Cutting-edge paper-based battery is powered by electron-harvesting bacteria

Considering that they can contain ingredients like nickel-cadmium, alkaline, and mercury, batteries represent a potentially dangerous form of waste. For this reason, it’s no wonder that researchers are busy trying to come up with environmentally future-friendly batteries, which could one day be used to power similarly biodegradable devices.

That’s where a new project from Binghamton University, State University of New York, comes into the picture. Scientists there have been working to develop a new type of paper-based battery, which is powered by electron-harvesting bacteria. The battery is composed of waxed paper, printed with thin layers of metals and polymers. These hold a type of freeze-dried bacteria called exoelectrogens, which are capable of harvesting electrons and then using them to provide power. The batteries also contain a pouch of liquid bacteria food. When the battery is squeezed, the liquid comes into contact with the bacteria, thereby causing the battery to start functioning.

The innovative project comes from the lab of Professor Seokheun Choi, whose work we have previously covered on a couple of occasions. Choi’s earlier battery projects include a stretchy, textile-based, bacteria-powered bio-battery, and a paper-like microbial fuel cell which produces electricity when activated by saliva.

At present, the new paper battery is capable only of powering low-power devices, such as miniature calculators or LED lights. Each battery has a shelf life of around four months and can provide power for a period of up to two days. In the future, the team hopes that it will be possible to extend this so that it can help power medical technologies. One possible way to achieve this might be to stack multiple paper batteries on top of one another, or potentially to create multiple batteries on one long sheet, which could then be folded. Given the growing amount of biomedical research projects involving ingestible biosensors, it is easy to see where a biodegradable battery such as this one would find a home.

Because of what a major game-changer this could be if executed correctly, we will certainly be following the future development of this project with interest. The research was recently presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Genetically engineered bacteria paint microscopic masterpieces
• Engineers have made a new type of lithium battery that won’t explode
• Science says waste beer could help us live on Mars
• Cornell’s popcorn-powered robots are far more practical than they sound
• Astrobiologists think the moon might have hosted simple life-forms long ago

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs. OnePlus 6: Does more expensive mean better?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is finally here, boasting perhaps the best specs ever to show up in an Android smartphone, as well as a big and beautiful display. But it’s not the only new flagship phone to turn heads — OnePlus also unveiled its latest flagship, the OnePlus 6, not too long ago — and it has some pretty spectacular specs of its own.

But which device is the way to go? Is one clearly better than the other? We put the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and OnePlus 6 to the test to find out.

Specs

Samsung Galaxy Note 9
OnePlus 6

Size
161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm (6.37 x 3.00 x 0.35 inches)
155.7 x 75.4 x 7.8 mm (6.13 x 2.97 x 0.31 inches)

Weight
201 grams (7.09 ounces)
177 grams (6.24 ounces)

Screen size
6.4-inch Super AMOLED display
6.28-inch AMOLED

Screen resolution
2,960 x 1,440 pixels (516 pixels-per-inch)
2,280 x 1,080 pixels (402 pixels-per-inch)

Operating system
Android 8.1 Oreo
Android 8.1 Oreo

Storage space
128GB, 512GB
64GB, 128GB, 256GB

MicroSD card slot
Yes
No

Tap to pay services
Google Pay
Google Pay

Processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

RAM
6GB, 8GB
6GB, 8GB

Camera
Dual sensor 12MP rear, 8MP front
Dual sensor 16MP + 20MP rear, 16MP front

Video
2,160p at 60 frames per second, 1,080p at 240 fps, 720p at 960 fps
2,160p at 60 frames per second, 1,080p at 240 fps, 720p at 480 fps

Bluetooth version
Bluetooth 5.0
Bluetooth 5.0

Ports
USB-C, Headphone Jack
USB-C

Fingerprint sensor
Yes
Yes

Water resistance
IP68
Yes

Battery
4,000mAh
3,300mAh

App marketplace
Google Play Store
Google Play Store

Network support
T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint
AT&T, T-Mobile

