Following Poor Performance on Galaxy Phones, ‘Samsung Pay Mini’ Reportedly Heading to iOS

Samsung is planning to launch its mobile payments service Samsung Pay as a downloadable iOS app, according to a new report from South Korea’s ETNews. Called Samsung Pay Mini, the app will allow iPhone users to enter their credit card information to make payments within online stores.

Not many details were given about the initial launch, but the app seems to be limited to South Korea and available only as an online payment option with no retail support yet. The rollout in South Korea could begin as early as June.

Samsung’s reason behind introducing support for its mobile wallet onto iOS is reportedly due to Samsung Pay’s poor performance on the company’s line of Galaxy smartphones. An expansion to Apple’s iOS ecosystem is hoped to help bolster Samsung Pay usage beyond its current limited scope.

“By releasing SamsungPay Mini, Samsung Electronics has completed a versatile platform that absorbs online and mobile payments.” said a high-ranking representative of a card company. “Besides of online payments, SamsungPay Mini will be a catalyst for Samsung Electronics in tying together variety of additional businesses.”

According to sources within the IT and financial industries, the company plans for the new app to be free and work on all Android devices as well as Apple’s iPhone. During the initial launch in South Korea, Samsung Card, Lotte Card, and Hana Card have all agreed to support Samsung Pay Mini. KB Card and a few other companies have mentioned interest in joining the service, as well, but beyond South Korea, there was no mention of a wider Samsung Pay Mini launch.

On Apple’s side of the mobile payment market, the Cupertino company has been expanding Apple Pay’s presence in multiple countries ever since its launch in 2014. This morning, Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey described how the company is “working rapidly” to get its mobile wallet into “every significant market” Apple is currently involved in.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
Tag: Samsung Pay
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Apple’s Amazon Echo Competitor Could Feature Camera, Facial Recognition

Apple’s rumored product designed to compete with the Amazon Echo could come equipped with a camera and facial recognition capabilities, reports CNET. Citing sources with knowledge of Apple’s plans, CNET says the device would be “self aware,” able to detect the people in the room through facial recognition technology.

Once the device determines who is in the room, that information could be used to pull up each person’s preferences, “such as the music and lighting they like,” allowing for a customized interactive experience for each member of the home. Facial recognition is something Apple has previously expressed interest in, both through patent filings and acquisitions.

News of Apple’s work on an Amazon Echo competitor first surfaced earlier this week, when The Information reported such a device was under development. The Amazon Echo is an in-home personal assistant device that features a built-in speaker and a robust artificial intelligence system, and a product from Apple would likely be similar, with AI capabilities based on Siri along with its own speaker and microphone.

It is not clear what form Apple’s in-home hub will take. While The Information’s report suggested it was a standalone hardware product, a second report from VentureBeat has said Apple will built the Echo-like features into a next-generation Apple TV.

Apple is laying the groundwork for a robust in-home AI-powered product through its work on Siri, and major Siri improvements could come in iOS 10. Apple is said to be preparing to release a Siri SDK, which would make the personal assistant available to developers for the first time and greatly increase its functionality.

Today’s report is the first to include details on a potential release timeline, suggesting the device could launch at the end of 2016, but 2017 is a more likely target. CNET cautions that Apple’s plans for a camera could change as it is a potential privacy risk that may not be favorable with consumers. As with all Apple products still under development, there’s also a chance Apple could scrap its Echo competitor entirely.

Tags: Siri, cnet.com, Amazon Echo
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iPhone 7 Plus leaks: Thicker, 3GB RAM, 2K AMOLED, Smart Keyboard port

Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus diagrams show off thicker builds than current models, but that could be a good thing thanks to better specs and more connection options. In the case of the iPhone 7 Plus it should work with the Apple Smart Keyboard.

The leaked design specs come from diagrams with measurements shown off on Chinese site MyDrivers. Since these are drawings we’re taking them with a pinch of salt. If they prove to be accurate we can expect to find the iPad Pro’s Smart Keyboard connector on the iPhone 7 Plus but not on the iPhone 7.

