Bluetooth speakers, Roku streaming devices, wireless mice, and more are all discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on the Roku Streaming Stick, the B&O Play P2 Bluetooth speaker, the Logitech MX Sound computer speakers, and more! Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

What is G-Sync? If you’re a gaming fan, you’ll want to know

So you just got the latest PC title and are excited to fire up your machine to give it a go. You start the game but notice that the image sometimes seems to skip a bit. The smoothness you expected to see with all your new gear is being ruined.

Don’t worry: This is a common issue, and Nvidia has developed a tool to eliminate this problem. It’s called G-Sync, and with the right GPU and the monitor, choppy displays are a thing of the past.

A solution to a problem

Few computing programs require more system resources than games, and game developers are known to always push graphics hardware to their limits. Because of that, sometimes your graphics card and monitor can get out of sync, meaning the the graphics card sends a frame in the middle of a monitor’s refresh rate.

The monitor then ends up drawing parts of multiple frames on the display at the same time. This can result in visually discernable artifacts known as “tears,” or tearing — a form of distortion where objects on the screen appear to be out of alignment.

You can keep your GPU and monitor in sync by enabling V-sync, which causes the GPU to send frames to the screen in sync with the monitor’s refresh rate (usually at 60Hz, or 60 times per second). However, while maintaining sync via V-sync eliminates tearing, it can introduce yet another artifact called “stuttering,” as well as input lag.

G-Sync is a hardware-based tech that manipulates the display panel’s VBI (vertical blanking interval). VBI represents the interval between the time when a monitor finishes drawing the current frame, and the beginning of the next frame.

During this interval, no screen refresh data is sent to the monitor. When G-Sync is active, the graphics card in your PC waits until the monitor is ready to receive another frame before sending it. This keeps everything in sync and eliminates annoying and distracting visual artifacts.

A G-Sync board contains 768MB of DDR3 memory, which stores the previous frame so that it can be compared to the next incoming frame. It does this to decrease input lag.

G-Sync allows a monitor to support variable refresh rates, which are often redrawn at widely varying intervals. Syncing the GPU and monitor’s refresh rates helps make in-game animations appear smoother.

Manufacturers have jumped on board

Because it is a hardware solution, individual monitors need to have the technology implemented. Fortunately, most of the major monitor manufacturers, including Asus, Philips, BenQ, AOC, Samsung, and LG have deployed G-Sync on some of their displays.

As for the monitors themselves, they range in sizes between 20 and 30-inches, support 120Hz or 144Hz refresh rates, and they come in resolutions ranging from 1,920×1,080 to 3,840×2,160. Prices range from about $100 to well over a $1,000. For example, Asus’ ROG Swift PG279Q 27-inch monitor, lists for $698.

However, it’s important to note that you’ll also need a G-Sync-enabled Nvidia graphics card to take advantage of this new technology. Most newer Nvidia cards, like the GTX 10 series, as well as more powerful cards, like the GTX Titan Black, are all G-Sync-ready. You can check out the full list of supported cards and GPUs here.

A couple downsides

That’s not to say the technology is without its drawbacks. First is the price. Whether you’re looking at a laptop or desktop setup, G-Sync requires both a capable monitor and graphics card.  Purchasing each separately for a desktop costs about $500, and laptops that incorporate both components all retail at over $1,000.

In addition, users have noted a lack of compatibility with Nvidia’s Optimus technology. Optimus, implemented in many laptops, adjusts graphics performance on the fly to provide necessary power to graphics-intensive programs and optimize battery life. Because the technology relies on an integrated graphics system, frames are passed to the screen at a set interval, not as they are created in the case of G-Sync. One can purchase an Optimus-capable device or a G-Sync-capable device, but there exists no laptop that can do both.

Alternatives to G-Sync

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

You should also be aware that AMD, Nvidia’s rival, promotes its own variable refresh rate technology, dubbed “FreeSync.”

Because FreeSync operates using the existing DisplayPort interface present on most monitors, the tech doesn’t require additional AMD hardware (aside from the AMD GPU, that is) to enable variable VBI. In fact, according to AMD, its GPUs have supported variable refresh rates for a few generations.

As a result, there are more monitors that support FreeSync than G-Sync. Furthermore, because these monitors don’t require the manufacturer to install additional hardware, they may run cheaper than their G-Sync capable counterparts. For example, Asus’ MG279Q is about $100 less than the aforementioned ROG Swift monitor.

