If we want to slow down climate change, we should change how we mine Bitcoin

Bitcoin celebrates its 10th birthday today, which is a major milestone for a technology that some skeptical pundits predicted would never make it out of single digits. However, while there is plenty to love about the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, people have also raised concerns about what the heavy hardware requirements of Bitcoin mining mean for our planet. Bitcoin mining requires massive amounts of electricity, which means enormous amounts of CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere as a result. In 2017 alone, the use of Bitcoin resulted in an estimated 69 million metric tons of CO2 emission.

But what does this mean in terms of climate change? Nothing good, unfortunately. According to a new study coming out of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, provided that Bitcoin continues its trajectory it could produce enough emissions to raise global temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius as soon as 2033. This holds true if Bitcoin is adopted at even the lowest rate at which other technologies have been incorporated.

For their study, the researchers examined the power efficiency of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), the computers currently in use for Bitcoin mining. They then factored in the locations where Bitcoin is likely computed and the corresponding CO2 emissions, based on the electricity production fuels in those countries. Needless to say, this is bad news — since increased climate change oft 2 degrees Celsius could push the planet’s temperature increase past the 1.5 Celsius threshold that could lead to catastrophic, irreversible changes on Earth.

“We are not aiming to predict the future of Bitcoin, but rather we hope that this research highlights the importance of considering the potential environmental impacts of emerging technologies in terms of CO2 emissions and climate change,” Katie Taladay, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “It is essential that emerging technologies like Bitcoin are developed and adopted with energy efficiency in mind.”

Randi Rollins, another researcher involved in the study, said that, while Bitcoin is an “innovative and interesting” technology, something will need to change with the way that coins are currently mined. “Bitcoin highlights a broader issue: Emerging technologies and industries need to take their potential footprint into consideration, and make smart decisions for development, being aware of the consequences of emission production,” Rollins said. “Green, sustainable energy would allow Bitcoin to continue, as is, without the repercussions we outline in our paper.”

Fortunately, it seems that there are a growing number of efforts to make Bitcoin mining more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Will this be enough to help slow the kind of climate change this study predicts? Provided these researchers are correct, we certainly hope so.

A paper describing this work was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

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Sprint’s 1Gbps LTE Advanced network is now up and running in more than 225 cities

It looks like Sprint is seriously stepping up its network speed. The company announced that its LTE Advanced network is now available around the country, including more than 225 cities. What that means is that in those cities, phones capable of connecting to LTE advanced networks will be able to get download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.

Gigabit internet speeds are becoming increasingly common, but they are still super fast compared to other wireless network speeds. On a network with 1Gbps download speeds, you will be able to download an HD movie in a matter of seconds.

It’s important to note that it’s unlikely you will be able to hit full 1Gbps speeds, even when you’re connected to an LTE Advanced network and using a compatible phone. The more people that are connected to a particular cell tower, the lower your speeds will be — not to mention the fact that obstacles and distance can play a role, too. Still, the fact remains that you will likely achieve much faster speeds on these new networks than you otherwise would have and even a few hundred megabits per second is a super fast speed.

In February, Sprint announced that it was hoping to build out the first nationwide 5G network by early next year, and rolling out LTE Advanced is a huge part of making that happen. On top of rolling out LTE Advanced, Sprint is also bringing 5G capabilities to nine cities by the end of the year — including the likes of Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Customers won’t be able to access these 5G capabilities until next year, but it’s still quite a step forward.

Sprint is also building one of the first phones with 5G built right into it. It’s not currently clear who the company is working with on the project but the phone is expected to launch alongside Sprint’s 5G network next year. Meanwhile, progress continues to be made in the Sprint and T-Mobile merger, and the two companies have said that merging will allow them to build their next-generation networks faster.

Of course, Sprint isn’t the only network building out 5G. Verizon recently launched 5G home internet service and while the devices used for that will ultimately be replaced to meet industry standards, the fact remains that 5G is starting to become a reality.

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See the National Forests like never before in this awe-inspiring drone video

What’s the difference between a National Park and a National Forest? Drones. The National Park Service banned drones several years ago after tourists proved time and time again that they couldn’t be trusted with them. But no such ban exists in the National Forests — at least, not yet — which gives filmmakers a way to capture the immensity of these locations with stunning results.

