Best Android Games in 2018

Don’t settle for anything less.

If you’re looking for the best new games available in the Google Play Store, you’ve come to the right place. We update this list whenever a new game comes out that’s worthy of being added to this list, so you’ll always know about the latest and greatest games.

Whether you’re new to Android and need some fresh, new games to start building out your Google Play library or simply looking for the latest trendy games that are worthy of your time and attention, these are the best Android games as of July 2018!

• Evoland 2
• The Room: Old Sins
• PUBG Mobile
• Dissembler
• JYDGE
• HQ Trivia
• Death Road to Canada
• Stranger Things: The Game
• Reigns: Her Majesty
• Causality
• Framed 2
• Fire Emblem: Heroes

Evoland 2

Evoland 2 is one of those premium games for Android that you just don’t want to put down. Initially released in 2015 on Steam, Evoland 2 is a fantastic sequel to the first Evoland and follows suit with graphics and gameplay that evolve as you progress through the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first Evoland game for Android and one of my few criticisms of the game was that the story was a bit short. That’s not the case with Evoland 2, which features over 20 hours of gameplay.

While the first game in the series explored the evolution of RPGs, Evoland 2 has expanded its nostalgic scope by incorporating even more gaming genres into the game. It starts out as a pretty typical action RPG, but as you progress through the story both the graphics and gameplay take dramatic shifts which work wonderfully for keeping the game feeling fresh.

Evoland 2 will have you laughing as it constantly breaks the fourth wall and there are more gaming and pop culture references than you can shake a stick at. This is another great game for fans of RPGs and video game culture and well worth the cost to play.

Download: Evoland 2 ($6.99)

The Room: Old Sins

The Room: Old Sins is the latest epic puzzle game from Fireproof Games and the 4th in the award-winning ‘The Room’ puzzle game series. You are exploring the home of an ambitious engineer who has gone missing when you find a rather peculiar dollhouse in the attic.

Using a sophisticated eyepiece you’re able to explore different rooms in the dollhouse that are filled with incredibly sophisticated puzzle boxes and contraptions. There’s something really weird going on here, so maybe if you can solve all the puzzles you’ll figure out what happened to the missing engineer and his wife.

If you’ve never played a game from “The Room” series before, just get ready for one of the more engrossing games you’ll ever play on a mobile phone. The graphics and audio come together to create a wonderfully creepy vibe as you carefully inspect intricate objects and unlock secrets to help you on your journey.

If you want to catch up with the other games, you can snag The Room, The Room Two, and The Room 3 at discounted prices.

Download The Room: Old Sins ($4.99)

PUBG Mobile

It’s pretty incredible how well PUBG Mobile plays on Android. This is a massive PvP battle royale game that pits 100 players against each other on a massive island loaded with weapons, ammo, tactical gear, and vehicles. You drop in as a solo player or as part of a team and must use all your best skills to take down your opponents until you’re the last man standing.

It’s not unheard of for a popular PC or console release to find its way to Android, but you’ll be surprised at how well PUBG plays on a smartphone. The developers have made it easier for mobile players to pick up and manage items, and have also added bots in the lowest ranks to help ease players into the game experience. Bluetooth controller support would be a nice addition, but the touch controls are some of the best I’ve seen for a shooter on mobile.

It also allows you to scale back the graphics so you can enjoy smooth gameplay even when playing on an older device. If you’ve got a newer device, crank those settings to the max and enjoy one of the best looking mobile games I’ve played in a long while.

PUBG Mobile somehow delivers all the epic moments you’d expect the PC game scaled down perfectly for mobile devices. Best of all, it’s free to play and currently devoid of any in-app purchases. Get your squad together, and I’ll see you on the battlegrounds!

Download: PUBG Mobile (Free)

Dissembler

Dissembler is a colorful and abstract game that, from the outset, might seem like another standard tile-swapping match three game. Instead, Dissembler unravels itself to be one of those puzzle games that almost transcends the genre, offering a relaxing exploration of patterns in abstract designs.

It starts out nice and easy as the game lays out the basic principles before gradually presenting you with more complex puzzles — check out the trailer above to see what I mean.

With over 120 puzzles to play with no time limits, move limits, or in-app purchases or ads to deal, this game absolutely deserves a spot on this list.

Download: Dissembler ($2.99)

JYDGE

JYDGE is a gritty and violent top-down twin-stick shooter that is an absolute blast to play. You are the JYDGE, a cybernetic enforcement officer who uses his Gavel (see: BIG freaking gun) to dole out RoboCop-style justice.

Each level features different challenges that are required to progress but never feel like a slogging chore. Confiscating illegal cash along the way, you’re able to upgrade JYDGE and his gavel with a deep selection of accessories. In that way, JYDGE retains the rogue-like element from its predecessor Neon Chrome by encouraging you to replay levels with different upgrade combinations until you complete all the challenges.

With a game that has you replay levels over and over again, it’s imperative for a game to find that mix of great gameplay with an interesting soundtrack that isn’t super annoying or repetitive — and JYDGE absolutely delivers.

Check out my full review if you need more convincing.

Download: JYDGE ($5.99)

HQ Trivia

It’s the app that started the new craze of live trivia game shows on your phone HQ Trivia is a daily trivia game show where you simply need to answer 12 questions to win a split of the pot. The daily weekday cash pot has risen to $5,000 with a Sunday evening game that usually around $25,000.

It has turned regular host Scott Rogoswky into an internet celebrity as he provides an entertaining performance as the quiz master extraordinaire. The app itself has steadily improved since launching last year, with new features letting you play along with friends in the app. Millions of people play each week because it’s free and you just might win some cash!