Colors
Ocean Blue, Lavender Purple
Midnight Black, Mirror Black

Price
$1,000
$529

Buy from
AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, Amazon, Samsung
OnePlus

Review score
4 stars
4.5 stars

Performance, battery life, and charging

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

While these two phones come at drastically different prices, they actually offer very similar specs. Both devices boast Qualcomm’s latest and greatest processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, and either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, depending on the model you go for. Of course, there are a few differences in power — the Galaxy Note 9, for example, features a new water-cooling system that Samsung says will help push the processor a little more than it otherwise could be pushed.

On top of that, the Galaxy Note 9 features more storage than the OnePlus 6 — while the OnePlus 6 has options for 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB of storage, the Galaxy Note 9 boasts either 128GB or a whopping 512GB of storage — which is perfect for those who want a little more space for their files. There’s also room for a MicroSD card in the Note 9.

The battery on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is also quite a bit bigger than the one in the OnePlus 6. The Galaxy Note 9 features a 4,000mAh battery, and it can be charged through wireless charging and supports fast charging. The OnePlus 6’s battery is 3,300mAh, and while it does support OnePlus’ fast charging tech, it does not have wireless charging.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Design and durability

Andy Boxall/DigitalTrends.com

One of the biggest differences between expensive flagship phones and more affordable ones is often the design — and while both the OnePlus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 look great, there are a few key differences in how they look.

The OnePlus 6, for starters, is the first OnePlus phone to feature a nice, big edge-to-edge display, which comes in at 6.28-inches. Like many other edge-to-edge phones, you will find a notch on this device with a speaker and front-facing camera, and there is a small chin on the bottom. The back of the phone features a dual-sensor camera and a fingerprint sensor. On the bottom of the phone, you’ll find a USB-C port and headphone jack. The overall design is basic, but it’s also sleek and stylish.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9, on the other hand, is a little more complex. Unlike the OnePlus 6, the Galaxy Note 9 does feature a small forehead and chin, though thankfully they’re not overly pronounced. The curved display comes in at 6.4-inches, and on the bottom of the phone you’ll find a USB-C port and a headphone jack, along with a slot for the S-Pen.

When it comes to durability, neither of the two phones are great. They both feature a ton of glass, meaning that if you drop them, there is a possibility that they could crack or break. The Galaxy Note 9, however, has an official IP68 rating, meaning it’ll withstand being in up to 1.5 meters of water for up to 30 minutes. While the OnePlus 6 does feature some water-resistance, it’s not officially rated. Because the Galaxy Note 9 is more durable, it edges out the OnePlus 6 here.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Display

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Smartphone displays are getting better in general, but there are a few differences between the displays on the OnePlus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

The OnePlus 6 has a 6.28-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,280 x 1,080 pixels and a pixel density of 402 pixels per inch. The display ratio comes in at 19:9, which is even longer than the 18:9 displays that have been popular over the last year or so.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9’s display is also an AMOLED display, and it comes in with a resolution of 2,960 x 1,440 pixels and a pixel density of 516 pixels per inch. The aspect ratio is very similar at 18.5:9.

Because of the higher resolution, Samsung is the clear winner here.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Camera

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and the OnePlus 6 have dual-sensor cameras, but the specs on the two are a little different. The OnePlus 6, for starters, boasts a dual 16 megapixel and 20 megapixel camera, with an aperture of f/1.7 and optical image stabilization. The front-facing camera also comes in at 16 megapixels with an aperture of f/2.0.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9, on the other hand, has a dual 12 megapixel and 12 megapixel camera, with a variable aperture of between f/1.5-2.4, and optical image stabilization. The front-facing camera comes in at 8 megapixels with an aperture of f/1.7.

