This Seagate Prime Day sale has a dozen ways to expand your storage
Save money on all kinds of storage.
This huge Seagate sale covers internal, external, portable drives, and drives meant to take a beating. Many of these are great low prices and most of them are only going to be on sale with an Amazon Prime membership.
Find the drive you need for the job you have. There are portable hard drives, LaCie rugged drives, and more. There are even huge 8TB desktop pass-through hubs on sale here as well.
See on Amazon
Unlocked smartphones are on sale from $79 at Amazon, including the Essential Phone
Prime Day is calling with an exclusive discount.
In celebration of Prime Day, Amazon is offering discounts on a selection of unlocked smartphones including options like the Essential Phone and the Honor 7X. There’s also a Samsung wireless charger on sale for $30. These deals are exclusively available to Prime members as part of Amazon’s Prime Day. If you’re not a member, you can still grab today’s discounts by starting a free 30-day trial.
Some of the deals available include:
- Essential Phone for $249.99
- Honor 7X for $169.99
- Huawei Mate SE for $219.99
- Huawei Mate 10 for $499.99
- Samsung Qi-certified Fast Wireless Charging Stand for $29.99
Make sure to visit Amazon to check out the full selection on sale today.
See at Amazon
Best Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+ Deals and Promotions
Save the Galaxy — spend less money.
The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are now available to purchase in many countries around the world. Carriers are falling over themselves to give you a good deal on an early purchase of Samsung’s latest phones. Here are all of the latest deals from the top carriers and retailers.
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U.S.
Amazon (Prime Day only)
Want something really special for Prime Day? For Prime Day only, Amazon is bundling the Galaxy S9 and S9+ with a SmartThings Home Monitoring Kit, an Echo speaker, and an Echo Spot. What an insanely good deal.
See at Amazon
Verizon
You can pick up the Galaxy S9 for $33.33 per month and the Galaxy S9+ for $38.75 per month. Both of those are the prices over 24 months, meaning you’ll ultimately pay $799 for the S9 and $929 for the S9+. Ouch. To help reduce those costs, you can trade-in an eligible phone on Verizon and take up to 50% off. The exact details are as follows:
- Galaxy S9 for $16.66/month: Trade in iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus, iPhone 6S Plus, Pixel 2/2 XL, Pixel/Pixel XL, LG V30, LG G6, Moto Z2 Force, Moto Z Force, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8/S8+, Galaxy S7 Edge.
- Galaxy S9+ for $19.37/month: Trade in iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus, Pixel 2/2 XL, LG V30, Moto Z2 Force, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8/S8+.
- Galaxy S9 for $21.66/month: Trade in iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPhone 6S, HTC 10, LG V20, LG G5, Moto Z2 Play, Moto Z Droid, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6/S6 Edge/S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 5.
- Galaxy S9+ for $25.18: Trade in iPhone 6S/6S Plus, Pixel/Pixel XL, HTC 10, LG V20, LG G6, Moto Z Force, Moto Z2 Play, Galaxy S7/S7 Edge, Galaxy Note 5.
- Galaxy S9 for $25.00/month: Trade in iPhone SE, HTC One M9/M9+, LG V10, LG G4, Moto Z Play, DROID Turbo 2, Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge.
- Galaxy S9+ for $29.06/month: Trade in iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPhone SE, HTC One M9/M9+, LG V10, LG G5, Moto Z Droid, Moto Z Play, DROID Turbo 2, Galaxy S6/S6 Edge/S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 4.
See the Galaxy S9 at Verizon See the Galaxy S9+ at Verizon
AT&T
AT&T has upped the price for the phones beyond what you’d pay unlocked or from T-Mobile. The carrier is advertising $26.34 per month for the GS9 and $30.50 per month for the S9+ – but that’s over 30 months, so the full price comes out to $790 and $915, respectively.
For a limited time, though, AT&T is offering 50% off the S9 or $395 off the larger S9+. You must purchase the phones on AT&T Next, start a new line of service, and sign up for a DirecTV or Internet plan.