Each technology has its own strengths, but there is a plethora of graphics card and monitor combinations that support these features. If you’re tired of the graphical glitches caused by your monitor and GPU being out of sync, help has arrived.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best gaming monitors
• The latest Asus gaming monitor will be insanely expensive
• Acer’s new 4K, HDR, 144Hz G-Sync gaming monitor will cost $2,000
• The best ultrawide monitors of 2018
• The best HDR monitors

How to save money when buying an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Show

You don’t have to pay full price for your next Echo device!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Amazon’s Echo devices like the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show. Odds are that you may have even considered buying one for yourself at one point in time, but it is possible that you weren’t sold on the price tag of the device. Well, luckily there are a few ways to avoid paying full price and making your next Echo purchase even more affordable.

We’ve seen all types of discounts on the hardware, from direct price drops to bundles, and refurbished options. These each have their own advantages and disadvantages, so let’s take a quick look at some of the ways to save. Keep in mind that having an Echo device around could end up scoring you exclusive deals and access to Amazon Prime Day discounts hours before others.

Buy refurbished

One of the easiest ways to save on an Echo device would be to pick up a refurbished one from Amazon directly. While you may be hesitant to buy something refurbished, I’d put your full confidence in this purchase. Amazon backs the hardware with the same warranty and returns policy, and you are getting something that will look and feel like new, but at a lower price. How can you really beat that?

• Echo Dot Refurb – $39.99
• 1st-Gen Echo Refurb – $79.99
• 2nd-Gen Echo Refurb – $79.99
• Amazon Tap Refurb – $69.99
• Echo Show Refurb – $109.99

Right now, the refurb and new Echo Dot are the same prices, so you can pick whichever one you are more comfortable with, but that isn’t always the case. As for the Echo, you can’t buy this version new anymore, and the replacement model isn’t out until the end of October. On the Amazon Tap, you are saving $40 to go refurbished, which means you can almost grab an Echo Dot with it for the same price as one new Tap would be.

Buy in bulk

Amazon often runs deals which offer savings for buying more than one device at the same time. You may think this is silly, but once you put one Amazon Echo device in your house, odds are you’ll want to add at least one more, if not a handful of extras. Once I added one, I immediately bought two more, and I wish I just bought them at the same time to get a discount.

It may seem excessive to get multiple devices at the same time, but it is a smarter way to buy them. Whether you need all of them for your house, or want to have some at the office, or even want to give some away as a gift, this is a great option.

Follow Thrifter

From direct price drops to flash sales, the single easiest way to stay informed about ALL Echo discounts as they happen is to follow our pals at Thrifter.

Whether it is a week-long price drop or a sale that will likely only last a few hours, you can be assured that they will be covering it and let you know where to score that sweet deal.

Amazon Echo

• Tap, Echo or Dot: The ultimate Alexa question
• All about Alexa Skills
• Amazon Echo review
• Echo Dot review
• Echo Spot review
• Top Echo Tips & Tricks
• Amazon Echo vs. Google Home
• Get the latest Alexa news

See at Amazon

Tech, streaming, and the beautiful game

Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllll

As I’m writing this, it’s a few minutes into the World Cup final between France and Croatia, a match that, if the bookies are right, will easily edge in France’s favor. Even as a casual soccer fan — I grew up obsessed with the Manchester United of the early 1990s, featuring an impenetrable Peter Schmeichel and poetry-in-motion Ryan Giggs, among many others — this tournament had me hooked from the beginning. There have been so many upsets, so many great penalty shoot-outs, and innumerable goals that just test the very foundations of physics; it’s just hard not to be emotionally invested in the outcome.

While I’m a little disappointed that Brazil isn’t in the finals — the team is just so much fun to watch — I like the David and Goliath nature of this scrappy, young Croatian squad and the mature, confident French side. It’s sure to be a great match.

But what really struck me about this World Cup was the availability of it; I watched it everywhere I had a screen thanks to the ubiquity of streaming. The bulk of it was viewed through the TSN app on my Apple TV 4K (which was a long time coming) and on my phone. I listened to games with headphones while walking down the street. I watched games at the dog park, or sitting in the backyard. I projected games onto the side of my house. I watched in the corner of my screen while working (sorry). Unlike four years ago, I didn’t have to fight with my technology to get the same experience as a cable subscriber, and that completely changed the way I experienced this tournament.

