Apple Restructures Sales Team in India Amid Sluggish Growth

Apple sold fewer than a million iPhones in India in the first half of 2018, according to Bloomberg. The company has suffered slowing sales in the world’s second largest smartphone market, which has reportedly seen three high-ranking sales executives leave Apple as the company restructures its operations there.

Among the executives who’ve departed are its national sales and distribution chief, the head of its commercial channels and mid-market business, and the head of telecom carrier sales, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. Apple’s Indian sales team is now undergoing a restructuring, one of the people said.

Apple has a 2 percent market share in India, according to Counterpoint Research. It sold 3.2 million iPhones in the country in 2017, but high tariffs on imported electronic devices continue to push consumers toward cheaper alternatives from Xiaomi, Samsung, and other phone makers. In February, India announced the latest tax increase on imported mobile phones from 15 percent to 20 percent, and that came under two months after the previous increase.

Last year, Apple started manufacturing the iPhone SE and iPhone 6S in India in an effort to exempt the phones from import duties and reduce their price, but the company’s facilities have yet to start running at full capacity. Apple doesn’t manufacture its latest iPhone models domestically, so they still incur import levies.

“iPhone India sales were weak in the first half of 2018 and, even if they show a big jump in the traditionally strong second half, Apple will still fall short of last year,” said Neil Shah, a research director with Counterpoint who spoke to Bloomberg.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made upbeat comments about the company’s performance in the Indian market, despite Apple’s sluggish growth and single-digit market share.

Cook believes that young, aspiring Indians will look to upgrade their devices as they move up the socio-economic ladder, but sales have yet to reflect that prediction. Apple has also faced criticism for the poor performance of core services like Apple Maps and Siri in India, suggesting the Apple ecosystem has yet to align well to the usage and value of Indian users.

Tag: India
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How to Use the New Photos App Features in iOS 12

In iOS 12, Apple has introduced some new features to the Photos app that aim to make it easier for you to search, share, and enjoy your photo collection. Here’s how to make the most of them.

The most prominent addition in the Photos app is a new For You tab, which replaces the old Memories and Shared tabs and brings together their features – along with any iCloud Shared Albums you may have – in a single scrolling panel.

For You Tab: Sharing Suggestions

Top of the For You tab is where your latest Sharing Suggestions appear. If the app recognizes someone in the photos it will ask if you want to share the collection with them, otherwise an option to “Share with friends?” is shown.

The great thing about sharing photos this way in iOS 12 is that if your friends have any pictures that are from the same event, time, or location, they will also be prompted to send those back to you, allowing you to fill any holes in your collection.

Tap the Sharing Suggestions card and you’ll be taken to a screen where you can choose the pictures you want to share. Tap Select and then tap any photos you don’t want to include, or choose Deselect All and then tap the ones you want to share.

Choose Next to select people in your contacts that you want to share the pictures with. Tap Share in Messages when you’re done – just note that anyone with access to the shared photo link will be able to view the photos.

For You Tab: Memories

Immediately below Sharing Suggestions you’ll find Memories, which curates various photos and videos you’ve taken in the past into specific memory collections. Without any steps required on your part, Memories gives you an automatic homemade movie from these past family gatherings or vacations.

Tap a memory and you’ll see a list of all the photos and videos contained in the memory (tap Show More to see more than a summary), the geographic location the pictures were taken, nearby photos, and related memories you might be interested in.

If you press the play button to begin viewing a memory, you can also use a number of customization options to edit it. For more on editing memories in Photos, see our dedicated tutorial.

Note that tapping Select on this page and deleting a photo doesn’t just remove it from the memory, but also deletes it from your iPhone and iCloud Library. The last two options at the very bottom of the screen let you favorite the memory or delete it permanently.

If your device supports 3D Touch, you can also hard press on any memory in the For You tab to get a preview of its contents, and then swipe up for options to add it to your favorite memories, delete the memory, or block it.

For You Tab: Shared Album Activity

At the bottom of the For You tab is any Shared Album Activity related to your iCloud account.

