The Very Real reason LG built Google the sharpest OLED display ever

Everything bad about current generation VR is about to disappear under a flood of pixels.

In late May, LG and Google showed off a tiny piece of glass that’s going to change VR and AR forever. It was a 4.3-inch 3840 x 4800 (18-megapixel) OLED display with a 120 x 96 field of view. A quick check of the math says that means it has 1,443 pixels-per-inch, which makes it the highest resolution display ever. Oh — it also has a 120Hz refresh rate.

If you have an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive you might understand why this is amazing. If you don’t, you need to understand that VR headsets work by projecting images on two small displays positioned very close to your eyeballs. That gives a sense of immersion, which is kind of important if you want to make virtual reality feel like real reality. It also means that everything can look like a screen door because the pixels are so close to your eyes, you can feel claustrophobic because the field of view is too narrow. Even a 60 or 90Hz refresh rate can leave you feeling a bit seasick under the right (or wrong) conditions.

VR needs a very good and very stable display. More is better here.

You also need to know that Google Daydream and Samsung’s Gear VR are very cool but smartphone-powered VR isn’t nearly as “powerful” as a headset that uses a PC engine and GPU, and can amplify every one of these problems. VR is new technology, and the issues that surround every new tech are there to be solved. One way to work them out is with a kicking display in front of your eyes that aims to reach the limits of human vision.

Some things look better behind the screen door.

We’re told by some very smart science people that the bounds of human vision is 9,600 x 9,000 pixels at 2,180 ppi, with a 160 x 150 field of view. That means this display is closer than ever to showing everything our eyes are mechanically capable of seeing. Compare this to something like the HTC Vive Pro and its 1440 x 1600 (625 ppi) display at 90Hz. The Vive Pro is a great VR headset and using it can feel immersive with the right content — it really can be Virtual Reality. This panel from LG is far better.

So this new screen is built for VR and will be a conduit to improve the tech. That’s expected as smart people work on those problems. But I don’t think anyone expected Google to be the company who wanted it built. Google can do VR pretty well, both in the smaller affordable space with Daydream and with stand-alone VR Headsets like the one we’ve already seen from Lenovo. But I don’t think this display was designed for any product Google currently “makes”.

This is how VR will sell — no wires, no backpacks. Google just has to make it amazing.

This new display has to go inside a standalone unit that doesn’t make you look like a Ghostbuster when you wear it or nobody will buy it.

You need plenty of oomph to push these many pixels at 120Hz, and a small self-enclosed headset with a mobile chip isn’t going to be able to do it. There is no way around that simple fact, and we already know that the panel can’t run past 90Hz on any existing mobile chipset. It’s not a matter of raw horsepower; small mobile chips are heat constrained. They can run fast and hard, but then get hot and need to take a rest. This panel isn’t going in something like the Lenovo Mirage Solo because it needs a CPU and GPU running fast enough to drive it without hitting that thermal wall.

I think Google is going to try and reinvent stand-alone VR again. Google loves to tinker with existing products and Daydream Standalone is a shiny new platform that hasn’t been sullied by dirty hands yet — it has to be tempting to try “stuff”. If there is a way to match portability with GPU rendering power, they will find it.

Whether we buy it or not is the real question.

Amazon’s one-day PNY sale features discounted storage, SSDs, graphics cards, and more

This limited time sale is one you don’t want to miss out on.

Amazon’s offering a variety of PNY products at up to 25% off today only, from micro SD cards and graphics cards to flash drives and SSDs. This sale is part of Amazon’s Gold Box deals of the day and brings many of these items down to their lowest prices ever.

If you’re on the hunt for a micro SD card, you could grab an Elite-X 128GB version for $40.49 or the Elite-X 256GB version for $79.99. They’re ideal for recording and storing 4K footage.

There are also USB flash drives from $11, and Lightning + USB flash drives from $38 which can plug directly into your iPhone or iPad.

Some of the other options on sale today include:

• Attache USB 2.0 Flash Drive, 32GB (3-pack) for $17.99 (was $30)
• Elite Performance 128GB High Speed SDXC Card for $35.99 (was $46)
• 240GB 2.5″ SATA III Internal Solid State Drive for $55.99 (was $70)
• 128GB Duo Link Lightning + USB 3.0 Flash Drive for $59.99 (was $98)
• Elite Performance 512GB High Speed SDXC Card for $149.99 (was $212)
• GeForce GTX 1060 3GB Graphics Card for $229.99 (was $280)

See at Amazon

5 reasons I still hate voice assistants, even as the world goes nuts for them

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

I have multiple devices that I can talk to, and outside of telling Siri to turn off the lights when I go to bed (because I’m a lazy, terribly person), I don’t talk to a single one of them. In fact, I’ve disabled the voice-activation function of all the ones that I can. I don’t like talking to my devices. I find it silly, and I don’t find it makes my life any easier.

