The best-sounding true wireless headphones of 2019 - CNET

A lot of people may be looking for cheap true wireless headphones, but if you're looking for something with top-notch sound, this is the list for you.

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When Transport for NSW first introduced the ability to pay for your transit fare using your credit card or phone’s contactless payment functionality, the feature was rather limited.

Initially, it was only available for light rail and ferries, and you wouldn’t receive any of the rewards that you normally would when using your Opal. Now, much of this has changed.

As Transport for NSW has officially partnered with CommBank, passengers paying for their train, light rail, Sydney Metro or ferry fare using contactless payment will receive the same benefits as if they used an Opal card.

This includes off-peak pricing, the transfer discount applied when changing between modes of transport, the half price fares after travelling eight times in a week, and the caps applied to daily, weekly and Sunday trips.

• NSW commuters can now use Samsung Pay on Opal terminals while locked

Although the partnership is with CommBank, this is simply due to the company's key role in Australian contactless payment infrastructure and any format is compatible – including Visa, Mastercard, American Express and smartphone systems.

There are some caveats however – the system only applies to adult fares, so senior and concession commuters will want to keep using their physical Opal cards for the time being. 

While buses don’t yet have access to the feature, they’ll be getting it “soon”, according to the Transport NSW post, so we can expect to all-but ditch our Opal cards by the end of the year.

• Uber's flying taxi will slash your commute by 2023

Uber joins the party

Another win for Sydney commuters comes from the likes of Uber, which has started to roll out a new feature for its ride-sharing app that integrates public transport information as an alternative to get to their destination.

Sydney is the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to see the feature added, and only the fourth in the world following Denver, Boston and London.

When users select their destination using the company’s app, the “Public Transport” option will appear beneath the regular host of Uber offerings, and once selected, it will show real-time transit alternatives including bus, train, ferry and light rail.

Included in the details on offer are the pricing of the whole trip, how long it will take, as well as directions to walk to the nearest station, bus stop or ferry terminal.

Uber is using Australia as a testing ground for a few of its services – passenger drone service Uber Air will be trialled in Melbourne in 2020, and the company has launched ScUber in Queensland to take passengers on a tour of the Great Barrier Reef.

• Uber launches ScUber: an underwater ride-hailing service

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Time to throw that old Discman in the trash, because the legendary alt-metal band Tool has announced that it will finally bring its entire catalog to "all streaming and digital formats" this Friday.

The band took to its official Instagram page to reveal the news, and while there's no mention of specific streaming services, we can assume the music will land on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music Unlimited and more. 

• Apple Music vs Spotify
• Spotify boasts twice as many paid subscribers as Apple Music
• You can now get Apple Music on your Amazon speakers

Tool story bro

The news coincides with another major Tool-related announcement – the band will release Fear Inoculum, its first studio album in 13 years, on August 30, giving fans a little under a month to stream the group's back catalog in anticipation.

One of the last major bands to enter the streaming age, Tool has never even released its music on iTunes – until now, the only legal way to acquire the art rockers' discography was by purchasing it on CD, cassette or vinyl reissue.

With other longtime streaming holdouts like The Beatles and Prince (albeit posthumously) eventually relenting, it's no surprise that Tool would finally give in, especially with a new album on the way.

However, the band's frontman, Maynard James Keenan, insists he isn't responsible for the Tool's long streaming delay, telling one irate fan on Twitter that he was "Squawking at the wrong tool".

• Spotify is quietly testing an Instagram-style Stories feature for artists

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Oppo K3 is all set to go on sale once again today via Amazon. The Chinese smartphone maker will be putting the phone on sale at 12pm (noon).

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The Lion King remake has already beaten the original Lion King at the box office - CNET

Long live the King.

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Realme 3i flash sale is set for today, and it will begin at 12pm (noon) IST on Flipkart and Realme online store.

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Scientists build a 'mini-sun' at a university campus to study solar wind - CNET

It's always sunny in Wisconsin.

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Friends 25th anniversary pop-up lets fans visit Central Perk and more - CNET

Your job's a joke, you're broke, but now you can make like Monica and Rachel this fall.

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Twitter board member Debra Lee to step down - CNET

Lee is the first black woman to serve on Twitter's board of directors.

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Capital One data breach involves 'tens of millions' of credit card applications - CNET

Data stolen also included 120,000 Social Security numbers and 77,000 bank account numbers.

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HBO's Watchmen TV series: Jean Smart playing Silk Spectre, trailer, release date, plot - CNET

Yet another hero from the graphic novel is crossing over to the small screen.

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Streaming services make a hefty number of dollarydoos in Australia, with Netflix boasting 11 million Aussie subscribers according to the latest market research from Roy Morgan. 

However, despite these impressive numbers, the US giant has only poured a small amount of that money back into the local film and television industry, producing only one Australian Netflix Original series (Tidelands, pictured) since its launch in 2015.

