Ring’s updates make its devices and app smarter and more efficient

Ring security systems are getting a slew of improvements, many via updates to the app that helps customers monitor activity around doorsteps, porches and other locations equipped with Ring doorbells and cameras.

Several of the features announced apply primarily to Ring customers who subscribe to a Ring Protect Plan, which enables storage of recording triggered by motion near a Ring doorbell or webcam. These innovations should make it easier to monitor a home and also make Ring devices more energy efficient.

Available now is a camera preview feature that provides recent images from all Ring devices on one screen. If you see something you wish to investigate further, you simply click on that image to get a dashboard view of the device that captured it.

A timeline feature, scheduled to begin rolling out in November, will allow customers to scroll through recordings on a color-coded timeline, which should help them figure out what happened where and when.

Ring also announced a suite of Smart Alert features designed to make alerts to Ring Connect subscribers more relevant and improve battery life of devices by using cloud-based video analysis to reduce recordings triggered by false alarms. The initial set of Smart Alert features, expected to appear in early 2019, include:

• Motion Verification: New to battery-powered Ring devices, this feature is specifically designed to reduce false alarms.
• Motion Stop: If activity is deemed unimportant, Ring devices will stop recording.
• Person Detection: Video analysis will be able to tell whether a person, animal or item is causing motion, and customers can choose to ignore motion instigators that don’t interest them.
• Motion Zones: Also new to battery-powered devices, this feature lets customers designate areas they wish to monitor closely.

Also in the works for 2019:

• Live Camera Previews: When a Ring device detects motion of concern, it will immediately begin streaming live images to the Ring app dashboard.
• Audible Announcements: Wired Ring devices will be able to issue voice alerts through their speaker, telling people they are being monitored.
• Timestamps: Ring Protect Plan subscribers will be able to put date and time on shared video recordings.
• Bulk downloads: Ring Protect Plan subscribers will be able to download all of their recordings from Ring.com with just a few clicks.

Ring also plans to offer Protect Plan subscribers the option of continuous recording from wired devices for an additional fee. All customers will have access, free of charge, to still images captured throughout the day during gaps between motion-triggered recordings.

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Everything we know about the 2018 Mac mini

It’s official: Apple’s second fall 2018 event has been confirmed for October 30 in Brooklyn, New York. Rumor suggest that Apple is going to talk about a new iPad Pro and MacBook, but there’s another device that could also get some attention: The Mac mini.

If you’re a little surprised at that, there’s good reason. It’s been several years since the Mac mini got an update, and Apple has rarely brought up the little desktop computer square, although Tim Cook did say a year ago that, “Our customers have found so many creative and interesting uses for Mac mini. While it is not time to share any details, we do plan for Mac mini to be an important part of our product line going forward.”

Reports now indicate that it’s finally time for an upgrade. Here’s what we know and suspect about a potential Mac mini reveal at the end of October.

A new processor

Some kind of processor upgrade is an obvious choice for the now outdated Mac mini, and rumors back in July indicated that the mini could receive a power boost this year.

But what new processors are we talking about? Well, four generations of Intel Core processors have come and gone since the Mac mini was updated last. The current model runs on dual-core Core i5 or Core i7 processors, so we’d expect Apple to update to something like the 8th-gen Core i5-8400 and Core i7-8700 processors — both of which are six-core CPUs. 9th-gen desktop chips have only begun to roll out from Intel, but the powerful K-series processors are out of the question.

In the realm of pure speculation, one other possibility could be the Core i5-8305G and Core i7-8809G. These are the Intel/AMD hybrid units that include AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics onboard a quad-core, Intel processor. It’s an expensive chip made for miniaturized PCs like the Intel NUC. It would re-frame the Mac mini as a more capable gaming and content creation tool, which brings us to our next point.

Switching to a Pro model

Rumors and leaks have discussed the possibility that Apple will revamp the mini into a mini Pro model that is aimed primarily at professionals who want to keep their display and accessories but switch out for a higher-power model.

In this case, Apple would update not only the processor but also expand the storage options. A Mac mini Pro would also need to add more business-friendly features to the unit, which would presumably sell it at a higher price than the current $500 Mac mini. This theoretical mini Pro would fit in well with Apple’s other October focus, the iPad Pro, as two professional bookends for the event.

