Minggu, 07 April 2019

Amazon Wants You to Use Alexa to Track Health Care - The Wall Street Journal

New features let Alexa schedule urgent-care appointments, check health-insurance benefits, read blood-sugar results and handle other health-care tasks. Photo: STEPHANIE AARONSON/THE WALL STREET JOURNAL; ISTOCK
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Amazon.com Inc. AMZN 1.01% is positioning Alexa, its artificial-intelligence assistant, to track consumers’ prescriptions and relay personal health information, in a bid to insert the technology into everyday health care.

Seattle-based Amazon says Alexa can now transfer sensitive, personal health information using software that meets health-privacy requirements under federal law. Five companies, including insurer Cigna Corp. , diabetes-management company Livongo Health Inc. and major hospital systems, said they developed new Alexa features for consumers using the federal protocol. The features let Alexa perform tasks such as scheduling urgent-care appointments, tracking when drugs are shipped, checking health-insurance benefits or reading blood-sugar results.

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For developers of digital health services, the move is an avenue to expand the use of voice commands. Smart speakers have proliferated rapidly since their 2014 introduction, with one in five adults reporting they owned at least one in a 2018 national survey by Edison Research and NPR.

But voice technology has been slow to take hold in health care because of patient-privacy concerns. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, requires that health-care companies and their contractors, like Alexa, take steps to keep patient information confidential, ensure it can be accessed when needed and prevent tampering. HIPAA violations can expose health-care companies to penalties and criminal charges.

Consumers have been measured in their willingness to use Alexa for all but basic tasks, raising questions about whether the new features will be used widely. Alexa, too, has stumbled publicly on privacy. Last year, it recorded and shared a private conversation after miscues.

With the new health-care features, Amazon will be able to further expand Alexa’s offerings as it battles technology giants with competing voice assistants, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google Assistant and Apple Inc.’s Siri. Amazon’s smart-speaker market share fell to about 40% last year from 59% the previous year, according to technology-focused, venture-capital firm Loup Ventures.

A spokeswoman for Google said the company’s developers aren’t allowed to create features that transmit information protected under federal privacy law. Apple declined to comment.

Health-care executives said they see promise in voice commands as an easier alternative in some circumstances to typing or tapping a screen.

“We were waiting for this level of privacy and security to be complete because it’s obviously critical,” said Richard Roth, head of strategic innovation for Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, one of the nation’s largest hospital systems. The system, which operates 142 hospitals across 21 states, is developing its own Alexa option for appointment scheduling, he said. It wasn't among those unveiled last week.

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Still, while health-care companies might be ready to connect with consumers via voice, consumers might not be.

New York hospital system Northwell Health launched a service on Alexa roughly two years ago that searches for wait times at local emergency rooms and doesn’t require HIPAA compliance. It isn’t used widely, said Emily Kagan, Northwell’s vice president of digital and innovation strategy. “It’s been tepid,” she said of demand.

That hasn’t dimmed hopes for the use of voice, she said, and younger adults are far more comfortable with the technology than older generations. “Everybody feels like it is going to be really game-changing,” she said. “We’re all still experimenting.”

Alexa made headlines last year after mistakenly recording a private conversation and sending it to someone else on a user’s contact list. The device picked up sounds it believed to be commands, but weren’t.

Amazon recommends that its Alexa health-care features verify the identity of the speaker, either with a voice code or by requiring users to log in with passwords for existing health-care accounts. Developers of new features caution users in a disclaimer that their information “may be available to anyone using your Alexa devices.”

Developers of Alexa’s new health features include Livongo, Cigna and its pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts, Providence St. Joseph Health and Boston Children’s Hospital. Each requires users to verify their identity to initiate the feature, according to Alexa product web pages and some of the companies. Atrium Health’s Alexa urgent-care scheduling feature does not.

Livongo worked to avoid possible confusion that might occur when diabetic customers ask Alexa for blood-sugar readings, said the company’s chief product officer, Amar Kendale. Users must state both words—“blood” and “sugar”—for a response, to prevent any potential mixup caused by using the word “sugar” alone.

Parents of heart-surgery patients treated by Boston Children’s Hospital can use the hospital’s new Alexa feature to report whether their children are experiencing pain or diminished appetite after surgery. The new feature will also offer appointment reminders.

