This episode, Cherlynn is joined by senior writer Sam Rutherford and senior commerce editor at Wired Julian Chokkattu to talk about our reviews of the Pixel Fold. Will the recent spate of foldables by companies like Motorola and Google give Samsung some real competition and motivation to step up its game? We can only wait to find out. Samsung is holding its next Galaxy Unpacked in late July, and we’ll see what it will unveil then. This episode, we also take a look at the latest addition to the Google Graveyard and the state of the podcast industry.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Google’s Pixel Fold is the challenger Samsung needs – 1:22
Google has given up on making its own AR glasses, will focus on AR software – 38:50
Automotive organization SAE will create a standard version of Tesla’s charging plug for EVs – 45:19
SiriusXM will shut down widely used podcast app Stitcher on August 29 – 52:11
RIP John Goodenough, inventor of the lithium-ion battery – 54:53
Working on – 56:01
Pop culture picks – 59:02
Livestream
Credits Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Sam Rutherford Guest: Julian Chokkattu Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos Graphic artists: Joel Chokkattu and Brian Oh
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-the-rise-of-foldable-competitors-for-samsung-123016447.html?src=rss
Motorola clearly read reviews of Samsung’s Z Flip series and took notes. The Moto Razr+, a foldable phone that’s like a standard 6.9-inch handset when open, offers a large 3.6-inch screen when closed. That addresses one of the most common complaints about the Galaxy Z Flip 4 — the size of its Cover Display. It’s a cramped 1.9-inch window with a limited selection of widgets that you can use. The Razr+, meanwhile, pretty much runs full Android with some tweaks. There’s something about using the outer display that feels almost pager-like and sent me into nostalgic delight. The Moto Razr+, which goes on sale today for $999, might appeal to both old souls and early adopters alike.
Design
Currently in its fourth generation (if you count the 5G model released in 2020 as a second-gen), the Razr+ has two notable differences from its predecessors. The first is the larger display. The second is something only people over 30 might notice: The Razr+ doesn’t have a chin cupping the bottom like on the iconic original Razr. I don’t mind it, but it does cost it some nostalgia points.
When folded, there is no gap between the two halves of the main screen. It’s a squat square, and its matte back reminds me of the case that my dad’s pager sat in. Sadly, only the Viva Magenta model comes with a vegan leather back, while the blue and black models use Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and rear. Our review unit is black, and the matte finish lends a more premium feel and helps fight smudges.
The folded Razr+ is thinner than the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and fits comfortably in my palm, and it’s slightly larger than the Samsung phone when open. The Razr+ has a slightly less rigid hinge than the Flip 4, too. The Samsung phone can hold itself up at pretty much any position, but Moto’s hinge yields and opens all the way when you push it past 150 degrees.
Finally, at 188.5 grams (6.6 ounces), the Razr+ is lighter than the iPhone 14 Plus and the Galaxy S23 Plus, which both have slightly smaller screens. It’s just a tad heavier than the Z Flip 4, though. Both Motorola and Samsung’s devices are rated for water-resistance, with the Razr+ meeting IP52 standards while the Flip hit IPX8.
External display
Next to the Moto Razr+, using the Z Flip 4’s Cover Display feels unusable, especially when trying to frame a selfie. Not only is there barely enough space to contain everything, but it’s also hard to see. When shooting the video for this piece, our producer Joel Chokkattu struggled to get a usable shot of the camera preview on the Z Flip 4’s exterior display in sunlight.
Motorola’s larger pOLED panel also allows for a more full-fledged Android experience, while Samsung is a glorified notification widget. On the Moto, you can swipe down from top to see all your quick settings toggles and the brightness slider, swipe up slowly to show your open apps and switch between them, and swipe in from the side to go back. In comparison, the Z Flip 4 only lets you swipe sideways to rotate through widgets, and dragging down from top shows you just a single row of toggles.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
The main difference between Moto’s external display and the complete Android experience is the home screen. Motorola has designed it so that you can only have the clock widget, date, weather info and a row of six shortcut buttons. Tapping each of the latter takes you to the respective panel. You can also swipe sideways to see them sequentially, and you can arrange them in the order you prefer.
The widgets themselves are very similar to Samsung’s offerings. You’ll find an app launcher, dialer, calendar, games, media controls, steps tracker and the day’s headlines. On the Moto, the latter two are supplied by Google services like Fit and News. Because the Razr+ has more real estate, it can display more information or use a larger font. Both of these are an obvious improvement over Samsung’s teeny tiny panel, especially for those with bigger fingers, less dexterity or vision-related challenges.
The widgets aren’t the scene stealers here. For the most part, they’re simple – a calculator, media controls, et cetera. The Spotify playback widget doesn’t do more than let you pause, skip tracks, rewind and change playlists, which is frustrating. But even the fact that it offers that last option is already better than the Z Flip 4.
You can’t pick a specific song in a playlist, though. It’s a mild annoyance and not a dealbreaker, especially since there are two viable alternatives here. One: I can just open the phone and use the main Spotify app to go to a different playlist and pick a song. Two — and this is where the Razr+ truly shines — any Android app can run on the outside screen, as long as you’ve enabled it. This is a continuity feature so you can keep running whatever you’re doing on the main display on the outside panel after you close the phone.
