Snapchat’s Recent Redesign Resulted in Millions of Lost Users

Snapchat’s controversial redesign, introduced last November, caused it to lose millions of subscribers according to data shared today in its second quarter earnings results.

Snap said it had 188 million daily active Snapchat users during the second quarter of 2018, down from 191 million during the first quarter of the year.

In prepared remarks [PDF] on Snapchat’s performance, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said that the two percent decline in daily active users was “primarily driven” by a lower frequency of use among the company’s user base due to “the disruption caused by our redesign.”

Spiegel said that Snapchat is working to iterate and improve the app based on community feedback, and he says that the major frustrations have been addressed.

While our Monthly Active Users continued to grow this quarter, we saw a 2 percent decline in our Daily Active Users. This was primarily driven by a slightly lower frequency of use among our user base due to the disruption caused by our redesign.

It has been approximately six months since we broadly rolled out the redesign of our application, and we have been working hard to iterate and improve Snapchat based on the feedback from our community. We feel that we have now addressed the biggest frustrations we’ve heard and are eager to make more progress on the tremendous opportunity we now have to show more of the right content to the right people.

Following the release of the redesigned app, more than 1.2 million users signed a petition asking for the change to be reversed.

In response, Snap rolled back some of the design changes, reverting Snaps and Chats back to chronological order and re-adding Stories from friends to the right side of the app. Snap also reintroduced the feature that allowed it to open up in camera mode, and users can again swipe left to view posts from friends.

The redesign of the app was initially aimed at appealing to a broader demographic and expanding Snapchat’s user base, but Snapchat users were not prepared for the drastic change and did not become accustomed to the redesign as Snap had hoped.

Despite the fact that it’s number of daily active users dropped, Snapchat brought in $262 million in revenue, an increase of 44 percent year-over-year.

Tag: Snapchat
Discuss this article in our forums

How to take a screenshot on a Galaxy S9 and other Android phones

Taking a snapshot of your Android phone’s screen is easy, and there are all sorts of situations where a screenshot could come in handy, whether you want to share your home screen with friends or obtain pictorial proof of your latest high score.

This guide covers the Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, and Galaxy Note as examples.

We also included a guide to taking a screenshot on any other device using Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean (4.1, 4.2, 4.3), KitKat (4.4), Android 5.0 Lollipop, Android 6.0 Marshmallow, Android 7.0 Nougat, Android 8.0 Oreo, and Android 9.0 Pie (that’s most of them).

How to take a screenshot on a Galaxy device by swiping the screen

Previous

Next

1 of 4

To take a screenshot with “Palm swipe to capture,” first position your hand like this.

Next, swipe your hand from left to right, keeping your palm on the screen.

If you do it right, you should feel a vibration.

You can easily access your screenshot from the notifications menu.

Taking a screenshot on the Galaxy S8 — or almost any other Galaxy phone — with a swipe of your hand is easy.

Set your hand vertically on either side of the screen, and shape it like you are karate-chopping the phone.
Horizontally swipe across the screen like your hand is a photo scanner.
You should hear the camera shutter, see a screenshot move across the screen, and receive a notification that a picture has been saved to the gallery.
It may take a few tries.

This technique works with the following devices, as well as most Samsung phones that came out after 2013.

The Samsung Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus, Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy Note 3.

How to check if ‘Palm swipe to capture’ is enabled on your Galaxy

Previous

Next

1 of 3

In the Settings menu, find “Motion and gesture.”

Inside the “Motion and gesture” menu, you can turn Palm swiping on or off.

If you’re accidentally taking screenshots, we recommend you turn it off.

If you can’t get it to work, you may have to enable the swipe feature in Settings.

Open Settings > Advanced features. On some older phones, it will be Settings > Motions and gestures (in the Motion category).
Tick the Palm swipe to capture box.
Close the menu and find the screen you want to capture.
Enjoy!

How to take a screenshot using a button shortcut

Not everyone is a fan of gesture controls. Thankfully, most Android phones offer a more tactile method for capturing a screenshot.

Previous

Next

1 of 4

To take a screenshot using buttons, put your fingers on Power and the Home button.

Press and hold both buttons at the same time.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

You can review your screenshot in the notifications menu.

