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Sprint reportedly pulling the plug on its switch and save 50% promo soon

Alexandra Arici
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0

Back in 2015, US carrier Sprint introduced a “ground-breaking” promotion which awarded customers switching from Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile the same amount of data, talk and text at half a price. Sprint continued the offer it sporadically throughout 2016 and then 2017, but according to a recent report it seems the carrier will be discontinuing the long-running promo, as soon as this week.

According to industry analyst Jeffrey Moore who was quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Sprint is expected to unveil new wireless pricing plans in an attempt to fill in the void. Sprint was forced to reevaluate the gains of continuing the promotion, after Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile launched unlimited plans this year. Sprint also introduced a similar offer of its own a few months ago.

Sprint’s deal allowed anyone porting a line from Sprint’s biggest rivals to save 50% each month compared to their previous carrier’s standard monthly plans. Promotional pricing was applied to the data and line access charges subscribers paid every month. Customers were allowed to save on both individual and multi-line family plans.

But now that most rival carriers offer unlimited plans, Sprint has nothing to upsell to customers anymore. It remains to be seen what Sprint’s new strategy will be. If the report turns out to be correct (and it probably is), the carrier will unveil new plans in a few days.

S Health gets re-branded as Samsung Health, offers online doctor appointments

Alexandra Arici
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0

If you own a Samsung handset, then you’re probably familiar with the S Health app – a service developed by Samsung itself which allows users to track steps, the exact amount of minutes they spent moving, track heart rate, oxygen saturation levels and many other things.

Well if you have looked at your Samsung device lately, you might have noticed that the S Health app has been replaced by Samsung Health. Yes, indeed Samsung re-named the application while also adding a new feature that holds great potential.

The new feat is called Ask an Expert powered by American Well and basically connects a user with a real doctor online 24/7. However, this feature is currently available only for US users. We don’t know whether Samsung has plans to expand the feature or not.

Users have to enroll in the program, choose a doctor of a certain specialty and then visit the doctor via their Android smartphone with live video. While the new feature might prove in handy for patients in remote locations or suffering from less serious conditions (like a headache or a rash), it should definitely not substitute real life visits to your doctor’s office.

Even though seeing a doctor from the comfort of your own home might be less mentally straining, there will always be a need for hands-on visits, especially when the patient can’t be easily diagnosed.

On top of the new US-only feature, Samsung Health has also added a custom pace-setter that matches the user’s goals and performance level plus six main types of health management devices in Accessories (ACCU-CHEK included).

Samsung Health is currently available for download for all Android 4.4+ devices from the Google Play Store.

T-Mobile SyncUp Drive now offers roadside assistance for free

Alexandra Arici
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0

Remember the T-Mobile SyncUp Drive? The carrier launched the device that bestows a Wi-Fi network to your car, a few months ago.

The gizmo plugs into your vehicle on-board diagnostic port and starts sucking on T-Mobile 4G LTE in order to offer Wi-Fi signal inside the car. For $150 a year, subscribers were also offered access to vehicle diagnostics, driving behavior analysis, vehicle location monitoring, speed alerts and more.

Well T-Mobile just announced this week that the SyncUp Drive has been updated to offer Allstate Motor Club Roadside Assistance. Need help with jump-starting your car, changing a tire or getting a tow or some gas? Open up the accompanying SyncUp Drive app on your phone (Android or iOS) and request assistance via the Allstate Motor Club customer service.

The good news? This feature comes free of charge and all new or existing SyncUp Drive customers on a 2GB or higher mobile internet plan at T-Mobile can take advantage of it. All you need to do is check the SyncUp Drive app on your phone and accept the update inside.

T-Mobile claims that demand for SyncUp Drive has exceeded expectations and if you too were interested in purchasing the device, this is a great time to do so.

In order to celebrate the launch of the roadside assistance feature, T-Mobile is currently offering the SyncUp Drive with a discount. For a limited period, you can grab it for $0 down and $2/month for 24 months of $48 outright (discounted from the previous $120).

