Tesla will run its Model 3 production ’24/7′ to meet targets

Tesla is scrambling to increase Model 3 production however it can, and that now appear to include some drastic measures. Elon Musk has informed staff that Model 3 assembly at the company’s Fremont factory will step up to “24/7 operations,” with a new shift added to keep the plant humming. Combined with upgrades (including both an ongoing improvement and one due in late May), Tesla intends to “unlock” production levels of 6,000 per week by the end of June. The company’s publicly stated goal is 5,000 per week, but Musk doesn’t want a production volume with “no margin for error” across a vast supply chain.

A “steady” production level of 6,000 per week should arrive a few months after that, Musk wrote.

The company chief acknowledged that this will require a hefty recruiting effort — Fremont and the Gigafactory will add about 400 workers in the next several weeks. And yes, he was aware of concerns that higher production might come at the expense of build quality. Musk claimed that many of the Model 3’s design tolerances were “better than any other car in the world,” but he was striving for precision better than other manufacturers “by a factor of ten.” This could include cutting suppliers who don’t think they could achieve these goals, he said.

The exec also mentions looking to cut waste now that Tesla was producing cars at a large scale and had to focus on turning a profit. He put a hold on high-value expenses unless they receive his explicit approval and planned to cut contractors that weren’t pulling their weight.

Musk’s memo is an extension of what he has previously admitted in public: Tesla’s robot-heavy initial production strategy has been holding back Model 3 manufacturing, and the company needs to make up for lost time. It’s not just that there are hundreds of thousands of pre-order customers waiting for their EVs — it’s that features like all-wheel drive are contingent on Tesla making enough Model 3 units that it can afford to make a wider variety of configurations. Whatever Tesla spends on factory workers might pay dividends if it gets Model 3 output (and the company’s bottom line) back on track.

Source: Jalopnik, Electrek

‘Dark Souls’ on Switch delayed until summer

If you were all set to re-experience Dark Souls Remastered on Nintendo’s flagship console, you’ll have a bit longer to wait. Originally slated to come out on May 25th, the Switch port of the infamously difficult game — as well as its paired amiibo — have been delayed until later this summer. Lucky for everyone else, the remaster is coming out on-time for PC, PS4 and Xbox One owners.

Due to the nature of causality, we must announce that the Nintendo Switch version of #DarkSoulsRemastered will be pushed back to summer of 2018, and with it, the release of the Solaire of Astora amiibo.

PC/PS4/X1 versions will maintain their May 25th release date.

— Dark Souls (@DarkSoulsGame) April 17, 2018

Seems like the team needed more time to port the game to the Switch’s unique mobile-console experience. “The new release timing gives the development team the time needed to make sure Nintendo Switch players can fully appreciate the true ‘Dark Souls’ experience anytime and anywhere, thanks to the unique portable nature of the Nintendo Switch console,” Bandai Namco said in a press release, according to Variety. The company didn’t specify when it

It’s amazing that Nintendo welcomed the grim, violent game in the first place given its family-friendly branding. Dark Souls Remastered headlined January’s Nintendo Direct and almost took the spotlight away from the Mario Tennis announcement.

Via: Variety

Source: Dark Souls (Twitter)

LEGO DC Mighty Micros lacks depth and purpose (review)

Two of the most revered properties in the world (LEGO and DC) combine powers for a character-driven racing game for the kiddos and kids-at-heart. COUNT ME IN!

Oh, wait, you’re not really racing per se?

Ok, well, at least there are several awesome heroes and villains to unlock.

Uh, so, I’m just doing the same exact thing over and over regardless of who I’m controlling?

But, I mean, surely there are cool environments as I whip around the city?

Three of them? Ugh.

I can’t sugarcoat it. LEGO DC Mighty Micros is about as shallow as Bizarro himself. To be fair, the intended audience ranges from ages five to twelve. More on that later.

Set Up

Head on over to the Google Play Store, download and you are right in the action starting off as Batman w/ Batcopter. There are literally no settings to fiddle with.

