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Before introducing Ladakh, I’d like to mention some pertinent points which every tourist planning trip to Ladakh should know and take care of.These are also the questions which are often asked in online travel forums like Tripadvisor, Indiamike and Lonely Planet’s Thorntree etc.The most recurring questions are related to acclimatization, ATMs, Petrol Pumps, acute mountain sickness and innerline permits along with the length of Ladakh tour itineraries.In this Hub I have tried to answer as many questions on Ladakh trip planning which popped into my mind or as a traveler myself I’d asked before venturing to this barren paradise.Nestled in the Trans-Himalayan region, in the state of Jammu & Kashmir in North India, Ladakh is one of the favorite jaunt for nature lovers and adventurous souls.Tourists from all over the world throng in this mountainous region to explore the less explored jewels of nature.Besides natural treasures, the region is also famous for its ancient Buddhist monasteries. Ladakh is often dubbed as ‘Little Tibet’ as it shares an international boundary with Tibet and play host to a sizable population of Tibetan Buddhists.Although a trip to Ladakh has a lot to offer but tourists are required to take some precautions as it is mostly a barren land and has low atmospheric pressure/low oxygen level at higher altitude.Going by the statistics of Google Trends, ‘Leh Ladakh India’ and ‘Leh Ladakh tour packages’ has the highest search results. In a bid to assist first time Ladakh travelers for the peak season (May to August), I have listed a few travel tips which could help you plan your trip to Ladakh.How to deal with high altitude and acclimatize in Leh LadakhWhile planning your trip to Ladakh, acclimatization is one of the most vital aspect of the itinerary sketching and should be given utmost importance. The rule is not to rush your Ladakh trip and give proper time for acclimatization.To adapt to the low atmospheric pressure condition you need to give yourself time for proper acclimatization. It is always advisable to keep first 2 days after your arrival in Leh for getting used to high altitude condition.Don’t just arrive in Leh and think of going to Nubra or Pangong or you could get seriously affected by AMS which may lead to severe headaches, nausea, restlessness, or even inability to walk and think and ataxia which in turn will ruin your vacation.Even the most fit people get affected by the Acute Mountain Sickness. Therefore, it is advised to take some precautions beforehand.Few points to keep in mind:Physical fitness is the first and the foremost thing you need to consider while undertaking a trip to Ladakh region.Increase your altitude gradually and compensate ascent with rest at places to acclimatize.Due to the low atmospheric pressure, it is necessary for a tourist to take the rest of around 2 days or 48 hours after reaching Leh.If you are suffering from high blood pressure, heart ailments and asthma, kindly abstain yourself from planning a trip to Leh Ladakh.Hydration is necessary but overdoing it could only harm you. Just increase your normal water intake by a liter and it will do. Dehydration does not necessarily leads to AMSDuring the cold weather, cover your head and ears with something warm.Don’t exert yourself physically too much. Never run here and there out of exscitement especially on passes. Low level of oxygen could lead to fatique in an instance and it would be literally very difficult to catch your breath. You mind feel the earth go round or even fall unconscious.Some preventive medicines do aid acclimatization and treat altitude sickness the most popular is Diamox, The local version of these medicine, a time tested and natural alternative is garlic soup or soup prepared with lots of GarlicIf you notice any early warning symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness and fatigue, take immediate rest and descend if you are on high altitude (as in Khardung La Top) without any delay.I know this one is difficult to do but avoid smoking and drinking alcohol on high altitude to prevent AMSIf you are taking Leh-Manali Highway then stop at Keylong, Jispa, Darcha and avoid if possible staying at Sarchu; else if you are taking Leh-Srinagar Highway you should spend overnight at Kargil (I am assuming that you have already spent a night in Manali or Srinagar respectively).If you are flying directly to Leh and 2 days should be the minimum time spent in Leh for acclimatization. During this period short detours to Thiksey, Hemis, Shey, Nimoo and Stok etc. to visit monasteries and palaces are always open for you to choose.And yes do not sleep during days. I know this was not required as who'd waste even seconds of time sleeping during day in such a magnificent land.Here’s my personal reckoning with AMSI had to face this during my stay just after descending Baralacha La.One bike in our group of three got stuck in a water stream on the pass due to vicious current and we had our feets, socks and even boots wet with water. Somehow we managed to reach a small settlement of tents near Baralacha La and had to stop there as getting to Sarchu was impossible. We had dinner and then went to sleep but at around 03:00 I woke up with severe headache which refused to let go. By sunrise it was feeling like hell but somehow I managed to get on my bike. I was feeling very weary but we did began our further descent and the headache abated even before we reached Sarchu.What to Pack for Ladakh TripClothing and Other EssentialsLadakh is situated in Greater Himalayas which means it is cold and at considerable elevation. As soon as you cross Keylong (Leh-Manali Highway) you will see considerable change in weather condition as well as landscape. The same changes will be apparent when you cross Zoji La on Leh-Srinagar Highway.The point is that traveling at such altitude during days will provide ample warmth and sun shine. It seldom rains in the Ladakh region and that is one of the reason Ladakh is considered to be one of the best monsoon holiday getaway in India.During day time a simple pullover or a jacket will do the trick but as soon as the sun go down mercury also falls sharply and temperature on thermometer reading could even reach zero. The evening is generally when people rest inside their accommodation and accommodations all along the route are warm enough.Even sleeping in tents is not a problem as blankets and quilts are provided by the owners. Mentioned below are few key things which you should pack when traveling to Ladakh.At least 2 Jackets and 2-3 pulloversA pair of hand gloves preferably woolen, and warm clothes/caps to cover your ear