Oculus Rift DK2 now plays nice with Valve's SteamVR platform
Valve had issued an update for its Steam VR platform, bringing support for the new Oculus Rift DK2 headset.
The cloud gaming service launched a beta version of its Virtual Reality tool in January 2014 with the aim of capitalising on the growing enthusiasm for VR, centred around Oculus' innovations.
Today's update brings support for the second generation Rift's positional tracking feature for gamers hooking up via Windows or Mac OS X.
It also offers DK2 support for Half Life 2 and Valve's Virtual Reality-enabling Big Picture mode. Roadtovr.com has posted a detailed guide on how to get the update working.
Note the display
The Oculus Rift DK2 began shipping to developers in July this year for $350 .(about £210, AU$383)The update brought a more polished build, the aforementioned positional tracking tech and reduced motion blur, which combats the problem of motion sickness experienced by some wearers.
A teardown of the device also revealed it to have borrowed the display from the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which feeds 1080p visuals to gamers.
Beyond Oculus: The future of virtual reality gaming
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LSI sells Axxia business to Intel for $650m
Intel paid a whopping $650 million (about £400 million, AU$700 million) to get its hands on LSI's Axxia Networking Business, a transaction that was done in cash.
Shares of the Santa-Clara based company have risen by more than three per cent since then, bringing the stock close to its 52-week high - its highest point for more than a decade.
LSI was purchased last year by Avago Technologies for $6.6 billion (about £4 billion, AU$ 7 billion) and the company made no secret that it wanted to sell LSI's networking business which employs more than 650 people.
Big sales
The deal, which is still due to go through due diligence from public bodies, is expected to bring north of $110 million (£65 million, AU$ 120 million) of annual revenues every year.Axxia's IP is likely to allow Intel to propose more rounded offerings from mobile to data centres - and everything in between with wireless access underpinning the lot.
Axxia makes enterprise communication processors, custom silicon and mobile communication processors, all of which use non-Intel architectures, Power and ARM..
Via Venturebeat
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Updated: iPhone 6 release date, news and rumors
iPhone 6 release date and price
Latest update: Looking for an iPhone 6 release date? Well we may just have one as September 9 is looking pretty likely at the moment.We've also seen more of how it will look - and do we even have a glimpse of it running iOS 8?
The new iPhone could be one of the most pivotal devices in the Cupertino brand's history - with the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C simple updates to previous models, there's a lot of pressure heaped on the iPhone 6.
We've already been given a small sneak peak at what Apple may have in store for us on the iPhone 6 thanks to the announcement of iOS 8 at WWDC - from a bigger screen and camera to health monitoring and more storage.
One thing is for sure, with the Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G3, Sony Xperia Z2 and HTC One M8 now out in wild, Apple needs to be on its game with the new iPhone - and many believe a bigger screen is simply a must.
- Apparently there's new iPad Air and new iPad Mini tablets on the way too
Cut to the chase
- What is it? A major revision of the iPhone including entire design
- When is it out? September 9 2014 seems most likely
- What will it cost? Prices are likely to start at around £550 / $944 / AU$1006
iPhone 6 release date
The iPhone 6 release date is virtually certain for September, which would fit in nicely with the rollout of the newly announced iOS 8.More exactly, the iPhone 6 release date momentum has now gathered pace around September 9, an idle Tuesday at the start of the month.
Apple has launched the last few iPhones at a special event in September, so the smart money has always been on September 2014 for the iPhone 6's arrival - followed by a new iPad Air launch in October.
Not to mention the fact that according to ifun.de Apple is restricting holidays during September for employees at German Apple Stores, which strongly suggests a new hardware launch then.
It's looking increasingly likely that we'll see more than one Apple handset this year, with a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and a 5.5-inch phablet - possibly dubbed the iPhone Air - coming alongside. The latter was rumored to be pushed until later in the year, thanks to problems with the battery and production, but recent updates seem to say these have been solved.
TechRadar's sources have also intimated that both models will launch together, so we're pretty confident that will happen.
The launch could still be split - it makes sense to launch an iPhone Air and iWatch together at an event - but that would be too many in the space of a few months, so an iPhone 6 and iPhone Air dual announcement makes sense.
And it sounds like production is about to start, as the Economic Daily News reports that the 4.7-inch has already gone into production, while the 5.5-inch handset will enter production soon too - so it could be the release dates for the two models are split.
After trawling through all the iPhone 6 rumors we kicked our render machine into gear and came up with a concept of what we'd like Apple's eighth generation flagship smartphone to look like.
Check out our creation in the video below.
iPhone 6 price
There's one thing we can be sure about when it comes to the iPhone 6 - it won't be cheap.Apple's legacy is a long line of premium devices sporting premium price tags and you can expect that trend to continue with the iPhone 6.
One analyst even goes as far as predicting that Apple will hike up the price of the iPhone 6, possibly by as much as $100 (around £60, AU$110). With a larger screen, new glass covering the front and possibly even a new, more impressive, material used in construction, we can see the price being hiked.
We'd be surprised is the mooted 4.7-inch iPhone 6 would get such a massive price bump, as it needs to stay competitive, but the hike does make sense if Apple launches a larger, phablet sized iPhone.
We have also got wind of possible pricing for the 4.7-inch model and it's reportedly starting at around £500 for a 32GB handset, which is around the same as a 16GB iPhone 5S, so if anything it might be a little cheaper, but that still leaves the 5.5-inch model open to being more expensive.
Indeed the latest pricing rumors echo the £500/$858/AU$915 pricing for the 4.7-inch model, but add that the 5.5-inch handset is likely to start at around £563/$966/AU$1030 and those are based on Chinese prices, so won't account for local taxes.
Interestingly the same sources claim that the 5.5-inch handset will be called the 'iPhone Air'.
iPhone 6 design
We could see up to three models coming on September 9: an iPhone 5C sequel, an iPhone 6 and an iPhone Air, with the latter being a larger size to compete with the likes of the Galaxy Note 3, as phablets are becoming hugely popular in areas like Asia.One thing you probably can expect is more premium metal to come your way with the iPhone 6, and Apple patents for liquidmetal 3D printing suggest there may be a new way to form the sultry chassis on the new iPhone.
Writing in early January 2014, MacRumors quotes a batch of liquidmetal patents reportedly filed by Apple employees.
This has been doing the rounds for a while though, and apparently it's a tricky material to work with.
Liquidmetal or not, that chassis could well be the thinnest yet (thanks to that LED backlight we mentioned earlier) - with word that Apple will slim down the svelte 7.6mm 5S body for the iPhone 6, and if leaked images of the phone's case are legit the handset may well be shockingly slender.
These shots are similar to another picture claiming to show the internal body work of the iPhone 6, where the LCD display would sit plus further snaps of the rear picked up by MacRumors - adding yet more detail to the collection of leaks we're gathering.
Newer, more detailed images give us an even clearer look at its slimline shell, as well as showing it in a fancy new dark grey colour, which may be one of the colour options come release.
Another thing to take away from this image is that the Apple logo is a cut-out. There are several possible reasons for that, and given Apple is looking to add NFC into the phone for the first time then having a metal free section makes perfect sense, backed up by more recent leaks with the new logo cut-out.
We've since seen images of a thin plastic Apple logo in the slot, thin enough that light could shine through it, leading to suggestions that it will light up, possibly to alert users to notifications.
With talk of larger screens, we can expect the body of the iPhone 6 to grow and leaked schematic designs claim the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will be 66mm wide and 7.0mm thick (the 5S is 58.6 x 7.6mm).
The larger 5.5-inch handset is said to be 77mm in width and a super svelte 6.7mm in depth - the Galaxy Note 3 is 79.2 x 8.3mm.
The 5.5 inch model is rumored to be called the iPhone Air, so it makes sense that it would be exceedingly slim.
These super slim dimensions have been given a little more firepower as we've now had multiple sources claiming to have case designs and schematics for the new iPhone 6, showing off designs similar to the iPad Air and Mini 2.
The most recent shows the iPhone 6 actually running iOS 8 - it's not clear if this is a final version, but it is swiped from Foxconn apparently.
But how will the iPhone actually look? Well it's going to be rounded, larger (of course) and with lines running over the top and bottom sections, presumably to improve reception and overall connectivity, as we saw in early assembly snaps.
Compared to the iPhone 5S, it's taking design cues from the iPad Air and Mini 2 - that's something we think would be a great idea, as those both have a great feel in the hand.
Aside from the change in size and shape the other visible difference is that the power button has been moved to the side of the handset, as it's going to be larger and hitting the top will be tricky. The rear of the phone will have a slightly protruding camera as Apple tries to keep things thin but pack in slightly more camera tech to keep pictures looking great.
This is seen in both the TMZ leak (as a final unit, apparently) and in components found by nowhereelse.fr. The two tone flash, which gives great colour but was an odd oblong last time out, has been made circular to fit with the more rounded finish of the phone, it seems.
A set of dummy images from 9to5Mac, show the new handset in gold, silver and grey and they more or less match the previous ones, with a rounded design and a power button on the side.
One of the big clues about how the new iPhone 6 will look is from Taiwanese actor Jimmy Lin, who posted a photo of himself holding an iPhone 5S and what he claims is an iPhone 6.
Why is this significant? Well Lin posted pictures of the iPhone 5C ahead of its launch last year, so it looks like he may have repeated the trick in 2014.
Mr Lin may also have the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 (or at least a mockup unit) in his possession, after he posted another photo online which a big looking iPhone sitting on a work bench.
The same design keeps popping up in the leaked photo, and surely this isn't coincidence as even more images along the same design lines pop up from Sonny Dickson - again claiming to show the iPhone 6.
Sonny Dickson has gone one further though after getting his hands on mockups of two sizes of iPhone 6 handsets, giving the clearest look yet at the probably final designs.
Apparently the iPhone 6 has also been snapped alongside the iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 3, all three of which are showing off their TouchID sensors as well.
A larger body housing a larger screen would mean there would be some additional space which a larger power pack could accommodate, and we've even spotted an image claiming to show the iPhone 6 battery on the production line.
In other areas, patents show that Apple has been thinking about magical morphing technology that can hide sensors and even cameras. Will it make it into the iPhone 6? Probably not.
And one final nugget to chew over before you head into the wonderful world of whether the iPhone 6 will have a sapphire screen: will Apple be launching a more premium version later in the year with that harder, less breakable sapphire display to satisfy those that want the best iPhone whatever the cost?
Seems unlikely to us, but Wall Street Journal reckons it's highly possible.
iPhone 6 screen, healthcare and power
Bigger screen(s)?
One thing we'd be the house on: there iPhone 6 will have a larger (probably 4.7-inch) screen along with a 5.5-inch iPhone Air, as mentioned on the previous page - with both being a lot thinner thanks to big improvements in LED backlight technology to reduce the thickness.Apple has even acknowledged that consumers want a larger screen after an internal slide was revealed in its court battle with Samsung entitled "Consumers want what we don't have."
According to Business Insider, of the many iPhone 6 prototypes Apple has made, one has a giant Retina+ IGZO display, which would have a 1080p Full HD resolution.
While we'd love to see the Quad HD resolution adorn the iPhone 6, the fact it's such a great leap from the sub-720p Retina display on the 5S and 5C makes it seem very unlikely.
The most recent resolution rumors come from insiders who claim that Apple has been testing a pixel-tripling display which would have a resolution of 1704 x 960.
That's not quite full HD, but it would allow the phone to retain the iPhone 5S's 16x9 aspect ratio and give a 4.7 inch iPhone a pixel density of 416 pixels per inch and the rumored 5.5 inch phablet a density of 355 pixels per inch, both of which trump the 326ppi screen of the iPhone 5S.
There is a chance that our eyeballs could be in for a real treat though, with Apple employees apparently quoted in Hong Kong saying that the iPhone 6 will sport a QHD resolution (2560 x 1600) - the same as you find on the LG G3. That would be impressive, although rather unlikely if you ask us.
There have been more iPhone 6 leaks than ever before this year - it seems Apple is unable to keep a lid on production any more.
The 4.7-inch version is said to still be on track with an images of a supposed iPhone 6 production moldand front plate sneaking onto the web on more than one occasion.
A leak from ifanr.com gives us a very clear look at what's believed to be a final or near final version of the iPhone 6 front panel.
It's clear from the images that we are looking at a screen of around 4.7 inches as has long been rumored and it also has slightly rounded edges, which may allow it to arc seamlessly into the chassis. The source of the leak also claims that the display might be made out of sapphire.
The front panel image slips keep happening, with a series of shots appearing on MyDrivers, again showing very similar looking components against the smaller frames of the iPhone 5.
A shot of one of the panels being held in the hand shows the extra girth the iPhone 6 could be carrying, and you may need to do some hand exercises to ready your palms for a larger iPhone.
An unbreakable display
Here's an interesting one: Apple looks like it's signed a big deal to use a lot of sapphire glass in its phones, with the company buying up enough to use the super-hard technology for its displays.Sapphire is already used by the Cupertino brand for its Touch ID sensor cover and the camera glass, so extending it out makes a lot of sense. Whether it will be cost effective remains to be seen - but given iPhones are one of the top devices for broken screen repair, reducing this problem would go down nicely.
However, there's an issue here: it's really expensive, and as such seems like it would bump up the cost of the phone too much for Apple, even though its customer base expects to pay a premium.
The sapphire rumour just won't die though, as there's now a video purportedly showing an iPhone 6 display and at one point it's bent between two hands, which doesn't necessarily mean it's sapphire but it's something which wouldn't be possible with Gorilla Glass.
While another video demonstrates just how strong it is, by attacking the supposed iPhone 6 display with keys, a knife and more - a display which apparently looks like Sapphire glass according to Professor Neil Alford of the department of materials at Imperial College, London.
It may only be partially made from sapphire though,as another video puts it up against sandpaper in a battle that the screen loses, which it wouldn't have done if it was pure sapphire, which tallies with other reports like those from LEDinside.
