The Lenovo Smart Tab blends the best of Alexa and Android in one device

You wouldn’t have the Amazon Echo (or Echo Dot, or Echo Show, or whatever) without Amazon Alexa. Here’s what you need to know about the two.

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September 20, 2018 — The Lenovo Smart Tab blends the best of Alexa and Android in one device

Per a press release that was shared on its website, Lenovo announced that it’s working on a new device called the Lenovo Smart Tab. We don’t have any specs on the Smart Tab or even know what it looks like, but Lenovo says it features Amazon Alexa and has a “Show Mode” that “will offer more visual Alexa experiences to enhance the way users interact with their music, control smart home devices, and more.”

We also know that the Smart Tab will feature Lenovo’s “versatile and beautifully designed Android tablet technology”, but aside from that, this gadget is still mostly a mystery.

Lenovo will be sharing more details on the Smart Tab later this year, so stay tuned!

September 20, 2018 — Amazon announces whisper mode, offline smart home control, and more at fall event

Amazon just wrapped up its big fall event at its HQ in Seattle, and as expected, a lot of new Alexa goodies were announced.

The first thing Amazon unveiled is a new whisper mode for Alexa. Alexa can now detect when you’re whispering to it and then whisper a response back in return. According to Amazon, the functionality will be “rolling out soon.”

Also new is offline support for controlling smart home devices. For example, if you say “Alexa, turn off the lights”, your command will still go through even if there’s no active internet connection.

If home security is important to you, Alexa Guard will probably become one of your new favorite features. Alexa Guard connects to any home security systems you’ve got set up, so if you say something such as “Alexa, I’m leaving”, Alexa Guard will trigger all of your devices to lock down your home even if you’re using stuff from other brands. To get things started, Amazon’s partnering with Ring and ADT to kickstart the platform.

On a similar note, the newly announced Alexa Doorbell API will allow you to have two-way interaction on an Echo Show and Echo Spot when someone rings a connected doorbell. Anyone can tap into this, meaning it won’t be tied to just specific partners Amazon okays.

Lastly, in an attempt to make everything a smart gadget, Amazon’s launching the Alexa Connect Kit.

Alexa Connect Kit is a new developer kit that features various radios and a real-time OS that devs can integrate into appliances and make them “smart.” Brands like Hamilton Beach, P&G, and others are already using it.

July 26, 2018 — Alexa Cast launches as a way to cast Amazon Music from your phone to Alexa speakers

If you own an Alexa-powered speaker, there’s a good chance you subscribe to Amazon Music. Amazon Music is a great service for using your voice to listen to tunes on your Alexa device, and today with a new update that’s rolling out to the app, you can finally use Amazon Music on your phone to cast music to your Alexa speakers.

Aptly called “Alexa Cast”, this works just like we’ve seen from Google with Chromecast for years. When listening to a song in Amazon Music on your phone, tap the Alexa Cast button, choose the speaker you want to send your tunes to, and it’ll automatically switch to it from your phone.

You can start using Alexa Cast after updating the Amazon Music app on your Android or iOS device.

April 18, 2018 — A new Call of Duty skill delivers personalized coaching, tips on objectives to complete, and more

We don’t blame you if you never thought of pairing Alexa with Activision’s Call of Duty: WWII, but someone apparently did and made a skill just for that.

The new Call of Duty Alexa Skill can connect to your Call of Duty account, and after doing so, you can ask your Echo about how to improve your game based on the last match you just played, get updates on new Contracts you should complete, see which friends are playing, and more. Activision says the skill allows for personalized responses to over 2,500 questions and can dish out 250,000 responses using a custom “solider” voice.

Although it’s still in beta, you can start using the skill right now by enabling it and then saying “Alexa, Ask Call of Duty ___”

April 4, 2018 – Hands-free Alexa comes to more Fire tablets, music now available with Routines, and Canadian users can use Alexa in the Amazon Music mobile app

Whew, what a day! Amazon announced a heap of Alexa goodies on April 4, and without further ado, let’s run through what’s new.

First off, the online shopping giant has now allowed you to turn the Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 tablets into hands-free Alexa speakers. This is a feature that was previously reserved for just the Fire HD 10, and it allows you to say “Alexa” and have the tablets respond just like an Echo. The tablets will need to have their screens on or be plugged into a power source in order for this to work, but even so, it’s a nice way to get Alexa listening to you no matter where you go.

