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Category: Techradar

  • Best DSLR camera 2019: 10 great cameras to suit all budgets

    Best DSLR camera 2019: 10 great cameras to suit all budgets

    Just cutting your photographic teeth and need a DSLR to get started? Or maybe you’re a pro looking for a full-frame powerhouse to rely on for all kinds of tasks? Whatever level you’re at and whatever you need it for, here are the best DSLRs right now.

    DSLRs have long been the choice for professional users, thanks to their excellent image quality, manual control and flexibility in terms of lens options. Over the years, manufacturers started to fill their lines with options for enthusiasts and beginners too, and soon there was a fitting choice for first-time photographers through to those working in the most testing environments, and everyone in between. 

    Today, mirrorless cameras are incredibly popular as they manage to offer the benefits described above but, usually, in an even more compact and lighter package. The reason? They lack the mirror common to DSLRs (hence the name), and most replace the optical viewfinder with high-resolution electronic alternatives too. They may use smaller and lighter lenses too, which further helps to reduce size and weight.

    If you want to know more about how they compare, read this: Mirrorless vs DSLR: 10 key differences. Or, if you want to know more about different camera types in general, check out our step-by-step guide: What camera should I buy? 

    While mirrorless cameras are grabbing all the headlines at the moment, DSLRs remain relevant to many users. A DSLR is, after all, still the cheapest way to get a camera with interchangeable lenses and a viewfinder (you’ll find most entry-level mirrorless cameras don’t have viewfinders). 

    At the other end of the scale, almost all professional sports, press and wildlife photographers choose full-frame DSLRs over every other camera type. Mirrorless cameras are catching up here, but a combination of excellent autofocus systems, long battery life, wide-ranging native lens options and strong accessory support give them the edge. 

    That said, there are some cracking mirrorless cameras out there at the moment that are taking the place of DSLRs in pro photographers’ kit bags, including the Fujifilm X-T3, Olympus OM-D E-M1 II, Panasonic Lumix S1 and Sony Alpha A7R III. 

    In between entry-level and full-frame DSLRs are a whole range of models aimed at different users, different levels of experience and different budgets. Here’s our pick of the best DSLR cameras you can buy right now.

    Before we get onto our top 10 picks of the best DSLRs you can buy right now, let’s take a look at this great value option. The D7200 is a prime example of an older mid-range DSLR that packs enough under its skin to maintain its relevance in today’s market. Ideal for those capturing outdoors, the 24.2MP APS-C sensor lacks a low-pass filter to help it retain plenty of detail, while the 51-point AF system is adept at tracking moving subjects. You also get a tough, magnesium-alloy body that’s protected against inclement weather, together with two card slots and a large LCD scree. Its age, and the launch of the D7500 that updated it (below), has allowed its price to drop to a tempting level too. Well worth a look if you don’t need the very newest camera.

    Best DSLR cameras in 2019

    It’s hard to think of another DSLR that wows like the D850 does. It’s on the pricey side for sure, but this is justified by excellent image quality, bags of features and a rugged, weather-resistant magnesium alloy body. The 45MP sensor is one of the highest in terms of resolution in any DSLR, while the 7fps burst mode is unusually high for a camera with such a sensor. Add to that a cracking AF system, wonderful handling and great 4K video, and it’s versatility should be easy to appreciate. Like the sound of the D850, but want to go mirrorless? Well, while not strictly a mirrorless version of the D850, Nikon’s newer Z7 mirrorless camera shares the same 45MP resolution as the D850, but features some clever tech of its own, including an all-new lens mount. 

    Watch our hands-on video below (Nikon D850 review): 

    Canon’s EOS 5D series of cameras has a rich heritage – the original EOS 5D bought full-frame photography to the masses, the Mark II unleashed Full HD video capture for the first time on a DSLR, and while the Mark III became a firm favourite amongst photographers for doing everything it did so well. The EOS 5D Mark IV pretty much tweaks and improves on everything before it, with a newer 30.4MP sensor and advanced 61-point AF system along with 4K video recording. It’s still a brilliant DSLR that was until recently our top pick, but the arrival of the D850 means it slips a place down to number two.

    Nikon has taken its flagship D5 DSLR and most of its high-end features and distilled all of this into a smaller, but still very durable metal body. The full-frame sensor is replaced by an 20.9MP APS-C sized chip that allows the D500 to shoot at a rapid 10fps and deliver a great high ISO performance. A brilliant all-rounder with a high-performance 153-point AF system means it excels at fast action like sports and wildlife photography, but still has the chops to shoot landscapes and portraits. If the cost is a bit steep, then take a look at the D7500 below. 

    Fancy the D500 but don’t fancy the price tag? Well, if you’re prepared to make a few compromises here and there, the D7500 is probably what you should be looking at. It’s packed with the same 20.9MP sensor as its more senior stablemate, and also matches it in offering 4K video recording. Nikon has also furnished it with the same 180k-pixel RGB metering sensor and the tilting screen on the back is just as large at 3.2 inches in size, although not quite as detailed, and it’s all wrapped up inside a weather-sealed body. On an even tighter budget? There’s also the slightly older 24.2MP D7200 (above), which may have been surpassed by the D7500, but it’s still one of the best enthusiast DSLRs out there.

    Watch our video review of the Nikon D7500 below

    The EOS 80D might have quietly celebrated its third birthday earlier this year, but if you’re on a budget and you don’t mind not having the very latest wizardry, it’s still worth looking at. A perfect option for those stepping up from entry-level DSLRs, its 45-point AF system is all cross-type, which means better sensitivity and finer performance all round. Its 24.2MP sensor is also tried, tested and respected, and it’s imbued with Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology to make focus swift during videos and live view, while Wi-Fi and NFC allow you to easily hook the camera up to a smart device for remote shooting and sharing online. Shooting video? There’s no 4K on board, but you do get both headphone and microphone ports, as well as a selfie- and vlogger-friendly flip out LCD. Also great to see is that top-plate LCD, not something we see on every camera at this level, but super useful for showing you what’s what.

    At the opposite end of the spectrum to some of the full-frame DSLRs here, the D3500 is super affordable, has one of the sharpest APS-C sensors out there, and a neat retracting kit lens. A word of warning: there are two versions of this lens, and it’s worth spending the extra $20/£20 and getting it with VR, Nikon’s image stabilization system. It’s proof that you don’t have to pay a fortune to get a great camera, and we say its value for money makes it just as impressive as much more advanced (and much more expensive) alternatives. The controls are designed to be simple for novices, and in the right hands it’s a match for cameras costing far more. If you’re looking to get more creative with your photography, and looking for your first DSLR, the Nikon D3500 is hard to beat.

    Costing a bit more than the Nikon D3500, but offering quite a bit more in the way of features, the Canon EOS Rebel T7i (known as the EOS 800D outside the US) is a great entry-level DSLR. The sensor impresses, as does the 45-point autofocus system backed up by excellent live view AF, while the graphical interface will certainly make this camera even more appealing to new users. The absence of 4K video and the quality of the exterior materials disappoint, but this aside, if you’re looking for a well-rounded and easy to use camera for your first DSLR the EOS Rebel T7i / EOS 800D is certainly a very good bet. 

    Like the look of Nikon’s D850 further up the top, but don’t want to shell out quite that much? Then look no further than the 24MP full-frame D750. It doesn’t have that magnificent 45MP sensor, but its 24MP alternative still delivers top-quality results – especially at high ISO settings. You also get a very respectable 6.5fps continuous shooting speed, together with a handy tilting screen and a pretty attractive asking price. Wi-Fi allows you to get your shots online without any hassle too, although as an older model there’s no 4K video nor a touchscreen. Still, most photographers don’t need these, and if you fall into that camp you may as well save yourself some money and put it towards a nice lens to go alongside.

    Still one of the best options for sports and action photographers, the EOS 7D Mark II has performance and speed as its primary focus. To that end, it combines a 20.7MP APS-C sensor with Canon’s excellent Dual Pixel CMOS AF system for smooth autofocus in live view and during video recording, together with a 10fps burst shooting mode and a 65-point AF system. It also boasts excellent ergonomics and a rugged, weather-resistant body, which makes it a fine choice for anyone who tends to shoot outside in variable conditions, whether it’s for sports, wildlife, nature or landscapes. It’s an older model, but it still packs plenty of a punch, particularly if moving subjects are your priority.

