Blog

Razer case keeps your iPhone cool during intense gaming sessions

[ad_1]

Otherwise, the designs won’t shock you. The outside is a polycarbonate/thermoplastic hybrid that promises to resist drops, while microfiber on the inside should keep your phone scratch-free. They work with wireless chargers, too. Which model you choose comes down to your priorities. The Arctech Slim is for minimalists with a less protective but sleeker shell, while the Arctech Pro includes four shock-absorbing sidewalls claimed to safeguard your phone from falls as high as 10 feet up.

Both cases are available now in Black, Mercury (white) and Quartz (pink) colors that match Razer’s PCs. The Arctech Slim is the most affordable of the bunch at $30, while paying $40 will net you the Pro. There’s also a $40 screen protector that promises to cut blue light and spare your eyes at night, but that may be overkill when many phones have blue light reduction features. You could save some money if you’re willing to rely on a conventional protector and software.

Razer Arctech Pro case for iPhone 11

[ad_2]

Source link

‘Apex Legends’ is getting physical editions with exclusive cosmetics

[ad_1]

Each version includes exclusive cosmetics, including a legendary character skin, a weapon skin, a banner and a badge, as well as 1,000 Apex Coins, which you can use to buy more in-game items (you’d pay $10 for those coins elsewhere). The physical copies of Respawn Entertainment’s battle royale will be available October 18th for $19.99.

[ad_2]

Source link

Apple can make TV+ ubiquitous through brute force

[ad_1]

No, Apple’s best weapon will be its near ubiquity. For one, there are hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple TVs already in people’s homes. And many more will be arriving later this month when the newest iPads and iPhones go on sale. Let’s also not forget that, earlier this year, the company made its redesigned Apple TV app compatible with TVs from Samsung, and soon it will be available on Amazon Fire TV, Roku, as well as Sony and Vizio smart TVs. This is going to ensure Apple TV+ is in as many places as possible, whether you own an Apple device or not.

Not only that, but at launch Apple TV+ will be up and running in more than 100 countries. That’s going to give it an advantage over new rivals in the video-streaming space like Disney, whose long-awaited service Disney+ will launch in just three countries — the US, Canada and the Netherlands — on November 12th. Australia and New Zealand will join those on November 19th, and Disney has said that its plan is for Disney+ to be in “most major global markets” within the first two years of its launch, but Apple is doing it right from the start.

US-IT-lifestyle-Apple

To make matters even more interesting, Apple is giving anyone who buys an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac a free one-year subscription to the service. And once that free year is up, it’s still only $5 a month — which is basically going to make it impossible to ignore Apple TV+.

And while Apple TV+ and Disney+ are offering low-cost services, Netflix just keeps increasing its prices and tacking on extra fees for features like 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos support — all of which are included in the default plans from Apple and Disney. You could make the argument that Netflix has a more robust library, but how many of the series/films on there are you actually watching?

Perhaps, that’s why Disney told Engadget that “quality over quantity” will give Disney+ an advantage over competitors. The challenge for Apple will be to have enough exclusive shows and movies keep people around, particularly after their free year of service. Right now, Apple TV+ is expected to launch with nine original series, including See, a futuristic drama announced today, which takes place in a world where humans have lost the sense of sight.

[ad_2]

Source link

All the important news from Apple’s iPhone 11 event

[ad_1]

The iPhone 11, which is intended to be the successor to the iPhone XR, features the same display as last year’s model. But it offers longer battery life, two new cameras and six entirely new colors. All three phones will feature an entirely new Bionic A13 chip, which means not only will they perform faster than their predecessors, they’ll consume less battery.

The tech giant also previewed the Apple Watch Series 5, which has the distinction of being the company’s first wearable to feature an “always on” display. The new LTPO Retina display lets users check time and notifications on the device without having to raise their wrist.

The new seventh-generation iPad gets a boost in screen size, at 10.2 inches. Finally, those anticipating Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ got a look at what both will offer, as well as details on pricing. Both services will feature family plans at $5 a month. Arcade will launch on September 19th in over 150 different countries, while Apple TV+ will be available on November 1st.