Moving over to Alexa Routines, you can now add music to these. Alexa Routines enable you to perform a variety of actions with one single command, and up until now, playing music wasn’t an option when creating a new Routine. With this update, however, you can play your favorite album, artist, podcast, etc. from Amazon Music, Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, and TuneIn.

Last but not least, users in Canada can now talk to Alexa inside the Amazon Music app for Android and iOS.

What is Alexa?

Amazon Echo. Or Alexa. They’re one and the same, really. That is, an Amazon Echo without Alexa really isn’t any more than just a speaker. And Alexa without a speaker is just … Well, nothing.

Confused yet. I don’t blame you. Let’s explain the difference this way:

Echo is hardware, Alexa is software

Amazon Echo — and all of its permutations — is hardware. Alexa is software. She (and I have zero problem if you refer to Alexa as a she) is the brains behind the Echo, and all the things you can do with it. And because she’s software, she’s available on more than just Amazon’s own devices.

Anyone can put Alexa on anything. You can make your own Alexa speaker for just a few bucks and a little bit of nerdy know-how. There are third-party Alexa speakers that look like Amazon’s own Echo Dot. There are third-party Alexa speakers that look like speakers. You can get Alexa baked into a smart thermostat. She’s built into the HTC U11 smartphone.

The point is, Alexa can be built into pretty much anything these days.

But that’s just half of the story.

It’s all about the Alexa Skills, baby …

Alexa starts out by knowing what Amazon tells it. She already knows how to tell the time, and set alarms and timers, or answer general questions and read headlines. But Alexa also has the ability to learn more. A lot more.

Or, more precisely, you have the ability to teach Alexa new things.

See all of Amazon’s Skills here

Amazon calls these things “Skills,” and there are hundreds of them.

Want to teach Alexa to turn on your smart lights, or open your garage door, or do anything she doesn’t already know how to do? You need a Skill. That’s where developers come in. Amazon has made it so that anyone can write an Alexa Skill, and companies and their developers have been doing so for years now.

Think about the things you do every day. Listen to satellite radio? There’s a Skill for that. Lock your house after you’re already at work? It’s a little daunting, actually. There are hundreds and hundreds of Skills, of varying degrees of usefulness. (Dog facts, uh, OK.)

How to enable and disable Alexa Skills

Support for Sonos speakers

Amazon Echo speakers are pretty decent, but Sonos speakers are better! The latest version of the Sonos One speaker has Alexa built right in, making it arguably the best sounding Alexa speaker you can buy.

If you’ve already got a bunch of Sonos speakers set up around your home, don’t fear — simply use the Sonos Skill and you’ll be able to control all the different speakers around your home. It’s not the greatest experience with some very mixed reviews from users, but it’s still the best way to connect your high-end smart speakers with Alexa.

Alexa Routines makes life easier — now with music!

One of the coolest parts of smart speakers is the ability to get the latest news, play music, and control your connected smart home devices all with your voice. With Alexa and your Amazon Echo products, you have the option to do so on an individual basis or group actions together using Routines.

Routines are built right into the Alexa app and are entirely customizable. You can create your own Alexa Routines right in the app which can be triggered by a phrase you say (ex: “Alexa, good morning”) or at a scheduled time.

Each Routine can trigger a combination of up to seven different action types, which are each customizable to some extent depending on what you need Alexa to do:

• Alexa Says: Mostly silly stuff. You can set Alexa to say a specific greeting, wish you a happy birthday, sing a song, or tell a story or joke.
• Music: The latest feature to be added to Routines, you can use an Alexa Routine to trigger music. For example, saying “Alexa, it’s party time” could automatically play your favorite party playlist on Spotify.
• News: Adding this to a routine will trigger Alexa to read out the latest Flash Briefing news reports.
• Smart Home: Get Alexa to toggle or control your connected smart home products. For example, I have a routine set up for when I say “Alexa, I’m leaving” that turns off all the smart lights in my house.
• Traffic: To add traffic updates to an Alexa routine, you’ll first need to dive into the Alexa settings and enter location information for your daily commute.
• Volume: You can set a routine to automatically adjust Alexa’s volume. For example, if you’re a really heavy sleeper you can have Alexa crank the volume when you say “good night”.
• Weather: Adds a weather update to your custom routine.

