Friday, October 4, 2019

Apple : This $50 Android PC has a rare feature almost no other device offers

Apple : This $50 Android PC has a rare feature almost no other device offers


This $50 Android PC has a rare feature almost no other device offers

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 01:40 PM PDT

Editor's note: We now have the review of the X96H up!

The X96H sounds like the name of a futuristic fighter jet but it is 'only' an Android PC that costs less than $50 at Gearbest with a quad core processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB onboard storage. 

That’s a fraction of what Windows PCs with a similar configuration cost and while it is not strictly an apple to apple comparison, the X96H has something that no other Windows PC offer.

In comes HDMI

Other than the ubiquitous HDMI output, there’s also an HDMI input which can be used to bring an external video source into the device for monitoring and recording purposes. The scope of its use is only limited by one’s imagination.

The X96 runs on a heavily customised Android 9.0 version with a remote control to highlight its TV box roots, a LED display and plenty of ports (three USB ones, an Ethernet, a card reader and two audio connectors).

Just bear in mind that Android was never really designed to be controlled by a keyboard mouse combo and as such, the X96H does come with some rather annoying quirks.

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How deep learning could revolutionize broadcasting

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 11:52 AM PDT

Broadcasters and movie studios alike are starting to explore the huge potential of modern technologies to bring a new generation of filmed entertainment to our TV sets and cinemas. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning are the buzzwords that excite video executives with promises of revolutionary new abilities for video creation and editing.

Deep learning, in particular, is the new frontier for the video industry, allowing video professional to do things automatically that would have taken weeks of work in the past, as well as some things that wouldn't have been possible at all. How is deep learning different from other machine learning algorithms? And what are its practical applications for broadcasting and filmed entertainment? What are the science and its business ramifications? 

Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning

Artificial intelligence is any attempt to make a computer appear as though it has intelligence. The computer may be told exactly what to do in any given situation, in which case it hasn't learned anything. Machine learning seeks to allow the computer to learn how to perform certain tasks. There are a variety of methods to do this, and nearly all of them rely on the computer altering parameters repeatedly through a trial and error process. One of the more complex ways of doing this is by mimicking the neurons in a biological brain. When we make these artificial brains, or neural networks, more complex, we have deep learning.

Deep learning allows a computer to take something complex as input, such as all the pixels in a frame of video, and output something equally complex, such as all the pixels in a new, altered, frame of video. For example, it may be shown frames with unwanted grain as input, and have its output compared to clean frames. By trial and error, it learns how to remove the grain from the input. As more and more images are passed through it, it can learn how to do the same thing for images that it was never shown.

Perhaps the first impressive use of deep learning was when Google trained a neural network to play Go, the famously difficult and complex board game. The game is far too complex for human instructions to create a viable opponent, and a single layer neural network would have never been enough. Deep learning made it possible.

Deep learning is used for a wide variety of other tasks as well. It is used to match generated speech with human speech, so text-to-speech programs sound more natural. In a similar task, it is used by translation companies to teach computers how to translate from one language to another. The self-driving cars that several companies are working on are driven by deep learning. Marketing departments use it to learn the habits of customers and guess how a given customer will behave and what strategies they will best respond to. Digital assistants use it to better understand the requests that we make of them.

Deep learning for TV and Filmed Entertainment

There are many opportunities to apply deep learning techniques in the field of video production, editing, and cataloging. But the technology is not limited to automating repetitive tasks; it can also enhance the creative process, improve video delivery and help preserve the massive video archives that many studios keep.

Video Generation and Editing

Warner Bros. recently had to spend $25M on reshoots for 'Justice League' and part of that money went to digitally removing a mustache that star Henry Cavill had grown and could not shave due to an overlapping commitment. It isn't just 'Justice League' – the post-production stage of any movie is time-consuming and expensive. Deep learning will be a game changer for these are types of tasks.

Consumer-grade, easy to use solutions such as Flo allow you to use deep learning to automatically create a video by describing what you want in it. The software will find the relevant videos from your library and edit them together automatically.

Google has a neural network that can automatically separate the foreground and background of a video. What used to require a green screen can now be done with no special equipment.

Deepfakes have hit the news quite a lot recently – when the face of one person is put onto a video of another, likewise, deep portraits which apply motion to still pictures like the Mona Lisa. The potential uses of this technology in special effects are vast. 

For example, the mustache problem over at Warner Bros which drew Henry Cavill into a controversy with fans. Cavill needed to grow a mustache for Mission: Impossible - Fallout, and at the same time needed to reshoots for Justice League. Cavill, had a mustache for Fallout, but needed to be clean- shaven for Superman. He opted to keep the mustache, so the Justice League’s editing team had to digitally remove the hairy lip for every scene he’d reshot. 

Sadly, this was noticed by fans and it caused a fuss. If hobbyists working at home can put Nicholas Cage into movies that he was never in using deep learning tools, one can only guess how much time and money Warner Bros. could have saved replacing Henry Cavill with older footage of himself.

Video Restoration

According to the UCLA Film & Television Archive, nearly half of all films produced prior to 1950 have disappeared. Worse, 90% of the classic film prints that do exist are in poor condition. The process of restoring these films is long, tedious, and expensive. This is an area in which deep learning is going to make a major difference.

The process of colorizing black and white footage has always been lengthy. There are thousands of frames of footage in a movie and coloring each one takes a long time. Even with advanced tools, the process can only be automated so much. Thanks to Nvidia, deep learning can now speed up the process significantly, with tools that only require an artist to color one frame of a scene. From there, the deep learning network automatically handles the rest.

A previously show-stopping problem was missing or damaged frames from a video. You can't do reshoots on something that happened years ago. 

Restoring that type of movie before meant editing around the missing frames. Now, deep learning networks from Google aim to change that. They have developed a technology that can realistically recreate part of a scene based on start and end frames.

Face/Object Recognition

By detecting the faces of everyone in a video, deep learning can allow you to quickly classify a video collection. You could, for example, search for any clip or movie that has a given performer. Alternatively, you could use the technology to count the exact screen time for every actor in a video. Sky News recently used facial recognition to identify famous faces at the royal wedding.

The technology is not limited to detecting just faces though, sports broadcasts rely on camera people to track the movements of the ball, or to identify other key elements to the game, such as the goal. Using object recognition, AI-powered tools can be used to automate the production of a sports broadcast.

Video Analysis

While Flo can identify what a scene is about and use that data to generate a video about whatever you want, that same technology can be used to sort and classify videos to make it easy to find a particular piece of footage by simply searching for people or actions that appear in it.

This could be used to detect and remove objectionable content from videos to ensure that they remain suitable for a target audience. In a similar vein, it could be used to match new videos up with old videos that a person has shown interest in and provide them with a personalized recommendation list.

Better Streaming

As we move into 4k streaming, and television manufacturers begin the rollout of 8k displays, streaming is using more data than ever before. Anyone with a poor connection knows what a problem this can be. The utility of a shiny 4k display is weakened if your internet connection can't handle the bandwidth to fully take advantage of it. Thanks to neural networks that can recreate high definition frames from a low definition input, we could soon be streaming low definition streams over our internet connection, while still enjoying the high definition glory that our displays are capable of.

The Future

Deep Learning use in film and broadcast has only begun to nibble at the edges of what it will be used for in the future.  I believe its future in the video industry is particularly bright. However, as with all new technologies, deep learning is not without a downside. As with deepfakes or face recognition misuse, there are valid concerns of privacy and trust that arise from the rapid evolution of this technology. 

As with any new technology, the industry needs to address a range of issues.  The video industry and tech experts must come together to develop the standards of how tomorrow’s new normal might look.  However, with the right approach, the benefits of this addition to the toolbox will be bigger than is imaginable now, and, just as the advent of “talkies” and color film did before it, deep learning will take film and television to a whole new level.

 

Max Kalmykov is the  VP of Media and Entertainment at DataArt.

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England vs Argentina live stream: how to watch Rugby World Cup 2019 match from anywhere

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 11:48 AM PDT

England go into their next game knowing that a win will seal a place for them in the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. However, with wet conditions forecast and an Argentina team firmly in win-or-bust mode, it's likely to be a hard-fought battle.

It's a game you can watch live and in full no matter where you are in the world by following our England vs Argentina Rugby World Cup live stream guide below.

Coming into the game off the back of an impressive rout of the USA in their previous match, England will be further boosted by the return from injury of Mako Vunipola and Jack Nowell. And George Ford and Owen Farrell have been picked as Eddie Jones's creative axis in midfield.

Having suffered an agonising defeat to France in their opening game, Argentina responded well with an accomplished 28-12 win over Tonga. Julian Montoya was the star of the show, landing three tries during Saturday’s game, and Los Pumas will be resting much of their attacking hopes on the hooker once again.

The two teams have faced each other on 23 occasions, with England coming out on top 18 times, while Argentina have won on four occasions. They last faced each other back in November 2017 at Twickenham, with the home side winning 21-8.

Don’t miss a moment of the action with our Rugby World Cup England vs Argentina live stream guide below.

How to watch the 2019 Rugby World Cup from outside your country

If you're abroad for any of the Rugby World Cup and don't want to miss out on catching the coverage from your home country, you'll inevitably find it geo-blocked when you try to stream online. But don't sweat. With the option of a VPN, you can tune into those fixtures no matter where you are in the world without resorting to some dodgy feed on Reddit. And best of all, it's really easy to do (or read on for details on how to stream coverage from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA).

How to stream England vs Argentina live in the UK 

How to watch England vs Argentina: live stream in Australia

How to watch England vs Argentina live in New Zealand

Live stream Rugby World Cup 2019 match in Canada

How to live stream England vs Argentina in the US

  • Hulu with Live TV $40 per month - Hulu with Live TV includes CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN.
  • FuboTV $35 for the first month - FuboTV gives you the first month at a discounted rate but after that the price increases to $45 a month. The service includes CBS, Fox, NBC and the NFL Network but does not come with ESPN.
  • DirecTV Now $50 per month - DirecTV Now includes CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN and for $5 extra you can add the NFL Network.
  • YouTubeTV $40 per month - YouTubeTV gives you access to CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN.

Divider

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New Android zero-day affects millions of devices

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 11:28 AM PDT

Google's Project Zero security team has discovered a new zero-day exploit in Android which is already being used in the wild.

The vulnerability was found in the kernel of the Android operating system and can be utilized by an attacker to gain root access to a device.

Oddly enough, the vulnerability was patched back in December of 2017 in Android kernel versions 3.18, 4.14, 4.4 and 4.9, though newer versions of Android were found to be vulnerable.

