Worst products from 2015: Tech we never want to see again
2015 has been a great year for tech. We've seen awesome phones, slick TVs and tablets that want to replace your laptop. But, with the good you have to take the bad. And there has been a lot of bad tech come across our desks this year.
These are the 2015 tech trends we want consigned to Room 101. So we hopefully never have to see them again.
With 2015 rapidly coming to a close, our thoughts turn to the first big tech event of 2016: The Consumer Electronics Show. This is what we’re expecting to see come January 6.
Over the space of four days (January 6 - 9), many of the world’s biggest tech companies will roll up to Las Vegas to reveal what they have planned for the coming year
Google Play is currently hosting a sale on a number of different categories, which can save you some big money on various apps, games, movies and more. From games marked down to as low as $0.10, to 80 percent savings on books, you will likely find some great new content for your Android phone or tablet at a steep discount. Whether you are just getting your first device, or you've had one for a while, you will want to check these deals out.
Game Deals
First up is some big savings on well-known game titles. From Lara Croft Go to Goat Simulator and much more, you can score some awesome games for as low as $0.10. Some of the deals here include:
Whether you've got some big travel plans coming up and need something new to read, or you are just always on the hunt for some new novels, you won't want to miss these savings. With up to 80 percent off of titles from Leigh Bardugo, Emmy Laybourne, Melissa Tagg and others, there is something for everyone here.
In addition to some great games, you can also score big savings on a variety of albums on Google Play right now. From Justin Bieber's Purpose to Brett Eldredge's Illinois, there is music here for everyone's taste. Some of the deals include:
Finally, we have some big savings on movies and television series. With movies as low as $5.99 to own, you've got new releases, like Vacation and Trainwreck, alongside some oldies like Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocolypse and much more. As far as TV series, you can grab The Dead Files Season One for just $6.99 or Season 9 of The Big Bang Theory for $29.99. Some of the deals include:
Update: Looks like first up is a 4.49MB application update that is "a bugfix to let you install the latest system update successfully."
HTC is planning to roll out Marshmallow updates to the unlocked versions of the One A9 andOne M9 within the next 24 hours. The company is certainly in the festive spirit, aiming to deliver some new features to consumers just in time for the public holiday. The former will be receiving Android 6.0.1, while 6.0 Marshmallow will be hitting the One M9.
It's positive to see the companystick to its gunsand roll out Marshmallow to M9 owners before we head into 2016. Be sure to keep an eye out for the update to hit your smartphone and do let us know in the comments if you receive it.
Vodafone has announced that the UK mobile operator's Wi-Fi calling service is now available on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. Opting into the service will enable you to place calls in locations where mobile signal may be hard to come by a Wi-Fi network happens to be at hand. Whether you're inside a house with thick walls, down in the basement or even at a local coffee shop, Wi-Fi calling is a handy feature.
All you need to do is text CALLING to
97888, which will see you opted in. It's a neat addition to Vodafone's arsenal of services, and while the network may be prepared to pump £2 billion into its infrastructure, there are still spots where you'll have no signal at all, which is what Wi-Fi calling is hoped to fix temporarily. If you'd like to find out more about the feature, which followsEE's earlier roll-out, hit the link below.
In April 2015, the Apple Watch finally became available for sale. It became, simultaneously, one of the finest smartwatches in the land and, at least according to the perception in some quarters, a relative disappointment for the company.
Why the ambivalence? Apple hasn't released sales figures, but it hardly seems like a flop --IDC ranks it secondin the wearables market, behind onlyFitbit, which has sold more than 20 million of its namesake devices. Any other company would be celebrating that as a breakout freshman product. But this is Apple, after all. You know, the company that soldroughly 75 million iPhonesin the first quarter of 2015.
Still, wearables appear to be a market poised for big time growth and, as such, sustained attention from Cupertino. In October, Apple updated its Apple Watch software to let apps run on the watch itself instead of working as iPhone extensions, mitigating the absolute interdependence of the initial scenario. The second version of the Watch OS also features new watch faces, improved third-party apps and better overall performance.
But those improvements were ultimately incremental. And in the meantime, the Watch has seen some fairly meaty price cuts at mainstream retailers like Best Buy.
We expect the introduction of the second-generation Apple Watch to come sometime in 2016. In the interim, we will count the minutes, obsessively glancing at our wrists for news, all the while curating the most interesting predictions, best guesses and rumors about what the future holds.
Announcement and release dates
Though no official invitations have been made yet, Apple's next big event is rumored to be scheduled for this coming March. Given that the original Apple Watch would be coming up on its first birthday in April 2016, it's likely that such an event would be focused on its successor. (There are murmurs that such an event could include the introduction of a new iPhone -- perhaps the rumored 6c -- as well as a possible iPad Air 3.)