This lists iCloud albums shared by you as well as albums shared with you by other users. From here you can view photos and videos, “like” them with a thumbs up, and read comments or add your own.

How to Use Enhanced Search

In iOS 12, the Photos search function in the Search tab is more intelligent than before, so it’s easier to find the most relevant photos to you from events, people, or places.

You can also combine multiple search terms to narrow down your results. Simply start typing a person’s name, a date, a place, or a word like “cat”, “beach”, “waistcoat”, or “selfie”, and the Photos app will offer up similar or identical indexed search terms that you can tap to add to the search field.

Related Roundup: iOS 12Tag: Photos
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Tech Armor claims its new screen protector improves performance, so we tested it

Tech Armor Enhance Screen Protector Embedded with Clear Technology for iPhone X.

Tech Armor has a new screen protector for various iPhone devices called the Enhance, but the company claims it does more than protect your smartphone’s screen. The Enhance Screen Protector Embedded with Clear Technology reportedly shields your brain from cellphone radiation and improves the phone’s signal strength, while extending battery life in the process. Skeptical? So were we, so we decided to try it out and see if there are any truths to these promises.

Smartphones and radiation

But first, we need to talk about radiation. Smartphones emit radio frequency (RF) energy, a form of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. There have been scores of studies exploring the health risks of exposure to this radiation from smartphones — such as whether you can get cancer from prolonged cellphone use — but the consensus from the scientific community suggests there is no evidence linking the two. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the following statement on its website:

“According to current data, the FDA believes that the weight of scientific evidence does not show an association between exposure to radio frequency from cell phones and adverse health outcomes. Still, there is consensus that additional research is warranted to address gaps in knowledge, such as the effects of cell phone use over the long-term and on pediatric populations.”

“Still, there is consensus that additional research is warranted to address gaps in knowledge.”

The Federal Communications Commission, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Environmental and Health Sciences, the National Cancer Institute, and the World Health Organization all provide similar statements, including that more research is needed.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission even has a website warning people of cellphone radiation scams, advising people against radiation shields as “there is no scientific proof that so-called shields significantly reduce exposure from these electromagnetic emissions.”

“In fact, products that block only the earpiece – or another small portion of the phone – are totally ineffective because the entire phone emits electromagnetic waves,” according to the FTC. “What’s more, these shields may interfere with the phone’s signal, cause it to draw even more power to communicate with the base station, and possibly emit more radiation.”

Tech Armor’s method

The Enhance is a screen protector that’s available for the iPhone X, iPhone 6, iPhone 7, iPhone 8 (including all the Plus models), as well as the iPhone SE and iPhone 5S. It has the same defensive strength as Tech Armor’s other screen protectors, it looks ordinary, and it’s applied the same way. Tech Armor claims Enhance can do three additional things.

The first is it can redirect harmful radiation. The screen protector — which covers the entire phone — acts as a barrier between your head and the RF emissions (when you hold the phone up for phone calls). The embedded Clear Technology in the Enhance will redirect up to “100 percent” of those emissions away to the sides and rear of the phone, away from your brain.

The technology that enables this isn’t new — it’s called a band-pass filter, and it’s currently used in cellphone towers to reject frequencies within a certain range to filter out unwanted emissions, and pushes the signals towards a specified direction. Tech Armor told Digital Trends the folks at Clear Technology helped translate this tech into the screen protector using carbon nanotubes. These are microscopic in size and the team was able to print it on the screen protector glass in a transparent manner.

We have no way to test if the Enhance really does push away RF energy, but even if it does, the overwhelming consensus suggests there is no consistent link between RF energy from smartphones and health risks. That being said, if it provides some peace of mind for you, we can’t argue against it. We decided to test Tech Armor’s two other claims that stem from redirecting the RF energy: Better battery life and stronger cell signal.