Those are a lot of hoops you need to jump through, but if you were already planning on getting the S9 or S9+ on AT&T, you might as well look into this.
See at AT&T
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T-Mobile
T-Mobile is matching the unlocked pricing of $720 for the Galaxy S9 and $840 for the S9+. T-Mobile says that the S9 series plugs into its new 600MHz spectrum, which offers more coverage in rural areas.
The Un-Carrier is currently running a BOGO promotion where you can buy one Galaxy S9 and get another for free or $720 off the larger S9+.
Both phones must be purchased on monthly installment plans in order to be eligible, and you’ll need to either active two new lines for new customers or add at least one new one if you’re an existing subscriber.
See at T-Mobile
Sprint
On Sprint you’ll pay $792 for Galaxy S9 and $912 for Galaxy S9+, but they’re also available through Sprint’s Galaxy Forever lease program, which allows you to upgrade to the newest Galaxy after 12 months, for $33 per month for S9 and $38 per month for the S9+.
There aren’t any deals for buying the S9 series outright from Sprint, but you can save quite a bit with the Galaxy Forever program right now.
Instead of $33/month for the S9 and $38/month for the S9+, you’ll spend just $16.50/month for the S9 and $21.50/month for the S9 Plus. No trade-in is required for this promotion, but you will need to add a new line of service.
Once the order is made, you should see your monthly bill credit applied within two billing cycles.
See at Sprint
Best Buy
You can buy the carrier versions of the Galaxy S9 and S9+ for Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, plus the unlocked version (we recommend that one) at their usual prices. Best Buy runs its own trade-in program, and also typically matches whatever the carriers are offering directly in terms of incentives. Best Buy also offers 24-month no-interest financing if you have a Best Buy credit card.
See at Best Buy
Samsung
If you prefer buying your phones directly from the manufacturer (consider it!), without all the bloatware and potential SIM locking, Samsung is offering both the S9 and S9+ unlocked. In the U.S., you’ll pay $719 for the Galaxy S9 and $839 for the Galaxy S9+, but both are available with Samsung’s financing program if you’d prefer to pay over several months.
Samsung also sells the carrier variants of both phones, matching the pricing you’d find from the carriers but not necessarily any of the other incentives above and beyond that.
One big advantage Samsung has over everyone else is that it’s the exclusive place you can buy the 128GB and 256GB configurations for the S9 and S9+. You’ll pay $50 more per each storage upgrade, resulting in the following pricing:
- Samsung Galaxy S9 w/ 128GB – $769.99
- Samsung Galaxy S9 w/ 256GB – $819.99
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ w/ 128GB – $889.99
- Samsung Galaxy S9+ w/ 256GB – $939.99
Samsung’s got a couple killer deals right now, one of which gets you an instant $350 trade-in credit when you purchase an S9 through the Samsung Upgrade Program. Buying the S9 or S9+ through Samsung will also allow you to purchase the Power Bundle for $49 or the Upgrade Bundle for $99.
The Power Bundle comes with a fast wireless charger, 5,100 mAh battery pack, and adaptive fast charging car charger. On the other hand, the Upgrade Bundle inlcudes a fast wireless charger, Samsung Gear VR, and AKG Y50BT wireless headphones.
See at Samsung
Canada
Rogers
It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Rogers has the Galaxy S9 and S9+. The amount you pay depends on which plan type you choose, with the pricing working out as follows:
- Premium+ Tab: $249 for the Galaxy S9 / $379 for the Galaxy S9+
- Premium Tab: $449 for the Galaxy S9 / $579 for the Galaxy S9+
- Smart Tab: $599 for the Galaxy S9 / $729 for the Galaxy S9+
- Talk & Text or No Tab: $999 for the Galaxy S9 / $1129 for the Galaxy S9+
If there’s a Rogers store near you, you can grab the Galaxy S9 for $0 (that’s right, $0) when you purchase it on one of the carrier’s Share Everything plans after completing an eligible trade-in.