This isn’t just about having some pretty pictures to look at; the Forest Service manages nearly 200 million acres of public lands, but getting the public to actually pay attention and care isn’t always easy. To bring renewed attention to how these lands are used, the Forest Service knew it would need more than a pamphlet — much more. Its new campaign, called Your Forests Your Future, looks to build an audience across new types of media, including a podcast, video series, and eventually a VR experience. The Bridger-Teton video above is the first in a planned 155-episode series exploring every National Forest — that’s no small undertaking.

To accomplish it, the Forest Service turned to veteran outdoor filmmakers Will and Jim Pattiz, brothers who have been working tirelessly on their own video project documenting the National Parks (sans drones, but still with gorgeous results). The Pattiz brothers were accustomed to working long hours for weeks at a time in the wilderness, so they were a natural fit for the Your Forests Your Future campaign.

What was new to them, however, was the ability to use a drone. “The great part about working with the Forest Service is that we can use drones, and it really allows us to make these films so much better and more representative,” Jim Pattiz told Digital Trends. “We used the [DJI] Inspire 2 for the aerials, which is an amazing tool (when it works!).”

The Inspire 2 wasn’t the only camera in the brothers’ arsenal, however. Time-lapse sequences were captured with the Sony A7R II, while most of the realtime video was shot on a Blackmagic Design URSA Mini.

So one video down, 154 to go. It sounds daunting, but the Pattiz brothers are still building steam. When we spoke with them for this article, they were already on location for the third video in the series — armed with the new DJI Mavic 2.

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Mac Mini vs. iMac

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air, there are a lot of different Macs to choose from at Apple. We previously stacked the new MacBook Air against the MacBook Pro, but now it is time to turn attention to Apple’s desktop counterparts.

In this guide, we now put up the specs on the newest refreshed Mac mini against the iMac. We would have never compared these two in the past, but thanks to the price jump on the new Mac mini, there’s now some overlap in configurations. Weighing in features like design, and performance, we’ll help you decide which is right for your set up at work or home.

Design

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Both the iMac and Mac mini are made of aluminum and are designed as desktops, but the form factor could not be more different between the two. At 2.9 pounds and 1.4 inches in thickness, the Mac mini is similar to a super compact cable box. That makes it very ideal for sitting under a monitor or at the side of a desk, out of the way in places with limited space. Great as that is, its sleek Space Gray aluminum design doesn’t account for monitors or keyboards, all of which need to be purchased separately.

The iMac contrasts to the Mac mini since is an all in one computing solution. The base iMac model ends up coming at 17.7 inches tall, and 20.8 inches in width, but a 27-inch model is also available. It also packs a 21.5-inch display with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, whereas the Retina 4K model packs a display with 4,096 x 2,304 resolution. A separate 27-inch model also packs a Retina 5K display for 5,120 x 2,880 resolution. Apple even includes both a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2 in the box, keeping you from separate purchases.

Some professionals might prefer the iMac for its display and all-in-one design, but the Mac mini remains a bit more enticing since it can be plugged into an existing setup.

Performance

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

While we haven’t tested it yet, Apple revamped the Mac mini with new internals to make it a better buy. The base $800 Mac mini model ships with an 8th-gen Intel Core i3 quad-core processor clocked at 3.6 GHz. It also comes with 8GB of RAM and a 128 GB PCIe-based SSD onboard. Apple also includes the new T2 security chip, for better protection against data theft.

For more processing power, a Mac mini model with a six-core 8th-gen Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 3.0GHz is also available for $1,100. This is where the Mac mini crosses into iMac territory. In all models, up to 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB RAM can also be added, and there are options for configurations for 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSDs. There is still no dedicated graphics, though, and all Mac mini models ship with Intel UHD Graphics 630. That means gaming is out of the picture on the Mac Mini, but super fast SSDs should make boot up times quick and MacOS very responsive.

iMac models, however, are still stuck on the 7th-gen Intel processors and a much slower 1TB SATA drive as stock options. A base $1,100 iMac comes with dual-core 2.3GHz dual‑core Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 2.3GHz. There are also options for quad‑core Intel Core i5 processors clocked at 3.0GHz, but these are only on the Retina models and will bump the pricing up to $1,300.

