Wi-Fi 6 is the next big upgrade to wireless networks

The new standard will start arriving on devices in 2019.

Wi-Fi is something we all use each and every day, but with crazy names such as 802.11n and 802.11ac, it can be difficult to remember which standard is better than another. When the next generation of Wi-Fi arrives (802.11ax), it’ll go by a much simpler name — Wi-Fi 6.

The Wi-Fi Alliance announced this change on Wednesday, October 3, saying:

For nearly two decades, Wi-Fi users have had to sort through technical naming conventions to determine if their devices support the latest Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi Alliance is excited to introduce Wi-Fi 6, and present a new naming scheme to help industry and Wi-Fi users easily understand the Wi-Fi generation supported by their device or connection.

Looking back at older generations of Wi-Fi, their new naming goes as follows:

• 802.11b is now Wi-Fi 1
• 802.11a is now Wi-Fi 2
• 802.11g is now Wi-Fi 3
• 802.11n is now Wi-Fi 4
• 802.11ac is now Wi-Fi 5

The first Wi-Fi 6 devices are expected to arrive at some point next year and offer increased speed and better handling of multiple connections at once compared to Wi-Fi 5.

What do you think of the new naming scheme?

Router vs. Mesh Networking: What’s best for your home Wi-Fi network?

Best rechargeable battery for your Oculus Go controller

Your Oculus Go is a virtual reality headset you almost never want to stop using. Sometimes, however, your fun is cut short when you realize your controller has died and you’ve got no spare AA batteries laying around the house. This is where rechargeable batteries come in. This way you can always have a backup battery waiting for you. We at Android Central are tech experts, so we’re here to show you the best rechargeable batteries that will help not just in your Oculus Go, but your average household as well.

The full package

Energizer Rechargeable Batteries

Get yourself four rechargeable batteries, and the charger port, for a great price. The charger port will stop the power from going into your batteries when their full to protect them from overcharging, and it only takes about 3-5 hours maximum to get full charges on all four of your batteries at once.

$18 at Amazon

Long lifespan batteries

EBL Smart AA Battery Charger

EBL’s batteries claim to have a 10-year lifespan on them, and that’s one heck of a deal. This package also comes with eight AA batteries, with 2,300 mAh, and the charging device.

$23 at Amazon

Batteries in bulk

AmazonBasics AA Rechargeable Batteries

For a few dollars less than Energizer you can get eight of these rechargeable batteries right out of Amazon’s own product line. They have a guaranteed 1,000 charges to them and hold 2,000mAh on their battery limit.

$15 at Amazon

Highest mAh available

Tenergy AA Cell

Tenergy AA offers 2,600mAh with their 8-pack of batteries. While it doesn’t come with a charger these are definitely the batteries that will last the longest per charge.

$19 at Amazon

Deciding what’s best for you

As you can see, Energizer and EBL offer the best deals out of the options above. While all are the same price, those are the only two packages that also come with the plugin that will charge the batteries. If you’re a first-time rechargeable battery owner, those are the best options for you. But, if you already have the charging device, then the last two options are better for you.

Amazon Announces Fire TV Stick 4K With Dolby Vision, Atmos, and HDR10+ for $50

Amazon today revealed its latest streaming TV device, the Fire TV Stick 4K, which includes support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR10+. The device also comes shipped with a revamped Alexa Voice Remote, all packaged together for $49.99.

Amazon says the 4K stick is over 80 percent more powerful than the previous generation, with a new quad core, 1.7GHz processor for quicker load times and enhanced picture quality. With 4K support, users can watch Amazon’s catalog of thousands of 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, and HDR10+ titles. The company says this is the first time a streaming media stick has supported Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, the latter of which requires a compatible connected home audio system.

The Fire TV Stick 4K also provides access to the usual array of apps and Alexa skills that users expect, like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Starz, Showtime, CBS All Access, and more. There’s also over 500,000 movies and tv episodes available directly on Fire TV through Amazon Prime.

The company announced new apps are gaining in-app voice control on Fire TV, including A&E, AMC, Sony Crackle, Hallmark Movies Now, HBO Now, HISTORY, IFC, Lifetime, and VH1. These join Netflix, Prime Video, and others, and the feature allows users to call up Alexa to play, rewind, fast forward, and navigate through menus with just their voice.