Gameplay

Mighty Micros is described as a racing game. As I was brought to a cutscene showing my character and vehicle, then an opposing villain and their mode of transportation, I assumed I would need to outrun them to a finish line.

What unfolds is a constant chase where you never pass the villain, there is no finish line and the various speed ramps you encounter mean absolutely nothing. You steer and collect weapons and studs until the action slows down and you disable the villain’s vehicle by launching character-specific projectiles. Once you hit them three times, you have accomplished your mission.

Each time an enemy is thwarted, a cutscene focuses on the hero tossing a broom to the villain to … clean up the city? I dunno. If you accumulated enough studs you are then given an oversized gift to open which will either be a new character/vehicle or a horn sound effect (the horn is used for hovering a bit, nothing more).

Once you start grinding and unlocking more characters, you will have the option to assume the role of the baddy. With the roles reversed, there is only one difference in gameplay; you are positioned in front of the protagonist until it is time to launch your weapons.

Strength In License

If there is one redeeming quality of Mighty Micros it certainly lies in the recognizability of LEGO DC characters. There is a bit of excitement when unlocking new heroes and villains with their respective vehicles:

• Batman (two versions)
• Superman
• Wonder Woman
• Robin
• The Flash
• Joker
• Bizarro
• Catwoman
• Bane
• Captain Cold
• Doomsday
• Killer Moth

It’s an impressive roster with rides and projectiles for each. But once all characters are unlocked there is almost no incentive to continue playing.

What Could Have Been

This game is targeting an age group of five to twelve. I myself have a seven-year-old gamer son, I am willing to say that the age span is a bit overzealous.

The assortment of characters, although plentiful, all basically operate the same. This is one more aspect where the devs could have scrutinized more with special abilities or separate sound effects. As it stands, the only differentiating features are the skins. Yes, they have different weapons, but they all do the same thing — as is also the case with the vehicles.

LEGO System A/S would have been better served with something more along the lines of the kid-friendly kart racer, Angry Birds Go! Unfortunately, Mighty Micros is not ambitious enough even for the youngest of fans.

Quick Wrap-Up

LEGO DC Mighty Micros seems to exist as just a showcase for the involved properties. The lack of depth or even fun is evident all throughout the game. Sure the graphics are top notch, the music and sound effects are great, but the overall package is a stale endeavor.

This kid-at-heart was expecting “Mighty,” but instead “Micro” describes the game very well; offering very little.

You can grab LEGO DC Mighty Micros at the Google Play Store

Meitu V6: The selfie phone you’ve never heard of

Another Chinese phone Josh saw

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S hands-on: Iteration never looked so good

Xiaomi just announced its newest device, but as you can see in our Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S hands-on, it’s a familiar one. The Mi Mix 2S brings back a full-screen experience and tries to update …

Recently I was in Asia taking a look at a few of the phones you’ve seen covered here on Android Authority. Traveling out to a different market affords a unique opportunity to look at what’s hot in those markets — much of which will never make it to Western shores. I found one that not only looks unique, but can add unique looks to pretty much any photo it takes. It’s the selfie powerhouse phone many of you may never get your hands on: the Meitu V6.

This phone is only found in China and Taiwan, with the latter edition sporting Google Play Services.

Let’s start off by sharing the phone’s availability, which is very limited. Only China and Taiwan get this phone officially, though imports were found in Hong Kong and surely can be found in neighboring markets. I spent a day with the Taiwan edition, which is why Google Play Services and the Play Store were available.

Read: Best VPNs for China

At first glance, the phone is nestled in a luxurious case totally made of leather. This orange-like color might not be particularly attractive, but a few other colorways are available and they look pretty stunning. Once out of its case, the phone itself is not at all subtly designed, proudly sporting shiny bits on the back like actual 18K gold rivets on the bottom portion and proud metal lines up top. The back is made of leather reminiscent of the LG G4 from a few years back, and the shape of the phone adds some funky angles to the top and bottom edges.

It is not shy in its design — 18K gold, leather backing, and plenty of bezel are proudly displayed.