Now, while the OnePlus 6 has a higher number of megapixels, megapixels alone don’t make for a great camera. In our testing, the variable aperture and camera software in the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 makes it the better choice when it comes to smartphone cameras.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Software and updates

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

Both the OnePlus 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 are Android phones, but it’s not that simple. While the OnePlus 6 features a relatively stock version of Android 8.1 Oreo, and a few tweaks that are aimed at making certain features easier to access, all of the software tweaks are optional — so if you don’t like them, you can easily turn them off. That makes the OnePlus 6 a great choice for stock Android fans.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9, on the other hand, features a heavily edited version of Android, which is typical of Samsung phones. The device ships with Android 8.1 with the Samsung Experience skin over the top of it. There’s plenty of customization here, but you will be stuck with a bunch of pre-installed apps and a design that you may not like.

Then there are updates, and neither of the two companies are amazing at them — but of the two, OnePlus will likely be a little better. Because of that, we’re giving this one to OnePlus.

Winner: OnePlus 6

Special features

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

OnePlus is known for offering a flagship experience at a great price, but the trade-off for that is that OnePlus’ phones don’t offer too many special features. The phone does offer facial recognition through its front-facing camera, but it’s not necessarily as secure as phones like the iPhone X.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9, on the other hand, offers a host of special features. The device comes with the Samsung S Pen stylus, with which you can write and draw. Now that it has Bluetooth, you can also use it as a remote for things like the camera, making it a pretty handy feature. The Galaxy Note 9 also has both Samsung Bixby and Google Assistant — though most users will probably want to stick with Google Assistant considering how much better it is right now. The camera in the device also boasts a bunch of cool features, like object recognition and a Scene Optimizer feature that often helps make photos look better. Then there’s DeX mode, which allows you to use your Note 9 as a desktop computer replacement by plugging into a monitor.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 simply offers more features, so it’s the winner here.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Price

Price is perhaps the main difference between these two phones. While the OnePlus 6 starts at $529, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 starts at almost double that at $999. It’s safe to say, you have to really want the extra features and better camera in the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 to want to spend that much cash on it.

Overall winner: Samsung Galaxy Note 9

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is the clear winner here — it performs better, has a better camera, and simply offers more features. That does not, however, necessarily mean you should buy it. If you like the idea of still getting a flagship-spec phone and want to save some cash, the OnePlus 6 is an excellent way to go. If, however, the camera is super important to you and you’re interested in things like the S Pen, you may want to shell out a lot more cash for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs. Galaxy Note 8 vs. Note 5: All the changes of note
• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs. Huawei P20 Pro: Two high-end phones clash
• Moto Z3 Play vs. OnePlus 6: Can Motorola’s latest beat our midrange pick?
• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs. BlackBerry Key2: Productivity powerhouse punch-out
• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs. Pixel 2 XL: Flagship face-off

Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 20 Series starts at $500 and features real-time ray tracing

Nvidia

As expected, Nvidia introduced its new GeForce RTX 20 Series of add-in desktop graphics cards for gamers during its pre-show Gamescom press event. The new family is based on Nvidia’s new “Turing” architecture focusing on real-time ray tracing for believable, photo-realistic gaming.

Available to pre-order today and available on the market August 20, the GeForce RTX 2070 will have a starting price of $500, capable of eight giga rays per second and packing 8GB of on-board GDDR6 memory. Moving up the line will be the RTX 2080 with a starting price of $700 packing the expected 8GB of GDDR6 memory and capable of eight giga rays per second. The third card is the RTX 2080 Ti with a starting price of $1,000 with 11GB of on-board memory and capable of pushing 10 giga rays per second.

That said, Nvidia’s prices for its Founders Edition models are a little higher. You can pre-order the 2080 Ti model for $1,200 while the RTX 2080 costs $800 and the RTX 2070 model costs $600. So far, there’s no sign of the rumored RTX 2060 version that’s slated to arrive later this year. Note that the RTX 2070 currently does not have a ship date while the other two cards are slated to arrive September 20.

