Quanta Said to Manufacture Apple’s Upcoming ‘Inexpensive Notebooks’ in September Quarter

Taiwanese manufacturer Quanta will fulfill orders for new “inexpensive notebooks” from Apple in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to DigiTimes, suggesting they could be released in September or October.

The report does not provide additional information about the notebooks, but two reliable sources in Bloomberg News reporter Mark Gurman and TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo both expect Apple to unveil at least one all-new, lower-priced notebook of some kind later this year.

It’s unclear if the new notebook will be branded as a MacBook, MacBook Air, or otherwise. DigiTimes previously reported it will be a 13-inch model with a Retina display, but Gurman and Kuo have yet to support those claims. Gurman expects the notebook to have a starting price of $999 or less in the United States.

The widely rumored notebook could be the first MacBook Air with a Retina display, or it could be added to the MacBook lineup, but 12-inch models currently start at $1,299, so it’s hard to envision where it would slot in at $999.

The current MacBook Air hasn’t seen any substantial updates in over three years. Since that time, Apple has discontinued the 11-inch model, while the processor on the base 13-inch model received a minor bump in clock speed, but it’s still a Broadwell chip from the 2014–2015 timeframe.

12-inch MacBook models were last updated in June 2017 with Intel’s seventh-generation Kaby Lake processors and faster SSDs.

A few weeks ago, Taiwanese publication Economic Daily News said Apple’s new entry-level notebook will be powered by Intel’s eighth-generation Kaby Lake Refresh processors, which would make it significantly faster than the current MacBook Air, which is unsurprising given its four-year-old architecture.

While the entry-level notebook could be announced with a press release, it certainly appears that Apple has enough in its pipeline for an October event, where it could introduce new MacBooks, iMacs, and a Mac mini, an iPad Pro with Face ID, and perhaps some other surprises, such as a new Apple Pencil.

Related Roundups: MacBook Air, MacBookTag: QuantaBuyer’s Guide: MacBook Air (Don’t Buy), MacBook (Don’t Buy)
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Selfies don’t usually descend into brawls, but this one did

Hit any major tourist site today and you’ll find plenty of people stretching their arms out awkwardly as they attempt to snap a selfie in front of whatever popular landmark it is they’re visiting. Either that or you’ll see smartphones gripped in the clutches of selfie sticks waving precariously above people’s heads as everyone tries to get the best shot for their next social media post. Heck, it’s probably you.

What you probably won’t see is a fight breaking out between two people trying to get that all-important selfie.

But that’s exactly what happened last week at the famous Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy.

According to Rome’s police department, the trouble started when a 19-year-old Dutch woman and a 44-year-old Italian-American fell out as they jostled for what was apparently the the ideal spot for grabbing a selfie with the capital city’s iconic fountain.

Photos posted on the police department’s Facebook page show the two women “slapping and punching” each other, presumably before either of them had had a chance to secure their selfie.

But it didn’t stop there. Clearly upset by the altercation, members of both families piled in, turning the fight into a brawl, and offering tourists a spectacle that no doubt momentarily relegated the famous fountain to becoming the second most interesting thing in the vicinity.

A total of eight people were involved in the fracas, which only ended when two police officers arrived on the scene to separate the fighting families.

The bust-up reportedly lasted “a few minutes” and caused minor injuries to those involved.

“The intervention of the agents put an end to a quarrel that could have generated far more serious consequences and injuries to the people present,” the police said.

Nevertheless, members of both families were charged over the violent episode.

The undignified squabble occurred just days after a Rome city councillor floated the idea of preventing visiting tourists from stopping at the site, instead forcing them to file past the fountain and through the piazza in a bid to ease chronic overcrowding. In light of the recent incident, they might also want to consider banning selfies at the famous site, too.

Digital Trends recently posted a piece offering three top tips for getting the perfect selfie. Punching someone in the face to secure a prime spot is not one of them.

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‘Rogue medicine in a bathtub’ 4 experts on the vice and virtue of pharma hacking

In makeshift labs around the country, a ragtag community of tinkerers has taken it upon itself to democratize medicine, disseminate knowledge, and conduct self-experiments not yet sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration.

