Apple TV Universal Search Now Supports The CW, Expands to 5 More Countries

Apple has added The CW to the universal search function on the fourth-generation Apple TV, less than a week after the app launched in the United States.

The CW app allows Apple TV owners to watch new episodes of shows on the network for free, with ads, with no cable authentication or login required. Only five episodes from the most recent season of each show are available to watch, with no archived content available from past seasons.

Apple TV universal search has also expanded to five additional countries, namely Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, for iTunes movies and Netflix. Meanwhile, in Australia, universal search now supports regional video on demand services ABC iview and Plus7, a few months after support for Stan was added.

For those unfamiliar with universal search, it’s a feature that allows users to conduct Siri voice searches or text-based searches to find TV and movie content across a wide range of channels. At launch, universal search only supported a few channels, but Apple has been rapidly expanding the feature to encompass additional channels.

Apple TV universal search is available for a wide number of apps in the United States, but the feature is limited to iTunes and Netflix in Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In some other countries and regions, only movies in iTunes are supported.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Caution)
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Apple Seeds Second Beta of tvOS 10.0.1 to Developers

Apple today seeded the second beta of tvOS 10.0.1, Build 14U66, to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the first tvOS 10.0.1 beta and three weeks after releasing the tvOS 10 update.

Designed for the fourth-generation Apple TV, tvOS 10.0.1 can be installed by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C to USB-A cable, downloading and installing the software via iTunes or Apple Configurator. Once a beta profile has been installed on the device through iTunes, new beta updates will be available over the air.

No obvious outward-facing features were discovered in the tvOS 10.0.1 beta, so it’s likely it focuses on bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements to address issues discovered since the release of the first version of tvOS 10.

Single sign-on, a feature that will allow Apple TV users to sign in once with their cable credentials to access all live cable content included in a cable subscription, does not appear to be in this beta and will be introduced in the future.

tvOS 10 brings improved search, expanded Siri capabilities, a new dark mode, a Continuity option for using the iPhone for text input, automatic download of universal apps, easy access to live TV, and more.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Caution)
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Apple Releases Third macOS Sierra 10.12.1 Beta for Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming macOS Sierra 10.12.1 update to public beta testers, one week after seeding the second public beta and one day after seeding the third beta to developers. It’s been two weeks since Apple released macOS Sierra to the public.

Beta testers who have signed up for Apple’s beta testing program will receive the 10.12.1 macOS Sierra beta through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store.

Those who want to be a part of Apple’s beta testing program can sign up to participate through the beta testing website, which gives users access to both iOS and macOS Sierra betas. Betas should not be installed on a primary machine due to the potential for instability.

macOS Sierra 10.12.1 appears to focus mainly on bug fixes and performance improvements to address issues that have surfaced up since macOS Sierra was first released. It also includes album support in Photos for the new Portrait feature in iOS 10 on the iPhone 7 Plus.

macOS Sierra is a major operating system update that introduces features like Siri support, cross device copy paste, improved iCloud functionality, the ability to unlock a Mac with the Apple Watch, an Optimize Storage option, and more.

Related Roundup: macOS Sierra
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Google Pixel arriving on October 20, according to Canadian carrier

Google’s Pixel phones may arrive on October 20 — at least at the carrier level — according to one Canadian carrier.

A sponsored Facebook post issued yesterday by Rogers, Canada’s largest carrier — and not the same one that leaked Pixel details over the weekend — says that the devices will be available 16 days after pre-orders go live, if they do indeed begin today.

Like the Bell and Carphone Warehouse leaks, Rogers refers to Pixel as “a phone by Google,” which increasingly looks like where the marketing line is leaning, and supports the “made by Google” that we saw teased last month.

Follow our Google Pixel liveblog starting at 9am PT / 12pm ET

We’ll know everything later on today, so stay tuned!

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Everything we know so far
• New navigation buttons
• Google UI + circular icons
• Android 7.1 Nougat
• Pixel vs Pixel XL
• Older Nexus phones

How to set up and control smart thermostats using Amazon Echo

How do I control my thermostat with an Amazon Echo?

Using your phone to control your smart thermostat is cool, but using your voice is even better. If you’re using a smart thermostat and are planning on adding an Amazon Echo to your setup, there’s a good chance you’re able to connect the two and do some very interesting things. Here’s everything you need to know about setting up and controlling your smart thermostat through an Amazon Echo!

• Nest Thermostat
• Ecobee3 Thermostat
• Honeywell Thermostat

Nest Thermostat

Nest Thermostat is supposed to be the thermostat that learns from you and eventually makes it so you never have to touch it, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to speak and cool things down. To add Nest to your Amazon Echo:

Open the Alexa app on your phone.
Tap the menu button and select Smart Home from the list.
Swipe down until you see Get More Smart Home Skills and tap on the arrow.
Type “Nest” in the search box and tap the first result with the Nest logo.
Tap Enable Skill.
Log in to your Nest account.
Select Accept.

