Apple is looking to double the size of its famous flagship retail store in NYC

Why it matters to you

Apple’s flagship New York City retail store is already a tourist draw, but the company is looking to make it even more impressive.

It looks like Apple could be prepping to take its flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City to the next level. Apple’s disputes with the landowner, Boston Properties, have been settled, and according to a Bloomberg report, Apple is now set to more than double the size of the store from 32,000 square feet to a hefty 77,000 square feet.

The road to expansion has been somewhat long for Apple, which was awarded a design patent in 2014 for the glass box store. In May 2016, reports surfaced suggesting Boston Properties was considering not renewing Apple’s lease because, according to reports, Apple didn’t want to pay the asking price. Why? Apple apparently felt entitled to the space because it made the location a global tourist draw because of the interestingly designed building.

More: Apple shows off iPhone’s low-light chops in latest ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign

Now that the disputes have been resolved, Apple has gotten the go-ahead for expansion, news that was confirmed by Boston Properties President Douglas Linde during an earnings call. Also during the call, Apple was referred to as “that mystery tenant we’ve been talking about for over a year,” which is a possible reference to the fact that Boston Properties has been trying to fill space at 767 Fifth Avenue, where the Apple Store is located, for a while now.

Apple seems to have been trying to expand its retail efforts for quite a while now, and not just in the U.S. Late last year, it was reported that Apple was deep in conversation to open stores in India for the first time. The company has also recently been in talks to open a $50 million store in Melbourne, Australia’s famous Federation Square.

Apple is looking to double the size of its famous flagship retail store in NYC

Why it matters to you

Apple’s flagship New York City retail store is already a tourist draw, but the company is looking to make it even more impressive.

It looks like Apple could be prepping to take its flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City to the next level. Apple’s disputes with the landowner, Boston Properties, have been settled, and according to a Bloomberg report, Apple is now set to more than double the size of the store from 32,000 square feet to a hefty 77,000 square feet.

The road to expansion has been somewhat long for Apple, which was awarded a design patent in 2014 for the glass box store. In May 2016, reports surfaced suggesting Boston Properties was considering not renewing Apple’s lease because, according to reports, Apple didn’t want to pay the asking price. Why? Apple apparently felt entitled to the space because it made the location a global tourist draw because of the interestingly designed building.

More: Apple shows off iPhone’s low-light chops in latest ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign

Now that the disputes have been resolved, Apple has gotten the go-ahead for expansion, news that was confirmed by Boston Properties President Douglas Linde during an earnings call. Also during the call, Apple was referred to as “that mystery tenant we’ve been talking about for over a year,” which is a possible reference to the fact that Boston Properties has been trying to fill space at 767 Fifth Avenue, where the Apple Store is located, for a while now.

Apple seems to have been trying to expand its retail efforts for quite a while now, and not just in the U.S. Late last year, it was reported that Apple was deep in conversation to open stores in India for the first time. The company has also recently been in talks to open a $50 million store in Melbourne, Australia’s famous Federation Square.

HTTPS use has finally reached its ‘moment of critical mass’

Why it matters to you

HTTPS is becoming the norm for many sites, meaning that a standard that makes you a little more secure is growing more widespread.

HTTPS has reached a “moment of critical mass.” That’s according to cybersecurity researcher Troy Hunt this week after he published statistics that showed HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) usage had grown so substantially that it was becoming the “norm” now rather than the exception.

HTTPS is a more secure version of the HTTP protocol. It encrypts the data sent between your browser and the sites you are visiting, which ensures that your data is protected while browsing. HTTP had been the standard for a long time but it is now being usurped by HTTPS.

The evidence to back up this tipping point claim has been growing gradually, said Hunt (who is best known for running haveibeenpwned.com). He added that the protocol has become faster and more freely available to use.