That’s right, you’re playing for real cash via PayPal. Even if you only win a few bucks you can cash out at any time and buy yourself a coffee.

HQ Trivia for Android: Everything you need to know

Download: HQ Trivia (Free)

Death Road to Canada

Death Road to Canada is a $10 game — I want to open with that just to get the sticker shock out of the way before I talk about how awesome this freaking game is. (It’s currently on sale for a dollar, though, which makes it an even better purchase.)

Facing a zombie apocalypse, you must lead a scrappy squad of somewhat interesting characters on a deadly mission to the relative safety of Canada. Along the way, you’ll need to explore and loot places for supplies, while also managing your team’s health and morale.

Everything in Death Road to Canada is randomly generated, making every play-through a unique experience in this dynamic road trip action-RPG. You can randomly generate your character and buddy or custom design your starting characters with different attributes to help them stay alive, but you probably don’t want to get too attached unless you’re a really good shot.

The controls admittedly take some getting used to, and there’s a pretty steep learning curve as you learn which weapons are most effective and which times it’s better to fight or run. And you will die, early and often, although that’s part of the fun of a zombie apocalypse, right?

There’s a ridiculous amount of depth in this game, including 10 different game modes to unlock. The price might seem a little steep, but if you’re a fan of rogue-like zombie games, it’s well worth the investment!

Download: Death Road to Canada ($9.99)

Stranger Things: The Game

Stranger Things: The Game is the tie-in mobile game that other companies wish they could churn out. It’s a full-fledged action adventure game with a full cast of playable characters, tons of collectibles, and a retro graphical style that fits into the show theme and setting.

The game presents the entire town of Hawkins, Indiana along with the adjacent Mirkwood Forest to be explored. It plays like a classic Zelda-style adventure game, with the ability to switch between characters lending itself to creating complex puzzles.

Credit Netflix’s marketing team for spending the time to make sure the developers at BonusXP Inc. delivered something special for fans of the series. They’ve created a real winner here, and a true contender for game of the year — and I’m not even a huge fan of the source material.

The controls are optimized for mobile and there’s great game design on display here. The overworld is vast and filled with secret areas to explore and familiar items from the show scattered throughout as collectibles.

There’s just so much to appreciate here. Not only is it a faithful adaptation of the show, it’s available for free with no in-app purchases or ads — although you can certainly count the game itself as being an ad for the second season of Stranger Things. Here’s hoping it ushers in a new trend of substantial mobile games based on TV shows and movies.

Download: Stranger Things: The Game (Free)

Reigns: Her Majesty

Reigns was one of the best games of 2016 and actually won the first ever Google Play Indie Games contest. So needless to say we were pumped to check out the sequel.

In Reigns, you play as the monarch of the land and make decisions that affect four aspects of the kingdom: the church, the people, the army, and the royal wealth. Your goal is to keep all four in balance — if any meter fills to the max or is entirely depleted your reign is over… and a new reign begins!

The sequel plays nearly identically to the first game, except this time you play as the Queen instead of the King, complete with new characters to interact with and multiple branching storylines to discover. The gameplay is as easy as swiping left or right on cards and if it’s anything like the first game there’s a ton of great easter eggs to find along the way!

I would hate to spoil anything for this new game, but if you played the first one and are afraid that it’s going to be too similar, I can assure you there are plenty of new mechanics to make this one of the best titles of 2017.

Download: Reigns: Her Majesty ($1.50)

Causality

Causality is a mind-blowing puzzle game that’s all about manipulating time. This is just a brilliant game where you control time and make adjustments to the level and alter the sequence in such a way that you help your stranded astronauts reach their goals.

Set in simplistic-yet-beautiful alien landscapes, this stylish game will have you wracking your brain as you try to figure out how to guide each astronaut to their color-coded exit within the allotted time. Of course, you have full control over the timeline and can jump to any point in time and change an aspect of the level. There are 60 mind-bending puzzles to unlock and complete in this outstandingly polished and challenging game.

Download: Causality ($1.99)

Framed 2

Get ready for more comic book stylized fun in Framed 2! This is a standalone prequel to groundbreaking mobile game Framed developed by Hideo Kojima back in 2014.

As the story unfolds, you control the action by rearranging the comic book panels to help your character make his way through each section. It’s a totally unique way to play a game and is unlike anything else you’ve likely played on Android. It’s got a cool noir look and feel to it, with an engaging story to keep you hooked.

If you love the format, you can pick up the first Framed game for just $3. Really worth your time if you’re into unique puzzle games.

Download: Framed 2 ($4.99)

Island Delta

Island Delta is a very stylish top-down action-adventure-puzzler developed by Mantisbite out of Finland. Explore the mysterious retro-futuristic island lair of Doctor Gunderson as our heroes, Zoe and Baxter.

Using your anti-gravity gun, you must work your way past mechanical minions, traps, and guards as you solve puzzles to make it through to the end of each level. At its best moments, Island Delta feels like a stripped down, third-person version Portal, which is something I wasn’t aware I needed in my life. The cartoony graphics and outstanding level design will immediately draw you in.

You can read our full review here before deciding to buy it. It’s available for $2.99 from the Google Play Store.

Download: Island Delta ($2.99)

Fire Emblem: Heroes

Fire Emblem: Heroes represents Nintendo’s first foray into developing games for Android (ignoring last year’s Miimoto app) and is the eighth title in the popular strategy-RPG franchise to be released on North American shores.

