Tim Cook Visits Europe Ahead of Brussels Privacy Conference

Later this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to speak at the European Data Protection Conference in Brussels during the “Debating Ethics: Dignity and Respect in Data Driven Life” session.

Ahead of the event on Wednesday, Cook is in Europe visiting app developers and filmmakers who work with the iPhone. Cook has been sharing his European adventures on Twitter.

Cook visiting the developers behind Asana Rebel, a yoga app
Cook started off the week in Berlin, where he met with developer Peter Kolski and took a look at mauAR, an upcoming augmented reality app that will display the Berlin Wall as it was prior to its demolition in the 1990s.

Schön, wieder einmal in Berlin zu sein! Thank you @peterkolski and the mauAR team for bringing the Berlin Wall’s history to life through augmented reality — a new way to learn from the past. We are looking forward to seeing your app on the App Store! pic.twitter.com/NhwGUUgG2O

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 21, 2018

Cook went on to visit the Asana Rebel team, who have created an augmented reality yoga app available on the iOS App Store .

Here’s to the rebels! Thanks for the visit, @AsanaRebel, and for sharing your enthusiasm for yoga and wellbeing. 🧘‍♂️ We’re thrilled when entrepreneurs like you use the App Store to turn their passion into a thriving global business. pic.twitter.com/G4FOR3HtNK

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 21, 2018

After that, he stopped off in Paris where he met with French filmmaker Claude Lelouch, who shot his upcoming movie on the iPhone.

Bonjour Paris! 🇫🇷 Honored to meet legendary director Claude Lelouch and hear about his upcoming film, which will be #shotoniphone. In 50 years of filmmaking, he says he’s “never been happier” than when shooting with iPhone! pic.twitter.com/t5q8J8jOW6

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 22, 2018

Cook then stopped by the offices of Foodvisor in Paris. Foodvisor is an app that is designed to analyze the nutrients in food through a photograph.

Now here’s a good reason to snap that photo of your lunch! Had a blast at @foodvisor_app’s office in Paris, seeing how their artificial intelligence makes food tracking easy. 🍣 pic.twitter.com/i1NoM1OLM3

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 22, 2018

After visiting Foodvisor, Cook stopped by L’Atelier des Artistes en Exil in Paris, which showcases the artwork of artist refugees around the world.

A profoundly moving visit to @aartistesenexil in Paris. Through their works of creativity and courage, these artists are shining a light on the hardships that so many face as refugees. “On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.” pic.twitter.com/rKGz2rlFAX

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) October 22, 2018

Cook has one more day in Europe ahead of the Brussels conference, and he is planning to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace tomorrow, where taxes and developer relationships may be topics of conversation.

Cook will be in Belgium on Wednesday, and following the conference, he may spend some more time in Europe before flying back to the United States to prepare for Apple’s October 30th event in New York City.

Tag: Tim Cook
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Google Home Hub review

First there was the Google Home. Then, the Google Home Mini and Home Max. For 2018 it’s the Google Home Hub.

Unlike its predecessors, the Home Hub is the first product in the smart home line to offer up a full display. It’s the same smarts underneath, and features a a decent speaker, and sounds pretty much like the same experience. It’s not. The Google Home Hub changes the game for Google.

Think back over the last decade or so and chances are good that you’ve either owned or known someone who purchased a digital picture frame. Google Home Hub is that, but so much more.

Almost all of us have at least one Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connected speaker that we like to listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks on. Nothing fancy, just a favorite unit that travels either throughout the house or stays in a convenient location. The Google Home Hub is that, too, but so much more.

Many of us own a smart speaker that we can tap into for reminders, grocery lists, help with cooking or homework, or general search. Google Home Hub is… well, you already know.

Falling Fast in Love

After just a few days with the Home Hub we’ve already come to appreciate it for so many reasons. From the simple, intuitive design to the technical prowess under the hood, it’s one of those devices we can see in each room of the home.

The Home Hub is more compact than you’d imagine, but it doesn’t feel small. It’s comprised of a 7-inch display with a white bezel and a speaker. The former sits in landscape mode at a reclined angle while the latter is your base. The speaker is wrapped in a fabric not unlike what Google has on the Home Mini.

The front side features two far-field microphones, and “Ambient EQ” light sensor. Around back is the volume rocker and the microphone toggle. There’s no camera to be found, but you won’t really need, or miss that option.

The light sensor automatically adjusts brightness and color temperature based on the ambient lighting in environment. Place it in a well-lit kitchen or living room area and it pushes out a brighter image. Dim the lights, or keep it on the nightstand, and it dials things down so they’re not jarring or harsh.

