Computers will soon outsmart us. Does that make an A.I. rebellion inevitable?
At this point, the question isn’t so much “if” AI will ever surpass humans in terms of thinking abilities, it’s “when.” What happens when we reach that point? Charles J. Simon attempts to answer that question in his upcoming book
A look back at the first Android phone, 10 years later
The T-Mobile G1 was a chunky little slider phone that had poor battery life, but even so, it showed potential thanks to an operating system Google acquired called Android. Ten years later, we look back at the mobile phone that started Android's steady march to dominate the mobile market.
With benefits — and risks — software updates are coming to the car
Automatic over-the-air updates have been happening for years on laptops, phones, even TVs. They remain rare in the automotive industry, partly because companies are afraid of opening the door to hackers. And yet, over-the-air compatibility can make driving safer and more convenient for a number of reasons.
Meet the company resurrecting dead celebrities and digitally cloning living ones
From Star Wars to the MCU, the trend for de-aging or even digitally resurrecting old actors is becoming a major part of Hollywood. Digital Domain is one visual effects company leading the charge. Here's how they create their digital actors -- and what it means for the future of movies.
Can Aibo replace Fido? I fostered Sony’s robot dog for a week to find out
Can a robot dog replace a real dog? I set out to find the answer to that question by “fostering” Aibo, Sony’s robot dog. I came away from the experience with more questions than answers. While robot dogs are not for me, Sony sure did a great job of making just about the cutest artificially intelligent pup there is.
12 lavish TV apartments the show’s characters could never afford
Have you ever been watching TV and asked yourself "How could they afford that place?" If so, this post is for you. These 12 television shows feature apartments in some of the country's most popular cities that, in the real world, the series' characters would never have been able to afford.
What’s the point of a blockchain phone? We asked an expert
We cut through the hype and look at the reasons behind the current wave of blockchain phones, what they can do, and what they might be do in the future. You’ll find out what exactly what a blockchain phone is, how it can handle crypto assets, and who might want to buy one.
Razer’s most basic Blade 15 is the one most gamers should buy
Razer's Blade 15 is an awesome laptop for both gamers, streamers, professionals, and anyone else needing serious go in a slim profile, but its price is out of reach for many games. The new Blade 15 Base solves that problem with few sacrifices, and it's likely the one you should buy.
Where have you bean all my life? I finally found the perfect coffee maker
When her beloved coffee maker died, Digital Trends reviewer Joni Blecher found herself lost and caffeine-less. Blecher then embarked on a yearlong journey looking for the perfect new machine. Find out what she discovered in her quest, and get some tips on how you can pick the best model for your home.
Want the best low-light portraits? The iPhone XR bests the XS, but Pixel 3 reigns
Which phone has the best Portrait Mode? It's the feature that adds a blurred effect behind a subject. We took a look between the new iPhone XR, the Google Pixel 3, and the iPhone XS. Two of these phones have single-lens cameras, so lets see how they fare against a dual-camera setup.
Boxy shuttles, not cars, will be people’s first taste of autonomous vehicles
In smart cities and on college campuses, several self-driving shuttle projects are in works. But these public transports of the future, and the companies that make them, are facing challenges, such as vandalism and regulatory approval. See how they and the communities that support them are working through the hurdles.
‘Red Dead Redemption’ remains a Western frontier that’s worth saddling up for
We traveled back in time to see if Red Dead Redemption still has the same magic it had when it first came out in 2010. We may have found a few tumbleweeds but John Marston’s story is still so good that it left behind a big set of cowboy boots for Red Dead Redemption 2 to fill.
There are too many streaming options, and it’s only getting worse
Streaming services are everywhere, as virtually every entertainment-adjacent company, no matter how minor the connection, tries to create its own Netflix. But with so many services vying for content, competition has never been fiercer -- and in this battle, it’s the viewers who stand to lose the most.
‘Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Heist’ is a brief but exhilarating adventure
Marvel's Spider-Man: The Heist is the first piece of story DLC to the three-part The City That Never Sleeps saga. The dynamic between Spider-Man and Black Cat shines, and the action is heightened from a new enemy type that will punish you if you don't use all of Spidey's moves and gadgets.
What’s it like to die? This VR experience puts doctors in a dying man’s shoes
A new virtual reality experience by LA-based studio Embodied Labs depicts the end-of-life experience for a 66-year-old cancer patient. It is already being used as a teaching tool in hospices and medical schools. But can VR really make us more empathetic? A recent study says yes.
Smartphone makers are vomiting a torrent of new phones, and we’re sick of it
We’ve never seen such an enormous number of smartphones released in a single year as we’ve seen in 2018. Manufacturers like LG and Sony are updating more and more frequently, while Huawei and Motorola have adopted a scattergun approach with countless similar models.
The fastest-charging phone we’ve ever tested has a Lamborghini badge
Lamborghini rarely puts its name on anything that isn't very fast, and the Oppo Find X Lamborghini Edition smartphone is no exception. It's the fastest charging phone we've ever tested, accelerating from zero to 100-percent capacity in just 35 minutes. True, or just marketing? We've test driven the phone to find out.
