Oculus disables Gear VR app on Galaxy Note 7 citing ‘customer safety’

Oculus, Samsung's technology partner for VR, has disabled Gear VR support for Galaxy Note 7 devices over customer safety concerns. The Gear VR app, intended for use with Samsung's Gear VR headset and compatible smartphones, received a push update to disable Note 7 use, following numerous reports of the Galaxy Note 7 catching fire.

The news arrives via a Reddit user who uploaded a screenshot to Imgur several hours ago showing an in-app message from Oculus (the screenshot was later verified). The message said:

Customer safety is Oculus' top priority. Oculus is removing support for all Note 7 devices on the Oculus platform. Until further notice, Note 7 devices will not be compatible with the Gear VR. For more information regarding the Note 7, please contact Samsung directly.

This follows a global statement from Samsung yesterday urging the complete shutdown and return of all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.

Some Reddit users have been left disappointed by the disabling of the app, but this seems like a considerate move from Oculus. Samsung's global recall may not have been heeded by every Galaxy Note 7 owner yet and if the device caught fire while in use as VR it could have caused serious damage.

For now, Samsung has not indicated it would move to compensate customers who bought the Gear VR (or any other accessory) to use it specifically with the Galaxy Note 7.

This post was originally published on our sister site, VRSource.com.

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Deal: Save $50 on the Sony Xperia X Compact today

Whether you've got Donald Trump-sized hands or just generally prefer a smaller pocket computer, the Sony Xperia X Compact is one of the better options around right now. An option made even more enticing thanks to a $50 discount today only, courtesy of Amazon.

See also: How to activate the Xperia X Compact fingerprint scanner in the US11

It's a 10% discount off the usual $499.99 price tag, dropping it to $449.99 for today only. The Xperia X Compact packs a 4.6-inch HD IPS LCD display wrapped in Gorilla Glass 4, hexa-core Snapdragon 650 with four cores clocked at 1.4 GHz and two at 1.8 GHz, combined with 3 GB of RAM, a 32 GB ROM and microSD expansion up to 256 GB.

You'll also get Sony's 23 MP f/2.0 main camera and 5 MP front-facing camera, a 2,700 mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 and USB Type-C port and a planned upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat. Sadly, the X Compact skips out on Sony's traditional water-resistance rating, so you won't want to take this puppy in the water with you, but at just 135 grams it's one of the smallest and lightest Android smartphones around.

• Buy black Sony Xperia X Compact from Amazon
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• Buy white Sony Xperia X Compact from Amazon

 

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Report: ZTE likely to launch a Nubia Z11 Mini successor on October 17

China's major smartphone makers are gearing up for a flare of big announcements next week, and ZTE is the latest OEM to send out press invites for an event that the company plans to hold on October 17.

As usual, the press invite is holding back details of what to expect from the event. But it's easy to guess that the occasion is related to Nubia, which means we can expect to see the successor to ZTE's sub-brand Nubia Z11 Mini on Monday.

There's not much information about what specs will be squeezed into the Nubia Z11 Mini successor or what name it will officially adopt. Probably, Nubia Z11 Mini S? We can only guess. It would be safe to assume that its camera  – the main selling point of the Nubia Z11 Mini — will boast powerful specs.

The Nubia Z11 Mini's impressive 16-megapixel camera features a Sony IMX298 sensor, phase detection autofocus capabilities, an f/2.0 aperture lens, and a 3D noise reduction technology that makes the phone great in low light.

It also supports RAW, an uncompressed image format that helps preserve the details captured by the sensor. It only makes sense, then, that ZTE will build upon the imaging features of Nubia Z11 Mini and, perhaps, wedge a dual rear camera into its successor.

See also: Nubia Z11 Mini announced with high-end 16MP camera18

ZTE's event announcement comes hot on the heels of Huawei's press invite confirming the launch of the Honor 6X on October 18 on its home turf. Another Chinese phone maker, Oppo, is expected to take the veil off its R9s phone on October 19 in Shanghai. On that same day, LeEco is set to make its first foray into the US market through an announcement event in California.

So stay tuned for more big announcements from the Chinese phone makers next week!

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Humble Mobile Bundle 21: Sage Solitaire, Goat Simulator, Door Kickers and more

Mobile Games are fun and accessible, but not always cheap. This is why the Humble Mobile Bundle has become such a popular offer, allowing you to set your own price. Humble Mobile Bundle #21 has just gone live and it's offering at least $26 of content for a much lower price.

With the Humble Mobile Bundle you get to pick how much you pay, but there are certain levels of the deal that can only be unlocked by checking out with certain amounts of cash.

Paying at least $1 will unlock the games Westport Independent, _PRISM and Sage Solitaire Premium. Paying $6 or more will also get you Twofold Inc. and Goat Simulator. The last tier is for those who pay over the average, which currently stands just above $5. This last tier will get you Ghosts of Memories, Door Kickers and other titles to be announced soon.

• 15 best Android games
• 15 best free Android games
• 10 best new Android games of August 2016!

Of course, at this point all you have to do is pay $6 to get everything, but keep in mind the average price will continue to go up with time. It might be smart to act soon if you want to get the whole bundle.

As it usually goes, you can pick how much of your money goes to developers, Humble Bundle or charity. Who is signing up?