Since the mini has found a home in network setups and business data storage, it would make sense for many of these new features to focus on server and network management, allowing the mini to slot into many different data setups across a number of businesses.

SSD hard drive

This one is practically a shoe-in.

The current Mac mini shows its age with options for an HDD, SSD, or fusion drive combination. That was a more common offering a few years ago, but now the market has shifted more fully toward SSD options. We expect a new mini would launch with SSD-only storage, probably offered up to 2TB or more. It’s a simple, sensible move that many other Mac devices, including the iMac Pro and Mac Pro.

Updated ports

Let’s assume that Apple recognizes the mini’s new role in the office and is focusing more on Pro users. This makes it much more likely that the new model will come with additional ports, especially USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 and additional Ethernet ports. This would make it more useful for data management in business situations — and more versatile overall.

But is the mini still an entertainment device? Ultimately, what Apple decides will probably determine whether or not the HDMI port will stay. Entertainment has changed a lot in just the past four or five years, which leaves Apple in a bit of a tricky situation as to how to position the Mac mini.

If Apple decides that the mini is more at home with tasks in the workplace, it may remove the HDMI in favor of other “Pro” connections. But if the mini still has a future as an entertainment device — perhaps like a versatile cousin to Apple TV — then no doubt HDMI will stay. If this is the case, then Apple definitely needs to upgrade video support to 4K as well.

It’s also possible that Apple could cut back ports to only USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 to follow suit with its MacBook Pros.

Refreshed design

While we’ve heard a few rumblings about what a new Mac mini could be like, but very little involving its actual physical appearance. The Mac mini is known for being small, though the definition of small has changed rather quickly over the past few years. Compact PCs that can attach to the back of monitors or fit on your keychain are everywhere you look, and a new Mac mini would have to address the changing context with its size and design.

In terms of materials, that’s also up in the air. Interestingly, Apple has still been making new Mac minis, but only as limited releases. The company has been used purely recycled aluminum from iPhone cases to create Mac minis just for use inside Apple facilities. This doesn’t say much about what Apple may release in October, except that recycled materials could be a part of the plan, but it is an example of how Apple still uses the mini even in its own data architecture.

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Updates to the Ring app will make your home security even smarter

Improve your home security setup for free with all these future updates.

Ring is updating its official Always Home app with Smart Alerts and other new features to help make your home security that much better. If you’re running a Ring camera, like the cameras in the $199 Ring Alarm security system, then you will be excited to know the cameras are getting upgraded without you doing a thing.

Smart Alerts will use your Ring Protect Plan and cloud-based video analysis to deliver only the notifications that matter most to you. This will actually save power on any battery-powered cameras like the Ring Spotlight Cam and improve motion detection by reducing false alerts. The specific examples, which will start rolling out to the Ring app in early 2019, include Motion Verification to rule out false alerts, Motion Stop to halt cameras when the motion is unimportant, Person Detection so the motion detection won’t follow people when it doesn’t need to, and Motion Zones so they can focus on specific areas.

One of the other features includes Camera Previews, which will consolidate the recent images from all of your Ring cameras in one place. You’ll be able to look through the photos, tap the preview, and go to a live view right away. The Timeline feature will give you a look at Ring’s event history and let you know what happened and when.

The Ring app, which will eventually get all these updates and more, is available for free through Google Play, iTunes, and the Windows store.

The new Mobvoi TicWatch C2 watch is powered by Wear OS

Dear Santa…

Today the Mobvoi TicWatch C2 was unveiled. Available on December 6th, this shiny new smartwatch ships running Wear OS. It features NFC for Google Pay compatibility, too. You can pre-order it now in black and platinum, as well as in a slightly thinner rose gold version.

The TicWatch 2 was originally launched on Kickstarter, and it ran on its own Android-based OS. The new version, aside from using the Wear operating system, features a two-day battery life and an IP68 waterproof rating. It’s also powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip, and features built-in GPS as well as dynamic heart rate monitoring. The stainless steel front and leather strap construction add to the timeless aesthetic. The faces and straps are customizable, too.