Last October, Mozilla recorded that more than half of its page loads were encrypted with HTTPS while many major sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, are using HTTPS by default. Another security researcher, Scott Helme, found that of the top million sites listed on Alexa, 18.4 percent are redirecting users’ browsers from HTTP to HTTPS. Granted, 18.4 percent may not seem like a huge segment but that’s more than double the percentage from August 2015.

Helme carries out this research every six months, so expect to see even more growth in the next round of figures.

Hunt goes on to point out how browsers are now holding websites to account for not implementing better security. He claimed that this is further evidence that HTTPS is becoming more and more ubiquitous.

More: Facebook is helping Chrome and Firefox to speed up the web

The latest versions of Chrome and Firefox are now warning users when they are accessing webpages that are not adequately secured, which should only drive the trend toward HTTPS further. Sites that aren’t using the protocol are more susceptible to man in the middle attacks where hackers could scoop up data during the occurrence of a transaction.

Hi @Qantas, I just went to login to my frequent flyer account and the browser is warning me that it's not secure. Is something wrong? pic.twitter.com/6Bu4v9f5Qn

— Troy Hunt (@troyhunt) January 26, 2017

These warnings are vital for spreading the word to everyday users, said Hunt, especially when it comes to financial transactions. “Warnings about a site’s security at the time where you’re providing sensitive information is precisely the sort of thing that will force the hand of these sites,” he said.

Over the last two years or so there has been increasing demand for HTTPS, with most major sites now pointing to the need for better security for its users. Earlier in January, the New York Times moved to the protocol by default. Google even favors sites running HTTPS in its search results above those that do not, creating a further incentive for sites to make the move.

Samsung moves to build support for Tizen devices by courting .NET developers

Why it matters to you

Samsung has big plans for Tizen and hopes to build it into a formidable rival for iOS and Android, that competition starts by making sure it is well-supported among app developers.

Samsung unveiled an important update to its Tizen development kit on Wednesday, it’s a bit of an “inside baseball” kind of announcement, but it has far-reaching implications for the nascent operating system platform. The announcement concerns a new version of the .NET Core developer preview, which is a significant update to the previous version, and makes it a bit easier for developers to get started on the platform.

The exact details here aren’t important to most users, but the implications of the update suggest the direction Samsung is going to take with Tizen. Given that it is a stand-alone operating system, not an offshoot of Android or Chrome OS, there is some concern about how many developers would take the time to develop for it — even with Samsung’s significant backing.

It’s been on the market for years but has a minuscule market share compared to Android and iOS. Samsung hopes to change all of that by building Tizen into some of its flagship TV and smartphone offerings. According to MS Power User, Samsung unveiled a new version of the .NET Core for Tizen developers Wednesday as part of that strategy.

This second version of the .NET Core allows developers to use familiar .NET APIs for the development of apps for Samsung’s upcoming Tizen TVs — a big step up from the previous release which only came with mobile application support.

More: Samsung is developing its first smartphone with Tizen 3.0

Samsung has big plans for Tizen but in the end, its devices will be defined by their apps, and apps only exist with a strong community of developers. Wednesday’s announcement is another move to strengthen support among existing .NET developers, who will be able to develop for the platform without having to start from scratch.

It’s here that we can see Samsung laying the groundwork for its Tizen-powered devices, long before they ever hit the marketplace. Plus, the release is an important step toward building Tizen into the platform Samsung wants it to be — a go-to OS for their TVs, phones, and tablets. After all, we only have to look as far as Windows Phone to see what happens when a platform doesn’t have a robust developer community.

Suggestic wants to use artificial intelligence to help you stick to your diet

Why it matters to you

Sick of diets that only tell you what you can’t eat. Suggestic reverses this trend by focusing on telling you what you can have.

Starting a diet is a piece of cake. Finishing it? Well … did someone say cake?

Even if you don’t have the willpower to stick to your culinary resolutions, a new app may be able to help. Meet Suggestic, which wants to help you keep your promises to yourself when it comes to food. By leveraging artificial intelligence, Suggestic will make recommendations that accommodate your lifestyle, rather than forcing you to change your habits to meet your new goals. Simply define your goals, choose your base diet, and add your preferences and restrictions, and you’ll get a personalized diet plan on your phone.