As such, this means it likely that the sapphire glass hasn't made it to final production, with the front instead just getting a massive bump in strength. This would put it on a par with the rest of the market though, and would still reduce the amount of cracked iPhone screens you see around.
It might not matter too much if it does get scratched though, as we're also hearing that it could even self heal, with Apple trying to patent a special screen coating that could heal to dramatically enhance the appearance of the iPhone 6, as well as other Apple products.
iPhone 6 specs: NFC on the way
What's this? NFC in an iPhone? About time too. New leaks state this is finally happening in the iPhone 6, and Apple has been busy creating a reason for it too.It's a theory that's looking ever more likely as it's now been revealed that Apple has partnered with China UnionPay to add its banking service to Passbook. That in itself needn't mean NFC, but apparently users will also be able to make payments on China UnionPay's QuickPass machines, which use NFC.
Many Android phones now boast NFC and Apple appears to have been happy to be left behind here, so we'd be a little surprised to see it suddenly rocking the contactless technology when it appears to be on the wane.
Then again, the evidence for it is mounting and with images showing a cut-out where the Apple logo would be it's possible that NFC will be embedded into a non-metal logo.
We've also seen an image of an iPhone 6 logic board which according to Nowhereelse.fr proves the presence of NFC, so file this one under likely.
Meanwhile Touch ID is unsurprisingly expected to make a return, but sources claim that Apple is making the sensor more durable this time around. We're not sure how durable something that you lightly press your finger against really needs to be, but it could mean that the accuracy will be further improved for fewer missed presses.
We've also now had our first look at what might be the iPhone 6 Touch ID sensor. The photo was shared by ASCII.jp and shows two sensors. The top one is taken from an iPhone 5S and the bottom one is, well, not. That doesn't necessarily mean it's an authentic iPhone 6 one but it certainly looks different, so perhaps it's the more durable redesign we've heard about.
The iPhone 6 could save your life - with iOS 8
With iOS 7 heading out of the traps now, who's betting against the next iPhone coming with iOS 8?Apple has already lifted the lid on iOS 8 at its WWDC 2014 conference in San Francisco and going by previous iterations of the software it'll arrive alongside a new iPhone in September.
The much rumored "HealthBook" does makes its way to iOS 8, but with the slightly altered name of "Health."
This app can pull in data from various health monitoring applications, providing you with one centralized sourced to view all your vital statistics, while the HealthKit developer tool will allow applications to make greater use of this function.
With the Health app now on the scene, reports that the iPhone 6 will apparently come with an array of sensors to monitor your health and environment begin to look far more credible.
iPhone 6 power
Not a huge surprise, this one: the next processor will be an A8. The big sell here is more power with better efficiency, which should help battery life, as well as being incredibly powerful for gaming. If you saw the demo on stage at WWDC, you'll know that the new iPhone is going to be very capable at rendering beautiful games.There were thoughts that it might be quad-core, but recent rumors suggest Apple will stick with a dual-core chip, albeit one that's much faster at 2GHz (the iPhone 5S is 1.3GHz) which will allow for a noticeably faster response time and graphics rendering.
It will also apparently be made using a 20nm manufacturing process, meaning that it will be smaller and more efficient than the 28nm processor in current iPhone models.
Anyone hoping for some juicy Samsung technology hidden under the iPhone 6 body will be disappointed though, as reports suggest Apple is looking to push its Korean rival further out of the iPhone picture with its eighth-gen handset.
Apple is apparently cutting the amount of A8 processors it is having made by Samsung, although it hasn't severed ties completely just yet.
There's not been much word on how much RAM the iPhone 6 will come with, but KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reckons it will have 1GB, just like the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S before it - which would be a shame given there's a 64-bit architecture to the chip, which can't be exploited properly under 4GB of RAM.
It's also possible that the 5.5-inch model will be more powerful than the 4.7-inch one, as according to AppleInsider, supply chain checks from analyst Timothy Arcuri suggest a more powerful processor will be included in the 5.5-inch handset, though there's no word on how much more powerful.
On the storage front it's been reported that for the first time we might get a 128GB iPhone, but that only the 5.5 inch iPhone 6 will reach that capacity, while the 4.7 inch model will be capped at 64GB.
The battery could be getting a boost too, as IT168 reports that the 4.7 inch model will have an 1800 mAh power pack (which is a 15% increase in capacity over the iPhone 5S) and the 5.5 inch handset will have a 2500 mAh unit, which is a huge 60% increase over the iPhone 5S. Of course with the phones also getting larger and more powerful that won't necessarily translate to a huge boost in life.
We've now seen an image purportedly showing an iPhone 6 battery courtesy of Nowhereelse.fr and it comes in at 1810 mAh, essentially matching previous rumors.
iPhone 6 camera and wireless charging
The best iPhone camera yet
Apple's bought camera sensors from Sony before, and this year there's signs that we're going to see a new, 13-megapixel sensor that takes up less room without compromising image quality.With the arrival of iOS 8 at WWDC, Apple showed off a whole host of fancy new photo editing options and what better way to take full advantage of the new features than with an upgraded camera on the iPhone 6?
But that's not what everybody thinks.
The China Post, quoting a tip from the country's Nomura Security, claims that the next iPhone won't go for a 12 or 16-megapixel sensor, instead sticking to the existing 8-megapixel unit.
With more recent rumors suggesting that Apple has signed up to use a new material that will dramatically improve the quality of light trickling into the phone, a 10MP+ sensor could be possible - but we're more inclined to believe that, as another report recently suggested, Apple will stick with the current resolution.
Why go for more megapixels if the pictures won't be any better? The notion that Apple will stick with an 8MP sensor might not be so good for marketing, but news states the iPhone 6 will have an f/2.0 aperture and dramatically enhanced image processing, so your snaps will look so good that most won't even care that the numbers are down.
And you shouldn't - 5MP is enough to blow up a photo to A3 size, so when are you going to need more?
Sun Chang Xu, the chief analyst at ESM-China, has also claimed on Weibo that the iPhone 6 will have 1.75 um pixels, compared to the 1.5 um pixels on the iPhone 5S. Bigger pixels let more light in and deliver better quality shots, particularly in low light, but if Apple is increasing the pixel size then that further suggests that the company won't be upping the megapixel count.
On top of that, more impressive tech will also help make your snaps stand out. A patent confirms this, saying Apple's aim is to use "voice coil motor actuators" to move the lens around the optical axis.
All that said, the 13 megapixel rumor has popped up again, this time from G4Games, quoting a source with 'a great track record', so the iPhone 6 might be getting a megapixel boost after all.
An Apple patent, uncovered by Apple Insider in May 2013, shows a system where an iPhone can remotely control other illuminating devices - extra flashes. It would work in a similar manner to that seen in professional photography studios.
Interesting stuff, though there are dozens of Apple patents floating around and there's no reason to think this particular one will make it into a finished product.
More convincingly, Sun Chang Xu reported on Weibo that the iPhone 6 will use Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS). That's a software alternative to Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS). Both solutions aim to prevent images from coming out blurred, but while OIS uses moving parts to balance the camera, EIS uses software algorithms to compensate.
EIS has been upgraded hugely in the last year to match the prowess of the optical solution - so much so that the likes of LG have dropped OIS to move to this electronic option.
iPhone 6 wireless charging and haptic feedback
Wireless charging still isn't mainstream. Could Apple help give it a push? CP Tech reports that Apple has filed a patent for efficient wireless charging, but then again Apple has filed patents for pretty much anything imaginable.The tasty bit of this particular patent is that Apple's tech wouldn't just charge one device, but multiple ones. Here are more details on the iPhone 6 wireless charging patent.
Wireless charging is slowly starting to pick up steam and Apple could give it just the push it needs to really get there, but we're not convinced we'll see the tech in the iPhone 6, as it seems like something that Apple's more likely to wait on until the infrastructure is in place to make it genuinely useful.
A new rumor out of China suggests that the iPhone 6 may have improved haptic feedback, allowing it to deliver different vibrations depending on the needs of an application or based on which part of the screen you touch.
Meanwhile, a further Apple patent seems to imply that future iPhones will be able to adjust volume as you move them away from your ear. Again, there's a big difference between a patent and a finished product and little reason to think it will make it into the iPhone 6, but it's certainly an interesting idea.
- We're expecting a new iPad Air later this year too
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TechRadar Show: The best of Gamescom and the latest word on Apple's iWatch
We're peaceful folk at TechRadar, but this week's show got a bit confrontational. Maybe it was how Hugh was sitting or the way Marc dressed himself that morning. Something was getting us irate, and the guns were out.
But with Gamescom now wrapping up, there was also plenty to chat about. So we highlighted our favourite moments of the show and discussed the biggest announcements from Germany's own E3.
It feels like a week can't go by without wearables hitting the headlines, and sure enough it was the iWatch back in the spotlight. But Samsung also earned some of our attention this week, between the launch of the Galaxy Alpha and rumours of a Gear Solo smartwatch.
Then we shot each other a bit more.
- Samsung Galaxy Alpha: everything you need to know
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Review: Updated: Android 4.4 KitKat
Introduction
Everyone was expecting Key Lime Pie to serve as the delicious moniker for the next version of Android. Google surprised us all by bucking tradition and releasing Android 4.4 under the name KitKat.Version 4.0 started life as Ice Cream Sandwich, but the last three decimal additions came under the Jelly Bean banner. This new version was obviously deemed different enough to snag a new nickname, but not different enough to merit a jump to version 5.0. In fact we may never get version 5, as KitKat's predcessor is currently known as 'Android L'.
That 0.1 bump hardly does it justice. Don't be fooled: this is an important step up for Android. KitKat is super-smooth, the UI is refined and elegant, there are improvements to the long-neglected calling and messaging side of the platform, a new focus on productivity, and your fortune-telling digital assistant is brought front and centre as Google Now reaches maturity.
General surprise in the tech world wasn't just based on the erroneous supposition that Key Lime Pie had to be next; there were also some raised eyebrows at the idea of Google entering into a tawdry cross-licensing deal with Nestle which would see a flood of Android-shaped KitKats hitting the shops offering buyers the chance to win Nexus 7 tablets or Google Play credit.
According to Google the promotion was its idea, and no money changed hands. With Nestle producing 50 million Android KitKat bars it certainly looks like a sweet deal for them.
Naming conventions aside, the 4.4 update is about addressing some of the Android criticisms that simply won't go away, and it does so very well indeed.
There's a real focus on the consumer here, with a smattering of useful new features, a noticeable bump in performance, and some optimization to ensure that budget hardware is not left behind.
Android 4.4 is easily the best version of the platform to date, and Google has left the ball firmly in the OEMs' court when it comes to rolling out the upgrades.
Leading the field by extending the update beyond its Nexus line to the Moto G also neatly illustrates the move to improve the Android experience on low-end, affordable hardware.
Android KitKat started out as version 4.4, but it's since had various small updates in the form of 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3 and most recently Android 4.4.4 - this review has been updated to reflect the tweaks and changes experienced at each step to give you the most complete overview of the operating system.
First impressions
KitKat really makes a mockery of the idea that iOS 7 is more refined than Android. This version of the platform is impressively fast, with stylish transitions and an intuitive feel that masks the potential complexity.There's a paring back of the notification bar that introduces translucency and context awareness, enabling you to reclaim every pixel of your display for whatever you're doing.
There are a few new features here, and not all of them are perfect, but for the most part Google has cherry-picked improvements and refined them.
The contrast between the bloated OEM launchers and stock Android could hardly be starker, but there are still a few things that manufacturers like Samsung and LG could teach Google (split-screen apps is an obvious one).
The familiar white Google logo, followed by four pulsing colourful circles, still greets you on booting up, but the process has sped up dramatically as the platform has matured. When I checked version 4.1 on a Galaxy Nexus it took 34 seconds. The Nexus 4 running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean clocked in at 19 seconds.
Android 4.4.4 took around 20 seconds to boot up on the Nexus 5 used for testing. Not quite as fast as the Nexus 4, but when you consider that my Galaxy S3 running version 4.3 of Android took just shy of 40 seconds to boot up, you get a feel for how speedy that is.
As the home screen comes into view, you can immediately detect the lighter feel that Google was shooting for. The status bar icons at the top are now white.
The custom Roboto font looks like it has been on a diet, which makes it feel that little bit more crisp and elegant. Looking at menu highlights and icons, what once was blue is now generally grey.
Google Now Launcher
The changes go further on the Nexus 5 because it has the Google Now Launcher. Those black bars top and bottom are gone. A subtle gradient is retained to ensure white icons are clear, even on light backgrounds.Head into your app drawer and you'll find white dots at the bottom of the screen to illustrate which page you are on. The icons are now much bigger and clearer, at the cost of displaying just four across instead of five.
The widget tab has been dumped, and you won't miss it because a long press anywhere on the home screen gives you access to the widget menu, as well as wallpapers and relevant settings.
Swipe from right to left and you can access additional home screens. There doesn't seem to be any limit, you simply drag an icon to the right to create a new screen. Any home screen you empty will automatically disappear.
The only real surprise is that you have to scroll deliberately through each one; you can't take a shortcut by tapping on the page marker dots at the bottom.
Swiping from left to right on the home screen will bring Google Now into view, but I'll go into that in more detail later.
Initially none of these changes made it beyond the Nexus 5 by default, but the Google Now Launcher has since been made available for other devices in the Play Store.
I was disappointed and surprised that Google initially decided to keep this as a Nexus 5 exclusive, so it's pleasing to see it getting a wider release.
If it doesn't work for you, the good news is that popular launchers, such as the free Nova Launcher, can be used, and the status bar transparency is supported along with a number of other customization options, to help you get the look you want.
- Check out our top ten Android launchers for some ideas on where to start.
Calls, messaging and productivity
Jelly Bean saw a major overhaul of the notification shade, but dragging it down from the top of the screen won't reveal any major changes in KitKat.Google has moved on to the next challenge, and refreshingly there has been some overdue attention lavished on the calls and messaging apps.
Calls
The Phone app sits bottom left in the dock on your home screen (although the dock can be customized to your liking). Fire it up and you'll find that frequently contacted people are prominently displayed.