“Voice is natural,” said John Brownstein, the hospital’s chief innovation officer. Users don’t need to download apps or review tutorials to use speakers, he said.

Amazon and health-care providers will also collect some data to improve voice recognition and track how consumers use the services. Developers of new Alexa services said such data would be valuable as they push to expand the use of voice in health care. Data will be stripped of identifying information before being shared and studied, some of the companies said.

The Alexa feature offered by Providence St. Joseph allows consumers to book and cancel appointments at most of its express clinics in Washington state.

The hospital system based in Renton, Wash., developed its feature by asking users to test it and studying their reactions to Alexa’s replies, said Aaron Martin, the company’s executive vice president and chief digital officer. User data will help further refine the technology, he said. “We’re training it and it’s training us,” Mr. Martin said.

Write to Melanie Evans at Melanie.Evans@wsj.com

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-clears-path-for-alexas-use-as-health-service-11554669234

2019-04-07 21:51:00Z
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Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro 2019 review - Autocar

The AMG GT R Pro is the road-legal sum of Mercedes-AMG’s expertise in production-based motorsport. It exists for one purpose only: so that a small number of rather well-heeled owners can drive it to a trackday, spend many joyful hours lapping the circuit and fiddling with damper clicks between sessions, then drive home again at the end of the day. This is a car that really should be used as intended, and not left to gather dust in a climate controlled lock-up somewhere.

The drivetrain is unchanged compared to the GT R. The Pro uses exactly the same 4-litre twin-turbo V8 that develops 577bhp and 516lb ft of torque. Drive goes rearwards via the transaxle that houses a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission. Mercedes-AMG quotes a 0-62mph time of 3.6 seconds and a 198mph top speed.

What's it like?

Taut, responsive, agile and exceptionally well controlled. Quite how that uncompromising chassis setup will deal with a bumpy public highway is anybody’s guess, because for now we’ve only tried the car on Hockenheim’s flat and smooth grand prix circuit.

What’s curious about the GT R is that it’s pretty firm and unyielding on the road, but then just a little loosely controlled and hesitant on circuit. This new Pro model addresses almost every one of the on-track criticisms we’ve levelled at the GT R because it feels so at home on a circuit. There is a little body roll to allow you to feel the grip building along the outside of the car, but otherwise the Pro is keyed-in to the track surface. The instant the front axle is locked into a bend the car takes a set, as though it’s dropped into a groove, then carves its way through the corner. There’s none of the hesitancy or up-down heave that could make the GT R a wild ride, just immediate and precise responses.

The steering is fairly light but intuitive while the brakes didn’t show any sign of fade during a quick four-lap stint. What counts against the GT R Pro is its sheer size, because the front axle feels so far ahead of you and the car’s nose in another county altogether. It’s wide as well, all of which means there’s a significant familiarisation period while you learn where the car’s extremities are. And despite the Pro’s weight saving measures, 1575kg is still a significant amount of weight for a trackday machine.

It is an absorbing and thrilling track car, though. Being able to fiddle with its chassis settings adds another dimension to a trackday and allows you to play out your race engineer fantasies. It isn’t a particularly difficult car to drive quickly, though, nor is it intimidating. All that results from an overcooked corner entry is predictable and safe front axle push. There is good traction as well thanks to the transaxle layout and an electronically-controlled LSD, although with so much power on tap it is easily overcome with a generous extension of your right foot. The multi-stage traction control system that first appeared on the GT R is present here too, which means you can find the exact right setting for a given circuit and the conditions on the day to balance security with playfulness.

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https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/mercedes-amg/gt-r/first-drives/mercedes-amg-gt-r-pro-2019-review

2019-04-07 22:06:40Z
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To stop copycats, Snapchat shares itself - TechCrunch

Evan Spiegel has finally found a way to fight back against Mark Zuckerberg’s army of clones. For 2.5 years, Snapchat foolishly tried to take the high road versus Facebook, with Spiegel claiming “Our values are hard to copy”. That inaction allowed Zuckerberg to accrue over 1 billion daily Stories users across Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook compared to Snapchat’s 186 million total daily users. Meanwhile, the whole tech industry scrambled to build knock-offs of Snap’s vision of an ephemeral, visual future.