    It may not be the smallest or most affordable way into Canon’s vast EOS DSLR ecosystem, and has recently been updated by the Rebel SL3, but we’d sooner choose the Rebel SL2 – also known as the EOS 200D – over the company’s more junior and older offerings. Its strong feature set includes Canon’s excellent Dual Pixel CMOS AF system, which delivers swift autofocus during videos and in live view, while the LCD screen flips out and responds to touch – and it’s 2019, after all, so why settle for anything less? Despite its small size, handling is great too, making it a solid choice for those with small or larger hands alike. What’s not to love? Other than the understandably plasticky body and lack of 4K video, not much at all.   

    Also consider…

    It’s been on the market for some time but we still have a soft spot for the D5300 – and the fact that it can still be bought brand new is testament to just how relevant it continues to be. It provides first-time DSLR users with a stronger set of specs than the average entry-level DSLR, with a 3.2in LCD that flips all the way out to face the front, together with a 39-point AF system, Full HD video recording to 60p and 5fps burst shooting. Of course, none of that would matter if the image quality wasn’t up to scratch, but fortunately it is; the 24.1MP APS-C sensor has been designed without the optical low-pass filter to help as much detail to get into images as possible, and results at high ISO settings remain strong.

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  • Broadband deal of the week: free Amazon Echo Plus with Vodafone’s fastest fibre

    Broadband deal of the week: free Amazon Echo Plus with Vodafone’s fastest fibre

    We have to say, this broadband deal has us somewhat stumped. Vodafone has taken both of its fibre broadband deals and priced them at the same monthly cost. Confusing? Yes. A great time to seize a bargain on some superfast fibre internet? An even bigger yes.

    It means for just £23 a month (or only £20 for existing Vodafone phone customers) you can get Vodafone’s Superfast fibre 2 package – the exact same price as its Superfast 1 package, can you imagine which one we would recommend? 

    The Superfast fibre 2 package boasts speeds of 63Mb, which makes the £23 a month you’re paying for it astounding and the £20 existing Vodafone customers pay almost unbelievable.

    As if that affordable pricing wasn’t enough, Vodafone doesn’t even charge any upfront fees and even more importantly (sorry, we’re really excited about this one) it’s also throwing in a FREE Amazon Echo Plus with all of its broadband deals. It really is an astonishing offer.

    It feels like nobody told Vodafone they only had to pip the competition by a little bit because no other broadband deals come close to this. Vodafone’s sale will be coming to an end on 10 September so you still have plenty of time to grab it. 

    Vodafone’s cheap fibre broadband deal in full: 

    Want more with your broadband deal?

    While this is one of the best, affordable fibre broadband deals around, you can get even cheaper bills. You may not have heard of the ISP, but Onestream’s Jetstream Lite Fibre costs a mere £18.99 per month. You do have to pay a tenner upfront though, so it works out as roughly the same as Vodafone in the long run. Plus, this deal does also offer the lowest average fibre speeds on the market at 17Mb.

    While for those who want an added extra with their internet, BT could be the way to go. It costs £31.99 a month but comes with a £100 BT Reward Card on top of its faster 50Mb fibre speeds.

    Read more:

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  • How to prevent employee burnout

    The World Health Organisation now officially recognizes workplace ‘burnout’ as an occupational phenomenon, this is the first time it’s being directly linked in its classification of diseases as a work hazard. Why has it become such a prominent issue? 

    If you look at the last ten years of the global economy, you’ll see it’s been a pretty wild ride. The economy had nearly collapsed by 2009, and since then it’s been rebuilt to new heights. That was the same year when smartphone and social media adoption began accelerating rapidly, and these technologies put enormous pressure on brands to move far more quickly than ever before. 

    Brands were expected to deliver amazing customer experiences and drive revenue from new, digital channels. In fact, some people call our current era the “Post-Digital Era” because consumer expectations have reached a point where a rapid digital experience is a barrier to entry into any market, meaning brands that can’t deliver, likely one won’t survive. These new forces have put pressure on workers to stay connected to their employers via their devices from anywhere.

    Unfortunately, technology has developed faster than etiquette. There’s still a perception that because we can connect with our work 24/7, that we must. Even when you’re not actively working, notifications and vibrations from phones are a constant reminder that there’s work to be done. After a decade, all this stress has proven to be unsustainable to the point that countries, like France and Japan, have instituted right-to-disconnect legislation and other reforms to help employees find balance. 

    What role do you think business leaders should play in managing employee burnout?

    There has been a proliferation of tools that were designed to improve employee flexibility, but they’ve since reached a point of diminishing returns where instead of consolidating communications, they are overwhelming us with messages and notifications. Business leaders need to think proactively about the role technology plays in the stress of their employees and try to streamline their stacks to make sure technology is supporting your team, and it’s not just another distraction or burden.

    Rather than enabling your team to work 24/7, your technology should encourage flexibility and allow employees to disconnect. Leaders need to lead by example on this front as well, and support boundaries for their teams. In a survey we conducted about stress in the workplace, over a quarter (28 percent) of UK workers said receiving texts or emails from their boss outside of work hours has a high impact on their stress levels. Of course, this also means organizations need to adopt better practices for planning projects, so there’s less need for last-minute scrambling to hit goals. 

    What role does enterprise technology play in relation to employee stress and happiness?

    When information is structured and accessible to people who need it to do their jobs, enterprise technology can reduce stress and accelerate work at the same time. People like to be productive, and they get frustrated when they feel technology isn’t enabling it. But when technology gets in the way of productivity, it’s going to add to stress – and there are a few common ways that technology prevents productivity.

    • Communication overload: There’s so much communication going on within a system or across a stack of systems that it’s nearly impossible to separate the signal from the noise;
    • Fragmentation: You spend a good chunk of your day trying to find information that you’re pretty sure you’ve seen – you’re just not sure where. This slows down projects and causes teams to operate off different sources of information, meaning some may be outdated, incomplete, or irrelevant;
    • Usability: Technology that is difficult or slow to use, which leads to frustration for anyone trying to operate it. In today’s post-digital age, enterprise technology should be as intuitive as the personal apps we all use daily on our phones.

    I can’t emphasize enough the importance of reducing stress and frustration around execution. We recently conducted a survey that found that Collaborative Work Management (CWM) software users in the UK were 61 percent more likely than non-users to say they have a “very good” relationship with their managers. They were also 152 percent more likely than non-users to say their company’s mission resonated with them “very strongly,” which goes to show that if you can enable people to work smoothly, they’re going to find happiness in the workplace.

    How can companies declutter their tech stack to help address employee burnout?

    A decade ago, bottom-up adoption of technology was a fast-growing trend, and as a result, companies went through a period with a vast array of overlapping and redundant technology that varied from team to team. It was a good trend at the time in that it re-engaged workers when enterprise technology was woefully outdated, but it led to problems with privacy, security, and information fragmentation. 

    CIOs need to audit their systems and see how many apps are in use within their teams and examine the gaps created by those systems. It’s in those gaps that painful, manual processes exist for workers who need to ensure information is synced between them. 

    In an ideal world, the various teams in a company will plan projects and collaborate in a single, unified solution. Realistically, it may take multiple systems, but they should be integrated in a way that effortlessly allows work and updates to move from team to team and from system to system to support cross-functional collaboration, and use automation to break down silos and eliminate routine tasks.

    Collaborative work management helps companies provide flexible working. But how else  does it help to manage employee burnout?

    There are some psychological forces behind burnout, and one of them is the concept of perceived control, which means people experience less stress when they feel they have some ability to control their situation. CWM software actually does give people control over their work, giving them the ability to intake work in the way that works for them, design workflows, and also view projects and assignments in a customized way. 

    Another major cause of stress is the frustration of waiting for people to do what you need them to do to move projects forward. The challenge is that people often don’t know the priority of work, or have the context they need to get started. And CWM provides clarity to priorities and can keep all relevant conversations, documents, and schedules in one place. 