Press the Power and Home buttons at the same time.
Hold both buttons for a second, until you hear a shutter sound or see a visual indicating a picture has been taken.
This can be awkward to get right. You need to hold the Power button slightly before pressing the Home button, then hold them both down.

This technique works with the following devices, along with pretty much any Samsung phone that has a Home button.

The Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S4 Zoom, Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy Mega 6.3, Galaxy Tab 3 Pro, Galaxy S4 Mini, and Galaxy S3.

If you have a Galaxy S9, S9 Plus, Note 8, Galaxy S8, or S8 Plus, which don’t have a physical Home button, then the key combination is a little different:

Press and hold the Power and Volume down buttons at the same time.
Hold both buttons for a second, until you hear a shutter sound or see a visual indicating a picture has been taken.
You need to hold the Power button slightly before pressing the Volume down button, then hold them both down.

How to take a screenshot on a Note using the S Pen

This technique is available on the Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 3, and other Samsung devices with an S Pen. To take a screenshot this way you have to open the Air Command menu, which you can do by pulling out the S Pen stylus, or by hovering the pen over the screen and clicking the button on it.

Select Screen Write from the Air Command options to take a screenshot.
You can then write notes on top of the image. There are options in the top toolbar to change your pen color and size if you want to get creative. You can also erase or undo strokes and there is a Crop option at the bottom.
When you’re finished, tap Share or Save at the bottom.

How to take a screenshot on any other Android device

Taking a screenshot on any other Android phone or tablet — as in, one that is not a Samsung device — is also pretty easy. The method varies slightly from one model to the next, however, the following method should work on all non-Samsung Android phones running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich or later.

Press the Power button and Volume down key at the same time.
Hold them down until you hear an audible click or a screenshot sound. You should also see a small capture animation.
You will get a notification that your screenshot was captured, and that you can share or delete it.
By default, your screenshots are saved in your Photos or Gallery app in a separate Screenshots folder.

In Android 9.0 Pie you can also press and hold the Power button to get a Screenshot option to pop up on screen. If you choose to edit the screenshot from the notification bar you’ll also find that you can mark it up, which is ideal if you want to highlight something specific.

For ancient Android phones, such as those running 2.3 Gingerbread, you need to head over to the Google Play Store, where there are several apps that will capture a screenshot on your behalf. Screenshot Easy and Screenshot ER are popular choices but may require you to root your phone. You can also take a look at No Root Screenshot It, if you don’t want to root your device.

We also have a dedicated guide on how to take a screenshot on a Google Pixel device.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Galaxy S7 tips and tricks
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 hands-on review
• Everything you need to know about Samsung Pay
• Check out the best affordable Samsung phone deals for July 2018
• The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is a tablet and computer rolled into one

Qualcomm may finally reveal a new wearable chipset on September 10

It looks like Qualcomm could (finally) be prepping a new wearable processor. These days, companies developing Wear OS watches have little choice but to use the Snapdragon Wear 2100, a chipset that was first unveiled in February 2016. Soon, however, that may change — Qualcomm has sent out save the dates for an event on September 10 with the phrase “It’s Time,” and telling recipients to “set their watches.”

There is really little debate about what the announcement could be, and it’s about time we get an upgrade to the Snapdragon Wear 2100. The chipset isn’t bad, by any means, but with growing interest in wearable technology, Android manufacturers have struggled to keep up with devices like the Apple Watch. So much so that companies like Fossil have been using the Snapdragon Wear 2100 for a few years on multiple generations of devices.

In fact, Fossil just announced a revamp of its smartwatch lineup, with devices now including modern features like heart rate monitors and NFC for contactless payments. We will have to wait and see how the devices perform with the aging chipset, and while it’s likely they will do just fine initially, they may not continue to perform well in the long run.

The concept of a Snapdragon Wear 2100 successor isn’t necessarily surprising. Earlier in the year, Google and Qualcomm confirmed that they were working on a new chipset for wearables that would allow for much more flexible designs.

Unfortunately, the press invitation does not go into detail about what to expect from the new chipset, but it will likely pave the way for a slew of new wearable devices in Google’s Wear OS ecosystem. Among the first of these new devices will likely be Google’s own rumored smartwatch, which many expect to launch alongside the new Google Pixel 3 phones in October. Other manufacturers will almost certainly adopt the new chipset too — we would not be surprised to see the likes of Fossil and Huawei launch new smartwatches with the new chipset in the near future.

