Uber’s upcoming ‘Ride Check’ feature could save your life

Uber has recently been making more of an effort to improve the safety of its service via features that include Trusted Contacts, an in-app panic button, and a new Safety Center section within the app. A recent clash with the authorities in London also prompted Uber to focus more on safety for not only riders but drivers, too.

Now the ridesharing giant is harnessing the technology inside your smartphone for a new feature that aims to detect when an Uber vehicle crashes. For sure, this is a rare event, but when it happens, a speedy arrival by first responders could be the difference between life and death.

Ride Check

Using built-in smartphone sensors such as the accelerometer and gyroscope together with GPS data from hundreds of millions of Uber rides, the new feature, called Ride Check, is able to detect with a high degree of accuracy whether the Uber vehicle you’re riding in has been involved in an accident.

When Ride Check kicks into action, both the rider and the driver will receive an alert to their smartphones asking if they’ve been in a crash. If they have, a number of options come up, including one-tap buttons for 911 and Uber’s safety line. Alternatively, if the ride is going just fine, you can tap another button to let the system know that everything’s OK.

You might believe you’d be perfectly capable of making an emergency call by yourself without any prompt from Uber, but the disorientation than can follow a serious accident means you might not even think about calling 911. And consider this: What if the accident is so serious that neither you nor the driver can respond? If Uber’s notification receives no response,  its safety team will be alerted to the possibility of a serious incident, thereby allowing it to take quick action.

Variations of Uber’s crash-detection technology are already in use. San Francisco-based Zendrive, for example, has been developing the technology for a number of years, while GM’s OnStar system is also designed to automatically contact first responders in the event of a smash.

Ride Check can also alert Uber to potential security issues, too. For example, if the Uber vehicle stops for longer than what appears to be necessary, Ride Check will send a message asking if everything’s all right. Response options include hitting the app’s emergency button or reporting any problem to Uber’s critical safety line.

The Ride Check feature, which is expected to roll out in the next few months, was announced on Wednesday by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Now a year in the job, the former Expedia CEO was hired to help sort out the company after several years of increasingly chaotic leadership under its founder, Travis Kalanick.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Uber is testing a low-fare option that’s great if you’re not in a rush
• Deadly Uber crash was ‘entirely avoidable’ had the driver not been watching Hulu
• Lyft’s self-driving taxis have made 5,000 trips for paying riders in Las Vegas
• Uber could soon know if you’re drunk before the car arrives to pick you up
• Fossil adds Noonlight’s emergency feature to its latest lineup of smartwatches

UK Deal: Power your devices on the go with two dual USB car chargers for £6

These compact car chargers both feature two USB ports which can charge devices like your smartphone or tablet in the car.

Amazon UK has the two-pack of RAVPower Dual USB Car Chargers on sale for only £5.99 when you redeem the on-page voucher or use code ECHUSATA at checkout. This set usually sells for £9.99 and never seems to have dropped below £8.99 without a promo code before, so now is a great time to pick up some in-car power.

You’ll receive two compact car chargers which can each provide a 4.8A output with their dual 2.4A charging ports. Its circuit design ensures your devices will remain safe from over-heating and over-charging. You’ll need to bring your own charging cable or consider buying extras for the car like this MFi-certified braided nylon option for iPhone from Syncwire that’s currently on sale or this durable Anker USB to USB C cable, also reduced in price right now.

Those wanting more port should check out the newest RAVPower in-car charger featuring a 4-port design and Quick Charge support.

For more UK deals coverage, be sure to keep an eye on Thrifter UK, sign up for the UK newsletter and follow the team on Twitter.

See at Amazon UK

The first 9 things to do with your Galaxy Note 9

Unbox, set up, and do these things first.

So you just got your Galaxy Note 9. You’re in awe at the size of the phone, the pile of features it has and you want to jump right in to using the S Pen’s new wireless capabilities. Wait! For as exciting as the phone is, there are some things you should do first in order to make the most of your Note 9.