The front of the device shows some real departures from what we’ve come to expect in the West. This is far from a bezel-less phone. The dual cameras up top (yes, there are dual cameras on both sides) are accompanied by a front-facing flash and the very edges have grills on them. Normally this would signify a dual front facing speaker setup, but they are only for show, as only one of the grills actually houses a sound unit.

At the bottom of the front panel is a home button flanked by programmable capacitive keys. The concave button not only sports a fingerprint reader but also provides haptic feedback. Obviously, all of this means that the top and bottom bezels are sizable. The 5.5-inch screen also bucks the 18:9 aspect ratio trend, despite the body of the phone being far taller than your usual 16:9 phone thanks to those angular ends. It is a Full HD OLED display, meaning colors look pretty great.

The phone is plenty colorful on the inside, but performance purists might not feel so positive about its processing power. The V6 sports a Mediatek processor which is less than ideal compared to the Snapdragons of the world, but the phone makes up for it with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. In the short time I played with the phone, these specifications did not seem to affect overall performance very much.

Editor’s Pick

Meitu: trade your privacy for cute anime selfies (Update: Meitu response)

Original post: While it’s been available in China for nearly a decade, the Meitu photo editing app has recently become very popular here in the US. You might not be so thrilled about your anime-themed selfies after …

The phone runs on MEIOS, which is powered by Android Nougat, and does not have an app drawer. A quick look through the settings shows a few bells and whistles — face unlock is available, on top of the fingerprint reader, and a themes engine can be used to change the look of the interface.

I can see this software not being everyone’s cup of tea in the West, where Asian software without app drawers (like Huawei’s EMUI) has had trouble gaining widespread acceptance. Much like Xiaomi, however, Meitu’s history dates back to software development, and plenty of extra applications have been installed to add to the experience. One of them, in particular, is the powerful MakeupPlus and it is a big reason why this phone is so popular in the East.

The MakeupPlus app is most of the reason why this phone is so popular in the East.

Before we get to that, let’s talk about those cameras. A dual lens setup of 12MP and a depth-sensing 5MP secondary unit can be found on both the front and the back, in the hopes of providing the same quality pictures no matter what side is being utilized.

Pictures from the rear camera are good, though I didn’t really pixel peep them very much. After all, the main story here is that front camera. The same dual lens setup includes a front-facing flash, which already sets the phone apart from most. Depth sensing is supposed to help with portrait modes, where subject cutouts are fairly consistent.

The camera app is pretty standard fare, with plenty of modes including panoramas and manual controls. Selfie shots can benefit from a built-in beauty mode, but MakeupPlus, which we’ll discuss further in a moment, is where the magic is hidden.

What I wanted to showcase in the official camera app is the Movie Mode. This is not a video recording mode, though it can be applied to footage. Instead, it is a setting that adds black bars to the top and bottom of the frame to give it a more cinematic 21:9 feel. This setting is pretty much available across all modes, which is a nice touch.

Okay, on to MakeupPlus. Beauty modes are a bit of anomaly in most in Western markets — we have dabbled with some of them in more widely available Chinese phones to mixed results. The skin softening is usually a little aggressive (like how it removes all of my freckles), while your eyes end up really large like an anime character and facial slimming can be so over the top it makes you see what you want and hate what you have right now. Put all those together and you can look almost completely different in the self-portrait than you do in real life. Self-confidence notwithstanding, that’s all fun and good and totally available in both the camera app and in MakeupPlus.

Where MaekupPlus takes things a step further is with makeup filters that use face tracking to accurately apply the effects to one’s face. The app is fortunately very user-friendly. You don’t even have to use the built-in camera to take the photo, rather, you can just import existing pictures like, for example, those taken with the Movie Mode applied. The sheer number of available filters, categorized based on parameters I may never understand, was surprising. The accuracy of the camera is also a bit staggering, as are the filters themselves. Putting aside the ridiculousness of having this amount of makeup on my own face, the camera and the app actually did a hell of a job.

This doesn’t even take into account the ability to change one’s hair color, which again showed how accurately the camera tracks faces. No pictures like the one above had issues with the color application applying anywhere it shouldn’t. The takeaway was this: if I didn’t know any better, I would think a person using MakeupPlus actually looked that way in real life.