Keep in mind, those Retina iMac models include dedicated graphics — Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB video memory—whereas the base model iMacs come with integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640. Either way, the older SATA drives on these iMacs are slow and might make MacOS feel sluggish, especially if you’re not wanting to spend $200 for a model with an SSD “Fusion” drive.

Starting at $800 and equipped with newer and faster eighth-generation quad-core processors, vs the dual-core seventh $1,000 iMac, the Mac Mini presents more processing power. There’s also the bonus of each iMac coming with SSDs, instead of slower SATA drives. Sure, there is still no dedicated graphics on board the Mac Mini, and a monitor will need to be purchased separately, but the jump in the processor is well worth it for heavy multitasking.

Connectivity

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Apple has always embraced USB-C, and the ports on board both the Mac Mini and the iMac make that no different. Onboard the Mac Mini are four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The iMac keeps a similar range of ports, including four USB 3.0 ports, Two Thunderbolt 3 USB ports, Ethernet port, and an SDXC card slot.

It is hard to choose since all these ports are modern, but the win might just have to go to the iMac for its ports. Creatives are known for using Macs, and the lack of the SDXC card slot means that many might have to turn to a dongle to transfer photos and other content. It is a slight inconvenience that might be a deciding factor for some.

Buy the Mac mini, unless you’re going big

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

At the end of the day, the $800 Mac mini is worth more than a $1,100 iMac. For those looking for a Mac with serious multitasking and processing power, the eighth generation Intel Core i3 quad-core processor clocked at 3.6 GHz and SSDs presents more power for the punch than the dual-core chips and SATA drives on board the iMacs.

The higher-end iMacs are well worth the money, but the base models won’t be worth buying again until they’ve been updated with some faster components.

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10 years of Bitcoin: How a geeky cryptocurrency changed the world

Happy birthday, Bitcoin! From its birth 10 years ago, Bitcoin has grown from fledgling cryptocurrency proof-of-concept into a real world cash alternative that’s taken seriously by everyone from economists to technologists to national governments.

In the process, it’s helped spark the launch of 2,000 more cryptocurrencies, achieved a record high of nearly $20,000 per coin, and much, much more. Here are some of the highs and lows of the world’s most famous cryptocurrency since its creation in 2008.

2008: In the beginning…

Bitcoin didn’t technically begin trading until January 2009, so why are we celebrating its birthday today? Simple: Because this marks the day that a mysterious person named Satoshi Nakamoto (think The Usual Suspects’ Keyser Söze with more of an interest in cryptocurrency) posted a paper titled, “Bitcoin – A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System” on an online cryptography mailing list.

Until this point, there had been discussion of similar ideas (including by the NSA, who published a 1996 paper titled “How to Make a Mint: the Cryptography of Anonymous Electronic Cash.”) However, no-one had implemented the idea successfully. Satoshi Nakamoto helped change all that.

2009: The Genesis block

Hal Finney (left), was the first recipient of bitcoin. He was given 10 Bitcoins by Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto. Coinbase

Bitcoin began in earnest in January when the Bitcoin network was officially created. No Bitcoin exchanges existed initially, meaning that there was no way of accurately gauging the value of an individual Bitcoin. However, early adopters were able to start mining for the coins, and their ownership was recorded and verified on the blockchain.

The recipient of the first Bitcoin transaction was programmer Hal Finney, who received 10 Bitcoins from Satoshi Nakamoto. With a finite supply of 21 million Bitcoins, the currency was off to the races!

2010: Pizzas for Bitcoin

In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz became the first person to buy physical goods with Bitcoin after purchasing two pizzas for 10,000 BTC. Laszlo Hanyecz

In February, the world’s first Bitcoin currency exchange — the now defunct BitcoinMarkets.com — was established. It included automated and escrow trading, assorted payment options, trader ratings, and a private messaging system. It helped establish the growing Bitcoin community.