and necks especially so if you are a riderSoaps, towels, general medicines, bandages etc.2-3 pairs of thermocot inners4-5 pairs of socks (must for bikers)Good waterproof shoes for trekking and riding in case you are a biker as you’d have to face water streams on high mountain passes like Chang La, Baralacha La and othersOne warm sleeping bag if you are planning to camp along the routeCarry some vital medicines for Acute Mountain Sickness such as Avomine,Dexamethasone, Diamox and AcetazolamideLots of chocolates, biscuits and dry fruitsCamera, chargers for cell phone and other basic thingsPacking Tips for Bikers on Ladakh Road TripBesides above mentioned stuffs you will also need:A pair of good raincoats as more often than not riders to face rain After crossing Chandigarh and before crossing Rohtang La Pass on Leh-Manali Highway. On Srinagar-Leh Highway you are more likely to get caught in the rain until you reach Zoji La.Alternatively, you could use raincoat as wind-cheater and they also help keep your clothes clean all along the dirt track on passes and Moore Plains. The cloud of sand and dirt is too much especially when an army convoy is passing and when you are crossing passes on which overtaking takes trucks and other vehicle takes longer due to narrow roads.Water Proof GlovesBoots to keep your feet, shoes and socks from getting wet at water stream flowing on passes especially the one at Baralacha La which is one of the most vicious another tough water stream to cross is at Chang La. The trick is not to cross the stream from middle and keep your bike in first gear and use clutch to maintain traction and throttle.Spare tube, puncture kit, clutch wire, break wire, chain lock, gear oil, engine oil, spark plugs etc are a must pack in your bag. Also carry petrol jar if you are taking Leh-Manali Highway as the last petrol pump that you’ll find is at Tandi which is around 380 Kms before you find the next at Karu. So 10-20 litres of extra petrol is what I’d recommend you to carry.Puncture shops are also not available and even if you find one, there is no guarantee that they will have the tube hence a tyre tubeis a must pack item even if you don’t have puncture kit.Leh - Ladakh Bike Rental Costs 2014Bike nameModelMin. Rate per dayRoyal Enfield500 CC All Models1500Royal Enfield350 CC Classic/Thunderbird1600Royal Enfield350 CC Electra1000Royal Enfield350 CC Standard900Honda ActivaAutomatic1400Bajaj Avenger200 CC900Bajaj Pulsar200 CC900Bajaj Pulsar150 CC700Yamaha FZ, Hero Impulse700Scooters125800Automatic Bikes without Gear700The cost of hiring motorcycle in Leh Ladakh as announced by Ladakh Bike Rental Association which governs the rate in the region.A look at Innerline Permit formSee all 20 photosThese are the fields in the application form that you need to fill to obtain inner line permits at DC office in LehNew Rules for Inner Line Permit 2014The good news this year (2014) is that Indian won't require any inner line permits to visit destinations in Ladakh.As per the new circular issued by the office of District Magistrate of Leh, Indian Nationals will no longer need to apply for inner line permits to visit certain inner areas like Turtuk, Panamik, Khaltse, Pangong, Changthang, Hunder, Nubra Valley Tso Kar and Tso Moriri etc. in Ladakh.But you would need to carry your Nationality ID proof (Driving Licence, Voter ID etc.) which will have to be presented at certain check posts where earlier Indians were required to submit a copy of inner line permit.But still you are on a motorcycle and your route involve crossing or travelling to Hanle, Chusul, Tsaga, beyond Loma bend, Chumur, Marsimik La, Batalik sectors then you'd still need to apply for and obtain inner line permits as per the earlier procedure before traveling to these places.The new rules for inner line permits will really help those travelers who don't want to come back to Leh after Tso Mori Ri and head straight to Manali thus saving them a precious day.Bbut I'd personally advise against coming to Tso Mori Ri from Manali directly as it would lead to acute mountain sickness (located as it is at an altitude of avove 15,000 feet).And I assure you this will ruin your trip.How to obtain Inner Line Permits in LadakhGetting Innerline Permits for Indians and Protected Area Permits for Foreign TravelersTo visit certain inner areas like Turtuk, Panamik, Khaltse, Pangong, Changthang, Hunder, Tso Kar and Tso Moriri etc. in Ladakh even foreign residents need to obtain innerline permits.Visiting Hanle, Chusul (for Pangong to Tso Mori RI by road), Tsaga, beyond Loma bend, Chumur, Marsimik La, Batalik sectors will still require Indian Nationals to obtain inner line permits.Travelers from overseas (with exception of residents of Burma, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan) need to obtain Protected Area Permit (PAP) to visit the above places. In case of foreigners, the permit is issued only for a group with four or more foreign tourists.For foreign tourists, it is also mandatory to go through a registered travel agent in order to obtain the Permit. The travel agent will also help you group together with others in case you are traveling solo or couple so that your permit could be obtained.Innerline Permits for Indian nationals are valid up to 3 weeks and Protected Area Permit is issued for a maximum of 7 days. You need to re-apply for the same if you are planning to visit more remote areas in Ladakh region.What's good in case of Foreign tourist's PAP is that they need not travel in same group or with the travel agent which will be mentioned in the permit.Traveling to Suru and Zanskar Valley does not require inner line permits. Foreign visitors can't go beyong Merak Village in Pangong or Mahe Village in the Changthang.The application forms for obtaining the permit is easily available at the stationary shop just behind the Leh DC office.Leh DC office opens at 9.00 AM and application for permits are usually not accepted after 03:00 PM (The office remains closed on Sundays and National Holidays)Its always advisable to reach the office as early as possible to avoid the rush and to get the permit in a hassle free way.The fee required for the permit is Rs. 200 per person as environment tax + Rs. 20 per person per day as wild life protection fee and Rs. 10 Red Cross Donation.Carry a valid photo ID and photocopies of your proof of Nationality(Passport, DL, Voters ID etc.)One person may apply for entire group provided he/she is carrying attested photocopy of proof of nationality of all member in the groupAfter acquiring the permit make sure that you carry 4-5 copies of the permits and photo id proof. You may require to subit them at certain checkposts by the