Bionic vs. The Androids
Apple aggressively touted their new A11 “Bionic” chip when they rolled out the iPhone X last month, and for a while there, it looked like it was the new speed champ in the smartphone arena. Well, not so fast. The folks over at EverythingApplePro on YouTube just pitted the latest iPhone against the new OnePlus 5T Android phone, which we talked about yesterday. Result? We have a new speed champ.
EverythingApplePro ran a slew of head-to head competitions between the phones, including opening a long series of multiple apps, boot-up time, processing video clips, running Photoshop Express, and so on. They also ran technical test apps on each phone to gets actual speed benchmarks, which the iPhone often won, but in real world use, it was pretty clear that it was lagging behind the 5T, which is running the latest version of the Android OS. So what’s going on?
The team over at BGR blames Apple’s still somewhat buggy iOS11 for the second place finish, and hopes that in time, as the OS is refined, the iPhone can regain its speed crown. Both phones are winners in our book, but check out the interesting test video for yourself.
Close, and you actually do get a cigar
Earth just had a sort-of close encounter with an extra-terrestrial – and extra-solar – visitor, and no we don’t mean the kind that likes candy.
We’re talking about asteroid C-2017-U1, which has been given the name Oumuamua, which is Hawaiian for “messenger from afar arriving fast,” which while difficult to say, is fitting, since NASA scientists think it’s the first object humans have detected that looks like it came from outside our solar system. In other words, it ain’t from around here and we don’t know where it came from.
It also cruised by the inner solar system at over 85,000 miles an hour, or about 24 miles per second. According to extensive radar scans and other data, the asteroid is likely solid and about 400 meters or 1,200 feet long by about 120 feet wide – making it roughly the shape of cigar, or an interstellar battle cruiser, depending on your level of conspiracy theorying. NASA said it basically looks nothing like any asteroid they’ve ever observed in our solar system so far.
But, Oumuamua isn’t hanging around to give us a closer look, it’s headed out of our solar system right quick. Find out more about our interstellar visitor.
Giving CES 2018 a lift
We’ve heard quite a bit about drone-type personal transport ideas over the last couple of years, and some have even taken a few test flights, and one new entry, WorkHorse, says they’re going to take their two-seater, called the SureFly, for a spin at this year’s CES.
The SureFly is well-named, as it features redundant safety systems to keep two passengers safe, including emergency battery power for the eight rotors in case the main gas-powered engine fails, ballistic parachutes in case even that backup plan fails, and carbon fiber construction to keep down the overall weight. The SureFly looks like an overgrown Phantom drone, and WorkHorse, which makes a number of electric commercial-service vehicles, says it’ll go 70 miles on a tank of fuel.
The SureFly can hit 4,000 feet and Workhorse says it’s easy to fly and can stay in the air for an hour. We’re looking forward to the test flight. Just one more reason to love CES.
We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.