Once you have your Nest Thermostat connected to Amazon Echo, there’s a couple of ways you can give commands. You’ll need to know the name of your thermostat to give commands to your Echo, which can be found and adjusted in the Nest app. To control your Nest Thermostat with your voice:

• Set a specific temperature with “Alexa, set (thermostat name) to 70”
• Incrementally raise and lower temperature with “Alexa, lower the (thermostat name) by 5 degrees”
• Give 2 degree increase or decrease commands with “Alexa, cool down (thermostat name)”

These voice commands will not work if your Nest Thermostat is set to Away, Auto-Away, or Off. You also won’t have any voice control if Emergency Heat or Emergency Shutoff modes are active. To return normal functioning order with these modes enabled, you’ll need either the Nest app or be touching the Nest Thermostat.

See at Amazon

Ecobee3 Thermostat

Your Ecobee3 can already do a ton of clever things, but Amazon Echo opens up a massive array of voice commands. To connect your Ecobee3 to your Amazon Echo:

Open the Alexa app on your phone.
Tap the menu button and select Smart Home from the list.
Swipe down until you see Get More Smart Home Skills and tap on the arrow.
Type “Ecobee” in the search box and tap the first result with the Ecobee logo.
Tap Enable Skill.
Log in to your Ecobee account.
Select Accept.

Once your Amazon Echo and Ecobee3 Thermostat are connected, there are several kinds of commands you can speak. The only thing you have to keep in mind is the name of your thermostat, as designated by the Ecobee app. If you don’t give the specific name, Alexa will ask you to confirm with the name you have assigned to the thermostat. You can:

• Set a specific temperature with “Alexa, set (thermostat name) to 70”
• Incrementally raise and lower temperature with “Alexa, lower the (thermostat name) by 5 degrees”
• Give 2 degree increase or decrease commands with “Alexa, cool down (thermostat name)”

If your Ecobee 3 is set to Auto Mode, Alexa will reply to your commands by letting you know it is “aiming” for a set temperature. This means you can request the temperature will be set to 70 and Ecobee will keep the house in a range of 68 and 72 just as if you’d set it using the panel on the wall.

See at Amazon

Honeywell Thermostat

If you have a Honeywell Lyric, Lyric Round, or Total Connect Comfort thermostat, you can connect an Amazon Echo and use your voice to control the temperature. To connect any of these thermostats to your Echo:

Open the Alexa app on your phone.
Tap the menu button and select Smart Home from the list.
Swipe down until you see Get More Smart Home Skills and tap on the arrow.
Type “Honeywell” in the search box and tap the first result with the Ecobee logo.
Tap Enable Skill.
Log in to your Honeywell account.
Select Accept.

Controlling your Honeywell thermostat with Amazon Echo is simple. You just call out to Alexa just like you would for any other command and:

• Incrementally raise and lower temperature with “Alexa, lower the temperature by X degrees”

See? Simple. Most of your thermostat features still require the Honeywell app, but quick temperature changes are just a sentence away.

See at Amazon

Google Pixel event preview: How to watch, stream and vent

How to follow along with the Pixel event

Google’s Pixel event is one of the most anticipated announcements of the year. Sure, it’s going to have phones — we know all about those already — but it’s also likely to give a deep dive into a bunch of other stuff Google has been working on, much of which was teased at Google I/O this past summer.

What to expect

Aside from the phones, we’re likely getting a look at the new Chromecast Ultra, a 4K streaming stick that may cost less than most pairs of shoes. The Chromecast — and Google’s Cast platform — has been a quiet success over the past few years, selling in the millions and proving that people just want to easily stream content to their televisions or connected speakers. Now, in 4K.

More: What to expect from the Google Pixel event

We’re also looking forward to seeing Google Home, which was first teased at I/O in May, in its finished form. The ideal companion to the company’s Assistant platform, Google Home will take on Amazon’s Echo for $129, if rumors are to be believed.

And there are other things to expect, too, including the first Google Daydream headset that, once again, was introduced at Google I/O. Really looking forward to that.

We may also see the introduction of Andromeda, Google’s reported combined mobile/desktop operating system, finally fusing Android and ChromeOS. We’ll see.

Where to follow along

Google is streaming the event on YouTube, so if you want to follow along you can do that. We’re also going to be liveblogging the event from both San Francisco and Toronto, which will be even more fun.

Follow our Google Pixel liveblog starting at 9am PT / 12pm ET

Watch Google’s #madebygoogle livestream of the Pixel event

Join us to chat in our Pixel forums

Find us on social media!

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Snapchat

Google Pixel + Pixel XL

• Everything we know so far
• New navigation buttons
• Google UI + circular icons
• Android 7.1 Nougat
• Pixel vs Pixel XL
• Older Nexus phones

Best Android Phone With Removable Battery

There’s something to be said about removable batteries. They just save you time, which is often worth a lot! If you’re looking for the best phone with a removable battery, the LG V20 is your best bet.