military personnel who track entry and exit at certain points to check if a tourist has returned or not.It's more for your own safety as one may get stranded during trek or may get stuck due to bad weather condition.Mention all major places you are traveling to in the permit i.e. if you are spending night in Spangmik you need to mention only Pangong Lake. Certain places and in some cases even routes need to be mentioned.I, order to take the Chushul route from Pangong Tso to Tso Moriri, with a visit to Hanle, you need to mention Pangong Tso, Man, Merak, Chushul, Tsaga, Loma, Nyoma, Mahe, Hanle and Tso Moriri in the permit application.Accommodation in LadakhDue to the conditions and nature of Ladakh region, luxury hotel properties or accommodation are not available in the region. There’s one luxury hotel in Leh Town by the name of Grand Dragon.At other places you’ll find budget and deluxe or even luxury tents and camps some with basic facilities and some with running hot waters and attached western toilets. Homestays are easily available at most of the places with basic facilities and would cost 150-200 per person for the night.Luxury Camps with attached toilets and running hot water will cost you around 3000-5000 for two person. You could also book your accommodation in advance through the internet or calling the hotels and camp providers or may may check in upon arrival as Ladakh is not one of the places which has those ”peak seasons” when the rooms are fully booked in advance.Accommodation for Bikers along Leh-Manali and Leh-Srinagar HighwayFor bikers accommodation is available all along the route on both Leh-Manali and Leh-Srinagar Highway. To allow for acclimatization, bikers taking Leh-Manali Highway, accommodation is available at Keylong, Jispa, Darcha and Sarchu and one should stay for the night at one of the places.Most of the bikers stay at camps in Sarchu. But if you have arrived at Zingzing Bar late in the afternoon, avoid crossing Baralacha La as the water stream which crosses the road on this pass gets dangerous to cross due to strong current.Return to Darcha or Jispa to spend overnight. One could also stay at Pang but watch out for AMS as Pang and Sarchu are located at an elevation of 15,100 and 14,100 feet respectively. So don't cross Baralacha La if you are already feeling mountain sickness or if there are any symptoms like headache or nausea and stay at Jispa or Darcha at 10,800 feet and 11,020 feet respectively.If you are riding from Srinagar, then I’d advise you to stopover in Mulbekh instead of Kargil or even Lamayuru if you could make it. Kargil is overpriced and an overrated place to spend the night not to mention that accommodations here are way overpriced.Personally I'd recommend taking Srinagar route and return via Manali as it helps in acclimatization. If you are on a road trip to Ladakh via Manali route than I'd advice that you stay for the night at Jispa, Darcha or Keylong to avoid any risk of AMS.Petrol Pumps in Leh LadakhIf you are traveling by road and doing Ladakh by Motorcycle or 4 Wheeler, you need to know where the petrol pumps are and when you need to keep reserve petrol in cans and jars so that you don’t run out of fuel on the highway.This is imperative especially if you have chosen Leh-Manali Highway for your road trip. The last petrol pump that you’ll find on this route is located at Tandi and the next one is at Karu which is around 380 kms away. It is always advisable to carry petrol in reserve so that you don’t get stranded just because you ran out of petrol.Similarly if you are Planning Leh – Pangong – Tso Mosriri – Rumtse – Leh or Leh – Nubra – Pangong Leh which would be like traveling more than 700 – 900 kms, then get your tank full and carry plenty of petrol in reserve as you are going to need it.At some places petrol are available at local shops and residences near roadside settlements along the route but you need to pay luxury surcharge to buy them and the quality of petrol is not guaranteed.You need not worry about petrol or fuel if you are taking Leh-Srinagar Highway as you’d find enough petrol pumps en route.ATMs in Leh LadakhMoney Matters during Ladakh Trip: Tips on Cash and ATMsExcept from some antique shops, credit cards are not accepted by any of the hotels and travel agents. Therefore, carry a good amount of cash with you. If you find carrying cash a bit risky, go for plastic money i.e. the debit cards and withdraw money from the ATM’s whenever required. ATMs of several banks like SBI, AXIS Bank, J&K Bank, PNB etc. are available in Leh Town from where you could easily withdraw as per your need. More interior places like Pangong, Changthang etc. don’t have that facility so carry your cash when traveling to inner areas in Ladakh region.General Travel Tips to Plan your Leh Ladakh TripRespect the Local CultureWhile on a trip to Ladakh region, kindly show respect towards the local culture and abstain yourself from doing such activities which are against the norms of Tibetan Buddhist culture. The Tibetan Buddhist culture is quite ancient and conservative, so dress properly and cover your full body. Always take permission before clicking photographs of any person. If they ask for money, don’t click pictures.Communication Facilities in LadakhThere are STD booths available in most of the markets in Ladakh region but they close down before 10 PM. On the other hand, Kargil has a global direct dialing telephone facility, other than post and telegraph facility. Adding to that is the wireless Radio phone network service of Jammu & Kashmir Tourism station with field stations at Leh, Padum and Kargil. During May to August (peak tourist season), Jammu & Kashmir Tourism establishes mobile wireless stations in the remote areas.Avoid Usage of Plastic BagsBoth locals and tourists are responsible for the well maintained environment. Therefore, do not litter around the place. Also, plastic is officially banned in Ladakh; hence avoid the use of plastic and polythene bags.Carry Proper Documents for Bike TripIf you are heading to Ladakh on a motorcycle, you will come across some high land passes such as Changla Pass, Zojila Pass, Fatula Pass and Khardungla Pass. Since all these areas have a huge military presence, it’s better you carry permit, vehicle registration, driving license, and bike insurance paper.If you are looking for someone else to plan your journey or need more information on attractions, places, lakes and passes then I'd recommend you to visit the website of lehladakhindia.com.