• 1.
  GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
• 2.
  GeForce RTX 2080
• 3.
  GeForce RTX 2070

According to Nvidia, the underlying “Turing” architecture is the biggest leap forward in graphics technology since the company introduced CUDA. The big push with this design is accelerating ray tracing, a method of rendering area illumination, shadows and reflections realistically in real time. That’s where the “RT” aspect in the labeling comes into play.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during the show that the company spent the last ten years developing its Turing design. The resulting chip is the “second-largest” ever made packing 18.9 trillion transistors. The chip includes three key components: RT Cores dedicated to real-time ray tracing, Tensor Cores to accelerate artificial intelligence, and the Turing SM processor cores.

Based on the presentation, hardware still isn’t at a level where a single card can “brute force” photo-realistic visuals at an extremely high frame rate and resolution. That’s still performed by multi-GPU servers. And while the new RT Cores can perform 10 giga rays per second versus the non-ray tracing cores in the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti performing at 1.21 giga rays per second, they need AI to correctly “fill in the gaps.”

Previous

Next

1 of 5

But Nvidia isn’t just revealing a new family of cards. Part of the presentation discussed how neural networks will pre-generate these lighting calculations. The data will then be provided through driver downloads and used by the Tensor Cores as the new RTX 20 Series renders the scene using ray tracing.

What was interesting about the demos showcased during the presentation was that the ray tracing could be switched on and off, revealing the environments before and after ray tracing illuminated the scene. The demos included Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Battlefield 5 and Metro Exodus.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Nvidia’s Turing chip reinvents computer graphics (but not for gaming)
• Here’s how to watch Nvidia’s GeForce event at Gamescom
• Nvidia teases new GeForce RTX 2080 launch at Gamescom next week
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 11 Series’ arrival is uncertain after Computex remark
• Nvidia vs. AMD

Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs are coming to Alienware and Predator gaming desktops

Dell and Acer have both announced support for the new GeForce RTX GPUs across the companies’ lineup of gaming desktops. The pair of announcements was timed with Nvidia’s Gamescom keynote where CEO Jensen Huang introduced the world to the next generation of consumer graphics cards, dubbed the GeForce RTX 2000 series.

In particular, Nvidia announced three specific cards: The RTX 2070, 2080, and 2080 Ti. These GPUs all come with real-time ray tracing, a highly anticipated feature in graphics that dramatically increases the realism of lighting and shadowing in games.

On the Acer side of things, these new graphics cards will be coming to Predator Orion 9000, 5000, and 3000 gaming desktops. The cheaper Predator Orion 3000 will include the RTX 2070, the Orion 5000 will go up to the RTX 2080, and the Orion 9000 can be configured all the way up to the RTX 2080 Ti.

“Acer is excited to be among the first to provide gamers the choice of the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs on our Orion series gaming desktops,” said Acer in a press release. “With our commitment to bringing the latest technology in time to the market, gamers will be able to enjoy the latest breakthroughs in graphics for an incredible gaming experience.”

Acer hasn’t announced exact pricing and availability specifics, though it says it will vary by region.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

As for Alienware products, Dell has announced next-generation GPU support for both its Alienware Aurora and Area-51 gaming desktops. Dell hasn’t provided specifics as to which systems will feature which GPUs, but we’d expect the Area-51 to be maxed out with up to the RTX 2080 Ti. The configuration options for the Alienware Aurora system currently start at a GTX 1050 Ti, maxing out at the GTX 1080, which might clue us in on what options will be available in the RTX series.

Dell also mentioned that the systems would include support next-generation AMD graphics cards, though those cards haven’t been announced just yet.