Set up face/iris scanning in addition to fingerprint

With the Note 9’s fingerprint sensor moving to a good location on the back of the phone, the discussion about face and iris scanning has moved to the back burner. But Samsung’s implementation of these alternative unlocking methods is really good, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t turn on at least one of the two — and preferably both.

The fingerprint sensor is great, but sometimes you need other ways to quickly unlock.

Go into Settings and then Biometrics and security to get started with the setup. You can choose to use Face Recognition, which is fast but less secure, or Iris Scanner, which is slower but more secure. If you’re planning to use Face Recognition, you really should just use Intelligent Scan, which tries to scan your face or your irises at the same time.

The most important setting for making this face and iris unlocking work seamlessly is under Intelligent Scan, it’s called “Screen-on Intelligent Scan.” When you turn this on, the phone starts looking for your face and irises as soon as your screen comes on, rather than after you already swipe. For those times when you can’t reach the fingerprint sensor, your phone will unlock quickly without any further intervention.

Enable easier access to your notification shade

The Note 9 is a massive phone. With a 6.4-inch display and 18.5:9 aspect ratio, it’s really hard to reach the top of the screen to pull down the notification shade. But Samsung has two ways you can more easily get your notifications without reaching.

First, there’s a fingerprint gesture like on so many other phones. Go into Settings, Advanced features and find Finger sensor gestures. Turn it on, and now you can swipe down on the fingerprint sensor to lower the notification shade.

Second, if you’re still using the default Samsung launcher you can change a setting to pull down notifications with a swipe down on the home screen. Pinch in on the home screen to open its settings and tap on Home screen settings. There’s a toggle for Quick-open notification panel to turn on. Now it’s as simple as a swipe down on the home screen to bring down the shade — and a swipe up still opens the app drawer.

Set up S Pen button actions

There’s a good chance that part of your Note 9 buying decision was predicated on the new wireless S Pen features. Now that the S Pen connects over Bluetooth, it can perform actions with single and double presses of its button even when it’s away from the phone. Go into Settings, Advanced features and then S Pen to control all of these settings and get familiar with what it’s capable of.

S Pen remote is the settings are for all of the wireless features. You’ll see a list of every app that supports S Pen remote features, plus the top-level choice of which app you’d like to launch with a long-press of the S Pen’s button. For each app, you’ll see options to assign a different action to a single-press and double-press of the button. You can also choose to have one or the other do nothing, if you think there’s a chance you’ll accidentally do something you don’t want.

It may take a little while of using the new feature to see what works best for you, but these settings will always be there to help you tweak and get the most out of your new S Pen. The Note 9’s software will also highlight the fact that you can use S Pen remote features whenever the S Pen is removed and a supported app is launched.

Turn on all of the notification icons in the status bar

The Galaxy Note 9 has a huge screen and no display notch, but curiously Samsung has it set by default to only show the last three notification icons in the status bar. Sure it looks a little cleaner, but you bought a Note 9 to see everything and be aware of your notifications, not forget about them because the software restricted the display.

Go into Settings, Display and then Status bar to bring them back. Turn off the toggle for “Show recent notifications only,” and your Note 9’s status bar will now show all of your unread notifications across the status bar — at least, until they run into the persistent icons on the right. If that happens, maybe you should think about tweaking the notification settings in your apps …

Configure your navigation buttons

Years after moving away from hardware navigation buttons, Samsung is still shipping its phones with the “back” button on the right and “recents” on the left — but thankfully, you get options to configure them. Head into Settings, Display and Navigation bar to set them up how you like.

“Button layout” lets you switch the back and recents buttons, which is the most useful part of this whole area. But you can also change other parts. You can set a background color for the bar if you want something a bit more unique than a grey gradient. You can also select how sensitive the home button is to a hard press, which is used for (among other things) turning on the screen from the Always On Display.

“Show and hide button” is an interesting one — it gives you a small dot on the left side of the navigation bar that lets you hide the bar entirely. Double-tap the dot to hide the bar, and then it only appears when you swipe up from the bottom of the screen — once it’s visible, double-tap it again to lock it in place. It isn’t that useful considering how tall the screen is, and full-screen apps will hide the bar anyway, but if you have a specific need for it, the choice is yours.

