Samsung to Produce A9 Chips for Apple’s Next-Generation Devices
Longtime Apple rival and supplier Samsung will be responsible for manufacturing the A9 chips for Apple’s next-generation iPhone and iPad, Re/code confirmed today. Over the past several months, there’s been a lot of confusion over whether Samsung or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) would produce Apple’s A9 chips, but recent rumors suggest that Samsung’s technological advances have put it ahead of TSMC.
Apple signed a chip production deal with TSMC back in 2013 with the hopes of diversifying its supply chain sources and reducing its reliance on Samsung because of ongoing legal battles, but it has been unable to break away from Samsung for its A-series processors. Both TSMC and Samsung produced 20-nanometer A8 and A8X processors for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 2014, though TSMC handled the bulk of the orders.
20-nanometer A8 chip in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, via Chipworks
At a time when Samsung’s mobile division is seeing profit loss due to flagging sales, the company’s semiconductor business has helped to balance out some of the losses with continued growth. During the last quarter, Samsung’s chip division earned 2.7 trillion won, making supplier relationships like the one that it has with Apple highly important to the company.
Samsung is reportedly already manufacturing A9 chips for Apple, built on its 14-nanometer chip process that has outpaced TSMC’s production capabilities. As detailed by Re/code, the 14-nanometer process will result in smaller chips that use less power.
That’s because Samsung holds a technological edge over TSMC when it comes to the latest manufacturing process. Samsung has managed to shrink the size of the transistors on its chips to 14 nanometers — effectively packing more processing power into a smaller space and consuming less power. TSMC is still at 20 nanometers.
Samsung has not confirmed that it is producing chips for Apple, but Samsung semiconductor president Dr. Kinam Kim said in October that Samsung is expecting chip profits to grow over the coming year thanks to demand for its 14-nanometer chips.
Little is known about Apple’s next-generation iPhone, but based on past releases and upgrade cycles, the new smartphones will use A9 chips and may feature updates to the camera. Rumors have also suggested that Apple may be planning to incorporate an A9 chip into its “iPad Pro,” which may debut in the second or third quarter of 2014, and the A9 in some form will undoubtedly also make an appearance in 2015 iPad Air/mini upgrades.
Apple Working on New Beats Music Service Integrated into OS X and iOS, Available on Android
Apple is working on a new Beats-based paid music streaming service that will be deeply integrated into iTunes on Mac and the stock Music app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, according to 9to5Mac. The report claims that the Apple-designed streaming service will also be available for Android and through a new Apple TV app in the works.
“Based heavily upon cloud streaming, Apple’s new service is centered around the user’s music library. A new search feature will be able to locate any song in the iTunes/Beats catalog, and users will be able to stream music from the catalog as well as add songs to their personal libraries. Users will be able to select specific tracks to store on their iOS devices and/or computers, or keep all songs solely in the cloud. Apple will also deeply integrate Beats Music’s Playlists, Activities, and Mixes features into the new service, letting users access a vast array of pre-made, human-curated playlists to fit various activities.”
The report adds that Beats Music users will be able to merge their existing account with an iTunes/Apple ID account for seamless transition to the new service. The app’s design will shift away from the traditional red and black branding of Beats and feature a user interface that resembles the look and feel of iTunes and the stock Music app on iOS. New social features will also be included for sharing music and playlists with friends.
Apple’s new subscription-based service is expected to cost $7.99 per month, cheaper than the $9.99 per month charged by Beats Music and competing services such as Spotify, Rdio and Google Play Music. While the new Beats service will inevitably have some overlap with iTunes Radio, iTunes Match and the iTunes Store, the report claims that Apple will retain all three offerings.
While Beats Music is available for Android, this new service will mark the first time that Apple develops an Android app in house. Apple CEO Tim Cook has previously expressed that he does not have an issue developing an app for Android if the circumstances make sense, but this will be the first time the company actually delivers on that idea. Unlike Beats Music, however, no Windows Phone app will be offered.
Due to some personnel changes and other difficulties in the collaboration between Apple and Beats, which the iPhone maker acquired last year for $3 billion, the timeline for this new streaming service project remains in jeopardy. The report claims that while Apple originally planned to launch the service in March, sources claim that the company is now more likely to launch the service at WWDC in June.
Bloomberg: Twitter is reconnecting its firehose to Google
Tomorrow Twitter will release its latest quarterly earnings figures, but ahead of that Bloomberg has word that the service is bringing its firehose of data back to Google’s search results. The two have been estranged ever since 2011 when Google announced its agreement to access the Twitter firehose had expired and it would need to suspend its “realtime” search feature that included up-to-the-minute results from social media. Of course back then Google was still going all-in on Google+, Twitter had expanded relationships with Bing and Yahoo, and webOS was still kicking. Now, Google has backed off of the hard sell for its social media platform and there has been significant turnover in the executives at both companies. According to the report, at some point in the first half of this year Google will again include Tweets as soon as they’re posted, so there’s one more reason to check for typos before hitting Enter.
