Android P: Everything you need to know about Android 9

From new gestures to extending battery life, here’s everything you need to know about Android P!

Following last year’s Oreo release, 2018 is the year of Android P. We’re still some time away before Google rolls out the new software to all users, but even in its current form, P is showing a lot of promise.

Things are bound to change leading up to Android P’s official launch, but for the time being, here’s everything you need to know about this year’s big update.

The latest Android P news

July 25, 2018 — Google pushes Android P Beta 4

“Android P is almost here!” That’s how Google starts its blog post introducing Android P Beta 4, also known as Developer Preview 5, which is available on all supported devices starting today.

According to Google, “Today’s Beta 4 update includes a release candidate build with final system behaviors and the official Android P APIs (API level 28), available since Beta 2. It includes everything you need to wrap up your testing in time for the upcoming official Android P release.” In other words, this is basically the same version that will ship to Pixels later in August, when the public version is released.

How to install Android P on your Pixel right now (or roll back to Oreo)

July 20, 2018 — Android P engineers discuss dark mode, gestures, and more in Reddit AMA

Leading up to the official launch of Android P in about a month or so, the development team behind the new update recently got together for an AMA on Reddit to answer technical questions about P.

The dev team covered a ton of stuff, but there are a few highlights worth pointing out here. First off, when it comes to Android P’s gesture navigation, they had this to say:

We evaluated many, (MANY!) options for navigation as part of this overall change to the system spaces (worth noting that our main impetus was about making All Apps/Overview more accessible from wherever you are in the system, similar to the notification shade). HOME and BACK are so central to Android navigation (both the system and the apps) – that ensuring the dependability of them via buttons with enough space led us to the current design. All that said – we really value both the aesthetic and functional appeal of a smaller nav bar / more gross-gesture navigation and are continuing to explore opportunities to bring that in.

A system-wide dark mode has also been on the minds of many, and to not much surprise, it was said that Google doesn’t “have anything to announce about a unified dark mode.”

The team also explained how maintaining Project Treble is actually more difficult than past efforts, said a fix is coming for Android’s awful sharing menu, and more.

Read through the full AMA here

All the big details

Android P is officially Android 9

As spotted in the third developer preview, Android P is Android 9. This signifies that Android P is a big upgrade from 8.0 Oreo, and based on what we’re about to dive into, we’ve got no problem agreeing with that.

It completely changes Android’s navigation system

Back in 2011 with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Google introduced Android’s iconic three button navigation system we’ve come to know and love – Back, Home, and Recents. Seven years later with Android P, these are being eliminated in favor of a gesture-based system.

Android P is the first time Google’s heavily relying on gestures for navigating the UI, and in their current form, they work as follows:

• Tap the Home button/pill to go home
• Swipe up to access the recent apps page
• Swipe up twice or do a long swipe for the app drawer
• The Back button only appears in certain apps/menus when it’s needed

This combination of taps and swipes is a bit confusing right now, but we’re expecting Google to roll-out a more refined version of this in later Developer Previews or in the final build. You can still use the traditional three buttons in Developer Preview 2 and 3 if the gestures aren’t your thing, but it’s rather obvious that this is the future Google wants for Android.

Android P’s gestures are a jagged pill you should learn to swallow

The user interface is more rounded and colorful

Android P isn’t as drastic of a visual change like we saw with the jump from KitKat to Lolipop, but compared to Oreo, there are some elements that are noticeably different.

At first glance, things like the colorful icons in Settings, circular Quick Settings icons, and rounded corners for just about every menu jump out like a sore thumb. These elements do take some getting used to, but I ultimately came around to liking them quite a bit.

Something else you’ll notice with Android P is just how alive it feels. Between the new gestures and updated animations, Android moves in a way that I’ve never seen before. Oreo was smooth and buttery, but Android P flies underneath your fingertips in a way that can only be experienced in-person.

There are tools for helping you use your phone less

Google talked a lot about helping people with their “digital wellbeing” at this year’s I/O conference, and a lot of those efforts are baked right into Android P.

Although not live in Developer Preview 2 or 3, later versions of Android P will introduce a new system called Android Dashboard. Android Dashboard will offer a quick glimpse into how you’re using your phone, including stats on which apps you’re using the most, how many times you’ve turned on the screen, how many notifications you’ve received, and how much time you’ve spent on each app.

You’ll also find a feature called App Timers that’ll restrict you from using a certain app after you’ve spent x amount of time on it, as well as tools for easily turning on Do Not Disturb and switching your screen to a monochrome color palette to help you wind down for bed.

