LG asking for feedback on display notches

Previous leaks have shown that LG may include a display notch on its next flagship smartphone, but before the device launches, the company wants to know what you think of notches.

An official LG Support account on Reddit is asking people what they think of display notches. The account says that it wants to "gather some more feedback to share with our R&D team", and even though the question was posted just two hours ago, lots of people have weighed in.

Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of responses are anti-notch, with users saying things like having a notch is "terrible design" and complaining that it ruins the symmetry of a phone's display. Some users have suggested that LG just use slim bezels around the display or, if LG does use a notch, give users the option to turn the status bar black to hide the notch.

Rumors have suggested that the LG G7 will have a 6-inch display with a notch at the top. The notch will let LG offer a slightly smaller device by sticking out into the display rather than having a full-on top bezel. As some of these Reddit users suggested, though, leaks have shown that LG may offer the option to turn the G7's status bar black to hide the notch.

What do you think of display notches?

LG

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Braven Stryde 360

These days, the wireless speaker market is so over-crowded with similar-looking (and sounding) speakers that it’s making it more and more difficult to differentiate between the myriad options at your disposal. 

In some ways, this is nice. If you're just an average person looking for a speaker, you have more options for great sounding, weatherproof speakers than ever before. But, for manufacturers, it means you’ll have to perform at a very high level in order to get noticed or out-do the competition. 

Unfortunately for the Braven Stryde 360, it just doesn’t fare well against the competition. Don’t get us wrong, the Stryde 360 is a solid weatherproof speaker but compared to the dozens of other, better-sounding speakers out there right now, we just can’t recommend it against the rest of the competition. 

Said simply, this $99 (around £70, AU$130) speaker is a jack of all trades, but master of none.

Design

The Braven Stryde 360 offers a cylindrical design that can be stood up like a soda can or laid down horizontally for more stability. Sound quality in both positions is the same so you don’t need to worry about prioritizing a position for optimal performance.

The chassis of the Stryde 360 is extremely rugged with a tough plastic and rubber construction. The yellow colored rings surrounding the woofers on our review unit are built to withstand drops and bumps. 

Even though the speaker is made mostly of plastic, it offers IP67 water and dust resistance, which means you won’t have to worry about taking the speaker to the pool or outdoors. The speaker is also surprisingly light, making it easy to take with you in your bag without feeling like you’re being weighed down.

On top of the speaker you’ll find big buttons that make the speaker easy to operate, and there’s even a mic so you can use the Stryde 360 to make calls, which is a nice feature to have. 

On the bottom of the speaker you’ll find a frustratingly difficult rubber flap which hides the microUSB charging port, 3.5mm aux jack, and USB-A port that pumps out 5V/1 amp to charge your smartphone in a pinch. The flap is so difficult to open because of the amount of force required to break the rubber seal, but also because the nub you’re supposed to grab is impossible to lift with your fingers. The speaker is great at keeping both water - and you - out at all costs.

 Inside the Braven Stryde 360 is a 2,500 mAh battery, which will net you 12 hours of playback at moderate volume. This is average for the segment but it’s nice that you can use the Stryde 360 to top off your smartphone in a pinch.  

Performance

Sound quality for the Braven Stryde 360 is good, but the speaker clearly lacks bass response, which is surprising for the size. (For reference, the UE Wonderboom offers slightly more bass and is a much more compact, weatherproof speaker.) 

We were hoping the Stryde 360’s dual woofers would provide more bass response like the JBL Charge 3, but we were left disappointed by the anemic bass slam for music like EDM and rap. 

What stands out about the Stryde 360’s sound quality are its mids: The speaker sounds good with voices, which sound full and warm. Highs, similarly, are good, but slightly become too bright at times. Bass, as we've mentioned, sounds uncontrolled and highs are piercing at 100% volume. 

While the speaker gets quite loud for outdoor use, it also distorts at high volume. 

If you decide to take a call while you're poolside, call quality is surprisingly good - especially so considering the fact that there aren't many weatherproof wireless speakers out there with built-in microphones. 

Calls were clear and our friends and family reported hearing us just fine.  

Verdict

If there weren't dozens of other speakers offering the same specs at around the same price, the Braven Stryde 360 would be a good speaker: It does everything most people could want in an outdoor speaker and it sounds decent. 