There's a search bar at the very top for contacts or nearby places, and it auto-suggests as you type, so you'll rarely need to input more than a couple of letters.
Your last call is highlighted at the top, with three favourites below that, and then the rest of your contact list. It only fills this in as and when you call people.
Three icons sit in a blue bar at the bottom: on the left you have a call log, in the middle there's the dial pad, and on the right is where you can add, import or export contacts, and access call settings.
The caller ID system has also been improved, so that it can automatically search for businesses with a matching number in listings on Google Maps, if the phone number calling you is not listed in your contacts.
There's nothing Earth-shattering going on here, but Google's bet that most of us only frequently contact a small group of people is a safe one, and it makes the Phone app faster to use.
Messaging
The changes to the messaging system are much bigger. Google has decided to consolidate MMS and SMS messages into its Hangouts app.
When Android 4.4 KitKat initially turned up I was pretty critical of the Hangsouts app, as the separation of SMS and Hangout messaging threads and the lack of auto-detect to choose how to message a contact, felt awkward.
Thankfully I can now say, with Android 4.4.4 running on my Nexus 5, the whole experience is a lot better. Both of my primary concerns have been addressed by Google and Hangouts is now a slick, fluid messaging application.
If the person you want to contact is online and signed into Hangouts (via Google+, Google Talk or Gmail), then you can use that service. If they aren't, your phone will automatically detect that and switch you to SMS mode.
You can choose between available options by tapping the icon to the left of the text input box - allowing you to over ride an online instant messaging chat in favour of a good, old fashioned SMS.
The Hangouts app allows you to share your location, which is great for meeting friends, and you can send files like animated gifs, or make video calls. Google has also integrated Emoji into the keyboard, so you have a huge list of comical Japanese squiggles to make your messages more interesting.
Just remember that they won't display properly at the other end if the person you're talking to doesn't have Emoji characters installed.
- Hate Hangouts? We've compiled a list of the best SMS messaging apps for Android to give you the top alternatives.
Productivity
It's commonplace to use your smartphone for work nowadays, and there's a greater level of expectation that it will be able to handle documents. The days of the BlackBerry device for the office and something else for home are long gone.
Google has included QuickOffice as a standard app with Android 4.4. It enables you to create and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on your phone or tablet.
You can save those files to the cloud using the 15GB of free storage you get with Google Drive. It's also capable of opening PDF files. You can share any of your creations directly via email, Bluetooth, Google Drive, and other cloud services.
Wireless printing
There's a new Cloud Print feature to simplify the process of printing a photo, document or web page wirelessly from your Android smartphone or tablet.It's a pretty barebones option, and you'll need to use a printer that's connected to Google Cloud Print or an HP ePrint printer. Other printers will add support via apps in the Google Play Store.
It draws the list of devices from Chrome, so any device or printer you've used while signed in on Chrome gets listed. This might be a headache for some, so you're best off going to the Google Cloud Print website, when signed into your Google account on your desktop, so you can set it up exactly the way you want.
There's no denying that Google tries to push you towards using the services it wants you to use, and Gmail is a good example. The improvements to the Email app in Android 4.4 offer a welcome break from this pressure.
Some of the better features of Gmail have been integrated. Emails are organized into nested folders, contact photos are displayed, and they double up as checkboxes to select messages.
The bottom navigation bar is gone and there's a new slide-out menu that comes in from the left, offering access to all your folders.
You can also just slide an email left or right to delete it, which enables you to get through that inbox faster. The only obvious thing that's lacking is threaded email conversations.
Downloads
One final boost to productivity is offered by the revamped Downloads app. If you download a lot of files this will really help you find what you want without a lengthy search. You can choose between list or grid view, and you can filter by name, date, or size.You'll also find that the menu that slides in to enable you to open files in specific apps and attach them provides you with a clear choice of recent files, cloud services, and downloads.
Cloud integration
The allocation of 15GB of free cloud storage is fairly generous, provided you don't mind using Google services. There are various routes into that space. The most useful feature is the auto-backup for photos and videos. You can set it up via Google+, the Photos app, or Google Drive.
You'll also find that you can open your Google Drive files directly from the cloud in relevant apps. Use Quick Office and you can open Word documents.
Fire up the Photos app and you can see photos and videos taken with the camera on the device you're holding, or tap the Highlights tab and you'll see all of your photos and videos from any device that you've backed up, as well as photos you've posted in Google+ and photos you've been tagged in on Google+.
Photos vs Gallery
When it comes to viewing your photos and videos, Google is clearly transitioning from the old Gallery app to a new Photos app. That means there's a slightly confusing mixture of the two.
The Photos app looks fresher, with a white background and a nicer layout.
It lists your content chronologically by default. It pulls in all of your backed up content from Google+, and supports Auto Awesome photos and movies.
The photo effects allow you to merge photos, create wee animations, and more.
There's also an editor to create movies from a mix of photos and videos with various themes, styles, and background music options. The real attraction is the "auto" part of the equation, but you'll have to tweak to get really good results.
The Gallery app has a more in-depth photo editor, but none of the Auto Awesome features. It has a traditional album set up by default, but you can choose to filter by time, location, people, or tags.
Both of the apps duplicate sharing functionality, although it's an option that looks more stylish in the Photos app and you can see the extra integration with existing Google services.
It's another area where Google is trying to tempt you into using its services with some interesting and exclusive features, but the Gallery app is perfectly functional and you can afford to ignore the Photos app if you prefer not to use it.
On devices from other manufacturers there's a good chance that the stock Gallery app will be replaced by their own app for photos, and that's part of the reason it has to be there. It remains to be seen how, when, or if Google will integrate the two in future.
Google Now and performance
Google Now
The pre-emptive powers and general usability of Google Now are improving with every passing Android release. On the Nexus 5, or any other device running the Google Now Launcher, you only have to swipe from left to right on the home screen to open Google Now.On other Android 4.4 devices you can swipe up from the Home button, wherever you happen to be, and whatever you happen to be doing, and it will launch.
As long as you have your language set to US English (you'll find the option to change it in Settings > Google > Search > Voice) you can simply say "Ok Google" to launch a voice search and you can do that from any screen on the phone, even the lock screen.
You can use Google Now for all sorts of thing, including web searches, sending messages, making calls, launching apps, and even playing songs.
The one impediment to that is the speech recognition, but it's showing real signs of improvement in Android 4.4. Even with my Scottish brogue the success rate for queries was pretty high. You can also tap on any wrongly interpreted words and pick a replacement from the dropdown list.
Google is apparently working on integrating Google Now with partner apps next, so it will be able to access their content, and that could advance it another step.
The customization options are still very limited right now, and if you aren't interested in weather results, commute updates, specific sports teams or stocks, then it's just about the voice commands.
Performance and multitasking
Android has been criticized for lag and stutter since it first appeared on the mobile scene. This is somewhat inevitable when you allow low-end hardware to run the platform and manufacturers to create their own user interfaces. Project Butter was the concerted effort to eradicate lag in Jelly Bean and it definitely worked, but KitKat takes it to a whole new level with Project Svelte.Navigating around on the Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 is lightning fast and silky smooth, nary a touch of lag to spoil your day. The Nexus 5 has had special treatment to ensure that the touchscreen is responsive and accurate, and you can really feel the difference.
Any device with Android 4.4 will benefit from the memory optimization, and if you're on Android 4.4.3 or 4.4.4 there are even more improvements, making it a breeze to skip in and out of apps and games. This speedy performance is no surprise on a powerhouse like the Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 with their 2GB of RAM, but it really stands out on a device like the Moto G with 1GB of RAM.
That's what makes KitKat so important for the budget end of the Android market.
Google's Project Svelte enables the platform to run reliably on devices with just 512MB of RAM. It could be a viable update for devices stuck on Gingerbread.
A 'low memory' mode can automatically scale back animations and ensure that the hardware can cope. The real barrier to this is persuading manufacturers and carriers to update old devices when they'd prefer you to buy a new one.
Everything else
We've covered the highlights already, but there are a few other enhancements worth mentioning. For a start, KitKat finally brings lost device security to the platform as a default. The Android Device Manager, for finding and remotely wiping a lost device, is now built in to the platform.When you are listening to music on your device, or projecting movies to Chromecast (now fully supported), you can enjoy full screen art and controls on the lock screen.
The immersive mode which melts the status bar away when you're playing a game or watching a movie is available for all apps now, although it will require developers to update them to support it. A simple swipe up from the bottom of the screen conjures up the Back, Home, and Multitasking keys.
It's also truly gratifying to be able to check your notifications by swiping down from the top of the screen without having to exit whatever you are doing.
Bluetooth MAP support promises better integration with Bluetooth-enabled cars, closed captioning and subtitles can now be turned on via the Accessibility menu, and you can manage Home screen replacements or launchers from the menu via Settings > Home.
Perhaps the biggest new feature we haven't mentioned yet is support for tap to pay via NFC. Google has found a way to allow apps to manage your payment information in the cloud or on your device, so you can use Google Wallet, even if carriers are trying to push their own alternatives.
Throw in support for IR blasters, a more power-friendly way to act as a pedometer, and a new location option in quick settings to give more control over what apps are tracking your location and how they do it.
All in all there are a lot of little tweaks and additions that improve the whole experience, though it's a shame that things like low-power audio playback and HDR+ photography have been limited to the Nexus 5.
The emergence of that Google launcher makes you wonder how much further Google's Android might deviate from the stock experience on other devices in the future.
Verdict
Android 4.4 KitKat doesn't dramatically change the Android experience, it adds a handful of specific features to enable people to get more from their Android devices, and it represents a subtle refinement that's both aesthetic and performance-related.Many older devices are yet to benefit from Google's commitment to optimizing the platform for low-end hardware, but new budget devices are coming on leaps and bounds as a result.
We liked
The Google Now Launcher looks and feels better, which is great if you have a Nexus device or you're willing to go to the trouble of sideloading it.Smooth performance and support for lower-end hardware via Project Svelte is a very smart move. It hasn't solved the fragmentation problem in the short term because updates are down to manufacturers and carriers, but it will certainly ensure that the budget Android experience is vastly improved in the future.
The productivity tweaks are a real boost for anyone using their Android device for work, especially the long overdue update to the Email app. Immersive mode is a subtle thing, but it's a truly welcome tweak.
We disliked
It's odd to have a Photos app and a Gallery app with a lot of duplicated options and a handful of exclusives. The user experience would undoubtedly be better if there was just one app to handle your photos and videos.The ability to have more than one app on screen at a time is something I would have liked to have seen - especially on the fleet on Android tablets - but perhaps Google is content at leaving this to the likes of Samsung.
Verdict
There's absolutely no question that anyone in a position to install Android 4.4 should go ahead and do it. Even without the Google Now Launcher there are enough improvements, refinements, and new features to make it well worth your while. It builds on what is already a very solid platform with a huge range of apps and games.Android 4.4 KitKat is every bit as stylish and refined as iOS 7, and it still beats the pants off Windows Phone 8 and BlackBerry 10.
We suspect the real strength of KitKat will show itself at the budget end of the Android market. Anyone with limited funds to snag a smartphone will benefit from Project Svelte. The popularity of the Moto G shows there's a real appetite out there for a solid phone that doesn't tie you into a costly monthly contract for two years.
If you're in the market for a new smartphone, whether you want something cutting edge, or you have a tight budget, Android is a seriously strong contender for your business.
When will you get it?
Android 4.4 KitKat has already rolled out to the Nexus 4 smartphone, and the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets.The new platform has also gone out to the Moto X and Moto G, and the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One and has slowly filtered down to most popular handsets, as well as shipping on most new phones such as the HTC One M8 and the LG G3.
For the full run down of when your device check out our regularly-updated Android 4.4 release date article discussing all the recent news and rumours about which phones will be updated.
Whether many older devices will get Android 4.4, in an official capacity, is debatable. We'll keep you posted.
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TechRadar Deals: Exclusive deal: 30% off Sticky9 Magnets
With this exclusive offer for TechRadar readers, you can get 30% off a set of medium Sticky9 photo magnets. Usually £9.99, with this offer you can buy them for just £6.99. Sticky9 connects with your Instagram account or lets you upload pictures from your desktop to create a truly individual collection. Enter the promo code TECHRADAR30 at checkout to claim your discount.
Offer valid until August 20.
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Week in Tech: Week in Tech: Samsung shows its metal, TechRadar builds a Steam Machine
As the joke goes, when the inventor of USB dies they'll gently lower the coffin, lift it back up, turn it the other way around and lower it down again. But perhaps not, because USB is no longer going to be Schrödinger's cable, only revealing its true state when you try to plug it in. Not only that, but we've discovered the future of gaming, why Samsung's gone metal, whether you should throw Amazon's phone in the fire and why your next media player may be Pi-powered. It's week in tech!
Samsung goes metal
Oh, Samsung, where *do* you get your crazy ideas from? With the Samsung Galaxy Alpha the Android giant has embraced sleek metal casings with chamfered edges and fingerprint sensors, a combination that in no way is anything like an iPhone 5S. As John McCann points out, the Alpha also has a "dimpled polycarbonate rear". Specs are impressive - octa-core or quad-core processors, 2GB of RAM and a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED 720p display - but there's no word on price just yet. It'll go on sale next month.Samsung also goes VR
Oh, Samsung, where *do* you get your crazy ideas from? Project Moonlight, the much-rumoured Virtual Reality headset that Samsung totally just came up on its own, will be launched just before September's IFA show. The headset uses a smartphone to provide its display. What's that? Google Cardboard does that too? What are the chances, eh?Amazon's phone: kill it with fire
It's safe to say that the Amazon Fire phone doesn't quite live up to the pre-launch hype: Marc Flores gives it just 2.5 stars out of five, and that's only because he was in a really good mood. It's "a shopping tool for Amazon with some phone features baked in" and the best we can say about it is that the battery life is okay and call quality is all right too. The Fire is... wait for it... "half baked".Who's in the house?