That’s why I think our new site, CordCutters, is so important. Millions of people around the world are realizing that cable is too expensive and too bundled to be useful, and the proliferation of streaming TV services is, ultimately, the better way.

How to watch the 2018 FIFA Men’s World Cup finals if you’ve cut the cord

Here’s what else is keeping me interested this week.

• I like Microsoft’s Surface lineup, and I’m curious to see whether the company can find success with its cheaper-but-still-overpriced Surface Go.
  • The product is squarely aimed at the education market, but Chromebooks (and iPads) still hold the advantage.
  • That said, it took Chromebooks a long time to get to where they are today, and Microsoft can learn a thing or two from Google’s partners.
• Google is facing yet another multi-billion dollar fine from the EU for anti-competitive practices, this time for forcing manufacturers to bundle Google services in exchange for shipping phones with the Play Store. This is an absurd assertion in a free market, especially one where the iPhone is sold without even the ability to set default applications, but hey, sure, scapegoat it up.
• The red OnePlus 6 is stunning, and I really want one. I just wish the company cared as much about haptics (I know, world’s tiniest violin) as it did about aesthetics.
• My review is coming next week, but I really like the Moto Z3 Play. It’s not an easy phone to love mainly because, on paper, it’s difficult to understand its $499 price (and its apples-to-apples comparison to the $529 OnePlus 6, but there’s more to the phone than the spec sheet.

That’s it from me. Hope you enjoyed the weekend, and I’ll see you in a few weeks!

-Daniel

Keep your internet browsing encrypted with VPNSecure, now for just $20!

Banking information. Mortgage payment history. Your important documents. Nearly all of your life is online these days, and while convenient that can be scary. There are tons of people out there who are looking to do malicious stuff, and we need to be sure that is in the back of our brains at all times. While you can’t avoid using the internet (in most cases), you can ensure that it is a secure connection when you do use it.

Save 91% right now Learn More

VPNs have become more and more popular as the time passes because people want to make sure that the information they are transmitting is getting to the right places. VPNSecure is a great option, and right now you can score a sweet deal on a lifetime subscription to the service. With it, you’ll be able to connect up to five devices at the same time, use unlimited bandwidth and more.

Some of the key features include:

• Allows you to bypass geolocation blocks on your favorite streaming networks
• Encrypts your traffic so hackers can’t access your data
• Hides your location & IP address
• Supports torrents
• Allows you to connect five devices simultaneously
• Grants you the ability to choose Data Cipher
• Uses Stealth VPN to render your VPN traffic unrecognizable
• Delivers unlimited bandwidth
• Does not keep any logs of your activity
• Includes servers in 46+ countries & counting
• Protects against DNS leak fixes, kill switches & more

Secure your browsing sessions for less! Learn More

You are getting a whole lot for your money here. VPNSecure normally costs $450 for the lifetime subscription, but right now you can pick one up for only $19.99. You’ll want to hurry though because this price won’t last long.

Browsing the web can get you in loads of trouble if you aren’t careful, so be sure to grab this at its 91% discount to secure your browsing sessions.

Score $20 off your $60 purchase of razors, Rogaine and more in this early Prime Day deal

The easiest decision you’ll make today.

Prime Day 2018 is one day away, but some Prime Day deals have already started. Shopping the early deals now is smart, because tomorrow is guaranteed to be as chaotic as it is fun. Give yourself one less thing to worry about amidst the Lightning Deal craziness that is sure to ensue by getting in on these discounts now.

This new early Prime Day deal is one of the best yet. If you spend $60 on a selection of health and beauty products, Amazon will give you $20 off. Your discount will be applied automatically in your shopping cart once you add at least $60 worth of goods to your order.

A few things are already on sale before your additional $20 discount. Note that some of these items have clippable coupons that can save you even more money, so be on the lookout for those as well.

There are almost 100 eligible items to choose from. Options include shaving essentials, shampoo and conditioner, makeup, skincare, personal care, and basically everything in between. If you’re planning on buying any of these items at some point in the future, this discount is a no-brainer.

