The USB-IF is certifying USB chargers going forward
There are so many USB chargers in the world, you’re bound to get stuck with one that doesn’t work the way it should, or it may not work at all. The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced a Certified USB Charger Compliance and Logo Program to offer USB chargers for compliant USB Type-C devices.
Essentially, this means several USB chargers going forward will be certified based upon their specifications, meant to reduce the number of chargers consumers need to purchase or carry around, thus eventually minimizing the electronic waste in landfills that piles up as a result. Equipment will carry the promise that “it just works,” according to Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF President and COO.
As the USB-IF notes, non-compliant chargers can pose a risk to the functionality of electronics, which you’re probably well aware of if you’ve ever purchased a faulty piece of equipment that not only didn’t charge properly but also made your devices function strangely. Companies will be encouraged to submit their chargers for testing to earn the USB-IF certification going forward, and this type of certification can only be a good thing for buyers.
Source: BusinessWire
Apple builds an R&D center in China to survive a tough market
There’s no question that China isn’t as much of a money maker for Apple as it once was. However, it’s not about to quit the country — if anything, it’s settling in for the long haul. The company has unveiled plans to build a Chinese research and development center by the end of the year. Just what it’ll work on isn’t evident at this stage, although it’s part of an overall increased investment in Apple’s second-largest market.
It has a few good reasons to set deeper roots in China. Much as with the massive investment in Didi Chuxing, it’s at least partly about assuaging regulators who’ve been banning services and are otherwise jittery about an American company on their turf. Apple is trying to show that it can create jobs and otherwise contribute to the Chinese job market beyond stores and factory contracts. This also helps Apple recruit Chinese talent that would be difficult or impossible to bring overseas.
The moves might be necessary in a nation whose smartphone market is particularly volatile. Apple isn’t the only one hurting — IDC estimates that Xiaomi, a darling of the Chinese market just a year ago (it’s sometimes billed as China’s Apple), saw its shipments plunge a whopping 38.4 percent year-over-year during the second quarter. The exact reasons for its trouble are mixed, although it’s a latecomer to advertising (it historically relied on online sales) while rivals have stepped up their game.
Both Apple and Xiaomi might also simply be facing a changing of the guard. While Huawei is still the top phone brand in China, it’s technically eclipsed by BBK’s rapidly growing smartphone empire. It owns Oppo and Vivo, whose shipments surged (in Oppo’s case, by 124 percent) to make them the second- and third-largest phone brands in China this spring. Combine that with the smaller but plucky OnePlus badge and BBK largely has the country covered, ranging from budget phones for the mass market to attention-getting flagship devices. Anyone trying to take on BBK faces a multi-pronged assault, making it that much harder to topple.
Source: Reuters, IDC
Airbnb tests an app that plans your trips
Airbnb’s efforts to plan your whole trip, not just your stay, just got a little more concrete. The home rental outfit is testing an Airbnb Trips app for Android (an iOS version should also be in the works) that shows you what to do once you’ve unpacked your bags. You can flip through a guidebook of local attractions, not just the tourist traps, and set an itinerary to keep you moving during your vacation. The test is closed to the public, but it’s just as well. A Bloomberg source says that the features and even the name could change between now and launch, so what you see now may not be representative.
It’s not certain just when Airbnb Trips will be ready, although Bloomberg believes the company may use its yearly conference in November for a debut. The Information recently claimed that Airbnb would kick off a program that pays hosts to recommend restaurants and offer tours, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the two are related. One thing’s for sure: Airbnb appears bent on cornering your whole travel experience, rather than leaving the tourism to outsiders like TripAdvisor.
Via: Bloomberg
Source: Google Play
Edward Snowden suspects NSA hack was a Russian warning
The National Security Agency (and the US itself) may have just received a shot across the bow. Hackers identifying as the Shadow Brokers claim to have breached the Equation Group, a hacking outfit widely linked to NSA activities, and the data they’ve posted leads Edward Snowden to suspect that it might have been a state-sponsored Russian operation. If the intruders really did publish the spoils of a NSA cyberweapon staging server as they say, it’d suggest that someone wanted to show that they can prove US involvement in any attacks that came from the server.
