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Google pulls 85 Android apps with particularly obnoxious adware

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Given the prevalence of adware on the Google Play store, it’s important to check the reviews of unfamiliar apps; these apps in particular racked up several one-star scores, with users pointing out the problems they’ve encountered. That said, we’ve even seen cases of adware being pre-installed on Android phones, though that’s generally on phones not certified by Google.

Trend Micro points out that this adware should ideally only affect phones running older versions of Android. “Android 8.0 and later versions…have a function that asks for user confirmation before an application is allowed to create a shortcut,” which would have alerted users to the app’s otherwise hidden activity.

Google frequently states that the company takes measures to prevent adware and malware from making it onto their digital storefront, yet new reports on dozens of nefarious apps surface on a regular basis. This most recent event likely won’t be the one that pushes Google toward a more secure Play store, but after so many incidents, it’s hard to imagine that push won’t eventually come to shove.

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24 hours with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+

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The hole-punch display

Samsung’s mastery of smartphone screens is well-known, and the 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED one here is nothing short of excellent. (If it means something to you, DisplayMate has a fairly gushy evaluation you can read here.) What people have been more concerned about is whether the center-aligned front-facing 10-megapixel camera is any more distracting than the cutouts on the Galaxy S10 series. Well, I’m pleased to report I never really notice it. Yes, its placement is somewhat more prominent, but Samsung’s work in making the cutout smaller means it’s very easy to ignore.

The cameras

No surprises here — the Note 10+ more or less uses the same rear triple camera system and time-of-flight sensor as the Galaxy S10 5G, and they’re still excellent. Colors are lush and vibrant, and photos come out with a remarkable level of detail, though some of you might not like the extra sharpening Samsung’s software does. One of the more notable changes here is that the 12-megapixel telephoto camera has a slightly wider aperture, which helps when shooting in the dark. The handful of telephoto shots I’ve taken in the do look surprisingly good, but I haven’t had time to make a direct side-by-side comparison with the Galaxy S10 yet.

Blistering performance

Despite rumors that suggested Samsung might use an updated variant, the Note 10 and 10+ use the same Snapdragon 855 that pretty much every other flagship this year does. (Note: This is true of my US-spec model, but some international versions will use one of Samsung’s Exynos chips instead.) It’s still a powerhouse though, coupled with 12GB of RAM and Qualcomm’s Adreno 640 GPU. As a result, the Note 10+ absolutely flies, but the same could be said of any flagship phone.

S Pen handwriting recognition

I recently started writing out notes and reminders on paper instead of typing them into my phone. The Note 10+ is supposed to give me the best of both worlds by letting me write out my notes with the S Pen and then turn that into searchable text. I’ve got to say, I’m impressed by how quickly the Note 10+ can parse my chicken scratch. I’ve been able to search for specific items in my shopping list mere moments after hitting save. And apart from some issues with recognizing spaces between words, the Note has done a decent job converting my writing into readable text.

Chris Velazco/Engadget

Lots of design tweaks

This might just be a me thing, but the smaller Note 10 is way more comfortable to use than this big one. If you’re a big phone fan, the Note 10+ might be OK, especially since it’s roughly the same size as last year’s Note 9. Even as a guy with big hands, though, the Note 10+’s body can feel a little unwieldy at times. It doesn’t really help that part of my hand frequently sits on the screen without my noticing it, leading to a few moments of confusion when my touch inputs get totally screwed up. That’s all because the touch-sensitive screen curves a little further down the sides than on earlier devices, making accidental touches much more frequent. It sounds like a little thing, I’ll admit, but it’s starting to get pretty frustrating. When it comes to Samsung’s big phones, I firmly believe the company peaked with the S10+.

Oh, and while I’m glad Samsung finally got rid of that pointless Bixby button, the fact that all of the phone’s physical controls are on the left side keeps throwing me for a loop. This decision runs counter to what every other Android smartphone maker does. I often reach for a power button that’s not where I expect it to be. On the plus side, though, lefties finally have a phone that feels purpose-built for them.

S Pen Air Actions

One of the biggest changes to the Galaxy Note formula this year is Samsung’s addition of an accelerometer to its new S Pen. In case you hadn’t heard, you can use it as a magic wand of sorts to trigger shortcuts and remotely perform actions in certain apps like switch between camera modes and control your media.