But Snapchat’s new strategy is a rallying call for the rest of the social web that’s scared of being squashed beneath Facebook’s boot. It rearranges the adage of “if you can’t beat them, join them” into “to beat them, join us”. As a unified front, Snap’s partners get the infrastructure they need to focus on what differentiates them, while Snapchat gains the reach and entrenchment necessary to weather the war.

Tinder lets you use Snapchat Stories as profile photos

Snapchat’s plan is to let other apps embed the best parts of it rather than building their own half-rate copies.

Why reinvent the wheel of Stories, Bitmoji, and ads when you can reuse the original? A high-ranking Snap executive told me on background that this is indeed the strategy. If it’s going to invent these products, and others want something similar, it’s smarter to enable and partly control the Snapchatification than to try to ignore it. Otherwise, Facebook might be the one to platform-tize what Snap inspired everyone to want.

The “Camera company” corrected course and took back control of its destiny this week at its first ever Snap Partner Summit in its hometown of Los Angeles. Now it’s a camera platform thanks to Snap Kit. Its new Story Kit will implant Snapchat Stories into other apps later this year. They can display a more traditional carousel of your friends’ Stories, or lace them into their app in a custom format. Houseparty’s Stories carousel shares what your buddies are up to outside of the group video chat app. Tinder will let you show off your Snapchat Story alongside your photos to seduce potential matches. But the camera stays inside Snapchat, with new options to share out to these App Stories.

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel presents at the Snap Partner Summit

This is how Snapchat colonizes the native app ecosystem similarly to how Facebook invaded the web with the Like button. Snap’s strong privacy record makes these partners willing to host it where now they might fear that Facebook and its history with Cambridge Analytica could tarnish their brand.

Instead of watching these other apps spin up mini competitors that further fragment the Stories world, Snap saves developers the slow and costly hassle while instantly giving them best-in-class tools to boost their own engagement. Each outpost makes your Snapchat account a little more indispensable, grants its camera new utility, and reminds you to visit again. It’s another reason to stick with Snap rather than straying to other versions of Stories.

If Spiegel knows what’s up, he’ll douse the Story Kit partnerships team with resources so they can sign up as many apps as possible before Facebook can copy this idea too. For now, Snap isn’t injecting ads into App Stories, but it could easily do so and split the cash with its host. This would attract partners, generate revenue, and give Snap’s advertisers more reach.

Houseparty embeds Snapchat Stories

Either way, Snap will score those benefits with its new Ad Kit. Later this year the Snapchat Audience Network will launch allowing partners to host Snap’s full-screen vertical video ads and earn an as-yet-undisclosed revenue share. They won’t have to build up an ad sales force or build an auction and delivery system, but just drop in an SDK to start displaying ads to both Snapchat users and non-users. The company’s message again is that it’s becoming easier to cooperate with Snapchat than copy it.

Snap’s new ad network

Giving its advertisers more reach and reusability for Snap’s somewhat proprietary ad unit format helps Snap address its core challenge: scale. Snap’s 186 million total users can look small in comparison to Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube, especially since that count sank in Q2 and Q3 before stabilzing in Q4 of last year. That makes it tougher for advertisers to justify the chore of spending on Snapchat. Ad Kit and potentially Story Kit give Snap more reach even without user growth.

Added size could tip the cards in Snap’s favor given it’s already popular with an extremely important demographic. Snapchat now reaches 75 percent of 13 to 34-year olds in the US, and 90 percent of 13 to 24-year olds there. It claims to now reach more of that younger age group than Facebook in the most lucrative countries: the US, Canada, UK, France, and Australia.

Facebook has massively neglected this segment. Case in point: Facebook Messenger’s Stickers feature that’s popular with kids has hardly improved since its launch in 2013, which I hear was a fight to get approved internally. Meanwhile, Snapchat keeps growing its lead on virtual identity with Bitmoji. Now Snap will let you put your personalized Bitmoji avatar on your FitBit smart watch face, use them to joke about Venmo purchases, and even represent yourself with one in Snap’s new multiplayer games platform.

Again, Snap wants partners to integrate the real thing rather than try to build some half-assed facsimile of Bitmoji. Surprisingly, Facebook’s Avatars have been mired in development for over a year and Apple’s Memoji can’t escape iMessage and FaceTime yet. That’s why Snapchat would be wise to double-down on trying to make Bitmoji the ubiquitous way to represent yourself without a photograph. Facebook’s lack of design cool and Bitmoji’s massive headstart with this differentiated product is a powerful way for Snap to wedge itself into partnerships.

