Apple Releases iOS 12.1 With eSIM Support, Real-Time Depth Control, Group FaceTime, New Emoji and More

Apple today released iOS 12.1, the first major update to the iOS 12 operating system designed for the iPhone and the iPad. iOS 12.1 comes more than a month after the September release of iOS 12 and a few weeks after iOS 12.0.1, a bug fix update.

The update is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings -> General -> Software Update. As with all iOS updates, iOS 12.1 is free to download.

Today’s update adds quite a bit of new functionality to iOS devices, especially Apple’s newest models, the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.

iOS 12.1 brings support for the eSIM, a digital SIM that lets you activate a cellular plan from a carrier without the need to use a physical SIM card.

With eSIM support, dual-SIM functionality is available on the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max, enabled through the existing physical SIM slot and the eSIM in all countries with the exception of China. In China, the new iPhones have two SIM card slots.

Carriers will need to implement support for eSIM functionality to work even after it’s been turned on in iOS 12.1. In the U.S., AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile plan to support eSIM.

Also for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, the iOS 12.1 update introduces a new real-time Depth Control feature, which lets you adjust the depth of field of your Portrait Mode photos before you capture them.

In earlier versions of iOS 12, Depth Control is only available for post-capture editing purposes. To use Depth Control when composing an image, tap on the “F” icon at the top of the screen and then drag the slider to adjust the amount of background blur in the image.

There are also new features that are coming to all iPhones and iPads. iOS 12.1 reintroduces the Group FaceTime feature that was removed from iOS 12 during the beta testing period because Apple needed more time to finish it.

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Group FaceTime is designed to let iPhone, iPad, and Mac users conduct video and audio chats with up to 32 participants at one time, with new camera effect features like filters, stickers, Animoji, and Memoji included.

Group FaceTime will be limited on older Apple devices. On iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, it will be available in an audio-only capacity with no video. Group FaceTime is not available on iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and iPad Air. Group FaceTime with video works on all other devices with an A8X processor or later.

Other FaceTime features are included in iOS 12.1 as well, such as automatic detection of active speakers to surface the icon of the person who is speaking, ringless notification to let you join a call without being disruptive, and Messages integration for starting a Group FaceTime call right from the Messages app from a group chat.

iOS 12.1 brings support for Unicode 11, adding more than 70 new emoji to iPhones and iPads. Options include face with hearts, woozy face, pleading face, red hair, white hair, superhero, raccoon, llama, peacock, mango, cupcake, bagel, and more.

We have a full list of all of the new emoji coming in the iOS 12.1 update available here.

Apple told iPhone XR reviewers that the iOS 12.1 update will also introduce camera tweaks to address complaints of excessive skin-smoothing by the front and rear-facing cameras in the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.

These phones use a “Smart HDR” feature combine multiple images at different exposure levels, which can result in excessive noise reduction that creates a smoothing effect over the image, which is noticeable on skin. Apple is addressing this issue by using a shaper base frame for Smart HDR, as outlined in the release notes.

iOS 12.1 also addresses several bugs and improves performance. Notably, iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR users will be pleased to hear that the update improves cellular connectivity. Apple’s full release notes, complete with bug fixes included in the update, are below:

iOS 12.1 introduces Group FaceTime, adds over 70 new emoji, and includes support for Dual SIM with eSIM for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. This update also includes bug fixes and improvements.

Group FaceTime
Adds support for video and audio calls with up to 32 participants simultaneously
Encrypted end-to-end so your conversations remain private
Start Group FaceTime right from a group Messages conversation, or join an active call at any time

Emoji
Over 70 new emoji, including new characters with red hair, gray hair and curly hair, new emoji for bald people, more emotive smiley faces and additional emoji representing animals, sports and food

Dual SIM support
Introduces Dual SIM with eSIM which allows two numbers in one device for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR

Other improvements and fixes
– Introduces Depth Control in Camera preview for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
– Improves cellular connectivity for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
– Adds the ability to change or reset your child’s Screen Time passcode using Face ID or Touch ID
– Fixes an issue where the sharpest reference frame was not always selected in front-facing photos for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
– Resolves an issue that caused messages to be merged into one thread when two users were signed in with the same Apple ID on multiple iPhones
– Addresses an issue that prevented some voicemails from appearing in the Phone app
– Resolves an issue in the Phone app that could cause phone numbers to appear without their corresponding contact name
– Fixes an issue that could prevent Screen Time from reporting specific websites in the activity report
– Addresses an issue that could prevent adding or removing family members from Family Sharing
– Adds a performance management feature to prevent the device from unexpectedly shutting down, including the option to disable this feature if an unexpected shutdown occurs, for iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
– Adds the ability for Battery Health to inform users that it is unable to verify if a genuine Apple battery is in iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
– Improves reliability of VoiceOver in Camera, Siri, and Safari
– Fixes an issue that could cause MDM Device Enrollment to report an Invalid Profile error for some enterprise users

For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

For more information on all of the new features that were introduced in Apple’s iOS 12 update that preceded iOS 12.1, make sure to check out our iOS 12 roundup.

Related Roundup: iOS 12
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Apple Highlights Mac Mini Use in Live Concerts, Theater, and Data Centers

With the Mac mini getting a long-awaited update today, Apple took the opportunity to highlight the use of the tiny computer in a number of unique areas where full-size machines might not quite fit — literally.

In The Secret World of Mac mini, Apple takes a look at country star Dierks Bentley’s live show, the touring production of the Finding Neverland musical, and the Mac mini-focused datacenter provider MacStadium.

