The best personal finance software

Tracking your finances is almost mandatory in this day and age, and though you may already use a slew of methods for monitoring your expenses, there’s certainly no shortage of quality software designed for staying in the black and providing you with a detailed report from month to month, or even day to day. Most freemium software excels when it comes to barebones budget planning, and provides simple, yet valuable analysis of your spending habits.

Here are our picks for the best personal finance software on the market.

If you’d rather focus on budgeting, there are specialized apps for that too. We also have a guide to the best apps for moving your money around.

The best

Mint (Android/iOS) — Free

Intuit’s stalwart personal finance service has been around since 2006, quickly becoming one of the go-to apps for those who prefer checking their finances from a phone. The company is known for offering both TurboTax and the like-minded Quicken. That being the case, Mint also excels in terms of customer satisfaction and feedback.

The service takes mere seconds to sync with your bank account(s), allowing you view a quick snapshot of your personal finances and providing insightful analytics regarding your spending habits when it comes to food, entertainment, utilities, and other facets of your monthly budget. You can even tailor the app’s underlying budget restrictions to adhere to your own unique lifestyle, or set bill and low-balance alerts in case you often forget the due date for your gas bill.

Mint even tracks your aforementioned subcategories to give you an up-to-date picture regarding how much you can afford to spend on gas, fast food, or any other category you specify.

The rest

Quicken (Windows/MacOS/iOS/Android)  $35+

Of all the financial management tools out there, Quicken is one of the most established. It’s been around since the early ’80s in one guise or another and is its most fully featured today. It offers budget creation tools, bill management, debt tracking, savings goals, Excel exporting, and investment coaching.

Although it isn’t free like some of the solutions on this list, it is available for just about every platform under the sun. You can use it on Windows or MacOS desktop systems, or on iOS or Android for finance management on the go. Where the standard options give you basic financial tracking functionality, the more expensive options can net you some great features, like paying bills right from within Quicken itself, as well as tracking the market value of major assets like your home.

If you want to manage your business and personal finances through the application you can do that, too, with powerful tools like managing leases and deposits, tracking business expenses and incomes, and track outstanding bills and rental payments from your customers.

There’s a reason Quicken has been around for so long. It’s comprehensive and is well integrated with companion tools used for keeping track of more than just personal finances.

YNAB (Online/Android/iOS) — $7 per-month

YNAB, or You Need a Budget, is specifically designed to help you become financially literate. As the name implies, the software provides tutorials on a variety of different financial topics designed to help better understand your spending and budging habits. For instance, you can view tutorials specifically designed to help you live off of last month’s paycheck or “save money for a rainy day.” It’s valuable advice, especially when paired with laudable mobile apps that provide updated snapshots of your finances like the aforementioned Mint.

Though the software doesn’t really go into depth about investments, given its primary task is to help users break the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, it does automatically link to your bank account so you’ll never have to manually enter expense reports. It also categorizes your expenses — meaning you’ll always know before you go over budget.

If you don’t like the look of the latest version, you can always make use of YNAB Classic instead.

Personal Capital (Online/iOS/Android) Free

Personal Capital offers resources for both online users through its web tools and mobile users through its applications. Better yet, most of its features are entirely free. With just a quick sign up you can manage all of your accounts in one place including your mortgage and checking accounts, without having to jump around to different sites and services.

Where Personal Capital really stands out is in financial advice If you have a portfolio of at least $100,000, it’ll manage it for as little as 0.89 percent. Its financial advisors will offer you suggestions for how to manage your money the best and as a fiduciary, it’s bound to act in your best interests. That advice covers your entire financial planning, from how to fund college courses, to building a stock portfolio, maximizing your interest through savings, and equity opportunities.

For everyone else, Personal Capital offers solid personal finance tracking and investment plans, with rons of handy graphs and stats to help you stay on top of your money.

Empower (iOS/Android) Free

Empower is a truly modern form of financial management that is entirely app based. With a combination of budgeting tools, tips on how to save, build credit, and cut down on your debt, it brings together all of your banking accounts in one location to make tracking everything that bit easier.