The test

We slapped the Enhance screen protector onto an iPhone X on AT&T, and compared it with an iPhone X without any screen protector on the same network (and same plan). We went to various locations where we often had low signal to test whether cell signal improved with the Enhance. The idea is that the “redirected emissions concentrate the phone’s signal to provide a stronger signal for both calls and data downloads,” according to Tech Armor. Whereas Tech Armor’s claims are based on controlled lab environments, we used a real-world approach (minus the radiation testing, which we had no way of testing at press time).

Did it work? It’s hard to tell. In most of our test locations, we found a negligible difference of signal strength between the two; we’d often have the same amount of bars on both iPhone X devices.

In one area where we frequently encountered low signal strength, the iPhone X with Enhance (right) showed no improvement. This was our usual experience.

But in one instance, the iPhone X with the Enhance screen protector fluctuated between three and four bars of connectivity, while the other iPhone stayed at 2 bars. The improved connectivity was sustained for more than an hour, so there very may well be some truth to this claim. Did we notice a difference in our day-to-day experience with the phone and screen protector? No, we didn’t start suddenly seeing a dramatic improvement in our cell signal everywhere.

Interestingly, in one spot where we consistently had two bars of service, the iPhone X with Enhance (right) did show significant signal improvement of three or four bars.

When your smartphone is struggling to find cell signal, it chews through more battery life. Tech Armor claims that since the cell signal is stronger with the Enhance, you should see up to 40 percent longer battery life. We set both our iPhone X devices to similar configurations, and played a 10-hour long YouTube video through a LTE data connection — this is when we noticed the slightly stronger service on the Enhance screen protector. The two iPhone devices consistently had a 2 percent difference in battery life, with the Enhance-covered iPhone X edging out ever so slightly. Still, the differences are negligible, and we don’t think you’ll see a drastic improvement in battery life here.

Should you buy it?

The Enhance screen protector costs $30 from Tech Armor’s website, and it’s available now. It’s more expensive than the bulk of screen protectors on the market, but you can also find ones from other manufacturers that cost $40 or more. (You can see a selection of our favorite iPhone X screen protectors, ranging from less than $10 to $30 and up.)

Stripping away all the claims Tech Armor makes, the screen protector itself is anti-smudge and anti-scratch ballistic glass, so it should keep your screen free from scratches. If you don’t care about cellphones and the RF energy they emit, or don’t particularly think the signal and battery improvements are worth the price, then there are far more affordable options you can buy. However, if you are concerned about potentially harmful radiation coming out from your smartphone, this screen protector should give you peace of mind if the price tag is agreeable. In the end, you are purchasing a high quality screen protector, and that should be the main draw.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Apple iPhone X Plus: News, rumors, specs, and more
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Amazon Prime Day kicks off in India — here are the best deals

Amazon’s 36-hour deal extravaganza is now live, and we’ve rounded up the best deals.

Amazon’s Prime Day is now live in India, and over the next 36 hours the retailer is discounting hundreds of thousands of products across categories. Alongside the deals, Amazon is using its sale as a platform to launch new products, notably the red OnePlus 6. The limited-edition color option is now listed exclusively on Amazon, and if previous launches are any indication, it’s likely to sell out in a matter of days.

The red variant of the OnePlus 6 comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, and is available right now for ₹39,999. Amazon is also incentivizing usage of Alexa — use any four Alexa skills in the 36-hour window and you’ll win ₹200 in cashback credited to your Amazon Pay account. As usual, there are limitations associated with what skills you can use, but it’s an easy way to pick up ₹200 if you have an Echo device.

Haven’t bought into the Echo family yet? Prime Day is the best time to pick up an Alexa-enabled speaker, with the Echo available for ₹6,999, ₹3,000 off its retail price. The Echo Dot is available for just ₹2,449, making it an affordable entry into the Alexa ecosystem. If you’re looking for a headset for travel, the Bose QuietComfort 25 is available for 50% off, bringing it down to just ₹12,600. It’s not the latest from Bose, but at that price it’s a steal. If you’re looking for a wireless option, the Sony WH1000XM2 is available for ₹22,990, ₹9,000 off its retail price.

