Apple Removes Five of Six Infowars Podcast Series From iTunes Directory

Apple has removed the entire libraries of five Infowars podcasts from the Apple Podcasts platform, Buzzfeed News reported on Sunday.

Among the podcasts removed from Apple’s iTunes index are “War Room” and “The Alex Jones Show”, hosted by the controversial U.S. radio host and conspiracy theory peddler.

Infowars host Alex Jones
A sixth show, “Real News With David Knight”, was the only Infowars podcast to survive Apple’s cull, although why that would be remains unclear.

Apple does not host the podcasts per se but is responsible for running the directory for users of its stock Podcasts app. In explaining its decision to remove the five shows, Apple provided Buzzfeed with the following statement:

“Apple does not tolerate hate speech, and we have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure we provide a safe environment for all of our users,” a company spokesperson said.

“Podcasts that violate these guidelines are removed from our directory making them no longer searchable or available for download or streaming. We believe in representing a wide range of views, so long as people are respectful to those with differing opinions.”

In terms of reach and discoverability, the removal of the shows is just the latest in a number of blows for Alex Jones’ Infowars series. Last month, Facebook suspended the host’s personal profile for 30 days for what it said was hate speech and bullying, while Spotify removed several episodes of Jones’ shows last week for violating its hate content policy.

Infowars was founded by Jones in 1999 and the host has garnered a large following, promoting various conspiracy theories including that the September 11 attacks were staged by the U.S. government.

Recently, the show has been heavily criticized for promoting the theory that many gun massacres reported by the U.S. media are faked by left-wing forces in order to usher in more stringent gun control measures.

Jones is currently being sued in Texas by two parents of children murdered in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, after the host claimed the massacre was one such hoax. The Connecticut attack, which took place in 2012, left 26 children and adults dead.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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Honor Play hands-on: A gaming phone for the masses

The Honor Play brings the Kirin 970 to the $300 price point.

Honor is now the fifth-largest handset manufacturer in India, and the brand is continuing to build momentum in the country with its latest product. The Honor Play is the third phone Honor has launched in the country over the last three months, and it’s clear that the Chinese manufacturer is going after Xiaomi’s Mi A2, which is slated to launch in the country later this week.

The highlight of the Honor Play is that it is powered by the Kirin 970, making it the most affordable phone yet to feature HiSilicon’s flagship chipset. The Honor Play also comes with GPU Turbo out of the box, with the feature touted to deliver higher sustained peak performance while gaming. Honor is also rolling out an AI-assisted gaming feature that offers custom haptics when using different weapons in titles like PUBG.

Up front, the design is near-identical to that of the Honor 10, with a large cutout at the top for the front camera and associated display sensors. The 6.3-inch FHD+ (2340×1080) FHD+ display is slightly larger than that of the Honor 10, but the added height doesn’t affect one-handed usage. One key difference is that the fingerprint sensor has been moved to the back of the device, with the front sporting the Honor logo instead.

The back isn’t as exciting, however, as the device features a unibody metal chassis. The phone comes in Navy Blue and Midnight Black color options, and although it isn’t as evocative as the Honor 10, it has a sturdy build quality. And yes, there’s a 3.5mm jack located next to the USB-C charging port at the bottom.

The Honor Play comes with 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM as standard, and the 64GB storage module is based on the UFS2.1 standard. It has dual VoLTE out of the box, and the hybrid SIM card slot lets you use a MicroSD card in the secondary SIM card.

The Kirin 970 is a known quantity at this point — the Honor Play is the sixth device to feature HiSilicon’s chipset. We’ve seen the dedicated NPU on the Kirin 970 in use over the course of 2018, and the experience on the Honor Play is similar to that of the Honor 10 or the P20. A lot of the NPU’s processing power goes toward the AI camera, which significantly boosts the overall image quality, particularly in low-light shooting scenarios.

The Honor Play has a 12MP + 2MP camera configuration at the back, and in real-world shooting scenarios, the camera is on par with the likes of the Mi A2. I’ll go into much more detail over the cameras over the coming weeks, but for now it looks like the AI-assisted feature gives the Honor Play a distinct advantage in this segment.