That same year, Bitcoin entered the real world, too, as early adopter Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC in Florida. Meanwhile, in November, Slush’s Pool became the first Bitcoin mining pool. It allowed groups of Bitcoin miners to team up to mine coins, and then split the reward according to each person’s contribution.

Oh yes, and the total value of all available Bitcoin passed $1 million!

2011: A viable currency

A video reacting to bitcoin’s dramatic crash in 2011 where it briefly dropped all the way down to one cent before rebounding to about $10.

This year was all about milestones — and competition. In February, the price for a single Bitcoin drew even with that of a single U.S. dollar. A few months later, the value of a single Bitcoin equalled that of European currency, the euro. These landmark events caused a surge of interest in the new cryptocurrency.

Rival coins started to appear, too, such as Namecoin and Litecoin. Not everything was good for the world of cryptocurrencies, though. Days after hitting a peak of $31.91 in value, Bitcoin crashed down to just $10. It underscored just how much volatility existed in the Bitcoin market during its earliest days.

2012: Bad publicity for Bitcoin

In May, an FBI document was leaked, in which the Feds voice their concerns that Bitcoin could be used as a payment method for illegal transactions involving weapons and drugs. Combined with the rise of the Silk Road, the first modern darknet marketplace, it added up to a bunch of negative publicity for Bitcoin.

Things weren’t helped by various hacks of Bitcoin exchanges and other sites which use the technology. Cloud services provider Linode fell prey to a massive hack in which 46,703 BTC were stolen. At the time, these carried a value of around $228,000. Today, that would be upwards of $286.7 million.

It wasn’t the first time that similar Bitcoin thefts took place, although this was among the biggest.

2013: Climbing back up

In February, Bitcoin’s value passed $30 per coin again for the first time in two years. After that, it keeps right on climbing. By March, the total value of Bitcoin in circulation exceeded $1 billion. By November, the value of a single Bitcoin was $503, representing a major new record.

It quickly doubled to $1,000 before dropping back down. Bitcoin didn’t rise back to four figures until 2017.

2014: The strange death of Mt.Gox

Mark Karpeles, former CEO of Mt. Gox

The biggest news of the year happened right up front — as the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, Mt.Gox, went offline. By 2014 Mt.Gox was handling around 70 percent of all the world’s Bitcoin transactions. Suddenly, the 850,000 Bitcoins on the exchange vanished without trace, with someone getting away with a haul of Bitcoin valued at $450 million dollars at the time.

Today, that treasure trove of illicit coins would have a value of more than $4 billion. Prior to closing up shop, customers had been growing increasingly upset with the long delays withdrawing cash from their accounts on Mt.Gox. Some people even reported waiting months to remove their money. As it turned out, they were the fortunate ones!

2016: Bitcoin goes mainstream

Anthony WallaceAFP/Getty Images

After a fairly uneventful 2015 (so quiet, in fact, that we skipped it entirely in this article), 2016 marked the further mainstreaming of Bitcoin around the world. In March, Japan officially recognized virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, as being a recognized currency just like cash money.

Elsewhere, Steam added to the number of platforms embracing Bitcoin as a payment method by allowing customers to use it to pay for video games and online media. The number of dedicated ATMs allowing users to trade the cryptocurrency doubled to 771 around the world. Finally, Ledger — the first academic journal dedicated to cryptocurrencies — published its first edition.

As busy a year as that sounded, in retrospect this was the calm before the (insanely profitable) storm.

2017: Bitcoin’s value goes ballistic

In mid-December of 2017, Bitcoin’s price peaked to nearly $20,00 USD. Coinmarket Cap

In 2017, Bitcoin’s value went through the roof. Over the year, the value of a single Bitcoin rose from approximately $1,000 on New Year’s Day to nearly $20,000 by December. In short, this was a monster annum for Bitcoin — and everyone who had faith in it.

In other happenings, the Bitcoin symbol was officially encoded as a character in Unicode version 10.0, while Bitcoin split into two derivative currencies — the BTC Bitcoin chain and the BCH Bitcoin Cash chain. This event was called the Bitcoin Cash hard fork. Make no mistake: 2017 was the year in which everyone, including major financial institutions, went cryptocurrency mad.