In addition, the Mobvoi TicPods Free are also up for grabs online. The headphones are compatible with Google Assistant, Alexa, and Siri, and they come in white, blue, and red. Similar to Apple’s Airpods, these headphones respond to touch controls to change music or pick up phone calls.

See at Mobvoi

The Red Dead Redemption 2 PS4 bundle is back in stock at Amazon!

Rhyming? Alliteration? This game’s got it all.

Update: This pre-order is back in stock!

The Red Dead Redemption 2 PlayStation 4 Bundle is available for pre-order at both Amazon and Best Buy. It is set to ship at the end of October and it’ll run you $399.99, which essentially means you’re getting the game for free.

The bundle includes a jet black PS4 Pro 1TB console, a Dualshock 4 wireless controller, and a copy of Red Dead Redemption 2. The game is set in America in 1899. An excerpt from Amazon’s description reads: After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him.

Of course, if you already have a console and don’t plan on upgrading, it’d be a better use of your time and money to just pre-order the game. However, if you had plans to purchase or upgrade your console anyway, this bundle saves you $60 compared to buying the two separately.

See at Amazon

Your next Android phone should actually receive regular software updates

One of the biggest reasons to buy a Google Pixel (or even an iPhone) is because of the frequent software updates. Not just major platform updates, either; just as important are the regular security updates that keep your phone from being vulnerable to exploits and tidy up minor bugs. While there are exceptions, most other Android phones don’t receive those updates nearly as often as a Pixel.

According to confidential documents obtained by The Verge, though, that may be about to change. Google is requiring Android manufacturers to provide regular software updates for “popular devices” — meaning devices activated by at least 100,000 users — for at least two years, applying to any devices released after January 31st of this year.

More specifically, Google is demanding at least four security updates within a phone’s first year of life, and manufacturers must patch any vulnerabilities identified at least 90 days ago by the end of each month. Google plans to begin strictly enforcing this rule starting January 31st of 2019.

The incentive? Any manufacturer who doesn’t follow these guidelines with its popular devices may not receive approval from Google for any consequent devices — this could push back the launch of important phones for a manufacturer, giving plenty of motivation to keep up with these regular updates.

While this won’t necessarily improve the major platform upgrade situation with various manufacturers — say, the upgrade from Android 8.1 to Android 9, for example — but having strict regulations requiring regular security updates should be a big win for the consumer, and prevent major vulnerabilities in popular Android phones in the future.

Google Pixel Stand review

One of the most noteworthy additions to the Pixel line of phones for 2018 is the option for wireless charging. Available in many other flagship phones of the day, it’s been sorely lacking from Google’s seat at the table.

Not only did the Pixel 3 arrive with wireless charging, but it showed up with a new charger, too. Available now, the Pixel Stand delivers a fast, wireless charge to the Pixel 3, Pixel 3XL, and other Qi-capable phones.

The Pixel Stand runs $79.99 and comes in one color – white. It’s a simple design that looks very much in line with other Google products. In other words, it’s soft to touch, easy on the eyes, minimal, and modern. If Material Design were to make the leap to physical products, this would be a shining example.

As a single piece of hardware, the Pixel Stand looks a tad unorthodox. A circular disc forms the bottom base while a pill-shaped platter creates the stand. A small, bumpy ledge on the base ensures your phone doesn’t slide around. The whole unit is soft and smooth and comes across more like rubber than plastic.

The Pixel Stand isn’t designed to fold and go; it’s the type of charger that requires a more permanent placement. You cannot disassemble or fold it to pack up for travel so don’t look to this one for your on-the-go needs.

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There’s almost no physical setup required to get going with the Pixel Stand. Simply plug in the included USB Type-C cable underneath and flip it upright.

The charging stand employs the Qi standard for charging so it will work with other phones that allow for wireless recharge. Our suggestion, though, is that you might want to consider other chargers as they’re going to be less expensive and possible have different features.

In fact, it’s reported that Google only provides the full 10W worth of power to the Pixel 3 phones. Other models with Qi wireless charging capabilities are getting 5W speed. For that alone we suggest looking elsewhere for a wireless dock for non-Pixel models.