For online shoppers, Rogers is giving out a coupon for 15% off select accessories when you actvate a device from its website and waiving its $30/line Connection Fee.
See at Rogers
TELUS
In addition to Rogers, you can also get the Galaxy S9 through TELUS. The regular S9 costs between $250 and $450 upfront depending on which plan you choose, with the same holding true for the S9+ that varies at $380 and $580.
See at TELUS
Bell
Bell is selling the S9 and S9+ for $250 on a 2-year term with an $80/month contract, or $450 for a $70/month contract. It’s $1019 outright. The S9+ costs $380 and $580 in the same configurations. As with all other carriers, the phone comes in either grey or purple.
If you’re interested in the smaller Galaxy S9, Bell’s letting you pick it up for $0 if you trade-in an eligible device and sign up for a 2-year Premium Plus plan with data.
For this offer, you’ll only be able to redeem it at one of Bell’s physical retail stores.
See at Bell
Unlocked
In Canada, Samsung is selling the Galaxy S9 and S9+ unlocked, starting at $960 for the smaller phone and moving up to $1100 for the larger one. Both phones remain unlocked once you put a SIM card into them, but they download (and keep) the carrier details from the first SIM that was inserted into them, much like their carrier counterparts. In Canada, Samsung is offering only the Lilac Purple and Titanium Grey models.
See at Samsung
UK
O2
O2 in the United Kingdom is selling the Galaxy S9 for £49.99 upfront and then £56 per month for 24 months. If you want the larger and more impressive Galaxy S9+, you’ll pay the same £49.99 upfront cost but a more expensive £61/month charge.
If you buy a Galaxy S9 or S9+ from O2 right now, the carrier will give you the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 absolutely free. This offer is good until July 11 and the tablet should ship out 14-40 days after your purchase is made.
See at O2
Vodafone
Vodafone is also offering the Galaxy S9 series in the UK, and for the regular S9 you’ll pay £29 upfront followed by £59/month. If you want to step up to the Galaxy S9+, you’ll pay a bit more ay £49 upfront and then £69 per month.
You won’t get any freebies when purchasing the S9+, but if you pick up the regular S9, Vodafone will give you an extra 10GB of monthly data.
See at Vodafone
EE Mobile
For EE Mobile customers, the Galaxy S9 regularly sells for £58 per month and the S9+ for £68 per month. The former comes with 64GB of storage while the latter has 128GB, but no matter which you choose, you’ll be able to get the phones in either Lilac Purple, Coral Blue, or Midnight Black.
If you act fast, however, EE Mobile’s offering its lowest price ever on the two phones — £43/month for the S9 and £53/month for the S9+.
Also, if you trade in a Galaxy S7, you can get the S9 for £28/month and the S9+ for £33/month.
See at EE Mobile
India
The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are now available for purchase in India, with prices starting at ₹57,900 ($890). Both devices are on sale direct from Samsung India as well as Flipkart and Paytm Mall, and will be heading to thousands of retail stores across the country.
Both the 64GB and 256GB storage configurations are available in India, but if you’re interested in picking up the 256GB model, you’ll have to buy from Samsung India’s store. Samsung is rolling out a ₹6,000 ($90) cashback to those picking up the phone via Paytm, and HDFC credit and debit card users can also get ₹6,000 off on either device. Here’s how much the Galaxy S9 and S9+ cost in India:
- 64GB Galaxy S9: ₹57,900 ($890)
- 256GB Galaxy S9: ₹65,900 ($1,000)
- 64GB Galaxy S9+: ₹64,900 ($1,015)
- 256GB Galaxy S9+: ₹72,900 ($1,120)
See at Flipkart
Update, June 19, 2018: Added new deals for T-Mobile, Samsung’s online store, O2, Vodafone, and EE Mobile.
Best Amazon Prime Day Deals 
Humans of New York: Stories
$13.02
$25.00
Save $12
This Lightning deal will give you something to think about.
eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack
$67.99
$115.00
Save $47
This is an amazing price, and as a result, the item’s selling out quickly. Hurry up if you’re interested.