Display

Surprisingly, the display resolution is relatively low at 1024 x 600, which is far less than what you’re getting in today’s smartphones. What’s more, the pictures you’re capturing tend to have exponentially higher pixels. That’s hardly noticeable here as pictures still pop right off and look every bit as sharp as you’d like.

Color balance and saturation are tuned to our liking and we never really felt like we needed to dial something up or back. Brightness, thanks to the sensor, is always what the room calls for and doesn’t distract.

Tips and tricks every Google Home user should know

If for no other reason than to provide a connected digital picture frame, the Google Home Hub is worth the price. Moreover, it’s incredibly simple to set up and work with; it’s a perfect gift idea for grandparents or long-distance family.

Setup

Setting up the Home Hub is incredibly simple, particularly if you’ve already got a device or two in the home. Our process consisted of plugging and following the prompts in the Google Home apps on our phone. All told, we probably spent 3-4 minutes in setup with some of that coming from an update.

The connected device is designed to work as a passive, always-ready, speaker and display. You can leave it alone for days on end and let it cycle through your Google Photos or a collection of curated pictures. Alternatively, you can opt to show one of a few clock options.

Choosing your pictures to showcase can be a lot of fun as all of your shared albums are ready to go. Additionally, you can just let Google do its magic and pick highlights of your gallery, randomly pulling up your best stuff.

Users have control over how often pictures change with a range of five seconds to ten minutes. Changing the album(s) and speed is a breeze; you’re never stuck with anything.

The Google Home app has really improved over the last few releases, adding in options and a more friendly interface. It’s insanely easy to configure your connected speaker or display.

If anything, the Google Home Hub is the easiest device we’ve added to a network. Why? Maybe it’s the visuals that help us see where we are in the process.

What Else?

The Google Home Hub is ready for you to Cast to it. That’s an awesome feature and one we’ve found ourselves using quite a bit. Depending on where you’ve placed the unit you might want to send YouTube TV or Hulu over to it to act as a second or third screen in the room.

You can cast pretty much anything you want to the Home Hub save for Netflix. This isn’t a limitation on the side of Google so much as an Netflix decision. Nevertheless, as much as we’ve enjoyed watching small bursts of news or sports as we go about chores, we don’t see ourselves binge-watching our way through Ozark on it.

Sound is good, but it’s not great. If you’re primarily concerned with pumping out music, you’ll want to pair a separate Bluetooth speaker to it. Generally speaking, we’re okay with the somewhat flat audio experience as it’s right in line with the Google Home or Google Home Mini.

The more we’ve used Google Assistant over the last few years, the more we’ve come to appreciate it. We’ve evolved from having it on our phones as a Google Search/Google Now on steroids to something we often rely for small things.

Today we’re routinely asking Google Assistant about our day, the weather, our appointments, or commute. Getting that information is helpful not only on a phone, but anywhere we happen to be. Having visuals makes that better.

It cannot be overstated how nice it is to see a graphic representation of the weather, or calendar events. Ask how your day looks and you get a map of the route with any slow downs or accidents to accompany the commute details.

We’re going to have a difficult time getting the Home Hub outside of the kitchen. Not only are we enjoying the manner in which recipes look and work, but we’ve asked it to be our oven timer and conversion tool, too.

Although the Home Hub doesn’t have a camera on it, you can use it for Google Duo calls over voice. By contrast, the Lenovo Smart Display does allow for this, and it’s pretty nice to have. We don’t necessarily need it, though, as it’s not a primary means of communication.

As the name implies, the Home Hub does give you control over the various connected items in your home or office. You can’t set everything up directly from within the app, but it’s a solid way of managing things once they are up and running.

Controls can include things such as dimming lights or switches throughout the house, adjusting the thermostat, or viewing Nest doorbells and cameras. Google has done an excellent job of adding in new controls and hardware partners over the last couple of years. Looking ahead we fully expect that to ramp up, particularly now that we have visuals.

Conclusion

The Google Home Hub is a must-have device for those who rely on Google Assistant. For about $20 more than the Google Home you end up with a 7-inch digital display that compliments search and routines.

We like creating groups of speakers and devices so we can play music, podcasts, and other media throughout the home. As we move from room to room in the morning, as part of readying for bed, we appreciate that we can keep up with the news or a book.

Given how easy it is to install and configure, we’re really itching to add devices like these to other rooms. In fact, we’re already looking ahead to the holidays and outfitting the homes of friends and family.