Kindle e-readers are also going up for sale, and you can pick up an annual Kindle Unlimited subscription for ₹1,388. The base Kindle is available for ₹4,699, the Kindle Paperwhite is up for sale for just ₹8,249, and you’ll be able to pick up an Oasis for ₹18,699.

Here’s a look at some of the best deals currently live:

• Red OnePlus 6 – ₹39,999 – Debuting today
• Honor 7X – ₹11,999 – ₹1,000 off
• Huawei P20 Pro – ₹59,999 – ₹5,000 off
• Huawei P20 Lite – ₹17,999 – ₹2,000 off
• Sony WH1000XM2 – ₹22,990 – ₹9,000 off
• Bose QuietComfort 25 – ₹12,600 – ₹12,600 off
• Sennheiser HD 4.50 SE – ₹7,490 – ₹7,500 off
• JBL 2.0 Wireless Sound Bar with Built in Dual Base Port – ₹7,999 – ₹3,991 off
• Bose SoundLink Mini II Wireless Bluetooth Speakers – ₹12,960 – ₹3,240 off
• Amazon Echo – ₹6,999 – ₹3,000 off
• Amazon Echo Dot – ₹2,449 – ₹2,000 off
• Amazon Fire TV Stick – ₹2,799 – ₹1,200 off
• Kindle – ₹4,699 – ₹1,300 off
• Kindle Paperwhite – ₹8,249 – ₹2,750 off
• Kindle Oasis – ₹18,699 – ₹3,300 off

There are plenty of non-tech deals up for grabs too. If you’re a LEGO fan, the Taj Mahal — one of the largest LEGO sets ever — is available direct from Amazon for ₹38,079. It isn’t affordable by any means, but this is the first time the set has been available for under 40K.

I’ll be updating the list with more deals as they go live, so check back often to see the latest deals during Prime Day. The Echo Spot will be up for sale at a discounted rate later today, and Amazon is set to add more products over the course of the day.

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Xiaomi teases Android One-based Mi A2 ahead of official unveil

Xiaomi’s 2018 Android One device will be unveiled on July 24 in Madrid.

Xiaomi teamed up with Google to launch an Android One-based phone last year, and it looks like the collaboration wasn’t a one-off. The Mi A1 turned out to be one of the best phones of 2017, and now Xiaomi is all set to launch a successor. The company has teased the launch of the next-gen model in the series, which will be dubbed the Mi A2, ahead of its official unveil. Xiaomi has a global launch event scheduled in Madrid, Spain, on July 24, and it’s likely the Mi A2 will be unveiled at that event.

Are you a big fan of #MiA1? You will love this…#Xiaomi #AndroidOne #2isbetterthan1 pic.twitter.com/aLlfothn9g

— Mi (@xiaomi) July 16, 2018

The teaser doesn’t reveal much other than stating that fans of the Mi A1 will love the upcoming device. Like last year’s Mi A1 — which was based on the Mi 5X — the Mi A2 is set to be a rebrand of the Mi 6X. As such, we’re likely to see a 5.99-inch FHD+ panel, Snapdragon 660, up to 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, dual 12MP + 20MP cameras, 20MP front camera, and a 3010mAh battery.

Last year’s Mi A1 turned out to be a hit with consumers because it offered great hardware based on the Android One platform, and the Mi A2 looks set to build on that foundation. That said, the Mi A1 wasn’t without its faults — Xiaomi pulled the Android 8.1 Oreo update earlier this year, with the rollout resuming at the start of July.

This year, we’ll likely see a Mi A2 Lite alongside the standard variant of the device. With the launch just a week away, we should know more about the Mi A2 shortly. In the meantime, what are you looking forward to seeing from the device?

Xiaomi Mi A1 review: Best of both worlds

18 Lightroom keyboard shortcuts you can actually remember

Bacho12345

Lightroom is designed to be fast, and while the user interface is pretty quick, there’s still another way to make those edits faster: the keyboard. But there’s a problem. Adobe’s list of Lightroom shortcuts is somewhere in the ballpark of 300 combinations – pretty impressive for a laptop’s 80-some keys.