Victorinox Swiss Army Pocket Knife
$12.27
$20.00
Save $8
This is a Lightning deal and will sell out quickly.
Intel Core i7 8700K desktop computer processor
$299.99
$350.00
Save $50
While it has been this price at other retailers, this is one of the best deals we’ve seen on Amazon.
- Top Deals
- Amazon Devices
- TVs
- Smart Home
- Unlocked Smartphones
- Kitchen
- Audio & Headphones
- Gaming
- Home Improvement / DIY
- Everyday Essentials
- Kids & Toys
- Entertainment
- Fashion
Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals!
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
- Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
- Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
- Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
- Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
- Join our Galaxy S9 forums
Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Google responds to Prime Day with discounts on Pixels, Google Homes and more
These are some great deals.
Amazon’s Prime Day sales are getting all of the attention, and rightfully so considering their wide-reaching appeal, but if you’re a fan of Google hardware you’re out of luck there. In response, Google is running its own deep discounts on all of its products at the same time as Prime Day. At both Best Buy and the Google Store, you’ll find all of Google’s latest products on sale to very enticing prices.
Here’s all of the discounts available:
- Google Home Mini for $34 (regularly $49)
- Available in all 3 colors
- Google Home for $99 (regularly $129)
- 2 Google Homes for $158 (regularly $258)
- Be sure to use Best Buy’s offer page to get the full discount
- 2 Google Home Max speakers for $648 (regularly $798)
- Available in both black and white, and you can mix-and-match colors
- Be sure to use Best Buy’s offer page to get the full discount
- Free Google Home Mini with Philips Hue starter kit (regularly $49)
- Free Google Home Mini with Nest Thermostat purchase (regularly $49)
- Nest Hello Doorbell for $199 + free Google Home Mini (regularly $229 + $49)
- Chromecast for $25 (regularly $35)
- Chromecast Ultra for $49 (regularly $69)
- Google Wifi router for $99 (regularly $129)
- Google Wifi router 3-pack for $258 (regularly $279)
- Verizon Google Pixel 2 for $499 (regularly $649)
- Offer only available when financing over 24 months with Verizon
- Verizon Google Pixel 2 XL for $549 (regularly $849)
- Offer only available when financing over 24 months with Verizon
- Unlocked Google Pixel 2 XL for $749 (regularly $849)
- Google Pixelbook for $749 (regularly $999)
- $250 savings also applied to higher-spec models
- Daydream View VR headset for $49 (regularly $99)
Some deals are better than others, but it’s a Google hardware lover’s dream no matter what. Google is practically giving away Home devices at this point, and those are great deals on Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XLs — particularly if you’re a Verizon customer. Google hasn’t said how long these deals will last, so you’ll want to jump on them before they’re gone and back to full retail price.
Best Amazon Prime Day Deals 
Humans of New York: Stories
$13.02
$25.00
Save $12
This Lightning deal will give you something to think about.
eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack
$67.99
$115.00
Save $47
This is an amazing price, and as a result, the item’s selling out quickly. Hurry up if you’re interested.
Victorinox Swiss Army Pocket Knife
$12.27
$20.00
Save $8
This is a Lightning deal and will sell out quickly.
Intel Core i7 8700K desktop computer processor
$299.99
$350.00
Save $50
While it has been this price at other retailers, this is one of the best deals we’ve seen on Amazon.
- Top Deals
- Amazon Devices
- TVs
- Smart Home
- Unlocked Smartphones
- Kitchen
- Audio & Headphones
- Gaming
- Home Improvement / DIY
- Everyday Essentials
- Kids & Toys
- Entertainment
- Fashion
Check out more Amazon Prime Day deals!
Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
- Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
- Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
- Google Pixel 2 specs
- Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
- Join our Pixel 2 forums
Best Buy
Verizon
Google Store
Project Fi
Apple Overhauls Leadership Page With Memoji Avatars for Execs Ahead of World Emoji Day
In celebration of World Emoji Day, which takes place tomorrow, Apple today updated its Apple Leadership site to introduce Memoji avatars for all of the key executives listed on the page.