According to Google's researchers, the vulnerability impacts the Pixel 2, Huawei P20, Xiaomi Redmi 5A, Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, Xiaomi A1, Oppo A3, Moto Z3, LG phones running Oreo and the Samsung S7, S8 and S9 running Android version 8 or higher.

However, since the “exploit requires little or no per-device customization”, this means that it may impact even more Android smartphones but those listed above have been tested and confirmed to be vulnerable to the zero-day by Google.

Android zero-day

While Google's Project Zero team first discovered the vulnerability, the company's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) confirmed that it had been used in real-world attacks. Both of these teams were also responsible for discovering a recent batch of zero-day vulnerabilities in Apple's iPhones.

Details regarding who is behind the Android zero-day are currently limited but Google's TAG believes that the Israel-based company NSO Group, that is known for selling exploits and surveillance tools, may be responsible.

However, when ZDNet reached out to the group they denied any involvement, saying:

"NSO did not sell and will never sell exploits or vulnerabilities. This exploit has nothing to do with NSO; our work is focused on the development of products designed to help licensed intelligence and law enforcement agencies save lives." 

There is a silver lining though as this new Android vulnerability is not as dangerous as past zero-days. While the vulnerability is rated as high severity by Google it still requires the installation of a malicious application in order to be exploited.

Google has notified its Android partners and a patch is now available on the Android Common Kernel, so expect affected device manufacturers to start rolling out updates soon.

Via ZDNet

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Chrome will soon block sites that mix HTTP and HTTPS (possibly including some favorites)

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:43 AM PDT

Having already introduced warnings in Chrome that let you know when you're visiting a non-secure website – that is, HTTP rather than HTTPS – Google is taking things further and is planning to start blocking ‘mixed content’.

In future versions of Chrome, Google will block HTTP content that is loaded by encrypted HTTPS sites. The company is taking steps to address the problem of secure sites that pull in content – such as scripts, media files and iframes – that are not secure. It calls this mixed content.

The reason for wanting to lock this down further is that HTTP content can be interfered with. This means that an incorrect image could be displayed, or a malicious script could be run in the background.

As it has done with previous changes, the new security feature is going to rolled out gradually. Starting with Chrome 79, which is due to moved from development and beta testing channels for a mainstream release in December, Google will start to completely block mixed content.

At the same time, the company will also introduce a new toggle that will enable users to unblock mixed content on specific sites. Google also says that in order to minimise disruption, it will "autoupgrade mixed resources to https://, so sites will continue to work if their subresources are already available over https://".

It's for your own good...

With Chrome 80, Google will automatically upgrade mixed audio and video resources to https://, and Chrome will block them by default if they fail to load over https://. The browser will load mixed images, but Google says that this will cause Chrome to show a 'not secure' chip in the omnibox. This build of the browser is due to hit the early release channels in January 2020.

With Chrome 81 the following month, Google will continue to upgrade mixed content to HTTPS, and will start to block and images that fail to load in this way. The option to override this blocking will remain, so Chrome users should not find that any of their favourite websites suddenly become inaccessible. Google's hope is that the move will encourage more website developers to stop the practice of using mixed content.

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These cheap iPhones on EE blow iPhone 11 deals out the water

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:27 AM PDT

Can't wait until Black Friday to land a brand new iPhone? Well don't worry, we've found a collection of cheap iPhones that will make it feel like the sales have already kicked in.

Coming from the retailer Fonehouse, these offers cover all of our favourite cheap iPhones including the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8. Or for those who like their phones bigger, there are some excellent offers on the Plus models of these devices.

With prices from as low as £20 a month, these offers are the perfect antidote to the price tags Apple's latest and greatest are carrying (we're looking at you iPhone 11 Pro deals!).

Ready to get your new iPhone deals? You can find all of these affordable offers down below. Or, head on over to our mobile phone deals page to see the rest of the market's offers.

  • Still unsure what to go for? Check out our best mobile phone deals to see all of your options across every device.

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Best phones under Rs 25,000 in India for October 2019

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:25 AM PDT

While 2018 saw some very good smartphones being launched above Rs 30,000, most smartphone makers left the Rs 20-30,000 segment open to be exploited. While the Asus Zenfone 5Z was often available at sub-Rs 25,000 prices, it lost the battle to the highly popular Poco F1.

Seeing the success of the Poco F1, Xiaomi announced the Redmi K20 series, with prices starting at Rs 21,999. This sparked competition in the sub-Rs 25,000 smartphone segment in India.

There are options that offer great value in the segment. If you are finding it difficult to find the best suited phone under Rs 25,000, this list will help. 

  • Don't need to worry about cost? Check out our best phone list

Redmi K20

The Redmi K20, the recently launched mid-range smartphone from Xiaomi’s Redmi brand has been designed keeping in mind the criticisms the company faced with its affordable flagship device, the Poco F1. With the device, the company has offered a premium device at an affordable price to take on the increasing competition in the smartphone segment.

The Redmi K20 features a glass back, a Full HD+ AMOLED display, a triple rear camera setup, a pop-up selfie camera and an under-display fingerprint sensor. The device starts at Rs 21,999 in India and is available in three attractive color options.

You can also score the Redmi K20 Pro under Rs 25,000 during the Diwali with Mi sale.

Xiaomi has dominated the budget and entry-level smartphone segments for a long time now. This is no different this year either - the launch of the Redmi Note 7 Pro changed the market dynamics yet again. Offering a high-resolution, premium-grade 48MP camera at budget prices was the primary clincher for the Redmi Note 7 Pro.

Apart from its imaging capabilities, the Redmi Note 7 Pro offers a great bang for your buck thanks to the great display, a well-balanced chipset and battery life that we've all grown to expect from Xiaomi's Redmi Note series.

Topping it all off is the glass design which gives it a premium look.

It has a great value for money quotient which is why the Redmi Note 7 Pro is the phone to buy.

Realme X

The Realme X is another device that offers excellent value for money in the sub-Rs 25,000 segment. It features a pop-up selfie camera and comes with a gradient back design. The company has offered a near bezel less display with the device, giving it a premium look.

Along with the pop-up selfie camera, the device also sports an in-display fingerprint sensor, making it one of the most affordable devices to feature these two technologies. It has a starting price tag of Rs 16,999 and is available in three color options.

The Samsung Galaxy A50 has a lot going for it. The device features a glossy finish and sports an attractive display, a triple camera setup that includes a good daylight camera, and decent battery life with fast charging support all make it a phone that’s worth considering when you go out to buy a new smartphone.

While the Galaxy A50 performs well in daylight, its low-light images are not up to the mark. If you are a heavy gamer, you might want to skip this device and look at the other devices mentioned in this list.

The device is available starting at Rs 18,490 in Black, Blue and White color options.

Read the full review here

Vivo Z1 Pro

Vivo has upped its game in the budget and mid-range segments over the last few months in India. While a few other smartphones are aimed specifically at a slightly younger audience, Vivo has tried to offer a slightly more rounded package with the Z1 Pro.

The Z1 Pro is also one of the few smartphones in this price range to sport a punch hole notch. If you are looking for a smartphone that offers really long battery life, the Z1 Pro won't let you down with its massive 5,000mAh battery. The display, camera and the glossy design round off the remaining important aspects.

The Poco F1, the only launch so far from Xiaomi’s sub-brand Poco is a feature packed mid-range device. It is the cheapest Snapdragon 845 powered device in India and with the recent price cuts, it offers even more value for your money. While the device’s design is something that the company has compromised on, the Poco F1 is durable with a sturdy plastic build.

If you prefer performance over looks, the Poco F1 is the device for you. It is priced starting at Rs 17,999 in India.

Pocophone F1 review

Samsung has more or less made itself relevant again in the highly competitive budget segment with the launch of the Galaxy M series earlier this year. The Galaxy M30s takes this forward with refreshed design and updated hardware.

The biggest takeaway from the Galaxy M30s is its massive 6,000mAh battery that should easily last you an entire day's worth of usage. For some users, it should be possible to extend the Galaxy M30s' battery life to two days of usage.

Coupled with the vibrant Super AMOLED display, ample storage and a triple camera setup on the back, Samsung might have another winner in the M30s.

Realme has been making a splash since its debut last year. Over the last few months, the company has aggressively expanded its portfolio of smartphones right from the entry-level to the budget segment. The Realme XT is the latest in this line, and offers a versatile camera experience coupled with a vibrant display and a big battery.

The design of the Realme XT is also noteworthy, although it could be slightly over the top for people who prefer sticking to neat lines and patterns. Nevertheless, the Realme XT is a very good option in its segment.

Read our full review: Realme XT

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Red Dead Redemption 2 coming to PC on November 5

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:24 AM PDT

After months of speculation, Rockstar has just confirmed that the Red Dead Redemption 2 PC version is real – and it's coming November 5.

The confirmation was just posted on Rockstar's Twitter page. There's not much to go on, except we now now it exists, and it's coming (very) soon.

Red Dead Redemption 2 looks phenomenal on PS4 and Xbox One, so we can only imagine what kind of visual treat awaits us when it comes to the more powerful PC platform.

Pre-order October 9

According to Rockstar's website, you can pre-order Red Dead Redemption 2 for PC through the Rockstar Games Launcher on October 9. If you download the Rockstar Games Launcher before October 8, you'll also get the classic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game thrown in for free.

As the first Red Dead Redemption game to come to PC, it looks like Rockstar is making a big deal of it, with a range of new graphical and technical enhancements, so it should look better than ever.

There will also be new story mode content, including new Bounty Hunting missions, gang hideouts, weapons and more.

If you pre-order before October 22, you get to choose two free games:

  • Grand Theft Auto III
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
  • Bully: Scholarship Edition
  • L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition
  • Max Payne 3: The Complete Edition 

If you pre-order through the Rockstar Games Launcher, you'll also get free upgrades to the premium edition of Red Dead Redemption 2, and the Special and Ultimate editions are discounted by $20 each.

You also get the following pre-order bonuses through the Rockstar Games Launcher:

  • Outlaw Survival Kit for Story Mode
  • War Horse for Story Mode
  • Treasure Map for Story Mode
  • Cash Bonus for Story Mode
  • 50 Gold Bars for Red Dead Online

Red Dead Redemption 2 PC Online

PC gamers will also get access to online world of Red Dead Online, which will feature all previously released updates that have come to the consoles.

Best of all, unlike the PS4 and Xbox One, you don't need to pay for online access, so Red Dead Online is completely free on PC.