    There’s the issue of what I call hidden work – or tasks that are work but aren’t necessarily tracked in a project plan. Scheduling meetings, responding to emails, versioning documents – these are all tasks that take up a lot of our work time, whether we realize it or not. CWM can automate or reduce a lot of these functions, giving people more time to focus on the work that drives results. 

    Unrealistic expectations are also a struggle, and the challenge is that management doesn’t have visibility into their team’s workload. CWM platforms can provide a clear picture of an employees capacity for delegating tasks, setting deadlines, and prioritizing work. Fifty-one percent of UK workers say that receiving assignments with unrealistic deadlines has a high impact on their stress, and resource management can help keep tasks balanced across a team. 

    Since realistic deadlines are achievable deadlines, resource management can actually increase team capacity. They also track work further down the pike, so teams can begin planning further out and reduce last-minute panics about unseen deadlines – which should help reduce those late night emails and messages.  

    How can companies make sure that they’re utilising all their tools properly to make sure they’re not wasting their employee’s time?

    Most workers have lived through at least one failed technology deployment in their careers, so when you introduce a new tool, there’s going to be some eye-rolling. Change management is vital in any transformational program, and especially in one that requires a daily habit change from a large number of people. You can spend a lot of money on technology and have it fall flat because no one adopts it, so you need to have a plan. Context and clarity in communicating with your workforce about why you’re implementing a change are critical.

    Start with “why” and look at it through the lens of “what’s in it for me,” to help sell the idea to your workforce. The better you can define the connection between the application and outcomes (business and personal), the more supportive and enthusiastic your users will be in adopting it. We always encourage our users to start with critical use-cases – solving an immediate need first and then build upon that success to broaden the use through other use-cases.

    It’s also critical that a solution is flexible enough to accommodate the diverse preferences of your workforce. You probably aren’t going to have much luck forcing people to use a tool that makes people work the way it works, you need a tool that works the way they work, but with optimizations. 

    Putting the work in upfront to select the right tool and deploy it effectively will pay dividends in the long term.

     

    Andrew Filev is the founder and CEO of Wrike, a cloud-based work management platform.

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  • Bluetooth security flaw leaves millions of devices open to attack

    A new Bluetooth vulnerability has been disclosed that would allow an attacker to more easily brute force the encryption key used by devices during pairing to monitor or even manipulate the data transferred between two paired devices.

    The vulnerability has been given the name “Key Negotiation of Bluetooth attack” or “KNOB” for short and it affects Bluetooth BR/EDR devices using specification versions 1.0 to 5.1.

    News of the KNOB vulnerability was revealed in a coordinated disclosure between the Center for IT-Security, Privacy and Accountability (CISPA), ICASI and ICASI members including Microsoft, Apple, Intel, Cisco and Amazon.

    The flaw itself allows an attacker to reduce the length of the encryption key used for establishing a connection and in some cases, the length of the encryption key could be reduced to just a single octet making Bluetooth devices much easier to access.

    KNOB vulnerability

    A security advisory on Bluetooth.com, provided further insight on how the KNOB vulnerability functions, saying:

    “The researchers identified that it is possible for an attacking device to interfere with the procedure used to set up encryption on a BR/EDR connection between two devices in such a way as to reduce the length of the encryption key used. In addition, since not all Bluetooth specifications mandate a minimum encryption key length, it is possible that some vendors may have developed Bluetooth products where the length of the encryption key used on a BR/EDR connection could be set by an attacking device down to a single octet.” 

    After figuring out the Bluetooth keys of two devices, attackers could then monitor and manipulate the data being sent between them. This would even allow them to inject commands, monitor key strokes and carry out other types of malicious behavior. Fortunately, ICASI has not yet seen this attack method used maliciously nor have any devices been created to initiate this type of attack.

    Exploiting the KNOB vulnerability would also be difficult because both devices need to be Bluetooth BR/EDR, the attacker would need to be within range of the devices while they establish a connection and the attack would also need to be repeated every time the devices paired. The Bluetooth specification has also been updated to recommend a minimum encryption key length of seven octets for BR/EDR connections to resolve this vulnerability.

    Via Bleeping Computer

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  • Get double data on a range of flagship devices with these O2 mobile phone deals

    These days, a small data plan just doesn’t hack it. You want to stream Netflix on the go and scroll through Twitter to your heart’s content and you should be able to! Luckily, a recent promotion from retailer Mobiles.co.uk is offering double data on a range of flagship phones, taking away the worries of a tiny data cap.

    With offers on the likes of the Huawei P30 Pro, Google Pixel 3a, Samsung Galaxy S10e and the iPhone XR, this promotion has offers for everyone. Heck, even brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 10 deals are included. And, with data caps ranging from 4GB all the way up to 70GB, you can rest assured in the knowledge you won’t be running out of data anytime soon.

    We’ve selected the best offers from this deal and listed them down below for you to compare. Or, if you can’t see your dream phone contract in there, check our guide to best mobile phone deals for all of the options on the market.

    These double data mobile phone deals in full:

    With the exclusion of the Galaxy S10e, you can apply the code 10OFF at the checkout with any of these offers to save an additional £10 on the upfront spend:

    Mobiles.co.uk – Best Online Retailer award winner

    Not sure if Mobiles.co.uk is the right retailer to buy from? Having won Best Online Retailer at the Mobile Choice Awards last autumn, you can rest easy knowing Mobiles.co.uk is a safe bet.

    With some of the market’s best pricing, fast delivery and excellent reviews – you can see how they managed to bag that title.

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  • Disney Plus release date, pricing, and brand new Marvel shows

    Disney Plus release date, pricing, and brand new Marvel shows

    Disney Plus is on its way. As if we didn’t have enough TV already to keep us busy, the Disney Plus streaming service coming this November (to the US, at least) looks set to drain our bank balances that little bit further.

    With a portfolio of studios and catalogues ranging from the Star Wars franchise, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar, and even the Simpsons – from a recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox – there’s plenty of big-name content to draw users to the service, and some fear it could even halt the massive growth of Netflix’s user base. 

    With a set launch date of November 12, 2019, we know how long we have left to wait until the platform lands, and Disney has shared enough about the kind and quantity of content on offer – as well as how much it’ll cost – to give us a vague picture of what we’re getting. We even know that Disney Plus is joining Hulu on the Nintendo Switch, a console famously picky over its third-party apps.

    It’s also likely to come to Apple TV according to Disney CEO Bob Iger, in spite of speculation that it would come into conflict with Apple’s new streaming service, Apple TV Plus.

    Read on for all the latest news on Disney Plus pricing, subscriptions, and what movies and shows will be available on the service when it launches later this year. 

    UPDATE: Disney has announced a new streaming bundle in the US that will lump Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ into a single package for the same price as Netflix ($12.99 per month).

    Inside Out

    Inside Out (Image Credit: Pixar)

    Disney Plus FAQ

    • What is Disney Plus? An online streaming platform for Disney-owned movies and shows. Yes, it’s like Netflix.
    • What will Disney Plus cost? $6.99 (around £6 / AU$10) per month in the US – with global pricing yet to be announced.
    • When will Disney Plus launch? November 12, 2019 in the US, with a global rollout expected in early 2020.
    • What shows and movies will be on Disney Plus? A mix of blockbuster movies (Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, Pixar, etc) as well a documentaries and originally-produced TV shows made especially for the service.
    • Will there be classic Disney movies? You can expect the Disney Vault to crack open for the streaming service, with decades worth of classic Disney movies available on launch day.

    Disney Plus overview

    Disney Plus will be an all-in-one video destination for movies, TV series, and cartoons spread across the Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel brands – packing plenty of existing movies and TV shows along with a stack of brand-new content. With Disney’s acquisition of Fox now complete, we could also be seeing a host of other franchises – like X-Men or Avatar – come along to the service.

    Disney has been working on the plan for some time now, acquiring a controlling stake in streaming technology provider BAMTech in 2017 following a first investment the previous year. BAMTech spun out from Major League Baseball’s streaming efforts and now powers platforms like HBO Now and ESPN+, so it knows a little something about on-demand video traffic.