When Dierks Bentley performs live, Mac minis travel with the show to monitor the band’s 18 wireless guitar rigs. According to the piece, Dierks’ sound engineer uses a Mac mini to power his equipment — well, actually it appears to be a Mac Pro in the picture, weirdly. Not sure what’s going on there, but there is a Mac mini with a banana sticker on it:

“If Dierks is out in the crowd and this setup alerts me that his guitar’s wireless strength is going down, I can adjust it and avoid an issue,” says Gutierrez. “And I’ve always run this setup on Mac mini — I’ve been using the same Mac mini for five years, and I’ve never had a problem.”

The Finding Neverland performance uses a Mac mini running software to produce sound that can’t be sung or played live, including electronic music and sound effects.

Finding Neverland is the true story of how author J.M. Barrie conceived the fantastic world of Peter Pan. The production takes the audience on a journey that floats between the author’s real life and the make-believe world of his imagination. And bringing that imagination to life requires a lot of sound effects — from ticking clocks and thunder claps, to cannon booms and the sound of Tinkerbell’s…well, Tinkerbelling. All those effects are possible because of Mac mini, triggered throughout the show by the conductor.

Finally there’s the Mac-only datacenter MacStadium, which manages thousands of Mac minis across several data centers for its clients. The firm manages almost 8,000 minis, for a wide range of developers who want Macs for development work and more.

“Candy Crush, Shopify, Day One — so many of your favorite apps and games run on Mac mini. It’s truly the Swiss Army knife of computers,” says Brian Stucki of MacStadium.

The new Mac mini is available for preorder today, shipping on November 7. It starts at $799, but fully loaded, it prices out to a decidedly not-mini $4,199.

Related Roundup: Mac miniBuyer’s Guide: Mac Mini (Buy Now)
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Apple Updates Shortcuts App With New Weather, Alarm, Conversion and Photos Options

Apple today updated its Shortcuts app for iPhones and iPads to version 2.1, introducing new capabilities that can be used to create various automations and shortcuts using first and third-party apps.

The new 2.1 version of the app brings new options for creating weather and forecast shortcuts, setting alarms and timers, converting between units, and importing recent photos.

Apple’s full release notes for the update are below:

– Use the latest weather in your shortcuts with the new Get Current Weather and Get Weather Forecast actions
– Set alarms and timers with the new Create Alarm, Toggle Alarm, and Start Timer actions
– Convert between a variety of units with the new Measurement and Convert Measurement actions
– Get the most recent set of imported photos from the Photos app using the Get Last Import action
– When running a shortcut from HomePod using Siri, media will now automatically play back from HomePod using AirPlay
– Bug fixes

Learn more and see the full list of changes at https://support.apple.com/HT209087.

Siri Shortcuts, introduced in iOS 12, is a feature designed to let you create multi-step shortcuts using first and third-party apps that can be activated by Siri voice command.

So, for example, you can create a shortcut to do something like turn on the thermostat at home using the Nest app, text your roommate that you’re on the way with Messages, and open up the Maps app with directions home all with a single “I’m going home” Siri command.

Shortcuts are deeply customizable and can be created and found through Apple’s Shortcuts app, available from the App Store. [Direct Link]
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Apple’s New MacBook Air Features Impressive Battery Life That Bests MacBook and MacBook Pro

Apple’s newly announced MacBook Air with Retina display and upgraded 8th-generation Intel processors features the best battery life out of any of Apple’s notebooks, MacBook Pro and MacBook included.

The new machine, which features a 50.3 watt-hour lithium polymer battery, offers up to 12 hours of battery life when web browsing, 13 hours when watching iTunes movie playback, and 30 days of standby time.

Comparatively, the MacBook Pro models offer up to 10 hours battery when browsing the web and 10 hours of iTunes movie playback, while the MacBook offers 10 hours of battery when browsing the web and 12 hours of iTunes movie playback.

The MacBook Air is going to provide two extra hours of battery life for web browsing compared to other models, and an hour to three hours more when watching movies. Details on Apple’s battery testing procedures are below:

Testing conducted by Apple in October 2018 using preproduction 1.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5-based MacBook Air systems with 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD. The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The iTunes movie playback test measures battery life by playing back HD 1080p content with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The standby test measures battery life by allowing a system, connected to a wireless network and signed in to an iCloud account, to enter standby mode with Safari and Mail applications launched and all system settings left at default. Battery life varies by use and configuration.

The MacBook Air is equipped with two USB-C ports and charges over USB-C. It ships with a 30W power adapter, much like the 12-inch MacBook.

You can order the new MacBook Air today, and prices start at $1,199. The first orders will arrive next Wednesday, November 7.

Related Roundup: MacBook AirTag: October 2018 eventBuyer’s Guide: MacBook Air (Buy Now)
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2018 MacBook Air and Mac mini Hands-On: Long-Awaited Updates Don’t Disappoint

Apple today announced two new Mac-related device updates, including a new MacBook Air and Mac mini. The refreshed MacBook Air includes an updated keyboard, larger Force Touch trackpad, slimmer display bezels, two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, Retina Display, reduced footprint, Touch ID, and Apple’s T2 security chip. The Mac mini comes in Space Gray with 8th-generation Intel Core processors, flash storage up to 2 TB, Apple’s T2 security chip, and more.

According to The Verge, the new MacBook Air looks a lot like a MacBook Pro, but the tapered design gives away the computer as a MacBook Air device. The site called the MacBook Air’s Retina Display great and essentially on par with the screens on MacBook Pro models.