While we don’t have pricing or availability details yet for the Area-51, we do know the Aurora will be available for purchase in October and will start at $900. That’s the same starting price as the current Alienware Aurora, though we don’t know what exact GPUs will be included in the base model.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Acer’s new lineup includes white gaming laptop and Pixelbook-esque Chromebook
• Acer crams a Ryzen 7 CPU, discrete RX Vega 56 graphics into a 17-inch laptop
• Nvidia announces the GeForce RTX 20 Series GPUs, featuring real-time ray tracing
• Nvidia vs. AMD
• Nvidia’s GTX 11 Series may get people ready for the next generation of VR

Scarily realistic ‘deep video portraits’ could take fake news to the next level

If you think it’s been a problem up to this point, the fight against fake news is about to get a whole lot harder. That is thanks to artificial intelligence technology which is making the creation of so-called “deep fake” videos more convincing at a frankly terrifying rate. The latest development comes from an international team of researchers, lead by Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Informatics.

They have created a deep-learning A.I. system which is able to edit the facial expression of actors to accurately match dubbed voices. In addition, it can tweak gaze and head poses in videos, and even animate a person’s eyes and eyebrows to match up with their mouths — representing a step forward from previous work in this area.

“It works by using model-based 3-D face performance capture to record the detailed movements of the eyebrows, mouth, nose, and head position of the dubbing actor in a video,” Hyeongwoo Kim, one of the researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Informatics, said in a statement. “It then transposes these movements onto the ‘target’ actor in the film to accurately sync the lips and facial movements with the new audio.”

The researchers suggest that one possible real-world application for this technology could be in the movie industry, where it could carry out tasks like making it easy and affordable to manipulate footage to match a dubbed foreign vocal track. This would have the effect of making movies play more seamlessly around the world, compared with today where dubbing frequently results in a (sometimes comedic) mismatch between an actor’s lips and the dubbed voice.

Still, it’s difficult to look at this research and not see the potential for the technology being misused. Along with other A.I. technologies that make it possible to synthesize words spoken in, say, the voice of Barack Obama, the opportunity for this to make the current fake news epidemic look like paltry in comparison is unfortunately present. Let’s hope that proper precautions are somehow put in place for regulating the use of these tools.

The “Deep Video Portraits” research was recently presented at the SIGGRAPH 2018 conference in Vancouver, Canada.

Save $40 on a laptop backpack that has its own USB charging port

A backpack can be so many different things. It can be a place to house your books, a laptop carrier, a gym bag, and even a suitcase. No matter what you use it for, however, chances are pretty good that you’ll be carrying it on your back. That’s the beauty of the classic backpack — it’s convenient, comfortable, and compact. If you want something a bit more tech-savvy, you can take it one step further and charge your phone with it. This laptop backpack from Amazon comes with a USB charging port, and it’s only $30 right now.

Is there anything more convenient than being able to charge your phone with your backpack? Plugging it into yourself maybe, but since that isn’t possible and potentially really gross, a USB backpack is as good as it gets. The bag itself does not come with a portable power bank, so if you don’t already have one, you’ll need to pick one up online. Just keep in mind that anything under 10,000 mAh will probably only charge your phone one time before it needs some charging itself.

The USB port is definitely the coolest feature of this travel backpack, but its actually a pretty great bag on its own. With lots of storage space, including a separate laptop compartment, you’ll have no problem finding a place for all your stuff. The laptop pocket can accommodate laptops as large as 15.6 inches with its cushy interior. It also has a waterproof design, so you won’t have to worry about books or electronics getting wet in the rain. And with ample back support, you’ll barely even notice you’re carrying it.

If you’re looking for a new backpack for school, work, travel, or all three, this USB laptop bag is an excellent option. With thousands of great reviews, this backpack has even been backed by Amazon as one of its best-selling backpacks, though that might have something to do with the price. With a $40 discount, this deal is hard to pass up.

$30 | Amazon

Looking for more great stuff? Find laptop deals and more on our curated deals page, and be sure to follow us on Twitter for regular updates.

