Xiaomi allegedly working with Google over an Android One device

Xiaomi may launch a variant of the Mi 5X with stock Android.

If there is one criticism to Xiaomi’s phones, it’s that MIUI is fairly bloated. That’s changing with MIUI 9, but there still is a learning curve associated with Xiaomi’s custom skin. However, a report out of Indonesia’s krispitech suggests Xiaomi is working with Google on releasing a version of the budget Mi 5X running stock Android through the Android One initiative.

The device — dubbed the Xiaomi Mi A1 — was recently spotted at POSTEL (Indonesia’s version of the FCC) running software developed by Google, which could only mean an Android One device. The Android One initiative was conceived a few years ago to bring quick updates to budget devices, with Google providing the updates directly. The devices on offer were decent for the most part, but the program didn’t gain much momentum in countries like India owing to poor marketing decisions.

With Android Go set to be the way forward for entry-level devices priced anywhere between $50 to $100, it looks like Android One is also primed for a comeback. Google has largely partnered with local manufacturers for Android One, but siding with a more established player like Xiaomi will undoubtedly give the program an added boost.

The phone has enticing hardware in the form of a 5.5-inch Full HD display, Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, 5MP front shooter, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.2, and a 3080mAh battery. The highlight is the dual camera setup at the back, which is the same as the Mi 6: a primary 12MP shooter augmented by a telephoto secondary lens. Combine all of that with stock Android, the promise of quick updates, and a price tag under $250 and the Mi A1 has the potential to be one of the best budget devices of the year.

The Morning After: Monday, August 21st 2017

Welcome to Monday. The new Xbox One X is ready for pre-order, and Microsoft’s talking up its features.

There are Xbox One S ‘Shadow of War’ bundles for the rest of us.
Pre-order Xbox One X in a limited Project Scorpio Edition

The rumors were true. Microsoft is marking the launch of the Xbox One X by starting pre-orders for a limited Project Scorpio Edition for the console. It’ll cost the same $499 as the standard model, but this is more than a rehash of the Day One system that commemorated the Xbox One launch in 2013. On top of Project Scorpio lettering on the console and controller, the machine gets a “sophisticated and dynamic” pattern and an exclusive vertical stand to flaunt your early-adopter status.

An anti-piracy org also plans to sue individuals who still download illegal copies later this year.

Australian courts order ISPs to block 59 pirate websites

Australian authorities will make it much harder to keep up with the latest on Game of Thrones. They’re expected to crack down hard in the next couple of weeks on dozens of pirate websites that serve unauthorized movies and TV shows. That’s because federal courts down under have handed down rulings for two separate cases, both ordering major telcoms and internet service providers (ISPs) to block a total of 59 websites and 127 domains. It’s a huge number to block in one go, but it might actually help mitigate piracy in the country.

Long car is long.
Mercedes uses Art Deco inspiration for electric-car concept

Luxury vehicles of the 1930’s, the Art Deco era, were nearly aircraft-carrier-long and dominated by seemingly never-ending clean lines. So it’s no surprise that the 30’s-inspired Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 Cabriolet is over six meters long (about 20 feet) and has a single line that runs the length of the vehicle. Hell, the back of the car is inspired by yachts and called a boat tail. In other words, it’s going impossible to find parking.

But wait, there’s more…

• Here are all the games enhanced for Xbox One X
• Sorry, Amazon is canceling your free Echo Dot
• Microsoft co-founder’s remote vehicles find a legendary WWII ship

Barclays customers can now ask Siri to make payments for them

In today’s edition of companies making it all too easy for us to spend money, Barclays has added a feature to its iOS app that will debit your account after hearing you utter but a few words. Or, less sinisterly put, Barclays’ mobile banking app now lets you make payments with Siri commands. Provided you’ve granted Apple’s assistant access to your account in the app, you can transfer money to any previously known payee, or anyone in your iPhone’s contact list. And you needn’t worry about that annoying friend saying “Hey Siri, pay Jamie £15 with Barclays,” as you still need to tap your finger to the Touch ID sensor to confirm the transfer.

Siri integration has been live in the app for a few days now, and is meant for smaller payments like your share of the dinner bill, with single transfer and daily limits to keep spending in check. Barclays boasts it’s the first UK high street bank to enable Siri payments. That’s technically true, though PayPal added the feature towards the end of last year and Santander added voice payments to its app in February, though it’s not Siri you’re asking in that instance. Siri’s able to take on new tasks such as making payments thanks to Apple finally allowing other apps to talk to the assistant from last summer. And given what Google said earlier this year, its voice assistant isn’t too far from acquiring a similar skillset.