Both the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max will be available in 64GB, 256GB and 512GB. Prices will start at $999 for the Pro and $1099 for the Pro Max. The iPhone 11 will start at $699, which is a deal considering that last year’s iPhone XR started at $749. You can pre-order the smartphones on September 13th, and it will be available in stores on September 20th. And just a day before the new iPhone 11 hits stores, Apple will release iOS 13. Here’s a rundown of all the major announcements made at today’s Apple event.

iPhone 11 Pro

iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max

  • Both the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are successors to last year’s XS phones with 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch displays, respectively.
  • While the screen sizes are unchanged, the display is brighter than ever — up to 1,200 nits. It also has a 2 million-to-one contrast ratio, but despite these changes Apple says it’s 15 percent more power efficient than the previous model.
  • Both smartphones feature stainless steel cases with a new optical PVD coating for a matte texture. Customers will be able to choose between last year’s colors and a new midnight green.
  • The focus of the new iPhone 11 Pro line is camera power. The phones come with three entirely new cameras. Users can choose between a 12 megapixel, 26mm f/1.8 wide-angle camera and a 12-megapixel, 52mm f/2.0 telephoto lens. There’s also an ultra-wide angle 13mm f/2.4 camera that will come in handy for nature photography and shooting action videos.
  • The iPhone 11 Pro will dive into AI photography next year with a feature it is calling “Deep Fusion”. The feature will snap eight photos before you press the shutter and stitch together a new image “pixel by pixel.”
  • The iPhone 11 Pro’s cameras support a new Night Mode, which appears to work like the Night Sight feature Google introduced to the Pixel smartphones last year. Expect significantly improved images in low light thanks to the new camera software and A13 chip.
  • The Pro smartphones will feature an A13 Bionic chip, which is also found in the iPhone 11. The 11 Pro’s battery lasts four hours longer than the iPhone XS, and the 11 Pro Max’s battery lasts five hours longer than the XS Max.
  • You’ll get speedier charging with a new 18W USB-C fast charger.
  • Here’s how the iPhone 11 Pro Max stacks up next to its competitors.

[ad_2]

Source link

iPhone 11 hands-on: Still cheap and cheerful

[ad_1]

The work that Apple started with the XR continues in the new iPhone 11, which I’ve just spent a little time with. I find myself drawn to the 11 for the same reason that I liked the XR so much: You’ll get serious power at an even more serious discount. Remember: The standard iPhone 11 will set you back $700, down from the $750 that the iPhone XR debuted at last year.

When it comes to pure performance, the 11 uses the same A13 Bionic chipset as its Pro siblings, and I didn’t notice any substantive difference in how well the 11 and the 11 Pros played games and launched apps. Apple’s more basic phones tend to use slightly less RAM than the more expensive models, but I couldn’t confirm that on the ground. If there is a power gap between Apple’s new iPhones, it’ll never really leap out at you — that’s good news for phone shoppers trying to save a little cash.

The biggest aesthetic change here — aside from a handful of new colors, like a neat minty green — is the dual camera around back. Most of the rumors going into the event suggested we’d be getting a telephoto camera here but Apple zagged on all of us with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide cam, and that was probably for the best. When you want to mix up your shots with different perspectives, going wide beats going tight — for me, anyway. The few photos we get to take looked plenty slick on this 6.1-inch LCD display, as did some of the 4K60 sample footage we captured. Apple didn’t load up the iPhone 11 segment of the show with superlatives the way it did for the Pros, but the camera setup here already seems like a valuable one. The bigger question is how well it actually performs in the field against the competition, though, and we just can’t vouch for that yet.

Developing…

[ad_2]

Source link

The iPhone 11 Pro vs. the competition: Battle of the cameras

[ad_1]

The new flagship iPhone is here, and Apple’s added the word “Pro” to its name — the first time Apple’s used that word for a handset. And no wonder: The camera on the iPhone 11 Pro is a triple camera setup that takes nine images with each press of the shutter and uses a neural engine to assemble the best picture possible. It’ll need to deliver in order to keep pace with rival flagships like the Pixel 3 (or next month’s Pixel 4) and the Galaxy S10 or Note 10. Where else does it shine? And where does it fall behind? Check out our table below for the essential specs, and join us later this month for our full review.

[ad_2]

Source link

Deep Fusion is the iPhone’s take on AI photography

[ad_1]

As Schiller explained, when you’re about to take an image with the new iPhone 11 Pro, the camera will snap 8 images before you press the shutter. When you do, it’ll then take one long exposure, and will then stitch a new image together, “pixel-by-pixel” to create one with lots of detail and very little noise.