But the numbers show that I’m virtually alone in my disdain for voice-activated electronics. The Alexa-enabled Fire Stick is Amazon’s best-selling device, along with the Echo Dot, FireTV 4K, and Echo Spot — all devices that want you to tell them what to do.

And people are using the devices like crazy. Alexa Skills are multiplying daily, and people are using their Echoes to order dog food and coffee instead of firing up an app or a web browser. Meanwhile, Apple is dead-set on making voice a premiere way to interact with its products, hiring hundreds of engineers and designers to make Siri smarter.

Let me back up a bit. I was an early adopter when it came to voice activation. In 2006, I adopted a Nabaztag voice-activated robotic rabbit. I loved her. I’d ask her for the news headlines, she’d read me my emails, and I’d pay attention to her telltale ears when the weather was bad.

And then Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, PlayStation Eye, Kinect, and others came along. They all wanted me to talk to them. To tell them what to do. I learned the voice commands like a good nerd and, once I had my home dialed in to the extent that I could change the thermostat temperature, turn on the TV and even choose a channel, and dim the lights with my voice, I quit.

I quit it all.

I realized I just don’t like talking to my devices, and I don’t find that doing so is any better than using an app or website to do what I need to do.

Once I had my home dialed in to the extent that I could change the thermostat temperature, I quit.

Before I go any further, I’d like to make a couple things clear. First and foremost, I love new technology. My entire home is smart, from the thermostats, to the lights, to the TV, to the smoke detectors, to the security systems. I like connected devices. Second, I think voice commands have a time and a place, namely in cars to reduce distraction and in cases where disabilities or other impairments make it a viable way to interact with your tech.

I also believe that at some point in the future — probably sooner than later — when Siri and Alexa can parse more than simple commands, I’ll be on board. This isn’t the rant of a luddite who just doesn’t get it. This is the rant of a nerd who doesn’t need it.

With that aside, let’s dig in to why I don’t like to talk to my devices.

It’s goofy

I have a friend who loves talking to his devices. I get it — he’s as much of a nerd as I am, and telling your device to remind you to pick up some milk before heading home is a convenience that’s hard to replicate. But every time he does it, he gives me an apologetic look as if to say, “Yeah, I know what I’m doing is goofy, but I’m doing it anyway.” I can respect that. But it’s still goofy.

It’s slow

In many cases, telling your device to do something – from the moment you realize you want to change the temperature to the moment the temperature changes, for instance – is rarely faster than picking up your device to get it done. Sure, your smartphone might be across the room and you just want to set the thermostat to 72 degrees, but when was the last time your smartphone wasn’t within reach?

It’s frustrating

Let’s assume I’m wrong about the slowness thing (I’m not). Even if it is faster, at least at first, to use your voice to change the temperature or to order a product, it’s often incorrect. This undermines the convenience and speed of talking to your devices.

Philips

“Alexa, set temperature to 72 degrees.”

“Okay, I ordered ten packets of Cold Eeze. They will be delivered by UPS on Saturday.”

The old-school alternative — changing the temperature (or ordering Cold Eeze for that matter) — is seeing your choice and an exact, visual confirmation before following through with what you actually want. No muss, no fuss. It just works.

It’s incomplete

Ever notice how excited people get when Alexa or Google Assistant can do something new, like parents seeing their toddler say a real word for the first time? “Alexa can now set your DVR to record The Daily Show!”

You could do that for years just using your DVR or a remote app like Harmony. And it just works.

It’s a gimmick – a party trick.

The fact that we get excited when our digital assistant learn new tricks is evidence that they’re incomplete infants. We get so excited that they can do something as simple as take a note or recite an email that we forget how useless they really are in the big picture, and how often we’re going back to the “old” way of getting things done anyway. In other words, it’s a gimmick – a party trick. Perhaps in the future when they’re smarter we’ll find real use for them, but let’s be real: They don’t do anything we couldn’t do last year with our fingers.

It’s creepy

I spend enough of my life online to know that the concept of privacy is a moving target. All of my devices track what I do, mostly to make my experience with them more tailored to my habits, but also to make other people more money. I’ve accepted that, just as I have accepted advertising, marketing, and being a contributing part of society.

With that said, I still find the idea that devices are always waiting for me to say, “Alexa!” or “Okay Google” a bit, well, creepy. It’s likely I’ll get over it, but I’m not quite there yet. Reports of Alexa randomly sending recordings of private conversations to friends is not helping the situation.

Don’t get me wrong

Eight years ago, beloved animator and director Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke) infamously dismissed capacitive gesture interfaces as obscene, saying, “For me, there is no feeling of admiration or no excitement whatsoever. It’s disgusting. On trains, the number of those people doing that strange masturbation-like gesture is multiplying.”