Another disparity between the two devices found here is width with the iPhone 7 coming in at 7.2mm, 0.3mm thicker than the iPhone 6, and the iPhone 7 Plus coming in at 7.3mm or 0.2mm thicker than the iPhone 6 Plus. This could denote larger batteries may power the newer models.

The source also claims the iPhone 7 Plus will come with 3GB of RAM and dual-camera while the iPhone 7 will have a single camera and 2GB of RAM. It also reports that the new iPhones will both do away with the 3.5mm audio jack and use new 2K AMOLED Force Touch displays. Although this is part of a paragraph talking about the new ZTE Axon and may be a translation issue.

Apple is rumoured to make a big jump forward with the iPhone 7, following declining sales, so these changes could make perfect sense.

READ: Apple iPhone 7: What’s the story so far?

Learn to shoot and edit like the pros with the Pay What You Want: Complete Photography Bundle

Instagram and Snapchat filters are a great deal of fun, but your smartphone is no substitute to the beauty and depth you’re able to capture with a full DSLR camera. Learn how to take breathtaking photos and master editing techniques of the pros with the Pay What You Want: Complete Photography Bundle, a £735.92 ($1,068) value at a price you choose, available for a limited time from Pocket-lint Deals.

Get on the fast track to professional-grade photography and editing with 9 courses of deep-dive tutorials provided in this great bundle, offering lifetime access for your ultimate convenience. Learn top level techniques in photography and the photo-editing programs in courses taught by esteemed, award-winning photographers Kasia Zmokla and Tom Eversley, and deep-dive on a series of e-learning courses to take your skills to the next level. Master travel photography, food shooting, advanced portrait photography and so much more.

Courses include:

Photography Assets by Kasia Zmokla
Photography Assets by Tom Eversley
Black and White Photography in the Digital Age
Portrait Photography Masterclass
The Art of Travel Photography
Become a Better Photographer – Part I
Become a Better Photographer – Part II
DIY Food Photography
Advanced Creative Photography Skills

This Complete Photography Bundle will help make your photos frame-worthy every time. And the best part? You get to pick the price.

How ‘Pay What You Want’ works: With “Pay What You Want” bundles, you can get DIY Food Photography and Advanced Creative Photography Skills courses for as little as you want to pay. And if you beat the remarkably low average price, you’ll get all courses in the Complete Photography Bundle.

Secure and surveillance-free browsing: CyberGhost VPN 3-year subscription is now 80 per cent off

Not all VPNs are created equal. In an age where hacking and data thievery is highly commonplace, a high-quality VPN needs to be certified, deliver constant activity surveillance with military grade encryption, and offer total anonymity.

Thankfully, CyberGhost VPN does all that and more – and with your 3-year Premium Plan subscription at 80 per cent off from Pocket-lint Deals, you’ll see why PC Mag praises CyberGhost VPN as “the VPN service you’ve been looking for.”

Unblock geo-restricted content from all over the world and free yourself from the invasiveness of annoying ads as you enjoy unrestricted, anonymous web use via CyberGhost VPN. Unlimited bandwidth and forced HTTPS secured connections make confident browsing a breeze, and you can even use CyberGhost with individually configured direct-to-system connections, with additional support of native OpenVPN, IPSec, L2TP and PPTP.

Eliminate concerns over surveillance, snooping bosses, geographical restrictions and more with one of the web’s highest-rated VPNs. Safe, fast, and ad-free, your CyberGhost VPN Premium Plan: 3-Yr Subscription is available for just £28.31 ($39.99) from Pocket-lint Deals.

What to expect at IFA 2016

Consumer electronics trade show IFA takes place in Berlin at the beginning of September every year.

It’s been the platform for some major launches over the last couple of years from the first few generations of Samsung Galaxy Note devices to some of Sony’s biggest announcements.

What can we expect at IFA 2016 though? We been doing some speculating, as well as rounded up any rumoured devices we’ve heard about. As usual we will update this feature over the next few months as we hear of more potential announcements.

Apple at IFA 2016

Apple notoriously doesn’t have a presence at IFA, or any other trade show for that matter. It does normally steal some of the limelight back with its own event around the time of IFA though.

