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Rabu, 31 Mei 2017

ASUS ZenPad 3s 8.0 hands-on

ASUS hasn't given up on Android tablets — its latest ZenPad looks like a decent metal-clad slate, though you'll need have to contend with the company's typically odd software UI.

Once upon a time it seemed like everyone wanted to release a cheap, small Android tablet. But unspectacular tablet sales — in part fuelled by the rise of larger phones — has cooled enthusiasm for the form factor among device makers. Nevertheless, Taiwanese manufacturer ASUS continues to push out Android tablets; its latest, the ZenPad 8s 8.0, wasn't included in its glitzy Computex press conference, but it was on display on the show floor in Taipei this week.

The physical hardware of ASUS's new ZenPad draws inspiration from the company's Android phones, with a slim (6.9mm) aluminum unibody accented by diamond-cut chamfers. Up top there's a glossy cutout around the camera module — otherwise, it's all-metal, with pleasantly curved side walls.

ASUS knows how to make pretty metal gadgets.

The ZenPad's button setup takes its layout from the ASUS ZenFone line, which is to say it borrows it (vicariously) from Samsung's 2014-2016 Android phones, with capacitive back and recent apps keys flanking a physical home button. The home key was a little stiff on the demo units I played with, perhaps a consequence of the pre-production hardware on show at Computex.

The display itself looks great, though — it's a 2K panel that looks sharp, and provides ample pixel density at a 7.9-inch form factor. The only downside, it seems, is the tablet runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chip as opposedo something with a little more oomph, and UI performance wasn't exactly fluid on the units I played with. The 625 is a fine chip, with an Adreno 510 GPU at its disposal, but it feels out of its depth running a 2K panel.

An Android experience more fitting of a device from 2013.

On top of that, you'll have to deal with ASUS's hodgepodge ZenUI, which is feature-rich, but inconsistent. It manages to copy parts of Samsung's older Android UIs, but overall remains a mess of different visual styles. Combined with the ample lag I experienced, it's not a great look — which is a shame considering how nice the physical hardware is.

(A side note on software: The spec sheet on the show floor lists Android 7.1, however the units themselves were running version 7.0. Make of that what you will; obviously everything's still pre-production here.)

ASUS ZenPad 3s 8.0 specs

Category Specification
Operating System Android 7.1 (currently 7.0)
ZenUI 3.5
Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
RAM 3GB/4GB
Storage 32GB/64GB
Battery 4,680mAh
Main Camera 13MP f/2.0, 5-part lens, LED flash
Front Camera 5MP ASUS PixelMaster
Audio DTS headphone: X 7.1 channel surround
5-magnet dual speaker / Smart Amplifier technology
Display 7.9-inch 2K LCD with ASUS VisualMaster
Chassis 6.9mm aluminum unibody

At least battery life should be solid, with a respectable 4,680mAh cell inside the ZenPad's svelte body. Given the Snapdragon 625's reputation for efficiency, you're likely going to be looking at multiple days between charges, particularly if you're mostly using it for streaming and web browsing.

So the hardware is nice, the software is weird, and on the latter point, ASUS is still its own worst enemy with a bewildering loadout of branded custom technologies and features like VisualMaster and PixelMaster. Hopefully future versions of ZenUI will show more polish and restraint.

The ZenPad 3s 8.0 isn't going to be a major release for ASUS — after all, it didn't even get so much as a mention in the company's Computex press releases. What we have here is another commodity Android slate that'll probably sell for a fairly cheap price, before being largely forgotten. That's a shame, because with the right software and perhaps a little more horsepower, this could've been a promising little gadget.

Samsung updating Gear Fit 2 with new and improved workout features, SOS function

Workout detection and post-workout feedback are getting better on Samsung's fitness wearable.

Samsung has just pushed out an update to the Gear Fit 2 right around a year after launch that makes a few solid upgrades to its tracking — because, after all, that is what it's designed to do. Building on the Gear Fit 2's automatic fitness tracking that auto-starts workouts when it detects certain sustained movement, Samsung says it has improved its ability to detect workouts.

For runners, you can now set custom pace targets for runs or set certain time or distance goals in Samsung Health to let the app build an appropriate workout for you. After your run is done, the Fit 2 will now give you a detailed color-coded graph of how long you spent in each heart rate zone over the duration. You'll also get more accurate information on a map of where you ran, right on the Fit 2's display.