Source: Barclays (1), (2)

Solar eclipse gives NASA a rare opportunity to study Mercury

While you’re stuck on Earth during today’s solar eclipse, NASA jets will be performing a tricky science experiment on the Sun and its closest companion, Mercury. A pair of them will take off this morning from Houston’s Johnson Space Center and follow the path of of the eclipse, allowing them to see “totality” for three and half minutes, nearly a minute longer than Earth observers. Equipped with a pair of infrared telescopes each, they’ll examine the sun’s corona and Mercury’s chemical signatures to find out what lies below its surface.

The jets, a pair of modified WB-57F’s from the 1960s, will get a nice view of the eclipse at 50,000 feet. Up there, there’s less atmosphere to distort the view and scatter light (the sky is around 25 times darker), giving them possibly the world’s best view of the event. At the same time, cruising at 460 mph, they’ll follow the path of the eclipse and see it for longer than Earth observers, over seven minutes combined.

In the past, the Concorde jet has stretched totality to 74 minutes, but the turbulence at supersonic speeds would make telescope observations impractical. The WB-57s, by contrast, will fly smoothly with minimal jolting. That’ll allow the AIRS/DyNAMITES cameras, mounted on turret-like gimbal stabilizers, to observe the eclipse optimally.

During the totality phase of the eclipse, the NASA Goddard team will examine the outer part of the Sun (mostly with visible light) to try to solve one of its biggest mysteries. No one quite knows why its corona, a plasma aura that extends millions of kilometers into space, is millions of degrees hotter than its surface.

One theory is that magnetic “Alfvén” waves conduct and magnify heat from the surface, while another contends that the extreme heat is generated by “nanoflares,” tiny but numerous explosions on its surface. The high-resolution, high-speed cameras on board the jets could theoretically spot both of those phenomena. It might also prove that nanoflares are responsible for “combing” what should be a knotted mess of magnetic field lines into relatively smooth ones.

Totality is just one part of the mission, however. Thirty minutes before and after the sun is blotted out, conditions will be ideal to examine Mercury, which is so close to the Sun that it is usually overwhelmed by its light. An infrared camera can penetrate inches below the planet’s surface, examining how quickly it cools.

That will tell scientists what forms the subsurface material and how tightly it’s packed together — sand disperses heat quickly, while rock holds it in longer. Even the Messenger probe, which orbited the scathingly hot (and cold) planet, wasn’t able to see below the surface, as its infrared camera operated at a shorter wavelength.

It’s also worth noting that the high-resolution, high frame-rate cameras may capture the best images yet of a solar eclipse. So if you’re searching for a new screen-saver, maybe hold off for a few more weeks.

Via: Science News

Source: NASA

Alleged ‘iPhone 8’ Component Leaks Continue With OLED Display Assembly, Lightning and Power Flex Cables

Several images were posted to Chinese microblogging site Weibo on Saturday claiming to show more leaked “iPhone 8” components, just weeks away from the handset’s expected launch in September.

The images, later shared via Slashleaks, are said to include the phone’s OLED display assembly, internal components for the Lightning connector and flex cables for transferring power to other components.

While we can’t vouch for the authenticity of the photos, it’s not unusual for leaked parts and components to steadily trickle out of assembly plants as Apple ramps up production ahead of an iPhone launch. For example, just last week we saw images of an alleged A11 processor and wireless charging pad components, both of which are expected to debut in Apple’s radically redesigned OLED iPhone.

Earlier this month, images were shared online showing manufacturing validating tests for the iPhone 8, while videos were also shared purporting to show an iPhone 8 production line at an unidentified factory, presumably in China, although the veracity of said videos remains contentious.

Apple is expected to announce iterative “S” cycle upgrades to its existing iPhone 7 line-up next month, but with the potential for new glass backs and a wireless charging capability in addition to the usual moderate internal improvements.

As for the all-new 5.8-inch iPhone 8, which could still take a different name, Apple is expected to debut a virtually bezel-free edge-to-edge handset with an OLED screen, a glass back, a vertically oriented dual-lens camera, and a steel frame, all for a more premium feel and price tag – possibly in the $1000 range.