The Pixel Stand is primarily designed for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.

What’s so special about those phones that they pair so well with this particular charger? It’s the Google Assistant smarts and other features that unlock when you connect to charge.

Place your Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL on the Pixel Stand for the first time and you’ll be prompted to set up a few additional options. Instead of simply charging, the stand can turn your phone display into something that is actionable and powered by Google Assistant.

Using the ambient display of the phone, you can glance over for weather, time, date, notifications, and Google Assistant on standby. You’ll also see a small button that says “Good Morning” or another message based on the time of day. Tap it and you’ll get the same stuff you might hear when asking Google Assistant how your day looks.

The visible snapshot of your day (weather, traffic conditions, schedule, reminders) is a welcome addition to the charging experience. Having something to glance at often helps us to recall things later in the day.

You can set things up to show upcoming appointments, or tap the Google Feed to display headlines, trending topics, and other suggested actions. It’s great to have a visual companion to Google Assistant and essentially turns your phone into a small Google Home Hub of sorts.

It’s also possible to customize the phone to show your Google Photos as a screensaver or changing wallpaper. Choose from a particular album or two or let it automatically display recent highlights. It’s always random and sometimes stacks two photos on top of each other or next to one another.

If there’s a minor gripe about the photos, it’s that they are displayed at full brightness. So, depending on where you have the Pixel Stand, you might find yourself distracted every time a new image (or two) pops up.

Another situation where we found ourselves somewhat flustered is when we’d use the Pixel Stand in the same room as a Google Home or Google Home Mini. Specifically, there was no way to tell either device which we’d like to set as default.

For instance, we would prompt our Pixel 3 with a query which would normally pull up a video and the Google Home would pick up the command. The speaker wouldn’t know how to handle the request and the phone wouldn’t respond to it.

This didn’t happen often, but enough that we noticed the inconvenience. We’ve slowly started to add smart speakers and devices to our house and office and this issue could be worsened if not addressed soon. We would like to see some sort of setting in the Google Home app which lets us configure a “room” or “group” with default, or primary devices.

Use the Pixel Stand in your bedroom as an alarm clock and you’ll get another cool feature. Set the time to wake you up and your Pixel 3 will slowly increase the brightness with a yellow sun-like color that helps to pull you from sleep in a more gentle manner.

If charging is all you care about, and you really don’t want to be bothered, you can configure the Pixel Stand to take you off the grid, so to speak. It’s really simple to set up the “do not disturb” mode which silences everything and doesn’t bother you with notifications.

Given this is a charger, we should tell you about that aspect, right? Here it goes: it’s fast. Really fast.

The Pixel Stand comes with an 18W wall plug and USB Type-C cable. With up to 10W of wireless charging power for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, it tops off the phones quicker than most wireless platters.

We found the Pixel Stand would charge our Pixel 3 XL at a rate of around 20%-25% after about 20 minutes on the charger. Given the size of the battery this was really impressive. This is one of those experiences that makes other chargers feel slow by comparison. We get the feeling that we’ll want this speed as often as possible, or at least in as many places as possible.

The Pixel Stand doesn’t come cheaply with its $80 price tag. If you’re just looking for a wireless charger, start elsewhere. But, if you have a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL, you owe it to yourself to grab this one. The Google Assistant features, and other fun smarts, make it worth the extra money and further enhance that really awesome phone.

The Samsung Galaxy A8s could be the first phone with a truly edge-to-edge display

While the likes of Apple, Google, OnePlus, and others have all adopted the concept of the notch for their latest and greatest flagship phones, Samsung has so far steered clear of the trend. That, however, doesn’t mean Samsung doesn’t want to build phones with an edge-to-edge display. In fact, it does. But how can it do that without using a notch? Well, turns out it could build a phone with a hole in the display instead.

At a launch event for the Galaxy A9s and A6s, Samsung teased a device called the Galaxy A8s, and it’s expected that this will be the first phone from Samsung with a truly edge-to-edge display. According to known Samsung leaker Ice Universe, the Galaxy A8s will have a hole drilled into the display through which a front-facing camera will be able to see.