How to set up Routines on your Amazon Echo

Alexa calling and messaging

All of that connected home stuff is great, and it’s important. But one of the more exciting avenues of potential lies in Alexa Calling and Messaging. As the name implies, it’s the ability to make calls and leave messages through Alexa. From the outset, it works with Echo devices and the Alexa app on phones and tablets. If you have an original Echo or Echo Dot, you can make voice calls. If you have an Echo Show, you can make video calls, or even “drop in” on a close acquaintance (they have to approve you first) without them having to hit a single button.

That’s where these $50 Echo Dots really make a lot of sense. Now Amazon has a means for you to communicate not just on that little Dot, but also on your phone. It’s two birds with one stone, and it’s really just the start of things. And it makes up for where Amazon failed in trying to make its own phone. Folks didn’t want a Fire Phone, but they do want an Echo — especially an inexpensive on — and in buying one they have to put the Alexa app on their phone.

It’s not quite a benevolent Trojan Horse, but it’s close.

Read: Amazon is getting close to being the king of all messaging

Update May 2018: Added sections on Sonos speaker support and Routines.

Amazon Alexa

• Which Amazon Echo should you buy?
• Get more Alexa Skills
• How to enable and disable Alexa Skills
• How to customize Flash Briefing
• How to get sports updates
• How to sync your calendar with Alexa
• How to shop with Alexa
• Send voice messages with Alexa

See more at Amazon

How to Use Instant Tuning in iOS 12 and Change Notification Behavior on the Fly

As part of its digital health initiative in iOS 12, Apple has introduced some improvements to the way app notifications can be managed, enabling users to more easily reduce the number of daily distractions their iPhone or iPad throws their way.

One of these new features is called Instant Tuning, which allows you to quickly adjust the future behavior of app notifications whenever they appear in the Lock Screen or the Notifications Center. Here’s how to make the most of it.

How to Use Instant Tuning in iOS 12

Next time an alert appears in your device’s Notifications Center or on the Lock Screen, swipe left on it, then tap Manage. Alternatively, if your device supports 3D Touch, hard press on the alert and then tap the three dots in the upper right corner of the expanded notification.

A Manage Notifications pop-up will appear on the screen featuring two blue button options. Deliver Quietly ensures future alerts from this app only appear in the Notification Center (accessed by swiping down from the top of your device’s screen).

Note that selecting this option means alerts will no longer show in the Lock Screen and you won’t see any banner notifications on any other screens. Deliver Quietly also turns off any sound or vibration alerts set for the associated app.

If you tap Deliver Quietly and then decide you’d rather not stick with the setting, open the Manage Notifications pop-up again in the same way and tap the Deliver Prominently button to reinstate the previous settings.

The second option, Turn Off…, completely disables all notifications for the related app. Tap this button and you will be prompted to confirm it’s what you want.

Below the two large blue buttons is a less prominent Settings button that takes you to the individual app’s various notification options, usually accessed via the main Settings app.

From here you can adjust where alerts should appear (if at all), enable or disable sounds and badges, select alert preview options (Always, When Unlocked, Never) and choose how notifications should be grouped (Automatic, By App, Off).

Related Roundup: iOS 12
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Amazon Reveals New Alexa-Compatible Echo Speakers, Subwoofer, Amplifiers, Microwave, Wall Clock, and More

Amazon held a big hardware event today at The Seattle Spheres, located at Amazon’s headquarters campus in Washington state. The event was notable for Amazon, with senior vice president of Amazon Devices Dave Limp stating that it marked the largest number of devices and features that Amazon has ever debuted in one day.

The first product unveiling was a new and upgraded Echo Dot, which includes a brand new mic array for better performance. The company says the driver is much larger — increasing from 1.1″ to a 1.6″ driver — resulting in more powerful sound with lower distortion, enhanced bass reproduction, and increased overall max volume.

Echo Dot
Through all of the upgrades, Echo Dot’s footprint still hasn’t increased and the price will remain at $49.99, just like previous generations. The new Echo Dot ships in October, and pre-orders go up today.

There’s also a new mainline Echo device, the new Echo Plus. This generation has more powerful sound with stronger bass and clearer playback. There’s a new equalizer feature that lets you use your voice to adjust the bass and treble through Alexa, a built-in smart home hub so you can set up devices by stating “Alexa, discover my devices,” and an integrated temperature sensor so you can trigger routines based on how cool or hot the room is.

Image via The Verge
Echo Plus will cost $149.99 and is up for pre-order today before its October launch.