Gene therapy is a tool for the masses, they say, not an elitist treatment confined to clinics. EpiPen prices too high? Fine, here’s a DIY EpiPencil. When medications aren’t available for everyone, they don’t just whine about it — they try to make their own in mason jars.

Some outsiders worry that the movement has gotten out of hand, as theatrical firebrands perform stunts, sometimes just for the sake of provocation. But even people within the DIY medicine scene have begun to check the rearview, pump the brakes, and reconsider their route.

We got in touch with a few figures in the field (including a biohacker, pharmahacker, and two bioethicists) and had a chat about the risks and rewards of DIY medicine — from unsanctioned gene therapy to medication made on the kitchen counter. These conversations have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Dr. Josiah Zayner

Zayner, a NASA scientist-turned-biohacking businessman, is arguably the most visible figure in the biohacking community. After a brief stint at the space agency, Zayner, who holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics, turned his attention towards The Odin, a company he runs that sells CRISPR gene editing kits and other assorted biohacking goodies to amateur and professional scientists alike.

In Zayner’s view, science — both the practice and it’s products — should be for the masses. Over the past few years, he’s walked the walk of self-experimentation, performing a fecal transplant, jostling with the FDA over the sale of glow-in-the-dark beer making kits, and even injecting himself with a CRISPR construct to see if it’d make his muscles grow. (It didn’t.)

As a self-proclaimed provocateur, Zayner has always been aware of his stunts would bug traditionalists. But now that less specialized biohackers have begun to follow in his footsteps, Zayner says he’s reconsidered the best ways to set others up for success…

Dr. Josiah Zayner The Odin

Zayner: “I was a little bit naive back then. The hardest thing to see in life is how things will scale. So it’s easy to imagine what happens when genetic engineering and gene therapy are in the hands of a few people. But what happens when a thousand or ten-thousand or a million people know how to do this? That really kind of changes your outlook on things.

“We have to prevent people from doing stuff that they don’t know could hurt them. I don’t regret the things I’ve done. I tend to be a provocateur because it makes people think, respond, and learn. But I’m trying to be more thoughtful to set people up for success rather than for failure.”

“If an individual can be trained [to edit genes] why should only scientists be able to do it?”

Digital Trends: Is that both in regards to what you’re selling and the type of experiments you’re running?

Zayner: “Yeah, both. We recently started working on genetic engineering kits using frogs. A lot of people are into gene therapy and some have just injected themselves without thinking about it, without testing it, without knowing what it’s going to do. That’s not such a great experiment.

“What happens if instead we teach people how to work with animals? Then, if they really are serious about using a gene therapy on themselves, they could test it out on a model system, do some actual science first, and make sure it works and won’t hurt them. There are easy ways to test all these things in animals.”

DT: What’s included in this frog kit?

Zayner: “Right now it’s just a gene therapy with this gene called Insulin-like growth factor 1. It’s expressed in humans mainly during puberty. It’s a great first target because you’re looking for a physical response to the gene therapy that’s easy to see and easy to measure.

The Odin

“We’ve experimented on 20 or more frogs and seen really positive results. The next step is to teach people how to safely and humanely work with these animals. I see no reason that only scientists should be able to do this stuff. If an individual can be trained to do it why should only scientists be able to do it?”

DT: I guess the counter-argument would be that scientists are better trained to understand the limits and risks, and that the gene therapy for frogs could give an amateur an inflated idea about what they can actually do.

“But what’s the other alternative? That people just suffer and die and nothing happens?”

Zayner: “Well is that a bad thing? Are you saying because they tried something on the frog and it worked and injected it into a human, it’s a bad thing?”

DT: Yeah, I could imagine that having unforeseen negative consequences.

Zayner: “I can’t see it but, I mean, it’s possible. The whole point is to set up a system so that the negative consequences are very far removed. Obviously there’s always the possibility for negative consequences in every situation. But there’s this hunger and thirst for gene therapy because so many people are suffering and dying. So, I’ve got two options morally: I can do nothing because I want to follow our laws or I can help.

