The new in the world of technology

Because there isn’t enough madness in the world already,  T-Mobile  has teamed up with Samsung to do an underwater  Galaxy S8  unboxing video surrounded by sharks. The video features T-Mobile Product Manager Desmond “Des” Smith unboxing and  attempting  to provide an overview of the Galaxy S8 while in full scuba gear. Of course, the promo isn’t really concerned with delivering a coherent explanation of the product, but rather showing it off in a high-octane environment. It does, however, manage to effectively highlight one new aspect of the Galaxy S8 — its underwater video recording capabilities. Historically, it has been recommended that even water-resistant smartphones aren’t operated underwater. Sony also released an  underwater unboxing video  for its Xperia Z3, only to later warn users against this. On its “water and dust protection”  support page , Sony states: “Do not use the device to take photos while performing any type of activity underwater, including di

The  Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus , which were announced yesterday, are both great devices. However, they do have their flaws like most smartphones, with one of them being the fingerprint scanner that is strangely positioned next to the camera, instead of below it. This means that the camera lens can easily get smudged, as it is so close to the fingerprint scanner. Samsung is apparently aware of this potential problem and has come up with a solution that might make life just a little bit easier for some. When you open it, the camera app of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will remind you to clean the lens. Yes, that’s right. Once you set up the fingerprint authentication, a note will pop up in the camera app saying “A clean lens makes for better shots. Clean your camera lens to keep taking better pictures.” The note will appear the first time you launch the camera, and will probably show up randomly every now and then to remind you to keep the lens clean. You won’t see it every time yo

Instagram  has rolled out a new update to its app which lets you watch stories  straight from your home feed. When you’re scrolling through it, you’ll now see a colored ring around the profile photos of those you follow if they have a new story for you to check out. Tap on one of these, and you’ll be taken directly to that story. When you’re done, you’ll simply be returned to your previous spot in the home feed. Note that you’ll still be able to tap on the person’s username if you just want to visit their profile, too. This is a subtle but useful addition which should make navigation a smoother and require less flipping between pages. It’s included in Instagram version 10.14 rolling out in the Google Play Store now. If you haven’t yet, be sure to head to the Play Store link below to grab the latest Instagram update. What are your thoughts on Instagram’s recent updates? Give us your thoughts in the comments. DOWNLOAD INSTAGRAM FROM GOOGLE PLAY Recent update

Yesterday, Samsung officially announced the  Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus . Although the devices are not available yet, a few of their wallpapers have already made their way online. If you want to pimp out your smartphone by giving it a slightly new and different look, you might want to consider downloading one of the wallpapers down below. You have three options to choose from. The first one might be more suitable for women, as it’s more or less pink. The second shows a mountain in the background with stars above it, while the third is a beautiful image of snow-covered mountains. If you’re a winter person, this one is probably for you. You can download all three wallpapers down below. To do so, simply right-click on the one you like, save it to your PC, and then transfer it to your smartphone. Things are a little easier if you’re reading this on your mobile device. Just press and hold on the wallpaper you like, download it to your device, set it as your new wallpaper, and you’re

Following  Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked  event yesterday, the company has now uploaded B-roll footage of its new products to its Samsung Newsroom YouTube channel. This includes a total of ten videos, showing off things like the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus’ display and camera, the new Bixby AI assistant, and the updated Gear VR and Gear 360 peripherals. The videos don’t contain any music or audio (with the exception of the Bixby and Gear VR videos where it’s necessary) — these aren’t highly polished marketing materials, but they will give you a dry look at some of the key device features that were announced by Samsung yesterday. You can check out the  playlist on YouTube here , or if you want something a bit more detailed, you can find all of our  Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus  articles at the link — we’ve covered all of the products from the YouTube videos along the way.

The mobile app market will continue to expand in 2017 and beyond, according to a new report from the research firm App Annie. In fact, the firm has predicted that total worldwide annual revenue from Android apps will surpass those from iOS apps for the first time in 2017. There’s a big “but…” in App Annie’s report. The predicted revenue from Android apps also includes ones that are downloaded from third-party stores, especially ones in China that are operated by Tencent, Baidu, Xiaomi, Huawei and others, in addition to revenue from apps in the  Google Play Store . Apple’s iOS App Store is still expected to generate more revenue per device than the Google Play Store though at least 2021, according to the report. App Annie predicts that in that year, revenues from the iOS App Store will reach $60 billion. The Google Play Store is predicted to bring in $42 billion in revenue for that year, and Android third-party app stores stores are expected to generate $36 billion. The five big

