LG’s Korean headquarters is a real-life Wonka factory, and we got the golden ticket
You’ve heard of those facilities where highly guarded trade secrets are kept under lock and key? Where security is fierce, where nobody gets in or out without prior approval, where products are hidden under sheets or disguised to prevent spies from even glimpsing the next generation gear? Well, get ready. Tech titan LG brought Digital Trends along on an exclusive tour of several of those sites halfway around the globe — and we’re opening the doors and bringing you inside with us.
End of the line: Samsung reportedly concludes internal investigation
Earlier this year, Samsung promised to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the Galaxy Note 7’s malfunction and reveal the results to the public, a commitment which it recently reaffirmed. According to a new report, it won’t be long: the company has completed its internal investigation and has sent the report to the Korea Testing Laboratory and the American safety organization UL.
Zuckerberg uses his Morgan Freeman-voiced digital butler in funny new video
Having revealed how he built his AI assistant, dubbed “Jarvis,” Mark Zuckerberg has now shared a set of weird and wonderful new videos showcasing the digital butler in action. The first clip is an often-hilarious introduction to Zuckerberg’s custom-built software that serves as both a demo for its various functions and as a showcase for the Facebook CEO’s frankly awful acting chops. Fortunately, Zuck’s thespian skills (or lack thereof) are played for laughs in the video, which comes across as parody of a consumer tech device ad.
Here’s what the White House has to say about AI and our economic future
According to one recent analysis, it’s only a matter of time before robots and artificial intelligence claim the work of millions of Americans. The World Economic Forum figures more than seven million jobs could be lost to automation by 2020, with around two million gained. That would put over five million people out of work in the next few years.
Time to kill? These are the best movies on Netflix
Netflix offers roughly a gazillion different movies available through its streaming platform — well, approximately a gazillion. While the landmark service might become surprisingly accurate with its suggestions once you’ve been using it for a while, it’s still often tough to find something worth watching amid the trove of terrible choices. That being the case, we’ve taken the time to wade through the ridiculous amount of content to make your holiday binge easier.
LG fills its suitcase with new smartphones for CES 2017 bonanza
LG couldn’t wait to show off the new smartphones it’s going to introduce at CES 2017, the massive technology show taking place in Las Vegas at the beginning of January, and has revealed five of them ahead of time. The official details follow rumors that spread about a variety of new LG smartphones in early December.
This piece of cardboard may help you sleep soundly on long flights
If the PowerSiesta sleeping aid looks like a piece of cardboard with some carefully placed fold lines across it, that’s because it is. The team behind the device aimed at helping people sleep on airplanes has designed it to be sturdy, comfortable, and highly portable, so if it actually works, they could be on to something. With those features at the forefront of this mostly paper rig, and a sales pitch that promises a decent slumber on a long flight, its Puerto Rico-based creators hope the $17 price tag won’t offend.
Is your Android phone’s battery always low? You’re probably using these apps
Now that we’re at the end of the year, you may have noticed that your phone isn’t lasting quite as long as it did when 2016 first began. On Monday, Avast Software released a new report unveiling the most battery- and storage-draining apps for Android. From news to new friends, the functionality of the apps in question span a wide range, but they’re all connected by a penchant for sucking the life out of your battery.
Lucid Motors’ 400-mile Air EV battles Tesla while taking on the luxury elite
Every time an electric luxury car debuts, it’s automatically billed as some sort of “Tesla fighter.” Few actually live up to that moniker, though, at least until now. After weeks of teasing, Lucid Motors (formerly Atieva) finally took the wraps off the Air EV, and the brand did so in Tesla’s backyard of Freemont, California. The reveal event gave us our first unobstructed view of the vehicle in the metal, as well as a list of specs that should be eye-opening to even the most close-minded EV critics.
Graphene’s latest miracle? The ability to detect cancer cells
Graphene turns out to be pretty darn good at cancer detection, thereby hinting at the possibility of a future noninvasive tool for early diagnosis. The work was carried out by scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who placed brain cells (astrocytes) taken from mice onto a graphene sheet, comprising a one-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms, and found that the sheet was able to distinguish between a single cancerous cell (glioblastoma or GMB cell) and a normal cell.