Snap needs all the help it can get if the underdog is going to carve out a substantial and sustainable piece of social networking. Teaming up was the theme of the rest of the Snap Partner Summit. It’s built ways for Netflix, GoFundMe, VSCO, and Anchor to share stickers and for publishers like the Washington Post to share articles back to Snapchat. It’s got Zynga and ZeptoLab building real-time multiplayer Snap Games that live inside chat and are a clever way of slipping ads into messaging.

Snapchat’s new Scan augmented reality utility platform has signed up Giphy and Photomath as well as former partners Shazam and Amazon to let you squeeze extra interactivity out of your surroundings. And since the physical world is too vast for any one developer to fill with AR experiences, Snap beefed up its Lens Studio platform with new templates and creator profiles so developers add to its warchest of 400,000 special effects. Facebook may be able to clone Snap’s features, but not its developer army.

“If we can show the right Lens in the right moment, we can inspire a whole new world of creativity” says Snap co-founder Bobby Murphy . From partnerships to utilities to toys, all the new announcements drive attention back to Snapchat’s camera. That makes it ripe to become the augmented reality brower of the world.

It all feels like a coming of age moment for Snapchat, punctuated by the glitzy press event where media bigwigs gnoshed on Chinese steak buns and played with AR art installations in West Hollywood.

Spiegel has discovered a method of capitalizing on his penchant for inspiring mobile product design. With this strategy in place and Snap’s reengineered Android app and new languages rolling out now, I believe Snapchat will grow again, at least in terms of deeper engagement if not also total user count. Perhaps it will need a little bit more funding to get it over the hurdle, but I expect it will reach profitability before the end of 2020. 

During a pre-event press briefing with a dozen Snap executives including Spiegel and Murphy (that was on ‘background’ so we can’t quote or specify who said what), one Snap higher-up joked that Facebook has been copying it for seven years so it’s started to feel normal. Zuckerberg recently declared he wanted to reorient Facebook around privacy, ephemerality, and messaging — the core tenets of Snapchat. But a Snap leader used some colorful language to describe how they don’t care what Facebook says its philosophy is until it fixes the 2 billion-user product that keeps doing harm.

Subtly throwing shade from the stage, Spiegel concluded that “Our camera lets the natural light from our world penetrate the darkness of the Internet . . . as we use the Internet more and more in our daily lives, we need a way to make it a bit more human.” That apparently means making other apps a bit more Snapchat.

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https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/07/rise-of-the-snapchat-empire/

2019-04-07 19:01:47Z
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Netflix disabled AirPlay because it isn't being told what device is getting the stream - AppleInsider

  Netflix has elaborated on the "technical reasons" why it has disabled AirPlay, and claims that since it can't tell what device the stream is being sent to because of changes in the protocol, it won't allow the feature.


Netflix debuted AirPlay support in 2013.

In a statement to AppleInsider and other venues, Netflix is blaming the removal of the feature on Apple, and it allowing AirPlay on third-party televisions.

We want to make sure our members have a great Netflix experience on any device they use. With AirPlay support rolling out to third-party devices, there isn't a way for us to distinguish between devices —what is an Apple TV versus what isn't —or certify these experiences.

Therefore, we have decided to discontinue Netflix AirPlay support to ensure our standard of quality for viewing is being met. Members can continue to access Netflix on the built-in app across Apple TV and other devices.

At present, it isn't clear what Netflix gains by knowing what television is being used, other than data harvesting. It also isn't clear what the company being unable to "certify these experiences" means, from a technical standpoint.

Netflix has made it clear that apps on iOS and Apple TV are unaffected for native playback on the device that they are installed on. However, going forward, users won't be able to use AirPlay to stream the content to another device.

The change in app policy was spotted on Friday in an update to the official Netflix Help Center webpage, which now instructs iOS device users to connect to a TV using Chromecast functionality in the television, Netflix 2nd Screen, or a physical cable. Customers attempting to stream video content to an Apple TV or AirPlay-compatible device are now met with an error message.