“We’ve listened to our customers and pushed to deliver the complete 4K solution they are looking for, all within a compact stick form factor,” said Marc Whitten, Vice President, Amazon Fire TV.

“The team invented an entirely new antenna technology and combined that with a powerful 802.11ac Wi-Fi chip that optimizes for the best possible 4K UHD streaming experience, even in congested network environments. Our new quad-core processor delivers a fast and fluid experience and support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+ provides an amazing picture. Plus, the all-new Alexa Voice Remote lets you control your complete entertainment experience and use your voice to quickly find the content you want. Just say, ‘Find 4K movies.’”

The Fire TV Stick 4K can be paired with an Echo device and Alexa to control streaming content with far-field voice recognition. Customers can also opt to use the bundled-in Alexa Voice Remote, which combines Bluetooth and multidirectional infrared technology to power on compatible TV and AV equipment, switch inputs, or even tune to a channel on a cable box. The new remote also has dedicated power, volume, and mute buttons, and users can speak directly to Alexa by holding down the microphone button.

Roku has also recently cut down the cost of entry-level 4K streaming devices, announcing the Roku Premiere with 4K support at $39.99 in the U.S. Comparatively, the Apple TV 4K is $179.99 in its cheapest 32GB option, although it has dipped down to as low as $105 in previous sales.

Today’s news comes a few weeks after Amazon announced a long list of new products at an event in Seattle, including new Echo speakers and Alexa-enabled subwoofers, amplifiers, a microwave, wall clock, and more. In total, senior vice president of Amazon Devices Dave Limp said that the event marked the largest number of devices and features that Amazon has ever debuted in one day.

Amazon has put the Fire TV Stick 4K up for pre-order today for $49.99, and the device will start shipping on October 31 in the United States and Canada. The United Kingdom, Germany, and India will see a launch in November, and Japan will get the 4K stick by the end of the year. Customers can also pre-order the new Alexa Voice Remote separately for $29.99, and it will launch on October 31 as well.

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DxOMark: iPhone XS Max is ‘Surefire Option’ With ‘One of the Best Smartphone Cameras Ever’

DxOMark today published the results of its in-depth analysis of the iPhone XS Max’s rear camera. Apple’s flagship smartphone achieved an overall score of 105 points, trailing only the Huawei P20 Pro at 109 in the site’s all-time rankings.

Note that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max have identical camera specs, so this review applies equally to the iPhone XS.

In its testing, DxOMark found the iPhone XS Max to have “excellent” photo and video quality in bright light, with a “very wide dynamic range and good detail.” In terms of photo quality, they found exposure in outdoor images “tends to be spot on,” with high levels of detail and pleasant colors.

The review adds that Apple’s new Smart HDR feature generates images with “very good target exposure and a wide dynamic range in all conditions.”

Backlit indoor scene shot on iPhone XS Max
Backlit indoor scene shot on iPhone X
Achieving a video score of 96, DxOMark said the iPhone XS Max shows “outstanding video quality in bright light.”

DxOMark concludes that the iPhone XS Max has “one of the best mobile cameras” it has ever tested, with noticeable improvements in many areas over last year’s iPhone X. Their review praises the iPhone XS Max camera as being “very reliable overall” and “consistently delivering good results.”

In lower light, however, DxOMark found that noise becomes “a little more intrusive than with other high-end phones,” adding that the iPhone XS Max’s zoom capabilities lag somewhat behind the competition — specifically, the Huawei P20 Pro. Beyond that, they say the device is a “surefire option for any mobile photographer.”

For scoring and analysis in its smartphone camera reviews, DxOMark says its engineers capture and evaluate over 1,500 test images and more than two hours of video both in controlled lab environments and in natural indoor and outdoor scenes, using the camera’s default settings. More on their methodology here.

DxO is a well-known French image lab that has been reviewing smartphone cameras for many years, but they’ve attracted some criticism. At the end of the day, camera quality is subjective, at least to some extent.

Related Roundup: iPhone XSTag: DxOMarkBuyer’s Guide: iPhone XS (Buy Now)
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Dankzij Windows 10 update nu sms’jes versturen vanaf je PC

Grote kans dat je momenteel een foto naar jezelf mailt als je hem van je telefoon naar je PC wilt hebben. Met Microsoft’s Windows 10 October 2018 update en de meegeleverde Your Phone-app hoeft dat niet meer. Je kunt content van je Android-telefoon en iPhone rechtstreeks vanaf je PC benaderen.

