F1 2018 is a fast and furious update fans of the franchise will love

Formula 1 makes its return with Halos firmly in tow and a superb single-player experience.

F1 2017 was a leap forward for Codemasters’ officially-licensed franchise, and as the yearly update cycle has come around again, there’s now an official esports series to go with it. Top teams are recruiting top drivers, and the connection between real life and the game world is closer than ever before.

F1 2018 is less of a jump forward than its predecessor, but it keeps the wagon rolling in the right direction, offering a great experience for fans of the sport.

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What you’ll like about F1 2018

Everything good about F1 2017 has been repeated in F1 2018. And that starts with the visuals. At times you have to remind yourself you are actually playing a game and not watching the real thing on TV. The licensing helps, of course, and you find all 2018 cars faithfully recreated along with digital versions of their respective drivers. Digital Kimi Raikkonen is every bit as steely as the real deal.

The game plays as good as it looks, too, at least on Xbox (the platform we tested the game on). And it has HDR support and a super-steady frame rate. Cars feel precise, and changes you make to tires and setup are always noticeable.

This also applies to the depth of the career mode. Race weekends are structured in line with the real thing, and practice sessions have particular importance to the progress of the car. Throughout the three sessions, you’re presented with challenges to collect “data” on both the car and your driving to compile setup, fuel, and tire strategies.

All this is alongside the returning R&D department, and as you progress you’ll be able to unlock new parts for your car to go even faster. Folks who want to jump in and drive can choose from a number of preset setups, but expert racers will be happy with the manual control you’re given over the various parts of the car.

This applies to during the race, too. The HUD has a number of useful features, allowing you to change strategy on the fly, adjust your hybrid power and much more.

What would an F1 game be without wheel support? Codemasters has the full list, and it’s pretty long, covers every major wheel on the Xbox, and continues to add a whole new dimension to the game.

What you’ll dislike about F1 2018

All of the good in the previous game has made it into the new one, but so has some of the less welcome bits. The number one complaint I have is in-race penalties. They seem to be wildly inconsistent. One lap you could drive into the back of an opponent and see nothing, the next you could be spun around, causing an impact and receiving a time penalty for it. It’s a similar scenario with corner-cutting warnings. The whole thing just feels detached from the actual gameplay.

The other side to this sword is the driver AI when you’re playing single player. Codemasters has done a lot of great work, but the computer drivers tend to be over aggressive. Sometimes that’s good because it provides a challenge in overtaking them. But when you do overtake, or you try something a little out of the ordinary, their programming to follow the racing line floats above all else and you can easily find yourself smacked off the circuit and pointing the other way.

The multiplayer experience also needs work. The hope was that ranked lobbies would help relieve the crash fests of yesteryear by implementing a licensing system. The sad truth is that, ranked or unranked, multiplayer is frustrating at best. Racing multiplayer games are tough, after all, and a bad connection for one driver could ruin your race without you being able to stop it. But I get the feeling this isn’t the only issue. I don’t know what the solution is, but I really wish more players would take note of Wheaton’s Law.

Bottom line on F1 2018

F1 2018, just as with last year’s game, is a game worthy of your attention and something fans of the franchise will love. It’s stunning to look at, excellent fun to drive in, and the single-player mode has more than enough depth to keep keener players entertained.

Pros:

• Stunning graphics.
• Immersive career mode.
• Fast consistent frame rate.
• Plenty of control for keen racers.
• Stellar wheel support.

Cons:

• Penalties are inconsistent and sometimes ridiculous.
• Over-aggressive driver AI.
• Multiplayer is still frustrating.

4
out of 5

F1 2018 is available now for $60.

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Review conducted entirely on the Xbox One X using a copy provided by the publisher.

PlayStation 4

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This $10 under-desk headphone mount is a great addition to any workspace

Create a great place to stash your headphones.