At CES 2019, Samsung, Sony and Vizio each revealed upcoming TV hardware support for Apple's streaming protocol in separate announcements. Korean tech giant LG followed suit in March.

Netflix's AirPlay withdrawal hit just two days after Vizio launched a beta version of its SmartCast 3 software with support for both AirPlay 2 and HomeKit.

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https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/04/07/netflix-disabled-airplay-because-it-isnt-being-told-what-device-is-getting-the-stream-anymore

2019-04-07 13:42:00Z
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Motorola says Moto Z3's Mod is the 'best' 5G platform. I disagree - CNET

Motorola can boast about making the first commercial phone running on a live 5G network, but I'd bet money that the pride stops there. The Moto Z3 with its 5G Moto Mod may be a real phone you can buy for a real 5G network, but its cumbersome magnetic attachment for a midprice phone isn't the way you want to use 5G. 

I would know because the Moto Z3, 5G Mod and I were inseparable for six hours this week as I tested Verizon's newborn 5G network in downtown Chicago. Throughout the day, the Moto Z3 and Mod hitched a ride in my purse, or protruded from my coat pocket, its thick "fin" a beacon drawing down 5G signal from above.

"We've seen reports with some really good speeds and certainly we've seen good speeds in our user trials as well," said Doug Michau, Motorola's head of product operations for North America when we spoke over the phone. 

Read: Verizon defends its 5G network's rocky start, throws shade at AT&T and T-Mobile

Now playing: Watch this: We tested Verizon's new 5G network

8:24

This Moto Z3 was able to pull down speeds upward of 600Mbps, and although the getup works, it's kludgy at best. The 5G Moto Mod is thick and heavy. You attach it magnetically and pins shuffle information and the data connection from the Mod, which has a Snapdragon 855 processor, and the X50 modem that makes 5G possible, to the phone.

The Moto Z3's 5G Mod is unnecessary. 5G modems that connect to the network can already go into phones, in a much more seamless way that doesn't create ridiculous bulk. Take, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and a host of other 5G phones. Not a single Mod in sight.

That's not how Moto sees it. For the phone-maker, the 5G Moto Mod was a smart opportunity to partner once again with Verizon, the largest US carrier. Because what good is a new 5G network if there's no phone to use it?

moto-z3-verizon-5g-1

See how the "fin" pops up over the phone edge? Not very svelte.

 Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

The 5G Moto Mod's fatal flaw: Its battery

As bulky as the Moto Mod is, it did feel securely attached to the Moto Z3, which is in its own right a perfectly serviceable midrange handset. 

The Achilles' heel I accidentally and unwittingly discovered came at the end of a long day of testing. I had just arrived at a 5G node blocks away from the historic Chicago Theater, but whatever I tried, I couldn't get any signal: cycling airplane mode multiple times, reattaching the Mod, even rebooting the phone.

It wasn't until I got back to my hotel that I realized the Moto Mod was out of juice. Michau confirmed that the 5G Mod, which comes with its own 2,000mAh battery, won't charge your phone or accept charge from it. It has its own USB-C charging port, and, apart from sharing signal, operates independently from the Moto Z3.

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You can see the oblong infrared sensor just to the right of the camera array.

 Derek Poore/CNET

If your Moto Mod battery dies before your Moto Z3, you can still use the phone on 4G, but then you're carting around some hefty dead weight. Michau says the intent is for the Mod's battery to last all day, though streaming over 5G all day will take a battery toll.

That wouldn't be so bad if there had been a better way to clearly see the Moto Mod's battery meter right on the phone screen. The notification you get in your notification stream can easily get lost.

I will give Motorola kudos for a clever design element that places four infrared sensors near four antennas. If your finger covers one, a different antenna will pick up the signal.

Saving grace: Affordable 5G today

If the Z3 and Moto Mod have one redeeming quality, it's the price. "We still believe that the Mod is the best platform, Michau said. 

That's because, although you're buying two devices instead of one, the total overall cost of ownership will come in at lower than a flagship phone, like the Galaxy S10 5G. Although Samsung hasn't announced pricing for its 5G model, it's more advanced than the S10 Plus, which costs $1,000 and uses 4G.

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With its own battery source, the Moto Mod is quite the hefty attachment.

