Synaptics Creating In-Display Fingerprint Sensors for ‘Top Five OEM’

Synaptics today announced that it has begun mass production of its Clear ID FS9500 optical in-display fingerprint sensors in partnership with a “top five” manufacturer, suggesting at least one major smartphone brand will sport in-display fingerprint sensing technology in the future.

Synaptics has been working on fingerprint sensors capable of reading a fingerprint through display glass for some time now, and its first product, the Clear ID-FS9100, was announced back in late 2016.

The updated Clear ID-FS9500 fingerprint sensors are designed specifically for smartphones with button-free bezel-free “infinity displays” much like the iPhone X or the Samsung Galaxy S8. Synaptics says its fingerprint sensors “magically activate” in the display when necessary, and the company believes its solution is “twice as fast as 3D facial recognition.”

The Synaptics fingerprint sensor works well with wet, dry, and cold fingers, and because it’s located under the display glass, the sensor is scratch proof and waterproof. In response to facial recognition, which can fail at certain angles, Synaptics points out that its fingerprint solution works when a device is “sitting on the table, at any angle, or while in a car mount.”

Synaptics did not specify which smartphone manufacturer it is working with beyond naming a “top five” OEM, so the company’s partner is a mystery. While Synaptics is a known Apple supplier that has provided Apple with display components in the past, it’s likely Synaptics is referring to an Android manufacturer. Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei are all possible partners.

Apple uses its own in-house solution for Touch ID, and it’s not yet entirely clear at this point if Apple plans to continue using fingerprint recognition as a biometric authentication method in its devices. Touch ID has been replaced by Face ID in the iPhone X, and rumors suggest Face ID will be the dedicated biometric authentication method in the 2018 iPhones. We’re also hearing rumors suggesting Face ID will come to other devices in 2018, like the iPad Pro.

In a September interview, Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi said Face ID is the future of biometric authentication, and other Apple executives have made similar comments. For those who hold out hope that Apple will continue to use Touch ID in some capacity, however, Federighi did also say that there are certain situations where different biometric techniques or combinations of biometrics could make sense.

Ahead of the release of the iPhone X, rumors indicated Apple was planning to put Touch ID under the display of the iPhone X, with Face ID selected as the fallback option when it did not work out, but Apple executives have since said those rumors were false. Under-display Touch ID was not considered as Apple worked on developing Face ID, and it’s not clear if Apple will continue to pursue Touch ID development with Face ID now available.

Tags: Touch ID, Synaptics
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Instagram’s latest test adds recommended posts to your feed

Instagram is testing a new feature that would add posts you might like to your main feed. The Verge reports that this “Recommended for You” section would include posts that your friends have liked or posts that Instagram’s algorithm thinks you might enjoy. Instagram users can already see what their friends like by looking in the “Following” section in Notifications, but this would shuffle some of that into the main feed.

Instagram has introduced quite a few changes of late with more potentially on the way. Last week, it launched its Story archive and Story Highlights features and as of today, users can follow hashtags. Other ongoing tests include one for a native Regram button, an iOS beta app and a Closest Friends list through which you can selectively share photos and videos.

Last year, Instagram began reordering users’ feed based on algorithms rather than arranging them chronologically — something that not every user loves. Twitter has also toyed with putting others’ likes in your timeline through both a “You may also like” recommendation section and by adding other users’ likes right into your feed. Those haven’t always gone over so well either, so it will be interesting to see how these Instagram changes land with its users.

Via: The Verge

Amazon Prime Video will stream in HDR10+ on Samsung TVs

One of the perpetual gripes about Samsung’s newer TVs is that they don’t support Dolby Vision for high dynamic range content, limiting you to basic HDR10 for most video. They do offer the more comparable HDR10+ format, but who’s using it? As of now, Amazon does. Samsung has announced that Prime Video will stream in HDR10+ on QLED and ‘standard’ 4K TVs as of December 13th. About 100 TV shows and movies will support the format from the get-go, including Amazon original shows like The Grand Tour and The Tick. Naturally, the intent is to make more of Amazon’s catalog HDR10+ friendly over time.

This still isn’t quite as good as Dolby Vision. While HDR10+ shares the same scene-by-scene HDR mastering as Vision, it’s stuck with “just” 10-bit color versus Dolby’s 12-bit palette. For Samsung, the main allure is that HDR10+ is open and royalty-free. The company doesn’t have to give Dolby a cut where competitors like LG do, and the technology could be relatively ubiquitous if Samsung can persuade more partners to support it (Panasonic is already onboard).

As it is, Amazon’s support significantly boosts the value of Samsung’s TVs if you insist on watching in HDR whenever possible. And you might not be limited to Amazon for much longer. Netflix recently told TechRadar that there’s a “possibility” it will support HDR10+ in the future, so higher-quality HDR may become relatively commonplace.