Samsung has also improved its sleep tracking to give more details on how well you slept through the night, and changed activity reminders to give you some options for light activity instead of simply telling you to stand up. Finally, the Gear Fit 2 now has an "SOS" function that can be activated with a triple press of the home button to send your location and a message to specified contacts.

The update is available now through the Gear Manager app on the phone you have paired to the Gear Fit 2. Just visit the "About Gear" section to download the update, which comes in at a 47MB.

How to create playlists in Kodi

Use Kodi playlists to binge your favorite shows or keep the music going at your party.

Kodi is a great way to organize and enjoy all your favorite media in one convenient place. Better yet, it's available on so many different devices, from PCs and Macs, Amazon Fire TV to Android phones and Android TV boxes.

For the sake of this guide, we'll be focusing on Kodi for Android because we're Android Central and that's what we do, so we'll be using touchscreen terminologies (tap, long press etc.), but the steps should be transferrable across all Kodi-supported platforms. For example, a tap will be a left-click on your computer or a press of the select button on your TV box remote, and a long press will be a right-click or a long press of the select button on your remote.

Without further ado, let's dive in!

How to queue content to autoplay

Looking to binge through a whole season of your favorite show or have Kodi autoplay a series of videos like Netflix does? It's easy and doesn't actually require you to go into the playlist menu — we'll get to that later.

You're able to have separate queue playlists going for music and video content. We'll show you how to set one up using video as our example.

  1. Launch Kodi from your home screen or app drawer.
  2. Tap Videos
  3. Tap Files.

  4. Tap the source where you've stored your files. In this example, the media was stored on a microSD card.

  5. Tap on the folder containing the files you want to queue up.

  6. Long press on a video file to reveal the context menu.

  7. Tap Queue item.

This will add that video to your active queue playlist, which lives in the Music section of Kodi. You're able to add entire folders to your queue by following steps 6 and 7 with a folder instead of a file.

How to manage your Queue Playlist

So you've added a whole bunch of awesome stuff to your queue playlist but now you want to remove some repeats and re-order things. Here's how to find and manage your playlist.

  1. Tap Music.
  2. Tap the settings icon. It's in the bottom-right corner and looks like a gear.

  3. Tap Current playlist. This will bring you to your queue playlist and display the order of all the content you've added.

  4. To reorder or remove a file, long press to reveal the Context menu.

  5. Tap Move up, Move down, or Remove

How to save and/or clear your queue playlist

If you want to start from scratch and clear your playlist without removing each file individually…

  1. On the playlist screen, tap the Settings icon, the gear in the bottom-right corner.
  2. Tap save to save the playlist for later (you'll be prompted to give it a name), or clear to clear all items from the playlist.

Saved playlists will be found in the Music section even if they contain videos.

How to create a permanent playlist

The queue content playlist is great if you're just wanting to quickly watch some shows back to back or throw on some music quickly, but if you want to build out some playlists to listen to at work or for a party. Here's how to create your own.

  1. Tap Music.
  2. Tap Playlists.

  3. Tap New playlist.

  4. Tap Files to browse to where your music (or video) files are stored.

  5. Long press on the folder or file you wish to add to the playlist

  6. Tap Add.

  7. When you've added all the songs you desire and you're ready to save, tap the settings icon. It's the gear in the bottom-right corner.

  8. Tap Save playlist. You will then be prompted to give your playlist a name.

You can use that same settings menu to open an existing playlist for editing purposes.

What are "smart playlists"?

Smart playlists use a set of rules to automatically scan your music or video database and create a playlist based on the parameters you set out. To use these you must first use a scraper addon for Kodi to retrieve standardized metadata information for all of your media. This is a great option if you've got a ridiculous amount of music or videos and want to sort them out in different ways, say a music playlist of a specific genre, or a movie playlist of your favorite actor.

Here's some quick info on some reliable scraper addons for movies, music, and tv shows, which include links to their respective repositories:

Sorry, Galaxy S8 users: Bixby voice assistant remains delayed

The Wall Street Journal reports we won't see it until "at least late June."