To use Spotify (or any other app) on the small screen, I’d open it on the inside, shut the device, and continue outside. Even if I go on to do something else, I can find the app on the exterior display by swiping up from the bottom to see open apps.
You’d think that there would be issues with apps breaking and elements either not showing or being blocked by the two cameras on the bottom right of the screen. But Motorola has some workarounds. You can either have apps take up the whole screen and the sensors block parts of it. Or you can swipe up and select a layout that forces the content to sit within a rectangle above the cameras similar to how Android phones used to treat camera notches.
This should work with any app, but there are some scenarios where the experience is broken. When you’re navigating a drive with Google Maps and playing music at the same time, for example, you won’t be able to see the directions or your route. And, just because you can see your Instagram feed on the 3.6-inch panel, doesn’t mean you’ll want to.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Even better, because the screen is so small (basically the size of the original iPhone), it’s easy to use with one hand. You can pull up a full QWERTY keyboard to reply to messages, and I was able to reach the letter Q or A with my thumb stretching across from the right.
Cameras
One other advantage of a larger external screen is how much more useful it is as a viewfinder. Both Samsung and Motorola let you use the outside display to preview what you’re shooting with the rear cameras, as well as show your subject what they look like. On the Z Flip 4, you can only see a portion of the scene and will have to guess where it will get cut off. With the Razr+, no guesswork is necessary – WYSIWYG.
Both phones offer similar gestures like holding up your palm to trigger a countdown till the photo is shot, so you can step away and take your picture when you’re ready and posed. You can also have the foldables bent at 90 degrees and placed on a surface with the inside screen facing out, and the layout will change so the top half is your viewfinder and the bottom shows controls.
Unfortunately, on the Z Flip 4 you have to choose between a bigger viewfinder with an inferior 10-megapixel camera or a smaller window and better cameras. On the Razr+, you can use the roomy outside screen and the exterior cameras instead of having to sacrifice quality or visibility while shooting.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Moto opted for a 32 MP sensor inside, with a 12 MP main camera and 13 MP wide-angle system. Initially, I thought the Razr+ delivered decent shots. But after comparing them to samples from the Z Flip 4 and a Pixel 7 Pro, Motorola’s images are clearly washed out and less vivid. Samsung did a better job at exposure and retained the blue skies peeking through green leaves. In the same scene, the Razr+ blew out the sky. And when I snapped portraits of my friends’ adorable dogs, it struggled to get a clear shot due to slower focus and overall lag.
The Moto also struggled in low light and was susceptible to lens flares in my nighttime cityscapes and selfies. Though the Flip 4 fared slightly better, overall flip-style foldables lag flagship phones when it comes to camera performance.
As a regular phone: Main screen, performance and battery life
Unlike most high-end Android phones released this year, the Moto Razr+ uses a year-old Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, which is the same processor inside the Z Flip 4. It’s worth pointing out at this point that the Flip 4 is also nearly a year old and presumably about to be replaced by a newer model. So if having the absolute latest specs matters to you, you shouldn’t even be considering the Razr+.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
If you’re not picky about the exact generation of processor in your phone, you’ll likely be satisfied with the Moto’s performance. I played endless rounds of Solitaire, messaged friends, set up custom gestures, changed wallpapers and it never flinched. The few hiccups I did encounter, like not being able to hit the X button at the outermost corners of an ad in a game, had more to do with specific apps and bad design than horsepower.
Thanks to its 165Hz refresh rate and 1080p resolution, the Razr+’s main OLED display is a solid canvas for activities like scrolling through Instagram and Reddit. Pictures and Stories I looked at were vibrant, and yes, there is still a bit of a crease where the screen folds, but it’s negligible. It doesn’t get in the way of actually interacting with apps or websites, and I mostly forgot it was even there.
When I needed to unlock the Razr+, it was as easy as using the fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button. Motorola also continues to offer nifty features that have been in its phones since the Moto X, like twisting your wrist or doing a chopping action while holding the handset to launch the camera or flashlight. It was also surprisingly easy to install the company’s Ready For app to use the Razr+ on my PC. While I was initially put off by the amount of Moto-branded software, thankfully most of it was useful and didn’t feel like bloatware.
Though the company promises three years of OS upgrades and four years of bi-monthly security patch updates, historically it hasn’t had the best track record on that front. And that’s less than the four years of OS updates and five years for security releases that Samsung offers. That, together with Samsung’s experience in foldables, gives me slightly more confidence in its devices’ longevity.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Moto managed to squeeze a 3,800mAh battery in the Razr+, which is slightly higher than the Flip 4’s 3,700 mAh setup. I haven’t had the time to run our video rundown battery test, which I want to do on both the 6.9-inch and 3.6-inch panels. But I’ve been able to play about five to eight hours of nonstop Solitaire on the internal screen so far before needing to plug the Razr+ in. It’s also worth noting that since the exterior display is so much more useful, you can do more on the phone without having to tap the larger, more energy-intensive screen during the day. That way, the Moto actually manages to last longer than most phones.
Wrap-up
I am in love with that front screen — how it works, how easy it is to use with one hand, and how much more power efficient it is. It’s almost like I want a small phone again. But the main thing preventing me from switching to the Moto Razr+ is camera performance. This isn’t a problem unique to Motorola — any flip-style foldable today suffers from this.