Based on details unearthed in Apple’s HomePod firmware, the device will have a notch at the top of the display that will house the sensors and camera, and will do away with the traditional physical Home button in favor of a virtual one, with a facial authentication system likely replacing Touch ID fingerprint recognition.

The new iPhones are thought to debut in black and silver colors, plus a new copper-like option, possibly called “Blushed Gold”. Based on the launch schedules of previous years, Apple is expected to announce the phones at an event falling in the first two weeks of September. You can read more on everything we know so far about Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 event in our dedicated roundup.

Update: MacRumors reader Sunny1990 has posted more photos in an MR forum thread, including additional OLED display parts.

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
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Barclays Mobile Banking App Now Lets You Pay People Using Siri

Barclays has become the first bank in the U.K. to announce Siri support for its mobile banking app, enabling account holders to make payments to anyone in their iPhone contacts list completely handsfree using the virtual assistant.

Following the update, customers will be able to make payments by saying, for instance, “Hey Siri, pay Anna £15 with Barclays”, without having to open the app. Payments are authenticated using Touch ID and the feature can be used to pay existing payees or mobile contacts.

Barclays says the new Siri integration with its mobile app “will enable customers to send money virtually hands free, and will make secure banking easier, faster and simpler for all customers, including those with additional needs.”

Customers need to allow Siri payments in the app to start making payments, via the Siri “What’s New” screen or by visiting “Manage payments” under the More menu. Payment limits apply to single and daily payments limits, and can only be made in pounds.

Tag: Barclays Bank
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Apple Now Accepting Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center Following Charlottesville Protests

As planned, Apple is now accepting donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an Alabama-based non-profit organization, through iTunes.

iTunes users in the United States can donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200 with a credit card tied to their account. Apple will transfer 100 percent of the proceeds to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which says it is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, protecting civil rights, and seeking justice.

Following a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists and supremacists clashed with counter-protestors over the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, Apple said it will be making contributions of $1 million each to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.

Apple said it will also match two-for-one its employees’ donations to those and several other human rights groups, between now and September 30.

Apple has also disabled Apple Pay support on websites selling white nationalist and hate group apparel and accessories. Apple’s guidelines prevent Apple Pay from being used on sites promoting hate, intolerance, and violence based on race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s full letter to employees was obtained by MacRumors:

Team,

Like so many of you, equality is at the core of my beliefs and values. The events of the past several days have been deeply troubling for me, and I’ve heard from many people at Apple who are saddened, outraged or confused.

What occurred in Charlottesville has no place in our country. Hate is a cancer, and left unchecked it destroys everything in its path. Its scars last generations. History has taught us this time and time again, both in the United States and countries around the world.

We must not witness or permit such hate and bigotry in our country, and we must be unequivocal about it. This is not about the left or the right, conservative or liberal. It is about human decency and morality. I disagree with the president and others who believe that there is a moral equivalence between white supremacists and Nazis, and those who oppose them by standing up for human rights. Equating the two runs counter to our ideals as Americans.

Regardless of your political views, we must all stand together on this one point — that we are all equal. As a company, through our actions, our products and our voice, we will always work to ensure that everyone is treated equally and with respect.

I believe Apple has led by example, and we’re going to keep doing that. We have always welcomed people from every walk of life to our stores around the world and showed them that Apple is inclusive of everyone. We empower people to share their views and express themselves through our products.

In the wake of the tragic and repulsive events in Charlottesville, we are stepping up to help organizations who work to rid our country of hate. Apple will be making contributions of $1 million each to the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. We will also match two-for-one our employees’ donations to these and several other human rights groups, between now and September 30.

In the coming days, iTunes will offer users an easy way to join us in directly supporting the work of the SPLC.

Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.” So, we will continue to speak up. These have been dark days, but I remain as optimistic as ever that the future is bright. Apple can and will play an important role in bringing about positive change.

Best,
Tim

Southern Poverty Law Center operates offices in four U.S. states, including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Apple says iTunes Store credit cannot be used to make a donation. The fine print also says donations may not qualify for a tax deduction.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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iTunes U Collections Will Move to Apple Podcasts From September

Apple has informed educational institutions with iTunes U content that it will migrate iTunes U collections to Apple Podcasts when iTunes 12.7 is released in September (via MacStories).

Apple launched iTunes U in 2007 as a free repository of educational content through the iTunes Store, allowing educators to create course collections comprising audio, media, handouts, ebooks, and other bundled content. In 2012, Apple introduced the iTunes U iOS app, enabling users to access their collections within an app container.