Coming to other stores October 23

Red Dead Redemption 2 PC is also coming to other online stores, including Epic Games Store, Greenman Gaming and the Humble Store on October 23.

If you want to buy it on Steam, then you'll have to wait even longer – it'll come to Valve's platform in December.

It'll also be coming to Google Stadia, the game streaming console, as well.

As soon as we hear more about the PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2, we'll be sure to update you.

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PC gaming’s unsung heroes: the PC gamers you rarely hear about

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:18 AM PDT

Many of us have probably heard the phrase “real gamer” before, often used by one segment of the gaming population to dismiss some other portion. And, with video games proliferating as they reach more and more devices and surge in retail, the question of who qualifies as a “real gamer” will persist.

The thing is, real gamers come in all types. The Entertainment Software Association has found large percentages of the population gaming, including Baby Boomers in the US. And, that range covers everything from young gamers duking it out in online battle royale games to older gamers playing poker alone on their computers.

With all this in mind, we’ve set out to show that PC gaming is full of players who aren’t always what we’d think of when the words “PC gamer” come up. It’s not all belligerent teens sitting at a desk with a $2,000 PC below and 2 liters of Mountain Dew on top. 

Here are just a few examples of real PC gamers that show how broad the culture really is.

Skyrim Grandma

Shirley Curry, the 'Skyrim Grandma.'

The famous Shirley Curry

One of the most colorful pieces of evidence that anyone can be a gamer is Shirley Curry, perhaps better known as “Skyrim Grandma.” Curry is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother living in Virginia, USA, and she loves playing Skyrim. 

She’s a true YouTube celebrity with over 748,000 subscribers and over 14 million views at the time of writing. She’s so legit, she has the YouTube Verified checkmark. (Something I don’t have, and I do this for a living!) Curry regularly shares her video game adventures, often adventuring through the almost endless world of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. She’s had enough of an impact that Bethesda is even going to include an NPC of Curry in The Elder Scrolls 6

So you know she’s the real deal, Curry even includes her system specs in the description of her videos:

“My Operating System: DogHouse Systems Model: Armor TL980 Hero Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4790K Cpu@4.00GHz 4.00GHz Graphics Card: GTX980 Installed Memory (RAM): 16.00 GB (I’ve bought two more) System Type: 64bit Operating System”

To top it off, she also lists the Skyrim game mods she has installed.. Every now and then, you can catch Curry checking out other games as well, like Call of Cthulu and Deliver Us the Moon. 

While she might be the best example of a grandma gamer, she’s not alone. We’ve seen another grandmother enjoying an adventure in VR, and Japan’s own Gamer Grandma has things locked down on console.

Jablinski

Jack Black, or otherwise today known as 'Jablinski'.

Celebs have gaming hobbies, too

A few years ago, the world got to see the widely beloved Terry Crews join the PC gaming fray when he publicly announced that he was building a gaming PC. Crews has a long career split between his stint in the National Football League as a defensive end and linebacker in the ‘90s, and his ongoing acting career.

Beyond his celebrity, Crews still has a family life, and he decided to build a gaming PC to share the hobby with his son. He picked up an X99 motherboard to slot in an Intel Core i7-6800K and 32GB of RAM. He didn’t include the graphics card in his livestream, but he picked up an HTC Vive to dive into virtual reality with his rig. He later confirmed that he got the rig up and running.

Crews isn’t alone either. Jack Black has also tipped his hat to the gaming world when he announced in late 2018 that he’d start a YouTube gaming channel. Over the ensuing year, his channel didn’t do much to produce gaming content, with one focused more on old arcade games and one pretending to stream but admitting he hadn’t figured out the El Gato game capture device. Eventually, Black did upload a Lego Star Wars video as well as a stream with PewdiePie playing Minecraft.

Regardless of whether they play publicly, we can count many celebrities as PC gamers.

Farming Simulator 2019

Farming Simulator 2019 in action.

Gamers reliving reality

Skyrim Grandma and Terry Crews might be more high profile when it comes to the sorts of people you wouldn’t expect to be PC gamers, but there are still others out there silently enjoying PC games on their own. We’re talking about the simulation players.

You may think more about the gamers playing intense shooters where insane reaction speeds are a necessity. But, plenty of PC gamers enjoy a calmer experience that lets them live a small slice of reality they might otherwise not have access to. Think of Flight Simulator, Train Simulator or Farming Simulator. All of these put players into a unique position to dive into realistic experiences that still take them out of their day-to-day life.

Games like SimCity or Cities: Skylines let gamers design their own worlds and simulate reality from a bird’s-eye view. And, given that many of these simulation franchises launch new games on an annual basis, it’s safe to say there are plenty of PC gamers enjoying these. And, let’s not forget how many people are still building their ideal homes and lives in The Sims.

Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in action.

The faithful modders

Shirley Curry is actually a great example of another type of gamer: the long-term, faithful gamer who sticks with one game for a long time, using mods to keep the game fresh. Some games strike a deep note with players and offer enough to do to keep them around for years. Massive open worlds, like Skyrim, often manage this level of retention.

But, even a game that offers hundreds of hours of content can only hold the hearts of gamers for so long in its vanilla form. That’s where gamers who truly love their game turn to mods. The gamers who use mods can add entire new worlds to their games, add new weapons and equipment, and change the way the game world works to open up new playful possibilities. 

Some mods even allow gamers to add everything from new quests to entire voice-acted storylines. There are also mods that can overhaul the sound and graphics for almost every asset in the game, breathing new life into it even as the graphics of the vanilla version age. The use of mods can let these gamers stick with one game, steering clear of the latest fads, as they simply occupy the game world they love or wait ages for the next one to arrive (as many are doing for The Elder Scrolls 6).

FarmVille 2

FarmVille 2 is one of the most popular browser games to date.

The overlooked browser gamers

One thing most would assume is essential to PC gaming is a gaming PC. But, there are so many games available to gamers that require little more than an internet connection and modest hardware. Browser games make the hobby accessible to many gamers, and they can even entice users who would otherwise have little to do with games.

It doesn’t take much work to see just how popular browser games still our. We took a quick peek at Armorgames and Newgrounds, sites we visited plenty over a decade ago, and we can see they’re still living. Games like Sonny 2 rank among the best browser games, with lengthy stories and compelling gameplay. Armorgames lists Sonny 2 as having over 25 million plays since it launched in 2009 (I personally put probably as many hours into this game as I put into any turn-based RPG in the past decade). And, newer games are still getting millions of plays. Some browser games even serve as a starting point for franchises, such as Meat Boy and N.

Kids can jump online to play a bit of Agar.io while adults hop on for some card games in the browser. (This writer’s father hasn’t had much involvement with video games since his days as a Dig Dug player in the arcades, but he recently got into a browser-based golf game.) And, these PC gamers are so easy to overlook, as they may well be playing quietly in the library or on a laptop while waiting for their flight at the airport.

And, lastly, let’s not forget there is even a select mass of PC gamers out there who actually prefer to have Motion Blur turned on in their games. If there weren’t, why would game developers keep offering the feature and setting it on by default? Ugh.

Welcome to TechRadar's PC Gaming Week 2019. We're celebrating the most powerful gaming platform on Earth with in-depth articles, exclusive interviews and essential buying guides that showcase everything PC gaming has to offer. Visit our PC Gaming Week 2019 page to see all our coverage in one place.

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Rugby World Cup 2019 live stream: how to watch every match free online and from anywhere

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:18 AM PDT

So how's the 2019 Rugby World Cup treating you so far? Actually the answer to that question probably depends on who you're supporting, with fans of England, New Zealand and Wales feeling much better than the Aussies, Irish and Scottish. So far it's certainly fitting its billing as being one of the most evenly-matched tournaments in rugby union history. And you can watch all the action, no matter where you are, by following our Rugby World Cup live stream guide below.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of tipsters are split between New Zealand, their neighbours Australia, and South Africa as to who will win the tournament. But we've already witnessed more than our fair share of memorable moments. Hosts Japan shocking Ireland, Wales overpowering Australia and that intense match up between New Zealand and South Africa being just some of the awesome highlights.

Nevertheless, the balance of power in the rugby world has shifted towards the northern hemisphere in recent years, with Wales, Ireland, and England all having been in and around the world number one ranking position, and Scotland not too far behind.

Or is this the year that one of the less fashionable nations step up and show what they can do? We all know how dangerous Argentina are, but what of Fiji, Georgia and the hosts themselves?

If you want to know where you'll be able to watch every single match, we'll tell you exactly where you can catch it online with a Rugby World Cup live stream and the broadcasters that are showing it absolutely FREE. No matter where on Earth you are, we'll make sure you know where to catch the coverage.

How to watch the 2019 Rugby World Cup from outside your country

You don't have to miss a single minute of the 2019 Rugby World Cup - even if you're abroad and discover that your home broadcaster's online coverage is geo-blocked (we hate it when that happens).

If that happens to you and you're desperate to watch your domestic coverage - whether that be in the UK or Australia (where it's free), New Zealand or the US (where it isn't) or anywhere else in the world - there's still a way to get it that doesn't involve putting your security at risk with some dodgy, illegal stream from Reddit. You can simply use a VPN to login back to your country that is broadcasting the actions, and it's really easy to do:

How to stream Rugby World Cup 2019 live in the UK for FREE

Live stream the Rugby World Cup in Australia for FREE

How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2019 in New Zealand FREE

How to watch the 2019 Rugby World Cup: US live stream 

  • Hulu with Live TV $40 per month - Hulu with Live TV includes CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN.
  • FuboTV $35 for the first month - FuboTV gives you the first month at a discounted rate but after that the price increases to $45 a month. The service includes CBS, Fox, NBC and the NFL Network but does not come with ESPN.
  • DirecTV Now $50 per month - DirecTV Now includes CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN and for $5 extra you can add the NFL Network.
  • YouTubeTV $40 per month - YouTubeTV gives you access to CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN.

Divider

Live stream Rugby World Cup 2019 matches in Canada

What is the format of the 2019 Rugby World Cup?

The Rugby World Cup is a twenty-team tournament. Each country begins in one of four pools that each contain five teams. Each team plays one match against each of the other teams in the same pool.

The teams finishing in the top two of each pool advance to the quarter-finals from where the tournament goes into a familiar knockout format.

Who are the favourites for the Rugby World Cup?

While Ireland go into the tournament as the world’s no.1 ranked team, three-time World Cup winners New Zealand are the clear favourites with Betfair.com to once again lift the Webb Ellis Cup in Japan.