Set up the blue light filter

It’s been shown that being exposed to bright, blue light in the hours before you sleep can strain your eyes more than necessary and influence your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. If you ascribe to this theory, you should use your Note 9’s Blue light filter. With this feature, the display will turn to an orange-red hue at a specific time so when you look at your screen you don’t strain your eyes so much.

Go to Settings, Display and then Blue light filter to configure it. First, toggle “Turn on now” to see what it looks like, and use the “Opacity” slider at the top to change how intense the blue light filter is. Turn it back off, and choose when you’d like to it to come on automatically. “Sunset to sunrise” is a great choice, because it changes as the length of the day changes throughout the year, but if you have specific needs you can also set a custom schedule.

If you ever want to turn off the Blue light filter manually, perhaps if you’re editing a photo and you want accurate colors represented on the screen, you can add a toggle to your notification shade for quick access.

Configure Always On Display

Samsung pioneered the information-dense always-on display with its exclusive use of OLED screens, and though it isn’t as interactive and useful as other implementations it’s highly configurable. To start, go to Settings, Lock screen and tap Always On Display. Here, you can choose wether you want to see a clock on the Always On Display, whether you want it to automatically change brightness (believe me, you do) and when you want it to stay on. I typically set my Always On Display to only come on from morning to night, rather than 24 hours a day, but each person has their own needs. You can also turn off Always On Display when your Note 9’s battery hits 15%, which is a smart battery-saving move.

Now back out of those settings and go to “Clock style” to configure how it looks on the Always On Display. Samsung has about a dozen different clocks to choose from, ranging from simple to extravagant, and each one has further configuration options. You can choose the style and color of each one, and then tweak further features depending on which one you choose. You can add subtle backgrounds to the clock, get multiple time zones set and so much more. Give yourself a few minutes to play around and see the options so it’s set up uniquely for your needs and style.

Turn off app icon borders

This is a small thing, but one you’ll be scrambling to if you haven’t been using a Samsung phone lately. By default, Samsung’s software places a squircle-shaped border around all of your apps, so that they all have the same size. This looks fine from a glance, but most app icons really don’t look good with an auto-generated background, and you may want to turn it off.

Back in Settings and Display again, you’ll see Icon frames at the top. Just tap it, and select “Icons only” and you’ll be good to go. The interface even shows a quick representation of what apps look like with and without the frames.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review
• Galaxy Note 9 vs. Note 8
• Where to buy the Galaxy Note 9
• Galaxy Note 9 specifications
• Is the Note 8 still a good buy?
• Join our Galaxy Note 9 forums

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Firefox 62 for Mac Makes Browser Mojave-Ready With New Automatic Dark Theme

Mozilla today launched Firefox 62 web browser for macOS, bringing variable fonts support and a new automatic dark theme to Mac desktops.

By introducing a dark theme to the browser, Mozilla is following up the one it added to its mobile counterpart last month, the only difference being that the desktop version comes with intelligent support for the new native Dark Mode featured in macOS 10.14 Mojave.

What that means is Firefox automatically switches to the twilight theme whenever the the macOS Dark Mode is active, making for a more uniform desktop application interface without requiring action on the user’s part.

Meanwhile, support for variable fonts makes it possible for web designers to create typography using a single font file, rather than generating several files for variations of the same font.

Also listed in this release’s changelog: Firefox Home (default new tabs) can now display up to four rows of top sites, Pocket stories, and highlights, while a “Reopen in Container” tab menu option appears for users with Containers that lets them choose to reopen a tab in a different container.

Lastly, disconnecting from the desktop version of Firefox Sync prompts the browser to ask if you want to wipe your Firefox profile, including passwords, history, cookies, and web data.

Firefox now has 300 million active users, according to Mozilla’s weekly user activity report. If you’re already a Firefox user, you should receive an automatic upgrade after restarting the browser. For everyone else, Firefox 62 is available for macOS as a free download directly from the Mozilla website.

