XINCADA small messenger bag review: For every occasion

This gear bag is a bit like a TARDIS: bigger on the inside, unassuming on the outside, and ready to save the day.

The small gear bag category has always been something of a quagmire. Either a messenger bag is too small to really pack anything useful or too big to comfortably carry all day. Either a crossbody bag is a morose military knockoff or a delicate dirt-magnet. Finding a small messenger bag that is just right — small but good capacity, functional but fashion-friendly — is a bit like finding buried treasure, which may be part of why most people find a small bag they love and use it until the seams bust and then some.

My current go-to satchel — a hand-me-down Dakine crossbody is getting on in years, and before it dies a painful death loaded down in a Disney park, I resolved to find a worthy successor. I needed a bag that’s easy to pack, easy to carry in a wide array of environments, and doesn’t look like it fell off the back of a Humvee. I needed a bag that’s just at home at a professional conference or technology convention as it is at a theme park or at the coffee bar on karaoke night.

Enter the XINCADA Small Messenger Bag, which ticked all my boxes and then some.

XINCADA Small Messenger Bag

See at Amazon

Price: $28

Bottom line: Whether you’re just carrying around some snacks or you’ve filled it to the brim, the XINCADA is a dependable crossbody ready to hold your life.

The Good

• Easy to load with ample compartments
• Compact but high capacity
• top handle for easy in-and carrying

The Bad

• Main compartment only has one zipper, doesn’t go all the way down to the side of the bag
• Seams and zippers aren’t perfectly straight
• Side pouches are too small

XINCADA Small Messenger Bag What I like

This small messenger bag features a main compartment with two zippered subcompartments — one mesh and one solid — a flat rear pocket for a tablet, and a zippered front accessory compartment with a foldover flap and a feed-through grommet for a charger wire or wired headphones if you still use those. The canvas exterior is stiff and dark, with the black model coming off as a deep, deep purple. Leather accents pop against this dark canvas, and then the interior of the bag is lined in a leather-brown smooth-touch fabric.

While using this bag day-to-day, I tend to use the “tablet” pocket for a thinback book that adds some stability to the bag and ensures that the bag sits flat against me when wearing it as a crossbody. The main compartment holds some snacks, my Sbode Bluetooth Speaker, Bluedio USB-C Bluetooth Headphones, a port-friendly smartphone stand for impromptu video calls, and my usual medications and cables. The front flap of the crossbody I leave open for trading pins, receipts, or other small knick knacks I may pick up throughout my day, and the accessory compartment hosts my Iceworks 7000 power bank and my OG Pixel for photography and playing with Pie.

XINCADA lets me carry my life around without weighing me down.

All in all, the bag’s slightly too small for a Chromebook, but it fits the rest of my usual kit and then some with ease. The top compartment doesn’t unzip all the way down the side the way many bags this size do, but I prefer that because that’s less zipper to break and makes the main compartment a very stable rectangle to cram snacks and small accessories into. The handle on the top of the bag is great for carrying the bag smaller distances, like through security checkpoints or from the car into the office and while the messenger strap is soft, long, and easy to adjust.

XINCADA Small Messenger Bag What doesn’t hold up

XINCADA’s bag is sturdy and sure, but it’s an inexpensive bag, and that means that compromises had to be made somewhere. All of the compartments are single-zippered rather than double-zippered, and while the smaller inner compartments make sense with a single, the main compartment and the front accessory compartments should really have double zippers so that they can be opened and closed from either direction and the zipper pulls can sit further away from the straps.

Always check the bag. Always.

The other compromise for the XINCADA is the quality control. Seams aren’t always 100 percent straight on the compartments or the zippers, and my bag came with a zipper that had slipped its track. I got it squared away easily, but the same for expensive bags holds doubly true for cheaper ones: you always check the bag.

XINCADA has been great about getting replacements for dud bags out immediately, and they send out emails to buyers around delivery time reminding them to check all the zippers and seams. If you’ve got a good bag, it’ll last you a long time; you just have to make sure you got a good bag.

XINCADA Small Messenger Bag

Big, bulking backpacks may be what you want when you’re lugging around laptops and professional photography equipment, but for lighter days with lighter loads, XINCADA’s crossbody messenger bag is the perfect fit. The compartments are well-portioned, easy to keep things organized in, and the leather handle makes it easy to carry over short distances while the longer strap won’t dig into your shoulder during a long day hauling notes and portable batteries around a convention.