One of the more intriguing aspects of Empower’s apps is that they can be integrated with cryptocurrency wallets. That way, you can trade and manage your cryptocurrency portfolio right alongside your fiat currency.

With solid 256-bit encryption and multifactor authentication, Empower takes serious steps to protect your financial information whilst looking to build and manage your money as best you can. It even has financial coaching if you want a little bit more hands-on help.

The only downside to it is that it’s U.S. only for now.

With all of that serious financial talk out of the way, it’s time to celebrate. How about listening to some of the best songs about money?

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Skip the trip to REI. You can 3D print this camping and backpacking gear at home

It’s inevitable — somewhere along your journey, a piece of your outdoor gear is going to break. Sometimes its a buckle, sometimes it’s a zipper pull, and it always happens at the wrong time. Before you toss you out your backpack, tent, or camping chair, you should look to see if your broken part can be replaced using a 3D printer. If you’re looking to upgrade your backpacking or camping kit, there’s no shortage of 3D goodies for your GoPro, trekking poles, and more. Read on for some of our favorite 3D printable pieces of camping and backpacking gear.

Carabiners

Don’t waste money buying overpriced carabiners at your local outdoors store — use this scalable 3D printing file to print your carabiner at the size that you need. Just don’t try to go rock climbing with these ones.

Folding Camping Stove Gas Tripods

Positioning a gas canister on an uneven surface can try your patience. Use one of these handy tripods to help stabilize your backcountry cook set. The one pictured is designed European D2 EN417 gas canisters. Alternatively, there’s also this one that fits two other sizes (90mm or 110mm)

Replacement Zipper Pulls

Using a paper clip and few M2x6 screws, you can have a fully functional zipper pull for your tent, sleeping bag or clothing. If you don’t have a paperclip handy, there’s also plenty of fully-3D-printable zipper pull designs out there, like the one pictured above.

Clip Buckles

The number one thing that breaks on most gear is the buckle. This 3D printable file will replace a standard side-release buckle and is compatible with 3/4 inch straps.

Folding Camp Chair Parts

Plop down too hard into a camp chair, and you’ll know it. The base mounts that hold the legs and the front mounts that secure the seat are notoriously easy to snap. Thankfully, fabricating these parts is a cakewalk for even the cheapest 3D printers on the market.

Figure 9 Style Rope Tightener

Every tech-savvy camper should have this 3D printed figure 9 style rope tightener for their tarps or awnings. Seriously. These might seem dumb and unnecessary, but they’re super handy to have in your pack, and weigh practically nothing.

Sliding String Tensioner

These handy tensioners help you adjust the guy lines for your tent, tarp, or even your badminton net.

The Infamous Sporknife

Need to bring along a spoon, fork, and knife on your next camping or backpacking trip? Then here is your ultimate 3D printed all-in-one utensil: The sporkinfe! Just make sure you print with a food-safe plastic filament if you intend on eating hot food with this sucker. We highly recommend Colorfabb’s awesome nGen filament.

Tent Stakes

Ever lose or break a tent stake while camping? Of course, you have. It happens to everyone! Next time you are short a stake, don’t run out to Walmart for replacements — download these files and print your own.

Trekking Pole Clips

Want to keep your trekking poles tidy and neat while storing them? Then print up a pair or two of these handy trekking pole clips.

Survival Bracelet

Paracord can be a lifesaver when backpacking — it can replace a broken shoelace, be used to lash sticks for a shelter, and more. This printable clip set makes it easy to carry around some extra cordage.

Utility Survival Containers

Keep your matches, medicine, and other small items safe and dry with these survival containers. Each lid is threaded to fit the various sizes of bottles that you can print.

Trekking Pole Tips

The rubber tips are the first thing to go on a pair of trekking poles. You take them off and lose them, or they fall off when hiking. Replacements are hard to find — you usually have to visit a sporting goods retailer like REI, or contact the manufacturer directly. Though they’re designed specifically for Leki poles, these tips can be modified to fit a variety of trekking poles.