Samsung Galaxy S8 vs. OnePlus 3T (Smartphone Showdown)

Donovan Jeska
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5

This week, Samsung announced its newest line of Galaxy devices, the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. As is my way, I’ve taken it upon myself to compare the former of those two with my current love, the OnePlus 3T. For the most part these comparisons will rely on specifications rather than individual experiences, in order to remove the human aspect of it (translation: my seething resentment of Samsung and my unreasonable manlove of OnePlus) and keep things objective.

Build

Aluminum Frame, Gorilla Glass 5 Back vs. All-Aluminum Body

Gorilla Glass 5 Screen vs. Gorilla Glass 4 Screen

IP68 vs. Unrated

In a world of precision cut aluminum chassis(es), Samsung has opted to go with a glass back. When I saw that the S8 had a glass back – even a Gorilla Glass back – I immediately got flashbacks to the iPhone, and how disastrous that went for Apple. W

You know. This one.

e all know someone that had an iPhone that looked like that picture on the right. As a result, Apple decided to go with an aluminum chassis, and that has more or less become the standard for phones the higher end devices these days. OnePlus took a page out of that book itself with the 3T, and I personally think that’s a much better decision. That elephant being addressed, it should also be noted that the S8 rocks the newest generation of Gorilla Glass, while the 3T features last year’s model. A key difference here, however, is that IP rating – Samsung’s can withstand full immersion, and while the 3T is no slouch when it comes to durability, it’s not rated at all – potentially a concern.

Screen

5.8″ Super AMOLED vs. 5.5″ Optic AMOLED

570ppi vs. 401ppi

83.6% vs. 73.1% Screen-to-Body Ratio

At a whole 0.3″ larger in the diagonal than the 3T, the S8 is squarely in the “Phablet” classification of sizes – unless you have Kawhai Leondard hands (yes, this joke is recycled. Sue me.) you won’t be reaching the edges of this screen without help. Both phones feature Super AMOLED displays, with the 3T’s being tweaked a little, color-wise and slapped with an “Optic” label. Ever the pioneer in needlessly dense screen resolutions, Samsung has slapped the S8 with 570ppi, which is all-but-guaranteed to destroy your battery life. While the OnePlus 3T has a pretty impressive screen-to-body ratio, the S8’s Infinite display and utter lack of bezel trumps it – hard.

Internals

Snapdragon 835 vs. 821

4GB vs. 6GB RAM

64GB Expandable vs. 64/128GB Internal Storage

Obviously, the eye-catching thing here is the 6GB of RAM in the OnePlus 3T. Android is notorious for its memory leaks and RAM dependency, so that extra 2 gigs can really make a difference – especially when multitasking. There’s a measurable difference between the two processors here, but in my opinion the difference between them is less impactful than is the difference in RAM. The Galaxy S8’s expandable storage is nice, but if I’m being honest I’ve never had a need to have more than 64GB of internal storage.

Internal Features

Type-C 3.1 vs. Type-C 2.0

Qi Wireless Charging vs. Traditional Charging

Bluetooth 5 vs. 4.1

There’s a lot to cover here, so bear with me. Samsung’s key feature is the DeX (Desktop Experience), which is exclusive to the S8, but it also supports Bluetooth 5 (the first flagship phone to do so, I believe), USB 3.1, and Qi Wireless Charging – the 3T is stuck on Bluetooth 4.1, USB 2.0, and standard cabled charging.

Personally, I love the lines and design of the OnePlus 3T.

Battery Life

3000mAh vs. 3400mAh

QuickCharge 2.0(?) vs. Dash Charge

I’m about 90% sure the battery life on the Samsung Galaxy S8 is gonna suck. Like badly. It’s got a 3000mAh battery, while rocking a Snapdragon 835, on a screen that boasts 570ppi. Meanwhile, the 3T carries a 400mAh larger battery, with a more efficient processor, on a less dense display. If battery life is your thing, you’re gonna want to take a hard look at those stats before deciding on a phone.

And here’s where it gets murky. While the 3T sports Oppo’s DashCharge capability, charging a battery from 0-60% in just thirty minutes, all of Samsung’s materials for the S8 simply read “Fast” Charging. Not QuickCharge 4.0, as previously rumored. Not 3.0, not even 2.0. You’d think that this would be a feature to be highlighted, but as with battery power in general, it seems as though Samsung has neglected charging as well. I’ll have to do some digging and update this if it’s simply an oversight.