Image via The Verge
The Verge acknowledged that Apple’s third generation keyboards are still polarizing, with super minimal key travel, but the site didn’t think this is enough of a reason not to upgrade. Ultimately, The Verge enjoyed its first hands-on time with the MacBook Air and said that this is the MacBook most people should get, but wondered if the $1,199 entry price is still too high:

We’ll do a fuller price breakdown and comparison to other laptops soon, but my initial impression is that while I think this machine is worth $1,199, I still wonder if that’s too high of an entry price. But the only real way to know the answer to that question is to wait to see how it sells.

TechCrunch also pointed out that the new MacBook Air looks largely similar to the MacBook Pro, comparing the two in an image (seen below). The site said that the update to the MacBook Air was solid, and they commended Apple for keeping the MacBook Air around and not discontinuing it in favor of the low-cost MacBook.

MacBook Air on top of MacBook Pro, via TechCrunch

Touch ID is now present up top — a great addition — though Apple opted not to include the Touch Bar. That could be for any number of reasons. There’s some speculation that the company will ultimately move away from the feature, but more likely, it was simply a cost cutting measure.

All in all, a solid and long awaited update to Apple’s best loved laptop. It’s nice to see the company keeping the model around, rather than simply doing away with it in favor of the low end MacBook.

Switching over to the Mac mini, numerous sites praised the long-awaited update to Apple’s miniature desktop device, which last saw a refresh in October 2014. The Space Gray Mac mini comes with quad- and 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost Speeds up to 4.6GHz, making it 5 times faster than the previous generation, and up to 64GB of 2,666MHz RAM.

SlashGear liked Apple’s boosted internal specs for the Mac mini, and noted the numerous ports on the back of the device, including four Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, HDMI 2.0, 3.5mm headphone jack, and an ethernet port. The site argued that there is enough inside of the updated Mac mini to potentially convince iMac owners to switch over to a Mac mini and display setup:

Image via SlashGear

For a compact desktop, the Mac mini always punched above its weight for user upgrades. No, you can’t change the processor – in this case a choice of 4-core or 6-core Intel Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 chips – but Apple has stuck with SO-DIMM memory. If you don’t want to pay Apple for an upgrade to up to 64 GB of RAM from the standard 8 GB, you should be able to do it yourself later on.

It’s little things like that which give the new Mac mini its charm. The $799 starting price, too, is aggressive – especially with the new MacBook Air Retina nudging up to $1,200. If you can do without Apple’s Retina display and provide your own, this first rung on the macOS ladder no longer feels like such a compromise. In fact, there’s plenty here that could sway iMac buyers back to a familiar old form-factor.

More news from Apple’s New York event will be coming out as the day progresses, so be sure to keep an eye on our front page and on our Twitter feed for the latest coverage.

Related Roundups: Mac mini, MacBook AirTag: October 2018 eventBuyer’s Guide: Mac Mini (Buy Now), MacBook Air (Buy Now)
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LG G7 ThinQ camera review

Roughly 15 miles south of the San Diego-Tijuana border lies small town Rosarito, known among Southern Californians for its resorts, bars, food, and beaches. It’s a perfect place to unwind, let loose, relax, and take some interesting photos. Since the LG G7 ThinQ is due for one of my camera reviews, I thought it would be the best companion for this short motorcycle trip across the border.

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LG G7 ThinQ review: Bright, loud, and smart

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The new LG G7 ThinQ has an improved front-facing camera, smart features, high-end specs, and a $750 price tag. With plenty of features to throw around, LG’s smarter, tougher camera phone is out to compete against the big guys. It seems to have it all — at least on paper. We all know theory doesn’t always translate to practice, so let’s find out just how good the LG G7 really is.

The LG G7 ThinQ seems to have it all — at least on paper.

Edgar Cervantes

Photos have been resized for quicker loading times, but that is the only editing these images have undergone. If you want to pixel peep and analyze the full resolution photos, we have put them in a Google Drive folder for you.

LG G7 camera specs

Rear cameras:

• Main camera
  • 16MP sensor
  • ƒ/1.6 aperture
  • Glass camera lens
  • 1/3.1-inch image sensor
  • 10-bit HDR
  • 71 degree field of view
  • 1.0µm pixel size
  • OIS+
  • EIS
• Secondary camera
  • 16MP sensor
  • ƒ/1.9 aperture
  • Crystal Clear Lens
  • 1/3.1-inch image sensor
  • 107 degree field of view
  • 1.0µm pixel size
• LED flash
• Laser autofocus
• Up to 8x zoom
• Video recording: 4K at 60fps, 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 30fps, 1080p at 60fps, 720p at 30fps.
• Shooting modes and features: AI Cam, Google Lens, Super Bright Camera, Live Photo, Portrait Mode, Manual Mode, Manual Video, Cine Video, Food, Slo-mo, Panorama, Flash Jump-Cut, Camera Stickers, Film Effect, Quick Sharing, and HDR.

Front camera: 

• 8MP sensor
• ƒ/1.9 aperture
• 80 degree field of view
• Video recording: 1080p at 30fps, 720p at 30fps.
• Shooting modes and features: Auto Shot, Gesture Shot, Gesture Interval Shot, Gesture View, Selfie Light, and Beauty Shot.

LG G7 camera app

The LG G7 ThinQ’s camera has tons of features, modes, and settings to throw around, which means LG needed to nail organizing the camera app in order to not make it look like a total mess. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite nail this.

The LG G7 ThinQ’s camera app looks messy and things are a little confusing at first.

Edgar Cervantes

The camera app looks messy and things are a little confusing at first. Portrait Mode has a direct shortcut next to the viewfinder, between Google Lens and AI Cam, features that should be in a whole other department. I feel Portrait Mode should have been under the Mode button, along with similar features.