Miyazaki was last seen attempting to learn to use gesture and touch interfaces as he struggles to get his next upcoming film ready for the world. In short, he was wrong, and he admits it.

Voice commands are clearly part of our future. This is not me saying that voice commands — or those who embrace them — are pointless or even obscene. I just don’t think they’re ready yet. But, hey: Thanks for beta testing them and teaching them some new tricks while the rest of us wait for prime time.

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How broke college grads made animation software used in Jurassic Park and Iron Man

Adobe

In an unheated, defunct imperial knife factory in Providence, Rhode Island, a small team of young Brown and Rhode Island School of Design grads used task lamps to keep their fingers warm as they typed. The exposed beams and sandblasted brick made for a nice visual atmosphere, but turning on the furnace would cost far too much to keep the old building warm.

The year was 1992, before the world wide web was, well, wide, and the group of ten or so team members making up the Company of Science and Art (COSA) had already failed at one project: Selling digital magazines on CD-ROMs via snail mail. Now, another project was in jeopardy. Apple had just launched QuickTime, a serious competitor to the small company’s own video playback app, PACo Producer.

With maybe six months of cash left to burn, the team grasped for one last possible lifeline in an attempt to pivot and re-invent themselves. And what they created was nothing short of a revolutionary piece of software that went on to power the special effects in a wide range of blockbusters; a program we know today as Adobe After Effects. After launching out of beta in 1993, After Effects is now celebrating its 25th anniversary.

An idea born of desperation

After Effects did to animation and motion graphics what Photoshop did for photography and graphic arts by providing a layer-based system for animation design. Creating digital animations before After Effects was possible, but other programs limited the number of layers to just two or three. After Effects had no such limit, giving creators far more flexibility. 

“We were just trying to keep the company alive — we were just trying to survive.”

The layer-based essence of After Effects, where every layer can be a video, was there from the very first version, but other trademarks of the software, including the timeline that allows you to navigate to different frames, was missing. Instead, the animators navigated using pause, play, fast forward, and rewind controls. Rendering the animation on that very first version took long enough that the task was often left to run overnight.

Dave Simons, one of the original creators at COSA who now works with Adobe’s young Character Animator program, said that the team knew their little operation wouldn’t be able to compete with Apple’s QuickTime. When they brainstormed ideas, they tossed out everything from a mosquito spray to what became After Effects. Animation software was more in line with their earlier work and something they wished they had at hand when creating digital magazines on CD-ROMs, so going that direction made perfect sense.

“We were just trying to keep the company alive — we were just trying to survive,” Simons said. “I consider myself very lucky that we were at the right time and right place. We had great people working on it, but a lot of things had to come together for it to become the success that it is. It’s still shocking to me, and it’s still growing. More and more people use it.” Simons still works with some of the original After Effects team from COSA at Adobe, including interface “surgeon” David Cotter and Paul Usatello.

The concept for the software was partially inspired from the tedious process of creating keyframe animations using Photoshop to design each frame individually. The group also found inspiration watching music videos on a stack of seven second-hand TVs all tuned to MTV — back when MTV actually showed music videos.

Adobe initially turned it down

The team spent nine months creating After Effects, running on a bare minimum budget (hence, the unheated building). They approached several large companies for funding, including Adobe, but found no takers. Thankfully, QuickTime actually helped create a higher demand for PACo Producer, giving the struggling company a few more months than they expected and keeping them afloat until the release of After Effects in January 1993.

After Effects has kept the original essence while vastly expanding the tools for creating animations and composites.

The software was not only enough to save the company, it also attracted large buyers. COSA was acquired by Aldus, which was in turn bought by Adobe in 1994, where After Effects found its forever home. That new ownership also meant the program could grow far beyond its original scope, integrating with Photoshop and eventually becoming part of today’s Creative Cloud suite of applications.

Since then, Adobe After Effects has kept the original essence while vastly expanding the available tools for creating animations and composites. A timeline was added in the second version while support for three-dimensional animations came in version 5. More recently, Adobe expanded the collaborative capabilities of After Effects, enabling distributed teams to work on the same project in near real time.

After Effect’s first major Hollywood use was to create an on-screen animation in Jurassic Park, when an animated Dennis Nedry pops up on a computer and says, “Ah ah ah, you didn’t say the magic word!” Since then, the program has become a common tool in the industry. The software is often used, like in that original on-screen animation, to create fake user interfaces on futuristic computers, including the flashy heads-up display graphics in Iron Man 3, but its capabilities have branched out into many other areas of special effects. The program is also commonly used for creating credits, and is part of Pixar’s toolkit for making its stylish animated credit sequences.

