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Thursday, 1 August 2019

12 things you need to know in tech today https://ift.tt/31awonz

Here’s your daily tech digest, by way of the DGiT Daily newsletter, for Thursday, August 1, 2019! You made it to August. You did it!

Listen on the go! DGiT Daily is also a podcast, available every day by 1:00pm ET, however you listen to your podcasts, or go to dgit.com/podcast for more to join host Adam Doud.

1. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 kinda makes tablets interesting?

Samsung Tab S6 specs tablet in hand back

Apple iPad competitors haven’t been many, or good.

While there are loads of very cheap and very average Android tablets that you can watch Netflix on and check the weather, new premium competitors like the while the iPad continues.

Samsung hasn’t given up though, as it has just announced a new premium tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6. And the Tab S6 looks good, even if it’s a touch expensive. Let’s take a look.

Specs, pricing, availability:

Short version: The Tab S6 is all the things a new tablet should be: thinner, lighter, and faster, with nice Samsung touches.
Longer version: The Tab S6 sports the new Snapdragon 855 processor, and it offers a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display.
6 or 8GB of RAM, 128 or 256GB of expandable storage, and a 7,040mAh battery.
Quad speakers, plus S pen in the box with a magnetic groove on the back to hold the pen.
No headphone jack, though.
Samsung Dex turns the device into more of a desktop PC experience.
There’s also an additional keyboard cover.
Pricing isn’t cheap: it starts at $650, and that’s without the keyboard cover. If you want that, which turns the device into a true productivity workhouse, it’ll cost you an extra $180, bringing the grand total to $830, before more RAM and storage.
Pre-orders start on Friday, August 23, while full retail availability begins Friday, September 6 – link to more from Samsung here.
An LTE version will be available later in the year, for some reason.

Initial reviews:

Samsung released this with little fanfare and not a lot of places have managed to get hands-on time – so judgment thus far has been limited to “this makes the tablet game interesting again” because it’s a premium device.
We don’t know about performance, the utility, and inevitably, how well it compares to the 9000-pound gorilla, the iPad – Air, or Pro.
The iPad Air starts at $499, the Pro at $799, although most people will consider adding on a Pencil ($129) and/or keyboard ($179). On straight price, Galaxy Tab S6 is cheaper.
Full reviews should be out within a week or two.

2. Google is testing a new Play Pass subscription service for both games and premium apps on Android, 10-day free trial (Android Authority).

3. Also, Google’s summertime deals are here with Google Play Store deals on apps, games, movies, and more (Android Authority).

4. Asus sold so many ROG Phone 2s so fast it had to apologize (Android Authority).

5. 7 times Google was behind the curve with its Pixel phones (Android Authority).

6. One month with a Bird rental scooter: Far worse than a bike (The Verge). Also, Lyft has taken its bikes in SF offline after two fires (San Francisco Examiner).

7. Instabeach: an exclusive, invite-only annual party hosted by Instagram for 500 “top creators”, along with plus-ones (The Atlantic). For the first time, the press was invited to the place where everyone is an influencer.

8. Spotify’s big bet on podcasts is starting to pay off (The Verge). That’s because you’re all listening to the DGiT Daily podcast on Spotify, I guess? Here’s a link!

9. Microsoft found a guy called Mackenzie Book, aka “Mac Book,” from Australia. He’s in the new Mac vs. PC ads, and believe it or not, he prefers the Microsoft Surface Laptop (YouTube).

10. LightSail 2 spacecraft successfully demonstrates “flight by light” (planetary.org).

11. “Oh my god stop it with the fake moon names what the hell is a Black Moon’ that isn’t anything” (Gizmodo). It started with the blue moon, then the super moon, and then it became super blood wolf moon, and now it’s completely out of control.

12. Which TV show has the best Pilot episode? (r/askreddit)

DGiT Daily: Your Tech Resource

In case you don’t know, the DGiT Daily delivers a daily email that keeps you ahead of the curve for all tech news, opinions, and links to what’s going down in the planet’s most important field. You get all the context and insight you need, and all with a touch of fun, and the daily fun element that you otherwise miss.

from Android Authority https://ift.tt/2My0wFk

New Fitbit Versa on the way with built-in Amazon Alexa? https://ift.tt/2MvRGYQ

@evleaks

Fitbit is surely working on a new Versa product behind-the-scenes, though it hasn’t talked about any new Versa watches since the release of the Versa Lite earlier this year. However, thanks to images from leaker Evan Blass (@evleaks) posted earlier today, we might have an idea of what the next Versa product will offer.

Blass tweeted a compiled image showing off five renders of what he called the next “Versa-class” smartwatch from Fitbit, potentially the Versa 2. The smartwatch appears to have much in common with previous Versa watches, and particularly the Versa Lite thanks to the absence of right-side buttons.

The render on the far left suggests it will come with at least one interesting new addition, though: built-in Amazon Alexa support.

@evleaks

You can find digital assistants on watches like Samsung’s Galaxy Watch and on certain Wear OS watches like those from Mobvoi and Fossil. These allow users to arrange their calendar and ask questions like a voice assistant on smartphones. If the new Fitbit Versa includes Amazon Alexa, it would be the first time Amazon’s digital assistant has been built into a Fitbit device, though Fitbit already has a downloadable Alexa skill.

