Twitter adds a “quality filter” and new notification controls

When it comes to Android apps you can never have too much customization. As much as we appreciate companies like Twitter doing their best to apply AI and machine learning to show us the content they (or the robots) think is most relevant, nothing quite beats a good old on/off switch. So it is with the reasoning behind two new Twitter features: a quality filter and a new notification control that lets you filter out anyone you don't follow.

See also: Best Twitter apps for Android92

Quality filter

First up, the intriguingly named Twitter quality filter. Once enabled, the filter attempts to "improve the quality of Tweets you see by using a variety of signals, such as account origin and behavior. Turning it on filters lower-quality content, like duplicate Tweets or content that appears to be automated, from your notifications and other parts of your Twitter experience."

While obfuscating duplicate tweets or robo-tweets sounds good in theory, it has more than a few folks worrying about their visibility in the Twittersphere. Twitter hasn't specifically explained what constitutes "lower-quality content" yet, so you're only real option is to turn it on and see what happens. Fortunately, the option can be disabled in Twitter's settings.

'Only people I follow'

Onto the notification controls, which are dead simple. Simply hit the settings to either turn on or disable the option. Called 'Only people you follow' it's pretty self-explanatory. By enabling the option you'll only see tweets in your feed from the accounts you actually follow and not other tweets Twitter thinks might interest you. You will also be able to access your notification settings directly from the notifications tab.

The new features are rolling out to everyone in the coming days. Twitter notes on their blog post that the quality filter is still in its early days and will learn over time.

INSTALL TWITTER

What other customization features would you like to see in Twitter?

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HTC 10 now available in red and gold in the US, drops price $100

Despite garnering a fair amount praise when it launched the HTC 10 earlier this year, it didn't take HTC long before its flagship largely fell out of the news. All bout forgotten by much of the Android world, including T-Mobile. HTC hasn't forgotten, however.

Hoping to stir up some new excitement for its flagship, HTC has announced it is adding two new colors for the US market, Camellia Red and Topaz Gold. Additionally, right now HTC is offering $100 off of the HTC 10, bringing its start price down to $599. Keep in mind that the cheaper price tag is a temporary reduction, good until August 31st.

See also: HTC 10 – The Beginner's Guide31

So why did the excitement die down for the HTC 10 in recent months? Some of this can be blamed on marketing, some of it on newer devices like the Samsung Note 7, and even the ZTE Axon 7 has stolen some of HTC's thunder by offering an extremely impressive audio experience. Nonetheless, it's a hell of a phone, and the new discounted price could sway those who felt it was just a tad bit too expensive.

The HTC 10 offers the same kind of specs you'll find with most other recent 2016 flagships, including a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB RAM, and a QHD display. For more details, be sure to check our HTC 10 review.

The new colors and price can only be found directly from HTC's online sales site, though you can pick from unlocked or carrier specific models form there. So what do you think, with new colors and a lower price, is the HTC 10 worth picking up?

Get it from HTC

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Do you live in Pittsburg? Your next Uber ride might be self-driving.

This post was originally published on Charged.io, our new transportation site. Don't miss Everything you need to know about the Tesla Gigafactory and other cool stories!

Self-driving cars are coming sooner than you may realize.

Uber, the hugely valuable startup that is upending on-demand transportation services worldwide, has announced that customers in Pittsburg, PA would get to ride in autonomous cars as soon as this month.

To be clear, self-driving Uber rides won't be picking up customers by themselves. The technology isn't quite there yet, despite the huge amount of resources that automotive and technology giants are pouring into research. An Uber engineer will be in the driver's seat at all times, along with a technician that will monitor the self-driving equipment, which reportedly includes a liquid-cooled computer mounted in the car's trunk. The engineer will be ready to take full control whenever the traffic situation asks for human intervention.

Uber is partnering with Volvo, the Swedish automaker that is known for its focus on driver and passenger safety. Volvo will supply Uber a fleet of 100 modified XC90 SUVs by the end of the year.

