Useful iOS 12 tips and tricks

Apple’s iOS 12 mobile operating system introduces a ton of new features, with more options to help boost productivity on your iPhone. But updating to a new operating system can be overwhelming, so we’re here to make the adjustment far easier with some useful iOS 12 tips and tricks. If you want to check it out for yourself, here’s how to download iOS 12.

How to check battery performance

To check on your battery, tap on Settings > Battery and you will find graphs that highlight your battery level and usage time over the last 24 hours. Below that is a more detailed report showing how much time is spent with the screen on and off, along with the percentage of how much battery power was put toward the apps you are using. There is also an option to view your battery usage over the last 10 days.

While it was first introduced in iOS 11, you can access battery health information as well, by tapping on Battery Health listed above the graph.

How to use Screen Time

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

In an effort to help us use our smartphones less, iOS 12 comes with a new app called Screen Time. This is where you can set time limits for apps, check on your smartphone usage, and also schedule Downtime. With Downtime, you can schedule time away from your smartphone which will restrict certain apps from sending notifications.

How to manage grouped notifications

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

In iOS 12, notifications on your lock screen are now grouped together. By swiping to the left on a specific notification, you can tap on Manage, which brings you to two options: Deliver Quietly and Turn Off. If you choose for future notifications from that particular app to deliver quietly, alerts will bypass the lock screen and will only show up in the Notification Center. Turning them off will stop notifications from coming in completely.

Under Settings, you can choose whether you want the notifications grouped a certain way. If you choose Automatic, then the notifications will be grouped by the same app but in different stacks. For instance, if you receive text messages from two separate people, you will see each message stacked into two different piles. There is also the option to group By App so that all of your text messages will be compiled into one stack regardless of who texted you.

For those who want to revert back to the original way notifications appear on the lock screen, there is also the option to turn off the setting completely.

How to edit photos and add stickers in iMessage

Using the camera app in iMessage, you can now have more fun with your photos. By tapping on the star icon in the lower left-hand corner, you will enable the selfie camera. From there, you’re able to add decorations like stickers (which can be downloaded via the App Store) and shapes, along with your Animoji and Memoji, that you can overlay on your face.

Once you’re done adding your decor, tapping on the ‘X’ brings you to the camera shutter button. When you’re satisfied with your photo, you can embed it into the message window by tapping on the blue arrow.

How to add another Face ID profile

In iOS 12, you can now add two different Face ID profiles to unlock your phone. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode and tap Set Up an Alternate Appearance. Once you scan your Face ID using the camera, tap Done and the setup will be complete.

How to add shortcuts to Siri

With Siri Shortcuts, you can assign quick actions, but the feature is still in beta, so there is not much you’re able to do with it at the moment. For now, you can customize voice commands to trigger a specific action like View Recent Photos. To create voice commands, go to Settings > Siri & Search > My Shortcuts and tap Add Shortcuts. From there, you can choose from ones that Siri recommends based on your activity or create your own by tapping the plus sign.

How to enable trackpad mode

For devices that don’t have 3D Touch features, iOS 12 has a keyboard mode that turns it into a virtual trackpad. By holding down the spacebar, you can then drag your finger around to select specific text. Once you let go, you can then tap on the text to copy, cut, paste, share, and more.

How to access shortcuts in iMessage

In iOS 11, accessing more options requires tapping on the information icon in the upper right-hand corner. From there, you’re able to choose from FaceTime, FaceTime audio, and more details — such as images, attachments, location, and the ability to hide alerts or send read receipts.

With iOS 12, the information icon is more hidden but it makes the iMessage interface look cleaner. You can find it by tapping on the contact name within the message window, which also presents you with shortcuts for FaceTime and audio — tapping on those icons will enable either FaceTime option.

How to turn on Do Not Disturb at bedtime

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

Do Not Disturb received an overhaul with iOS 12, allowing you to customize the setting a bit more. Aside from being able to set specific times that you would like for your phone to kick into Do Not Disturb mode via your Settings, you can also turn on Bedtime Mode. Depending on the hours you set, this will silence all notifications until the morning. The screen will dim and only display the date and time, and will also let you know that it’s now set to that mode.

How to manage Voice Memo app settings

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

Aside from a redesign to Voice Memo, you can also make a few tweaks via your Settings. For the Voice Memos app, you’re now able to permanently delete voice memos after a specific amount of time and choose between different files types: AAC (smaller file size) or Uncompressed (larger file size). You can also choose whether you want the memo to save by location or by recording number.

Editors’ Recommendations

• iOS 12’s best new features
• Measure, Apple Books, Shortcuts: Our favorite new and updated apps in iOS 12
• Apple iOS 12 hands-on review
• iPhone notifications are no longer a nuisance with iOS 12
• Live updates: How to watch Apple’s WWDC 2018 keynote

LG Smart TVs, Sphero robots, MacBook laptops, and more are all discounted today

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

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts at Best Buy’s 4th of July sale event, along with deals on LG smart TVs, Sphero robots, and more! Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

View the rest of the deals

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

Best Philips Hue Alternatives in 2018

What’s the best alternative to Philips Hue? Here are our favorites!

Philips Hue smart lights are some of the coolest on the market and they’re definitely some of the most popular, but they can be quite expensive, especially once you get into colored bulbs. If you’re looking for a less expensive alternative or just something other than what’s popular, then check out these other awesome options.

• GE Link Starter Kit
• LIFX A19 Wi-Fi Smart Bulb
• Lucero A19 Smart Bulb
• Cree A19 LED Bulb
• Sylvania Lightify by Osram
• Flux Bluetooth Smart LED bulb
• IKEA Tradfri
• Eufy Lumos
• Nanoleaf Aurora Rhythm Smarter Kit
• Z-Wave

GE Link Starter Kit

This starter kit from GE features two A19 LED bulbs and a link hub, allowing you to control all GE bulbs through the Wink mobile app. Although these bulbs only come in a soft white, they’re great for general use around your home, while still having complete control over scheduling. The GE Link starter kit is also compatible with Amazon Echo, but requires the Wink hub. Pricing starts around $60 for the bundle.