There are so many features the Samsung Galaxy S8 has going for it; it's almost bezel-less, it has the best display on the market, and it's a wondrous performer. But one thing it does not have going for it is its own virtual assistant. It's been two months since the launch of Samsung's big phone release and there's still no Bixby in sight.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung will miss the "later this spring" window it had originally promised. From the article, which is behind a paywall:

The English-language version of Samsung Electronics Co.'s new voice-activated virtual assistant won't likely debut in the U.S. until at least late June, according to people familiar with the matter, more than two months after the launch of the South Korean tech giant's latest high-end smartphone.

The report states that the reason Bixby is delayed is because the English-speaking version is actually struggling to understand its syntax and grammar. In turn, a Samsung spokeswoman told the WSJ: "Bixby Voice benefits from time to further enhance natural language understanding and we are currently growing our user testing in the U.S. to prepare for launch."

Samsung's Bixby isn't entirely useless at present. You can still use Bixby Vision for quick image recognition in the camera app. Or you can use Hello Bixby as your daily contextual feed. It's highly customizable, and if you prefer to have more immediate hooks into the apps you have installed, Hello Bixby is pretty good at that.

It's unlikely that the delayed Bixby snafu will affect sales of the Galaxy S8 and S8+. The two handsets are worthy sellers in their own right and it's highly doubtful that the record-breaking number of preorders were a result of the addition of a proprietary virtual assistant. Perhaps the only bummer of owning a Galaxy S8 at this point, however, is that there's this extra hardware button that isn't as useful as you'd hope. Fortunately, you can remap that button if you so please with an app, at least until Bixby's full arrival.

You can even set it to launch Google Assistant.

TweetDeck for your browser now lets you verify images via Google

Knowing where Twitter's images come from is a good thing.

With the rampant and almost revolutionary spread of fake things across the internet, TweetDeck has announced it's added a feature that lets you verify the source behind an image before you react.

It's easy to use: hover your mouse pointer over the image in the TweetDeck web app and then click the little magnifying glass icon to jump to a Google Search in another window. Google will fetch results related to that image and verify whether it's an original photo or a copied one.

This is what the search icon looks like on top of a photo when you hover over it with your mouse pointer.

This is what the Google Search page looks like after you ask for verification from TweetDeck.

The feature is not available for your smartphone yet, but it should be since you can view images through the Twitter app, too. It's possible that since the ability was originally announced by Twitter's own account feed, perhaps this is an indication that it's someday meant to be a part of the Twitter mobile app. This sort of feature could be greatly beneficial to those who only view Twitter through an app, or even through Twitter Lite.

You can now buy an unlocked Galaxy S8 in the U.S.

Get an unlocked Galaxy S8 ... for a considerable amount of money.

After a few weeks of pre-orders, Samsung has fully opened sales for the U.S. unlocked versions of the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

Samsung had previously confirmed around the time of the S8's launch in April that it would eventually offer an unlocked model in the U.S., and now we have specific details.

  • Prices are $724.99 and $824.99 for the S8 and S8+, respectively.
  • They're only available in Midnight Black.
  • They will work on AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular and most prepaid carriers.
  • They're available with 0% 24-month financing from Samsung.
  • Samsung is offering up to $350 off when trading in an old Samsung phone.
  • The proper U.S. unlocked model numbers are G950UZKAXAA (GS8) and G955UZKAXAA (GS8+).

Galaxy S8 unlocked

See at Best Buy
See at Samsung

Galaxy S8+ unlocked

See at Best Buy
See at Samsung

While Samsung doesn't have a great track record for keeping its unlocked phones up-to-date, the company has said that it will do better this time around. It's unlikely the carrier and unlocked versions will receive updates at the same time, or the latter with as much frequency, but at least there's hope. And buying the unlocked model does ensure there's no carrier bloatware, which is nice.

Are you planning to pick up an unlocked Galaxy S8? Let us know in the comments below!

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Best Car Chargers for Google Pixel

Keep your Pixel charged while out on the road. Here are our favorite USB-C car chargers.

Updated May 2017: Added the Belkin USB-C car charger as an option.

We've all been there (some of us more than others): You hop in your car ready to rev on the road and then you check your phone — it's dying at a rapid pace! You've barely enough battery life to get to your destination. Well, that's what car chargers are for, and if you've a Google Pixel, this next list should be particularly resonant for you. Here are some of the best car chargers you can buy for your Pixel or Pixel XL.