No, not the House with the unbearably clever doctor: we mean the house you live in, where you might be making room for some new tech guests. FiveNinja's Slice is the first consumer electronics device to be Raspberry Pi-powered, and it promises to turn your media library into a "personal, portable Netflix" that connects to any TV. And while we're on the subject of TVs, John Lewis' first own-brand big-screen TV is pretty tasty: John Archer says the John Lewis 55JL9000 is "gorgeous", has "excellent" features and "does John Lewis proud."Get your Gamescom on
Gamescom is "E3 for those who prefer a little less stress and a little more German cuisine," Hugh Langley says, looking forward to next week's launch of a white Xbox One and lots of game goodies. One of those games, Rise of the Tomb Raider, will be an Xbox exclusive - but as we discovered this week, it won't be exclusive forever. Once the unspecified period of exclusivity is up, it's bound to turn up on PS3, PS4 and PC.Win a PS4 while you wait for the PS5
The PS4 may be barely out of its box, but Sony's already working on its successor - and we've puton our special predict-o-goggles to work out what the PS5 will do. We're betting on streaming games, VR and a significantly lower price tag too. For now, though, the PS4 is the state of the gaming art - and you can win one in our super soaraway Expendables 3 competition.
Time to get Steam-y
Fed up waiting for Steam Machines to launch? So are we - so we built our own for less than the price of a PS4. Andrew Williams has the know-how, and as he says, "it's easier than you might think."USB in 'sensible' shocker
It's a well known fact that USB connectors are quantum connectors: how else can you explain how they're always the wrong way round not just the first time you try to plug them in, but after you've flipped them too? Such interdimensional tomfoolery will soon come to an end, however, because - yes! - USB is becoming reversible. The USB Type-C connector will save you so much time that you can do something more interesting instead. Hugh Langley recommends learning the jazz flute, which we fear may be a euphemism.
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Updated: Sony Xperia Z3 release date, news and rumors
Release date, price, display and design
Sony is serious about becoming a heavy weight smartphone player. While most companies are content with releasing one flagship each year, Sony has started bringing a new one out every six months or so.As the Sony Xperia Z2 hit shop shelves early this year we're already looking ahead to what Sony will launch next, namely the Sony Xperia Z3 (or we're guessing that's what it will be called anyway) and we might not have long to wait for it either.
The Sony Xperia Z3 has apparently been spotted several times, with handsets holding the Sony D6633 and D6603 monikers appearing on a site in Russia alongside the Sony D5803, which is being touted as the Xperia Z3 Compact.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The successor to the Sony Xperia Z2
- When is it out? Launch is expected in September
- What will it cost? Around £550 / $943 / AU$1006 we reckon
Sony Xperia Z3 release date
The Sony Xperia Z3 could be with us as soon, although the August release date claim by IT168 looks to be wide of the mark.It's far more likely that it will be announced at IFA 2014 in early September, as the 2013 show was when the Xperia Z1 was announced and an invite to Sony's press conference at the show hints at new smartphone hardware.
There's other evidence for a September launch too. DooMLoRD claimed on his Twitter feed that we'll see it in September, while a competition held by the German branch of Vodafone runs till the end of September and involves buying an Xperia Z3, suggesting that it will be launched before the end of September.
Sony Xperia Z3 price
Nothing has yet been whispered regarding the price of the Sony Xperia Z3, but with most recent flagships retailing for around £550 / $943 / AU$1006 SIM free at launch, we'd imagine the Xperia Z3 would be priced at around that too.Sony Xperia Z3 display
It's not looking like much is going to change on the display front. Early rumors from IT168 suggest that the Xperia Z3 will be getting a 1080p screen and DooMLoRD agrees. That would be the same as the Xperia Z2 and most other flagships out there, but a fair bit lower resolution than the QHD LG G3.Since then Xperia Blog has leaked a screenshot supposedly snapped on an Xperia Z3 and it has a 1080p resolution, again pointing to a full-but-not-quad HD screen.
We can't be too harsh on it, as many other phones still have 1080p screens, but we're expecting the next wave of flagships to largely be equipped with QHD displays, so it's a bit disappointing.
As for the size of the screen, judging by the images we've seen it's probably going to be around 5 inches.
It's unlikely to be smaller than the 5.2-inch Xperia Z2, but it may not be much if any bigger either. That's ok though, having the screen size increase with each generation could get highly impractical very quickly.
Sony Xperia Z3 chassis
It seems like the Sony Xperia Z3 might look a lot like its predecessor, the Xperia Z2, which wouldn't exactly be surprising given that the Z2, Xperia Z1 and the Xperia Z all look a lot alike too.We first got a proper look at it, or at least at something that's supposedly the Z3, at the beginning of July, when an image of it popped up on Digi-wo side-by-side with another phone, believed to be the Xperia Z3 Compact.
The phone in the image is certainly reminiscent of the Xperia Z2, though the position of the earpiece actually makes it look more like the Sony Xperia T3.
Since then we've got some slightly clearer images of what's apparently the Z3, including some with the screen on, from Weibo.
It's in a different colour this time, suggesting that the handset might be available in both black and white, but otherwise it seems to match the previous image.
Digi-wo gave us a look at the side and back of the handset, revealing a slim build and what appears to be a glass back and rounded metal frame. The Xperia Z2 isn't quite as rounded as this looks, so that's one possible design difference.
However the image of the back of the phone also reveals a 20.7 megapixel camera lens, which is the same as the Z2 and Xperia Z1 before it had.
It also looks like the speaker has been moved to the left of the handset and what appears to be an NFC symbol is adorning the back, not that there was much doubt we'd get NFC.
We've also seen a photo of it next to a Samsung Galaxy Note, courtesy of Xperia Blog. As you can see it appears to be around the same length as the 146.9mm Note, but quite a lot thinner than Samsung's handset, which comes in at 83mm across.
Xperia Blog has also got hold of another image showing what seems to be a notification light on the top left of the handset.
We've also now seen an image supposedly showing the rear of the phone on a production line, courtesy of Nowhereelse.fr. Not only does this suggest that Sony has started mass producing the thing, but it gives us one of our clearest looks yet at the back, showing a glossy finish and a very familiar design.
But before all these images flooded in we saw a photo that was purportedly of the Z3's metal frame. In and of itself it didn't reveal much, beyond the fact that it's seemingly very slim, which is looking increasingly likely to be true, as Twitter tipster DooMLoRD claims that it's just 7mm thick.
But IT168, the site that shared the image, also revealed that it will apparently have a PVD coating, which could give it a mirrored, stainless steel look.
That's not the only advantage of PVD either, as it would also make the Xperia Z3 more environmentally friendly, corrosion resistant and resilient to scratches, as well as giving it improved impact resistance.
So there are a whole lot of benefits to it and while we haven't heard anything yet we would assume that the Z3 will be dust and water resistant like its predecessor, which in combination with a PVD coating could make it one of the more durable phones around.
The only thing which doesn't quite match up so far is that DooMLoRD claims the Xperia Z3 will have a new design, yet everything we've seen so far looks similar, albeit not identical to the Xperia Z2.
He could be wrong or overstating the changes or it could be that the images we've seen so far are fake, right now anything is possible, but we'd be surprised if it looked radically different to the Xperia Z2, given that Sony has used variations on that design a number of times.
Power, operating system and camera
Sony Xperia Z3 power
There's some dispute as to whether the Sony Xperia Z3 will be a modest upgrade over the Xperia Z2 or not really an upgrade at all. Sadly nothing so far points to an enormous boost in power though.
On the one hand we've got Chinese site IT168, which claims that Sony's new phone will have a 2.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 420 graphics chip clocked at 500MHz.
That would be the modest upgrade we were talking about, as the Xperia Z2 has a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 graphics chip clocked at 578MHz.
On the other hand DooMLoRD reckons that it won't have a Snapdragon 805 processor, which given the comment was accompanied by a frowny face suggests it will have something worse, in all likelihood a Snapdragon 801, just like the Xperia Z2.
Unfortunately that second rumor is gaining traction, as Xperia Blog got hold of an image supposedly showing the 'About Phone' screen on the Xperia Z3 and it listed a Snapdragon 801 chipset, which along with the rumors of a 1080p screen and 20.7 megapixel camera make it sound a lot like its predecessor.
A device believed to be the Xperia Z3 has also popped up at the FCC, revealing LTE, NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS support, along with a microSD card slot, none of which is terribly surprising.
Sony Xperia Z3 operating system
The Xperia Z3's operating system might get the ever so slightest of bumps, as Xperia Blog has got hold of a screenshot showing it as running Android 4.4.4, while the Xperia Z2 runs Android 4.4.2.That would make for a negligible difference but it's all that can be expected given that the next major release, Android L, isn't out yet and may not even launch until after the Z3.
We'd wager Sony's new flagship will be in line for an upgrade though soon after it does launch and you never know, Sony might make some big changes of its own to the interface, but we haven't heard about any yet.
Sony Xperia Z3 camera
Our only real information on the camera so far comes from an image taken from Digi-wo supposedly showing the back of the handset and visible above in the chassis section.On it you can clearly see a 20.7 megapixel camera with a G lens and a 1/2.3-inch sensor, all of which is an exact match for the Sony Xperia Z2.
- Samsung has a new flagship in the works too.
Sony Xperia Z3: what we want to see
It seems like the Sony Xperia Z2 has barely been available any time at all and yet already there are a few rumors circling around the Sony Xperia Z3.That's not entirely surprising, the smartphone world is fast moving at the best of times and while most companies bring out one flagship a year Sony has started releasing one every six months or so, which means the Xperia Z3 may not actually be all that far off.
You've read all we've heard so far but with the Z3 potentially launching just a few months from now we expect that more leaks and rumors will start pouring in soon. In the meantime, this is what we want to see:
A sleek design
There's no denying that the Sony Xperia Z2 looks good with its metal frame and glass back, but it also looks a bit industrial and its angular design can make it uncomfortable to hold.Not to mention the fact that the large bezels above and below the screen detract from the otherwise premium design and make the whole handset bigger than should be necessary.
So for the Xperia Z3 we'd love to see more curves and smaller bezels. The good news is that we may well get that, as one of the rumors doing the rounds is that the Z3 will have slimmer bezels and a new design.
Improved 4K video recording
More power
While the Sony Xperia Z2 is certainly a powerful phone there are times when it struggles a little, such as when using Background Defocus on the camera. Its Geekbench 3 score also puts it a little behind the Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8, so a bit more power would be desirable.With so little time between the Xperia Z2 and Xperia Z3 we can't realistically expect a huge difference here, but giving it a Snapdragon 805 processor and a slightly faster clock speed would surely help as perhaps would some software optimisations.
A 5.2-inch screen
This might seem an odd thing to wish for given that the Xperia Z2 already has a 5.2-inch display, but smartphone screens are growing at a worrying rate.While there's certainly a market for phablets we're not convinced that 5.5-inch screens and above have the same mass market appeal as say 4.7-5.2 inch displays.
5.2 inches is a good size. It's big enough to comfortably watch videos, play games and browse the web and is still just about compact enough to operate with one hand. Any bigger and it risks becoming cumbersome, so we hope Sony resists upping the screen size again.
More built in storage
Sure, the Xperia Z2 has a microSD card slot and we fully expect the Xperia Z3 to follow suit, meaning that storage isn't a huge issue. But it would still be nice to have a decent amount built in rather than feeling like a microSD card is essential from almost day one.The Xperia Z2 only had 16GB of built in storage and we'd like to see the Sony Xperia Z3 double that at the very least.
Better battery life
The Sony Xperia Z2 already has great battery life by smartphone standards but smartphone standards just aren't good enough. We want a phone that can last all week and while it's not realistic to expect that from the Xperia Z3 we'll take any improvements we can get.A QHD display
LG has brought Quad HD (QHD) smartphone displays to the mainstream with the LG G3 and while it's questionable how much difference it really makes on screens this size it's certainly a selling point.Now any phone that doesn't have a QHD display risks being unfavourably compared to the G3, so Sony won't be doing itself any favours if it sticks with a 1080p screen.
- We're dreaming about the Samsung Galaxy S6 too.
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This could be our first picture of the iPhone 6 running iOS 8
We've seen our fair share of iPhone 6 leaks over the last few months, but (as far as we can tell) they've all been dead units.
But today we're bringing you shots of a device that seems to be awake and running iOS 8. The source, TMZ, said it received the pictures from a source who swiped the phone from a Foxconn factory.
While we obviously can't confirm the validity beyond TMZ's word, the phone certainly fits with most of the leaks we've already seen. It's got the more rounded design in the edges, while the camera on the back looks to be slightly raised.
The raised camera is something we've heard about in earlier leaks, but we thought it might be changed come the phone's final release. If these latest shots are to be believed (and this isn't just an early prototype, which it might be) Apple's new camera may not be totally flush with the rest of the phone.
Crazy 8
But the biggest thing here is the fact that the phone is running iOS 8, making it seem slightly more plausible that this is indeed the iPhone 6. However there's always a chance it's a good photoshop job, don't forget.On the screen we can see the menu, which is blocking out some of the apps - possibly the Health app? TMZ's source said that the phone is "noticeably" lighter than its predecessor and includes a new sensor on the front.
From what we can tell, it looks like Apple has just moved the existing light sensor above the speaker grille and made it slightly bigger, but it's difficult to be sure just yet.
- iOS 8: what's changed?
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Samsung Galaxy S6 poised to bring all-metal to the mainstream
The mobile community enjoyed a collective sigh of relief recently with the announcement of Samsung's first metal smartphone, the Galaxy Alpha, as the South Korean firm finally delivered a premium device design - but it's just the start.
According to sources in Samsung's supply chain the Galaxy Alpha - and upcoming Galaxy Note 4 - will purely just test the water with Samsung's metal mobile design in preparation for an all-metal Samsung Galaxy S6 next year.
We already know that the Galaxy Alpha isn't entirely metal, as it inherits the dimpled polycarbonate rear of the Galaxy S5, and this report suggests the Note 4 will probably sport a similar combination of materials.
