The best part of taking a trip is Google Photos
Keep your vacation memories backed up and properly archived with the features built into Google Photos.
Vacations. They never happen soon enough and, for some of us, they’re a luxury if they happen at all. That’s why it’s so important to not only relish every minute of free time but to also ensure that any memories you may have captured are properly archived and stored away for the next trip down nostalgia lane.
Google Photos is particularly helpful at making this happen. I recently took off on my first vacation since the new Photos features have made headway, including shared albums, high-resolution uploads, and the ability to create and edit movies. (Yes. It’s been that long since I’ve taken some quality time off.) I took over 300 hundred photos with my Pixel XL, Galaxy S7 Edge, and Gear 360 while traipsing around New Zealand. Here’s how Google Photos did all the hard work managing those memories.
Easy backup on the go
Admittedly, I may have committed a folly by purchasing the 32GB Really Blue Pixel XL, but Google Photos had me covered on my journey through Kiwi Land. Anytime I nearly hit my gigabyte limit, I’d find a Wi-Fi spot and get to uploading and offloading. It’s exceptionally easy to do with Google Photos, too.
In the hamburger menu bar, simply tap the option to free up space and remove any photos and videos that have already been backed up to the cloud. Each shot taken with the Pixel XL took up about 4MB, so I hit my limit pretty fast. But whenever I cleared off those photos that were already backed up to the cloud, I recovered about 10GB of disk space.
You can also back up photos from other apps. I backed up all of my Instagram Stories and Snapchat snaps, as well as the folder containing content downloaded from the Gear 360. You can set up automatic downloads on any other mobile devices you might have in tow, too, so that everything is stored and ready to archive once you get home.
One note of caution, however: If you’re concerned about redundant backups — for instance, you use Dropbox’s camera upload feature for posterity — make sure that those photos are backed up before you free up disk space. I forgot to check and, as a result, a majority of my vacation photos were only backed up to Google Photos. That should suffice, but I like to have doubles in case disaster should strike. (Of course, you can download the photos again once they’re uploaded, but unless you have a Pixel they may not have been sent to the cloud at their full resolution.)
Fully-functional photo albums
I love to snap every dynamic moment of my time away, but I hate the dread that settles in when I’m back and I realize that I have to individually tag and upload every single photo before I can share it. Thankfully, Google Photos did all that for me before I even got home.
Google compiled every relevant photo and video I had shot in New Zealand into its own, ready-to-share library. The album includes location stamps for each batch of photos, like the restaurants we ate at, the hikes we took, and the scenery we drove by. It started documenting those locales from the minute I touched down in Auckland and ended the day I flew back home to San Francisco. It even accounts for photos that I uploaded with other devices and paired those with relevant locales.
One thing to note, however: If you don’t back up your photos during your vacation time, they won’t be archived in this manner after the fact. I only backed up half of what I shot with the S7 Edge. Everything else had to be manually added to the album folder after Google had populated it with what was available. It’s not a major deal, but it’s something you’ll want to keep in mind if you’d like to take advantage of Google’s automated features.
A helpful Assistant
Who doesn’t love a good home movie? The Photos Assistant offered up several videos of my trip based on the metadata of each file. I would have never thought to put together some of the clips that Photos compiled, but for the most part, it was right on the money.
Even better: You can add a bit of your own flair to the presentation by editing the video on your smartphone. In the Photos app, you can change the background music, tack on a filter, and edit the order of content. You can even add on any images and videos that Google may have missed. When you’re finished, you can give the video a title and export it to YouTube for all to see. Just make sure that if you’re not using the clips from the included music library that you’re not uploading anything that’s copyrighted — especially if you plan to show off your video publicly.
Google Photos can compile quick collages, too. If you’d rather not deal with choosing your own snapshots for an Instagram-friendly mock-up, Google will take a batch of photos you’ve shot in rapid succession and compile them for you. Of all the simple things that Google’s Photos Assistant can do, this one is my absolute favorite. It’s especially fun to include any outtakes.
How do you use Google Photos?
Have you used Google Photos on a trip? Did you like what it offered? Tell us!
Grab RAVPower’s 22000mAh power bank for just $30 right now!
Right now you can pick up the massive RavPower 22000mAh power bank for its lowest price yet, just $30. With such a large capacity you may think it will be a pain to carry around, but in all reality, it is actually quite portable and similarly sized to many mobile phones. 22000mAh should be enough to charge your phones and tablets anywhere from four to seven times, depending on which device you have hooked up to it.