4
out of 5

I purchased my XINCADA on Prime Day, but at $28, this crossbody is still quite affordable for a bag that you can depend on your longest days and most manic nights. The larger version is big enough to fit a smaller Chromebook or a couple notebooks, but the small version is the perfect size for the theme park essentials: heat-stable snacks, an umbrella, a power bank, headphones, a folding fan and a small square of trading pins.

See at Amazon

Win a Galaxy Note 9, Dome Glass 2 pack, and Clear Case! [U.S. Only]

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has just been unpacked, and the phone officially goes on sale in two weeks, but we wanted to give you a chance to WIN one along with some cool accessories from Whitestone to keep it safe.

Whitestone’s Dome Glass, which is already a top seller and is touted as one of the best-tempered glass protectors by the largest cellular provider in Japan, has the maximum strength and scratch resistance rating of 9H (hardness measurement), provides full touch and total edge to edge coverage without any gaps or bubbles, and does not fade or fog with extended use.

Created from Samsung’s original blueprints, the Whitestone Levitation case exhibits precise cutouts that align perfectly with your Note 9. This durable, shock absorbing clear case provides the ultimate protection for the best smartphone. And with only 1 mm between you and your phone, this clear case is light and not bulky; it’ll feel like your device is completely bare. You will definitely want to check out these products to protect your new Note 9!

For a limited time, Android Central readers can score 30% off these accessories on Amazon with coupon code THRIFT30!

Use Coupon code THRIFT30 for 30% off Note 9 Dome Glass
Use Coupon code THRIFT30 for 30% off Note 9 Dome Case

Enter to win a Galaxy Note 9 and more!

THE PRIZE: One Android Central reader will receive Galaxy Note 9, a 2 pack of Dome Glass, and a Clear Case. An additional 10 runners-up will receive a Dome Glass 2 pack and a Clear Case.

THE GIVEAWAY: Use the widget at the bottom of this page. There are multiple ways to enter, each with varying point values. Complete all of the tasks for maximum entries and your best shot at winning! Keep in mind that all winning entries are verified and if the task was not completed or cannot be verified, a new winner will be chosen. Please note that this giveaway is available in the U.S. only.

The giveaway is open through August 24, 2018, and the winner will be announced right here shortly after the closing date. Good luck!

Win a Galaxy Note 9, Dome Glass 2 pack, and Clear Case from Whitestone and Android Central!

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30 more U.S. banks now support Google Pay

Here’s what you should know about Google’s big bet to take on Apple Pay.

Gone are the days of messing with Android Pay and Google Wallet. Instead, the home of all things mobile payments on Android now rests on the shoulders of Google Pay.

Google Pay first started rolling out to handsets in early 2018, and while there’s still some work to be done, it’s clear that Google is finally ready to take on Apple Pay with everything it’s got.

From the latest news to all the important details, here’s everything you should know about Google Pay!

• The latest Google Play news
• Everything you need to know

The latest Google Pay news

August 24, 2018 — 30 more U.S. banks are now supported

As part of its latest expansion, Google Pay recently confirmed support for 30 additional banks and credit unions in the United States. The list of newcomers is as follows:

• BlueOX Credit Union
• City Credit Union
• Community First Credit Union (CA)
• Community Trust Bank
• Cortland Savings and Banking
• Desert Rivers Credit Union
• EFCU Financial
• Edge FCU
• Fall River Municipal Credit Union
• Family Savings Credit Union
• First Community Bank (SC)
• First National Bank in Howell
• First National Bank of Sandoval
• Forward Bank
• Generations Credit Union
• Glass City Federal Credit Union
• Granite Credit Union
• IncredibleBank
• Kentucky Bank
• Los Alamos National Bank
• MembersOwn Credit Union
• Monson Savings Bank
• North Shore Trust and Savings
• OU Federal Credit Union
• Prospera Credit Union
• Rockford Municipal FCU
• The Village Bank
• United Bank and Trust
• Wellington State Bank
• Wyoming Bank & Trust

August 8, 2018 — Tangerine now supports Google Pay

Tangerine, a Canada-based bank that operates entirely online, has finally confirmed that it now supports Google Pay.

The wait is over, Google Pay and Samsung Pay are here!

— Tangerine (@TangerineBank) August 8, 2018

Samsung Pay is also being added along with Google Pay, so no matter which service you prefer to use, your Tangerine card will now work with it without a hitch. Enjoy!