Google’s ‘digital wellbeing’ initiative feels incomplete and insincere

Google’s trying to squeeze as much juice as possible out of your battery

It seems like Google’s always trying to find ways to maximize your phone’s battery life as much as possible, and with Android P, those efforts are present in a new Adaptive Battery mode.

Similar to how Adaptive Brightness automatically adjusts your display’s brightness level based on your environment and usage, Adaptive Battery will examine how you use your phone and limit CPU usage to apps you infrequently use.

Google notes that Adaptive Battery can lower CPU usage by as much as 30%, and thanks to the use of Machine Learning, it’ll only get better the more you use your phone.

App shortcuts are everywhere

With Android Nougat, Google introduced us to App Shortcuts for the first time. Holding down on an app icon to quickly access certain elements of it can be genuinely useful at times, and with Android P, Google’s taking these to the next level with App Actions and Slices.

App Actions will try to determine what you’ll do next with your phone and give you recommend shortcuts for doing so within the app drawer, Assistant, and more. For example, if you watch Good Mythical Morning each day with breakfast, you might see an App Shortcut in your app drawer for searching Rhett and Link on YouTube during the morning.

On the other hand, Slices will allow you to perform more complex actions from the Assistant or Google Search. In the example Google gave at I/O, searching “I want to book a ride” will give you a special link to call a ride home via Lyft (assuming you’ve got the app installed).

157 new emoji

In Developer Preview 3, Google added a ton of new emojis to keep your conversations bright and colorful — 157 of them, to be exact.

Although we won’t run through the entire list, some of the highlights include red hair, superhero, face with three hearts, bagel with cream cheese, mooncake, lobster, and llama.

There are also improvements to existing emoji, including two new gender-neutral family and couple designs and updated looks for the bacon, salad, turtle, and cricket emojis.

A new standard for biometric authentication

Fingerprint sensors and face unlock systems make it easier than ever to access private information on our phones, and in Android P Developer Preview 3, Google added a brand-new standard for this called “BiometricPrompt API.”

Thanks to the new API, developers no longer have to create their own dialog for using biometric systems with their apps. This isn’t something you’ll notice in day-to-day use, but it’s an important background change we’re more than happy to see.

All the little things

In addition to the big changes found in Android P, there are a ton of smaller elements also scattered throughout the update. Some of my favorites include:

• Built-in screenshot editor
• Zoom pop-up when highlighting text
• Changing the volume now defaults to your media volume
• Volume controls appear on the right of your screen instead of the top
• Do Not Disturb is more customizable and easier to understand

You can sign up for the beta now

Similar to last year’s Oreo beta, anyone with a Pixel phone can opt-in to the Android P beta right now to get an OTA update to download and play with the new software.

However, Google’s Pixel phones aren’t the only ones that get to have fun with this early access. Google’s opening up its Android Beta Program to third-party OEMs for the first time ever thanks to Project Treble, including Nokia, OnePlus, Sony, Essential, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo.

How to get Android P on your Pixel right now (or roll back to Oreo)

The official build should be released in August

If you’d rather not mess with the beta and just wait for the final version to drop, we’re not too terribly far out from it.

Google notes that the final release for Android P will be published in Q3, and based on the above timeline and Oreo’s release schedule, we should see Android P get a proper launch at some point in August.

Updated July 25, 2018: This article was updated with news of Android P Beta 4.

Android P

• Android P: Everything you need to know
• Android P Beta hands-on: The best and worst features
• All the big Android announcements from Google I/O 2018
• Will my phone get Android P?
• How to manually update your Pixel to Android P
• Join the Discussion

How to install Android P on your Pixel right now (or roll back to Oreo)

Get the Android P Developer Preview on your phone right away.

The Android P beta is up to Developer Preview 5, also known as Beta 4.

The main way to load the Android P preview is to enroll in the Android Beta Program, which makes it super easy to opt in and out of the program. If you’re more hardcore, or want to manually flash the Android P developer preview, we have those instructions, too.

• The easy way
• The harder way

The easy way — Android Beta Program

If you don’t want to mess with unlocking your bootloader or the command line, you will get an update to the Android P if you’re part of the Android Beta program. That means that if you have one of the eligible devices, you can simply visit the Android Beta portal and opt-in to the beta, which will then prompt Google to send your phone or tablet an over-the-air update.

Head to Android Beta program portal on your Pixel phone.
Sign into the Google account associated with that phone.
Scroll down to Your eligible devices.
Find the device you want to enroll in the Beta program and tap Opt in.
Follow the prompts to accept the over-the-air download.

Note: To leave the Beta program, simply tap the Opt out button on the Android Beta Program page to unenroll. Your phone will receive an over-the-air update to return to the latest stable version of Android, but your phone will be wiped clean upon rebooting, so back up your stuff.