What teams are competing in this year's Rugby World Cup?

Argentina
Mario Ledesma's side have a decent record to uphold, having advanced to the Rugby World Cup knockout stage four times and finished fourth in 2015. They come into the tournament however on a a losing streak of four defeats on the trot, but those did come at the hands of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

Australia
The second-most successful nation in World Cup history alongside South Africa. All the morale of their emphatic 47-26 win against New Zealand in Perth last month has dissipated somewhat after they were crushed 36-0 by the All Blacks in the return fixture in Auckland the following week. 

Canada
An ever-present nation at the World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987, they've only ever progressed beyond the opening round on one occasion. Currently ranked 22 in the world, the Canucks will be targeting a win as minimum against minnows Namibia in Pool B and build from there. 

England
While they may be one of the favourites, England coach Eddie Jones will be anxious to see his side start their campaign on the front foot and quickly eradicate the ghosts of the last World Cup which saw them make an embarrassing pool stage exit while tournament hosts. They come into this year's World Cup on a high following a 57-15 victory over Ireland at Twickenham in the run-up, but question marks persist over the squad's apparent lack of experience. 

Fiji
Traditionally one of the more entertaining teams at the World Cup, despite their much heralded flair, the Flying Fijians have failed to make it out of the pool stage in the preceding last two tournaments. Drawn alongside Australia and Wales this time out, the odds of it being third time lucky for coach John McKee's side this time out aren't high.

France
Three-time runners-up France head to Japan ranked 8th in the world. The emergence of young stars like Antoine Dupont and Demba Bambawill will provide plenty of optimism, but Pool C is arguably the toughest group of the tournament and  Les Bleus will do well to make it through to the next phase.

Georgia
Having reached the last four successive World Cups, the Lelos have steadily improved over the years and will fancy their chances of making their chances of making their way out of the pool phase for the first time. The return of all-time leading try-scorer Mamuka Gorgodze to the fold will come as a welcome boost to morale. 

Ireland
The Irish started the year as strong favourites to win their first World Cup following their Grand Slam winning 2018 Six Nations campaign and an impressive win over the All Blacks. Hopes for Japan, however, have since been tempered, with their humbling against England at Twickenham last month setting alarm bells ringing. Two warm-up wins since against fancied Wales will have regalvanised Joe Schmidt's side, and the starting line-up should be further boosted by the return from injury of Johnny Sexton.

Italy
The Azzurri are putting their faith in youth, with 23 members of their squad having never appeared before at rugby's main event. One of the few old-head's is skipper Sergio Parisse, who will be appearing in a record-equaling fifth World Cup.

Japan
The hosts came agonisingly close to making it past the group stage for the first time back in 2015, missing out despite winning five times. Progressing to the last-eight will be a prerequisite this time out for the team playing on home turf. 

Namibia
The rank outsiders have consistently qualified for the World Cup since 1999, but have never have never won a single match once at the tournament, racking up an unwanted 0-19 win-loss record in the process. Their recent 20-0 loss to Russia indicates that getting off the mark in Japan looks unlikely.

New Zealand
Despite having lost their seemingly perpetual place as the world's no.1 team recently (a spot they had held for a decade), New Zealand haven't lost their standing as the most fancied team to win the 2019 World Cup. A mixed showing during the recent Rugby Championship won't have a put off pundits from backing Steve Hansen's men to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the third time in a row.

Russia
While they may have made it to the Japan thanks to the disqualification of Spain and Belgium for fielding ineligible players, Russia won't be going in to the tournament to make up the numbers. They face the hosts in the 2019 World Cup's opening match and came close to beating Japan back in November last year.

Samoa
Consistent qualifiers for the World Cup, Somoa will be looking to go beyond the quarter-finals for the first time. To pull off that feat they'll need to improve on their recent form which has seen them lose to both the USA and Tonga during last month's Pacific Nations Cup.

Scotland
With the likes of flyhalf Finn Russell and fullback Stuart HoggIn in their roster, the Scots aren't lacking top drawer talent. What they do a have a deficit in is consistency - as exemplified by their two contradictory performances against France last month.

South Africa
Versatility could be the key attribute for two-time champions South Africa this time out. Packed with explosive pace from the likes of Cheslin Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi, the Springboks also have a kicking game that is the envy of most rivals. In Rassie Erasmus they also have the best named coach in the tournament. 

Tonga
With a squad littered with talented players plying their trade in New Zealand, Australia, England and France, coach Toutai Kefu will be out to finally get his side into the knockout stages for the first time. Having notched up creditable eight wins in their last 21 Test matches, its a goal that looks eminently achievable.

Uruguay
A kind draw with winnable opening matches against Fiji and Georgia gives the South American side a fighting chance of making through to the last eight for the first time. 

USA 
Ranked 13th in the world, there were mixed fortunes for the USA in the recent Pacific Nations Cup which saw them stutter to a win against Samoa, thrash Canada, but get thumped against Japan. They've never won more than one game at a World Cup, but will likely rectify that during this year's competition.

Wales
The loss to injury of Gareth Anscombe and Taulupe Faletau would be huge blow for most teams, but luckily for coach Warren Gatland, Wales has plenty of strength in depth among the ranks. More concerning will be a dip in form in the run up to Japan which has seen them lose to England and Ireland, a contrast to the 14-game winning streak Wales enjoyed at the start of the year.

2019 Rugby World Cup fixtures

All times in BST

Pool A 

Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Russia, Samoa

Match 1

Japan vs Russia Tokyo Stadium  Friday, September 20 11.45am 

Match 2

Ireland vs Scotland International Stadium Yokohama  Sunday, September 22 8.45am 

Match 3

Russia vs Samoa  Kumagaya Rugby Stadium  Tuesday, September 24 11.15am

Match 4

Japan vs Ireland  Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa  Saturday, September 28 8.15am 

Match 5

Scotland vs Samoa Kobe  Misaki Stadium  Monday, September 30 11.15am 

Match 6

Ireland vs Russia  Kobe Misaki Stadium  Thursday, October 3 11.15am 

Match 7

Japan vs Samoa  City of Toyota Stadium  Saturday, October 5 11.30am 

Match 8

Scotland vs Russia  Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa  Wednesday, October 9 8.15am 

Match 9

Ireland vs Samoa  Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium  Saturday, October 12 11.45am 

Match 10

Japan vs Scotland  International Stadium Yokohama  Sunday, October 13 11.45am 


Pool B 

Match 1

New Zealand vs South Africa International Stadium Yokohama  Saturday, September 21 10.45am 

Match 2

Italy vs Namibia  Hanazono Rugby Stadium  Sunday, September 22 6.15am 

Match 3

Italy vs Canada  Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium  Thursday, September 26 8.45am

Match 4

South Africa vs Namibia  City of Toyota Stadium  Saturday, September 28 10.45am 

Match 5

New Zealand vs Canada  Oita Stadium  Wednesday, October 2 11.15am

Match 6

South Africa vs Italy  Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa  Friday, October 4 10.45am

Match 7

New Zealand vs Namibia  Tokyo Stadium  Sunday, October 6 5.45am 

Match 8

South Africa vs Canada  Kobe Misaki Stadium  Tuesday, October 8 11.15am

Match 9

New Zealand vs Italy  City of Toyota Stadium  Saturday, October 12 5.45am 

Match 10

Namibia vs Canada  Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium  Sunday, October 13 4.15am 


Pool C

Match 1

France vs Argentina  Tokyo Stadium  Saturday, September 21 8.15am 

Match 2

England vs Tonga Sapporo Dome  Sunday, September 22 11.15am 

Match 3

England vs USA  Kobe Misaki Stadium  Thursday, September 26 11.45am 

Match 4

Argentina vs Tonga  Hanazono Rugby Stadium  Saturday, September 28 5.45am 

Match 5

France vs USA  Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium  Wednesday, October 2 8.45am

Match 6

England vs Argentina  Tokyo Stadium  Saturday, October 5 9am 

Match 7

France vs Tonga  Kumamoto Stadium  Sunday, October 6 8.45am 

Match 8

Argentina vs USA  Kumagaya Rugby Stadium  Wednesday, October 9 5.45am

Match 9

England vs France  International Stadium Yokohama  Saturday, October 12 9.15am 

Match 10

USA vs Tonga  Hanazono Rugby Stadium  Sunday, October 13 6.45am 


Pool D

Match 1

Australia vs Fiji  Sapporo Dome  Saturday, September 21 5.45am 

Match 2

Wales vs Georgia City of Toyota Stadium  Monday, September 23 11.15am 

Match 3

Fiji vs Uruguay  Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium  Wednesday, September 25 6.15am

Match 4

Georgia vs Uruguay  Kumagaya Rugby Stadium  Sunday, September 29 6.15am 

Match 5

Australia vs Wales  Tokyo Stadium  Sunday, September 29 8.45am 

Match 6

Georgia vs Fiji  Hanazono Rugby Stadium  Thursday, October 3 6.15am

Match 7

Australia vs Uruguay  Oita Stadium  Saturday, October 5 6.15am 

Match 8

Wales vs Fiji  Oita Stadium  Wednesday, October 9 10.45am 

Match 9

Australia vs Georgia  Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa  Friday, October 11 11.15am

Match 10

Wales vs Uruguay  Kumamoto Stadium  Sunday, October 13 9.15am 

KNOCKOUT STAGES

Quarter-Finals
Take place between October 19-20

Semi-Finals
Take place on October 26 and 27 International Stadium Yokohama 

Bronze Final
Tokyo Stadium 
Friday, November 1 10am

The Final
International Stadium Yokohama 
Saturday, November 2 10am

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Four key steps for smarter Wi-Fi

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 09:06 AM PDT

Walk around any office or work environment and you’ll see a huge number of mobile devices. Each person might have multiple devices in their possession or direct use. It wasn’t always like this and now, the growing number of smart devices is making things more complex from the perspective of Wi-Fi troubleshooting. For the sake of the IT team’s workload and the company’s overall bottom line, something must give if businesses want to create and maintain functional Wi-Fi networks in a device-centric era.  

It can often seem like trying to hit a moving target when remediating Wi-Fi network issues. Many wireless problems are ephemeral, disappearing shortly after they arise based on changing user and environmental conditions. Sending techs onsite to reproduce the problem can be expensive, and often yields lacklustre results as the data needed to reproduce and resolve an issue can be long gone. 

What’s more, many problems attributed to the wireless network could actually be the fault of so many other things, such as an issue with DNS, DHCP or authentication servers.