August 2, 2018 — Google Pay comes to Croatia; now available as a payment method in the Starbucks app

A couple Google Pay tidbits have surfaced over the last few hours, starting first with the service coming to Croatia. This is the third nation in Central Europe to get Google Pay, so be sure to keep an eye out for the app if you live in the area.

Secondly, Google Pay can now be used when reloading your card in the Starbucks app. Google Pay is added to your account automatically, and at this time, can only be used for one-time reloads

July 20, 2018 — Revolut in the UK is now supported

Good news, UK readers that bank with Revolut! The bank’s been sending out emails to its customers confirming that it’s now starting to support Google Pay.

In am email Revolut’s been sending out to its 2 million+ users:

Test drive the convenience of paying with your phone by adding your Revolut card to Google Pay, to make quick and secure payments – instantly.

July 10, 2018 — The main Google Pay app finally supports peer-to-peer payments

It’s finally happening! After a few months of having to deal with the awkward Google Pay Send app, peer-to-peer payments are finally coming to the regular Google Pay. In other words, you can now make in-store payments and send/request money from friends under one single app.

Along with this, Google’s also announced that it’s officially supporting boarding passes/event tickets and has revamped the Google Pay website to be more in-line with the current Google Pay app.

June 29, 2018 — 65 new banks and PayPal Mastercard join the list in the U.S.

Google recently announced that it’s added 65 additional banks/credit unions to its Google Pay lineup.

You can find the full list below, and along with this, the PayPal Mastercard can be used with Google Pay, too.

• Aeroquip Credit Union
• Affiliated Bank
• AllSouth Federal Credit Union
• American Bank & Trust Company (LA)
• AuburnBank
• Audubon State Bank
• Azura Credit Union
• Bangor Federal Credit Union
• Barrington Bank & Trust
• Beverly Bank & Trust
• Cape Cod 5 Cents Savings
• Citizens Bank (TN)
• Citizens National Bank of Albion
• Classic Bank
• Cornerstone Community Financial CU
• Crystal Lake Bank & Trust
• D.L Evans Bank
• First Bank and Trust (LA)
• First Community Bank of the Heartland, Inc
• First Federal Savings Bank of Lincolnton
• First National Bank of Fort Smith
• First Volunteer Bank of Tennessee
• Forreston State Bank
• Glacier Bank
• Goodfield State Bank
• Gratiot Community Credit Union
• H-E-B Federal Credit Union
• Hinsdale Bank & Trust
• HNB National Bank
• Home Town Bank (VA)
• Interra Credit Union
• Lake Forest Bank & Trust
• Libertyville Bank & Trust
• LNB Community Bank
• Maspeth Federal Savings and Loan Asso
• Mid-Atlantic FCU
• Midwest Bank
• National Bank (IL)
• Northbrook Bank & Trust
• Northway Bank
• Old Plank Trail Community
• OneUnited Bank
• Orlando Federal Credit Union
• Peoples Bank & Trust (IL)
• Putnam Bank
• Scott Credit Union
• Shaumburg Bank & Trust
• Springs Valley Bank and Trust
• St. Charles Bank & Trust
• State Bank of the Lakes
• Teachers Federal Credit Union
• The Bank of Elk River
• The State Bank (MI)
• Town Bank
• TruChoice FCU
• United Bank (AL)
• Unity One Credit Union
• U.S. Postal Service FCU
• Vantage Bank
• Veridian CU
• Village Bank & Trust
• Wheaton Bank & Trust Company
• White River CU
• Wintrust Bank
• Yampa Valley Bank

All the big details

Google Pay has replaced Android Pay and Google Wallet

Rather than maintaining two separate services for in-store payments and sending money to friends, Google decided to replace Android Pay and Google Wallet with one new app called Google Pay.

There was an awkward transition period at first in which you had to use a separate Google Pay Send app to send/receive money, but Google’s since brought that feature over to the main Google Pay app.

As such, Google Pay is now your one-stop-shop for all things mobile payments if you’ve got an Android phone.

How to get started with Google Pay

That’s all fine and dandy, but how does one actually start using Google Pay?

Thankfully, Google’s made this fairly simple. After downloading the app, you’ll be able to quickly add credit/debit cards, gift cards, loyalty programs, and more.

Need a helping hand? Check out Marc’s how-to guide right here!

What countries are supported?

Google’s regularly adding support for more and more countries that can use Google Pay, and as it currently stands, the list of supported areas is as follows:

• Australia
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• Ireland
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Poland
• Russia
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Spain
• Taiwan
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom
• United States

Make sure your bank/card is compatible, too

Live in a country that supports Google Pay? Awesome! However, that’s just half the battle in ensuring you can use the service.