LG also provides you with two ways to change between rear-facing cameras and the selfie shooter: you can tap a dedicated button to the left, or swipe up or down in the shutter area. The extra options are nice, but they could further confuse newcomers.

The Hitting Mode button brings up a plethora of shooting modes: Auto, Manual, Manual Video, Cine Video, Food, Slo-mo, Panorama, Flash Jump-Cut, and AR Stickers. The gear icon will display other settings like Super Bright Camera Mode, HDR, Live Photo, Voice Shutter, Grid, and more.

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You will also see resolution, FullVision, and timer options all the way at the end, with separate icons. This makes things a bit confusing for me. At first I instinctively kept looking in the listed options for resolution settings. After fumbling around the app for a few minutes I realized where it was and felt pretty dumb, but these settings are just in downright odd places. Not too intuitive on LG’s part.

The filter button is in the main screen, along with the Settings, Mode, Flash, and Camera Switch icons. It seems LG placed the filters here because it thinks people will use them a lot.

Talking about fun effects, if you go into the Mode button and select AR Stickers, you can play around with AR figures and other elements. The app will analyze objects in the camera’s view and find flat surfaces, letting you then place fun stickers on a desk, money on a table, flowers on the bed, and more. The app does a great job remembering where things are and working with perspective. You can move around these objects and look at them from any angle, and the app never really got things wrong for me.

All things considered, this is a nice camera app with all the features you could need, and then some.

You should also take a look at the camera’s AI Cam and Google Lens functionalities. One thing I like about these features is they are not turned on automatically. Users have to know what they are looking for to use them, so they don’t get in the way of your natural shooting sessions. This is especially an issue with phones like the Huawei P20 Pro, which have AI improvements turned on by default. These enhancements can be nice, but users may not always want them on, and turning them off requires digging into the settings.

AI Cam is much like Huawei’s Master AI. It analyzes what the camera is looking at and adds preset enhancements to the shot. Google Lens analyzes photos for important information within the frame. These could be text, labels, products, and more.

Another cool thing is LG’s quick sharing button, located right around the shutter button area. Expand it and you will see a plethora of social networks and online services where you can easily share your images.

All things considered, this is a nice camera app with all the features you could need, and then some. The UI just happens to be a bit scrambled.

• Ease of use: 7
• Intuitiveness: 7.5
• Features: 10
• Advanced Settings: 8

Score: 8.1

Daylight

Broad daylight is the perfect setting for getting the best out of a good camera, and Rosarito Beach sure has the weather to get the most light possible. A harsh sun also makes for contrasting exposure, though, as we can mostly see in the two lower images.

The fourth photo was way underexposed, even though I set the focus point on the Rosarito sign. It seems the camera was metering for exposure on the buildings behind. The third image has strong shadows, but plenty of detail.

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Another issue we noticed is the LG G7’s tendency to blow out sun-filled skies, as shown in the first two pictures. There was not much to see in the heavens, but we would have liked more detail in the sky, in case there was a cloud or two up there.

We weren’t too satisfied with the test shots we walked away with. They all had plenty of detail, and the subject was usually spot on, but it seems the phone struggled with handling dynamic range, under-exposing the shadows or over-exposing the highlights in the subject’s surroundings. That’s not a good situation to be in when shooting in broad daylight.

Score: 7/10

Color

Take the LG G7 ThinQ to more leveled light and you can start seeing its true colors — literally. The first couple photos were taken at Rosarito’s FoodFest Plaza, where a variety of vendors offered gourmet dishes. It was colorful (and tasty), so we thought a shot of the patio and the bar were due. We also passed by a store with traditional Mexican skeleton decor, which tend to be full of color and life.

Take the LG G7 ThinQ to more leveled light and you can start seeing its true colors — literally.

Edgar Cervantes

All photos displayed vibrant and saturated hues that popped without looking artificial. However, these photos continue to suffer from the nuisances we discussed above. Shadows are strong, something we can mostly see in the first image, where detail is essentially lost inside vendor stands. Now look at the octopus wall painting in the second image; a section of the wall is completely blown out by the light.

The LG G7 is good at capturing colors, but it seems the environment has to be right to make a generally good image with nice hues. We are focusing on color here, so other elements won’t take too much away from the score.

Score: 8/10

Detail

Plaza Pueblo is a hidden gem. You could easily miss it looking at the bright lights of Boulevard Benito Juarez, Rosarito’s main street. It is a calm, hidden spot to escape from the tourists and enjoy a good meal at one of its nice restaurants, have a drink at the bar, grab a cup of coffee at La Villa Cafe, purchase traditional clothing, or simply marvel over the ornate decorations. We mostly came here for the latter, as there are plenty of elements made of stone, wood, and other detail-filled material.

This was the LG G7 ThinQ’s place to shine, and though it didn’t disappoint, we also didn’t walk out too impressed. Overall, we believe the LG G7 ThinQ is just above average at capturing detail. Wood in the wheel showed enough texture and detail zoomed, but there was also good amount of softening, especially in the wooden barrels.

This was the LG G7 ThinQ’s place to shine, and though it didn’t disappoint, we also didn’t walk out too impressed.

Edgar Cervantes

The adobe bar also loses a bit of its texture due to over-softening, which is a shame, as those broken bricks offered plenty of detail. Meanwhile, the LG G7 ThinQ did a bit better capturing stone and water. Zooming into the fountain, you can see plenty of the material’s characteristics, including crevices, flowing water, and even mold.

