Charge your phone easily with iOttie’s new iON Wireless Fast Charging Stand

No wires, no problem.

iOttie just released its new iON Wireless Fast Charging Stand. It is currently available from Amazon for $44.95, but as of press time, the stock is dwindling. You may still be able to purchase it by the time you read this, though, so definitely check it out if you’re interested.

This device, unlike some charging pads and stands, looks as good as it performs. The base is built to stay balanced and features anti-slip material for extra stability. There are three fabric colors, available in Ash, Ivory, and Ruby, which are similar to the iOttie iON Wireless Mini Chargers. Currently only the Ash color is listed on Amazon but more should be available soon. The charging stand has two Qi coils so you can charge your phone in both portrait and landscape mode, which is a very nice touch.

These would make a great gift for any tech junkie, or, you know, live your best life and Treat Yo Self. Having a wireless charging stand near your workspace or on your nightstand is a huge game-changer, and once you start using one, you won’t ever go back. This will work with all Qi-enabled devices, but just in case you’re unsure, these Android phones support wireless charging.

See at Amazon

The new Mohu Striker HDTV antenna has a 75-mile range

Catch all the signals.

Mohu has released a new HDTV antenna called the Mohu Striker, and it’s one of the largest antennas around. The Striker has a 75 mile radius and is designed to be used outdoors. The size, the included mounting kit, and the 30-foot coaxial cable, means you’ll have a lot of options on where you want to place it. The way it screws to the side of wherever you live will make it seem like just another part of the home.

Like other modern HDTV antennas, it is multi-directional and doesn’t require you to point it in any particular direction. However, if you don’t live in a very urban area you might want to check out this site to make sure it’s worth the investment. The 75 mile range is pretty extreme, so chances are even if it’s not perfect you will still get at least a few channels from local towers. Ideally, you’ll be able to pick up free HD versions of all the major networks, including ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, The CW, and more.

Mohu is no stranger to the world of HDTV antennas, either. The Mohu Leaf 50 used to be one of CordCutter’s top picks for best over-the-air antennas, and right now the Mohu Blade gets the nod for most stylish.

You could also pair an antenna like this with something like the HDHomeRun Connect tuner. You’re just forgetting all about cable subscriptions with a setup like this, since the HDHomeRun Connect devices let you take all the channels your antenna is picking up and broadcast them to your favorite mobile devices.

The Striker is currently going for $129.99 on Mohu’s website, and it will be available on Amazon soon enough as well. There isn’t a lot of competition in the 75-mile antenna range, but if you’re working on a budget the ClearStream 2MAX has a 60-mile range and is only $50. And if budget is a bigger issue than range, try the AmazonBasics 50-mile antenna for just $28.

See at Mohu

YouTube for Android’s dark mode is FINALLY here

Rejoice, my friends; now we can binge YouTube all night without getting blinded by the bland white interface!

YouTube brought a dark theme to its desktop website last year and back at the beginning of the year, the same glorious dark theme was announced for its iOS and Android apps. Apple users got that dark theme just a few brief weeks after the announcement, but Android users were left waiting, and waiting, and waiting for theirs.

Our wait is finally over!

The feature has been in testing for the last few weeks, but is finally rolling out to users right now! It didn’t come with an app update for me; I just rebooted my phone, re-opened the YouTube app, and the setting was finally there. Here’s where you can turn on YouTube’s dark theme.

Open YouTube.
Tap your avatar in the top-right corner.

Tap Settings.

Tap General.

Tap Dark theme to enable it. It’ll be near the top of the list, right above Limit mobile data usage.

This has been a long time coming, and I intend to take full advantage of it tonight with an late-night binge in bed. How will you celebrate YouTube for Android FINALLY getting a dark theme?

Updated September 5th: YouTube for Android’s dark theme has gone from a limited test to a full roll-out!

Watch the house while you’re away with the $37 wireless YI Cloud Home cam

Improve your home security.

The YI Cloud Home Camera is currently on sale at Amazon for just $36.99 when you enter promo code TU7S58Y9 during checkout. Today’s sale marks an all-time low price for it and saves you $12 off what it sells for on average.

This 1080P HD wireless IP security camera is capable of capturing panoramic video and can also live stream footage directly to your phone. It offers complete 360-degree coverage along with enhanced night vision and 10 infrared LEDs. With the Yi Home App for your iOS or Android device, you’ll be able to access your camera at any time from anywhere in the world. You’ll even receive real-time activity alerts when motion is detected along with tracking videos centering on the moving object.

Using a micro SD card, you can save footage and keep it safe or connect with Yi Cloud for a monthly fee. The camera also includes a built-in microphone and speaker allowing for two-way conversations. That’d be perfect for yelling at your dog to get out of the trash while you’re away.