Even if you live in one of the above countries, you still need to have a bank and card that supports Google Pay before you can start making payments in stores with your phone. Thankfully, Google’s been building up this list for quite a few years meaning there’s a good chance you’re covered.

Major brands like AMEX, Capital One, Chase, Discover, and Wells Fargo are all on-board with Google Pay in the U.S. Along with this, you’ll also find a huge list of smaller banks/credit unions that are supported as well.

See the full list here

You can use the app to store boarding passes, event tickets, and more

In addition to your credit/debit cards, you can also use Google Pay to store gift cards, loyalty programs, and most recently, boarding passes and event tickets.

You’ll find all of these items in the Passes section of the app, and if you’ve got a lot stored in there, you can hold down on an item and move it around to make sure everything’s as organized as can be.

Support for passes/tickets is still relatively new, with brands like Southwest Airlines, Ticketmaster, and the Las Vegas Monorail being among the only ones available at the moment. Similar to what iPhone users have been treated to for years with Apple Pay, you’ll now see an “Add to G Pay” button when ordering a ticket from these brands so you can easily store everything under one single app.

Track your payment activity on the web

While you’ll likely interact with Google Pay on your phone the majority of the time, you can access it from your computer, too, by going to pay.google.com.

Here, you can see all of your Google Pay activity, send or request money, edit/add/remove payment methods, manage any active subscription services you have, edit your addresses, and more.

Google Pay is present in Android Messages and the Google Assistant

Google occasionally fails to make its various services play nicely with one another, but thankfully, Google Pay has been an exception to that rule.

While sending money to people is pretty simple through the Google Pay app, you can also do this through Android Messages and by talking to the Google Assistant on your phone.

In Android Messages, just tap the + icon at the bottom left and you’ll see two G Pay buttons for sending or requesting money from the person in your conversation. Just enter the amount you want, tap attach money, and your payment/request will be sent off just like that.

Alternatively, you can simply open the Google Assistant and say something along the lines of “Send Tom $15 for Pizza.” After confirming your identity (e.g. fingerprint or PIN), the Google Assistant will send the money for you — all without having to ever open up the Google Pay app.

How Google’s rumored ‘Campfire’ dual-boot Chromebooks may burn Microsoft

If the rumors are true, Microsoft is in trouble.

Seven years ago, Google began an assault on Windows PCs with its cloud-centric Chromebook PC alternative. Google’s leveraging of a more secure, easier to manage, and more affordable “PC” positioned Chromebooks for market success. Despite this success, however, Chromebooks’ global market share still pales in comparison to Windows PC’s seemingly indomitable presence.

Google remains committed to an unrelenting multifaceted assault on Windows PCs, in an attempt to position Chromebooks as the “PC” for the modern personal computing age. Android apps on Chrome, aggressive Chromebook ads, a strategic push in schools, Progressive Web App (PWAs), and low Chromebook prices are all tools Google has and will use to make Chromebooks appealing to the masses.

Campfire, Google’s rumored Windows and Chrome dual-boot solution, is just the latest, and possibly most important, tool in Google’s arsenal to unseat Windows PCs as the PCs for the masses.

‘Campfire’ brings more than OSes together

The rumored “Campfire” code name for a solution that brings Windows and Chrome OS together on Chromebooks resonates with the concept of a real campfire that brings people together. In a twist consistent with the adage of keeping your friends close but your enemies closer, Google bringing Windows to Chromebooks is a self-serving strategy to amplify its attacks against Windows PCs.

Google’s advertising onslaught outlining Chromebooks’ advantages over PCs has had little meaningful impact on the PC market. Thus, getting Chromebooks into more customers’ hands so they can experience Google’s purported advantages is Campfire’s aim. Campfire is a “Trojan Horse” strategy that’ll potentially lure consumers with the Windows PCs they want on affordable hardware while also giving them the Chrome OS-based PC Google hopes they’ll prefer.

Campfire is the delivery method Google may use to push its browser-based OS to the Windows PC-adoring masses. And this dual-boot system may succeed where aggressive ads have failed.

Google’s coordinated Chromebook attack

Google has aggressively pushed anti-Windows-PC Chromebooks ads using taglines like:

“If you’re over the old way of doing things. If you wish computers were more like phones. If you want a laptop, you can count on. You Chromebook.”