    Disney makes serious money (an estimated $300 million) putting its films and properties on Netflix and other services, but if Disney Plus is attractive enough to pull in millions of paying subscribers, then it could yield potentially much more income. And it gives Disney a new, exclusive platform for developing new content, whether it’s with existing brands or original properties.

    Disney Plus release date

    Daredevil Netflix show

    (Image Credit: Netflix)

    The Disney Plus streaming service will launch in the US on November 12, 2019 with an expected (but not yet officially confirmed) UK launch date around the same time or a few months afterwards. This still gives Disney plenty of time to court creators and develop and produce new shows – or at least get the ball rolling.

    If you’re in Australia, it looks like you’ll be getting Disney movies and shows on Stan for the time being.

    Disney Plus pricing and bundles

    Right now, Disney has only released details about US pricing, where the streaming service will cost $6.99 (around £6 / AU$10) a month. We’ll update you as soon as news lands about pricing in other regions. This means it looks like Disney has kept its promise about undercutting Netflix – at least for now.

    “I can say that our plan on the Disney side is to price this substantially below where Netflix is. That is in part reflective of the fact that it will have substantially less volume,” said Robert Iger, The Walt Disney Company’s chairman and CEO. “It’ll have a lot of high quality [content], because of the brands and the franchises that will be on it that we’ve talked about. But it’ll simply launch with less volume, and the price will reflect that.”

    Iger also suggested that the price could rise gradually over time as the service expands, which is hardly surprising—Netflix’s prices have risen alongside its pivot towards original content.

    However, Disney then turned heads with its plans for subscription bundle that will certainly rival Netflix in terms of price – while possibly offering closer to the site’s volume of content. The US-focused bundle will include Hulu (with ads), ESPN+ and Disney Plus for $12.99 per month – the same price as Netflix’s Standard subscription. It’s a good deal if you want all three services or if you live in a home with multiple age ranges who could enjoy the full range of content on offer.

    If you’re in the UK, journalist Tom Butler pointed out on Twitter that you can already get some of the content that’s planned for Disney Plus on the Disney Life app for £5 (around $6 / AU$9). But that doesn’t include some of the biggest draws of the new streaming platform, like Marvel and Star Wars properties – although it does currently have past seasons of The Clone Wars.

    The Clone Wars

    The Clone Wars is still on the Disney Life app, but will it stay there?

    Disney Plus: Marvel TV shows and films

    Loki Tom Hiddleston

    Loki (Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios)

    Marvel fans, rejoice: not only will you get a huge back catalogue of MCU movies on Disney Plus, but you’ll also get a number of original TV series and spin-offs with some of your favorite characters.

    The first will be Falcon and The Winter Soldier (starring Anthony Mackie), coming in Q3 / Fall 2020, around a year after the platform goes live – so we’ll have some time to wait before exclusive content really gets going. 

    Hiddleston-lovers will be happy to hear that next in the new Marvel line-up will be all about Loki, coming in Q2 / Spring 2021 – as will WandaVision, a spin-off following Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) that will tie into the events of the Doctor Strange sequel. Q3 / Fall 2021 will then bring a Hawkeye TV show with Jeremy Renner reprising the role.

    Marvel’s head of television, Jeph Loeb, has said there’ll be more “street-level heroes” coming to the Disney Plus service too, with Marvel TV shows set to replace or expand on the likes of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and The Defenders – all of which were axed from their home on Netflix (via Deadline).

    Interestingly, there’s also going to be a Marvel TV show that puts a different spin on the MCU. Called Marvel’s What If…?, the animated series is based on a comics series and will give fans a glimpse into what might have happened if some of the universe’s biggest stories went a little differently. Like how would Agent Peggy Carter have fared if she’d taken the super soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers?

    When it comes to old Marvel movie properties, we can expect those to be pulled from Netflix as soon as contracts run out before being moved across to Disney Plus when it launches. In an earnings call with investors, Disney CEO Bob Iger clarified that 2019’s Captain Marvel would be the first Disney movie exclusive to the service – and we know Endgame will follow the month after launch.

    Disney Plus: Star Wars TV shows and films

    One of most exciting original announcement so far is that of a brand new live-action Star Wars TV series from Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Jungle Book) who will both write and executive produce the show. We’ve been waiting for details about it for what feels like years, but the title has finally been revealed as The Mandalorian. 

    For those not in the know, Mandalorians are a race of jetpack-toting warriors with a lot of political baggage. Now unless you’ve watched Star Wars Rebels, the only Mandalorian you’re likely to have met before is Boba Fett.

    But the new series will introduce us to a Mandalorian we’ve never met before and will follow his (or her?) adventures throughout the Star Wars universe. 

    The first image from the Star Wars live action show The Mandalorian, showing a person wearing Mandalorian armor

    The first image from the Star Wars live action show The Mandalorian (Image Credit: Lucasfilm)

    Favreau will also be joined by other great directors, including Star Wars alum Dave Filoni, who’ll direct the first episode, as well as Bryce Dallas Howard, Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) and Deborad Chow (Jessica Jones). 

    It’s not the only new Star Wars episodic content that’ll be on the service early on, either. Rogue One’s Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) will also get his own prequel TV series exploring his life before the events of the 2016 film.

    We also now have word of a Obi-Wan Kenobi TV series, with Ewan McGregor in talks to reprise his role from the prequel movies (The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith).

    At San Diego Comic-Con 2018, Disney announced that a new, concluding season of animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars will also be on the service. We have to imagine that the existing episodes, currently on Netflix, will also join the fray.

    Disney Plus: 21st Century Fox

    Image Credit: Disney

    Disney’s acquisition of Fox was a very, very big deal – especially for Disney Plus.

    Fox own the rights to a huge amount of classic television, including The Simpsons, which will see every episode in its 30-year history come to the Disney Plus streaming service.

    Fox also oversees the X-Men IP, which was made for some very strict stipends about what can and can’t be shown in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (such as the word ‘mutant’ never being used onscreen). The merger could pave the way for mutants appearing in the MCU, or at the very least having some form of reboot for the Disney Plus service. Given the disappointing box office returns of the last couple of X-Men movies, it may be just what the franchise needs.

    Keep in mind that Sony still owns the rights to Spider-Man and a number of associated characters like Venom and Black Cat (with some of the above being somewhat lent to Marvel). What you waiting for, Disney?

    Other Disney Plus movies, shows, and exclusives

    It won’t all be superhero and space flicks, though. Many additional new shows and TV series have been rumored or reported on, including a new Monsters Inc. project and a fresh take on the once-popular High School Musical franchise. 

    Deadline suggests that projects based on Lady and the Tramp, Don Quixote, Sword and the Stone, and 3 Men and a Baby are in the works, along with other projects titled The Paper Magician, Stargirl, Togo, and Timmy Failure.

    Deadline also suggests that two films for the service were already in post-production as of February 2018: Magic Camp from director Mark Waters (starring Adam DeVine and Jeffrey Tambor), and Christmas-themed comedy Noelle from Marc Lawrence (featuring Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader).

    Little’s been said on older content, though we assume there’ll be a good share of remastered classics and selected titles from Disney’s extensive 95-year history. There’ll also be plenty of television programming from the Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD.

    Disney Plus will also be a home for DisneyNature documentaries, including Dolphin Reef – which will be narrated by none other than actress Natalie Portman (Jackie, Black Swan). Disney Nature works both in documentary films and animation, and will also be bringing animated feature Penguins to the Disney Plus service.

    All told, you can expect “thousands of hours” of Disney TV shows and films on the service, including existing content, and that new Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars films will be available to stream at some point following their theatrical releases.

    Will Disney Plus have classic Disney movies?

    Oh yes. We have word that every Disney film ever made will be coming to the service, so everything from the original Lion King to… er… the new CGI Lion King should be available on the service soon after launch.

    What will Disney Plus be missing?

    The Disney streaming service won’t have content from outside of the Disney ecosystem, as far as we know. That might seem obvious enough, but services like Netflix and Hulu have such diverse offerings because of their wide partnerships and licensing deals.

    But, of course, Disney has plenty of content to draw from, especially if all Fox content comes onboard as well, but this will still be a very Disney-centric offering. On top of that, there won’t be any R-rated or adult-oriented content on the service. That stuff will go to Hulu instead, according to a report from Deadline.