See at Amazon

LIFX A19 Wi-Fi Smart Bulb

The LIFX Wi-Fi bulb provides 16 million colors and 1,000 shades of white, connecting over your Wi-Fi network without the need for a hub. Simply download the LIFX app and gain control of lighting effects and custom schedules to suit your needs. Each A19 bulb only consumes 17 watts of energy and has a lumen count of 1017. LIFX bulbs even work with Nest Protect and Thermostat, flashing the lights when smoke is detected or switching the lights on and off automatically to make it appear as if someone is home while you’re away on vacation. You can order the LIFX bulb starting at $60 for one. LIFX bulbs are Amazon Certified to work with Alexa.

See at Amazon

Lucero A19 Smart Bulb

This colorful LED Bluetooth bulb from Lucero can be customized through the Lucero Smart Bulb app, where you can sync with your music and even control up to 50 bulbs in various groups (up to five). With over 16 million colors, there are plenty of options to suit your mood while managing to stay energy efficient at only 7.5 watts. These affordable smart bulbs are available for just $35 each.

See at Amazon

Cree A19 LED Bulb

The daylight (5000K) dimmable Cree LED bulb is compatible with multiple platforms, including Amazon Echo, Wink, WeMo, and more. After setting up with a compatible hub, you can schedule your Cree bulbs to turn on and off at any specific time, adjust brightness, or even customize them to work while you’re away from home as an extra security measure. Each Cree bulb is only 11.5 watts and is available for about $15 — not bad for its 22-year lifespan.

See at Amazon

Sylvania Lightify by Osram

The best feature of the Lightify bulbs by Osram is that they’re compatible with Alexa. If you have an Echo in your house, then these will work right out of the box (so long as you have a hub), so you can control your lights with just your voice!

Lightify comes in RGBW, tuneable white, and soft white, so you have your choice of light temperature to best suit your room. Just download the Lightify app, and you’re on your way. These bulbs fit into standard sockets, and you can adjust color temperature in the RGBW and tuneable white bulbs to best fit your mood or needs (soft white when it’s time to chill, daylight to help you stay awake). Pricing starts at $34 for a color bulb, but you can get a 2-pack for $65.

See at Amazon

Flux Bluetooth Smart LED bulb

Flux bulbs are color-changing bulbs that work via Bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi like the other bulbs on this list, which means you won’t be able to control them with you’re not at home. That being said, you can still schedule actions, like having the bulbs turn on when you’re away from home or to wake you up in the morning.

Flux bulbs feature over 16 million colors, which you control directly from the Flux app. You can control the mode (strobe, shifting colors, etc.), and these will even sync with music on your phone to add some extra atmosphere to your dance party.

Flux bulbs come in 7- or 10-watt (60-watt equivalent) iterations and are available for around $34.

See at Amazon

IKEA Tradfri

Believe it or not, IKEA has some pretty rad smart bulbs that are inexpensive (around $18/bulb) and work well. They have a brightness equal to roughly a 70-watt incandescent bulb and are dimmable using the Tradfri remote. In fact, you can control up to 10 bulbs, panels, or light doors, which are all dimmable as well. You can also switch from warmer-colored light to cooler hues depending on your mood and the time of day.

Thanks to community member snapphane for the tip!

See at IKEA

Eufy Lumos

Eufy’s tunable Lumos bulbs are rather affordable at roughly $21 (if you don’t want tunable, you can opt for straight soft white for about $20), and the ability to adjust from warm to cool light is perfect for setting the right mood and ambiance.

You can adjust everything right in the Eufy app, and these bulbs are Amazon certified to work with Alexa, as well as compatible with Google Assistant. You can set schedules, turn the bulbs off from anywhere there’s an internet connection, and you get an 18-month warranty should anything go wrong. Best part is that there’s no hub needed!

See at Best Buy

Nanoleaf Aurora Rhythm Smarter Kit

It’s kind of a travesty that I’ve left this off the list for so long. The Nanoleaf Aurora isn’t just a smart lighting setup; it’s wall art. Gorgeous, light-up wall art. The best part is that “rhythm” isn’t just in the name. The Aurora’s nine-panel system lights up along with your favorite tunes, and you can orient the panels in anyway you like. For $230, you get the nine LED panels, an upgrade module, panel links, mounting stencils, pads, a power supply, and a controller unit.

See at Best Buy

Z-Wave

Z-Wave isn’t a bulb, but a technology that allows many switches to be used to wirelessly control normal, everyday lightbulbs. With any Z-Wave switch, you can control not-smart bulbs via a great smart home hub — no need to pay through the nose for smart bulbs that last decades (though they are a pretty solid investment).

The light of your life

Which smart lights do you use? Sound off in the comments below!

Updated June 2018: Updated pricing for each item and added the Nanoleaf Aurora Rhythm Smarter Kit.

Best Large Screen (Phablet) Android Phone in 2018

When you need a big screen, you have tons of choices.

• Best overall
• Best runner-up
• Best budget option
• Best camera quality
• Best with a stylus

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy S9+

See at Amazon

The Galaxy S9+ is all about giving you the most features in the most beautiful package with a really big screen to take it all in. You get top-end specs across the board, plus all of the hardware features you expect: waterproofing, wireless charging, an SD card slot, a headphone jack and more.

The camera is all-new this year, with a sensor that does fantastic processing to remove noise and sharpen fine detail. It’s aided by a dual-aperture lens to get the best combination of light and detail in different shots, and is paired with a secondary telephoto lens for zoom and portrait mode shooting.

You don’t get the clean and simple software experience of the Pixel 2 XL, which may take some extra customization and tweaking on your part, but the Galaxy S9+ is far less polarizing overall — just about anyone looking for a high-end phone will love using it.

