Apple could lose as much as $7 million from iPhone 6S battery recall in UAE

Why it matters to you

The iPhone 6S battery problem seems to extend worldwide and if your phone is affected, you can still visit Apple’s support site to arrange a free repair.

Late in November, Apple announced it had determined that a “very small number” of iPhone 6S units were unexpectedly shutting down and the company would repair the batteries of affected devices free of charge. According to United Arab Emirates publication Khaleej Times, Apple now could lose as much as $7 million for the recall of about 88,700 units in the country.

On its support page, Apple explains that this is not a safety issue and that it has localized the problem to iPhones manufactured between September 2015 and October 2015. Users can enter the serial number of their device on the website to determine if theirs is part of the recall. Apple says it will replace the defective batteries free of charge, but if a phone has any damage that would impede the repair — like a cracked screen — it would have to be fixed beforehand.

More: Apple reportedly requesting to sell refurbished iPhones in India — again

In a statement, Hashim Al Nuaimi, director of the UAE Ministry of Economy’s Consumer Protection Department, said the recall was the result of one of the Ministry’s routine industry watchdog testing campaigns. He also corroborated Apple’s claim that it was not motivated by safety concerns.

The cost of battery replacement in the UAE is 289 Arab Emirates Dirhams according to Apple’s website — the equivalent of $79, which is also the price in the United States. Across nearly 90,000 devices, that could mean a loss of $7 million for the company in the UAE alone. It is not known how many total units are affected globally.

For reference, Samsung’s recall and then discontinuing of its exploding Galaxy Note 7 in 2016 was estimated to have cost the company $17 billion.

Shortly after Apple’s repair program began in November, 9to5Mac reported the company was experiencing a shortage in battery stock, even giving some customers brand new phones in limited circumstances. Apple has said it will continue fixing the detective units for up to three years after the initial sale of the phones, which began retailing in September 2015.

Do you OOO? New iOS music video app aims to make zooming fun

Why it matters to you

Playing with OOO may not get you any winning shots, but it could be a fun way to play with your smartphone camera.

A new app from Brooklyn-based This Also isn’t designed to help you take better videos — it’s designed to make videos a little more fun with something as simple as zoom.

OOO uses Force Touch or a slider to zoom in and out, adding in some original soundtracks to create whimsical music videos. The app allows users to zoom in a little or a lot and at varying speeds. With Force Touch, the harder you press, the faster the zoom, though earlier iOS devices can still use the apps with a slider or by presetting the zoom speed and reach.

More: Flipagram gains AI-customized feeds after acquisition by China’s Toutiao

While the app is meant to turn the smartphone camera into a toy, creators Brett Bergeron and and Brian Baker say there’s a few high-end features hidden inside. The app uses stabilization — and can tell if you’re wearing headphones and adjust the audio automatically.

The app is a sort of one-trick pony, designed to take fun zoom videos and only fun zoom videos. But the app’s developers say future enhancements could allow the zoom to be controlled by the audio level in the scene.

OOO, meant to play with the long “oo” sound in zoom, much like the app plays with actual zoom, is the first full self-funded project from This Also, though the group has also worked on projects for Google, Xbox, Spotify and start-ups. All of the available tracks were created in-house by the team.

OOO is designed as more of a camera toy than a high-quality video app — except for the iPhone 7 Plus, iPhones only have digital zoom, so as the zoom moves in, you’ll see the quality decrease. The app also includes controls for muting or leaving the audio intact, as well as reversing the video and adding stabilization.

OOO is available for free on the App Store for devices running iOS 10.0 or later.

Milwaukee passes ordinance requiring permits for Pokémon Go-style games

Why it matters to you

A new Milwaukee ordinance will require developers of augmented reality games to obtain a permit.

At this point, it’s been well established that Pokémon Go can be a little more dangerous than meets the eye. In Alabama, a player was robbed at gunpoint. In California, two men fell off a 90-foot cliff while hunting digital beasts. And in Japan, the AR phenomenon was blamed for a fatal truck collision that resulted in the death of a young woman.

It’s no wonder, then, that some government regulators are instituting Pokémon Go bans aimed at curbing careless play. On Tuesday, the Milwaukee County Board passed an ordinance requiring the developers of “location-based augmented reality games” like Pokémon Go to obtain permits before using public parks as in-game landmarks.