Tag: Firefox
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Realme 2 review: One step forward, one step back

It’s only been about three months since the Realme 1, and yet here we are with the Realme 2 — an iterative update to an incredibly affordable device, bringing some additional features without inflating the price much. However, for every step forward, the phone takes another step back. This device removes as many feature as it adds!

Realme has now broken away to become its own brand. For its debut it kept the price the exact same as the previous model, thus necessitating more compromises for a phone already all about compromise.  Let’s take a look at the $130 handset in this Realme 2 review and see what exactly is going on here.

Realme 2 design and media

Realme 1 and 2 side by side

The phone’s design shows most of its positive progress, as well as a some suspect decisions.

Editor’s Pick

OPPO Realme 1 review: Pretty good, really cheap!

Buy now from eBay
Lately, I’ve reviewed, compared, and previewed a whole host of great smartphones at mid-range price points. My conclusion: you can get a heck of a lot these days without needing to pay …

The very plasticky build and the interesting polygonal effect adorning the rear of the phone have remained the same. I said in my Realme 1 review this looked much better in photos than in person, and this time around the effect seems even subtler. Every now and then it catches the light and brings out the pattern, but most of the time it looks like a glossy black finish. It’s certainly not a killer design feature, but on an otherwise nondescript, cheap phone, it’s still a welcome inclusion.

The branding around the back is now a little less ostentatious (a big win), and there’s a dual-lens camera and a finger print sensor (more on them in a bit).

Another interesting design choice this around is the inclusion of a notch. Many of you just clenched reading that, but I actually quite like it (interestingly, this feature seemed to have been cut last minute from the first Realme based on early renders).

Notch the upgrade we were looking for

It’s not that I like notches — I’m not really a huge fan — but a notch can make a phone look a little more 2018. Cheap phones don’t often get to have modern design aspects, so having a notch here just makes the phone look and feel a little less like a compromise. It’s interesting to see a notch on a phone this affordable, basically.

However, there is another very big compromise here in the form of a lower-res screen. The Realme 2 comes with a 720 x 1,520 screen. This isn’t hugely noticeable until you put it next to a device with a sharper screen (especially a punchy AMOLED). That’s when you really notice the difference and even the whites look murkier than last time around. If you lean in close, you can even see individual pixels.

Obviously, this isn’t really a media consumption device. It can consume media (nom nom) but the lack of sharpness combined with a very sub-par single speaker mean it’s not particularly good at it. This really doesn’t sound good when you crank it up. You certainly won’t want to listen to much Spotify without using the headphone jack (which is thankfully present and correct).

The rest of the time it’s fine — the Nintendo Switch is 720p after all and most people don’t have a problem with it. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense to increase the size of the screen to 6.2 inches and hit a 80.85 percent screen-to-body ratio with the notch, only to then make the screen actually less sharp.

The phone’s design is still very clearly cutting corners to save money. The plastic build is really noticeable, and the seam running around the side is even worse. The buttons are both oddly placed and mushy. Separate volume buttons always give me the heebie-jeebies.

I wouldn’t expect a water-resistant, unibody, glass, and metal construction at this price. For what you’re paying, this is about as good as it gets. I’m just letting you know what to expect.

Realme 2 performance and software

The design got a bit of an upgrade, but the internals have actually taken a small step backwards.

We’ve gone from a Mediatek to a Snapdragon, which you would normally expect to be a good thing. Unfortunately, it’s the rather underpowered Snapdragon 450.

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Honor Play review: Flagship specs on a budget (video added!)

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The original Realme 1 was not exactly a speed demon, but for day-to-day use you could generally get by. It would even be fine for a bit of light gaming. This time around expect things to chug a little. You’ll see the odd stutter as you navigate with the browser. Apps take a long time to open. 3D games will experience skipped frames and occasional slow-down. You can still play something like Asphalt 8, but you’re going to experience a fair few stutters on low settings. The Adreno 506 does okay with 2D games though, but don’t get this for gaming!

AnTuTu benchmark scores weren’t good. The Realme 2 only defeated 20 percent of users, compared with the 38 percent managed by the Realme 1.