Don’t expect anything from Apple at IFA itself but the iPhone 7 is likely to be announced within a couple of days of the show, if last year is anything to go by anyway. You can read all the rumours for the next iPhone in our separate feature.

Huawei at IFA 2016

Huawei announced the Mate S at IFA 2015 and revealed the price and availability for its Android Wear smartwatch.

There aren’t currently any rumours suggesting what the Chinese firm will present us with at this year’s IFA but expect something. We’d place our bets on a new smartphone if nothing else.

LG at IFA 2016

LG tends to use IFA to make several announcements from new TVs to wearables to smart appliances.

There have been rumours to suggest the South Korean company will unveil the G Flex 3 smartphone at the show but we don’t expect that to be all it has up its sleeve.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see a new range of TVs, along with a couple of other surprises. Perhaps an Ultra HD Blu-ray player will make an appearance? Who knows.

Motorola at IFA 2016

Lenovo-owned Motorola announced three versions of the Moto 360 smartwatch at IFA 2015. We’ve already seen the Moto G arrive and the Moto X or Moto Z as it is also being called is due to follow before IFA begins.

If the smartphones are out of the way, will that mean Motorola turns its attention to wearables again? If the Moto 360 3 graces us with its presence, hopefully it will be without that black bar.

Panasonic at IFA 2016

Like LG, Panasonic also uses IFA as a platform to make several announcements. It launched a 4G home monitoring camera at IFA 2015, along with a 65-inch THX-certified 4K OLED TV.

The company also tends to keep things interesting by featuring a few conceptual pieces on its stand too. What it will present at IFA 2016 remains to be seen but we’d expect TVs and smarthome to both be high on the agenda.

Panasonic already has an Ultra HD Blu-ray player but it isn’t cheap so maybe we’ll see a cheaper one appear at IFA 2016.

Philips at IFA 2016

Philips has several brands and segments within its portfolio so expect a few announcements from the company at IFA 2016.

The company revealed a suite of health products at IFA 2015 including the Health Watch. We already know the Health Watch will be made available from this year’s IFA for around €250 but what else Philips and its brands will announce is a guessing game for now.

Samsung at IFA 2016

In the past, Samsung has used IFA to launch its Galaxy Note smartphone. This all changed last year when the company opted to announce the Note 5 early though, using IFA to reveal the Gear 2 Tizen smartwatch and an Ultra HD Blu-ray player instead.

We don’t expect the Note 6 or Note 7 as it has recently been called to appear at IFA 2016. We do however expect Samsung to unveil some new TVs and we wouldn’t be surprised to see a focus on VR, as well as possibly another wearable for good measure. We’re just guessing for now though.

Sony at IFA 2016

IFA is a big show for Sony. It not only launches new TVs, but it also tends to expand its audio range, mobile line-up and every now and then it throws in a couple of extra devices for good measure.

Sony has yet to come to market with an Ultra HD Blu-ray player so we wouldn’t be surprised to see one of those appear on its stand, as well as a new mobile flagship. You can read about all the rumours for the next Xperia flagship in our separate feature.

Tech then and now: Hilarious pictures of how gadgets have changed us for the worse

The internet came along and changed our lives. Smartphones and super slim televisions are now standard the world over. But it wasn’t always that way, oh no, it was better once.

Better how? We hear you ask. In plenty of ways. We lived happy lives before phones and email. We just didn’t really notice the changes happening over the years.

From televisions and laptops slimming down as we bulge out, to phones actually getting weaker, tech has surprisingly affected us in ways we may not have expected.

But a selection of very witty artists have noticed all the changes that tech has brought and made light of them. Yes most of them are changes for the worst. But the way these changes are so obvious, yet we barely notice them, is brilliant.

We won’t bang on about it anymore, just check out the gallery yourself. Click through and enjoy the way the world has changed without us even noticing.

Of course if you’re someone born after the internet, or after smartphones appeared, then all this might not make much sense. It’s still worth a click through to see how life was before tech took over.

Canon EOS 1300D review: Entry-level ace?