But why does Snowden suspect the Russians? If you ask him, the breach may have been “more diplomacy than intelligence.” He theorizes that this was an attempt to “influence the calculus” of US officials wondering just how harshly they respond to the reportedly Russia-based DNC hacks. Chastise Russia too much and the country could promptly show that the US has been equally sneaky. Putin and crew could show that the NSA hacked American allies, for instance.
This doesn’t definitively link the Russians to the incident. The Shadow Brokers say they will “auction the best files,” so they might have a financial incentive. The timing is suspicious, however, and it’s certainly plausible that Russia could be trying to control its reputation right as many are accusing it of interfering with American politics.
9) This leak is likely a warning that someone can prove US responsibility for any attacks that originated from this malware server.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) August 16, 2016
Via: The Next Web
Source: Edward Snowden (Twitter)
Apple Hiring Lyrics Curation Team for Apple Music
Apple is hiring a Lyrics Curation Manager and Lyrics Curators, presumably to work on the new Apple Music feature in iOS 10 that provides song lyrics alongside each Apple Music song that is playing.
First noticed by MusicBusinessWorldwide, the job listings are for the Content Curation team, responsible for “maintaining the very best user experience possible around content.”
We’re looking for a manager to lead a team of lyrics curators with excellent writing skills, music knowledge, and attention to detail. Passion for technology and a will to question the current workflows with the mindset to improve tools and processes. General understanding, love, and ideally, experience in writing lyrics.
For the non-manager positions, Apple is seeking candidates with competency in Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, German, and Spanish, so at least some of the Lyrics team will focus on translating song lyrics into additional languages. Other job requirements include the ability to “accurately and quickly transcribe lyrics,” “superlative writing skills” and a willingness to learn “new and complicated tools and processes.”
In Apple Music in iOS 10, scrolling down on the “Now Playing” window brings up an option to show song lyrics on most Apple Music songs. Lyrics are still a work in progress and are not available for all songs, especially new releases.
It is not clear if Apple’s lyric transcriptions are done in-house, but given the sheer number of songs on Apple Music, it seems likely Apple has partner services with lyrics provided by a company specializing in lyric transcription or directly from music labels.
The new Apple Music, which has seen a significant redesign in iOS 10, will launch to the public this fall.
Tag: Apple Music
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Leaked iPhone 7 Logic Boards Suggest Intel Modem, Other Component Tweaks
Last week, MacRumors covered photos of what appear to be the front and rear of bare iPhone 7 logic boards, and since that time we’ve been able to study these boards and compare them to previous iPhone generations’ bare and populated logic boards.
Comparing the boards with existing component offerings and information suggests that Apple has indeed moved on from Qualcomm as its baseband modem supplier and switched to Intel for the upcoming iPhone generation. This does not preclude Apple from having other versions of the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus logic boards which feature a Qualcomm modem, such as an international model with differing LTE band options, as has been rumored.
Leaked iPhone 7 logic board with Intel modem location annotated
The image above shows the previously leaked and annotated logic board front with the probable location of the Intel baseband modem annotated. The pad pattern for the part in this location is markedly different than the pad pattern for the Qualcomm MDM9635, as shown in iFixit’s parts catalog. The pad pattern of this mystery part also appears to match the dimensions listed on Intel’s website for similar baseband modem offerings to the rumored XMM 7360 design solution.
Intel’s SMARTi 5 RF transceiver, which accompanies the modem in Intel’s reference solution, does not appear to be present on the iPhone 7 board, according to the package dimensions specific to the transceiver. It is always possible that the dimensions listed may be for a solution different than what Apple has used, whether it be custom or unannounced, but it appears as though Qualcomm could still be the supplier for the RF transceiver.
While there is not an exact pin match between the logic boards, the package size and overall number of pads on the reverse side is consistent with the WTR3925 and Qualcomm power management chips seen on the iPhone 6S and 6s Plus logic boards. The pad patterns also feature offset rows of pins, which have been historically exclusive to Qualcomm pad patterns on previous iPhones.
