Apple iOS 12 hands-on review

Last year’s iOS 11 update focused on adding a little more customization into the iPhone and iPad, along with a redesign of some parts of the operating system and key services like the App Store. Things are a little different with this year’s iOS 12 update, though. Yes, there are many new features that improve productivity on your iPhone, but there’s also a big effort to help people manage screen time, making it easier to stay offline.

The iOS 12 public beta is now available for download, and we took it for a spin. If you want to check out every single new feature in the update, we’ve rounded them all up in a handy guide.

Under the hood improvements

With iOS 12, Apple wants to deliver an OS that’s faster and more responsive across all iOS devices, which is why the update works on more iPhone and iPad devices than ever before. This means ramping up CPU performance to its highest state for performance and ramping it down to preserve battery life. Other improvements include animations that are smoother and faster.

The premise is that you should notice hefty performance boosts on older iPhones, and we certainly did. We installed the beta on an iPhone 6S and an iPhone 7 Plus, and performance is fluid and fast.

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

Sadly, we didn’t see much of an improvement in battery life. Our iPhone 7 Plus had an 88 percent battery efficiency rating — which means we shouldn’t have to replace it just yet — but running iOS 12 killed our battery fast. On a work day, we often found ourselves at about 5 percent by 3:30 p.m. after using it only for sending text messages and some social media. Apps also tended to crash more often, but it’s a beta so we’re not too surprised. Hopefully we see some improvement here with the final version, though at that point we may have to replace the battery on the iPhone 7 Plus anyway.

We didn’t have any problems like apps crashing on the iPhone X. The app switcher was swift and fluid as usual. Battery life didn’t take a noticeable hit either, but we also didn’t use it as our primary phone for a full day. We’ll be doing more testing to see if there are any noticeable changes to performance or battery life.

Screen Time takes commitment

Over the past few years, there has been conscientious discussion about smartphone addiction. To help people manage their smartphone usage, iOS 12 adds a new section in the Settings app called Screen Time. It offers a summary of your smartphone use, and the ability to set time limits on specific apps.

Seeing how much time we spent on our device and on specific apps, and how many times we unlock our phone is interesting, but the novelty quickly wears off. We didn’t necessarily feel as though looking at these stats would change our phone habits. We are happy it’s here, though, for those that do want to keep tabs — especially parents.

The Screen Time features also aren’t as restrictive as we’d like. If you set a limit to how long you can use an app, you’re conveniently provided with the ability to override the limit, or simply add 15 more minutes when time is up via a pop-up notification. You don’t even even have to go the Settings app to turn the limit off, which makes it far too easy to simply tap to ignore the limit and keep scrolling through. If someone is taking the time to set up an App Limit, chances are they’d want stricter enforcement to make sure they are adhering to their own Screen Time rules.

Screen Time requires personal restraint, because otherwise it’s easy to continue your old habits.

We also wish App Limits weren’t separated by categories — like Social Media, Entertainment, Productivity, and more. Rather than bundling apps together, it’d be nice to choose individual apps in case we don’t want a break from one of the apps attached to that category.

The “Downtime” feature, which allows you to schedule a window of time where notifications are disabled, is a little more customizable as there’s an “Always Allowed” setting where you can choose apps. The idea here is to make sure work-related apps don’t disturb you when you’re at home, for example, and it works well enough. Like all of these Screen Time features, though, Downtime requires personal restraint, because otherwise it’s easy to continue your old habits.

Screen Time is certainly a great initiative from Apple to implement into its smartphones, and even Google is doing the same in the upcoming version of Android. We don’t these tools are going to change smartphone addiction — at least not any time soon — but at least there are now some methods people can use to curb habits.

Siri keeps you on track

Siri is finally a little more useful in iOS 12. With Siri Shortcuts, the voice assistant is capable of much more via quick actions that can all be assigned through the new Shortcuts app. Since the feature is still in beta, there isn’t much you can do at the moment other than customize voice commands to trigger a specific action. For instance, by telling Siri our home address (or whatever phrase you want), we can have the Lyft app launch immediately.

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

But one of our favorite improvements to Siri is Siri Suggestions. Since we already use the Spotlight Search tool on a daily basis to access certain apps, suggestions conveniently show up underneath and they’re genuinely helpful. If we’re having a conversation with a friend via text and either haven’t responded or tend to text them more often than others, Siri suggests to send a message. When we missed a phone call from a family member, we received a suggestion to make a call back. These buttons are one click actions, so it doesn’t require much effort to follow through on Siri’s suggestions, which is handy.