The battery pack has three USB outputs, and each port puts out 2.4A, so you can charge using all three at the same time. This deal will only be available today, December 12, so don’t miss out!
See at Amazon
Alex’s Favorite Tech of 2016
2016 Alex’s Favorite Tech
Everyone at Android Central has spent an amazing amount of time with mobile technology, accessories and gear throughout 2016. The goal is simple: use all of this stuff, find out what works the best and let you know the merits of what we determine to be the cream of the crop. 2016 was a fantastic year for new technologies to be released but also for older ones to mature.
Whether you’re looking to buy for someone else or just get the best of the best for yourself this holiday season, here are my personal picks for my favorite tech of the year. It starts with phones, but goes so much further: accessories, smartwatches, headphones, fitness products and even some non-mobile gear. Read on and see what I’ve enjoyed in 2016.
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
This holiday season, give the gift of not exploding. Samsung’s least incendiary flagship looks great, has arguably the best display of any Android phone, an enormous battery and one of the best cameras. You can expand the onboard storage with a microSD slot, and it also supports wireless charging so you don’t need to worry about plugging in to juice up. And should literal, not metaphorical juice become involved, it’s also water-resistant.
From $769 Buy Now
OnePlus 3T
The OnePlus 3T comes shockingly close to rivaling most Android flagships, with the latest Snapdragon 821 processor, 6GB of RAM and an excellent 16MP optically-stabilized camera — at a criminally insane price of $439. The software’s clean and fast, and it’s in line for a refreshing to Android Nougat in time to cure the New Year’s hangover.
$439 Buy Now
ASUS Chromebook Flip
It’s a bad time to be buying a straight-up Android tablet, so there’s a strong case for saying the ASUS-made Chromebook Flip is the most capable Android “tablet” you can buy right now. You get laptop-level internals for $259, along with the ability to run Android apps. And, of course, the eternal gratitude of your giftee.
$259 Buy Now
Samsung Gear VR
Google’s Daydream may be the more up and coming VR platform, but Samsung’s Gear VR is well established, and the only game in town if you’re using a Samsung phone. Escape an increasingly terrifying and indeed doomed planetoid this holiday season by embracing the Gear VR’s great ecosystem of VR content. What better way to drift into a post-holiday food coma?
$99 Buy Now
Chromecast Ultra
This is the Chromecast to buy if you’ve got one of those fancy new 4K TVs. Even if you haven’t, a little bit more cash upfront will future-proof your streaming setup, and give you better connectivity than older Chromecasts, which stream at 1080p. You might as well mail the pixels to your eyes. So get an Ultra instead.
$70 Buy Now
Amazon Echo Dot
Amazon’s Echo Dot is the cheapest, easiest way to kick-start your connected home, with tiny cylinders of Internet-driven intelligence. Buy a few and dot them around your home. (Get it?) Get an extra one to keep as a faithful companion. Gently caress it each time you pass through the room, knowing it awaits your beck and call.We’re not judging, but your family members might. But they don’t matter. Now you only care for your Amazon Echo Dot.
$49 Buy Now
Huawei Watch
The Huawei Watch (or Huatch, as we’ve taken to calling it), is the best looking Android Wear smartwatch available right now. Functionality is the same as all those other Android watches — including an update to Android Wear 2.0 next year — but you’ll look so much more shuave with your Huatch.
$246 Buy Now
Samsung Gear S2
The new Gear S3 is all well and good, but if you’re after a smaller watch that won’t look like a dinner plate on your arm, the Samsung Gear S2 is a great buy. Samsung isn’t discontinuing the wrist computer it debuted last year, but it is offering it at a substantial discount, so you can get basically all the S3’s features at a considerable markdown. Works best with Samsung phones, but it won’t judge you if you use it with something else. (We think.)
$229 Buy Now
Acer Chromebook R13
A step above the Chromebook Flip, the Acer R13, and it’s a tier above the Flip, making it ideal for someone you love a little bit more than the person you bought the Flip for. It’s sturdy and well built, and addition to beefier specs than other Chromebooks, it’s also well equipped to handle Android apps from Google Play.
$399 Buy Now
Anker PowerCore Speed 10000 QC
Want to charge the everloving crap out of your devices? The Anker PowerCore 10000 QC has enough juice for multiple recharges of even the most capacious of gadgetry, along with Quick Charge 3.0 support to ensure maximum energization with minimal messing around. Also features snazzy blue lights, which frankly are worth the $24 asking price alone.