The Anchor – Original Under-desk Headphone Mount by Elevation Labs is a great way to store your bulky headphones while keeping them within reach. At $12, it offers a pretty good value, but if you use the coupon code TIDYCANS you can knock an extra couple bucks off its price, making it just $9.56 via Amazon.

The Anchor uses an ultra-secure 3M adhesive to mount to the bottom of your desk and it can hold two sets of headphones on it.

With nearly 1,700 reviews it maintains a 4.5 out of 5-star rating, so you’ll want to pick up one of these before the discount disappears.

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The keyboard Moto Mod for the Moto Z is dead

Indiegogo backers can get refunds through September 30.

Back at CES 2018, we got a hands-on look at what could have been one of the most exciting Moto Mods of the year — the Livermorium slider keyboard. The purpose of this Moto Mod was to add a physical keyboard to any Moto Z smartphone, but as of September 13, the accessory is dead.

On the Indiegogo page for the Mod, Livermorium posted a final update announcing that the keyboard Mod has been canceled for three main reasons:

• Lack of businesses/retailers interested in selling it.
• Moto Z sales are low.
• The company “did not receive any external financial support from any entity.” In other words, they ran out of cash.

While a failed Indiegogo campaign isn’t anything new, it’s particularly damning considering that Livermorium’s keyboard Mod won Motorola’s “Transform the Smartphone Challenge” earlier this year.

Livermorium is offering refunds to backers through September 30 via PayPal, but if you feel like placing your trust in the company once more, it’s apparently now working on its own smartphone that’s referred to as the “Q-device.” It’s said to be a “High-end and Premium Landscape Slider Smartphone”, so there’s that if you’re interested.

Fingers-on with the new and weird Vital and Keyboard Moto Mods

Google Discontinuing ‘Inbox by Gmail’ in March 2019, Points Users Toward Gmail

Just over two months after Google updated the “Inbox by Gmail” app for iOS to support iPhone X, the company this week announced that it will discontinue the service at the end of March 2019.

Inbox by Gmail was an experimental email app, offering users features like snoozing emails to check later, Smart Reply, high-priority notifications, and more. The company says that in the four years of the app’s life it has “learned a lot about how to make email better,” adding some of the most popular Inbox features directly into its main Gmail client.

Because of this, and to maintain a “more focused approach,” Google will shutter Inbox by Gmail and focus entirely on Gmail.

Four years after launching Inbox in 2014, we’ve learned a lot about how to make email better—and we’ve taken popular Inbox experiences and added them into Gmail to help more than a billion people get more done with their emails everyday. As we look to the future, we want to take a more focused approach that will help us bring the best email experience to everyone. As a result, we’re planning to focus solely on Gmail and say goodbye to Inbox by Gmail at the end of March 2019.

In an effort to help users transition from Inbox to Gmail, the company has set up a new guide on its support website. Google says that the new Gmail, which launched in April, will be a nice home for former Inbox users since it incorporates many of the same features as Inbox, as well as some new ones.

Tags: Google, Inbox by Gmail, Gmail
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Tim Cook on iPhone Prices: ‘We Want to Serve Everyone’

At an event in Cupertino yesterday, Apple announced three new iPhone models: the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. Prices for the iPhones start at $749 for the iPhone XR in 64GB, and increase to as much as $1,449 for the iPhone XS Max in 512GB, which represents Apple’s most expensive iPhone to date.

Commenting on this price range in an interview with Nikkei today, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “We want to serve everyone.” Apple introduced the iPhone XR at a cheaper price point so that customers who wanted the advantages of the iPhone X line — Face ID, an edge-to-edge screen — could find them on a lower-cost iPhone.

“We want to serve everyone,” Cook said in an interview with Nikkei. “We understand that there is a wide range of what customers are looking for and a wide range of prices that people will pay.”

Likewise, the iPhone XS Max represents Apple’s biggest iPhone yet, and serves the customers who enjoyed the features of the 2017 iPhone X, but wished it came in a larger size.