Heroes brings all of your favorite Fire Emblem characters together for a brand new story that pits the noble Askran Kingdom against the power-hungry Emblian Empire, which wishes to rule all worlds. You play the role of a mighty summoner who has the power to bring Fire Emblem’s best heroes together to help defend the kingdom. Battle takes place in arenas where you must strategically move your Heroes around to attack and defend against your opponents.

Play through the Story Mode to unlock new game modes, including Special Maps, Arena Duels, and the Training Tower. Arena Duel is the multiplayer aspect of the game that will keep you busy beyond the single-player campaign.

You can read our full review to learn more.

Download: Fire Emblem: Heroes (Free w/IAPs)

Updated July 2018: Added Evoland 2 to our list. These are the best games for Android that you should be playing this month!

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Best Amazon Prime Day Deals 2018

The celebrations have already begun!

Amazon Prime Day doesn’t officially begin until July 16 at 3pm ET, but that hasn’t stopped the company from beginning the deals a little bit early. Alongside the announcement, Amazon stated that a few deals would be available instantly for Prime members, and there are a few that you definitely won’t want to miss. In the coming days, we expect to see more deals leak, and our continuously updated tracker will highlight all the best Amazon Prime Day deals.

Be sure to check back often, as this page will be constantly adding fresh new deals. If you’re looking for deals on Amazon’s Echo hardware, Kindle Unlimited, Prime Pantry and more, we’ve got you covered.

Prime Exclusive Deals of the Day

In the lead-up to Prime Day, Amazon has switched over its Gold Box deals of the day to be all Prime member exclusive deals. Unlike some of the offers below, these prices expire at the end of the day, so you won’t have much time to think about them.

Today’s deals include:

• Calvin Klein jeans, shirts, and more – Starting at $13
• Women’s swimwear – Starting at $9
• Amazing Grass Organic Powder – Starting at $14
• Elegiant USB Powered Sound Bar Speaker – Down to $22
• Aaron Leather Business Portfolio for iPad and iPhone – Starting at $64
• iHome Color Changing Bluetooth Speaker for Echo Dot – Down to $42
• Caolion facial skin care products – Up to 25% off

Echo Hardware

To kick things off, the company slashed $100 on the price of the Echo Show, dropping it down to just $129.99. This is the lowest we’ve ever seen it go and makes it the same price as the smaller screened Echo Spot. We’ve seen Amazon offer Voice Shopping exclusive deals in the past during Prime Day, so if you don’t have an Alexa device, or want another, this is a no-brainer purchase.

The Echo Dot is also down to $34.99, which is the lowest we’ve seen it hit this year.

Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Music Unlimited

If you’ve yet to try out Amazon’s Music Unlimited service, you can get a four-month membership for just $0.99. That’s right, all four months of unlimited access to all the music in the company’s library (which is rather extensive) for just one dollar. Prefer to read books instead of listening to music? No worries, Amazon has three months of Kindle Unlimited available for $0.99 as well. This gets you access to over a million book titles, and you can read as many of them as your heart desires during that time frame.

You can also go all-in on a Kindle Unlimited subscription and save 40% when you checkout with the coupon code PDKU18. This drops the one-year subscription down to $80.32 and the two-year subscription to $143.86. If you want to just buy a few books, you can get $10 towards any Kindle, print, or Audible book purchase when you buy any Kindle book for $5 or more before July 15.

Audible

Through the end of July, Amazon is offering Audible subscriptions at just $5 per month to new and returning members. The deal will remain active for three months, after which the service will begin billing you at its regular monthly price of $14.95. You can also choose to cancel the service at any time if you decide it’s not for you.

Amazon’s In-house brands

Amazon has a bunch of its own brands, and right now it’s offering 20% off home, kitchen, and other AmazonBasics gear, 30% off Amazon Elements multivitamins, and up to 25% off Stone & Beam furniture. There are a bunch of other Amazon brands from AmazonFresh to Mama Bear and Goodthreads that will also have discounted items available.

Twitch Prime Games and Gear

For the gamers out there, Amazon is offering a free PC game each day through July 18 via Twitch Prime. There are popular titles like Pillars of Eternity, Q.U.B.E, Hue, and more. You’ll also get exclusive in-game look for Warframe and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and if you’re looking to load up on Twitch apparel, the merch is 50% off right now.

Prime Credit Cardholder Offers

Normally, the Amazon Prime Store Card and Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card extend shoppers 5% cash back on all Amazon.com orders. You can put the cash back rewards towards your monthly statements or a future Amazon purchase.

Last year during Prime Day, Amazon upped its cash back offer from the standard 5% to 20% on thousands of items exclusively for cardholders. That means smart deal hunters with an Amazon Prime Store Card or Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card were essentially saving an additional 15% on Prime Day. Eligible items included GoPro action cameras and Garmin fitness trackers. In fact, Amazon’s already running some bonus cash back offers for cardholders including 10% back on LG 4K OLED TVs and 20% back on the GoPro Hero action camera.

What’s more, Amazon is sweetening the pot by throwing in a free gift card upon approval. New Prime Store cardholders will receive a $20 gift card, while Prime Rewards Visa cardholders will get a $70 gift card. Both the credit card and gift card are automatically loaded into your Amazon account following the approval process, meaning if you apply now both will be ready to use during the big event.

American Express Rewards points

We already know that we will see millions of deals across the world on Prime Day, but did you know that you could drop the prices even lower by just shopping with your American Express points? Amazon frequently offers an additional percentage off select purchases when you checkout and pay for part of the transaction using your Rewards points, and come Prime Day, the company is offering 20% off on a variety of items.