Best overall

LG V20

See at LG

Note: The LG V20 isn’t widely available in the U.S. at the time of writing, but should be shortly. Nevertheless, we’ve used a pre-production unit for long enough to feel like it satisfies our evaluation criteria for this guide.

The V20 is probably LG’s best phone ever, and that’s not just because it has one of the most coveted features for many phone enthusiasts: a removable battery. No, the V20 is a powerhouse, featuring a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and all the audio and camera features to satisfy the most hardcore of spec heads.

But if you’re looking for a phone with that replaceable cell, the V20 is the tops: the back metal cover is easily removed, and the battery replaced in a snap. And because LG sells verified replacements, you can rest safe knowing that it is safe, and charged quickly, either inside the phone itself or through an optional external charger.

Bottom line: The V20 is one of the best smartphones of the year, period, but it’s definitely the best choice for someone looking at buying a high-end device with a replaceable battery.

One More thing: The V20 can shoot 4K video with SteadyShot 2.0, which keeps tracking and panning ultra-smooth. Of course, 4K video uses a lot of battery, which is where a second cell, and a tripod, could come in handy.

Why the LG V20 is best

A big phone that can last two or more days.intro

If you’re buying a phone with a removable battery, you likely know exactly why — because you don’t like the new trend towards sealed devices and the potential issues they cause. Imagine if the Note 7 had a removable battery, and how much easier the recall could have been.

The LG V20 has a 3,200mAh battery on its own, but the fact that the battery cell can easily be replaced with another fully-charged equivalent negates the need for fast charging. That the V20 still supports fast charging through its USB-C port is an added bonus, because it means you don’t necessarily need an external charger for the second battery. Just plug it in for an hour to top it up to 80% or so, and put back the primary cell, and you’re good to go.

Aside from battery life, the V20 is an amazing phone, with a unique Second Screen experience, Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, and all the specs you could want from a top-tier phone.

Best for less

LG G5

See at Amazon

The LG G5 is better than the reviews let on. In fact, there’s a lot to like about LG’s first modular phone, its Friends notwithstanding: it has a beautiful 5.3-inch display, excellent performance, and great cameras. It also has, yes, a removable battery. While the 2,800mAh cell may not be as big as that inside the V20, who cares? This smaller phone has all the juice needed to power you through a whole day, and because it has been on the market for a few months already, it, and replacement battery cells, are easy to find for less.

Bottom-line: The G5 may not be the great follow-up to the G4 many were hoping for, it’s still a great, powerful phone with an awesome removable battery and plenty of character.

One more thing: If you are a fan of photography, the LG CAM Plus is a camera grip add-on with an additional 1,140mAh of battery power, along with a two-stage shutter button and more.

Conclusion

The V20 is the best phone with a removable battery you can buy right now. And because it seems like LG is the only company making high-end Android phones with removable batteries, it may stay that way for a long time.

Best overall

LG V20

See at LG

The V20 is probably LG’s best phone ever, and that’s not just because it has one of the most coveted features for many phone enthusiasts: a removable battery. No, the V20 is a powerhouse, featuring a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, and all the audio and camera features to satisfy the most hardcore of spec heads.

But if you’re looking for a phone with that replaceable cell, the V20 is the tops: the back metal cover is easily removed, and the battery replaced in a snap. And because LG sells verified replacements, you can rest safe knowing that it is safe, and charged quickly, either inside the phone itself or through an optional external charger.

Bottom line: The V20 is one of the best smartphones of the year, period, but it’s definitely the best choice for someone looking at buying a high-end device with a replaceable battery.

One More thing: The V20 can shoot 4K video with SteadyShot 2.0, which keeps tracking and panning ultra-smooth. Of course, 4K video uses a lot of battery, which is where a second cell, and a tripod, could come in handy.

Samsung may manufacture Qualcomm’s 10nm Snapdragon 830

Samsung LSI currently manufactures Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 on its second-gen 14nm LPP FinFET node, and it looks like the South Korean company has bagged a contract for next year’s 10nm Snapdragon 830 as well. That’s according to Korea’s ET News, which states that the SoC will be used in the Galaxy S8. Samsung will likely retain the same strategy it followed for the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, wherein U.S. models are powered by the Snapdragon 830, while the global version runs its upcoming Exynos 8895.

Like the Snapdragon 830, Samsung’s in-house Exynos 8895 will also be based on the 10nm manufacturing process. ET News also writes that Qualcomm and Samsung are working in developing a FoPLP (Fan-out Panel Level Package) technology that eliminates the need for a printed circuit board for the package substrate that will be used in the Snapdragon 830 and Exynos 8895.

We don’t know much about either SoC, but it looks like Samsung is looking to hit vastly higher frequencies by moving to 10nm. An Exynos 8895 leak from August suggests Samsung is hitting 4GHz on its custom Mongoose core, and reaching 2.7GHz on the Cortex A53 core. It’ll be interesting to see the kind of performance gains Qualcomm achieves with its Kryo CPU implementation.