Even though Siri’s ability to transcribe hasn’t gotten any better in iOS 12, we’re happy to see it’s able to make itself useful in some way.

A few redesigned apps

In iOS 12, Apple introduced Measure — an app that utilizes ARKit to measure objects and spaces in the real world with the phone’s camera. While the app still recommends to use a tape measure or measuring stick for precise measurements, we found it to be quite accurate if you need a rough estimate. It’s one of those apps you’ll only use for specific instances, though.

We installed the beta on an iPhone 6S and an iPhone 7 Plus, and performance is fluid and fast.

The Photos app also received a few upgrades. With a new “For You” tab, photos are all organized based on highlights — whether it was a concert in Philadelphia or a trip to Spain, the tab neatly places them into albums to look through. With a much more refined search, we were able to look up specific venues or places to easily to find photos.

A few other apps got some love in this update. The Stocks app, which most people probably uninstall, now has Apple News built in, and the Voice Memo app has been revamped to look more contemporary. You can check out our full impressions on most of the apps that received a redesign here.

Less notification fatigue

One of the biggest changes in iOS 12 is in the Notification Center, specifically with notifications. Notifications are a necessity when it comes to staying on top of important alerts, but it has always been a little cluttered on iOS. It’s why Apple is stealing a feature from Android. Grouped notifications are here, and they dramatically improve the iOS experience for the better.

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

Now when you receive multiple notifications from Twitter, for example, the notifications sit bundled together in one bubble. Tap on it to expand them all, which also allows you to then interact with them individually. It may sound small, but now when you visit your Notification Center, you won’t just see an endless stream of notifications just from one app. It’s much more manageable and easier to choose which stack of notifications we want to look at first depending on importance.

If you don’t want specific apps grouped together, you can choose to turn it off in your Settings, but we love grouped notifications enough that we never want to go back.

Do Not Disturb during bedtime isn’t effective, yet

When Do Not Disturb was first introduced, there weren’t any customization options other than the ability to toggle it on and off. With iOS 12, it’s now possible to set specific time frames for it to automatically kick in and turn off without having to worry about doing it manually.

The one feature we were most excited to try was Do Not Disturb during bedtime mode, which prevents notifications from popping up on the lock screen during scheduled times. When it’s turned on, a notification sits on your lockscreen letting you know it’s on, and that all notifications and calls will be silenced.

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

We’re disappointed to learn that it’s far too easy to see notifications by simply swiping up on the lockscreen. Like Screen Time, the feature isn’t strict enough to help us kick the habit of waking up in the middle of the night and checking notifications, as we found ourselves subconsciously swiping up. Apple should have required you to input a passcode.

Again, trying to make sure you adhere to Do Not Disturb will take some personal willpower. It’s going to take a little while until we condition ourselves to not find some way to check our notifications in the middle of the night. When bedtime Do Not Disturb ends, we do like the “good morning” greeting that pops up on the lock screen along with the weather for the day.

Injecting more fun into iMessage and FaceTime

Following the abundance of iMessage features Apple released with iOS 10, we were bummed that iOS 11 failed to include any fun features. Thankfully, iOS 12 redeems itself with new a few new capabilities. Not only can you create a Memoji of yourself through a quick and simple process, but you can also use them as stickers within the camera app on iMessage. Granted, you still need an iPhone X.

One minor tweak we have yet to get used to is the Photos app, which is now located in the app drawer in iMessage. Rather than having to send photos through iMessage by tapping on the camera button and then on your photo album, iOS 12 makes it easier to access through one step.

Another feature that has taken far too long for Apple to add is group FaceTime, which lets you video chat with up to 32 people in one session. You can also make the video chats more fun by adding the same stickers, emojis and Memojis to them as well. While we have yet to try the new FaceTime feature, we’ll be sure to update this story when we do.

Conclusion

Like with almost every iOS update, iOS 12 offers a more seamless user experience on the iPhone and iPad. Whether it’s staying more organized with grouped notifications or Siri Shortcuts, the update makes it easier to get simple things done by allowing the device to adapt to your behavior overtime, thanks to machine learning.