Besides the above commercial, which uses misleading antiquated Windows alerts and OSes, most Chromebook ads appeal to a generation of smartphone users accustomed to simple, web-based light computing.

Google’s ad assaults are complemented by OS-enhancing efforts such as Android apps and Google Play on Chrome (though most Android apps are optimized for phones). Also, PWAs, Google’s hybrid web-app investment, may propel its browser-based OS forward since the user experience is made to feel more native and app-like. Google may strategically be using Chrome as PWA’s “vehicle,” and Campfire as Chrome’s “vehicle,” to the masses.

Additionally, as a derivative of Chromebook dominance in education, parents seeking a consistent home-school experience are purchasing cheap Chromebooks for their children. Finally, many small businesses are bypassing Microsoft’s productivity solutions as they embrace more affordable Chromebooks and Google’s accompanying productivity tools.

Google’s Chromebook progress has occurred in a context where customers had to choose between Windows or Chrome OS. Campfire potentially removes some competing Windows PCs from the equation since consumers, schools and businesses will get both platforms on affordable Chromebook hardware.

Campfire may burn Microsoft

PC World published a piece highlighting the fact that Chrome OS and Windows on the same Chromebook hardware could ultimately hurt the more resource-hungry Windows.

The touted advantages of a simpler, faster and smoother Chrome experience on inexpensive hardware not optimized for Windows may be exaggerated when Windows is “unfairly” assessed in a “side-by-side” on-device comparison. One can imagine users’ complaints as Windows drags on such hardware as Chrome zips along “proving” Google’s claims.

Campfire, if real, may prove to be Google’s most effective assault on Windows PCs.

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Chromebooks in education: Everything you need to know
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Chromebook Buyers Guide
• Google Pixelbook review
• Join our Chromebook forums

Deals: Last Call for Exclusive Twelve South Sale, HomePod for $300, and Beats Studio3 for $200

Today is the last day that our readers can take advantage of the MacRumors exclusive Twelve South sale, which is offering discounts on nine products aimed at helping you get ready to go back to school. If you’re interested and haven’t used the promo code MacRumorsBTS yet, head over to our blog post on the sale, browse the products eligible for the discount, and make your purchase on TwelveSouth.com before 11:59 p.m. ET tonight, August 24.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

As a quick recap, the 15 percent off sale includes savings on the BookBook Vol. 2 for MacBook, BookBook for iPad, Fermata, ActionSleeve and Inspire [mac candle N°2]. There are also a collection of stands, including the Curve and ParcSlope for MacBook and HiRise Duet and HiRise 2 for iPhone.

In other sales, Costco today has again discounted Apple’s HomePod to $299.99, down from the original $349.99 price tag. With $4.99 shipping, you can get the HomePod in White and Space Gray for around $305, which is currently one of the best prices online for a new version of the smart speaker. As usual, you’ll need a Costco member account to see the discount and place your order.

Walmart has another notable discount today with the Beats Studio3 Wireless Headphones for $199.99, down from a recent price tag of around $220. Originally, the headphones ran for $349.99. Walmart has the Beats Studio3 Headphones in four colors at this price: Matte Black, Blue, Red, and White.

In other sales, there are a few sitewide discounts ending soon from Incipio and SENA, offering great chances to save on protective accessories for iPhones and iPads. At Incipio you can save 30 percent off sitewide with the promo code SUMMER30 (expiring later today, August 24), and at SENA you can save 25 percent off sitewide with promo code FALLFLASH (expiring Sunday, August 26).

Head over to our full Deals Roundup for more information on the latest discounts and savings going on this week.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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DirecTV Now Ending Public Beta for True Cloud DVR, Will Launch Paid Higher Storage Tiers Soon

DirecTV is warning customers that its True Cloud DVR service will officially come out of beta next week, and any customers who were receiving 100 hours of recording space during the public beta will now be reset to the base 20 hours offered as a free add-on to DirecTV Now packages (via Cord Cutters News and Multichannel News). The end of the beta is said to happen on August 29, and anyone who already has 20 hours shouldn’t see much of a change in their DirecTV Now app, besides the removal of any beta-related terminology.

For customers with 100 hours of beta storage, AT&T says it will erase any content more than 30 days old and will keep up to 20 hours of the most recently recorded videos. So, anyone with 100 hours on the DirecTV Now True Cloud DVR should make sure they’re caught up with all of their shows and movies this weekend ahead of the end of the beta next week.

