. But putting a data center under the sea could be much more efficient, as it would require no energy to cool at all. 

Microsoft’s first prototype sat 30 feet below the surface just off the California coast in 2015 and remained there for four months. Named after Leona Philpot, an obscure character from the Halo franchise, it survived perfectly well. 

Eventually, Microsoft wants to ramp up and rapidly deploy pre-packaged module data centers everywhere in the world, including “the roughest patches of sea.” Microsoft says they could be “ordered to size, rapidly deployed and left to operate lights out on the seafloor for years.” 

Of course, these submerged data centers won’t be dropped into remote locations of the Earth’s oceans. The plan is to place them near coastal cities around 120 miles off the coast. This will help artificial intelligence-driven technologies thrive in coastal communities and extend out to land-based data centers that are typically located inland to avoid floods, hurricanes, and other troublesome weather. 

Microsoft says the underwater data centers are built to last up to 20 years, though they have an anticipated real lifespan of five years. Their replacement would likely be the result of required hardware upgrades within the individual servers rather than structural damage or failure. 

Updated on June 6: Added the launch of phase two.

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