While its biggest initiative — Screen Time — offers a variety of different ways to help decrease our smartphone dependency, it’s requires the user to participate fully. Understandable, though we think Apple could be a little stricter with restrictions.

We’re happy with iOS 12, because it made us think “finally” for a lot of features introduced, such as group Facetime and grouped notifications. These changes may seem small, but they greatly impact the everyday experience. We think it’s worth downloading the beta if you’re on an iPhone X, but suggest waiting until the final version is released in the Fall for those on an older device like the iPhone 7 Plus or older.

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Android P gestures vs. iOS 12 gestures: What are the differences?

Android P and iOS 12 may not be ready for the public just yet, but if you’re OK with downloading a buggy operating system, you can get your hands on the betas now. Both Apple and Google have been working on their new mobile operating systems for some time now, and both of them have introduced a few new features to those operating systems. Namely, the companies have introduced a new set of gestures to control your software.

But how do the operating systems compare when it comes to gestures? We put them head to head to find out.

Android P

Because most of the gesture-based controls in iOS came before iOS 12 in the iPhone X, the biggest changes to gesture controls come in Android P. And it would be easy to assume that Google has simply copied Apple here, though there are some major differences in gestures between iOS and Android.

For starters, Google has done away with the navigation bar at the bottom in favor of a single pill-shaped button. That button acts as a home button when you tap on it, or a Google Assistant trigger when you hold it, but it can also be used for a range of other things. For example, swipe part way up from any screen to enter multitasking mode, where you’ll be able to access your recently used apps, a row of most-used apps, and even a search bar. You can also hold down on that home button and swipe it to the right to scroll between those apps quickly and easily. Last but not least, you can swipe the home button all the way up to access your app drawer.

Some might argue that that system is messy and confusing, but once you get used to it, it’s really pretty smart. Why? It allows you to access your recent apps, app drawer, Google Assistant, and home, all in one button. No more having to go home first to access your app drawer.

Other gestures in Android have largely remained the same. Swipe down to access your notifications, and down again for quick settings. From the home screen, you can swipe left to access Google Now too.

iOS 12

Gesture controls in iOS 12 haven’t really changed much — but that’s not to say they’re no good. From the home screen, you can access the Control Center by swiping up from the bottom. Swipe right, and you’ll find your widgets, while swiping down gets you to the notification center. You can also swipe down from the middle of the screen to find a search bar and Siri suggestions, along with things like reminders and calendar events.

Of course, things are a little different on the iPhone X, which is a little more similar to the new gestures on Android P. On the iPhone X, you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to enter multitasking mode, which you can do from any screen. The Control Center has been moved — you can access it by swiping down from the top right of the display.

On the iPad, Apple has brought some of the iPhone X’s gestures — including the ability to swipe down from the top right to access the Control Center.

We expect the iPhone X’s gestures to become standard on all iPhone models going forward. Rumor has it that Apple is doing away with the old form-factor, instead planning on releasing three iPhones with the new iPhone X form-factor.

Conclusions

While you could argue that Google and Apple are moving closer and closer when it comes to gestures, they’ve clearly taken a slightly different approach in their new mobile operating systems. With Android P, you can access a huge range of features from any screen — but there’s a bit of a learning curve. With iOS it’s slightly simpler, but the trade-off is that you may need to go home to access some of the features, like the ability to swipe down from the middle of the screen. Neither of the two is necessarily “better,” but they are a little different, and the way in which you use them on a daily basis might be a little different too.

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5 reasons to install iOS 12

It has been over a decade since Apple’s first version of iOS rolled out along with the original iPhone. The iOS platform has come a long way since then, with Apple adding important new features every year and modernizing the style. Each new version is a mix of tweaks and improvements, but sometimes there are bugs or changes that feel jarring for longtime iPhone users.

If you’re feeling hesitant about upgrading, we’ve got five reasons to shrug off those doubts and download iOS 12 right away. These are our favorites, but we also have a more comprehensive list of iOS 12 features if you’re curious.

Siri Shortcuts

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

We can’t help feeling that Apple’s Siri has been lagging behind the virtual assistant crowd. Both Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa are more capable, but Apple is trying to redress the balance with Siri Shortcuts in iOS 12. There are some important improvements here.