In a $300 million deal, the two companies will collaborate to develop the underlying platform for future self-driving cars, though it looks like they won't share their self-driving technology itself.

Volvo, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely of China, has its own self-driving technology in the works.

An "outrageous PR stunt"

Despite Volvo's reputation for safety and Uber's assurance that human overseers will be ready to act at a moment's notice, some critics think that putting customers in unproven autonomous vehicles is a recipe for disaster.

John Simpson of the respected Consumer Reports called the move an "outrageous PR stunt," saying that it's "unconscionable" to involve passengers at this point.

It's a reproach that Tesla's already familiar with. Elon Musk's company has drawn heavy flak for entrusting the life of its customers to the "beta" functionality of its Autopilot assisted-driving system, especially after the recent death of a driver who crashed into a trailer while his Tesla S was driving itself.

Uber drivers should be worried

Back to Uber, CEO Travis Kalanik openly admits that its self-driving system is still in its early days. But the clear goal is to, eventually, replace human drivers completely. "Nobody has set up software that can reliably drive a car safely without a human," Kalanick told Bloomberg. "We are focusing on that." That's probably not good news for Uber's drivers, the million or so "partners" who face the very real prospect of losing their jobs within the next years.

For Uber passengers, the robo-ride won't be too different from any human-powered ride. Customers will hail a ride from the app as normal and self-driving cars will be randomly assigned to them. For now, these rides will be free, though that may change as Uber becomes more adept at replacing human brainpower with silicon-based AI.

Read next: Best electric cars (August 2016)

The Uber-Volvo partnership comes after General Motors struck a deal with Uber-competitor Lyft (and reportedly tried to buy the ride-hailing company) and Ford announced plans to develop autonomous vehicles for ride-hailing applications by 2021.

Would you ride in a self-driving Uber? Let us know your thoughts!

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Corning responds to that worrying Galaxy Note 7 scratch test video

You've likely seen the video: Zack from JerryRigEverything performing his now-familiar durability test on the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Surprisingly, he appears to leave visible scratches on the device's Gorilla Glass 5 with a metal pick that rates a 3 on Mohs scale of hardness – "only one step above plastic," as Zack notes in the video. A new glass from Corning that appears to scratch much more easily than its predecessor is admittedly hot news, but as is often the case, the "scandal" may have gotten blown a little out of proportion.

See also: Galaxy Note 7 teardown reveals another not-easy-to-fix Samsung phone33

For some context, in Zack's previous videos on devices typically using Gorilla Glass 4, it usually takes a 5 or 6 hardness pick before scratches occur. But in the Note 7 video, non-removable marks are visible on the screen from a pick as low as 3. Based on the video evidence, many have jumped to the conclusion that increasing Gorilla Glass 5's shatter-resistance has come at the cost of weakening its scratch resistance. Not being a materials scientist myself, I reached out to Corning for their take on what the video seems to show.

I spoke with two of Corning's senior spokespeople, Jaymon Ameen, Corning's vp of technology, and John Kazansky, Corning's business technical director for Gorilla Glass. For starters, and as you may have already guessed, concerns were raised about the reliability of the test itself.

The test that was conducted in the video is not a bonafide industry test. It's using Mohs hardness picks but it's in an uncontrolled manner.

Ameen noted, "the test that was conducted in the video is obviously not a bonafide industry test. It's using Mohs hardness picks but it's in an uncontrolled manner. We also don't know a whole lot about what loads the person has used. Whether those loads are changing as he goes through the testing."

I argued that Zack has performed this test over 30 times and that even outside a laboratory setting, there must be at least some degree of consistency in his approach and execution. The idea was shut down immediately, with the (apparently obvious) fact that all glass falls between a Mohs hardness of 5-6, something which Kazansky told me "has been validated several times during the development process here at Corning." So a Mohs pick of 3 cannot scratch glass with a hardness of 5 or 6. So far so busted.

A Mohs pick of 3 cannot scratch glass with a hardness of 5 or 6.