Anyone thinking of getting the Razr+ should also wait. Samsung has announced that its next Galaxy Unpacked will be taking place in Korea in late July, and it’s widely expected to launch new foldables then. If you can hold off, it’s worth seeing what the next Z Flip will offer before spending your money.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
I also want to point out that long-term durability remains a concern for any device with a flexible screen. Two of my colleagues have used a Z Flip 4 for a year and they’ve reported seeing cracks and bubbles in their displays and/or screen protectors. While the Razr+ uses a different panel from Samsung, there is still a possibility it won’t stand up to the wear and tear of daily use.
I can’t tell you how well the Moto Razr+ will hold up over time. But I can say that, for the first time in the US, there is serious competition for Samsung’s Z Flip 4. It’s time to call it: Flip Boi Summer is here and I’m excited for it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/moto-razr-review-finally-some-real-competition-for-samsungs-flip-foldables-203033514.html?src=rss
This episode, Cherlynn is joined by senior reporter Jess Conditt and special guest Michael Fisher to talk about the week of reviews. From the Moto Razr+ to the Pixel Tablet, we look at how these devices fit into our lives and make them better (or worse). Then, we go over the highlights from Summer Games Fest and dig into that Titanic situation.
Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Moto Razr+ review: a foldable with an external display you’ll actually want to use – 1:56
Pixel Tablet review: Google made a great smart display and a passable tablet – 31:53
The doomed OceanGate submarine was piloted with a Logitech game controller – 47:50
Amazon is shutting down Halo health services at the end of July – 59:15
Jess Conditt’s takeaways from Summer Game Fest – 1:02:51
Working on – 1:19:27
Pop culture picks – 1:20:51
Livestream
Credits Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Jessica Conditt Guest: Michael Fisher Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos Graphic artists: Luke Brooks and Brian Oh
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-podcast-moto-razr-plus-and-pixel-tablet-review-mr-mobile-123049110.html?src=rss
The Pixel Tablet is like an emotionally unstable partner. On good days, it’s reliable and helpful, always ready to listen and support me. Every now and then, though, I feel gaslit and annoyed by its inconsistencies and mixed messages. This might be because Google’s latest tablet/smart-display hybrid straddles two product categories: one at which it excels and the other where it’s just adequate. As a smart display, the Pixel Tablet mostly shines. It has a useful dashboard, an easy-to-read interface and impressive audio quality. As a tablet, it’s decent, but doesn’t blow me away. Throw in the case that Google made though, and it immediately becomes more versatile. At $500 with an included charging speaker base, the Pixel Tablet is a compelling marriage of two products with a reasonable price.
Hardware and design
If we do the math, since you can buy additional speaker docks for $120 each, this means the tablet basically costs $380. But it certainly doesn’t feel like a sub-$400 device. While the nano-ceramic coating isn’t outstanding to look at, it lends a glass-like sensation to the back that makes it feel more expensive. Impressively, the Pixel Tablet manages to weigh just 1.09 pounds (493 grams), making it lighter than the Galaxy Tab S8 and the OnePlus Pad. Though, it’s still heavier than the iPad Air.
The review unit Google sent was the Rose color option, which is pleasant and inoffensive. It’s the most exciting out of the three colors (black and white being the other two, so that’s not saying much), and it blends (or blands) well with my living space. I prefer the green hue of the OnePlus Pad, but it’s worth noting that when I handed the Pixel Tablet to my colleague Nathan Ingraham, who recently reviewed the $480 OnePlus Pad, he thought Google’s device felt more premium.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
What really sets the Pixel Tablet apart from other recent Android slates is the fact that it’s designed to attach to a charging speaker base and double as a smart display. Now, let’s not forget there are other devices that do this, primarily numerous Amazon and Lenovo tablets with a Show mode that turns them into Alexa-enabled screens. But it’s a first for the Google ecosystem.
Before I get to how the Pixel Tablet works as a smart display, though, a quick word on its appearance. If you’ve seen one Google Home product, you’ve basically seen them all. The Pixel Tablet, when docked on the speaker, looks almost exactly like the Nest Hub Max. It has the same rounded rectangle shape, white bezel surrounding the 11-inch screen and the base has a similar mesh fabric covering to the rest of the company’s smart home products. Again, it’s inoffensive and pleasant, but doesn’t stir my heart the way a West Elm or Article ornament does. (I know, I’m basic.)
As a smart display
I was excited to stick the Pixel Tablet on the chest of drawers (from Article) in my bedroom so I could watch shows on it instead of having to buy a second TV or play them on my phone. Google cautioned against having multiple Assistant-enabled devices in one room, and I should have disconnected the Nest Mini speaker I already had on my nightstand. But it didn’t create too many problems during the few days I had them both in there – when I said “Hey Google” while standing nearer the small speaker, the volume of the video playing on the Pixel Tablet dipped so I could be heard more clearly.
After a week, I can now confidently remove the Nest Mini. Not only is the Pixel Tablet adept at hearing my commands, it also offers much better audio quality and is simply more useful. That’s kind of an obvious statement – of course a display would be more versatile than a speaker alone. But I’m surprised at the improvement in sound from the speaker dock, since it’s not much bigger than the Mini. It provided ample bass in my endless binging of The Weeknd and Jay Chou playlists, while trebles and voices sounded crisp.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
I’m not the sort of person to hover in front of a smart display to fiddle with my connected home controls, nor do I have people over often enough that I need some kind of guest-friendly interface to turn on my lights. For those who do, though, the Pixel Tablet’s Hub Mode is likely very useful. Tapping on the house icon at the bottom left of the lock screen brings up a dashboard showing all devices in your home, and you’ll be able to monitor your camera feeds, switch lamps on and more. Guests will also be able to ask the Assistant to set timers, alarms, play music and more without needing to unlock your tablet, as long as you’ve set the permissions properly.