The LG G7 ThinQ may have found a good balance, softening for noise, but not too much in order to keep the detail. These shots weren’t taken in very dark environments, though, which makes us believe the camera softened the images for no good reason.

Score: 7/10

Landscape

The LG G7 camera seems to do better evenly exposing a frame once you step back a little. In this set we see very little sky blown out —the first image is the only one affected by this phenomena. That was also the direction of the sun, which makes it an understandable element in the image.

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Dual-camera setups are pretty mainstream in the smartphone world these days. Everything from high-end $1,000 handsets to $150 budget devices offer them.

The second camera is often a depth sensor or telephoto shooter, but what if …The first shot also happens to be the only one I used the wide angle lens with. This becomes very obvious if you look to the far left, where buildings and other objects are distorted. Having a wide angle lens is nice, but it makes things look a little crooked around the edges. I don’t use it unless I really must.

Aside from that, the camera didn’t fare badly at all. There is plenty of detail in all four shots, despite me not having the steadiest hand. Colors in people’s clothing are vibrant, and all photos look well exposed.

The skies are not bright blue, an effect that has become rather common in recent smartphone cameras, but colors look natural. Save for the first photo, in which the LG G7 missed the white balance.

Score: 7.5

Portrait Mode

So far I haven’t seen a phone meet my standards in portrait mode, but some get close — the LG G7 is one of them.

Edgar Cervantes

Portrait mode simulates bokeh, the “blurry background” often seen in DSLR cameras using lenses with a shallow depth of field. Phones can’t do this naturally, often relying on hardware and software to recreate the effect. The LG G7, like most other phones with portrait mode, accomplishes this using a secondary lens to figure out what is in the foreground and background, in relation to the subject. The phone will then artificially add blur to objects far behind or closer than the subject.

So far I haven’t seen a phone meet my standards in portrait mode, but some get close — the LG G7 is one of them. The phone made a mistake here and there, though. Look between the arms and the torso of the woman in the fourth photo. Parts of the background are crisp and clear, when they shouldn’t be. There is also a spot that should have been blurred right above my left shoulder in the third image. The same happens next to my left arm in the first shot.

Those issues can be easily overlooked. The LG G7 does better outlining the subject than most other phones, and other elements make the LG G7 portrait images stand out too.

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I like that objects within the same distance as the subject stay in focus perfectly. In image two and three, the table stays crisp. Even the chair’s backrest is blurred out correctly, keeping only the further end of it blurred out. There are actually no noticeable errors in image two. Notice in the fourth image the trunk is completely in focus. This is something many devices out there would have gotten wrong.

Score: 9.5/10

HDR

High Dynamic Range (HDR) is used to evenly expose a frame with multiple levels of light. Traditionally it’s done by mixing multiple photos taken at different exposure levels. The end result is an image with reduced highlights, increased shadows, and more even lighting.

In this phone HDR can be left in auto, turned off, or forced on. For this set of images we forced HDR on, just to make sure we got the best end result.

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High Dynamic Range (HDR) is the latest buzzword in the smartphone displays arms race, promising enhanced colors, superior contrast, and an overall better viewing experience than Standard Dynamic Range equivalents. An increasing number of video …The LG G7 didn’t fare too bad, actually. I find smartphone HDR shots to be quite disappointing most of the time. Even though the LG G7 doesn’t get close to true HDR, it does alright. In the bottom two photos, exposure has been leveled pretty nicely. That fountain was under a very strong shade created by the pier. In the fourth image, the wall surrounding the door was much darker than it looks in the photo.

The phone lost quite a bit of detail in the first two photos, but that is because the camera is fighting against the sun, a rather powerful source of light. I was impressed you could still see parts of the motorcycle. Not to mention the first image still looks awesome with that silhouette effect.

Score: 8.5/10

Food

Instagram foodies will be happy to hear the LG G7 ThinQ’s dedicated Food mode can take some tasty shots.

Instagram foodies will be happy to hear this camera has a dedicated Food mode and it can take some tasty shots. This dedicated mode seems to boost colors and sharpen photos for more detail.

Take a look at the meat in the fourth image and you can see quite a bit of texture in there. Detail is also abundant in the third photo, when looking at the sides of the cheesecake. As for colors, their vibrant nature is visible in images three and four, in the fruit.

All four shots leave us satisfied. Exposure is spot on, white balance is great, detail is abundant, and colors sure seem to pop. Not much to complain about here.

Score:9/10

Low light

This phone really seems to have an issue with skies. It blows them out even at night, as we can see in images one and three. Let’s move on, though.

Rosarito has some fun bars, calm spaces, and plenty of coffee shops to enjoy at night. A quick walk around town brought multiple photo opportunities to our attention.

The first image shows a bar located right on the beach’s sand. It’s a great place to unwind and enjoy a sunset — the tequila kind or the solar one. This is a beautiful image at first sight, but we can’t give LG too much credit for lowlight photography. Much detail is lost in the shadows, the whole photo is over-softened to kill noise, and the sky is still partly blown out, even though only the remnants of a set sun were left.

The pictures will look nice as long as you don’t zoom in or expect much detail.

Edgar Cervantes

In fact, all four images are over-softened, which is always a negative sign when reviewing low light photography. At least all the hoop jumping accomplishes a proper exposure where it matters. The pictures will look nice as long as you don’t zoom in or expect much detail.

Score: 7.5/10

Selfie

Having an improved 8 MP sensor is nice, but megapixels are not everything. I would consider these images more on the average side. They are well exposed and colors are nice, but look closer and you will find issues.

