3D Touch Component Costs for OLED iPhone ‘150% Higher’ Than LCD Models

A new report on Friday added support to the claim that Apple is facing higher component costs for this year’s highly anticipated OLED iPhone, which some analysts believe will carry a “premium” price tag compared to previous models.

The 3D Touch module in the redesigned handset will cost 150 percent more than the equivalent parts in LCD-based iPhones, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News. Touch panel manufacturer TPK charges between $7 and $9 per unit for 3D Touch parts in the existing iPhone range, but that price will double for the new model to between $18 and $22, claimed the paper.

The hike in price is said to be down to the fact that, in contrast to LCD screens, OLED displays require a separate protective glass bonding on both the front and rear of the panel before the 3D Touch sensors can be applied.

For 3D Touch solution used in existing iPhone series, TPK and fellow maker General Interface Solution (GIS) quote US$7-9 per smartphone. The solution directly bonds 3D Touch sensors on LTPS TFT-LCD display panels of the iPhone, but 3D Touch solution for OLED panels entails bonding of a glass cover on the front and back side of an OLED panel each to reinforce the fragile OLED panel.

The processing cost for the OLED-based 3D Touch solution is reportedly only 50 percent more than the LCD-based solution, but Apple suppliers TPK and GIS are said to be quoting three times that. The reason appears to be down to TPK’s bargaining position, bolstered by the fact that the company has passed official certification for the OLED-based solution.

Variously referred to as “iPhone 8”, “iPhone Pro” and “iPhone X” by media outlets, the tenth anniversary edition model could cost upwards of $1,000, according to one report claiming knowledge of Apple’s plans. The premium tier device is expected to feature a radical redesign with a flat edge-to-edge screen which is more expensive to produce.

In addition, a virtual home button, a 3D-sensing front-facing camera, a vertically oriented rear dual-lens camera, and some form of wireless charging are also expected to feature, along with fingerprint, face, and iris recognition, all of which will likely drive up the price because of the intricate manufacturing processes involved. The handset is rumored to be launching in September alongside more typical “S” cycle iPhone models to succeed the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, although shortages of the premium model could potentially occur due to delayed production.

(Via DigiTimes.)

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tag: 3D Touch
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Sony MDR-XB80BS Extra Bass review: Loud, bassy and firm-fitting sports earphones

Sony has been in the earphone business as long as time can tell, with its current range including some fantastic over-ear noise-cancelling headphones, and in-ear headphones to suit any budget. 

For the sporty types, there’s the XB80BS Extra Bass, which are designed to stay in your ears, outlast your sweatiest workouts and sound good while they do it. What’s more, they don’t cost the earth. 

Sony MDR-XB80BS Extra Bass review: Design

• Plastic ear-hooks
• Cable adjuster for snug fit
• IPX5 splash resistance
• Weigh 27g

Like many sports earphones, the XB80BS feature an ear-hook design, meaning they hook over the tops of your ears. In this instance, the main body of the earphone hooks is made up of two materials: there’s the slightly flexible, semi-transparent part that feeds over the tops of your ear; while a solid patterned plastic forms the chassis that holds in all the electronic components. The two ear-hooks are attached to each other via a skinny cable.

The advantage of the flexible portion is that you can move your head around during exercise, without ever feeling like the earphones will fall out. With a more rigid design, the eartips would easily dislodge with every movement, which is definitely not what you want on a record-breaking run or an intense HIIT session.

Pocket-lint

The XB80BS are also designed to be washable. With a splash-resistance rating you can rinse them off after any particularly sweaty workouts to ensure they’re clean. They’re not designed to be submerged in water, however, but can survive being splashed. That means you can take them rowing, but not swimming.

The earphones are also durable enough that you can just throw them in a bag when you’re done and not have to worry that they might break. Although you probably should just use the included pouch with its snap-shut lips instead.

Despite the obvious advantages of the durable and splash-resistant design, there is one negative: the chunky plastic over-ear design means they’re not especially comfortable to wear. And with the hook not being moldable to the shape of your ear, you can always feel that you’re wearing them, which is a little off-putting at times.

To help with this issue, you can adjust the tightness of the cable around the back of your head, using the built-in adjuster. Making it more snug restricts movement a little more, holding it closer to your ears. This makes them ideal for activities with lots of movement, and essentially keeps them glued to your head.