 Derek Poore/CNET

Meanwhile, the Moto Z3 is on sale for $240 (down from $480), while the 5G Moto Mod is discounted at $200 (usually $350). So, not counting the $10 monthly surplus for Verizon's 5G network, the total "phone" cost is $440. 

Even the full retail cost, $830, is likely to come in at least $300 under the premium Galaxy S10 5G. However, I have a feeling the Moto Z3's prices will remain lower rather than higher. 

Motorola's next slam dunk is literally around the bend

For Motorola, the final clincher is that the Moto Z3 is a phone you can buy and use on Verizon's 5G network the moment it's available. But buying a 5G phone now isn't very practical.

Network roll-out will take time and only work in select neighborhoods for now. The Qualcomm chip is already outdated. Last month, Qualcomm announced a slimmer chip that will make phones slimmer as well. It's unlikely the Mod will make the cut. 

Now playing: Watch this: Can Motorola's Razr top Galaxy Fold by going smaller?

2:13

For me, the Moto Z3 with 5G Moto Mod is an empty "win" that will quickly become overshadowed by other 5G phones that enter the market, even more affordable ones.  

Motorola's real win is yet to come, when the brand is expected to launch its comeback Motorola Razr as a foldable phone to take on the premium Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X. Assuming the rumors are true, that's Motorola's best real opportunity to make a name for itself -- at any speed.

$986

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Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus

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https://www.cnet.com/news/motorola-says-moto-z3s-mod-is-the-best-5g-platform-i-disagree/

2019-04-07 11:00:04Z
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Shockingly Good Smartphones You Can Get for $350 or Less - The Wall Street Journal

At some point, we all decided that smartphones cost $1,000 or more. But they don't have to. WSJ's David Pierce surveys the cheap-phone landscape, and finds a few surprisingly great devices at surprisingly low prices. Photo/Video: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal
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It’s become an unwritten but unbreakable rule: Great phones cost $1,000. A few years ago, when we were paying $200 with a two-year contract, that seemed preposterous. Now you’re either renting an iPhone XS for $42 a month or dropping 10 Benjamins on Day One.

I’ve long recommended that people buy the most expensive phone they can afford. Your phone is likely your most important device, and it’s worth investing in. Recently, though, a generation of far cheaper phones hit the market offering a shockingly similar experience. These devices cost $350 or less, some as little as $150. They offer great performance, good battery life, attractive design and even some unique features of their own.

There are plenty of good phones for under $350; our three favorites are, from left, the Nokia 7.1 from HMD Global, Xiaomi’s Pocophone F1 and the Motorola Moto G7 from Lenovo. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal

Buying a phone this cheap used to be like buying your clothes at a thrift store; anything that sort of fit and didn’t have noticeable holes or stink was a minor miracle. Now it’s like buying last year’s fashions—not the sharpest out there, but darn close. I bet you won’t notice the difference. Except for the extra weight of all the money still in your pocket.

Getting What You Pay for

All phones have most things in common, from the processor to the memory to the tiny screws that connect them all. Yet the cost to make a phone can vary widely. The Xiaomi Pocophone F1, one of the phones I tested, costs $216.70 for all the parts and labor, according to analysis firm IHS Markit . The iPhone XS Max costs $388.37. But you can buy the F1 for $300. Apple sells its largest model for almost three times what it costs to make.

When you buy a Galaxy or an iPhone or a Pixel, you are paying for not only the very best screens and cameras, but also expensive ad campaigns, huge corporate headquarters and expansive retail stores.

The Moto G7 is the latest in a long line of good inexpensive smartphones; Motorola is one of the few hardware companies that actually make Android better. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal

I discussed this with Sammy Ohev-Zion, chief executive of Blu Electronics, maker of a passably decent $150 smartphone. How much would he charge for a phone with the best components he could get his hands on—the best LCD screen, the best camera, the best fingerprint reader? He said $400. In fact, he plans to launch such a phone later this year.

At the same time, even with no expense spared, Blu couldn’t make a phone as good as the Galaxy S10 or iPhone XS, Mr. Ohev-Zion cautioned. “The trade-off, of course, is that we don’t have the engineering capabilities of a Samsung or an Apple, and we never will.” Samsung’s famous OLED displays are reserved for Samsung—and Apple. Meanwhile, Apple has a lock on chips, facial-recognition systems and other tech it isn’t about to share with competitors.