However, it’s too hard to recommend over the competition - we think the JBL Flip 4 sounds better and offers a better design for the same price, while for those looking for more bass can buy the JBL Charge 3 for slightly more money. 

If you want a more compact speaker for ultimate portability, the UE Wonderboom is an ever better choice, punching above what its size would suggest, getting loud and offering decent bass response from such a compact speaker.  

You won't go wrong buying the Stryde 360 ... but it's well worth considering the dozens of better-sounding, more feature-rich speakers first.

• What do we recommend? Here's our shortlist of the best Bluetooth speakers

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Apple Music

AT&T reaches 537Mbps download speed using LTE LAA in Chicago

Recent speed tests showed T-Mobile's network posting download speeds higher than 500Mbps using License Assisted Access (LAA) LTE in New York City. Now AT&T's network has done the same thing in Chicago.

Speed tests conducted by PCMag show AT&T's LTE network putting up speeds of 537Mbps in downtown Chicago. The test was conducted using a retail Galaxy S9 on AT&T's regular LTE network, which included LAA small cell sites. They aggregating 15MHz of LTE Band 2 with 60MHz of LAA coverage. 

While 537Mbps was the top download speed that the Galaxy S9 achieved, PCMag was able to get some pretty respectable speeds in other locations. This includes 273Mbps down at Kinzie and Dearborn in River North and an average of 424.2Mbps near the Merchandise Mart.

AT&T began deploying LAA in Indianapolis late last year, and since then it's been deployed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago, too. AT&T plans to roll out LAA in 24 cities in 2018.

You will need a phone that supports LAA to take advantage of the improved coverage. Devices like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S9 support LAA, as does the Galaxy Note 8, LG V30, and Moto Z2 Force Edition.

LAA is another way that U.S. carriers are bolstering their 4G LTE networks while they begin building out their 5G coverage. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are deploying LAA, which utilizes unlicensed 5GHz spectrum. LAA coverage doesn't reach very far, but for devices within range of a small cell site, it can help to offer seriously faster speeds.

Hit the source link below for more details on AT&T's LAA coverage and speeds in Chicago.

AT&T

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Razer Phone will get Android 8.1 Oreo update in April

The Razer Phone launched late last year with Android 7.1 Nougat, and owners may be wondering when they'll get their Oreo update. Today Razer shed some light on its update plans.

Razer says that it plans to skip Android 8.0 and go straight to Android 8.1 on the Razer Phone. The update will launch in mid to late April.

If you don't feel like waiting a month to get Oreo on your Razer Phone, you can try the update right now by flashing Razer's Android 8.1 Oreo Developer Preview. Keep in mind that flashing this factory image will wipe all of the data on your Razer Phone and that, because this is pre-release software, the update will contain bugs.

Attention Razer Phone owners! We’re making the jump straight to Android 8.1 Oreo and we’re pleased to announce that the update will be coming to you mid to late April 2018.

Want in on the milk and cookies early? Download the Developer Preview now. https://t.co/4ftaevUT4x pic.twitter.com/SIvzOQQDQo

— R Λ Z Ξ R (@Razer) March 29, 2018

Also of note is that the Android 8.1 Developer Preview may not contain all carrier-specific features like VoLTE, enhanced voicemail, and Wi-Fi Calling support. Finally, there will be no over the air (OTA) updates for the official Android 8.1 Oreo release. So if you flash this Developer Preview, you will have to also manually flash the official Android 8.1 release when it becomes available.

Some Razer Phone owners may be frustrated about waiting another month for their Oreo update, but at least then they'll be on the absolute latest and greatest version of Android. It's good to see Razer being transparent about its update plans and even offering a preview of its Android 8.1 update for developers and eager Razer Phone owners that don't mind dealing with some bugs in exchange for getting to try their Oreo update early.

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iOS 11.3 now available for iPhone and iPad, watchOS 4.3 also released

Apple said that iOS 11.3 would launch to the public this spring, and a little more than one week after spring began, the update has arrived.

iOS 11.3 is now available for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The update brings with it several new features, including four new Animoji: a dragon, a bear, a skull, and a lion. Also included is ARKit 1.5, which will enable better augmented reality experiences.

Another major upgrade included with iOS 11.3 is Battery Health. With this feature, iOS will tell you whether or not your phone's battery is at maximum capacity and its peak performance capability. It'll also be able to tell you if your phone's performance is being slowed due to the age of the battery, and if it is, it'll allow you to disable that performance throttling, though your phone could end up unexpectedly shutting down as a result.