This level of polish and accuracy is a far cry from many of the other beauty modes we have tested. Even within the last couple of years, the effects are so obviously digitized that it takes away from the final result — the best selfie possible. The best part: this app, along with other apps by Meitu like BeautyPlus, are available in the Play Store so anyone can check them out.

Try the app: MakeupPlus by MEITU in the Play Store

The point of this phone is not so much how it looks but how it makes you look.

Taken on its own, the Meitu V6 is a unique device inside and out, but what is so intriguing about this Asia-only phone is how most fans hone in on just the selfie experience. I heard on multiple occasions while out in China that the photos it takes are what mattered most, not Meitu’s styling or the 18K rivets or any of the typical specifications many of us now just take for granted.

In some regards, Meitu didn’t even set out to keep up with the rest of the pack, like how the phone does not even try to minimize its bezels. Instead, it wears every aspect of its design proudly, like a Vertu phone but without the pretentiousness. (Although, admittedly, it does carry a hefty price tag of almost $800 equivalent.)

The point of this phone is not so much how it looks but how it makes you look. That is important to a lot of users all across the world, but the perspective is naturally different in the East. The V6 highlights soft focus, even softer skin with as few blemishes as possible, and the ability to see makeup and hair color in surprising detail before you actually made any of those changes IRL. I can see why this phone has such a cult following. This unique opportunity to check out the Meitu V6 gave me a glimpse into what people in an entirely different smartphone market actually want.

What do you think of the Meitu V6? Would you like to see this phone (or at least aspects of this phone’s experience) make it into more markets? How important are beauty mode features to you? Let us know in the comments, on social media, and over at the video on our YouTube channel!

B&O’s Beoplay P6 speaker blasts your summer playlists in all directions

Danish luxury A/V company Bang & Olufsen has launched a number of more affordable speakers under its more approachable B&O Play brand, and today it added yet another option. The Beoplay P6 is the company’s latest wireless speaker, offering Bluetooth connectivity with your go-to music-playing device. Like the Beoplay A1 that came before it, the P6 has an aluminum exterior with a leather carry strap. B&O says the design is also dust and splash resistant, so you don’t need to worry about taking the device outdoors.

Speaking of the great outdoors, B&O says you can expect up to 16 hours of battery life on a charge with the P6. When it does come time to charge up, the Beoplay P6 does so with a USB-C cable — like a few other recent audio devices from B&O. Along the top, controls for power, Bluetooth pairing, volume and a multi-function button that can be used for a number of tasks. That so-called OneTouch button can be tasked with alerting Google Assistant or Siri on your phone, accepting phone calls or toggling through ToneTouch presets from the Beoplay companion app. While the ToneTouch interface does offer presets, it can also allow you to personalize the audio of Beoplay devices as you see fit inside the aforementioned app.

As is typically the case with B&O Play goods, you’ll have to be willing to dig a little deeper to procure the company’s mix of style and sound. The Beoplay P6 will cost $399 when it goes on sale April 23rd from the B&O Play website and the company’s own retail stores. And yes, you’ll also be able to find it third-party retailers. Wherever you decide to look for it, the P6 comes in both black and “natural” (silver) color options and the requisite charging cable will be included in the box.

Source: B&O Play

The amount users spent on iPhone apps in the U.S. rose 23 percent last year

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Wondering where all the money in your bank account is going? As per a new report from app store intelligence firm, Sensor Tower, the answer may be your iPhone apps. The company found that in 2017, U.S. iPhone owners spent nearly a quarter more money on in-app purchases than they did in 2016. The average user, in fact, spent $58 on in-app purchases — up 23 percent from $47 in 2016. Sure, that’s not a staggering amount, but it is about a dozen lattes in Starbucks currency.

This figure only represents the amount spent on purchases within an app using either Apple’s in-app purchase or subscription tools. This doesn’t include purchases made as a function of an app itself — for example, the $58 is not inclusive of the amount that you spend on Lyft or Uber rides, or your eBay bids. Rather, these are in-app purchases for say, Pokémon Go or other games.