Even more important, expensive phones help fund large software teams, which can build features like voice assistants and pro-grade camera tools. These phones also typically get software updates much more quickly and tend to receive updates for more years. “We’re able to get the same camera, the same hardware components,” Mr. Ohev-Zion said. “But fine-tuning it… costs you tremendous amounts of money.”

Want a phone that looks like the iPhone for a third of the price? That would be the $350 Nokia 7.1, with its elegant metal body and gold accents. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal

So, yes, you do still get what you pay for. There is no $300 phone that equals a device three times its price. But for years, cheap phones were bad phones. Now, the best ones come with only minor trade-offs: A few of the models I tested used older MicroUSB chargers instead of the future-looking USB-C, for instance, and none was waterproof.

For the basics—phone calls, texting, Spotify streaming, web browsing, maybe a little Candy Crush—the best cheap phones do just fine. They have multiple cameras for all your photo needs, and plenty of power and storage to keep things humming. Besides, there’s a bonus: Every cheap phone I tested has a headphone jack. Your $1,000 can’t buy that anymore.

A Steal at Any Price

I tested eight cheap phones, ranging from the $150 Blu Vivo XL4 to the $350 Nokia 7.1. All eight scored as totally usable phones, and I found three I’d recommend to almost anyone.

Few $300 phones have cameras that can stand up to more expensive devices; Xiaomi’s Pocophone F1 takes photos and videos on par with almost any phone at any price. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal

Overall, my favorite cheap phone is the Nokia 7.1, from HMD Global. The metal-and-glass device looks far better than you’d expect for the price, with clean lines and gold accents. Its camera captures good pictures and video, the 5.8-inch screen looks sharp and accurate, and the battery lasts all day without issue.

Best of all, the 7.1 runs Android One, a specific branch of the Android operating system that’s perfect for this kind of phone. It’s effectively stock Android, unmarred by the manufacturer, and comes with the promise of at least two years of updates. As a result, the 7.1 has no ugly bloatware or weird interface ideas. It just runs Android, and does it well.

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Lenovo-owned Motorola is one of the few cheap-phone makers to actually improve on the Android experience. The Moto G7 is the company’s latest inexpensive device, and at $300 it’s another solid overall smartphone. Its built-in Moto Actions app offers a number of nifty innovations, like a way to quickly access the camera by twisting your phone in your hand twice. You can answer calls just by picking up your phone, or shut the phone up just by flipping it over.

Though cameras on most cheap phones can’t keep up with the ones in the Galaxy or iPhone lineups, one exception stood out: Xiaomi’s $300 Pocophone F1. Its camera captures soft-background portrait shots, fires off HDR shots with ease, and even offers granular control over every aspect of the shot. It falls behind the best smartphone cameras in low lighting, but I trusted it completely in almost any other situation.

Can you spot the difference between the $1,000 phone and the $350 phone? Hint: The cheaper one still has a headphone jack. Photo: Emily Prapuolenis/The Wall Street Journal

After testing these smartphones, I’ve come to see the smartphone industry as divided in two. There are the Casual Phones, which trade a fraction of a phone’s power for a large fraction of its cost. And there are the Luxury Phones, $1,000-and-up devices with all the latest tech for those on the cutting edge. (Oh, and get ready for a third: the Couture Phones, foldable models priced at $2,000 or more.)

For most users, casual phones are a really good deal. If you’re worried about keeping up appearances, take all that money you saved and buy a cool handbag or some sweet new shoes. Now that’s fancy.

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/shockingly-good-smartphones-you-can-get-for-350-or-less-11554642180

2019-04-07 13:03:00Z
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Netflix drops AirPlay support for Netflix, breaks iOS user hearts - Notebookcheck.net

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Sanjiv Sathiah, 2019-04- 7 (Update: 2019-04- 7)

Sanjiv Sathiah

I have been tech-obsessed from the time my father introduced me to my first computer, an Apple ][. Since then, I have been particularly interested in all things Apple, but also enjoy exploring and experimenting with any computing platform that I can get my hands on – I am the definitive early adopter! I have always been interested in how we can use technology to shape and improve our lives, most recently using it to record, mix and master my debut record, Acuity – Nature | Nurture.

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2019-04-07 08:13:06Z
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