Which devices are eligible for the Android Beta Program?

The preview is supported on the following phones and tablets:

• Pixel 2
• Pixel 2 XL
• Pixel
• Pixel XL

The following phones are also eligible to download the Android P Beta, but you’ll need to follow the individual install instructions linked below:

• Nokia 7 Plus
• OnePlus 6
• Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
• Essential PH‑1
• Sony Xperia XZ2
• OPPO R15 Pro
• Vivo X21

Learn more about the Android P Beta on non-Google devices

The harder way — Flashing through bootloader

Before we go through the steps of sideloading Android updates, it is strongly recommended that you have previous knowledge of working with the Android SDK (software development kit) and the Terminal (OS X or Linux) or Command Prompt (Windows), as it is possible to harm your device if something were to go wrong in the following process.

If you need to download the Android SDK you can grab it from the Android Development website and follow their instructions on how to install it correctly. For the following process, all you will need is the adb and fastboot files which are located in the Platform Tools folder, so make sure to read the description at the dev site and grab the right download.

Additionally, all the following commands are written as they would be in Terminal on a Linux or OS X platform. If you are following this guide and using a Windows machine, you will not need to use the “./” seen in the guide. Just type the rest of the command line by line in the order they are listed and you’ll be good.

Enable developer settings and USB debugging

Go to your Settings and scroll down to About Phone/Tablet.
Tap on the Build number seven times until the dialog box says you are now a developer.
Go back to the Settings menu and you should find a new option called Developer options. Tap into the Developer options.
Make sure that the developer options are turned on and that USB debugging is checked on.
Plug your device into your computer and tap “OK” on the dialog box asking you to Allow USB debugging while connected to the computer. You can also select to always allow access on that computer.

If done correctly, this will be everything you will need to do on your phone or tablet for the moment.

Unlocking your bootloader

Pixel phones bought from Google directly have a bootloader you can unlock. If you want to manually flash software, you’ll need to do this.

To do this you must first boot into your bootloader. You can either manually turn off your phone or tablet and hold down the power button and the volume down button to enter your device’s Bootloader Menu or you can enter the following commands into your terminal or command prompt.

Run the following command to make sure your device is properly connected to your computer. If it returns a string of characters it means that you are all set to start updating your device.

./adb devices

Now to enter into the Bootloader menu just run the following command.

./adb reboot bootloader

At the bottom of the screen, there will be several things listed including the lock state of the device. This should say locked unless you have unlocked your bootloader in the past and never went back and locked it again.

To unlock your bootloader, which is required only when flashing a stock firmware image (not sideloading an update), you must enter the following commands. Remember that when unlocking your phone’s bootloader it will factory reset your device, so you will lose everything stored on it. If you have not yet backed up anything important on your device you can hit the power button while Start is highlighted in the Bootloader menu and this will boot you back into your device like normal. Now back to unlocking your bootloader.

Now type:

./fastboot flashing unlock

A dialog will appear on the device asking if you are sure about unlocking. Again this will factory reset your device, so if you want to back out of the process you just need to select no with the power button. If you are ready to unlock your bootloader you press the volume up button and then the power button to confirm that you wish to unlock your bootloader.

./fastboot reboot-bootloader

It is recommended to reboot the bootloader just to give itself a check to make sure everything is working correctly before moving on to the next step.

Flashing the stock firmware image

Now that your bootloader is unlocked, it’s time to flash the new firmware. To find the images for the developer preview, head on over to the Developer Preview download page, find your device, and download the latest factory image available. It is easiest to then uncompress the file in the Platform Tools folder you downloaded (where the adb and fastboot files are) so that you don’t have to type the path to the different files when flashing the firmware. (Or if you know that you can drag a file into a terminal window to copy the path, just do that.)

To begin, make sure you are still in the bootloader menu on your device and double check that your bootloader is in fact unlocked.

First, make sure that your computer is communicating correctly with your phone or tablet. As long as your device’s serial number comes back as a connected device you are ready to begin updating your device.

./fastboot devices

Now it is time to flash the updated bootloader with the following command.

./fastboot flash bootloader [bootloader file].img

You will not see anything on the screen of your device but there should be a dialog in your terminal or command prompt. When it is done flashing the bootloader you should reboot back into the bootloader to make sure everything is still working correctly.

./fastboot reboot-bootloader

Next, you flash the updated radios. This step is only necessary if you are updating the firmware of a phone or tablet that has cellular radios built into it.

./fastboot flash radio [radio file].img

./fastboot reboot-bootloader

Finally, it’s time to flash the actual system image to your phone or tablet.

