These phones also come in new colors, with both models adding a “Glacial Green” — not far off from the classic “Tiffany Blue,” which is apparently a popular choice amongst ladies. The smaller 8 offers a rather mesmerizing “Interstellar Glow,” which gives off a dawn or dusk feel, depending on which angle you look at it.
OnePlus
Much like how the 7 Pro was one of the first phones to feature a silky smooth 90Hz display, the 8 Pro takes it to the next level — 120Hz on a 6.78-inch QHD+ AMOLED panel, which is the same panel on Oppo’s Find X2 Pro. The smaller, slimmer OnePlus 8 has a more modest 6.55-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel, but it still maintains a nice 90Hz refresh rate.
On the core component level, the duo appear to be almost equally powerful, featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 along with a 5G modem, up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. However, it’s only the higher-end 8 Pro that packs the faster and more efficient LPDDR5 RAM.
In addition to hospitals and clinics, care facilities, labs, clinicians and pharmaceutical, life sciences and medical device companies, can all sign up for the extended AccountGuard coverage. Through a pilot program, human rights organizations like Amnesty International, CyberPeace and Freedom House have already enrolled in the program. Healthcare organizations can sign up here, and human rights and humanitarian groups can sign up here.
Microsoft warns that most of the attacks on healthcare organizations during the coronavirus pandemic have been executed through email. Attacker often disguise malicious content as a message from an authority or medical equipment provider in order to obtain a person’s credentials or spread malware. Microsoft has also shared a guide to avoiding phishing attacks.
AccountGuard already protects nearly 100,000 email accounts, and it has made 1,450 threat notifications to its existing customers. It’s also working to secure voting machines with its related ElectionGuard tech.
This is clearly a 2019 laptop — you won’t find a Ryzen 4000-series chip or high-capacity storage here. The GTX 1660 Ti is still as good as it gets for mid-tier graphics, though, and this should still be a speedy system as a whole. The Zephyrus G even fairly light (4.6lb) and discreet as far as gaming laptops go, so you might not object to tossing it in a backpack or pulling it out at work or school (when those resume in person, that is).
Just be aware of the usual caveats of gaming laptops. Reviews suggest battery life won’t be spectacular, especially when playing games. Likewise, you can expect the fans to get loud when handling games and other intense tasks. This is still a solid gaming machine, though, and the price makes its limitations easy to swallow.
The OnePlus 8 Pro is also powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 and notes a 6.78-inch 3168 x 1440 QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 48-megapixel quad camera system and a 16-megapixel selfie camera. Like its smaller counterpart, the Pro comes in two variants with 8GB/12GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB of storage. The hefty 4510mAh battery with Warp Charge technology promises 50-percent charge in 30 minutes. It also comes with Android 10 as standard and can be unlocked with a fingerprint.
In the UK, the OnePlus 8 with 8GB of RAM will cost £599 ($573) and the 12GB model will cost £699 ($879). The OnePlus 8 Pro starts at £799 ($1,005), ramping up to £899 ($1,130) for the beefier model.
With this in mind, you’ll be able to watch today’s launch event with some prior knowledge of the devices on show, but there may still be some surprises in store. Watch the event live on YouTube at 8AM PT/11AM EST.
Just like everyone else, I’m practicing social distancing and cutting out nonessential trips. The only problem is that I still need groceries. Lately, the choices include lining up for limited access to the store or navigating website queues that make getting a loaf of bread harder than snagging a new release on SNKRS.
The importance of Apple and Google’s rare collaboration on contact tracing
Privacy meets pandemic.
Google
At the end of last week, Google and Apple announced they would collaborate on Bluetooth technology intended to help alert people if they may have been exposed to COVID-19. But what does that mean, what are the privacy implications and how is the platform supposed to work? Chris Ip dives into the technology and checks in with some experts to get the answers. Continue reading.
Razer’s Pikachu wireless earbuds are stored in a Poké Ball
You’ll have to go to China to catch ’em.
Razer
Yes, you’re seeing correctly. The wireless charging case for these earbuds is a faithfully reproduced Poké Ball from the anime. The front button lights up to indicate charge level. Continue reading.
How to get the most out of Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services
Watch more without blowing up your budget.