For starters, these are all a bit too soft and some show signs of motion blur. We can always blame my shaky hands, but I know many of you don’t have the steadiest extremities either!

Score: 7/10

Video

While image stabilization is not the best, it is pretty darn good.

Edgar Cervantes

The LG G7 ThinQ can record in 4K 10-bit HDR, and you can definitely see that in the crisp definition and smooth color transitions in the sky. Hues are vibrant and lively, but not unreal looking.

While image stabilization is not the best, it is pretty darn good. My girlfriend and I were on a moving motorcycle, which can get quite shaky. I also used it walking and it did pretty well, but you could still see the moves and jerks that natural walking causes.

We also noticed the camera went out of focus here and there, mostly when moving faster on the bike. Overall, though, the LG G7 ThinQ will be a good video shooter under regular recording conditions.

You know, when not on a rumbling motorcycle.

Score: 8/10

Conclusion

Overall score: 7.9/10

The LG G7 comes from a lineage of devices competing with the best of the best. This phone has it all; performance, battery, a unique UI, and features to throw around.

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LG G7 ThinQ: Price, availability, and release date (Update: B&H knocks $120 off)

Update, July 25, 2018, 07:31 am ET: Moments after seeing Amazon’s offer, we’ve noticed an even better deal at B&H! Officially the new best price we’ve seen on the handset, you can pick up the LG G7 ThinQ …Its camera is certainly not the best of its kind, but it’s close enough. The LG G7 can create some good images. With so many filters, shooting modes, and gimmicks, you can find a way to make every shot fun and interesting.

The LG G7 ThinQ does well where it matters. It exposes images very well, gets the right white balance, and captures nice lowlight shots. Food Mode is impressive, and Portrait Mode performance is one of the best I have seen. Nitpickers will find issues easily, but there are other options if they really want the best in smartphone camera tech.

Reigns: Game of Thrones review: Worth paying the iron price

Reigns: Game of Thrones sounds like a project born from someone spying the “most ambitious crossover” meme that did the rounds earlier this year and treating it as a challenge.

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Mashing up the Tinder-meets-monarchy genius of the Reigns series with medieval fantasy mega-franchise Game of Thrones is such a conceptual stroke of genius you have to wonder why it didn’t happen sooner.

Now that the dream is finally a reality, is Reigns: Game of Thrones worthy of the Iron Throne, or should it be thrown out The Eyrie’s Moon Door? Let’s find out!

Reigns, Westeros style

For the uninitiated, Reigns is an award winning series of games developed by U.K. studio Nerial. Both the original Reigns and its sequel, Reigns: Her Majesty, crown the player as the king or queen of a kingdom full of soldiers, priests, peasants, charlatans, each with their own agendas and desires.

Interactions with your increasingly large pool of not-so-loyal subjects plays out as a series of endless binary choices where you swipe left or right on the character’s card to make a decision.

Each choice positively or negatively impacts your standing with one or more of four factions — army, church, people, treasury. Increase your standing with any of these groups to the max or have it hit rock bottom and you’ll be swiftly deposed in a fatal and often hilarious fashion.

Reigns has always been a perfect series for short bursts of play on-the-go.

In-game years pass by in minutes and, depending on how diligent you are with your choices, a single reign can last several decades or be violently cut short in the prime of your noble avatar’s youth.

Reigns is a perfect game for short bursts of play on the go (online or offline), but it’s also engrossing enough to lose yourself to for hours on end. You can try to outlast your record reign or unlock achievements that carry over to each new ruler and, in the case of Reigns: Her Majesty, progress an overall story that plays out on a much grander, cosmic scale.

Thankfully, while there could have been a temptation to tweak the formula to accommodate the Game of Thrones universe, Reigns: Game of Thrones retains the core gameplay and structure of its predecessors. This should come as a huge relief, as Reigns is one of the most unique games available on the Play Store, built to do as much as possible with just a handful of simple gestures.

In fact, one of the most impressive things about Reigns: Game of Thrones is how the Westerosi-flavored influence simultaneously feels like a basic reskin of the Reigns experience that supplants original characters with memorable faces from the books and TV show, but also a natural, sometimes bold extension of the series’ main mechanics.

The four factions are fundamentally the same, now based on established parts of the Game of Thrones canon. The church is now represented by priests of the Faith of the Seven, while the Master of Coin and representatives from the Iron Bank of Braavos stand in for the treasury.

More: 15 best offline Android games

While many changes are obvious and simple — you’ll be sitting on the Iron Throne instead of a regular throne and listening to the Game of Thrones theme a lot  — Reigns: Game of Thrones goes a step further. It’s an authentic adaptation that perfectly recreates many of the HBO series’ most popular characters without losing Reigns’ wry, darkly comic edge.

You’ll meet characters like Lord Varys, Samwell Tarly, and Tyrion Lannister as you rule, and each are immediately recognizable not only through their charmingly designed sprites, but also the dialogue.

The game manages to convey all of the traits and machinations of each character in just a few short sentences. New players unfamiliar with Game of Thrones lore won’t be too lost, and fans will be able to savor every nod and wink to the wider story. Just don’t go in expecting any of the salacious sex and gratuitous violence of an average episode of the HBO series. This is still a Reigns game after all.

A Swipe of Ice and Fire

Reigns: Game of Thrones’ biggest twist, on both series, centers on how it handles the main protagonist of each playthrough.

Set in a hypothetical “what if” scenario where the tyrannical Cersei Lannister has been toppled and cast out of King’s Landing, you first take on the role of everyone’s favorite Queen of Dragons and new ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, Daenerys Targaryen.