The benefits of machine learning

Thanks to machine learning and other AI technologies, it is finally possible to address these issues in a seamless and scalable manner. You’ll be able to spot causes of problems more easily, predict problems before they happen, and also set, monitor and enforce user service levels. That’s all thanks to AI-driven WLANs, delivering a better wireless experience for IT administrators, which translates to an amazing Wi-Fi experience for mobile users.

There are four key components to building an AI engine for a WLAN: data, structure and classify, data science and insight. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Start with the right data

You can’t expect a strong AI engine if you don’t have the right raw ingredient – good data. That’s what is initially gathered from the network, applications, devices and users so it needs to be of high quality. And if you want to result in the best insights, you need data in abundance from the various points within the IT ecosystem. 

Indeed, good data doesn’t grow on trees, you need to know where to look and how to gather it. When we’re talking about wireless networks the best way is to design purpose-built access points that collect pre- and post-connection states from every wireless device. The information, or metadata, from these access points is sent to the cloud, where the AI engine can then structure and classify this data.

Structure and classify the metadata

Once your data is in place, at this point the AI engine is able to structure and classify the received metadata through a set of AI primitives. By programming the AI engine with relevant wireless network domain knowledge, this metadata can be classified and analysed effectively by the data science toolbox, in order to deliver insights of value straight into the network.

Apply the data science wizardry

Collected, measured the classified the data? This is where the data science comes into its own. 

As far as the data science goes, there are different flavors to choose from. So, whether you want to deploy supervised and unsupervised machine learning, data mining, deep learning or mutual information, there are options to investigate depending on the needs of the business. 

Take time-series data, for example. This is baselined, and used for anomaly detection. Combine this with event correlation, and you’re more able to effectively understand the origins of issues on the network. Streamlining these techniques with one another helps network administrators reduce to mean-time-to-repair, enhancing end-user satisfaction—and ultimately, saving time and money along the way. 

Use insights to solve problems

When a network is essentially able to heal itself, you’ll wonder why you used to carry out so much manual legwork before. But that’s what you will have once you have all your data science ducks in a row. Completing the AI engine is the virtual assistant that delivers insights to the IT administrator, as well as feeds that insight back into the network itself to automate the correction of issues.

A top priority here is the use of a natural language processor. This will make life easier for the administrators who would otherwise have to hunt through dashboards or common language interpreter commands in order to extract the insights from the AI engine. The upshot of using natural language is that it increases the productivity of IT teams while delivering a better user experience for employees and customers.

Look forwards with data science

By incorporating AI and data science with wireless expertise, it puts an end to manual packet sniffing. When a user is experiencing a network anomaly, the WLAN system can automatically detect it and start capturing packets, a concept known as Dynamic PCAP (dPCAP). This process is akin to going into a time machine because it enables you to see what was going on in the Wi-Fi network and the mobile device when the anomaly was detected. That means you won’t have to send boots on the ground to use sniffers to chase problems that might have already long gone.

This network monitoring technology already exists so it’s high time for businesses to shift from reactive to proactive when it comes to solving problems. When you know a problem is likely to occur, you can act quickly before it is able to cause chaos or downtime in the business. 

Bringing intelligence and insights into the wireless network, however, takes this a step further. Changes can be automated, and made in real-time, empowering Wi-Fi networks to dynamically and autonomously self-optimise for each connection and environment. 

Now more than ever wireless networks are a key cog in the machine for businesses—but with the endless proliferation of new and varied devices, operating systems, and applications, troubleshooting issues can prove challenging. Driving WLANs with artificial intelligence at the core is changing the game though; providing the extra time and resources that today’s organisations need to keep up with today’s connected world.

 

Jeff Aaron is the VP of Marketing at Mist Systems, a Juniper Company.

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The Apple Watch 4 gets a $50 price cut from Amazon

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:59 AM PDT

If you don't want to wait for Black Friday to snag a deal on the best-selling Apple Watch, then you've come to the right place. Amazon has the Series 4 smartwatch on sale for $349. That's a $50 discount and the best price we've found for the smartwatch. If you're interested in a bigger display, Amazon also has the 44mm Apple Watch 4 on sale for $349.97.

The Apple Watch 4 is packed with health and fitness features and now includes a built-in ECG that will notify you when a high or low heart rate is detected. The smartwatch tracks popular workouts and calories burned and offers personalized coaching to keep you motivated. The swimproof smartwatch also features a 30% larger display making it easier to see health stats, messages, and notifications. The Series 4 smartwatch provides an impressive 18-hour battery life and includes basic smartwatch features such as the ability to make calls, send messages and receive notifications.

The recently released Apple Watch 5 currently retails for $384 and offers upgraded location and health features and includes an Always-On Retina display. If these additions don't matter to you, then it's best to stick with the Apple Watch 4 and take advantage of this discount while you can.

Apple Watch 4 deals:

Stay up to date with the latest discounts with our guide to the best Black Friday Apple Watch deals of 2019.

Discover more Apple watch sales with the best cheap Apple Watch prices and deals that are currently available.

You can learn more about series 4 smartwatch with our Apple Watch 4 review.

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Save up to £1,700 with these early Black Friday gaming laptop deals

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:31 AM PDT

Black Friday 2019 and Cyber Monday 2019 are coming soon, and we're already seeing some impressive discounts – such as these brilliant deals on some of the best gaming laptops money can buy right now.

We've found these deals from various retailers - in some cases you can buy with a few clicks, while for others, such as the Dell and Alienware laptops, you'll need to enter a code to get the discount.

If you're in the mood for more bargains, make sure you check out our pick of the best Black Friday laptop deals that have already gone live.

Dell is offering 14% off a load of its gaming laptops, so make sure you visit its site and apply the AW14 code if you want to snag yourself a brilliant deal on some incredible gaming laptops.

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The cheapest Nintendo Switch bundle deals and prices in the October sales 2019

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:23 AM PDT

Nintendo Switch bundles are the most in-demand console deals on the planet right now and we're here to help find the best ones for you. So if you want the console with a game or two, or maybe just on its own so you can shop for them yourself, you'll find all the best Nintendo Switch deals in this guide.

Nintendo also has a new version of the console out now with the Nintendo Switch Lite. This cheaper model doesn't come with a dock or removable controllers and can only be played in handheld mode. We'll show you where to get your Nintendo Switch Lite orders below.

The best Black Friday Nintendo Switch bundle deals

While you can shop current offers below, you can also look forward to discounts during the Black Friday 2019 sale event. To help you find all the top discounts in one place, we've created the ultimate guide to the best Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals. We'll tell you everything you need to know about the November sale, such as when it starts, what prices you can expect, and which retailers are participating.

There's also an updated version of the original Switch being rolled out nowadays too with an improved battery. That's the only change, but prices are generally the same as the older model. The old version model number was HAC-001 and the box featured a lifestyle image with a hand grabbing the console. While the new model number is HAC-001(-01) and the box has an all-red background and no hand.

We're listing all of the best Nintendo Switch sales right here and we're always on the the lookout for the best bundles with extra games, controllers and other accessories so we can share them with you while they're hot. Scroll past the bundles on this page and we'll show you prices on extra Joy-Con and Pro controllers and Nintendo Switch memory cards too. If you want to play online multiplayer and get other benefits like free games you'll want to pick up a Nintendo Switch Online subscription deal too.

US Nintendo Switch bundles are a bit thin on the ground at the moment, but as we get closer to Black Friday we expect that to change. In the UK this week there's more variety, but there's certainly a calm before the deals storm too. You'll find all the cheapest Nintendo Switch bundles from reliable retailers below.

If you're looking for another dose of Nintendo's handheld happiness then maybe you want to consider a cheap 3DS deal too. We have a dedicated page of Nintendo Switch prices for our Australian readers too.

The Nintendo Switch Lite was recently released at just $199.99/£199.99. That's $100/£80 less than the original Switch console. If you want to play games on the TV as well, you should go for the standard Nintendo Switch instead as the Lite is only playable in handheld mode.

The Nintendo Switch Lite comes in multiple colour options. You can pick one up now in turquoise, gray and yellow. There will also be a special edition Zacian & Zamazenta Edition released on November 8 to celebrate the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield. It doesn't come with the game, but doesn't cost anything extra either. If you want to learn more about the console, check out our Nintendo Switch Lite prices and deals guide.

The latest cheap Nintendo Switch deals

Want to know where to buy a Nintendo Switch? Check out our comparison charts and the latest bundle highlights with extra games and accessories below for the best deals. On its own, the MSRP/RRP Nintendo Switch price is $299 in the USA and £279 in the UK, so you don't want to pay more than that unless you're getting some extras.

We've highlighted our picks of the best and cheapest Nintendo Switch bundles below. Just be aware that many game bundles at quieter times of the year don't really offer much of a discount over buying the items separately. We'll steer you clear of console bundles that actively charge you more than the regular combined MSRP (not cool, guys!).

The UK scene for discounted Nintendo Switch deals is quite competitive thanks to the large number of retailers trying to get your business. We usually find a strong selection of bundles every week nowadays, even in those quieter times of year not particularly known for sales. So take a look below for discounts on packages with games, hardware and accessories.

As with any new console we imagine you're wanting to know a bit more about the console before you put any money down. So in addition to finding the best Nintendo Switch bundle deals, we're going to help bring in answers to the burning questions.

Nintendo Switch Joy-con controller deals

What are the Joy-Con controllers?

The Joy-Con controller is actually a pair of controllers that attach to the sides the the Nintendo Switch when not in use or when playing in tablet form away from the TV. When playing the Nintendo Switch on the TV, you can remove them and play with one in each hand. The left hand gets a controller with an analogue stick and d-pad, the right hand handles the one with a second analogue and the usual A, B, X and Y face buttons. Or you and a friend can use one each in multiplayer games with the d-pad doubling up as impromptu face buttons. 

You get a pair with the console, but you might want to buy more to allow extra players to get involved in games like Mario Kart 8, FIFA 19 and many more. Or maybe you just fancy some different colors for your own use.

Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Grip controller

What's the Joy-Con Grip controller?

The Joy-Con Grip is an additional accessory that joins the two Joy-Con controllers together, forming something something a bit more solid for you to hold thanks to the extended handles and plastic block between the two sides. The square dimension form-factor may remind older gamers of the Dreamcast controller, while everyone else will mainly be thinking how it resembles an odd-looking dog face. Nintendo is providing one in the box with the Nintendo Switch, so you won't have to buy one separately. This won't charge your controller though and doesn't have a battery pack.