Belkin

The Belkin car charger with removable 4-foot USB-C cable is consistently suggested as one of the better car chargers for USB-C compatible devices. Make sure that you purchase the 27-watt version, however, which is capable of delivering enough power to rapidly charge your Pixel or Pixel XL. It can power your tablet and Chromebook in the car, too.

See at Amazon

Tronsmart

Tronsmart's car charger with a built-in USB-C cable is easily your best option for keeping your Pixel juiced on the road.

The attached USB-C cable means no need to remember one every time you drive, and the USB Type A port is handy for charging another device at the same time via Quick Charge 2.0 or 3.0. Your Pixel will charge quickly and efficiently, thanks to USB 3.1 and its delivery of 5V at 3A.

If you want a car charger that has exactly what you need to keep your Pixel going, check out the Benson-approved Tronsmart 33W dual USB charger.

See at Amazon

Pleson 3-port

Pleson's charger features two USB Type A ports and a USB-C, so you can charge up to three devices at the same time! The USB-C port is USB 3.1, so your Pixel will charge quickly, giving you a significant charge in about a half-hour.

This charger has built-in safeguards so that your Pixel doesn't fry, with automatic shut-off in case of a power surge, overheating, or an overcurrent.

If you want to charge up your Pixel, as well as a couple other devices while you're on the go, then check out Pleson's 3-port charger.

See at Amazon

Maxboost

Maxboost's 35W charger is another to feature a built-in USB-C cable, so you never have to worry about forgetting yours at home. The other USB port is great for any of your Quick Charge 2.0 devices and charges with up to 18W (12V/1.5A, 9V/2A, 5V/2A).

The handiest part of this charger is its muted light-up ring that shines when plugged in. It's dimmed so as not to distract you while you drive.

This charger comes in black or white, each with a blue LED ring, so you can match it to any color Pixel you have!

See at Amazon

Nekteck

Nekteck is yet another charger that features a built-in USB-C charger, so you need only bring your Pixel when you hit the road — no extra cables needed!

The USB-C cable comes in a straight or curled version, which is handy if you happen to tangle your cables pretty often.

Your Pixel will be charged as quickly as possible, thanks to USB 3.1 and your other devices can be charged through the USB Type A port at up to 2.4A.

See at Amazon

Vinsic

Vinsic's charger features both a USB-C port and a USB Type A port, so you can charge your Pixel and another device at the same time. You'll need to bring cables along, since this charger doesn't have anything built-in.

Your Pixel won't be cooked, thanks to overcurrent, overcharge, and overvoltage protection, and the LED indicator lets you know when the charger is ready to juice up your devices.

See at Amazon


Your picks?

Are you using an awesome USB-C charger that we didn't mention? Let us know in the comments below!

Android Pay is finally available in Canada, several banks are on board

Well, it's about darn time.

Android Pay is finally available up in Canada, coming closely after everyone was informed of its impending launch at Google I/O 2017. Canadians can now install the Android Pay app, add their cards and start paying right away.

Google says over the next few days, banks will be finalizing their support — but all the big names are here, including BMO, Banque Nationale, CIBC, Scotiabank, ATB Financial and more. Interac-branded debit cards will start working next week, and other big players like American Express are slated to arrive "this summer."

It's interesting to see that it took this long for Android Pay to arrive in Canada, as theoretically it has a more favorable market to launch a new contactless payment system. Contactless payments via NFC-enabled credit cards have been the norm in Canada for far longer than the U.S. was thinking about the technology, and its banking system is far more consolidated into a handful of key players rather than the diverse set of hundreds of credit unions down South.

Given the way the market is set up, now that the app is here and the banks are on board, Canadians should be able to pick up Android Pay at a much faster pace considering how many of its stores support NFC already.

But delays aside, Android Pay is now available. Getting Canada on board with the same great phone-based payment technology that has been available in the U.S. is excellent for adoption. If you're in Canada, give the Android Pay app a try!

Oculus launches Chromecast support for Gear VR, opening new viewing possibilities

The VR fun doesn't have to be limited to just the person wearing the headset.

Oculus has announced a nice update that brings Google Cast functionality to Gear VR — meaning you can let anyone see what you're seeing inside your headset on a big screen. All you need is the latest version of the Oculus mobile app and either a Chromecast, Android TV or Cast-ready TV, and you'll be able to share right away.