“How do I work within the system to help these people in the best way possible? I can’t sell them the gene therapy directly to use. For one thing, I’ll be shut down by the FDA. But what I can do is teach them how to create their own gene therapy. Obviously everything is dangerous and somebody’s going to get hurt eventually. But what’s the other alternative? That people just suffer and die and nothing happens?”

DT: Do you really think it’s inevitable that someone gets hurt?

Zayner: “Oh, of course. Has there ever been a technology where somebody didn’t get hurt? Here’s the thing about technology — you kind of need people who are smart to develop them and also need people who are stupid enough to try them. Flying planes, going to outer space, driving automobiles. I can imagine the first person to do it probably wasn’t the smartest guy. I’m talking about myself here also. It takes somebody who has a little bit of crazy because otherwise nothing gets done.”

At Def Con, children show how easy it can be to hack an election

The security of voting machines and government databases has long been a topic of concern among cybersecurity experts and officials. However, the danger is still very real, and Def Con, an annual hacker’s convention meeting in Las Vegas, is hoping to shed some light on the problem.

One group set up a number of voting booths inside Caesar’s Palace hotel and casino and asked the convention’s attendees to see what they could do with the machines. The results ranged from amusing to somewhat alarming. As CNN recounts, one hacker was able to make a voting booth play music and display basic animations.

Turning a voting machine into an MP3 player is kind of neat, but that, obviously, isn’t where the real danger is. The bigger concern is about how easy it might be to manipulate votes and impact the outcome of an election. So how easy is it? Well, it turns out that is literal child’s play. The organizers of Vote Hacking Village told the Register that they had to bring children in because adults would find it far too easy.

In order to demonstrate this, Def Con recruited Brian Markus to create replicas of government election result websites. Markus has been part of Def Con for years and previously severed on the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Aside from Markus,  engineers from secure-communications platform Wickr were brought on to help with the design. Throughout the course of the event, 47 children took part in the event and 87 percent of them managed to breach the replica sites.

“The really important reason why we’re doing this is because we’re not taking the problem serious enough how significantly someone can mess with our elections,” Wickr founder Nico Sells told Tech Crunch. “And by showing this with 8-year-old kids we can call attention to the problem in such a way that we can fix the system so our democracy isn’t ruined.”

Despite these concerns, a statement issued by the National Association of Secretaries of State cautioned against reading too much into this demonstration. The organization praised Def Con for its work in raising awareness of this issue but expressed skepticism regarding the accuracy of the replica websites.

Well this is interesting. National Association of Secretaries of State issues statement against the Def Con Voting Village. Says its attempt to recreate (and likely hack the shit out of) a connected mockup of the election process isn't realistic. pic.twitter.com/c1uy694UPA

— Kevin Collier (@kevincollier) August 9, 2018

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Samsung SmartThings adds A.I.-based Wi-Fi for faster, smarter home networking

Samsung’s new SmartThings Wifi router uses artificial intelligence and mesh networking to optimize whole-home Wi-Fi coverage while it also functions as a smart home hub.

Combining Plume‘s A.I.-based Wi-Fi management with a Samsung SmartThings Hub, the new Samsung product is a multifunction smart home networking appliance that boasts three technologies: Mesh networking for better coverage throughout your home, A.I. for faster speeds for the devices that need it, and a smart home hub to support a universe of smart home products.

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Samsung enlisted Plume’s A.I.-based Wi-Fi mesh networking technology for broad coverage throughout your home and optimized performance. A single SmartThings Wifi router covers up to 1,500 square feet, according to Samsung.

If you have network “dead zones” or if your home is larger than 1,500 square feet, you can distribute SmartThings Wifi routers in different locations for strong signals in all areas.

“Mesh networking” refers to the ability to merge together, or “mesh,” multiple Wi-Fi access points to simplify set up and use. When you connect a device to a meshed Wi-Fi network, you don’t have to choose between multiple access points because all of the meshed routers in the house share the same network identifier.