Warning: The following line of code will wipe your device. Normally, you can remove the “-w” from the command but when moving to a beta version of Android it’s not guaranteed to work.

./fastboot -w update [image file].zip

When this is done, your phone will restart itself and boot up normally. As this process clears all data from your device, it will take slightly longer for your device to boot up for the first time. Once you have been greeted with the device setup walkthrough process, you know you have successfully flashed a new version of the firmware.

If you do not want to enter the commands manually there are scripts included in the compressed folder containing the system image that will do most but not all of the heavy lifting for you. The flash-all script files will automate the flashing of the bootloader, radios (if needed), and the system image. The problem with this process is that you must first make sure that your phone is in the bootloader menu and its bootloader must be unlocked before starting the script. Of course, if these are not already done the script will fail to run and nothing will happen.

Going back to Oreo

When you’ve had your fun using the Android P Beta, and you’ve figured out that it’s not stable enough to use as a daily driver, it’s time to go back to Oreo. Thankfully the process is simple, and you just learned how to do it! Simply go back through the same steps above, except for two changes: you don’t need to unlock your bootloader again, and you’ll want to download the Oreo factory image from Google instead. Get back to stock, and maybe you’ll check out a future Developer Preview build.

This sounds worse than it is, so don’t worry. But we also understand it can seem like an impossibly difficult thing the first time you’re trying it. That’s OK, we all felt the same way when we first tried it, too. Just take the time to read through everything before you start clicking and tapping things and you’ll do just fine.

If you have any trouble along the way, be sure to hop into the forums and ask for help!

Android P

• Android P: Everything you need to know
• Android P Beta hands-on: The best and worst features
• All the big Android announcements from Google I/O 2018
• Will my phone get Android P?
• How to manually update your Pixel to Android P
• Join the Discussion

Update July 25, 2018: Updated this guide to reflect the release of Android P Beta 4.

Android P Beta 4 ‘release candidate’ now available for Pixels, making way for public launch soon

As we close in on the official build, this is the best (and most stable) time to check out the pre-release software.

Google has just released the fourth beta of Android P to developers and enthusiasts, marking the final release before the final is officially unveiled as a public release. Android P Beta 4 isn’t designed to offer much change over Beta 3, as any substantial change now would likely just be held for the public release. Instead, Beta 4 is the final reminder to app developers that APIs have been finalized and this software is a great testing ground to make sure their apps are ready to go for the new software.

Beta 4 is the last chance to get an early and semi-exclusive look at Android P before the public launch.

Google is putting the official title of “release candidate” on this build, which means it’s supposed to be stable and complete enough for regular use with “final system behaviors” and no major foreseen problems. Because of that designation, for those of us who aren’t developers Beta 4 is a great way to get an early look at Android P with the least amount of risk prior to the official release. There won’t be any big differences from Beta 3, but if you had previously only looked at the first beta or held off altogether, this will be a pretty big change for you.

If you have either generation of Google Pixel, it’s simple to enroll in the Beta Program and get an over-the-air update with the latest software. You can also manually update it with your computer if you’re really eager. In either case, if you need any help with the process we have a great guide to help you through it.

How to install Android P on your Pixel right now (and how to roll back to Oreo)

Android P

• Android P: Everything you need to know
• Android P Beta hands-on: The best and worst features
• All the big Android announcements from Google I/O 2018
• Will my phone get Android P?
• How to manually update your Pixel to Android P
• Join the Discussion

Apple Maps Vehicles Reach 45 States, Revamped Data to Roll Out Across U.S. Over the Next Year

Apple Maps vehicles equipped with LiDAR sensors have begun collecting street-level data in Montana and North Carolina for the first time this week, raising the total number of U.S. states the fleet has at least partially covered to 45.

The vehicles have been collecting mapping data in the United States since at least 2015. Apple periodically updates a list of locations where the vehicles will be driving on its website. To our best knowledge, the only states yet to be surveyed are Alaska, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The vehicles have also surveyed parts of Croatia, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Last month, Apple confirmed that mapping data and imagery collected by the vehicles will be used to rebuild Apple Maps “from the ground up,” aided by high-resolution satellite imagery and “probe data” collected from anonymized, random segments of navigation sessions by opted-in iPhone users.

The gist of it is that Apple will be switching to its own base map, reducing but not fully eliminating its reliance on third-party providers like TomTom, which will yield significant improvements to traffic, real-time road conditions, road systems, new construction, changes in pedestrian walkways, and more.

The overall look and feel of Apple Maps is mostly the same, but zooming and panning reveals more details like grass, trees, and parking lots. Apple also says search results should be more relevant, hopefully making navigation more reliable.