Tim Cook, Angela Ahrendts, Jony Ive, Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, Luca Maestri, Phil Schiller, and the rest of the leadership team are now represented by Memojis.
Memojis are an iPhone X feature coming in iOS 12. Similar to Animoji, Memoji are humanoid avatars that can be customized and personalized to look just like you with an array of options.
You can choose skin color, hair color, hair style, eye color, eyebrows, nose, features like freckles and facial hair, accessories, and headwear when creating a Memoji.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Right now, Memoji, like Animoji, are limited to iPhone X, but future devices that include the Face ID camera system will also work with Animoji and Memoji, such as rumored iPad Pro models expected this fall.
To celebrate World Emoji Day, Apple also highlighted the emojis we can expect to see in Unicode 11, which Apple plans to adopt later this year in either iOS 12 or an update to iOS 12.
Upcoming emoji characters include cold face, party face, pleading face, peacock, kangaroo, parrot, and more, along with options for red hair, gray hair, and no hair.
Related Roundup: iOS 12Tags: Tim Cook, Animoji, Memoji
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Moto Z3 Play review: The value is still in the Moto Mods
Motorola’s Moto Z Play series has always brought a great balance of modern features and specifications to an affordable price point. The brand new Moto Z3 Play is no exception, and brings some of the most significant changes to the Play line yet. Is it a worthy upgrade to last year’s model? Find out in our Moto Z3 Play review.
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Design
The Moto Z3 Play’s design shouldn’t be too surprising to anyone. It retains the same overall shape and footprint as the previous Moto Z devices, which is necessary to maintain compatibility with the Moto Mods.
The Moto Z3 Play works with all 14 current Moto Mods, and all Moto Z3 Plays will come bundled with a free Moto Mod.
The Z3 Play’s main design differences come down to its new, mostly glass body and sleeker profile. As with most smartphones nowadays, the Z3 Play has a glass front and back, with a metal frame wrapping around the sides. The construction is sturdy and feels great, but it doesn’t stand out much.
The Z3 Play is also thinner than last year’s model, which comes at the expense of the headphone jack. This may not be a surprising move in 2018, but the headphone jack was a big part of the appeal the Z Play series, considering the Z flagships didn’t have it. Motorola included a 3.5mm-to-USB type-C adapter in the box, but it’s still an unfortunate loss.
Side-mounted fingerprint sensors aren’t very common but they definitely should be.
Another major change to the Z3 Play is the relocation of the fingerprint sensor. On previous models, this was on the bottom chin, but it sits on the right side of the Z3 Play, similar to where Sony used to put them. The power button sits on the left side, mirroring the fingerprint sensor. Side mounted fingerprint sensors aren’t very common, but they definitely should be.
This one’s comfortable and easy to reach with your thumb. I haven’t noticed any issues with accuracy or speed.
Display
The Z3 Play now has a more modern display. It’s got an 18:9 aspect ratio and much smaller bezels on all sides than its predecessors. The 6.01-inch screen uses Super AMOLED technology with FHD+ resolution. The AMOLED display is vibrant and colorful, with excellent viewing angles and brightness. Contrast is also excellent, with the deep dark blacks typical of an AMOLED display. The FHD+ resolution may seem a little low, but I had no complaints. It’s plenty sharp for comfortably browsing the web and enjoying media.
Performance
The Moto Z3 Play is powered by a mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on the U.S. variant. Globally, there is an additional variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. I’ve been testing the U.S. version and have run into no issues with performance.
The Z3 Play was quick to launch applications, quick to multitask with, and handled any game I threw at it with smooth frame rates. Swiping through the UI and browsing the web is also very fast and responsive. It may not have the most impressive spec sheet, but it was powerful enough to perform well with all of my daily demands.
Battery life performance, unfortunately, isn’t quite as good. While the Snapdragon 636 is a very efficient processor, the 3,000mAh battery could only get me through a light or moderate day. Screen-on time consistently reached the four-hour mark, but never more. It’s pretty average by 2018 standards.