Camera

12mp vs. 16mp Back Shooter

8mp vs. 16mp Selfie Camera

f/1.7 vs. f/2.0

1.4µm vs. 1.12µm

While the 3T’s back camera is nothing to write home about – it’s got very standard specs and not a whole lot of special features – Samsung is prancing around saying the camera on the S8 is the best it’s ever released. Spec-wise, I just don’t see it. Its field of view is limited, it’s got a low pixel count – though we know that’s hardly the only measure of a good camera – and it’s got a smaller sensor than does the 3T. The only area, specification-wise, that the S8 is measurably better is the Pixel Size – and it’s a substantial difference. The front shooter, however, clearly goes to the 3T – 16mp is the biggest, baddest I’ve ever seen on a selfie camera.

Value

At $720, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is, as always, a premium-priced flagship device. At $439, the OnePlus 3T is, as advertised, a flagship phone at a reasonable pricepoint. Despite being released almost six months apart, the 3T stands up to the S8, and in some ways even surpasses it – notably, in terms of RAM (often an issue in Android) and in the battery department (an issue for literally every, ever).

Verdict

I feel like everything Samsung announced today has been done before. It just took a bunch of features that already exist in some form or another and slapped fancy names on them. Infinity Display? You mean the curved display that’s been around on the Galaxy Edge, or the minimal horizontal bezels on many Huawei and LeEco phones? DeX? Many companies, including HP, have already implemented such a solution in the past (but damn, does that Dock look fancy). Android has supported keyboard and mouse input, as well as a desktop environment, for years.

Don’t get me wrong – the S8 is going to sell a ton of units and will likely be a runaway success. But I can’t help but draw comparisons to Apple’s strategies lately, when looking at Samsung – take a feature, highlight it with a super-interesting name, and hype it to Hell so that no one can recognize that we secretly have had these features for a while now.

My verdict? Save the $300. Buy a OnePlus.

Master & Dynamic intro silver and navy variant of MW60 headphones

AndroidGuys
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0

In the market for a set of kick-ass headphones? We’ve recently fallen in love with Master & Dynamic’s MW50 on-ear headphones; be sure to check out our review!

For those of you who might prefer something over-the-ear, we suggest you take a look at the MW60s. They’re built with the same attention to detail and level of craftsmanship as the MW50s but cover the full ear.

Previously, you could get the MW60s in Gunmetal/Black Leather, Black Metal/Black Leather, and Silver Metal/Brown Leather color options. Today, however, Master & Dynamic add a new color variant: Silver Metal/Navy Leather. It’s a gorgeous combination that looks altogether modern and yet somehow traditional, too.

Although M&D’s headphones carry a pretty hefty price tag, we definitely think they’re worth a look. Considering that, with proper care, these will last you a good decade, it’s fairly easy for us to justify it. There’s no doubt in our mind that we’d drop that much on a few pairs of lesser quality units over the same time frame.

Learn more about Master & Dynamic’s MW60 headphones, or order a pair, at its website.

You can poll people in Google Allo now

Alexandra Arici
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0

Allo is one of Google’s many messaging apps, one that brought an interesting feature to the table. The service offered users the option of using the Google Assistant in chats, even before the company started rolling out the AI companion to most phones running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and above.

And this week Google has updated Allo to include a new feature, although we doubt it was intensively requested by the app’s user base. Allo just added the option of conducting polls from within the app. Not too mind-blowing, but we guess the feature could find it’s uses. Can’t sleep at night without knowing how many of your friends will be purchasing the Galaxy S8 (by the way we’re giving a free Galaxy S8, just so you know) or not? Create a poll and find out.

To create a poll in Allo, type @yesno in the message box and follow it by a question. Naturally this is an option to be used in group chats. However you should know that at the moment the feat is quite limited allowing only for Yes or No answers.

At some point, Google will probably allow customized answers, as well. But so far that’s all we get. Once created, the poll will go live at the bottom of the chat with the votes being displayed in real time.