We will have to wait and see what makes this new chipset, if indeed Qualcomm does reveal a new chipset, better than previous iterations.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Qualcomm smartwatch chip may include eye-tracking support for AR glasses
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 is made for Windows PCs with ‘innovative form factors’
• New MediaTek chip brings premium features to budget phones
• Make some time for the best smartwatch deals for August 2018
• Fossil’s sexy smartwatches let you watch your heart skip a beat

HP slices prices on laptops for its huge back to school sale

As much as we love to rely on our smartphones for day to day technological activities, the usefulness of a good laptop can’t be denied. Sure, you can take notes, edit photos, and write papers on your phone, but as a fellow human being, I wouldn’t recommend it. The pure processing power combined with a fully functional keyboard still gives laptop computers a competitive edge over mobile phones in all but price and portability. And for limited time every August, you can even find some of the best laptop deals all year — especially on HP models.

HP is slashing prices on laptops, desktops, and printers for its annual back to school sale. From now until Saturday, August 11, you can pick up a laptop for less than half the retail price. We’ve put together a list of some of the best HP laptops this sale has to offer, but feel free to dive right into the savings to see for yourself.

HP 15t Touch Laptop — $660 off

If you’re in the market for an entry level laptop for school, work, or just watching Netflix, this is the perfect option for you. With a 13-hour battery life, a 7th generation Intel i7 processor, and 8 GB of memory, the HP 15t is the perfect companion for college students. This particular model was made to be a workhorse when it comes to every day tasks, and its lightweight, portable design won’t slow you down while you’re on the go. If all you need is a great laptop with enough battery life to get you through an entire day, then this HP laptop can’t be beat. With a price tag of just $580, it doesn’t get much more affordable than this.

$580 | HP

HP Envy x360 15z Touch Laptop — $130 off

When purchasing a laptop, it’s important to consider the type of work it’s going to be used for. If you’re looking for a laptop that can keep up with your creativity, an HP Envy x360 is a good way to go. With an AMD Ryzen processor and an AMD Radeon graphics card, the 15z is built specifically with creative work in mind. It’s long-lasting battery life paired with pen and touch support makes this 2-in-1 laptop and tablet a great entry-level option for any creator.

$640 | HP

HP Laptop 17t — $240 off

Though not has powerful as the HP 15t laptop we featured first, the 17t has many similar features. The main difference between the two laptops, besides the price, is processing power and memory. With 4 GB of memory and Intel i3 processor, the HP 17t is a great starter laptop, but realistically, it isn’t likely to stand the test of time. If all you’re looking for is an affordable laptop for taking notes, writing papers, and creating slideshows, then this $460 model will get the job done.

$460 | HP

Best HP printer deals

Finding a printer you can rely on is always a struggle, but in many cases, they are an absolute necessity. Though we are living in a digital world, there are still quite a few occasions when printing your own photos, papers, and presentations is unavoidable. If you’re looking for decent printer at an affordable price, HP has some great deals on inkjet and laser printers for back to school.

Our picks

• HP Officejet 5255 All-in-One — $30 off
• HP Color Laserjet Pro — $100 off
• HP Officejet Pro 6978 All-in-One — $90 off
• HP Envy Photo 6255 All-in-One — $50 off
• HP Laserjet Pro M402N — $100 off

See All HP Deals

Looking for more cool stuff? Find laptop deals and more from our curated deals page, or follow us on Twitter for the latest savings.

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and choose what we cover carefully and independently. If you find a better price for a product listed here, or want to suggest one of your own, email us at dealsteam@digitaltrends.com.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editors’ Recommendations

• HP slashes prices up to 52 percent for its Fourth of July sale
• Take 20 percent off HP Omen gaming PCs and laptops for a limited time
• Fourth of July sale: Take $300 off the HP Envy x360 2-in-1 convertible laptop
• Here are the 5 best Fourth of July sales you won’t want to miss
• Giveaway: Win an HP Omen, the gaming PC powering the Fortnite Pro-AM tournament

Limited Edition Spider-Man PlayStation 4 Pro bundle is now available to preorder on Amazon

Pick it up before it’s too late!