Siri will be more proactive now, learning your routine so it can, for example, warn you if you’re going to be late for a meeting and offer to send a text to the meeting organizer for you. It may also suggest you turn on Do Not Disturb when you go to a movie, call your Mom on her birthday, or offer to order your usual morning coffee.

More exciting than that is the ability to set up your own custom shortcuts via a dedicated Shortcuts app. You could have “Good morning” turn on your kitchen lights, fire up the coffee machine, and launch Apple Music. Alternatively, you might have “Home time” launch a podcast in the car, bring up navigation, and send a text to your partner to let them know you’re on the way.

There’s a lot of potential here to create really useful voice commands and we’re pleased to see more Siri integration with third-party apps. You’ll also be able to trigger these shortcuts from your Apple Watch or HomePod, not just your iPhone.

Screen Time

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

There’s a collective realization that as great as smartphones are we might be overdoing things with them. Too many people are glued to their phones for hours on end, allow alerts to wake them during the night, or answer the buzz in their pockets instead of the person standing in front of them. We agree that too much screen time is bad for kids; maybe it’s time we started questioning whether it’s good for adults.

Apple’s new Screen Time feature gives parents better tools to set limits on how much time kids spend on their iPhones or iPads. It also allows adults to see the cold hard facts about how many minutes they spend in each app every day. You may scoff at the idea that you have a problem, but seeing exactly how many hours you’re wasting on Facebook or Instagram may change your mind.

You can also use Screen Time to set limits, so you can get a warning if you exceed half an hour a day on Twitter. Alternatively, you can set Downtime by specifying specific hours when you’re trying not to use your phone. You can tap to get an extra 15 minutes or ignore these limits altogether when alerts pop up and you can specify which apps that are always allowed. It’s debatable how useful these alerts will be, but they’re a good way of making us more mindful of just how much time we’re spending on our iPhones.

Memoji

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

If you like Animoji, then Memoji is going to make you smile. You now have the option to create a customized Animoji that looks just like you. Unfortunately, you will need an iPhone X to take advantage of this because it requires the TrueDepth camera. It’s easy to set up a Memoji and you can use your custom avatar in FaceTime calls.

Apple has also added some new Animoji characters, including a ghost and a dinosaur, and the camera can now pick up on you sticking your tongue out and winking.

Performance improvements

Jessica Lee Star/Digital Trends

For anyone with an older iPhone, you may not be able to enjoy the new Memoji, but you will enjoy significant performance improvements. It’s a common concern that new versions of iOS can slow older iPhones down, but with iOS 12 the opposite is true.

Apple suggests things will generally be faster and more responsive, specifically stating that apps will launch up to 40 percent faster than before, swiping to the camera from the lock screen will be 70 percent faster, and the keyboard appears 50 percent faster and is more responsive. You can also expect smoother animations and the share sheet and app switching will be twice as fast as before.

These stats are based on testing with an iPhone 6 Plus, so your mileage may vary depending on your iPhone model.

Group FaceTime

Another exciting development for groups of iPhone-toting friends or families is the addition of group FaceTime calls. You can now have an audio or video call with up to 31 other people. Whoever is talking will take center stage, but you can also use Focus View to pick a person to focus on if you prefer. You can launch group FaceTime right from a group Messages conversation.

Group FaceTime calls feature all the same extra options for filters and effects and they’re encrypted just like one-to-one calls. They also work across iPhones, iPads, and can be answered on Apple Watches. This functionality is also coming to MacOS. It may be long overdue, but now that Apple is finally doing it, it seems to be doing it right.

There are lots of other new features in iOS 12 and some important fixes that we’ve been waiting for, so why not give it a try?

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Mac owners can now test MacOS Mojave with Apple’s new public beta

If you want to be among the first to experience the dark mode on MacOS, you can now download MacOS Mojave through Apple’s public beta campaign. Mojave was released earlier this week as part of a developer beta, but now you don’t have to be a developer to test Apple’s latest operating system. Apple will release MacOS Mojave this fall if you don’t want to be part of the beta campaign.

Announced earlier this month at Apple’s WWDC event, Mojave brings some notable new features to Apple’s desktop operating system that will help users stay productive and secure while working online. In addition to the new dark mode that will provide some relief to your eyes when working in darker environments, Apple announced that the Safari browser on MacOS Mojave will protect against digital fingerprinting to make it harder for websites to track and identify you when you’re browsing the web. Productivity highlights that Mojave brings include new tools that make it easier to capture, record, and edit screen captures and screen recordings, a revamped Mac App Store, Stacks, new Quick Look, new Finder, and ports of Stocks, News, Voice Memos, and Home apps from iOS.