Most consumers will find it sufficient, but this phone just can’t last through a full day with heavy amounts of gaming and video watching.
Camera
The Z3 Play is the first Moto Play phone to feature dual rear cameras. The main sensor is 12MP with an f/1.7 aperture, and it’s the only sensor designed for capturing photos. The secondary 5MP sensor is meant purely for capturing depth information for portrait mode or background blurring effects. The front-facing camera now has an 8MP sensor and a portrait mode, but it isn’t quite as advanced or feature-rich due to the lack of a second sensor.
The camera app now has built-in Google Lens support, making it very easy to do your virtual searches directly from the camera. Another new feature to the camera is cinemagraphs, which let you capture a picture with motion, where you can select which parts of the photo move and which parts stay still. It’s a ton of fun to use and really creative. The images save as a standard GIF which makes it very easy to share with your friends and family on social media or text messages.
In daylight or well-lit conditions, the camera produces acceptable results but colors lack vibrancy and details don’t appear sharp.
Picture quality from the Z3 Play’s camera is average at best. I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed by the results. In daylight or well-lit conditions, the camera performed acceptably, but colors lacked vibrancy and details weren’t sharp. The drop-off in quality is very significant in low light. Noise is very visible, colors are washed out, and highlights are severely overexposed. The camera also struggles to focus in dark conditions, which makes it difficult to get the shot you want sometimes.
Software
One of my favorite things about Moto devices has always been the software. Motorola keeps the experience on the Moto Z3 Play very close to stock Android. It’s one of the few experiences on the market similar to Google’s Pixel phones. Android 8.1 comes out of the box and Motorola says it will support two OS upgrades during the Z3 Play’s life cycle. Motorola’s usual suite of software features, such as Moto Display, the flashlight double chop, and twist of the wrist for launching the camera, all remain intact.
The newest software addition is the ability to navigate the UI using swipe gestures via the on-screen bar at the bottom of the display. This replaces the gesture controls that were previously achieved by swiping on the front facing home button. The gestures are similar to Android P’s swipe gestures and work in place of the standard on-screen navigation keys if you want them. They’re simple and very easy to figure out. Swiping left goes back, swiping right opens recent apps, tapping takes you home and holding down the virtual bar launches Google Assistant. After a few days of use, I much preferred using the gestures over the standard onscreen buttons.
Specifications
| Display | 6-inch AMOLED 2,160 x 1,080 resolution 18:9 screen ratio |
| SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Octa-core Kryo 260 at 1.8GHz |
| GPU | Adreno 509 |
| RAM | 4/6GB |
| Storage | 64/128GB MicroSD up to 2TB |
| Cameras | Rear cameras Main: 12MP with 1.4 micron pixels, f/1.7 aperture Secondary: 5MP Front camera |
| Audio | Front-facing speaker USB Type-C No 3.5mm jack 24-bit audio at 94kHz |
| Battery | 3,000mAh battery Non-removable TurboCharging |
| IP rating | Water-repellent coating No IP rating |
| Network | LTE Cat. 12 |
| Software | Android 8.1 Oreo |
| Dimensions and weight | 156.5 x 70.5 x 6.75mm 156g |
| Colors | deep indigo |
Pricing & Final Thoughts
The Moto Z3 Play is priced at $499 unlocked in the U.S., which is fair for what you get, but not the greatest value. As a comparison, the OnePlus 6 costs only $30 more and gives you high-end specifications, a better camera, and a headphone jack. When judging the phone on its own merits the Z3 Play is a great midrange offering, but unless you highly value Moto Mods and Motorola’s software suite it’s probably not worth the money.
Next: OnePlus 6 review: The new Nexus
OnePlus in the process of renaming Dash Charge system to Warp Charge
Andy Boxall/Digital Trends
It seems that OnePlus may be changing the name of its Dash Charge charging system to “Warp Charge” — if a trademark application to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is granted.