When used during exercise, we found these Sony earphones stayed very still. Indeed, they’re of the most securely-fitted pair of sports earphones we’ve tested to date. Well, once the cable is adjusted to fit snugly anyway.

Pocket-lint

As far as buttons go, the XB80BS earphones only have three, all of which are built into a slim rubber panel on the right ear hook. The power button is placed at the bottom, while the volume buttons are paired together further up.

As with most other similar headsets, each of the buttons have secondary functions. The power button is also the Bluetooth pairing button and call-answer/play/pause button. Volume up doubles as a skip track forwards button, while the volume down skips to the previous track, or start of the current track. While that’s useful, these buttons are very small and it can be hard to find them quickly without looking.

Sony MDR-XB80BS Extra Bass review: Performance

• 7-hours usage per charge
• 2-hour charge time

Along with having a secure, durable fit, the Extra Bass earphones have a solid wireless connection that hasn’t dropped once in our testing. Regardless of the exercise, with an iPhone strapped to our waist, or in our pocket, there wasn’t the slightest glitch in the Bluetooth performance. During our training runs, the music beaming from our phone to the XB80BS was constant and uninterrupted the whole time. 

Pocket-lint

Similar to its Bluetooth performance the battery is steady as well. Although its maximum of seven hours playback isn’t as high as some earphones – like the Powerbeats 3 for example – it’s enough to ensure you don’t really have to worry about the earphones dying on a 30-minute run.

Sadly, there’s no way to get a better view on the earphones’ remaining battery; all you get is the small indicator icon in the status bar. After over three hours of use, this indicator showed that only a small portion of the battery was used – but it’s hard to gauge precisely.

Sony MDR-XB80BS Extra Bass review: Sound

• LDAC for Hi-Res audio
• 12mm dome drivers
• Extra Bass enhanced low frequencies

The Extra Bass branding on these Sony earphones says it all: you get lots of bass, which isn’t a bad thing when you’re pumping iron at your local gun-sculpting shop, or trying to keep a steady pace on your run.

Despite the obvious bass-boosting tendencies, these relatively affordable earphones don’t get overly muddy or wooly. They retain a fairly well balanced sound across the treble and mid-ranges too, even if they don’t ring especially clear.

Pocket-lint

But then, whether or not a pair of £110 earphones have audiophile-grade frequency response isn’t likely to be of major concern when you’re trying not to die on a treadmill. The important takeaway is that they’re loud, bassy, and great for immersing you in music when you’re panting during a hard workout.

They do a good job of passively cancelling external noise, too, which further helps immerse you in the music – but does mean you have to be especially careful when running on or near roads. You likely won’t be able to rely on your ears to detect when there are cars approaching.

Verdict

If you’re looking for a pair of in-ears that don’t cost the earth, can survive your hardest sessions, and pump up the bass in your ears at the same time, the XB80BS is a great option.

The only real drawback is that they’re not super comfortable, but they’re snug and will stay in your ears no matter what. And if you’re on short sessions, that’s perhaps no bad thing for peace of mind.

The alternatives to consider…

Pocket-lint

Jaybird X3

Jaybird’s affordable X3 are surprisingly versatile, lightweight, easy to wear and carry around. What’s more, because they use flexible ear fins instead of hooks, they can be worn over or under your ears and feature a cable length adjuster to give them a more or less snug fit.

Read the full review: Jaybird X3 review: Affordable sports earphones without the compromise

Pocket-lint

Powerbeats 3 Wireless

Beats best sports earphones are certainly worth considering when looking at workout earbuds, but they won’t come as cheaply as the Sony or Jaybird offerings. On the plus side, they have a lightweight design, great bassy sound and a battery that lasts a long time.

Read the full review: Powerbeats 3 Wireless review: Beats and bass

Keep Secure with AVG Anti-virus

Protecting your smartphone or tablet secure is easier to do than you might think. Just as you’d download a virus protection for your home computer, you can do the same with the AVG antivirus app. The anti-virus update for 2017 allows you to protect your mobile devices with this free and easy download from Google Play. You can easily secure your phone with this app from the moment it is added to your device.

Why Add Protection?