Plume’s A.I.-based management apportions network bandwidth according to the needs of individual devices, rather than allocating resources evenly.

For example, if you use one computer in your home for gaming and a tablet for video streaming, they each need higher speed and more bandwidth than a Wi-Fi connected printer that sits idle most of the time, or a computer you use for email and shopping.

According to Samsung, “The platform adapts to internet usage in the home and intelligently allocates bandwidth, mitigates interference, and delivers maximum Wi-Fi capacity across the home, accounting for every connected device and selecting the optimal band and frequency channel so users can get the fastest speed possible.”

In addition to network traffic control, the SmartThings Wifi lets parents manage children’s screen time and create guest logins and passwords so visitors only have access to applications and data the homeowner chooses.

The integrated smart home hub in the SmartThings Wifi saves counter space and cables and simplifies configuring smart home devices to the network and hub at the same time. The SmartThings Hub enables connection and control, not only of Samsung’s SmartThings brand devices, but a vast number of third-party smart home gadgets including lights, locks, cameras, thermostats, switches, and voice assistants.

Available nationwide, the Samsung SmartThings Wifi lists for $120 for a single unit and $280 for a pack of three.

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UK Deal: SanDisk’s tiny 32GB Cruzer Fit is down to just £6 for today only

Store, protect and transfer your files with this minuscule USB flash drive.

Today only, Amazon has reduced the price of the SanDisk Cruzer Fit 32GB USB Flash Drive to just £6.31. This is its lowest ever price and it’s currently selling for less than the 16GB and 8GB models.

The key feature of the Cruzer Fit is its diminutive size. It has a super low-profile design, barely any larger than the USB connector itself, meaning you can leave it connected to your machine without running the risk of it being caught or pulled out when moving around. It also comes with a clip-on cap to protect the connector in transit if you don’t plan to keep it connected to your machine.

It has 32GB of storage, support for 128-bit AES encryption for sensitive files and works with PC or Mac computers. While it’s only USB 2.0 in speed, its benefits in storage size and portability make it great value for money at just over £6. This deal ends today, so don’t miss out.

For more UK deals coverage, be sure to keep an eye on Thrifter UK, sign up for the UK newsletter and follow the team on Twitter.

See at Amazon UK

This one-day sale has discounted Anker chargers, battery packs, and cables

ABC. Always. Be. Charged.

As part of its daily deals, Amazon has a variety of popular Anker charging accessories on sale with prices starting at just $7.99. There are car chargers, home chargers, charging cables, and even portable battery packs, so there is definitely something here for everyone.

Anker is a trusted brand that makes durable smartphone accessories that don’t cost a small fortune to own. If you’ve been dealing with older charging gear and want to unlock the full potential of your current phone, this is the way to do it. Some of the deals include:

• USB-C Cable (3-foot) – $7.99 (Was $12)
• Micro-USB Cable (5-pack) – $9.68 (Was $13)
• Lightning Cable (10-foot) – $13.49 (Was $19)
• Quick Charge 3.0 Dual USB Home Charger – $17.99 (Was $24)
• Quick Charge 3.0 Dual USB Car Charger – $18.19 (Was $26)
• 5000mAh Ultra-Slim Portable Battery – $22.49 (Was $30)
• 20000mAh Quick Charge 3.0 Portable Battery- $41.99 (Was $56)

Some of these items are available in multiple colors, so be sure to check out the complete sale and stock up on this discounted charging gear today!

See at Amazon

Latest Firefox iOS Update Brings New Dark Mode and Tab Features

Firefox received an update on iOS today that brings a new dark theme and a handful of new tab functions to the popular web browser.

For some time now, Mozilla’s mobile browser has had a “Night Mode” option, which reverts the colors of web pages except for images and certain other elements, similar to the way Smart Invert works for iOS.

From left to right: Standard view, Night Mode, and Night Mode plus Dark theme.
Version 13 of the app, released today, adds a new Dark display theme that essentially augments the Night Mode by darkening the interface. Used in tandem, Firefox offers users probably the best night-time browsing experience currently available on iOS.