OnePlus has been avoiding using the term “Dash Charge” in its promotional material and software ever since it was denied a trademark in the EU in March due to similarities with Bragi’s Dash Pro headset and Amazon’s Dash service. While OnePlus would still have been able to use the Dash Charge name in the U.S., it would have had to have changed the name specifically for regions within the EU — not exactly the easiest way of doing business.
Clearly not happy with the situation, OnePlus has been looking for a replacement for the “Dash Charge” name — and it seems it may have found it with “Warp Charge.” The trademark was submitted to the EUIPO on July 13, but don’t expect an answer particularly quickly. The trademark application for Dash Charge was begun when the OnePlus 3 was released in 2016, and the agency only got around to denying the application in March of this year.
Of course, it’s not a given that the trademark will be accepted yet, so it would be unwise for OnePlus to start the lengthy and expensive process of re-merchandising until the application is complete — but unless some major players within a similar industry pop up with another valid claim to the name, then it’s likely that the trademark will be accepted. We doubt a miniatures shop in Halifax has enough of a claim to block OnePlus here.
The charging method formerly known as Dash Charge has a strong history. It’s based on the VOOC charging tech of OnePlus’ owner, OPPO, and it increases ampage, rather than voltage, to deliver more power to a device. It’s considered one of the fastest methods of fast charging out there, and it’s something that OnePlus is proud enough of to have launched a marketing campaign around for the launch of the OnePlus 3T.
Having the trademark application rejected clearly hasn’t hurt OnePlus too much though — the release of the OnePlus 6 was completed without it, and we’ve highlighted that particular phone as one of our current favorites.
Editors’ Recommendations
- How does fast charging work? Here’s every single standard compared
- FLI Charge’s conductive wireless charging could revolutionize classroom tech
- Owners of Mugshots.com charged with extortion and other crimes
- BMW to bring smartphone-like wireless charging to cars
- Does wireless charging degrade your battery faster? We asked an expert
Spider silk could be used to create artificial skin to help heal wounds
Unless your name is Peter Parker, you may not be aware of quite how versatile spider silk is as a material. In fact, aside from spinning webs, spider silk can also be used for a plethora of applications — from improving the quality of microphones in hearing aids to forming incredibly strong-yet-lightweight shields to forming microcapsules for delivering anti-cancer vaccines.
Now researchers from Sweden and India have come up with yet another novel use for spider silk’s unusual mix of strength and elasticity: Creating artificial skin and wound dressings for helping heal wounds.
“We have developed two types of silk-based constructs: Nanofibrous matrices which serve as bioactive wound dressings, and microporous sponges cultured with human skin cells to serve as artificial skin,” Biman Mandal, an associate professor in the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, told Digital Trends. “Both types of constructs are made up of silkworm silk fibroin biomaterial acting as bulk platform, and are top-coated with recombinant spider silk fusion proteins. The recombinant spider silk protein contains bioactive peptides like cell-binding motifs, antimicrobial peptides, and growth factor domain.”
The hope is that the dressings could be used to treat chronic wounds like diabetic foot ulcers, which otherwise can be a challenge to heal. The cellular skin grafts, meanwhile, could be used as full thickness bilayer skin for grafting purposes in the case of critical third-degree burns. Due to its similarity to skin, the material may also find use as a skin substitute to screen certain drug molecules for the cosmeceutical industry.
“Next, we have plans to validate our results in animal models, particularly diabetic wound model and third-degree burn model,” Mandal continued. “We are keen to understand how these grafts help in accelerated healing in animal models. If successful, we would be able to translate our research into useful products for wound-healing applications in the future.”
Mandal noted that approach the team used is scalable thanks to the cheap bulk availability of silkwork silk from sericulture farms, and the recombinant spider proteins from a Swedish company called Spiber Technologies.