“I’m not an artist, but I love creating tools that let artists be more efficient and expressive, to give them the tools to express,” Simons said. “To be able to aid in the creation of that kind of art, and moving images of all types, is still very satisfying to me and what drives me.”

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Google just removed the ‘Tablets’ section from the official Android site

In case you didn’t already know that Android tablets were dead.

Android tablets have always been interesting beasts. Companies like Motorola and Samsung tried making them popular with the Xoom and Galaxy Tabs early on, and Google soon swooped in with home runs such as the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. However, due to lacking developer support and no proper optimizations for the OS on the big screen, Android tablets never caught on the way the iPad did.

It’s been apparent for some time that Google’s all but given up on Android tablets, but now the final nail in the coffin has been set with Google quietly removing the “Tablets” section from the official Android website.

If you visit android.com, you’ll see the navigation bar pictured above. There are links to Phones, Wear, TV, Auto, and Enterprise. A Tablets button was there prior to today, but now it’s nowhere to be seen.

This isn’t surprising in the slightest considering that Google’s last tablet was the overpriced Pixel C from 2015, and the quiet removal from the Android site without any big announcement goes to show that Google knows no one really cares about Android tablets and haven’t for some time.

So long and farewell, Android tabs. You were never really amazing, but we’ll still miss you (kind of, but not really).

Here’s to Chrome OS tabs 🍻

I, for one, am totally OK with Chromebooks replacing Android tablets

Here are five new features we want to see in Apple’s iOS 12

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

As a software-focused event, a large portion of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference is dedicated to unveiling the latest operating system for the iPhone. Last year’s iOS 11 set out to allow for more customization and accessibility options. On Monday, June 4, we’ll see what Apple has up its sleeve for iOS 12 when it presents the new operating system at WWDC 2018 in San Jose, California.

Ahead of its debut, rumors have surfaced about what could be included in iOS 12 — software to combat iPhone addiction, HomeKit improvements, and more. But while there are plenty of features that we could possibly see in the new OS, there are also ones we’re hoping will actually make the cut. Here are a few of the new features we want to see in iOS 12.

More customizability in the control center

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

One of the most notable changes in iOS 11 was the control center. Past versions of iOS only allowed you to access the basics in the control center — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, toggles for the flashlight, camera, calculator, and brightness adjustments. But in iOS 11, you’re able to add quick access toggles for Notes, Stopwatch, Text Size, and Wallet, among others. We were particularly in favor of the ability to add Lower Power Mode — which used to require multiple steps to simply toggle on. With the last OS, we are able to simply swipe up on the control center and tap the low battery icon instead.

In our iOS 11 review, we hoped future updates would be less restrictive regarding what you can add — but that has yet to happen. That’s why we’re hoping to see additional options in iOS 12. It would be nice to be able to have other useful apps available to you in the same motion that we do with the camera or calculator. This could include social media or productivity apps you use often. We’d also like to have the ability to choose between different Wi-Fi networks through the control center, rather than only be able to toggle Wi-Fi on and off.

We’d like to be able to customize the control center when it comes to more than icons as well. Even though you can control the order of the controls that you add, there’s no way to customize the entire menu. Similar to the way you rearrange your app icons, it’d be nice to be able to drag and drop each module in the control center freely.

More Siri capabilities

While Siri didn’t receive a ton of updates in iOS 11, it did give users the ability to type out questions and commands instead of saying them out loud. But with iOS 12, we want to see an upgrade to the voice assistant — with more functionality. Especially in a world of Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, it seems Siri only sticks to the basics.

For starters, Siri isn’t reliable enough to handle too many commands at once. We’d like to see a feature similar to Google’s Multiple Actions — where you’re able to make different requests at once. Another feature we want in iOS 12 is for Siri to be able to launch specific things within third-party apps with a voice command. For example, if we want to play a specific song in Spotify, we’d be able to let Siri know by stating the command, which would prompt our iPhone to automatically launch the song. As of now, we’re only able to launch the app itself but it doesn’t allow us to go into specifics.

There are rumors that Siri is supposed to be getting smarter, with information being unveiled at WWDC. We do hope that at the very least, the company has spent the last year working to improve the voice assistant’s ability to understand its users. Even though Siri has a variety of language support, users still find that it often misunderstands exactly what someone is saying or asking it. Even if more of the complex features aren’t added in, it’d be nice for Apple to improve Siri’s transcription capabilities at the very least.

Group FaceTime

It’s rumored that iOS 12 will allow users to FaceTime in groups — which is a feature we would definitely like to see. More often than not, friends and family are always communicating via group chats on iMessage, so it only makes sense to have the same capability via FaceTime. Rather than having to install third-party apps, it’d be extremely convenient to have the option built right into the operating system instead. It was also rumored to be included in iOS 11 last year, and we hope the new feature makes the cut this time around.