Comparison of bottom rear portion of iPhone 6s (left) and iPhone 7 (right) logic boards
Near the space where the transceiver likely sits on the bottom rear, we’ve seen quite a few changes, as the separation metallization between RF chain and audio/battery components has gone from horizontal to vertical. As a result, the area dedicated to audio amplifiers and battery charger has grown. With the rumored removal of a headphone jack, it would seem that Apple is prime to remove one amplifier, although that is not evident from the leaked photo. With the display connection inversion and potential introduction of a capacitive home button, there are good reasons this area could have seen some growth.
Comparison of A9 (left) and A10 (right) pad patterns
Finally, when looking at the A10, we notice a vacant row of pads near all four edges of the pad pattern. This is actually not new to the A10, as the A9 pad pattern also featured this. This is also somewhat common in large chips, such as desktop CPUs, where the inputs and outputs near the edge of the device have some separation from the device’s core power and signals. What this resulted in for the A9 is package growth despite a small die shrink comparative to the A8.
Given that the A10 is likely to feature the same 16nm FinFET process as the A9, or some optimized variant thereof, it is very possible that we could see growth in die size without a huge jump in transistor count. As for TSMC’s InFO packaging, it’s still not clear whether this will drive package sizes at all for Apple’s devices.
The A10’s board footprint also features four rectangular boxes of missing pins. These may actually be spaces for small components directly under the package of the device. Generally, the performance of some chip components that are used for power filtering benefit most by being as physically close to the device pins as possible, and they are commonly placed directly on the backside of the PCB, connected by vertical metal interconnects through the board called vias, under chips with a large amount of digital switching functionality. For most mobile devices, that space is not available, but that could be one explanation for these sections of missing pins.
With a few weeks to go until the official iPhone 7 unveiling, it’s possible we could still see leaks of the logic board populated with chips and other components, which would give us more information about component changes coming in the new device. Full details are unlikely to arrive, however, until teardown experts get their hands on the new iPhone and are able to dig into the components and even put them under a microscope.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: Intel
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Intel Foundries Able to Produce ARM-Based Chips Under New Licensing Deal
At today’s Intel Developer Forum, Intel announced a new licensing deal with ARM, which will see Intel taking advantage of ARM technology in an effort to attract more manufacturing companies to its factories.
Under the terms of the deal, Intel plans to allow third-party semiconductor companies to use its 10-nanometer production lines for manufacturing ARM-based chips for smartphones, expanding the production options available to companies like Apple.
Apple currently produces custom-designed ARM-based chips that are manufactured by companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), but with Intel and ARM’s new licensing deal, Apple (and other manufacturers) could potentially use Intel to fabricate its chips.
LG Electronics has already inked a deal with Intel and will use Intel’s foundry business to manufacture 10-nanometer chips for future LG devices. It is not clear if Apple will strike a deal with Intel, as rumors suggest Apple already has an agreement in place with TSMC to produce 10-nanometer A11 chips destined for the 2017 iPhone and other 2017 devices, but the possibility exists for future chips.
TSMC is also said to be the sole manufacturer of the A10 chip that will be used in the upcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Tags: Intel, ARM
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Summer Gear: Rock your pool parties with the UE Boom 2 and UE Roll 2
Look, just because some of you have to go back to school soon, doesn’t mean that the summer is over. Based on some of the recent temperatures we suspect it will be quite a while until things have cooled down and we’re all back inside and bundled up. In other words, there’s still plenty of time left to hit the beach or a backyard pool to cool off.
If you’re looking to spend some time at the lake or some other water-based environment, you’ll want to pack a speaker that’s designed to handle the situation. You’ll want to pack something from Ultimate Ears (UE).
We’ve recently spent some time in the pool “conducting research” on the two speakers from UE. We’re happy to report that both of them handled dips and dunks in stride and kept the tunes coming. There are a few differences between the two, of course, but either of them is a perfect solution for customers looking for a waterproof speaker.
UE Boom 2
The larger of the two, the Boom 2 is a cylindrical speaker that doesn’t occupy as much as space a roll of paper towels. It’s designed to stand upright with power and Bluetooth pairing buttons at the very top. On the front face is where you’ll find the volume buttons.
Interestingly enough, the Boom 2 produces sound that seems to come from all sides of the speaker. Place it front and center on the patio, crank the music, and your guests will be dancing in no time.