We've been burned before
Of course all of this needs to be taken with a generous pinch of salt, as an all-metal Samsung flagship was mooted for both the Galaxy S4 and S5 - and both times the rumours turned out to be incorrect.There is, however, a much stronger argument this time around thanks to the launch of the Alpha and the likes of Sony and HTC having launched multiple metal clad handsets.
We expect to see the Galaxy Note 4 unveiled at IFA 2014, and perhaps it will give us a further insight of what to expect from Samsung going forward. We'll be reporting live from Berlin next month, so make sure you stay tuned for all the latest.
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Updated: Apple's tough sapphire screen may be reserved for a premium iPhone 6
Apple could be lining up special versions of the two rumoured iPhone 6 models for sapphire screens, as the high-cost material looks to push the firm's premium banding to the max.
The Wall Street Journal says that "people familiar with the matter" revealed the Cupertino firm is currently deciding whether or not to reserve the tough-as-diamonds material for premium variants due to launch in September.
The main reason for the indecision seems to be surrounding the increased cost - the report estimates a Sapphire screen costs about $16 (around £9, AU$17), while a sheet of Gorilla Glass comes out at just $3 (around £1, AU$3).
This could potentially push the price of the new iPhone 6 up above the current cost of the iPhone 5S, so splitting out the variants between a more costly premium model and a non-sapphire toting standard option does make some sense.
That said, having multiple variants of the same handset is a very un-Apple thing to do, so we'd be surprised if this was the way the firm decided to go with the iPhone 6.
Sapphire for sure
Questions over whether sapphire crystal glass would be used at all have been raised with some suggesting Apple won't bother, but according to the WSJ this isn't the case.It claims that sapphire screens for not only the new iPhone 6, but apparently the much rumoured iWatch too, will roll off production lines by the end of August.
The iPhone 6 launch date is currently being touted as September 9, so there's hopefully less than a month to wait to find out which way Apple will go.
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Damien Demolder: Coloured DSLRs are so ugly they should be illegal
Maybe I'm a bit miserable or too old, or just not open-minded enough, but I haven't yet managed to appreciate why anyone would buy a DSLR finished in a bright red body shell. Or blue, green or orange for that matter. Why would you do that? What is the attraction?
I once was lucky enough to get to see the lunar version of the Minolta Dynax 8000si and remember being really quite taken with its astro-white body and matching lens and flash unit. But I wouldn't have considered owning one other than to show off as a novelty in my camera museum or to take on a trip beyond the ozone layer. It looked rather like a 3fps accessory designed for John Travolta in his Saturday Night Fever days.
In the film days we didn't really have SLR cameras in anything other than black or chrome. Cameras looked sensible and functional, and sometimes even cool, without selling themselves on their appearance.
When APS film arrived designers excitedly exercised their pencils and went a little wild with shapes and shades. But that was OK for APS – we weren't supposed to take it seriously.
It is fun to have coloured compacts too, and Olympus Trip 35s in leopard prints and British Racing Green, but not DSLRs.
Diversionary tactics
I'm not sure if it was Pentax that started the trend for chromatic variations in DSLRs but Pentax was certainly the first to take things too far. The Pentax K-x was available in 20 different colours or indeed 100 combinations of body and grip colours. The limited edition Korejanai Pentax K-x and Pentax K-r were multi-coloured monstrosities that looked like a car the scrap man's son had assembled from the wreckage in the yard.Although I admit having a soft spot for the desert camo finish that appealed to my secret desire to document the Afghan war, Pentax used its coloured camera programme to divert us from the fact that the company's innovation had momentarily dried up.
When there's a reason to colour a camera (white for space men, sand for desert rats) that's fine, but when a DSLR is coloured to draw attention to it or its owner, someone is missing the point.
A camera doesn't have to be just a boring tool - it is fine to love them and give them pet names - but it shouldn't take precedence in conversation over what it creates; the image. Photographers will always chat about kit, and that is fine, but the non-photographic public should notice the picture before the device that made it.
The sanctity of our mission
Once the camera becomes a fashion accessory you have to start to think about what you are going to wear while using it, and maybe which bag to take. And while I don't recommend doing anything based on a fear of what others will think, just what will people think about this?It would be hard to take a professional news photographer seriously if he was using a bright orange DSLR, because we'd think he'd got his priorities the wrong way around. It would seem inappropriate that he paid so much attention to the way his camera looked, and we'd question his intentions and motivation for doing the job.
Using a lime green DSLR is like pairing yellow shoes with a black suit, wearing a comedy tie to a business meeting (or anywhere for that matter) or dressing as Elvis to conduct a wedding. They are all unnecessary embellishments that undermine integrity of function and purpose.
Colour on a DSLR is a jollity that is incongruous with the sanctity of the device's mission. It undermines the trust we should have in the person behind the viewfinder as it suggests they don't understand that it is entirely what a camera can do that is important, not its appearance. We are programmed to think such things vain and to believe that vanity, conceit and stupidity are very closely related.
Design and aesthetics not an end
The truth is we all consider what a camera looks like before we buy it. Our consideration might only extend to seeing that it looks much as we would expect a camera to, but body design is inevitably important to us all. To test our immunity to aesthetics we might spend a moment determining how we would feel about a 54 million pixel full-frame DSLR with exceptional AF and image quality, priced at £350 and finished with Hello Kitty decorations on teenage-pink body panels.The fact is that cameras should look like sensible tools; cool and well designed, handsome even, but not an end in their own right. They exist to serve, not to be a distraction. Have you ever been to a restaurant where the waiter forgets he isn't a guest and chats so much you can't have a conversation yourself? That's what spotlight-stealing coloured DSLRs do too. And it is simply wrong.
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Blip: The maker of pop-up ads: I'm sorry for what I created
Believe it or not, the pop-up ad can be traced back to one man. That man is Ethan Zuckerman, and he did it so a car company could run an advert that "celebrated anal sex" - without it sitting on the web page.
Over twenty years later and he's as bummed out about it as we are. "I'm sorry, our intentions were good," he writes in an essay over on The Atlantic. It's actually a pretty interesting read.
Apology accepted, Zuck, but we fear it's too little too late. You can ask J. Robert Oppenheimer all about that.
More blips
Blips: no pop-ups, just fun- Hey Sony, this Gamescom teaser's a joke, right?
- Tron Light Cycle is not roadworthy, says China
- Devastating Chromecast hack will let you Rickroll your neighbors
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Sony's next budget smartphone could be a 6.1-inch monster
We're all expecting to see the launch of the Sony Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact at IFA 2014 this September, but there could be a third handset joining the line up of new smartphones - and apparently it's a big'un.
A handset sporting the moniker Sony D2203 popped up on GFXBench and the site lists it has having a sizable 6.1-inch display - although the resolution is a disappointingly low 854 x 480.
That would give this handset a pixel density of 161ppi, so if it does exist things aren't going to look great on screen.
Big screen, small specs
Couple that low resolution screen with a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM and it becomes clear this device won't be targeted at the top end of the market.If the benchmark result is correct the Sony D2203 will also sport a 5MP rear camera, VGA quality front snapper, 4GB of internal storage and come running Android 4.4.2.
Sony has only recently announced the 5.3-inch, mid-range Xperia T3 so this wouldn't be the first big screened smartphone from the firm to dip outside the high-end bracket.
There's no guarantee that the information provided here is correct, or even whether the handset which generated the results will ever see the light of day, but it gives us something else to keep an eye out for at IFA 2014.
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Updated: iOS 8 release date, news and features
iOS 8 release date, news and rumors
Update: There's reason to believe iOS 8 will be out on September 10 if Apple follows its usual pattern. We added this information under the release date section.Apple spent a significant amount of its WWDC 2014 keynote focusing on iOS 8, which takes the flat iOS 7 design and only rounds it out with new features.
That means instead of a dramatic redesign, you can expect this year's mobile operating system update to tie everything together with the overarching theme of "convergence."
iOS 8 will feature tighter Mac integration while loosening the restrictions on Apple's Touch ID fingerprint sensor. New software kits are also bringing once fragmented security and health gadgets together.
No, there was no mention of an iPhone 6 at this year's WWDC, but there have been plenty of leaks that tell us the iOS 8-equipped smartphone is likely is around the corner.
Whether or not an iWatch arrives then too, Apple new operating system is at least setting the stage for a new wearable device announcement by the time iOS 8 is ready for public release.
Release date
Apple likes to announce new iPhones on Tuesdays, make new iOS updates available to download on Wednesdays and, depending on availability, start selling or taking pre-orders for new devices on Fridays.With a major Apple event reportedly scheduled for Tuesday, September 9, there's a pretty good chance that iOS 8 will be on the company's servers on Wednesday, September 10.
History has also taught us that when iOS updates exit beta in September, they spend one last week in a near-final developer state, aka the "Gold Master version." Expect that on or around September 3.
Of course, developers can get their hands on the feature-limited iOS 8 beta now, but everyone else has to wait a few weeks for the official release date.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The next iteration of Apple's mobile platform
When is it out? On or around September 10
What will it cost? iOS 8 will be a free download
What is it? The next iteration of Apple's mobile platform
When is it out? On or around September 10
What will it cost? iOS 8 will be a free download
Compatibility
When it comes to iOS 8 compatibility, Apple requires an iPhone 4S or newer and iPad 2 or newer to update to the latest software. Only the iPhone 4 is cut from the list.Both the iPads mini and iPad mini 2 tablets and the forever alone iPod touch 5th generation are also going to work with the new iOS, just like they did with iOS 7. No one besides 2010's iPhone 4 gets left behind.
It's important to note that all of these iDevices use Bluetooth 4.0, a low-energy version of the antenna that many wearables require for constant syncing.
There's hardly a more obvious iWatch hint. iOS 8 gets rid of the only device without Bluetooth Low Energy and keeps one that's compatible with Fitbit Flex, Jawbone Up24 and Nike FuelBand SE and, likely, iWatch.
How to download iOS 8 beta
iOS 8 beta 5 is available to download right now, but it's locked behind Apple's iOS developer program that costs $99 a year (about £58, AU$105 a year).That's a small price to pay for app developers who are making money, but it's not meant for curious Apple fans looking for an early upgrade to new features.
iOS 8 is buggy and unfinished right now and beta 5 isn't likely to introduce enough fixes to warrant a try. There's also a non-disclosure agreement attached to the program, so you can only brag so much.
Worst of all, not all features are enabled. It's best to wait until the more stable iOS 8 Gold Master version arrives one week before the predicted September 10 release date.
Touch ID for all
Apple's fingerprint scanner has been limited to bypassing the lockscreen and buying iTunes Store content, but iOS 8 changes all of that as app developers get access to the five-digit login tool.All sorts of apps will be able to use the biometric scanning home button instead of pesky passcodes. So far this only applies to the iPhone 5S, but Touch ID is likely to come to the iPhone 6, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 3 later this year.
At WWDC, banking service Mint.com illustrated how third-party Touch ID authentication will expand beyond its lockscreen and iTunes confines.
PayPal sent its developers to Apple's Touch ID session at the conference, meaning all of your eBay and e-commerce transactions may be complete with the touch of the home button when upgrading to iOS 8.
Imagine, "Forget password" becoming a thing of the past as the pores in your fingertips act as a much more unique method of protecting your valuable data.
This Touch ID convenience is on top of the fact that iOS 8 is slated to scan credit cards via an iPhone or iPad camera and automatically fill in the details to make online shopping easier.
Of course, Apple went out of its way to say that even though you trust many app developers with your bank account data, they won't have access to your biometric information. It's locked away in the A7 processor.
iOS 8 camera time-lapse mode
Believe it or not, the iPhone is consistently the most used camera in the world. It's in so many hands and so easy to use. In iOS 8, the camera app is going to get even better.Apple added a time-lapse camera mode to iOS 8 beta 1 in order to help users capture extended moments and automatically speed up the video with a higher frame rate.
Condensing everything road trips to candles burning down to their wick to just a few seconds in demoed in the YouTube video above.
iOS 8's time lapse mode is basically the opposite of the slow motion video recording option at 120 frames per second that Apple added to iOS 7 last year.
SMS and phone calls on Mac
iMessages has been a wonderful cross-compatible tool for chatting on iOS devices and Macs - at least until you try to leave your iPhone behind for an Android.
Apple deserters, however, may be lured back to iOS 8 with SMS and voice calls being folded into iPads and Macs, just like blue iMessages currently pop up on Apple tablets and computers.
It's a pain to have to fetch your phone for a single SMS from an Android user, especially when you're sitting in front of a 13-inch MacBook Air screen that's fully capable of handling text messages and phone calls.
Of course, enabling text messages and phone calls to a Mac requires upgrading it to the newly announced OS X Yosemite, but that's a piece of cake since it'll be free and arrive around the same time as iOS 8.
Handoff and WiFi hotspot
iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite are going to be joined at the hip with the Handoff feature that lets you pick up where you left off between devices.Starting a project or email on an iPad or iPhone will let you finish the task on a Mac with no annoying overlap. There's no need to reopen windows or rewrite text on the computer. And it goes the other way, too, from a Mac to a an iOS 8 device.
What if you don't have access to the internet on your computer or iPad to get the job done? That's where the Instant HotSpot feature will come into play, easing the messy personal hotspot setup of iOS 7.
The one problem with this joint iOS 8-Yosemite feature is that it may require you to own a fairly new Mac. Handoff has been tipped to be not be compatible with Apple computers that pre-date Bluetooth 4.0.
Group messages with voice and video
Group messages is also being enhanced for iOS 8 thanks to new features. You'll be able to add and drop people from conversations and silence non-stop incoming message annoyances via a group-specific Do Not Disturb toggle.Sharing your location for a set period of time is also going to be a part of iMessages, essentially forking over the concept from Apple's underused Friend My Friends app.
Location sharing, when it was part of the standalone app, was ideal for meeting up in a crowded location like a baseball stadium or concert, and now it'll get more use within iMessages.