Gone are the days when one or two streaming services were your only options. Now, there are dozens of services that let you watch acclaimed new shows, classic movies and much more. It’s hard to keep track of them all, and it’s even harder to watch all of the content you want, now everything lives on its own platform. Engadget has tips and tricks for getting the most out of the streaming services you’re currently paying for and advice on how to test out new ones. Continue reading.
The subreddit is already stocked with Democratic primary and other ads, showing the amounts spent, impressions, geo-targeting and more. It will show all ads run on the site, including those mistakenly approved and then removed, tagged as “approved in error.” Other tags include “issue ads,” “issue ad 2020” and “candidate ad 2020.” The site will eventually post all ads starting from January 1st, 2019.
The subreddit shows the enormous volume of political ads on the site, which counts 430 million active users per month. (Reddit declined to tell Politico its total political ad revenue.) Facebook, which allows lying in political ads, also keeps a database of political advertisers. Twitter has declined all political advertising since November 2019, saying campaigns should earn reach through follows or shares and “not be compromised by money.”
Unlike other RED cameras that require extra components like a display, storage and audio components on top of the “brain,” the Komodo will have everything needed to shoot out of the box. It’ll record RED’s RAW files on off-the-shelf CFAST 2.0 media, use Canon batteries and be relatively small at four inches on all sides.
The sensor will be roughly APS-C sized (super 35mm) and feature a global shutter that reads the entire image at once, eliminating any rolling shutter. It uses Canon’s big and sturdy RF mount, allowing shooters to use lenses from its excellent RF lens lineup. At the same time, RF mount can easily adapt to cinema PL and other mounts via third-party products from Metabones and others.
The timeline for the Komodo’s release still isn’t set, but prototypes are in the hands of Steven Soderbergh who reportedly used one to make Let Them All Talk with Meryl Streep and Gemma Chan. AFI’s clip of Brad Pitt introducing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (below) was also shot on Komodo.
Other items of note include the addition of Ableton Link support, for syncing your timecode across other devices and an Auto Relocate feature so you can find tracks on-the-fly if they’ve been moved. And later this spring, the Beatsource Link direct-to-device streaming services will be supported.
On the iOS side of things (sorry Android users), you can use Mobile Library Sync to wirelessly transfer your Rekordbox library from your desktop to your phone as long as you’re on the same network. This works even if you don’t have the cloud subscription. There’s also direct-connection support for some CDJs and XDJs, letting you play your tracks on those devices without any importing or exporting required.
The three new subscription plans available are Free, Core and Creative. The free mode is limited to in-computer use only, unless you have a controller that includes a hardware-unlock. You don’t get DVS capability (without that licensed controller) or the new cloud sync functionality here and some of the existing features are limited. Next up is the Core subscription which costs $7 a month if purchased before July 13, 2020 (when it goes up to $10). This lets you use any Rekordbox-supported DJ equipment, including DVS but lacks cloud sync, remix effects and sampler sequence saves. The premier subscription is called Creative and includes full functionality across the board for the introductory price of $10 per month (or $15 after July 13, 2020).
This week the pace of game releases slows down and, but there’s plenty of TV shows to see. While esports action has taken over for live sporting events, fans of traditional athleticism can tune in to the WNBA draft on Friday, and on Sunday, check out the first two episodes on ESPN’s highly-anticipated Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance. ESPN and Netflix (which is streaming the series outside the US) moved up its release after the NBA season went on hiatus, and it will explore the late 90s Bulls in ten in-depth episodes.
The FX / Hulu series Devsis wrapping up its first season this week, and so far so good — we’ll see if it can stick the landing. Amazon Prime delivers a new season of Bosch, FX is starting another season of What We Do in the Shadows and the broadcast networks will team up for a live special on Saturday night. Look below to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
The Steam Game Festival will be back this summer to shine a spotlight on upcoming indie games. Valve has started taking applications from developers interested in participating, giving them until April 24th to register for the event. Players will be able to try short demos and experiences of the games chosen to be part of the festival, and, in some cases, be able to connect with their developers.
Valve held the inaugural Steam Game Festival in December, highlighting 14 games over 48 hours. It then hosted the Spring Edition event in March and featured indies that would’ve been at GDC if the conference weren’t canceled. When the spring event was announced, the company also committed to hosting more festivals in the future to highlight indie studios and their games. The hope is that, by putting games that don’t have AAA-level budgets front and center, more people will be aware of their existence and add them to their wishlists.