Just as your computer can be hacked and information stolen, so can your mobile devices be compromised. Someone may try to hack into the phone and make your private photos or conversations public for all to see. Others would try to steal your financial information as many people do banking on their mobile phone. By adding in this antivirus for Android mobile devices, you can rest easy knowing that your information is protected.

Features Offered

The free download offers a number of features that will help you keep your information secure. From the moment you download it, the app runs in the background silently helping your phone to kill tasks that may drain your battery life. Scans of your apps, media, and files allow you to know if there is a dangerous file on your phone and helps you to get rid of the danger.

Other features provided include helping you to track your mobile data usage, locking your phone if it is lost, tracking the phone through Google Maps to find it, and even wiping your entire device if it is lost and not to be found.

There are even more features that help you to keep all your information secure and private from those who would do you harm. The app is easily downloaded and is top-ranked among the other virus protections on Google Play.

Facebook just inked a deal to live-stream 20 MLB games this season

Why it matters to you

It’s another way to enjoy live sports if your alternative providers don’t cut it.

Just a couple of months ago rumors swirled that Facebook was in talks with Major League Baseball (MLB) with a view to streaming a bunch of games during this season.

Well, the social networking giant got what it wanted, inking a deal to stream 20 games on a weekly basis, starting tonight.

The deal marks Facebook’s determination to further expand its live-stream offerings in competition with the likes of Twitter and Amazon, both of whom have been chasing similar sports-focused partnerships.

U.S. based sports fans can enjoy Facebook’s baseball coverage by hitting its MLB page. First game? The Colorado Rockies at the Cincinnati Reds, starting at 7.10 p.m. ET. Incidentally, Twitter’s MLB offerings, which since the start of this season have been showing each Friday, will soon switch to Tuesdays.

Facebook’s Dan Reed, who heads the company’s global sports unit, said in a statement that the nation’s baseball clashes are “uniquely engaging community experiences, as the chatter and rituals in the stands are often as meaningful to fans as the action on the diamond,” adding, “By distributing a live game per week on Facebook, Major League Baseball can re-imagine this social experience on a national scale.”

Efforts by Facebook and others to increase their live programming are part of a drive to boost user engagement and, ultimately, ad revenue. Twitter scored a touchdown last season with a deal to show a number of Thursday Night Football games, a partnership that’s thought to  have cost the social media company around $10 million. But, in a recent move highlighting just how competitive the space is becoming, Amazon batted Twitter out of the ground and snagged the same coverage for next season in a new deal worth $50 million.

The sports themselves are hoping the deals lead to bigger audiences, as the social media sites weave viewing and fan analysis into one experience that has the potential to drive engagement.

While the social media services are still up against the likes of broadcasting giants NBC and CBS, which continue to pull in much larger audiences with their live TV coverage, these recent deals show how the landscape is changing when it comes to audience viewing habits.

Waymo is determined not to let bird poop hinder its self-driving car development

Why it matters to you

Sometimes the little details are the most interesting, after all, who’d have thought bird poop was so problematic for self-driving cars.

As engineers around the world continue to develop systems for self-driving cars, they’re constantly uncovering a myriad of issues that need to be solved if we’re ever to live in a world where “getting behind the wheel” will no longer be a thing.

While the technology is clearly coming along fast, it’s long been recognized that the finely tuned software, obstacle-seeking cameras, and lidar sensor systems can be suddenly and unexpectedly incapacitated by what Waymo describes as a surprisingly common problem: bird poop.

Engineers at Waymo — the mobility division created by Google parent Alphabet — recently spoke to Bloomberg for an in-depth piece about how its work is coming along. And during the interview, the issue of unwanted bird bombs came up.

You see, when a bird passing overhead decides to deposit the remnants of the previous day’s dinner onto the roof of a Waymo car beneath, the gloopy mess can occasionally score a direct hit on the dome covering the lidar kit that sits atop the car (see image above). Similar to the dramatic landing of a US Airways plane in the Hudson River back in 2009 (thanks to a different kind of bird encounter), the greasy gunk has the potential to suddenly render the vehicle useless, perhaps prompting the car’s engineer to take control and message back to base with the words, “We’re gonna be in the parking lot.”