Insomniac’s Spider-Man is set to grace store shelves this September, but the experience just wouldn’t be complete without a limited edition console to complement it.

Sony revealed a Spider-Man PS4 Pro bundle at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, showcasing a sleek red finish with its iconic white symbol. It was previously up for preorder through PlayStation’s own store, but now you can also pick it up through Amazon. It is available to preorder for $399.99 USD/$499.99 CAD in the United States and Canada.

Spider-Man is set to release for PlayStation 4 on September 7, 2018. The PS4 Pro bundle will release on the same day alongside it.

To get caught up with everything surrounding Insomniac’s Spider-Man, check out our article here detailing the latest information as it’s released.

See at Amazon

PlayStation 4

• PS4 vs. PS4 Slim vs. PS4 Pro: Which should you buy?
• PlayStation VR Review
• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

Amazon

Your stone-skipping skills pale in comparison to this robotic rock launcher

What are the two things that all kids love? Rock skipping and robots, obviously. Using the kind of inventiveness that has made him a YouTube star, former NASA engineer-turned-quirky-inventor Mark Rober has combined both to put together a robot that’s able to skip rocks across the surface of water with impressive consistency. Best of all? It might even improve your own own rock-skipping technique so that this won’t join the growing number of fields in which robots put us on the unemployment scrap heap.

“I made a robot — or I suppose more of a machine, but ‘robot’ sounds way cooler — that could skip rocks really well,” Rober told Digital Trends. “Or, at least, it did eventually. We really just made it to have built-in adjustable parameters like wrist angle and arm angle so we could do experiments to find the best settings for a perfect rock skip.”

The robot was created by modifying a clay pigeon thrower, including the addition of customized wooden throwing arms, and a box base to give a bit more stability. The standardized rock replacement discs were air-dried clay, shaped with cookie cutters. Of course, the most important step was when Rober’s team of seasoned mechanics and engineers (read: his young nieces and nephews) stepped into the breach to give “Skippa” a spray paint and googly eye makeover, ensuring that it conformed to the necessary robot design stereotypes.

So what can we learn from the trial and error involved with getting Skippa to work? Mainly that the perfect rock skip involves rocks hitting the water at a 20-degree angle, with a 20-degree path, and a higher angle for cases when more energy is required. Flicking the wrist as much as is humanly (or robotically) possible is also a must. Oh, and the rock should be sufficiently heavy, with a flat bottom.

As much of a success as Rober’s rock-skipping robot is, however, he said he has no plans to elaborate on it in the near future. “I sort of pride myself on doing something totally different every month on my channel,” he continued. “Once I’ve visited a topic, I don’t ever really revisit it. My list of cool things I want to try is too long to allow for that.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• Just add whitewater: These are the gadgets pro kayakers use to go ‘500 percent’
• Awesome Tech You Can’t Buy Yet: Another insane cooler, ‘probe’ lenses, and more
• Repainting a room sucks, so I tried to see if tech could make it any easier
• Why a 19-year-old Bitcoin millionaire built a working Dr. Octopus suit
• Meet the Australian ‘techno-artist’ growing a web-connected ear on his arm

Walmart’s new grocery robots aim to speed up your shopping experience

In the very near future, the person who picks out your online Walmart grocery pickup order may not be, well, a person at all. That’s due to the fact that the retail giant recently announced that it has teamed up with Massachusetts-based Alert Innovation to adopt a special custom version of Alert’s Alphabot product-picking robots. The automated assistants, which take the form of miniature food-picking shuttle robots, will be used at the massive 20,000-square foot warehouse attached to Walmart’s Salem, New Hampshire, superstore.

The hope is that using this technology can increase the speed at which customer’s orders can be picked out — and therefore picked up by customers with limited time to spend shopping.

In a statement, Walmart described how Alphabot will retrieve ordered items, before delivering them to store associates at one of its pick stations. “Our personal shoppers will then pick, assemble and deliver orders to customers,” it noted. “The vast majority of grocery products we offer in-store will be fulfilled through this system, though our personal shoppers will still handpick produce and other fresh items.”