While it may be tempting to experience some of these features today, casual computing users should be warned that this is still a beta. This means that you may experience some growing pains as you test the software and provide feedback to help Apple fine-tune Mojave ahead of its fall release. “Please note that since the public beta software has not yet been commercially released by Apple, it may contain errors or inaccuracies and may not function as well as commercially released software,” Apple cautioned.

Eligible Macs for the Mojave beta include the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air from mid-2012 or newer, the MacBook from early 2015 or newer, the Mac Mini and iMac from late 2012 or newer, the 2017 iMac Pro, or the Mac Pro. As with all beta releases, you may experience bugs, and maintaining backups of your file and data is always a good practice in case something goes wrong. If you’re willing to accept some of these risks, you can enroll your Mac through Apple’s Beta Software Program website.

In addition to MacOS Mojave, Apple will also release iOS 12 for iPhone and iPad this fall.

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Windows 10 Mail will let you handwrite your email with a stylus

Credit: The Verge

Microsoft will soon give new meaning to “writing” an email. While you can still type out your mail message in Windows 10’s Mail client, you’ll soon also be able to ink your message using a stylus if your device supports a pen. In addition to stylus support in the Mail client, you’ll also be able to jot down your upcoming calendar appointments in the Windows Calendar app, according to OnMSFT, making it feel more like a paper planner for journaling addicts.

The update is rolling out to Windows Insiders now, though not all users may get the update right away — I haven’t seen updates to the Mail or Calendar apps on my Surface Book that enable the inking capabilities. However, if you have the update, you’ll see a new draw tab on the top in the ribbon interface when composing a new email message. The Draw tab, shown on The Verge, includes options includes options to erase, change pen tips and ink colors, and highlight parts if you want to add additional annotations. “There are plenty of pen options and colors with this new feature, and it should ship in time for Microsoft’s next major Windows 10 update, currently code-named Redstone 5,” the publication reported.

In addition to new inking features inside Windows 10’s Mail and Calendar apps, Microsoft also introduced its SwiftKey keyboard integration as part of the latest Windows Insider Preview build. The keyboard allows users to trace letters to form words, rather than tapping on each individual key, to make it easier to type on glass. Additionally, the keyboard also comes with auto-correct and word prediction.

These changes come ahead of Microsoft’s rumored and highly anticipated new hardware launches, including a dual-screen computing device with the Andromeda code name that could debut this year as well as a lower cost Surface Tablet. Given that these devices come with a notepad or notebook form factor, broader availability of inking support in Windows 10 will help them feel more like their paper counterparts. Microsoft’s partners are also working on dual-screen devices. Dell is rumored to be working on its own version called Januss, and Lenovo and Asus are said to be working with Intel to bring this new form factor to the market.

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AOL’s instant messenger rises from the ashes, but your buddies didn’t survive

America Online’s instant messenger, AIM, now rises from the ashes as AIM Phoenix. It’s not an official service but is instead run by Wildman Productions, a non-profit organization comprised of “hobbyist programmers and other artists.” AIM Phoenix essentially uses discontinued software to send messages through a private server and doesn’t actually connect to America Online (aka AOL). 

AIM first started as an extension to America Online’s desktop software so that subscribers could talk to other members without loading the main bulky platform. But with the rise of ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger, America Online opened its chat client to everyone, not just subscribers. Eventually, most chat clients lost their appeal, including AIM, as web surfers flocked to social networks and evolving mobile devices. 

By March 2012, America Online injected advertisements into its AIM client and let go of the development staff. America Online kept the chat service active and provided technical support until it finally shut down AIM on December 15, 2017. AIM originally launched on Windows 95 as a stand-alone client in May 1997. 

Currently, Wildman Productions serves up 10 releases of AIM spanning version 1.0 to the “lite” version of AIM 5.9. If you go for the latter “lite” version, there are nine themes you can install ranging from Gray Moose to Incredibly Pink. Also provided is an AIM Tamer program that handles AIM clients when they hang the PC. Software for establishing your own AIM Phoenix server will eventually be provided as well.