Google advertises Allo as a chat app that helps you say more and do more. And with the addition of the new feature, users will be able to stay informed regarding their friends’ preferences.

How does the Samsung Galaxy S8 iris scanner work?

Alexandra Arici
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5

Samsung wants the Galaxy S8 to be a super safe device. With that purpose in mind, the company bundled the phone with several systems meant to ensure your personal information stays safely locked away from prying eyes. Apart from the traditional PIN, pattern or password unlock options, the Galaxy S8 also offers a fingerprint scanner authentication system, iris scanner (which was first made available with the Galaxy Note7) and an old fashioned face recognition system.

Iris scanning technology is advertises as being one of the most secure forms of biometric authentication, since an iris pattern is practically impossible to replicate. The iris scanner is practically a camera designed with a very specific function in mind which works alongside an infrared LED in order to recognize the unique pattern in your iris.

The camera includes a special image filter that receives and recognizes the reflected picture of the iris via a red IR LED light.

To use the iris scanner to authenticate yourself, users will need to lift the phone to eye level at arm’s length and wait for the iris scanner to capture the data. And compared to the scanner found in the Galaxy Note7, the one in the Galaxy S8 is a lot faster to process the information and unlock the phone for you. Samsung has improved the technology, so now you don’t even have to align the phone perfectly with your face, as long as the eyes are in the viewfinder. It also works from a considerable distance.

Like in the case of the Note7, once the iris pattern has been registered, the phone will store the information as an encrypted piece of code. Then, when a user tries to access the phone, the LED and camera combo work to capture the iris, then extract the code and compare the two against one another, before granting the owner access.

Users can also use the iris scanning technology for some of the most sensitive activities like paying with your credit or debit account. Scan your iris to make purchases with Samsung Pay (or Android Pay if you prefer this option) or check your bank accounts via Samsung Pass.

However, in recent days it was shown to have a loop hole. A user revealed that the Galaxy S8 can be unlocked by sampling using a picture of the phone’s user where the eyes are visible. By taking a photo of the Galaxy S8’s owner and by placing it in front of the phone’s iris scanner, the flagship can easily be unlocked. So the Galaxy S8’s authentication system is far from being bulletproof.

Actually iris scanning technology has limitation which Samsung itself acknowledged a while ago, like speed and accuracy (as demonstrated above). That’s why Samsung decided to add facial recognition to the Galaxy S8. With a face scanner, the phone can be unlocked with less than 0.01 seconds.

Face-authentication on Galaxy S8

In the end you’ll have to pick between the two, as you can have only method of facial unlocking activated on the device. Now if you are concerned about the security, we advise you to use the iris scanner. However, if you want speed above anything else, you should opt for face recognition.

Reminder: T-Mobile is offering 1-year of free MLB.TV Premium today

Alexandra Arici
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0

As we told you last week, T-Mobile is bringing back the MLB.TV promotion it also offered last year today. Starting April 4 and ending April 1:59 a.m Pacific Time, customers will be able to grab a one-year free of charge subscription to MLB.TV Premium and MLB.com At Bat Premium, both valued at $112.99.

MLB.TV will give users access to every out-of-market game for the 2017 MLB season, as well offer the ability to do home or away broadcast and live game DVR.

The MLB services will be available through T-Mobile’s Tuesdays app which can be downloaded by iOS and Android users alike. Remember that you’ll need to sign up for MLB.TV Premium before April 11 at 1:59 am Pacific Time. After which all you need to do is download the MLB.com At Bat app and tune in for your favorite games.

T-Mobile subscribers on most of the carrier’s consumer, business, postpaid and prepaid plans, can go ahead and claim the freebie.

The Magenta carrier will also be giving baseball fans the chance to win a $100 or $50 MasterCard gift cards and an all-expenses-paid trip to MLB All-Star Week in Miami, which takes place between 9 July to 12.