Alphabot is set to go live by the end of this year. Starting October 1, shoppers at the Salem store will be able to go and pick up their robot-chosen order, with the possibility of home deliveries being rolled out at a later date. For now, this is considered a “pilot program,” meaning that there is no guarantee that Alphabot will find a long-term home in the Walmart family. However, if it’s as successful as the company hopes, this surely isn’t out of the question. Currently, upward of 1,200 Walmart stores offer the grocery pickup service. That is twice the number of stores where it was available just two years ago.

Walmart isn’t the only retail company to turn to robots to solve some of these product-picking problems. Amazon has long embraced robots, working alongside humans, at its fulfillment centers. Meanwhile, in the U.K., online supermarket Ocado is battling to show itself as the most tech-savvy food retailer of them all — courtesy of a humanoid bot the company hopes will one day be able to work alongside humans in its warehouses.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Walmart’s grocery pickup is free, but how is the service?
• Kroger’s Ship leaves the dock with curated products and special deals
• Autonomous cars: Waymo and Walmart partner on a grocery pickup service
• Amazon takes on the grocery store with Prime Pantry
• You have to get an invite for Walmart’s personal shopping service, Jetblack

The best OnePlus 6 screen protectors

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

The OnePlus 6 is perhaps the best midrange phone of 2018. With power that rivals the most expensive phones available, a gorgeous design, and some stunning cameras, there’s never been a better phone to be deemed “the flagship killer.”

But with all a flagship’s power and style come certain weaknesses. A large, bezel-less screen is impressive, but it also presents a larger target that may shatter or crack. Keep it safe and damage-free with the best OnePlus 6 screen protectors.

Official OnePlus 3D Screen Protector ($20)

If you’re looking to protect your OnePlus 6, then who better to advise you on protection than the phone’s own manufacturer? This screen protector is made from tempered glass, and has been CNC engraved and fused to provide perfect edge-to-edge protection for your phone’s display. The surface has a hardness rating of 9H, and comes with anti-scratch properties and an oleophobic coating that helps to keep fingerprints from spoiling your view. It’s not hard to attach either, with OnePlus supplying a case to ensure perfect alignment, cleaning tools, and even a squeegee to squeeze all air out from beneath the protector. There is even a video to guide you.

Buy it now from:

OnePlus

GadgetShieldz Full Body Screen Protector ($10)

We’ve written a list of the best OnePlus 6 cases to complete your protection, but what if you’re really not a fan of cases? Check out this screen protector from GadgetShieldz which protects not only your screen but the back and sides of your phone, too. It’s made from flexible but durable film bolstered with nano polymers for self-healing properties. This flexibility means that the protector can bend to adapt to the curves of your device and leave no surface uncovered. The film adds grip to the slippery glass of your OnePlus 6 without feeling tacky, and since it’s only 0.2mm thick it doesn’t add any extra bulk to your slim phone either. It won’t protect as much as a glass protector, but it’s better than nothing.

Buy it now from:

GadgetShieldz

Poetic Screen Protector ($8)

Poetic make great, tough, rugged cases that can take a blow well and come back for more — so you can be sure that Poetic’s screen protector can do the same. It’s made from 9H hardness tempered glass with anti-chip tech that curves the screen protector into your phone’s body for full protection. It’s resistant to impacts, dust, and fingerprints, while still being extremely thin at just 0.3-mm thick. It’s easy to apply, super-transparent, and doesn’t impact your display’s touchscreen sensitivity. Best of all, it’s extremely cheap when compared to other tempered glass screen protectors.

Buy it now from:

Poetic Amazon

IQShield Liquid Shield Screen Protector ($8)

Another tough and flexible film screen protector, this option from IQShield conforms to the curves of your device, helping to protect it from scratches and other damage. It doesn’t protect all of your device and it’s not going to be as protective against drops as tempered glass, but it should still hold up well thanks to its layered construction. The Liquid Shield is formed from four layers, including an anti-yellowing UV layer, a tough protective layer, and a fully adhesive bottom layer. It’s almost completely invisible to the eye, doesn’t leave any residue on your screen after its done its job, and best of all, it’s cheap.