So if the Gorilla Glass 5 in the video is indeed a 5 or a 6 on Mohs scale of hardness, what gives? The answer is actually quite simple, and one that probably should have been self-evident. As Ameen explained:

The hardness pick that was used in the video was a 3, that's considerably softer than the glass material. Oftentimes when you have a softer material like that, and depending on what kind of loads you have used, you tend to see material transfer on the test substrate.

Material transfer on the test substrate is not necessarily a scratch but it can appear to the untrained eye as a pretty visible scratch. We don't know whether or not that is what is being seen in the video. Certainly in the testing we've done internally, we don't see that issue at all with similar picks on the Mohs hardness scale.

Kazansky expanded by saying, "We have conducted controlled pick hardness tests on GG5 and we have demonstrated that this material transfer phenomena can occur. It is characteristic of the lower pick hardnesses during the tests." So, if Corning's theory is accurate, what we're likely seeing in the video is actually the metal pick "rubbing off" on the glass material, not the pick scratching the glass.

What we're likely seeing in the video is actually the metal pick "rubbing off" on the glass material, not the pick scratching the glass.

But the video certainly seems to show progressively worse scratches as the pick hardness increases – which would be logical if indeed the pick is scratching the glass. So if what we're seeing is a soft material being transferred onto the glass, shouldn't the effect become less noticeable as the picks become harder? Kazansky explained:

"It's a function of the difference in the hardness of the materials, but in particular the load is very important. So you could have a lower hardness pick with a much higher load and still achieve a condition that would look like a slightly higher hardness pick with a lighter load. It's a combination of pressure and material hardness differences that exist between the pick and the material that's being contacted."

Corning clearly doesn't want to accuse Zack of rigging the results, but something still didn't seem quite right to me. Inverting the hardness and load for a pretty banal scandal seemed all too Machiavellian for a YouTuber. To get everything out in the open, I asked if Gorilla Glass 5 was at least as scratch resistant as Gorilla Glass 4. The response felt a little like it dodged the question.

Gorilla Glass 5 is designed to improve the drop performance and not necessarily designed to improve the scratch performance.

"The glass is designed to improve the drop performance and not necessarily designed to improve the scratch performance," Ameen told me. He went on to say, "When we consider all hardness tests, GG5 is actually harder than GG4. Based on our testing, for scratch performance as well as the hardness testing we do that's widely used in the industry, we believe that GG5 should be performing similarly to GG4."

The use of the word "similarly" struck me. The same word appears on the product information sheet for Gorilla Glass 5. The kind of promotional material that is typically overflowing with percentage increases and quantifiable numbers. Saying "similar" sounded like Gorilla Glass 5 might not be as scratch resistant as its predecessor, so I asked again: is Gorilla Glass 5 at least as scratch resistant as Gorilla Glass 4? The answer: "Yes, that is correct."

Gorilla Glass 5 is at least as scratch resistant as Gorilla Glass 4.

With all hope of an exciting conspiracy seemingly down the gurgler, I asked if Corning could explain the relationship between scratch resistance and shatter-resistance, to allay any fears about one coming at the cost of the other.

I mentioned a comment I had seen "explaining" that the shock absorbency and flexibility of Gorilla Glass 5 means it is softer and thus more prone to surface abrasions. Once again, Kazansky pointed out the seemingly obvious:

"There might be a misconception in the thought process [about shock absorbency and flexibility]. What we've done with GG5 is designed to maximize the damage resistance of the glass itself. What that does is provide additional resistance to the flaws that get introduced during drop events and provide additional retained strength during those drop events so you can have higher drop performance.

That's slightly different than thinking about it from a shock absorbance or flexibility perspective. It's actually more about preventing flaws in glass, which is a brittle material, not about making a soft, shock absorbing material."

The strengthening process achieves greater damage resistance. That's what has contributed to the enhanced drop performance of Gorilla Glass 5."

Ameen continued by saying that "we've just continued down the path of improving damage resistance in the glass. The glass is a new composition that, through the strengthening process, achieves greater damage resistance. That's what has contributed to the enhanced drop performance of GG5."