Unless you use a keyboard skin or you have a photographic memory, you’re probably not going to be whizzing through your edits using every memorized hot key anytime soon. Thankfully, several of the most helpful keyboard shortcuts aren’t too difficult to remember. After you’ve mastered the basics of Lightroom, memorize these 18 most-often used Lightroom shortcuts — and note that we’ve provided an easy way to remember them.

Lightroom shortcuts for organizing and flagging photos

Many photographers who start with digital shoot many more photos then they actually need (I’m so guilty of this that my first newsroom editor nicknamed me Pepper). Keyboard shortcuts make quick work of picking out the best shots. Most users know that you can use the arrow keys to navigate to the next image and the backspace or delete key to remove photos, but there are a number of other commands that are (almost) as easy to remember.

Action
Windows Command
MacOS Command
Memory Trick

Switch to the compare View, to see two photos side-by-side
C
C
C is for for Compare

Zoom
Z
Z
Z is for Zoom

Add a Flag
P
P
P is for Pick

Unflag
U
U
U is for Unflag

Select all flagged photos
Control + Alt + A
Command + Option + A
Control or Command A works in a number of apps to select everything — just add an Alt or Option to select only the flagged photos

Reject photo
X
X
Cross out that photo

Delete all rejects
Control + Backspace
Command + Delete
Just add control or command to the delete keyboard shortcut to control all those rejects

Add a star rating
Number keys 1-5
Number keys 1-5
This one really is as easy as 1-2-3

Add a color label

6 – Red

7 – Yellow

8 – Green

9 – Blue

6 – Red

7 – Yellow

8 – Green

9- Blue

Color labels are used in the order of the rainbow: Remember ROY G. BIV? Just skip the vowels.

Add a keyword
Control + K
Command + K
K is for Keyword

One more handy trick — Hold down shift to move to the next photo after marking, this trick works for flagging, star ratings, color labels and rejecting a photo.

6 pro tips to taking amazing portrait photos with the Huawei P10

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Inez del Prado Photography

Inez del Prado Photography

Inez del Prado Photography

Inez del Prado Photography

Inez del Prado Photography

Inez del Prado Photography

The Huawei P10 has a dual-lens Leica camera on the back, just like the P9 and the Mate 9, but it also has several cool new software features — including a Portrait photo mode — and it has already impressed us with its ability. What’s more, the front camera has been given the Leica treatment, with a bokeh mode for some amazing selfies. A good camera is only part of the equation when it comes to taking great pictures. Your own ability, and a basic knowledge of how the camera app works, is just as important.

To prove it, and to show just what the P10 can do in the hands of a professional photographer, Huawei ran a “Photo Masterclass.” Hosted by Manfred Baumann, known for his striking celebrity portrait photos and use of monochrome, he helped us put the P10 through its paces, while sharing some valuable tips on composition and editing. We concentrated on taking pictures of people, using the new Portrait mode on the P10.

While we used Huawei’s new phone, the tips we’re going to share with you equally apply to the P9 and the Mate 9, along with most other dual-lens cameras with a manual mode. Don’t worry if manual mode seems complicated, we actually used auto for all the images shared here, and some post-production editing.

Get closer

Don’t be afraid of putting your camera in the subject’s face. Baumann would get in really close, almost filled the frame on several occasions, which worked very well shooting monochrome against a stark, featureless background. To take one particular portrait, he stood on a chair, about two feet in front of the subject. He experimented with different angles and stances, too.

Inez del Prado Photography
Inezdelprado Photography

If your camera has a bokeh mode, like the P10, it will blur out background detail. We took some spectacular photos in front of a window overlooking Barcelona, but it doesn’t over-power or detract from the person’s face in the picture. However, also try framing your subject against a featureless background — an alternative way of making them the focal point of the picture.