Rather than go with a standard black or white color, UE designs the Boom 2 with vibrant colors that seem to pop and stand out. Moreover, it looks and feels like a party starter. The model we tested was Brainfreeze; other options include Tropical, Greenmachine, Cherrybomb, and more.
You might not suspect it by looking at it, but this speaker can withstand water up to one meter for thirty minutes. Yeah, that means your crazy friend can accidentally kick it over into the pool. It also means that a summer shower isn’t going to do anything to it, either.
The internal battery is rated to play back music up to 15 hours, but that depends on how loud you like the tunes. We were highly impressed with the life of the battery as it went all day long and had plenty left over. Charging from empty to full takes roughly 2.5 hours.
UE Roll 2
Shaped like a flying saucer, this speaker is right at home floating in the pool. No, literally, it wants to be in the water with you. Included in the box is a blow-up raft-like accessory which keeps the speaker floating in the pool next to you.
Lightweight and rather unobtrusive, the Roll 2 can go anywhere you go, especially if that means under waterfalls and into lakes. The backside of the speaker features a bungee cord and clasp which allows for easy clamping to your backpack, swimsuit, or handrail. Strong and secure, it keeps the speaker snugly connected to just about anything.
The Roll 2 doesn’t put out quite the powerful sound that the Boom 2 does, but we were impressed nonetheless. Really, when you think about it, you don’t want overpowering music right next to you anyhow. Nevertheless, it’s a robust and clear experience that livens up any atmosphere. You won’t have to go above mid-levels for volume. Much higher and it drowns out conversation.
Like its sibling, the Roll 2 comes in pretty flashy colors which beg for attention. We tried out the Habanero model, but you can also pick up color combos such as Volcano, Sugarplum, and Reef.
Battery comes in at nine hours per charge with a longer 5.5-hour charge time. There’s enough juice to get through a typical shindig, but set aside more time for recharging.
In addition to the waterproof aspect of these two speakers, the UE devices also have a few other tricks up their sleeves. For instance, download the UE app and you’ll be able to pair them for a true stereo sound. Heck, pick any two UE models and they can pump out music together from upwards of 100 feet away from the source. Further, you can connect up to two source devices at the same time.
A recent firmware update for the Boom 2 lets you tap into Google Now and Siri capabilities. Yes, just like you would get from your phone. A quick press of the Bluetooth button lets you switch playlists without getting your Android wet. Oh, and we also love being able to tap the speaker to work with tracks. The internal accelerometer lets users pick up the speaker and tap the top to pause and play music. Nifty.
Where to Buy
The UE Boom 2 retails for $199.99 while the UE Roll 2 comes in about half the price, at $99.99. We are more than happy to recommend either one as you can’t go wrong. You’ll just need to figure out when and where you plan to use it. Go it alone and more intimate with the Roll 2 or double down with the extra features and louder sound of the Boom 2.
You can pick up either speaker at retailers such as B&H Photo Video, Amazon, Best Buy, Target, and Walmart.
Watch our Galaxy Note 7 video review!
See what we have to say about the Note 7 in a fresh format.
In case you missed it while reading our comprehensive written review of the Galaxy Note 7, we’ve worked up a full video review for your enjoyment as well. Nice scenery, beautiful shots of the Galaxy Note 7, and some insightful analysis — what’s not to like? This is the complete package.
Be sure to watch our full video review above, and then follow that up with the rest of our Galaxy Note 7 coverage!
Samsung Galaxy Note 7
- Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review
- The latest Galaxy Note 7 news!
- Here are all four Note 7 colors
- Complete Galaxy Note 7 specs
- Join the Note 7 discussion in the forums!
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Android 7.0: Better performance, longer battery life
By addressing specific things that affect performance and power efficiency, Android 7.0 Nougat should make our phones run better and longer between charges.
Every time the software on our phones receives a big update, we hear how it will perform better and use less of our battery. While it’s often true, the ideas and how they are implemented need plenty of fine-tuning to meet expectations. Android 7.0 improves on two existing features to help them live up to their full potential: Projects Doze, and Project Svelte.
The goals are simple — find ways to make the phone less power hungry when you’re not using it, and better management of background processes. All software is built with an emphasis on performance and efficiency, and an operating system so much more so. We’ll take a look at the changes and see how they could have an impact.