Bottom line: The Galaxy S9+ doesn’t require much thought — it can do everything, and looks great doing it, with few real downsides.

One more thing: You may be tempted by the Note 8 (or upcoming Note 9), but unless you really need the S Pen you should just stick with the Galaxy S9+.

Why the Samsung Galaxy S9+ is the best large screen (phablet) Android phone

The Samsung Galaxy S9+ builds on years of Samsung’s excellence making some of the most popular and best-selling phones around the world. It starts with a gorgeously sculpted metal and glass body, available in three colors, that’s waterproof but still includes great features like dual speakers, a headphone jack and an SD card slot. Inside are the latest and greatest specs, plus a standout pair of cameras on the back and the best display on the market around front.

Samsung designs its phones to be appealing to the widest possible audience.

Samsung designs its phones to be appealing to the widest possible audience, and that makes the Galaxy S9+ a great device for just about anyone. It has a big and beautiful display that’s quite simply the best in the industry, but with very small bezels and curved edges it fits into a relatively compact size.

Internally, it has all of the latest specs to handle any app or task you need. It also has a pair of cameras on the back that are in the mix as the best available today. Samsung has also kept around crowd-pleasing features like wireless charging, waterproofing, an SD card slot and a headphone jack. Really, the Galaxy S9+ does a great job at being all things to all people.

Best of all, if you don’t care for the larger size of the Galaxy S9+ for whatever reason, you can simply buy the smaller and less expensive Galaxy S9 instead and get the same core experience with only a few changes.

Is it a good time to buy?

Yes. The Samsung Galaxy S9+ launched the first week of March 2018, meaning it is still the latest and great phone that Samsung makes. The Galaxy Note 9 is expected to be on sale in late August 2018, which will likely be only a marginal improvement over the Galaxy S9+, and the Galaxy S9+’s successor will not be unveiled until March 2019.

8 reasons to buy

• Big, best-in-class display by all measures
• Sleek and beautiful hardware in multiple color options
• Top-notch specs, waterproofing, wireless charging and more
• Up to 256GB of storage available, plus an SD card slot
• Fantastic dual cameras that take great photos
• Every software feature you could ask for
• Dual speakers and a headphone jack
• Available in just about every region on every carrier imaginable

3 reasons not to buy

• Lots of unnecessary apps and features
• Long-term software update speed is a concern
• Curved screen can be difficult for some to use

Runner-up

Google Pixel 2 XL

See at Best Buy

No phone is perfect for everyone’s needs, and if you find the Galaxy S9+’s software to be overwhelming or grating, you’ll want to look at the Google Pixel 2 XL instead.

Google’s take on Android is clean, fast and a pleasure to use every day — as you’d expect, it also perfectly integrates with Google’s apps and services. The Pixel 2 XL doesn’t have a fantastic screen or headphone jack like the Galaxy S9+ does, but that’s one of the trade-offs you make in order to get this fantastic software experience. The screen is physically smaller as well, at just 6-inches to the Galaxy S9+’s 6.2.

The camera on Google’s flagship is just as good, though, and some would say that the overall experience, aided by that great software, is more consistent and approachable. You also get three years of guaranteed software updates, which provides excellent peace of mind.

Bottom line: The best Android software experience comes straight from Google. Top-notch performance and camera add to the experience, but the screen and more limited availability detract.

One more thing: Even though we recommend the larger Pixel 2 XL, the smaller and cheaper Pixel 2 is just as good, and easier to use with one hand.

Best value

OnePlus 6

See at OnePlus

These top-end phones are expensive, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck paying top-dollar for your next upgrade. The OnePlus 6 provides nearly the same experience as these other devices at a substantial discount — just $529.

Even with the lower price, the screen is still very big at 6.28-inches diagonally, though it does have a display notch to take up a tiny bit of that top portion.

You get all of the latest specs inside, and it’s wrapped up in a beautiful metal-and-glass frame not unlike the Galaxy S9+. There are a few shortcomings, like an average display, basic speaker and subpar vibration motor, but the software experience is more akin to the Pixel 2 XL than the Galaxy S9+ — and that’s a good thing.

OnePlus has dramatically improved its camera offering to where the OnePlus 6 is just a stone’s throw away from the top-of-the-line phones, which just adds to the great value this phone offers.

Bottom line: The OnePlus 6 is the phone to buy if you want something cheap, fast, and stylish that still has a huge screen.

One more thing: The OnePlus 6 doesn’t work on Verizon or Sprint, and is only available directly from OnePlus.

Amazing camera

Huawei P20 Pro

See at Amazon

You may think that the “Leica” branding is a bit of a joke at first, but don’t let that turn you away — the Huawei P20 Pro has an amazing set of cameras that can produce the best photos of any smartphone today. The combination of a 40MP main sensor, an 8MP telephoto camera and a 20MP monochrome sensor give you unending shooting options, and the software pulling it all together knows all of the tricks to create stellar photos.

The screen comes in at 6.1-inches diagonal, which is a tad smaller than the Galaxy S9+, and it also has a display notch at the top that takes up a bit more screen real estate as well.

The rest of the phone experience isn’t subpar, either — Huawei’s built a beautiful phone here with powerful specs. It’s just let down as ever by the Huawei software that heavily tweaks and modifies Android — to a fault. Some can look past that to get those wonderful cameras, though, and will even go so far as to import an international version to the U.S.

Bottom line: With three rear cameras that are all amazing and EMUI software that’s more than tolerable, get this phone for the photos, stay for everything else.

One more thing: The P20 Pro has a 4000mAh battery that should last nearly two days if you go easy on it.

Best with a stylus

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

See at Amazon

Just 6 months after launching, the Galaxy Note 8 was almost entirely supplanted by the Galaxy S9+ — which is of course our top pick here. The Note 8 is a fantastic phone, but with the addition of features and specs, the Galaxy S9+ is the same or better across the board with a larger battery, newer camera, faster processor and slightly more compact body.