If you’re considering a connected or smart speaker, you absolutely should put the Google Home Hub on your list. Whether it’s your first foray into the world of Google Assistant or if you’re complimenting your current setup with something visual, it’s the stepping off point.

Samsung’s HMD Odyssey Plus gives you a clearer view into the virtual world

Samsung is giving its Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality headset a nice refresh. With the HMD Odyssey+, Samsung is focusing on a better and more comfortable visual experience. Though Samsung’s refreshed efforts didn’t result in a wireless mixed reality headset that has been rumored in recent months, the biggest improvement that the Odyssey+ delivers is a new exclusive anti-screen door effect, or anti-SDE, in the display.

The headset ships with dual 3.5-inch AMOLED displays, delivering a combined resolution of 2,880 x 1,660 pixels, and the new anti-SDE feature should give wearers a cleaner and crisper view into mixed and virtual reality experiences. And by eliminating the screen door effect, Microsoft claims that this not only leads a more enjoyable experience, as it could help reduce the feeling of dizziness or nausea.

“Samsung anti-SDE AMOLED Display solves SDE by applying a grid that diffuses light coming from each pixel and replicating the picture to areas around each pixel,” Microsoft explained in a blog post. “This makes the spaces between pixels near impossible to see. In result, your eyes perceive the diffused light as part of the visual content, with a perceived PPI of 1,233PPI, double that of the already high 616PPI of the previous generation Samsung HMD Odyssey+.”

With the anti-SDE feature, the headset and its motion controllers will ship for the same $500 that its predecessor debuted at starting Monday, October 22. Microsoft also reduced the price of the original HMD Odyssey down to $349 on its online store, but at at the time of this article’s publication, a listing for the Odyssey+ has not appeared on Microsoft’s online store.

Although the overall design of the Odyssey+ is reminiscent of the original Odyssey, Samsung also made a few tweaks to make the headset more comfortable this year. The Odyssey+ is a few ounces lighter, weighing 1.3 pounds, and comes with improved ergonomics, like a wider eye box. The headset is also more adjustable this year, allowing you to adjust the display position and control the Inter-Pupillary Distance with a wheel.

Like recent Samsung consumer products, the headset leans on AKG to deliver a premium audio experience. Samsung claims that the headset will deliver 360-degree Spatial Sound that can simulate 3D sounds. This will help you feel more immersive in mixed reality environments, especially since the Odyssey+ also supports six degrees of freedom (6 DoF).

“The 6DOF controller can detect your every move and distance traveled inside your MR world, responding quickly to the slightest motion, ensuring your gameplay movements are more natural, and significantly reducing any dizziness from in-game motion,” Microsoft said.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Acer OJO 500 Windows Mixed Reality headset lets you straddle real, virtual worlds
• Oculus Quest vs. Oculus Rift
• Oculus Rift review
• Oculus Quest vs. Oculus Go
• The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is a tablet and computer rolled into one

Intel denies rumors that 10nm Cannon Lake CPUs have been canned

Intel

If you were holding off on upgrading your PC to see what Intel’s truly next-gen 10nm CPUs are capable of, you might want to rethink that decision. A new report claims that the notoriously troublesome architecture has been scrapped entirely and will no longer be coming to market in 2019, or ever. However, Intel has since denied the rumors, claiming that production is on track with previously announced timelines.

Intel’s 10nm Cannon Lake CPUs have been troublesome throughout their developmental life cycle. Originally slated to debut in 2016, they were pushed back again and again due to manufacturing difficulties that lead to their yield being far lower than expected and needed. The last report we heard was that they were only likely to appear in serious numbers at the tail end of 2019, but now it’s uncertain whether we’ll see them at all.

Intel has since rejected such claims, stating in a tweet on Monday, October 22, that its yields were improving and that the development of the 10nm standard was ongoing:

Media reports published today that Intel is ending work on the 10nm process are untrue. We are making good progress on 10nm. Yields are improving consistent with the timeline we shared during our last earnings report.

— Intel News (@intelnews) October 22, 2018

The initial rumor came from Semi-Accurate’s Charlie Demerjian, who claimed that Intel has now axed 10nm production entirely. If true, this would be a major step by Intel, suggesting we may have an even longer wait than next holiday season before Intel can offer something beyond its newly launched 9-series range.

Though Intel’s new 9900K, 9700K, and 9600K CPUs are impressive, they aren’t exactly revolutionary. That could be problematic with AMD slated to debut its first 7nm Zen 2 Ryzen CPUs at CES 2019, with a general release estimated to take place later in the year.

