The Yi M1 is a gorgeous mirrorless camera at a rock-bottom price

There’s an entire market of people who want to take great photographs, and need something with a bit more power than a point-and-shoot or smartphone. This market has traditionally been served by Nikon and Canon’s entry-level DSLR cameras, as well as offerings by Panasonic and Sony. And now there’s a new contender from Chinese manufacturer Yi, called the Yi M1.

A brave (and cheap) new hope

Here’s what’s so remarkable about the Yi M1 mirrorless camera. It’s so god-damned cheap. In China, you can get the camera body, plus a 12-40mm zoom lens with an F/2.5-5.6 aperture for about $330.

No, that wasn’t a typo. $330. That’s how much this costs.

The same model in the United States costs $499. That’s a bit of a leap, admittedly, but it’s pretty reasonable when you consider that there’s import duties and transportation costs.You can also get a model with an additional 42.5mm fixed lens with an F/1.8 aperture for an extra $200 on Amazon. This is the model which I will be reviewing.

So, let’s recap. One camera. Two lenses. $699. OMG.

But this only really matters if the camera itself is actually any good. And well? I most certainly like to think it is.
Hands on with the Yi M1
I’ve been playing with the Yi M1 for a while now. My review loaner model shipped from China a few weeks before it launched in the United States. During this time, I’ve studied it’s weaknesses and it’s strengths. Fortunately, there’s more of the latter than the former.

First, let’s see what the camera body can do. It boasts the following specifications:
20 MegaPixel IMAX269 sensor
4K/30FPS video recording
ISO range from 100 to 25600
Face detection with support for up to 32 faces
Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11n
Bluetooth LE
MicroHDMI
SDXC support
3″ LCD touchscreen viewfinder
Removable rechargeable battery
MicroUSB charging

Impressive. But these only tell part of the story. To get the full picture (no pun intended), you’ve got to use it.

At first, I was pretty skeptical. After all, $330 is not a lot of money to spend on a mirrorless camera. You could be forgiven for assuming that corners would have been cut somewhere. But that just wasn’t the case.

Let’s start by looking at build quality. This thing is built like a brick house. I mean it’s sturdy as hell. When in the hand, it feels strong and rugged. You can toss it in a backpack without worrying that it’ll emerge all scuffed and scratched.

It’s also worth pointing out that it’s a pretty handsome looking camera, too. As The Verge pointed out, it takes more than a little bit of design inspiration from the (admittedly gorgeous) Leica T.Then you switch it on. At first, I was worried. No matter how good the hardware is on paper, software can make or break a tech product. If the Yi M1 felt clunky, or slow and unresponsive, the entire device would have been a write-off.Thankfully, it excelled here. I’m not sure what CPU powers this thing, or how much RAM it has. But when using it, I was able to switch between modes, load settings and previously taken photographs in an instant. It felt fast, and extremely fluid.

Front-and-center of the camera is a gorgeous 3-inch touchscreen. I found this to be invaluable. If I wanted to zoom in on a particular part of the frame, I just had to tap where it is on the screen. To access the camera’s settings, I just had to swipe right.

Android has a nifty hidden feature that lets you take partial screenshots

Maxr1998 and MrWasdennnoch were quick to point out that the feature is not readily available for all users – instead, you’ll need to tweak a few lines of code to activate it. You can enable the functionality by changing line 53 of TakeScreenshotService to takeScreenshotPartial().The new feature is bound to make a lot of Android users happy as it significantly simplifies the process of taking partial screenshots. Personally, I can’t wait to use it myself.Unfortunately, there’s no telling when the hidden partial screenshot functionality will officially roll out to all Android users – let’s just hope it’s sooner rather than later.

                                        

As demonstrated in this video by Maxr1998, the feature lets you seamlessly snap partial screenshots by adjusting the size and grid position with your fingers.Maxr1998 and MrWasdennnoch were quick to point out that the feature is not readily available for all users – instead, you’ll need to tweak a few lines of code to activate it. You can enable the functionality by changing line 53 of TakeScreenshotService to takeScreenshotPartial().The new feature is bound to make a lot of Android users happy as it significantly simplifies the process of taking partial screenshots. Personally, I can’t wait to use it myself.

Unfortunately, there’s no telling when the hidden partial screenshot functionality will officially roll out to all Android users – let’s just hope it’s sooner rather than later.

Apple may freshen up its iPhone 7 lineup with a shiny new ‘Jet White’ color

Apple initially announced its new and improved iPhone 7 will be available in five color options: Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Matte Black and Jet Black. But it seems the Cupertino giant isn’t quite done introducing additional colors to its lineup.The Big A is reportedly planning to refresh its iPhone 7 lineup with a new ‘Jet White’ color option, Japanese news outlet Mac Otakara reports.

The report makes no mention of when Apple might add the sixth color to its catalogue, but it speculates it will be available for both models – the standard iPhone 7 as well as the boosted 7 Plus.

While Mac Otakara has accurately leaked information about upcoming Apple products in the past, the Japanese publication warns its source “may not be reliable” this time around – so don’t get too excited just yet.