Ignore the camera

Yes it sounds like a cliché, but it really works. Baumann explained he shot a lot of celebrity pictures, but many are not models and wouldn’t automatically start posing for the camera. He’d have to choose his moments carefully, after getting the person to relax and act naturally. We were taking pictures of each other in a fun environment, and laughing about it produced fun, lively, and happy pictures. Standing back and just observing what’s going on around you, especially if people aren’t that comfortable around the camera, may end up giving the best results.

Monochrome

This is best experienced with the Huawei P10, the Mate 9, or the P9, due to its dedicated monochrome Leica camera lens. It produces amazingly detailed black and white pictures. However, pictures taken with other cameras will have filters that provide a similar effect. We were in a bright, airy room with a high ceiling, large windows, and neutral coloured walls. The afternoon light created shadows which could be used creatively when shooting with it behind the subject. We tried leaving parts of the face covered in shadow, for example.

With the light in front of the subject, another option for classy pictures is to choose a dark or shaded background. The light ensures this comes out almost black, but the subject remains lit. The bokeh mode obscures any detail, pushing the subject to the forefront of the picture. We had particular success using this method, and took pictures in settings we’d never have considered before.

Highlights and shadows

Don’t get fixated on taking the best photo possible the first time. Take several, and then edit them. Most camera apps have extensive editing features that can change the end result after the picture has been taken. If you’ve been taking portrait or bokeh pictures on the P10, even the focal point can be altered. We came away with a really excellent tip, which transformed the way our monochrome images looked. Instead of changing the brightness and contrast settings, plays around with the highlights and the shadows. These settings exposed more detail, or made already moody shots even more effective.

Crop the picture in creative ways

Inez del Prado Photography
Inezdelprado Photography

It turned out we’ve been cropping our selfies and pictures of other people all wrong. Rather than centralising our subject, try cropping faces right down, and setting them at the side of a photo. Don’t always stick to a basic aspect ratio either, play around with the sizes. Baumann sliced the very top of our heads off, which surprisingly ended up looking superb. He’d also cut off backs of heads, shoulders, and minimize background detail. Yet all the time, he was bringing the subject of the photo into better view. It’s a simple, yet incredibly effective trick to learn, which can transform a mundane selfie into one worthy of a professional.

Don’t be shy

Perhaps the biggest tip we can share comes from our own experiences taking photos. Many of us (me included) probably don’t consider ourselves photogenic. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t be photographed well. Through our experience with Baumann, we saw it’s not always about the subject; it’s about taking the right picture in the right way, in the right environment, then using the tools available to creatively compose an attractive final image. Like us, you may end up being genuinely surprised and very pleased with the final result.

We had a great afternoon learning about getting the most from the P10’s Leica camera, and hope these suggestions will help you get the most from it too. The great thing is, because dual-lens camera phones made for producing bokeh-effect pictures are plentiful today — from the iPhone 7 Plus and the Honor 6X, to the ZTE Blade V8 Pro and Xiaomi Redmi Pro — so you can apply them to taking portrait photos with many phones.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Tips on how to take jaw-dropping monochrome pictures with the Huawei P20 Pro
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Ussss-Twwwwooah [#acpodcast]

Daniel Bader and Russell Holly speak with Brian Mueller, founder of Carrot apps. Brian’s apps have long been a mainstay of the iOS ecosystem, now he’s brought his most popular app, CARROT Weather, to Android. CARROT Weather is in itself a terrific weather app, but wrapped in a hilariously snarky AI persona. He shares his experience developing for Android and his impression of the platform.

They also discuss the latest developments (pun intended) for AR/VR creation on Android. Listen carefully, meatbags!

Listen now

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Show Notes and Links:

• CARROT Weather

Sponsors:

• Thrifter.com: Thrifter uncovers the best deals on your favorite tech every day of the year and kicks into high-gear during special events like Prime Day. Make sure you sign up for the Thrifter Prime Day newsletter and follow them on Twitter (@ThrifterDaily) to receive breaking news, leaks and pro tips during the run-up to the big day and a curated selection of the best deals once they go live.

• LightStream LightStream rewards consumers who have good credit with a great interest rate and no fees!