You’ll soon realize that you actually know nothing (Jon Snow).

Once Dany inevitably bites the dust you’ll be greeted by the mystical red priestess Melisandre who ponders your fate, questioning whether Daenerys was truly the reborn legendary hero the world has been searching for.

This meta-narrative allows Reigns: Game of Thrones to present nine playable characters, including Jon Snow and other fan favorites, each of whom could be the next “Azor Ahai.” This represents a huge step forward for Reigns, which previously only toyed with the idea of multiple characters by giving new rulers throwaway names and titles.

Reigns: Game of Thrones is an authentic adaptation that perfectly recreates many of the HBO series’ most popular characters without losing Reigns’ wry, darkly comic edge.

While this can make the whole thing feel a bit daunting — each leader has their own allies, enemies, and objectives — the game cleverly spaces out the introduction of new player characters as the broader story steadily unfolds.

Game of Thrones fans can also have a little fun with each new character by either roleplaying the decisions you think they’d make based on their popular persona, or essentially play out your own fan fiction. Want to turn the heroic Jon Snow into a bloodthirsty, war-hungry autocrat? Reigns: Game of Thrones lets you do just that.

No matter who you choose, however, winter is always coming, and the threat of the White Walkers is never too far away. Figuring out how to survive the cold with each character takes patience, strategy, and a bit of luck.

Reigns: Game of Thrones also introduces branching decisions. These are usually fairly inconsequential, like during small council meetings where you choose one of four people to speak to. Occasionally you’ll see a knock on effect if you choose to go to war or begin or end an allegiance.

During one playthrough as Jon, I opted to off Varys (yes, you can sometimes kill people with a single swipe now) and replaced him with a representative from House Greyjoy to quash a military standoff between King’s Landing and the Iron Islands.

Unfortunately my new Master of Whisperers wasn’t all that loyal and I eventually had to up sticks and move back to Winterfell through another new gameplay addition, travel between locations. Many of these moves are represented by simple background transitions, but others will see you traveling along a segmented path with decisions to make along the way.

The night is dark and full of errors

For all the ingenuity behind Reigns and its adaptation of the Game of Thrones license, a few niggles still carry over from previous entries in the series.

The most infuriating is the seemingly random results of some of your choices. Every now and again you’ll swipe left or right thinking you’ll be appeasing the church or saving money only to infuriate a priest or end up destitute. Sudden deaths and fleeting reigns are all part of the overall design, but some of the more vague, cryptic writing can occasionally lead to an early demise that feels unfair.

More: 15 best RPGs for Android

The usable items of Reigns: Her Majesty have also been jettisoned, which feels like a step back considering how drastically each item could change your fate. Likewise, the story doesn’t get anywhere as weird and wonderful as Her Majesty’s bonkers, fourth wall-breaking plot — out of servitude to the Game of Thrones license no doubt.

An essential for Game of Thrones fans

Put simply, if you’re a Game of Thrones fan, this is an essential purchase. It’s easily the best game set in George R. R. Martin’s fantasy world, pinching the mantle from 2014’s episodic adventure series by the now-defunct Telltale Games.

For Reigns addicts, there’s enough new here to keep things fresh, but it also stays true to the DNA of the previous games. Personally, I still prefer Reigns: Her Majesty’s offbeat weirdness, although you could (and should) pick up both games for less than $7 on the Play Store.

Love both? Stop reading this review immediately, hit the button below, and queue that download. When you play Reigns: Game of Thrones, you win or you die, and you’ll love every minute of it.

Google Play: Download Reigns: Game of Thrones

Wishplay’s virtual Halloween delivers a treat to terminally ill children

If you or someone you love has ever spent any time as a patient in a hospital, you know how isolating the experience can be. Those four walls and your hospital bed become your whole world. For patients receiving palliative care — those with essentially no hope for recovery — that room is often the last thing they ever see. 

For David Parker, a Toronto-based technology developer, this situation was unacceptable, so he set himself the goal of providing these patients an escape — albeit a temporary one — through virtual reality. Two years ago, he began to approach local hospitals with a simple idea: He would bring an inexpensive, consumer-grade VR rig to patients’ bedsides, and curate a virtual mini-holiday that let them experience a slice of their pre-palliative lives. Unlike some of the existing clinical VR gear that had been used in the past, Parker’s version would be absolutely free, and it would be deeply personal: He would let patients make custom requests for the content.

Though that sounds like a simple concept, making it happen wasn’t simple at all. Parker had to overcome several hurdles, from convincing skeptical hospital staff that he wasn’t using patients as guinea pigs for a new for-profit business venture, to figuring out how to make all of the VR gear hospital-safe from an infection control point of view. Eventually, Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital became the first to give the green light.

Giving his clients a VR experience that went beyond stock footage meant that Parker would go to a patient’s favorite sidewalk cafe, or a park bench, and set up a 360-degree video camera. The effort was worth it. Being able to don a VR headset, and be immersed in that familiar environment — even if only for five minutes or less — had a profound effect on those who tried it. “Right from the beginning, it was so magical,” Parker told Digital Trends. The patients’ reactions were unabashed joy. “They realized that the world was no longer closed off to them,” he said, “there was a ray of hope that they could actually do something.”

His first clients were older patients, seeking to relive their fondest memories, but Parker decided the next step was to bring VR to very sick children, so that they wouldn’t miss out on things like Halloween. As a father of two, it was a no-brainer. “Being able to create a virtual environment so that they can experience one of the happiest times in a kid’s life,” he said, “I mean, that’s just the best damn thing you could ever think of. It just has to happen.” With the help of friends and family, Parker staged an early trick-or-treating session and shot it all on a high-end 360 camera, from a kid’s perspective. The first clients to get a taste of this virtual candy-collecting crusade will be patients at Toronto’s Emily’s House, a hospice that serves terminally ill children and their families.