Apple says the underlying efforts to revamp Maps have been underway for the past four years, but the improvements are currently limited to Northern California on devices running the iOS 12 beta. Apple says the new Maps will roll out section by section across the rest of the United States over the next year.

Apple hasn’t said if and when the new Maps will be available outside of the United States, but given the vehicles have surveyed 10 other countries, it is likely on the roadmap. We’ve reached out to them to see if they are willing to confirm.

Tags: Apple Maps, Apple Maps vehicles
Discuss this article in our forums

Facebook Launches ‘Watch Party’ Allowing Friends to View and Comment on Videos Together in Real Time

Facebook today announced the global launch of “Watch Party,” a desktop and mobile feature revealed in May that allows Facebook Groups to join in and watch videos on the platform together in real time. The videos themselves can be previously recorded or live videos, and members in the Watch Party can comment and send reactions as the video plays.

To start a Watch Party, one member (the “host”) navigates to a Group page, taps the new Watch Party icon, writes a message, and finds videos to add to the playlist. From there, hosts can invite friends in the Group who can join instantly and watch the videos together. Only hosts can scrub the video’s playback and choose new videos to watch. Facebook says it is looking into starting Watch Parties outside of Groups as well.

Other features include a “co-host” ability, so that hosts can designate other members to control the Watch Party, and a crowdsource ability that lets all Watch Party members suggest videos for the host to play next. Facebook says Watch Parties are great for both small groups of friends and family members, as well as large organizations hosting Q&A sessions and more.

Today, we’re launching Watch Party to all Facebook Groups around the globe. Watch Party is a new way for people to watch videos on Facebook together in real time. Once a Watch Party is started, participants can watch videos, live or recorded, and interact with one another around them in the same moment. We’ve been focused on building new ways to bring people together around video, create connections, and ignite conversations; Watch Party is the next step in bringing this vision to life.

Multiple brands are joining in on Facebook’s “Weekend of Watch Parties” this Friday, July 27 through Sunday, July 29, including Buzzfeed’s Tasty Group, Jamie Oliver’s 5-Day Veggie Challenge Group, and more.

Services that allow you to sync up videos in real time have grown in popularity, with major companies like Google and Skype trying out similar features in the past. Google’s own “Uptime” app launched in a test phase in March 2017, expanded to the public in June 2017, but now appears to have left the iOS App Store.

These platforms tend to be more popular on desktops and laptops, however, with websites like Rabbit and Gaze offering the ability to stream YouTube, Netflix, and more together with friends, sometimes offering a mobile app as well. Facebook’s Watch Party solution will be available across mobile and desktop, which could be an advantage for some users, as long as the videos they want to watch together can be found on Facebook’s platform.

Tag: Facebook
Discuss this article in our forums

Eww, gross! See your beating heart for real on this amazing AR t-shirt

The Curiscope Virtuali-Tee is one of our favorite uses of mobile augmented reality technology, as it neatly combines educational benefits with some jaw-dropping visuals that inspire both awe and yucks. The newest addition to the app is a way to measure your heart rate using the camera on the phone, and then visualize it in real time on the t-shirt itself. Yes, really.

If you’re not familiar with it, the Virtuali-Tee is a specially designed t-shirt that when looked at through a smartphone, suddenly comes to life and reveals a window into the wearer’s body. Curiscope first made the t-shirt available through Kickstarter in 2016, and since the end of the successful campaign, the company has produced several other exciting virtual and augmented reality projects, including Operation Apex, a VR undersea adventure with a conservation twist.

The heart rate tracker update to Virtuali-Tee is technically impressive, yet very simple for everyone to use. It works through a technique called contact photoplethysmography. By using images obtained by placing your finger over the phone’s camera lens, where it measures the amount of light it sees, the app can work out your pulse. You’re guided through the process in the app, and the end result is as polished as we’ve come to expect from Curiscope.

When the camera sees the Virtuali-Tee t-shirt, it adds a beating heart on to the already incredible-looking, anatomically accurate image of your insides. Sound gross? Well, it is a bit; but that’s half the appeal. If you’re wondering why you’d want such a thing, not only is it an awesome way to really demonstrate how cool AR technology is, but it’s a fantastic piece of educational tech, too. Because the heart rate is displayed in real time, it’s a perfect way to visually show kids the impact of exercise, and how the body changes from rest.