A new Echo Show has been completely redesigned with a larger screen, included smart home hub, and improved sound quality. There are dual, side-firing 2″ Neodymium drivers, a passive bass radiator and Dolby processing for stereo sound; a 10-inch HD display that’s twice the display area of the original Echo Show; and an 8-mic array. The new Echo Show will cost $229.99, and can be pre-ordered today to arrive next month.

Echo Show
Next, the company announced the Echo Input, which is the first Echo device without a speaker. Echo Input adds Alexa voice controls to another Bluetooth speaker via a 3.5mm audio cable or Bluetooth. The device has a four-microphone array, support Alexa commands, and is just 12.5mm tall. Echo Input will launch later this year for $34.99.

Echo Sub
Amazon also revealed the Echo Sub (via The Verge), which is aimed at adding deep bass to an existing Echo device ecosystem through stereo pairing. The 100W subwoofer can be paired with two compatible Echo devices (to get a 2.1 stereo system) and will be controlled via the Alexa mobile app or your voice. Echo Sub is up for pre-order today and will ship later this month for $129.99.

To add even more controls to an Amazon ecosystem, the Echo Link is designed to connect to a receiver or amplifier and includes multiple digital and analog inputs and outputs. This ensures compatibility with existing stereo equipment, allowing you to control music selection, volume, and multi-room playback on your stereo with your Echo or the Alexa app. Echo Link costs $199.99 and will launch later in the year.

Echo Link
Amazon debuted another stereo amplifier called the Echo Link Amp, and this one has a built-in 60W 2-channel amplifier, multiple digital and analog inputs and outputs for connectivity with existing equipment, and the expected music playback controls. The Echo Link Amp will cost $299.99 and also launches later this year. It’s important to note that neither the Echo Link or Echo Link Amp include onboard microphones for Alexa controls, since they’re designed to connect to other Echo speakers for that functionality.

Amazon Smart Plug
The company revealed its first foray into the smart plug category with the Amazon Smart Plug, which is the first device to ship with Amazon’s new Wi-Fi Simple Setup feature that was also announced today. Like existing smart plugs, you can use the Amazon Smart Plug to turn older devices (with basic on/off settings) into smart home gadgets that can be controlled from your smartphone or through a smart assistant. Amazon’s option will be $24.99 and is up for pre-order today ahead of an October launch.

AmazonBasics Microwave
Expanding further into smart home appliances, Amazon revealed the AmazonBasics Microwave, which includes dozens of quick-cook voice presets so that you can cook food by talking to Alexa. There’s a built-in Ask Alexa button, so that you can press it and give a cooking command like “two minutes and 30 seconds on medium” to start the microwave. The AmazonBasics Microwave will cost $59.99 and launch later in the year.

Echo Wall Clock
Amazon has also now placed Alexa in a wall clock with the Echo Wall Clock, which performs all of the expected Alexa and Echo tasks, while also telling the time. The Echo Wall Clock costs $29.99 and will ship later this year.

For the vehicle market, Amazon revealed the Echo Auto, a small device that has an eight-microphone array that can pick up Alexa commands through noisy car environments. Echo Auto isn’t a full infotainment system in itself, but instead acts as a sort of dongle that you can plug into an existing system to gain Alexa skills in your car.

Image via TechCrunch
Amazon announced as many as 70 total devices, updates, and features today, so we’ve quickly rounded up some of these below:

• New Ring Stick Up Cam with wired and battery options coming later in 2018 for $179.99
• Alexa is becoming more opinionated and personal, with improved short term memory
• Routines for Kids: Alexa Routines that let parents easily build Routines for their family, like “Alexa, good night” so Alexa will turn off lights, start sleep sounds, etc.
• Alexa Multi-Room Music will let you sync your Amazon Music across speakers from multiple device makers
• New Alexa music controls: now you can say “Alexa, I want to follow Imagine Dragons” and the assistant will alert you when they have a new album
• Local voice control for smart home devices: cloud-based NLU and ASR are now local to the Echo Plus, so you can still control your smart home devices when the internet is down
• Wi-Fi Simple Setup for super simple Wi-Fi setup on new devices
• Broadcasting capabilities on Echo, Fire TV, and Alexa app later this year
• Alexa now has “hunches,” so if you say “Alexa, good night” but your front door is still unlocked, Alexa will warn you
• New v4 smart home API and Alexa Connect Kit entering public preview today, lets developers make any device work with Alexa
• Alexa Guard helps you protect your home when you’re away, with smart alerts, audio clips, and more, using Echo devices to listen and watch your house
• Away Lighting to intelligently turn smart lights on and off in natural patterns when you’re away
• Doorbell support and doorbell chime announcements coming to Echo Show and Echo Spot
• Alexa can give step-by-step cooking instructions
• Fire TV Recast: new companion DVR to watch and record free OTA programming to any Fire TV or Echo Show

If you’re interested, all of the products up for pre-order today should begin appearing on Amazon’s Echo and Alexa page soon.