That’s why the folks at Waymo came up with this wonderful little system, shown in the GIF below. As you can see, when the car’s sensors get whiff of a sticky situation up top, little water squirters hose down the dome before a pair of wipers emerge to clean the mess away, allowing the driverless car to continue operating safely. Brilliant.

via GIPHY

Having cleared up the poop issue, so to speak, current challenges faced by Waymo include what are known as “edge” cases. These are unpredictable scenarios that can occur suddenly and close by, such as unexpected errors made by human drivers in approaching vehicles — in other words, situations that require a super-fast response.

In other areas, Waymo recently hired a “user experience” researcher tasked with helping to build public confidence in self-driving cars, and to give the passenger an “intuitive, accessible, fun — and even magical” experience.

You can check out the whole of Bloomberg’s piece here.

Microsoft’s Surface Pro update leaks, expected launch on 23 May

Microsoft firmly denied that there was a Surface Pro 5, but instead it looks like there is a new Surface Pro coming instead.

We know what you’re thinking: this looks a lot like the current Surface Pro 4 that was launched in 2015. It looks like you might be right, but with this leak coming from the ever dependable Evan Blass writing on VentureBeat, there’s every reason to be believe that this is what Microsoft is planning for its 23 May event in Shanghai. 

Physically, the update doesn’t look any different to the existing model, but Blass says it will simply be called the Surface Pro – losing the number. That makes sense if you’re from the Apple School of thought (think MacBook Pro) and it’s better than calling it the Pro 4S or Pro 4.5 or something. 

Reportedly the changes will be under the skin, with Intel’s seventh-generation chips used and presumably some other hardware changes to give some futureproofing to the new model.

VentureBeat

VentureBeat says that the pen and keyboard to accompany the Surface Pro will be available in a range of colours.

Blass is also teasing more information on Monday, so we suspect we’ll hear all the details on Monday before Microsoft has the chance to announce them. If that doesn’t happen, we can expect Microsoft to reveal all the details soon.

• Microsoft Surface Pro 4 review: Brilliant, bar battery life
• Microsoft unveils the Surface Laptop, a Windows 10 S device looking to take down the MacBook

Court says Facebook not to blame for Israeli terror incident

Facebook is currently the defendant in several lawsuits accusing the social network of enabling terrorism and propagation of extremist views. Now, one of those cases has finally reached a resolution, and it has the potential to affect the court’s decision for all the other lawsuits. According to the documents The Verge got its hands on, a federal court in the Eastern District of New York has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to hold Facebook legally responsible for the death of five people killed by Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel back in 2015.

Their families sued the social network last year, claiming that the website “played an essential role in Hamas’ (the terrorist organization) ability to carry out its terrorist activities.” Facebook, they said, made it easier for the perpetrators to “communicate, recruit members, plan and carry out attacks, and strike fear in its enemies.” They asked for $1 billion in damages and for the company to stop providing its services to terrorists.

The court, however, decided that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act grants Facebook immunity from lawsuits like this. That section states that services like Facebook can’t be held responsible for their users’ actions. The decision reads:

“While the Force Plaintiffs attempt to cast their claims as content-neutral, even the most generous reading of their allegations places them squarely within the coverage of Section 230’s grant of immunity. In their opposition to the present motion, the Force Plaintiffs argue that their claims seek to hold Facebook liable for “provision of services” to Hamas in the form of account access “coupled with Facebook’s refusal to use available resources… to identify and shut down Hamas accounts.”

While superficially content-neutral, this attempt to draw a narrow distinction between policing accounts and policing content must ultimately be rejected. Facebook’s choices as to who may use its platform are inherently bound up in its decisions as to what may be said on its platform, and so liability imposed based on its failure to remove users would equally “derive from [Facebook’s] status or conduct as a ‘publisher or speaker.’”

In a statement sent to The Verge, Facebook said:

“We appreciate the court’s consideration on this matter. Our Community Standards make clear that there is no place on Facebook for groups that engage in terrorist activity or for content that expresses support for such activity, and we take swift action to remove this content when it’s reported to us. We sympathize with the victims and their families.”