The only trump card the Note 8 can play is that it has a stylus, which is obviously a big deal for a small number of faithful Note owners. For some, having a big screen without the precise input of a stylus is worthless, so the Note 8 lives on for those who need that feature.

Bottom line: If you have to have a stylus, there’s no substitute for the Galaxy Note 8.

One more thing: The Galaxy Note 9 will be announced on August 9 — if you can wait to buy and want the latest and greatest, we recommend that you hold off until then.

Conclusion

The best large screen (phablet) Android phone for most potential buyers is the Samsung Galaxy S9+, as it provides the best experience and most features with a big screen — it’s also available everywhere, from any carrier or retailer you could imagine.

If you’re a bit more discerning about the software experience, you’ll want to look at the Google Pixel 2 XL instead — you’ll have to buy from Verizon or unlocked, and get a little smaller display, but that Google software is worth it for many people. For less money, the OnePlus 6 gives you a near-flagship experience and also has great clean software on a large display. The most versatile camera imaginable can be found in the Huawei P20 Pro, and the rest of the phone isn’t exactly bad — you’ll just have to put up with some software quirks to take advantage of that great imaging.

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy S9+

See at Amazon

The Galaxy S9+ is all about giving you the most features in the most beautiful package with a really big screen to take it all in. You get top-end specs across the board, plus all of the hardware features you expect: waterproofing, wireless charging, an SD card slot, a headphone jack and more.

The camera is all-new this year, with a sensor that does fantastic processing to remove noise and sharpen fine detail. It’s aided by a dual-aperture lens to get the best combination of light and detail in different shots, and is paired with a secondary telephoto lens for zoom and portrait mode shooting.

You don’t get the clean and simple software experience of the Pixel 2 XL, which may take some extra customization and tweaking on your part, but the Galaxy S9+ is far less polarizing overall — just about anyone looking for a high-end phone will love using it.

Bottom line: The Galaxy S9+ doesn’t require much thought — it can do everything, and looks great doing it, with few real downsides.

One more thing: You may be tempted by the Note 8 (or upcoming Note 9), but unless you really need the S Pen you should just stick with the Galaxy S9+.

Update June 2018: Keeping in like with our overall best Android phones picks, the Galaxy S9+ takes over the top spot here on account of its wide availability and broad appeal. The Pixel 2 XL remains as a solid backup choice, and we’ve added the Huawei P20 Pro as an option with an amazing camera. The Note 8 remains, for now, as the choice for people who want a stylus.

Darkroom Gains New Frames Tool, Duotone Filter Pack and App-Wide Refinements

Popular iOS photography app Darkroom received a major update today, introducing a long list of app-wide improvements, a new Frames tool, a premium filter pack, and more.

The new Frames tool, which marks Darkroom’s first top-level tool addition in three years, offers up content-aware frame colors. Content-aware color allows the frames tool to analyze the colors in your photograph and generate a set of frame colors that will match your image.

The color of the frame itself is hugely impactful to how the viewer’s eye perceives colors in your photos. That’s why we added content-aware colors which automatically analyze the photo and pick a curated set of colors that perfectly match your photo. This ensures you always have frame colors to pick from with just a tap, that will fit the mood of your photo seamlessly.

Support has also been added for the 9:16 aspect ratio for Snapchat and Instagram stories, as well as 4:5 for Instagram portrait photos. 2:1 has also been included, and all of the frame aspects can be used when exporting a single image or multiple images.

Also included in today’s update is a new premium filter pack, Duotone Filters. Darkroom says these filters are designed to be “extremely graphical and punchy,” to make photos “feel like they popped right out of a magazine.”

New privacy tools have been added to allow users to enable or disable embedded location information when exporting photos. The option will let location be included on your phone for captured photos, but it gives users the ability to strip it out when publicly sharing photos.

In addition to these new features, the new version of Darkroom includes app-wide refinements that make the Darkroom editing experience on iOS better. Specifically, “drastic improvements” have been made to how Darkroom handles photos that were previously edited in other apps, with the ability to “gracefully overwrite them.”

A full list of changes and updates in Darkroom can be found on the Darkroom website. The Darkroom app can be downloaded from the App Store for free, but unlocking full functionality requires a $7.99 in-app purchase. [Direct Link]

Tag: Darkroom
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How to Enable Dark Mode in macOS Mojave

macOS Mojave, the newest version of the software that runs on the Mac, includes a long-awaited Dark Mode option that works across the entire system, from the dock and menu bar to all of your apps.

Here’s how to enable it:

Click on the Apple logo on the menu bar.
Choose System Preferences.
Select General.
In the “Appearance” section at the top of the window, click the “Dark” option.

Those are the only steps required to enable Dark Mode. If you want to turn it off again, follow the same steps but this time choose the “Light” option.

While in Dark mode, the dock, menu bar, and all of your Apple apps, including Safari, Mail, Calendar, Notes, the Mac App Store, Messages, and more will feature darker colors and themes. Dark Mode will need to be built into third-party Mac apps that don’t already offer a dark option when macOS Mojave is released.

Note: When Dark Mode is activated, the current Dynamic Desktop option that displays the Mojave desert does not work. It shows the desert at night full time when Dark Mode is turned on.

Related Roundup: macOS Mojave
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How to Switch from Headphones to In-Ear Monitors

Making the transition from headphone to in-ear monitors can sometimes be rather difficult. Especially if you are a DJ. Here are a few tips on how you can make a smooth transition into the wonderful world of wireless systems and in-ear monitors!

Buy IEMs Online

The step to buy iems online is the most important part of your transition from headphones to IEMs. For example, are you a singer that needs to move around a lot on stage? Or are you a drummer or pianist that stays in one spot during the whole performance?