2018: What goes up must come down

After a monster year like 2017, where was there for Bitcoin to go but down? Between January 26 and February 6, the price of the currency halved, eventually falling to $6,000 per coin. While enormous strides have been made in the past decade, it’s a reminder that cryptocurrencies remain volatile. By now, the model has been proven and we’re no longer living in a Bitcoin Wild West as we were a few years back. But there’s still risk attached.

Where will things go over the next 10 years? We’re excited to find out!

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iOS 12 is Now Installed on 63% of Active Devices From the Last Four Years

A month and a half after release, Apple’s iOS 12 operating system is installed on 63 percent of active devices released over the course of the last four years, according to updated iOS 12 installation statistics shared on the App Store support page for developers.

Following the release of iOS 12, Apple has been sharing details on installation rates in a new way, providing information on both newer and older devices.

While 63 percent of devices released in the last four years are running iOS 12, 60 percent of all iOS devices out in the wild have the update installed.

Among all iOS devices, 29 percent continue to run iOS 11 while 11 percent run an earlier version of iOS. As for devices released within the last four years, 30 percent continue to run iOS 11 while 7 percent have an earlier version of iOS installed.

iOS 12 installation has grown 10 percentage points over the course of the last two and a half weeks, as the update was installed on 53 percent of devices released within the last four years back on October 10.

Between October 10 and October 29, the date Apple last collected installation numbers, the new iPhone XR was released, which likely explains the 10 percent jump in active devices using the new operating system. The iPhone XR, like the XS and XS Max, came pre-installed with iOS 12.

We’ll probably see another significant jump in installation numbers the next time Apple provides an update as the new iOS 12.1 update is likely spurring people who haven’t yet upgraded to iOS 12 to download the update.

iOS 12.1 introduces 70 new emoji characters, which are always a big draw, and it introduces support for Group FaceTime, allowing iOS users to video chat with up to 32 people at once.

Related Roundup: iOS 12
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AppleCare+ for Mac With Accidental Damage Coverage Expands to Canada, Mexico, and Europe

AppleCare+ for Mac with accidental damage coverage is now available in Canada, Mexico, and many countries across Europe and the Middle East, including Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

AppleCare+ for Mac was previously limited to the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and Japan, but its availability expanded to the aforementioned countries following the conclusion of Apple’s special event in Brooklyn on Tuesday.

AppleCare+ provides up to three years of hardware coverage and tech support for an eligible Mac, effective on the purchase date of the plan. This includes up to two incidents of accidental damage, each subject to a service fee that varies based on damage to the screen, external enclosure, or other components.

In the UK, for example, the per-incident fees are £79 for screen or external enclosure damage, and £229 for other damage.

The accidental damage fees are in addition to the cost of the AppleCare+ for Mac plan itself, which varies. The plan is available for the MacBook, MacBook Air, 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, and Mac mini.

AppleCare+ for Mac benefits are in addition to any legal rights provided by consumer law in the aforementioned countries.

AppleCare+ can be purchased alongside a new Mac on Apple’s website, at Apple retail stores where available, and at select Apple Authorized Resellers or Apple Authorized Service Providers. It can also be added within 60 days of a Mac’s purchase date, pending an inspection or diagnostic test.

In these countries, AppleCare+ for Mac replaces the basic AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac, which didn’t include accidental damage coverage. Apple continues to offer the AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac in certain countries, such as Spain, Finland, Norway, Poland, Taiwan, Singapore, and Brazil.

Tag: AppleCare
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Asus’ new monitor is 49 inches of high-speed gaming goodness

Asus has a new gaming monitor to sell you and it could be the largest monitor you will ever need. At 49 inches diagonally, this “double Full HD” display (3,840 x 1,080) supports FreeSync 2 and can refresh at up to 144Hz for smooth, high-speed gaming. It even supports rudimentary HDR, so blacks will be blacker, whites whiter, and everything in between that bit more punchy.

Ultrawide monitors are a relatively new breed of screen that offers a single-display solution to the classic duel monitor design that both gamers and workers have employed for years. Ditching the bezels in between does have an advantage in offering a seamless image and their often less-than-4K resolutions can be a little easier on graphics hardware, too. Now that gamer-centric features are making their way into the panel designs, they’re becoming a more viable solution for high-end gamers.