However, from September, existing iTunes U collections will be automatically converted to podcasts to become accessible through the Podcasts app and the Podcasts section of iTunes on a Mac or PC. According to Apple, the iTunes U section will be removed from the desktop version of iTunes at the same time, meaning the public iTunes U course catalog will only be accessible from iOS devices.

With this change, users can access your collections using the Apple Podcasts app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, and using iTunes on Mac and PC. Your public iTunes U Collections will automatically be migrated and all links redirected into Apple Podcasts at the time of transition. While no action is required for the migration, we recommend that institutions review their current iTunes U Collections and remove out-of-date or unneeded content before the transition to Apple Podcasts.

The takeaway for end users is that from next month the iTunes U iOS app will only include courses, not collections, and there will be no way to download iTunes U course materials on a Mac.

With the migration to the Podcasts app, iTunes U collections will be assigned podcast categories automatically, but Apple cautions that they may differ from the ones previously assigned in iTunes U. The good news for collection creators is that they can use the iTunes Podcast Site Manager to change the category at any time.

Apple Podcasts supports all media types currently supported by iTunes U collections, with the exception of ePub files, according to Apple’s iTunes U Public Site Manager support page. If collections contain ePub files, content creators are advised to replace the ePub files with another file type (for example, a PDF file).

MacStories notes that this advice contradicts Apple’s Podcasts Connect support page, which says ePub files are supported by podcasts. We’ll update this article if Apple provides clarification on this point.

Tags: iTunes U, iTunes 12.7
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Drone pilot smuggling meth over border gets nabbed by cops

Why it matters to you

Drone technology presents many wonderful opportunities, it’s just a pity that some of them benefit criminals, too.

Drones for filmmakers. Drones for real estate firms. Drones for inspectors. Drones for farmers. Drones for cops. Drones for criminals. Hang on … drones for criminals? That’s not supposed to be a thing. But it clearly is.

Remote-controlled multi-rotor copters have come a long way in the last few years, allowing pilots to fly them with ever greater precision — and with very little training.

So along with hobbyists and businesses, criminals, too, have been quick to learn about just how useful these reasonably priced flying machines can be for their own nefarious purposes.

We’ve already heard about the trouble drones are causing for prison authorities, with criminals on the outside flying all manner of contraband to criminals on the inside. But now officials face another challenge — how to stop smugglers using them to fly drugs over national borders.

Late one evening earlier this month, a Border Patrol agent spotted a drone flying over the U.S./Mexico border, heading toward San Ysidro in southern California, the LA Times reported.

A short while later, an agent arrested 25-year-old U.S. citizen Jose Edwin Rivera just over a mile from the border, accusing him of using a drone to smuggle more than 13 pounds of methamphetamine into the country. The stash had an estimated value of $46,000,

A photo of the drone alleged to have been used in the crime appears to be a DJI Matrice 600, a powerful hexacopter costing around $4,500.

According to a criminal complaint filed in a San Diego federal court, the accused told investigators he’d pulled the same trick at least five times in recent months, adding that each time he would hand the drugs to a man at a nearby gas station in return for a $1,000 fee.

Rivera is currently in prison and has pleaded not guilty to a charge of importing a controlled substance. The federal authorities described the incident as their first confirmed case of drug smuggling by drone in San Diego County.

Border Patrol supervising agent Mark Endicott said criminals may be turning to drones as border agents have been having “some success” catching smugglers on the ground.

Intel’s 8th-gen Core chips will turn svelte laptops into quad-core powerhouses

Monday is an important day for many people across the world, and in the United States in particular. An exceedingly rare event has occurred, and it’s sure to capture the imagination of millions. Yes, that’s right – Intel has released the details of its 8th-Gen Intel Core launch.

Oh, and there’s also a total eclipse.

Joking aside, Intel’s announcement is a big deal. The company says its new processors are up to 40 percent faster than those before it. Karen Regis, Intel’s mobile marketing manager, boasted of the figures, and wasn’t afraid to drop a pun to make her point. “This is a huge gain […] it will eclipse anything in the industry,” she said during a press call, adding “this is arguably a once-in-a-decade kind of a leap.”

It is, indeed, a huge gain – much larger than any generation-over-generation improvement announced in the past five years. How did Intel achieve it? Simple. They added more cores.