It’s not really a matter of regaining market share. It’s a matter of maintaining any market at all.Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Kodak sold over 50 million of these bad boys. The Kodak Instamatic cartridge film format took square photos on 24mm film. Cameras like this one had a single-element, plastic, fixed focus lens at around f/8.0 with about a 1/100 second shutter speed normally, dropping to maybe 1/60 second if you attached a flash cube.Why did such a terrible camera sell more than perhaps all of the SLRs ever made, put together? Because this was the bottom of the barrel in photography. The cheapest and simplest way a human could take a photo that had some reasonable assurance of turning out ok. As long as Mom remembered not to put her finger over the lens. This was my Mom’s camera at the time, so to me, it’s always “Mom with an Instamatic” — sure could have just as easily been Dad. My Dad, however, had a Konica T3 and several lenses. One reason I’ve been into photography most of my life!Today, somewhere around 1.5 billion smart phones are sold every year. The cheap ones probably have at least one $5.00 camera module, the expensive ones may have a $20 camera modules, possibly even a few. The thing you’re buying is a pocket computer with a persistent network connection, but, particularly in the premium market, you get a “pretty ok” camera. And you get software that increasingly make it easy for a person with no photographic experience or desire to learn to shoot a photo they’re happy posting to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, etc.Thing is, these days, most people want smartphones because they want smartphones. That camera comes along for “free”, since you’re buying the phone anyway. And it’s because of those phones, and only those phones, that the compact digital market has shrunk.Well, that’s not entirely true. It’s also progress. If you look at camera sales in the 1960s-1990s, you’ll see that they were slowly growing. Part of this was because photography as both a hobby for enthusiasts and “this is a thing we do” for that Mom with the Instamatic were both growing. So people bought cameras, used them for awhile, didn’t like the results, and bought newer, better models in a few years. And when digital hit, exactly the same thing, only that rather than folks upgrading every 10 years, they were trading in old digitals for new after a year or two. The technology was just changing that fast.Today, digital is pretty mature. Things get better, but incrementally, not by leaps and bounds. And even through it’s a trick to get any kind of camera used for actual photography working at all well on a phone, it’s driven by such a huge market, something that never existed in the camera industry, that phones have simply eclipsed low-end compact digitals. And since most people replace their phones every year or two, every phone manufacturer is working on the next big camera hack to get you to buy their’s rather than that other guy’s phone next time.The Compact Digital’s DemiseSo where did compact digital go wrong? Nowhere, really. It’s just that the low end of compact digital was a big overlap to what was possible in the vibrant new consumer smartphone market of the late 2000s.So let me pick on a poor, innocent compact digital from 15 years ago, the Olympus D-390. This came out at around $175, and dropped to below $150 during most of its life. It has a single focal length 5mm lens at f/2.8, and a 1/3.2″ sensor. This was an “Instamatic” in the digital world of 2003.Smartphones existed in 2003, but only for business users. Palm, Microsoft, Compaq, HP, Nokia, they were all sure that consumers had no use for a $400+ phone. Of course, they were wrong, and four years later, the iPhone 2 was out, fully usable as a pocket computer with many functions. And while not really intended for serious photography, it was introduced with practically the same camera. Apple used a 3.9mm lens in all but the most recent iPhones, with this same sensor size, even as resolution grew a bit.Now, sure, I know what you’re thinking… how does a $600 phone replace a $150 camera as a camera? Well, mostly because people weren’t thinking they had bought a camera. They had this pocket computer that for some silly reason is still called a “phone”, and oh-by-the-way, it takes a photo as good as Mom’s Olympus D-390. And so by 2010–2011 or so, every smartphone company understands that photography is a major application, and they’re all trying to make their phones better than the next guy’s — they’re probably not even thinking about compact digital cameras.Do Things a Phone Cannot!So in this same basic timeframe, Olympus, specifically, got entirely out of the compact digital market. There just wasn’t enough in it for them. Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, and Sony are still making them, even down to the sub $100 point, but they don’t really put much new technology in at the low end. They are differentiating.Olympus does actually make one compact digital today, still: the TG-5. This has the typical 1/2.3″ sensor, a sensible 12 megapixels like most phones these days, but a bit larger than most smartphone sensors, and a decent f/2.0 lens, which lets in enough light. It’s also got an optical zoom lens, not a crazy long one, but better than a phone can manage. But specifically, it’s the camera you take where your smartphone doesn’t belong. It’s water and sand resistant, it can survive a 7ft drop that would smash pretty much every one of 2018’s silly glass-clad phones to bits. And of course, you can change the battery or memory card, like a real camera. It shoots 4K video, like your smartphone, too.Another 1/2.3″ sensor camera, the Panasonic Lumix ZS70 sports a ridiculous 30x zoom lens in a pocket camera. That’s a full-frame equivalent range of 24-720mm. Is that a high quality 720mm equivalent? Not at all. But it’s an image. Your smartphone can’t help you at 72mm, much less 720mm. This one also has an eye-level viewfinder, and it’s about $400, a mid-range model.Stepping up again, let’s look at the Canon G7X. That’s a $650 camera with a 4.2x zoom. It’s a much faster lens than on the ZS70, but we sorta-kinda have smartphones that can fake a 5x zoom now (Huawei P20 Pro), so is a camera this pricey an endangered species. Nope, and that’s because of the sensor chip. This is a so-called 1″ sensor camera, originally introduced by Sony in the RX100 series. That sensor has about 6x the light-gathering area of a smartphone sensor. It’s large enough to allow variable aperture, shallow (ish) natural depth-of-field, much more dynamic range than you’ll get on a phone, etc.An even pricier compact digital is the Sony RX10 Mark IV, which runs around $1700. Also not all that compact, but still considerably smaller than a small DSLR. The thing about this is that it’s also a 1″ camera with a