From $24 Buy Now
SanDisk 256GB microSD
Because we live in the future, you can store a quarter terabyte of own personal nonsense on something the size of a fingernail. Such is the black magic of the microSD card, which you can stuff in your phone, your camera or your laptop. This SanDisk card is also one of the speediest around, because a future person like you has no time to waste waiting for bits to transfer.
$70 Buy Now
OnePlus Messenger Bag
Turns out OnePlus also makes a pretty good bag. Store your various possessions in this surprisingly stylish messenger bag, which has enough space for a 13-to-14-inch laptop, a bunch of cables, power banks, a tablet and any other bits and bobs you might want dangling from your person. There’s also a leather version available for $100, if you want to get all fancy.
From $50 Buy Now
Unreleased ‘Akira’ title for Game Boy resurfaces
Akira, still one of the most definitive manga and anime ever made, never really got a game to do the source material justice. While that’s probably not going to change, Patrick Scott Patterson, retro game hunter-gatherer, managed to pick up four slightly different copies of the mid-development Akira title on the Game Boy. They are all experiment builds, so all that mid-test gaming nougat is housed in open-air cartridges — which makes me nervous.
The title is primarily broken into two (pretty broken) parts: Bike-based levels where you dodge static obstacles and an awkward-looking platform section where you punch and kick enemies that are, for some reason, much shorter than you. There’s also a bunch of jumping which will be familiar to anyone that played handheld games that were Hollywood movie tie-ins back in the 90s. You do, however, get to run around as protagonists Kaneda or Tetsuo — which is cool. There’s even a brief hovercraft shooter level and mutant bosses that Patterson was able to try through debug level options.
The ideas are all very Akira, but the game is severely unfinished. There’s a single cloying soundtrack and only a few sound effects repeated constantly. Level design is all delightfully broken up too, but what are you expecting from a collection of decades-old mid-development cartridges? Patterson plans to pull together the workable parts of each cartridge, pulling them into something vaguely playable for fans that probably don’t even care how the game plays.
Via: Kotaku
Panasonic checkout machine also bags your items
The rush to automate manual labor jobs has reached new heights in convenience stores. Self-service checkouts are hardly new, but Panasonic and Lawson have taken them one step further in Japan. The pair has developed a basket system which can detect the items you’re placing inside and then, once you’ve reached the till, bag them up automatically. It’s an elaborate concept — the bottom of the basket slides out, allowing your chosen goods to carefully fall into a bag underneath. The basket then slides away from you, creating a space to pick up the bag and walk out.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, the experimental “Regirobo” isn’t finished just yet. You have to manually scan the items, for instance, before placing them in your basket. (Electronic item tags will be introduced in February, enabling the automatic detection.) It’s also restricted to a single store opposite Panasonic’s headquarters in Osaka. Should the trial be successful, the company will pursue a wider roll-out in 2018, however.
The new Lawson and Panasonic collaboration follows the reveal of Amazon Go, an arguably more ambitious take on grocery store shopping. The company hopes to remove the checkout experience entirely using a mixture of “computer vision, sensor fusion and deep learning.” You merely launch the Amazon app and swipe it across a terminal to enter; once you’re inside, the system will detect when you pick up items and add them to your virtual cart. The basket is negated entirely — you simply place the items in the same bag you wish to walk out with. Like Panasonic’s system, however, it will be limited to one store on Blanchard Street, Seattle.
For now then, convenience store jobs are secure. But for how long? That’s a difficult question. An even trickier one is the effect a global roll-out would have on the economy, the retailer sector specifically and employment.
Source: Wall Street Journal, Lawson, Panasonic
Twitter reinstates racist leader’s account
Twitter was supposed to have cracked down on “alt-right” racism back in mid-November, but it appears to be having second thoughts. The social network has reinstated the account of Richard B. Spencer, the white nationalist leader whose groups were an important part of the crackdown. He’d originally been banned based on Twitter rules barring “violent threats, harassment, hateful conduct and multiple account abuse,” although there weren’t clear examples of violations at the time.
A Twitter spokesperson tells us that it restored Spencer’s account because it allows people to reinstate one account when they’ve been banned for creating “multiple accounts with overlapping uses.” Notably, it also points to a BuzzFeed reporter’s tweet arguing that Spencer isn’t abusive on Twitter like many of those who share his racist beliefs. He’s unlikely to get his wish of reinstating other accounts, however. Twitter has shared the email it sent to Spencer, and it’s adamant that his extra accounts “will remain suspended.” You can read both statements below.