When it comes to saving money, this may be one of the easiest ways you’ll be able to do it on Prime Day. The first step is to head to this page and click to activate the offer. Once the offer is activated, you’ll want to make sure that your American Express card is one of the payment methods in your account, and that you have linked your accounts successfully. The last, and easiest part, is to find an eligible item, add it to your cart, and pay using at least one American Express Reward point.

This discount can be redeemed on any item physical goods that are sold and shipped by Amazon. You won’t be able to redeem it on items sold by third parties, digital goods, or Amazon gift cards. It can only be redeemed once and has a maximum benefit of $100. The offer is currently live, so if there is something you want to buy now, you can save 20%. The promotion can end at any time, so be sure to activate the offer now and link your accounts to avoid missing out.

Of course, to take advantage of any of these offers you need to be an Amazon Prime member. If you aren’t already, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial so you can access all these deals and save during the big event.

The Thrifter team is going to be covering ALL things Prime Day, and you won’t want to miss out. Sign up now to have tips, tricks, deals, and more delivered right to your inbox.

This 21-year-old’s 3D-printed aquatic jetpack makes scuba fins look prehistoric

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Exterior. An expensive hotel in somewhere like the Amalfi coast that costs more per night than you or I make in a couple of months. Bored, bronzed beautiful people are doing laps in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Suddenly, here comes our man: ruggedly handsome with a mischievous streak and a pair of pricey La Perla swimming trunks that leave little to the imagination. On his back there’s what appears to be a jetpack, designed by the world’s greatest carmakers.

He dives into the pool and, suddenly, the jetpack propels him through the water like a missile. At the other end he climbs out and walks into the poolside bar; dripping wet and still naked apart from said jetpack and expensive swim trunks. His appearance causes a scandal amongst a group of stuffy middle-aged accountant types. There’s shock, but also begrudging admiration, and definitely some envy. Especially about that jetpack.

“What’ll you have?” says the bartender, pleased that his mundane day has been disrupted in this manner. “A beer for me,” says our man, as he takes his jetpack off and places it on the barstool next to him. “And something dry for my friend.”

The name’s jetpack, underwater jetpack

Actually, it’ll probably be a line that’s cooler than that. But you get the idea. Anyway, it doesn’t matter yet because the ad’s not been made. Heck, the product this imaginary advert is there to advertise is only in its embryonic stages. But that’s exactly the kind of ad you inevitably start imagining when Archie O’Brien tells you about the thing he’s building.

“I want this to be something so cool that you’re wearing it when you’re not even using it,” O’Brien told Digital Trends. “You feel like James Bond.”

As you’ve probably picked up, O’Brien has created an underwater jetpack: a pair of words about as exciting as any two that you could put together in the English language. The CUDA jetpack was lovingly 3D-printed over the course of several months for a final year project in his Product Design class at the U.K.’s Loughborough University. And soon he wants to sell it to you for an as-yet-unconfirmed price in the vicinity of $6,000.

“By this time next year, I’m planning on having the production model,” he continued. “I’ll be going around doing promo videos around the world. I plan to get sponsored by GoPro and Red Bull… The idea is to be able to produce this one, get enough funding to reinvest it into the company, and try and make a much cheaper model. That’s almost working it like Tesla did, with something that really grabs people’s attention, and then bringing that price down to something people can afford more.”

The path to get here

O’Brien’s journey to the potential Elon Musk of the watersport propulsion world began when he saw a promotional video for the SEABOB, a handheld aqua scooter that’s half jet-ski and half one of those foam floats they used to give the kids at school who couldn’t swim properly. He liked what he saw — at least, with the exception of its $17,000 price tag.

 “I was so surprised to find that there really wasn’t anything like this that you could wear on your back.”

Fortunately, O’Brien had just found out about 3D printing, and the idea occurred to him that, if he couldn’t afford a SEABOB, he might just be able to build his own.

He began poring over research papers like “Numerical Analysis of a Waterjet Propulsion System,” cover to cover. He hooked up with 3D Hubs, a manufacturing platform that provides affordable and fast 3D printing, CNC machining and injection-molding services. He studied the design of high-end cars made by Lamborghini, Mclaren, and Aston Martin, which he wanted his product to resemble aesthetically.

Things were progressing nicely until a friend gave him a copy of Daniel Wilson’s 2007 non-fiction book Where’s My Jetpack: A Guide to the Amazing Science Fiction Future that Never Arrived. Suddenly the project parameters changed. Handheld devices were out. Underwater jetpacks were in.

“I’ve always wanted to fly, and I just thought that if you can make the experience hands-free it’s a lot better for many reasons,” O’Brien said. “I was so surprised to find that there really wasn’t anything like this that you could wear on your back.”

“Think of it like an airplane. If it’s not moving you can’t turn. It kind of feels like you’re a little underwater airplane.”

The final CUDA is almost exclusively 3D printed, with the exception of the battery and electronics. Because he wasn’t able to get permission to test it in public spaces, he’s so far put it through its paces in private swimming pools — although he hopes this will change in the future.

He hasn’t yet been able to decisively measure a top speed, either, due to the lack of a speedometer and limited testing space. It’s definitely faster than regular swimming, though. “Oh yeah,” he assured us. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” It needs to go fast because it won’t steer properly unless you’re going quickly. “I’m still learning how to use it,” he admitted. “It seems that the faster you go the easier it is to turn. Think of it like an airplane. If it’s not moving you can’t turn. It kind of feels like you’re a little underwater airplane.”

The commercial version will be even faster, he explained, since the current prototype doesn’t have the more powerful battery pack he’s hoping to add. “It would have taken me an extra week and I didn’t have a week to do it,” he said.