For now, support is limited to Samsung’s first-party apps, but that’s to be expected and may well change over time. My bigger concern is that Air Actions largely feel like things you’ll use once or twice and never again. If you’re not the kind of person who mounts their phones on tripods when taking photos, for instance, the Air Action to control the zoom level is basically useless. I’ll keep testing them, but for now, consider me a skeptic.

Chris Velazco/Engadget

The battery

There’s a 4,300mAh battery tucked inside the Note10+, and that’s the most capacious Samsung has ever squeezed into one of its Notes. It’s hard to draw many meaningful conclusions after only a day, but I will say that I pulled the Note of its box at 7:45AM and it was down to around 10 percent by 6PM. (That said, I suspect some prolonged periods where I was listening to YouTube videos with the screen off didn’t help.) For what it’s worth at this point, Samsung’s battery info reported about 5.5 hours of screen-on time when I finally plugged it in, but I’ll dig into this further.

Creator features

I had a few people on Twitter ask me how the Note 10+ stacks up as a tool for creators, especially now that Samsung axed the headphone jack. I spent most of yesterday playing with the S Pen, and didn’t have the chance to really dig into Samsung’s home-brew video editing app, or whether the crazy zoom-in audio feature really does home in on subjects in the frame. I will, however, be visiting my goddaughter for her birthday this weekend, so expect lots of cute test footage and AR doodles when we publish our full review.

Unfinished business

I was looking forward to trying out the Note 10’s new DeX features — instead of plugging the phone into a separate monitor you happen to have around, you can connect to a Windows or Mac computer and run the full DeX interface in a window. Unfortunately, that requires a companion app for your computer which won’t be available until the Notes are officially released August 23, but I’m confident I’ll have time to test it properly before then. Same goes for PlayGalaxyLink, that lets you stream any game installed on your PC to your Galaxy Note. It sounds like a potentially great reason to invest in a 5G Galaxy Note, but for now, we’ll have to wait a bit longer

Oh, one final thing: I’ve been paying close attention to the questions people have been sharing with on Twitter, so drop me a line there if there’s something you’re particularly curious about. One question did come up more frequently on Twitter than I had expected, so I’ll just my answer here for posterity:

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App allows citizen scientists to track monarch butterfly migration

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According to the researchers, monarch butterflies conduct one of the most dramatic migrations in the world. Each fall, the monarchs in New England turn south and begin a 3,000-mile journey to their overwintering grounds. But like all insects, monarchs are dwindling. The number that complete that long migration has fallen by 90 percent in the past two decades, the researchers say.

To better understand monarch migration patterns and ultimately protect those that remain, the researchers from the University of Maine have created a model to determine where the butterflies rest at night, or roost. Because the model covers such a large area — from Maine to Georgia and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Appalachian Mountains — it’s not feasible for the researchers to confirm their predictions on foot. That’s where the app comes in.

The researchers have created a Monarch Model Validator survey in the free Collector for ArcGIS app — available on Apple, Android and Windows 10. They’re asking users to take photos of roosting butterflies at predetermined high-priority sites (indicated by pins on a digital map) or at unmarked locations. Users are also asked to answer a short survey.

While this study is limited to the East Coast, researchers around the globe are studying butterflies and their population declines. According to some findings, the number of butterfly species on farmland in England dropped by 58 percent between 2000 and 2009. If scientists can determine where butterflies rest on their long migrations, they might be able to minimize the damage.

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Moto’s 5G Mod is now compatible with the two-year-old Z2 Force

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Motorola is also updating the 5G Moto Mod to enhance its ability to function as a backup battery. Moving forward, if the accessory detects that the battery on a phone it’s connected to drops below a certain threshold, it will start sharing power with that device. It also works in the other direction: the Moto Z2 Force, Moto Z3 and Z4 will share their power reserves with the 5G Moto Mod if its battery drops below a certain level. Thankfully, you won’t have to worry about accidentally draining your phone’s battery to zero, as Motorola says both the phones and mod will only pull power from one another if they have enough to spare. Additionally, Motorola promises faster download speeds on Verizon’s 5G network. The new software comes pre-installed on Moto Z4 units sold by Verizon. Meanwhile, on the Moto Z2 Force and Moto Z3, the enhancements are a download away.