GoPro Backpack and Trekking Pole Mounts

Do you GoPro your hikes and share them on YouTube? Then you should check out these instructions to print a backpack strap mount and a trekking pole selfie mount.

Tape Winder

Duct tape is the go-to staple when you need to make an unexpected repair to your tarp, tent, or boots. Use this handy tape winder to store an emergency stash in your car or backpack, without the bulky roll.

Editors’ Recommendations

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Scientists think a form of bacteria could help make Mars hospitable to humans

From how we’re going to get there to what we’re going to eat once we arrive, there are plenty of angles to consider when it comes to potentially colonizing Mars. Perhaps the biggest one of all, however, is how exactly are we going to breathe there? After all, oxygen tanks transported from Earth may be a viable solution when you’re talking about a few astronauts on a short trip, but it’s not exactly a long-term solution.

An international team of researchers may have just prompted a major breakthrough in this department — and it involves a type of bacteria most commonly found in water. This cyanobacteria is able to use photosynthesis to generate oxygen from carbon dioxide using far less sunlight than is commonly required. This is because it replaces the normal photosynthetic machinery with a form that uses near-infrared light.

“This was highly unexpected because it means that it is possible for the demanding chemistry of water oxidation to be done with less energy,” Bill Rutherford, professor of biochemistry of solar energy at Imperial College London, told Digital Trends. “A wide range of cyanobacteria are capable of doing this whenever they get shaded from visible light but remain exposed to near-infrared light.”

One of the other fortuitous aspects of the project is that this species of bacteria, containing the set of genes of interest, can survive in a very wide range of circumstances — including hot and cold dry deserts, hot springs, in rock, in irradiated areas, and more. As a result, it could potentially be a good candidate for growing on the rugged landscape of Mars.

“We are [now] working on figuring out how evolution has allowed this new system to get over the problem of doing water splitting with less energy,” Rutherford said. “This work will provide ideas for the design features of future engineering projects for long-wavelength crops, as well as a judgment on the feasibility of such projects. Perhaps more importantly, these studies will also provide a new angle on understanding normal photosynthesis, which is universally present, which provides all of our food — in fact, it provides all the energy to the biosphere and which maintains the atmosphere.”

A paper describing the research was recently published in the journal Science.

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Wetsuit filled with heavy gas could increase divers’ survival time by hours

Less than 15 minutes. That’s how long the average person can remain conscious in freezing cold water. Death occurs around the 45-minute mark. Even when protected by a wetsuit, survival time for divers in the Arctic is measured in minutes, not hours, meaning researchers, rescue workers, and Navy SEALs — among the only people with reason to face the frigid depths — have to get in and out of the water as quickly as possible. There’s no room for lallygagging.

One simple way to boost the insulation of a wetsuit is to make it thicker (seals aren’t loaded with blubber for no reason). But increasing thickness comes at the cost of mobility — and for divers submerged under ice, mobility is key.

An innovative new technique could help make wetsuits more insulated. Developed by engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and described in a paper published this week in the journal RSC Advances, the method entails stuffing a standard wetsuit into a pressure tank that pumps it full of heavy inert gas. Once treatment is complete, this gas provides extra insulation and considerably increases the wetsuit’s protective capabilities and the length of time divers can survive in frigid waters.

“We have demonstrated a nearly twofold enhancement in the thermal insulation capabilities of a commercial wetsuit through a straightforward processing technique,” Anton Cottrill, an MIT graduate student who worked on the research, told Digital Trends.

To understand how the process works, it helps to know that neoprene — the standard material used to make today’s wetsuits — is riddled with air pockets. Some two-thirds of a wetsuit’s volume is actually air. By leaving a neoprene wetsuit in a pressure tank that’s filled with a gas like xenon or krypton, the gas is forced into the pockets of air, creating an extra bit of insulation and increasing the survivability of 14ºF water from less than an hour to up to three hours.