While this helps clarify what prompted Twitter to ban Spencer and why he’s back, it’s not going to make people happy. Many had assumed that Twitter was banning Spencer and his organizations based on his hateful ideas and ability to foster abuse by proxy, not because he had multiple accounts. The move isn’t going to please users (or potential buyers) concerned that Twitter isn’t doing enough to curb systemic harassment that scares some away from the service.
“Our rules explicitly prohibit creating multiple accounts with overlapping uses. When we temporarily suspend multiple accounts for this violation, the account owner can designate one account for reinstatement.”
Email to Spencer:
“Hello,
As referenced in our November 18, 2016 communication, creating serial and/or multiple accounts with overlapping use is a violation of the Twitter Rules (https://twitter.com/rules).
Please select one account for restoration; the others will remain suspended. This account will need to comply fully with the Twitter Rules (https://twitter.com/rules). Please reply to this email with the username of the account you would like reinstated and we will make sure to answer your request in a timely manner.
Thanks,
Twitter”
Source: The Guardian
Parrot’s quirky toy drones are slowly growing up
There was a time when Parrot was the name in consumer drones. That’s partly because, way back in 2010 when it launched the AR Drone, the DJI Phantom was still some years away. Today, the landscape is a little different: DJI now dominates the skies, while its competitors can’t seem to catch a break. Except Parrot. The French company remains unfazed by the large industry that has grown around it, and continues to do what it’s always done: make fun, accessible products.
That’s not to say the company isn’t looking forward, though. Two recent updates to its Bebop 2 add “FPV” video goggles and the ever-popular “follow me” mode. This see Parrot finally adding traditionally higher-end or hobbyist features into a drone your technophobe parents could fly. Best of all for Bebop 2 owners, at least, is that both the goggles and follow-me feature will work with your existing drone. For Parrot, though, it’s all about re-invigorating the company’s flagship quadcopter, just in time for the holidays.
I’ve tried a number of drones with “follow me” modes, and each manufacturer has its own take. DJI’s implementation relies exclusively on visual tracking through the camera, which it calls “Active Track”. AirDog, on the other hand, uses a GPS wearable. Some other drones use your phone. Other methods still rely on GPS in the controller itself. Parrot’s interpretation is a blend of GPS (via your phone) and DJI-style visual tracking. In theory this should be quite stable given that the Bebop has two different ways of knowing where you are.
In a cold, overcast park somewhere in the Bay area, I tested out the new follow feature with generally positive results. Selecting a target to follow is easy, just tap on them via the app on your phone. That target/person will want to keep the phone with them for optimum connectivity. If Bebop loses “sight” of you, it falls back to the GPS signal to know where you are. I didn’t encounter this problem, but sometimes the drone would suddenly fly back or rotate left/right as it tried to keep me in focus. When playing back videos recorded by the Bebop, you can see some jerky motion as it follows. Nothing too egregious, though.
Parrot’s app also has all the smart camera modes you’d expect from a product like this, including the aerial selfie (aka “dronie”) and orbit which can also work with the follow feature. Like DJI’s Active Track, the Bebop 2 is smart enough to perform an orbit around a moving target (some drones just orbit a set point).
“Follow me” is just a small part of Parrot’s growing-up, though. I already mentioned FPV, which you can read more about here. Parrot’s goggles work much like a mobile-based VR headset. Activate FPV mode on the app, slide your phone into a goggles, and you’ll see what the drone sees as if you’re inside it. It’s much fun — and easy enough with the Bebop 2 that kids and parents can use it together. As a reminder, to fly FPV with an hobby drones, you’ll often need to open it up and add bits, or meddle with aerials and frequencies. Other drones like DJI’s Phantom series need bespoke (and potentially pricey) goggles.
That the follow feature costs $20 to unlock in Parrot’s companion app is a double-edged sword. It would have been nice for this extra functionality to come in a free app upgrade, but the fact Parrot is charging for it suggests it’s trying to get a return on an investment, which we hope means similar upgrades could be in the works. It could just be a money grab, of course, but for now I’m giving Parrot the benefit of the doubt.
The FPV upgrade is a little pricier. Existing Bebop owners need a new controller along with the headset which currently costs $350. However, if you don’t already have a Bebop, you can currently pick one up for $500 — a promotional bundle that includes the goggles and controller (the regular price is $699).