You won't actually need a Nintendo Switch Pro controller to play any games, so don't feel pressured in to buying one. The Nintendo Switch Pro controller is a more traditional-style pad and launched alongside the Nintendo Switch. Prices aren't cheap though, starting around $69.99/£64.99. There's no sign of a Nintendo Switch Premium Edition console with one included either.

Do I need to buy extra controllers for multiplayer on Nintendo Switch?

Possibly not! Remember how the Joy-Con controller splits in two? Turn them sideways and you get two basic controllers, each with their own analogue stick and face buttons - the d-pad acts as face functions on the left controller. We've seen 2K's NBA series, Snipper Clips, FIFA 19, and Mario Kart being used this way for local multiplayer in both docked and tablet modes. So you get multiplayer functionality straight out of the box with no additional purchase required.

However, if you want to play four-player games, then you're going to need to invest in an extra pair of Joy-Con controllers or some Pro controllers. We'd buy the Joy-Cons as a pair (see our comparison chart above) as you'll save a bit of cash over buying them separately. Better yet, if your friends own a Switch, ask them to bring their controllers to the party!

Super Mario Odyssey deals

This has been one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch so far and an absolute must for Mario and platforming fans. Like Zelda below though, this being a first-party Nintendo title, it's taking forever to go down in price. It's slowly happening though, so we've rounded up the cheapest Super Mario Odyssey prices for you below. If you're not getting this game in a bundle, we'd strongly advise picking it up separately as soon as possible.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild deals

The reviews have heaped huge praise upon this eagerly awaited launch title, making it an essential purchase for any Nintendo Switch buyer. As with any new console, the prices of the big games can be more expensive than usual. We've shopped around for you though and have found the best prices for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch. Take a look below.

With only 32GB of internal storage, you'll be wanting to pick up a cheap memory card or two for your new Nintendo Switch for any digital purchases or the inevitable game-fixing patches. Don't fret though, they're actually surprisingly cheap, with even 64GB ones coming in at under £20/$25.

What memory cards does the Nintendo Switch need? Those will be Micro SD cards also known as, depending on their size, as MicroSDHC (up to 32GB) or MicroSDXC (up to a huge 2TB soon). Nintendo also has their own branded cards, but you'll be paying more just for a label. So for now, we'd take a look at this range of cheap MicroSDXC Nintendo Switch-friendly cards.

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Best smartwatch 2019: the top wearables you can buy today

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:21 AM PDT

A smartwatch is the ultimate smartphone accessory – and plenty are now able to work on their own. The range of smartwatches on the market today can tell the time, of course, but they can also beam important notifications straight to your wrist, track your fitness stats and pay for your morning coffee.

Today's best smartwatch models can perform lots of tricks, like searching the internet with your voice, tracking your location with GPS or even monitoring your heart rate to protect your overall health – with our without pairing to one of the best phones on the market.

Oh, and some of them look absolutely stunning, too. If you're thinking that a smartwatch is a pointlessly geeky accessory, the times have changed - these wearables fit your fashion nearly as well as their analog counterparts. The choices we've ranked below are well-made, powerful and can genuinely make you fitter through some smart nudges.

UPDATE: If you've got your eye on a new smartwatch, then it might be smart to wait until Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals roll around in November 2019 before you part with your cash. Some of the high-end smartwatches might be reduced, especially older versions of recently-update devices, like the Apple Watch Series 3 or 4 – these may not be the latest models, but they're still great smartwatches in their own right.

We've tested the vast majority of the top-end wearables you can buy right now from the Apple Watch to Fitbits to Garmin trackers to Tizen-sporting Samsung watches. There's also Wear OS (you may have known that in its previous incarnation called Android Wear) which is Google's own wearable operating system in the vein of Apple's watchOS - you’ll see it show up in a lot of these devices.

During our review process, we take into account the design, features, battery life, spec, price and more for each smartwatch, rank it against the competition and enter it into the list you'll find below.

Smartwatches come and go from the ranking depending on the rest of the competition at the time, and bear in mind we may see products like the Honor Watch Magic appear in the list after we've tested them properly.

Best smartwatch at a glance:

  1. Samsung Galaxy Watch
  2. Apple Watch 5
  3. Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2
  4. Fossil Sport
  5. TicWatch E2
  6. TicWatch Pro
  7. Fitbit Versa 2
  8. Apple Watch 4
  9. Fitbit Ionic
  10. Apple Watch 3

Our best smartwatch you can buy right now is from Samsung, and instead of opting for the expected Gear S4 name it's called the Galaxy Watch. Following on from the Gear S3 series and the Gear Sport in 2017, the latest Samsung Watch is much improved.

We've tested out the larger 46mm version of the watch and it comes with a phenomenal four day battery life even when you're using it extensively. That's impressive considering a lot of other watches on this list last a day or so from a single charge.

The rotating bezel remains a highlight of navigating around the Tizen OS on the watch, and the interface is one of the easiest to pick up that we've seen on a smartwatch.

Apps available on the watch are more limited than Wear OS or watchOS - two rival smartwatch operating systems - but it still offers the core basics and Samsung had provided a watch that's good at fitness as well as sporting a great design and lots more functionality too.

Read the full Samsung Galaxy Watch review

Apple hasn't taken the top spot in our best smartwatch list, but this is the best device you can get if you own an iPhone. It works seamlessly with Apple's phones, and it's well worth considering if you plan to stick with the iPhone range for at least a few years.

There aren't many huge upgrades over the Apple Watch 4, but the main change is it comes with an always-on display for the first time. That means you won't have to raise the watch to see your key stats, and instead it'll display most of the information you need on a dimmed screen.

The design is similar to the Apple Watch 4 - a look that we loved - so you'll get a larger display than earlier iterations of the device, and it comes in either 40mm or 44mm sizes.

All of the fitness features you'd expect come on this watch, and that includes a variety of top-end features such as the ECG monitor, GPS tracking, impressive heart rate monitoring and more. 

If you're looking for the very best Apple Watch, this is it... it's just not our favorite smartwatch money can buy.

Read the full Apple Watch 5 review

Samsung shrank the best parts of the the Galaxy Watch into this sportier smartwatch that's slimmer, lighter and, arguably, more comfortable - then released a second version months after the first that included a few coveted features, including a rotating digital bezel and LTE version.

Overall, not much has changed - which isn't a bad thing, as it's still a quality smartwatch at a decent price. Galaxy Watch Active 2 features a 1.2-inch 360 x 360 display that is bright and beautiful yet small enough to be strapped around your wrist than a lot of the other devices in this list.

It still comes sporting all of the top-end fitness features you'd expect from Samsung's Tizen watch range, with 39 workout modes, a heart rate and ECG sensor, and health app with stress and sleep monitoring.

While it's still more affordable than the leading Apple Watch, the price was bumped up from the original Watch Active, shrinking its value compared to the competition. It's certainly not a cheap smartwatch, but when compared to the original RRP of the Galaxy Watch you may prefer to opt for this version that's remarkably similar.

Read the full Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 review

Fossil has developed a lot of expertise in the wearable tech space over the last few years, and this has all culminated in the best smartwatch the company has made so far.

The Fossil Sport is a top-end watch with a lower price tag than the two devices above in this list. It features GPS, a lightweight - yet premium - design and at least two days of battery life from a single charge.

Fossil has packed a Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset inside, which is the latest update from Qualcomm that offers a smoother experience than you'll get on a lot of older Wear OS watches.

It doesn't sport any truly unique features, but the overall package of the Fossil Sport may be the best watch for you. That'll especially be the case if you're looking for a fitness watch that comes with Wear OS software and won't look odd on your wrist when you're going about your day.

Read the full Fossil Sport review

One of the cheapest devices on this list, the TicWatch E2 is from a relatively small brand called Mobvoi but it has made a big splash with its latest couple of smartwatches.

The E2 is waterproof, comes with great battery life and it's all available for an affordable price. You probably won't fall in love with the design of this watch - it's not particularly premium - but we like the look considering how much it costs.

For health, the watch comes with built-in GPS, an accurate heart rate sensor and sleep tracking. All of the fitness features you'd expect are here, but make sure you note that it won't be able to do contactless payments as there's no NFC onboard.

Read the full TicWatch E2 review

Don't like the design? There's also the TicWatch S2. That's a remarkably similar watch to the TicWatch E2, but it comes with a slightly more rugged look for adventurers who want a watch that can take a beating. Check this out if you're happy to spend a bit extra.

One of our favorite Wear OS watches is the TicWatch Pro, which you can use with either an iPhone or with your Android phone. You may not have heard of TicWatch before, but the latest from the company it a top-end watch with a unique dual-screen feature.

There are two displays on this watch - one layered on top of the other. On the top is a transparent LCD display that can display the time, your heart rate and more when the battery is low.

Below that is a bright and bold full color OLED screen that will give you all of the benefits of Wear OS. That means you can have a normal smartwatch, which we found would last around two days, and then have the time and some other features still available when your battery is running low. Plus the low power mode also lasts for a whole 30 days too.

In terms of smartwatch features there's GPS, NFC for Google Pay, Bluetooth for listening to music and the top Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset in here running the watch as well. Then there's the price, which undercuts a lot of the other watches on this list.

Read the full TicWatch Pro review

The Fitbit Versa 2 is the latest part-smartwatch-part-fitness tracker from Fitbit, one of the most famous wearable companies about.

The Versa 2 brings a host of upgrades to the original Fitbit Versa, including an always-on display, Alexa integration, and a slightly smaller body.

However if the original Versa wasn't quite right for you, the Versa 2 may not be the best either, as it's still fundamentally the same device, and it lacks some of the trappings of different smartwatches, like GPS functions or offline Spotify.

But for general wearable fans, the Fitbit Versa 2 is a good option, and it's more affordable than some of the other options on this list too.

Read our full Fitbit Versa 2 review

This is remarkably similar to the Apple Watch 5 that we've spoken about above, but it's easy to forget how much of a big change 2018's addition was for the Apple Watch range.

The Series 4 comes with a larger display than preceding smartwatches, and thanks to the release of the Apple Watch 5 it's now much cheaper. It comes in either 40mm or 44mm sizes, and the screen on both of these versions is much larger than you'd get from a lot of other watches.

The most exciting tech here is the fact there's an ECG feature within the heart rate tracker. It can test your heart to see if you're at a high risk of atrial fibrillation, which will allow you to seek help earlier if your health is in danger.

There are tons of fitness features, the latest watchOS onboard and more. Just note that this won't work with an Android phone, so it's only an option for those who have an iPhone.