pretty fast lens. But it offers a full-frame range of 24–600mm, it shoots at 24fps, and it can buffer 180 or so raw photos before the buffer fills up. This is a DSLR/mirrorless alternative, it has very little resemblance to what’s possible on a phone.And just to show you they’re crazy, Sony made this, the RX1R Mark II. This is a $3200 compact digital camera. It’s only got a fixed focal length 35mm f/2.0 lens, which has been described as one of the five best full frame lenses ever made. Oh, and yeah, the sensor is full frame and 42 megapixels, same size as in a full frame professional DSLR or, specifically, the Sony A7R mark III mirrorless.So basically, as the phone became the 21st Century Instamatic, stand-alone cameras that couldn’t compete vanished from planet earth. Or at least popular use in the West — it’s not necessarily the case that everyone who wants a digital camera can spend $800 on a smartphone or $400 on a mid-range modern compact digital camera. So the low end isn’t gone entirely. But it’s pretty stagnant.Meanwhile, manufacturers have made the compact digital market more interesting than ever. It’s never going to regain the huge volumes of the film to digital transition era, but that wasn’t possible anyway, once digital cameras didn’t stink after a year or two. But there are still more compact digital cameras sold than DSLRs and mirrorless. With these pushing upscale in ways they never did ten years ago, there are more options than ever.What’s Next?Well, maybe I saw a little more of the future from some Photokina displays. Check this out:This is the Zeiss ZX1. It’s now the third compact digital, after the RX1 and the Leica Q, with a full frame sensor. And no price yet, but you can’t afford it. So other than a way-too-hipster look, what’s up with this?Mainly, it’s the user interface and software. There’s a relatively huge, smartphone sized screen on this, and it’s got Adobe Lightroom built-in. So like a phone, it’s going to be able to be both your camera and your computer for edits, but it’s intended for photographers who know their stuff, not novice. It’s also got WiFi, and yes, you can connect to a hotspot and upload directly to the internet. It appears to be running Android, but they have not said anything about that.So what we have here is a compact digital that’s doing more phone things that we’ve seen in awhile, but at a pretty high level. And now let’s mix that idea up with another big thing in tech that’s on the way: 5G cellular. The claim is that 5G will make data connections so cheap, you’ll have IoT and other wireless devices making direct connections to the internet.Whether or not that materializes, the idea of building cellular into regular cameras may have some legs. Think about the cellular phone-as-camera workflow. You shoot, some AI processes your image, you approve, hit a button, up it goes. There are plenty of people doing somewhat serious work on their phones, simply because of this, and of course, choosing subjects that work with phone cameras well. As some of the folks who have learned photography that way want better, they are going to look at dedicated cameras, compacts, mirrorless, and DSLR. And they’re going to love the better imaging, the art of editing your own photos, etc. But they’re not necessarily going to want to give up that connectivity.So I think this will be a challenge to the camera makers, to make cameras live online or to link them transparently through smartphones. That’s already been done a bit here and there, but it will have to improve.

Google has just released the second Android O developer preview during Google I/O. We’re working on a video, but you can read text versions of what’s new below. Like last year, Google dropped the first preview build for the upcoming Android version a couple of months ahead of I/O. The post that follows is divided up between all the new Android O features in the second dev preview, followed by what was new in the initial alpha preview in the second half. As always, we’ve been busy and have brought together all the changes, features and things you should know about Android O.Update: Along with Google I/O, the latest Android O beta release images are now available, rolling out to beta program phones now.Android O release scheduleThe Android O release will ultimately become Android 8.0 <insert O dessert name here>. Google has already shared a timeline for the rollout of each preview build with the second developer preview arriving during Google I/O as expected, with the third due in mid-June and the fourth in mid-July. The public version of Android 8.0 will be out for supported Pixel, Nexus and Android One devices sometime in Q3, most likely in late August or early September.What’s new in Android O developer preview 2:Fluid ExperiencesAnnounced at Google I/O 2017, Fluid Experiences is Google’s way of helping you be more productive and enjoy multi-tasking tools in your everyday use.TensorFlow Lite is a new scaled-down version of Google’s machine learning tool, Tensor Flow. The new tool assists lower powered devices to keep up with the today’s demanding processes. TensorFlow Lite uses techniques like LSTM to improve your experience. Android O has a new framework from Android, it will hardware accelerate neural network features, helping keep some of the AI components on device, avoiding the need to find an online server to compute things like actions on text selections. Watch for these features in a later update to Android O.Related reading: Google shows off Fluid Experiences, Vitals and more in Android OThere are actually a few cool tools within this grouping, including Picture-in-Picture, Smart Text Selection, Auto-Fill and Notification Dots with long-press actions on the Homescreen. Let’s explore:Picture-in-PictureA familiar phrase and tool in many televisions, within the YouTube app on Android and, yes, in iOS. Google is adding a Picture-in-Picture mode to Android O. With a YouTube video playing, just tap the Home button and the video will pop into a small window that can remain on screen as you navigate other apps on your device. You can slide the video around for best placement, then simply slide it off the screen to terminate. Available now in the Android O Beta.Notification DotsMany custom Launcher users already know the power of a notification icon on top of an app icon on your Homescreen. We even used Tasker to build our own once, but now Google is building it into Android. Android O users will see a small dot that appears over top of their app icons with active notifications. This is where the magic starts, now that your app has an icon, new tools are available – Long-press the app icon with Notification Dot