How VW plans to leave its dirty diesel past behind with its own EV charging network
We sat down with Volkswagen Group of America’s CEO, Hinrich J. Woebcken during the annual Monterey Car Week in California, who explains how the company plans to support its new line of electric vehicles with a factory-backed charging network in collaboration with start-up, Electrify America.
The future of food could make kitchens and grocery stores obsolete
Will kitchens eventually be replaced with vending machines? Will we be 3D printing our food in 20 years? The 2018 Smart Kitchen Summit included a lot of wild predictions about the future of cooking, but the most likely scenario seems to be that people will cook and use technology in different ways.
‘Iron Fist,’ ‘Luke Cage’ cancellations by Netflix spark serious questions
Netflix has canceled its Marvel superhero series Iron Fist and Luke Cage, surprising fans of both series, and igniting a wide range of rumors, fan campaigns, and questions surrounding the future of the two companies' collaborative efforts on Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher.
From electron microscopes to X-rays, high-tech tools expose low-tech art forgery
The Indianapolis Museum of Art has over a million dollars worth of equipment for helping restore art, but conservation scientist Greg Smith and Glennis Rayermann, then a Ph.D student, used it to spot a probable forgery by Icilio Federico Joni.
Budget TVs are finally worth buying, and you can thank Roku
Not all that long ago, budget TVs were only worth looking at if, well, you were on a budget. Thanks to Roku and its platform, not only are budget TVs now a viable option for anyone, they might even be a better buy than more expensive TVs, depending on what you're looking for.
Why are game studios run like sweat shops? The human toll of ‘crunch time’
Crunch has a long history in game development, but after recent revelations of 100-hour work weeks in Red Dead Redemption 2’s development, we spoke with a number of developers about what it’s like to work in crunch culture in the game industry.
Behind the unsettling sci-fi landscapes of Simon Stalenhag’s ‘Electric State’
The narrative artbook follows the journey of a young traveler, Michelle, and her robot, Skip, as they head west to the Pacific coast through an alternative America torn apart by civil war and the trappings of military-grade virtual reality.
Death from above? How we’re preparing for a future filled with weaponized drones
Drones are everywhere. Shooting videos, finding quake survivors, delivering medicine, and performing safety inspections. They’re also causing mayhem and death. We’re going to need a new set of detection and defense technologies to keep our infrastructure, our institutions, and our children safe. This is how we do it.
Volvo plans to face the future without sacrificing its identity
Volvo is embarking on an ambitious push to fill its lineup with electric and hybrid cars, as well as an infotainment partnership with Google. Volvo Americas CEO Anders Gustafsson explains how the Swedish automaker plans to pull that off, and what customers can look forward to over the next few years.
How Vantablack, the darkest material ever, can take gaming to a new level
Vantablack is the world's darkest material, capable of absorbing virtually all of the light that touches it. What's it like to be in a room fully painted in the cutting edge nanomaterial? The makers of one of the year's top video games teamed up with Vantablack's creators to find out.
Make better buds! 7 ways true wireless in-ear headphones need to improve
After years testing virtually every set of true wireless in-ears on the market, we have a number of consistent gripes. From clunky controls to abhorrent battery life, here are our most consistent problems -- and exactly what we hope to see from the next generation of wireless earbuds.
Huawei and Leica’s monochrome lens is dead, so we celebrate its life
The Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro do not have a dedicated monochrome camera lens, unlike the P20 Pro, and various Huawei and Leica phones before it. It's the end of an era, because the monochrome lens was a huge influence, but it's also the start of a new one, as Leica has worked on its replacement.
Adobe’s craziest new tools animate photos, convert recordings to music in a click
Software giant Adobe shared a glimpse behind the scenes at what's next -- and the Creative Cloud future is filled with crazy A.I.-powered tools, moving stills, turning your voice into an instrument, watching an animation react to real-time tweets, and quickly masking a video. Here are the sneak peeks from Adobe Max 2018.
GoPro changed how we watch. Now Jabra wants to change how we listen
Jabra and Red Bull spent two years developing the perfect action microphone, aiming to capture the real sounds of the world's most adventurous athletes without annoying wind or background noise. Learn how the game-changing technology works, and about the unexpected places you may hear it in the future.
Congratulations Palm, you’ve launched the stupidest product of the year
The Palm Palm (2018) is a smartphone to reduce your smartphone usage, or a small smartphone for when you don't want to carry your big smartphone. Palm itself doesn't seem sure which it is; but either way, it's a product that's so witless, we're amazed it was even made.
I’ve seen the 8K TV future, and you should be excited. Here’s why
Samsung set the tech world on fire when it announced it would sell an 85-inch 8K TV in the U.S. along with several 8K screen sizes in Europe. Debates over the validity and value of such a high resolution have continued since, and we're here to settle them.