DirecTV Now began warning these customers via email earlier in the week:

We couldn’t have done it without you.

Thanks to your help with our beta testing program, DIRECTV NOW is better than ever, with great new features like True Cloud DVR beta*, locals on the go**, and an upgraded interface.

As part of the beta testing program, you had access to 100 hours of DVR storage. Since the program has ended, on August 29th your storage will transition to 20 free hours of True Cloud DVR beta, which is included with your service. So make sure to stream all the good stuff you love now. And don’t worry – the most recent 20 hours of content will remain on your DVR, as long as it is less than 30 days old.

Keep on streaming and enjoying all of your favorite content, with access to third-party apps, and 40,000+ titles** on Video On Demand.

As the beta ends, AT&T is rumored to be gearing up “several tiers” of True Cloud DVR service that customers can purchase as an add-on to their base plans. Tiers are said to range from 50 hours to 120 hours, but prices haven’t been disclosed. DirecTV Now did mention in May that one such tier would be 100 hours of recordings (saved for up to 90 days) for an extra $10 per month, so the cost of additional tiers can be extrapolated from that price point.

The True Cloud DVR has been in public beta since May 2018, and offered most users 20 hours of recording space while a select group of users got 100 hours of space. At the time of that launch, the company stated that “more capacity options” would be coming later in the summer, so it appears that these options will be launching imminently.

If you don’t want to add anything else onto your monthly DirecTV Now bill (which recently went up by $5/month), all users will get 20 hours of DVR storage at no additional cost. DirecTV Now is available as an app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, and DVR recordings are synced between all platforms that you’re signed into.

Tag: DirecTV Now
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Apple Seeds Ninth Beta of New watchOS 5 Operating System to Developers

Apple today seeded the ninth beta of an upcoming watchOS 5 update to developers, four days after releasing the eighth beta and more than two months after introducing the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

To get the beta, you’ll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 5 beta can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General –> Software Update.

To install the update, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.

watchOS 5 is a major update to the watchOS operating system, introducing Activity Competitions so you can compete on workouts with friends, Walkie-Talkie with push-to-talk functionality for quickly communicating with the people you talk to most, and auto workout detection to make it easier to start and stop workouts if you forget.

Other new features include an improved Siri watch face with support for third-party apps through Siri Shortcuts, a dedicated Apple Podcasts app, new Workout types that include Yoga and Hiking, new features for runners, WebKit support for viewing some web content on Apple Watch, and enhanced notifications, which will make notifications on the Apple Watch interactive.

watchOS 5 is only available to developers and will not be provided to public beta testers (because there’s no way to downgrade Apple Watch software), so non-developers will need to wait until the software is officially released in the fall to try it out.

The watchOS 5 update runs on all Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, but it is not available for the first-generation “Series 0” Apple Watch models.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4, watchOS 5Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
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Future iPhones and Apple Watches May Use New Power-Saving Backplane Technology to Extend Battery Life

Apple may adopt a new power-saving backplane technology for iPhone and Apple Watch displays in the long term, which should contribute to longer battery life on those devices, according to research firm IHS Markit.

For context, the backplane is responsible for turning individual pixels on and off, meaning that it plays a significant role in determining a display’s resolution, refresh rate, and power consumption, as IHS explains.

At present, OLED displays in smartphones use LTPS TFT, or low-temperature polysilicon thin-film transistors, as the standard backplane technology. But, in the coming years, IHS believes Apple could switch to LTPO TFT, or low-temperature polycrystalline oxide, for the backplane in future iPhones.

In theory, IHS estimates that LTPO can save 5-15% in power consumption versus LTPS, resulting in extended battery life on future iPhones. The reasons for this are quite technical, but from a high level, IHS says that LPTO has an Oxide TFT structure that can reduce the power leakage of LTPS.

The more technical explanation is that power consumption would be especially reduced under a “switching model,” where “the pixel circuit would be patterned such that the switching TFT would be p-Si and the drive TFT would be IGZO.”

As the size and resolution of iPhone displays continues to increase, power consumption increases, so any battery life gains are beneficial.

IHS believes that Apple may also be interested in developing LTPO technology to gain more control over components of OLED displays, as it says manufacturers like Samsung and LG currently maintain exclusive control over the process.

Apple currently sources flexible OLED panels exclusively from Samsung, but LG may emerge as a second supplier as it aims for qualification, according to IHS. Samsung and LG are both suppliers of flexible OLED panels for the Apple Watch, too, and IHS says Apple may soon require them to look at LTPO.