With suggestions of big performance gains to be had with AMD’s die shrink to 7nm from existing 12nm Zen+ CPUs, Intel will need to do something special to remain competitive. Cannon Lake CPUs were expected to do just that, but now its future has been brought into question. Intel’s language didn’t name Cannon Lake specifically, so it could be that that architecture has been canceled and Intel is shifting work to its planned “10nm+” successor for Cannon Lake, known as Ice Lake — that is pure speculation on the part of this writer, however.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Intel’s 10nm ‘Cannon Lake’ processors won’t arrive until the 2019 holiday season
• New Intel CPUs bake in gigabit wireless and Alexa support
• Intel’s ninth-generation CPUs could launch on October 1
• New Apple MacBook may appear in September at $1,200
• Google may launch two Pixelbook 2 laptops in October

Not to be outdone, Samsung says it’s making a laptop with a foldable display

Ryan Smalley | Behance

Samsung’s ambitions with foldable displays in consumer electronics won’t stop at building and launching one of the first smartphones with a foldable screen. Not to be outdone by PC rival Lenovo, which was reported to be working with LG Display on plans to launch a laptop with a foldable screen, Samsung announced that it is also working on a notebook with a large foldable screen that will leverage technologies found in flexible displays.

“Like foldable smartphones, Samsung is collaborating with display makers to develop laptops with foldable displays that will not just simply fold in and out but create new value and user experience, amid the changing market trends for laptops,” Samsung vice president of PC marketing Lee Min-cheol said, according to Patently Apple.

Creating new value for the novel user experience isn’t something that hardware companies like Samsung are grappling with. Microsoft, which has its own hardware business under the Surface branding, was also widely believed to be working on a compact PC with a dual-screen display known as Project Andromeda. However, it’s been reported that Microsoft shelved its plans for the dual-screen device because it did not find a compelling use case for the device. And lacking a clear use, it would be hard for marketing teams to ask consumers to justify what will likely be a premium for the new technology.

A recent Microsoft patent filing revealed that Microsoft may be reconsidering its dual-display strategy for Project Andromeda by going with a new hinge design and a single flexible display that can fold. If Microsoft does release such a product, the idea may be similar to Samsung’s strategy with its foldable smartphone and laptop. Microsoft may also be exploring concepts for a laptop with a flexible display, according to earlier patent filings.

Earlier this year, Intel worked with a PC partners Asus and Lenovo to show off prototypes of dual-screen laptops. Though these devices, referred to as Tiger Rapids, replace the keyboard portion of a traditional clamshell notebook with a second screen, they don’t come with a single, large foldable display that Samsung’s Min-cheol referenced. In a separate report on Patently Apple, Samsung said that it “will continue developing innovative PCs with partners like Intel and Microsoft.”

A foldable display will offer the convenience of a smaller footprint for travel when folded, but can expand to a larger, more immersive display to consume content when it’s opened. In the past, Samsung Mobile CEO DJ Koh stressed that a folding smartphone would be “really meaningful to our customers.” In addition to Samsung, Huawei is also working on a folding phone that can open up to a tablet-size screen.

Pick up Amazon’s 1st gen Fire TV Stick for $30 right now

Watch all your favorite shows.

The Fire TV Stick streaming media player is down to $29.99 on Amazon. That’s $10 off its regular price and a match for a deal we haven’t seen since September.

Amazon does have a newer generation of the Fire TV Stick, but it is currently $50. That version includes 4K video support and an upgraded Alexa-enabled voice remote.

The Fire TV Stick is Amazon’s most affordable streaming hardware that provides quick and easy access to popular services like Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, and more. It has an Alexa-enabled voice remote, which means that you can speak to it and get your favorite shows played without having to search for them manually. The device supports a picture quality up to 1080p and Dolby Audio.

See on Amazon

Time to try the Instant Pot Ultra pressure cooker on sale for $120 today

Look like a cooking genius.

The Instant Pot Ultra 8-quart 10-in-1 programmable pressure cooker is on sale for $119.95 as part of Amazon’s daily deals. This pressure cooker normally sells for around $180 and has never sold for less than $140 before. The drop to $120 marks a new low, even if it is temporary. Today’s deal makes it cost the same as the 3-quart version.

An eight-quart pressure cooker makes a lot of food. If you regularly cook for six or more people, then go for it. With 10 different uses, this pot can be a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, cake maker, egg cooker, saute, steamer, warmer, and sterilizer. Some of the features include an altitude adjustment, cooking indicator, and steam release. The pot’s embedded microprocessor monitors pressure, temperature, time, and more. Users give it 4.4 stars based on 1,561 reviews.