Multimedia within iOS 8's iMessages app should be more useful too. Inline voice and video messages with Snapchat-like clips that self-destruct are coming to this mobile OS update.
Interactive notifications
For the times when you do actually respond to texts and calendar reminders on your phone instead of a Mac computer, iOS 8 adds convenient interactive notifications.
Like OS X Mavericks, these notifications can be dealt with in a few simple taps thanks to inline responses. There's no need to mess with the lock screen in order to take action right away.
iOS notifications have come a long way from taking up the entire middle of our phone screens, and iOS 8 makes them feel like even less of a nuisance.
Quicktype keyboard
Apple claims its iOS 8 keyboard is its "smartest keyboard ever," and there's no reason to doubt that since its Quicktype feature adds highly-requested predictive texting that's akin to SwiftKey and Swype.The candidate row appears above the keyboard with three word-finishing suggestions and then next-word best guesses. It even varies depending on the app that's open to match your tone for each, from casual iMessages to formal emails.
If someone asks you a question, Quicktype will also automatically offer choices like "Yes" and "No" and, optionally, learn your contacts to spell everyone's name correctly.
Better yet, Apple won't limit users to its pre-installed keyboard via developer "extensions."
iOS 8 extensions
Extensions open up iOS 8 to Android's best input methods: Swype appeared at WWDC and SwiftKey confirmed that it's breaking free of its SwiftKey Note standalone app confines.Other third-party extensions let users tinker with the default sharing options, photo editing tools, custom actions and notification center widgets.
The 1Password extension goes as far as opening up the company's powerful password manager to you without the need to exit the app to open its standalone app. It simply uses Touch ID to get the job done.
Before, you had to close the app that required a password you forgot, open up 1Password's standalone app, copy the password, go back into the original app and paste in the password.
There's always a lot of potential when a platform as large as Apple's opens up its ecosystem to outside developers. Look at what it did to the App Store.
Extensions by forward-thinking developers may be long overdue, but it'll finally be here in a few weeks thanks to iOS 8.
iCloud may actually be useful
Prior to today, there was very little reason to use the ridiculously small 5GB of free space Apple included with iCloud. It was always easier to use a more capable and less expensive Dropbox account.That all changes when iOS 8 launches alongside iCloud Drive, Apple's new rival to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Microsoft OneDrive and the dozens of other file sharing services that have sprung up in recent years.
It still costs money over the 5GB limit, but at least more file types can be stored and synced. This includes documents, presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs and images.
What's really cool about the forthcoming iCloud-enabled iOS Photos app is that every picture and every edit is saved across all of your Apple devices automatically. Better yet, there are new tools and filters in iOS 8 and it'll work on the web.
iOS 8 Family Sharing
Maybe you'll be more willing to buy into iCloud Drive knowing that you're going to save money thanks to Apple's new Family Sharing feature that's part of iOS 8.All iTunes, iBooks and App Store purchases on the same credit card can be shared among a total of six people in your family. That beats having to sneakily exchange passwords.
New parental controls force kids to ask your permission before aimlessly downloading expensive apps. This "Ask to Buy" feature beams a message to your device, so you don't need to be the fun-depriving "bad guy" in person.
Other Family Sharing perks include collaborative photo albums, calendars and optional locating sharing. You can find your mom or dad and that iPhone they always misplace with this extension of Find My Friends and Find My iPhone.
'Send Last Location' for Find My iPhone
iOS 8 expands the geolocation capabilities of Find My iPhone with Family Sharing and Find My Friends by integrating it into iMessages, but in true Apple fashion, "that's not all."A "Send Last Location" feature is being added so that your GPS coordinates are backed up to iCloud whenever your battery life is critical.
Right before your iPhone or iPad battery shuts off, the last thing the device does is pinpoint where you left it, whether it's between the couch cushions or still in the car.
This handy iOS 8 beta 1 setting joins the real-time tracking, sonar-like ringing, message sending, device locking and, as a last resort, iPhone-wiping features of Find My iPhone.
Health app
Apple didn't announce an iWatch-tied Healthbook app at WWDC, but it did unveil a more plainly named Health app and the developer-focused HealthKit API.It's intended to bring together all of the fragmented health and fitness gadgets into one secure location, whether the fitness device deals with your heart rate, calories burned, blood sugar and cholesterol.
Even without a separate fitness device, Apple's iPhone 5S M7 co-processor calculates steps and distance traveled, and iPhone 6 may make room for new barometer and air pressure sensors, according to the latest beta.
Beta 3 also adds a caffeine intake tracking as a nutritional category, which is similar to the Jawbone Up Coffee iOS app. For extra protection, there's an emergency card accessible from the lock screen.
Nike and the MayoClinic are on board with HealthKit in order to deposit health stats into the centralized Health app, and Withings' Blood Pressure Monitor was a part of Apple's WWDC presentation.
The more that existing products like the Fitbit Force and Jawbone Up24 join this initiative, the more iOS 8 users will find this to be the health equivalent to Apple's coupon and ticket stub-collecting Passbook.
HomeKit
Apple also plans to tie together smart home electronics with its HomeKit framework for connected devices so that you control everything without getting up off the couch.
Locking doors, turning off lights, adjusting the thermostat and shutting the garage won't even require tapping your iPhone 5S touchscreen, it turns out.
Instead, these actions can be triggered with Siri voice commands as simple as saying "Siri, I'm going to bed" in order for the computerized assistant to put you into something of a human "safe mode."
Siri and Spotlight updates
Siri does more than look after the house and save you on your electricity bill. Apple's voice assistant is going to start responding to "Hey Siri" as soon as you update to iOS 8.This safer, hands-free way of activating Siri is joined by the service's ability to identify songs using Shazam's recognition software, purchase iTunes content and recognize up to 22 languages.
Siri is also going to become a better listener with iOS 8 thanks to streaming voice recognition. Now the wavy lines and words that appear on screen will match what you're saying in near-real-time.
When voice search isn't feasible in a loud environment, you can turn to the more reliable iOS 8 Spotlight. Like its OS X Yosemite counterpart, it searches Wikipedia, the news, nearby places, the App Store and more.
Finding things, whether it's via Siri or Spotlight, shouldn't be a problem in iOS 8, as Apple is finally taking on Google's handy voice search.
Location-based lock screen apps
If you're anything like us you have hundreds of apps, but finding the right one at the right time can sometimes mean sifting through folders and that's if you even remember it exists. But with iOS 8 certain apps will appear in the bottom left corner of the lock screen based on where you are at a particular time.
Early examples people have found include apps for the Apple Store, Starbucks and train stations, when near each of those things. You can then get quick access to those apps by simply swiping them upwards.
It seems that it can also make you aware of new apps as sometimes the icon will be for an app that you don't have and will instead take you to its page on the App Store. It's a minor feature perhaps, but one which could save time and help users make purchases and access location-specific information.
iOS 8 split-screen mode in the code
Apple didn't announce the rumored split-screen functionality when introducing iOS 8 in June, but it may be saving the unveiling as a "One more thing" for the software's final release.iOS 8 beta 3 code points to true multitasking on an iPad, according to leaks from developers. Apps can run side-by-side in 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 sizes.
There's no telling whether or not a split-screen mode will end up in future iOS 8 beta versions or the final software, but Apple certainly appears to be toying with the idea.
After all, its competitors have had the feature up-and-running for some time. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S has multi-window mode and Microsoft Surface 3 has snap mode. Like copy-and-paste a few years ago, iOS users are left envying others.
Features being saved for iOS 9?
There's a lot going on with iOS 8, but chief among the changes Apple failed to implement officially is true split-screen multitasking, which Samsung and LG have offered on their Android tablets and larger phones.Public transit directions via Apple Maps is missing in action as well, and Google Maps is benefiting the most from this. Hopefully its implementation was delayed to iOS 8.1 instead of next year's iOS 9.
Apps for photo previews and a TextEdit application, also previously rumored for WWDC 2014, didn't make an appearance either, and the status of Game Center is still unknown. Apple hasn't killed it off just yet.
As the almost complete iOS 8 beta updates with new features, there are bound to be more surprises leading up to the Gold Master and official release date, likely September 10.
Coupled with iPhone 6 and an iWatch, it should be enough to keep Apple users from defecting to Android, even with the new Android Wear watches launched at Google IO 2014.
- What's the difference? Our iOS 8 vs Android L comparison
iOS 8: 10 things we want to see
So we're starting to get an idea of some of the major changes in store for iOS 8, still, there are many other things we'd like to see Apple change by the time iOS 8 rolls around later in 2014 - although in some cases we've got a sneaking suspicion Apple would disagree.1. Change and hide default iOS apps
We'd love to be able to choose non-Apple alternatives for handling email, browsing and maps, but doubt it'll happen. However, Apple not providing the means to hide preinstalled apps you don't use is an irritant that goes back to the very first iPhone.Even if there was a similar 'parental controls' trick for hiding apps to the one on the Apple TV, that'd be good enough.
2. A guest/child account
Apple's mantra is everyone should own their own device. That's lovely, but not everyone's pockets are as deep as those of Apple board members.OS X-style user accounts are unlikely, but it can't be beyond Apple to provide a single-tap child account or a guest account that doesn't affect your settings and data, and doesn't retain settings or data of its own.
3. Better iOS app management
As of iOS 7, Apple automates app updates, but it should go further. Devs wrestle with iCloud app data, but this should be child's play to save and also (optionally) restore whenever you reinstall an app.And the App Store itself should offer trials and paid version updates (rather than devs being forced to use IAP or 'replacement' apps as a workaround).
4. Stronger inter-app communications
One of the weakest elements of iOS is inter-app communication. If a service bumps you to another app, you're not always returned when you've finished performing an action.Worse, when making document edits across several apps workflow can be a nightmare with document copies in various states strewn throughout individual app sandboxes. Hopefully this is set to improve if the new API for data-sharing makes it into iOS 8.
5. Better document management
Following on from the previous point, iOS should introduce at least some kind of centralised access to documents. Right now, Dropbox is a surrogate file system because iCloud is a bunch of silos.It's absurd that you can't easily attach documents within Mail in an OS that boasts a version number of 7. The lack of collaboration opportunities within iCloud document workflow is also disappointing.
6. Group FaceTime calls
This isn't specifically tied to iOS, but Apple's mobile platform is where FaceTime began life, and although the one-to-one model is great, it's about time you could call several people at once, rather than a group having to crowd around an iPhone.7. iOS notifications like in OS X Mavericks
In OS X Mavericks, notifications are interactive - get a message and you can deal with it there and then, rather than leaving the app you're in. This is even more important on iOS, and so we hope Apple adds similar functionality on mobile. Google does it with aplomb, so we want to see the same here.8. More Do Not Disturb options
Do Not Disturb gained extra power in iOS 7, enabling you to silence notifications only when a device is locked. Bizarrely, it still retains only a single schedule though. Is it beyond Apple to enable you to at least set one for weekdays and a separate one for weekends?
9. Better text manipulation
Apple's text-selection, cut, copy and paste seemed elegant when it was introduced, but only compared to disastrous equivalents on competing mobile systems.Today, it comes across as awkward, and it's a barrier to usability for far too many people. We'd like to see a rethink from Apple and more usable and intuitive ways of dealing with text.
10. Two-up apps
We love the focus iOS provides, but there are times when we'd like to work with two apps at once. Much like messing with default apps, we doubt Apple will ever go down this path, but OS X Mavericks now has a more powerful full-screen mode for multiple monitors.So there's perhaps the slightest hope a multi-screen mode might one day arrive for the iPad or a larger iPhone, and would be one in the eye for all those Samsung owners out there.
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Interview: In the BI of the beholder: Tableau on what it means to be 'data driven' in 2014
BI insights, Story Points and the Mac
Tableau Software is a data visualiastion company that was founded back in 2003 by Stanford University PhD student Chris Stolte (now the company's Chief Development Officer), his PhD supervisor at the time (and Pixar co-founder) Pat Hanrahan, and Christian Chabot, the company's CEO.Tableau's software connects data sources - like spreadsheets, big data and databases - allowing companies (or individuals) to combine them into visual representations using drag and-and-drop and point-and-click mechanisms in a bid to understand and make better decisions from data.
The company recently launched Tableau v8.2, bringing the app onto the Mac for the first time along with new map designs and a feature called Story Points that allows users to assemble sheets and dashboards in a way that lets them to tell stories over time using data.
We spoke to Jock Mackinlay, VP Visual Analysis at Tableau, to find out more about the company's direction and its latest release. Mackinlay, who joined Tableau in 2004 as director of Visual Analysis, was working on information visualisation long before the term even existed having graduated from Stanford in 1986 with a PhD on data visualisation that combined artificial intelligence with computer graphics and UI work.
TechRadar Pro: Tableau Software is often talked about as a leader in data visualisation. What sets the company apart from the competition?
Jock Mackinlay: A number of things have distinguished Tableau from the start. Pat Hanrehan was very skilled at declarative languages, so Tableau's technology was based on this declarative way of describing data visualisations which we called VizQL, which he worked on with Chris [Stolte].
That led to two innovations - a simple user experience and the drag and drop interface that we're familiar with, which can lead to discovery - and the ability to connect to databases. That has completely distinguished us from the early data visualisation companies. Being able to connect to databases in a really authentic and deep way makes us much more useful, and allows regular people to work with their data.
TechRadar Pro: An increasing number of organisations are claiming to be "data-driven". What do you think that means in 2014?
JM: Going back to the old BI way of doing things, some people think that means that you just build a data warehouse and stuff will happen. That isn't how it works. The data is really valuable, but in the end, we have to make the decisions. We come up with intuitions and data is what we use to refine them. That's how we move forward for product direction, and I think that's how successful people who use data in data-driven organisations should use their data.
TRP: Are you finding that businesses moving away from trying to build a "single version of the truth" using data from data warehouses?
JM: That's the classic BI thing - to put up one form of the truth. Data is pooling up everywhere, and when you try to start answering questions using it, you discover that you need data from various sources, so you end up having to ad-hoc combine them. Sure, you can put up a data warehouse, but don't be surprised if there's multiple sources of data in your organisation that you need to combine.