The new regulation is specifically leveled at game developers, and it’s said to be a response to the County Parks Department’s inability to hold Niantic Inc., the development house behind Pokémon Go, financially accountable after hundreds of players failed to heed the popular Lake Park’s closing hours. The throngs reportedly caused traffic congestion and parking problems, and attracted unauthorized vendors who trampled turf and damaged natural areas.

More: Want to master “Pokémon Go”? Here’s every tip you need to know

At fault was Pokémon Go’s designation of several Lake Park landmarks and historic sites as Pokéstops, in-game locations that contain caches of Pokéballs, health potions, and other equipment, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Crews of inmates from the county’s House of Corrections were able to complete the entirety of their community service by picking up litter left by Pokémon Go players at Lake Park.

Under the proposed ordinance, park staff will set fees for establishing permits. The parks department will then decide if the proposed locations are appropriate for use by players of augmented reality games, considering criteria like personal safety, impact on rare plants and wildlife, and the “expected intensity” of activity. And they’ll have the freedom to impose penalties for companies which don’t comply.

More: Clear your schedule — “Pokémon Go” has come to the Apple Watch

The Milwaukee County Parks Director, John Dargle, sent a letter to Niantic in August demanding that the company obtain geocaching permits for each Pokémon character location within the county’s parks. It would have required the company to monitor each location at least four times a year for damage caused by players. But the county’s geocaching requirements were found inapplicable by a local court.

Milwaukee isn’t the first to restrict the use of augmented reality games in public — and private — places. A mayor in the French city of Bressolles banned Pokémon Go from restaurants and cafes. China recently banned all augmented reality games, citing national security concerns, as did Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Indonesia.

Valve fixes Steam community site vulnerability soon after its discovery

Why it matters to you

Valve fixed the latest exploit on the Steam community site but we still recommend you change your password, just in case.

If you’re any kind of PC gamer, then you likely frequent Valve’s Steam service to procure at least some of your games. And if you’re a Steam customer, then you likely spend some time on Steam’s community site — and until just recently, that might not have been the safest place to be.

It appears that the Steam community site suffered from an exploit involving user profiles that could redirect users to alternate pages and download PHP code, Ars Technica reports. Valve was able to fix the exploit soon after it was announced, but not before a number of people had created profiles that exploited the vulnerability.

More: Teen hacker exposes security flaws by publishing unapproved game on Steam

The exploit was first identified on the Steam subreddit, described as such:

“Currently, there is a risk (i.e. phishing, malicious script execution, etc.) involved when viewing or simply opening PROFILE pages of other steam users as well as your OWN activity feed (both desktop and mobile versions on all browsers including steam browser/chromium). I would advise against viewing suspicious profiles until further notice and disable JavaScript in your browser options. Do NOT click suspicious (real) steam profile links and Disable JavaScript on Browser. Appropriate information has been forward to Valve and this issue should be resolved soon, sorry for any inconvenience.”

Since that post was first created, Valve was able to fix the exploit and was able to classify Steam profiles and activity feeds as safe to visit. The exploit was subsequently explained in full in a follow-up Reddit post. Steam has more than 125 million users and any exploit on the Steam community site could have serious repercussions.

Apparently, the chances of long-term problems caused by the vulnerability were slim, but nevertheless, anyone who might have suffered from the exploit while it was live is recommended to turn on two-factor authentication, keep up with Valve’s official channels for more information, and, of course, change their Steam password.

The latest Opera version begins loading webpages before you finish typing

Why it matters to you

The latest version of Opera can speed up the browsing experience through its new predictive technology.

Opera Software has released the latest version of its popular web browser, Opera 43. Opera’s executive vice president, Krystian Kolondra, said on Tuesday that this release is the fastest version thus far, and packs a new feature called instant page loading. It incorporates predictive technology that begins to load a website in the background before the user finishes typing its full web address.

According to Kolondra, Opera 43 will become “smarter” over time as it learns what websites are attached to URL inputs. For example, let’s say a user may frequent the New York Times website, entering the URL into the address bar at least once a day. If so, Opera will associate the website with the address and begin loading the site in the background before the URL is fully entered into the address bar.

More: Opera Neon is a web browser for the modern age that is unlike any other

“In addition, when you search for something in the address bar, it will load the results likely to be clicked in the background,” Kolomdra said. “Opera can predict what page a user is going to load not only from its behavior, but also when the current page uses the < link rel=prerender … > tag.”

In addition to the new instant page loading feature, Opera now includes Profile Guided Optimization (PGO). It’s a technique used to convert instructions into a language that can be understood by the computer. This technique learns what the best usage scenarios are so that Opera performs tasks faster, reducing its use of the local processor.