I found performance significantly better than the Honor 7S sporting the Mediatek MT6739 processor. That phone was just… urgh.

This is a manageable phone, it’s just not great. That’s a big shame considering the Realme 1 was actually better than I anticipated. This device wreaks of missed opportunities.

What’s unfortunately not helping matters either is the software, which is everyone’s favorite Color OS. I’m sure it’s actually someone’s favorite somewhere, but it sure isn’t mine. There are worse offenders out there in the bloat department, but it felt like I was constantly fighting against this UI. Being unable to dismiss notifications before they’re ready to leave of their own accord is simply obnoxious, and finding out how to change the default launcher took longer than it should (thankfully it’s doable though).  Why are so many dialogue boxes lime green on white? Who possibly thinks that’s a good color scheme?!

Why are so many dialogue boxes lime green on white? Who possibly thinks that’s a good color scheme??

Other budget devices out there, like ones from Nokia, sport Android One and other vanilla experiences — which is certainly something to consider when weighing up the value of this phone.

I’m testing the 3GB/32GB model, but you can also get 4GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB. None of these configurations are anything to write home about, but they’re all perfectly serviceable and RAM management hasn’t been a bottleneck for me.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this phone from a hardware perspective is the battery. At 4,230mAh, that is a significant upgrade over the Realme 1’s 3,410mAh, and also a whopping great battery by any standards. Combined with the low-res screen, the battery has fantastic staying power and will easily see you through a day of even heavy use. Honestly, this is among the best longevity you will get from any phone. It’s a compelling backup for travel and the like when you factor in the cost as well.

Realme 2 camera and features

While the Realme 2 takes some surprising steps backwards in some departments, the camera is actually a bit nicer. The dual lens camera combines a 13MP f2.2 lens with a 2MP secondary depth sensor for bokeh. Around the front is an 8MP selfie lens, which is also capable of portrait effects, despite losing the NPU found in the Helio P60 from the Realme 1.

The only change here is the secondary lens, which presumably should only come into play with depth effect shots. However, it felt like the shots I managed with this camera were slightly superior. Perhaps the second lens lets in a bit more light? Maybe it allows for better post processing. Perhaps it’s a software update. Whatever the case, photos appeared a little more contrasty to me. The original camera was never that bad given the price anyway.

If you want to see these pics in all their glory, you can check them out here.

Obviously, this is no Pixel or Galaxy. Occasionally I found images to looked a little blurry due to the lack of stabilization. Colors are washed out. It falls apart in even slightly lower light (with lots of noise), and background detail gets lost in a lot of pictures too. However, it still performs perhaps better than you might expect overall. There are even a couple of fun options like AR and time-lapse in the app.

Other features here all work well too. The fingerprint sensor is really fast, and the face unlocking is really good — better than even some much more expensive implementations. The fingerprint sensor is actually worth mentioning because the Realme 1 lacked the feature. With face unlock not quite secure enough for things like PayPal, this was actually a serious omission.

We’re still charging via MicroUSB too, which is starting to feel really old hat.

Realme 2 review: Closing comments

I’m in a weird position. I still think Realme is offering a great value phone here. It’s definitely leaps and bounds better than the Honor 7S (*shudder*). I’m less sure whether this is better than the Realme 1. While the secondary lens is nice, the only tangible advantage you get from that is bokeh — something the Realme 1 already did. The bigger screen is cool too, but it’s lower resolution and notch mean it isn’t really an unqualified win.

Really the fingerprint sensor and the battery life improvements are the two really wholly positive improvements here, though the Realme 1 had no problems in the battery department anyway. It feels like two steps forward and at least two steps back, especially considering the same cheap design and use of MicroUSB. It’s so weird this self-proclaimed “successor” would force you to make so compromises to get those new features.

If it had just kept the exact same internals and screen as last time, this would have been a really compelling device for the price range. As it is, it’s bit of a curiosity.

Those of us with less spending power at least deserve upgrades to still actually upgrade our phones

I get it’s a cheap phone, but those of us with less spending power still want upgrades that actually upgrade our phones, right?