Feeling thoroughly out-scienced, I asked if the cleaning cloth Zack uses in the video in an attempt to wipe off the "scratches" would be sufficient to remove transferred pick material.

Kazansky sealed the coffin shut: "It can be very, very difficult to remove metallic material transfer from glass. It is very atypical to see in a field return when we look at scratches of glass, that kind of characteristic, but purely visual, perceived damage that is actually a material on top of the surface."

So while there may not be a grand conspiracy after all, if a material deposited on top of your Gorilla Glass 5 looks and feels like a scratch to the untrained eye – which I'm sure we all have – does the fact that it's technically not a scratch matter?

To Corning it obviously does, but to the everyday consumer, a marked up screen is a marked up screen: whether it's from scratches or material transference. So to avoid what may appear to be display glass damage on your phone, buy a case, get a screen protector and please, avoid scratching your new Galaxy Note 7 with a soft metallic pick.

Do you think we're seeing material transference? Will you put a screen protector on your Note 7 just in case?

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Deal: 64 GB Moto X Pure and Moto 360 Sport for $399.99

If you're looking to kit yourself out with the full smartphone and smartwatch combo, then check out this deal on Motorola's Moto X Pure Edition and 360 Sport watch over at B&H Photo. The bundle can be yours for just $399.99, the same price as buying the Moto X Pure Edition from Motorola, but the free smartwatch will save you an extra $299.99.

The phone in the deal comes with 64GB of internal memory, a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM, a 21MP rear camera, and a 5.7-inch QHD display, all of which are still very competitive specs. The Pure Edition is available in your choice of Black, White, or White/Bamboo color options. The Moto 360 Sport comes with a 1.37-inch display and Qi wireless charging, and can be purchased in either White or Flame color options.

This Moto X Pure Edition is the unlocked GSM/CDMA model, so it should work with carriers such as Sprint and T-Mobile. Even so, you should definitely check that the phone is compatible and can be activated with your carrier of choice before buying, so I'll list the 3G and 4G LTE bands below.

• 3G – (HSPA+, UMTS/WCDMA ) MHz: 800, 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100. (CDMA2000, EV-DO ) MHz: 1900
• 4G – (LTE, LTE Advanced ) Bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 41

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Unfortunately, the listing is proving rather popular and it might take B&H Photo a week before it can ship your bundle out to you. But if you can stand the wait, then it's a pretty good deal. Alternatively, you can grab the Moto X Pure Edition on its own starting from just $300 through the Moto Maker website.

Buy from B&H Photo

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Indian smartphone market grows 17% in Q2, Samsung stays ahead

After seeing a decline for two successive quarters, the Indian smartphone market finally recorded a sequential growth of 17.1% in shipments for the April-June quarter, thanks to aggressive device launches and updates by market leaders.

According to IDC's "Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker," India's smartphone shipments for Q2 2016 stood at 27.5 million, up from 23.5 million in Q1 2016. In comparison to Q2 2015, shipments grew marginally by 3.7%, as both global and Indian vendors saw a decline in shipments.

There was good news for Chinese players, as their shipments grew by 28% sequentially, driven by vendors like Vivo, Xiaomi, Lenovo, OPPO, and Gionee. In comparison to Q2 2015, shipments of China-based vendors, including Lenovo, Vivo, and Xioami increased by a huge 75% in Q2 2016.

China's dominance in the India smartphone market is now even more apparent, with three Chinese vendors crossing the 1 million shipment mark in the quarter, a feat that was earlier achieved only by Lenovo. However, Samsung maintained its leadership position with a share of 25.1%, followed by Micromax at No. 2 with a share of 12.9%, and Lenovo at 7.7%.

IDC's report also offered some interesting insights into the behavior of Indian smartphone buyers. For instance, there was an increase of 2.6% Y-o-Y in sales of feature phones in the market to 33.7 million units.  Also, the share of  online sales declined to 28% in Q2 2016 from 35% in Q1 2016, as more online-focused vendors expanded their retail footprint.