[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Source: Bloomberg
Android 5.0.1 Lollipop landing on Sprint’s HTC One (M7) starting February 5
Tomorrow, February 5, will be a very special day for owners of the HTC One (M7) on Sprint’s network. The carrier has approved an update that will deliver the (almost) latest version of Android to the HTC flagship of 2013. HTC’s VP of Product Management, Mo Versi, announced on Twitter that Android 5.0.1 would begin rolling out to the One (M7) in an over-the-air (OTA) update.
Despite breaking its promise, we are glad to see HTC delivering Lollipop goodness to its devices.
Source: @moversi (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: Android 5.0.1 Lollipop landing on Sprint’s HTC One (M7) starting February 5
Study says that excessive use of smartphones can ruin your sleep
Full disclosure: by day, I work for a company that specializes in sleep medicine, which is why this article is so close to my heart and why I think it’s important to share it. A study just published on BMJ Open has uncovered an unhealthy link between excessive use of smartphones (and technology with screens in general) and issues […]
The post Study says that excessive use of smartphones can ruin your sleep appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Deal: LG G Watch R on sale for $249.99 at Daily Red Tags
While the verdict on Android Wear vs Samsung Gear might still be up for individual interpretation, one thing is a bit more certain: the LG G Watch R is a fantastic piece of kit. Featuring a plastic OLED screen with a fully complete circular display (something Motorola came up a bit flat in attempting), and fantastic battery life, the smartwatch was a major upgrade from the original LG G Watch released last summer. Unfortunately, top tech is often price prohibitive, and at $300 the G Watch R is a bit steep for some.
Thanks to shopping site Daily Red Tags however, it’s now available for $50 off, bringing the price down to just $249.99. The model in question is the International (European) model and thus for customers living in North America or Asia, the AC Adapter will inevitably not fit in your charging socket, but there are easy ways to get around that. It’s worth mentioning that this is the largest sale we’ve seen for the product, with only Amazon selling it at $10 below retail price at $289.
For all those who missed our coverage on the round wonder, take a gander at our review and see for yourself if the LG G Watch R might be right for you.
Apple in Talks With Content Providers for Web-Based TV Service
Rumors about Apple’s television plans have died down in recent months as no new product has appeared, but the company hasn’t given up on TV. According to industry executives that spoke to Re/code, Apple is in talks with television programmers over deals that would see the company potentially offering a web TV service.
Such a service would potentially allow Apple to offer a television service that would be streamed over the web, providing access to a bundle of channels from participating programmers. The service would not include a full lineup of channels like traditional cable, but it would offer a range of content delivered by Apple with its own interface.
The theory is that Apple would put together bundles of programming — but not the entire TV lineup that pay TV providers generally offer — and sell it directly to consumers, over the Web. That means Apple wouldn’t be reinventing the way TV works today, but offering its own version of it, with its own interface and user experience.
Apple is reportedly far enough along in the development of such a service that it has been showing potential programming partners demos of the service, talks remain in the early stages — pricing and a potential release timeline are unknown.
Apple originally had very ambitious plans for revamping television, which included a desire to create a subscription television service that would replace existing cable subscription packages, but was unable to move forward with that idea due to pushback from content providers.
After a string of failed negotiations, Apple scaled back on its television plans, aiming to wedge itself between cable companies and consumers by designing a set-top box that would play live television in lieu of a traditional cable box. Rumors suggested Apple was in talks with Comcast and Time Warner over such a service, which would also include cloud-based DVR functionality, but that did not materialize.
Apple has repeatedly failed to reach deals with content providers due to a reluctance to change the status quo, but as Re/code points out, the television industry has been shifting towards web-based models in recent months, and both Sony and Dish have managed to establish deals with programmers to provide live TV and video-on-demand over the web.
Apple TV rumors point to a Sling TV, PlayStation Vue competitor
It’s been about six months since we heard significant rumors about Apple + television and as predicted, here they are again. Re/code is hearing whispers that instead of trying to work with pay-TV companies like Time Warner Cable or Comcast, Apple will have its own over-the-top streaming service in the vein of the just-launched Sling TV, or upcoming services from Verizon and Sony. The rumor suggests Apple will license content directly from programmers, although its last go-round of negotiations suggesting a split in advertising revenue was not well-received. That similar services exist now certainly gives this round of rumors a shot in the arm, but Apple has been considering its next move in the living room for years without doing much. CEO Tim Cook mentioned last week that sales of the Apple TV have crossed 25 million units, and as usual the world is wondering what the company will do with its “hobby.” As always, until something is actually announced my advice is to remain skeptical.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Apple
Source: Re/code
Google Glass’ new boss wants to redesign the headset ‘from scratch’
If you suspected that Google Glass’ change of leadership would also lead to a big change in the wearable technology itself, you made a pretty good guess. As part of a tell-all about Glass’ troubles, the New York Times is claiming that project lead (and Nest CEO) Tony Fadell plans to redesign the head-mounted computer “from scratch.” And unlike the original, you aren’t likely to see any public beta testing — in keeping with earlier pronouncements, one tipster says that Fadell won’t release this next-gen device “until it’s perfect.” Just when that might happen is still up in the air, but the Nest exec’s historical focus on shipping over experimentation hints that you won’t have to wait years to try Glass 2 for yourself.
[Image credit: AP Photo]
Filed under: Wearables, Google
Source: New York Times
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