“We always thought … that if you provide a lot of innovation and a lot of value, there is a segment of people who are willing to pay for it,” Cook said. “For us, it’s a large enough group of people that we can make a reasonable business out of it.”

Apple will also still sell the previous generation iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, at new lower prices. The iPhone 7 will now start at $449 in 32GB and increase to as much as $669 for the iPhone 7 Plus in 128GB. The iPhone 8 will start at $599 in 64GB and rise to $849 for the iPhone 8 Plus in 256GB.

Discussing the iPhone in general, Cook says that, “The role of the iPhone has become much larger in people’s lives,” and that will justify the price of the devices for many customers.

Those interested will be able to pre-order their iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max beginning tomorrow, September 14, and the smartphones will then launch on September 21 in over 30 countries and territories. The iPhone XR will go up for pre-order in about a month, on Friday, October 19, and then launch on October 26.

In addition to the iPhone, Apple yesterday also announced the Apple Watch Series 4 with a 30 percent larger display, thinner body, ECG reader, fall detection, and more. Similar to iPhone XS, Apple Watch Series 4 pre-orders will go up on September 14 and the smartwatch will launch on September 21.

Related Roundups: iPhone XR, iPhone XSTag: Tim Cook
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Apple Watch Series 4 Nike+ Models Have Slightly Later October 5 Launch Date

The Apple Watch Series 4 officially launches on Friday, September 21 in the first wave of countries, but like last year, customers interested in Nike+ models will have to wait a couple of weeks longer.

In fine print, Apple announced that new Series 4 models of Apple Watch Nike+ will be available in limited quantities starting Friday, October 5, although Apple Watch Nike+ pre-orders still start tomorrow, September 14, like regular Series 4 models.

The new Apple Watch Nike+ devices come with all the features new to the Series 4 models, including a larger screen, thinner body, a (currently U.S-only) ECG reader, fall detection, and more.

In addition, the Nike+ collection features redesigned Nike watch faces that match to the new band colors, including a Pure Platinum/Black Sport Band and a Summit White Sport Loop with reflective yarn.

Apple Watch Nike+ comes in four styles in both 40mm and 44mm sizes, with both cellular and Wi-Fi + GPS only models to choose from:

• Silver Aluminum Case with Pure Platinum/Black Nike Sport Band
• Space Grey Aluminum Case with Anthracite/Black Nike Sport Band
• Silver Aluminum Case with Summit White Nike Sport Loop
• Space Grey Aluminum Case with Black Nike Sport Loop

Apple Watch Nike+ models are priced between $399 and $499 in the United States. Additional Nike+ bands are $49 each.

Launch countries include Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macau, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UAE, the U.K., and the U.S.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4, watchOS 5Tag: Apple Watch Nike+ EditionBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
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Polar improves heart rate tracking with its new Vantage wearables

Polar Vantage M

While there is a variety of fitness wearables on the market these days, very few manufacturers provide as much precision as Polar — and its latest lineup of wearables is no different. Known as the Polar Vantage V and the Polar Vantage M, both devices provide a new optical heart rate sensor, additional tracking metrics, and more.

For the most part, the Vantage M and Vantage V are packed with the same features. Under the hood, you will find Polar Precision Prime — Polar’s new wrist-based heart rate technology. With three sensor types and new electrode sensors to measure skin contact, both wearables are expected to have higher accuracy and a quicker response time when it comes to measuring heart rate.

Both watches also offer continuous heart rate and activity tracking. That way, even on days you’re not training, the Vantage M and Vantage V provide you with daily calorie burn and insightful data in terms of your everyday activity.

Along with a heart rate sensor, both devices also include built-in GPS to track your runs, bike rides, walks, and more. But features like these tend to drain most wearables, the Vantage M and Vantage V are said to offer 30 hours and 40 hours of battery life, respectively.

• 1.
  Vantage V
• 2.
  Vantage V
• 3.
  Vantage M
• 4.
  Vantage M

Both also include Training Load Pro, a new ability injected into Polar’s Smart Coaching feature — which allows users to plan weekly goals and measure fitness levels. Not only does the new mode monitor training loads from each session, but it also helps athletes recognize whether they’re not training enough, training too much, or training the right amount.