After a recent expansion, Verizon’s 5G network available in nine cities nationwide: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Denver, Indianapolis, Providence, St. Paul, Minnaepolis and Washington, DC. The carrier’s current goal is to expand its 5G network to more than 30 US cities before the end of the year.

While there are likely very few Moto Z2 Force owners still out there, and fewer still who live in any of the nine cities where Verizon’s 5G network is available, the fact Motorola is updating a two-year-old phone to extend its life has no downside. More smartphone companies should be doing the same.

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Sticker sensor monitors your body using wireless power

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The antenna proved to be the main challenge. They only had to screen-print metallic ink on a rubber sticker to create the antenna, but its signals could weaken as the body moved. The scientists had to develop a novel RFID system that could reliably send signals despite the constant changes.

The receiver itself is much larger and uses Bluetooth to send data to a smartphone or PC.

BodyNet is currently limited by the need for proximity between the sticker and receiver. That’s fine for the initial expected uses, such as tracking heart conditions and sleep disorders, but it wouldn’t be very useful in exercise conditions where you can’t count on ideal sensor placement. The team may solve this by weaving antennas into the clothing itself.

There are plans beyond that, too. The researchers are already working on stickers that could use sweat to detect body temperature and stress, and they hope to one day offer a full-body sensor array that could collect data while staying out of your way. That could improve the quality of life for people with health conditions, not to mention help athletes track their performance without limiting their movements.

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A popular immigration bill is bad news for US esports

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“If you look at Overwatch League, it’s predominantly Korean teams,” Doi said. “It gets increasingly more difficult for players like CS:GO teams, they tend to be from western Europe. A lot of the LCS players are from Canada. Even the Canadians, even though they’re North American players, they need a visa to come and compete in the United States. It’s not a good situation.”

In the current scenario, US team owners can sign a player from another country and have a rough idea that they’ll be able to play in the US in the near future. If the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act becomes law, that timeline is shot. It would become untenable for many US organizations to sign foreign players, eliminating a rich talent pool for stateside teams.

This assessment applies to unsigned players, as well. Aside from the long-term, employment-based immigration path of EB-1 visas, one common way that foreign esports pros compete in the US is the P-1 athlete visa. US Citizenship and Immigration Services opened up the P-1 athlete visa to esports players in 2013, allowing recipients to live in the country for five years, with the possibility to extend for another five years afterward.

The process to receive this visa has become more strained over the past few years — more on that in just a moment.

Overwatch World Cup 2018

Other players, usually those in the country for a single tournament, can sometimes get by with a B1 or B2 travel visa, which grants entry for up to one year. Players from developing countries often need sponsorship from an established US company to secure a B1 or B2 visa, guaranteeing the player will return home when their stay is up.

Esports pros are becoming intimately acquainted with the US immigration system, and groups like eFight Pass, a player-run program started by Street Fighter V pro Sherry “Sherryjenix” Nahn, are popping up. EFight Pass attempts to help competitors, many of whom hail from developing countries with strictly controlled immigration paths, to pay for visas and navigate the complicated approval process. The group has support from big-name players and companies like Capcom.

Now back to those athlete visas. Organizations like eFight Pass are necessary as the US visa process has grown slower and more opaque. Doi has watched these past three years as approvals have dropped and previously insignificant roadblocks have turned into impassable walls. President Donald Trump has been clear about his intent to slow immigration, and that policy has touched even esports.

“I hate getting so political about this, but it’s just the nature of what the industry is like right now,” Doi said.

Visa issues have kept players and entire teams from competing in major tournaments, even before Trump took office. But, Doi said that since 2017, paperwork has taken longer and processes have stalled. She’s telling organizations to slow down, and check with her before signing anyone.

“The changes that I have seen in the past 10 years, basically effective once President Trump got into office and started taking this anti-immigrant position, is, I’ve been getting requests for additional evidence, and notices of intent to deny, and even denials on cases that would’ve just sailed through the bureaucratic process pre-Trump,” she said. “It’s really negatively impacting, first and foremost, the players.”

This same process is unfolding in traditional sports as athletes attempt to secure the P-1 visa, as well, Doi said.

“I have colleagues who represent Major League Baseball players, professional boxers, world class boxers, and tennis players,” she said. “Across the board, they’re also having trouble. It’s not just esports.”