Tags: Amazon, Amazon Echo
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Review: Rain Design’s mBar Pro is a Portable Aluminum Stand for Your MacBook

Rain Design, a maker of accessories for Apple products, released three laptop stands made of anodized aluminum to match Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro models earlier this year: the mBar, mBar Pro, and mBar Pro+. The mBar is a minimalist MacBook stand with fixed arms that’s not meant to be portable, and the mBar Pro and Pro+ have folding arms for easy portability.

A laptop stand can be a critical accessory for a home or office workstation to elevate your laptop to a more comfortable and ergonomic position for extended use. But a portable laptop stand is more of an option than a necessity, and size and weight are crucial factors in determining if it’s worthy of adding to your bag.

I received the mBar Pro to review and tested it with a 15-inch MacBook Pro. I’ve personally owned several Rain Design stands, including the iLap, mStand, and iLevel (which is a permanent fixture at my treadmill desk at home).

Design and Materials

All three mBar models are made of anodized aluminum and come in silver or space gray. All have rubber strips on all contact points to protect your laptop, as well as rubber feet for stability.

The mBar Pro folds up into a rectangle with two nubs that stick out on one side. It measures 9.6 inches (243 mm) wide, 3.6 inches (91mm) tall, and 1/2 inch (12.4 mm) thick when folded. The nubs are on the extendable legs and prevent your laptop from sliding off. It folds up tightly though it takes a little trial and error to figure out which leg flips out which way to set it up.

When the legs are extended, it measures 9.6 inches from front to back and it and raises the rear of a MacBook Pro by 3 inches. It feels solid yet light, weighing in at 4.6 ounces (130 grams). I found that my MacBook Pro felt stable and didn’t wobble at all while on it.

Overall, the mBar Pro feels solid and well-designed. It’s definitely an attractive accessory that complements Apple’s laptop line.

Usage

It’s compact when folded and is light enough to not be noticeable as extra weight in my laptop bag. While retail units come with a protective carrying sleeve, the review unit I received did not include one, and this was the source of my initial misgivings about adding the mBar Pro to my laptop bag. It doesn’t have any sharp edges, but I feel like it could mark my laptop if placed next to it in the laptop bag I use the most. In the weeks that I’ve been using the mBar Pro, this was the biggest reason that I skipped adding it to my laptop bag, or removed it. With the included carrying case—or if you use a protective sleeve with your laptop—this won’t be an issue for you, of course.

I used the mBar while working at coffee shop tables and standing at kitchen counters. General ergonomic principles for laptop use dictate that you should keep your wrists in as neutral a position as possible. Depending on your height or chair position, the height of the table or counter, the mBar may or may not help with that. When standing at a counter, I tend to rest my wrists right on my laptop below the keyboard and have to focus on keeping them neutral while using the mBar Pro.

When sitting at a table, the mBar Pro raises my MacBook Pro to a level that allows me to keep my neck in a more neutral position. If you’ve heard about “text neck,” which is neck strain that results from looking down at a phone (or your favorite electronic device), the mBar Pro can definitely help avoid this, at least while you’re using your laptop. As an avid iPhone user, I definitely want to avoid neck strain as much as possible and I’m all for a product that helps me with that.

The height of the mBar Pro isn’t adjustable, so if that’s a feature you need, you’ll need to look elsewhere (or use magazines, books, or other impromptu items on hand to add some height).

An added benefit of the mBar Pro’s minimalist design allows for excellent air flow around your laptop. If you’re doing processor-intensive work, it can help keep your MacBook Pro a little cooler since heat can dissipate more quickly.

Bottom Line

The mBar Pro is a lightweight, attractive, and functional portable laptop stand that aesthetically matches Apple’s MacBook line. It can help relieve neck strain, though without any height adjustments, its ability to help will vary based on the furniture you use and your own habits.