The leader in watersports propulsion

Archie O’Brien has big plans for his product. As noted, he’s currently targeting Q2 2019 for the first CUDA production models. It won’t stop there, though. This is just product one of a larger water sports brand.

“I’ve got many more ideas I’m not working on at the moment, but I’ve got draft drawings for to expand this brand,” he said. “I’ve got a very clear vision of where this can go. The plan is to be the market leader of watersports propulsion.”

Where do you go after the awesomeness of an underwater jetpack? We’re excited to find out!

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Best Honor Phone in 2018

• Best overall
• Best alternate pick
• Best budget choice

Best overall

Honor 10

See at Honor UK

The Honor 10 builds on the foundation of the Honor View 10 and offers a shimmering glass back that reflects light striking its surface. The pattern at the back makes the Honor 10 one of the most distinctive devices of 2018, and it packs a punch when it comes to the hardware side of things.

The phone is powered by the Kirin 970 — the same chipset used in the likes of the P20 Pro — and it comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage as standard. Then there’s the camera — the dual 16MP + 24MP sensors are some of the best Honor has included on a device yet.

Bottom line: When it comes to sheer value, the Honor 10 is one of the best phones the brand has released to date.

One more thing: You can pick up the Honor 10 in blue or green to get the shimmering effect at the back, and there’s also a grey variant if you want a more subdued design.

Why the Honor View 10 is the best

A whole lotta phone for 400 quid.

Touting the same processor as the much more expensive Mate 10 Pro, the Honor 10 can hold its own against any other flagship in terms of benchmarks and performance. It is now the fourth phone to sport Huawei’s flagship chipset, and is also the most affordable yet to do so.

The highlight of the Honor 10 is the color-shifting back, dubbed Aurora Glass. The result is achieved by a 15-layer optical coating underneath the glass panel, and the phone reflects various hues of blues based on the angle of the light striking its surface.

The camera is one of the best Honor has introduced to date, and while the phone is missing some of the features of the Huawei P20 Pro, the AI-assisted camera tweaks make a tangible difference to image quality.

Though Honor’s software interface isn’t for everyone, the manufacturer has made considerable changes to EMUI that make it much more palatable to a Western audience. The hardware on offer combined with the gorgeous design and impressive cameras make the Honor 10 one of the best phones you can pick up today for under £500.

Honor View 10

See at Honor UK

If you’re not sold on the idea of the notch, the Honor View 10 is a great alternative. It also comes with a Kirin 970 chipset and up to 6GB of RAM, and features the same Neural Processing Unit as the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, strengthening its camera and AI features. The dual cameras are capable of fantastic photos, with ample shooting modes including portrait mode and monochrome.

On the outside, the aluminum unibody design is as well-built as any other, and the 6-inch 18:9 display is bright and relatively sharp with a FHD+ resolution. It’s running Android Oreo out of the box, augmented by Huawei’s EMUI 8 software.

Bottom line: For £449.99, the View 10 is one of the best mid-range flagships around, with high-end specs and performance.

One more thing: Like the rest of Honor’s 2018 lineup, it doesn’t look like the Honor View 10 will be debuting in the U.S.

Best budget choice

Honor 7X

See at Amazon

Honor’s latest phone to launch in the U.S. is its more affordable offering, the Honor 7X. Inside, it packs an efficient Kirin 659 processor and up to 4GB of RAM in a metal body, with a surprisingly good 1080p LCD display. There’s 32GB of storage built in (internationally you can choose between 32 and 64GB), and Android 7.0 Nougat (and EMUI 5), while not new, runs as well as you’d expect.

What’s more, you’ll also get a great rear-mounted fingerprint scanner for biometric security — a feature that’s still missing from many phones at this sub-$200 price point.

Bottom-line: The Honor 7X is a decent phone with metal construction and a fingerprint scanner for comfortably less than $200.

One more thing: There’s no word yet from Honor when the 7X will be updated to the newer EMUI 8 or Android 8 Oreo.

Conclusion

All of Honor’s phones are competitively priced, but the flagship Honor 10 is the one to aim for. You’ll get flagship-tier performance and build quality, a gorgeous Aurora Glass design, impressive cameras, and all-day battery life for considerably less than the bigger brands are charging.

Best overall

Honor 10

See at Honor UK

The Honor 10 builds on the foundation of the Honor View 10 and offers a shimmering glass back that reflects light striking its surface. The pattern at the back makes the Honor 10 one of the most distinctive devices of 2018, and it packs a punch when it comes to the hardware side of things.

The phone is powered by the Kirin 970 — the same chipset used in the likes of the P20 Pro — and it comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage as standard. Then there’s the camera — the dual 16MP + 24MP sensors are some of the best Honor has included on a device yet.

Bottom line: When it comes to sheer value, the Honor 10 is one of the best phones the brand has released to date.

One more thing: You can pick up the Honor 10 in blue or green to get the shimmering effect at the back, and there’s also a grey variant if you want a more subdued design.

Updated July 2018: This article was updated to add the Honor 10 as the best overall pick.

This spider robot moves around to keep the plant on its head alive

Tianqi Sun/Vincross

We don’t know about you, but our vision of a futuristic, robot-ran society has always entailed a bunch of highly specified machines performing everyday tasks, each a small but important cog in a greater, greased machine.

We see that to some extent today — Roomba robots that emerge from their docking stations to sweep up the floor, industrial Kuka robots fitting parts onto automobiles — but there are still tons of tasks left undone. Every now and then we’re teased with specialized examples, like the laundry-folding robot, but for the most part, these robots remain elusive. Who’s going to water my plants when we’re gone?