However, there’s (at least) one extra roadblock in front of any professional gamer looking to play in the US. Many government employees still don’t understand what esports are.

“For example, I just got a request for additional evidence, ‘Why does this person need to come to the United States to play when they’re playing an online game?'” Doi said. “Just really basic, basic questions like that, I need to go back and explain. That’s kind of the current situation. It’s getting harder to get visas.”

FaZe Clan wins

The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act is an attempt to smooth over the immigration process for a modern, global marketplace, and it does precisely what its name suggests. It makes the system numerically fair. However, for the people who were benefiting from country-specific queues, it represents a new challenge.

Since passing the House, the bill has made its way to the Senate, where it faces a tougher challenge. It has to make it through committees and amendment discussions, and then actually go up for a vote. So far, S.386 has 35 Senators on-board; passing it would require at least 51.

“Let’s say it gets through those committees,” Doi said. “Then, it has to come for a vote. If it doesn’t get enough votes, then it’s dead. If it does get enough votes, then it has to make it to the White House. Again, who knows if President Trump will sign it depending on his mood that day? You know, it has to be a perfect storm of events for this to be approved.”

Doi will have her eyes on the horizon until S.386 disappears, or becomes the new reality in esports immigration.

Images: Riot Games (Team on stage); Robert Paul / Blizzard Entertainment (British fans); Edward M. Pio Roda (Confetti)



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The best portable solar battery charger

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Why you should trust us

I spent roughly 30 hours researching and testing portable solar chargers for this guide on top of the 30 hours that other Wirecutter staffers clocked over the past two years. I’ve written guides to the best USB power banks for phones and tablets, the best USB power banks for laptops, the best portable power stations, and more, and before working at Wirecutter I was a science writer and fact checker for four years. Plus, during a month-long visit to rural Malawi, I got firsthand experience with a subpar portable solar charger—it was so slow that I gave up on it midway through the trip.

Who this is for

Portable solar charger

Photo: Rozette Rago

USB solar chargers are a great option if you’re taking an extended camping trip or if you’re traveling somewhere with an unreliable power grid. They’re also good for stashing in an emergency kit. In all those specific situations, a solar charger could charge a phone the size of an iPhone X using a few hours of midday sun. But in most situations, a USB solar charger isn’t actually the best portable power source, and you may be better off starting with a USB power bank designed for phones and tablets, USB-C laptops, or AC-powered laptops. Our power bank picks keep a smartphone charged for hours or even days at a time, are the size of a paperback novel or smaller, and are not dependent on the weather.

But whether you choose a solar charger or a battery, it’ll work only with USB or USB-C devices, which limits these options’ appeal for anyone who needs power for a long-term, off-grid setup. If you’re going to be mostly stationary and need to charge or run larger devices like laptops or televisions, or if you need to use more sophisticated communications equipment, you’ll probably be more interested in the larger setups that we cover in our guide to the best portable power stations.

How we picked

Portable solar charger

Photo: Rozette Rago

To decide which solar chargers we wanted to test, we started with a pool culled from Amazon’s best-selling and top-reviewed listings, recommendations from authoritative review sites such as OutdoorGearLab, and any mentions on sites that specialize in tech or outdoor gear. Bad overall ratings or poor owner-review scores on Fakespot weren’t automatic dealbreakers, but we did axe any models with a pattern of bad reviews—those mentioning problems such as inconsistent and slow performance, warping and bowing, or power-related problems and defects. Before calling in any models for testing, we considered these key features:

Power output and charging

We considered only USB solar chargers rated at 10 watts or higher because with anything less you may not get enough power throughout the day to charge a single phone, which just isn’t practical. Although we preferred models that claimed to offer even more power, we didn’t want that to come with a major increase in size that would limit the charger’s portability.

We skipped any chargers that had only a single USB charging port. We preferred two output ports, a design that lets you charge a second device or share the power with someone else. Any extra ports were a bonus. Each port had to draw at least 1 amp, which is the minimum necessary to fully charge a phone like the iPhone X in three to four hours.