Indeed, games represented the largest category of spending last year, making up over 60 percent of average spending. At $36 of the overall $58 spent per device, that’s a 13-percent jump when compared to last year’s $32 spent on gaming. That’s not particularly surprising given that gaming is generally the biggest revenue generator for the App Store as a whole.

Not only are iPhone users willing to pay to download these apps, but they’re also quite committed to continuously purchasing virtual goods, unlocking levels, buying in-app currencies, and other features. And given that most people play these games for extended periods of time, there’s plenty of opportunity for game developers to make a pretty penny.

More interesting, however, is the fact that entertainment apps have grown 57 percent year over year to represent $4.40 in spending per device, making it the largest category aside from games. These apps include streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Now. And it’s not just visual entertainment — music also went up 8 percent between 2016 and 2017 to $4.10 in average spend. Most of this can be attributed to folks paying for premium subscriptions of, say, Pandora or Spotify. When music and entertainment are combined, it becomes clear that streaming services comprise a large proportion of in-app spending.

Also popular were dating apps, including Bumble and Tinder, which as a category grew 110 percent year over year and hit $2.10 in spending.

Curiously enough, while in-app spending on iPhone apps went up last year, it seems that Android spending on Google Play did not follow the same trend.

“We estimate that for each active Android device in the U.S. last year, approximately $38 was spent on Google Play – on and in apps – so about $20 less than iOS,” Sensor Tower’s head of mobile insights, Randy Nelson, told TechCrunch. “That tracks with the disparity in revenue generation we see between the stores outside the per-device level,” he added. “Android users generally spend less on or in apps, Google Play generated about 60 percent of the App Store’s revenue last year in the U.S.”

Also worth noting is that folks generally seemed more inclined not only to spend money on apps, but generally to install them. Sensor Tower found that iPhone app installs increased 10 percent — users installed around four more apps in 2017 when compared to 2016. And if you’re wondering how you stack up to the average iPhone owner when it comes to how cluttered your mobile device is, here’s some trivia for you. In total, the average iPhone user had 45 apps on their phone in 2017.

Editors’ Recommendations

• App downloads and revenues continue to grow on Android and iOS
• Apple acquires music-recognition app Shazam; competition review commences
• Buy a shirt, get a share. Bumped turns your purchases into investments
• 50 years in, Nike’s new digital studio defends its title as the king of kicks
• Google Play sees 19 billion apps downloaded in previous quarter

Here are all the details about the upcoming Oppo Find 9 smartphone

After more than a year of hearing rumors about the Oppo Find 9, it looks we may finally get a glimpse of the flagship in the coming months. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Oppo Find 9.

Design

Let’sGoDigital

While we don’t have a ton of design information about the Oppo Find 9, a leaked image yields a few details. We expect the flagship to feature a near bezel-less design similar to other premium-tier phones like the Samsung Galaxy S9 and iPhone X.

A missing feature on the leaked image is a fingerprint sensor. Although Oppo may have chosen to place the sensor on the back of the phone, Let’sGoDigital reports the upcoming phone will be one of the first phones to feature an in-display fingerprint sensor. A recently approved Chinese patent, also unearthed by Let’sGoDigital, seems to confirm this.

Alternately, we may see a high-speed facial authentication feature on the Oppo Find 9. A report in FirstPost states that Oppo plans to have a facial authentication feature on the phone that could scan a human face in 0.18 seconds.

Specs

According to the leak, which comes from Chinese website Anzhuo, the phone will be available in two variants — one that will be powered by the Qualcomm 653 with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage and another that will feature Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 835 processor along with a hefty 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Since this rumor was released in 2017, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a processor bump before the phones are announced.

As for the display, specs for the Find 9 have been hard to find. Previous rumors from Chinese site Gizchina suggest we can expect a 5.5-inch QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800 pixels) or UHD (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) display.

One of the most exciting rumors actually has to do with the way the phone charges. According to rumors, the upcoming flagship will be the first to feature Oppo’s Super VOOC technology. This technology can completely charge your phone within 15 minutes.