To activate the night-time options, tap the Menu button (the three-line icon at the lower right of the interface) and enable the Night Mode using the toggle button. Then select Settings -> Display, and choose the Dark theme.

In addition to the above, version 13 of Firefox adds a couple of useful functions for users who tend to have a lot of tabs open at the same time. There’s now a search bar in the open tabs screen to help you find tabs containing specific content, and individual tabs can now be dragged to rearrange them.

Firefox web browser is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: Firefox for iOS
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Xiaomi sub-brand Poco is all set to unveil its first phone on Aug. 22

The Pocophone F1 will make its global debut in New Delhi on August 22.

Earlier this month, Xiaomi announced that it was creating a sub-brand called Poco that targets the mid-range segment. Not much is known about the brand other than the fact that Xiaomi’s Lead Product Manager Jai Mani would be overseeing the project, but that’s set to change next week. Poco’s Indian arm sent out a tweet saying that its first phone will be unveiled in New Delhi on August 22.

More than peak performance, more than speed – the best of smartphone innovation is almost here. Brace yourself for the #MasterOfSpeed. See you on August 22, 2018. #POCOF1 pic.twitter.com/Uwt0ZcB26N

— POCO India (@IndiaPOCO) August 13, 2018

The device in question will be the Pocophone F1. Numerous leaks over the course of the last month have given us an accurate picture of the device and its specs, which will include a Snapdragon 845, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, 4000mAh battery, 20MP front camera with face unlock and AI-based portrait mode, and USB-C connectivity. The F1 will have a notch, and it will be powered by MIUI on the software side of things.

We’ve seen a slate of new devices make their debut in this segment recently — including the Huawei Nova 3 series — and it’ll be interesting to see if Xiaomi can carve out a niche for itself with the Pocophone F1. Thankfully, we don’t have to wait long to find out all there’s to know about the Pocophone F1.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on the upcoming phone?

Latest IDC numbers show Xiaomi carving out a healthy lead in India

With a market share of 29.7%, Xiaomi is extending its lead over Samsung.

The latest IDC numbers for the second quarter of 2018 show Xiaomi building on its lead in the country. Xiaomi overtook Samsung at the end of last year to become India’s largest smartphone manufacturer, and IDC’s Q2 2018 figures show the company dominating in the online space. Xiaomi accounted for over 56% of all sales in the online segment, and with the company’s increased focus on the offline sector saw 33% of sales coming from retail stores.

The Indian handset market as a whole grew by 20% YoY, recording shipments of 33.5 million units. The segment also saw increased average selling prices to $167, up from $157 a year prior.

Xiaomi announced earlier in the year that the Redmi Note 5 series racked up over 5 million sales in just four months, and the Redmi 5A along with the Redmi 5 continue to do remarkably well in India. In fact, these four models by themselves made up 26% of all phones sold in India last quarter.

One out of four smartphones sold in India was a Redmi phone.

As a whole, Xiaomi accounted for 10 million shipments in Q2 2018, amassing a 29.7% market share. Samsung came in second with 8 million shipments and a market share of 23.9%, followed by Vivo at 12.6% and OPPO at 7.6%. Transsion, which owns offline-focused brands like Tecno and Infinix, came in fifth.

It’s an interesting time in the Indian handset market as there are plenty of manufacturers vying for market share in each segment. Samsung in particular is facing stiff competition across categories — Xiaomi in the budget segment and OnePlus in the mid-range category — and although the South Korean company saw a healthy boost in sales from Q2 2017 (up 21%), it lost out to OnePlus in the premium category.

According to IDC, it’s the budget models that deliver meaningful sales for Samsung in India, with the likes of the Galaxy J7 Nxt, Galaxy J2 2017 and Galaxy J2 2018 driving most of the volume. IDC noted an “incremental demand” for Samsung’s high-end sales, but that wasn’t enough to stave off OnePlus. With the Galaxy Note 9 set to make its debut in India later this month, Samsung is going for an aggressive strategy to win back sales, but only time will tell if it pays off.