Portable solar charger

Our pick, the BigBlue 28W USB Solar Charger, is not much bigger than an iPad, and you can easily stow it in most daypacks. Photo: Rozette Rago

Size

A good portable solar charger is sized such that you can easily fold it up and stow it away in a daypack—ideally it should not be much bigger than an iPad. At the same time, more surface area is better at capturing elusive rays on a cloudy day, so we discounted models with fewer than two panels. (In previous tests, we saw poor results from small, brick-style models with a built-in battery—see our last entry in the Competition section.) And since backpackers or hike-in campers are the most likely people to need a solar charger, we didn’t want it to add too much weight to a pack. Every model we tested weighed around a pound, and we didn’t consider anything over 2 pounds.

Warranty and reliability

We looked at the company websites and contacted customer support to make sure each model was made and distributed by a reputable brand, was readily available to buy, was unlikely to go out of stock quickly, and was under warranty for at least a year.

Extras

If a charger came with any bonus features, we took those into account as well. Features such as a magnetic closure or a built-in kickstand can make a solar charger easier to use, but only if it’s already great at its core job of producing power and charging devices. Most of the chargers we tested included a USB–to–Micro-USB cable, but some (like Anker’s 3-foot cable) were longer or felt more durable than others. Many included a few carabiners, too. The carabiners themselves were small and chintzy across the board, but we appreciated the added ability to hang the charger from a backpack or tent.

Price

Solar chargers that cost more than $100 either don’t offer any notable advantages over sub-$100 models or occupy a completely different size and weight class that would be overkill for the casual camper or the average emergency kit. On the other end of the scale, really inexpensive solar chargers generally can’t produce enough power or charge fast enough to be worth bothering with. We’ve struggled with cheap chargers that produce too little power or have inconvenient quirks like those we outline in the Competition section, and we’ve concluded that you shouldn’t rely on such models regardless of the situation. That left us with just four chargers that hit our sweet spot of maximum-output rating, size and weight, availability, and nice-to-have features. We tested an Anker 15 W charger (our former pick, which has since been discontinued) against three competitors:

In the past, we also tested nine other models; we discuss them further in the Competition section.

How we tested

We tested the most promising models on a smoggy July week in New York City. If you’re planning to travel closer to the equator or under clearer skies, you’ll get more power than we did in our testing. But since we’ve tested chargers under ideal conditions in the past—in sunny Southern California—this time we wanted to have a point of comparison for the benefit of urban dwellers a bit farther north. We conducted head-to-head tests to make sure each charger had the same weather conditions, and we measured each model’s maximum power output, the total power it produced throughout the day, and how consistent the power production was when the charger was faced with passing clouds.

Portable solar charger

On a smoggy day in New York City, none of the solar chargers were able to produce the maximum power output their USB ports are capable of.

  • Maximum output/fastest charge: We set out the panels just before solar noon, which is when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky at a given location. Making sure the panels were facing the same direction and set up at the same angle, we plugged each one into a PortaPow 3-20V Dual USB Power Monitor and a Drok DC 3-21V Load Tester to find out just how much power they could produce during the sunniest part of the day.
  • Total power: We also set all of our candidates up for a four-hour period in the middle of the day so that each could charge a fully drained Anker PowerCore 20100 power bank. We monitored the cumulative power production with a PortaPow power monitor attached between each solar charger and power bank. When the test was complete, we also drained each power bank using four Drok load testers to double check that our results were accurate. Those numbers helped us understand just how charged a standard phone or tablet would be when left out for the same amount of time.
  • Consistent power: On a different sunny day, we tested whether each solar charger could return to full power after being shaded—imitating, say, a cloud passing overhead. Using the same setup, we waited for the power meters to reach at least a few watts, and then folded the chargers shut. Once the device readings hit zero, we opened them up again and waited for them to return to full power. All the models in our latest round of testing passed this test, but in past tests some solar chargers (especially the cheapest ones) couldn’t bounce back—which is a dealbreaker for us. If you were to leave your phone and solar charger out all afternoon to absorb some juice while you’re off hiking, you’d be pretty disappointed to find your phone had charged for only 15 minutes before a cloud passed by.
  • Size, fit, and finish: Beyond analyzing performance, we compared the size and construction quality of each model in person. We measured their dimensions when folded and unfolded, and we used a digital kitchen scale to weigh them with precision. Most solar chargers consist of just two to four solar panels sewn to a woven-nylon backing, with wires hidden between the layers of nylon and a charging component in a pocket on the end. They usually have a Velcro or magnet closure and are designed with riveted holes or loops around the edges to help you hang or mount the charger to a backpack or tent. All the models we examined had roughly the same quality of stitching and nylon. Since the panels themselves are weatherproof, they’re simply sewn in at the edges without any additional covering. The size and weight varied a little between the models, but once we had them all in hand, we saw that the basic designs didn’t vary enough for us to rule out any or to pick a favorite.