If you need some ideas on what to do with it, this Instant Pot cookbook we’ve shared before is free right now on Amazon.

See on Amazon

Never get stranded in an emergency with the $80 Anker Roav Jump Starter Pro

Stay prepared.

The Anker Roav 800A 8000mAh Jump Starter Pro is down to $79.99 with code ROAVR312 on Amazon. The Roav normally sells for $100 and we haven’t seen a discount on it before. This deal puts it at the same price as the much smaller Anker PowerCore mini jump starter.

Anker’s device combines an emergency jump starter with an emergency battery charger. If your car dies on you, you won’t have to worry about being stranded in the middle of nowhere. You can get up to 15 jump starts from a single charge of this device. Hopefully you won’t need to use them all. If it happens at night, the device has a built-in high-intensity LED lamp. Plus, there are two USB ports for charging your mobile devices in a pinch with the 8000mAh battery. Anker backs it up with an 18-month warranty, and the 52 users who have reviewed it give it 4.6 stars out of 5.

See on Amazon

Chrome may soon embrace Snapdragon laptops with native ARM version

A native ARM version of Chrome could bring better performance to the table.

One downside to picking up a Windows 10 on ARM laptop built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform is that traditional desktop apps require emulation, which brings an inevitable performance hit. But Chrome, the most popular browser on the market, could be close to circumventing that limitation.

Speaking in an interview with Android Authority at Arm TechCon, Qualcomm’s senior director of product management, Miguel Nunes, confirmed that a native ARM version of the desktop browser is in the works. Says Nunes:

We’re still working with the different OEMs and designs. I expect you’ll see it probably around (the) second half of next year. Every OEM will decide whatever their launch timeline is, but we’re actively working on it.

Nunes’ choice of words could indicate that it is working to launch Chrome for ARM laptops with specific device manufacturers, which would be an interesting approach, to say the least. But if a native ARM port of Chrome is around the corner, it would be a big win for Windows 10 on ARM PCs. As much as Microsoft is hoping to bolster adoption of its own Edge browser, the fact remains that Chrome dominates the market. Anything that would boost the browser’s performance, even if only by a small amount, would only serve to benefit consumers in the end.

Beyond Chrome, Nunes also commented on the growing ecosystem of Snapdragon PCs as more powerful chips hit the market. When asked if he was worried people would skip over Snapdragon 850 laptops in favor of those with later Snapdragon releases (such as the rumored Snapdragon 1000), Nunes responded:

No, I don’t think so… We’re gonna be creating two distinct product lines… We know you need device diversification. We know you need price diversification. And you’re not going to be able to do that with one product. So we do expect two different lines of products with two different price points. So they will co-exist.

Intel Says 10nm Chip Development is On Track

Responding to claims earlier this morning that it had ended development on its 10nm “Cannon Lake” processors, Intel announced on Twitter that it is “making good progress” on its upcoming 10nm chips.

The announcement followed a claim from SemiAccurate suggesting Intel had killed off its 10nm process. Intel’s 10nm chips were supposed to launch at some point in 2016, but have been delayed multiple times due to production difficulties.

According to Intel, yields on its 10nm process are improving “consistent with the timeline” shared during the last earnings report, which means sans additional delays, the chips will come out in 2019.

Media reports published today that Intel is ending work on the 10nm process are untrue. We are making good progress on 10nm. Yields are improving consistent with the timeline we shared during our last earnings report.

— Intel News (@intelnews) October 22, 2018

Apple uses Intel chips in its line of Mac desktops and notebooks, and Intel’s delays have caused problems for the Cupertino-based company in recent years.

As a result, Apple is said to be planning to transition away from Intel chips to its own custom-designed chips as soon as 2020 or 2021, using supplier TSMC as a manufacturer.

With custom-designed Mac chips, Apple will no longer be forced to delay updates due to Intel’s manufacturing issues, and custom chips will give the company more control over design, better profits, and a way to differentiate its products from competing PCs.

Apple has long used Apple-designed A-Series chips in its iOS devices, and the marriage between hardware and software often results in performance that is unmatched by competing products. Similar gains could come when Apple has more control over Mac chip design as well.

Apple won’t be ready to transition to its own chips by 2019, and will likely adopt the 10nm Cannon Lake chips from Intel provided those chips make their launch date. Cannon Lake chips will bring performance improvements, reduced power consumption, and support for faster, more efficient LPDDR4 RAM.

Tag: Intel
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