The answer could lie in a modified version of the Hexa robot developed by Chinese roboticist and founder of the robotics company Vincross, Sun Tianqi. In 2014, Tianqi started an installation called “Sharing Human Technology with Plants,” which explored exactly what it says on the tin. Taking that project further, Tianqi later programmed his spider-like Hexa robot to carry a succulent plant on its head, moving toward or away from the sun to make sure the succulent has adequate access to light. More than just a guide to sunlight, the modded Hexa can let its human knows when the plant needs water by stomping its legs in a little dance.

“In this project, I change a plant into an animal in a sense,” Tianqi told Digital Trends. “I help it to break free from its default limitations as put forward by nature. More simply put, I help a plant experience movement through robotics. With this curious little project that is part art installation, part robotics lab, my hope is to remind us that human beings have been constantly using technology to break the limitations of nature over the past millions of years.”

The project began with the untimely death of a sunflower. Tianqi explained: “If this sunflower could have just moved a few feet out of the shade, it could have survived. The sunflower died because of its limitation by nature. Meanwhile, we humans use technology all the time to break our natural limitations. The plant can’t walk by nature, but it can walk with technology. That’s why I named the project ‘Sharing Human Technology with Plants.’”

Hexa is a programmable, spider-like robot that’s both adorable and robust, meaning tinkerers can modify their own Hexa’s as they see fit. But be warned: Hexa models aren’t cheap. The basic version costs $950 — and that is before the programmed modifications.

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iFixit Teardown Suggests 2018 MacBook Pro Keys Feature a Silicone Barrier to Prevent Malfunctions Due to Dust

The keys of the new 2018 MacBook Pro, which uses a third-generation butterfly keyboard, appear to be cocooned in a “thin, silicone barrier” according to a teardown that’s underway over at iFixit.

According to iFixit, the quieter typing Apple has been advertising in the 2018 MacBook Pro models is a side-effect of the new membrane, which the site believes is actually an “ingress-proofing measure” to prevent the butterfly keys from seizing up when exposed to dust and other small particulates.

To back up its claim, iFixit points towards a patent for the technology Apple may be using in the third-generation butterfly keyboard, which describes a “guard structure” that keeps direct contaminants away from the movement mechanism.

iFixit does warn, however, that while the silicone barrier is clearly in place, there’s no way to definitively prove that it’s a reliability fix rather than just a sound dampening measure, citing statements from Apple to The Verge that have said the new keyboard design wasn’t introduced to “solve [dust] issues.” Apple also told The Verge and other sites that the issue in question has only impacted a small number of customers.

iFixit speculates that Apple is avoiding sharing the complete reasoning behind the keyboard redesign because of the class action lawsuits that it’s currently facing over faulty 2016/2017 MacBook Pro keyboards.

Apple is in the middle of several class-action lawsuits for the failure of their keyboards, so of course they can’t just come out and say, “Hey, we fixed it!” That says there was a problem to begin with. But you’ve heard that clever analysis from John Gruber already. I’m just here to posit: the advertised boost in quietude is a side-effect of this rubbery membrane. The quiet angle is, quite literally, a cover up.

Since Apple unveiled the 2018 MacBook Pro with its third-generation butterfly keyboard, there have been questions about whether specific changes were made to address keyboard failure issues present in 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro models.

Apple has been vague when answering questions about the way the sound dampening measures were implemented and if those changes also impact durability and reliability, but iFixit’s teardown offers hope for customers who have been waiting for Apple to fix the keyboard problems affecting older MacBook Pro models.

Some 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro owners have experienced issues with sticky, unresponsive, or repeating keys, leading to significant public outcry that eventually pushed Apple to launch a free repair program for those machines.

iFixit plans to continue on with its teardown next week and may have more information to share, but given the interest in the third-generation butterfly keyboard, the site didn’t want to wait to share potential good news.

Related Roundup: MacBook ProBuyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
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Apple’s newest MacBook Pro is now $150 off if you’re a student

Though the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar was only refreshed this week, we’re already seeing discounts on Apple’s latest laptops. The latest MacBook Pros pack in Intel’s 8th-generation processors and are described as among the most powerful notebooks Apple has ever produced, topping out with a six-core processor on the larger 15-inch model and a quad-core chip on the more compact 13-inch. If you’re a student, you can currently save $150 on the laptops from Best Buy.

Without an education discount, the 13-inch model starts at $1,799 and ships with a 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor with integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655, 8GB RAM, 256GB solid-state drive, a True Tone Retina Display, Touch Bar with Touch ID sensor, and four Thunderbolt 3 over USB-C ports. The 15-inch model starts at $2,399 and comes with a 6-core 2.2GHz Intel Core i7 processor, discrete Radeon Pro 555X with 4GB GGDR5 memory, 16GB RAM, 256GB solid-state drive, Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID, and four Thunderbolt 3 over USB-C ports. Best Buy sells all configurations at the same price as Apple, but if you sign up for the retailer’s Student Deals, you’ll get a coupon code that will take off $150 off the retail price.

Apple is also running its own back-to-school promotion that will net you some discounts off the retail price. Like Best Buy, Apple’s back-to-school deals also apply to the newest MacBook Pro models with Intel’s 8th-generation processors. The 13-inch Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro starts at $1,699 with the educational discount from Apple, a savings of $100. The 15-inch model begins at $2,249. Discounts will vary depending on the configurations.