The BigBlue 28W USB Solar Charger is the USB solar charger we’d pack for a week in the woods or a month in Malawi. It produced the most power of the models we tested and offers several standout features—an additional output port, a weatherproof port protector, and an expansive (but lightweight) array of panels to catch every last ray of sunlight.

At the sunniest point of our tests, the BigBlue tied with the X-Dragon 20W SunPower Solar Charger for how much power it produced at any one instant, reaching about 10.7 watts. But over the course of the day, the BigBlue had the highest cumulative wattage: 48.8 watt-hours to the X-Dragon’s 43.7 watt-hours. That isn’t a huge gain—you could barely charge an iPhone X battery halfway with the additional power—but every watt matters if you’re far from an outlet, and the extra power costs little more in size or price.

Portable solar charger

The BigBlue charger produced more power over the course of a four-hour test day than any other charger we tested.

The BigBlue stood out among the dozens of models we considered in part because it has two 2.4 A ports and one 1 A port so you can charge three devices simultaneously. (Those ratings are based on the assumption that the solar panels are working at full 28-watt capacity, which will rarely happen with any solar charger.) Every other model we tested had just two ports. Plus, the ports on the BigBlue are the most protected from water and dust among all the models we tested, as they’re covered by both a cloth flap and a rubber cover. Thankfully the cover is connected by a small tether (unlike the rubber cover on the Eceen charger we tested) so you don’t lose it.

Portable solar charger

The charging ports on the BigBlue are protected from the elements by a rubber flap when they’re not in use. Photo: Rozette Rago

The BigBlue looks attractive, feels sturdy, and is well made with a weatherproof synthetic fabric. Along with the X-Dragon, which weighs about the same, it’s one of the lightest models we tested; at 1 pound, 4 ounces, it’s about as heavy as a can of soup. The BigBlue is also one of the smallest models we tested when folded up—tied with the Anker charger at 11 by 6.3 inches. Yet it’s by far the largest when unfolded, with four fold-out solar panels to the X-Dragon’s three (the Anker and Eceen both have just two). This size makes the BigBlue a little more cumbersome to use, but the extra surface area is nice for catching every possible ray on a cloudy day.

To power your gear, the BigBlue charger comes with a 2-foot cable, double the length of the X-Dragon and Eceen cables. That extra foot makes a world of difference if you want to look at your phone while it’s charging, for example, or if you want to place your power bank safely in the shade while leaving your solar panels exposed to the sun. Also included are four carabiners—they clip onto the fabric loops sewn around the edges of the BigBlue—that you can use to attach it to the outside of a backpack for on-the-go powering or to a tent to charge up your gear while you’re enjoying the day.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The main downside of the BigBlue charger is, as the brand name might suggest, its size. Even though it weighs the same as the X-Dragon, it’s a good 10 inches longer when unfolded, making it a little harder to maneuver into just the right position. But the extra size gives it more surface area to collect the sunshine, and it’s still relatively sleek and compact when packed—that’s when size and weight are most important.

Some models we’ve tested, such as the Eceen, snap closed with two magnets sewn into the material—making them, quite literally, a snap to pack up and stow away. The BigBlue’s single strip of Velcro was wimpier than that of the X-Dragon and came unstuck more easily. We’ve noticed in past long-term testing that Velcro generally wears poorly in water, mud, and sun in comparison with magnets. Something to keep in mind, but again, not a dealbreaker.

Runner-up: X-Dragon 20W SunPower Solar Charger

Portable solar charger

Photo: Rozette Rago

If the BigBlue is unavailable, or if the prices change dramatically, the X-Dragon 20W SunPower Solar Charger is another good bet. It generated almost as much power as the BigBlue in our testing—leaving the Anker and Eceen chargers in the dust—and like the BigBlue, it has a Velcro flap to keep the panels folded up and protected from scratches when not in use. But it has fewer (two) USB-A output ports than the BigBlue, and the zip-up mesh pocket covering them is less protective than the BigBlue’s rubber flap.