The battle in the Indian smartphone market has now shifted to the sub-Rs 10,000 (~$150 price) category, which has always been dominated by local vendors, who are now facing increasing pressure from global and Chinese players. Even in the Rs 20,000 plus (above $300) premium segment, Chinese vendors have grabbed a one-third share of the market.

IDC expects the approaching festive season in India to drive a sequential growth in shipments of both smartphones and feature phones for the third quarter.

Which device are you planning to buy during the festive season? Let us know in the comments below!

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Best Samsung Galaxy Note 7 cases

Samsung took the wraps off of the latest addition to their popular Galaxy Note series a few weeks ago, with the top of the line specifications that we've come to expect from Samsung flagships. The Galaxy Note 7 packs quite a few extras as well, including the return of expandable storage, and the introduction of dust and water resistance, a dual curved edge display, an iris scanner, and a S-Pen with improved features and the ability to use it to take notes under water.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 videos

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The Galaxy Note 7 may be protected from the elements, but it isn't a particularly rugged phone, which means that it is still vulnerable to scratches and dents from accidental bumps and drops. An extra layer of security to keep your device safe is always a good idea, especially when you're paying upwards of $800 for it. Which is why, we've rounded up some of the best protective cases and covers that are currently available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7!

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POETIC Affinity case

The POETIC Affinity is a clear case that is thin and with minimal bulk, and is carefully designed to add the necessary protection to the areas that are the impact points the majority of the time. The case combines a hard polycarbonate shell with soft, shock absorbent TPU that is not only practical, but looks great as well.

The sides feature an anti-slip ridged texture for better grip, and the inside has a ridged stress dissipating pattern to remove the shock and stress dissipating all the way to your device. The buttons are covered, and the case features precise cutouts to allow easy access to the USB Type-C port, headphone jack, and the S-Pen.

It is a clear case that allows you to showcase the design and color of your smartphone, with a touch of color being added with the TPU part, with the options including black, blue, clear, and pink. The POETIC Affinity case is currently priced at $9.95.

Buy now from Amazon

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Ringke Slim

The Ringke Slim is a polycarbonate hard skin cover for the Galaxy Note 7. The case is very thin, and adds practically no bulk to the phone. Unlike other hard shell cases, the Ringke case offers corner to corner cover up front, with a raised lip to keep the display safe when the phone is placed face down, along with a raised bezel around the camera on the back, to negate the camera protrusion.

The case comes with precise cutouts for easy access to the buttons, the USB Type-C port, headphone jack, and S-Pen. The case is available in a slew of color options, including a few semi-transparent options to let the design and color of the phone to shine through. The color choices include frost white, frost gray, frost mint, frost pink, ocean blue coral, royal gold, and SF black. Depending on the color option, the Ringke Slim is currently priced between $7.99 and $9.99.

Buy now from Amazon

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Spigen Neo Hybrid

The Spigen Neo Hybrid case offers dual layer protection, and features TPU casing along with a hard polycarbonate frame, that offers impact protection while maintaining a slim profile. The TPU case is patterned to allow for a better grip on the device, and with the hard bumper shell, the case is MIL-STD 810G certified for impact protection.The raised lip around the front keeps the display scratch free when the phone is placed face down.

You get precise cutouts for access to the headphone jack, charging port, and S-Pen, and the volume rocker and power button are covered. While the TPU casing is black, colour options available for the polycarbonate frame include gunmetal, champagne gold, coral blue, and satin silver, to complement the color version of the phone. Depending on the color variant, the Spigen Neo Hybrid case is currently priced between $14.99 and $16.99.

Buy now from Amazon

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Caseology Envoy

The Caseology Envoy series of cases adds a touch of style to the already good looking Galaxy Note 7, with featuring a premium PU leather on the back. The TPU sleeve is wrapped in leather, and the case also includes a hard polycarbonate shell to help with impact protection. The leather not only looks great, You get precise cutouts for the headphone jack, charging port, and S-Pen, and the volume rocker and power button are covered.