Other notable features in the iOS 11.3 update include Business Chat for Messages, which will let you talk to businesses inside the Messages app and order products, as well as a Health Records feature that'll combine all of your health data in one place and will send you notifications about lab results, medications, and more. It will only work with hospitals and clinics that participate in the app, though.

You can download iOS 11.3 by going into Settings > General > Software Update on your iOS device.

Also released today is watchOS 4.3, which brings with it support for portrait Nighstand mode, the ability to control music playing on an iPhone to be controlled with the Music app on the Apple Watch, a new charging animation, and more. Apple today released tvOS 11.3 for the Apple TV, too.

Apple

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Intel Hades Canyon NUC

Intel’s ‘Next Unit of Computing’ hardware platform has always showcased some of the chipmakers most interesting silicon concepts. This year, the Hades Canyon NUC represents a partnership between Intel and AMD we would have never expected – or even fathomed.

It’s easily the smallest VR-capable PC that marries together an Intel quad-core processor with integrated, ‘discrete-class’ AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics into a single chip. With all that power under its belt, this gaming PC easily smashes through Full HD gaming with most modern titles and performs like a productivity champ.

Despite all the caveats of that comes with a barebones computer such as this, the Intel Hades Canyon NUC earns top marks for packing so much performance into a small package. It’s one of the best and our favorite mini PC of the year so far.

Price and availability

Our particular Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK review unit costs $999 (about £710, AU$1,302), which is about half-to-a-third off the price of an equally competent gaming laptop. Not too shabby for a PC equipped with a quad-core Intel Core i7 and nearly Nvidia GTX 1060 equivalent graphics.

That said, this barebones unit doesn’t come with storage, memory or an operating system, so you’ll have to get those pieces on your own.

There’s also an entry-level Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HNK priced at $799 (about £570, AU$1,040). This more affordable NUC comes still comes with a quad-core i7 CPU, but it maxes out at a slower frequency. Meanwhile, the onboard Radeon RX Vega M GL GPU has four fewer compute units and won’t run as fast either.

Compared to other barebone PCs, the high-end Intel Hades Canyon NUC compares well against the $949 (£619, AU$1,739) Zotac Zbox Magnus EN1060K and $999 (£819, AU$1,579) Gigabyte Brix GB-BNi7HG6-1060. Both of these mini PCs feature older Kaby Lake processors but a Nvidia GTX 1060 with two more GB of video RAM and higher CUDA  

Design

At first blush, the Hades Canyon NUC looks more like a set top box than a desktop PC, and that’s honestly a good thing. The device is interesting enough to look like more than just a plain box in your home entertainment setup while also not being too distracting if you decide to use it as your work computer.

If you remember the Skull Canyon NUC Intel released two years prior, the Hades Canyon should look very familiar. Both units share the same overall shape, plus an identical hexagonal motif for the ventilation holes and top panel. Of course, with the integration of ‘discrete-class’ graphics and sufficient cooling to back it up, Intel’s flagship NUC is almost twice as large as its predecessor.

Intel’s design has also seen some improvements. The old interchangeable plastic panels have been replaced by a much slicker light-up skull fashioned after the silicon that resides within. The lighting on this part of the case and all the little hard drive and power indicators are fully customizable – or you could just turn them all off for a stealthy unit.

Despite this PC’s small size, it packs an impressive amount of ports. Along the backside alone you’ll find four USB 3.0 ports, two ThunderBolt 3 ports, two mini DisplayPorts, HDMI 2.0 and even two Gigabit Ethernet ports. That’s more connectivity than you’ll even find on some full-size desktops.

Cracking open the Hades Canyon NUC is a breeze, as it just requires undoing six torx screws and a single Philips head. With the top cover removed, you can access the computer’s memory slots as well as the M.2 NVMe and SATA drives.

Performance

The ‘discrete-class’ Radeon RX Vega graphics are every bit as impressive as Intel and AMD promised. We can play all our favorite games, including Far Cry 5 and Warhammer: Vermintide 2, at a steady 60 frames per second (fps) with high-quality graphical settings and a 1080p resolution.

Even more impressive is that the little PC holds it own through Overwatch and Hitman at 1440p with HDR active on a Samsung CHG70 QLED gaming monitor. The only title to give us some measurable difficulty is Assassin’s Creed Origins, but it still runs at a completely playable 40fps with high quality settings and a 1080p resolution.