In terms of timing, multiple reports have cited the accidental disclosure made by one of Apple's suppliers suggesting that the Watch 2 may be slated for a Q2 release; Quanta Computer chairman Brian Lam also remarked that mass production of the device would not start until the third quarter of 2016. Of course, without any official indication one way or another, there are others pointing to a debutlater in the year, in the spring or summer.
Certainly, many folks are hoping for better battery life. With the first generation Apple Watch, even moderate use can burn down the battery in less than 24 hours. In fact, one of the earliest Apple Watch 2 rumors to surface, back in July, characterized LG and Samsung as working to produce a thinner OLED display for the second-generation model, which would allow for a larger battery in a similarly sized device.
And though Apple has sometimes sacrificed functionality for best-in-class aesthetics -- the merely adequate battery life of the iPhone 6 and 6S would serve as one example -- it seems unlikely that Apple would want to deliver another Watch equipped with anything less than 24 hours worth of run time. Especially with competitors like the Pebble Time Steel capable of going more than a week between charges.
There is speculation that Apple could add a camera to the Watch 2. According to 9to5mac.com, the company is considering building a camera into the top bezel, ostensibly enabling users to FaceTime via the device. The debut of Watch OS 2 has already made it possible to pick up or hang up calls using the watch's controls.
Another fertile area for functionality enhancement would be the watch's capabilities when not connected to an iPhone. Still, today's Apple Watch independent capabilities -- activity tracking, music playback, and mobile payments -- don't extend fully into messaging, making it still feel like a tethered product. Though the recent Watch OS 2 update has improved the situation, a second-generation model could include integrated wireless capabilities to enable more functionality independent of an iPhone.
Apple's Tim Cook
Other possibilities being discussed include the ability to track sleep and smart straps that would include extra sensors for tracking fitness. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted in an interview last month that the company could build "something adjacent to the watch" that would be more medically focused and would require US Food and Drug Administration approval. That could be an app, he said, or "something else."
The original Apple Watch was priced along a rather remarkable spectrum, starting at $349 and soaring to $17,000. But could those aforementioned pre-Christmas price drops be a trial balloon for a new pricing strategy in 2016? Or are retailers merely clearing "old" first-gen inventory in anticipation of a new device in as little as 90 days? Time will tell.
Apple's standard retail lineup includes the three most recent iPhone models. At the moment, the portfolio extends from the relatively new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus to 2014's iPhone 6 and 6 Plus to theiPhone 5S, introduced back in 2013. In the run-up to the most recent launch this fall, there was much speculation as to the fate of Apple's iPhone 5C; would the company refresh or banish it? Alas, that model -- essentially a plastic 2013 remake of the 2012 iPhone 5 -- it was officially put out to pasture, leaving the 5S to occupy the entry-level slot.
What the rumored iPhone 6C could look like.
Given the popularity of the 4-inch form factor, it's quite likely that Apple will introduce a replacement for the aging iPhone 5S -- at some point. Of course, with the 6S nomenclature already taken, the company will have to adopt an alternative coinage. Currently, the leading candidate seems to be the iPhone 6C, though the iPhone Mini has also been bandied about.
In the absence of any hard facts from Cupertino, however, the Internet will continue to feed the vacuum of information with all manner of speculation and hearsay, credible and otherwise. We present here a curated collection of the latest rumors, leaks, and dubious pronouncements made by anonymous supply chain sources about the so-called iPhone 6C.
An entry-level product like the iPhone 6C could ostensibly come sooner. Some sources are reporting that Apple is planning a product introduction for March 2016. Given that this timing would coincide theApple Watch's first birthday, it's highly likely that such an event would be focused on its successor. And yet it's plausible that the iPhone 6C could also arrive then, with a retail launch following just days later.
That noted, Apple Insider reports that veteran Apple tea-leaf reader Gene Munster expects that the iPhone 6C may actually be introduced alongside the iPhone 7 next September. (Would it then be called "iPhone 7C"? That's anybody's guess.)
Design
Sources report that Cupertino has already developed a number of iPhone 7 prototypes, and Ming-Chi Kuo, a prominent Apple analyst who works the supply chain for hints and clues, has predicted that the company will indeed bring out a new 4-inch model. From a design perspective, it remains unknown whether the iPhone 6C will follow in the footsteps of the aluminum iPhone 5S or the candy-colored polycarbonate iPhone 5C.
In the tradition of Apple's brightly colored iPods of old, the 5C certainly provided a very different aesthetic palette from its immediate metallic predecessors and successors. And given that the current portfolio sticks to a pretty basic range of colors -- silver, space gray, gold, and rose gold -- the playful rainbow of the 5C would be a welcome option.
Don't expect 3D Touch.
One particularly interesting rumor posits that future iPhones may do without a physical home button, leaning on the pressure-sensitive 3D Touch screen and hands-free functionality of Siri instead. Certainly, a buttonless iPhone would be a natural move for a company with such a strong preference for clean lines and simple design. It would also allow the large top and bottom bezels to shrink, effectively allowing Apple to squeeze a larger screen into the same size body. But such a radical redesign would almost certainly be reserved for the iPhone 7, not the stepdown, entry-level that the 6C would be. Likewise, the added cost and weight that 3D Touch would require seem far beyond the purview of 6C.