If you are a drummer or a pianist, you may want to consider saving money and going for a wired IEM set up. If you are singer and you move around a lot on stage, you may want to consider getting custom made, wireless IEMS. The reality is, yes – IEMs are wonderful because they give you much more freedom and mobility on stage.

If you don’t get IEMs that are custom made – you are more at risk of them falling out on stage. So, in my opinion – it’s worth it to spend the extra buck to ensure you have quality, custom fit IEMs that are comfortable to wear on stage. If you get a pair that aren’t comfortable, you may not perform as well as you would like to.

Another thing to remember is that if you are a DJ, it is kind of silly to spend the extra money to get a wireless IEM setup, since you always have all of your equipment right there. But, an important thing to keep in mind’s to make sure the cable running from you IEM to your mixer is still long enough for you to move and dance around. If you get one that is too short, you will be super constricted on movement. And let’s be honest, being a DJ isn’t nearly as fun when you can’t move and dance around.

Be Patient

Especially if you are a DJ, transitioning to IEMs can be a weird transition. If they don’t fit right, IEMS won’t be nearly as comfortable as the over-ear, memory foam cushioned headphones DJs are used to having. But, overtime, even if you have non-custom made IEMs, they’ll become comfortable over time.

The best part about wearing IEMs while DJing is their noise isolation technology. Which will make performing at even the loudest concerts, festivals, or nightclubs easy on your ears. If you are a performer, moving around on stage while wearing IEMs will take some getting used to. If you don’t have custom made ones, they can easily fall out if you move around a lot. Eventually, you’ll break them in and you’ll be able to move about on stage without issues!

Wear IEMs in Both Ears

A common mistake that people make when they first start wearing IEMs is that they will only wear one IEM in while performing so that they can hear how things are sounding on the loudspeakers. Instead of removing one IEM to hear the house speakers, you can simply use your mixer (or DJ controller fader knob) to control the blend between the track that is playing in your main output to your liking! This way, you won’t have to remove your IEMS the whole entire set. This is an amazing advantage because your monitoring will be even more accurate during your time on stage.

The only disadvantage to having both IEMs in your ears is that you won’t be able to hear how you sound the same way the crowd does, which can be weird getting used to at first! If you are in a band or if you are a musician, IEMs are your biggest disadvantage when it comes to hearing your audience, which makes it much harder to connect with them and hear feedback. But, this problem can be easily solved by setting up an extra microphone and facing it towards the audience. Then, you plug that microphone into the mixer so that each band member can pick up on the crowds energy through the in-ear monitors.

Practice

Practice really does make perfect, especially when it comes to performing with IEMs. Once you get the basics down of how to set them up, how to control them during a live performance, and how to wear them comfortably – you will be able to enjoy the beauty of them! In-ear monitors are much safer and all around better to wear on stage than headphones. In-ear monitors keep your ears safe, which is important for all performers to prioritize if they intend on performing for a long time. To practice, wear them in your bedroom, around your house, to small gigs and big ones. By practicing a lot, you get in the habit of using them and it will make your transition as smooth as can be.

Conclusion

IEMs are an amazing advancement of technology in the audio world. This innovation alone has completely revolutionized the live performance industry, and it only gets better from here! If you are ready to ditch your headphones for a modern IEM system, make sure you do plenty of research before picking out the right system for you! Consider whether or not you would like a wired or wireless setup. Or, if you have enough room in the budget, splurge on some custom made ones for maximum comfort and freedom on stage.

T-Mobile rolls out better texting — but only to the Samsung Galaxy S7

RCS will likely change the way we interact with text messages on our phone, bringing a number of great features — like read receipts, better group messaging, and more. Only one problem — unlike apps like Facebook Messenger, where you can simply download an app, carriers have to first support the feature. T-Mobile teased that it would soon start supporting RCS Universal Profile back in March. Now, however, it looks like that is finally happening — T-Mobile is adopting RCS Universal Profile for Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge phones, with wider adoption likely to come in the near future.

This isn’t the first time T-Mobile has dabbled in RCS as a standard. It has supported different versions of RCS since 2015 for in-network communications — but with other carriers adopting the RCS Universal Profile standard, which was developed by Google, users on T-Mobile couldn’t take advantage of the features while messaging other users on a different carrier.

It’s a little unfortunate that the feature is currently limited to only a few phones, but it’s better than nothing — and those two phones happen to be some pretty popular ones. We would expect T-Mobile to roll out RCS Universal Profile on a wider scale in the near future, though only time will tell what phones get it, and when they get it.

While T-Mobile and Sprint are further along than anyone else in the U.S., in a recent article from The Verge, it was highlighted that the likes of Verizon and AT&T are also onboard — though there’s no timetable as to how long it takes the companies to actually roll out support to their customers. Both Google and Microsoft have also adopted the standard — though there is obviously one major tech company missing: Apple. Considering the fact that Apple has iMessage, which iPhone users can use to get RCS Universal Profile-like features whenever they want, it’s currently unclear if we’ll see Apple adopt the new technology.

In any case, there’s no telling how long it will take carriers to roll out RCS Universal Profile to all customers, though many are likely in for quite a waiting period — especially those that use older phones.

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The BlackBerry KEY2 is in a market with no competitors — but is that enough to make it sell?

It’s the only modern smartphone with a hardware keyboard, but I’m not sure that’s enough.

I’ve been using my BlackBerry KEY2 for about a week and a half now, and I haven’t been doing so begrudgingly or out of any sort of obligation — I’ve continued to carry it by choice. I’m not here to talk about my personal takes on the KEY2 as a device — that’ll come later in a specific review, and Daniel wrote up a brilliant full review of the phone already that I recommend you read. But I want to keep using the KEY2 so I can try to wrap my head around just how big the potential market is for this phone; for a smartphone with a hardware keyboard in 2018.