“A wetsuit is essentially a foam with bubbles of air trapped inside,” Cottrill said. “The air bubbles dispersed throughout the suit are the primary means of thermal insulation. So, the treatment works by placing the wetsuit into a container … that is pressurized with a gas … that is more thermally insulating than air. Through this high-pressure exposure, the gas infuses within the wetsuit and displaces the air. After removal from the chamber, the wetsuit is essentially filled with the highly thermally insulating gas.”

A wetsuit treated in this way for about a day can last for around 20 hours, according to the researchers. Moving forward, they want to decrease the rate at which the insulating gas leaks from the neoprene and hope to develop a technique that can “charge” a wetsuit indefinitely.

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EU’s controversial meme-banning copyright law passes first hurdle

The European Union’s Legal Affairs Committee, known as JURI, voted on June 20 in favor of new controversial internet legislation that is designed to protect copyright holders but may have the adverse consequence of stifling an open internet and banning memes. The Copyright Directive includes two broad articles that require internet companies to install content filters to prevent the unauthorized upload of copyrighted content in the EU.

In order for the changes to pass, the legislation still needs approval from 28 EU governments in a plenary vote. If the European Parliament votes to pass this legislation in the future, these tougher copyright restrictions could, in theory, provide a model for U.S. legislators moving forward.

At the heart of the EU debate is Article 13, which is opposed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), as well as by academics, researchers, and even Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web. “By requiring Internet platforms to perform automatic filtering of all of the content that their users upload, Article 13 takes an unprecedented step toward the transformation of the internet from an open platform for sharing and innovation, into a tool for the automated surveillance and control of its users,” the EFF wrote in an open letter ahead of the JURI vote, noting that the burden of monitoring the internet to prevent the upload of copyrighted materials falls squarely on the shoulders of small European businesses and startups. The EFF argued that larger American companies could afford to bear the cost of compliance.

“The damage that this may do to the free and open internet as we know it is hard to predict, but in our opinions could be substantial,” the letter continued. The committee passed Article 13 in a 15-to-10 vote, The Guardian reported. ”

The second controversial provision of the legislation is Article 11, which The Verge describes as a Link Tax. Article 11 requires companies like Facebook and Google to buy licenses from publishers before linking to their stories. These articles essentially reverse precedents set by EU courts. In a 2016 decision, the court ruled that simply linking to copyrighted materials does not count as infringement. In a separate 2012 ruling, the EU court in Luxembourg said that sites should not be compelled to install or otherwise operate content filters to check for privacy.

While the new legislation is intended to update copyright laws in the age of the internet to ensure that content creators are fairly paid for their contribution, critics fear that the laws could limit the sharing of information, which could affect memes and other types of content. “The UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, has also raised concerns about ‘prepublication censorship,’ given that automatic filters may be unable to correctly identify fair comment, satire, criticism, and parody,” The Guardian said.

In addition to a vote from the European Parliament, the new Copyright Directive could still be subjected to closed-door negotiations between legislators and member states known as trilogue negotiations. If the trilogue process commences, it would increase the likelihood that the Copyright Directive becomes law, The Verge reported. There currently isn’t a timeline for when a plenary vote is expected to occur, but it could happen between December of this year and the first half of 2019.

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Get a peek at some of our favorite emerging tech on display at CE Week 2018

Each summer, some of the most exciting tech startups make their way to New York City for CE Week. For its twelfth anniversary, CE Week is moving uptown to the Javits Center for its biggest show yet. In between listening to fascinating discussions from tech leaders, we walked the halls of CE Week to take a look at the exciting products making their way to store shelves. Here are a few of our favorites.

AirSelfie 2

If you’ve ever wanted to get a group selfie but realized your arms aren’t quite long enough, then AirSelfie 2 may be the perfect alternative. It’s a tiny selfie drone you control with your smartphone that’s packing a 12 megapixel camera. Photos are sent directly to the Airselfie app, where you have option of sharing them on social media or saving them to your phones photo gallery.