See on Amazon

Upcoming 6.5-Inch iPhone Could Be Called ‘iPhone Xs Max’

Apple’s upcoming 6.5-inch iPhone could be called the “iPhone Xs Max” according to information shared by both BGR and 9to5Mac citing sources with knowledge of Apple’s marketing plans.

Naming for Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup has been unclear and Apple is said to have struggled to decide on a new naming scheme to follow the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus.

Last week, leaked information suggested Apple has settled on “iPhone Xs” as the name for the 5.8 and 6.5-inch OLED devices that are in the works. At the time, it was believed both could use the same “iPhone Xs” name like the iPad Pro, but now it looks like the larger model could continue to feature a unique name.

Apple is not planning to use the same “Plus” labeling that it has used since the iPhone 6 Plus was introduced, and “Max” could potentially be the replacement. “iPhone Xs Plus” is a mouthful and difficult to say, but “iPhone Xs Max” is easier to pronounce.

The 6.5-inch iPhone Xs Max will be sold alongside the 5.8-inch iPhone Xs and the 6.1-inch iPhone, which we don’t yet know the name of.

In other related news, German site Macerkopf has shared details on potential European pricing for the 2018 lineup. Citing a pair of unnamed sources, the site says that the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone could cost 799 euros, the 5.8-inch iPhone Xs could cost 909 euros, and the iPhone Xs Max could cost 1149 euros.

These are the same prices Apple currently charges for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, and would translate to pricing of $699, $799, and $999 in the United States.

That’s mostly in line with rumors we’ve heard about U.S. pricing, which have pegged the cost at $600 to $700 for the 6.1-inch iPhone, $800 to $900 for the iPhone Xs, and $900 to $1,000 for the iPhone Xs Max.

With Apple’s event set to take place in one week on Wednesday, September 12, we don’t have long to wait to find out Apple’s exact naming and pricing plans for the three devices.

The new iPhones will be unveiled at an event set to take place at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus. Apple plans to live stream the event, and MacRumors will also feature live coverage both on MacRumors.com and on the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Related Roundup: iPhone Xs
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Apple Updates Events App on Apple TV Ahead of Wednesday’s Product Unveiling

Apple today updated the Events app on the Apple TV to prepare for next Wednesday’s “Gather Round” iPhone-centric event, which will see the debut of the 2018 iPhone lineup, new Apple Watch models, and new accessories.

The Events app, along with the Events section of Apple’s website, will be used to live stream the product unveiling. Apple’s Gather Round event will kick off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus.

To see the updated Events app on the Apple TV, it needs to be updated through the Apple TV App Store.

Apple is set to introduce the new 2018 iPhones, which will include the 5.8-inch OLED iPhone Xs, the 6.5-inch OLED iPhone Xs Max, and the lower-cost 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, which we don’t yet know the name of. All three iPhones are expected to adopt edge-to-edge designs with a TrueDepth Camera System that will replace the Touch ID Home button.

We’re also expecting to see new Apple Watch Series 4 models with smaller bezels for more screen real estate, refreshed AirPods with “Hey Siri” support, new Apple Watch bands, and perhaps the long-awaited debut of the AirPower, which is able to charge the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at once.

For those who are unable to watch Apple’s live stream, MacRumors will have live coverage of the event on MacRumors.com and on our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Related Roundup: iPhone Xs
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42mm Apple Watch Series 4 to Feature Resolution of 384×480

Apple’s upcoming Apple Watch Series 4 models will feature larger displays thanks to reduced bezel size, and information 9to5Mac discovered in the most recent watchOS 5 beta suggests the 42mm Apple Watch will likely have a screen resolution of 384×480.

The current 42mm Apple Watch Series 3 model, for comparison, has a resolution of 312×390.

With the higher resolution (and increased PPI), Apple Watch Series 4 apps will be able to display more information at a higher resolution on the display, as shown in the example image below that were taken from a modified Apple Watch Simulator using a guesstimated PPI of 345.

As was seen in leaked marketing materials last week, the upcoming Apple Watch Series 4 models will feature at least one new watch face capable of displaying up to nine complications at one time.

Additional new watch faces could be included, and information taken from the beta suggests there will be new types of complications for Apple Watch apps to use.

Given the increase in resolution, third-party app developers will need to tweak their apps to work with the new Apple Watch Series 4 screen sizes.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4, watchOS 5Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
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Apple Video Execs to Scope Out Movies at the Toronto International Film Festival

Apple executives in charge of the company’s video efforts will be attending the Toronto International Film Festival this week to scope out potential movie acquisitions, reports Variety.

The site says that at least one of the top programming executives, which includes Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, will be at the festival to look for new content that could fill out an upcoming entertainment service.

The Toronto International Film Festival is set to kick off on Thursday, September 6, and it will run through Sunday, September 16. This will mark the first time that Apple executives have attended the film festival, and the company will be competing with at least one other TV giant — Amazon. Amazon executives are also going to be attending the festival to look for new movies to pick up.