Four cores are better than two

Intel only spoke about four specific processors, which we’ve arranged into a table for your browsing pleasure. The processors are all part of the U-Series, which is Intel’s line of mainstream laptop chips. You’re probably familiar with the U-series, even if you don’t know it. The chips power most modern laptops – if yours is a dual-core, it’s probably from the Intel U-Series.

Intel’s 8th-generation Core for mobile isn’t a difficult upgrade to understand. The company has doubled the core count of its basic U-Series hardware. Everything else is essentially the same. Maximum processor speeds remain high, Intel UHD 620 graphics remain standard, and the chips still fit within a 15-watt Thermal Design Power.

That last bit is important, because it means these new quad-cores will theoretically fit into the same designs as 7th-gen dual-cores. One leak ahead of the announcement suggested we’ll see the new quad-core processors in Dell’s XPS 13, one of the smallest 13-inch laptops on the market. That’s a big change. Previously, quad-core processors were mostly found in big laptops. Systems like the Razer Blade and Dell XPS 15 were as small as quad-core laptops could be.

A laptop based on 8th-generation core, then, should look and function just like one based on the 7th-generation core. It’ll just have two more cores – and be a lot quicker as a result.

Simplicity hides complexity

Intel’s simple lineup makes the relevance of this announcement easy to understand. Double the core count is going to mean big gains in multi-threaded applications, which are the most demanding you might run. It’s most of what makes the “up to 40 percent” performance improvement possible, though Intel insists that production and architecture tweaks have helped, too.

The simple lineup obscures coming complexity. While Intel did not announce any desktop processors during the call, or confirm any details about the platform 8th-gen Intel Core desktop chips will run on, the company did say that the new generation will be a mixture of chips based on the Kaby Lake+ architecture, and chips based on the Coffee Lake architecture.

If you’re confused, that’s because it’s confusing. In the past, Intel has tried to make its line-up easier to understand by tying the generation of the Core brand to architecture updates. No matter your level of PC hardware knowledge, upgrading from a 2nd-gen Core to a 4th-gen Core meant you were leaping forward two architectural generations.

Intel started to abandon that simplicity with its fastest chips, which often cranked up the core count on older architectures instead of using the newest. The recently announced Intel Core X-Series, for instance, uses both the older Skylake architecture and the newer Kaby Lake architecture, depending on the chip. Skylake debuted as 6th-generation Core, but with the X-Series, it’s found in 7th-generation processors.

It appears that strategy will become mainstream. Intel’s statements at least suggest we’ll see a combination of Kaby Lake+ and Coffee Lake chips branded as 8th-generation Core, though only the latter of the two represents a major step forward in architecture.

For now, the new 8th-generation quad-core chips use the same architecture, and are built on the same manufacturing process, as the previous 7th-generation hardware. The branding has moved forward, but the architecture has not. Intel’s justification is based on performance. A 40 percent gain is massive, and the company says it’s worth branding as a new generation.

More coming this fall

Monday’s announcement is just the beginning. As usual, Intel will be slowly rolling out the new generation across a variety of devices.

The first laptops based on Intel’s 8th-gen Core processors will be announced in the coming weeks. We expect many of them will appear at IFA 2017, and be available in September or October. If history proves a guide, most systems will be high-end laptops priced at $1,000 and above.

That will be followed by additional announcements in the fall. Intel said we can expect to hear more about Coffee Lake, as well as 8th-gen for desktop, which heavily hints that desktops will be first to receive the new architecture.

Intel also confirmed that the new generation will bring its Optane storage to laptops. However, we won’t see laptops with Optane until spring 2018.

Small launch, big changes

Intel’s launch of the 8th-gen Core is more of a timid step forward. Only four processors have been revealed, they won’t be available in laptops until at least September, and they won’t use a new architecture.

Despite that, this launch is a big deal for two reasons. First, it shows that Intel is fully embracing many-core processors as the future, with quad-core becoming the new standard. That seems an obvious response to AMD’s Ryzen, which also relies on many cores for high-end performance.

Second, it represents a complete abandonment of previous engineering and marketing cadence. Intel is no longer trying to make every update an architecture change, and it’s no longer trying to match architecture changes up to the launch of new Core generations.

Taken together, the latest information confirms what was already suspected — Intel is heading in a new direction. Instead of showcasing architectural changes, it plans to lean heavily on branding. Each generation of Core will include a variety of hardware. That will make the specifics of each chip harder to figure out. Intel clearly thinks that consumers won’t mind — so long as their laptops are quicker than ever before.