This would also suggest the new Fitbit Versa is coming with a microphone, which no Versa watch has had previously. It could allow for even more functionality, like voice calls.

Xiaomi Mi Band 4 vs Fitbit Inspire HR: Which fitness tracker should you buy?

Unless you need more advanced features like built-in GPS, running dynamics stats, or music storage, the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 and Fitbit Inspire HR should both be at the very top of your fitness tracker …

The two woven bands seen in the images, meanwhile, suggest this will be at the premium end of the Versa spectrum. Fitbit currently has three Versa models — the Versa, Versa Special Edition, and the Versa Lite — but the woven watch bands are only available for the premium Special Edition model (it’s priced around $250).

Adding further credence to this notion is Q2 2019 earnings Fitbit announced yesterday. It revealed weaker than expected Versa Lite sales but hinted at new products to come with improved average selling prices.

I suspect the next Versa watch will indeed be at the higher end, but it may need to show off more than a few worthwhile improvements to help Fitbit boost its revenue before the end of 2019.

Buy the Fitbit Versa on Amazon

from Android Authority https://ift.tt/2MvNVCH

Your next Xiaomi phone could wirelessly charge other phones and accessories https://ift.tt/2MsYKVU

Motorola One Vision review: Challenging perceptions https://ift.tt/2YhWMuy

Asus sold so many ROG Phone 2s so fast it had to apologize https://ift.tt/2Oxzelc

After going hands-on with the ROG Phone 2, we knew it was something special. Yet we didn’t know how consumers would react to it. It seems we now have something of an answer, at least as far as Chinese fans are concerned.

According to a post on the official ROG Weibo page (via Gizchina), the company sold more than 10,000 ROG Phone 2 units in just 73 seconds during its first sale yesterday. There will be several flash sales during the ROG Phone 2’s initial launch period in China.

Read also: Asus made a Nintendo Switch and I’m not even mad

The sale depleted the company’s entire stock for the device, and as Asus said it had taken 2.5 million reservations for the ROG Phone 2, some fans weren’t able to pick the device up during the time.

In a statement, Asus apologized to those customers who couldn’t get the phone first time around but said it would do its best to “increase production capacity” for future sales. These are scheduled for August 4, August 7, and August 12.

Why is the ROG Phone 2 so popular?

Smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi have often boasted about selling tens or even hundreds of thousands of phones in mere minutes — selling 10,000 units in 73 seconds isn’t unheard of. That said, those numbers are impressive when considering the phone in question.

The ROG Phone 2 is aimed predominately at a hardcore gaming crowd with features like a 120Hz display and an optional clip-on gamepad. It also looks odd compared to typical flagship phones and it’s bigger than most phones (with a 6.6-inch display plus bezels).

15 best Android games of 2019!

Gaming on mobile has been improving at a far greater rate than any technology that came before it. Android games seems to hit new heights every year. With the release of Android Nougat and Vulkan …

Add to this a 5,999 yuan (~$873) price tag in China and you’ve got a phone which you’d expect would only appeal to a niche market and see comparatively weak sales. Yet the ROG Phone 2 has come out of the gates strong.

We’ll keep an eye on the second sale to see if Asus can keep up the momentum for its latest gaming phone and you can read our ROG Phone 2 hands-on at the link.

Are you surprised to hear the ROG Phone 2 is selling fast? Or did you expect it, given the phone’s potential? Let me know in the comments.

from Android Authority https://ift.tt/2Yiysgb

Looking for an ethical smartphone? A new option is on the horizon https://ift.tt/2Zjp0FX

Buying a smartphone almost always means that you’re supporting some sort of unethical practice, whether it’s conflict minerals, environmental destruction, or sketchy labor practices. Fairphone sought to buck this trend, as the company offered two ethical smartphones.

Now, a listing for the Fairphone 3 has popped up on the Bluetooth SIG website. Aside from confirming the name and Bluetooth 5 capabilities, the listing doesn’t tell us anything else though.

It’s been over three years since the Fairphone 2 hit the market, and it packed a Snapdragon 801 chipset, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, a 5-inch 1080p LCD screen, and a 2,420mAh removable battery. Other FairPhone 2 specs include a 12MP f/2.2 main camera, 5MP selfie shooter, and dual-SIM support.

What to expect from new phone?

The Fairphone 2 retailed for €525 (~$579) at launch, which is a pretty hefty amount for a chipset that was almost two years old at the time. It’s also a rather large sum for a device with rather disappointing specs in other areas, such as the battery and cameras. But again, you’re paying for an ethically produced device rather than a superphone like the Galaxy S10 or Huawei P30 Pro.

Read: Best MediaTek phones (July 2019) | Best high-end phones that won’t break the bank

Another point in the Fairphone 2’s favor was its ease of repair, as it scored a ten out of ten rating from iFixit. In fact, it’s still the only phone to receive a perfect score from the repair website.

Don’t be surprised if the Fairphone 3 takes a similar approach, using older and/or cheaper parts to achieve its goal. In other words, I wouldn’t expect a Snapdragon 855 chipset or triple rear cameras here. But hopefully the new phone delivers in the repairability stakes.

Fairphone confirmed to Android Authority that it was working on a new device, without revealing more details. Would you buy a Fairphone 3 or an ethical smartphone in general? Let us know in the comments!

NEXT: 7 times Google was behind the curve with Pixel phones

from Android Authority https://ift.tt/2YucpCL