The richer kinds of conversations are what the Story Points feature in the latest release of Tableau are all about. That's all about explaining your findings to people and going through the logical sequences and steps to get conversations going. People might then look at the data and come back with something else along the same lines.
It's not just a case of, "I collected this data and it contracts your data" - it's much more about working with the same data but with different points of view to generate that rich, healthy and useful conversation.
TRP: Did you bring Tableau 8.2 to the Mac to introduce the platform's users to Story Points, or was it in response to demand?
JM: We previously worked on storytelling directly and now it's a natural outcome of what we do - Tableau's core thing is to help people discover things in their data.
Normally when you discover something in data, you almost always need to tell somebody about it, so the Story Points feature is a natural fit. The reason we worked on the Mac had nothing to do with that though, it's just that there's a very large and healthy platform on which people are working with data.
The wonderful thing is that a lot of storytellers use Macs, so you get the synergy of the two features against each other. However, I think we only discovered the synergy now that the release has happened and people have started doing things with it, which is what happens with all of our features.
TRP: How do you decide what goes into future releases?
JM: Forward product direction at Tableau is about what's worked for us for years, which is both a bottom-up and top-down process. On the bottom-up side we get a lot of feedback from our customers - our sales teams are really good about communicating information like that. We get a long list of feature requests as a result. On the top-down side we know a lot about human perception, visualisation, data computation and data performance.
When these two efforts meet we try and find coherent chunks that make sense to work on, make investment in R&D and then ship the features in the next release. It's part science and part art and one of the ways I think data is really useful.
We often have intuitions about what features we should ship with the next release - we use bottom-up data to literally either validate our intuitions or contradict our decisions. It may cause our intuitions to shift slightly so that they become more refined.
Research and future developments
TRP: Can you tell us about the research teams you head and what they're working on?
JM: There are two groups under me - one is a user experience design team that was started around two-and-a-half years ago. That was an investment.
Then about a year ago it seemed that the company was large enough to start a higher set of people that didn't have development or UX design as their full-time job, but were more about straight-forward innovation. Altogether we hired five people - it's a natural part of growth to be able to invest in specialists.
TRP: From what types of backgrounds do your hires usually come from?
JM: Because Tableau came out of the research world we've had research interns and professors. One of the recent hires, Maureen Stone, has been consulting for the company. Another was a professor on sabbatical who said he wanted to stay at the right moment, which was roughly the time when Tableau Research started. The new hires have been hugely successful, so if I find more good people, I can easily justify hiring them too.
We're very collaborative in our research, so we look for people who have multiple disciplines that they're skilled at as it creates a natural affinity for collaboration between them. Most of the team is skilled at data visualisation, but there's multiple people on it that do statistics, and they're all interested in our mission. They write academic papers, so they're also PhD-level people.
TRP: Do you see any parallels between them and your old colleagues at Xerox Parc?
JM: Back when I was at Parc there were people who were full-time research guys that wrote awesome papers but might have shifted topics from one place to another over the course of their career. It makes sense at Tableau to hire people who are on a mission as everybody will be driven to working toward the same goal - the team is driven to have impact on the product.
TRP: What's on Tableau's roadmap in the next 12 months?
JM: We're now a public company, and the conversations of roadmap get more vague when you're public. We've just put Tableau 8.2 to bed, and after having a week off the whole team is now pivoting to release 9 and working on various things. Some people I talk to said that it's natural to think that one vector Tableau could be on going forward is that of adding new types of visualisations.
The interesting point to make there is that we try to only add visualisations that are useful. We've got a load of those in the product, but visualisation isn't just about the visual and coding of data, it's about interaction and using those visual representations in an interactive way.
That'll be a major vector of innovation going forward, and there's a lot of engineering to do in that area. That's part of what's going to happen in release 9. From an engineering point of view, when you're using web browsers or mobile devices, you have to worry about client-server architectures, so we've been working on that for a couple of years.
We'll make it possible for client-side devices to have rich interaction on them, and some of that will happen in 9 too, while some of it will happen after that as we start to take advantage of it
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New features revealed in latest Windows 8.1 Update
Microsoft originally mentioned three features that were to be rolled out in the latest update to Windows 8.1 last Tuesday but more have been found by prominent Microsoft expert, Paul Thurott.
Lumped with the rest of the dozens of other compulsory and optional downloads issued was one called KB2975719, which turns out to be a 171MB update formerly known as Windows 8.1 Update 2.
Other than the three confirmed ones (Precision touchpad improvements, Miracast Receive APIs and fewer login prompts for Sharepoint Online), Microsoft detailed four other minor ones (settings changes for "Update and recovery", the addition of the Russian currency, Ruble, blocking out-of-date Active X and video capture metadata for MP4 APIs).
Last Tuesday saw a deluge of update with a number of security related ones for Internet Explorer, Windows and .Net as well plus updates to Microsoft Office 2013 and Lync 2013.
Windows 8.1 Update 2 was supposed to be the last big update to Windows 8.1 (and Windows 8) before Microsoft's next flagship OS, Windows 9 (or Threshold) launched in roughly next year.
Latest rumours mention that Microsoft may kill the controversial Charms bar while adding a "virtual desktop" feature.
Via: WinSupersite
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PS4 Share Play will be restricted to 60-minute sessions
Sony's Share Play feature, which will let players share friends' PS4 games over the internet, won't be totally free of restrictions.
The new feature will allow PlayStation Plus subscribers to remotely play games from a friend's PS4 without owning it themselves, but those sessions will be limited to 60 minutes a time, Sony has confirmed to Gamespot.
However, there's no limit on the number of times you can use Share play, so you could simply begin a new session the moment one ends - though that's hardly ideal if you and your friend are in the middle of a co-op game.
It's also worth noting that if you're playing remotely, you won't be able to save any of your progress to your own account, as all the action is taking place on another person's PS4 in some distant land.
SCE Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida has described the service as a "mini PlayStation Now". PlayStation Now doesn't face the same restrictions, but it does come at an extra cost. Share Play will be free of charge when it arrives (aside from a PlayStation Plus subscription).
- PlayStation TV is coming, but what's it all about?
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Huawei's first wearable lands in Australia, Ascend P7 to follow
Huawei's first wearable, the TalkBand B1, is available in Australia starting today, while the Ascend P7 will be available from August 18.
Huawei unveiled the TalkBand B1, a wristband with a 1.4-inch flexible OLED display, earlier this year at MWC 2014.
Huawei is calling the TalkBand B1 a "hybrid smartband", because while its main focus is fitness, the TalkBand B1 also comes with a detachable Bluetooth earpiece, which can be used for taking calls.
On the fitness side of things, the band will keep track of sleep patterns, steps taken, calories burned and so on.
The device supports Android 2.3 and up, and iOS 5.0 and up. You can pick one the hybrid smartband through Dick Smith for $179.
Huawei Ascending
Huawei also announced today that the Ascend P7 will be landing in Australia on Monday, August 18 at Harvey Norman for $549.The Ascend P7 sports a 5-inch full HD LCD display, matching the Galaxy S5, One M8 and Xperia Z2 with its pixel density of 445ppi.
The successor to last year's Ascend P6, and Huawei has upped the premium design on the P7 with Gorilla Glass 3 on both the front and rear of the handset, and a super slim metal frame.
A 1.8GHz proprietary quad-core processor powers the Ascend P7, along with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, LTE connectivity, microSD slot, 2,500mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat
You also get a 13MP Sony 4th gen BSI sensor on the back and an 8MP front facing snapper.
- You can check out our review of the Ascend P7 review or our hands on with the TalkBand B1 for more info
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Samsung ups the Internet of Things ante by snapping up SmartThings
Samsung has once again signaled its intentions to be a big player in the burgeoning Internet of Things market by agreeing on a deal to acquire one of the sector's hottest start ups.
Following reports it had tabled a $200 million offer (about £116m, AU$213m) last month, Samsung confirmed it has bought the Washington DC-based SmartThings for an undisclosed fee.
The two-year-old firm sells smart home kits which work around a central Wi-Fi hub, allowing users to control various household appliances, doors, windows and thermostats.
The company sells motion, temperature and location sensors as well as smart locks, light fittings, alarms and power outlets, all of which can be controlled by an iOS and Android app.
Realising the vision
"From the beginning, our goal has been to make a platform every human being could use - and to make every home a smart home," said SmartThings Co-Founder and CEO Alex Hawkinson told Forbes."This will help us reach a massive scale. We saw an opportunity to bring SmartThing's vision to hundreds of millions of customers."
SmartThings and its 55 employees will up sticks to Samsung's Open Innovation Centre in Palo Alto, but will continue to operate as an independent company, at least for the time being.
Samsung's acquisition augments the Smart Home initiative it announced at CES in January and allows the company to rival the likes of Google and Apple, both of whom are making major plays in the home automation arena.
Google spent $3.2 billion (around £1.9b, AU$3.4) on the company behind the Nest thermostat, which in turn spent hundreds of millions on the Dropcam start-up. Apple, of course, will begin its drive in earnest with HomeKit for iOS 8.
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Foxtel drops Presto monthly subscription to $9.99
Foxtel has slashed the monthly subscription cost for its Presto movie streaming service to almost half - from $19.99 per month to just $9.99.
The online movie streaming service launched earlier this year on iOS, Android and PCs, with an introductory price of $4.99 for the first month and $19.99 after that.
However Foxtel has today announced that from August 17, Presto's monthly price will be reduced to $9.99 per month.
"With Presto's vast offering of recent blockbusters and classic films, we have delivered one of the best value-for-money movie subscription streaming services anywhere," said Shaun James, Director for Presto and Video-on-Demand.
New release films will remain to be charged on a pay-per-view basis, while Foxtel has previously said that it has no plans to include TV shows to the Presto service yet.
Facing competition
The price drop comes months after streaming rival Quickflix (which does also include TV shows) dropped it's monthly subscription price to $9.99 as well earlier this year. And while both services are available on Chromecast, Presto still has yet to make an appearance on the next-gen consoles.Foxtel's Presto is also facing increasing pressure with the arrival of new competition in the form of movie streaming service EzyFlix.tv, and Fetch TV becoming available through retailers.
Among other rumoured local services from TV broadcasters and film distributors, US-based streaming service Netflix is also looking to launch in Australia in 2015, though it has been noted that many Aussies already access the US version of the service for less than $15 a month through the grey waters of VPN usage.
Presto has however been added to the new Digital Content Guide, a list put together by content owners that provides information on where Australians can legally access digital content like movies, games and music.
- Check out our review of Foxtel Presto
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IN DEPTH: 5 things you need to know about EA Access
Intro and the basics
It's Gaming 101: When it comes to value-added programs like free games and sneak previews to demos, Sony has PlayStation Plus and Microsoft has Xbox Live Gold. PlayStation Plus works on the PlayStation 4 and, as you might've guessed, Xbox Live Gold works hand-in-hand with Xbox One.That was the model that made sense. But that was before EA green-lit EA Access, a new value-added program that costs just as much as the other two providers and has a serious love for sports games.
The aforementioned service is currently in beta and available for any Xbox One owner to sign up for. But before you run off and sign up for the one-year plan, here's five things you need to know about EA Access before you tack on another recurring charge to your monthly statement.
1. EA Access is not a game-streaming service like PlayStation Now
OK, I'll admit, this one is more for me than it is for all of you.When the service was first announced at the tail-end of July I had thought - nay, dreamed - that the service would compete with the overwhelmingly overpriced PlayStation Now. I thought the two streaming services would go neck-to-neck and, in a bold, decisive move, Microsoft would give EA the rights to many of its first-party Xbox 360 titles.
This is not - and likely never will be - the case.
Instead, when all its features are taken into account, it's more like PlayStation Plus. Subscribing to the service gets you a handful of games to download (note: not stream) for free so long as you continue to be a subscriber.
2. It's available only on Xbox One and it's currently in beta
I've got some good news if you live in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom or the United States: Theoretically, right now, you can walk away from your computer, turn on your Xbox One, download the EA Access Hub app and start your subscription to the service right this second. Don't in fact do that, as you'll miss some crucial information coming later in the article, but you could - theoretically - do it.If you don't currently reside in one of those countries or chose to buy a PS4 instead of an Xbox One, then you won't have access to EA's service for some time. (Don't worry, we still love you.)
Although the service is only on Xbox, you don't need to be an Xbox Live Gold member to use it.
Subscription fees, benefits and verdict
3. Subscription fees are month-to-month or annual
It's a good rule of thumb: Before you get to club, know how much the cover fee is going to be.While this could change when the service goes live, potential subscribers can currently pick up a month-to-month recurring subscription for $4.99 (£3.99) or, save $2.50 a month and buy a year package for $29.99 (£19.99).
To put that in perspective, Xbox Live Gold will run you about $60 for 12 months (13 if you buy the cards with an extra month free!), while PlayStation Plus goes for a less pricey $50 for 12 months. Whether you get more value from the $30 EA Access subscription or the 12 months of PlayStation Plus depends largely on how much you like sports games but, regardless, those are the costs as they stand in early August.
4. What are the actual benefits? (And why is this number 4 on the list?!)
The main attraction at EA's upcoming digital carnival is called the Vault. While that sounds like the place Disney puts movies to die, it's actually the name of EA's all-you-can-play free download section.Games "in the vault" can be downloaded and played any time, and the only stipulation is that you need to keep up your monthly or yearly subscription. Right now there's Peggle 2, Battlefield 4, Madden 14 and FIFA 14 available for free with a few more coming up later this year.
Unfortunately we don't know when or how often games will be added, and that ultimately makes the year subscription to EA Access feel like a gamble rather than a Black Friday deal.
Thankfully, the discounts don't stop there. If you decide to purchase any other EA-published title, you can end up saving upwards of $20. EA Sports UFC, for example, is listed on the Xbox Marketplace for $59.99. EA Access subscribers, however, will only pay two-thirds of that, shelling out a very reasonable $40.19.