Kolondra said that Profile Guided Optimization enables Opera to load up to 13 percent faster on a PC based on Intel’s Core i7-4600 processor (2,1GHz) and a 32-bit copy of Windows 7. That’s because the new feature optimizes “the most important parts” of Opera, including the browser engine. Compared to Opera 42, this latest version saw speed improvements of 60.3 percent in Speedometer, 7.7 percent in JetStream, and 3.35 percent in Octane.

Finally, Opera 43 includes what the company calls “classic link selection.” This allows users to select text within a link without causing the link to activate. By clicking and dragging horizontally, users can now select the text without problems. To drag the link, users simply use a vertical click-and-drag method.

Opera 43’s release follows news of the Opera Neon concept browser in late January. It’s a new approach to browsing the internet that sports a sidebar which bundles a download manager, an image gallery, and a video player. Opera Neon also includes a vertical tab bar located to the right, so that tabs are more visually separated. Other features include a start page that integrates the user’s desktop wallpaper, and an intelligent tab management system.

As for the mainstream version of Opera, the company spent the last year speeding up the browser with page-load optimizations, a better start-up process, and native ad-blocking. Other installed features included a built-in VPN client, video pop out, a battery save mode, and more. Web surfers wanting to download Opera 43 can grab the file right here.

U.S. House of Representatives approves Email Privacy Act, Senate up next

Why it matters to you

Your email and other electronic data will be better protected from warrantless access if the Email Privacy Act is passed.

For about 31 years now, our electronic data — such as our email messages — has been protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). That’s just about forever in technology, and the ECPA was thus enacted long before the internet became such a widespread phenomenon.

Since 2011, privacy-minded individuals and organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with a number of technology companies, have been calling for the ECPA to be revised to bring it in line with modern privacy considerations. Now, the United States House of Representatives has passed a new Email Privacy Act that could address some concerns with the aging ECPA, as PCWorld reports.

More: Oft-delayed Email Privacy Act is back for another go-round with Congress

The Email Privacy Act is primarily concerned with revising how law enforcement agencies can gain access to users’ electronic records, and seeks to protect data no matter how long it’s existed. Its mission is to address the ECPA provision that affords more protection to newer data, requiring judges to issues warrants for accessing data on paper or electronically that was stored within the previous 180 days.

Beyond 180 days, according to the ECPA, law enforcement agencies armed with mere subpoenas can get access to cloud- or third-party-hosted data that’s older than 180 days. The Email Privacy Act would amend that to require judge-issued warrants for this older data as well.

The Email Privacy Act will now need to make its way through the Senate before heading to the president for his signature, something that a similar billed passed unanimously by the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2016 failed to do. The new law has 109 cosponsors in the House, making it a popular bill in that chamber of Congress, while critics fear that the law will make it more difficult for law enforcement to investigate crimes and terrorism.

Should the bill become law, organizations like the Consumer Technology Association will be thrilled. As Gary Shapiro, that organization’s president and CEO, put it, “(The ECPA was) written before Congress could imagine U.S. citizens sharing and storing personal information on third-party servers, (and) is woefully out of date.” Clearly, he’s correct, as only 10 million email accounts exists when the ECPA became the law of the land — far less than the billions of users passing information around the internet today.

Pre-order listing shows AMD’s Ryzen desktop CPUs may roll out this month

Why it matters to you

AMD customers eagerly waiting to get their hands on the company’s new Ryzen desktop processors won’t have to wait long if a recent listing is correct.

After a leaked lineup of 17 Ryzen processors appeared over the weekend, a shipping date has surfaced for AMD’s upcoming processor family for desktops: February 28. The date was discovered through AMD Shanghai’s Taobao distribution channel, allowing customers to pre-order the listed chip for $295. The listing doesn’t provide a specific model number, but does show a clock speed of 4.2GHz.

That number could be the chip’s turbo speed. The supposed leaked launch lineup released over the weekend seemingly only referred to the base speed ranges between all 17 chips. However, the eight-core Ryzen processor sample on display during January’s CES 2017 tech convention had a base speed of 3.6GHz and a turbo speed of up to 3.9GHz, 200MHz higher than the sample used during the New Horizon demo in December.

More: Intel responds to AMD’s Ryzen onslaught with some Core i7 and i5 updates

According to reports, those new speeds were achieved through F3 stepping. That essentially describes the revision level of the chip, meaning the Ryzen chip went through a few changes on the lithographic level to hit those improved speeds. Making changes at that level of the chip’s design indicates that AMD made improvements to the design, squashed a few bugs, and so on.