De Your Phone app is onderdeel van de oktober update van Windows 10 en is vanaf vandaag handmatig te downloaden. Wie daar geen tijd voor heeft krijgt hem op een later moment automatisch binnen. Met de app is het mogelijk om je foto’s rechtstreeks op je PC te bekijken waarna je ze kunt bewerken en versturen. Ook is het mogelijk om sms’berichten via je PC te versturen, mits je een telefoon met minimaal Android 7.0 Nougat hebt.

iPhone-gebruikers missen die functies maar krijgen de mogelijkheid om webpagina’s die op de telefoon geopend zijn verder te bekijken op de PC. Die functie doet denken aan de Handoff-functie dat onderdeel is van Apple’s Continuity. Microsoft’s functie werkt draadloos dus het is niet nodig hem via een kabel aan je PC te koppelen. Tijdens Microsoft’s presentatie werd verder een demonstratie gegeven waarbij de gehele Android-telefoon werd overgenomen. Handig om een app groot op je monitor weer te geven. Deze functie doet dan weer denken aan Samsung DeX. Eenmaal gekoppeld aan je computer kun je min of meer ook dezelfde telefoon-apps draaien. Deze functie is momenteel nog geen onderdeel van de Your Phone-app maar komt later.

Bewegende beelden tonen instap Sony Xperia L3

Dankzij opgedoken CAD-tekeningen heeft @onleaks een filmpje van de aankomende Xperia L3 online gezet. Een instap Sony dus met dubbele camera en een vertrouwde plek voor de vingerafdrukscanner. In plaats van de achterkant zit die nu weer op z’n vertrouwde plek; de zijkant.

De beelden verschenen on een blog van Pricebaba die daarvoor een samenwerking met @onleaks aanging. De opvolger van de Xperia L2 krijgt vermoedelijk een 5,7 inch groot beeldscherm wat daarmee een fractie groter is dan z’n voorganger. Mogelijk is dit een gevolg van het wegbezuinigen van de schermranden boven en onder. Die lijken bij de L3 aanzienlijk kleiner geworden.

Achterop vinden we ditmaal een dubbele camera die net als de iPhone onder elkaar in de linkerbovenhoek geplaatst zijn. Welke resolutie(s) Sony toepast is nog even onduidelijk. Op de L2 werd nog gebruik gemaakt van een 13 megapixel camera dus denk iets in die richting. Bovenop het toestel vinden we een 3,5 millimeter audio-jack voor je eigen favoriete koptelefoon en aan de rechterzijkant vinden we de vingerafdrukscanner. Voor Sony is dat een vertrouwde plek al plaatsten ze hem de afgelopen modellen juist aan de achterkant. Onderop is ruimte gevonden voor een USB-C poort voor opladen. Of de Xperia L3 aan snelladen of draadloos laden doet weten we nog niet.

Ontvang een e-mail wanneer de Xperia L3 verkrijgbaar is

E-mail

Aankondiging Xperia L3

Sony kondigde de Xperia L2 aan in januari van 2018. Het ligt dus voor de hand dat deze L3 ook in januari wordt aangekondigd, mogelijk tijdens de CES-beurs in Las Vegas. Die start dinsdag 8 januari en loopt tot zaterdag 12 januari. Qua prijs denken wij aan 249 euro, voor dat bedrag kwam z’n voorganger op de markt. Verwacht voor deze prijs wel een telefoon van plastic en mogelijk met matige MediaTek-processor.

Philips Hue iOS App Updated With Siri Shortcuts Support

The Philips Hue app for iOS this week updated with support for Siri Shortcuts, allowing users to add their lights to a Shortcut to turn on scenes like “Movie Time.” Siri will also now learn when people are using their favorite scenes and suggest them for quick activation on the iOS lock screen, in Siri search, and on the Siri Apple Watch face (via 9to5Mac).

The Shortcuts app launched to the public within iOS 12 in September, allowing users to create multi-step shortcuts using first and third-party apps that can be activated by Siri voice command. Shortcuts are deeply customizable, and third party apps like the Hue app are able to develop quick actions for Siri that can be incorporated into Shortcuts recipes.