Notable items include:

• Gilette Fusion5 ProGlide Men’s Razor Blade Refills 8-pack
• Neutrogena 2-pack Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Water Resistant SPF 45 Sunscreen
• 3-Month Men’s Rogaine Extra Strength Hair Treatment
• Remington Shortcut Pro Self-Haircut Kit
• L’Oréal Paris Makeup Infallible Long-Lasting Liquid Eyeliner
• L’Oréal Paris Men Expert Vitalift Anti-Wrinkle Moisturizer
• Maybelline Makeup Lash Sensational Washable Mascara
• Tom’s of Maine 6-pack Simply White Natural Toothpaste
• Tom’s of Maine 6-pack Natural Unscented Deodorant Stick

See at Amazon

Geekbench Shows 2018 MacBook Pro Has Biggest Yearly Performance Gain Since 2011

2018 MacBook Pro models feature the biggest yearly CPU performance gains since 2011, according to Geekbench founder John Poole.

Geekbench 4 scores indicate the latest 15-inch models have a 12 to 15 percent increase in single-core performance, while multi-core performance is up 39 to 46 percent, compared to the equivalent 2017 models.

A new 15-inch MacBook Pro with the best-available 2.9GHz six-core Intel Core i9 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz, has a multi-core score of 22,439, for example, a 44.3 percent increase versus a 2017 model with a then-best 3.1GHz quad-core Core i7 and Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz.

Likewise, for the latest 13-inch models, Geekbench scores show a 3 to 11 percent increase in single-core performance, and an impressive 81 to 86 percent increase in multi-core performance versus equivalent 2017 models.

A new 13-inch MacBook Pro with the best-available 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz, has a multi-core score of 17,557, for example, an 83.8 percent increase versus a 2017 model with a then-best 3.5GHz dual-core Core i7 and Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz.

Poole attributes the increases in performance to additional cores, higher Turbo Boost frequencies, and the switch to DDR4 memory.

2018 MacBook Pro models feature eighth-generation Intel Core processors, with up to six cores on 15-inch models and up to four cores on 13-inch models, both firsts. The refresh marked the first increase in cores since 2011, when the first quad-core 15-inch MacBook Pro models were released.

Interestingly, as Poole notes, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models are now competitive with 15-inch models from 2017 in both single-core and multi-core performance, essentially making it a smaller replacement.

Poole also notes that these Geekbench scores are preliminary, and likely to rise over the coming weeks, as on brand new machines, macOS completes several setup tasks in the background that can temporarily degrade performance. He says these tasks vary and can take up to several days to be completed.

Apple advertises the new 15-inch MacBook Pro as up to 70 percent faster, and the new 13-inch model as up to two times faster, than the equivalent 2017 models, but Poole told MacRumors that other benchmarks may show different results than Geekbench. Performance in real-world usage will also vary.

Geekbench 4 is a popular cross-platform CPU and GPU benchmark from Primate Labs, with apps available for Mac and iPhone and iPad.

Related Roundup: MacBook ProTag: GeekbenchBuyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

Alexa for PC invades your notebook, signs a truce with Cortana

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Digital assistants have historically kept to their own turfs, with a great deal of competition between them by platform but much less on a given device itself. Siri owned iOS and MacOS, Google Assistant was the default Android choice, and so on

That’s rapidly changing.

You can now install Cortana on iOS and Android, and Alexa has been making its way to Android smartphones. The most recent development sees Alexa popping up on Windows 10 notebooks, with Lenovo, HP, Acer, and Asus being notable examples of PC makers baking Alexa into their machines.

We recently reviewed Acer’s Spin 5 convertible 2-in-1, which owns the distinction of being the first notebook that can run Alexa out of the box. As we spoke to Alexa on a Windows 10 machine, one big question swirled: Should you add her to your list of PC requirements?

Competing with Cortana?

To begin with, let’s get one thing straight: Cortana remains Windows 10’s primary digital assistant. She’s built into Windows 10 at a low level, providing notifications, search and command capabilities, and integration with iOS and Android. You can turn Cortana off, but she’s turned on by default — she’s even the first thing that will greet you when setting up a new Windows 10 PC.

Alexa for PC is different. First, you have to explicitly set up her desktop application and connect her to your Amazon account. That extra step makes her seem like a trespasser; running as a separate app gives Alexa a tacked-on feel. She’s not an innate aspect of a PC’s intelligence.

Second, all of her capabilities are external to the PC itself, which is probably the single biggest contrast to Cortana. Alexa has no local control whatsoever, other than the ability to access the PC’s microphone and speaker, and everything she does is contained within the Alexa app. Close that app and she disappears.