If you have $100-$150 to spend, then a Realme phone is a good choice. Which one you pick is a tougher question, and really depends on what you value.

That’s it for our Realme 2 review. Let us know your thoughts!

Meet the autonomous starfish assassin bot that’s here to protect coral reefs

We’ve covered a number of underwater drones at Digital Trends, but we can safely say that we’ve never covered one quite like RangerBot. Created as a collaboration between Australia’s Queensland University of Technology, Google, and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, it’s an underwater robot intended to look after the world’s largest coral reef system by seeking out troublesome starfish and killing them by injecting drugs. Seriously.

“RangerBot builds on the QUT’s original COTSbot prototype that won the 2016 Google Impact Challenge,” Professor Matthew Dunbabin, a lead researcher on the project, told Digital Trends. “We believe it will be a very valuable tool for reefs around the world. Having an easy-to-use, small underwater robot that can operate in coral reef environments fills a current technology gap to allow larger-scale monitoring and management of reefs globally. We believe this is a first step in the development of a range of visual-guided robotic systems for environmental monitoring.”

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The reason RangerBot targets crown-of-thorns starfish is because they prey on coral, secreting digestive enzymes that allow them to absorb their nutrients. A single starfish can consume up to 65 square feet of living coral reef every single year. To stop them, RangerBot is trained to identify these starfish — which it can do with 99.4 percent accuracy — and then initiate a fatal injection. This injection kills the starfish, but does not affect anything else on the reef.

The robot is kitted out with computer vision technology, allowing it to both recognize its target and avoid obstacles. Multiple thrusters let it easily move in any direction it needs to. In addition to acting like a Terminator for starfish, the drone can also be used to monitor coral bleaching, water quality, pollution, and more, as well as help map out large underwater areas.

“We are now in the process of starting the evaluations and assessments necessary to best integrate RangerBot into various management programs — including for crown-of-thorns starfish — with the immediate focus intended to be for the mapping tasks, and then roll in the more interactive capabilities,” Dunbabin said. “Longer term, we envisage a wide range of applications which could include pest management, coral restoration activities, and fish stock assessment.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• This underwater robot could soon autonomously hunt predatory lionfish
• SmokeBot robot can see things human firefighters can’t in smoke-filled rooms
• This diving system lets you stay submerged for 2 hours, no tank needed
• Meet the gigantic machine that eats land mines for breakfast
• Spirit animals: 9 revolutionary robots inspired by real-world creatures

Logitech’s Crayon Stylus Expands to All Users Through Apple Store Availability

Logitech today announced that its Crayon stylus, which was previously only available to schools, is coming to Apple retail stores, which means it will be available for everyone to purchase for the first time.

Introduced in March alongside the 6th-generation 9.7-inch iPad, the Crayon is designed to operate as a lower-cost alternative to the Apple Pencil.

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The Crayon features a slim aluminum body and an Apple Pencil-style tip. Functionally, it works just like the Apple Pencil, with support for palm rejection and the same latency and tilt as you get with the Apple Pencil. There is, however, no pressure sensitivity.

Logitech designed the Crayon with students in mind, so it has a flat surface to prevent rolling, a tethered rubber end cap, a comfortable grip for small hands, and the ability to withstand drops of up to four feet.

Like the Apple Pencil, the Crayon does not need Bluetooth to connect to the iPad, and it’s able to last for up to seven hours before needing to be recharged with the built-in Lightning port.

It’s worth noting that the Crayon is designed to be compatible only with the sixth-generation iPad.

We were able to get our hands on one of Logitech’s Crayons ahead of its Apple Store availability, so if you’re considering picking one of these up for your 9.7-inch iPad, make sure to check out our review video above.

The Crayon will be available in Apple retail stores, on the Apple website, and on the Logitech website starting on September 12 before expanding to additional retail outlets in October.

While schools can purchase the device for $50, customers who purchase the Crayon from Apple or Logitech will need to pay $70.

Tag: Logitech
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PSA: The POCO F1 doesn’t have NFC

POCO had to cut a few features to get the F1 down to $300, and NFC is one of them.