The app will send its suggestions for affordable and readily available restaurant menu items, as well as provide access to more than a million recipes. Rather than making a diet seem like an inconvenience, the app is aimed at making it a constant process of discovery — whether it’s a new hot spot on the town or a new dish to try at home, you’ll be able to find something that works for you.

More: Trouble sleeping? You can treat your insomnia online

The key to Suggestic, the app notes on its website, is its emphasis upon what you can and should eat, rather than what you can’t or shouldn’t. “We have built Suggestic to help you navigate a plan created around your specific needs,” Suggestic founder Shai Rosen told Medical Daily. “We want to remove the stress and complications of following a lifestyle program by giving you actionable suggestions at the right moment and in the right place.”

As you increasingly use Suggestic, its suggestions also become increasingly personalized, allowing you to customize a meal plan that you actually want to stick to. Augmented reality could soon be integrated into the app, which will allow you to simply point your phone at a menu and instantly determine what fits within your goals.

Hack your living room with Ikea’s open source furniture

Why it matters to you

Ikea’s new line of furniture breaks with tradition, leaving plenty of room for people to truly make it their own.

Its superstore might be hours away but Ikea goods are all around you. If you don’t have a piece of its carefully crafted kitchenware or flat-pack furniture in your home, your neighbor probably does. The design is always Scandinavian minimalist: slick, clean, and practical, with little room for personalization.

That’s about to change. The Swedish furniture giant is developing a line of “open platform” furniture that’s meant to encourage tinkerers to modify products into new and interesting designs. Dubbed Delaktig (translated from Swedish to “involved” or “participating”), the project was first announced in 2016 as a collaboration with British designer Tom Dixon. Now, Ikea has given a price range ($399 to $899, according to the Wall Street Journal), as well as an estimate for when it will be available — the first few months of 2018.

The first Delaktig piece will consist of an extruded aluminum low frame, wooden slats, and a cushion. With frame in place, customers can connect accessories like lamps, arm rests, tray tables, or privacy screens to customize the piece how they see fit. A number of these accessories can be purchased from Ikea, though their are a few third-party retailers that already sell aftermarket add-ons. The company recently gathered a group of designers for a workshop at London’s Royal College of Art, where students worked together for one week, experimenting with new additions to customize the Delaktig frame.

More: Ikea’s new cabinets are made of recycled materials but don’t look like garbage

Ikea may be trying to capitalize on what’s become a trend among DIY enthusiasts who turn their flat-pack purchases into customized furniture. “People hack anyway,” James Futcher, Ikea’s creative lead, told the Journal, “We want to encourage that.” Though the company supports hackers today, its tone has changed since 2014, when Ikea tried to close “IkeaHackers” a site for fans to share their methods for customizing the furniture.

Oculus owes half a billion dollars to ZeniMax for copyright infringment

ZeniMax versus Facebook ended today with $500 million for the former and a tiny bit of retribution for the latter.

ZeniMax has been awarded half a billion dollars after a judge found that Oculus co-founder, Palmer Luckey, did not comply with a non-disclosure agreement.

According to Polygon, Oculus is paying out $200 million for breaking NDA and $50 million for copyright infringement. Oculus and Luckey each have to pay an extra $50 million for false designation — essentially, when someone falsely claims their origin — while Brendan Iribe, the former CEO of Oculus, will have to pay $150 million.

The ZeniMax versus Facebook (née Oculus) trial started last month and included testimonials from several of the prominent tech figures involved, like id Software co-founder John Carmack, who was questioned about copying code before leaving to work at Facebook, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself.

ZeniMax had referred to the incident as a “heist.”