During the original announcement, the company explained how Hue shortcuts are compatible with other shortcuts, so you can have a whole “Dinner Time” setup that not only changes the lights, but also does things like turn on music and text family members that the food is ready.

The launch of Shortcuts for Hue lights comes after the company revealed new light fixtures last August, aimed at providing light for an entertainment area. These include the Hue Play (seen above) and Hue Signe lights. Philips Hue also now sells a range of outdoor lights, including an Outdoor Lightstrip, spotlight, and path light.

For the new Siri Shortcuts integration, Philips Hue version 3.6.0 is available to download now on the iOS App Store.

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Plex Announces Free ‘Plex Web Shows’ Feature

Plex today announced that it is adding a new Plex Web Shows beta feature to the Plex service, allowing Plex users to watch web shows for free without a media server or a Plex subscription.

Plex Web Shows provides unlimited on-demand streaming of a curated selection of web shows on any device where Plex content can be accessed.

At launch, Plex plans to offer access to web shows across a range of interests, such as food, home and garden, science and tech, entertainment, and more. Web shows available at launch include Epic Meal Time, ASAPscience, Household Hacker, People are Awesome, and The Pet Collective, along with content from brands like GQ, Pitchfork, and Epicurious.

Plex already provides access to free content that includes news shows and podcasts, and the web shows will expand the content that cord cutters can get for free with no cable subscription.

According to Plex, Web Shows, like Plex News and Plex Podcasts, will get better through use, with the service able to offer up recommendations based on your interests and what you’ve previously watched.

The new Web Shows feature, the Plex News options, and the Plex Podcasts are available alongside personal media collections that Plex users can add to the Plex service.

Plex Web Shows are available on Plex starting today.

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Freewrite Traveler is a portable writing device for the easily distracted

If you’re a writer who tends to be easily distracted, the Freewrite Traveler may be just what you need.

The device is a better looking, more compact version of the Freewrite machine that launched a couple of years ago, and aims to divert you from your procrastination method of choice so that you can focus on the writing task in hand. At least, that’s the idea.

Created by New York-based Astrohaus, what the Traveler doesn’t feature is the reason you might want to get it. There’s no email, no social media, no games, no alerts or notifications, no video streaming, and no apps. There’s really little more than a keyboard, a display, and an internet connection so you can save your work to the cloud.

One of the main strengths of the Traveler over its predecessor is its lightweight, foldable, and altogether more portable design, hence its name. Tipping the scales at four pounds, the original Freewrite device was a hefty, bulky lump of a thing, while the Traveler weigh in at a more manageable 1.8 pounds. So now you can head to your favorite coffee shop to finally begin work on that amazing novel idea you’ve been talking about for so long, though if you’re a bit of a people-watcher, distractions other than those provided by the internet may prove a challenge. Oh, and best to chain your smartphone to the bottom of your bag, too.

The Traveler comes with an E ink display, a slim full-size keyboard with keys offering 2mm of travel, and four-week battery life. The device saves your work automatically at regular intervals to internal flash storage, and to a cloud service such as Dropbox or Google Drive when you’re connected to the internet.

Notably, the device supports Markdown syntax, enabling rich formatting in your documents such as headings, bullet points, and italics.

“The idea is that by separating the creative and the critical, we can work more effectively,” Astrohaus says. “Draft on Traveler and with seamless syncing to the cloud [you can] effortlessly transition to editing later on your computer. Once there you can still use your favorite editing programs like Scrivener, Final Draft, or Word.”

The Traveler is an Indiegogo campaign that’s already well past its $50,000 funding target — and it still has a month to go. The retail price is expected to be $599, though at the time of writing a few early-bird offers are still listed at $309. If all goes to plan, the Traveler will ship to backers in June 2019, with global availability slated for three months later.

As with any project of this nature, if you choose to back it then do so with the kind of caution you would apply to any other crowdfunding campaign. To find out more, check out the Traveler’s Indiegogo page.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here are the 20 best travel apps for vacations and trips
• The MacBook’s keyboard sucks, so use this mechanical keyboard instead
• How to take travel photos with just your smartphone
• The best laptop backpacks for traveling
• Adobe Spark Page makes web design easy — here’s how to use it

Surface Pro 6 hands-on review

Research Center:

Microsoft Surface Pro 6

To you and me, the big change with the new Microsoft Surface Pro 6 — beyond the overhaul and upgrade of the components that power the system — is the finish. This one comes in a new matte black that looks professional and feels great. But don’t tell Ralf Groene that it’s “just a different color.”