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

Editors’ Recommendations

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• The best solar chargers for your phone, tablet, and other battery-powered gear
• TP-Link smart plugs are on sale for just $16 on Amazon right now

The best accessories for your Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet

You’ve got a sweet little tablet that didn’t break the bank. That leaves some money left over for accessories!

The Amazon Fire HD 10 is a remarkably good tablet for the price. Starting at $149, you get a 10-inch device that does everything Amazon has to offer — that’s movies, TV, books, games, the web — and it does it very well.

But getting the tablet itself is just the start. You’re going to want to snag a few accessories for the Fire HD 10.

• Best Case for Fire HD 10
• Best Case for Kids
• Best MicroSD
• Best Screen Protector
• Best Accessory Bundle

Best Case for Fire HD 10

Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet Case

Amazon’s first-party offering is a slim design case with a fabric-lined shell. The front cover is lined with microfiber material and folds up nicely as a hands-free stand in both portrait and landscape orientation. Available in different colors and priced at $39, it’s your best option.

See at Amazon

Amazon’s case offering might seem a bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for with this premium case that will keep your tablet safe and secure.

Best Case for Kids

Moko Shockproof Case

Made with shock-resistant polycarbonate with a reinforced inner shell, this case is designed to withstand drops of all sorts. The handle makes for easy carry — especially for smaller hands — and also converts into a hands-free stand. It’s available in seven different colors and it’s an affordable option for parents starting at $24.

See at Amazon

If you live in a house with kids, you know that everything that can be made kid-proofed should be made kid-proof. This heavy-duty case is designed with kids in mind, so you’ll be able to share (or give) your Fire HD 10 to your kids without worrying about them destroying the thing.

Best microSD card

Samsung Evo Select 128GB MicroSD

This is a highly-rated microSD card that offers read/write speeds designed to handle 4K video and comes with a 10-year warranty. Samsung’s microSD is a fantastic value, with the 128GB option available for just $35.

See at Amazon

The Amazon Fire HD tablets don’t have all that much storage in them out of the box, with 32GB and 64GB options available.

Sure, apps take up space, but your favorite media content takes up much more. If you’re planning to download a ton of movies and other videos for offline watching (that’s the sort of thing you do if you have kids, right?) then you’re definitely going to want some extra storage.

Best Screen Protector

NuPro Anti-Glare Screen Protector (2-pack)

To keep your tablet’s screen unscathed, you’ll want a screen protector. This two-pack of screen protectors from NuPro are highly rated on Amazon and is anti-glare, anti-fingerprint, and scratch-resistant. An essential accessory for $15.

See at Amazon

If you’re the type of person who is eternally bothered by a scratch on your screen, you’re definitely going to want to get some screen protectors. This is a great option that keeps it simple, includes all the installation tools you need, and comes with a spare if the first one ever needs replacing.

Best Value Bundle

Fire HD 10 Essentials Bundle with Fire HD 10 Tablet (32 GB, Black)

If you want to buy a Fire HD 10 as a gift and want it to come with all the best accessories, you’ll want to check out this great bundle. It comes with the tablet, the Amazon case, and a screen protector for just $190.

See at Amazon

This bundle is an incredible offer that will save you $15 if you were to buy the tablet and accessories separately.

How are you loving your Amazon Fire 10 tablet?

The Fire HD 10 is a great option if you’ve bought into the Alexa smart home ecosystem. How do you use your Amazon Fire HD 10 around the house?

Update August 2018: Added a section for screen protectors and best case option for kids.

Amazon Fire tablets

• Amazon Fire 7
• Amazon Fire HD 8
• Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition
• Amazon Fire 8 Kids Edition
• Amazon Fire HD 10

See more at Amazon

Add some color to your home with these $40 Philips Hue bulbs

16 million color options.

Right now you can pick up a few different Philips Hue bulbs for just $39.98 each, like the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance smart bulbs, White and Color Ambiance Flood Light, and the decorative color candle bulb. This is a savings of $10 from the regular price on these bulbs, and outside of a brief Prime Day sale, the best price they’ve sold for in a year. Each bulb has more than 16 million color options that can be controlled by the app or even via Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant, or Siri.