IHS Markit believes Apple may ask display manufacturers to start deploying LTPO first on the Apple Watch, and then gradually introduce it in the iPhone display over the long term, as it did with OLED first on Apple Watch and then iPhone X.

Tag: IHS
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Algorithm outperforms humans at spotting fake news

An artificial intelligence system that can tell the difference between real and fake news — often with better success rates than its human counterparts — has been developed by researchers at the University of Michigan. Such a system may hep social media platforms, search engines, and news aggregators filter out articles meant to misinform.

“As anyone else, we have been disturbed by the negative effect that fake news can have in major political events [and] daily life,” Rada Mihalcea, a UM computer science professor who developed the system, told Digital Trends. “My group has done a significant amount of work on deception detection for nearly ten years. We saw an opportunity to address a major societal problem through the expertise we accumulated over the years.”

Mihalcea and her team developed a linguistic algorithm that analyzes written speech and looks for cues such as grammatical structure, punctuation, and complexity, which may offer telltale signs of fake news. Since many of today’s news aggregators and social media sites rely on human editors to spot misinformation, assistance from an automated system could help streamline the process.

To train their system, the researchers represented linguistic features like punctuation and word choice as data, then fed that data into an algorithm.

“Interestingly, what algorithms look for is not always intuitive for people to look for,” Mihalcea said. “In this and other research we have done on deception, we have found for instance that the use of the word ‘I’ is associated with truth. It is easy for an algorithm to count the number of times ‘I’ is said, and find the difference. People however do not do such counting naturally, and while it may be easy, it would distract them from the actual understanding of the text.”

The system demonstrated a 76-percent success rate at spotting fake news articles, compared to around 70 percent for humans. Mihalcea envisions such a system helping both news aggregators and end users distinguish between true and intentionally false stories.

The system can’t completely compensate for humans, however. For one, it doesn’t fact check, so well-meaning (but ultimately false) content will still slip through.

The researchers will present a paper detailing the system was presented at the International Conference on Computational Linguistics in Santa Fe, New Mexico on August 24.

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Key settings you need to change on your brand-new Galaxy Note 9

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Have you peeled the plastic off your shiny new Galaxy Note 9 yet? As you start setting up your new Samsung smartphone, we’ve rounded up 10 settings you may want to tweak to get the best experience.

You can check out our Galaxy Note 9 review for our impressions, and check out our picks for best Note 9 cases to add some protection to that all-glass phone.

Get the best screen resolution

Out of the box, your Galaxy Note 9 won’t have the maximum screen resolution turned on by default. Why? Samsung said it’s to conserve battery life, and the screen still looks good at 2,220 x 1,080 resolution. But you bought the best big-screen smartphone, so, of course, you want a resolution to match the phone’s 6.4-inch screen. Head to Settings by opening your App Drawer and finding the Settings icon, or swipe down on the notification drawer and tap the gear icon at the top right. Tap Display > Screen resolution and drag the slider to the maximum 2,960 x 1,440-pixel resolution.  You can even set the resolution to a paltry 1,480 x 720 pixels in case you really want to save on battery life.

Change the navigation bar

If you’re coming from another Android phone, whether it’s an LG or a Google device, you may find Samsung’s navigation button layout strange. Most Android devices use a Back/Home/Recents layout, but Samsung has long opted for the Recent/Home/Back system. Thankfully, Samsung lets you change it. Head over to Settings > Display > Navigation Bar > Button layout and tap on Back/Home/Recents to choose the traditional Android layout. Here, you can also change the color of the navigation bar, add a button to hide the navigation bar for a full-screen app experience, or customize the pressure level needed to use the home button from the lock screen.

Customize the S Pen

The S Pen is more useful than ever before on the Note 9, largely because it now comes Bluetooth-equipped. That means you can use it as a remote to control functions on your smartphone. By default, holding down the button on the S Pen will open the camera — press it once to snap a picture, and press it twice to swap between the rear or front camera. If you’re not much of a photographer, you can change the default app. Head over to Settings > Advanced features > S Pen > S Pen remote > and tap Hold down pen button to. You can technically choose any app, but the single and double press action buttons won’t work — only a few apps support them, such as Chrome or the Gallery app. Alternatively, you can choose to use the button to trigger S Pen functions like Create Note, Live Messages, Magnify, or Translate.

If you head back to the general S Pen settings page, there are more options to tweak so you can customize the experience a little more.