Given that Parrot also recently created a drone developer-kit, with dual high-res cameras, on-board barometers, motion sensor and more, it’s clear we can expect even more advanced quadcopters to come in the future, but for now, it’s refreshing to see Parrot help Bebop owners eke out a little more mileage from their existing quadcopters. We’ll always enjoy Parrot’s crazy toy drones too, but everyone has to grow up eventually.
Skype translations now work with calls to phone lines
Skype’s live translations are no longer limited to fellow internet callers. If you’re part of the Windows Insider Program, you now have access to a Skype Preview release for PCs that will translate calls to conventional phones, whether they’re cellphones or landlines. If you need to contact a hotel where no one speaks your native tongue, you might have a chance of holding a conversation. The recipients get a notice that Skype is recording and translating the call, so they have an opportunity to hang up if they’re particularly concerned about their privacy.
The expanded translation works with nine languages (Arabic, Brazilian Portugese, English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish). And since you’re calling phone lines instead of other voice-over-internet users, you’ll need some Skype credit to reach anyone who isn’t using a toll-free number. Still, if you’re willing to live on the edge, it’s an important step.
There are more improvements if you don’t care for these features. You can forward Skype calls to a traditional phone line if you won’t have access to the app. It’s also possible to capture and share video messages, whether or not a contact is online. You can better manage conversations, too — it’s possible to both mark conversations as read and introduce people on Skype by sharing contact info. It may take some time for these updates to launch in a polished release, but that patience may pay off.
Via: The Verge
Source: Skype Blogs
HP Spectre x360 review (2016): Smaller, with more compromises
Here at Engadget, we don’t have the time to review every new laptop, but we wanted to make time for HP’s redesigned Spectre x360 convertible. After all, when the original came out a year and a half ago, we quickly named it one of our favorite Windows machines. So now that it’s finally gotten a full makeover, we need to see if the improvements are enough to help HP keep its spot on our short list.
Like the original, this new model ($1,050-plus) has a 360-degree hinge, allowing you to use it in one of four modes, but whereas the original was designed with extensive input from Microsoft, it’s unclear how much of a say Microsoft had this time around. This time, too, the x360 is thinner and lighter, with a smaller footprint. It also brings a new dual fan setup for improved cooling and an upgraded webcam that supports Windows Hello facial recognition. These improvements are all welcome, and yet somehow this new version doesn’t feel as polished as its predecessor.
Hardware
The original x360’s relative heft was one of the few things I found fault with when I reviewed it. Fortunately, then, the refreshed version really is noticeably lighter. And smaller, too. First off, we’re down to 2.85 pounds — an 11 percent drop from 3.17 on the original. (The first-gen version weighed slightly more if you bought it with a full HD panel.) Meanwhile, HP reduced the thickness by 13 percent — it’s now 13.8mm, or 0.54 inches, as compared with 15.9mm (0.63 inches) on the original. For reference, the upgraded 15-inch x360, which we’re not reviewing today, now measures 15.9mm thin, making it as thin the earlier 13-inch model.
As for that smaller footprint, HP pulled a page from Dell’s playbook and went with a nearly bezel-less display, allowing for a smaller chassis than you’d otherwise expect on a 13.3-inch machine. As a result of using this “Micro Edge” panel, as HP calls it, the design team had to retool the keyboard, extending it from edge to edge so as to take full advantage of the available space. It mostly works out — the backlit keys are well spaced and springy — and having just tested the Touch Bar MacBook Pros, I have a renewed appreciation for laptops with media shortcuts built into the Function row.
That said, being a heavy user of the arrow keys, I never quite got used to the tiny “down” button. Also, because the left Ctrl and Function keys have each been shrunken down to the size of a thumbnail, I frequently hit Fn when I meant to strike Ctrl. Which happens a lot when you’re a fan of keyboard shortcuts.
While I mostly enjoyed the keyboard, though, I was not impressed with the touchpad. Once again, HP went with a Synaptics clickpad — seriously, would it have killed HP to go with one of Microsoft’s own Precision touchpads? As spacious as the trackpad is, it’s also stubborn and unpredictable, with a high-friction surface that makes it harder to drag the cursor around than it should be. Also, it frequently rebels by registering phantom left clicks. This caused me to grab and reorder my pinned browser tabs when really I was trying to move the cursor around the desktop. I’ve noticed the same thing on other Windows laptops I’ve tested (many of which use Synaptics); it’s a telltale sign of a subpar trackpad.
Throughout, the machine is made of solid aluminum, with the hinge made of stainless steel underneath. Though the silver color and unibody construction have carried over from the original, you’d never mistake this year’s for the 2015 edition. For starters, HP swapped in the same new logo it introduced earlier this year on its Spectre 13.3 ultraportable; you’ll see that on both the lid and the lower bezel.