That said, AMD reportedly wasn’t finished squeezing every ounce of performance from its Zen architecture in the Ryzen processors. During CES 2017, there were talks of another revision, aka F4 stepping, that was just finalized, offering a turbo clock speed of 4.0GHz. That’s faster than Intel’s $1,000 Core i7-6900K packing a boost speed of up to 3.7GHz.

What’s interesting is that the listed Ryzen processor lists a clock speed of 4.2GHz for only $295. That could be the rumored R7 1800X model we saw at the top of AMD’s leaked Ryzen roadmap that will compete with Intel’s Core i7-6900K eight-core chip. There doesn’t appear to be a seventh-generation equivalent of the i7-6900K right now, although that will likely change later this year once AMD’s Ryzen CPU family arrives.

Just as a refresher, here are the i7-6900K specs to show what AMD’s high-end R7 1800X Ryzen processor will be competing with later this month:

Process node:
14nm
Cores:
8
Threads:
16
Base clock speed:
3.2GHz
Turbo clock speed:
3.7GHz
Cache:
20MB
Max power usage:
140 watts
Integrated graphics:
No
Maximum supported memory:
128GB
Supported memory types:
DDR4 (2,133MHz and 2,400MHz)

As seen in the leaked roadmap, AMD will supposedly offer five Ryzen R7 models with eight cores and 16 threads clocked between 3.0GHz and 3.6GHz. The other four models include the R7 Pro 1800, the R7 1700X, the R7 1700, and the R7 Pro 1700. The Ryzen lineup also consists of eight R5 midrange units and four R3 entry-level units.

It was originally believed that the Ryzen processors would finally hit the market on March 2, 2017. We expect to hear more details about the official launch within the next week or two, so stay tuned.

Epson’s EcoTank printers come with ‘supersized’ tanks, two years worth of ink

Why it matters to you

Cartridge-free printers are growing in popularity because they offer what consumers have always wanted: inexpensive, refillable ink tanks.

Epson’s new ET-2600 and ET-2650 EcoTank models expand on the company’s cartridge-free printer line. The new all-in-one printers use four “supersized” ink tanks and include a generous helping of ink in the box — enough for 4,000 pages in black or 6,500 in color. In other words, it’s enough ink to last users up to two years, Epson claims.

Both the ET-2600 and ET-2650 offer the same print, scan, and copy capabilities. Printing speeds are as fast as 10 pages per minute with black ink or 4.5 pages per minute in full color. Maximum copying speed is 7.7 copies per minute in black and 3.7 copies per minute in color, with a maximum copy size of 8.5 x 11 inches. Maximum print width is also 8.5 inches, but panoramic media up to 47.2 inches is supported. Optical scanning resolution is 2,400 dots per inch, or up to 9,600 with interpolation. The printers support both wired and wireless connections, and users can print from their computers, phones, or tablets.

More: Epson’s portable DS-320 scanner can save 25 pages per minute

Where the two models differ is in usability features. The ET-2650 has several ease-of-use advantages over the ET-2600, including a built-in memory card slot, Wi-Fi Direct printing for wireless printing without a router, and a 1.44-inch color LCD for displaying printer settings. Both printers will be available later this month from retailers and the Epson online store. The ET-2600 will sell for $280, while the ET-2650 bumps the price up to $300.

Epson isn’t alone when it comes to tank-based printers. In December of last year, Canon finally brought its G series MegaTank printers to the U.S. Printer companies seem to be responding to the rise of cheap third-party ink cartridges and refill services. Refillable ink tanks aren’t just more convenient and longer-lasting than cartridges, they also offer significant savings: Epson says users will save up to 80 percent on ink costs with the ET-2600 series.

Touch Bar support added to Office 2016 for Mac Slow Ring Insiders

Why it matters to you

The MacBook Pro’s new Touch Bar just got more useful — Microsoft has added Touch Bar support for Office 2016 for Mac Insiders.

One of the more innovate and popular features that Apple added to the 2016 MacBook Air is the new Touch Bar, an OLED touchscreen display that replaces the old-school function keys and adapts to what a user is doing in MacOS or other applications. In order for the Touch Bar to be as valuable as possible, developers need to update their apps to support it.