There’s no doubt that Alexa is an alien presence

That’s a stark contrast from Cortana, who can open other apps; lock, shut down, and restart a PC; search for local files; and provide notifications that pop up in the Action Center. For the most part, Alexa coexists with Cortana just fine, without a lot of overlap in capabilities to foment any rivalry. But there’s no doubt that Alexa is an alien presence.

Almost indistinguishable from an Amazon Echo

So what can Alexa do on a Windows 10 PC? The short answer is, she can do just about everything she can do on an Amazon Echo device. In fact, the experience will be entirely familiar if you’re already accustomed to using an Echo for things like getting weather updates, ordering Amazon products, checking your calendar (as long as you’ve connected to Google Calendar or Outlook), controlling smart home devices, and more.

With a couple of Echo devices scattered around the house and a Fire TV Cube on the family room TV, it’s easy to use Alexa extensively. We rely on her to stay updated on the weather and to run skills like grabbing quick recipes from Allrecipes and listing movie times from Fandango, and she’s a great music curator by accessing Amazon Music Unlimited.

Get around to installing that smart thermostat (Nest vs Ecobee — how to choose?) and some automated lighting, and you can use Alexa for that as well. Having Alexa on the notebook you carry around would mean there’s no need to pick up extra Echos.

Note that Alexa for PC does have some limitations compared to the full Echo feature set. One notable absence is that calling and messaging aren’t currently supported on PCs, and music support is currently limited to Amazon Music, SiriusXM, and iHeartRadio. Spotify, Pandora, and TuneIn Radio users are out of luck for now.

But other than those limitations, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between interacting with Alexa on a Windows 10 PC and on an Echo. You say the wake word — the PC does need to be fully awake already — and then your command, and she responds accordingly. The Spin 5 specifically utilizes four near-field microphones to support Alexa voice commands from across a room, and it works well. Depending on the notebook, music quality can be better or worse than with an Echo.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Tell Alexa to play a 1980’s pop playlist and she will, responding to volume and playback commands along the way. Tell her to turn up the lights or turn off the coffee maker, and she’ll do those things as well. And you can access the tens of thousands of Alexa Skills on the Windows 10 version as well — and as with all of the cloud-based digital assistants, she’s constantly being updated with new capabilities and skills in the background.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Yes, but is Alexa for PC worth it?

Is she worth it? That’s the real question, right? And the only answer is this: If you love Alexa on your Echo devices and Android smartphones, as many do, then you’ll love having Alexa live on your notebook as well. For one thing, it gives you access to Alexa capabilities wherever you are, and saves you the investment in Echo devices for that one lone room of your house she hasn’t yet reached. Or outside your house, for when you’re working remotely.

Don’t tell Cortana, but she’d take a backseat on our PCs.

If you’re not a big Alexa user, though, then you’ll probably skip the configuration steps altogether. And if you do, then you’ll still have Cortana to keep you company.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Microsoft wants Cortana and Alexa to be friends. Is that cool or just awkward?
• Xbox One may soon welcome Alexa and Google Assistant
• What is Alexa? It’s Amazon’s virtual voice assistant
• Everything you need to know about the Windows 10 April 2018 Update
• Google Home review

You can use Chrome OS on a tablet, but it’s not an iPad competitor yet

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Google’s presence in tablets has long consisted of its Android smartphone OS stretched to fit larger displays. The marriage has been an unhappy one, leaving Apple’s iPad and even Windows 2-in-1 devices as the main options for tablets. That makes Google’s recent improvements in how well Chrome OS supports pure tablet devices even more important. Adding tablet-centric features to Google’s easy-to-use, secure, and easy-to-administer operating system could give the company an important new weapon in taking on Apple and Microsoft.

It’s timely, then, that Acer sent us the industry’s first shipping Chrome OS tablet, the Chromebook Tab 10, for us to check out. The device itself is meant for education, built with sturdy plastic and priced at just $330. The product itself isn’t going to compare to an iPad anytime soon, but it provides a pretty interesting glimpse into what it’s actually like to use Chrome OS on a tablet.

The good

The core elements of using a Chrome OS on a tablet are solid.

For the most part, Chrome OS lets you get things done when you’re using it with touch alone.

Swiping and tapping feel reliable and consistent — and the Wacom EMR stylus included with the Acer Chromebook Tab 10 works well with Chrome OS’s somewhat limited touch support (compared to, say, Windows 10 Ink). It even comes with a built-in slot for storing.