Lack of visitors aside, it’s easy to see things on the Pixel Tablet’s screen whenever I set foot in my room, no matter how dark or bright it is. At night, the display goes into a dim mode that shows the time in large font but isn’t so bright that it burns your retinas. Since my dresser is in the furthest corner away from the door, it’s nice not to have to squint to see info like the time, countdowns or the temperature. And like a true narcissist, I also set the Pixel Tablet to show a rotating stream of photos of my favorite people (mostly me).
Not that any of this is unique to the Pixel Tablet, by the way. The Nest Hub Max has similarly larger fonts for timers and other info, and the photo frame feature is basically a staple of any smart display.
Back to the main thing I wanted to use this tablet for, though: as a TV substitute. Since it’s the first tablet to be a Chromecast receiver, the Pixel Tablet can be controlled remotely with your phone as it streams from apps like YouTube, Disney+, Hulu and more. Of course, other larger smart displays like the Nest Hub Max can also do this, and since this doesn’t work on the Pixel Tablet when it’s not docked, it’s not really a tablet you can cast to. We’re getting really technical with definitions here, but in practical use it means you can’t cast to the Pixel Tablet when you have it hanging or propped up elsewhere in your home, for example. It’s not a problem, but it limits the versatility of this feature.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Interestingly, Netflix doesn’t support Chromecasting to the tablet, unlike the other apps. It’s all the more strange considering it works on Google’s other larger smart displays. I also encountered a bug where YouTube refused to cast videos from a specific channel, saying they weren’t allowed when I was in Restricted mode. But none of the devices I was logged into had that setting enabled. Other reviewers I spoke to didn’t have this issue, so this might be a bug specific to my setup.
It did infuriate me though, because it’s easier to Chromecast my favorite commentary videos since I can skip ads or add more titles without having to drag myself out of bed. Sadly, I had to do just that since I ended up playing them via the native YouTube app. My hatred for Google and this bug grew exponentially each time I had to get out and hit “Skip ads” on the screen. (No, you’re not going to convince me to get YouTube Premium.) This small bug aside, though, Chromecasting is a nice touch on the Pixel Tablet, even if it isn’t unique.
I have multiple Google Home products in my apartment, and some of my issues with the Pixel Tablet as a smart display are ecosystem-wide instead of specific to the device. For instance, when I set up an Automation through the Home app, I wanted it so that saying “I’m home” would start a playlist on the pair of Nest Audios in my living room. However, at the moment only the device that heard you can be the one playing the music. You can’t decide which of your connected speakers does the action.
Depending on the way your home is set up, like if you have a Mini in your entryway and prefer your beefier living room system to be the output, this might be frustrating. Luckily for me, the correct devices heard me most of the time, and I almost always got my desired outcome.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
That’s more of a complaint about Google’s smart home system instead of just the Pixel Tablet, which frankly I am pretty happy with. Not only is it a good connected display, but it’s also useful as a second screen when sat next to my laptop.
Since it runs full Android, I can have apps like Solitaire or Slack open on it while I work on a review. You can also take video calls through Meet, Zoom, Teams or more, using the 8-megapixel webcam up top. The angle at which the speaker dock props up the tablet makes for a very unflattering shot, though. To mitigate that, Google built in an auto-framing feature that kicks in whenever you take a Meet call while connected to the base. It only works with Meet, though, so you’ll have to rely on third-party apps to provide their own solutions.
I found that removing the tablet and propping it up with the kickstand on Google’s case made for the best view. In fact, I’m pretty much in love with this accessory.
As a tablet
Look, a kickstand on a tablet isn’t a groundbreaking concept. Lenovo made tablets with built-in stands that also worked as hangers years ago, while Surface devices have featured similar mechanisms for ages. But neither Lenovo’s Yoga Tablet nor any of the Surfaces doubled as smart displays. Google was also thoughtful enough to build the kickstand so that it wouldn’t get in the way of attaching the tablet to the speaker. In fact, the ring-shaped kickstand almost perfectly encircles the dock when folded into the case.
What I love about the kickstand-hanger-combo is that it allows you to place the Tablet pretty much anywhere. So when I want to hang it off a kitchen cabinet to follow along with a recipe video or keep watching Love Is Blind for example, I can. And though the 2,560 x 1,600 LCD panel isn’t as vibrant as the OLED on Samsung’s Galaxy Tabs, it still produced crisp details and colorful images.
I’ve waxed poetic about the case, but it’s not without flaws. The way it wraps around the power button makes accessing the fingerprint sensor difficult. The cases Google sent us for review are pre-production samples, though, so it’s possible the company improves this before launch.