Read the full Apple Watch 4 review

The Fitbit Ionic was always going to be a tough move for the brand, trying to enter the world of smartwatches from fitness bands.

The effort succeeds in some places: namely fitness, as you might imagine, where you can track all manner of things, from running to weight lifting to swimming. There's also dedicated bodyweight coaching sessions in there, and you can pay for items on the go using Fitbit Pay.

When it first launched, the price was super high and it was a bit too expensive to wholeheartedly recommend. The good news is the price seems to have dropped in recent months so you can get it for at least $70/£70 cheaper than the RRP.

If you're a Fitbit fan looking to do more than you get on an average band, this is a nice option.

Read the full Fitbit Ionic review

What's next? Rumors about a new Ionic are few and far between, but we've put together a guide on what we want to be improved if it releases a Fitbit Ionic 2.

The Apple Watch 3 (or Apple Watch Series 3, if you're picky) was once the very best smartwatch, but it has since been bumped down by the Apple Watch 4 and 5.

The Apple Watch 3 is essentially just the Apple Watch 2 frame with some new innards... but they made a huge difference. The main highlight now is that the price is so low that it's the equivalent of many other popular, affordable smartwatches.

The LTE connection was the headline event at the time of release, although that's not really as useful as some might hope.

It's water-resistant so you can swim with it and you won't have to worry about getting it wet in the rain when you're out for a jog. There's GPS onboard to make running that little bit easier, plus it you can now upgrade to the latest watchOS too.

Read the full Apple Watch 3 review

Photo illustration: TechRadar; Misfit; Mobvoi; Apple; Fitbit; Samsung

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Samsung Galaxy Home speaker: will it ever be released?

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:18 AM PDT

Remember the Samsung Galaxy Home speaker? It's missed yet another release date, leaving the world wondering when exactly we will see the the company's first Bixby-powered smart speaker.

Back in June, Kim Hyun-suk, one of Samsung's co-CEOs and the President of the Consumer Electronics division, told the Korea Herald, that the company is aiming for a "mid-second half of the year" launch.

If that sounds confusing, "other Samsung executives" told the Herald to "expect a Q3 rollout", according to Phone Arena.

Now that Samsung's third financial quarter has come and gone, there's still no sign of the Galaxy Home speaker – and it's not the first time Samsung has missed the deadline with this particular device.

samsung smart speaker

A 2020 release?

The Samsung Galaxy Home was initially slated for an April 2019 release, but as the month came and went, it became clear that the spaceship-looking rival to the Amazon EchoApple HomePod and Google Home wouldn't be landing anytime soon.

Even if the Galaxy Home does arrive in the next few months, we still don't know which territories it will be available in. It was rumored last year that the Bixby-controlled smart speaker would come to "China, Korea, and the US ahead of other markets", but it's unclear whether Samsung will stick to that rollout strategy.

We got a brief first look at the speaker in August 2018, which sports a rather odd shape - like the bulb of a flower resting on three silver pegs that act as a stand. The possibility we'll get to test it fully before the end of the year is looking less and less likely.  

Via The Verge

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Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC confirmed: everything you need to know

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:11 AM PDT

It's happening: Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming to PC? If you're still waiting for the PC release to sample Rockstar's incredible open-world Western game, that wait is almost over.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming to PC on November 5. The news was announced via a tweet from developers Rockstar, which also revealed some of the new features that will be coming when the PC version finally launches.

Red Dead Redemption 2 launched on console back in October 2018, and despite enjoying a huge amount of critical acclaim, as well as launching a Red Dead Online component to keep players coming back for more – not that the epic-sized single-player campaign wasn't enough – play has so far been confined to Xbox One and PS4 console releases.

Committed PC players have been left twiddling their thumbs in the vague hope of a Red Dead Redemption 2 PC port coming down the line, but those playing the waiting game may well be treated to the richest version of the game yet.

While players hungry for a high-spec or 4K experience can opt to play the game on the PS4 Pro or Xbox One X,  there's nothing quite like a souped-up PC rig to bring out the finer details and see what Rockstar's game engine can really do. Rockstar promises "a range of graphical and technical enhancements for increased immersion along with new Bounty Hunting Missions, Gang Hideouts, Weapons and more," for the PC release.

Red Dead Online, the game's online multiplayer component, is also making its way to PC, bang up to date with the latest content "including Frontier Pursuits and the specialist Roles of Bounty Hunter, Trader and Collector for players to progress through and earn unique rewards."

Red Dead Redemption 2 PC release date, deals and launcher

Red Dead Redemption 2 PC edition will launch on November 5, with pre-purchase for the game beginning at 11am  ET on October 9th, exclusively through the Rockstar Games Launcher. Pricing has yet to be revealed. Purchase it using Rockstar's PC games service, and you'll also get to download two of the following games for free:

  • Grand Theft Auto III
  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
  • Grand Theft Auto: San Andrea
  • Bully: Scholarship Edition
  • L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition
  • Max Payne 3: The Complete Edition

The game will also be at the Epic Games store, Greenman Gaming, the Humble Store, GameStop and additional digital retailers starting October 23rd with a pre-order bonus of 25 Gold Bars for Red Dead Online.

However, Rockstar are looking to sweeten the deal on their own platform by knocking $20 off the Special Edition and Ultimate Editions, as well as throwing in pre-purchase bonuses such as the Outlaw Survival Kit, a War House, a Treasure Map, a Cash bonus for the Story Mode and 50 Gold Bars for Red Dead Online.

Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC: the story so far

Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC


Rumors kicked off in mid-October 2018 about a possible Red Dead Redemption 2 PC release, after the online retailer MediaMarkt listed a PC version of the game on its website, with a placeholder date of December 31, 2019. The listing was promptly pulled and that date came and went without any news of a PC release.

Things heated up again after a LinkedIn profile for a Rockstar employee appeared to list credits as a programmer on the PC version of the game – though this, again, was amended after the media attention that it attracted.

Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC

The firmest clues began to appear when Rockstar released a mobile / tablet companion app alongside the new Red Dead game, mainly as a hub for viewing in-game stats, journal entries, and map locations.

Some savvy data-mining, though, contained references to PC-quality graphics settings – shadow quality, grass rendering, and the like – as well as lines explicitly naming PC, such as 'PARAM_companionAutoConnectIpPC' or 'CommandIsPcVersion(void)'. You can see the full list on Rockstar Intel.

There was also a reference to 'Oculus', which can only really refer to VR capability for the game. Given the option to play the entire game in an immersive first-person perspective, virtual reality would be a natural fit – and Red Dead 2 VR would be most at home on a dedicated Oculus or PC-bound headset.

However, things quietened down after that and there had been little news on Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC - until more recently. Twitter user JakoMako51 (via PCGamer),  spotted a line in the Rockstar Social Club's source code that mentions "RDR2_PC_Accomplishments". 

Check out the tweet below:

Red Dead Redemption 2's PC version became even more likely with the emergence of news that Rockstar had (again) successfully secured classification for the game over in Australia.

RDR2 has already been rated for console release, naturally, by the Australian Classification Board, which approves and determines ratings for movies and video games.

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Epson just launched the world’s most portable printer

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 08:09 AM PDT

Epson has introduced a highly portable printer which is the smallest in the world.

This ultra-light device weighs 1.59kg and can fit into your hand luggage or briefcase, and be taken on your travels so you can print wherever you may roam.

The WorkForce WF-110 has a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery which can be charged via USB or mains power. Epson promises long-lasting battery life, with the possibility to add an optional external battery for extra longevity on the go (bringing the weight up to 2.04kg for the printer and additional battery).

Epson WorkForce WF-110

Naturally, as well as connecting via a USB cable, the WF-110 offers wireless connectivity including Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, so it can be easily hooked up to a smartphone or tablet for printing.

The printer also has a 1.4-inch color LCD and a small control panel next to it.

Epson WorkForce WF-110

Print performance

Epson’s compact device is capable of printing documents and borderless 4-inch x 6-inch photos, with a print speed of 6.7 pages per minute for black and white documents, and 3.8 ppm for color (with instant-dry inks).

Additional benefits include voice-activated printing via your digital assistant, with Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri supported.

Epson’s WorkForce WF-110 is on sale now at major retailers in the US (and from Epson direct) priced at $299.99.

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The best Motorola phones of 2019: find the best Moto smartphone for you

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 07:43 AM PDT

Motorola phones, alongside Nokia phones, and certain LG phones, are champions of the budget smartphone market. That means if you're looking for a decent handset that won't break the bank, you're in the right place. 

Motorola's smartphones run the gamut of lower-end price points, but each has impressive features that may convince you to pick one up. The Moto Z handsets can support additional features - including 5G - with Moto Mods; the Moto G range consists of budget devices with certain impressive specs each; and the Motorola One handsets are wacky and interesting in even more novel ways.

Of course, these phones won't compete with the likes of the iPhone 11 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S10, but they won't cost you as much either. They're reliable, with impressive specs for their price tag.

Motorola has a lot of phones, and tends to release a bunch of new ones at the same time, so it can be a little tough getting your head around the products. That's why we've made this list of the best Moto phones to guide your hand.

We also update this list regularly, when Motorola releases a new phone, or when software updates cause the rankings to shift, so keep checking back to see which devices we recommend the most.

We're approaching the time where Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals are coming our way - and we're expecting that a few cases deals might start popping up then. So if you think you're OK to wait and not damage your device, you could save some cash - but if the worst does happen then perhaps bookmark our Black Friday iPhone deals page... it could save you a heap of cash. 

Best Moto phones 2019 at a glance:

  1. Moto Z4
  2. Motorola One Zoom
  3. Motorola One Action
  4. Moto Z3
  5. Moto G7 Plus
  6. Motorola One Vision
  7. Moto G7
  8. Moto Z2 Force
  9. Moto G7 Power

Image credit: TechRadar

The Moto Z4 is a safe move from Motorola - it looks nearly identical to its predecessors, with only minor shifts in size and shape - but that likely arises from the company's decision to keep supporting the Moto Mods, which require phones to keep roughly the same shape. 

Thus, the phone doesn't look like it's changed. Look closer and you'll find some improvements, like an expanded 6.4-inch screen to the edges (around a top notch), an in-screen fingerprint scanner, and the return of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Gone also is the dual 12MP lenses in the rear camera bump; instead, the Moto Z4 follows the midrange (and Google Pixel-like) trend of dropping lenses and using software to make up for it. We found the Moto Z4 took slightly better photos with its lone 48MP rear camera, and similar improvements with its 25MP selfie lens.