Though it’s a bit smaller than we like, the stylus works for taking notes and creating simple drawings. For the most part, Chrome OS lets you get things done when you’re using it with touch alone.

One of Google’s first real nods to tablets is a new launcher. Whereas Chromebooks once showed a row of recent apps to go with a very Google-like search bar, the new launcher looks suspiciously like the one you’ll find on an Android device. Hit the button on the taskbar, and you’ll get a pop-up launcher making all of your installed apps available at a touch. The new launcher works in standard Chromebook mode as well as in tablet mode — but it’s better with touch than a touchpad.

Next, Chrome OS tablet mode now supports the same basic kind of  task view and split-screen mode that exists on other modern operating systems. That means that you can hit the task view button to see thumbnails of your open apps, long press on the thumbnail for a Chrome OS or a select Android app, and drag it to one side or another. You can then grab another app and populate the other side. It works well enough and makes for a generally productive environment, just like the feature does on other platforms.

These additions aren’t just nice additions — they’re essential for making the experience feel more like a true mobile operating system. They’re the bare bones, but they’re there.

The last addition — and most important — is Android apps themselves. The Google Play Store came to Chromebooks early in 2018 and began a real conversation about the future of the Chrome OS platform. The amazing thing to report is that while we ran into issue from time to time, the experience is fairly smooth.

You can download any of your favorite Android apps — and with tablet in hand — use them like you would on an iPad. When you’re in an app, everything feels fairly normal. When you exit out of it into the world of Chrome OS, you run into some problems.

The bad

While all the basics are all there, it doesn’t take much time with a Chrome OS tablet to see the problems. Beyond the new launcher and the split-screen mode, there’s not much else that’s been optimized for tablets. If all you use is iOS or Android, then Chrome OS will provide most or all of what you need. But if you’re expecting desktop-level capabilities without the keyboard, you’ll find it a bit frustrating.

Even something as simple as switching to an open app becomes less efficient than it should be.

Where everything on an iPad works best with touch and would likely sometimes be clunky with a mouse (which, of course, iOS doesn’t actually support), the opposite is true with Chrome OS. Touch works well enough, but the OS remains dedicated to the keyboard and mouse — making it a good thing that you can add a keyboard and mouse to a Chrome OS tablet.

And if you’re coming from an iPad, you’ll miss the extra multitouch gestures likes using four fingers to switch between apps. Chrome OS only offers a few gestures, and while it covers the basics, they just seem kind of tacked on at this point.

Even something as simple as switching to an open app becomes less efficient than it should be, as open app icons populate the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Once you’ve exceeded the maximum that can be shown at once, which is only a few in portrait mode, you need to tap on an arrow icon to see the rest. The tablet mode task view is another option, but the need to poke around the taskbar is kludgy on a tablet — and see the next section for what happens when you’ve messed around with the display resolution.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

You can swipe, select objects, launch processes, and enter text using touch without much fuss, but compared to a platform for iOS or Android, it’s sorely lacking in touch functionality. It’s just not as tablet-optimized as it needs to be and constantly reminds us that Chrome OS is a desktop computing interface with touch capabilities, not a system built from the ground-up for touch.

Again, it’s helpful to compare Chrome OS to iOS. Apple has built in a slew of useful multitouch gestures beyond the simple two-finger right-click, pinch to zoom, and swipe up gestures that Chrome OS supports. The difference isn’t dramatic, but when you switch from the Chromebook Tab 10 to an iPad, you’re left with the impression that the iPad really wants you to use that touch display to move around the interface. Chrome OS is just trying its best to oblige.

The ugly

Beyond some of the basic problems of using Chrome OS as a tablet, we also ran into an incident that was downright ugly.

Everything gets tiny, and hitting buttons, typing text, and controlling things becomes a nightmare.

In a clear demonstration of how Chrome OS retains its link to a keyboard-and-mouse past, we ran into some problems when adjusting the display resolution. You can increase or decrease the resolution on the Chromebook Tab 10 from its default of 1,152 x 864, and that makes user interface elements smaller or larger.

It appears that the setting changes the scaling as opposed to the actual display resolution, because everything remains just as sharp — it’s more like changing the size of text and other items in Windows 10 by percentage, as opposed to changing the resolution away from the display’s native setting.