I also played endless rounds of Solitaire with the tablet propped up on my table while I had dinner and watched TV. That’s honestly the thing most tablets are good for – entertainment – , but often not much else. Google does offer some multitasking features in Android, but it doesn’t make a keyboard specifically for the Pixel Tablet.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
You can connect your own Bluetooth keyboard, of course, but Android L still isn’t the best platform for productivity. Yes, you can run two apps side by side or drag and drop pictures between things like WhatsApp and Gmail. And plenty of first-party and third-party apps support this feature and are now optimized for larger screens. But quirks persist.
When you drag the vertical divider to resize apps, for example, you’ll sometimes need to relaunch them. It happens often when you shrink something down from taking up half the screen to about a third. The system will ask you to tap a button to re-open it, at which point it changes to the smartphone version. Thankfully, relaunching an app doesn’t take long, and when I had to do this with the New York Times crossword, it opened again exactly where I left off instead of forcing me to start over from the home page.
The new taskbar that Google introduced on the Pixel Tablet makes it easier to launch apps in split screen, though the gesture takes a bit to get used to. Like the row of predicted apps in the Android app drawer, this taskbar will study your habits and overtime start to surface things it suspects you want.
Another thing that the Pixel Tablet might be good for, in theory, is drawing and taking notes. Though Google does make a $30 stylus for the device, it did not send samples along with review units, so I wasn’t able to test it for this review.
Here’s the thing: I barely used the Pixel Tablet undocked. I rarely felt the need to pick it up, unless my phone was dead and I wanted to play more Solitaire. The upside of always placing the Tablet on its dock is that when I do want a larger screen for reading, more immersive gaming or watching movies on the go, the Tablet is always charged and ready for me.
Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget
Because of that, it was challenging to get a real sense for the day-to-day battery life. Whenever I was done with the few moments I needed the device, I instinctively placed it back on the dock, where it would slowly juice back up.
When you do need the tablet to last you longer than a few moments in your home, though, it's more than up to the task. On our video rundown battery test, the Pixel Tablet clocked 21 and a half hours at 50 percent brightness, which is more than the longest international nonstop flights.
If you ever do run out of juice, it takes the Pixel Tablet about three hours to get back to fully charged if you use a cable. On the speaker dock, Google optimizes charging to preserve battery life, maintaining it at about 90 percent instead of fully topping it off. I haven’t measured if the charging speed here is slower than with a wire, especially since I’m not usually in a hurry to pick the tablet back up after docking it.
Wrap-up
Maybe Android tablets aren’t dead after all. Maybe all they needed was a dock to call home and kickstand/hanger that made them more functional. But, despite its name, the Pixel Tablet is far less exciting as a tablet than a smart display. With its charging speaker dock and $80 case, Google presents a far more compelling proposition for its latest product. And despite some quirks, I’ve found life with the Pixel Tablet to be enjoyable, and most of its problems seem solvable. I can only hope Google keeps working on it and doesn’t unceremoniously cast the Pixel Tablet into its graveyard of unloved products. With some software updates, there’s a potentially bright future for the Pixel Tablet.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-pixel-tablet-review-clever-accessories-transform-an-unexciting-tablet-070147119.html?src=rss
In addition to a slew of Macs, new Silicon and a compelling new Vision Pro headset, Apple also introduced a 15-inch MacBook Air at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) today. The larger MacBook Air not only offers a bigger display than its 13-inch counterpart, but it also comes with a more sophisticated sound system and battery life that's rated for hours longer. I was able to pick one up to see how it feels here at Apple Park today, though I wasn't allowed to do much else with it.
I do like how thin and light the new MacBook Air is — at 11.5mm (0.45inches) thin and 3.3 pounds (1.49 kgs), it beats the Dell XPS 15, which is both heavier and thicker. Apple's machine has a slightly smaller 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, though, whereas Dell's comes in at 15.6 inches.
The 15-inch MacBook Air's screen can get up to 500 nits of brightness, and though I never got a chance to view it outdoors, the photos and interfaces I did see were lovely and crisp. Colors were vibrant and rich, and when an Apple rep showed me photos of long-haired dogs and a woman in a red dress in front of some cliffs, the details were tack sharp.
I also got to see how the laptop handles tasks like photo-editing and gaming, which thanks to its M2 chip happened impressively quickly. An Apple rep used Photonator to erase multiple kayaks from a topdown photo of canoes on a river, and also changed the colors of certain parts of the image. Everything happened instantly and accurately. They also showed me part of a game called Stray so I could see how the laptop handled the graphics rendering of things like light reflecting off a puddle. These were very controlled demos, so while they all did perform well and without lag, I would rather evaluate the MacBook Air based on our own realworld testing.
I did get to check out the new six-speaker sound system with spatial audio when a rep played some songs for me, including Beyonce's Cuff It. Unfortunately, because the demo space we were in was fairly noisy, it was hard to gauge how well the audio sounded. I stuck my ear right next to the machine and was only barely able to hear the song. This is another feature we'll have to wait for a review unit to test for ourselves.
I wasn't able to do much else with the new laptop, really, but here's a quick recap of some of its features. It has the same notch design from the 13-inch MacBook Air that houses its 1080p webcam, but unlike the smaller model, this year's device comes with a 10-core GPU across the board instead of 8 cores. It also ships with the dual-port 35W charger by default and has a larger trackpad.
If you're intrigued, you can order the 15-inch MacBook Air today, starting at $1,299, and it'll be available in stores on June 13th.
