Review: DJI's Mavic 2 drones and the agonizing choice between Zoom and Pro

[DRONES]( [Review: DJI's Mavic 2 drones and the agonizing choice between Zoom and Pro]( DJI's new super-portable Mavic 2 drones have landed, and they're an impressive upgrade from the previous model. Now, you get to choose whether you want a gorgeous Hasselblad-developed Pro lens, or a fully integrated 2x optical zoom on your Mavic – and the choice isn't as simple as we first thought. [Read more]( [SPONSORED CONTENT]( [EZ Wheelie turns regular bikes into e-bikes in one minute]( ​​There are quite a few kits around that will turn a regular bike into an electric bike, but few promise to do so as painlessly as the EZ Wheelie. The wireless wheel works with a range of bike sizes, and can be easily swapped in and out when the need for a little electrical assistance arises.​ [Read more]( [AUTOMOTIVE]( [Volkswagen prices the Grand California camper van and debuts a longer, sleeker trim]( We knew going into the Düsseldorf Caravan Salon that the Grand California would be a key stop. ​What we didn't know was that Volkswagen would show a surprise second model. The larger 6.8-m (22-foot) Grand California headlined VW's Düsseldorf appearance​, making the Crafter camper a family. [Read more]( [SPACE]( [Beyond Pluto: New Horizons locks onto its next target in the Kuiper Belt]( ​​Mission control rejoiced when NASA’s New Horizons probe zipped past Pluto in 2015 following a nine-year voyage, but in some ways it was just getting started. After gathering data on the dwarf planet, the plucky spacecraft’s imager has now made its first detection of its next flyby target. [Read more]( [DRONES]( [Spry drone flies through the air – and under the water]( ​If you're looking for a quadcopter that can land on the water's surface to shoot underwater video – well, that would be Urban Drones' Splash Drone. Now, the company has joined forces with tech firm SwellPro to create the Spry drone, which can actually make short "flights" beneath the surface. [Read more]( Sponsored by Taboola //gizmagptyltd.cmail20.com/t/d-l-bkyjttl-wtkuhhtil-s///gizmagptyltd.cmail20.com/t/d-l-bkyjttl-wtkuhhtil-w/ [SCIENCE]( [Scientists discover a new type of brain cell, and it might be unique to humans]( ​What is it that separates humans from most other animals? Scientists have made an exciting discovery in this area, identifying an new type of brain cell not seen in animals studied in the laboratory, providing them with a new vehicle to tease out the differences between us and the animal kingdom. [Read more]( [SPACE]( [Structure construction completed as Orion begins final assembly]( Lockheed Martin says its technicians at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans have finished work on the inner capsule or pressure vessel of the Orion Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) spacecraft, which is now at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [Read more]( [OUTDOORS]( [The telescoping trekking pole that also purifies water]( If you spend much time backcountry hiking, chances are you're the sort of person who would find use for at least two things: a trekking pole and a water purifier. Well, PurTrek combines them both in one carbon fiber-bodied device. [Read more]( [VR]( [OJO 500 takes a modular approach to Windows Mixed Reality]( Before virtual and augmented reality become widespread in our homes, it might gain traction in public spaces like museums and hotels, and Acer's new OJO 500 headset has been built with sharing in mind – it's semi-modular design allows the straps and lenses to be removed and cleaned separately. [Read more]( [TINY HOUSES]( [Family downsizes to travel USA in theater-inspired tiny house]( A family living in San Diego, California, decided to embrace small living and purchase a tiny house to travel the United States. In response, Tiny Heirloom designed them a 200 sq ft (18 sq m) towable home that reflects their eldest daughter's love of the theater. [Read more]( [SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR NEW ATLAS READERS]( [Pictar Smartphone Camera Grip Helps You Take Better Photos Single-Handedly]( Fitting most smartphones, this grip comes packed with buttons and wheels that let you shoot one-handed and with greater control over your camera's settings, like exposure, zoom, and ISO. Its secret lies with the companion app. The Pictar app picks up high-frequency sounds emitted by the grip when you press its buttons, letting you adjust settings on the fly while using less battery than traditional wireless communication methods. [Read more]( [HOME ENTERTAINMENT]( [Bang & Olufsen wants you to live life on the Edge]( High-end audio house Bang Olufsen has unveiled what's described as a compact wireless speaker. But with a 50.2 cm (19.7 in) diameter and chunky 13 cm (5.1 