New Study Suggests Our Phone’s ‘Night Mode’ Might Not Be Good For Sleep

In recent years, studies have found that the blue light emitted by the screens of our devices are not conducive to sleep. The studies claim that this disrupts our sleeping patterns which means that even when we sleep, it will not be a restful one. This is why many companies, such as Apple, have introduced features that adjusts the temperature of our displays to counter this problem.

Unfortunately, it seems that these warmer displays might not be as effective as you might think. This is according to a study by researchers at the University of Manchester where it suggests that the yellow tint on our smartphone’s displays that is the result of increasing its color temperature might just be as bad, if not worse.

Lead researcher Dr. Tim Brown says that the whole issue with blue light stemmed from a discovery from 20 years ago that melanopsin, a protein found in the eye, is key in regulating the body clock. Because the protein was found to be better at detecting short-wavelength photons, it is thought that blue light would have a greater effect compared to other colors.

However, the new study, which was conducted on mice, suggests that yellow light is just as bad. In fact, blue light might actually be better because when it is dimmed down, blue light is more relaxing than yellow. That being said, as we mentioned, this study was only conducted on mice so we have no idea if their findings are equally true on humans, although Brown does seem to believe that it is just as applicable.

Image credit – Japanexperterna.se/Flickr

New Study Suggests Our Phone’s ‘Night Mode’ Might Not Be Good For Sleep , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

AirPods Pro Units Are Being Marked Up Like Crazy By Resellers

While Apple’s iPhones are probably the company’s biggest money-maker at the moment, the company could have another hit on their hands in the form of the AirPods, where some analysts have predicted that it could bring in as much as $4 billion every quarter and could surpass the peak iPod sales.

So much so that it doesn’t come as a surprise that they’re selling like hotcakes, especially when we’re this close to Christmas. In fact, it seems that the headphones are so popular that the AirPods Pro model has been sold out. Unfortunately for shoppers, this also means that resellers are taking advantage of this by marking up the price considerably.

According to sightings on platforms like eBay, it seems that some sellers are selling the AirPods Pro for as much as $350. To give you some context, when the AirPods Pro was launched, it was priced at $250, meaning that resellers are marking it up by as much as $100. This is because it seems that the device is so popular that many official retailers and even Apple have run out of stock for it.

Cult of Mac reports that the estimated shipping time on Apple’s website says that it will no longer be shipped out in time for Christmas, and that if you place an order today, it will only arrive next year on the 10th of January. Unfortunately, there’s really not much you can do at the moment, short of you going from store to store and hoping that some of them have the AirPods Pro in stock.

AirPods Pro Units Are Being Marked Up Like Crazy By Resellers , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Warcraft 3: Reforged Will Be Released January 28, 2020

At BlizzCon 2018, Blizzard announced Warcraft 3: Reforged. Warcraft 3 is by no means a new game, but Blizzard decided that they would be revisiting the game and give it a more modern day makeover with higher-res graphics and new textures. From what we can tell, it looks like a brand new game.

For those who missed out on playing Warcraft 3, or for those who would love to walk down memory lane, you’ll be pleased to learn that Blizzard has since announced that Warcraft 3: Reforged will be released on the 28th of January, 2020. This means that we are a little over a month away from being able to play it.

The game itself will not be priced as a full game. Instead, Blizzard has priced it at $29.99 for the standard edition, or if you don’t mind spending a bit more, there is the Spoils of War Edition priced at $39.99. As expected of Blizzard’s digital deluxe games, this version will come with some additional goodies that will also be applicable to Blizzard’s other games such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo 3, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft 2, and StarCraft: Remastered.

If you’re interested in checking it out, it is currently available for pre-order via the Blizzard Shop.

Warcraft 3: Reforged Will Be Released January 28, 2020 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

OnePlus To Unveil A Concept Smartphone At CES 2020

Next year, we expect that OnePlus will have a couple of new phones in the works. This is expected to come in the form of the OnePlus 8 and later in the year, the OnePlus 8T. However, it seems that OnePlus could have at least one more device to show off in the form of a concept handset.

The company has announced that at CES 2020, they will be showing off the OnePlus Concept One handset. This will be a “first in a series” of smartphones from the company, where it will basically show off the tech that OnePlus is working on. Whether or not the phone will be released as a purchasable device remains to be seen.

According to the company, “The name itself, Concept One, is a clear promise that this device is only the first in a series to come and shows OnePlus’ commitment to applied, innovative technology – bringing users an ever smoother, faster, and more “burdenless” experience. The OnePlus Concept One, demonstrates a vision of both new technology and alternate design approach for the future of smartphones.”

CES 2020 will be kicking off on the 7th of January, 2020 so if you’re interested in seeing what OnePlus has up their sleeves, then check back with us then for the details.

OnePlus To Unveil A Concept Smartphone At CES 2020 , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

You Can Now Upload Multiple Photos To Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories allow users to upload one photo per Story. However, if you’re trying to create a collage effect, you would essentially need to create it separately and then upload it where it would basically be treated as a single photo. The problem with this method is that you can’t really make changes once you’ve already created the collage.

The good news is that it looks like Instagram has heard its users and in an announcement on Twitter, Instagram revealed that users can now upload multiple photos to a single Story through the new Layout feature. For those unfamiliar, Layout is an app by Instagram that lets users create collages.