Follow all of the news from Apple's WWDC 2023 right here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-macbook-air-15-inch-preview-portable-power-213455527.html?src=rss
Apple is slated to hold its annual Worldwide Developer Conference today, and based on the rumors and leaks we've seen, it's shaping up to be a monumental year. The industry is expecting the company to launch its first mixed reality headset, along with a new platform that powers VR or AR applications, as well as the usual suspects like updates to iOS, macOS, watchOS and more. In addition, there might be new Mac hardware and we never know what surprises might be in store. Will there be a Ted Lasso reveal? Or maybe new Fitness+ updates or a celebrity appearance? I guess we'll just have to wait till find out. The show kicks off at 1pm ET/10am PT, and we'll be starting to publish updates at 12pm ET, so stay tuned!
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-wwdc-2023-live-updates-160004876.html?src=rss
As Microsoft unveiled more of its plans for AI domination at its Build developer conference today, no aspect of its business will be left untouched by AI. In addition to bringing its "Copilot" to Windows 11 and Edge, the company also shared details on how it will be infusing the Store with AI, beginning with the new AI Hub.
This is a "new curated section in the Microsoft Store where we will promote the best AI experiences built by the developer community and Microsoft," the company said in a press release. It will use this area to "educate customers on how to start and expand their AI journey, inspiring them to use AI in everyday ways to boost productivity, spark creativity and more." Examples include apps like Luminar Neo, Descript, Podcastle, Copy.ai, Kickresume, Play.ht and other services that let users tap AI to help them create content.
The Store will also get AI-generated review summaries that takes feedback left by other users on apps and games and generates a concise rundown of what was said. This way, people won't have to sift through the "thousands of reviews," that Microsoft says some popular apps have.
If you're a Windows Insider, you'll be able to try out a new feature in preview that will restore your Store app icons when you're transitioning to a new Windows 11 device. You'll have to be moving from a Windows 10 or 11 setup to begin with, and when you switch over, icons for your Store apps will "automatically get restored right where [you] had them — on the Start menu and Taskbar."
Developers will also be getting some AI support, like automatically generated keywords and suggested Search Tags in the Partner Center. This will use AI to "consumer your metadata, as well as other signals, and help you improve the discoverability of your app in the Microsoft Store search results." The company is also adding the ability to list your app in multiple categories.
Microsoft Store Ads are also expanding in a few ways. First, they'll be added to search results on Bing starting next month, so people using their browsers to look for stuff will also be aware of relevant Windows apps. Next month, they'll also be reaching outside the US market to more than 150 regions around the world. Developers will also get the option to display rich advertising in the spotlight section of the Store.
Most of the consumer-facing features announced for the Microsoft Store today will be available "soon," and more specific timeframes have yet to be shared. Still, it's clear the company is intent on bringing AI to every part of its business and all its products and the onslaught is nigh.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai-is-headed-to-the-microsoft-store-on-windows-150035716.html?src=rss
Guess Android tablets aren't dead just yet. Following Google's official launch of the Pixel Tablet last week, Amazon has unveiled a new Fire tablet called the Max 11. For just $230, the Fire Max 11 offers an 11-inch LCD screen, slim aluminum frame and smart home controls courtesy of Alexa. I was able to briefly check out a sample at a briefing last week and am impressed by how much Amazon is offering for the money.
This isn't your average Fire tablet, by the way. While the company's previous slates have found a niche as affordable, kid-friendly mobile entertainment devices, the Max 11 is all grown up. With slimmer bezels, a more-premium aluminum build and weighing just over a pound, it's designed for those who also want to do some work and multi-tasking. To that end, the tablet uses an octa-core MediaTek processor that Amazon said is almost 50 percent faster than its "next fastest tablet."
There's a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button, making the Maxx 11 the company's first tablet to offer this feature. The 11-inch screen, which Amazon says is its "biggest, most vibrant... tablet display," has a 2,000 x 1,2000 resolution and is certified for low blue light. It also supports WiFi 6 and runs Fire OS 8, which offers some split-screen and picture-in-picture features to let you fire off emails while keeping an eye on your favorite YouTube livestream (like the Engadget Podcast, perhaps?).
More importantly, though, the company also made a keyboard case and stylus for the Max 11 that you can get for an additional $100. If you don't need the pen ($35), you can get just the case for $90. It attaches to the device magnetically and connects via pogo pins, too. I like that the cover comes with a kickstand, and in my brief experience it was sturdy enough to prop the tablet up and various angles. The keyboard is detachable so you can peel it off when you don't want it in the way. Its keys were surprisingly springy and deep, with a well-spaced layout. Though I think the trackpad is a little small, I'm glad that Amazon at least included one instead of ditching it altogether.
Amazon
I also enjoyed casually scribbling my name and random greetings with the "Made For Amazon Stylus Pen," which uses a replaceable AAA battery that the company said should last six months. Palm rejection on OneNote was effective during the briefing, and you can also write directly into search and message fields, and the Max 11 will convert your scrawl into text that you can submit.
Of course, this is quite a different device from the Pixel Tablet, which comes with a speaker base that keeps it charged and turns into a smart display when attached. But lest you forget, Amazon already offers Show Mode on its tablets, which turns them into dashboards for your connected home, a la its Echo Shows. The same is true for the Max 11, and with the kickstand on the case, you can basically turn it into a smart display. Sure, it won't always remain charged unless you plug it in, nor will it have a superior audio system when left standing. But you can sort of replicate the Pixel Tablet experience here for $150 less. Alexa can always be listening, too.