Cast support adds a crucial sharing element to the VR experience.

Bringing simple one-touch Cast support to a VR experience helps break down one of the main barriers of showing off VR: it's really hard to explain what's going on when you're in the headset, and tough for you to walk a new user through their own VR experience as well. By adding in Cast support, not only can you share your VR world with others in the room, but you could also help a new user get acquainted with the experience.

Interestingly this comes just a few weeks after Google announced that the same Cast feature was arriving for Daydream VR at Google I/O 2017. At the same time Google and Oculus also managed to announce full Daydream compatibility for the new Galaxy S8 and S8+. When Samsung, Oculus and Google get together, great things like this happen.

Does your PlayStation VR need extra cooling fans to avoid overheating?

Heat is part of the deal when you're playing PlayStation 4.

PlayStation 4 delivers tons of great content — from VR experiences to Netflix and Hulu, to its massive library of great games for you to dive into. You might be worried about how hot your system gets when it's in use though, and whether you need to bite the bullet and pick up an additional fan for cooling. While this is a fairly normal reaction, it shouldn't be necessary! We've got the details for you here!

Heat is normal when using PlayStation 4

When you notice heat coming off of your console, it's easy to get pretty worried. After all, many gamers still remember not being able to play certain consoles for more than two or three hours before they started to heat up and affect gameplay. Here's the thing though — when it comes to playing your PlayStation 4, a certain amount of heat is pretty normal.

We mean it's going to be warm, bordering on hot, when you touch it. This is especially true if you're touching around the back of the console where the main exhaust fan is housed. Don't panic, though. So long as your system has adequate room to vent, that heat isn't anything to worry about. Just hot air.

This is a good time to remind that you do want to ensure there's adequate space around your console. Rather than putting it in a cupboard inside of your entertainment center, we suggest leaving it open to the air so that the exhaust fan can do its job properly. The fan in your system is fairly beefy and was designed to ensure that you wouldn't need any additional cooling options, so as long as it is working properly adding additional fans ought to be unnecessary.

How to cut down on excess heat

Now if your system is getting some serious heat, there are a few things you might want to take a look at before you start thinking about ordering an aftermarket fan. Namely, you'll want to consider how long the system has been running, as well as how dusty it's become.

PlayStation 4 is basically covered in vents on the side and back of the console and if these vents get choked up with dust they aren't able to do their job properly. To this end, if you notice your console getting particularly hot then a solid call is to ensure that no vents are obscured by dust.

Clearing out dust or debris from your PS4's vents will help keep things cool.

You can clean them out in about 10 seconds, provided you have a canister of compressed air on hand. All you need to do is use short, controlled bursts with the nozzle pointed towards the vents. This ought to clear out any dust or debris and allow the console to properly vent heat.

If you still notice more heat than usual then you might want to consider how long you've been running your console for. While PlayStation 4 is a pretty hardy console, it still has its limits. If you've been running the console for more than 6-8 hours then you might want to give it a break for an hour or so to return to a normal temperature.

Have you considered an external fan?

While your PlayStation 4 system is going to heat up after you've been playing for a clip, this isn't something that ought to worry you much. So long as the exhaust fan is running, there is no dust blocking the vents, and you've ensured that there is room for the heat to vent off, then you should be in excellent shape. Have you considered picking up an additional fan for your PlayStation 4 console? Let us know about it in the comments below!

These are the best free apps for PlayStation VR

There aren't many out there, but the free apps on Playstation VR are nothing to scoff at.

Sony launched PlayStation VR with a bang, including a ton of amazing games from nearly every genre. If you haven't spent any time lurking through the PlayStation store since setting up your PlayStation VR, then you might not realize that there are a handful of free apps available for download right now. At the moment, the pickings are a bit slim, but that's to be expected since we're only a few short days past launch day. Well, don't worry about searching through the PlayStation store because we've got the details on the best free apps on PlayStation VR.

Read more at VR Heads

The U.S. unlocked HTC U11 doesn't support Verizon's CDMA network, and that's okay

Sometimes you just have to trust that the company selling you a phone has done its homework.

The U11 is arguably the best flagship phone HTC has ever made, and it properly competes with the other great phones released in the first half of 2017. But in coinciding with HTC's general decline in the U.S. market, its partnerships to put phones in carrier stores have dwindled, leaving us with a single carrier "partner" here: Sprint.