Project Svelte
Project Svelte arrived with started in 2013 with the release of Android 4.4 KitKat as a way for the OS to perform better on lower-end phones. On that front, it did succeed, but we expected bigger changes than we got. For a good idea of what Svelte’s original intentions were, look no further than Android One. The goal was to create inexpensive hardware that runs the latest version of Android well enough to recommend.
With Android 7.0, the project continues to cut down on the performance impact by having an even better system for management of background processes.
Changes to Svelte address two specific and important issues that force apps to run in the background
Android is very different from iOS. Any developer can pay a very small fee and publish an app in Google Play alongside names like Facebook or Samsung. Provided the app has no malicious code, it will go live for everyone to install, and unless it gets reported for inappropriate content or actions it gets to stay (though Google says it does do an automated check of every app before pushing it live). That’s a far cry from every app submitted going through a manual approval process, and it means that apps aren’t being rejected because they don’t follow best development practices. Behavior of some of the current APIs doesn’t help, and even the best apps can wake up and use resources too often due to an errant process.
Improvements to Svelte in Android Nougat fix two glaring issues:
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Apps check to see if the network changes using what’s called a broadcast receiver. When a change happens, every app listening for the change through the default method wakes up at one time and tries to process the data about the change.Think of how your phone acts when it’s first started and everything tries to happen at once, and you have an idea of why this needs some sort of improvement. When targeted towards Android 7.0, apps can only listen for network changes through the main thread (what runs when the app is awake and you’re using it) so they aren’t waking up every time you switch networks. This will use less RAM and CPU time, which means our phones will perform better and use less power.
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In previous versions of Android, apps were able to listen on a similar broadcast receiver for a picture or video to be taken. When that happened, every application that was listening woke up and tried to process the data at once. As above, that isn’t very good on the performance front. In Android 7.0, the new picture and new video broadcasts can’t be sent. That means even if developers don’t update existing apps, they’ll never be told to wake up when a picture or video is taken.
For apps to do many of the things we want them to do, they have to stay alive. Slimming down the things they do while they’re quietly waiting to become active once again by eliminating unnecessary functions means fewer apps will be running instead of sleeping when they are sent to the background.
Project Doze
The way things work now, you either love Doze or you don’t see Doze doing anything noticeable on your phone. That’s because of the way it works.
When Doze debuted in Android 6.0, its intent was to defer CPU and network activity while your phone’s screen was off, unplugged, and motionless. If all three of the criteria were not met, Doze would not kick in and apps would continue to run as normal. This worked great while in the office and at your desk, but as soon as it went into your pocket Doze stopped doing anything and the benefits ceased.
A two-stage Doze lets your phone use less battery while you’re up and moving, too
The behavior change in Android Nougat is simple. Doze now has two stages: one is when the screen is off and the phone is unplugged, and the other is when the phone is also motionless.
When your phone is running on just the battery and the screen has been off for a set amount of time, applications will stop directly accessing the network, and activities like syncing and other jobs are deferred until a predefined amount of time passes. Then, a short maintenance window allows them to perform normal background functions. This part works while your phone is in your pocket or subject to other forms of motion.
When the phone has also been still for a set amount of time, all the Doze restrictions — additional things like apps waking in the background or listening for what’s called an alarm (not the kind that wakes you in the morning, those are unaffected) or looking for the current location — are applied on top of the network and jobs deferrals. The maintenance window still regularly appears, but between those windows your phone is barely alive and not doing much until you pick it up.
We know how well Doze works (when it hasn’t been modified by the people who built your phone) while the phone is still. Now we’ll also see a benefit when we’re up and moving, too.
Will the changes to Svelte and Doze fix every performance and battery issue? The answer, of course, is no. But these changes are logical steps that address two very specific things that needed addressed. the result will prove to be better than what we have now, even if it can’t solve everything.
Android Nougat
Android Nougat is the 12th nicknamed version of Android and will be released to the public in the fall of 2016. Here’s everything you need to know so far!
- What’s new in Android Nougat
- Will my phone get Android Nougat?
- All Android Nougat news
- Should you use the Android N Dev Preview?
- Join the Discussion
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