The Max 11 itself will last 14 hours on a charge, according to Amazon, and 64GB and 128GB models will be available. For those who are curious, the device will have 4GB of RAM and 8-megapixel front and rear cameras. And in case you're clumsy or expect the kids in your life to fight over this tablet, it should be reassuring to know that Amazon claims the Max 11 is "three times as durable as the iPad 10.9' (10th generation)."
Like the company's other tablets, the Fire Max 11 supports comprehensive parental controls and multiple user profiles so you can share this with some peace of mind. For just $330, the Fire Max 11 offers plenty of features that make it seem like a solid value. It's certainly cheaper (when you include the price of the keyboard case) than the Galaxy Tabs, Surfaces and iPads that have long dominated the tablet market. There are companies like Lenovo to look out for, of course, but given the strong foothold Amazon has had in the family-oriented slate space, the Max 11 appears poised to find its home in the backpacks of many school-going children soon. You can pre-order the Fire Max 11 starting at $230 today.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-latest-fire-tablet-is-a-230-android-powered-2-in-1-130022727.html?src=rss
Every third Thursday of May, the world commemorates Global Accessibility Awareness Day or GAAD. And as has become customary in the last few years, major tech companies are taking this week as a chance to share their latest accessibility-minded products. From Apple and Google to Webex and Adobe, the industry’s biggest players have launched new features to make their products easier to use. Here’s a quick roundup of this week’s GAAD news.
Apple's launches and updates
First up: Apple. The company actually had a huge set of updates to share, which makes sense since it typically releases most of its accessibility-centric news at this time each year. For 2023, Apple is introducing Assistive Access, which is an accessibility setting that, when turned on, changes the home screen for iPhone and iPad to a layout with fewer distractions and icons. You can choose from a row-based or grid-based layout, and the latter would result in a 2x3 arrangement of large icons. You can decide what these are, and most of Apple’s first-party apps can be used here.
The icons themselves are larger than usual, featuring high contrast labels making them more readable. When you tap into an app, a back button appears at the bottom for easier navigation. Assistive Access also includes a new Calls app that combines Phone and FaceTime features into one customized experience. Messages, Camera, Photos and Music have also been tweaked for the simpler interface and they all feature high contrast buttons, large text labels and tools that, according to Apple, "help trusted supporters tailor the experience for the individual they're supporting." The goal is to offer a less-distracting or confusing system to those who may find the typical iOS interface overwhelming.
Apple also launched Live Speech this week, which works on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It will allow users to type what they want to say and have the device read it aloud. It not only works for in-person conversations, but for Phone and FaceTime calls as well. You'll also be able to create shortcuts for phrases you frequently use, like "Hi, can I get a tall vanilla latte?" or "Excuse me, where is the bathroom?" The company also introduced Personal Voice, which lets you create a digital voice that sounds like yours. This could be helpful for those at risk of losing their ability to speak due to conditions that could impact their voice. The setup process includes "reading alongside randomized text prompts for about 15 minutes on iPhone or iPad."
For those with visual impairments, Apple is adding a new Point and Speak feature to the detection mode in Magnifier. This will use an iPhone or iPad's camera, LiDAR scanner and on-device machine learning to understand where a person has positioned their finger and scan the target area for words, before reading them out for the user. For instance, if you hold up your phone and point at different parts on a microwave or washing machine's controls, the system will say what the labels are — like "Add 30 seconds," "Defrost" or "Start."
The company made a slew of other smaller announcements this week, including updates that allow Macs to pair directly with Made-for-iPhone hearing devices, as well as phonetic suggestions for text editing in voice typing.
Google's new accessibility tools
Meanwhile, Google is introducing a new Visual Question and Answer (or VQA) tool in the Lookout app, which uses AI to answer follow-up questions about images. The company's accessibility lead and senior director of Products For All Eve Andersson told Engadget in an interview that VQA is the result of a collaboration between the inclusion and DeepMind teams.
Google
To use VQA, you'll open Lookout and start the Images mode to scan a picture. After the app tells you what's in the scene, you can ask follow-ups to glean more detail. For example, if Lookout said the image depicts a family having a picnic, you can ask what time of day it is or whether there are trees around them. This lets the user determine how much information they want from a picture, instead of being constrained to an initial description.
Often, it is tricky to figure out how much detail to include in an image description, since you want to provide enough to be helpful but not so much that you overwhelm the user. For example, "What’s the right amount of detail to give to our users in Lookout?" Andersson said. "You never actually know what they want." Andersson added that AI can help determine the context of why someone is asking for a description or more information and deliver the appropriate info.
When it launches in the fall, VQA can present a way for the user to decide when to ask for more and when they've learned enough. Of course, since it's powered by AI, the generated data might not be accurate, so there's no guarantee this tool works perfectly, but it's an interesting approach that puts power in users' hands.
Google is also expanding Live Captions to work in French, Italian and German later this year, as well as bringing the wheelchair-friendly labels for places in Maps to more people around the world.