In addition, Training Load Pro incorporates Cardio Load which measures how much stress is placed on the cardiovascular system. Used in conjunction with a power sensor, it tracks Muscle Load to inform you of how much your muscles were stressed during a training session.

To add to your training capabilities, both fitness wearables also include Polar Flow for Coach. This gives coaches the ability to sync training plans with an athlete’s flow account and the Vantage M or Vantage V. Athletes can then refer to their wearable for daily training and coaches can tweak workouts if needed.

But Smart Coaching doesn’t stop there. The wearables also offer two features for running — Running Index will score your performance and Running Program, which is Polar’s free, personalized training program, helps train you for events like marathons. With Polar Sleep Plus, you’ll also be able to track the quality of your sleep and tips on how to improve it.

Both watches also include the ability to customize more than 130 sports for athletes to improve their personal performance. With Swim Metrics, athletes can also track metrics like distance and stroke rate during outdoor or indoor swims.

But what is it that makes these two watches different from one another? While the Vantage M comes packed with a ton of fitness features (and a cheaper price tag), the Vantage V is a bit more feature-heavy — for those who consider themselves elite athletes.

Polar Vantage V

For starters, there is the Running Power feature which uses distance, speed, and cadence, to measure your running power in watts — straight from your wrist. By keeping track of your watts, you can decide whether or not you need to slow down in order to finish the race strong.

For example, let’s say your average for a 5k is about 40 minutes and the Vantage V measures your running power at 160 watts. If you start the 5k running your first mile at 200 watts, then you’re using too much of that power in the beginning and over-exerting yourself. But if you’re running at your normal 160 watts, then you’ll be able to end with a good time and won’t feel as much strain on your body.

Also exclusive to the Vantage V is Recovery Pro, which measures athletes’ daily and long-term recovery. Using it along with Training Load Pro will help to avoid injury while also attempting to improve overall performance. While both wearables look similar aesthetically, the Vantage V comes with an always-on touchscreen display.

The Vantage M will cost you $280. The Vantage V is a bit more pricey, coming in at $500 in either black, orange, and white, in sizes medium and large — small bands can be bought for about $10.  You can also opt for the heart rate bundle, which comes with the Vantage V and Polar H10 heart rate monitor for $50 more.

Both the Vantage M and Vantage V are available for pre-order through Polar’s website.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Take your workout up a notch with two new fitness watches from Polar
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Free EU roaming is safe, says UK government, even if no-deal Brexit goes ahead

The government minister in charge of overseeing the U.K. leaving the European Union has said that even in the event of a “no-deal” Brexit, the recently introduced free data roaming and reduced charging plans will stay in place. Dominic Raab, Brexit secretary, has said several carriers have already agreed not to re-introduce charges, and the government wants to force other operators to do the same.

Expensive roaming charges were scrapped in June last year, but at the time there was confusion over what would happen after Brexit, and concern that networks would back out of the scheme. Currently, all EU citizens — which includes people living in the U.K. — pay the same amount for calls and messages made abroad as they do at home. Additionally, all mobile plans in the U.K. include the ability to use included data and minutes throughout the European Union. These are EU laws, and therefore will not be part of U.K. law after March 29, 2019.

At first glance this is good news, however, it wouldn’t be Brexit if there wasn’t confusion. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today program, Raab said the government would, “legislate for a limit on roaming charges to make sure in a no-deal scenario we would protect British consumers.” While this is promising, the wording doesn’t clearly state there will be no change to the current structure, and could be taken to mean new U.K.-specific limits will be introduced.

The response from U.K. carriers is more encouraging. An EE spokesperson told Digital Trends:

“EE customers enjoy great value products and controls offering inclusive roaming in Europe and beyond, and we don’t have any plans to change these offers. We are working closely with government on this and hope they will put consumers at the top of their agenda in the Brexit negotiations to help ensure that UK operators can continue to offer low prices to our customers.”