The POCO F1 is turning out to be the deal of the year. Retailing for the equivalent of $300, the phone is currently the most affordable device to be powered by the Snapdragon 845. POCO had to cull a few features to get to that $300 figure, and as such the F1 misses out on NFC.

The lack of NFC doesn’t hinder sales in India, where the device is primarily targeted. But with the phone set to go on sale in over 50 global markets — including 30 European markets — the omission of NFC could turn out to be a dealbreaker.

Furthermore, the POCO F1 isn’t quite as affordable in global markets, with the phone retailing for €330 ($385) in Spain. You do get a lot for the asking price, including 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, a MicroSD slot, dual 12MP + 5MP cameras at the back, 20MP front shooter, and a massive 4000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.

On the software side of things, the POCO F1 is running a custom version of MIUI that includes a launcher and other tweaks to make it more palatable to a Western audience. The skin is based on Android 8.1 Oreo, with POCO stating that it will roll out the Pie update in the coming months.

POCO F1 review: Incredible performance at an unbeatable price

If NFC is a feature that you absolutely need to have in a phone, there’s always the Nokia 7 Plus. It’s available officially in the UK for £299 ($385), and while the Snapdragon 660 isn’t as powerful, you do get NFC and the promise of quick updates with Android One.

See at Amazon UK

Google researchers examine how to combat smartphone addiction

Tech companies like Apple and Google are working on ways to help us average consumers better manage the time we spend on our digital devices. Apple recently launched the Screen Time tool for the iPhone — and Google released Digital Wellbeing, a similar tool for Android devices and other Google products.

These products, however, seem to be largely built by tech companies who think they know what consumers want or need. A set of researchers from Google, on the other hand, have now conducted a study to see how the average person feels about their phone and technology in general — something that could ultimately help Google better help people manage the time they spend using their tech.

In a blog post detailing the study, the researchers noted that in general, through the advent of social media, email, and news, people overwhelmingly felt a sense of obligation to their devices — something that ended up causing a lot of unnecessary stress. There are a few reasons for this, according to the blog post. First of all, smartphones are built to be engaging — and it’s hard to break the habit of using one. On top of that, people felt an obligation to reply to messages quickly — as though they had to be available at a moment’s notice whenever possible.

The study also noted that while plenty of people look forward to disconnecting, they also want to choose when to disconnect. When it’s forced — like when they run out of battery or forget their phone at home — people feel anxious and worried about missing messages and notifications.

The researchers didn’t just observe this behavior — they also noted a few ways in which tech companies like Google can help users find a better balance. For starters, our phones should be better at facilitating disconnecting from the digital world by giving users information about the time they spend on their devices. Second, smartphones can help reduce the temptation to re-engage with features like app timers. Last but not least, phones can facilitate partial disconnection — by limiting some apps rather than taking an all-or-nothing approach. As mentioned, Google and Apple are already doing this with Digital Wellbeing and Screen Time.

According to the post, Google isn’t done with helping users manage their digital lives. In fact, it’s working on more tools to specifically help parents manage the access their kids have to technology. As the blog post mentions, “a sense of obligation has crept into tech. People want tools to break it. They want to be able to set aside their phone sometimes, not worry about missing anything absolutely urgent, and feel in control of their phone use. We have a responsibility to make that easier—to give people a way to reclaim their time and not feel tied to their devices.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here’s how Google’s Digital Wellbeing feature looks and works in Android 9.0 Pie
• YouTube is making it easier to track how much time you spend watching videos
• Google plans crackdown on tech-support scams appearing in search ads
• ‘Hey Google, tell me something good’ filters out bad news on Home devices
• Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook team up on new data transfer project

The best car chargers of 2018

Most of us buy into the promise of marathon battery life when we opt for a new phone, but within months, it often seems like they can’t hold a charge long enough to make a call. Thankfully, there’s an assortment of capable phone chargers available for your car — whether you’re an Apple or Android aficionado — to make sure power isn’t an issue when you’re on the road. The best car chargers, however, combine stylish looks and a low price tag with dependable functionality.