Outside of gaming, the Intel Hades Canyon NUC runs like a champ through all our regular web browsing and word processing, as well as our image and video editing needs. For those multi-monitor fans, the Intel Hades Canyon NUC can also drive up to six screens.

Compared to comparable notebook hardware in the 15-inch Microsoft Surface Book 2, the Intel NUC almost wins the complete race in both processor and graphically intensive tests. A full-on gaming laptop like the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming manages to close the gap a little better, but for the most part the Hades Canyon stays on top.

Meanwhile, a gaming PC with actual desktop parts, like the Asus ROG G20CI, proves to be tougher competition.  While the NUC manages to score better in the processor tests, the integrated graphics just can’t keep up with a Nvidia GTX 1080 – then again, neither could the AMD Radeon RX Vega 64.

Final verdict

The Intel Hades Canyon NUC is the company’s most impressive mini PC yet, capable of playing most modern games with ease and offering plenty of performance for everyday computing. And, that’s all without the help of an external GPU, unlike the previous Skull Canyon NUC. 

This is true high-end desktop computing on a single, standalone chip. Beyond this one device, it represents a turning point for thin-and-light laptops like HP Spectre x360 15 and Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 to be just as powerful as full-on gaming laptops

Although the Hades Canyon NUC might be expensive and require additional parts, you won’t find another mini PC as powerful as this. The expansive array of ports and support for high-end internal components is equally as amazing. Thanks to its small size, it's also the perfect home theater PC.

All in all, Intel has produced an incredibly tiny and VR-capable gaming PC worthy of your attention and consideration.

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What annoys you the most about iOS?

iOS has become one of the two most popular mobile operating systems on the planet, with Android filling in the other spot. It is used by millions of people all across the globe, and Apple has taken years to refine the software in a variety of different ways. We've seen features come and go, and we've seen elements like Control Center get changed quite a bit. And while there may be some issues folks still have with Apple's mobile operating system, it stands that iOS has improved over the years, and it certainly deserves its place in the market.

That being said, and while I'm an iOS user for my daily driver more often than not, I can also say that while the software has improved and added some great features, it can also be wildly frustrating sometimes. And in light of Apple about to release iOS 11.3 out into the world, I wanted to reach out to you, whether you're current iOS users or not, and find out what you've found frustrating about the software.

There is a bit of a silver lining here, though. At least on my part.

I've opted to use iOS as my daily driver for a variety of reasons, but that doesn't mean it's not capable of driving me insane from time to time. But, while that's easy to admit, I can also say that these issues aren't actually problems with iOS's feature set, or even something that's missing. In reality the issues I have with iOS are related to software bugs.

But let's not beat around the bush: software bugs that linger for any considerable amount of time are issues, full stop. The longer they're around the more it can feel like "that's an iOS thing" or "that's an Android thing", which is definitely a problem.

So, what annoys me about iOS? Most of these issues aren't happening on a daily basis, thankfully, but some are. Like the stock Weather app's widget not updating to the current time of day or temperature. This is definitely one of those "you had one job!" scenarios, and the weather widget fails on this way too often. Even as I'm writing this, the widget is telling me the weather for 11:00 PM -- except that it's 8:40 AM local time, so that's not helpful!

The worst issue, though, and when it crops up makes me want to just shut down the iPhone X altogether, is a broken lock screen. I've had this issue pop up randomly, just switching on the display, or when I leave an app, lock the screen, and then, a few moments later, unlock it because I need to do something else. In these situations the lock screen is just . . . gone. I can see my background image and that's it. No clock. No notifications.

And, worse, no music controls.

The only way to get it back consistently is to restart the phone (which, at least, satiates my need to turn off the phone and walk away for a bit). But sometimes it will just come back and start working like it should. This is by far the most annoying part of iOS right now for me.

But, that silver lining? iOS 11.3 is going to probably get released today and I know that at least one of those issues is going to get fixed for me. Or at least Apple says it's going to get fixed. I'll have to wait and see if that's actually the case. Fingers crossed!

But, what about you? What's the most annoying part of iOS in your opinion, whether you're currently using iOS or have used it in the past? It can be a bug, or bugs, like in my case. Or it can be something like still not being able to select default apps outside of Apple's own stock options. Either way, let me know!

Apple iPhone X

Apple

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