However, it’s not cheap at just under $55. At this price point, I can’t recommend it as a must-buy but if you have the cash and need a light, easy solution to elevate your MacBook Pro, it’s one of the nicest portable stands I’ve seen.

How to Buy

The mBar Pro can be purchased directly from Rain Design or from Amazon.

Note: Rain Design provided MacRumors with an mBar Pro for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.

Tag: Rain Design
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First iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4 Models Begin Arriving to Customers in New Zealand

Apple customers in Australia and New Zealand are always the first to get their hands on new devices on launch day because of time zone differences, and the iPhone XS, XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 are no exception.

It’s just after 8:00 a.m. in New Zealand, and customers who pre-ordered one of Apple’s new devices are beginning to receive their shipments and have started sharing the first customer photos of the new device on Twitter, Instagram, reddit, and the MacRumors forums.

Right! Not even 8am!! Let’s play. #iPhoneXSMax @9to5mac @MacRumors #NewZealandgetsitfirst pic.twitter.com/5vSIjOnt2p

— Dan (@danbakes) September 20, 2018

There are no Apple Stores in New Zealand, so customers in Australia will be the first to be able to purchase devices from an Apple retail location. Available stock in Australia should give us an idea of what we can expect in other retail stores as it rolls around to September 21 across the globe.

@tim_cook good morning from New Zealand, and happy iPhone day pic.twitter.com/Fv8Ci30eVp

— Richard Everson (@EversonRick87) September 20, 2018

Following New Zealand and Australia, iPhone XS, XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 sales will kick off in Asia, Europe, and finally, North America. Apple Stores globally are opening up at 8:00 a.m. local time to allow customers to pick up reserved devices and make walk-in purchases.

Image via Dan
Apple is likely to have stock available for walk-in customers at most of its retail locations around the world, but supplies of some devices, like the Apple Watch Series 4, could be limited. As always, customers hoping for a new device on launch day should try to get to the Apple Store early.

Other retailers, including carriers and big box stores, are stocking the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 and could also have some supply available for launch day purchase.

In the United States, the first new device deliveries will take place on the east coast starting at 8:00 a.m.

Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors both tomorrow and throughout next week, because we’ll have plenty of iPhone XS, XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 coverage to share.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5, iPhone XSBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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Thousands of Customers Waiting in Line at Apple Retail Stores for iPhone XS, XS Max and Apple Watch Series 4 as Global Launch Continues

iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 have started rolling out in Australia and New Zealand where it is after 8:00 a.m. on Friday, September 21, and in other countries, as the launch date approaches, customers are queueing up with the hopes of purchasing one of Apple’s new devices.

At the Orchard Road store in Singapore, where the new smartphones and watches will be available in a few hours, hundreds of people are waiting and have been camped out since much earlier in the day.

Image via Channel News Asia
It’s hot in Singapore, so potential customers have been provided with numbered wristbands to mark their place in line and are allowed to leave for up to one hour for meal breaks.

There’s a similar scene at Apple’s Berlin store, where customers have been lining up overnight. Berlin customers still have several hours to wait before the new devices are available in the country.

Berlin Apple Store line for tomorrow release pic.twitter.com/BxJavgxCgT

— Fernando Montoya (@montogeek) September 20, 2018

Customers in Austria are also lining up to get an iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max, but with hours to go, the line is still small.

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The line started… The queue is small but it will grow! People wait outside the Apple Store for the the new iPhone (2018 colorized) #iphonex #iphone10 #iphonexs #iphone10s #iphonexsmax #iphone10smax #iphonexr #iphone10r #iphone #applestore #vienna #vienna_city #vienna_austria #viennaaustria #wien

A post shared by Sotiris Stilianos (@sotstil99) on Sep 20, 2018 at 9:56am PDT

Most U.S. stores don’t appear to have significant lines, but people will likely start lining up late at night as the launch date approaches.

Apple’s iPhone XS and XS Max were not particularly constrained when pre-orders launched, but some iPhone XS Max models began selling out for launch day shipments within about a half hour of when pre-orders went live. Apple Watch Series 4 models were harder to come by and sold out quickly.

Orders placed for iPhone XS, XS Max, and Apple Watch orders from Apple today will not ship out until October, which is likely why many customers are trying their luck waiting in line for a walk-in purchase.

Customers in the United States who did not pre-order and who are hoping for a launch day device should get to an Apple retail store or carrier store as early as possible.