Android 7.1.2 update for Pixel, Nexus devices is available – here’s what’s new

Alexandra Arici
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0

As anticipated, Google has released the Android 7.1.2 update for the Pixel and Nexus family of devices. The new build is available for the Pixel (N2G47E), Pixel XL (N2G47J), Pixel C (N2G47D), Nexus 5X (N2G47F), Nexus 6P (N2G47H) and Nexus Player (N2G47H) – which all based on Android 7.1.1. As for the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 – they have reached the end of their journey and will remain at Android 7.1.1 (while Google is concerned).

So if you too own one of the devices listed above, you can go ahead and download the factory images and OTA files from Google directly. The April 2017 security update for the phones are also available and you can grab all the OTA files right here. However, if you don’t want to do things manually, you should know that the OTA updates should start rolling out automatically in the next few days/weeks. So just wait a little.

Google detailed on the Google Product Forums the changes and enhancements we can expect the new Android 7.1.2 update to bring to the table. We’re told that the new build for Pixel and Pixel XL is bound to hit devices in the next few weeks (unless you’re in the beta program, which means you’re probably going to see yours sooner), bringing along a number of bug fixes, added feats and general performance/stability improvements like:

  • Improved fingerprint swipe performance
  • Bluetooth connectivity improvements (could fix the remaining Bluetooth issues some Pixels were having)
  • Battery usage alerts
  • Pink banding on the camera fix
  • Early shutdown issues fix
  • Audio popping at high volume fix

As for the update rolling out for the Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Pixel C and Nexus Player it’s a bit different than the Pixel one. It brings with it:

  • Enhanced notification stability
  • Fingerprint swipe on the 5X/6P models (a highly-requested feature)
  • General connectivity improvements
  • Battery usage alerts

Google has started sending out the OTA updates for the Nexus C and Nexus Player over the weekend, but we expect other devices will  be getting it soon too.

Ottm Watchbands: Unique artworks with a renewable source. (Review)

Donovan Jeska
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0

Ottm Watchbands started as a little IndieGoGo project with a relatively modest goal of $10,000 to make unique, wooden watchbands for smartwatches. It ended up raising three times that – a success by all metrics. Mark Adams – Ottm’s founder – oversaw production personally, living in China for three (freaking) months to make sure everything was perfect. The result is something pretty damned beautiful. Each band is unique, and comes in three different woods: Canadian Maple, Gabonese Zebrawood, and Indonesian Sandalwood. In addition, Ottm Watchbands also come in two form factors – Apple Watch and Pebble/Wear.

I had the pleasure of giving Ottm’s Gabonese Zebrawood a spin on my Moto 360 (2016), and at first blush, I was very impressed. The entire band is made of premium, precision cut hardwood links, with the exception of the standard, stainless clasp. The striped (get it? Zebrawood?), well-stained wood strikes a dashing figure alongside the dark aluminum of the 360, and the smooth finish it utterly flawless. I’ve always had trouble with watchbands out of the box, finding that most are too short for my fat-kid wrists, but Ottm’s came with plenty of length right out of the box (with two extra links, to boot!).

Fun-Fact: Quick-change springs are the bee’s knees. With no tools required, and less than a minute to completely change bands, it really blows traditional spring-pins out of the water.

A tool is included in the package to add or remove links – and while I was able to adjust the length without too much trouble by hand, I’m wary of having to use any kind of force on the wooden links. Which brings me to my next topic – just how sturdy is the Ottm wood? Will it stand up to the daily wear and tear of an office job? How about a more physically demanding one? Despite the lightweight nature of the band, I got the feeling that it can stand up to some punishment. As I wear it daily, I’ll let you all know if I run into any breakage – so far, I’m impressed.

I have exactly one item on my wishlist: I’d love to see a Build Your Own tool on Ottm’s website, where we can choose our wood, choose our form factor and finally, choose the color of the clasp on the band – as it stands, the band on the Zebrawood band is stainless, while my Moto 360 is black/gunmetal. It still looks great, and it’s a tiny gripe, but hey. Nothing’s perfect.

Ottm’s Watches can be purchased either from the source itself, or from Amazon. It should be noted that buying directly from Ottm also ensures that a tree will be planted for each order placed – I’m not sure if that’s the case with Amazon.

Either way, the bands cost between $29.99 and $49.99, depending on the wood and style chosen.

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