Students who bundle AppleCare through Apple’s retail channels will also receive 20 percent off of the extended warranty protection plan. As part of its summer promotion, Apple is also throwing in your choice of either a Beats Solo Wireless, Powerbeats Wireless, or Beats headphones for free. The Beats Solo Wireless is the most expensive option for the freebie, with a $300 retail value.

Depending on your needs, going with Apple may save you more money. However, if you’re a student or educator who only needs a laptop, Best Buy’s more straightforward discount may be more appealing. If you do spring for a MacBook Pro, bear in mind that Apple has not offered a permanent fix for the issue of sticky keys. Although repairs may be free with Apple’s new keyboard repair program, you may be without a laptop for a few days while Apple tries to fix your notebook if it is affected by this widely reported flaw.

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

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Microsoft calls for Congress to regulate use of facial-recognition tech

Albertus Engbers/123rf

Facial-recognition technology is playing an increasingly important role in modern society. Advocates praise the technology for things like helping to locate a lost child walking down a busy street or identifying criminals, like the Capital Gazette shooter, while critics argue that its use violates privacy expectations and could lead to the formation of a surveillance state. Microsoft, one of the many tech companies working in this area, is propelling itself into the spotlight, positioning itself as the moral compass on how technologies like facial-recognition software can be used ethically to benefit society. In a detailed blog post, Bradley Smith, Microsoft president and chief legal officer, argued that use of facial recognition must be regulated by the government.

“We live in a nation of laws, and the government needs to play an important role in regulating facial-recognition technology,” Smith wrote, noting that “a world with vigorous regulation of products that are useful but potentially troubling is better than a world devoid of legal standards.”

Smith’s call to arms on the topic stems in part from a recent Microsoft controversy. After it was reported that software, potentially facial-recognition tools, was used to aid the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency amid a national crisis where immigrant families were separated at the border, critics called on Microsoft to terminate its agreement with the government. Smith took the opportunity in spearheading regulation for facial recognition by clarifying that Microsoft only provided IT support for email, calendar, messaging, and document management.

Smith argued that “the only effective way to manage the use of technology by a government is for the government to proactively to manage this use itself.” Without regulation, technology companies will continue to create tools that governments will purchase and use in ways that the public may deem unacceptable. “And if there are concerns about how a technology will be deployed more broadly across society, the only way to regulate this broad use is for the government to do so,” he said.

Microsoft believes that Congress should create a bipartisan commission of experts to create new rules governing facial recognition and machine learning. “The key is for lawmakers to use the right mechanisms to gather expert advice to inform their decision-making,” Smith said, and that the purpose of the commission is to advise Congress on the laws and regulations needed.

The committee would help Congress answer questions such as: “Should law enforcement use of facial recognition be subject to human oversight and controls, including restrictions on the use of unaided facial-recognition technology as evidence of an individual’s guilt or innocence of a crime?”

Microsoft is also evaluating its facial-recognition technology to help prevent biases and improve accuracy. And in the spirit of being an ethical technology company, a theme that Microsoft leaned into heavily at its Build conference earlier this year, the company said that it had rejected some requests for access to its technologies in instances when there are greater human rights risks.

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Hackers allegedly used cryptocurrency in attack against Clinton campaign

An 11-count federal indictment filed against 12 Russian military intelligence officers alleges that the group used cryptocurrency to remain anonymous in a scheme against the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016. They are accused of using these digital coins to pay for the website used to release and publicize stolen election-related documents, keeping their true identities hidden.

A month before releasing the stolen documents, the group registered the dcleaks.com domain and leased a virtual private server through an online cryptocurrency service, according to the indictment. After that, they registered an URL-shortening account that was used to “spear phish” the Clinton campaign chairman and “other campaign-related individuals.”

From the time of the site’s launch until the end of the election, the group released emails stolen from the Clinton campaign and affiliated individuals, along with documents obtained through previous spear-phishing operations. The site claimed that it was run by “American hactivists” and received more than 1 million page views before it was shut down in March 2017.

At its core, cryptocurrency was designed to keep users anonymous … at least, in theory. In the case of Bitcoin, you can send and receive digital currency without supplying personal information, but you’re seemingly doing so under what could be deemed a pseudonym. The address (wallet) where you send and receive digital currency remains in a public ledger, so if that address is ever linked to your real name, any type of anonymity is flushed down the toilet.

According to the indictment filed by the Department of Justice, all 12 accused are members of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, or GRU, that’s part of the Russian military. They are charged with hacking into the computer networks of the Clinton campaign, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Democratic National Committee using the names DCLeaks, Guccifer 2.0, and “another entity.”

The Department of Justice lists all 12 individuals, who were officials in Unit 26165 and Unit 74455 of the Russian government’s Main Intelligence Directorate at the time of the attacks.

For instance, Unit 26165 used spear-phishing campaigns against volunteers and employees of the Clinton campaign to steal usernames and passwords, and hack into other computers to steal emails and documents. The Department of Justice claims Unit 26165 worked with Unit 74455 to release those documents.

Meanwhile, Unit 74455 hacked into the computers of state boards of elections, secretaries of state, and U.S.-based companies that supplied software and other technology related to the administration of elections.

“To avoid detection, defendants used false identities while using a network of computers located around the world, including the United States, paid for with cryptocurrency through mining Bitcoin and other means intended to obscure the origin of the funds,” the Department of Justice states. “This funding structure supported their efforts to buy key accounts, servers, and domains.”