Are you planning to wait in line for an Apple device this year? Let us know in the comments.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5, iPhone XSBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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Wormlike motion sculptures show how athletes move in 3D

Dynamic 3D-printed “motion sculptures” created by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) offer athletes a unique way to visualize their bodies in motion. The system they’ve developed uses an algorithm that scans 2D videos of a person in motion, identifies key points on their body (for example, hip, knees, and ankles), and generates data points that reflect their movement through space. The data can then be printed into sculptures that intriguingly blend space and time into wormlike structures.

The system, which they’ve dubbed MoSculp, could be used to provide athletes with an all-angle view of their athletic movements, from swinging a tennis racket to throwing a football or shooting a jump shot. By viewing their movement from different viewpoints, the athletes could get a perspective that wouldn’t otherwise be accessible in normal video.

Take, for example, the Golden State Warriors’ three-point shooter extraordinaire, Stephen Curry. It’s hard to imagine that Curry could improve his jump shot. But perhaps with a 360-degree point of view, he and his coaches could identify an area for improvement.

“Motion sculptures are 3D structures, so Curry could explore his move from any angle he likes, even if there wasn’t a camera from that angle when he performed that move,” Xiuming Zhang, a doctoral student at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory who worked on the project, told Digital Trends. “Another nice feature of motion sculptures is that they capture the interaction between space and time. For example, Curry is able to read out, from motion sculptures, that his left arm penetrates a plane formed by his right arm moments ago. So there’s a space-time interaction here, which is really hard to make sense of even by repeatedly playing the original video.”

Zhang added that Curry could create a motion sculpture of him performing a slam-dunk, plus one of another ball player such as Kobe Bryant, then compare the two motions in 3D. “This sculpture comparison may reveal differences in their 3D arm motion, which are indistinguishable from 2D videos,” he said. “On a related note, in sports, motion sculpture could potentially function as a form of souvenir. For instance, a decisive shot in the World Cup final could be 3D printed and sold as a souvenir in the arena right after the game.”

In the future, Zhang said he and his team expand their system to highlight interactions between people, such as body language changes, that could be analyzed by social scientists. The researchers will present their project next months at a conference in Berlin.

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Harvard’s soft robotic exosuit adapts itself to the needs of every wearer

Over the past several years, we’ve seen robot exosuits move from the stuff of sci-fi firmly into the realm of science fact. Alongside this, our vision of what such exosuits may look like has shifted from the bulky “Power Loader” of James Cameron’s Aliens to softer, more personal wearables, which provide the same promise of assistive technology, but in a more practical, slimline form factor.

That’s where a new multi-joint, textile-based soft robotic exosuit created by researchers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute comes into play. With the future goal of serving soldiers, firefighters, and other rescue workers, it promises to augment wearers’ physical abilities — while personalizing itself according to the unique needs of each user.

“The control tuning method [presented in our latest research] automatically customizes the timing of exosuit assistance to maximize the mechanical power delivered to the user’s ankle joints,” Sangjun Lee, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “To be specific, as the delivered power is determined by how the human and the exosuit interact with each other, it is dependent not only on exosuit force, but also on wearer-specific joint motions. This method aims at automatically tuning the timing of exosuit force to make it more in sync with individual walking patterns, by online monitoring and maximizing the interaction power.”

Wyss Institute at Harvard University

The exosuit, which was funded by U.S. defense group DARPA, was recently put through its paces by soldiers. They tested it out on a 12-mile cross-country course, and found that it significantly reduced the metabolic cost of walking.

“Being a DARPA-funded project, military applications were the initial focus, but this is really useful work for anybody who could use some help walking,” Dave Perry, an engineer working on the project, told us. “First responders can use a similar system to help carry their gear up apartment stairs or out into the woods to fight a fire. We’ve partnered with a robotics company called ReWalk, and they’re currently bringing a medical focused device through clinical trials that leverage much of the technology we developed. We’d be excited to work with folks interested in some of the military and commercial applications as well.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation.

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Joby’s tiny tripods double as selfie sticks and hide four different modes

The company behind the GorillaPod may have just created another tiny tripod that’s just as versatile. On Thursday, September 20, Joby launched the TelePod line, a set of four-in-one tripods that are about as compact as a table tripod but telescope out for a greater height range. The line includes the Joby TelePod Mobile, TelePod 325, and TelePod PRO Kit along with the previously introduced GripTight Pro TelePod.