The point is that it’s easy to change the scaling and make the interface downright impossible to control using touch alone. Everything gets tiny, and hitting buttons, typing text, and controlling things becomes a nightmare. And the interface isn’t consistent in using the extra real estate — for example, the launcher doesn’t expand to fill the screen, it just shows the same icons as before, only smaller. The setting doesn’t seem to stick between reboots, though, and so if you run into trouble merely rebooting the tablet appears to be a simple solution.

Apple knew this was a problem from the very beginning, and that’s likely why you can’t change scaling on an iPad. Unlike iOS, which assumes that you’ll only ever be using your finger to control the interface, Chrome OS seems to assume that you’ll have access to a mouse for controlling smaller on-screen items. That makes sense given that Chrome OS supports a mouse — which iOS does not — but it can back you into a corner when your mouse isn’t available.

Note as well that changing the scaling caused some issues with Android apps. When the screen was set to a higher resolution, some apps, such as Microsoft OneNote, recognized the change and loaded up a functional — but very, very tiny — interface.

Google has work to do if it wants Chrome OS to be a competitive tablet OS.

Others, such as games like Cut the Rope 2, failed to load at all. In those cases, there was no way to shut down the offending app and the only way to recover was to perform a hard reboot. When set to a lower resolution, Android apps only take up part of the display.

That’s a small, relatively harmless example of the bigger problem that Google just hasn’t thought through every instance of not having access to a keyboard at all times.

On its way, but not there yet

Obviously, Google has work to do if it wants Chrome OS to be a competitive tablet OS.

As it stands today, the most we can say is that the Chromebook Tab 10 — and devices like it — are really for Chrome OS lovers only. Everyone else will want to look elsewhere, starting with the iPad, which can do all of the less complex things that a Chrome OS tablet can do but with an interface that feels vastly more cohesive and natural (and for almost the same price).

Meanwhile, if you’re going to have access to a mouse, then you might as well stick with a Windows 10 device, which can do so much more than any Chromebook.

At this point, we can’t see Chrome OS making more of a dent in the tablet market than Google managed with Android tablets. But little by little, as Google imports more and more Android features to Chrome OS, it just might slowly transform into a fully-functioning, 2-in-1 operating system. For now, you’ll be more frustrated than inspired by the experience.

Editors’ Recommendations

• New Chrome OS features make your Chromebook a better Windows replacement
• Chrome OS keeps improving, but it still doesn’t work for me
• The best tablets you can buy
• Microsoft Surface Go hands-on review
• The 100 best iPad apps for your Apple tablet

What is portrait mode? How tech helps smartphones capture a better you

Smartphones may have smaller sensors and lenses than DSLRs, but what the cameras in our pockets lack in hardware, they can (sometimes) make up for with software and computing power — as well as tweaks to that tiny hardware. Portrait mode is now a common feature on most smartphones, but what exactly does it do? Is it just another catchphrase to get you to pay more money for a phone, or does portrait mode really capture better photos?

While the technology behind the camera feature differs between smartphones, portrait mode is a form of computational photography that helps smartphone snapshots look a bit more like they came from a high-end camera. Here’s how portrait mode works.

What is portrait mode?

Portrait mode is a feature in quite a few smartphones that helps you take better pictures of people by capturing a sharp face and a nicely blurred background. It’s specifically made to improve close-up photos of one person — hence the name portrait (though you can use it for objects). Portrait mode started as one of the scene modes you typically find on a digital camera, but now the feature has been adapted to smartphone photography. While both the portrait mode on a digital camera and the portrait mode on a smartphone may share the same name, they vary drastically in howthe image is taken.

Portrait mode is a form of computational photography that artificially applies blur to the background.

When first offered as a photo mode on digital cameras, portrait mode helped novice photographers take better portraits by adjusting the camera settings. The aperture, or the opening in the lens, widens to blur the background. A blurred background draws the eye to the subject and eliminates distractions in the background, so wide apertures are popular for professionally shot portraits. Over time, additional optimization was added in, such as improving the processing to make faces even clearer by eliminating red eye and adjusting the autofocus.

A smartphone camera, however, cannot adjust those settings to take a better portrait. For starters, the aperture on most smartphone cameras is fixed, so you can’t actually change it (the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are notable exceptions). Even on the few models that allow for an adjustable aperture, however, the lens and sensor inside a smartphone camera are too small to create the blur that DSLRs or mirrorless cameras are capable of capturing.