    Though Disney has now closed its acquisition of Fox, it’s unlikely then that the R-rated Deadpool will come to Disney Plus.

    R-rated titles like Deadpool should head to Hulu rather than Disney Plus, which will be somewhat family friendly (Image Credit: 21st Century Fox)

    Also, the Marvel TV original series on Netflix won’t be crossing over to the new Disney Plus service – as far as we know. That means the likes of Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones won’t be rebooted on Disney Plus in their current iterations. They’ve all been cancelled from further seasons, but we’re assuming previous seasons will continue to stay on the Netflix platform. 

    That’s not to say Hulu might not pick up these series and run with them, or maybe they’ll get a more family-friendly re-imagining for Disney Plus? 

    Should I subscribe to Disney Plus?

    We haven’t tried the platform ourselves yet, so even though more information is revealed every day, it’s hard to make a solid recommendation. But now details have been revealed about pricing, the early signs are certainly promising. 

    Disney plans to tap into its estimable vault of franchises to create exclusive and potentially compelling new content, along with creating a single streaming service for watching all of the latest and greatest movies and TV shows from across the Disney creative ecosystem.

    Disney Plus will have less content than Netflix, but the price is lower – and Disney Plus may prove more appealing as an add-on to your current subscriptions, rather than a full-on replacement for Netflix or Hulu.

    The Disney streaming service won’t be as comprehensive or wide-ranging as some rivals, but Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel fans might have trouble resisting some of the original shows and movies coming down the pipeline. We’re certainly excited to see what Disney Plus has in mind for the live-action Star Wars series, above all, but other projects sound compelling as well.

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  • iOS 13 beta, release date and feature list

    iOS 13 beta, release date and feature list

    iOS 13 will soon be here to fundamentally change up how you use your iPhone every day, and we have been testing the public beta since late June. 

    We have a complete list of iOS 13’s features below so you can decide whether you want to get the iOS 13 public beta now or wait for the final version. That’s likely to arrive in September.

    Latest leak: Beta 7 for iOS 13 has now arrived, and someone found mention of a potential new iPhone release date in the software’s code. It says ‘HoldForRelease’ with the date September 10 mentioned, so that may be when we hear when iOS 13 will land.

    Dark Mode is our favorite new iOS 13 beta feature and it inverts those bright white-screen backgrounds to make the display easier to read at night. To see all of the changes that matter, check out our iOS 13 vs iOS 12 comparison. 

    The new QuickPath swipe keyboard is a big highlight, and the new to edit photos has made us open Lightroom less. Plus, as we explain below, iPadOS has been spun off from iOS as a separate operating system for iPads, which aims to make better use of the tablet’s screen real estate.

    We’re here to explain all of the updates in full, and we’ll start with the many-fanged release date schedule and all-important compatibility list.

    iOS 13 release date and beta schedule

    • June 3: iOS 13 beta 1 and first look at WWDC 2019
    • June 17: iOS 13 beta 2 launched for developers
    • June 24: iOS 13 public beta release date for adventurous testers
    • July 3: iOS 13 developer beta 3 launch with some new features
    • July 8: iOS 13 public beta 2 release date
    • July 17: iOS 13 beta 4 launched for developers with security bug fix
    • July 29: iOS 13 beta 5 came with a series of bug fixes
    • August 7: iOS 13 beta 6 arrived with tweaks to the UI
    • August 15: iOS 13 beta 7 landed, and it hinted at a release date
    • Early September 2019: iOS 13 Golden Master (final dev beta)
    • Mid-September 2019: iOS 13 likely to launch with new 2019 iPhones

    The iOS 13’s public beta was released on June 24, even though Apple said it wouldn’t come out until July. It launched earlier than promised, but it’s not a giant surprise for us. iOS 12’s beta arrived early as well on June 25, 2018.

    Here’s the iOS 13 timeline as we see it:

    1. iOS 13 developer beta: The iOS 13 beta 2 is available today but restricted to paid Apple developers. Good news: unlike iOS 13 beta 1, iOS 12 beta 2 can be installed over the air (OTA), whereas beta 1 required Xcode or macOS 10.15 to be installed first. It’s a bit easier to install, but you should probably wait for the public beta, which is always more stable, or upgrade to the dev beta on a non-primary device.

    2. iOS 13 public beta: Apple’s larger-scale features test began on June 24, and is now on version 2 since July 8. Sure, Apple said July, but last year the iOS public beta launched on June 25, and sure enough, it came early in 2019. It’s the version to download if you’re curious – it’s often more refined version of the iOS developer beta, although it can still be rough, and never includes all of the features implemented in the final version of the software.

    3. iOS 13 golden master: This will be the final version of the iOS 13 software, released one week before the final iOS release, meant for developers and public beta testers. At this point it’s very stable, and gives app makers seven days to adapt to the final software.

    4. The official iOS 13 release date: We’ll get the new iOS 13 software in its final, stable form about one week after the next iPhone launch event, at which we expect to see what we’re calling (for now) the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max and iPhone 11 XR. The date? Probably mid-September (last year it was September 17) and a leak in the iOS 13 beta 7 code suggested the software’s release date it may be revealed on September 10.

    iOS 13 compatibility list

    • iOS 13 requires iPhone 6S or later, iPad Air 2 or later, the new iPad mini 4 and iPhone SE
    • It won’t come to older devices that support up to iOS 12: iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and mini 3

    iOS 13 compatibility requires an iPhone or iPad from the last four years (depending on the device category). That means phones like the iPhone 6 won’t be getting iOS 13 – if you’ve got one of those devices you’ll be stuck with iOS 12 forever.

    iOS 13 sheds several old devices (Image credit: Apple)

    You’ll need an iPhone 6S or later, the iPad Air 2 or later, and the new iPad mini 4 or later, or the iPod touch 7th generation. No surprise, the new iPod Touch 7th gen is the only devices of its class that gets iOS 13 support.

    The iPhone SE fits into an odd category, as it has iPhone 6 era specs, but came out after the iPhone 6S. Don’t worry, everyone’s favorite little iPhone will get iOS 13.

    iOS 13 Dark Mode

    • Overdue Dark Mode is coming to iOS 13 and iPadOS
    • We saw macOS get a system-wide Dark Mode in 2018
    • Shortcut to black-and-dark-gray UI lives in Control Center

    Dark Mode in iOS 13 is going to be system-wide, meaning it’ll change the hues from bright white and light grey to black and dark gray on all supported apps.

    It’s a nice feature when you’re using your iPhone at night and want to avoid bright white hues shining in your face. It may also save battery life on the OLED-equipped iPhones, from the iPhone X onward. Apple didn’t talk about this at all, but we know that OLED displays essentially ‘turn off’ pixels when rendering blacks.

    Turning on iOS 13 Dark Mode can be done in Control Center inside the Display slider (right next to the Night Shift and True Tone toggle), according to Apple, or you can set it automatically to turn on at night through a schedule or custom time.

    The yellow-tinting Night Shift mode finally gets a bright-light dimming companion, and a lot of people couldn’t be happier.

    iOS 13 beta 4 fixes password access bug from beta 3

    If you were concerned about the privacy bug discovered in iOS 13 beta 3 – which lets anyone see your stored passwords if they get ahold of your device, according to BGR – go ahead and install the newly-released iOS 13 beta 4, which closes that vulnerability.

    iOS 13 tweaks the visual interface

    Apple is tweaking the visual interface for iOS 13. Home screen app menus are smaller, for one, but there are new changes to the ‘long press’ commands, too. 

    Instead of ‘long pressing’ to switch into app-deletion-and-rearranging mode, it will now show a menu with connectivity, battery-saving and a ‘Rearrange Apps’ option to manually trigger that mode, as you can see in Twitter user @filipekids’ tweet below:

    iOS 13 offers ‘FaceTime attention correction’

    This is an interesting one. There’s now an option for FaceTime Attention Correction, according to registered iOS 13 beta testing developers, and it’s wild.