According to the BBC, Vodafone and Three have agreed not to alter roaming prices, and Sky News adds O2 to the list. The Independent quotes O2 as saying it has no plans to change roaming charges, and is in discussion with the government regarding the situation, mirroring EE’s statement.

Raab’s comments come ahead of the U.K. government publishing 28 technical documents related to Brexit, and its impact on aspects of daily and business life, on September 13. These documents will include official statements on the continuation of EU roaming, and may provide more information than currently available.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Google’s $5.1 billion antitrust fine could mean the end of free Android
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• Only Google should be mad about having to change Android

How to measure calories or kilojoules burned in Google Fit

Don’t just workout for the sake of working out. Use Google Fit to track how much energy you’re burning!

Google Fit is a great app to use to keep track of everything fitness-related, from your workouts to your long-term fitness goals. A common goal is burning more calories or kilojoules, and Google Fit can help with these as well.

Here’s how to measures your calories or kilojoules burned in Google Fit!

Products Used In This Guide

• Any Android smartphone
• Google Play Store: Google Fit (Free)
• Amazon: TicWatch Pro ($250)

How to measure calories or kilojoules burned from your phone

Open the Google Fit app on your Android phone.
The calories burned will be displayed near the middle of the screen.

Tap NUMBER Cal/kJ. This will show how many calories or kilojoules you’ve burned so far that day.

Tap Week to display how many calories or kilojoules you’ve burned this week.

Tap Month to display how many calories or kilojoules you’ve burned this month.

Scroll down to show of breakdown of how many calories or kilojoules you’ve burned in each week of this month.
Tap the arrows next to the month to view your calories or kilojoules burned in previous months.

That’s it! Just keep working out and let Google Fit record your progress. When you’re ready to look back at how hard you’ve worked, everything’s right there in the app.

Our top equipment picks

If you’re all in on Google Fit, it’s worth getting a Wear OS watch to track your workouts right from your wrist.

The best watch for Google Fit

Mobvoi TicWatch Pro

$250 at Amazon

The best Wear OS watch is also the best for tracking your workouts.

The Ticwatch Pro features a GPS tracker, heart-rate monitor, and NFC payments.

The Ticwatch Pro is a genuinely good watch even if you don’t care about fitness tracking. If you do, it’s even better. There’s a GPS chip to better track your jogs, a heart-rate monitor for keeping your beats in check, and an NFC chip so you can leave your phone at home and still use Google Pay.

Save up to 60% on TP-Link smart plugs, routers, and more today only

Here today, gone tomorrow!

Amazon is currently hosting a one-day sale on a variety of TP-Link’s popular products, which discounts them by up to 60%. Whether you’re looking for a wireless router, range extender, ethernet switch, smart plug, or even a smart bulb, this sale has you covered. TP-Link has been around for a while and is a company that many know and trust, and most of its products are well-reviewed at Amazon, so you won’t want to miss out on these prices.

Some of our favorite deals on the networking gear include:

• N450 Wi-Fi Router – $21.89 (Was $50)
• N300 Wireless Portable Nano Travel Router – $23.99 (Was $30)
• AC1750 Smart Wi-Fi Router – $59.99 (Was $80)
• AC3150 Smart Wireless Gaming Router – $129.99 (Was $220)
• Smart Hub & Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System – $249.99 (Was $300)
• Archer C1900 Wi-Fi Cable Modem – $119.99 (Was $200)

You’ll also find a bunch of great smart home related deals, including:

• Dimmable A19 LED Bulb – $19.99 (Was $30)
• Kasa Smart Plug Mini (2-pack) – $34.99 (Was $60)
• Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch (2-pack) – $44.99 (Was $70)
• Multicolor BR30 Smart LED Bulb – $32.99 (Was $50)

This is just a small sample of what’s available in today’s one-day sale, so be sure to shop the whole thing before the day ends.

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