Sign up for the Humble Mobile Bundle 21

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Pixelation (+1 for bad pun) | Podcast 083

 

Join Joshua Vergara, Jonathan Feist, Joe Hindy, and a returning Nirave Gondhia as they get together for another fun episode of the Android Authority Podcast! In this episode, it's all about the Google Pixel event where we were treated to announcements of the new Google products for 2016. Before getting into the actual devices and announcements, this week's check-in is largely a talk about Craig David, a favorite recording artist of Josh and Nirave, who performed at the UK Google event (basically, Josh's FOMO was real). From there, however, the guys get into the big discussions – Google Wifi kicks off the event talk as Feist gives his thoughts on what could be a good solution for in-home connectivity. Google Home comes up next, and the general thoughts were that Home poses an interesting new direction for Google's robust and somewhat scary Learning Matrix.

Speaking of the Learning Matrix, a happy listener in our forums asked a question that makes the guys ponder if Google's design direction for their products simply masks the fact that Google's services – like Google Assistant – are a bit too smart and somewhat terrifying. Thank you @doandroidsdream. And finally the guys get into a big discussion regarding the Google Pixel phones and why they might be a little divisive for fans of Google's previous hardware endeavors – basically, it comes down to Pixel vs Nexus. See the timecodes below to see, roughly, where these topics all take place in the podcast and enjoy this episode of the Android Authority Podcast!

The Android Authority Podcast – discussing topics in Android every week.

Don't forget to check out what our friends over at VRSource have in store for you in world of all things reality! Recently they were able to bring some wonderful coverage from the Oculus event and you can stay tuned there for more on virtual reality, augmented reality, and so much more!

Rough timecodes:
24:00 – Google WiFi
35:00 – Google Home and Assistant
54:00 – Is Google Assistant terrifying?
68:00 – Google Pixel

Links to Podcast

RSS Feed
iTunes
Stitcher
SoundCloud
Direct Download

Relevant Links

Android Authority Forums
Google Pixel Hands On
Google Home Hands On

Follow our Hosts

Joshua Vergara Twitter | Google+	Joseph Hindy Twitter | Google+
Andrew Grush Twitter | Google+	Jonathan Feist Twitter | Google+
Nirave Gondhia Twitter | Google+	John Dye Twitter | Facebook
Lanh Nguyen Twitter | YouTube	September 2016 giveaways SoundGuys – Beats Solo 3 Wireless giveaway TabTimes – iPhone 7 Plus giveaway VRSource – OnePlus 3 and Loop VR giveaway Charged – DJI Mavic giveaway

Recorded on October 6th, 2016 – Hosted and produced by Joshua Vergara.

"Sexy time."

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It’s Official: Samsung has stopped global Galaxy Note 7 sales

News just in – the Galaxy Note 7 saga could be over, at least for now, as Samsung has now issued a statement confirming it is halting all global sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note 7. In an updated statement to the one from earlier where the company confirmed it had halted production, Samsung said:

"We are working with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to investigate the recently reported cases involving the Galaxy Note7. Because consumers' safety remains our top priority, Samsung will ask all carrier and retail partners globally to stop sales and exchanges of the Galaxy Note7 while the investigation is taking place.

We remain committed to working diligently with the CPSC, carriers and our retail partners to take all necessary steps to resolve the situation. Consumers with an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Galaxy Note7 should power down and take advantage of the remedies available, including a refund at their place of purchase. For more information, consumers should visit http://ift.tt/2cRW8wF or contact 1-844-365-6197."

In particular, the company is recommending that ALL Galaxy Note 7 users should power down and return their phone, which essentially means the Galaxy Note 7 is dead. For the most fleeting of moments, the Galaxy Note 7 looked to be the perfect smartphone but a couple of weeks after its release, the trouble started and the global recall was announced.

One global recall was unprecedented but with trouble also flaring for the replacement units, a second global recall is now in short order. The result = one of the best phones of the year (with one critical flaw) is no more. Goodbye Galaxy Note 7 (and possibly the entire Galaxy Note range), it's been a blast.

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If you have a Galaxy Note 7, we highly recommend following Samsung's advice and returning your Galaxy Note 7 at the earliest opportunity. Once you've done that, there's a few phones you can buy as a replacement – the Galaxy S7 Edge is still a great performer, the Pixel XL is hitting the market next week and of course, there's the dreaded iPhone 7 Plus. For more options, check out these alternatives to the Galaxy Note 7.

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How The Onion and Pixar helped build Google Assistant

When Google Allo launched, many users were a little bit disappointed with what felt like a still in-production experience that lacked some key features. However, pretty much everyone was in agreement that Google Assistant, which was bundled with the messaging platform, was a pretty impressive piece of tech. It turns out that Google has put in a lot of legwork to make their digital assistant as conversational as possible, including pulling in the likes of Pixar and The Onion.

Google believes that the future of our technology will be intrinsically conversational. Their Home product is slated to go head to head with Amazon's Echo, but Google's search and AI tech so far outstrips the A-to-Z online store that this might not even be a contest at all. Furthermore, Google Assistant is already demonstrating itself to be far more personable than Echo's AI Alexa or Apple's Siri.

See also: Google snags Pixar story artist to give Google Home, OK Google personality5

To make this happen, Google sought out employees who were already in the personality game. The search giant conscripted story experts from Pixar to sculpt Assistant into an identifiable personality as well as Onion writers who would know how to give Assistant just the right amount of sass.

As Christopher Mims observed in a report for the Wall Street Journal, human beings are really good at anthropomorphizing. We'll assign human characteristics to non-human entities even if none actually exist, but that won't cut it for the future of technology. True social interaction with our tech will require virtual assistants to be instilled with distinct personalities and the ability to learn and grow in character arcs. Although hopefully not in the way that Microsoft's recent experiment with Tay went down.

What do you think of Google Assistant and Google Home? Will the future of our technology increasingly look like the movie Her? Let us know your forecast in the comments below!

Next: Google Assistant: The top features you should know24

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