    What does it do exactly? It makes it so that it appears as if you’re looking straight into the front-facing camera during a FaceTime video call, when you’re actually looking at the adjacent screen. That distracted look could be a thing of the past soon.

    iOS 13 on iPad is iPadOS, and it’s a big change

    Some of the biggest changes we expected for iOS 13 on the iPad are actually coming in an update called iPadOS. Apple is signaling that the iPad needs its own platform.

    That means big improvements to your iPad workflow, starting with the home screen redesign. Pinned Widgets, as we predicted in our iOS 13 rumors roundup, lets you add widgets from the Today View screen (that left-mode screen on your iPhone and iPad). So far, it’s iPad-exclusive, and not coming to iOS13 for the iPhone.

    Slide Over lets you have multiple apps open and cycle through them like rolodex. You can also fan to preview them all at once with a swipe gesture, kind of like the recents menu on many phones and tablets. It’s multi-tasking made easier.

    Split View has been enhanced to let you open one app on both sides of the screen (it wasn’t possible before), and Apple demoed this by showing Notes side-by-side with Notes. You can also pair an app with more than one app – so now Safari can be paired with Pages in one space and Safari can be paired with Mail in another. 

    App Expose is new to the iPad software, letting you see all of the space you have open. There’s an App Expose icon on the Dock, requiring only a single press to get into the convenient overview mode.

    New copy, paste and undo gestures are coming to iPadOS. Three fingers scrunched down was shown to copy text, three fingers expanding (in the opposite direction) dropped the text on the page, and sliding three fingers across the screen undid the last action. We’ll have to see how this performs when the software lands.

    Apple’s keyboard can float around the screen in a smaller form, and it’s debuting a swiping gesture keyboard, which it calls QuickPath Typing. There are also more keyboard shortcuts (a lack of shortcuts was a complaint we had about previous iOS versions).

    There are actually too many iPadOS changes to detail here in the iOS 13 explainer, so we’ve spun the full rundown off into a separate iPadOS release date, news and features article.

    iOS 13 features a QuickPath keyboard

    With iOS 13, Apple’s default QuickType keyboard will be incorporating swipe-to-type, a popular way of sliding across the keyboard to form words. We’ve used this in prior iOS keyboard extensions like Google’s Gboard and SwiftKey.

    Here’s QuickPath keyboard in action (Image credit: Apple)

    You can use the QuickType and QuickPath methods of typing interchangeably, and so far supported languages include English, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese is now included.

    iOS 13 debuts new ‘Find My’ app

    Apple is combining Find My Friends and Find My iPhone in iOS 13, and the union lets you locate your friends and missing gadgets with a faster, easier-to-use interface.

    iOS 13 Find My app

    Find My iPhone and Find My Friends come together in one app (Image credit: Apple)

    What’s really neat is that it’ll use a crowd-sourced encrypted Bluetooth signal to help you track down devices that aren’t connected to Wi-Fi or cellular. That’s mostly a big help for Macs, but it could also help with an iPhone in rare cases, too.

    Best of all, while Find My Friends didn’t always work for us, Apple may be making a bigger push to get location tracking right with this new iOS 13 app now in the limelight.

    iOS 13 hints at Apple Tag product

    The theory that Apple is taking on the Tile tracker is backed up in the iOS 13 beta, according to a new leak regarding what’s been dubbed the ‘Apple Tag’.

    iOS 13 Apple Tag tracker

    Could Apple be working on something similar to this Tile Sport? (Image credit: Tile)

    While the redesigned Find My app is supposed to locate your Apple devices and also your iPhone-carry friends, the Apple Tag is allegedly designed for everything else. Think: keys, bag, water bottle, or anything else a Bluetooth tracker could attach to.

    The Apple Tag wasn’t a part of the iOS 13 reveal during WWDC 2019, but it could be an announced alongside the iPhone 11 in September. After all, it is mobile hardware.

    iOS 13 makes your old iPhone faster, last longer

    More people are holding onto their iPhones for longer, and that’s something Apple seems to recognize – and the company is speeding up iOS 13 to accommodate them.

    The most important iOS 13 stats: app launch speed is up to twice as fast according to Apple, and Face ID unlocking will be 30% faster than before. Apple also found a way to make app downloads smaller, up to 60% on average; iOS 12 gave us a faster update, and iOS 13 looks to build upon that.

    Battery life is also something Apple is tackling this year. Its aim is to slow the rate of battery aging by reducing the time your iPhone spends fully charged. iOS 13 is supposed to learn from your daily charging routine so it can wait to finish charging past 80% until you need to use it.

    Reminders gets a big overhaul

    Of all the built-in apps, Reminders is getting the biggest revamp in iOS 13. It appears to be better organized, and includes shortcuts that make it easier to add reminders.

    iOS 13 apps

    Reminders appears to have gotten the freshest reimagining among iOS 13 apps (Image credit: Apple)

    Big, color-coded buttons for Today, Scheduled, All and Flagged categories offer you a better oversight of your pressing tasks, while the keyboard when you’re in this app has a top-line Quick Toolbar that acts as a shortcut to easily add times, dates, locations, flags, photos and scanned documents.

    Making plans in Messages? Siri will step in to suggest reminders that can be created, like a personal assistant who chimes in at all the right times.

    Camera and Portrait Mode changes

    The iOS 13 is going to offer important changes to camera features, starting with enabling you to change the intensity of light in Portrait Mode, which is something we’ve wanted for a while. Portrait mode is also getting a new monochromatic effect called High‑Key Mono.

    iOS 13 camera app

    The new Photos tab in the iOS 13 Photos app – Apple sees it as becoming your photo diary (Image credit: Apple)

    The Photos gallery is becoming what Apple called “a diary of your life”, with a new tab designed to document your best photos by day, month and year. You’ll also have more pinch controls to zoom in and out of the Photos gallery.

    Photo editing is refined with iOS 13, adding adjustment controls and filters, while the video editing portion mirrors this almost entirely: nearly every photo tool and effect – including filters, rotating and cropping – will make it over to video. If you’re not good at tinkering with video, there’ll even be an ‘Auto’ adjustment button. 

    New Siri voice sounds more natural

    There’s a new Siri voice debuting with iOS 13, and it sounds more natural than before – we’ve heard a sample and the tone is the same, but it sounds less robotic. 

    It uses advanced neural text‑to‑speech technology, according to Apple, and you’ll particularly notice this when Siri says longer phrases, like reading the Apple News aloud or answering knowledge questions.

    The timing is good, because Siri can also do a lot more talking if you wear AirPods – Siri can read incoming messages and pipe them through the buds, which is convenient. 

    One more new Siri perk: your voice assistant on HomePod will understand the voices of the various family members in your home. This should mean, for example, that asking “What’s on my Calendar?” won’t bring up someone else’s irrelevant information.

    Memoji gets makeup, Messages gets info sharing

    Apple is putting more of ‘Me’ in Memoji, allowing one trillion configurations: new hairstyles, headwear, makeup, and piercings to name a few categories. Examples on the WWDC stage showed that these personalized Animoji masks allow for such granular accessory detail as eyeshadow, braces and even AirPods.

    Memoji gets better in year two (Image credit: Apple)

    Memoji Stickers are something entirely new – iOS 13 will bring more iPhone and iPad users into the Memoji fold, TrueDepth camera or not. You can customize a Memoji and iOS 13 will automatically create a fun-looking sticker pack that lives in a sub-menu on the keyboard, which you can use in Messages, Mail, and third‑party apps.

    You’ll be able to share your personalized Memoji with contacts through iMessages, but only when you grant them access. The same applies to sharing your name and photo with contacts, so you can chose how people see your name, for example. According to Apple, you can decide whether you want your profile shared with everyone, with only your contacts, or just once.

    New HomePod features

    You might not know this, but the HomePod is part of the iOS family, and it’s getting updates too.

    First, you’ll be able to transfer songs from your iPhone by simply holding your phone closer to the HomePod speaker. Previously, you had to tell Siri to do this, but now this hand-off feature is a bit easier, and you don’t have to talk to do it.

    The HomePod will also introduce Live Radio – you can ask Siri to play 100,000 stations from all around the world. And HomePod will allow you to recognize who in your family is talking, and personalize the response – great with Apple Music, where selections will be based on your taste and history. It goes beyond Music, Messages, Notes, Reminders, and more. 