Facebook isn’t the only tech titan in the midst of legal battles related to extremist activities on their websites. Late last year, the families of Pulse nightclub shooting victims sued both Facebook and Google for providing “material support” to the gunman who pledged allegiance to ISIS. Prior to that, the wife of one of the victims who died during a shooting incident in Jordan sued Twitter for allowing ISIS activity to spread on its website. More recently, the relatives of the San Bernardino shooting victims also filed a lawsuit against Twitter, Facebook and Google for letting terrorist activity flourish on their platforms.

Via: The Verge

Source: United States District Court Eastern District of New York

MIT’s camera drones are smart enough to get the perfect shot

Over the last few years we’ve seen more camera drones than we can count, but getting the best footage out of them will take something extra. While many big budget productions are already using drone cameras, a system developed by MIT and ETH Zurich researchers goes beyond mere Steadicam or even subject-tracking, by allowing the director to define exactly how a shot is framed.

Specifically, it lets operators specify where an object or face should be in the frame, which direction it should face and how large it will appear, while also accounting for obstacles in the environment. That way the drone can calculate an appropriate flight path on its own, weighing the various factors against each other to get the best shot each time. The researchers will present their findings at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation later this month, but for now, directors will have to keep begging Roger Deakins to shoot their next project.

Source: MIT

Zomato hacked: 17 million users hit by data theft

Why it matters to you

If you’re a Zomato user, best you go and change your password now.

Early on Thursday, online restaurant  guide Zomato revealed it’d been hit by hackers, estimating that login details had been stolen from 17 million of its 120 million users.

In a post on its site the India-based company said the “recent” discovery involved the theft of “email addresses and hashed passwords.” It insisted that no payment-related information had been nabbed in the attack as that data is held separately and wasn’t targeted.

However, the company said it would “strongly advise” all of its users to reset their passwords as a precautionary measure, and also to reset it with any other services where the same password is used. For the 17 million users Zomato could positively identify as having been directly affected, the company said it’d forced a password change and was notifying them of the move so they could then reset it themselves.

The service, founded in 2008, is a Yelp-like user-reviewed directory of more than 1.2 million popular restaurants, cafes, and bars in more than 10,000 cities across 24 countries, many of which are located in the U.S. The service also offers food deliveries and lets you book tables. Digital Trends included Zomato in its “best apps” listings back in 2013.

Later on Thursday, Zomato updated its post, reminding its users that those who login via services such as Facebook and Google needn’t worry about the breach, as it holds no login information for such users. “We don’t have any passwords for these accounts, therefore, these users are at zero risk,” the company confirmed.

Zomato promised its users that “over the next couple of days and weeks” it’ll be working to “plug any more security gaps that we find in our systems,” while at the same time “further enhancing security measures for all user information stored within our database.”

So just to reiterate, if you’re a Zomato user, for peace of mind go and change your password now, as well as on any other services where you use the same password.

Zomato hacked: 17 million users hit by data theft

Why it matters to you

If you’re a Zomato user, best you go and change your password now.

Early on Thursday, online restaurant  guide Zomato revealed it’d been hit by hackers, estimating that login details had been stolen from 17 million of its 120 million users.

In a post on its site the India-based company said the “recent” discovery involved the theft of “email addresses and hashed passwords.” It insisted that no payment-related information had been nabbed in the attack as that data is held separately and wasn’t targeted.

However, the company said it would “strongly advise” all of its users to reset their passwords as a precautionary measure, and also to reset it with any other services where the same password is used. For the 17 million users Zomato could positively identify as having been directly affected, the company said it’d forced a password change and was notifying them of the move so they could then reset it themselves.

The service, founded in 2008, is a Yelp-like user-reviewed directory of more than 1.2 million popular restaurants, cafes, and bars in more than 10,000 cities across 24 countries, many of which are located in the U.S. The service also offers food deliveries and lets you book tables. Digital Trends included Zomato in its “best apps” listings back in 2013.

Later on Thursday, Zomato updated its post, reminding its users that those who login via services such as Facebook and Google needn’t worry about the breach, as it holds no login information for such users. “We don’t have any passwords for these accounts, therefore, these users are at zero risk,” the company confirmed.

Zomato promised its users that “over the next couple of days and weeks” it’ll be working to “plug any more security gaps that we find in our systems,” while at the same time “further enhancing security measures for all user information stored within our database.”

So just to reiterate, if you’re a Zomato user, for peace of mind go and change your password now, as well as on any other services where you use the same password.