The Asus ROG Swift XG49VQ is that idea taken to the extreme. With 49 inches of screen real estate, you will have almost your entire peripheral vision covered by this enormous curved display. Its resolution might not be quite 4K, but it’s not far off and it’s much more manageable for graphics cards than the likes of Dell’s new “quad HD” 5,120 x 1,440 resolution display.

While that might mean that it isn’t quite as detailed, don’t count the XG49VQ out. It comes back strong with its 144Hz high refresh rate. It also meets the DisplayHDR 400 certification from VESA, which isn’t exactly high-end HDR, but it’s better than no HDR at all. Other features include support for FreeSync 2, so those with AMD cards can smooth out framerates without using VSync and ShadowBoost, which should make it easier to see gaming opponents in darkened environments.

Asus is touting this monitor as a great solution for gaming streamers who can use its picture in picture mode to play a game in the center, while displaying chat and other streaming functions on the left or right of that window.

There is plenty we don’t know about this monitor yet, such as its price, planned launch date, or what panel type it uses. Expect more details in the lead up the holiday season, though, as Asus wouldn’t announce this display now if it wasn’t planning to launch it before then.

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From the road to your wrist, see how Android has evolved over the past 10 years

Ronan Glon/Digital Trends

Android started out as a mobile operating system, but over the 10 years since it came to market, it has become so much more. Forks of Android now act as Google’s operating system across a wide variety of different form factors, from automobiles to smartwatches. Because it’s open source — freely available for redistribution and modification — the use cases are incredibly diverse. Here, we look at the various industries Android has permeated since it launched in the HTC G1 in 2008 — and one that might be vying to take over from the beloved OS in the future.

Wear OS (formerly Android Wear)

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Google debuted its wearables platform called Android Wear in 2014. Since then, the platform has shipped on smartwatches from a wide range of brands in both tech and fashion — everything from Asus to Michael Kors — but it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing. The past several years were shaky for the now-branded Wear OS, as the future of smartwatches, in general, seemed far less promising than originally expected. There were delays in the development of the platform, and many tech partners starting to lose interest in a market that seemed to have very little dynamism. At the same time, though, it’s become clear that fashion companies are more than glad to take up the mantle abandoned by smartphone manufacturers, introducing devices that are more about battery life and aesthetic than boundary-pushing features. Regardless of whether mobile manufacturers continue to tap into the market, it’s here to stay.

Android TV

Going from minuscule screens to the home theater, Google also launched Android TV in 2014, offering the tech company’s take on smart TV software. The OS primarily runs on some set-top boxes and as integrated software on smart TVs from brands including Sony and Sharp. As it grows in popularity, it’s also showing up in things like pico projectors and mobile robot projectors. Along with the standard interface showing media from installed apps, it benefits from being tightly intertwined with all other Google services and features — for instance, it supports Google Assistant, offers access to the Google Play Store, and provides Cast support, with no need for a Chromecast dongle.

Android Things

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

These days, more and more objects are gaining the ability to communicate, both with one another and with us humans. In the home, we know this space age-sounding phenomenon simply as the “smart home.” Google joined in on the fun in 2015, when it announced Android Things, its own embedded operating system for low-power and memory constrained Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Google also introduced a protocol for communication between these devices. So far, brands including JBL, Lenovo, and LG are all making smart displays that run on the platform,  featuring tools like Google Assistant and Google Cast. Meanwhile, LG and iHome are also producing Android Things smart speakers.

Android Auto/Android Automotive

Ronan Glon/Digital Trends

Becoming the dominant operating system in cars has long been an ambition for Google, and Android Auto, launched in 2014, represents the tech giant’s first step toward that goal. You can use the app for a more car-friendly user interface, or use a supported in-car display to access music, GPS, and more. Google’s next step, though, is Android Automotive — a more full-bodied version of Android running on the car itself. This new implementation has some major momentum right now, with massive carmaking alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi signing a deal to run Android Automotive infotainment systems in millions of cars beginning in 2021, along with Volvo. This sort of deal is major not only for Google but for the car industry — automakers have long been reticent to give up on making their own systems and retaining their own data.