The Oppo Find 9 will reportedly feature a custom Android skin called Find OS. Patent renders show an OS that looks highly influenced by iOS.

Let’sGoDigtial

Camera

Rumors for the camera on the Oppo Find 9 are sparse. One rumor states it will feature a 21-megapixel rear-facing Exmor lens.

Release and availability

The Oppo Find 9 has been a long time coming. We heard the first rumors of the flagship over a year ago and we’re finally expecting to see a formal launch in the not-too-distant future. Right now we do not know exactly when the phone will launch, however we definitely expect to see the phone launch in 2018.

We currently do not have pricing details for the Oppo Find 9 though we expect it’s pricing to be in line with other flagship phones. Oppo may release a “budget” model of the phone for China and other emerging markets.

Updated on April 16, 2018: Added news that the upcoming phone may include an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Here’s everything you need to know about the Lenovo Moto G6 and G6 Plus
• Huawei Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro are here — with some strange differences
• Everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Note 9
• Sony Xperia XZ Pro could be among first phones with the Snapdragon 845 chip
• Apple is still working on an iPhone without the notch, new patent reveals

Sony’s smaller version of its E Ink tablet is available in Japan

DPT-CP1 Sony

If you’re in the market for a tablet, Sony has another offering that may catch your eye. The Japanese electronics company recently released its new DPT-CP1 “Digital Paper” tablet, an E Ink tablet that is really meant for folks who still want to pretend that they’re writing on actual paper while taking advantage of the convenience afforded by a digital tablet.

About a year ago, Sony released the DPT-RP1, a rather large E Ink slab that is the same size as a sheet of A4 paper (so you can really feel like you’re writing on that antiquated tree offering). But seeing as people probably don’t want to carry around a giant tablet everywhere they go, Sony now offers a smaller version. The DPT-CP1 is effectively the exact same thing as its older (and larger) sibling but in A5 paper size.

Coming in at 10.3 inches, this new E-Ink tablet boasts a resolution of 1404 x 1872 at 224 dots per inch, and can handle 16 levels of greyscale. The E Ink tablet also comes with 16GB of storage for your PDF files (that you can then annotate on the tablet) and is capable of sharing files with iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac devices by way of a companion app. At only 5.9 mm thick, the DPT-CP1 only weighs around half a pound, and much like regular paper, you won’t have to charge it — well, you won’t have to charge it much. Sony says that the device is well-equipped to last a full month on just one battery charge.

Given that the DPT-RP1 was only available in Japan and wasn’t exactly targeted toward a mass market audience, it’s likely that this smaller version will be similarly unavailable to those of us outside of the Asian island nation. But given the extremely high price tag, you may not be heartbroken by this unavailability. While it will be cheaper than the larger version at “under” 70,000 yen, that translates to about $650. Given that you can buy some budget laptops or transformer tablets for the same amount of money, it’s not exactly a can’t-miss deal. All the same, if you’re interested, you will likely have to make a trip to Japan in order to bring home the DPT-CP1.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best tablets you can buy
• Here are the 15 best iPad keyboard cases, from the Mini to the Pro
• Wacom’s new Intuos pen tablets are a light, cheap entry into photo editing
• Meet MHL, the easiest way to wire your phone to your TV
• Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) review

American companies are banned from selling to Chinese smartphone maker ZTE

On Monday, April 16, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it is banning American companies from selling components to China-based company ZTE — known for creating smartphones and other mobile gadgets, Reuters reports. The decision comes after it was revealed the company allegedly made false statements to U.S. officials.

The Department of Commerce determined ZTE made false statements to the Bureau of Industry and Security specifically in 2016 and 2017. The statements had been in relation to disciplinary actions the company claimed it had taken or was planning on taking toward its senior employees.

“ZTE made false statements to the U.S. Government when they were originally caught and put on the Entity List, made false statements during the reprieve it was given, and made false statements again during its probation,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

Last year, ZTE agreed to settle with the United States government for $892 million for violating laws that prohibit the sale of American technology to Iran. Between 2010 and 2016, the company shipped $32 million worth of equipment to the country that included prohibited components without authorization. The Chinese mobile giant then lied to investigators when it declared the dealings had stopped.