Buy it now from:

IQShield Amazon

ArmorSuit MilitaryShield Screen Protector ($14)

As soon as anyone starts throwing military terms around, you know you’ve probably got a winner on your hands. This screen protector is made from a flexible and tough film that was apparently created to coat military helicopter blades. According to ArmorSuit, it protects against sand, impact damage, and comes with self-healing properties. It’s treated with an anti-yellowing coating, which helps to stop your protector aging badly. It should be a perfect fit too, as it uses a wet installation method that puts a layer between the screen protector and the display, ensuring a close fit and great touchscreen sensitivity. It’s not as tough as glass, but it’s good enough to see your phone through a good few bashes.

Buy it now from:

ArmorSuit Amazon

Olixar Glass Screen Protector ($15)

Olixar is an up-and-coming name in mobile accessories, and you might have come across its cases in some form or another. But it also brings some great screen protectors to the table. This screen protector is made from hardened tempered glass that should protect your display from blows that would otherwise shatter your screen. If the worst should happen and the protector breaks, then the anti-shatter film beneath will stop it from coming apart and lancing into your fingers. It’s hard and clear, and has an easy installation method with little risk of bubbling underneath the glass. It’s also super-thin at just 0.26mm thick. This is good protection at an attractive price.

Buy it now from:

Mobile Fun Amazon

RhinoShield Impact Protection Screen Protector ($25)

Most film screen protectors aren’t great against impacts, since flexible film just isn’t as tough as tempered glass. RhinoShield claims that its screen protector is different, and says it can guard against hammer blows and take five-times more impact energy than the Gorilla Glass 5 on the OnePlus 6’s display. We can’t back that claim up, and don’t recommend you try it either — but even if it isn’t true, it’s unlikely to be any worse than other film protectors in the same class. It’s strong, resistant to smudges, dirt, and fingerprints, and it’s also compatible with a bunch of cases, as well as being as thin as three sheets of printer paper.

Buy it now from:

RhinoShield Amazon

Ringke Invisible Defender Full Coverage Protector – Triple Pack ($12)

There aren’t too many screen protectors that protect more than just the screen, but Ringke’s Invisible Defender is one of the few that does. This film screen protector features two wings that wrap around the sides of your phone and to the back, keeping all those exposed areas under wraps. It’s a great protector to combine with a good protective case for all-around protection, and the self-healing film should mean that your phone’s display stays clear and unscratched. Ringke warns that some bubbling may occur in the first three days of installation, but says that those bubbles will go if pushed to the side and left to settle. Best of all though, if you muck it up there are two more in the pack.

Buy it now from:

Ringke Amazon

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best OnePlus 6 cases and covers
• OnePlus 6 vs OnePlus 3T vs OnePlus 3: Is the new phone worth the upgrade?
• Common OnePlus 6 problems, and how to fix them
• OnePlus 6 vs. OnePlus 5T vs. OnePlus 5: Is it worth it to upgrade?
• OnePlus 6 review

BenQ’s curvy new QHD display for gamers supports AMD’s FreeSync 2 tech

Gamers looking for a monitor supporting AMD’s FreeSync 2 technology now have a new option from BenQ: The EX3203R. Available now for $700, it’s a 32-inch curved display with a QHD resolution, an 1800R curvature, and a 144Hz refresh rate.

If you’re not familiar with AMD’s FreeSync 2 technology, it arrived at the beginning of 2017 as an alternative to the original FreeSync platform. Both synchronize the frames-per-second output of an AMD-based graphics card with the display’s refresh rate. This eliminates the visual screen tearing and stuttering that typically arises when the game’s framerate fluctuates.

But the FreeSync 2 name is somewhat misleading as it’s not the successor or a replacement to the original FreeSync. Instead, it simply adds features on top of the synchronization aspect such as support for HDR, low input latency and low framerate compensation.

Regardless, here are the specifications for BenQ’s new display:

• Screen size: 31.5 inches
• Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440 (QHD)
• Refresh rate: 144Hz
• Panel type: VA
• Aspect ratio: 16:9
• Curvature: 1800R
• Brightness: 400 nits
• Contrast ratio (native): 3,000:1
• Contrast ratio (dynamic): 20,000,000:1
• Response time: 4ms gray-to-gray
• Viewing angles: 178 degrees (both)
• Pixels per inch: 93
• Color gamut: 90 percent DCI-P3
• Color amount: 16.7 million
• Color depth: 8-bit
• Ports: 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x DisplayPort, 1x USB-C, 2x USB-A, 1x Headphone jack

BenQ’s new curved monitor is a DisplayHDR 400 certified device, meaning it falls at the bottom of VESA’s new three-tier certification system. DisplayHDR was designed to better inform customers about the level of HDR quality provided in desktop displays. DisplayHDR 400 is the entry-level tier while DisplayHDR 600 is the next level up followed by DisplayHDR 1000 at the top. The numbers actually stem from the display’s maximum brightness level, which in this case would be 400 nits.