Daydream

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Daydream is Google’s virtual reality platform, and it originally debuted in 2016 as a platform powered by Android phones in Android Nougat. You would slap a “Daydream-ready” phone inside a headset, and the experience would be completely powered by the phone. Earlier this year, Google and Lenovo released the Mirage Solo, one of the first standalone Daydream headsets that do not require the use of a phone. There hasn’t been a lot of momentum in the virtual reality space, as it’s still a nascent industry. Additionally, though Oculus doesn’t call it Daydream, its Oculus Go headset runs on a custom version of Android.

Chrome OS

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Chromebooks don’t run on Android, they run Google’s Chrome OS. But Google brought the Google Play Store and familiar Android features to the platform to make it more versatile. The latest Google Pixel Slate is a testament to the future Google wants, where you can get work done with a desktop operating system like Chrome OS, with the benefits of swapping to a tablet mode to use a more tablet-friendly user interface thanks to Android, with plenty of app support.

And more…

While the use cases above are large, official branches of Google’s operating system, Android appears on a whole bunch of other types of devices —  which makes sense, considering the OS runs on around 24,000 distinct devices. Amazon’s Fire HD tablets, for example, run a forked version of Android that does not have access to the Google Play Store. One of the more interesting examples is in-flight entertainment systems, like Panasonic’s Ex3, which British Airways employs in its Boeing 747 aircrafts. EX3 is an HD display that focuses on providing a massive content library to entertain travelers, and benefits greatly from using a well-established, mature OS over a buggy creation made from scratch. Another noteworthy example is the Rico Theta V 360 camera, which uses software based on Android, making it open to support a wide variety of third-party apps. It was recently a finalist in the 2018 International Design Excellence Awards. No doubt many more unique Android gadgets will crop up in the future — that’s the benefit of an open source platform.

Google Fuchsia

Fuchsia OS isn’t strictly Android-related, but it could potentially be its successor. We’ve been hearing about Google’s all-purpose operating system for around two years now, but a commercial release still isn’t expected for quite a while, and its exact purpose isn’t known for certain yet either. We do know, however, that Fuchsia is being designed to run across all sorts of different form factors, including laptops and embedded devices. Reports have further suggested that it will take over from every OS shipping on Google’s consumer hardware. Google responded to those recent rumors, though, by stating that there is no concrete plan at the moment for replacing Android in the immediate future. Still, the definition of mobile has grown exponentially over the last 10 years, so it makes sense Google would create a more flexible OS. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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From the road to your wrist, see how Android has evolved over the past 10 years

Ronan Glon/Digital Trends

Android started out as a mobile operating system, but over the 10 years since it came to market, it has become so much more. Forks of Android now act as Google’s operating system across a wide variety of different form factors, from automobiles to smartwatches. Because it’s open source — freely available for redistribution and modification — the use cases are incredibly diverse. Here, we look at the various industries Android has permeated since it launched in the HTC G1 in 2008 — and one that might be vying to take over from the beloved OS in the future.

Wear OS (formerly Android Wear)

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Google debuted its wearables platform called Android Wear in 2014. Since then, the platform has shipped on smartwatches from a wide range of brands in both tech and fashion — everything from Asus to Michael Kors — but it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing. The past several years were shaky for the now-branded Wear OS, as the future of smartwatches, in general, seemed far less promising than originally expected. There were delays in the development of the platform, and many tech partners starting to lose interest in a market that seemed to have very little dynamism. At the same time, though, it’s become clear that fashion companies are more than glad to take up the mantle abandoned by smartphone manufacturers, introducing devices that are more about battery life and aesthetic than boundary-pushing features. Regardless of whether mobile manufacturers continue to tap into the market, it’s here to stay.

Android TV

Going from minuscule screens to the home theater, Google also launched Android TV in 2014, offering the tech company’s take on smart TV software. The OS primarily runs on some set-top boxes and as integrated software on smart TVs from brands including Sony and Sharp. As it grows in popularity, it’s also showing up in things like pico projectors and mobile robot projectors. Along with the standard interface showing media from installed apps, it benefits from being tightly intertwined with all other Google services and features — for instance, it supports Google Assistant, offers access to the Google Play Store, and provides Cast support, with no need for a Chromecast dongle.