In a world of increasingly homogeneous smartphone designs and feature sets, we often talk about markets segmented by price, retail availability and size. Phones have some differentiations, but with lots of feature and spec overlap, price and availability become defining factors when people are making a buying decision. Seldom do phones differentate themselves with a single feature or design choice to the point where it has no other direct competition. Yes, there are certain features that weigh more heavily for some consumers than others, like a headphone jack or camera feature, but those aren’t strong enough to keep a single phone completely separate and unable to be compared to others in the way the KEY2’s keyboard does.

We know the KEY2 isn’t perfect — its screen, cameras and speaker leave much to be desired. But at the same time, it almost doesn’t matter, so long as these downsides are still in “good enough” territory, because the KEY2 appeals to a single market: people who want a hardware keyboard. The question people following the smartphone world have is, just how many people out there are willing to make a smartphone buying decision based purely on having that hardware keyboard?

There’s little doubt that some people want a smartphone with a hardware keyboard. There’s the nostalgia factor, of course, harkening back to a decade ago when people loved their BlackBerry. But there are also some people who stuck with the increasingly rare hardware keyboard devices up until a couple years ago. They legitimately prefer the tactile feel of keys to tapping on glass, even if they inherently know that it isn’t quite as fast or versatile as a full touch screen device. There are people out there for whom a hardware keyboard is the best way to use a smartphone.

The KEY2 is truly unique, but is that a selling point or a sign that it’s the only product in a nonexistent market?

TCL won’t break out any sort of sales figures, but it’s a safe assumption to say that the KEYone didn’t sell in amazing volume. Even with various different color versions, RAM bumps and worldwide availability, it didn’t sell well enough for the company to make any noise about the numbers. You could argue that was because of the phone’s myriad issues and not the existence of a hardware keyboard … but it seems to me it’s simply due to the market for hardware keyboarded smartphones being downright tiny nowadays. And the KEY2 isn’t going to change that, considering it’s just a much-improved KEYone rather than an altogether new take on the form factor.

The KEY2’s keyboard works quite well. In a typing test, I’m roughly as fast with it as I am typing at an on-screen keyboard. And that keypad offers a lot of extra features that BlackBerry should be touting more than it does. But it’s still a relic of the past — an antiquated input method that most people gave up on 5 years ago, if not a decade.

Only TCL knows the KEY2 sales figure that’s considered a “success,” and I hope the company is pragmatic enough to not expect it to sell in the double-digit millions per year. It stands to reason that the KEY2 will have to sell much better than the KEYone did to justify continuing to develop this hardware keyboard product line, though, and I’m just not sure it can. Even when it’s a phone available in a market with no competitors.

BlackBerry KEY2

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• BlackBerry KEYone review: Coming home
• Join our BlackBerry KEY2 forums!

BlackBerry

LG G7 ThinQ review: Wide angle, narrow appeal

LG’s new flagship is rarely exciting, but look past that and you’ll find a great little phone with an audiovisual focus.

The G7 may be a tough sell at its $750 launch price, but there’s not much to complain about here. The new LG flagship gets most of the fundamentals right, and offers stand-out features in the form of a Quad DAC-powered headphone jack, and the best wide-angle camera.

LG G7 ThinQ

Price: $750

Bottom line: This isn’t the most exciting Android around, but LG is still the only place to get a good wide-angle camera and the best in smartphone audio.

Pros:

• Great all-round performer
• Dependable all-day battery life
• A lot of screen in not a lot of space
• Wide-angle camera continues to impress

Cons:

• Hefty SIM-free price
• 6/128GB model unavailable in the U.S.
• AI features largely forgettable

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LG G7 ThinQ Prelude

Back in January I didn’t expect to be reviewing an LG G7 this year. The phone was supposed to be dead, killed off by a change in top-level management at the Korean firm. In the following months, it became clear that LG was instead giving the G7 a final spit-polish before unveiling it to the world.

Who knows what the G7 would’ve looked like had LG stuck to its original timeline and launched around Mobile World Congress in February. But as for the product we have today, I’m glad LG took its time, and I’m glad it didn’t just abandon the G7, as was originally rumored.

This is a decent, competitive phone that deserves to exist. In typical LG style, it’s way overpriced at launch.

About this review

We’re publishing this review after just over a week with a final, retail-ready LG G7 ThinQ. I (Alex Dobie) have been using an SKT-branded Korean G7 (LG-G710N) with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on the Chunghwa Telecom network in Taipei, Taiwan. The device was running software version 10N.

In the run up to the G7’s retail release, I had also been using a pre-production U.S. model G7 running uncertified firmware. This review is based on the final G7, not the pre-production unit. The biggest difference I’ve noticed going from the early G7 to the production model is a significant bump in battery life.

LG G7 ThinQ Full Review

Externally, the G7 is not a phone that rocks the boat. Design-wise, LG’s new handset plays it relatively safe, with an aesthetic combining the characteristics of the V30 and G6 (OK, and maybe a certain other phone as well). It’s a far cry from the old, crazy LG, which would flail from leather-backed plastic one year to modular nonsense the next.

LG’s newfound design sobriety has been mostly a positive step. The G6 and V30 were both good, solid phones without any serious flaws, and the same applies to the G7. The new problem for LG is how to stand out when it’s producing this kind of phone, because absolutely everyone is producing this kind of phone.

LG’s design sobriety continues, as the company pushes audio and AI in the G7.

LG’s answer is to ship an impressive wide-angle camera, a headphone jack powered by a beastly Quad DAC, and a roaring boombox speaker system. And because this is a ThinQ phone (pronounce it “thin cue,” not “think”), there’s an Artificial Intelligence angle as well. But you can probably forget about the AI gimmickry, which expands the AI shooting modes first seen in the V30 S and builds out a few tepid predictive features elsewhere in the software.

You’ll see the cringey ThinQ brand every time you turn the G7 over, but I’ve largely ignored it related features in my use of the phone. Instead of getting high on AI, I’ve been enjoying the G7 because it gives me a small-ish phone with great audio and a wide-angle camera experience I can’t get anywhere else.