The trial alleged that Luckey, Iribe, and half a dozen ex-ZeniMax employees had built the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset based on research and copyrighted code that was originally conducted by ZeniMax. ZeniMax wanted $4 billion in compensation, half of which would be awarded for punitive damages. But Oculus had managed to argue down the verdict by claiming that the lawsuit was driven by emotions rather than facts, citing that the company had referred to the initial incident as a “heist.” Oculus denied those allegations.

Oculus said it would appeal the briefing, though we’re not entirely sure what will happen to the Oculus Rift, or whether the case will have any impact on sales.

The Mate 9: a good phone that won’t sell

Are you interested in the Huawei Mate 9? Yes? Great! It’s not a bad phone! It’s just I don’t expect you to actually buy it. Even at a competitively priced $599, I expect it to sell… just okay. Maybe you, the person reading this article and watching this video, maybe you will buy it. You’re a discerning consumer. You’re prepared to go looking for a phone outside the Galaxy and iPhone consumer market. It’s the normals I’m talking about. And that’s too bad.

I’m Michael Fisher, AKA MrMobile, and despite the doom and gloom, I like the Mate 9. Not as much as I like Huawei’s Honor 8, but I mean it when I say this is a positive review. For a positive review that actually sounds like one, check out AndroidCentral’s review by Alex Dobie.

• The Mate 9 is available right here

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Apple AirPods firmware update: How to check for and install latest version

Updating your headphones is now a thing.

Apple has released a firmware update for AirPods, its £159 wireless earbud product. The update, called firmware 3.5.1, began rolling out on Wednesday, bringing undisclosed bug fixes. Although the installation process happens automatically over the air, there are a few things you must do to ensure you actually get the update.

Here’s everything you need to know.

How to update Apple AirPods

To get any available updates for Apple’s AirPods, follow these steps:

• Correctly place the AirPods in its charging case.
• The case must be plugged into a charger.
• The case must be linked to an iPhone nearby and connected to Wi-Fi.

So, if you’ve had your AirPods connected to your iPhone in the past day, odds are the 3.5.1 update already installed.

How to check AirPods’ installed firmware

To check if you have the latest installed firmware, follow these steps:

• Open the Settings app on your phone.
• In the Settings app, go to General > About > AirPods. (Note: AirPods will only display in About when connected to your iPhone).
• From there, look for “Firmware Version” and check the number to see if you have the latest version (which is 3.5.1, as of 1 February 2017).

And that’s it! 

Next Sony Xperia flagship might not unveil at MWC 2017 after all

Sony isn’t going to unveil its next flagship at Mobile World Congress.

A few reports have suggested in recent weeks that Sony will debut a premium device with a 4K display at a press conference in Barcelona on 27 February, but according to Twitter user @Ricciolo1, who has reliably leaked mobile news in the past, that’s not going to happen. While the company is developing what is largely considered a successor to the Xperia Z5 Premium from last year, we shouldn’t expect it at the MWC.

The leakster specifically described the upcoming handset in the tweet as a “premium flagship”, but then included hashtags for Xperia, Sony, Z5 Premium, and successor. He also slyly hinted that the handset could be seen behind closed doors at MWC. In other words, Sony may show prototypes of the device to its partners or maybe even journalists in secret meetings at the show. We’ve contacted Sony for more.

PREMIUM flagship is coming… but don’t hold your breath for #MWC #mwc17 , except the secret rooms… 😉 #xperia #Sony #z5premium #successor

— Ricciolo (@Ricciolo1) February 1, 2017

GSMArena noted that Samsung is rumoured to be hogging every available Snapdragon 835 right now for its upcoming Galaxy S8, so Sony may be waiting to unveil the Z5 Premium successor until more become available. After all, the phone is expected to sport the chipset, along with 4GB or 6GB of RAM, and a Sony IMX400 camera sensor. Check out Pocket-lint’s rumour round-up on the device for more leaks:

• Next Sony Xperia flagship: What’s the story so far?

We’ll know more in a couple weeks. But keep in mind if Sony does unveil the phone at MWC, but then 835 chipsets aren’t available, you probably won’t be able to get your hands on it until early summer.