That means if you want to use the HTC U11 on any other carrier, you'll have to buy it unlocked — both Amazon and HTC will sell it to you directly without any carrier shackles for $649. That's great for discerning consumers, but it has also led to questions — primarily, does the phone support our favorite giant carrier, Verizon? Well, yes, it does — HTC says so on its website. Confusion has set in, though, as we all dig through the specs and realize it doesn't have a CDMA radio.

Not having CDMA isn't the end of the world, nor does it preclude HTC from legitimately stating that the U11 is compatible with the Verizon network — let me explain.

Verizon's upcoming CDMA sunset

Verizon doesn't want to use its CDMA network anymore. It has confirmed that it hopes to effectively shut down the old network by the end of 2019. Once it does so, the remaining spectrum and towers currently in use for CDMA (which have been dramatically scaled back in recent years already) can be repurposed for other uses as Verizon turns LTE into its baseline network and moves on to 5G deployment.

Verizon doesn't want people using its CDMA network anymore, and you probably already don't.

For most people using Verizon today, CDMA might as well not exist. Its LTE network covers 98% of the country. As of Q1 2016, 92% of its network traffic was traveling over LTE — and remember that includes some legacy devices that only use CDMA. So there's a dramatically small (and decreasing) number of places without LTE coverage, and surprisingly close to 100% of network traffic by LTE-capable devices is running on the modern network.

Even if your phone has a CDMA radio, chances are you don't actually use it anymore. When your phone has an LTE connection available, it will use it for both data and calls across Verizon's network — other times, you may be using Wi-Fi calling. In 2017, CDMA offers a suboptimal experience — only to be relied upon when there is no other option. Yes those places where CDMA is the only option do still exist, but Verizon clearly doesn't think they'll be around much longer.

Reason says that it won't be long, then, before Verizon itself stops selling smartphones that have CDMA radios in them. Including the old technology for a network that won't exist in the reasonable lifespan of the phone (roughly two years from sale) doesn't make sense from multiple perspectives. Having a CDMA radio requires extra licenses and technology (read: money spent) in smartphones, and just continues to sustain a user base of people who will have a device capable of using a network that will soon no longer be available.

HTC did the necessary work

HTC isn't hiding the fact that the U11 doesn't support Verizon's CDMA network. Every radio, band and network the U.S. unlocked U11 supports is listed right on HTC's website — including LTE band 2, 4, 5 and 13 for Verizon. But this is still confusing to some because HTC says it supports Verizon while also not having CDMA — and for some people, that doesn't mean "full" support.

Here's the thing: HTC lists the U11 as being compatible with Verizon because it truly means it. The U11 will work just fine on Verizon's network, without any unreasonable hang-ups. Considering nearly all of your data and voice traffic is already going over LTE on your current Verizon phone, you won't likely notice a difference on the U11.

More important than simply having a CDMA radio inside, HTC has gone through the process with Verizon to certify the U11 for use on its network — and that's why it's confident enough to list Verizon compatibility. It has done the same sort of testing for AT&T and T-Mobile as well; there are no guessing games here, the unlocked U11 does what HTC says it will do. That means your U.S. unlocked U11 will support VoLTE (aka HD Voice), Wi-Fi calling and Carrier Aggregation on the four major U.S. networks. HTC even goes on to list popular prepaid carriers like Cricket, MetroPCS, NET 10, Straight Talk and WalMart Family Mobile as fully compatible.

Read: Our complete HTC U11 review

Not having CDMA is no longer a problem, folks.

Some people just won't buy a phone for use on Verizon that doesn't have a CDMA radio in it — there's no convincing them otherwise, even though the information on the impending death of CDMA is clear. But this is where we're headed, and at a rapid pace. There's a good chance the HTC U11 won't be the only phone released this year — and certainly not in the next 12 months — certified for use on Verizon without a CDMA radio. At some point, we're going to have to let this go as a requirement for buying a phone to use on Verizon.

For the average person who wants an HTC U11 and has Verizon as their carrier, they will buy the phone, pop in their SIM and use it fully without knowing the details — and they shouldn't have to. This is the future we've wanted for so long and continually complained about in relation to using phones on Verizon. Now that it's finally here, let's enjoy it.