In order to get the word out, and reach as many patients as possible, Parker has established a non-profit, called Wishplay, which, if everything goes according to plan, will become the nexus for a much larger, crowdfunded and crowdsourced VR experience platform. It starts with this year’s virtual Halloween: On October 31, there will be a pre-recorded trick or treat experience that anyone can download if you have a Google Cardboard and a compatible phone. Or, you can tune in to a livestream 360-degree feed, shot from the perspective of a family handing out candy to kids as they come by the house.

“We consider this is a precursor,” Parker said about the virtual Halloween, “because the next one is Christmas.” Eventually, he hopes that the public will become engaged with the platform and sign up to be volunteer “experience collectors” — people who take 360-cameras with them when they travel, or take part in exciting activities, and submit the footage to Wishplay to be edited. Ideally, patients will have their VR experience wishes granted by the crowd, and everyone else — healthy or sick — will be able to enjoy it, too. People can also support the program through donations of money or time: “We’re giving these headsets and VR packages to hospitals. We’ll need volunteers to help deliver the experience to patients.”

For more, visit Wishplay.ca.

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It’s finally here. Apple’s new MacBook Air has Touch ID and Retina for $1,199

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After weeks of rumors and leaks, Apple officially revealed a new MacBook Air during an October 30 event in Brooklyn, New York. The latest Apple laptop can be ordered today and is set to become available on November 7 for $1,200.

On the surface, the new MacBook Air looks a lot like the MacBook Pro with thinned-out bezels, up-firing speakers, and a slimmer profile. The sleek, new design has 50 percent narrow bezels, and four-times the screen resolution as before, for 4 million pixels total. It also is 17 percent lighter than its predecessor and weighs just 2.75 pounds, made of 100 percent recycled aluminum.

Key features on board the new MacBook Air include a 13.3-inch Retina display, two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, and Touch ID — all carried over from the MacBook Pro and 12-inch MacBook.

Under the hood, the MacBook Air is powered by the 8th-gen Intel Core i5 processor. We weren’t told exactly which CPU, but Apple did mention that it was a dual-core processor. Alongside the Intel processor is the T2 co-processor, which is used for Touch ID and “Hey Siri” functionality. The base model comes with 8GB RAM, but it also supports up to 16GB of memory clocked at 2,133 GHz. As for storage, it is compatible with up to a 1.5 TB SSD, making it 60 percent faster than the previous generation and increasing capacity.

With the keyboard, Apple promises that the third-gen butterfly keyboard onboard the new MacBook Air can offer up four times as many stability as the previous generation. This is the same keyboard found in the 2018 MacBook Pro, which features low travel and deals with some of its predecessor’s sticky reliability issues. Missing from the new MacBook Air is the Touch Bar, which looks like it will only be reserved for the MacBook Pro. That ties in with a new trackpad, which is a 20 percent larger touch area.

“MacBook air has become the most beloved notebook ever, It’s time for a new MacBook, one that takes the MacBook air experiences in the areas that are more important to our customers,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook of the new device.

Similar to previous generations, Apple is promising for 12 hours of battery life wireless web browsing and 13 hours of iTunes movie playback on the new MacBook Air. It also noted that the speakers on board the MacBook Air are 25 percent louder, with a three-mic array on board for better connectivity with Siri.

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In Norway, a robot will soon be delivering people’s mail

In a world in which email, Twitter DMs, WhatsApp, and disappearing Snapchat messages all exist, traditional pen-and-paper mail — sometimes called “snail mail” — is just so last century. What better way to bring it up to date, then, than by using a robot to deliver your letters and packages? That’s what citizens in Norway will soon be able to experience, thanks to a deal between Posten-Norge, the Norwegian postal service, and automation company Buddy Mobility.

Posten-Norge has signed a deal with the fledgling startup, which is headquartered in both Oslo, Norway and San Francisco, to bring its deliver bots to the streets. These robots resemble large boxes on wheels, can travel at around 6 kilometers per hour, and are supposedly able to deliver mail and parcels to 100 recipients per day. Rather than delivering mail directly to each house, the Posten robots will send customers a notification through an app. The recipients can then use the app to collect their mail by opening up a drawer on the robot containing only their letters. After dropping off its packages, the robots will return to a nearby distribution center for recharging and restocking with the next batch of mail.

Norway has a population of more than 5.2 million people, making it roughly equivalent in number of residents to Minnesota or South Carolina. The robots will initially be put to the test in a residential area of Kongsberg, Norway, before being rolled out on wider delivery routes.

“Buddy Mobility’s first partnership is with Posten, offering the Norwegian postal service an autonomous delivery robot,” the company notes on its website. “Our robot provides Posten with operational cost savings to offset revenue losses from dramatically decreasing mail volumes. At the same time, the robot offers new revenue streams around package and parcel delivery.”

This isn’t the only example of a delivery robot we’ve come across. In Germany, a similar robot called PostBot is being introduced by Deutsche Post, the German postal service. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Starship Technologies has rolled out (no pun intended) similarly autonomous ground-based delivery robots on college campuses and in a variety of neighborhoods — aided by massive cash injections from investors.

If this ultimately means more robots on our streets,and a more futuristic environment overall, we’re all for it! Even though our personal preference for a robot mailman would be Boston Dynamics’ parkour-performing humanoid bot.

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