Meanwhile, you will see BenQ advertise support for HDR 10 on the product page. This is currently the industry standard for monitors supporting high-dynamic range, providing brilliant colors and deep blacks. Adding to HDR support is BenQ’s Brightness Intelligence Plus feature that can soften bright areas while keeping dark details “crystal clear.” In other words, in dimly lit scenes, the brighter areas won’t wash out and details in the shadows won’t disappear.

Other features packed into BenQ’s new display include a component to reduce screen flickering and one that filters out blue light. The Brightness Intelligence Plus component will detect the ambient brightness and color temperature in your surrounding area to adjust the display accordingly.

Finally, the EX3203R has an ultra-slim bezel, giving the appearance of an edge-to-edge panel. The idea is for customers to purchase three units to create one long, curved screen with very little visual separations between each display. Yet buying three of these screens would set you back $2,100.

You can purchase BenQ’s new FreeSync 2-based EX3203R display straight from the company for $700 right here, or though B&H Photo and Video here for the same price.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Acer’s new 4K, HDR, 144Hz G-Sync gaming monitor will cost $2,000
• BenQ EX3501R ultrawide monitor review
• Philips claims ‘world’s first’ with a new 4K HDR desktop display
• The best HDR monitors
• Samsung’s 49-inch display pushes horizontal resolution beyond 5,000 pixels

Widespread internet access is causing mass sleep deprivation, study suggests

We’re familiar with a lot of the arguments about why high-speed internet is among the greatest inventions in human history. But the internet can be bad for you, too — and, no, we’re not just talking about the howling post-apocalyptic wasteland that is the YouTube comments section.

In a new study, funded by the European Research Council, researchers establish what they claim is a causal link between broadband internet access and sleep deprivation. Specifically, they claim that our use of various internet-connected devices is costing those of us with high-speed internet up to 25 minutes of sleep per night, compared to those without it. That’s not good news.

“Internet addiction and technology use near bedtime are often blamed as a major cause of the sleep deprivation epidemic,” Luca Stella, a researcher at the Carlo F. Dondena Center for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy at Italy’s Bocconi University, told Digital Trends. “Yet the empirical evidence on this relationship is still limited. In our study, we first show descriptive evidence that the use of digital devices at night is correlated with shorter sleep duration. Then, exploiting differences in the access to high-speed internet caused by the pre-existing telephone infrastructure in Germany, we analyze the relationship between high-speed internet and sleep. We find that access to broadband internet reduces sleep duration and sleep satisfaction.”

These researchers aren’t the first people to raise the alarm about our dependence on internet-connected devices, or the possible links between areas like smartphone addiction and various negative health impacts. However, arguments surround many of these studies has gotten bogged down in the correlation versus causation debate. While this study is certainly not going to be the final word on the matter, the unique post-Berlin Wall digital divide in Germany — which has split broadband adoption along geographical lines — certainly makes for a compelling case study.

“Overall, the results were consistent with our prior [assumption] that high-speed internet may increase the use of digital devices, and more technology use near bedtime may delay bedtime and result in shorter and worse sleep,” Stella said. “A more surprising result is that the correlation between smartphone use and short sleep duration was highest among the 30- to 59-year-olds, rather than the under 30. The larger effect among over-30s may be explained by the fact that these individuals are more likely to face work and family constraints in the morning, and may not be able to compensate for a later bedtime.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Inhalable nutrients offer an alternative to energy drinks and supplements
• Can Google really save us from wasting time, or are we on our own?
• U.S. Army algorithm tells you how much coffee to drink to remain alert
• Warning: The way your neighbors use Alexa will bore the snot out of you
• SleepScore app aims to take your slumber to new depths