There’s also now a conspicuous Bang & Olufsen speaker grille stretching above the keyboard. In addition to the two speakers in there, there are two more on the bottom of the laptop, which means the total speaker count is double what it was last year. HP says the idea in separating the two speaker pairs the way it did was to ensure decent sound regardless of the usage mode.
The speakers are certainly loud — when listening alone in my apartment, I opted to cap the volume at around 25, but probably could have gone even lower. But like so many other laptop speakers that came before it, these can sound a bit tinny, depending on your musical selections. Frank Zappa’s “Son of Mr. Green Genes” and Motown songs like Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” seemed to be missing some crucial bass and drum notes. Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” sounded better, but then again, it’s a tinnier track to begin with. All told, the audio here is acceptable, but it’s nowhere near as good as on, say, the new MacBook Pro, which I happened to be testing at the same time as the x360.
Also new this time: The addition of USB Type-C ports — two of them, to be exact. These ports also support Thunderbolt 3 accessories, and it’s also through one of these ports that you’ll charge the machine. Don’t worry, though: One of the original three full-size USB connections remains, meaning you won’t need a dongle to charge your phone or plug in any other peripherals you might have lying around.
Unfortunately, however, while the full-size USB port and headphone jack both live to see another day, the rest of last year’s ports have all been sacrificed in the name of a slimmer design. That includes the full-size HDMI socket, the Mini DisplayPort and the full-size SD reader. This isn’t a surprise, especially considering what competing laptops have to offer, but it might still be a shame, depending on your needs.
One thing that hasn’t changed much: the screen. We once again have a 13.3-inch, full HD panel with a 300-nit brightness rating and a color gamut that includes 72 percent of the sRGB space. The only difference this time is what isn’t offered: Whereas last time there was a step-up QHD screen option, this time it’s 1080p throughout, regardless of what the other specs are. An HP spokesperson declined to comment on whether the company might eventually bring back that sharper display option. While that might be a dealbreaker for people who were otherwise prepared to spend $1,500 or so on a high-end machine, the screen nonetheless offers satisfying viewing angles, with good contrast and color fidelity when you dip the screen forward.
Performance and battery life
| HP Spectre x360 (2016, 2.7GHz Core i7-7500U, Intel HD 620) | 5,515 | 4,354 | E2,656 / P1,720 / X444 | 3,743 | 1.76 GB/s / 579 MB/s |
| Lenovo Yoga 910 (2.7GHz Core i7-7500U, 8GB, Intel HD 620) | 5,822 | 4,108 |
E2,927 / P1,651 / X438 |
3,869 | 1.59 GB/s / 313 MB/s |
| Microsoft Surface Book (2016, 2.6GHz Core i7-6600U, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M) | 5,452 | 4,041 | E8,083 / P5,980 / X2,228 | 11,362 | 1.71 GB/s / 1.26 GB/s |
| ASUS ZenBook 3 (2.7GHz Intel Core-i7-7500U, Intel HD 620) | 5,448 | 3,911 | E2,791 / P1,560 | 3,013 | 1.67 GB/s / 1.44 GB/s |
| HP Spectre 13 (2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U, Intel HD 520) | 5,046 | 3,747 | E2,790 / P1,630 / X375 | 3,810 | 1.61 GB/s / 307 MB/s |
| Dell XPS 13 (2.3GHz Core i5-6200U, Intel Graphics 520) | 4,954 | 3,499 | E2,610 / P1,531 | 3,335 | 1.6GB/s / 307 MB/s |
| Razer Blade Stealth (2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500U, Intel HD 520) | 5,131 | 3,445 | E2,788 / P1,599 / X426 | 3,442 | 1.5 GB/s / 307 MB/s |
| Microsoft Surface Pro 4 (2.4GHz Core i5-6300U, Intel HD 520) | 5,403 | 3,602 |
E2,697/ P1,556/ X422 |
3,614 | 1.6 GB/s / 529 MB/s |
As I write this, I’m sitting on my couch in shorts, and the Spectre x360 is burning my thighs. I periodically have to shift the machine or even put it on a coffee table to give my legs a rest. The fans are whirring loudly enough for me to hear over my TV, though, so at least I know they’re working. So much for that improved cooling setup, I guess — all I’m doing is typing in Google Docs with a dozen open Chrome tabs. Spotify is open, but not streaming. None of this should be enough to send the machine into a tizzy.