Thanks to smartphones, everyone’s a photographer these days – but what happens when you hit your iPhone or Galaxy’s imaging limits and realise you need something a bit beefier? Chances are, your first thought is to buy yourself what used to be known as a “real camera”: a DSLR.

Step forward the Canon EOS 1300D, the company’s latest entry-level model. With an 18-megapixel APS-C sensor, manual settings, optical viewfinder and the ability to use a huge variety of lenses, it’s a sizeable step up from a phone snapper. But reasoning that such upgraders will expect to be able to share their images on social media straight away, Canon has also chucked in Wi-Fi and NFC for simple smartphone connection – that’s the 1300D’s primary difference over the older 1200D.

And then there’s the price. At just £330 including an 18-55mm zoom lens, the 1300D is one of the most affordable DSLRs around from launch. So does it offer the sort of performance-to-price trade-off to attract would-be “serious” photographers, or would they be better off spending a little more on one of the impressive (and pricier) compact system cameras offered by the likes of Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus and Panasonic?

Canon EOS 1300D review: Design and build quality

As DSLRs go, the 1300D couldn’t be called a standout in the style department. Very much a “classic” DSLR in terms of its shape, it looks the same as every other entry-level EOS DSLR that has come before it. Consider the arresting design of compact system cameras like Olympus’ PEN or Fujifilm’s X Series and it’s hard to contemplate anybody choosing something as dull as this over them – but then style could be considered subjective and a sort-of unimportant trait for a camera.

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And in most other aspects of design and build, Canon has done a fine job. The 1300D is constructed mostly from polycarbonate resin (you might also know this as “plastic”) which, while not the prettiest substance to look at, feels amply tough in the hands, as well as light in weight. This isn’t a camera you want to whip out in a summer thunderstorm or bring on a rock climbing trip, but it’ll withstand regular everyday use quite capably.

That classic DSLR shape we mentioned above? It’s endured so long chiefly because it’s functional. The chunky grip makes it comfortable to hold and hard to drop (you can even use it one-handed), while the placement of controls and dials on the top and back of the camera puts everything within easy reach of your thumbs and fingers.

While we’re on the subject, the 1300D’s buttons are large, pruned back to no more than the basics. That’s part of Canon’s plan to keep those aforementioned upgrader users happy and free of information overload, we suspect – but it does limit the 1300D’s customisability somewhat. Some cameras sport multiple customisable buttons, but here there’s really just the one Q button to access the quick menu. Other buttons give provide shortcuts to exposure compensation, ISO sensitivity, autofocus mode, white balance and drive/self-timer.

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Canon EOS 1300D review – sample image at ISO 100

The 3-inch screen on the back is impressive in most situations, providing decent contrast, colour reproduction and detail that make it a joy to review photos and videos, while menu screens look bright and crisp. It’s not touch-sensitive, though, which does limit your control options slightly, but given the price of the 1300D and its position in Canon’s range, that’s perhaps not a surprise. On the flip side, it is a surprise that it lacks given the way smartphones have morphed the way we use electronic devices.

One problem we had with the display is that it’s too reflective and not quite bright enough to see properly on a sunny day. Not an issue you might struggle with too often here in the UK, but worth a mention anyway. The other is that it’s fixed, and doesn’t rotate or tilt; having an articulated screen helps you compose images in situations where you can’t use the viewfinder (with the camera held high above your head, for instance, you can tilt it down and see what you’re shooting), so it’s a shame users will miss out on that.

Canon EOS 1300D review: Performance

There’s not much point in beating around the bush here: the 1300D performs like an entry-level DSLR. To give a few examples: its continuous shooting speed tops out at a sluggish three shots per second (3fsp); it has only nine autofocus points; there’s no built-in HDR shooting mode. None of these are deal-breakers, especially in a camera this affordable, but you can see where Canon has pruned back performance to save costs.

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That said, we didn’t find the camera difficult to use, or its limitations particularly noticeable. It autofocuses quickly enough to shoot static or slow-moving subjects, even in low-light (unless you’re using the live view mode, which takes what seems like an age to lock onto a subject in such conditions – it’s pretty good in decent light though). We found metering to be accurate by default, helping you to take correctly exposed photos from the off (there are other metering options which you can learn about as you progress).