to get a short list of immediate shortlink actions you can perform. This includes viewing the notification itself right there in a tiny pop-up window.The long-press functionality is not yet available in Android O, watch for it coming soon in a future beta release.Smart Text SelectionWe’ve all seen the basic text highlighting features, the copy/paste dialogue in Android, but now there’s more. With Android O, highlighting text includes further features, using Google AI to intelligently act on the words. For instance, if you highlight a phone number, you can just tap to dial. If you highlight an address, a single tap will start navigation. Best of all, highlighting is more intelligent itself, selecting phrases or full addresses, for example, instead of just single words.Auto-FillFor your most used apps on your device, Android O will help quickly log into services. The Auto-Fill feature needs to be coded in by the app devs, but once installed, Android O will remember your usernames, and in some cases your password, to quickly and easily jump into apps on your device.Stay tuned for more coverage of these tools, check out our Diving into Android O series for all the details.VitalsWho wants better battery life? Android O will soon include features under the banner Vitals, including security tools, OS optimizations and tools for developers to better suite your device usage. At Google I/O 2017, the Android team announced Google Play Protect, think of it as a virus scanner for Android apps. So far, the team reports having scanned over 50 billion app installs every day. You’ll see an entry in your Google Play app update window, showing your most recent scan and if there were any issues found.You won't see these as features on your Android O device, but you will enjoy the improved battery life and securityOptimizations in the OS have the team reporting that Pixel devices are booting up in nearly half the time as before. This speed bump goes for apps as well. Extensive changes to the runtime, including things like concurrent, compacting garbage collection and code locality, but in Google’s words, your apps just run faster. More on this later.Wise Limits will apply to background services, preventing apps from running in the background for too long. The goal is to dramatically reduce battery consumption, keeping you up and running through your day.Play Console Dashboard is a new developer tool that provides analytics on app device usage. Developers will be able to see live results of their app running on any Android device – this may not eliminate the need for developers to test their app on most major phones, but it certainly will help them narrow down an issue if a device is acting up. Best of all, the in-depth tools provide insight on how devs can adjust their applications to reduce battery consumption and speed up execution on various devices.You obviously won’t see these as a feature on your Android O device, but you will certainly enjoy the improved performance.These and more great new features announced at Google I/O 2017.Other stuffThere’s plenty of other stuff worth noting too, but a lot of which we can’t see in effect yet. Android O adds font support so app developers can define font style and weight. This could either be a great development or a clusterfont if you’ll pardon my language.Wi-Fi Awareness allows your Android O device or app to communicate with other devices and apps in the vicinity over Wi-Fi without requiring an actual internet connection. There are also some major optimizations to the Android Run-Time (ART) responsible for handling your apps and WebView has also seen some enhancements you’re unlikely to ever even notice.What’s new in Android O developer preview 1:Notifications shadeWhen you swipe down the notifications shade you’ll see the first visual changes in Android O. The strip of six toggles at the top of the notifications shade now takes up a little more space on-screen and there’s a little re-ordering of the toggles in Android O since Nougat. A new condensed font for the date and time means that information takes up less space, which is fortunate because there are now more status bar icons visible.A new condensed font for the date and time means that information takes up less space, which is fortunate because there are now more status bar icons visible.Besides the shortcut to the settings menu and the Quick Settings carat (downward-facing arrow), you’ve now also got Wi-Fi and cellular connection icons as well as the battery icon and remaining percentage (which is shown next to the battery icon).As for the notifications themselves, they look just the same as in Nougat, complete with bundled notifications and quick reply. If you have multiple notifications, you’ll notice that as you drag the notifications shade down, a tiny icon for each notification appears in a horizontal line at the bottom of the shade. As you drag the shade down, each icon pops up and expands into a full notification as more screen space becomes available.Notification handlingAs for notification handling, there’s some familiar stuff going on as well as some new options. If you long press on a notification you’ll see a toggle for Notifications, allowing you to disable all future notifications from that app (when notification channels are fully introduced you’ll also have access to them here, but more on that below).However, if you swipe a notification to the side a little, you’ll get two icons: one for accessing the Notifications toggle and a clock icon for snoozing the notification. If you tap the clock you’ll automatically snooze for 15 minutes but you can open the drop-down menu to snooze for 30 or 60 minutes instead or to disable snooze.Read more about notification handling in Android OQuick SettingsWhen you open up the Quick Settings screen, you’ll see we still have different color schemes for the Pixels compared to Nexus devices. Nexuses get that same dark blue-gray background with aqua accents while the Pixels maintain the near-black and bright blue accent scheme.Looking at the Quick Settings themselves, Google has changed things up yet again. In Android O, the Quick Settings with a line underneath (Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb) have a double function. You can tap the icon to toggle the setting on and off, but if you tap the word underneath the toggle, you’ll open up the mini settings menu instead.The non-underlined toggles just enable a feature like the flashlight or cycle through modes like for data saver no matter where you tap them. Just like in Nougat, you can tap the pen icon to edit the order of the Quick Settings or add another page and you’ve got the same shortcut to