In other words, don't expect the iPhone 6C to look all that different from the iPhone 5S.
Display
There is a particularly durable rumor about a sapphire display, which would offer a higher degree of scratch and shatter-resistance than the current models' Gorilla Glass. In fact, the higher-end Apple Watch models have sapphire displays -- as well as OLED technology that provides best-in-class black levels, contrast, and colors on a growing assortment of smartphones (including the Samsung Galaxy S6).
Display
There is a particularly durable rumor about a sapphire display, which would offer a higher degree of scratch and shatter-resistance than the current models' Gorilla Glass. In fact, the higher-end Apple Watch models have sapphire displays -- as well as OLED technology that provides best-in-class black levels, contrast, and colors on a growing assortment of smartphones (including the Samsung Galaxy S6).
Expect the iPhone 6C to keep the same 4-inch screen as the 5S (far left). The iPhone 6 (4.7-inch screen) is center, and the iPhone 6 Plus (5.5-inch screen) is far right.
Sarah Tew
Apple uses LED backlit LCD technology for the current iPhones' Retina displays, and there has been speculation that Apple will eventually switch to OLED displays, but not until 2018.
So, again, this upgrade would most likely debut on whatever model succeeds the iPhone 7 -- and almost certainly not on the iPhone 6C.
Under the hood
If we assume that the 6C will become Apple's new entry-level model, don't expect the latest and greatest specs on this model. That said, it's possible that Apple could move from the 2013-era A7 chip found in the iPhone 5S, and use the same A8 chip from the more recent iPhone 6/6 Plus. If true, don't expect Live Photos (which are dependent on the newer A9 processor.)
Likewise, it would make sense for Apple to bring the 6C into line with the rest of the iPhone line with the addition of Apple Pay. That will require the addition of NFC, which wasn't included in the iPhone 5S.
On the camera side, don't expect cutting-edge. That means the 6C will likely stick with the same 8-megapixel model from the iPhone 6/6 Plus, and will almost certainly forego the optical image stabilization found in the top-end iPhone 6S Plus.
Powering the device is a a proprietary 64-bit A9 chip processor that Apple says offers 70 percent computing performance (CPU) and 90 percent faster graphics performance (GPU).
Screenshot by David Carnoy/CNET
For storage capacity, expectations should likewise be kept in check. The 5S is currently available in 16GB and 32GB capacities; expect the same for the 6C.
The newest iPhone have excellent 4G LTE coverage that work with a wide range of wireless carriers around the world. If Apple wants to target this phone as widely as possible, it would make sense for the company to use that same sort of one-size-fits-all approach for the 6C's wireless capabilities as well.
Price
This is the big one.
For years, analysts have been calling for a more affordable iPhone -- often without realizing that it was in front of them all the time. Apple has dropped its 2-year-old model to the entry-level "free on contract or $450/£379/AU$749" for years now. But with the iPhone 6C, will they stick with that pricing model? Raise it because it will be a "new" phone? Or lower it to keep up with the increasingly capable models like the Moto G and Alcatel One Touch Idol 3 that are hitting the market at prices as low as $250, contract-free?
The answer, again, is anybody's guess. But if this is replacing the 5S at the bottom of the line, the safe bet is that the price stays the same. Apple can then always drop it later, or simply allow carriers in certain markets to adjust pricing and incentives accordingly.
We've discussed in the past how blue light from your electronics can have bad effects on your bedtime. Google recognizes this as an issue as well, and has added a new color mode to their Play Books app.
The new mode, called Night Light, will use hues of amber based on available natural sunlight to filter blue light, and therefore reduce eye strain. In the early part of the day, book pages will appear in the color setting you've chosen. As the day goes on, the pages will become the
warm amber color.
This feature is still rolling out to users, but if you want to skip the wait, you can install a copy from APKMirror. This site compares cryptographic signatures to make sure you are getting a legit copy of the app. After your download finishes, tap the notification and install the new version of Play Books.
Enlarge Image
Upon opening your first book after updating, you will be notified of the Night Light mode. However, if you miss this notification, you can easily enable it by tapping the edge of the page > A icon > toggle Night Light mode.
Enlarge Image
Nicole Cozma/CNET
If you use the inverted color scheme (black background with white text) for your books, Night Light mode will still work by adjusting the font color to increasingly darker shades of amber.
As an added bonus, AndroidPolice noted that this version of Google Play Books comes with a setting to receive notifications when an author in your library publishes new content. This is enabled by default and includes all authors, but you can disable it in Settings > Notifications (at bottom) > Author (check box).
If you enjoy the way Night Light mode works, you may also be interested in checking out other apps that use this same color-shading method across your entire device.