More Animoji options

Jeremy Kaplan/Digital Trends

This update is for iPhone X owners specifically, seeing as how the device includes Apple’s Face ID — the company’s facial-recognition system. Even though Animoji was debuted less than a year ago, we’re still hoping to see additional Emoji options at WWDC. Currently, there are about 12 different animals for you to choose from but there are far more Emojis Apple could add to make the feature more fun.

While Samsung’s AR Emoji — which launched a few months back — didn’t receive the best response in terms of accuracy, it definitely set a precedent for all the possibilities when it comes to digital cartoon avatars. With AR Emoji, you’re not only able to mirror a character or animal but you’re also able to create one of yourself — allowing you to choose a skin tone, outfit, hairstyle, hair color, and glasses. We would definitely like to see the same wide range of customizability with Apple’s Animojis in iOS 12.

Fewer bugs

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

There’s an exhaustive list of different bugs found in iOS 11, ranging from microphone problems to notifications disappearing and even Touch ID not working. Perhaps one of the strangest glitches was when the letter “A” and a symbol appeared if some users typed the letter ‘i.’ Even though Apple released updates for mostly all of them, it’s inconvenient to constantly run into issues on an operating system that’s supposed to improve the user experience with new features and capabilities.

With iOS 12, we hope to see Apple’s new OS run far more smoothly this time around. There have been reports that suggest the company is already focusing on this — rather than making it feature-heavy, iOS 12 will focus on ironing out bugs from its software. Let’s hope this is the operating system that finally breaks the cycle of iPhones crashing and problems piling up.

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Watch 958 drones create a 400-foot tall Time cover in lights instead of pixels

The iconic red border and masthead on Time magazine for the issue now nestled on newsstands wasn’t created by graphic design software. The Time cover for the June 11 issue was instead created by 958 flying drones — and shot by another drone. For the Time special-edition Drone Report, the magazine created the cover in the sky using Intel’s Shooting Star, a fleet of drones and software used to create UAV light shows. The in-flight cover was shot in Folsom, California, on May 3, with the special edition issue available beginning today, June 1.

Time’s cover is the first that was shot on a drone.  The Shooting Star drones can fly up to 400 feet, but even at that height, the drones had to fly closer together than the drone light show coordinators typically fly. Rather than the 10-foot radius the drones typically keep to avoid gusts of wind creating an in-air collision, the drones flew with fewer than five feet between them.

Using Intel’s program to choreograph light shows, the drones created the border of the magazine that’s usually simply drawn onto a photograph with graphics software. The entire “cover” in the air, with all the drones in place, was about 328 feet tall, a buzzing collection of lights in the sky at dusk.

With 958 drones, the cover choreography was one of the largest drone shows in the U.S. The largest so far, to our knowledge, was in China with 1,374 drones, but Intel Shooting Stars broke a record for indoor shows with 100 and also created a 1,200 drone show for the Olympics this year.

Astraeus Aerial Cinema Systems used an airborne drone to capture the image, with LA Drones also working on the project.  The cover was shot at sunset to create a gradient in the sky behind the drones, a time frame that also presented challenges with additional wind and the low light capture.

“I’ve always been amazed at how different an image looks when you put it inside the red border of Time,” D.W. Pine, the creative director at Time, said in a statement. “What’s interesting about this is that the image is actually the border of Time. I’ve looked at that border and logo every single day on a flatscreen monitor, and to see it up in the sky, at 400 feet in the air, it was very moving for me.”

The cover houses the magazine’s special edition on drone technology, which explores the explosion in UAV technology. The report looks at drone technology from several different angles, including safety and government moderation and drone use in Hollywood.

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This wireless controller lets you get your ‘Fortnite’ fix anytime, anywhere

If you haven’t joined the millions of gamers who are enjoying the free-to-play Fortnite: Battle Royale right now, you’re missing out. This multiplayer title from Epic Games features a combination of third-person shooter and fort-building gameplay and has taken the world by storm. With a legion of players joining in worldwide and streamers like Ninja – as well as some celebrities like Drake – breaking Twitch records, it’s kind of a big deal.

You don’t even need a PC or console to enjoy Fortnite, as the game has been in such high demand that developer Epic Games recently ported it to iOS, with an Android version coming later this summer. One notable feature of Fortnite is that it allows for cross-platform play, meaning that PC, console, and mobile players can all duke it out together no matter what system they’re playing on. (Other game devs, take note.)

As you might imagine, trying to play a fast-paced action game like Fortnite (or similar titles such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) on a phone or tablet touchscreen puts you at a disadvantage when you’re up against an enemy who is using a controller or a mouse and keyboard. Thankfully, wireless controllers like this one from Ipega can take full advantage of Bluetooth connectivity to solve this little problem, leveling the playing field when you’re getting your Fortnite fix on the go.