In order for the lights to work, you will need the Philips Hue Smart Bridge, which is down to $52 from $60 today. For $15 more, you can get the 2-bulb starter kit, which comes with the Bridge and two white bulbs that you can use in your home as well.

Looking for other smart home gear at a discount? Amazon has select devices available for just $10, so be sure to check them out!

See at Amazon

How to choose the perfect Synology NAS

This is how to choose the perfect Synology NAS.

After shopping around for Network Attached Storage (NAS) units, you may have decided on Synology as a brand. That’s only the first step, as the company offers a wide collection of NAS boxes, depending on what you need.

I’m going to run you through a few things to make choosing the right model that little bit easier.

Read our Synology DS218+ review

Breaking down the numbers

Synology, like other vendors, uses model numbers to differentiate between the various options. The DS prefix is always present, which stands for DiskStation. After that, you have a number that usually indicates how many drive bays are present. The last two numbers are tied to each generation (representing the year of release). For example, the 2016 DS216 has two drive bays but is likely to be slower than the newer DS218 from 2018. It keeps it simple.

Some units from Synology may have a suffix at the end that shows a unique or more capable system. Here are a few examples of such suffixes:

• se – Budget-friendly option.
• j – Affordable option for home use.
• play – Usually has a more powerful processor for better transcoding.
• + – Sports an Intel processor.
• +II – The same model as the “+” but with a newer processor.

A DS218+II would be a DiskStation NAS with a newer generation of Intel processor. The DS218j, on the other hand, would contain less powerful internals but command a more affordable price.

Comparing models

Here’s a comparison table with a few of the latest models from Synology.

CPU	Intel Celeron J3355Dual-core 2.0GHz	Realtek RTD1296Quad-core 1.4GHz	Marvell Armada 385 88F6820Dual-core 1.3GHz	Realtek RTD1296Quad-core 1.4GHz
RAM	2 GB DDR3L (6 GB max)	1 GB DDR4	512 MB DDR3	2 GB DDR4
Drive bays	Two	Two	Two	Four
Capacity	24 TBTwo x 12 TB	24 TBTwo x 12 TB	24 TBTwo x 12 TB	48 TBFour x 12 TB
Transcoding	H.264 (AVC)H.265 (HEVC)MPEG-2VC-14K 30 FPS	H.264 (AVC)H.265 (HEVC)MPEG-2VC-14K 60 FPS	N/A	H.264 (AVC)H.265 (HEVC)MPEG-2VC-14K 60 FPS
Ports	One Gb LANThree USB 3.0One eSATA	One Gb LANTwo USB 3.0	One Gb LANTwo USB 3.0	Two Gb LANTwo USB 3.0
Warranty	Two years	Two years	Two years	Two years
Price	$298	$229.99	$169.99	$369.99

The more affordable options like the j models will not be very good at transcoding video and other intensive tasks but can be used to store music and other files and stream them to connected devices. The more expensive options will be better suited and cost a little extra. The base (DS218) and Intel-powered + models are an ideal middle ground. And the DS218+ won the Windows Central Choice Award.

Unless stated otherwise, NAS listings usually do not come with hard drives. So you’ll need to factor purchasing these into the final price. We’ve got a few guides available on choosing the best hard drives for a NAS.

More NAS resources

• Synology NAS and Android: All you need to know
• Best and Most Reliable Hard Drives for Synology NAS
• 4 tips for buying NAS drives
• Comparing Synology NAS and cloud storage
• Best NAS for the home

Updated on August 16, 2018: This guide was updated with further information on Synology NAS models.

Rechargeable batteries, laser printers, and more are 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 Amazon’s Fire TV with 4K, a Brother laser printer, Panasonic’s rechargeable AA eneloop batteries, and more!

View the rest of the deals

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