What do you do when you’re at a boring event? Take a lot of photos. Xiaomi Mi A2 on the left, Honor Play on the right. In this instance, the Play does a much better job. Huawei’s AI is crazy good when it works. pic.twitter.com/9jvq8RQSiS

— Harish Jonnalagadda (@chunkynerd) August 3, 2018

Honor is also rolling out its HiTouch feature that lets you scan real-world objects with the camera, which you’ll then be able to purchase via Amazon India.

On the software front, the Honor Play comes with EMUI 8.2 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. Aside from the addition of features like GPU Turbo, EMUI should be immediately familiar if you’ve used an Honor or Huawei-branded phone in the last 12 months.

The Honor Play is marketed as a gaming phone in China, but as the Indian gaming segment isn’t as mature, the device will be billed as a performance-oriented phone in the country. As for pricing, the Honor Play will be available in the country for ₹19,999 ($290) for the variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage will be available for ₹23,999 ($350), just shy of what the Nokia 7 Plus retails for in the country.

It’s clear that Honor is looking to build on the success of the View 10 and the Honor 10, and the aggressive pricing combined with the hardware on offer makes the Honor Play a very enticing option in this category. The phone will go up for sale from 4p.m. on August 6, and is exclusive to Amazon India.

What do you guys make of the Honor Play?

See at Amazon India

OPPO’s upcoming smartphone will be the first to feature Gorilla Glass 6

The OPPO F9 series will likely be the first to offer Corning’s Gorilla Glass 6.

Corning unveiled Gorilla Glass 6 last month, offering better protection against tumbles. Corning says Gorilla Glass 6 is able to withstand multiple drops — averaging up to 15 drops from one meter — without breaking, and it’s also touted to be more resistant to scratches when seen against Gorilla Glass 5.

Today, Corning announced that Gorilla Glass 6 will make its debut on OPPO’s upcoming phone. The exact model wasn’t mentioned, but recent teasers suggest the first device to feature Gorilla Glass 6 could be the OPPO F9 and F9 Pro, which are slated for a launch sometime later this month.

The F9 and F9 Pro are set to come with a smaller cutout at the front, much like the Essential Phone, and both phones are also rumored to feature glass backs with a color gradient effect. With the phones slated for a launch sometime this month — the F9 will be unveiled in Vietnam, with the F9 Pro set for a debut in India — we should know more details shortly.

In the meantime, here’s OPPO’s VP Andy Wu on the manufacturer’s ongoing collaboration with Corning:

OPPO and Corning have always maintained a close working relationship, which has enabled a superior user experience for consumers through multiple versions of OPPO smartphones. We are excited to be the first to adopt Gorilla Glass 6 on our upcoming smartphone, and we believe that consumers around the globe will enjoy an unprecedented experience.

Interested in reading more on Gorilla Glass 6? Be sure to take a look at our interview with Corning’s Vice President of Marketing and Innovation Products Scott Forester:

How strong is Gorilla Glass 6? We sat down with Corning to talk about the future of phones

Use these Waze tips and tricks to become an expert navigator

Waze was already a popular, powerful crowdsourced map app before Google acquired it, but the navigation software is now better than ever before. Waze has so many features that even long-term users may not know everything that you can do with the app.

We’ve rounded up some of Waze’s top tricks and tips so you can get the most out of the app.

Adjust map icons according to your interests

Head over to Settings via the magnifying glass, then go to Display & map, and choose Details on map. This will give you a list of icons that you can add or remove from Waze maps. Use this list to customize what you want to see and keep the map fromgetting too crowded with icons. You can choose icons for other Wazers, police, crashes, traffic jams, construction, and more. Remember, some of these icons depend on crowdsourced information, so they aren’t always accurate: It may be worth experimenting with a few icons to see how dependable they are in your area.

Select Routes to check all available route options

Waze is set to automatically pick the route that takes the shortest amount of time, based on what it knows about the area. However, sometimes Waze doesn’t get it right, or doesn’t include other travel information that may influence the roads you take. That’s why it’s a good idea to open Routes in the Waze app, which allows you to cycle through a number of possible routes to your destination. Then you can pick the route that avoids known trouble spots or includes a stop you need.

Use the Arrive At feature to set driving times

With the Arrive At option (which you may be able to find via Find the best time to leave depending on your version of the app), you will be able to choose a number of times to arrive at your destination. Waze compares this with traffic at that time, and gives you a suggested time period to leave by. It’s handy if you don’t want to be late.