The Ipega Bluetooth gamepad looks and feels like a modern console controller, with four action buttons, four shoulder buttons, two analog sticks, and a D-pad. What makes it perfect for mobile gaming, however, is the flip-up phone cradle that holds your iOS or Android smartphone tightly in place while you play, effectively turning your phone into a mobile gaming setup.

Although the gamepad is perfect for mobile titles like Fortnite and PUBG — games that you really don’t want to play without a controller — its Bluetooth connectivity means you can also use it with your PC. Simply pop the included USB receiver (which tucks neatly inside the controller when not in use) into your computer and jump right into your Steam library. It’s perfect for tablet gaming, too.

The Ipega Bluetooth controller is a hot item right now, and if you don’t want to order one from China and have to wait weeks for it to ship and make it through customs, then you can grab it from a U.S.-based seller on Ebay right now for just $42 while stock lasts.

See it

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ARM aims to match laptop performance with new Cortex-A76 CPU

ARM is gearing up to give Intel a run for its money in the laptop space.

ARM has unveiled its next-generation CPU design, and it’s setting its sights firmly on Intel’s laptop throne.

ARM is billing its new Cortex-A76 CPU as a laptop workhorse, citing a 35-percent performance improvement over its last-generation design. That’s backed up by a 40 percent uptick in power efficiency and a fourfold increase in performance for AI and machine learning tasks.

“The new Cortex-A76 also delivers 4x compute performance improvements for AI/ML at the edge, enabling responsive, secure experiences on PCs and smartphones. This level of performance, power efficiency, and flexibility changes how consumers engage with their new PCs,” ARM says.

With the Always-Connected PC effort from Microsoft and its partners now in full swing with Windows 10 on ARM, it’s no wonder ARM is going all in on pitching its next chip design as a contender for laptops. One of the main selling points is battery life, which can exceed 20 hours with current ARM-based Windows 10 devices. And while a persistent LTE connection and instant-on capabilities are nice, battery life gains are what could ultimately threaten Intel’s stranglehold on the market if Windows 10 on ARM is a success.

Still, there’s a long way to go. Currently, very few Windows 10 on ARM devices have been announced, leaving the market mostly to single offerings from HP and ASUS. However, as the year wears on, there’s plenty of potential for the market to expand, especially if ARM’s claims hold up.

The next step is up to partners like Qualcomm to release chips based on ARM’s Cortex-A76 design. Microsoft is working closely with Qualcomm with its Windows 10 on ARM efforts; the current generation of devices, for example, is based on the Snapdragon 835 platform. A Qualcomm chip based on the Cortex-A76 could prove to be a valuable boost to future laptops and tablets.

What to Expect at WWDC 2018: iOS 12, macOS 10.14, tvOS 12 and watchOS 5 But No Hardware

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference starts off on Monday morning with a keynote event that’s set to take place at 10:00 a.m. This year’s event will be something of a surprise, because we haven’t heard many details on what’s coming.

Apple uses WWDC to preview new versions of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, and this year will be no exception. Oftentimes, new hardware, such as refreshed Macs, debuts at the event, but this year, rumors suggest we’re only going to be seeing software from Apple.

In the post and video below, we’ve outlined everything that we expect Apple to introduce at WWDC based on the rumors that have circulated in the months leading up to the event.

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iOS 12

With iOS 12, Apple is going to focus on introducing bug fixes and improvements to existing features in an attempt to avoid some of the issues that popped up with iOS 11 over the course of the year.

Apple was initially planning to introduce a range of new features that included a refresh of the Home screen with a redesigned app grid, a revamped CarPlay interface, improvements to core apps like Mail, and new features for the Camera and Photos apps, but these features have been delayed until 2019, according to Bloomberg, to focus on under-the-hood improvements.

That doesn’t mean there will be no new features in iOS 12, though, and we are expecting to see some significant additions to the iOS operating system.

Bloomberg has said Apple plans to introduce some kind of cross-platform functionality with macOS that’s designed to allow developers to create a single app that will work on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, which would successfully boost the number of Mac apps available for download. Right now, Apple uses entirely separate stores for Mac and iOS apps.

There is some question about this feature, however, as Daring Fireball’s John Gruber says it’s planned for 2019, not 2018.

Apple is planning to add new Animoji on the iPhone X, and landscape support for Face ID may be coming as a feature that’s designed for the upcoming iPad Pro models that are expected to adopt Face ID. Landscape support will also presumably be available for the iPhone X.

In addition to new Animoji, we may see Animoji integration into FaceTime, allowing people to use the animated emoji characters when making a video call. Apple is said to be working on multi-person FaceTime calls, but it’s not yet clear if this functionality will be ready for a 2018 debut.