All the tripods in the series have four different modes. Closed, the tripod doubles as a hand grip; extend the tripod while still closed and you’re now holding an extended grip (which is just a fancier way of saying selfie stick). The tripods can also be used as a tabletop tripod, or can telescope to an elevated tripod.

While the small tripods don’t reach the height of many full-size tripods, the telescoping design makes them taller than a tabletop tripod. The TelePod PRO Kit, for example, reaches up to 27.5 inches. That’s not tall enough for a standing tripod but it is tall enough to sit or kneel rather than laying on the ground with a tabletop option.

The series includes variations to accommodate different gear, including smartphones, action cameras, 360 cameras, compact cameras, lightweight mirrorless cameras, and flashes or video lights. While there are variations within the series, all of the tripods are built with anodized aluminum, stainless steel, glass-filled composite, and ABS plastic materials.

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TelePod Mobile Joby

TelePod 325 Joby

TelePod 325 Joby

TelePod Pro Kit Joby

The TelePod Mobile is designed to accommodate smartphones using Joby’s GripTight One spring mount and uses a ball head to allow users to shoot from different angles. The GripTight Pro TelePod, which launched earlier this year, is also designed for smartphones as well as compact cameras, and includes a cold shoe mount and pin joint mount that allows for more set-ups compared to the TelePod Mobile.

The TelePod Pro Kit is designed for photographers with lightweight gear, with a 360-degree ball head with a 90-degree tilt range. The compact tripod can accommodate gear up to 2.2 pounds — that’s not going to tote around a DSLR or a full frame mirrorless with a high-end lens, but it’s enough to handle a smaller mirrorless with a lightweight lens, along with compact cameras, action cameras, and 360 cameras. The TelePod 325 is similar to the Pro Kit, but is a more compact, entry-level option that can only accommodate about 11 ounces of gear.

All of the tripods keep the legs at the base and use a long telescoping center column. Longer center columns tend to create less stable tripods, but for small gear, the design creates a tripod that’s much easier to carry around. That design will likely work well for minimizing the visible gear underneath a 360 camera.

The smaller design may not work for heavy gear or shooting from a standing height, but the compact size and versatility may prove helpful for travel photography, vlogging, and smartphone photography. The complete line will be available in October, with pricing between $40 and $100.

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Chromebook keyboard showcase may have leaked Pixelbook 2 images

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More images of what may well be a second-generation Pixelbook tablet have appeared on the site of an aftermarket keyboard manufacturer. Although that page has now been taken down, the two keyboards it showed are said to be made for use in premium Chromebooks, of which there are precious few. Although it’s possible that the images first found by About Chromebooks show generic Chromebook designs to display what the keyboards might look like when released, there are some noteworthy clues that suggest we could be looking at a Pixelbook 2 with an aftermarket keyboard.

Google’s Pixelbook was quite an anomaly in the Chromebook space when it was first released, as it was the only premium offering and certainly the most expensive. Today, there are a number of premium Chromebook alternatives, with more on the horizon, but hints and rumors of a new Pixelbook have been doing the rounds for a while now, with many expecting it to make its appearance at Google’s upcoming October 4 #madebyGoogle event.

The Wallaby keyboard from Brydge has been known about for a while, according to 9to5Google — even if there have been some name changes along the way. However, it’s one thing spotting mentions in the Chromium repository and another entirely to see pictures of it, especially when some images show it connected to a possible Pixelbook 2 tablet.

The tablet screen in question does have rather thick bezels, which would be a surprise to see on a new Pixelbook, especially when other leaks suggest the Pixelbook 2’s bezels will be almost nonexistent. However, this image does have a bezel-mounted fingerprint sensor, which we are expecting the Pixelbook 2 to have. Wallaby also features a Launcher key with the same icon and placement as the original Pixelbook.

Perhaps what we’re looking at here is the rumored Nocturne detachable version of the Pixelbook 2, while the mainline Atlas design is the more typical 360-hinge laptop with more of the enhancements we’re expecting.

Also of note in this latest leak is that the second keyboard, the Goanna, is said to be designed as a “desktop keyboard for Chrome OS.” While that could just mean it’s more of a fully featured keyboard than the Wallaby counterpart, it could suggest that Google is planning a Chrome OS desktop reveal too.

All of this is speculation for now, and we’ll need to wait until October 4 to find out what Google has really been working on.

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