Here are the charges:

• Count 1: criminal conspiracy
• Count 2 – 9: Aggravated identify theft
• Count 10: Conspiracy to launder money via cryptocurrency
• Count 11: Conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States

The FBI’s cyber teams in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and San Francisco helped with the investigation,

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How to calibrate your monitor

Plenty of people stare at computer monitors all day — if you’re reading this, chances are you’re doing just that. But how many people take the time to calibrate their computer monitor? Proper calibration will ensure that your colors and black levels are true, and that your monitor is producing the best results for editing and viewing images and videos. Plus, it will be easier on your eyes!

You could take your monitor to a professional to have it done, but doing it yourself is relatively quick, hassle-free, and will greatly improve image quality. Manufacturers keep pumping out displays with new technologies like 4K UHD resolution, high-dynamic range (HDR), and curved monitors, providing a veritable feast for the eyes — but only if they are properly calibrated.

Before you begin

You’re going to want to do several things before you begin the calibration process. These steps aren’t absolutely mandatory, but they’re good to follow for best results.

• Turn on your monitor at least a half hour before calibration so it can warm up to its normal operating temperature and conditions.
• Set your monitor’s resolution to its native, default screen resolution.
• Make sure you’re calibrating in a room with moderate ambient lighting. The room doesn’t need to be pitch black, but you don’t want the sharp glares and color casts resulting from direct light.
• Familiarize yourself with your monitor’s display controls. They may be located on the monitor itself, on the keyboard, or within the operating system control panel.

Calibrate using built-in Windows and Mac tools

Both MacOS and Windows have built-in calibration tools to help guide you step-by-step through the process, which is particularly helpful if you are new to monitor calibration. These free tools should be the first stop if you’re merely a casual image junkie or working on a tight budget. Keep in mind that the adjustments will be limited by the display type and model, though.

The assorted terms — gamma, white point, etc. — may seem a bit daunting at first glance, but each utility provides a relatively simple explanation of what they all mean. Realistically, you don’t need to know the ins and outs of the jargon to calibrate your monitor.

Windows 10 display calibration tool

In the latest version of Windows 10, the easiest way to find the color calibration tool is through the Windows search bar.

Step 1: Type “Color Calibration” into the Window search bar, and click the corresponding result.

In older versions of Windows, you can find the Color Calibration utility in the Display section of the Control Panel, which is listed under “Appearance and Personalization.”

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Step 2: Now that you are in the calibration tool, follow the on-screen instructions to choose your display’s gamma, brightness, contrast, and color balance settings.

A sample image for you to match will accompany many of the settings. Simply make adjustments to mimic the sample as close as possible.

Step 3: Once the calibration wizard is complete, make sure to choose the “current calibration,” or return to the previous calibration if you are unsatisfied with the results.

The new calibration will be stored as a .ics file, or color calibration file, and will show up as a new International Color Consortium (ICC) Profile in the Color Management settings app. The easiest way to open this app is to type “color management” in the search box and choose the first result. Once it’s open, you can select your monitor from the device list and see which ICC Profiles are available.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

MacOS

In MacOS, the “Display Calibrator Assistant” is located in the system preferences under the “Displays” tab. If you are having trouble finding it, try entering “calibrate” in Spotlight to scan through your computer’s various folders and files. The result should show an option to open the utility in the “System Preferences” panel.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends
Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Your Mac’s step-by-step instructions will walk you through the calibration process once you have found and opened the software utility. Just follow the on-screen instructions to choose your display’s brightness, contrast, native gamma, target gamma, and target white point. Click “Continue” and save the calibration profile once you are finished with the adjustments.

Calibrate using online tools

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

There are a handful of web-based calibration tools that help you manually adjust your monitor settings. They can provide more precise, or more customized, calibration than the built-in utilities.

• Photo Friday — Photo Friday is a simple web page that is designed to help you calibrate the brightness and contrast of your screen. Just adjust the monitor settings until the transition of tones from black to white is clearly distinguishable on the screen.
• Online Monitor Test — Online Monitor Test is one of the better calibration websites out there. It is lined with a slew of interactive tests to help you adjust your monitor’s screen colors and to see if your monitor can produce smooth gradients. There are also tools for pinpointing damaged pixels and backlight bleeding, rendering the website one of the more robust web-based calibration tools to date. For more options, move your mouse to the top of the screen where a pop-in menu will appear.
• The Lagom LCD Monitor Test Pages — Handy for both online and offline use, the Lagom LCD Monitor Test Pages not only allow you to adjust various things such as contrast and response time, but allow you to download the images as a 120KB zip file, so you can check any monitor in-store that you are thinking about purchasing.

Calibrate using colorimeter hardware

The built-in calibration utilities and web-based software are great for a quick fix, but they are inherently flawed because of one thing — you. These calibration processes rely on an individual’s perception of color and are therefore open to subjectivity based on how you see different colors.

Purchasing a calibrating device is one way to bypass this dilemma and better ensure your monitor is calibrated to its true potential. You will need to invest some serious money if you’re looking for greater precision and control, but there are still some affordable alternatives that work well on a tight budget and will help obtain color consistency across all your monitors.

If you’re looking to pick up a calibration tool, we recommend using the Spyder5Express ($130), the Spyder5Pro ($190), or the Spyder5Elite ($280). All three devices feature a full-spectrum, seven-color sensor to help accurately characterize a variety of wide-gamut and normal displays, but the more expensive versions are better equipped for the seasoned calibrator and are packed with more features. If you do decide to purchase one, all you have to do is attach the device to the screen, connect it to a USB port, and run the included calibration software. It will walk you through the process after that.

X-Rite’s ColorMunki series ($100 and up) is also a good alternative. Like the Spyder series, all three devices come bundled with automated calibration software, with the more expensive versions touting more features and greater customization.

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