Apple enthusiasts are well-known for sketching recreational mockups of some of the company’s most popular products. It wouldn’t be entirely out of the ordinary if it turns out the Jet White iPhone 7 rumor is merely another fan-made concept – much like this mockup of the AirPods in Jet Black.

Study: You’ll spend 1.3 years of your life finding something to watch on TV

In an age where we have more viewing options than ever, countless programming options are leading to paralysis among users when it comes to picking one. According to a study by Ericcson Consumer Lab, American’s spend some 23 minutes a day (on average) searching for something to watch. That’s 474 days over the course of a lifetime!.Cable subscribers have even bigger problems: 44 percent report trying to find something on TV and failing. The average video on demand (VOD) user is slightly better, with issues just 34 percent of the time. The numbers are interesting, as it seems to take longer to find shows to watch on popular VOD services, at least anecdotally. Users are, after all, searching for content rather than just flipping through channels.

But even in terms of VOD providers, not all are created equal. The study points out that HBO Go is a massive time suck, requiring an average of 41 minutes a day to find something worth watching. iTunes took the podium in second place with 33 minutes per day while Netflix and Hulu tied for third at 28 minutes.At its simplest terms, you’re going to spend over a year of your life trying to decide whether to start ‘Scrubs’ from season one again, or watch something new. I’m going to save you the time: it’s Scrubs. It’ll always be Scrubs — EAAAAAAAGLE!

                                        

Facebook Live is becoming a shitstorm of epic proportions

When giving a platform to someone, it quickly becomes apparent that not everyone is worthy of having it. If you don’t believe me, a 10-minute perusal through Facebook Live is probably all you’ll need to see the light.The tech-charged world we live in has left us fortunate to be able to log on and broadcast a message to a potential audience of billions. Some take full advantage of it by making it a value-added proposition. Whether creating art or offering sound advice, the Casey Neistat’s and Gary Vaynerchuk’s of the world are who live video was made for.These two, and countless others provide real value in their creative work — in both entertainment and utility. But hell, I’m not picky; I’d settle for either of the above — even ‘Real Housewives’ can check one of the two boxes (for some people, anyway).

What I can’t wrap my head around is the engagement-seeking behavior that drives people to post something like this:

LeEco co-founder tells company that it will stop trying to take over the world

In a letter sent to employees this weekend, LeEco co-founder Jia Yueting wrote that the electronics and streaming company is running low on money and will stop focusing on expansion. In the letter, which was first obtained by China-based Global Times and later reported out by Bloomberg, Jia apologized for continuing to expand the company while its organizational structure was "lagging behind."

"We are starting to see signs of big company disease, such as low individual performance and organizational redundancies," Jia wrote. He continued to say the company plans to cut costs. He’ll slash his annual salary to 1 yuan, or 15 cents, and will move the company to a slower pace of growth. Jia chairs two other companies and still owns a significant stake in LeEco, so he's unlikely to go broke with his new LeEco salary.

This letter follows the company’s aggressive launch in the US this past month. At an event in San Francisco, LeEco introduced new phones, an Android-powered bike, TVs, a VR headset, and a video streaming service. Even earlier in the year, LeEco purchased California-based TV manufacturer Vizio for $2 billion. The Chinese company is also bankrolling car manufacturer Faraday Future, which plans to introduce a self-driving car at CES next year. It’s unclear how dire the company’s fiscal situation is and whether future product launches will be affected.

New Tesla buyers will have to pay to use Superchargers

Tesla is making a big change to its network of free fast-charging stations. Any customer who orders a Tesla Model X or Model S after January 1st, 2017, will have to pay “a small fee” when filling up at a Supercharger station. Customers will also have to take delivery of those cars by April 1st, 2017 — so the fees will apply to people who preordered the Model 3. Tesla says the fee will be “less than the price of filling up a comparable gas car.”

Current Tesla owners with Supercharger-equipped cars will be able to use the stations for free for the life of those vehicles, and a Tesla spokesperson tells The Verge that the free charging will transfer to successive owners. Customers who buy Teslas after that January 1st cutoff will be afforded 400 kWh of free Supercharging credits each year, good for about 1,000 miles, according to Tesla. The company says it will release more details about the change later this year, but added that “prices may fluctuate over time and vary regionally based on the cost of electricity.”

Tesla has said in the past that Superchargers were meant to be used more during longer trips, instead of as a daily charging solution. In today’s post, the company continued that line of thinking, saying that it believes the best way for customers to regularly charge their cars is during off-hours at home or work, “just as you would charge your cell phone.”A change like this was likely to happen eventually, especially as Tesla tries to ramp up production to 500,000 units per year in order to meet the anticipated demand for the Model 3. “Our Supercharger Network will never be a profit center,” the company wrote in a blog post about the change. Tesla says that, by losing less money on providing free electricity at these stations, that the fees will subsidize the continued expansion of the Supercharger network. The Superchargers allow for a full charge in about 75 minutes or a half charge in about 30 — much faster than the standard Level 1 or Level 2 chargers found around the US — and Tesla has built 734 Supercharger stations (with nearly 5,000 chargers) since the network was started in 2012.