While it doesn’t constitute a notch, a hole in the display might basically be considered the same thing. It will be noticeable when you’re viewing full-screen content, and it will make the title of fully edge-to-edge display debatable considering the fact that part of the area isn’t actually display. Still, the fact is that the smaller the cutout on the display, the less noticeable it will be — and the closer we get to an edge-to-edge reality.

The release is particularly exciting considering the fact that it’s seen as something of a stepping stone to the Samsung Galaxy S10, which may feature a fully edge-to-edge display with a range of new technologies designed to hide things like front-facing speakers, cameras, and fingerprint sensors under the display. It’s currently unclear if Samsung will adopt all of these technologies for the S10, or if it’s working on them to incorporate in another future model.

It’s also possible some of this new tech could show up in the Galaxy A8s. For example, Samsung is working on a way to incorporate a front-facing speaker by vibrating the entirety of the display. It could also include an in-display fingerprint sensor into the phone.

When it comes to other specs, the Galaxy A range is generally midrange. The newly announced Galaxy A9s features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, coupled with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It’s likely that similar specs will end up in the Galaxy A8s.

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Google is giving you more control of your search history and privacy

Google has long faced criticism for the way that it collects data, but the search engine is now adding in more ways for controlling for what is shared online.  A blog post on Wednesday, October 24, announced consumers now have more ways to control Google search history and privacy options across desktop and mobile web.

As part of the first change, Google is tweaking the search history experience so that removing searches no longer requires a visit to the main account page. Now new are options to delete or review search histories directly by heading to the bottom of the Your Search activity section in the Your Data section of the search page.

Searches can be deleted from the last hour, and any search activity can also be removed. A full list of any given search is also available on the page, and there are even links to find out more on how sharing activity data can make the Google experience better.

“Now, we’re bringing these controls to you — from directly within Search, you can review or delete your Search activity and quickly get back to finding what you were searching for,” Google said.

The second half of the changes involve making it easier to tweak Google account privacy controls which may relate to Search. This includes options for saving activity on Google, sites, apps, services, and associated information like location. Also included are options for disabling the saving a recording of voice and audio input, and ad personalization.

“For example, to control the ads you see when you search, we give you access to your Ad Settings. Additionally, you can access your Activity Controls to decide what information Google saves to your account and uses to make Search and other Google services faster, smarter and more useful,” explains Google.

Currently, these improvements are limited to Google on desktop and mobile web. An update is also coming for the Google app on iOS and Android in the coming weeks which should introduce the privacy changes. Google also is planning on expanding privacy features to Maps, and its many other products, noting that it is “continuously working to build privacy that works for everyone.”

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Google is giving you more control of your search history and privacy

Google has long faced criticism for the way that it collects data, but the search engine is now adding in more ways for controlling for what is shared online.  A blog post on Wednesday, October 24, announced consumers now have more ways to control Google search history and privacy options across desktop and mobile web.

As part of the first change, Google is tweaking the search history experience so that removing searches no longer requires a visit to the main account page. Now new are options to delete or review search histories directly by heading to the bottom of the Your Search activity section in the Your Data section of the search page.

Searches can be deleted from the last hour, and any search activity can also be removed. A full list of any given search is also available on the page, and there are even links to find out more on how sharing activity data can make the Google experience better.

“Now, we’re bringing these controls to you — from directly within Search, you can review or delete your Search activity and quickly get back to finding what you were searching for,” Google said.

The second half of the changes involve making it easier to tweak Google account privacy controls which may relate to Search. This includes options for saving activity on Google, sites, apps, services, and associated information like location. Also included are options for disabling the saving a recording of voice and audio input, and ad personalization.

“For example, to control the ads you see when you search, we give you access to your Ad Settings. Additionally, you can access your Activity Controls to decide what information Google saves to your account and uses to make Search and other Google services faster, smarter and more useful,” explains Google.

Currently, these improvements are limited to Google on desktop and mobile web. An update is also coming for the Google app on iOS and Android in the coming weeks which should introduce the privacy changes. Google also is planning on expanding privacy features to Maps, and its many other products, noting that it is “continuously working to build privacy that works for everyone.”

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