    Sign-in with Apple

    iOS 13 sign-in with Apple

    Apple wants app developers and sites to use its sign-in feature, and there are some perks for user privacy, too (Image credit: Apple)

    Apple is taking on Facebook Connect, Google and other platforms that allow you to conveniently sign in to third-party accounts. Sign-in with Apple is poised to protect your privacy more than Facebook and Google do.

    What’s neat is that if you don’t want to fork over your email to an app developer or website, Apple will create a unique random email for you, and the email will be unique to that site or app.

    Maps get revamped

    iOS 13 Maps looks a lot better, even if everyone likes to hate on it. Will it ever be better than Google Maps? No, probably not. But for people who want Apple’s pre-loaded maps app on iOS 13, it’ll be much better.

    iOS 13 Apple Maps

    360-degree city tours are coming to Apple Maps (Image credit: Apple)

    There’s way more detail here by way of Apple rebuilding maps from the ground up. There’s more realistic detail for roads, beaches, parks, and buildings, and you can now explore cities with a 3D 360-degree experience.

    Favorites were a part of Maps before, but iOS 13 makes these saved locations easier to navigate to with one tap – they appear at the very top of a search menu. Sometimes Google Maps on iOS doesn’t get this right (but does better on Android). That’s one reason to keep Apple Maps installed, even if you’re a Google Maps person.

    Text formatting in Mail

    Mail is getting some changes when it comes to writing out properly formatted email. You’ll have more control over font style, size, color, alignment, indenting and outdenting text, and numbered and bulleted lists.

    What we’re really hoping to see in iOS 13 is the ability to insert a hyperlink into some text in an email. On both iOS and Android devices, that’s just not possible in their default mail clients (that we’ve seen) – you have to paste long URLs, and that’s not a computer, no matter what you call your operating system.

    Connect to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth from Control Center

    This is huge – and we’ve been asking for it for several years. You’ll soon be able to select Wi‑Fi networks and Bluetooth accessories right from Control Center.

    Android has had this for years, and it was always convenient to connect to new Wi-Fi networks or Bluetooth earbuds without having to navigate away from your current app and dive into five Settings submenus. Apple is finally coming around in iOS 13.

    Xbox One and PS4 game controller support

    If you’re going to play games on your phone, you might as well do it with one of the two best controllers available (and maybe something you already own).

    Enter PS4 and Xbox One game controller support for iOS 13. Apple didn’t say if all games will support this or if it’ll be limited to Apple Arcade, but whatever the case may be, we’re happy to be able to put our PS4 controller to use everywhere we roam.

    Silence Unknown Calls

    Nuisance SPAM calls drive us crazy every day, and iOS 13 wants to fix the issue with the help of Siri, which scans your Contacts, Mail and Messages to see if you’ve previously been in contact with the caller.

    Silence Unknown Calls sounds fairly smart, if you’re not expecting business numbers cold-calling you for work. Those that do call you and aren’t on your personal ‘VIP list’ will go straight to voicemail.

    More iOS 13 features to come in September

    We’re testing out the iOS 13 public  test, but there may be more to this update that we haven’t seen. Apple typically holds features until the next iPhone launches.

    We’ll continue to update the iOS 13 news here, with our guide to what you need to know about its features and how it’ll change your iPhone. There might be a separate iPadOS now, but iOS 13 is still mighty important to millions of people.

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  • Apple AirPods get a redesign from original Macintosh team – and they look a bit silly

    Apple AirPods get a redesign from original Macintosh team – and they look a bit silly

    True wireless earbuds may seem like tech from the future, but have you ever imagined what they might look like in a few years?

    Frog, the company that designed the iconic Apple Macintosh have, and its conceptual Apple AirPod alternatives are certainly out there, with a radical design that leaves your ears totally exposed. 

    The open-hoop true wireless earbuds – which Frog have called Unum – are placed around your ears, so your ear canal is left completely uncovered, unlike traditional earbuds, which sit against your ear canal. 

    When you wear in-ear headphones, they create a seal against your ear canal, preventing environmental noise from ruining your music, as creating better noise isolation. 

    true wireless earbuds

    The future of true wireless?

    Frog says that the conceptual wireless earbuds would use “advanced micro-drivers and acoustic design to precisely channel the sound into the ear”, without completely blocking out the world around you. 

    Why is this necessary? Well, Frog envisions a future where voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are so ubiquitous, that “the constant connection to our personal headphones will be too isolating of a social experience”. 

    As such, the company believes that we will need headphones that “support long augmented audio experiences without disrupting their real world communications”. 

    It’s an interesting concept, but it’s hard to say whether people will adopt such a striking design for their in-ear headphones; that being said, the Apple AirPods were widely mocked for their long stems when they were released in 2016, and are now among the most popular true wireless earbuds ever. 

    Could the upcoming Apple AirPods 2 look anything like this? We’ll have to wait until the imminent iPhone 11 launch at the very earliest to find out. 

    • Looking for more future tech news? We’ll be at IFA 2019, where we’re expecting to see lots of cool new audio devices

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  • Steam gamers at risk from Windows 10 zero-day

    Valve’s popular PC gaming platform Steam is vulnerable to a zero-day security vulnerability which could leave 72m Windows users at risk of having their systems taken over by an attacker who could then install malware, steal data, compromise passwords and more.

    The vulnerability was disclosed by a security researcher named Vasily Kravets just 45 days after submitting his report on the matter to Valve. Typically researchers wait 90 days before publicly disclosing a vulnerability as it gives the affected businesses time to fix the vulnerabilities in their software.

    Kravets discovered a privilege escalation vulnerability which could allow an attacker with minimal user permissions to gain the same levels of access as the system admin. A threat actor could take advantage of this by launching malware using those raised privileges. Kravets explained just how serious the vulnerability is, saying:

    “Some of the threats will remain even being run without administrator rights. The high rights of malicious programs can significantly increase risks, programs could disable antivirus, use deep and dark places to hide and change almost any file of any user, even steal private data.” 

    Steam Client Service

    The vulnerability itself affects the Steam Client Service which launches with full systems privileges on Windows. Kravets discovered a way to modify the system registry so that the Steam service could be used to execute another application but with the same elevated privileges.

    Unfortunately proof of concept code has already been made available by security researcher Matt Nelson and this makes the vulnerability even more serious as potential attackers now know how to exploit it.

    The vulnerability has not been fixed already because Kravets initially reported it using the HackerOne bug bounty system. His report was initially rejected by HackerOne for being out of scope because the attack required “the ability to drop files in arbitrary locations on the user’s filesystem” according to The Register. After Kravets convinced HackerOne that the vulnerability was both valid and serious, his report was sent to Valve and rejected again a few weeks later.

    Since the proof of concept code has already been published, it is likely that we’ll see the vulnerability exploited in the wild soon.

    To prevent falling victim to the attack, it is recommended that users follow standard security protocols including not using pirated software, not reusing passwords for multiple sites and services, employing two-factor authentication and applying the latest system updates and patches since an attacker would need access to a user’s system to exploit the vulnerability in the first place.

    Via Forbes

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  • Gears 5: release date, news and trailers

    Gears 5: release date, news and trailers

    Microsoft’s exclusive Gears of War series is one of the most popular to hit Xbox, with the Lancer and its chainsaw bayonet as recognizable as Halo’s iconic Warthog. And at the Microsoft E3 2019 keynote, the company announced Gears 5 is coming out September 10, 2019.

    Called Gears 5 rather than Gears ‘of War’ 5 the latest game in the series will have a female protagonist, Kait. Marcus Phoenix will still appear, but Kait will take the starring role as she leads her team on a personal mission continuing from the emotional ending of Gears of War 4. 

    Microsoft shared more details about Gears 5 during it’s E3 2019 conference: a new 3-player online and local co-op mode ‘Escape,’ a special character pack featuring Terminator skins in a crossover with the upcoming ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ film, and a new teaser.

    Another fun addition: Gears 5 will get a Map Editor, a first for the series, per an Xbox official tweet. And if you sign up for the new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can play the game four days early on September 6. 

    [Update: Gears 5 has gone gold, according to a blog post on the Xbox Wire. The game has been finalized and is ready to arrive in time for its early September launch.]