add a guest or switch between user accounts.Android O finally adds native support for app badges.App badgesAndroid O finally adds native support for app badges. They’re the little number bubble that shows up on an app icon to show you your unread notification count and are yet another custom launcher feature being absorbed into stock Android. Of course, you’ll have complete control over these at the flick of a toggle in the individual app notification settings.Read more about Android O app badgesSettings menuThe Settings menu is where most of the visual changes look to be taking place in the Android O release.The Settings menu is where most of the visual changes look to be taking place in the Android O release. For starters there’s a new color scheme: both the Pixels and Nexus devices get a black and white approach but you’ll still see their individual blue tones used for accents here and there.The Settings menu itself has received a bit of a reshuffle as well. I won’t bore you with what section moved into which other section, so take a look at the screenshots below to see for yourself. The slide-out navigation drawer and hamburger menu icon have both been removed in this developer preview.The major change in Android O is that the Settings menu is much shorter than it was in Nougat, with no more umbrella categories like “wireless and networks,” “device,” “personal” and “system”. Instead, Android O has more descriptive sections that cover more ground, like “networks and internet,” “connected devices,” “apps and notifications” and “security and screen lock”.Read more on the new Android O settings menuGenerally speaking, everything is in the same place, but a few changes are noticeable. For starters, in the Display settings, Pixel devices have an option for “device theme” with two choices: Inverted or Pixel. From what we can see right now all this does is change the Quick Settings area from light to dark but it may evolve into the long-awaited system-wide dark theme in later developer previews.Pixel devices have an option for “device theme” that may evolve into a system-wide dark theme in Android 8.0.The Pixels also show Night Light in the Display settings while the Nexus does not. As you may remember, night mode made a brief appearance on Nexus devices in the Android N preview builds, but was later removed for failing to meet Google’s performance standards. Dark mode, meanwhile, originally appeared in both the Android M and Android N previews, but has still not made it to prime time on any device.Most sub-sections in the Settings menu have also been overhauled visually. The battery and storage sections are all-new and the app info pages have a new look too. A whole bunch of stuff has now moved into the System sub-section, including languages and input, date and time, updates, about phone and backup and rest options.Everything you know from Nougat is here, but you'll have to go digging to find it.Pretty much everything you know from Nougat still exists in Android O, but you’ll have to go digging to find where it now lives. On the plus side, I have to congratulate Google for finally seeming to get things into places and groupings that make sense, without breaking everything down into an interminable list.System UI TunerAs with Nougat, you can enable the System UI Tuner to tweak certain things in Android O according to your personal preferences. To enable the UI Tuner, swipe down the notifications shade or Quick Settings and long-press the Settings gear icon. You’ll see it spin and feel a vibration when the option has been added to the Settings menu.Status barIn Android O, System UI Tuner now lives under Settings > System. It contains four areas (for now): status bar, do not disturb, navigation bar and lock screen. Status bar still provides a list of toggles for enabling or disabling which icons you see in the status bar, so you can remove persistent Bluetooth or hotspot icons if you so wish.The option to display the battery percentage inside the battery icon, which was a System UI Tuner option in Nougat, is no longer available though. Enabling “Always show percentage” in Android O will keep the battery percentage visible at all times in the status bar, but it’ll be placed next to the battery icon, just like in the Quick Settings view.Do not disturbDo not disturb simply shows two toggles: one for enabling a do not disturb mode toggle under the volume slider and another for adding a volume button shortcut so do not disturb turns on when you press the volume down button once more after vibration only.Navigation barNext up is the navigation bar, which adds a bunch of cool options in Android O. There’s a layout option that lets you choose between normal, compact, left-leaning or right-leaning (which will come in handy on large-screened devices).Read more about customizing the nav bar in Android OYou can also add additional buttons on the left and right of the traditional on-screen navigation buttons. You can choose between clipboard, keycode or keyboard switcher. Clipboard lets you save something to the clipboard and then simply drag it from the button in the nav bar anywhere you want to drop it: a very handy trick for emails, phone numbers and other frequently copy pasted items.The keyboard switcher doesn’t appear to work yet but Keycode lets you assign a numeric keycode to a button you can place on either side of the nav keys. For example, if you want to add a left and right cursor button for moving one character to the left or right rather than awkwardly stabbing at the screen with your finger, then assign Keycode 21 to the left button and Keycode 22 to the right. You can then assign them left and right arrow keys and start editing your spelling mistakes like a pro. There’s a whole bunch of other cool stuff you can do which you can read about here.You can add additional buttons on the left and right of the traditional on-screen navigation buttons in Android O.Lock screenThe lock screen in Android O looks the same as in Nougat but you have options buried in the System UI Tuner for mixing things up. Rather than the shortcuts in the bottom left and right corners for voice assist and the camera, you can change these to whatever you like. The list of options is absolutely huge, making us think it’s a definite Android 8.0 feature.Since we’re talking about the lock screen, Ambient Display has also been revised. While this is more than likely just a developer preview issue, most of the time Ambient Display will only display the clock and some tiny app icons for any notifications awaiting you. With some app notifications, however, like Hangouts for example, you’ll see more information displayed, but only when the