The Morning After: Friday, April 7th 2017
The most powerful gaming console ever?
Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.
We've got a lot to cover, with a curious energy that can only mean it's finally Friday. There are concrete details on the next Xbox, a new iPad to review, and an AI trying to paid while on "digital LSD". They know how to party.
Xbox One Project Scorpio specs promise 'the most powerful console ever'
Last year at E3 Microsoft overshadowed its own Xbox One S by revealing a more powerful version on the way. Now, we have some official hard specs for its Project Scorpio box, which uses a custom GPU and 12GB of RAM to power 4K gaming that even the PS4 Pro can't pull off. In a demo for Eurogamer, it ran Forza Motorsport at 4K and 60fps without breaking a sweat. Even if you haven't upgraded to 4K by the time it arrives later this year, Scorpio can run Xbox One games in high-res then downsample them to reduce aliasing on 1080p displays, just like the PS4 Pro does. Expect more information on games (and a price) at E3 in June.
Apple's Clips app hits iOS today to make video creation a cinch
Clips, Apple's new video-editing app, despite its dead-simple interface, is capable of some pretty impressive feats. After recording a video, you load it into a project's timeline, and load it up with symbols, filters and emoji, and share away. If that sounds simple, well, it is. Mostly. After all, it's meant to sit in between the pure automation of iOS' photo memories and the more in-depth work that comes with using mobile iMovie. And sure, you could piece together a similar video project in an app like Instagram or a similar Snapchat store. Clips' surprisingly handy list of features sets it apart. It almost feels like Apple baked extra bells and whistles into the app to give it a leg up on other social platforms without having to build a social network of its own. It's available, free, on iOS now.
Western Digital unveils its first portable SSD
Western Digital only just started accepting that SSDs are ready for the mainstream, but it's making up for that lost time by launching its first portable SSD just months after unveiling a desktop drive. The simply-named My Passport SSD gives you 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of flash storage in a pocketable and ever-so-slightly fashionable design. While it's not the absolute fastest drive we've seen with a peak 515MB/s sequential read speed (it's a bit faster than Samsung's T3), the new drive is definitely keeping up with the Joneses. It's designed for USB-C (there's a USB-A adapter in the box), touts 256-bit hardware encryption and is tough enough to survive a 6.5ft drop.
Apple's newest iPad is a budget model that samples the best parts from past hits. We've got the original iPad Air's body stuffed with the iPhone 6s's A9 chipset and paired with a brighter version of the iPad Air 2's display. We have no complaints about performance, and battery life is excellent. But, Apple's compromises are evident in the tablet's relative thickness and the glare-prone screen. What the iPad lacks in sheer thrills, it more than makes up for with adequate power and a price that's hard to resist.
Comcast reveals Xfinity Mobile
Now that AT&T, YouTube and others are biting into its TV business, Comcast is attacking in the other direction by launching a wireless service. Called Xfinity Mobile, it's sort of like Google's Project Fi because it will use a combination of Comcast hotspots and the Verizon network. If you're a fan of the bundle, it does offer phone service with unlimited data, voice and text for as low as $45 ($65 if you only have Comcast's internet service).
Adidas is ready to make 3D-printed sneakers a mass market item
Adidas revealed its latest shoe with a 3D-printed midsole, the Futurecraft 4D, but that's not the most interesting part of its announcement. While these shoes will have a very limited release this month, it claims that by using Carbon's Digital Light Synthesis method, it will have 5,000 pairs ready for sale by the holidays. Carbon specializes in printing items from a liquid pool T-1000 style, and Adidas expects this combination will be able to produce 100,000 pairs of shoes by the end of 2018.
What AI sees and hears when it watches 'The Joy of Painting'
Bay Area artist and engineer Alexander Reben has produced an incredible feat of machine learning in honor of the late Ross, creating a mashup video that applies Deep Dream-like algorithms to both the video and audio tracks. The results are... weird.
Twitter sues feds over attempt to identify anti-Trump account
Twitter is suing the government to resist giving up the identity behind @Alt_uscis, an account tweeting out anti-Trump messages. The account is allegedly run by rogue members of US immigration agencies. The suit is a twofold resistance to the government's disclosure request, opposing both the method and the nature of demanding these particular identities. First, it openly attempts to block the Department of Homeland Security and CBP from "unlawfully abusing a limited-purpose investigatory tool to try to unmask the real identity of one or more persons who have been using Twitter's social media platform, and specifically a Twitter account named @ALT_USCIS, to express public criticism of the Department and the current Administration."
Another year, another pair of great affordable handsets from Motorola. The smaller, 5-inch Moto G5 offers reliable performance thanks to Android 7.0 Nougat and a surprisingly good 13-megapixel camera. The design is a little uninspiring, and the display is hard to read in direct sunlight, but this little smartphone does everything you need it to for a bargain price
Samsung takes aim at Vizio with its 'MU' line of Ultra HD TVs
While Samsung's latest QLED tech fights a picture quality battle with LG and OLED, value-conscious buyers will want to look at the MU line of TVs it's rolling out. Still featuring 4K, HDR and other high-end options, they use standard LED edge lighting to keep the price down, no matter which version you might choose.
Hyperloop One's test route is ready to run
It was August 2013 that Elon Musk, under pressure from Shervin Pishevar, published his white paper on the Hyperloop. Just three years and seven months later, and the world's first Hyperloop tube has been declared ready for testing. Hyperloop One has announced that DevLoop, its Nevada test facility, has been "finalized," and will serve as the testbed for the future of transportation.
But wait, there's more...
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