Lockheed Martin 3D printed an impressive titanium dome for satellite fuel tanks

Lockheed Martin has just taken 3D printing to new heights, printing an enormous titanium dome meant for satellite fuel tanks. It’s the largest space part the company has 3D printed to date, and measures 46 inches in diameter — just under four feet. The dome is also significantly larger than the next most impressive 3D-printed structure from the company. Previously, the biggest part was the size of just a toaster, and served as an electronics enclosure for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite program.

This month, Lockheed Martin’s new structure passed its last rounds of quality testing, bringing to a close a multi-year development program that seeks to build large, high-pressure tanks capable of carrying fuel on board satellites. Constructed of titanium, the structure is comprised of three main parts, which we should point out, are not in fact all 3D printed. There are two domes that are the caps of the structure, as well as a variable-length titanium cylinder that serves as the body. Both domes were 3D printed, while the cylinder was constructed using traditional manufacturing methods.

“Our largest 3D printed parts to date show we’re committed to a future where we produce satellites twice as fast and at half the cost,” said Rick Ambrose, Lockheed Martin Space executive vice president. “And we’re pushing forward for even better results. For example, we shaved off 87 percent of the schedule to build the domes, reducing the total delivery timeline from two years to three months.”

3D printing for the fuel tank isn’t simply meant for show. Not only is the process far faster than traditional methods, but it also helps to reduce waste in the construction process. Lockheed Martin notes that non-3D printing techniques can waste more than 80 percent of materials. But 3D printing purportedly makes use of all the titanium employed in the job, making for a far more efficient process.

“We self-funded this design and qualification effort as an investment in helping our customers move faster and save costs,” explained Ambrose. “These tanks are part of a total transformation in the way we design and deliver space technology. We’re making great strides in automation, virtual reality design and commonality across our satellite product line. Our customers want greater speed and value without sacrificing capability in orbit, and we’re answering the call.”

Editors’ Recommendations

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An iPhone survived 48 hours in the ocean and retained most of its battery

adrianhancu/123RF

An iPhone 7 went for a dive, and lived a full 48 hours in the water to tell the tale. In what may be the most impressive story about a waterproof case ever, a scuba diver found a very rare form of marine memorabilia when she saw an odd light come from the bottom of the seabed. As it turns out, the iPhone began to glow when it received — get this — a text message. Really, I just want to know two things — who makes this waterproof case, and who is this cell service provider capable of providing coverage in the bottom of  the ocean?

More shocking still was the fact that the iPhone was still more than 80 percent charged when it was discovered. Somehow, the phone had managed to not only survive underwater, but maintain a charge for two days, too. Seriously, what magical Apple device is this?

Scuba diver Cerys Hearsey discovered the phone upon noticing a flashing light about 30 feet below where she was exploring. Upon closer inspection, she found the fabled iPhone in working condition and with 84 percent of its battery life remaining. She  then did what any responsible scuba diver would do — she  retrieved it, and went through its contacts in order to find its owner.

The owner turned out to be one Rob Smith’s cousin, who apparently dropped the phone while the two of them were kayaking out at Durdle Door in Dorset, England. While the duo paddled toward the coastal landmark, the iPhone was unfortunately dropped over the edge of the watercraft. Smith and his cousin assumed that the iPhone had been lost for good, but just two days later, Cerys discovered that miracles do indeed happen.

Smith and his wife made arrangements to meet with Cerys, as the cousin had already departed the country for Canada. Since then, the iPhone has also made a (safe) journey across the Atlantic, and has been reunited with its owner.

Cerys told the Mirror that she was pleased to play a part in the rescue mission. “I could see the phone sitting on the bottom of the seabed because it received a message and lit up,” she told the publication. “I picked it up and returned to land where I cut it out of its case as it was starting to get a bit of water inside. I then looked up the numbers and got in touch with the owner’s family.”

She added, “Phones are so critical to life nowadays they can be difficult to replace.” But apparently, this is one iPhone that is hardier than the rest.

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