notification first comes in.Read more on custom lock shortcuts in Android ORandom changes, additions and omissions:The Easter Egg is the same cat catching game from Android NougatThe Downloads app is gone, replaced by a new Files appThe Memory section has now been relegated to Developer OptionsIf you’re enrolled in the beta program you’ll constantly see an update notification to roll back to NougatLike Android TV, Android O will deliver full support for picture-in-picture mode.Picture-in-picture supportLike Android TV, Android O will deliver full support for picture-in-picture mode. You’ll already be familiar with this in the YouTube app, but when it is implemented across the board, app developers will be able to have their video apps continue playing in a small floating window while you navigate to other areas of the app or to completely different apps entirely. Android O will have support for custom controls like pause and play and developers will be able to set preferred aspect ratios.Read more about Android O app overlays, multi-display support and picture-in-pictureAudioSony donated their LDAC codec to Google for inclusion in Android O. That means if you have LDAC-equipped Bluetooth headphones you’ll get much better quality in Android 8.0. But the fun isn’t just restricted to LDAC, Android O also has support for aptX and aptX HD as well as SBC and AAC. There are also settings for audio sample rates and bits per sample too, plus Android O adds a native AAudio API for apps that require high fidelity, low latency audio.Read more about Android O Bluetooth audio supportNotification channelsThese aren’t yet widespread in Android O, but notification channels are a way for apps to split their notifications into various themes that you can choose to let through or block individually. So instead of picking between receiving dozens of notifications from Twitter every day or none at all, notification channels will allow you to let through the direct reply channel, for example, but block likes and retweets.You’ll be able to manage these on the fly by long-pressing an app notification in the notifications shade or through the individual apps and notifications section in the settings menu.Read more about Android O notification channelsNotification channels are a way for apps to split their notifications into various themes that you can choose to let through or block individually.Physical keyboard supportHardware keyboards are going to become a bigger and bigger thing in Android as Chromebooks now have access to all Google Play apps and the mysterious Andromeda platform continues to lurk in the shadows. While we weren’t able to test out Android O’s hardware keyboard navigation support in any meaningful way, rest assured that Google is attempting to introduce more predictable standards for what the tab and arrow keys do when a physical keyboard is used to navigate Android.We need hardware keyboard support now that Chromebooks have access to Google Play apps.Unknown sourcesAdding apps from anywhere outside Google Play typically just required you to hit your security settings and enable Unknown Sources. But in Android O things get taken up a notch. You’ll now also have to grant permission to the app you’re using to download the APK.For example, if you want to download an APK via Chrome, you’ll first be prompted to give Chrome permission to install other apps via the “trust apps from this source” toggle in the special access section of the apps and notifications setting. You only need to do this once per app however and you can always revoke permission at a later date.Background process limitsAndroid O will severely limit background processes to intermittent windows of activity.Google has been optimizing Android more and more lately to limit the amount of battery drain and resource use that apps are allowed to do in the background. As we’ve seen a lot lately, advanced users will have control over exceptions to these rules, but by and large, Android O will severely limit background processes to intermittent windows of activity controlled by the job scheduler.Read more on background limits in Android OAdaptive iconsAdaptive icons are a fancy way of saying that Google is making an attempt to tidy up the hot mess of inconsistent app icons in Android. They basically provide app developers with multiple shape templates for each icon that adapt to the device they appear on. So if the default app icon shape for your phone is a rounded square then that’s what you’ll see across the board. Rock a Pixel with circular icons and you’ll no longer see weird square icons mixed in with all the round ones. On that note, the nav buttons change from white to black when opening the app drawer now too.Read more on Android O adaptive iconsAutofill APIThe Autofill APIs introduced with Android O simply try to help apps manage passwords and form data better than in previous versions of Android. As Google notes in its blog post, “Users can select an autofill app, similar to the way they select a keyboard app. The autofill app stores and secures user data, such as addresses, usernames, and even passwords”. We’ll have to wait a little while until app developers make full use of the Autofill APIs in Android O, but we should see much more capable password managers in future.Read more about the Autofill API in Android OWider color gamut for appsAndroid developers can now take advantage of devices that have a wide-gamut color capable display.Android O adds support for “wide-gamut color for apps” which sounds a lot like native HDR support but which is actually just a larger palette of supported colors for app developers.As Google notes in the blog post, “Android developers of imaging apps can now take advantage of new devices that have a wide-gamut color capable display. To display wide gamut images, apps will need to enable a flag in their manifest (per activity) and load bitmaps with an embedded wide color profile (AdobeRGB, Pro Photo RGB, DCI-P3, etc.)”.Is it daily driver worthy?The first question on everyone’s lips is whether or not Android O developer previews are daily driver material. In my experience with the first alpha build I encountered very few problems, but it’s a little too early to say how stable the second preview is.If you have a spare phone that has a factory image out for Android O, then absolutely, flash it and have a poke around for yourself. But I wouldn’t advise flashing this on your primary device because this is still a long way from a stable public release and so things will be broken somewhere or other. Just because I haven’t encountered them yet does not mean this is a good bet for the phone you keep by your side all day.