The size is perfect for one-handed use, and the sharp chamfers and thicker sides make for an easier grip than a similarly-sized Samsung phone. LG’s color options are a little dull, but at least there’s some variety to be seen in the G7 palette. There are boring black and grey versions, but I’ve spent most time with the moroccan blue and raspberry rose hues, which add a splash of color while still looking reserved compared to a flame red HTC U12+ or twilight Huawei P20.

The back has a subtle lustrous effect that gives the red G7 an amber-like accent, and introduces hints of green to the blue G7 when it catches the light. The rear of the phone lacks any kind of oleophobic coating, however, which makes it easier to grip at the cost of being a fingerprint magnet. The aluminum side walls have a similar gloss to them, but aren’t anywhere near as greasy.

The G7’s super-bright display is a bigger deal than its use of a screen notch.

Before we go any further, let’s at least acknowledge the presence of a screen notch. Yep, it’s there. Nope, as we’ve established before, the notch isn’t a huge deal if it’s done right. LG’s implementation refers to the display cutout as a “new second screen,” which is bizarre, because unlike the V-series namesake you can’t actually do anything useful with it. It is possible, however, to black out the background color in LG apps if the irregular shape bothers you. (Unlike Huawei and OnePlus’s models, you can’t eliminate the notch in all apps.)

Either way, I’ve come across no major compatibility issues around the notch, and I appreciate the extra vertical space provided by LG’s super-tall 19.5:9 panel. This screen is a major improvement upon the G6’s LCD in just about every way. It’s an RGBW panel, with an extra white subpixel for extra brightness, in addition to the red, green and blue subpixels that all normal LCDs have, for extra brightness. The backlight can go all the way up to 1000 nits in its boosted brightness mode, but weirdly you need to enable this manually, it won’t trigger by itself in very bright daylight like it does on Samsung phones.

The rest of the spec sheet is standard 2018 flagship stuff, with a Snapdragon 845 processor plus 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage in most markets, plus microSD. And it’s water resistant too, rated IP68.

Operating System	Android 8.0 Oreo
Display	6.1-inch LCD 3120x1440Gorilla Glass 5Dolby Vision, HDR10 1,000 nits brightness
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Storage	64GB / 128GB (Plus model)
Expandable	microSD up to 2TB
RAM	4GB / 6GB (Plus model)
Camera (Main)	16MP (IMX351), 1.0µm pixels, ƒ/1.6, OIS71° lens, Super Bright Mode
Camera (Wide)	16MP (IMX351), 1.0µm pixels, ƒ/1.9107° lens, fixed focus
Front Camera	8MP, ƒ/1.9 80° lens, fixed focus
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0 LE, NFCUSB-C 3.1
Audio	32-bit Hi-Fi Quad DAC Boombox speaker Headphone jack
Battery	3000mAhNon-removable
Charging	USB-CQuick Charge 3.0Qi wireless
Water resistance	IP68 MIL-STD 810G certified
Security	Rear fingerprint sensor Face unlock
Dimensions	153.2 x 71.9 x 7.9 mm
Weight	162 grams
Colors	New Moroccan Blue, New Aurora Black Raspberry Rose, New Platinum Gray

The one thing that might jump out at you is the 3,000mAh battery, which numerically is on the low side compared to the competition. Quick side note: Before getting a final, retail G7, LG gave us a pre-production device to play with, running pre-release software. This preview device had pretty bad battery life, and I didn’t expect a huge difference in the retail version. But I was wrong. The production G7 manages fantastic longevity from a relatively small battery. I’d regularly get around 17-18 hours per charge, with 4.5-5 hours of screen-on time. That’s more than I reliably get from the Galaxy S9+, and not far off the Pixel 2 XL.

Plus you get Quick Charge 4 support — though the bundled plug only does Quick Charge 3. For easier opportunistic top-ups, LG, finally, includes Qi wireless charging in all G7 models. Bottom line between the pretty strong battery life and plentiful refill options, is that’ve never had to worry about battery life on this phone. This is with normal use involving music streaming and photography, not babying the phone.

Many high-end phones boast powerful speakers, but the G7 far exceeds the baseline, bringing features that’ll please audiophiles — as well as the rest of us, who just want our their music to sound great, and our podcasts loud and clear. In short, the G7 is the most audio-centric Android flagship I’ve used. The fact that there’s still a headphone jack at all is noteworthy, but LG also includes its Quad DAC, which we’ve seen in a few generations of LG phones now, to put more power behind the headphone port.

This is the best speaker setup in any smartphone.

What’s new this time around is that same engineering attention has been given to the G7’s built-in speaker system. The new boombox setup is the loudest and best-sounding smartphone speaker I’ve used, with sound that’s full and bassy and not just loud and scratchy like most phones. The magic behind the G7 speaker’s legendary audio is that it uses the entire body of the phone has a speaker chamber. At higher volume levels you can really feel the glass back vibrating, which in turn lets you amplify the audio even further if it’s sat on any other acoustic structure, like a guitar or a wooden box.

I sometimes take a small Bluetooth speaker with me when I travel for podcasts and the like, but with the G7, I really don’t need to. The audio from the main speaker is loud, bassy and clear enough for my needs, and comfortably superior to any competing phone speaker.

For wired audio, the Quad DAC hasn’t changed since we last saw it in the V30, but it’s worth revisiting briefly. In short, the DAC provides a stronger signal to any headphone or speaker system that’s plugged into the phone. Combined with a good set of studio headphones, or even the pretty great set of earbuds LG includes in the box, it’s the sort of thing that can ruin you for music on most other phones.

What’s more, LG’s software provides a wealth of fine-tuning possibilities to get things sounding just right.

The rest of LG’s software hasn’t been radically changed in this iteration. It looks a little different to the company’s 2017 loadout, but if you were hoping for the LG UI to be overhauled, then you’ll be disappointed. Mainly we’re looking at visual tweaks to make the icons more uniform, as well as some new widgets that look a bit like what you’ll find on a Samsung phone.