Some games' discounts are more moderate (you'll only save about $4 on Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare and $6 on Need for Speed Rivals) but, if you have a track record for picking up the latest sports games at full price, EA Access will ultimately pay for itself.
The last benefit subscribers receive priority downloads of the latest EA titles. On the service's website, EA says that, as a subscriber, you "can download upcoming EA games five days before the release date to play for a limited time. Madden NFL 15, NHL 15, FIFA 15, NBA LIVE 15 and Dragon Age: Inquisition are all included, with more to come. If you love it, buy it, and you can pick up right where you left off."
Five days may not seem like a lot to 'b'-string FIFA players, but that's a fair amount of time to hit the turf and level up your ultimate team before other players even have their cleats on.
5. Should I hit the "buy now" button?
This depends.Admittedly, there aren't many EA-produced games available yet on the system, making this more of an upfront investment in hopes that games like Dragon Age Inquisition, Star Wars Battlefront, Mirror's Edge, and the 2015 iteration of sports titles abide by the same discounts and/or make their way into the Vault.
Also, since it's not a streaming service like PlayStation Now, remember that downloading a game on Xbox One is an excruciatingly long process - especially when the aforementioned game is a monster 12GB file.
You'll be able to start downloads remotely, of course, using either SmartGlass or Xbox.com, but if you're looking to just jump in and play, you'll be sorely disappointed. You won't find the same feeling of instant gratification here that PlayStation Now has, and the game selection - so far - isn't fantastic.
If you decide to join EA Access, remember, you're buying into a product that isn't fully fleshed out. You'll save a few bucks by latching onto the $29.99 yearly subscription, but you're essentially a guinea pig for the service.
Choosing what to play and what to buy while under the beta program could ultimately shape its outcome. If EA sees a major uptick in EA Sports UFC sales from Access subscribers, we could see the same sorts of sales apply to other recent AAA titles as well.
There's some real uncertainty in this program, and without a ton of pieces on the board it's tough to tell whether EA's attempt to siphon some money from Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus will pay off. Ultimately, it depends on how frequently free games are added to the Vault, and how much discounts are on the games that matter most to consumers.
At this point, my only piece of advice is: challenge everything.
EA Access is currently in beta on Xbox One, and there is no set date for the final product to launch.
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Buying Guide: Best gaming laptops: top 5 gaming notebooks reviewed
You don't even need to tell us what happened when you told your friends that you want to buy a gaming laptop. Their inner elitist got the best of them, and bashed you for not just outright building a gaming PC. But we get you. Building a gaming PC takes knowledge and dexterity that you just don't have or care to develop.
That's where the gaming laptop shines, as the fast lane to PC gaming. No need to build a case or even buy a monitor. Of course, that convenience comes with quite a price tag. Most vendors start their asking prices at around $1,400 (about £818, AU$1,492) for 13 and 14-inch products, whereas the biggest and beefiest 17 and 18-inch models can skyrocket upwards of $3,000 (around £1,753, AU$3,195).
If you consider that a gaming laptop will never come close to a comparably-priced gaming desktop, then your decision is already made. But again, the gaming notebook is a device of convenience and portability over raw power. Without further ado, here are our favorite gaming laptops that we've reviewed thus far.
Gigabyte P35W v2
If you're determined to buy a gaming laptop instead of a desktop system, it will be tough to find a better value than the Gigabyte P35W v2. Frankly, this gaming laptop offers more hardware and better performance than its rivals for less cash.
You will miss out on the bells and whistles of more premium systems, like the attractive chassis and WQHD displays of the Ghost Pro 3K and Razer Blade. You'll also lack the latest in wireless networking tech, if you opt for this system.
Regardless, in terms of pixels pushed per penny, the P35W v2 represents one of the best buys in mobile PC gaming rigs today. Of course, you'll always get even more power for the money in a desktop PC, but in terms of gaming notebooks, the P35W v2 is currently the one to beat.
- Read our Gigabyte P35W v2 review
Origin EON17-S
Hands down, the Origin EON17-S (starting at $1,576, about £939, AU$1,630) is a superior value in face of the competition, despite it's seemingly enormous price. If you lack the time or patience to pore over power supplies, cases, monitors and more, this is a solid starting point and a more mobile solution.
It will always be more cost-effective to build your own gaming PC, but the service and support that Origin provides is impossible to replicate going that route. Plus, the extra niceties included in that price, namely the bundled mouse, could leave you set with this gaming laptop for a while.
- Read our Origin EON17-S review
MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K
MSI and Nvidia have together proven that 3K gaming is possible on mobile setups, albeit with a few conceits to texture detail and other settings. Is it worth it? That's up to how much stock you put in resolution. What's important is that it can be done, and within reason.
This gaming laptop is a great value even at the high end, but starting at just $1,699 for the 1080p version with a GTX 860M is a steal in comparison. At the moment, the Ghost Pro is no doubt one of the 15-inch gaming notebooks to beat.
The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K (starting at $1,699, £1,399, AU$2,549)is not only a beauty to behold, it offers more hardware in nearly as premium a package as the big boys. But unless you're seriously intent on getting into post-HD gaming right now, save yourself a few hundred bucks and opt for the 1080p version.
- Read our MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K review
Alienware 17
Make no mistake, this is undoubtedly the complete package and then some, offering the glitz and glamor of a boutique gaming PC in the laptop form factor. Not to mention that this AMD graphics chip inches dangerously close to desktop-level performance.
Save for some nagging (but ultimately fixable) problems, the Alienware 17 (starting at $1,499, £1,199, AU$2,499) is one of the best gaming laptops money can buy. From its sharp metallic and soft-touch build to a host of powerful components, this is a one-stop shop for getting into PC gaming with a single click.
- Read our Alienware 17 review
Gigabyte P34G
The Gigabyte P34G (starting at $1,399, about £819, AU$1,649) might not look or feel all that luxurious, but after a week with this power-packed gaming laptop, I felt spoiled by its performance. When it comes down to parts for pennies, this system goes uncontested. And that the P34G can play Titanfall at the highest settings with no problem makes me confident in its lasting power.
While you won't get the flashy lights of the Alienware 14 or the slick build of the Razer Blade, you'll pay less for the same gaming experience and then some, framerate wise. You'll want to use a mouse, even when you're just poking around the web, and having a nice mechanical keyboard waiting for it on your desk wouldn't hurt either.
This notebook offers great portability without sacrificing power or ports. All considered, the Gigabyte P34G is an amazing value and a portable beast of a gaming rig.
- Read our Gigabyte P34G review
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UPDATED: Moto 360 release date, news and features
Moto 360 design, watch face and battery life
Update: Added the Moto 360 launch event news on Page 3, as Motorola is hosting a September 4 event in Chicago. The battery charging news is on Page 2.The Moto 360 watch is not only Motorola's circular wonder with Android Wear, it's also Google's best defense against the inevitable Apple iWatch.
First of all, this stylish-looking stainless steel smartwatch exists. We've watched plenty of Moto 360 video and poured over tons of photos from Google IO 2014. Apple fans are still clinging to vague hints.
Second, the Moto 360 has the advantage of ditching the square-shaped displays of the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live, which run the same software. Gone are the computerized boxy designs of the Pebble Steel and Samsung Gear 2.
It does have two sharp-edged downsides, though. It's the price hasn't been officially confirmed and it's not out yet. Moto 360 is likely to miss the "summer" release date promised by both Motorola and Google.
Thankfully, it shouldn't be too much of a delay. Motorola has teased a September 4 event in Chicago, where it's headquartered. Moto 360 and the follow-up to Moto G and Moto X are expected.
Even with all the mystery, the ambitious Moto 360 is shaping up to be Google's best Android Wear device, especially when paired with customizable leather and metal straps.
It's certainly fit for our variety-seeking 21 century wrists. It just has to get here on time.
Moto 360 watch face and battery life
The computerized Moto 360 watch screen is rumored to be a custom-made OLED display, which would make sense given its circular shape and the desperate need to conserve battery life.OLEDs consume as much as 40% less power when displaying black images vs LCDs because they can turn off individual pixels. The opposite is true for battery-draining white backgrounds.
This could be why almost all Moto 360 renders exhibit a black analog watch face when Android Wear menus are inactive. The timepiece could easily throw up a black analog dial "screensaver."
Such a power-saving move would make the Moto 360 look and act even more like a traditional watch and give it an always-on screen, a feature that's a part of the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live.
Our tests have confirmed that even with their dimmed displays, LG and Samsung's watches eat up a fully charged battery in a day or day and a half.
Motorola may have a few tricks up its sleeve. It perfected a similar active display on its Moto X smartphone, which always includes the time and notifications on the lock screen
The company could do the same here. Battery life is even more important on a wearable; no one wants to charge a watch before the day is out.
Moto 360 specs, battery charging and compatibility
Moto 360 specs
Motorola was upfront about its Android Wear smartwatch plans early on, but it's still shy about revealing the official Moto 360 specs.That isn't too surprising. The internals of a purposely low-powered smartwatch have never been all that exciting when it comes to processing power and memory.
Instead, we know more about the outside of this device. Motorola has confirmed that the Moto 360 can be worn on the left hand or the right hand thanks to its clever orientation-free design.
Yes, there's a classic watch button on one side of the face and not the other, but think about it, this is a digital watch face. The UI can be flipped around so that the knob always points to your elbow.
Whether the Moto 360 is on your right or left wrist, it's equally susceptible to everyday dings and scratches. Scuffing a wrist-worn wearable is just as common as dropping a smartphone.
Moto 360 appears to be ready for a workout with an "optical heart rate sensor," so its beautiful watch face stands a better chance of staying in pristine condition if it's protected by sapphire glass vs Gorilla Glass.
Sapphire glass has a hardness level that is said to be four times greater than the Gorilla Glass that protects many of today's smartphones.
It's also the same glass material that is rumored to protect the forthcoming iPhone 6 and iWatch. The one downside is that it could put the Moto 360 price at a premium. More about that in a bit.
Moto 360 battery charging
You won't find charging contacts or a micro USB port on the Moto 360 because this Google watch has a innovative charging method. It's the device's "secret sauce" teased Motorola earlier this year.Sure enough, the company recently confirmed that its smartwatch charges wirelessly via magnetic Qi induction. It can be seen in a handful of photos in which it sits in a charging cradle.
We called this early on. Inspecting the handful of Moto 360 photos, we discovered that the rear of the watch featured a strange purple backing. This is the hallmark of the popular Qi charging method.
Google's Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 smartphones and its newer Nexus 7 tablet take full advantage of a magnetic Qi charger, and Motorola was a Google-owned company up until recently.
Very naturally, the Moto 360 ditches traditional wires in favor of the magnetic Qi wireless charger, which could easily sit on a nightstand before you go to bed.
There's only one problem with this micro USB-free future. Charging Moto 360 would require bringing the wireless charging with you on trips longer than a day if that's the average battery length.
It's a concern, but still better than the proprietary solutions that LG and Samsung have come up with. At least the Qi charger could theoretically juice up a Nexus 5 or Nexus 7 too.
Compatibility
Motorola has confirmed that that unlike the Samsung Gear 2, Geo 2 Neo and Gear Fit, its smartwatch will work with more than just its own hardware. It won't be limited to the Moto X and Moto G.In fact, the Moto 360 is compatible with all Android 4.3, Android 4.4 and Android L phones and tablets that take advantage of battery-sipping Bluetooth 4.0 technology.
That seems to rule out the possibility that Apple devices like the iPhone 5S and the iPad Air will be able to tether to the Moto 360. Both have Bluetooth 4.0, but for now this is an Android-only device.
Water makes for a completely different compatibility test. The Moto 360 isn't waterproof, but it is water resistant, according to Motorola and Google.
Like both the Samsung Gear Live and the LG G Watch, it carries a IP67 rating that makes it okay to use up to a depth of one meter for up to 30 minutes.
That makes wearing the new smartwatch a carefree experience, whether you're in the rain or on the wrong end of a splash while bathing a child. Just don't go dunking it in the pool or ocean.
Moto 360 release date and price
Moto 360 release date
Moto 360 was scheduled to be the third Android Wear watch in the US "this summer," trailing behind the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live that have been available since July 7.However, with the dog days of summer at an end, a slightly delayed September launch date is shaping up more likely. Reset your regular-watch-in-need-of-an-upgrade.
Specifically, we should know about the Moto 360 release date on September 4. That's when Motorola is scheduled to host a big event in its home city of Chicago.
All signs point to us getting hands on time with the Moto 360, Moto X+1 and Moto G2 in conjunction with learning about their US release dates.
Its global plans are even more of a mystery. Motorola has promised to launch the Moto 360 outside of its home territory, saying that it's a "global company." But it hasn't said much more than that.
Moto 360 price
Motorola has inadvertently clued us in on the Moto 360 price through the official rules of its watch face contest, suggesting that its "average retail value" is $249 (about £148, AU$270, but likely to be £200, AU$300 based on the real LG G Watch and Gear Live pricing).That's far cheaper than the previous leak that pegged the smartwatch's cost at a steeper $341 (about £203, AU$367), an estimate based on conversions from this report.
For comparison, the LG G Watch is on sale for $229 (£160, AU$250) and Pebble Steel is just north of that price at $249 (about £147, AU$267). Samsung Gear Live is cheap too at $200 (£170, AU$250).
Competing with these prices isn't so far-fetched, though the Moto 360 doesn't need to price match. Its wireless charging, circular screen and possibly sapphire glass could easily fetch a premium.
Even if the Moto 360 does cost more than a smartphone on-contract, early adopters are likely to pay for the convenience of offloading notifications from the phone to their wrists.
That has been the cost part of Android Wear. Not having to our our phones out of our pockets or rush to our device charging in another room to see why it vibrated is a worthy convenience.
Android Wear promises to do much more than yet, but solving that one pet peeve with easy-to-dismiss notifications on the wrist could make the sleek-looking Moto 360 the must-have wearable of 2014. At least, until the iWatch shows its ticking time face.
- Decision time: Moto 360 vs LG G Watch vs Samsung Gear Live
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