Share your ETA

When Waze is giving you directions, you will notice a central button that says Send ETA in your route info. This will open up your contacts and allow you to instantly message an updated ETA to a friend or family member. It’s particularly useful if you hit a traffic jam or an unexpected wait and want to make sure no one freaks out when you’re late.

Edit your Waze map with useful info

Waze

There are a couple different ways you can edit Waze maps to include more information. Currently, you can add a place to a Waze map, submit a report, or edit the streets on a map to make it more accurate. To add a place simply select the orange speech bubble in the lower corner of your map directions. From here, choose Places. Waze will then encourage you to take a photo of the location, and choose whether it’s a residential location or a business location. Finish labeling, then select Done, and the location will be saved to the map.

General reports, on the other hand, are used to update a map on ongoing events, such as changing gas prices, road closures, road hazards, and so on. If you look at the other report options beyond Places, you will see such options as Map Issues, Gas Prices, and so on. Use them for more temporary road conditions.

Finally, if you are really serious about editing maps to make them more accurate, visit the Waze Map Editor. Sign in here, and Waze will run you through the tutorials you need to adjust roads and locations to better match the real world.

Set Waze for motorcycles

Waze has a motorcycle setting. To find it, go to Settings, then select Navigation. Scroll through the options until you find one for Vehicle Type. You can choose between Private, Taxi and Motorcycle. If you set the app to Motorcycle, then Waze will start looking for more motorcycle-friendly options when creating directions for you.

Change or record voice instructions

If you use the voice directions setting, you should really check out Waze’s plethora of voice options you can play with. Head to Settings, choose Sound & voice, and then pick Voice directions. Waze offers a ton of different voices to choose from around the world, including multiple dialects and accents — and even a few celebrities. You can also record your own voice or the voice of a loved one if you want to take the time to record all the instructions yourself.

Add a stop to plan out longer trips with breaks

While Waze is giving you instructions, you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal your route command center. One of the options here will be Add a stop, usually with several icons next to it for gas, food, parking and so on. You can either pick a stop from your favorites if you have any stored there, or search for nearby locations to add to your route. This is a great feature for vacations and road trips, where programming in a few stops based on everyone’s needs is beneficial.

Sync up your calendar events

Go to Settings, and select Planned drives. This gives you an option to connect to Facebook events (useful if that’s where you saw an event), or to connect one of your calendars so that you can choose your calendar events. As long as the location spaces are filled out in your calendar, Waze will be able to link up a route for you. It’s a great way to manage your events if you are frequently on the go in new areas.

Download maps for areas with poor connection quality

If there’s a chance that Waze will lose a connection where you are driving, you can download maps and instructions for offline use — as long as you are using an Android device (sorry, iOS users). Start by going to Settings and choosing Display & map. Scroll down until you find Data transfer and select this. Inside this window, you should see the Download traffic info option. Make sure it is enabled. With this feature, Waze will download all your routes when they are created so that you will have access to the directions even without a data connection.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Love Waze’s incident reporting feature? Lucky you, it’s coming to Google Maps
• Waze on iPhone just landed on your Ford’s infotainment screen
• Waze enlists A.I.-powered analytics company Anodot to improve driver experience
• Bye to Apple Maps, hello to Waze: CarPlay to support third-party navigation apps
• How to use Google Assistant, plus all the ‘OK, Google’ commands you need to know

What changed on Apple’s new MacBook Pro (and why you’ll care)

After a lackluster response to the redesigned MacBook Pro, Apple took user criticism to heart in an attempt to put the “pro” back in MacBook Pro. But what exactly did it change? The Touch Bar is still around, but did Apple address the reduced connectivity and sticky keyboard that marred the Pro’s release?

We got our hands on a new 15-inch MacBook Pro with the Core i9 processor, 32 gigs of RAM, and all the other top-level specs. We’ll walk you through all the features on the new MacBook Pro 15, and go over what changed (and what didn’t) since last year’s model.

The Outside

Not much changed in terms of style from the 2017 to 2018 version of the MacBook Pro. In fact, the dimensions, aluminum, and color options are all nearly identical to last year’s model. The screen is also the same, with a 2880 x 1800 resolution, 15.4-inch IPS display, and a maximum 500 nits of brightness. The only thing that changed on the screen from last year is that it is now compatible with Apple’s True Tone technology, which changes the color of your display based on the ambient light in the room you are in.