This seemed odd to me, and indeed, I brought in a second x360 for additional testing. That one didn’t get quite as hot, but it was still warm, even when all I was doing was working in a browser and Slack while streaming music. Even so, the intense heat I felt that one time is concerning. After all, that laptop was a production unit, coming off the same factory lines as any laptop you might buy. If it could happen to me, it could happen to you.
The heat and fan noise are a shame, because as loud and hot as it is, it’s otherwise a strong performer. For starters, the x360 is, for now, one of the only laptops available with Intel’s seventh-generation Core processors, code-named “Kaby Lake.” It’s also available with up to 16GB of RAM on more expensive configurations, though PCIe solid-state drives are standard across the board. The model I tested had a 2.7GHz Core i7-7500U CPU, 16 gigs of memory, integrated Intel HD 620 graphics and 512GB of storage.
In everyday use, the machine boots in a brisk seven seconds. Speaking of log-ins, the webcam here now has a 12 percent wider field of view and supports Windows Hello facial recognition. Setting this up was quick and easy, and the camera recognized me every time — so long as I wasn’t wearing glasses, anyway. To be fair, I had this same problem recently with Microsoft’s Surface Book, which also supports Windows Hello. Hopefully, future iterations of the technology will take into account that even regular contacts wearers wear spectacles sometimes.
As for disk speeds, its NVMe-made PCIe solid-state drive achieved average max write speeds of 1.76 gigabytes per second, according to the ATTO benchmark. Its write rates weren’t nearly as fast, but still solid at 579 MB/s.
| HP Spectre x360 (13-inch, 2016) | 13:36 |
| Surface Book with Performance Base (2016) | 16:15 |
| Surface Book (Core i5, integrated graphics) | 13:54 / 3:20 (tablet only) |
| Apple MacBook Pro 2016 (13-inch, no Touch Bar) | 11:42 / 3:02 (tablet only) |
| Surface Book (Core i7, discrete graphics) | 11:31 / 3:02 (tablet only) |
| Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display (13-inch, 2015) | 11:23 |
| Apple MacBook Pro 2016 (15-inch) | 11:00 |
| HP Spectre x360 15t | 10:17 |
| Apple MacBook Pro 2016 (13-inch, Touch Bar) | 9:55 |
| ASUS ZenBook 3 | 9:45 |
| Apple MacBook (2016) | 8:45 |
| Samsung Notebook 9 | 8:16 |
| Microsoft Surface Pro 4 | 7:15 |
| HP Spectre 13 | 7:07 |
HP rates the battery life at up to 15 hours and 15 minutes on the 13-inch model — up from 12.5 hours last year. (The 15-inch version we’re not reviewing today promises a max of 13 hours.) The company says that’s thanks to both more power-efficient processors and a larger 57.8Wh battery, up from 56Wh last year.
Though I never hit that 15-hour mark, I did indeed get longer battery life than on last year’s model: 13 hours and 36 minutes in Engadget’s standard rundown test, which involves looping a video at fixed brightness. That’s hours longer than with some laptops this size, like the 13-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pro, and it’s about two hours longer than on last year’s x360.
Obviously, your mileage will vary, but HP says the machine will recharge consistently fast regardless. In particular, the company claims that its “Fast Charge” tech can return the system to a 90 percent charge in 90 minutes.
Configuration options
The new x360 starts at $1,150 and is available on HP’s website and at Best Buy here in the US. For that base price you get a seventh-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. For $1,159 you get similar specs, except a Core i7 CPU instead of an i5. From there, you can step up to a $1,299 model that offers a Core i7 chip and doubles both the RAM and the storage (so: 16GB of memory with a 512GB SSD). The top-end model, which goes for $1,499, maxes out at 1TB of solid-state storage.
Either way, as mentioned earlier, the screen resolution tops out at 1080p. The graphics are the same across the board too: Intel’s integrated HD 620 solution, though the i7 models have a higher Turbo Boost clock speed.
The competition
The Spectre x360 always has plenty of competition, with many of its rivals also being brand-new releases. The most direct comparison might be the Lenovo Yoga 910, another laptop with a 360-degree hinge, a $1,050 starting price, and similar specs (up to a seventh-gen Core i7 processor with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD). Superficially, the biggest differences are that this has a larger 13.9-inch display (and therefore a slightly larger footprint) and it has a higher-res 3,840 x 2,160 screen option. (I’ve been testing the 910 alongside the Spectre x360, so you can expect to see a full review of it on Engadget soon.)