Android Things

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

These days, more and more objects are gaining the ability to communicate, both with one another and with us humans. In the home, we know this space age-sounding phenomenon simply as the “smart home.” Google joined in on the fun in 2015, when it announced Android Things, its own embedded operating system for low-power and memory constrained Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Google also introduced a protocol for communication between these devices. So far, brands including JBL, Lenovo, and LG are all making smart displays that run on the platform,  featuring tools like Google Assistant and Google Cast. Meanwhile, LG and iHome are also producing Android Things smart speakers.

Android Auto/Android Automotive

Ronan Glon/Digital Trends

Becoming the dominant operating system in cars has long been an ambition for Google, and Android Auto, launched in 2014, represents the tech giant’s first step toward that goal. You can use the app for a more car-friendly user interface, or use a supported in-car display to access music, GPS, and more. Google’s next step, though, is Android Automotive — a more full-bodied version of Android running on the car itself. This new implementation has some major momentum right now, with massive carmaking alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi signing a deal to run Android Automotive infotainment systems in millions of cars beginning in 2021, along with Volvo. This sort of deal is major not only for Google but for the car industry — automakers have long been reticent to give up on making their own systems and retaining their own data.

Daydream

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Daydream is Google’s virtual reality platform, and it originally debuted in 2016 as a platform powered by Android phones in Android Nougat. You would slap a “Daydream-ready” phone inside a headset, and the experience would be completely powered by the phone. Earlier this year, Google and Lenovo released the Mirage Solo, one of the first standalone Daydream headsets that do not require the use of a phone. There hasn’t been a lot of momentum in the virtual reality space, as it’s still a nascent industry. Additionally, though Oculus doesn’t call it Daydream, its Oculus Go headset runs on a custom version of Android.

Chrome OS

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Chromebooks don’t run on Android, they run Google’s Chrome OS. But Google brought the Google Play Store and familiar Android features to the platform to make it more versatile. The latest Google Pixel Slate is a testament to the future Google wants, where you can get work done with a desktop operating system like Chrome OS, with the benefits of swapping to a tablet mode to use a more tablet-friendly user interface thanks to Android, with plenty of app support.

And more…

While the use cases above are large, official branches of Google’s operating system, Android appears on a whole bunch of other types of devices —  which makes sense, considering the OS runs on around 24,000 distinct devices. Amazon’s Fire HD tablets, for example, run a forked version of Android that does not have access to the Google Play Store. One of the more interesting examples is in-flight entertainment systems, like Panasonic’s Ex3, which British Airways employs in its Boeing 747 aircrafts. EX3 is an HD display that focuses on providing a massive content library to entertain travelers, and benefits greatly from using a well-established, mature OS over a buggy creation made from scratch. Another noteworthy example is the Rico Theta V 360 camera, which uses software based on Android, making it open to support a wide variety of third-party apps. It was recently a finalist in the 2018 International Design Excellence Awards. No doubt many more unique Android gadgets will crop up in the future — that’s the benefit of an open source platform.

Google Fuchsia

Fuchsia OS isn’t strictly Android-related, but it could potentially be its successor. We’ve been hearing about Google’s all-purpose operating system for around two years now, but a commercial release still isn’t expected for quite a while, and its exact purpose isn’t known for certain yet either. We do know, however, that Fuchsia is being designed to run across all sorts of different form factors, including laptops and embedded devices. Reports have further suggested that it will take over from every OS shipping on Google’s consumer hardware. Google responded to those recent rumors, though, by stating that there is no concrete plan at the moment for replacing Android in the immediate future. Still, the definition of mobile has grown exponentially over the last 10 years, so it makes sense Google would create a more flexible OS. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Google Fit and new notifications arrive in much-needed Wear OS update
• The Google Pixel Watch: Here’s everything we know
• When is your phone getting Android 8.0 Oreo? We asked every major manufacturer
• Android 9.0 Pie: Everything you need to know
• Casio Pro Trek Smart WSD-F20 review