Further reading

Best iPhone car mounts

Phones with the best battery life

Best portable chargers

Some have enough energy to simultaneously charge your smartphone and tablet, while others distinguish themselves from the pack with a streamlined design and built-in cables. Below are a few of our personal favorites, from the likes of Moshi and Incipio. Just don’t forget to keep your eyes on the road.

The best

Moshi Car Charger Duo ($25)

Moshi has quickly and quietly become the undisputed king of all things charge related. The Moshi Car Charger Duo — previously known as the Moshi Revolt Duo — is a testament to the company’s steadfast approach to charging, offering two USB ports rated at 2.1A (12-watt) for energizing two devices at once. The anodized-aluminum cover is about as attractive as it gets for a car charger, adorned with a simple LED indicator light that delivers a faint glow. The charger’s power management circuitry provides under-current and over-current protection, but it’s the charger’s subtle design that makes Moshi’s flagship offering a favorite.

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Moshi

The rest

Scosche reVOLT Dual ($10)

Scosche’s reVOLT Dual is not much of a looker, but the compact charger sports a low-profile frame that sits flush in most vehicle power sockets. Unlike some other chargers in our roundup, each USB port on the sleek device supplies 2.4A (12-watt) of power, which means it’s capable of charging two tablets at a time. The high output also allows it to charge a smartphone quicker than most standard chargers. Oh, and we can’t resist anything that has glowing USB ports.

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Amazon Walmart

Anker PowerDrive 5 ($23)

Family road trips can be demanding, on both your smartphone and your patience. Fortunately, Anker’s five-port charger is designed for the rare instances when you might need more than one or two USB ports. The robust, 50-watt device outputs 10A overall — enough to simultaneously power five phones or four tablets — while housing premium circuitry that’s designed to prevent your expensive lineup from overcharging. The unique design also places the hub at the end of a cable, so you can rest the charger on the center console and charge everyone’s devices without having to buy extra-long cords. The polished finish and 18-month warranty only help justify the price.

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Amazon

Incipio Dual USB Car Charger ($35)

Incipio is a household name when it comes to cables, cases, and chargers. The company’s Dual USB Car Charger doesn’t vastly differ from others on our list. The USB port provides 2.4A of power, for example, but it does feature a built-in Lightning cable for added convenience. It’s also relatively sleek, with rubberized sides and a vibrant, blue indicator light on the front for checking the charging status of your device at a glance. It’s on the pricier side, but you’ll also never have to worry about forgetting your cable.

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Incipio

Aukey Dual Port Car Charger with Quick Charge 3.0 ($19)

This two-port model from Aukey is one of the most popular car chargers on the market, probably because it works with a range of connection types and is 45-percent more efficient than chargers built with Quick Charge 2.0. That said, the Quick Charge capacity only works with smartphones powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon processors (check Qualcomm’s list here). To minimize the risk of circuitry damage, this model also uses the company’s EntireProtect feature, which helps prevent overcharging and overheating.

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Amazon

Powerbear Fast Car Charger ($15)

PowerBear’s Fast Car Charger relies on Qualcomm technology to quickly charge up to two devices simultaneously. Scratch-proof, it’s capable of restoring 75 percent of your battery’s capacity after just 45 minutes of charging. PowerBear promises its device protects your phone, tablet, or GPS against overcharging, short-circuiting, and overheating. It also comes with a 24-month warranty, which isn’t bad for a charger that won’t break the bank.

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Amazon

RAVPower Dual USB Car Charger ($13)

The compact RAVPower Dual USB Car Charger is equipped to charge even the largest and most power-demanding devices. The dual 2.4 USB ports use iSmart Technology, allowing them to learn about your device and output the optimal current in terms of safety and speed. The RAVPower’s charger has also been bend tested more than 12,000 times — a testamement to its durability — and features a convenient LED light for when driving at night. The charger even includes a 3-foot Lightning cable and an 18-month warranty, just in case you encounter any manufacturer defects early on.

Buy one now from:

Amazon RAVPower

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