It’s customized, with its own distinctive look, but not too overbearing. Staple LG features return, including KnockOn to quickly wake the device with a double-tap, as well as the reliable face unlock features from the V30. I have no real issues with the aesthetics of LG’s software, and while it would’ve been nice to see Android 8.1 on here as opposed to the older 8.0, it’s not the end of the world.

Performance has been fine overall. 4GB of RAM mostly gets the job done, though I would’ve preferred the extra breathing room that 6GB provides for multitasking. While it wasn’t enormously bothersome, it definitely is possible to see apps being bumped out of memory more quickly on a 4GB device like the G6, compared to Samsung and HTC phones with the extra two gigs.

I’m more concerned about a few smaller usability issues I’ve run into. With a phone this tall, reaching the top to pull down the notification shade can be tricky. Yet the very common swipe-down gesture on the fingerprint scanner, used by many other Android phones, isn’t supported. At the same time, LG’s mini view one-handed mode is unreliable and clunky, with the swipe gesture sometimes failing to register.

Aside from AI CAM, the G7’s artificial intelligence tricks are dull and forgettable.

Because this is a ThinQ phone, LG has gone to great lengths to build out AI features in the software. Plus you’ve got the Smart ThinQ app preloaded for any other LG ThinQ appliances you might own. But outside of the camera, most of the AI stuff is half-baked and uninteresting. The “Smart Bulletin” area to the left of the main home panel is mostly useless, and simple re-frames automation features many of which have been been around the LG G3 in 2014. The things it suggests are rarely useful, and fail to justify its occupation of this premium piece of smartphone real estate.

We do at least have a Google Assistant key, though, which is more useful and less annoying than Samsung’s Bixby key — because it’s located further away from the volume rocker, and of course because it launches Google Assistant and not Bixby.

A single tap launches Assistant, or you can hold it down for a walkie-talkie mode. And double-tap launches you into Google Lens. Unfortunately, though, Lens is often slower to launch and more buggy on the G7 than it is on the Pixel 2 XL, despite the faster processor. I’ve had several instances of Lens either getting bogged down while loading, or loading and failing to activate the camera properly.

The Assistant key isn’t a huge deal either way. It’s moderately useful, but I don’t miss it when I use other phones. While you can disable it, it’s annoying that you can’t remap it to serve another function, like a dedicated camera key.

The camera setup of the LG G7 is an odd half-step upgrade from last year’s V30 cameras. The front camera and wide-angle cameras have both gotten much-needed upgrades, and that’s great. The main camera has not, and that’s a big competitive disadvantage for this phone.

Around the back the G7 sticks with the same main camera as the V30, a 16-megapixel sensor with 1-micron pixels, behind an f/1.6 lens, with optical stabilization. The wide camera this time is that same 16-megapixel sensor, Sony’s IMX 351, behind an f/1.9 lens, but with no OIS. The wide-angle camera has been reduced to 107 degrees though, down from the V30’s 120. In my view, though, that’s a fair trade-off considering the improvement in image quality from the new wide camera.

The upgraded wide-angle camera impresses, but the main sensor needs an upgrade.

Wide camera remains one of the most enjoyable things about using an LG phone, letting you capture dramatic looking scenes that aren’t quite like any other smartphone photo. At the same time, I appreciate the much-improved selfie camera of the G7, now an 8-megapixel unit. (Though let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be hard to raise the bar from the dismal 5MP shooter of the V30.)

On the other hand, the main camera clearly hasn’t kept pace with the competition. It’s not a bad camera, just a decidedly mediocre one, considering this is a $750 phone. Even with the faster Snapdragon 845 processor, the main shooter can’t compete with the likes of the Galaxy S9, Huawei P20 or Pixel 2. Dynamic range isn’t as good as these phones, nor is low-light photography, even with LG’s new Super Bright Mode.

Super Bright Mode, first seen in the V30 S, uses pixel binning to get a brighter 4-megapixel image out of the 16-megapixel sensor. It’s the same technique used to awesome effect in the Huawei P20 Pro, but the difference is Huawei uses a 40MP sensor LG’s 16MP doesn’t have the resolution to make this work well. The result, often, is a lower-res image that looks OK on a phone screen, but gross and blotchy once you zoom in.

The G7 inherits the V30 S’s AI shooting modes, which I’ve enjoyed more through playing with the neat little word cloud that pops up in use than through the photos it takes. I assume LG’s AI is doing something to tune photos according to where I am and what I’m shooting. But more often than not, pics taken in AI CAM mode just look different, and not necessarily better. Plus, scrolling through the many AI-inspired filters that are offered in AI CAM can be confusing and time-consuming.

To top it off, LG’s app is also slow switching between the wide camera and the main camera, and the app itself isn’t as intuitively designed as rivals, with core features like Pro mode and HDR hidden behind unnecessary layers of menus.

LG has a lot of great camera features here, but I think they need beefier camera hardware to come into their own. I’d like to see what Super Bright Mode could do with a bigger sensor. And I’d love to be able to use the wide-angle camera without being disappointed when I take a low-light shot with the main shooter.

Hopefully upgrades like this will be coming in the V40 later this year, which is rumored to pack a new triple-rear-camera setup

3.5
out of 5

And that leaves us with the question of who should buy a G7 today. This is not really a phone for enthusiasts. At $750 US, this is not a phone that you should pay full retail price for. Instead, the G7 makes most sense as an on-contract buy for someone who just wants a decent, small-ish phone with an emphasis on audio, and some neat camera features to play around with.

I’ve enjoyed using the G7 and I’m glad LG didn’t just cancel it, as was rumored back in January. But personally, I’m willing to wait and see what LG’s cooking up for the fall. Maybe the V40 will excite me in ways that the G7 just doesn’t quite manage.

But if you value great audio and a fun wide-angle camera, you could do a lot worse than the LG G7.

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