Curiscope often gets asked whether what the app shows on the t-shirt is actually the person’s organs, and the answer until now has always been no. That line is blurred with the heart rate tracking, as it genuinely is an image of what’s happening inside the body. If you already own a Virtuali-Tee, the heart rate tracking feature is available as an app update now. For those who now want one of the most unusual pieces of AR tech we’ve used, then it’s yours for just $30, or 25 British pounds, through Amazon or Curiscope’s own website.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Google Measure app now works on any ARCore-capable phone
• iOS 12’s best new features
• iOS 12 adds a Snapchat-like camera for iMessages, with AR-powered Memojis
• Google’s Just a Line AR app draws Android and iOS users together
• Google News receives a major overhaul, replaces Google Play Newsstand

It’s curtains for Kuri: Robot companion project hits the buffers

The world of robotic home companions suffered a setback this week when one of its potential stars walked out of the door.

Mayfield Robotics said on Wednesday that it’s ending work on its Kuri robot following three years of development.

The startup, which began with backing from German tech giant Bosch, said it felt “crushed” to announce the news of Kuri’s demise. But it said it had no choice after an extensive review concluded “there was not a business fit within Bosch to support and scale our business.”

For those not in the know, Kuri stood 20 inches high and was more of “an intelligent pet than a robot butler,” according to Mayfield. The cute-looking, wheel-based bot acted as an interactive and mobile videographer, capturing everyday moments around the home via its 1080p camera.

Kuri responded to voice commands and could navigate its way around autonomously. The owner could also control it remotely via a smartphone app if they wanted to check on their premises from afar. You could even talk through it, so if you saw your house being burgled, you could yell at the crooks to “get the hell out.” Similar to SoftBank’s Pepper robot, singing and dancing was also part of Kuri’s repertoire.

Mayfield said in a blog post on Wednesday that Kuri production will cease and that any that have been made will not be shipped. “All pre-order deposits will be refunded to our customers,” it confirmed in the post.

Kuri turned a lot of heads when it was first unveiled at CES 2017, impressing many with its mobility, awareness, and personality smarts.

“It doesn’t feel like a robot in the traditional sense,” Mayfield’s Chris Matthews told Digital Trends at the time. “It connects to people in a different way than normal tech. It’s very much about what people feel.”

Mayfield said its creation fulfilled its vision to create robots that are “joyful, useful, and inspiring,” but added that creating such a design had been a “massive undertaking.”

Its announcement comes just weeks after Honda announced it was ceasing development of Asimo, a talented robot that could run, hop, handle objects, and converse with humans. Honda said it would transfer Asimo’s technology to existing projects for single-person mobility vehicles and autonomous cars.

According to Mayfield’s statement, the Redwood City, California-based startup will live to see another day, as it’s opted to merely “pause operations” rather than end them entirely. That suggests it’s not yet done with the development of robotic technology, even if it’s curtains for Kuri.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Asimo, Honda’s amazing biped, heads to robot retirement home
• 7 times Honda’s iconic Asimo robot blew us away (and 1 side-splitting fail)
• Torc Robotics expands its self-driving car development team
• CanguRo robot is part transport, part best friend
• Scared yet? Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot can now jog freely

Segway wants you to stand on wheeled balancing boards, because that sounds safe

If you thought Heelys (those wheeled sneakers that every preteen in the United States used to careen about in) were odd, you may want to take a seat. Segway is here to prove that when it comes to strange methods of transportation, it’s the top dog. Meet the new Segway Drift W1s. They’re self-balancing roller shoes, and can be compared to a hoverboard that just lives on your foot. Well, I suppose it would technically be two halves of a hoverboard living on each foot.

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The Drift W1s are apparently the first product in the company’s  new e-Skates category, and they leverage Segway’s self-balancing technology that was first put to use in the original Segway scooter — you know, that thing that let users lean into the direction they wished to travel.

These new shoes are in some ways a 21st-century answer to roller blades and in-line skates, though it does feel a bit like Segway is trying to fix something that wasn’t broken to begin with. But never to be deterred, the company, which was acquired by Ninebot back in 2015, is  calling its Drift W1s the new trend of 2018.

“The new Segway Drift W1 brings all the fun and coolness you expect from Segway’s consumer products line, combined with the high-quality engineering consumers expect from the Segway brand,” the company stated in an announcement. The skates purport to be easy to carry, lightweight, and relatively small. Based on images and videos that we’ve seen, it looks like each Drift W1 fits exactly under your foot, so you don’t have  too much room for error (or experimentation).

The tires are purportedly meant to improve stability and your ability to steer, and thanks to slip-resistant foot mats, you should be at least relatively safe when you step on the W1s. Of course, it’s likely that it will take awhile for you to get used to this new-age method of transportation, so we wouldn’t recommend running around on these W1s without some protective gear.