Groene is head of Industrial Design with the Microsoft Devices group and the man most responsible for the look and feel of the products. At Microsoft’s big Surface launch event in New York City, he told me that black is more than just a color. It’s a whole new material, one that’s slightly thicker than the standard platinum finish – and that was a big problem.

“You can’t make it bigger than the last version,” he told me. Because obviously. Every new iteration of a product must be thinner, lighter, faster. You can’t grow the damn thing. So Groene’s team went back to the drawing board and shaved a few microns off the internals to facilitate the slightly thicker coating from the vapor-deposition process.

So it’s not just black. Don’t ever say that.

Jeremy Kaplan/Digital Trends

Beyond the black

The new coating feels great under the fingers, but beyond that, there’s little external change to the new Surface Pro 6. The Surface Pro has offered a compelling mix of tablet and laptop since day one, and having refined and polished what exactly that means over the years, Microsoft hit a winning balance with the Surface Pro last year. Don’t mess with perfection, in other words.

The new Pro 6 has the same detachable keyboard, the same pen, the same tablet functionality, and so on. I didn’t get a chance to check, but I suspect earlier keyboards would work with this newer product.

Microsoft hit a winning balance with the Surface Pro. Don’t mess with perfection, in other words.

It’s the internals that have changed. Last year’s Surface Pro was fast for a 2-in-1, but its seventh-generation Intel Core processors went out of date quickly. To fix that, Microsoft has upgraded to the eighth-generation chips.

That’s a big, big, big deal. Why? Because this is the generation that expanded quad-core to a wider swath of the lineup. The Surface Pro 6 is the first version of the Pro with a quad-core processor. Microsoft says that improves performance by 67 percent. That’s a bit of a loaded figure because it’ll only apply to heavily multi-threaded workloads, but you’re going to notice the difference in demanding applications.

Despite the upgrade in performance, Microsoft says battery life has also improved. The new version apparently nets up to 3.5 more hours of additional battery life compared to the prior Surface Pro generation. The Pro 6 is good for a whopping 14.5 hours.

Jeremy Kaplan/Digital Trends

Our past reviews have found that Surface devices don’t often meet Microsoft’s claims, but 14.5 hours is a long time. We guess you’ll see more like 10 or 11 hours in normal use, which is still more than enough for most people.

The new Surface is still a lot like the old Surface

While the performance grows, the feature set and connectivity is the same as before. There isn’t USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 on the device, despite what you may have hoped and prayed for. USB-C is a huge step forward for device manufacturers, and by skipping it, Microsoft has drawn a line in the sand.

Microsoft Surface Pro 6 Compared To

Lenovo Thinkpad T480s

Razer Blade Stealth (2018)

Dell XPS 15 Touch

Dell XPS 13 (2014)

HP EliteBook 820 G1

Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2013)

Acer Aspire V5

Asus UL30A

Asus Eee 1008HA Seashell

Fujitsu LifeBook U820

Apple MacBook (2.4GHz, 2008)

Asus Eee PC 901

Apple MacBook Air (80GB)

Apple MacBook 2.0GHz

Sony VAIO C1MW PictureBook

That’s too bad. As time goes one, and these new connection standards become more common, the Surface’s lack is becoming a problem. It wasn’t a big deal two years ago. Today, it feels like a big oversight.

We can appreciate why Microsoft has taken an “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” approach. The Surface Pro has long topped our list of the best 2-in-1 PCs. Yet we don’t think Microsoft should let itself get comfortable. Other devices, like the new HP Folio, are introducing radical new designs to unseat the Surface Pro.

It was good. It is good. It will be good.

The Surface Pro 6 brings forward the carefully honed design of earlier models and bumps the speed of the computer significantly.  It doesn’t try to revolutionize the Surface Pro’s now well-known look. It doesn’t need to. The 2-in-1 race is Microsoft’s to lose, and the company remains well ahead of the competition.

You can order the Surface Pro 6 today starting at $899. The product will be available starting Oct. 16.