Via: Korea Herald, SamMobile

Source: Samsung Newsroom (translated)

Hulu brings picture-in-picture to its live TV service on the web

Last month, Hulu added a few new features to the web version of its Live TV service that improved browsing and made the user interface easier to navigate. Today Hulu adds to those improvements by bringing some of the more useful features available on its mobile and TV apps to the web version.

First, My Stuff, the area that users can customize by adding shows and movies they’re interested in, will now be available on the web. You can add or remove programs from there or from any show, movie or team details page and you can even delete multiple programs from My Stuff at once.

Picture-in-picture is also now available on the web version of Live TV. By clicking the “minimize” button at the bottom of the video player, you can shrink the viewer and keep it playing while you navigate the UI. The picture-in-picture player can also be moved around on the screen so you can place it wherever is most convenient.

Lastly, search has been tweaked as well. Users can now search for specific episodes or sporting events and you can even search a description if you can’t quite remember the title you’re looking for.

These features are now available on beta.hulu.com for Hulu Live TV subscribers and Hulu viewers with HBO and Cinemax add-ons.

Source: Hulu

‘Life is Strange’ comes to iPhone and iPad December 14th

If you haven’t had the chance to play 2014’s Life is Strange or its recent sequel Before the Storm, now’s your chance. The brilliant episodic narrative game revolves around teenaged Max and her ability to rewind time, returning to her hometown only to find it and her previous best friend Chloe in very different straits. Beginning December 14th, a whole new audience will be able to experience their story on iPhone and iPad.

According to developer Black Wing Foundation, the game’s Unreal 4 Engine underpinnings will help everything look even better than before. You’ll also get Life is Strange iMessage stickers and an in-game photo mode. You’ll be able to share both your progress in the game as well as the pictures you take on social media, as well. You can pre-order the game on the App Store now, with the first three episodes coming online on the 14th, with episodes four and five following in the first part of 2018. An Android version is planned for early 2018 as well.

“Everyone here at DONTNOD is really excited to share the adventures of Max and Chloe in Life is Strange with a new audience on mobile,” said CEO Oskar Guilbert in a statement. “We welcome new players to Arcadia Bay’s community and look forward to discovering the story choices that they make during their stay.”

Source: DONTNOD Entertainment

Under-display fingerprint reader arrives on ‘major’ phone in January

Under-the-screen fingerprint readers won’t just be reserved for rough prototypes in the near future. Synaptics has sent word that a “major” smartphone manufacturer in the “top five” will unveil a phone using its Clear ID sensor at CES in January. It’s not offering any clues as to who the mystery early adopter might be, although Vivo was the first to show it off. We wouldn’t be surprised if one of Vivo’s sibling brands (such as Oppo) had the honors, although we certainly wouldn’t rule out competition like Huawei or Xiaomi.

These under-display sensors aren’t flawless, as there tends to be a delay compared to a reader that’s in direct contact with your digits. Synaptics isn’t bothered by that, though — it claims that Clear ID is “twice as fast” as 3D face recognition (i.e. Face ID on the iPhone X) and that it’s more flexible, since you don’t need to be within visual range of your phone.

As it is, the technology might be vital if it’s widely adopted. Now that tall-screened phones are practically de rigeur, phone makers have usually had little choice but to move the reader (typically to the back) or else use another biometric sign-in method. Clear ID theoretically lets phone brands avoid that choice. They can put the reader where it’s most convenient without giving up that all-important eye-catching display.

Source: Synaptics

Senators make last ditch effort to halt the FCC’s net neutrality vote

The FCC is set to vote this Thursday on its proposal to remove net neutrality protections put in place in 2015 and while it’s all but certain that the commission will vote in favor of the proposal, some still haven’t given up trying to convince the commissioners to change their minds. The Hill reports today that 39 senators signed a letter addressed to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai requesting that he reconsider. “We write to urge you to abandon your reckless plan to radically alter the free and open internet as we know it,” the Democrats wrote. “Your proposed action will amount to the largest abdication of the Federal Communications Commission’s statutory responsibilities in history.”

The senators go on to say that this plan ignores how different the internet’s role is today and that returning to previous years’ approach to internet access is now inadequate. “Over the past 20 years, internet communications have become widely adopted and relied on by American homes and businesses. Yet, your plan ignores the central and critical role that access to a free and open internet plays in Americans’ lives and the role that the nation’s expert communications agency should play with respect to the networks underlying that access,” they said.

Last week, 28 senators sent a letter to the FCC asking it to delay the vote as did the city of New York and 40 advocacy groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The Internet Association, whose members include Amazon, Netflix and Uber, asked the FCC to either delay its vote or vote against the proposal and last month, around 200 companies penned a letter to Chairman Pai asking him not to remove net neutrality protections. Yesterday, over 20 tech pioneers including the likes of Steve Wozniak, Tim Berners-Lee and Vinton Cerf sent a letter to the FCC asking it to cancel the vote and saying that the commission didn’t understand how the internet works.