Turn on advanced features like Smart Stay, Finger Sensor Gestures, SOS messages

Since you’re in the Advanced features section already, we recommend taking a look at a few other options you can toggle on that add some convenience. Smart Stay, for example, is a feature that has been around in Samsung phones for quite some time, and it will keep the screen on as long as it recognizes you are still staring at it. Tap the toggle icon for it in Settings > Advanced features > Smart stay. You should also toggle on Finger Sensor Gestures, which will allow you to swipe your finger down on the rear fingerprint sensor to pull down the notification drawer (or open Samsung Pay). This setting is a few options below Smart Stay. There’s also Video enhancer to toggle on further below, which will make videos look better, and Send SOS messages will let you tap the power key three times to send out an SOS alert to family or friends.

If you love using split-screen mode, you can customize this further by tapping on Multi window > Use Recents button. This will now turn on split-screen mode when you press and hold the Recents button.

Hide apps in the App Drawer

Is the App Drawer a little too cluttered for you? If there are apps you don’t use and can’t uninstall, you can hide them from showing up here by opening the App Drawer, tapping on the three vertical dots on the top right, and tapping Home screen settings > Hide apps.  Now just select the apps you want to hide and tap Apply.

Back in the Home screen settings, you can hide the App Drawer completely and just put all your apps on the home screen by changing the Home screen layout; or you can add an Apps button to the dock if you don’t want to swipe up for the App Drawer.

Turn off Bixby Home

At the moment, there’s no way to easily remap or turn off the Bixby button on the Galaxy Note 9. You can turn off Bixby Home, however, which is the screen to the left of the home screen. Bixby Home is supposed to offer up contextually relevant cards to make your smartphone even more helpful, but if you’re not finding it very useful, you may as well get rid of it. Just press and hold anywhere on the home screen, then move to the left and turn the toggle for Bixby Home off. It’s here that you can also access wallpapers, themes, widgets, and home screen settings.

Use Volume Keys for media, toggle system sounds

If you often leave your smartphone on silent or vibrate, then you may want to make sure the volume buttons focus on controlling sound from media. You can change this by heading to Settings > Sounds and vibration and togglling on Use Volume keys for media. Now, no matter when you press the volume buttons, it will default to increasing or decreasing the media volume.

Samsung also leaves a lot of system sounds on by default, such as when you tap items on the screen, when you dial on the keypad, or type on the keyboard. You can customize exactly what you want sound turned on for, and what you want to turn off. It’s in the same Settings > Sounds and vibration section, just look below System and Key-tap feedback. One more thing — if you have headphones that support Dolby Atmos, you can turn it on here as well; just scroll all the way to the bottom, tap Sound quality and effects, and toggle on Dolby Atmos.

Make the Edge Panel transparent

As useful as Edge Panel is, the handle on the edge of your home screen can look a little ugly. Thankfully, there’s a way to hide it without compromising all the features Edge Panel provides. Slide out the panel from the edge of the screen and tap the gear icon on the bottom left. Next. tap the three vertical dots on the top right, and go to Edge panel handle. Here. you can choose to put the Edge Panel on the left or right edges of the screen, and you can increase its size and transparency to your liking. We’ve set our transparency to the highest and maximized the size, so swiping from the edge will still bring out the panel, which will now look hidden.

See all your notifications, schedule the blue-light filter

By default, you will only see three of the most recent notification icons in the Status Bar at the top of your phone’s screen. If you want to see all the notification icons from all your alerts, head over to Settings > Display > Status Bar >  and toggle off Show recent notifications only. Now your Status Bar will be populated with more than three notification icons when you have a lot of alerts.

In the same Display section, you should also consider scheduling the blue-light filter to protect your eyes. Studies have shown that blue light from screens at night can be harmful to our sleep and health, and blue-light filters try to mitigate this by decreasing the amount of blue light in screens. Head over to Display > Blue light filter to turn it on. You can schedule it to turn on at sunset and off by sunrise, or you can create a custom schedule. You can quickly toggle the filter on or off by using the quick settings tile in the notification drawer.

Personalize the lock screen clock

Did you know you can change the look of the clock on the lock screen and always-on display? Head over to Settings > Lock screen and first make sure the Always On Display is toggled on. Then tap Clock style and you will see two tabs at the top — one for the Always On Display and the other for the Lock Screen. At the bottom are several options to choose from, and when you pick one, you can then tap the Color tab at the bottom right to tweak the color of the clock. When you’re finished, tap Done at the top right.

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