There’s also Microsoft’s refreshed Surface Book, which also can be used in various modes. (It has a detachable screen, though, not a 360-degree hinge.) I reviewed it recently and was generally fond of it, my major complaint being that it’s relatively heavy, at 3.68 pounds. In exchange for that heft, at least, you get 16-hour battery life, fast performance and lots of ports. Think: two full-size USB 3.0 connections, a Mini DisplayPort, a headphone jack and a full-size SDXC reader.
If you don’t actually need that convertible design, Dell’s XPS 13 ($800-plus) remains our favorite traditional laptop, even two years after it was released. Though it starts with just a Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM, Dell uses seventh-gen Intel CPUs throughout, with options running as high as i7. You can also go up to 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, with a 3,200 x 1,800 screen offered on higher-end models instead of a lower-res 1080p panel. Whichever configuration you choose, we’re fans of the nearly bezel-less screen, comfortable keyboard and compact design.
I might normally have you look at Acer and VAIO too, but we weren’t thrilled with ASUS’s ultraportable ZenBook 3, and it seems VAIO hasn’t updated its 13-inch “Z Flip” to the latest Intel processors.
That leaves Apple. Though the new 13-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t have a 360-degree hinge or even a touchscreen, for that matter, it’s similar to the Spectre x360 when it comes to weight, size, specs and starting price ($1,299 without the controversial Touch Bar). At 3.02 pounds, it’s in the same ballpark, but the battery life is shorter. Though both systems have comfortable keyboards, Apple wins as far as the touchpad is concerned. It also has a sharper display and clearer audio. But not so fast: HP keeps the convenient Function buttons, as well as a full-size USB 3.0 port. The refreshed x360 might not be as well rounded as its predecessor, but I suspect it still ticks off more boxes for more people than the MacBook Pro.
Wrap-up
As we’ve just established, then, the updated Spectre x360 is one of several recent laptops that is now thinner and lighter and smaller. It was a similar story with the redesigned MacBook Pro that came out earlier this fall, as well as the new Lenovo Yoga 910. But while HP isn’t the only PC brand to make concessions in the name of portability, that doesn’t mean the company deserves a free pass. In exchange for that more compact design, we’re left with fewer ports and a keyboard that feels more cramped than it used to. (HP also needs to get better at making touchpads, but that’s neither here nor there.)
That’s not to say there are no improvements — Windows Hello is a treat, as are the faster SSD speeds, longer battery life and wide viewing angles. But if our main complaint about last year’s model was that it was slightly heavy compared with the competition, it would seem that HP accepted some compromises in the name of shedding a few ounces.
Samsung to Cap Note7 Battery Charging at 30% in UK as Verizon Pushes Back Against Bricking in the US
Following the announcement that all Galaxy Note7 devices in the United States will essentially be bricked through an upcoming software update, Samsung recently gave details on how it plans to address the exploding Note7 situation for users in the United Kingdom. The company won’t go so far as to completely eliminate the ability to charge the Note7 in the U.K., but instead limit maximum battery charging capacity to 30 percent (via TechCrunch).
The update for users in the U.K. will hit December 15, four days before the update that will come to U.S. Note7 smartphones. Samsung said that it’s “designed to further minimize customer risk and reinforce to customers to replace their device…as soon as possible.” In the U.S., more than 93 percent of recalled Note7 devices have been returned, but worldwide there are still quite a handful of potentially harmful Note7 smartphones out in the wild, which has lead Samsung to take drastic measures with these software updates.
After the announcement of the U.S. software update last Friday, Verizon confirmed that it won’t push the update to its Note7 customers “because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note7 users that do not have another device to switch to.” The carrier believes that while solving one problem, rendering the remaining Note7 smartphones useless could lead to even more emergency situations where the users are left without a way to contact help. Verizon also cited the need to keep in touch with family during the holidays as another reason it won’t issue the update.
Today, Samsung announced an update to the Galaxy Note7 that would stop the smartphone from charging, rendering it useless unless attached to a power charger. Verizon will not be taking part in this update because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note7 users that do not have another device to switch to. We will not push a software upgrade that will eliminate the ability for the Note7 to work as a mobile device in the heart of the holiday travel season. We do not want to make it impossible to contact family, first responders or medical professionals in an emergency situation.
Every other major U.S. carrier will support the December 19 update from Samsung, including Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. The carriers will be rolling out the software update at different times, with T-Mobile on December 27, AT&T on January 5, and Sprint on January 8.
Tags: Samsung, Galaxy Note 7
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