The X-Dragon tied the 28 W BigBlue in terms of peak power output, as both chargers maxed out at about 10.7 W on our smoggy test day in New York. But the X-Dragon was about 5 watt-hours behind on cumulative output—43.7 watt-hours to the BigBlue’s 48.8 watt-hours. For reference, you could charge a Galaxy S10 more than a third full with that difference in power.

Portable solar charger

The X-Dragon produced nearly as much power as our top pick when we tested them at solar noon.

The X-Dragon’s two ports are each rated for 2 amps (10 watts), so either one will be almost as fast as a USB-A wall charger when the sun is shining bright. Combined, the ports top out at 3 amps, or 15 watts, so charging two devices at the same time will slow them both down. That’s a reasonable rating for 20 watts of solar because there’s some standard loss expected in the process.

Portable solar charger

The X-Dragon’s zip-up mesh pocket keeps track of your cords and protects the charger’s output ports from wear and tear when they’re not in use. Photo: Rozette Rago

Although the X-Dragon doesn’t have the BigBlue’s rubber port protector, we like that its ports are protected by a zip-up mesh pocket in addition to an outer layer of material. An extra flap of fabric lined with Velcro keeps it closed securely when folded, too—a slightly better example of this design than on the BigBlue. Models we’ve tested that completely lack such features are more vulnerable to the elements.

The X-Dragon weighs the same as the BigBlue, and it lies a bit flatter, but it’s about an inch wider and taller when folded. It’s also much homelier, with a neon green stripe and a large logo splashed across the front. Neither factor is a dealbreaker, though.

How to get the most from your solar charger

One of the wonderful things about solar power is how simple it can be. The only care and maintenance most solar panels require is keeping them relatively clean and free of dust. A damp cloth should do the trick most of the time.

To really max out your power output, you should angle the panels correctly. A good rule of thumb is that the panel’s angle, relative to flat ground, should be roughly the same as your latitude, with some minor seasonal adjustments. The farther you are from the poles—and from summer—the steeper the angle. For example, the average angle in Winnipeg would be around 41.1 degrees, while in Key West it would be around 22.1 degrees. Even if you don’t get the angle exactly right, approximating it could increase your power production by a noticeable amount. If you want to get the most juice, check sites such as Solarpaneltilt.com, PVEducation.org, or Solar Electricity Handbook’s Solar Angle Calculator to figure out the best angle before you go, take a photo of the setup on your phone, and try your best to replicate it out in the wild. Pro tip: Use a hiking boot to prop up the panels.

Like most solar chargers, the BigBlue includes a pocket on the top flap to store your device while charging. If it’s a hot day, though, that black pocket in direct sunlight is like an oven for your phone. You’d be better off putting your device underneath the panels—in the triangular gap between the ground, the prop, and the angled panel, perhaps—or shading it some other way to prevent it from overheating and shutting down.

The competition

A representative for Anker confirmed that the company is discontinuing Anker’s 15W PowerPort Solar Lite, our former pick, along with the 21-watt version.

Eceen’s ECC-626 13W Solar Charger (which is no longer available) was light and compact, and it had some nice added features such as a fold-out stand, a magnetic closure, and a neoprene pocket. But it performed significantly worse in our testing than every other model we tested, and we didn’t like that the output ports were located on the outside of the charger—completely at the mercy of the elements. Like the BigBlue, it had a rubber flap to cover the ports when they were not in use, but since the flap was not attached by a tether it was potentially easy to lose (and we almost lost it a few times).

We tested the Goal Zero Nomad 7 because the brand has one of the best reputations for product quality and service in this category. The unit is well made, it features USB and DC charging options, and it even has niceties such as a magnetic closure instead of the Velcro that cheaper units use. But it’s rated for only 7 watts (a quarter of the BigBlue’s maximum-output rating) and has a hefty price tag.

Though compact, neither the Instapark Mercury 10 nor the now-discontinued Poweradd 14W Solar Charger was able to bounce back to the original charging rates after being shaded for 10 seconds.

The RAVPower 15W Solar Charger used to be our runner-up pick, but RAVPower has replaced it with a 16-watt model, which we haven’t tested because it costs the same as models with much higher maximum-output ratings.