It’s not specifically designed for shooting in the dark, but it’s clear that Apple is parking its tanks on Google’s lawn. Night Sight has been one of the strengths of the last few Pixel phones, using machine learning to create well-lit images in dark environments.

Schiller didn’t say when exactly we could expect Deep Fusion, but that it’ll arrive on devices in the coming months. Given the looming announcement of the Pixel 4, it’ll be very interesting to see if Google already has the next generation of its own technology ready to return fire.

[ad_2]

Source link

Apple Watch Series 5 features an always-on display

[ad_1]

The Apple Watch Series 5 was introduced by Stan Ng, which for the first time features an always-on LTPO Retina Display with variable refresh rates. That means it no longer goes completely dark when your wrist is lowered, making it easy to check the time without people noticing. The device also features for the first time, a compass, enabling you to find which direction you’re facing as well as your location.

Last year, Apple re-engineered the watch for the first time, increasing the case sizes from 38 and 42mm to 40 and 44mm, respectively. They were flatter and wider than their predecessors, so they sat a little easier under your shirt sleeves. It had the knock-on effect of making the smaller of the two much more usable than the previous three editions. The other big headline feature was the inclusion of ECG, initially in select markets, to help detect cardiac issues before they became potentially fatal.

The company led the announcement with a video featuring testimonials of people who say their lives were saved by the Apple Watch. That’s both down to the fall detection features and the built-in ECG that alerted people that they were seriously ill. The company also featured comment by people who had managed to lose significant amounts of weight after being prompted to move by the wearable.

At the same time, the company is launching a trio of new medical studies, following the one that focused on heart health. The first is a hearing study, which is designed to detect ambient noise, as well as one that looks at how menstrual cycles interact with diagnosis of other conditions. Finally, a heart and movement study will look to provide more data on how heart conditions form, and if the watch can help prevent them.

In the run-up to the event, the rumor mill had been grinding plenty of tidbits as to what we could expect from Apple’s launch. That included the suggestion that Apple would bring back its Edition range of watches made with premium materials for the cases, including ceramic and titanium. Sleep tracking, a longstanding omission from the watch — in part because of its short battery life — was also mooted as a new option.

Speaking of which, Apple has historically claimed that the Watch will last for around 18 hours on a charge, but that’s always been a little conservative. Anecdotally, users often say the watches will last between 24 to 30 hours before the battery waves a little white flag and conks out. According to Ng, even with the always-on display, the device will still have a quoted battery life of 18 hours.

Apple has been preparing the ground for the new Apple Watch for some time, giving it more independence from the iPhone. WatchOS 6, announced at WWDC, included news of an on-device app store, as well as the ability to play Audiobooks and Voice Memos from your wrist. The June event also offered up news of an onboard calculator, noise alerts and menstrual cycle tracking.

This breaking news story is developing, please refresh for more information.

[ad_2]

Source link

Opel’s Corsa-e is an alternative to VW’s ID.3 EV

[ad_1]

Opel Corsa-e interior

Instead of designing an entirely new chassis, Opel adopted its popular supermini model, which the automaker first introduced way back in 1982, to create its first EV. The new car features a 50kWh battery with 100kW output, which translates to about 136 horsepower in traditional gasoline terms. Opel guarantees the battery pack for eight years and says it can deliver a maximum range of 330km — or approximately 205 miles — per the WLTP standard. With 50kW fast charging, the Corsa-e is able to get 62 miles of range in about 19 minutes. If those specs sound familiar, it’s because the Corsa-e features the same battery (and €29,900 starting price tag) as the Renault Zoe. It also shares the same e-CMP platform as the Peugeot e-208. Those specs position the Corsa-e as a direct competitor to the $30,000 base model Volkswagen ID.3.

In addition to showing off the Corsa-e, Opel detailed its future EV plans. By 2024, the automaker says it plans to transition its entire lineup to electric. With its most popular consumer-facing model now fully electric, next to get the EV treatment is the company’s Vivaro van in 2020, followed by the Combo Life, Combo Cargo and Zafira Life in 2021. Unfortunately, the company’s first EV isn’t coming stateside.

[ad_2]

Source link