AirSelfie 2 is available online and select retailers. Pricing starts at $200 for the drone and you can purchase it with an optional powerbank for $250.

Lotus by Seam

While we’re seeing tons of new safety wearables in 2018, very few are as gorgeous and versatile as the Lotus by Seam. In addition to providing location data to friends and loved ones, Lotus also provides an audio recording when activated. For emergency situations, Lotus can automatically dial your primary contact and allows you to communicate using its built-in speaker. And in addition to all its safety features, Lotus also offers Google Assistant integration.

Lotus is expected to go on sale later this summer for $120. The wearable is available in two gender-neutral colors and clips directly onto clothing. An optional watch and necklace accessory will also be available from the Seam website.

3Doodler

Launched from a massively successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013, 3Doodler is an interactive 3D pen. Sort of like a glue gun on steroids, the 3Doodler allows users to create three-dimensional objects using heated plastic tubes.

There are currently three different versions of the 3Doodler available online: The 3Doodler Start has no hot parts and is meant primarily for children, while the 3Doodler Create Plus uses more versatile plastic tubing and is deaigned for older children and adults. Finally, the 3Doodler Pro is targeted toward creative professionals and can use speciality materials like wood, bronze, and copper to create 3D objects and renderings.

Owl Car Cam

While there are dozens of car cams on the market, the Owl Car Cam is one of our favorites. It’s a gorgeous, always-on car cam with a few tricks up its sleeve. In addition to filming both the inside and outside of your vehicle, the camera also offers awesome theft deterrent and social sharing features.

The Owl Car Cam sells online for $350. If you want to learn all about its awesome features, check out our full review.

Somnox 

Last but not least is Somnox, our favorite sleep robot. Somnox uses relaxing melodies and simulated breathing to help you get a better night’s sleep.  The peanut-shaped robot is controlled entirely from your smartphone and you can adjust the breathing settings as well as turn off the melodies completely.

Somnex is available  for pre-order starting at around $550.

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Windows update not working? Here’s how to fix it

Windows Update is sometimes underestimated as a cornerstone of your system’s integrity and security. Microsoft regularly delivers security patches, hotfixes, and software updates through Windows Update, and so if this service stops running or is turned off, then Windows can become vulnerable to bugs and security holes. The update process has been greatly streamlined for Windows 10, but that doesn’t mean it’s always problem-free, especially when it comes to compatibility and patches.

Here, we’ll show you how to get Windows Update working again when it fails, and what to do if it looks like an update is causing problems.

Manage when automatic updates reboot your machine

You can’t permanently turn off automatic updates in Windows 10, but you can manage when your machine reboots after installing an update. That way, you can at least make sure your machine doesn’t restart during your workday or whenever is least convenient. Here’s how:

Step 1: Go to or search for “Settings.” Then select “Update & Security” options.

Step 2: Select the “Windows Update” tab at the top of the list on the left-hand side. Then, click “Change active hours” at the bottom of the window.

Step 3: This will bring up a window called “Active hours,” which will let you set a start and end time for when restarts will occur. Keep in mind that this doesn’t change when updates are installed, but only when your machine will automatically restart — and then, only when you’re not actively using it. Select your preferred times, and click “Save.”

Step 4: If an update has already been scheduled, then you can select “Restart options” from the main Windows Update settings page to select a custom restart time. Just toggle the setting on, and then select your preferred time and day.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Step 5: Finally, you can defer system upgrades for a period of time if you so choose, or pause them temporarily. Keep in mind that there are separate settings for major updates, like the April Update, and for quality updates like security updates.

To defer upgrades, select “Advanced options” on the main Windows Update page. Use the drop-down lists to decide how many days you want to defer them for.

You can also use this menu to make other adjustments to the way updates are applied, including whether they’re automatic or manually triggered and even the option to pause them entirely.

Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter

Microsoft knows that sometimes updates bring along a few unwanted issues, which is why the company created the Windows Update Troubleshooter. This tool will run through your basic operating system parameters and look for any obvious problems that may be keeping Windows Update from functioning correctly. If it can, the troubleshooter will also fix them automatically, or at least let you know what the issue is.

Try this analysis early on if you’re experiencing update issues. Head over to Microsoft’s support page and click “Download troubleshooter for Windows 10” — the tool should take care of the rest. It might ask you for administrator privileges to perform a deeper check, but beyond giving it permission to do so, you don’t need to do anything else.

It won’t solve every problem, but it’s a great place to start and will usually provide useful information even if it can’t offer a fix.

Check your installation error code

If your update fails or creates problems, it will often give you an installation error code. The codes don’t tell you much by themselves, but they do include a lot of useful info if you hop online and consult Microsoft’s guide on the matter. Below, we’ve included a table highlighting some of the more common errors.

0x80073712
A file needed by Windows Update is likely damaged or missing.

0x800F0923
This might indicate that a driver or other software on your PC isn’t compatible with the upgrade to Windows 10. For info about how to fix this problem, contact Microsoft support.

0x80200056
This could mean that the upgrade process was interrupted because you accidentally restarted your PC or signed out of your PC. Try upgrading again and make sure your PC is plugged in and stays turned on.

0x800F0922

This error might mean that your PC couldn’t connect to the Windows Update servers. If you’re using a VPN connection to connect to a work network, disconnect from the network and turn off the VPN software (if applicable) and try upgrading again. The error could also mean there isn’t enough free space in the System Reserved partition. You might be able to fix this problem by using third-party software to increase the size of the System Reserved partition.

0xC1900208 – 0x4000C
This could indicate that an incompatible app installed on your PC is blocking the upgrade process from completing. Check to make sure that any incompatible apps are uninstalled and then try upgrading again.

0xC1900200 – 0x20008

0xC1900202 – 0x20008

This may signify that your PC doesn’t meet the minimum requirements to download or install the upgrade to Windows 10.

0x80070070 – 0x50011

0x80070070 – 0x50012

0x80070070 – 0x60000

This likely indicates that your PC doesn’t have enough space available to install the upgrade. Free some space on the drive and try again.

Note that this guide is designed specifically for Windows 10. Error codes may not mean the same thing in other versions of Windows.

If all else fails, these quick fixes might do it

Have all the automatic checks and codes failed you? It’s time to go back to the tried-and-true methods, the tricks that have been solving update errors since the update was first invented. Here are a few options that may work for you.

Reboot your computer

This is a surprisingly effective method that will solve a host of computer issues — and it often works for Windows Update. When you encounter an error message, reboot your machine and try to run the updates again. If you haven’t run Windows Update for some time, then you might have to repeat this process several times before all updates have been installed.

Do you have enough disk space?

One scenario in which updates may fail is when your system drive is running out of space. Double-check that you have at least 10GB of free space. If that could be the culprit, perform a disk cleanup to remove files. To do so, type “Disk Cleanup” into Cortana’s search box, click Disk Cleanup to start the utility, and, if requested, select your system drive (usually C:). Afterward, specify the type of files that you want to get rid of and select “OK.” Try to stay away from important system files.

Alternatively, third-party software like CCleaner can be great for freeing up extra space on your system. For more information on this topic, check out our more complete guide on managing Windows 10’s storage space.

Is malware causing the issue?

Malware can change critical system files and break Windows services, meaning it’s a good idea to run a malware scanner to make sure your system isn’t compromised. If you don’t have any sort of antivirus software, check out some of our personal favorites for Windows-based machines. After all, sorting through heaps and heaps of software is never fun — neither is paying.

Contact Microsoft support

If you’ve done everything you can, it’s time to contact Microsoft support and see if they can pinpoint the issue. Head over to the company’s contact page, where you can start a chat, request a callback, or schedule a call. There’s also an option to ask the community, which may be a bit more time-consuming but can be useful if others have already encountered and fixed the update issue.