Another major new feature planned for iOS 12, which will be a focus of the update, includes a suite of new digital health tools that are designed to let users better monitor how much time they spend on their iPhones and iPads and how much time is spent within apps. These tools will also be available for parents to monitor their children’s device usage. The aim with Apple’s new digital tools is to alleviate concerns about smartphone addiction.

Enhanced Do Not Disturb controls will go hand in hand with the digital health tools, giving users more options for automatically rejecting calls and silencing notifications.

Apple is planning to announce ARKit 2.0, a new version of the augmented reality tools that allow developers to build AR experiences into their apps. ARKit 2.0 will focus on multiplayer gameplay, letting two players see the same virtual objects, and it will allow for persistence, which means virtual objects placed in an augmented reality app will remain in place between sessions. So, for example, you could put a virtual painting on the wall with an app and when you open it up again, the painting will still be there.

With iOS 12, Apple is expected to expand the NFC capabilities of the iPhone beyond simple mobile payments, allowing users to securely unlock doors with NFC technology.

Several other smaller features are planned for iOS 12 according to rumors, such as a redesigned Stocks app, deeper Siri integration in Photos for search purposes, a revamped interface for importing photos into an iPad, and a revamped iBooks app, which could be renamed to just “Books” and offer a “Today” section much like the iOS App Store.

Make sure to read our full iOS 12 roundup for more details on what to expect in iOS 12 and beyond, as it also covers the features that have been delayed until iOS 13.

macOS 10.14

As mentioned above, macOS 10.14 may be gaining support for cross-platform apps, allowing apps designed for iOS to also run on the Mac. As part of this initiative, some iOS-only apps like Health, Home, and others may also be available on the Mac going forward.

Aside from the hint of cross-platform functionality, we haven’t heard many details on what we can expect to see in macOS 10.14. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber believes Apple is planning a Mac App Store redesign that would bring it inline with the new App Store for iOS that Apple introduced with iOS 11. A new App Store redesign would make sense given rumors of cross-platform apps.

We’re expecting Apple to add support for the new Apple Filesystem for Fusion Drives in macOS 10.14 based on some recent comments from Apple engineering chief Craig Federighi, but beyond that, new features coming in macOS 10.14 will be a surprise.

Read our macOS 10.14 roundup for additional details on what to expect in the next-generation version of macOS, including what it might be named.

tvOS 12, watchOS 5 and New HomePod Software

Along with iOS 12 and macOS 10.14, we’re going to see updates to tvOS 12 and watchOS 5, but we haven’t heard details on what new features might be coming in these software updates.

tvOS and watchOS (especially tvOS) are historically smaller updates than macOS 10.14 and iOS 12 and don’t receive as much attention, leaving the features largely a surprise. We do know that we’re getting a rainbow-themed pride watch face, but the watch face will be available to everyone following WWDC rather than bundled into watchOS 5.

This is the first WWDC where we’ve had the HomePod, but it too has its own operating system and may get revisions on the same update schedule as Apple’s other software updates. Check out our HomePod roundup for more details on the last HomePod software update (11.4).

Hardware

There are some years where Apple uses the Worldwide Developers Conference to launch new hardware products. As an example, in 2017, Apple unveiled new iPad Pro models and debuted refreshed MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and iMacs.

We’ve heard some analyst predictions and sketchier rumors pointing towards possible product launches at WWDC, but a recent report from Bloomberg suggests Apple will not be introducing any hardware at the event at all, instead focusing on software.

Should this information be wrong, we’ve outlined the other rumors we’ve heard about potential product launches that could be coming at WWDC.

New Notebooks and iMacs

The MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac lineups are all due for a refresh, and were updated at the Worldwide Developers Conference last year.

Bloomberg says Apple is working on refreshes for the 12-inch MacBook and the MacBook Pro with next-generation Intel chips, but those updates will not be ready until later in this year.

The same goes for a rumored low-cost notebook that will serve as a successor to the MacBook Air – it won’t be ready for a summer launch.

Current iMacs, MacBooks, and MacBook Pro models will be going more than a year without an update if there’s no June refresh, and it’s not clear when these machines will see an update if not in June. September alongside iPhones is a possibility, as is a launch earlier or later in the year via press release or a separate event.

For a full rundown of all Mac-related rumors, check out our MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac roundups.

iPad Pros

Apple is working on a revamped iPad Pro that adopts the TrueDepth camera system for Face ID along with smaller bezels and no Home button, turning the iPad into something of a giant iPhone X.

We’re still expecting two sizes, somewhere around 10.5 and 12.9-inches, but the new iPad Pro models will be able to adopt larger displays while maintaining the same body size thanks to the aforementioned slimmer bezels.