With this announcement, it looks like Instagram has decided to integrate Layout into Stories, similar to how Boomerang is also now part of Instagram (but it still exists as a separate app for those who prefer it that way). Users can now upload anywhere between two to six photos per collage and make edits similar to how they would edit a normal Story, by doodling on it, adding text, emojis, GIFs, and more.

The new feature should already be live for users so check it out if you haven’t done so already.

You Can Now Upload Multiple Photos To Instagram Stories , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Apple’s New Mac Pro Is Crazy Easy To Repair

Image credit – iFixit

A lot of our tech these days feels like they are meant to be replaced and not repaired. This makes financial sense as companies would much rather us buy a brand new product rather than hold onto a product for a long time and constantly repairing it when it gets broken. However, Apple’s new Mac Pro seems to be bucking that trend.

According to a teardown of the computer by the folks over at iFixit, they have rated the new Mac Pro 9 out of 10 in terms of repairability, making it one of Apple’s easiest-to-repair products to date. To a certain extent this doesn’t come as a complete surprise given the modular nature of the computer, where Apple had designed it so that parts could be easily swapped in and out and upgraded when necessary.

Given that this is a $5,000 computer, it seems that Apple understands that realistically, they cannot expect Mac Pro customers to keep shelling out $5,000 (or more) whenever something goes wrong. However, while for the most part the computer is easy to repair, iFixit does have some caveats.

For example, the SSDs are custom-made by Apple and is tied to the T2 security chip. This is good for IT admins and users who are worried about security, but this does complicate things considerably if you’re looking to replace or upgrade it yourself, but other than that, it seems that replacing parts like the processor and the RAM should not be an issue as they are regular socketed components.

Apple’s New Mac Pro Is Crazy Easy To Repair , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Apple Patent Fuels iPhone In-Display Fingerprint Sensor Rumors

With the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, Apple made some design changes to the Touch Bar portion of the laptop, where they added a physical Esc key and also separated Touch ID from the Touch Bar itself. However, one of the changes that wasn’t widely-advertised is how Touch ID on the new MacBook Pro was changed from capacitive to optical.

This has led to speculation that similar tech could eventually find its way back to the iPhone, where Apple might introduce an in-display fingerprint sensor. Now thanks to a recently-discovered patent, it has only fueled those rumors as Apple was granted a patent for an “Electronic device including sequential operation of light source subsets while acquiring biometric image data and related methods”.

The description of the patent reads (in part), “An optical image sensor is carried by the housing under the display. The optical image sensor senses biometric image data associated with a user, such as, for example, data representative of a biometric image of the fingerprint patterns of the user’s finger.”

It has been rumored for a while now that Apple could be looking to bring back Touch ID to the iPhone, and a report from earlier this month suggested that Apple could be working with Qualcomm to use its ultrasonic fingerprint reader for the 2020 iPhone. That being said, nothing has been confirmed yet so take it with a grain of salt, but the rumors and patents all seem to be pointing in that direction.

Apple Patent Fuels iPhone In-Display Fingerprint Sensor Rumors , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

How To Manage Android App Permissions

Android apps come in all shapes and sizes and do all manner of things. As such, depending on the app, it might request for access to certain parts of your phone, whether it be your files, photos, camera, microphone, location, and so on. These are also known as “permissions” and apps, when they’re installed for the first time, usually request for permission.

This also allows users to get an idea of what kind of access an app is trying to gain, where more suspicious apps might request for things that they shouldn’t. That being said, if one day you decide that maybe you don’t want this app to access your location, how do you do that? If you want to figure out how to manage your Android app’s permissions, then check out the steps below.

How To Manage Android App Permissions

Depending on your Android phone, sometimes the layout to access your app’s permissions might be different, but generally speaking, they are in the Settings app.

  1. Launch the Settings app
  2. Go to Apps > Permissions
  3. Select the app you want to change the permissions on
  4. Choose the permissions you want it to have, whether it be access to your phone’s camera, GPS, and so on
  5. Repeat the process above if you want to make further changes to the app’s permissions

That being said, we should warn you that sometimes adjusting an app’s permissions can cause it to function incorrectly. For example, an app like Google Maps that does not have access to your phone’s GPS will not be able to work. Also, apps like Instagram that will need access to your photos and camera will also not function properly if you revoke those permissions.

Sometimes, these permissions can tell if an app is being suspicious. For example, if you just downloaded a calculator app, technically it shouldn’t require you to grant it permission to your location or photos, so if the app asks for that, then you have to ask yourself why does it need it?

This isn’t to say that all apps that request for the odd permissions are bad or suspect, but it could be something to keep an eye out for.

How To Manage Android App Permissions , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

NBC's Peacock streaming service may charge $10 for ad-free viewing

NBCUniversal’s Peacock service might be free for some viewers, but the network also appears willing to charge money for the ad-averse. The Information tipsters claim that NBC is mulling a $10 ad-free tier as well as a $5 plan with limited ads. That…

Gas pumps are scammers’ new big target – and drivers are helpless

Visa has issued a new security alert warning that scammers are targeting gas stations throughout North America in order to steal payment card information. Though gas station pumps have historically been a popular target for scammers seeking credit card information, this latest attack is different and there’s little customers can do to protect themselves: the attackers are installing malware on … Continue reading