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SmokeBot robot can see things human firefighters can’t in smoke-filled rooms

Örebro University

Along with dirty and dull work, robots are also ideal for dangerous tasks, where it’s preferable to risk a machine than send in humans. Chief among these? Entering smoke-filled buildings where a fire has broken out to aid with rescue operations. Previously, we’ve written about two humanoid robots designed to carry out this task, including a robot built by the U.S. Navy and one developed by researchers in Italy. Now there’s a new entry on the scene — and it could help save lives.

Called SmokeBot, it’s a smaller robot than its rivals, although one that could nonetheless be extremely useful in an emergency situation like a house fire or indoor gas leak. SmokeBot is able to see and navigate in smoky areas while plotting maps of its surroundings for assisting fire services or search-and-rescue teams. To do this, it uses a combination of gas sensors, radar, a laser scanner, and a thermal camera. A similar robot is already being used by rescue services in Vienna, but it is only equipped with a robot arm and regular camera.

“We target robots operating in low-visibility environments, a scenario where robots could be very helpful, but in which it was not possible to use them prior to SmokeBot,” Achim Lilienthal, project coordinator and professor of Computer Science at Sweden’s Örebro University, told Digital Trends. “To enable using robots in low-visibility scenarios — with a lot of smoke or dust, for example — we developed novel sensors and perception and cognitive approaches tailored to those sensors.”

With a view toward its possible firefighting applications, the team built their prototype to incorporate an active heat shield, along with the ability to autonomously find areas with a WiFi connection. If it loses connection with the team controlling it via remote control, SmokeBot can navigate back to whichever point it last had good internet reception.

While such a robot would probably be too slow-moving to assist in the most critical and urgent of rescue missions, it could nonetheless be a useful tool for firefighting. The team also plans to incorporate similar technology into future drones, although Lilienthal noted that, at present, “the sensors are currently too heavy for drones.” Further development could allow this research to additionally be applied to lightweight flying robots to help them function in low-visibility scenarios.

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Microsoft’s ‘Andromeda’ device may be a phone after all

Ryan Smalley | Behance

Unnamed sources claim that the latest prototype of Microsoft’s unannounced “Andromeda” device includes telephony capabilities. It won’t be a re-entry into the smartphone business, but rather a new entry in its “always-connected” initiative currently inhabited by laptops sporting Qualcomm Snapdragon processors and 4G LTE connectivity. Andromeda is expected to appear toward the end of 2018. 

Although we don’t know much about Andromeda, Microsoft’s patents showcase a foldable device sporting two screens. It relies on a “live hinge” that brings both screens together to create a seamless, one-screen tablet experience. One configuration shows the device folding with the screens facing back to back so you can hold it like a smartphone. Reverse the fold with the screens facing each other and you put the device in standby mode, eliminating the need for a protective case. 

But Microsoft isn’t targeting another mobile phone, but to change the market much like Apple did with the original iPhone in 2007. Microsoft seeks a Windows 10 device you can slip into your pocket, but use as a smartphone, a small Mini iPad-sized tablet, and a 2-in-1 with a touch-based keyboard. 

“Mobile phone displays have increased in size to the point where they can now consume almost an entire front surface of a phone. In some cases, further increases in display size would detract from other capabilities of the devices, such as its pocket-size form factor,” one patent states. 

Andromeda will supposedly be one of the first devices based on Microsoft’s new Windows Core OS modular platform, a version of Windows that works on any device type or architecture. That means Microsoft will no longer need to maintain a version of Windows for x86-based AMD and Intel processors, and a version for ARM-based Qualcomm and Samsung processors. Even more, its modular design enables the addition and removal of components, depending on the underlying device. 

For example, Andromeda will supposedly rely on a new adaptable user interface called Andromeda OS. Based on Composable Shell, or CShell, this interface can adapt and scale on any device so you will have the same Windows experience on a laptop, smartphone, tablet, and Xbox console. But don’t worry: Microsoft isn’t making a drastic interface change as seen with Windows 8. 