While many have called on the FCC to delay or abandon its vote, others have encouraged congress to step up and enact legislation that would more permanently regulate internet services. The Verge reports that Republican Senator John Thune asked net neutrality supporters, both Republican and Democrat, today to come up with legislation that would protect net neutrality and not be repealed with every new administration. “So many of us in Congress already agree on many of the principles of net neutrality … if Republicans and Democrats have the political support to work together on such a compromise, we can enact a regulatory framework that will stand the test of time,” Thune said on the Senate floor today. He made similar remarks during the net neutrality Day of Action. However, while he appears to be for some level of regulation, he was vocally against the regulations put in place by the FCC in 2015 and set to be reversed on Thursday.

The letter sent by the senators today is not likely to have much of an impact. Ajit Pai’s office said last week that the vote would proceed as scheduled despite the outcry against it. But that hasn’t dissuaded these senators. “The future of the internet hangs in the balance,” they wrote. “On behalf of our constituents — and future generations of Americans — we urge you to abandon this radical and reckless plan to turn the FCC’s back on consumers and the future of the free and open internet.”

Via: The Hill

Source: Senate

Steam puts curator-recommended games right up front in its store

In October, Valve announced it was working on an overhaul of the Steam Curator program and for the past few weeks it has been testing some major changes with a small group of Curators. Those changes are now live and they’re aimed at improving the system for players, Curators and developers.

With this update, games recommended by the Steam Curators you follow will now appear more prominently in the Steam Store. You’ll see them at the top of your home page and the top of tag and genre pages. You’ll also be able to see which titles Steam Curators have reviewed and Curators will be able to create game lists that they can include on their pages. For Curators, they’ll have more options for customizing their pages and more data on how their reviews impact players. Finally, for developers, a new Curator Connect system will allow them to send review copies of their games to Curators directly through Steam.

The update is available now and Steam says it will keep working on the Curator system with users’ feedback and input.

Source: Steam

AT&T’s international data plans are now a little more reasonable

AT&T’s international data roaming packs just became slightly more practical… slightly. The carrier has updated its Passport packages to give you 1GB of data and unlimited texting in a one-time $60 purchase, and 3GB for $120. That’s a lot more headroom than before (these prices previously got you a miserly 300MB and 800MB respectively), and might make the difference between Instagramming your trip as it happens versus waiting until you return to your hotel. They can certainly be more affordable than an International Day Pass if you’re staying for a couple of weeks.

With that in mind, you’re still going to have to ration data compared to how you use it back at home. Also, be sure not to run over — It costs $50 for each extra gigabyte you need. Calls to any country cost 35 cents per minute.

How does it compare to other carriers? It depends on what you need. Verizon isn’t exactly generous with monthly international data: you’re only paying $25 per month outside of North America, but that gets you just 100MB with overages of $25 for every additional 100MB block. You’re better off paying for a day pass, then. T-Mobile offers unlimited free data out of the gate, but only at 128Kbps; you’ll need a One Plus plan to move to a still-paltry 256Kbps, and LTE speeds are only available in Canada and Mexico. Sprint also takes the free-but-slow approach outside of North America unless you pay for a pass, although you can spring for weekly passes (usually $25 per week) that represent better bargains.

In short, AT&T’s newer Passport packs make the most sense if you have an extended stay, want fast data and want to keep your own phone number. Otherwise, you may want to opt for day passes, another carrier or (if you have an unlocked phone) a service that offers local data where you’re traveling.

Source: AT&T

Adobe Lightroom uses AI to edit your photos like a pro

Many photo editing apps have an auto-adjust feature that can improve photos, but pros tend to steer clear of it for a reason — it’s more of a vague guess than an informed edit based on experience. Wouldn’t it be nice if it learned from the pros? It does now. Adobe has released updates to Lightroom (both CC and Classic) and Camera Raw that use its Sensei AI to improve photos based on examples. The new Auto mode compares your image to “tens of thousands” of professionally edited shots and uses that wealth of info to make smarter decisions. This doesn’t guarantee that you’ll have Ansel Adams-grade photos with a couple of clicks, but it could limit your editing to minor tweaks. It’s definitely a help for newcomers who want pro-quality shots but don’t yet know how to achieve those effects themselves.

The revamped Auto is available across all platforms, including the desktop, mobile apps and the web.

There are some other helpful upgrades, particularly on the desktop. Computer users now have considerably better tone control, including Tone Curve (to fine-tune the tonality and contrast) and Split Toning (to achieve artistic effects, such as sepia). You can also view photos full-screen and edit the capture time of a photo if your camera is off. Mobile users should see a few tweaks as well. Android gives you shortcuts to specific app modes on Nougat or later, while the iOS camp can automatically add a text watermark upon export and should see improved HDR capture. All told, you likely want this update regardless of how familiar you are with photo editing.

Source: Adobe Blog