    Cut to the chase

    • What is it? The fifth game in the main Gears of War series, potentially acting as the middle chapter in a second trilogy 
    • When’s it out? September 10, 2019
    • What can I play it on? Xbox One, and PC (maybe. See below for more details) 

    Gears 5 trailers

    Ahead of some Versus Tech Tests in July, The Coalition released a trailer showing off the game’s brand new Arcade mode. 

    At E3 2019, Microsoft gave more details about Gears 5, including the new 3-player co-op mode Escape. Here’s the trailer, showing off the three new characters who will fight to get out of a Locust-infested area.

    Microsoft and The Coalition studio head Rod Ferguson confirmed Gears of War 5 during the Xbox Keynote at E3 2018. To go alongside the announcement we got a new trailer starring Kait Diaz, Marcus Fenix and the rest of the Gears crew. Locusts will again play a major role in the series when the game comes out later this year.

    You can check out the Gears 5 announcement trailer below:

    Gears 5 release date

    Gears 5 is coming on September 10, 2019, as Microsoft announced during its E3 2019 keynote. But you can get it four days early on September 6 if you subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

    Gears 5 news and features

    Gears 5

    No battle royale…at launch

    In a conversation with GameSpot, multiplayer director Ryan Cleven has said that Gears 5 won’t have a battle royale mode when it launches. That’s not to say it’ll never happen, though. According to Cleven, The Coalition are “big fans” of the genre and that following the release fan feedback will be an influential factor in deciding what modes to add. 

    “Gears 5 does not include a battle royale mode,” Cleven explained. “We’re big fans of the battle royale genre, but we would want to ensure we bring a battle royale mode to Gears in a meaningful way. We’re actively listening to our Gears community and will look to further evolve our game modes based on player feedback post-launch.”

    This is in line with previous statements the developer has made with regards to a battle royale mode where it was said efforts would have to be made to do it right rather than to shoehorn it in. 

    The “largest Gears to date”

    In an interview with Game Informer, The Coalition’s multiplayer design director Ryan Cleven revealed the next installation in the Gears of War franchise is going to be the biggest we’ve seen yet, primarily due to its wide and diverse range of modes. 

    “Gears 5 is the largest Gears of War to date,” Cleven said. “It’s the largest campaign ever made, the largest PvE ever made, the largest versus ever made.”

    This isn’t particularly surprising considering the vast number of single and multiplayer modes Gears 5 is bringing with it: Campaign, Escape, Horde, Arcade, Tour of Duty, Bootcamp, Escalation, King of the Hill, Arms Race, Dodgeball, Execution, Guardian, Team Deathmatch and Warzone. And, those are just some of the ones we know about at launch.

    In addition, Gears 5 will feature new map-building and sharing tools which will keep players busy for hours on end. 

    Multiplayer Tech Tests coming in July

    The Coalition has confirmed that it will be kicking off multiplayer tech tests for Gears 5 in July. The testing will take place across two sessions: July 19 to July 22 and July 26 to July 29. Pre-load will be available from July 17. 

    According to the studio, those taking part in the tests, whether they’re on Xbox One or PC, will be playing three distinct Versus modes across two of the game’s new multiplayer maps. These modes will be Arcade, Escalation and King of the Hill. There will also be a chance to try out the new features Bootcamp and Tour of Duty. 

    Access to the tests is included with Xbox Game Pass memberships but non-members can also get involved by pre-ordering Gears 5 from the Windows and Xbox stores or through participating third-party retailers who will be distributing the access codes. 

    System requirements

    If you want to purchase the game or take part in testing sessions on PC you’ll need to make sure your machine is up to scratch. The Coalition has confirmed the minimum, recommended and ideal system specs required for Gears 5. 

    Recommended specs

    • Min OS: Windows 10 May 2019 Update
    • CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 or Intel i5 Skylake
    • GPU: AMD Radeon RX 570 or RX 5700/ Nvidia GTX 970 or GTX 1660 Ti
    • VRAM: 4GB
    • RAM: 8GB
    • HDD: 15GB

    No loot boxes or season passes

    As we count down the days until Gear 5’s September release, The Coalition has announced some more details around how players will be earning new content and items as they play. 

    In Gears 5, all DLC maps will be free in both matchmaking and private play scenarios and there won’t be any loot boxes in sight. 

    New content will be earned through the Tour of Duty system. This will involve daily challenges and medals that you can complete to rank up and earn cosmetic rewards and you’ll also get some of the in-game currency, Iron. It will, according to Coalition, be clear what’s required of you to earn each item and there will be no premium, pay-only content in Tour of Duty. 

    As well as getting a small amount of Iron through Tour of Duty, you’ll also be able to buy it using real-world currency. All store purchases will also be direct so there won’t be any RNG causing issues. 

    Another way to unlock new content will simply be by playing – supply drops will happen at random as you rack up the hours and these can’t be purchased with real-world currency. If you get a duplicate item, it’ll automatically be scrapped and you’ll be able to use the remnants to craft new items or upgrade skills. 

    E3 2019

    We got hands on with Gears 5 during E3 2019. Our first impressions of Escape Mode are that it’s a fun co-op experience but that it runs the risk of growing repetitive.

    XO18 show

    During the XO18 show in November, 2018,  The Coalition studio head Rod Ferguson promised “a bunch of innovations, a bunch of changes, a bunch of things that are really exciting and different but still feel like Gears of War” (via GamesRadar).

    Cult of personality

    During the XO18 show in November, 2018, The Coalition studio head Rod Ferguson
    explained the studio wants to prove it can still provide “an authentic Gears of War experience” and that Gears 5 will be about “bringing The Coalition’s personality to the game” (via GamesRadar).

    Gears 5

    E3 2018

    Gears of War 5 was confirmed during E3 2018, and will be called Gears 5 to be released in 2019. Following on from the ending of Gears of War 4, this game will follow Kait as the star of a new trilogy. Breaking her chain of command, the game will follow Kait as she breaks the chain of command and takes her squad on a decidedly personal mission. 

    PC Gaming

    Microsoft has been pushing its PC Play Anywhere program, that sees you able to take your Xbox games and play them on Windows PCs. Gears of War 4 made use of it way back in 2016, so there’s no reason why Microsoft would drop the service for a sequel. (Which is a nice change, considering Gears of War 2 and 3 never saw releases on PC.)

    Gears 5

    What we want to see from Gears 5

    Unanswered questions

    Gears of War 4 ended with JD and Kait fighting their way through the Swarm to try and save Reyna, Kait’s mother, only to find it was too late. Reyna wasn’t dead but the Swarm were trying to integrate her into their hive and removing her would kill her. But, at Reyna’s request, JD and Kait tear her away from the Swarm. 

    Before she does, Reyna teases a great mystery: she gives Kait a necklace that she says she was given by her own mother, Kait’s grandmother. The symbol is one Gears fans will recognize looks remarkably similar to one worn by Queen Myrrah of the Locust, your nemesis in original trilogy. A Gears sequel would have to explore this further – are Reyna and Kait descendants of the Locust? 

    Gears 5

    There are hints that Adam Fenix, Marcus’ father, JD’s grandfather was close to Myrrah before the wars, so there’s a chance that Locusts and humans coupled but it would be new territory for a Gears of War game to explore.

    Wish List

    Besides continuing the campaign story, we’d like to see more of the changed world we were introduced to in Gears of War 4. Taking place 25 years after the original trilogy, the sequel is set in a world where humans were forced to abandon fossil fuels and collect together in small martial law-governed encampments and violent windstorms sweep the land, tearing up anything left unprotected. 

    Gears of War 5 should explore that further, showing us how desperate humans are trying to fight off the Swarm on a planet that is trying to kill them.

    Gears 5

    The Coalition worked to make Gears of War 4’s battlefields more dynamic places, giving you the ability to pull enemies out of cover and leap forward with short range charges. A sequel should continue this, giving players greater freedom of movement and ways to break stalemates between human and Swarm forces.

    The original Gears of War cemented the cover shooter as a subgenre, now its sequels have to rattle its foundations by taking away the safety of sitting behind a low wall.

    (Image credits: The Coalition/Microsoft)

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