Installing AIM is somewhat hilarious as it takes you back in time to when web surfers mostly relied on dial-up connections. For instance, the installer asks for you to choose your current connection: A modem or a permanent LAN connection. The installer even asks if you want to make Netscape.com your browser’s homepage. 

To get these clients to work, you may need to run AIM Tamer in the background first, as after installing and running AIM 5.9, it completely seized our test PC, preventing us from even shutting down the process in Task Manager. AIM Tamer provides a pop-up window stating “it makes AIM behave” and presents an escape button if AIM doesn’t play nice on your PC. 

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get version 5.1 or 5.9 to run on our test Windows 10 PC, but version 5.0 worked just fine. Once it loaded without problems, we created an account through the AIM Phoenix website and then clicked on the client’s “wrench” icon to access its settings. After that, we clicked on the “connection” button and changed the host address and port to redirect America Online’s client to Wildman Productions’ servers. 

Of course, your AIM contacts aren’t present, so you need to bait your friends and family into using this free-yet-outdated service. It’s a great trip down memory lane, but a lonely one if you’re the only soul you know riding the dusty AIM stallion. Still, AIM Phoenix could rise up from the ashes of its former self and become a great-yet-nostalgic instant messaging platform through word of mouth. 

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Best Heavy Duty Cases for Samsung Galaxy S8 in 2018

Protect your Galaxy S8 with a sturdy, rugged case, and have some peace of mind while you’re at it.

The Galaxy S8 is a slender, sweet piece of glass, and if you like to live the rough-and-tumble, it needs some rugged protection to keep up with you and make through the day in one piece. Check out these heavy duty cases and slap a little peace of mind on that piece of glass.

Consider these the… Guardians of your Galaxy.

• Supcase Unicorn Beetle Pro
• Zizo Static Series
• Caseology Legion
• Poetic Revolution
• Spigen Tough Armor
• UAG Feather-light Rugged
• OtterBox Defender
• Pelican Voyager
• Trianium Duranium

Supcase Unicorn Beetle Pro

The old standby of rugged cases, the Supcase Unicorn Beetle Pro (around $20) is the utmost in heavy-duty protection for your Galaxy S8. These three-piece cases feature a front cover, back cover, and a holster so that you don’t have to carry a heavier phone around in your pocket. With that in mind, the Unicorn Beetle Pro doesn’t add a ton of bulk to your phone, but there still is a difference. You want thin, go with a slim case.

The Unicorn Beetle Pro is made of tough polycarbonate plastic and provides extra protection in the corners — the kill shot for just about any phone in the event of a drop. You have your choice of black, blue (doesn’t match the S8 coral blue color), pink, and white.

See at Amazon

Zizo Static Series

Zizo’s cases are military drop tested, so they’re guaranteed to protect your phone from drops, according to military standards. The Static Series features a fold-out kickstand and two layers of protection: a hard polycarbonate shell with a silicone layer to disperse impact and cushion your phone. This is especially necessary in the corners, which are incredibly vulnerable in a drop situation.

On top of excellent protection, the Zizo Static Series also looks really cool. You have your choice of seven color combinations, which feature a black layer and then a vibrantly colored layer. If you’re looking for heavy-duty protection for your Galaxy S8, along with a flash of style and a convenient kickstand, then check these out. Especially since they’re only about $11.

See at Amazon

Caseology Legion

I love Caseology cases. They always fit well and they’re fantastically protective. I use a Wavelength, and I had my phone knocked out of my hand onto a gym floor. After cleaning up my drawers, I picked up my phone and it was fine. That was a slimmer case, too. Check out the rugged Legion series. It features a layer of flexible a shock-absorbing TPU with an outer layer of polycarbonate. You’re protected from hard bumps and scratches, as well as shocks and drops.

All the buttons are covered, but the coverings provide great tactile feedback, and your ports are completely accessible. You have your choice of black or orchid gray, which is meant to match the S8 color, though we haven’t seen this one in person to verify that.

You can grab one from Amazon for around $15.

See at Amazon

Poetic Revolution

The Poetic Revolution is a two-piece case that you slip your Galaxy S8 into, and then you snap on the front. Most Poetic cases have a screen protector, but this one doesn’t because of the Galaxy S8’s curved screen. That being said, the raised bezel around the front protects your screen when you lay it face-down, and the raised cutout around the camera protects the lens.