Under the screen, we still have the Touch Bar from the previous model. It also has True Tone enabled, but the differences are subtle to the naked eye and nearly impossible to capture on camera. There is also a Touch ID power button. Below the Touch Bar is the new-and-improved keyboard. Apple won’t say exactly how it’s been improved or what’s been done to address dust protection, but it is quieter, if only slightly.

Below the keyboard, is a large force touch track pad, which allows you to use different levels of pressure to perform different actions. Surrounding the keyboard are your stereo speakers; above the screen, there’s a 720p webcam. Two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports adorn the sides of the device, for a total of four ports that can be used for charging, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort.

The Inside

Where you’re going to notice the most differences from earlier models of the MacBook is under the hood. Powering the MacBook Pro 15 is either the Intel i7 or i9 processor. The device can also house up to 32G of RaAM and either a Radon Pro 555x or 560x graphics card. For storage, you can choose between 256GB (for the Radon Pro 555x models only), 513GB, 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB. However, the prices differences between these options start to get a bit ridiculous and may not be worth the expanded SSD for the price. The options can quickly drive its price over $6,000.

The new MacBook Pro also comes with an 83.6 watt hour battery and an 87 watt USB-C charger. It also comes equipped with Bluetooth 5.0 and WiFi 802.11. On the software side of things, the MacBook is running the latest version of MacOS, High Sierra. Something new to this iteration, though, is the ability to  say, “Hey, Siri” whenever your screen is unlocked and give voice commands to your virtual assistant. This feature has been around on your iPhone for quite a while, but is finally making it’s way to the MacBook Pro.

David Cogen — a regular contributor here at Digital Trends — runs TheUnlockr, a popular tech blog that focuses on tech news, tips and tricks, and the latest tech. You can also find him on Twitter discussing the latest tech trends.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here’s everything new with the 2018 MacBook Pro
• Apple’s newest MacBook Pro is now $150 off if you’re a student
• Apple’s T2 chip may be causing issues in iMac Pro and 2018 MacBook Pros
• How to change Amazon Alexa’s voice
• Unlock Google’s cool new Material Design interface hidden inside Chrome 68

TCL Roku TVs, SteelSeries gaming mice, charging stands, and more are all discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on three generations of TCL Roku TVs, the SteelSeries Rival 600 gaming mouse, an adjustable charging stand, and more! Most of these prices will be gone when the day ends, so don’t miss your chance to save big!

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

Best Screen Protectors for Moto G6

Keep your display protected with a tempered glass screen protector!

The Moto G6 is one of the best budget phones around. But just because the price is cheaper doesn’t mean it’s not worth protecting. For under 10 bucks, you can get a set of tempered glass screen protectors to protect that Moto G6 display from anything that life throws at it.

• Supershieldz Tempered Glass [2-pack]
• IQ Shield Tempered Glass [3-pack]
• Mr. Shield Tempered Glass [3-pack]
• TopACE Tempered Glass

Supershieldz Tempered Glass Screen Protectors [2-pack]

Supershieldz is a popular maker of screen protecting accessories and they offer a two-pack of tempered glass screen protectors for the Moto G6. The edges are rounded for comfort around the earpiece and home button cutouts.

It’s a good value from a trusted brand that’s backed by a lifetime replacement warranty. Available for just $6 on Amazon.

See at Amazon

IQ Shield Tempered Glass Screen Protectors [3-pack]

IQ Shield offers screen protectors for a wide variety of smartphone brands, and typically offers both tempered glass and film options. For the Moto G6, they offer a Full Bodyskin Protector ($16) and a Matte finish screen protector ($8). But the best value by far is the three-pack of tempered glass.

Tempered glass offers the best protection for your phone, and IQ Shield offers an impossibly thin screen protector. Best of all is you’ll have two backups as needed. Get your kit for just $8.

See at Amazon

Mr. Shield Tempered Glass Screen Protector [3-pack]]

The installation is the most important part of using a screen protector — you don’t properly clean that screen and you’re going to have dust and weird streaks appear.