The ISO sensitivity range looks a little stingy on paper at just 100 to 6400 (it can be expanded to 12,800 for emergencies). The higher that number the more the camera processes the captured data to compensate for given lighting conditions: so if it’s dark the camera has to “boost” the ISO to maintain an exposed image and fast enough shutter speed for sharpness’ sake, but the higher the ISO the more image noise that is revealed and, therefore, the more processing that is needed to attempt to counteract it, which typically results in softness. So if you’re looking for a camera that dazzles at nighttime shooting, you need to be willing to spend more than £330; again, we can’t really fault Canon too much here given the entry-level point.

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Canon EOS 1300D review – sample image at ISO 100, f/9

As for the camera’s Wi-Fi connection? Well, it works much like most other connected cameras, allowing you to hook it up to a phone/tablet running the free Canon Camera Connect app, which you can then use to move photos and video from the camera to the device. The app also lets you use your connected device as a remote control and viewfinder for the 1300D, plus make some basic changes to image settings. It all feels pretty intuitive and slick, although being an iPhone user, your intrepid reviewer wasn’t able to test out the NFC contactless connectivity, instead pairing phone and 1300D the old fashioned way.

Canon EOS 1300D review: Image quality

OK, enough messing about. You’re probably wondering by now if the 1300D’s photo and video quality is up to much. After all, we’ve been banging on a lot about how cheap it is, so surely it’s nothing special, right?

Wrong! While 18-megapixels may not sound like much in this day of 20-megapixel phone cameras, the sensor’s size and the fact that, whatever lens you’ve got attached, it’ll be better than your phone’s plastic peephole means it surpasses anything you could capture on a smartphone. In good lighting conditions, you can expect crisp detail, accurate colours and a lack of grainy noise – and that’s just with the bundled 18-55mm kit lens.

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Canon EOS 1300D review – sample image at ISO 100, f/2.8

We also tried the 1300D with Canon’s f/1.4 50mm prime lens (around £230), and here the results were even sharper and cleaner, with beautiful out-of-focus bokeh backgrounds as a result of that wide-open aperture. Not a bad investment either: for a £560 all-in purchase you have a great prime lens shooter for less than some similar high-end compact cameras.

In low-light with the ISO pushed up to 3200 and 6400, the on-board image processor does an admirable job of controlling image noise. You’ll definitely spot speckles and grain if you zoom in on your computer screen (or print images at poster size), but overall the results are surprisingly clear.

The 1300D is primarily a stills camera, but if you twist the mode dial to video you can capture Full HD footage at up to 30fps (or 720p at 60fps), and it looks pretty great – again, a big jump above the equivalent clips taken using a phone or cheap compact camera in terms of detail and noise – and there’s also far more potential for blurred background bokeh, which always gives your videos a bit of Hollywood sheen.

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Canon EOS 1300D review – sample image at ISO 3200

There are a handful of manual options available when shooting video, too, but we wouldn’t quite recommend the 1300D as a filmmaker’s tool. If you look at its video mode as a bonus feature, you won’t be disappointed, but anyone looking to primarily capture video should be looking at pricier, more feature-rich cameras.

Verdict

The world of entry-level DSLRs isn’t a particularly dynamic or fast-moving one, but Canon has succeeded in hitting all the main bullet points with the 1300D, bar the lack of touchscreen.

Ultimately similar to the EOS 1200D, the 1300D captures great photos and decent videos, is easy to use, sturdy (despite the plastic build), lightweight and priced at a truly affordable level. Chuck in the smartphone connectivity – that’s the primary difference with this latest model compared to the last – and you’ve pretty much got the perfect introductory camera. Now that’s an ideal step-up from your point-and-shoot snapper or smartphone, if you’re ok with the scale of a DSLR and confident that you’d actually pack it up and carry it around with you. 

In the wide world of cameras the 1300D couldn’t be described as an especially exciting camera to use – as it doesn’t push any envelopes and it’s lacking in the kind of headline-grabbing trick shot features that you’ll find on more expensive models – but it’s a really solid performer and an accessible way to start taking better photos. Can’t say better than that.