Apparently, Segway agrees, and if you buy a pair of these shoe things, you’ll get a free helmet. Seems reasonable.

A pair of Drift W1s will set you back just under $400, and shipping is expected to begin in August. Each W1 will weigh about 7.7 pounds, and will be able to take you up to 7.5 miles per hour. The total riding time is contingent upon riding style and terrain, but Segway says that you can expect 45 minutes of fun per charge.

Editors’ Recommendations

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There are still a few idiots left using the Galaxy Note 7

Please stop.

By now, most of the average phone-buying public has forgotten about the whole Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. That thing where many Note 7s had batteries that failed (sometimes dangerously), leading to a recall and replacement program, which was followed again by the new units failing just as spectacularly.

Samsung, carriers and local regulatory bodies have gone to extensive lengths to make Galaxy Note 7s unusable. It started with a software push that nagged you to return your phone. Then a software update that limited your battery charge — and another that limited it further. Then the carriers stepped in and started to block SIMs that were used in a Note 7. Eventually Samsung issued software updates that made it difficult or impossible to charge the phone.

Still, people who love their Note 7 held on tight (hopefully not too tight) and are still using their phones today — albeit in a diminished state. They’ve skipped software updates, rooted their phones or modified them in another way to keep them in use. There are some workarounds actively being discussed to get the software back up and working. The barely-alive Galaxy Note 7 subreddit still has a little activity, and if you search around you can still find diehard Note 7 users out there — despite the newer Note 8 being on sale for 11 months now, and refurbished Note 5s being available for a steep discount. Heck, even the Note 7 Fan Edition is available in some regions.

Despite all of the effort, as of April 2018 even Samsung’s own recall page notes that “nearly all” recalled Note 7s have been returned — yes, that means there are still active devices out there.

Somehow, Samsung hasn’t been able to capture every recalled Note 7 yet.

For the first few months after the reports of Note 7 battery failures rolled in, despite our calls for everyone to return their Note 7 right away, it was at least a partially understandable position to hold onto your Note 7. Now, it isn’t — and honestly it hasn’t been for about a year now. The Galaxy Note 7 was a really great device before it started to exhibit its horrible battery safety flaw. But it’s been replaced with products that are newer and more capable — and critically, ones that don’t catch fire.

This has to stop, folks. Nobody should be using an original Note 7 anymore. Contact Samsung or your carrier and return it for a refund. And when you do, get ready to upgrade to the new Galaxy Note 9 — it’s time to move on.

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What is Fuchsia, and why should you care?

Fuchsia isn’t going to be a thing you can see on your phone; it will power the things you can see on your phone.

A long time ago, in 2016, the internet learned about a supposed Google initiative to merge Chrome OS and Android. It was to have the codename Andromeda and would unify all of Google’s computing platforms so that they all used the same operating system. It made sense in many ways; it is similar to what Microsoft is doing with mobile, tablet and desktop software and supposedly the direction Apple is moving with iOS and macOS. Codenames and rumors aside, what ended up happening was the ability to visit the Google Play Store with a Chromebook and run Android apps natively.

This was a big deal, and if it was what Andromeda turned out to be it was certainly enough. Everyone benefits from having Android apps available on Chromebooks — Google can sell more and we can use them better because there will be an “app for that” whenever we need one. But the idea of Android and Chrome merging never really went away. It just got a new codename: Fuchsia.

More: These are the Chromebooks that can run Android and Linux apps

Fuchsia got its name, according to some of the developers, from existing projects.

Pink + Purple = Fuchsia (a new Operating System)

Project Pink was an original idea from Apple’s engineering team when they decided it was time to build a new object-oriented operating system with a new user interface, and the notes were written on pink index cards. Project Purple was the original name given to prototype production of a touchscreen phone from Apple; the iPhone. The original developers of Fuchsia are well-versed with this history, as they were also part of former projects like BeOS, iOS, and WebOS.

But an operating system needs more than a name. And without Google telling us anything about its new project, we’re left to piece together all the breadcrumbs the internet can find. Here is what we know so far.

Fuchsia is not going to replace Android or Chrome OS

Android is a complicated thing. It can be thought of as a complete operating system that you would find on a smartphone or tablet, or it can be a small part of an operating system that is built to run applications as we saw from BlackBerry on OS 10 devices. Most of all, Android is familiar to about two billion people and has a huge ecosystem of software, devices, accessories and support staff. You never abandon something this successful — you build on it instead.

Google learned the benefit of using their own software from Oracle in the courtroom.

Fuchsia will probably replace the part of the software you don’t see; the part that makes the hardware run and lets you tell your phone to do something when you tap the screen or talk into the microphone.