The phone is speedy enough, though its performance might drag on over the years: instead of packing an older but still flagship chipset like its predecessor, the Moto Z4 opted for a Snapdragon 675 - a new, but definitively midrange option. This is more speculation - we'll have to see whether this chipset lasts longer than we expect - but the phone's 4GB RAM (only option) isn't promising for longevity either. 

Read our in-depth review: Moto Z4


Lenovo spent 2019 releasing many Motorola One phones, and the highlight of this series is the Motorola One Zoom.

The Motorola One Zoom has a whopping four rear cameras, which is loads for an affordable handset like this. They include a depth sensor, a telephoto lens, and a wide-angle snapper, as well as the main sensor.

Beyond that, there's a decent battery, and a good-looking screen. However, we found there were some sacrifices to be made to keep the price so low, like middling processing power and a design that leaves a little to be desired.

Motorola is a budget and mid-range champion, and this is pure Moto class, with decent specs and a low price.

Read our in-depth Motorola One Zoom review

The Motorola One Action has lots in common with the other Motorola One phones, like its chipset and screen quality, but it has one novel feature that makes it an interesting prospect for phones buyers.

As well as its main and depth sensing cameras on the back of the device, the Motorola One Action has an 'action cam' which is designed for impressive video recording. You can record in landscape while holding the phone in portrait, and the camera is great at picking up video detail: all in all it's a great device for people who take a lot of videos.

On top of that the handset is actually cheaper than lots of other Motorola ones, so you could do a lot worse if you're looking for a device with an intriguing extra feature.

Read our in-depth review: Motorola One Action

best Motorola phones

Image credit: TechRadar

The Moto Z3 is still a solid pick in the Moto line, with a comparable (if not slightly faster) chipset than the Moto Z4. Best of all? It's still the cheapest way to access 5G through the 5G Moto Mod. When this Moto add-on first came out, it made the Moto Z3 the first 5G-capable phone to hit the market in the whole world. 

Of course, there are a lot of caveats to that fact – namely, that the mod is only coming to Verizon in the US, and will only work in that carrier's very limited 5G coverage areas – but it's still an impressive claim for a sub-flagship phone. 

Yes, the phone doesn't have the beastly specs of top-tier flagships – but at half the price, the Moto Z3 boasts impressive value. It sports a Snapdragon 835, which is respectable if dated, and comes in two average if unimpressive versions: 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of space (expandable via microSD to up to 512GB).

That's enough for streaming multimedia and moderate gaming, which look good on the phone's 6-inch (2160 x 1080) AMOLED display. Combine that with basic dual 12MP rear cameras and an 8MP front-facing selfie shooter and you have a good phone sitting somewhere below the OnePlus 6T and lesser-performing midrange phones. The phone's glass back and side-mounted fingerprint scanner are similarly middle-luxe – a good compromise if you want performance at a lower price.

Read our in-depth review: Motorola Moto Z3

best Motorola phones

Image credit: TechRadar

The Motorola Moto G7 Plus is the top performer of the brand's G7 family, which counts four phones this time around. The G7 Plus is the standout model, though it may not reach your region: Motorola confirmed the device isn't coming to the US.

But if you can pick the phone up, you won't be sorry. For sub-midrange price, you'll get a Snapdragon 636-powered phone with a decent 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage (expandable up to 512GB). The phone even has one up on the more powerful Moto Z3 with its 3.5mm headphone jack.

So why the G7 Plus and not, say, an older (but still hefty) Moto Z2 Play? Simple: Android 9 Pie out of the box. That leads us to recommend the phone even over other more powerful Moto phones (like the Moto Z2 Force, which is nearly identical to the Z3), and the G7 Plus has other benefits of a later release date, like speedier Fast Charging and a higher screen-to-body ratio.

Read our in-depth review: Motorola Moto G7 Plus

best Motorola phones

Image credit: TechRadar

No, Motorola One Vision is not inspired by the Queen song, but it is one of the royalty of Moto handsets – its clean and clear Android One operating system (OS) cuts away the bloat and excess of normal Android, and the phone itself has an attractive and clean design.

The Motorola One Vision's 21:9 aspect ratio may be questionable to some, however, as the jury's still out on whether this is the future of smartphones or just an annoying gimmick.

If you're on-board with the phone's unwieldy length, and don't mind its weak specs in a certain few areas, the Motorola One Vision sits at a happily affordable price point and does impress in a few major ways.

Read our in-depth review: Motorola One Vision

best Motorola phones

Image Credit: TechRadar

Why list the Moto G7 here? Sure, it's slightly less powerful than the G7 Plus, but it's also available in more regions (including the US), so we're covering our bases in case you don't want to pay international shipping on your budget-plus phone.

You don't miss much going for the G7, either: its Snapdragon 632 chip is a bit less powerful, sure, and its frame is plastic instead of aluminum. But the rest of its specs are essentially the same, which means you're getting a phone that's nearly as nice at a discount.

That means 4GB of RAM and 64GB of space, a 6.2-inch LCD display and dual 12MP + 5MP rear shooters/an 8MP front-facing camera for a great price. Plus it comes with Android 9 Pie right out of the box.

Read our in-depth review: Moto G7

best Motorola phones

Image credit: TechRadar

If you're looking for the ultimate Moto value, think about digging back into the reserves. The Moto Z2 Force came out in mid-2017, but it's still a relative powerhouse – and you can find it for a bit cheaper than the newer Moto Z3.

Despite over a year between releases, the Z2 Force packs the same Snapdragon 835 processor as its successor. Its screen is even higher resolution at 2560 x 1440, though its 5.5 inches are smaller than the Z3's display. 

Unfortunately, the Z2 Force shows its age in its chin and top bezels, which are significantly larger than those on phones released today. But if you don't mind not sporting the sleekest phone on the block, the Z2 Force has most of the newest top-tier Moto phone at a lower price.

And it works with Moto Mods -- including, eventually, the Moto Mod 5G, which will expand functionality to the earlier Z2 phones at some point after it's released on April 11.

Read our in-depth review: Moto Z2 Force

best Motorola phones

Image credit: TechRadar

The third phone in the budget Moto G7 line is the G7 Power, which doesn't vary much from the standard G7 – aside from its enormous battery. Yes, for those of you who tire of recharging your phone everyday, here's one with a 5,000mAh battery.

Other phones have reached such heights, but they're either expensive flagships (like the gaming-focused Huawei Mate 20 X) or battery-focused brick-thick novelty items (like the Energizer Power Max P18K). The G7 Power is a much more affordable, sensible and normal-looking phone than others that offer its level of battery capabilities.

Otherwise, the phone is basic but not bottom-tier, with a Snapdragon 632 and either 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (in the US) or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage (elsewhere). Its 6.2-inch LCD screen is large but not terribly impressive (1570 x 720px). But in combination with the giant battery and an accessible price of $249 / £179 (around AU$330), the Moto G7 Power is a great bargain.

Read our in-depth review: Moto G7 Power review

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How to watch The Apprentice 2019 online for free: stream from UK or abroad

Posted: 04 Oct 2019 07:29 AM PDT

The competition is back and as brutal as ever. Series 15 of this reality business show has arrived and as per, we can expect the businesswomen and men to do whatever they can for that £250,000 and a place in the sun. Not sure where you can get your fix of this dramatic reality series? Keep reading and we'll show you how to watch The Apprentice online - regardless of where in the world you are.

Who will Alan Sugar pick as his new business partner, and who will get fired? All will be revealed during the 12 weeks of cutthroat competition. 


It's business as usual with the 16 contestants for this year's Apprentice, which means explosive boardrooms, fighting over who is in charge and money is the goal. 

For this series, the contestants will be set to several different locations whilst trying to accomplish the business tasks assigned by Alan Sugar. They are already being put to the test - their first task involved organising tours around Cape Town, the aim of course being to make the most money possible. 

As always, the contestants are focused on themselves and their feats, and no one can stand in their way of becoming Alan Sugar's new protégé. And as was already evidenced by the premiere of the series - tensions and emotions are running extremely high.

For those outside the UK, you need not miss out on The Apprentice action as you can still live stream the shows using a VPN service. How to get one of those, and which is best for you, can be found below where it's all laid out simply.

  • Empty list

How to watch The Apprentice online for free in the UK:

To watch The Apprentice all you need to do as a UK resident is get onto the BBC. You also need to have paid your licence fee, but that's the law so we're going to presume you've done that! The final will be aired on BBC One which can be watched via an aerial or the internet. 

To watch the show via internet this is possible live using BBC iPlayer or TVPlayer.com. You can also watch the show after it's aired on catch up using BBC iPlayer which is on a host of devices including smartphones, tablets and smart TVs.

Stream The Apprentice from anywhere else in the world for free:

If you're out of the country or live abroad but still want to watch the final episodes, fret not, it's still possible. You can access the BBC iPlayer via the app or a dedicated TV streaming website as long as you appear to be in the UK. This is possible using a VPN and TVPlayer.com.

Which VPN is best for you? Our fave is ExpressVPN . And how do you use that to access The Apprentice? Read on to find out all you need to know.

Who are the contestants on The Apprentice 2019?

Presenting the 16 wannabe businessmen and women

  • Dean Ahmad, 20, Sports Management Agency Owner
  • Scarlett Allen-Horton, 32, Recruitment Company Owner
  • Jemelin Artigas 34, Network Marketing Consultant,
  • Souleyman Bah, 20, Para Athlete and Motivational Speaker
  • Lewis Ellis, 28, Digital Marketing Project Manager
  • Lubna Farhan, 33, Finance Manager
  • Riyonn Farsad, 30, Events Manager,
  • Shahin Hassan, 36, Chartered Engineer,
  • Pamela Laird, 29, Beauty Brand Owner,
  • Carina Lepore, 30, Artisan Bakery Owner,
  • Lottie Lion, 19, Librarian
  • Ryan-Mark Parsons, 19, Luxury Womenswear Consultant
  • Iasha Masood, 27, Account Manager
  • Kenna Ngoma, 24, Ice Cream Company Owner
  • Thomas Skinner, 28, Pillow Company Owner.
  • Marianne Ralwins, 23, Risk Management Consultancy Owner

Who has already been eliminated?

  • Shahin Hassan, 36, (Chartered Engineer)

Main image courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Who are the RuPaul's Drag Race UK Contestants?

Who are the RuPaul's Drag Race UK Contestants?

Who has already been eliminated?

Who has already been eliminated?

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