Ultimately, Windows Core OS means devices won’t include unnecessary built-in features. The platform will be smaller in size on the device’s local storage and supposedly faster given there won’t be unnecessary features and processes running in the background, slowing Windows. Windows Core OS will be the next step in Microsoft’s “One OS” vision, merging its OneCore and Universal Windows Platform into a single “one OS to rule them all” package. 

Whether or not Andromeda will actually behave like a telephone is unknown for now. We can’t help but suspect that it will be revealed during the next Snapdragon developer conference in December sporting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chip.

Microsoft and Qualcomm originally introduced their “always-connected” initiative in December 2017: Windows 10 PCs with Snapdragon chips, 4G LTE connectivity, and an insane battery life of more than 20 hours. 

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Microsoft’s Windows Andromeda device may pack telephony capability

Ryan Smalley | Behance

Unnamed sources claim that the latest prototype of Microsoft’s unannounced “Andromeda” device includes telephony capabilities. It won’t be a re-entry into the smartphone business, but rather a new entry in its “always-connected” initiative currently inhabited by laptops sporting Qualcomm Snapdragon processors and 4G LTE connectivity. Andromeda is expected to appear toward the end of 2018. 

Although we don’t know much about Andromeda, Microsoft’s patents showcase a foldable device sporting two screens. It relies on a “live hinge” that brings both screens together to create a seamless, one-screen tablet experience. One configuration shows the device folding with the screens facing back to back so you can hold it like a smartphone. Reverse the fold with the screens facing each other and you put the device in standby mode, eliminating the need for a protective case. 

But Microsoft isn’t targeting another mobile phone, but to change the market much like Apple did with the original iPhone in 2007. Microsoft seeks a Windows 10 device you can slip into your pocket, but use as a smartphone, a small Mini iPad-sized tablet, and a 2-in-1 with a touch-based keyboard. 

“Mobile phone displays have increased in size to the point where they can now consume almost an entire front surface of a phone. In some cases, further increases in display size would detract from other capabilities of the devices, such as its pocket-size form factor,” one patent states. 

Andromeda will supposedly be one of the first devices based on Microsoft’s new Windows Core OS modular platform, a version of Windows that works on any device type or architecture. That means Microsoft will no longer need to maintain a version of Windows for x86-based AMD and Intel processors, and a version for ARM-based Qualcomm and Samsung processors. Even more, its modular design enables the addition and removal of components, depending on the underlying device. 

For example, Andromeda will supposedly rely on a new adaptable user interface called Andromeda OS. Based on Composable Shell, or CShell, this interface can adapt and scale on any device so you will have the same Windows experience on a laptop, smartphone, tablet, and Xbox console. But don’t worry: Microsoft isn’t making a drastic interface change as seen with Windows 8. 

Ultimately, Windows Core OS means devices won’t include unnecessary built-in features. The platform will be smaller in size on the device’s local storage and supposedly faster given there won’t be unnecessary features and processes running in the background, slowing Windows. Windows Core OS will be the next step in Microsoft’s “One OS” vision, merging its OneCore and Universal Windows Platform into a single “one OS to rule them all” package. 

Whether or not Andromeda will actually behave like a telephone is unknown for now. We can’t help but suspect that it will be revealed during the next Snapdragon developer conference in December sporting Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chip.

Microsoft and Qualcomm originally introduced their “always-connected” initiative in December 2017: Windows 10 PCs with Snapdragon chips, 4G LTE connectivity, and an insane battery life of more than 20 hours. 

Editors’ Recommendations

• 5 things the rumored Surface tablet will need to beat the iPad
• Acer Switch 7 Black Edition vs. Microsoft Surface Pro
• Is Microsoft planning a $400 Surface tablet?
• GoPro Hero (2018) Review
• Google Pixelbook now on sale for $750, its lowest price ever