A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
Editors’ Recommendations
- Spider silk microcapsules could deliver vaccines to help battle cancer
- This ‘skin printer’ is like a magic wand for healing wounds
- Futuristic bandage can monitor wounds and deliver drug treatment
- Super absorbent wound dressing will swell up to save soldiers’ lives in combat
- No more needles? Diabetics could one day treat themselves with a cup of coffee
Here are the best laptop deals for Amazon Prime Day 2018
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Many people shop for laptops on Amazon, but you have to be careful. Looking at only the product titles, it’s easy to look past important information hidden in the fine print or left out altogether. When it comes to big Amazon Prime Day deals, that’s even more of an issue.
Fortunately, there are some really fantastic deals this year on name-brand laptops that are worth considering. If you’re looking for a new laptop, this is one of the best times of the year to pick one up.
Acer Chromebook 15
The Acer Chromebook 15 has always been one of our very favorite Chromebooks. It’s not a 2-in-1 or a more compact laptop, but it has a premium-feeling design at a discounted price. If you’re looking for something with a larger display, this 15-inch laptop is perfect for getting work done. For Prime Day, this one’s been discounted 21 percent, which puts this configuration (4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage) at $315.
Read our full review of the Acer Chromebook 15.
Buy it now:
Amazon
Asus Chromebook Flip C101PA
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
The Acer Chromebook Flip was one of the first 2-in-1 Chromebooks, implementing touch capabilities early on. Now with support for Android apps via the Google Play Store, a device like the Chromebook Flip would make a great option for kids — that is, as long as you can overlook the ugly hinge and massive screen bezels. Fortunately, this is a beefed-up configuration, featuring an Intel Core m3 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. This deal is 20 percent off, bringing the starting price down to $400.
Read our full review for the Acer Chromebook Flip C101PA.
Buy it now:
Amazon
Google Pixelbook
The Pixelbook raised the bar for Chromebooks, introducing a new suite of premium-level laptops meant to directly compete with the best of Windows or Mac options.
The problem was always that it was hard to justify the price, which normally starts at $1,000. Any discount at all makes the Pixelbook that much more attractive of a purchase. How about $750? Even with only a 128GB SSD, that makes the Pixelbook a fantastic deal.
Read our full review of the Google Pixelbook.
Buy it now:
Amazon
ASUS FX503VD Gaming Laptop
This Asus gaming laptop is a really solid budget-level machine with a 7th-gen quad-core processor, and an Nvidia GTX 1050 for graphics — all on sale for $730. With options like the Dell G3 Gaming Laptop on the market with updated internals though, you’ll need to weigh prices carefully before pulling the trigger on this one. While this Asus laptop comes with an SSD (unlike the entry-level Dell G3), the prices are close enough for you to really tread carefully.
If you are set on this Asus gaming laptop, our recommendation would be to choose a configuration with a faster SSD for storage.
Buy it now:
Amazon
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This 34-inch, curved, ultrawide 144Hz gaming monitor is only $385 on Prime Day
If you’re looking for a killer gaming monitor, we have just the Amazon Prime Day deal for you. This curved, 34-inch ultrawide monitor from LG is 45 percent off, coming in at just $385. It sells for $600 on LG’s website, and was on sale for $500 on Amazon before this Prime Day sale went live.
The fact that it’s 34 inches, curved, and ultrawide might be enough to interest you — and it should be. Curved, ultrawide monitors are more than a gimmick — the extra screen real estate and immersive feel of the curve are great for both productivity and media. Normally, these oversized monitors can cost as much as an entire new computer, driving the price up past what the average person is willing to spend.
But the spotlight feature of this awesome monitor really is the 144Hz refresh rate. If you’ve got a high-powered gaming PC or laptop, you’ll never experience the true potential of it with a 60Hz display. With a 144Hz display, it’ll ensure you pretty much never experience the ugly artifact known as “screen tearing.” Additionally, the LG 34UC79G also supports AMD’s FreeSync technology. Your gameplay should be as smooth as butter.
You’ll need to spend a bit more if you want a higher-resolution display (this one is 2,560 x 1,800) or G-Sync support, but for $385, this is one heck of a gaming monitor.
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