in) thickness, you'd need a very big living room to consider the monolithic Beosound Edge as anything but huge. [Read more]( [GAMES]( [Hands on: Acer unveils Thronos, a beastly haptic gaming cockpit]( ​Among a bevy of announcements from Acer's IFA press event, the largest, in literal terms alone, has to be its beastly Thronos gaming chair – nay, cockpit. Of course there was no hesitation in going hands on… [Read more]( [LAPTOPS]( [Silent hunters inspire cooling system in latest Acer gaming laptop]( At IFA 2018 today, Acer unveiled the new Predator Triton 900 gaming laptop, with an articulating 4K screen so you can bring the action closer, and an update to its AeroBlade cooling system that's inspired by owls in flight. [Read more]( [SPACE]( [VISTA gazes through the Carina Nebula's dusty veil]( ​The ESO's VISTA telescope has captured a breath-taking view of the Carina Nebula – one of the Milky Way’s largest star-forming regions. The image reveals the complexity of the nebula hidden behind its dusty shroud, and showcases some of the most massive and brightest stars in our galaxy. [Read more]( [LAPTOPS]( [Acer unveils its thinnest, lightest and most powerful laptops yet]( The IFA 2018 tech expo is underway in Berlin and New Atlas has been checking out some of the kit on show – which includes new updates to Acer's Swift 7, Swift 5 and Aspire 7 laptops. Together, these new notebooks are some of the thinnest, lightest, and most powerful computers Acer has ever put out. [Read more]( [MEDICAL]( [Gold-plated nanoparticles may reveal cancer with a finger prick blood test]( Scientists in Australia have now made a breakthrough they say will allow them to detect low levels of cancer biomarkers in much smaller samples of blood, so much so it could take just prick of the finger. ​ [Read more]( [COMPUTERS]( [Samsung's new Portable SSD uses Thunderbolt 3 for lightning-fast data transfer]( At IFA this week, Samsung has unveiled the Portable SSD X5, a new solid state drive designed with speed in mind. To that end, it's kitted out with a Thunderbolt 3 connection and built on the NVMe platform, marking two firsts for Samsung's portable consumer SSDs. [Read more]( [ROBOTICS]( [US Army developing software to get military robots upright again]( Scientists at the US Army Research Laboratory are working on software to help fallen military robots right themselves. The purpose of this is not only to make such battlefield bots more efficient, but also less dependent on their soldier partners for support. [Read more]( [ROBOTICS]( [Brexit prompts push for robotic strawberry pickers]( Britain is facing a strawberry labor shortage that only threatens to only get worse as Brexit approaches, so roboticists at the University of Essex are working in conjunction with jam makers Wilkin Sons of Tiptree to develop robots to take up the slack. [Read more]( [MOBILE TECHNOLOGY]( [LG rounds out the mid-range with new G7 One and G7 Fit phones]( LG has used IFA 2018 in Berlin to whip the covers off two new mid-range phones. On the outside, the G7 One and G7 Fit look a lot like LG’s flagship G7 ThinQ, but the guts of the phones have been pared back to make them more “accessible” and, presumably, more affordable. [Read more]( [DIGITAL CAMERAS]( ["World's toughest and fastest SD cards" from Sony are built to take a beating]( Sony has unveiled what it claims are the world's toughest and fastest SD cards. Boasting a monolithic one-piece mold construction, the new "SF-G series TOUGH specification" UHS-II SD cards are completely sealed and ​built to withstand bending, drops, water and dust. [Read more]( [SCIENCE]( [Self-powered sensor could monitor joint-surgery patients]( ​When someone is recovering from joint surgery, it's important for doctors to monitor factors such as their range of motion. A new self-powered sensor could make doing so easier than ever, by wirelessly transmitting movement data from an orthopedic brace on that joint. [Read more]( [HEALTH & WELLBEING]( [Starkey's latest hearing aid doubles as a health tracker]( Starkey Hearing Technologies has transformed a single use device into a multi-purpose hearing aid, adding physical activity and cognitive tracking smarts to a device that essentially moves health trackers away from the wrist and wraps them around the ears. [Read more]( [HOME ENTERTAINMENT]( [Europeans get early look at LG's monster 8K OLED TV]( ​Earlier this year, LG opened the box on its 2018 TV line up, which included no less than 10 OLED models varying in size from 55 to 77 diagonal inches. At IFA today, the company has revealed its intention to be first to market with an 8K OLED TV.​ [Read more]( You are receiving this email because you signed up for our daily newsletter at [newatlas.com]( (or [gizmag.com]( before August 2016). 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