Apple has added Touch Bar support to its own professional creativity applications, including Logic Pro X and Final Cut Pro X, and third-party developers are constantly adding support to their apps as well. Now, one of Apple’s most important third-party developers, Microsoft, has followed suit by adding Touch Bar support to its Office productivity suite.

More: 2016 Macbook Pros becoming more versatile as Touch Bar receives more app support

There’s a catch, however. If you want to use the Touch Bar in Office 2016 for MacOS, then you’ll need to be signed up for Microsoft’s Office Insider for Mac program. It’s the Slow Ring of that program that just received Touch Bar support, with the release of Office 2016 for Mac version 15.31 (170207).

You can sign up for the Office Insider for Mac program here. Once you’re an Office Insider, then you can choose to join one of two levels. The Office Insider Slow Ring is for those more risk-averse users who want early access to supported builds with minimal hassle. The Office Insider Fast ring is for risk takers who can live with more issues but want access to the absolute earliest preview builds.

If you’re already an Office Insider on the Slow Ring, then you might have already received the update automatically. If not, you can open any Office app. then go to Help > Check for Updates and kick off the update manually. Once you do, you’ll be able to more easily access Office commands using your MacBook Pro’s shiny new Touch Bar.

Beats X: What makes Apple’s W1-enabled headphones different?

When Apple unveiled the AirPods last autumn, it also showed off a custom-designed W1 chip specifically for wireless headphones.

Now, months later, Apple-owned Beats is launching the $149 Beats X, and naturally, they’re equipped with W1. The new wireless headphones — like the W1 chip — were announced last September. A number of delays have pushed back their launch date, making the Beats X the last in the first round of W1-enabled headphones to become available. The first ones were the Beats Solo 3, Powerbeats 3, and Apple AirPods.

Here’s everything you need to know about W1 and Beats X.

What makes Apple W1-enabled headphones different?

It’s weird to think about headphones launching with their own chips and the ability to get firmware updates over the air, but that’s the high-tech world we live in now, thanks to companies like Apple. Apple’s W1 chip is unique because it simplifies wireless Bluetooth pairing by automatically prompting you to connect through a paired iPhone, and then it shares pairing data with all your other iCloud-connected accessories and headphones. The proprietary chip also improves connectivity and range over standard Bluetooth.

According to Apple AirPod’s website, the W1 chip “produces extremely efficient wireless for a better connection and improved sound” while also managing battery life so that you can listen for five hours on a charge. Meanwhile, optical sensors and motion accelerometers work with the W1 chip to “automatically control the audio and engage the microphone, giving you the ability to use one or both AirPods”. This wireless technology also enables the AirPods to play sound as soon as they’re in your ears.

How do Apple W1-enabled headphones work?

The first thing you do when you get a pair of W1-headphones such as the Beats X is turn it on next to your unlocked iOS 10-powered iPhone or iPad, then click “connect” to seamlessly pair it with any other Apple gadget that’s signed in to your iCloud account. From there, switching from iPhone to Mac and back takes a click. You can learn more about how Apple AirPods work, specifically, from Pocket-lint’s in-depth review.

The W1 chip basically just makes Bluetooth a lot more user-friendly. While it debuted on the AirPods last autumn, it’s also available for the Beats Solo 3 Wireless, Powerbeats 3, and new Beats X. In many ways, all these W1-enabled headphones are standard Bluetooth headsets. They’ll work with any Android phone, Windows PC, or whatever other type of gadget you might happen to have lying around. But you’ll get the most bang for your buck if you use W1-enabled headphones with an Apple device like iPhone or Mac.

When used with an Apple device, the W1 chip is supposed to significantly boost your range. You should be able to vacuum your entire house with your phone still charging in a room, and you won’t lose any audio. And because of the optimisation technology, you’ll get a greatly extended battery life. With the W1, Apple is trying to provide something different and convenient, as well as something that encourages you to buy Apple devices. The W1’s it-just-works experience is meant to sway you from an Androids and PCs.

When will the W1-enabled Beats X be available?

The $149 (£129.95) Beats X will be available for purchase in the US and UK on 10 February. The shipping date was announced by the Beats Twitter account. You can get them in black or white at launch, with blue and grey versions coming at a later date.

They promise up to 8 hours of playback from a battery charged via a Lightning port. They also feature a “Flex-Form cable” and magnetic ear buds, both of which allows them to hang tangle-free around your neck. And they easily coil into a case for storage.

AVAILABLE FEB. 10. #BeatsX @TrvisXX pic.twitter.com/5LBNajwoK9

— Beats By Dre (@beatsbydre) February 7, 2017