342 films are set to be shown off at the Toronto International Film Festival, with a list of content available on the website for the festival.

While Apple has more than a dozen original television shows that are in the works, it has thus far established few deals for movies.

In fact, we only know about one potential movie deal with Cartoon Saloon, a company that develops animated movies like “The Secret of Kells,” “The Song of the Sea,” and “The Breadwinner.”

Rumors have suggested that Apple is planning to launch some kind of streaming television service in the future where all of the television shows are in the works will be available, and if Apple is aiming to compete with Netflix and Amazon, exclusive movie offerings will help to fill out its content catalogue.

There has, however, been no concrete information outlining exactly how Apple is going to distribute its original content, nor details on what a potential streaming service could cost if it is in the works, but we may learn more next year as the first of the TV shows is rumored to be debuting in March 2019.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 12Tag: Apple’s Hollywood ambitionsBuyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)
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With net neutrality gone, carriers throttle YouTube, Netflix, other streamers

Following the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s decision to reverse its position on net neutrality under the administration of President Donald J. Trump, researchers are stepping in to monitor how web traffic is affected — and the results are not surprising. New research from Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst confirmed that video streamers may be the first to experience the effects of a mobile internet without net neutrality.

Researchers from the universities partnered with Wehe developer David Choffnes for the study. Wehe is an internet traffic-monitoring app. The published report reveals that YouTube is the largest target of throttling, but video streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and the NBC Sports app experienced similar speed degradation.

What Wehe detected was not simply throttling across the board — a practice that carriers have argued for years is needed to manage traffic on their networks by preventing abuse from heavy data users. Instead, Wehe detected that certain apps or services were more frequently throttled than others, a practice known as differentiation. Differentiation was detected 11,100 times on Verizon’s network, 8,938 times on AT&T’s network, 3,900 times on T-Mobile’s network, and 339 times on Sprint’s network, according to Bloomberg.

Differentiation can be measured by comparing the speeds of video streaming services against that achieved by other apps on the same carrier network. In one example, Wehe detected that Netflix streaming speeds were just 1.77Mbps, but other traffic clocked in speeds almost four times as high on T-Mobile. In contrast, net neutrality laws would have required carriers to treat all types of traffic equally.

To prevent differentiation — or deprioritization of video streaming speeds — carriers typically upsell consumers on more expensive plans. Typically, most unlimited plans sold today advertise DVD-quality streaming quality, but if consumers want high-definition videos, they’ll have to pay upgrade fees for a data plan that supports HD video streaming.

Throttling could have significant implications when mobile networks are used for public safety. The most recent high-profile case against throttling comes from the Santa Clara County Fire Department in California, which relied on Verizon’s mobile hot spot to operate a remote command center to fight wildfires. The fire department alleged that Verizon throttled its mobile command center — despite selling the fire department on an unlimited plan — which adversely impacted efforts to coordinate with firefighters and deliver safety messages to local residents. Fire chief Anthony Bowden said it was the third time since December 2017 that his department has been throttled, and Verizon cited an operations error that prevented data caps on these unlimited plans from being lifted, noting that it has since implemented corrective action.

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Second-gen Razer Phone is in the works, company confirms

Apparently, the Razer Phone was popular enough for Razer to want to release a second one. The company has officially confirmed the existence of a follow-up to its 2017 original — though actual details about the new model have yet to be released.

Razer first confirmed that it was working on a second-generation Razer Phone in an earnings call. The news was first picked up by Android Authority.

“Razer is now focusing its resources into the development of the second-generation Razer Phone and accompanying software releases which will extend its software and services from PC into the mobile market,” the company said in the call.

The company may not have revealed anything else about the upcoming phone, but we can still speculate. Depending on when the new device is released, we can expect that it will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor, along with at least 8GB of RAM, a high-resolution display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and more. It may feature a slightly more modern design too. The last Razer Phone was specifically focused on gaming — and it’s likely the next one will be too.

It’s also possible that the second-generation Razer Phone will place a heavier emphasis on computing. Earlier this year, Razer teased Project Linda, a way to use your smartphone as the brains for a laptop. In Project Linda, the phone also acts as a trackpad — and we found that it was a pretty sleek implementation. Project Linda is just a concept for now — but it’s possible Razer is working on refining that concept and will release it to the public along with the new Razer Phone.

So when should we expect the new Razer Phone? Well, we’re not sure — but the first one was released in November 2017, so it’s possible and even likely that the second one could be released around a year later. IFA 2018 has come and gone, so Razer may hold its own event for the release of the new device.

We’ll have to wait and see what the Razer Phone 2 ends up looking like, but we’ll update this article as we learn more, so stay tuned.

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