The inside of the Revolution is made of flexible TPU, which is designed to disperse impact and protect your S8 from scratches. The outside of the back is a layer of polycarbonate, which takes the brunt of any bump or drop. The outer edges of this case are textured to give it a great in-hand feel that isn’t slippery, so you can hold onto your phone. You have your choice of black, a very vibrant blue, and pink.

Check it out for $10.

See at Amazon

Spigen Tough Armor

Spigen makes a phone case for every occasion and its Tough Armor series is perfect for heavy-duty protection. It has an inner layer of TPU for shock absorption and to protect against scratches, as well an outer shell made from durable polycarbonate. There’s also a handy kickstand on the back, so you can watch videos hands-free.

This may look a bit like Caseology’s Legion, but the button layout is a bit different, with a space between volume up and volume down, so you can control your music on the go without having to pull your phone out of your pocket. The Tough Armor series comes in gunmetal, black, coral blue (which looks like it matches the coral blue S8, but we can’t say for sure yet), and maple gold.

Pricing starts around $17.

See at Amazon

UAG Feather-light Rugged

Urban Armor Gear’s Feather-light Rugged cases are a staple of the heavy duty case market. These composite cases are made from hard plastic (outer shell) and a flexible and durable TPU rubber (inner shell), which come together to protect against drops, as well as a good deal of shock absorption.

The main nicety of the UAG case is its oversize cutouts for the headphone jack and USB-C port. You shouldn’t have to take the case off to listen to tunes or charge up your Galaxy S8, no matter the size of the cable.

There are 10 color options to choose from and pricing starts at $17.

See at Amazon

OtterBox Defender

I left this one off the list, much to the dismay of many a commenter, so here it is in all its glory: the OtterBox Defender. The old standby of rugged cases, OtterBox started it all with cases you could allegedly drive over and your phone would still be intact. I’ve never known anyone who’s tried it, but having had OtterBox cases in the past, it seems plausible.

The Galaxy S8 version is just as great as you’ve always known, with precise cutouts, a substantial in-hand feel, and a convenient hip holster for you and all your cool friends.

Pricing starts around $20 for black, and you have four other colors to choose from.

See at Amazon

Pelican Voyager

Another comments section special, the Pelican Voyager really shouldn’t have been left off this list. I’ve known an had friends who’ve used Pelican products for years, from cases to suitcase, and between the warranty, price, and truly rugged protection, this is definitely one of the top three cases in this roundup.

Tested to military specifications, this case has four layers of shock-absorbing protection, with two types of rubber inside a hard polycarbonate plastic shell, adding a bit of bulk, but the ultimate in protection. And the polycarbonate shell has a texturized rubber coating so that it’s not slippery. There’s also a rad holster that swivels, which you’ll probably need, since this will be substantial pocket carry. For roughly $20, you really can’t go wrong.

See at Amazon

Trianium Duranium

Anything that rhymes like the title of a Red Hot Chili Peppers album has to be good, right? Trianium’s Duranium case is a rugged mix of hard polycarbonate and flexible, shock-absorbing TPU rubber, and at $12, it’s a steal of a deal. Plus, if you want to be extra fashionable, it comes with a belt clip. So slap on those cargo shorts, get some socks on under those sandals for goodness’ sake, and grab this case.

See at Amazon

Looking for something a little slimmer or a bit different?

Best Cases for Galaxy S8

Got one yet?

Have you already picked up a case in anticipation for your Galaxy S8 pre-order? Let us know in the comments below!

Updated June 2018: Removed the Mascheri Prism, since it’s no long available. Added the Trianium Duranium to the list.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

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Pressure washers, Instant Pots, microSD cards, and more are all discounted today

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

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on the 6-quart Instant Pot DUO Plus, Sun Joe’s electric pressure washer, super-fast microSD cards and more!Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

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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!

The bezel-less OPPO Find X isn’t coming to the United States

OPPO’s not ready to tackle the U.S. market quite yet.

The OPPO Find X garnered a lot of attention when it was announced earlier this month, and for good reason. The phone has an absolutely striking design with a nearly bezel-less screen and slide-up camera system, but it also peaked our interest for being the first OPPO phone that’ll be officially sold in North America.