That’s why Mr. Shield includes a complete installation kit that includes a cleaning cloth, dust collecting stickers, and an alcohol prep pad. The glass is laser cut to provide as much coverage as possible for the Moto G6.

These will be in stock and shipping from Amazon by June 16. Get yours for just $6.

See at Amazon

TopACE Tempered Glass Screen Protector

TopACE makes the list for offering a slightly more curved set of “horns” around the earpiece cutout. Otherwise, it’s another solid tempered glass screen protector for the Moto G6 that offers everything you’d expect in a screen protector.

Designed to be case friendly, this pack includes cleaning wipes and dust re for installation. Get yours for $10, or consider the two-pack of film screen protectors included on this Amazon listing for just $7.

See at Amazon

Are you getting a Moto G6?

Let us know if you’re buying the G6 and whether you plan to buy a screen protector for it.

Updated July 2018: Discounts across the board for our top picks here.

TCL’s amazing Roku TVs are on sale today starting as low as $200

The choosiest of choices.

TCL has three generations of smart TVs on sale today. These are TVs that have long been considered the best bang for your buck and they have only gotten better with each new generation. Whether you want a budget screen or something more modern with local dimming and great picture quality, you’ve got the choice today. Start with TCL’s 40-inch 40S305 Roku TV for $199.99. It normally sells for $230 and, outside of crazy deals like Prime Day or eBay’s site-wide sales earlier this year, it’s one of the best prices we’ve ever seen.

From the same series, the 43-inch Roku TV is down to just $229.99. This TV was selling around $270 back in March and has not gone lower than $250 until today.

The 2017 model 43-inch TCL is going for $279.99 right now. While it did drop to that price a few weeks ago from its average of $300, it has been sold out for some time now. There are a few back in stock on Amazon so you can grab this TV at one of its lowest prices ever.

The 2018 Series 6 is also on sale through Best Buy. The 55-inch R615 TCL Roku TV is down to $599.99 from a street price around $650 at other retailers like Amazon. That’s only $15 more than the best price we’ve ever seen.

The 65-inch version is also about $30 off. You can get it for $969.99 at Best Buy right now. CNET called this new version of the TCL “the best TV value we’ve ever reviewed” so you can’t go wrong there, either.

See on Amazon

This Raspberry Pi 3 Ultimate Starter Kit includes four courses and over 10 hours of content

Coupling Internet of Things (IoT) with a Raspberry Pi can lead to plenty of fun and opportunity, but you really need to have the right tools at your disposal. There are plenty of packages you can put together yourself, but what about the knowledge required to use the hardware properly? Why not get it all in one place?

Dive into Raspberry Pi with this starter kit that includes four courses and over 10 hours of content! Learn more

Android Central Digital Offers right now has an awesome deal on an Ultimate Raspberry Pi 3B Starter Kit, complete with Raspberry Pi, 37 sensors, and four courses that will teach you how to complete various Pi projects. Instead of the usual price of about $529, you’ll instead pay just $146. That’s 72 percent off the regular price.

Alongside the 37-sensor starter kit that includes a Raspberry Pi 3B, you’ll have lifetime access to four courses with over 10 hours of content. Courses include:

• Raspberry Pi Beginner’s Bootcamp
• 2018 Ultimate Guide to Raspberry Pi
• Getting Started with NodeMCU
• Build Your Own GPS Tracking System with Raspberry Pi

Use coupon code RASPBERRYPI10 and save an additional 10%! Learn more

If you’d like to jump into the world of Raspberry Pi but have been waiting for the right opportunity, definitely check out this kit. It contains everything you need to get started, and you’ll save hundreds of dollars off the regular price.

The Fitbit Aria 2 smart scale is down to just under $100 right now

Great price and a smart product.

The Fitbit Aria 2 Wi-Fi smart scale is down to $99.95 on Amazon in both Black and White. The smart scale normally sells for around $130. We shared a deal on it when it dropped to this same price back in early July, but it didn’t last long. It probably won’t last long this time around, either, so grab one while you can.

It can help you track your weight, lean mass, body fat percentage and more. Each scale can be set up for use with up to eight different users, and each person’s stats can remain private to just them. You can pair it with your phone in just a few minutes via Bluetooth, and it automatically syncs with your Fitbit dashboard.

See on Amazon