The Envoy cases are available in a variety of colors, including navy blue, green, cherry oak, beige, and carbon fibre black. Depending on the color option, the cases are priced between $14.99 and $16.99.

Buy now from Amazon

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SUPCASE Unicorn Beetle

The SUPCASE Unicorn Beetle case features a polycarbonate shell, along with a soft TPU bumper, for great shock protection. Precise cutouts allow easy access to all ports, while buttons are protected, but easy to press. The case is available in dual colour schemes, with available options including clear/black, black/black, frost/blue, and frost/black. The SUPCASE Unicorn Beetle cases are priced between $10.99 and $15.99, depending on the color option.

Buy now from Amazon

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Spigen Wallet S

The Spigen Wallet S features an exterior that is made from a premium faux leather material, and an interior that is lined with microfiber to protect the screen from scratches. It is sturdy and compact, and comes with folding cover that should protect the device from accidental bumps and scratches. A polycarbonate casing holds the phone firmly in place, and the cover can also be folded into a stand, ideal for media viewing in landscape orientation.

The case also includes three slots for your credit cards or ID, along with a large pocket for cash, and a reversible magnetic strap holds the cover open or closed. Black is the only color option available with the Spigen Wallet S case, which is currently priced at $15.99.

Buy now from Amazon

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POETIC Revolution

The POETIC Revolution with the X-form design is a complete, rugged protection solution for your smartphone. The case is made from polycarbonate and TPU materials, and also comes with a protective front casing with water resistant capabilities. Raised beveled supports on the corner create a cushion to prevent shock and impact.

All ports are also covered by a unique plug design that prevents dust from entering into them, and the sides offer a lot of grip, to help prevent the device from slipping out of your hand. The colors include dual-tone options, with the choices being black, blue/gray, green/gray, pink/gray, and white/gray. The POETIC Revolution case is currently priced at just $9.95.

Buy now from Amazon

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Zizo Bolt

The Zizo Bolt offers everything you'd expect from a rugged smartphone case, including multi-layer protection comprising of a soft shock absorbing TPU and an impact resistant polycarbonate. The case is MIL-STD 810G certified for impact and shock resistance. The case comes with a slew of extra features as well. A lanyard that is included in the packaging clips into the corner of the TPU layer, and also available is a curved edge to edge tempered glass screen protector.

The case comes with a kickstand on the back, and a belt clip holster with 360 degree rotatable swivel. The Zizo Bolt comes in a slew of color options, including black, gold/black, black/red, gray/black, orange/black, red/black, white/gray, black/neon green, and desert tan/camo green, with the first and second colors being the shell and the TPU casing respectively. The Zizo Bolt is currently priced at $17.99.

Buy now from Amazon

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Official Samsung cases

Samsung has a slew of official protective cases and covers available for the Galaxy Note 7, including a slim clear case, the S View Flip Clear cover, the S View Stand cover, and the LED cover. The slim clear case is made of hard plastic, and is a thin and light-weight cover for the Galaxy Note 7.

The S View Flip Clear cover offers full screen access to a variety of features even when the front folio is closed. You can check the time, weather, and other status items, including notifications, and can accept or reject incoming calls without needing to open the front face.

The S View Stand cover on the other hand, features an interactive window up front, but with the same features as the Clear cover above. The new feature of the S View Stand cover, as the name suggests, is that the case now comes with an additional back plate extension, that lets you use the case as a stand to prop up the phone comfortably and easily.

Finally, the LED cover provides a cool new way of accessing your device status and notifications, with LED lights appear on the front of your cover to notify the user of incoming and missed calls or messages, battery life status, volume monitor, current time and more. Gesture controls also give the user the ability to switch notifications by simply swiping across the front cover. In addition, there is a single wallet pocket on the inside of the cover to store up to three cards or cash.

Buy the Samsung Clear case Buy the S-View Flip Clear cover Buy the LED cover Buy the S-View Stand cover

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So, there you have it for this roundup of some of the best protective cases and covers that are currently available for the Samsung Galaxy Note 7!

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