2018 iPad Pro mockup via Benjamin Geskin
A TrueDepth camera system for the iPad Pro will allow the device to adopt Animoji, and a new feature rumored for iOS 12 will allow Face ID to work in landscape mode, something not currently possible on the iPhone X.

While the iPhone X uses an OLED display, Apple’s TrueDepth-equipped iPad Pro is expected to continue to use an LCD display due to the difficulty and expense involved to obtain larger OLED panels. Inside, the new iPad Pro is expected to adopt a faster, more efficient A11X chip and an Apple-designed GPU.

Bloomberg has said the new iPad Pro will launch “a little more than a year” after the last iPad Pro update, which indicates a September launch, and former KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has also said a release won’t happen until sometime in the third quarter of 2018.

It doesn’t sound like we’re going to see the new iPad Pro models at WWDC, but some analysts have predicted a June launch. Take a look at our iPad Pro roundup for full details on what to expect from a next-generation tablet.

iPhone SE 2?

Rumors about an iPhone SE 2 have been all over the place, making it difficult to nail down what Apple has planned for a second-generation 4-inch iPhone SE.

We’ve heard rumors suggesting everything from small design changes to a major overhaul that includes Face ID camera system and an iPhone X-style design, something that seems unlikely for a device that Apple has positioned as its most affordable.

A case maker’s rendering of what the iPhone SE 2 will look like, which could be inaccurate
Recent rumors seem split between an iPhone SE design that includes a glass backing for wireless charging and the aforementioned iPhone X-like design, but based on what we’ve heard, it sounds like at least some of these rumors may be confusing a second-generation iPhone SE with the 6.1-inch LCD iPhone Apple is said to have in the works for its fall 2018 iPhone lineup.

A lot of the iPhone SE 2 rumors have come from less than reliable supply chain sources in Asia with little information provided by trustworthy sources that have a proven track record and are known to provide accurate details.

Given these mixed rumors, we don’t have a clear picture of what an iPhone SE 2 is going to look like, and because everything is so up in the air, it’s also difficult to nail down a launch date.

We’ve heard several rumors suggesting a launch could happen during the first half of the year, in the summer, and at WWDC, which suggests a June launch, but again, these rumors need to be viewed with some skepticism especially amid reliable information suggesting no hardware at WWDC.

Make sure to read our full iPhone SE 2 roundup to get an idea of how mixed the rumors have been.

Beats Accessory With Siri Integration?

Apple analyst Gene Munster believes Apple may be planning to introduce a Beats-branded product that includes Siri integration as a low-cost HomePod alternative. The device would not be branded as a HomePod, but would function in a similar manner.

Munster does not specify a product, but this would presumably be a speaker like the Beats Pill+, which would be able to do all of the same things the HomePod can do at a lower cost. Munster believes such a product could be priced around $250, $100 less than the HomePod.

We’ve also heard a rumor from the Chinese supply chain that suggests a rumored lower-cost HomePod will be under the Beats by Dre brand. It’s not clear if these are two separate rumors or if Munster’s prediction is based on this information. We’ve heard no other rumors suggesting Siri integration in Beats products, but it’s a possibility.

AirPower and New Wireless AirPods Charging Case

Apple announced the AirPower in September and said it would be coming at some point in 2018, and since that announcement, people have been eagerly awaiting the accessory, which is designed to charge the Apple Watch Series 3, AirPods, and iPhone X, 8, or 8 Plus all at the same time.

Rumors suggested the AirPower would launch in March, but that didn’t happen, and we now have little idea of when Apple will make it available for purchase.

It’s possible it will launch following the Worldwide Developers Conference with Apple taking the opportunity to unveil it after a major event, but we have no solid evidence suggesting that’s the case.

The AirPower will be accompanied by a new Wireless AirPods Charging Case, which is necessary to allow the AirPods to charge via the AirPower. Apple will presumably update the AirPods in its store to ship with the new case, while customers who already have AirPods will be able to purchase it separately. More detail on the AirPower and AirPods Charging Case can be found in our AirPods roundup.

New Apple Watch Bands and iPhone/iPad Cases

Apple updates its selection of available Apple Watch bands on a seasonal basis. We last saw new bands in the spring, and with supply of those bands beginning to dwindle, it’s time for a refresh.

We’re likely to see new summer colors for Apple’s band lineup, and Apple may also refresh its available iPhone and iPad cases, especially if the company opts to unveil new iPad Pro models at WWDC. These cases and bands may not be announced at the keynote event, but could be quietly added to the store afterwards.

MacRumors WWDC Coverage

What are you most hoping to see Apple launch at WWDC? Let us know in the comments. Make sure to tune in to MacRumors on Monday, where we’ll have live coverage of the event both on the site and on our MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Following the keynote, we will also have ongoing coverage of all of the announcements and everything that’s discovered over the course of the week.

Related Roundup: WWDC 2018
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