Right now Android uses the Linux kernel and a handful of utility programs written to work with Linux. Linux is great in many ways. It’s built to work with almost anything hardware-wise, has a huge community that contributes and makes every version better than the last one, and will be around a lot longer than any hardware you buy today that uses it. Chrome is mostly the same way. Its’s a bunch of user-facing services and utilities that run atop the Linux kernel. So is Android Auto, and Android TV, and Wear OS.

But Linux doesn’t “belong” to Google and it wasn’t designed specifically for mobile hardware. These are two things Google wants and eventually will need in order to continue to compete.

Fuchsia will be built for 2019 and beyond, not for the legacy of the past.

Google needs a mobile operating system built from the ground up at every level designed for 2018. It has to be lean and easy on resources, be able to compute quickly without taxing the chips inside our phones, and it has to be able to instantly respond to all the ways we can “talk” to it like touch, mouse and keyboard, or voice. And it has to do all of this while still being the same user-friendly Android we already know and still run the millions of applications written for Android.

In short, Fuchsia is replacing Linux and parts of Android (and probably Chrome, Android TV, Android Auto, etc.) with something that works better for Google’s purposes. The user interface — what you and I see on our phones or Chromebooks or watches — has nothing to do with this part of the operating system. Besides, Fuchsia is too hard to spell.

Benefits of the change

As mentioned, Google wants software they have more control over and that was designed to be lean and fast on the relatively low-end hardware we see in mobile products. But there are two other very important benefits from moving to a custom operating system, and this time we do get to see them.

Developers will be able to use more current programming languages to write applications. We’re already seeing this with programming tools like Dart and Flutter making their way to Android, and any new OS is certainly being written with modern programming tools in mind.

Sometimes you need a sledgehammer. Other times you need something more delicate.

There is nothing wrong with programming in C or Java. Both languages are very robust and can make any hardware do anything. But that also means they are designed to do a lot of things a mobile app developer doesn’t need, and this can make them a little cumbersome to learn and use. An Android app developer doesn’t need his code to communicate directly with the CPU using machine code. But an app developer does need access to easier and more efficient ways to have smooth UI transitions or scalability for different screens. C++ is great for powering a robot, but Flutter is great for building a great app interface. Letting developers leverage tools that help make better apps means we get better apps.

These new tools combined with a unified bottom layer of software across all devices means one app can work everywhere. That’s great, but Android already lets one app work everywhere, and to be frank, that means apps mostly suck on any device except a phone. Different size screens need different user interfaces, and most developers only code for a phone-sized one because it’s not easy to make an app look great everywhere.

Better developer tools mean better apps on every screen.

That will change with tools like Flutter and that’s our second benefit. Right now it’s difficult to build an Android app that works on a small 5-inch display but transforms to take advantage of a 12-inch display. It can be done beautifully — see the Gmail app for an example — but the work involved usually puts developers off the idea. If the tools would let a developer define a few different ways to use the full display to give us the right amount of information with just a few steps, most developers would do so.

Fuchsia demo installed on the Google Pixelbook.

This is what Fuchsia looks like on the Pixelbook. Developers can easily define what goes into the smaller content fields, what is used as a pleasant background, how things are laid out and how much content we need to see with just a few steps. Right now there are only examples and demos, but those give us an excellent idea of what to expect. Compare it to Fuchsia on a phone-sized display below.

Notice the similarities, then notice the differences. This is how one piece of software, in this case, a simple user interface or “home” app, can be changed to perform on two different size displays. This is what Android in its current state is lacking. This is what we need to happen. This is why Google — and we — want Fuchsia to become a real thing.

Nothing is final, everything can change

As mentioned at the top of this article, we’ve built this on a mixture of rumors, source code uploads, tidbits of insider information, and a dash of imagination. Google has said nothing about any future where Fuchsia is a reality.

That’s important because this is a HUGE undertaking. It’s even bigger than creating Android in the first place was because much of it involves coding for the bottom layer instead of depending on existing software. Android was built atop Linux, iOS was built atop BSD, Fuchsia is being built from the ground up. It will take a few years until we could see a consumer version or even a version for the public to test that’s not just a proof of concept demo. This is hard work that will take thousands of hours to finish.

I believe that Google does have plans for Fuchsia and it’s not just a pet project of some talented developers or something Google will start and never finish. I’m paying close attention to all of this, not just because it’s how we make our living, but because we’re both interested and amazed at what might develop from the project. We’ll continue to revisit this space and add information as it becomes available, but for now, there is mostly educated guessing and plenty of wishing involved.

Top 3 ways Fuchsia can be a better operating system than Android

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