Image credit: The Verge

That opened the possibility of OPPO bringing the Find X to the United States, but unfortunately, it looks like that won’t be the case after all.

During the evening of June 25, PCMag’s Lead Analyst shared the following on Twitter:

Hate the break it to you folks but @OPPO tells me the Find X is NOT coming to the US. It’s a super-cool, innovative product, but they aren’t ready to deal with our market yet. Yes on Europe though.

— saschasegan (@saschasegan) June 26, 2018

Although the U.S. is out of the question, the fact that the phone’s launching in North America means that it could still appear in the likes of Canada and Mexico. It certainly would have been exciting to get the Find X in the States, but it’s really not all that surprising OPPO’s going this route.

Whether or not the Find X is coming to your country, do you have any interest in buying it?

OPPO Find X is here with a pop-up slider for all three cameras

The best smart TV is a dumb display and a streaming stick

Smart TVs are wonderful for the first year or so of ownership. But support needs to last much longer given how expensive TVs are.

The greatest trend of technology over the last 10, 20, even 50 years is consolidation: the smartphone combines an MP3 player, a digital camera, the cell phone, GPS navigator, and more. We’ve seen this consolidation happen in other parts of the consumer electronics world as well: TV’s that add smart functionality so consumers don’t need a separate streaming stick.

But while this is great when you first buy a TV — there’s nothing separate to plug in or route cables to — the experience can worsen over time.

Here are the upsides and downsides of smart TVs!

• The good parts
• The bad parts
• So what’s the answer?

The good parts

Less stuff

I believe that fewer gadgets are better. Having one less gadget on my network is good from a security perspective. Fewer gadgets mean I use less electricity, and less clutter is better for my mind. Any of these are good reasons on their own but put together, and combined they’re a compelling reason to use the smart functionality on your TV.

It’s darn near impossible to find a “dumb” TV

Unless you want to get a projector (cough) or just use a monitor, your options are limited — especially for 4K TVs. When a manufacturer spreads the cost of an operating system over millions of TVs — or gets Google or Roku to build that operating system — adding smart features doesn’t really cost anything, and makes it a more valuable purchase for most consumers. The market of people that just want a dumb display is niche, and niche markets don’t get served. If you have to buy a product with smart features, you may as well use them.

The bad parts

Overall longevity

This is the big one, and it’s something I’ve been burned by. It sucks when your $200 phone stops getting updates, especially if the one update it did get introduced annoying bugs. It sucks 15 times worse when the same thing happens to your $3,000 TV. I had one of Sharp’s earliest Android TVs, and it was awesome for the first few months. I could launch Netflix, Hulu or other services right from the home screen, or Cast something from my phone’s screen.

Then an update broke my volume. Every few times I would turn the TV on, there would be no sound and the only solution would be to unplug the TV and plug it back in. Long story short, it didn’t get better, and I had to get the TV exchanged. Things get dramatically worse when the company who built your TV goes out of business.

In the long run, the operating system on your TV probably won’t get updates. This means the applications on the TV will likely stop working as the streaming service ends support for older operating systems. Which leads us to…

You’ll probably need another streaming device anyway

In a perfect world, all software services would be on all hardware platforms. In reality, companies can and do choose where they release their content, and all it does is making things worse for the consumer. If you can’t watch the shows you want to on your TVs operating system, you’ll need another streaming box to fill the gap. You may also have a console to play games anyway, so the smart functionality is redundant.

So what’s the answer?

Like I said above, it’s hard to find an actual TV that doesn’t have an operating system, but that’s not the end of the story. You can get a projector or a monitor, but it’s easier and cheaper to just get a smart TV, never connect it to the Internet, and use the other gadgets you want through the HDMI inputs. This lets you find the TV that’s right for you, but doesn’t force you into a gadget maker’s ecosystem.

On the streaming stick side, the best answer for most of you will be a Chromecast: it’s inexpensive, works with every streaming service except for Amazon Video, and it’s dead simple to use. It’s even better if you have a Google Home, since you’ll be able to use your voice to control video playback on the Chromecast.

See at Best Buy

What say you?

How often do you actually use the smart features on your TV? Let us know down below!

Google Hardware

• Google Wifi review
• Google Home review
• Chromecast Ultra: all you need to know
• Which Chromecast should you buy?

Google Wifi: Google
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Google Home: Google
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Chromecast Ultra: Google
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