The Creative Edge Solar-5, the Poweradd Apollo 3, and the ZeroLemon SolarJuice 10,000mAh all-in-one models got up to 60, 60, and 65 percent, respectively, of their advertised ratings in our testing. But even with the built-in battery that these three chargers had, their single small panel charged too slowly to compete with the larger surface areas of fold-up solar chargers.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions.

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Epic added the hated mechs to ‘Fortnite’ so more players could win

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“The mission of Fortnite is to bring players of all skill levels together to have a fun experience where anyone can win,” the team wrote in a blog post. Another part of Fortnite’s mission is to “provide spectacle and entertainment when playing.” Hence the decision to add the mechs.

'Fortnite' mech eliminations

'Fortnite' mech eliminations graph

Since the mechs arrived, Epic said players who have struggled to pick up eliminations claiming more of them, while more experienced players are getting around the same number of kills. That suggests the mechs are working as it intended.

However, the explanation wasn’t entirely satisfying for everyone. Some questioned the actual impact of the B.R.U.T.E. given the mech can destroy structures players built with ease. Others wondered about the true nature of the kill stats.

Epic’s reasoning behind the mechs is understandable, at least on the surface. Fortnite has more than 250 million players it’s trying to keep hooked, and not everyone has the skill to nail a headshot from across the map unless they get immensely lucky.

But finding a balance to keep Fortnite fun and edifying for everyone — from casual gamers whose aim may not be great to top-tier players and their Twitch or Mixer viewers — with a fairly level playing field is a tough ask. It’ll need to tweak the mechs further before more players will embrace them.



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‘Rocko’s Modern Life’ is a self-aware Netflix reboot with bite

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Eventually, Rocko and crew learn that The Fatheads has been off the air for years — so like any nostalgic Millennial, they set out to reboot the series. As a stranger in a strange future, it’s really the last connection to the past that Rocko has left. But his mission is also obviously a reflection of the nostalgic energy that made Static Cling possible in the first place. Both Rocko and the audience are instead trying to fill the gaping holes in their hearts with pop culture from the past. (Stares directly at the camera.)

I won’t spoil too much about the film — mostly because it’s very easy to run through everything that happens in its short 45-minute run time. But, as you’d expect, Rocko’s quest to reboot the Fatheads is fraught with obstacles. We quickly learn that cashing in on that show is the only thing that will save its parent company, Conglom-O, from going broke. And in a bid to produce is at a lower cost, they first turn to computer animation: “Make art is easy with computers!,” quips the the snooty, ambiguously European-sounding Chameleon twins. “We can make anything in a passionless and cheap way!,” they add.

Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling

Murray, co-director Cosmo Segurson, and their co-writers are clearly positioning hand-drawn animation against CG. But the complaint seems a bit regressive today, especially when the overarching message of the film is about embracing change as the key to happiness. Sure, there’s a lot of lazy computer animation out there, just look at the wildly popular kids content on YouTube. But you could say the same about cartoons of yore that were made as cheaply as possible, with limited frames, low articulation and constantly recycled backgrounds.

Maybe that’s part of the point of Static Cling, though. By casting a critical lens on modern society, once again, Murray and crew force the audience to wrestle with their own habits and assumptions. But that doesn’t mean the creators aren’t guilty of having blindspots of their own (something Rocko also explicitly deals with at the end of the film).

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Investigative thriller game ‘Telling Lies’ drops August 23rd

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As the follow up to a critically acclaimed game, Telling Lies has mighty big expectations. The investigative thriller puts players in front of a laptop which contains interview segments with four people stored on a hard drive stolen from the National Security Agency. You’ll be tasked with going through the hours of footage, broken down into hundreds of video segments. In those clips, you’ll have to identify key words, pieces together events and timelines and do your best to figure out what connects these four people. Players will be tasked with scrubbing through the footage backward and forward to find the information necessary to reveal more of the narrative.

While Her Story was a small production, Telling Lies calls in some serious acting talent to provide the primary characters of interest. Logan Marshall-Green (best known as Charlie Holloway in Prometheus), Alexandra Shipp (Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse), Kerry Bishé (Halt and Catch Fire) and Angela Sarafyan (Clementine from Westworld) all lend their talents to the game.

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