When the  Google Pixel and Pixel XL  smartphones launched in October, they also came with the  Pixel Launcher . It did away with the traditional Google search bar, and instead presented owners with a redesigned Google “pill” widget on the left and a weather and date widget on the right. Now, there’s word that a new version of the Pixel Launcher has started appearing on some Pixel phones, and it seems to be going back to its roots. The new look of the Pixel Launcher, as first reported by  Android Police , ditches the weather and date widget and turns the Google widget into a full search bar again that  extends to most of the display. There’s no word as to why Google is making this change, but if we were to speculate, we would guess that many users prefer seeing the simple search bar on top compared to the somewhat more complicated design it originally had. If you own a Pixel phone and want to get the new Launcher design immediately, you can do so by clearing the data in the app. B

If you decide to get the  Samsung Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus , you may have expected  that the phone would automatically come out of the box and ready to show videos and images on the phone’s full 2,960 x 1,440 resolution. However, that’s not quite true. A look at the fine print on Samsung’s website shows that out of the box, the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus will have FullHD+ display settings as its default, or 2,22 0 x1,080 resolution. However, it should be a pretty simple matter to go into the phone’s settings and switch over to the full WQHD+ resolution so you can get the full effect. You can also go down to the phone’s lower HD+ settings if you want, which will bring the resolution down to 1480 x 720. Keep in mind that the higher the resolution goes, the more battery use the Galaxy S8 will likely generate. The smaller 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 will have a 570 ppi (pixels per inch) measurement, while the larger 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus will actually be lower at 529 ppi. Samsung stated dur

The Insta360 Nano and Insta360 Air cameras, which are designed to be clipped onto the top of Android smartphones and the iPhone, have added a way to take 360-degree photos and video and upload them directly to Facebook Live. The new feature will come via an app update for the Insta360 Nano and Insta360 Air. Once that update is installed, the app will be able to choose to go live on Facebook directly from the camera interface. Insta360 users can go live on their Facebook timelines, groups and Pages. While consumers will be able to use this feature, the addition of support for Pages will allow businesses to also upload live streaming 360 videos on Facebook via the Insta360 cameras. After a Facebook Live streaming event has started, on-screen indicators in the Air and Nano apps will let those users see how many viewers are tuning in, and they will also be able to watch “Likes” and other reactions update in real time. They can also see and interact with live comments from their vie

A few days ago, we reported one  unofficial feature in Google Maps 9.49 beta  that allowed you to manually save your parking location for future reference. Unlike Google's automatic parking saving that guesses the location based on where you approximately stopped driving and surfaces the info in your Feed, this one was a more manual and more accurate way of pinning down your parking spot. It also let you add notes, set a time limit for metered parkings, and attach photos for your reference. That was saved as a notification you could tap when you had to go back to your car. All of this is so you never risk reliving that episode of Seinfeld. But the option sadly disappeared from Google Maps a few days ago (server-side switch or due to the update to 9.49.1 beta or 9.49.2, I'm not sure) and hasn't been back since. In its place when you tap the blue dot, there's the new location sharing option that went live yesterday. When it was available, saving your parking (le

The Baselworld 2017 watch show is a concentrated look at a glamorous industry steeped in history. Visitors get a glimpse of some astonishing innovation, incredible quality, and truly exciting timepieces. Except they mostly do so with their noses pressed up against glass cases, like school children outside a sweet shop. For some of the world’s best watchmakers, Baselworld’s motto should be “look, but don’t touch,” which coincidentally is exactly the response it has to technology and the rise of the smartwatch. It’s a worryingly archaic approach, but it perfectly illustrates a growing split in the industry — where some watch makers are evolving, adapting, and embracing smart technology while the rest stick with how things have always been done, showing little desire to change. If there was a trend at the show, it’s that watch companies who are embracing technology (or are prepared to in the near future), are more open, more social, and better understand the benefits of engaging wit

Razer remains a dominant force in the world of PC gaming peripherals thanks to its wide-ranging lineup of popular mice, keyboards, headsets, and mouse pads. If you’re looking to take your gaming to the next level, we’ve handpicked some of the best Razer deals on Amazon right now, including some of our all-time favorite accessories that are currently available for discounts of up to 27 percent off. Razer Firefly Chroma mouse pad Mouse pads are generally treated as an afterthought, but a good one can make a big difference when you’re gaming for extended periods of time. Not only does the  Razer Firefly  look great thanks to its built-in, customizable LEDs, it also features a micro-textured surface for increased comfort and mouse accuracy. The LEDs on the sides and bottom of the Firefly offer a wide array of customized lighting effects and can sync with your other Razer Chroma peripherals to create a brilliant desktop ambiance. Normally $60, the Razer Firefly mouse pad is now  $5