Microsoft, Samsung, Adobe and more
Plenty more companies had news to share this week, including Adobe, which is rolling out a feature that uses AI to automate the process of generating tags for PDFs that would make them friendlier for screen readers. This uses Adobe's Sensei AI, and will also indicate the correct reading order. Since this could really speed up the process of tagging PDFs, people and organizations could potentially use the tool to go through stockpiles of old documents to make them more accessible. Adobe is also launching a PDF Accessibility Checker to "enable large organizations to quickly and efficiently evaluate the accessibility of existing PDFs at scale."
Microsoft also had some small updates to share, specifically around Xbox. It's added new accessibility settings to the Xbox app on PC, including options to disable background images and disable animations, so users can reduce potentially disruptive, confusing or triggering components. The company also expanded its support pages and added accessibility filters to its web store to make it easier to find optimized games.
Meanwhile, Samsung announced this week that it's adding two new levels of ambient sound settings to the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, which brings the total number of options to five. This would let those who use the earbuds to listen to their environment get greater control over how loud they want the sounds to be. They'll also be able to select different settings for individual ears, as well as choose the levels of clarity and create customized profiles for their hearing.
We also learned that Cisco, the company behind the Webex video conferencing software, is teaming up with speech recognition company VoiceITT to add transcriptions that better support people with non-standard speech. This builds on Webex's existing live translation feature, and uses VoiceITT's AI to familiarize itself with a person's speech patterns to better understand what they want to communicate. Then, it'll establish and transcribe what is said, and the captions will appear in a chat bar during calls.
That sentiment is true not just for Netflix, nor the tech industry alone, but also for the entire world. While it's nice to see so many companies take the opportunity this week to release and highlight accessibility-minded features, it's important to remember that inclusive design should not and cannot be a once-a-year effort. I was also glad to see that despite the current fervor around generative AI, most companies did not appear to stuff the buzzword into every assistive feature or announcement this week for no good reason. For example, Andersson said "we're typically thinking about user needs" and adopting a problem-first approach as opposed to focusing on determining where a type of technology can be applied to a solution.
While it's probably at least partially true that announcements around GAAD are a bit of a PR and marketing game, ultimately some of the tools launched today can actually improve the lives of people with disabilities or different needs. I call that a net win.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-tech-industrys-accessibility-related-products-and-launches-this-week-130022115.html?src=rss
It’s been two years since Google introduced its Project Starline holographic video conferencing experiment, and though we didn’t hear more about it during the keynote at I/O 2023 today, there’s actually been an update. The company quietly announced that it’s made new prototypes of the Starline booth that are smaller and easier to deploy. I was able to check out a demo of the experience here at Shoreline Park and am surprised how much I enjoyed it.
But first, let’s get one thing out of the way. Google did not allow us to take pictures or video of the setup. It’s hard to capture holographs on camera anyway, so I’m not sure how effective it would have been. Due to that limitation, though, we’re not going to have a lot of photos for this post and I’ll do my best to describe the experience in words.
After some brief introductions, I entered a booth with a chair and desk in front of the Starline system. The prototype itself was made up of a light-field display that looked like a mesh window, which I’d guess is about 40-inches wide. Along the top, left and right edges of the screen were cameras that Google uses to get the visual data required to generate the 3D model of me. At this point, everything looked fairly unassuming.
Things changed slightly when Andrew Nartker, who heads up the Project Starline team at Google, stepped into frame. He sat in his chair in a booth next to mine, and when I looked at him dead on, it felt like a pretty typical 2D experience, except in what felt like very high resolution. He was life-sized and it seemed as if we were making eye contact and holding each other’s gaze, despite not looking into a camera. When I leaned forward or leaned closer, he did too, and nonverbal cues like that made the call feel a little richer.
What blew me away, though, was when he picked up an apple (haha I guess Apple can say it was at I/O) and held it out towards me. It was so realistic that I felt as if I could grab the fruit from his fist. We tried a few other things later — fist bumping and high fiving, and though we never actually made physical contact, the positioning of limbs on the call was accurate enough that we could grab the projections of each other’s fists.
The experience wasn’t perfect, of course. There were parts where, when Nartker and I were talking at the same time, I could tell he could not hear what I was saying. Every now and then, too, the graphics would blink or appear to glitch. But those were very minor issues, and overall the demo felt very refined. Some of the issues could even be chalked up to spotty event WiFi, and I can personally attest to the fact that the signal was indeed very shitty.
It’s also worth noting that Starline was basically getting the visual and audio data of me and Nartker, sending it to the cloud over WiFi, creating a 3D model of both of us, and then sending it down to the light display and speakers on the prototype. Some hiccups are more than understandable.
While the earliest Starline prototypes took up entire rooms, the current version is smaller and easier to deploy. To that end, Google announced today that it had shared some units with early access partners including T-Mobile, WeWork and Salesforce. The company hopes to get real-world feedback to “see how Project Starline can help distributed workforces stay connected.”
We’re clearly a long way off from seeing these in our homes, but it was nice to get a taste of what Project Starline feels like so far. This was the first time media demos were available, too, so I’m glad I was able to check it out for myself and tell you about it instead of relying on Google’s own messaging. I am impressed by the realism of the projections, but I remain uncertain about how effectively this might substitute or complement in-person conversations. For now, though, we’ll keep an eye on Google’s work on Project Starline and keep you posted.
Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2023 right here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/googles-project-starline-booths-gave-me-a-holographic-meeting-experience-205804960.html?src=rss
