mobile-devices – Ken May

Apple’s iOS 12 strategy: Take more time to squash the bugs

Enlarge / The new 10.5-inch iPad Pro. (credit: Andrew Cunningham) Apple has new features planned for its big, new iOS update—but not as many as you may expect. According to a Bloomberg report , the next sweeping iOS update, codenamed “Peace” and likely to be called iOS 12, will include a number of app redesigns, the expansion of Animoji into Facetime, and other changes but not some of the biggest rumored changes such as redesigned home screens for iPhone and iPad. Instead of filling iOS 12 with a bevy of new features, Apple is reportedly changing strategies to allow developers more time to perfect the new features to ensure reliability. The biggest change planned for iOS 12, slated for release this fall, is a universal app system that would allow one app to work across iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. Currently, users have to download separate iOS and macOS apps to use the same programs across their mobile devices and desktops or laptops. Along with this change, Apple could bring some mobile-specific apps to macOS, like the Home app that controls HomeKit-enabled smart home devices. Animojis will find another home in Facetime when iOS 12 is released. Apple is reportedly working on increasing the number of AR characters available and allowing users to don them during live Facetime video chats. A new iPad is reportedly in the works that has Apple’s FaceID camera, which would allow it to support Animojis as well (Animojis are only currently available on the iPhone X , which has the new FaceID camera). Also planned for the new software update are a revamped stock-trading app and Do Not Disturb feature, an updated search view that leans more heavily on Siri, a new interface for importing photos onto an iPad, and multiplayer augmented reality gameplay. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Apple’s iOS 12 strategy: Take more time to squash the bugs

iOS 11.1 brings new emojis and important security updates

Apple has released iOS 11.1 and it comes with over 70 new emojis, the return of 3D Touch multitasking and a handful of bug fixes. Some of the new emojis include a cursing smiley face, a vampire, a hedgehog, Chinese takeout, a sandwich and a mermaid. Some existing emojis have been tweaked to improve their design as well. Once you update your OS, the new selections will appear in your keyboard, and if someone sends you one of the new emojis, they won’t show up properly on your phone until you’ve updated. As for 3D Touch multitasking, Apple had included it in earlier operating systems, but removed it. However, now you’ll again be able to touch the left side of the display with a little pressure in order to get back to your app carousel. Along with these improvements and additions, iOS 11.1 also comes with a handful of security updates, most notably a fix for a major WPA2 WiFi vulnerability. Prior to this update, attackers could use a key reinstallation attack , aka Krack, to pull out sensitive data and personal information by decrypting network traffic. That vulnerability has been patched for Apple mobile devices with iOS 11.1 and you can check out the full list of included security updates here . The update is available now for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and it’s just in time for the launch of iPhone X . Via: 9to5Mac Source: Apple

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iOS 11.1 brings new emojis and important security updates

Samsung topples Intel as world’s largest chipmaker

Samsung registered a record profit of $12.6 billion in its second quarter earnings report, but hidden in those numbers lies another milestone. Of its $54 billion in revenue, $15 billion came solely from Samsung Semiconductors — pushing it above the $14.8 billion that all of Intel brought in. In short: Samsung just ended Intel’s 24-year-reign and became the largest chipmaker in the world. But Samsung didn’t get there by outselling processors — it’s been diversifying its chip offerings for years. While Intel has focused on CPUs for computers and servers after burying its wearables division last November, Samsung has broadened into making chips for mobile devices, as well as connected chips for IoT and smart vehicles. But the company also got ahead of Intel on the strength of its flash memory with more popular SSD products. Intel isn’t giving up on the rivalry, and claimed its next generation of long-delayed Cannon Lake 10nm chips will feature twice as many transistors as Samsung’s or TMSC’s, putting them “light years” ahead. Via: Sam Mobile Source: Samsung Second Quarter 201 Earnings , Intel Second Quarter Earnings (PDF)

Qualcomm pays BlackBerry $940 million in royalty spat

Qualcomm hasn’t been very successful with its licensing practices. It’s gotten into trouble in South Korea for charging phone makers over an “unnecessarily broad set of patents” It has also been dealing with lawsuits from the FTC and Apple for similar tactics. Qualcomm was ordered to pay BlackBerry $815 million in an arbitration settlement last April. BlackBerry announced today that the two companies have reached a final agreement amount of $940 miillion, which includes the original arbitration amount along with interst and attorneys’ fees. The release says that Qualcomm will pay the full amount before the end of May. BlackBerry has been trying to change its fortune after getting out of phone design . It brought in $286 million in revenue last quarter, making this $940 million settlement a much needed infusion of cash to can help the beleaguered company pivot towards self-driving cars . For its part, Qualcomm seems to be weathering the storm of lawsuits and anti-trust fines with countersuits and settlements like the current BlackBerry agreement. Qualcomm’s chips power a large number of mobile devices, with a Snapdragon system-on-chips in high-end Android phones. The company also continues to expand to as many other devices as possible, including IoT and connected cars . We’ve reached out to Qualcomm for comment on this story and will update when we hear back. Source: Blackberry

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Qualcomm pays BlackBerry $940 million in royalty spat

Windows 10 is coming to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon mobile chips

Microsoft’s first attempt at bringing Windows to ARM-powered machines was, shall we say, not a good idea . But perhaps the second time’s the charm. Microsoft and Qualcomm just announced that Windows 10 is coming to the next generation of Snapdragon mobile processors. And to be clear, they’re referring to the full version of the OS, with support for legacy Win32 software and universal Windows apps. It won’t be a stripped-down affair like Windows RT. Both companies are being vague about specifics, but in short you can expect Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 devices to be incredibly light and power efficient. And since those chips typically appear in mobile devices, they also have the added benefit of packing in cellular radios. As for availability, Qualcomm says the first Windows 10 Snapdragon PCs could arrive “as early as next year.” Perhaps they’re just hedging their bets, but the cynic in me thinks that really means we won’t see them until 2018.

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Windows 10 is coming to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon mobile chips

Medical Youtube crowdsources library of educational videos

Add / Remove Nowhere is the potential of image sharing more powerful than in the medical profession, where photos and videos of real cases provide infinitely superior resources compared to text descriptions. We have already seen Figure 1 — the ‘medical Instagram’ — which enables health professionals to upload and share photos of conditions, creating online discussion as well as crowdsourcing a database of reference images. Now, ReelDx is aiming to become the YouTube of the medical world — an easy to use platform for creating, sharing and storing videos of medical procedures and conditions. Medical professionals can capture real, interesting cases using traditional video cameras, mobile devices or Google glass and upload the videos to ReelDx’s secure HIPAA-compliant servers. They are then converted into a common format and reviewed by the company’s medical editorial board, before being published on ReelDx’s peer-reviewed online libraries. The video cases can then be viewed by medical students and professionals to enhance learning and diagnostics. In order to protect patient’s privacy, last names, medical records and other identifiers are omitted, and cases are only included with patient or family consent. The database is only available to registered professionals and institutions who sign up to ReelDx Education. Are there other industries where video sharing could prove a useful, educational tool? Website: www.reeldx.com Contact: info@reeldx.com

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Medical Youtube crowdsources library of educational videos