In addition to the fine, the company was also subject to a seven-year, $300 million suspended penalty if the company violated the settlement. Not only did ZTE agree to participate in routine monitoring and auditing, but it was also placed on a list of companies U.S. suppliers are banned from doing business with unless there is government approval.

Upon pleading guilty to conspiracy to unlawful export, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal investigators, it appeared ZTE was committed to making a positive change. In a statement released amid the events, ZTE’s Chief Export Compliance Officer — U.S.-based lawyer Matt Bell — expressed the company would restructure its legal department as well as institute new policies, training, and automated tools to keep up with regulations.

Part of the agreement included letting go of four of its senior employees and disciplining 35 others by reducing their bonuses or reprimanding them, Reuters notes. But according to the Department of Commerce, ZTE rewarded its employees for illegal conduct instead.

While the company admitted it fired its four employees, it did not disclose that the rest of its staff received full bonuses rather than letters of reprimand. The company’s false statements were reported to the U.S. government after the Bureau of Industry and Security requested documentation showing proof that employee discipline had occurred.

The ban imposed on ZTE by the Department of Commerce makes it illegal for U.S. companies to sell any products and services to the company. ZTE has yet to release a statement.

Editors’ Recommendations

• ZTE and Huawei respond to intelligence agency warnings over security risks
• Huawei to refocus its efforts on other markets in the face of U.S. roadblocks
• Intel warned Chinese tech firms of security flaws before telling U.S. government
• Documents suggest some Best Buy Geek Squad employees were paid to inform by FBI
• Federal investigation into Equifax hack said to wither, even with more data exposed

U.K. cybersecurity agency warns against using ZTE telecom equipment

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in the United Kingdom has issued new advice warning the telecom industry against using equipment and services from ZTE. The statement was released April 15, the same day the United States Department of Commerce banned American companies from selling components to the company. While this event was not mentioned in the NCSC’s statement, it did mention the $1.2 billion fine ZTE received from the U.S. in March after violating sanctions.

A letter from Ian Levy, the NCSC’s technical director, that was circulated to network operators in the U.K.  says: “Use of ZTE equipment or services within existing telecommunications infrastructure would present risk to U.K. national security that could not be mitigated effectively or practicably,” according to the Financial Times, which saw a copy of the letter. A brief statement published on the NCSC’s website adds that it’s the watchdog’s “duty to highlight potential risks to the U.K.’s national security and provide advice based on our technical expertise.”

The NCSC’s wording indicates it’s specifically targeting ZTE’s infrastructure equipment, rather than its smartphones. ZTE is the world’s fourth-largest supplier of telecom equipment, according to IHS Markit, with competitor Huawei way out in front, with more than double ZTE’s market share. Huawei is a major supplier of infrastructure equipment in the U.K., which is what seems to be causing the NCSC a headache.

A special department of the Government Communications Headquarters — the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) — was set up in 2010 specifically to monitor Huawei’s equipment destined for use in the United Kingdom. Levy says adding another equipment supplier to the HCSEC’s workload would be “an unacceptable national security risk,” and could “render our existing mitigation ineffective.” It’s not only concerns about overworking the HCSEC that have prompted the NCSC to issue the warning. It also mentions new Chinese laws where national intelligence agencies can establish relationships with relevant companies, and potentially commission work.

Over the past months, ZTE and Huawei have been singled out by U.S. security advisers as being potential threats to security. A deal between Huawei, AT&T, and Verizon was an apparent casualty of these statements.

Editors’ Recommendations

• ZTE and Huawei respond to intelligence agency warnings over security risks
• American companies are banned from selling to Chinese smartphone maker ZTE
• Cops use fingerprint pulled from a WhatsApp photo to nab drug traffickers
• AMD is working on fixes for the reported Ryzenfall, MasterKey vulnerabilities
• Some Android manufacturers lie to customers about installing security updates