• Netflix vs Stan, Foxtel Now and Amazon Prime: Australian streaming services compared
• Netflix to be more selective with big-budget shows
• What's new on Netflix Australia this month

That could all change following a new report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which shed light on the practices of digital platforms and how they conduct business in Australia.

The report, released by treasurer Josh Frydenberg and communications minister Paul Fletcher, puts forward a total of 23 recommendations for increased regulation of digital platforms. 

Following the inquiry, Fletcher appeared on ABC's Insiders program to discuss local content rules that weren't directly addressed in the report, with the communications minister recommending that digital platforms like Netflix, Google and Facebook be held to the same laws and regulations that other media companies are forced to abide by. 

"Clearly, one of the questions is: obligations on free-to-air television networks and on subscription TV for Australian content, does it stack up for Netflix not to have such obligations, those are questions we'll consider," said Fletcher, further stating that the ACCC will "be interested in the feedback of stakeholders."

He continued, "as this report analyses, there's a set of obligations on one set of businesses, serving Australians and providing content, namely traditional free-to-air and pay TV operators. There is no such obligation on Netflix, or indeed on Stan, or others which are also providing content to Australians."

"It raises significant policy questions, those are precisely the kinds of questions that this comprehensive ACCC report [examines]," said Fletcher.

[via The Guardian]

• Netflix Australia’s best TV series: over 60 great shows to stream in 2019

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For many, the Nintendo Switch has a form factor and interface that would make it ideal for running a mobile operating system on and, along with it, the wealth of popular mobile gaming titles. However, it’s fair to assume that Nintendo would not be so keen on this idea.

The Japanese gaming giant is well known for being overly protective of its property and how exactly it’s used, but that hasn’t stopped the enthusiasts over at XDA Developers from releasing a publicly available (and highly unofficial) Android ROM for the portable console.

The firmware is based on the Nvidia Shield TV operating system – LineageOS 15.1, which itself is based on Android 8.1 – and can be used to browse the web, play mobile games, and (theoretically) anything else you could do on a mobile device.

With LineageOS 15.1 installed on your Switch, you’ll be able to use it in both handheld and docked modes, with audio and Joy-Con support in both modes.

• Nintendo Switch vs Nintendo Switch Lite: is bigger really better?
• Nintendo Switch Lite release date, price, games and more

There's a catch...

Naturally, this comes with a pile of caveats too, the foremost of them being that Nintendo obviously doesn’t support this kind of meddling and wouldn’t help you if any kind of issue were to befall your console as a result of the hack.

You’ll also need a Switch console that is able to run the Hekate bootloader, something that might not be possible if you’ve purchased one of the updated consoles after June 2018.

Apart from that, some other listed limitations include poor battery life, a lack of auto-rotation, Joy-Cons not communicating properly with some apps, and various patchy Wi-Fi and docking problems.

While this is certainly a hack reserved for those with some knowhow at this stage (we don’t recommend trying this if you’re inexperienced, for fear of bricking your console), it does mark a significant milestone for cracking open the Nintendo Switch’s full potential.

• Nintendo Switch Online nears 10 million users
• Best Nintendo Switch games: must-have games to play

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Scientists create contact lenses that zoom when you blink twice - CNET

Me: Accidentally blinks twice while driving.

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First there were rumors of Apple not having a 5G-capable handset until 2021, but then just 10 days later, there were whispers of a 5G iPhone arriving in 2020 after all, with the latter becoming possible thanks to Apple finally settling its dispute with chipmaker Qualcomm. 

The latest report from renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, though, suggests that Apple will be embracing the new cellular transmission technology in a big way, with all three of its 2020 iPhone models set to be 5G ready. Kuo had previously predicted that only the premium (and more expensive) 5.4-inch and 6.7-inch iPhones would support 5G.

Kuo's change of heart comes after Apple penned a US$1 billion deal to acquire Intel’s modem business, meaning the Cupertino tech giant “has more resource[s] for developing the 5G iPhone”.

• Everything you need to know about 5G

Jumping off the Qualcomm bandwagon

Apple’s acquisition of Intel’s modem business means the iPhone maker will be able to move away from its dependency on Qualcomm modems and develop its own. However, that will take time and it’s likely Apple will make use of its six-year contract with Qualcomm to get smartphone modems for the 2020 iPhones. Apple-made modems are not expected to be ready until 2021.

Kuo predicts that by 2020, many smartphone shoppers will assume that 5G handsets are the standard. So iPhones, which are generally more expensive than Android alternatives, will have to be 5G-capable to “[win] more subsidies from mobile operators and consumers’ purchase intention”.

Kuo further speculated that the three 2020 iPhone handsets will support both mmWave 5G (as used in the US) and the sub-6GHz spectrum version of 5G (found elsewhere), but that doing so means the handsets will be expensive. It's as yet unclear whether Apple will look into producing 5G iPhones supporting just the sub-6GHz spectrum for the Chinese market, which would help to lower costs.

• The count so far: all the 5G handsets coming our way

[Via MacRumors]

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