Smartphone manufacturers can’t fit a giant DLSR sensor inside a smartphone and still have it fit in your pocket — but smartphones have more computing power than a DSLR. That difference is what powers a smartphone’s portrait mode. On a smartphone, portrait mode is a form of computational photography that artificially applies blur to the background to mimic the background blur of a DSLR. Smartphone portrait mode relies on a mix of software and hardware.

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Blurring the background of a photo is tougher than it sounds — for starters, the smartphone needs to be able to tell what’s the background and what’s not in order to keep the face sharp. Different manufacturers have found different ways to determine what to blur and what to leave sharp, which means that, brand by brand, smartphone portrait modes can look considerably different.

If you really want to learn how portrait mode works on modern smartphones, it’s important to understand the tricks phone manufacturers use to enable this feature.

How phones make portrait mode work

TheUnlockr

Apple was widely recognized as fueling the portrait mode trend when it introduced the feature on the iPhone 7 Plus in 2017. It proved popular, and a number of other manufacturers began releasing phones that included their own portrait optimization. Let’s break down the different methods used to blur that background:

Two-lens depth mapping

The original smartphone portrait mode requires a dual-lens camera. Depth mapping uses both the telephoto lens and the wide angle lens on a smartphone to examine the same visual field and compare notes. These two different viewpoints can work together to create a “depth map,” or an estimation of how far away objects in the shot are. With the depth map, the smartphone can then determine what’s the background and what’s not.

Combined with face detection technology, the phone runs the image through a blurring algorithm that attempts to blur the background and highlight the face. This is the technique used by the latest Samsung Galaxy phones, and the latest iPhone devices, including the iPhone X.

Pixel splitting

Rather than requiring two lenses, pixel splitting requires a specific type of camera sensor and just one lens. Instead of creating a depth map using two different lenses, this technique creates a depth map from two different sides of the same pixel.  In smartphones with dual-pixel autofocus, like the Google Pixel 2, a single pixel actually has two photodiodes. Just like with a dual-lens camera, the software can compare the slightly different views from both sides of the pixel to create a depth map. The camera can then use the depth map without needing to consult an image from a separate lens and apply blur. Phones with this capability can take portrait mode photos from the front-facing camera as well, which may be better suited for your selfies.

Software-only portrait mode

Ideally, portrait mode uses a mix of hardware and software for the best results. But what if you can’t control the hardware? Apps designed to work on multiple devices use artificial intelligence and facial recognition to guess where the person is and where the background is. The result isn’t as accurate as methods that use both hardware and software because there’s no depth map, but this type of portrait mode is available from a wider range of smartphones. Instagram has a version of portrait mode inside the built-in camera that it calls Focus.

What’s the difference?

Because the software and algorithms used for these techniques can differ, you can still wind up with different results for any of these methods. How different? The Unlockr took a look for us, comparing the Galaxy Note 8, iPhone X, Huawei Mate 10 Pro, and Pixel 2 XL. Note the shading and background differences for these shots, and you can see that there are differences in how portrait mode performs on different models.

Along with getting different results, different devices will have distinct features. Becuase the Pixel 2 doesn’t need two lenses, the portrait mode works with both the rear-facing and front-facing cameras. The iPhone X can also use portrait mode on the front facing camera, but by using a 3D depth map from Face ID.

The bottom line on portrait mode

The best portrait modes are images from interchangeable lens cameras because of the aperture control and larger sensors — no other portraits will look as good. However, computational photography allows smartphones to come closer than ever before by artificially blurring the background. The Pixel 2 XL appears to take the best portrait photos, thanks to intelligent software and one of the best smartphone cameras around. The iPhone X also performs well, although it has a tendency, in our experience, to darken images a little.

While portrait mode differs between models, the biggest difference is between a phone with portrait mode, and one without. Without the hardware to create a depth map, portrait modes can’t quite reach the same level of realistic background blur. If you snap a lot of images of people, portrait mode makes for a dramatic improvement in photo quality, even coming from a smartphone. That difference is enough to warrant opting for a particular phone.

Editors’ Recommendations

• How to take perfect Portrait Mode selfies with an iPhone X
• Smartphone shootout: Huawei P20 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs. Google Pixel 2 vs. Apple iPhone X
• Apple patents hint at smarter iPhone camera, blood pressure-sensing Watch band
• Huawei P10 camera guide
• How to take better pictures with your camera’s automatic mode