What happens when I decline an app permission?

Android app permissions can be scary. They’re often vague and too broad, and there are more than a few times we’ve seen developers try to abuse them. But, thankfully, they are all under your control.

Starting with Marshmallow, Android has settings to control individual permissions for every application. That doesn’t mean every app in Google Play allows you to set each permission individually, though, because plenty of developers aren’t targeting their apps to Android 6 or higher. Those apps still give you a list of permissions when you install them, and you have two choices — say yes to all, or don’t install the app. Google is slowly forcing developers to move their apps to use more current features, like granular permissions, so this will eventually stop being a thing.

More: What those scary app permissions mean

We’re not talking about those apps here. When you run across them, just try to look at each permission and see why the app might want it. In any case, Google scans each app when it’s installed (whether it comes from Google Play or not) so it will kill anything fishy.

For the rest of the apps that do follow guidelines and are compatible with the granular permission model (which is most these days), you can decide if you want it to have access to each thing individually. So what happens if you say no? Well, that depends on why the app wants that particular permission. Let’s look at the YouTube app as an example.

There are two ways to see an app’s permissions — you can see what an app requests under its listing, or you can look at a permission and see what apps are using or requesting it. Both can be useful, but for our purposes, we’re going to look at the YouTube app listing.

Finding an app’s permissions

• Open your device Settings, find the entry for Applications, and tap it.
• You’ll see your recently opened apps at the top of the page followed by a link to see All of your apps. Tap that if you don’t see the app you’re looking for in the list.
• Scroll through the list and find the YouTube app (or whatever app you’re looking for) and tap its listing.
• In the center of the new window is a listing for Permissions. Tap it.

A new page will open that lists every permission the app is using or would want to use. The switch beside each line shows if the permission is enabled or not — it will be colorized and moved to the right if it is enabled. In the YouTube app, you see a lot of permissions that don’t directly relate to streaming a video, at least on the surface. But they really are all needed if you use every feature of the YouTube app.

It needs what? Why?

Camera, for example, is needed if you want to live stream something using your phone. If you try it, you’ll be asked to enable permission for the camera and Microphone. Contacts, SMS, and Phone are there because you can share a video with anyone in your address book, and looking inside the address book exposes all that information. Storage is there in case you want to download and save a video or a movie for its rental period. Location is required if you run across any video that’s restricted by region as well as for checking DRM licenses.

It’s not always clear why an app needs permission to do something, but denying that permission won’t break anything.

You can watch a video on YouTube without granting any permission (though some phones will require the Storage permission be enabled to stream video), but not every video. YouTube allows content to be uploaded that is age restricted, and maybe you’ve run across that sort of content while you’re not signed into YouTube; in that case, it blocks access until you sign in and you’re verified as an adult according to the laws where you live. Notice the where you live part, because that’s very important.

Content guidelines and age-restriction varies from place to place, so YouTube needs to know where you are in certain cases. There are also videos that aren’t accessible in certain countries, such as war footage that uses symbols banned in Germany. To see these, YouTube has to know where you are so it knows if it can stream them to you. And when you rent or buy a video and want to watch it on YouTube, the digital license needs to be checked to make sure it is valid where you are — not all DRM licensing is world-wide.

With Location permissions turned off, you’ll not be able to play any restricted content videos or some purchased or rented videos. YouTube will ask you to enable Location when this happens, and if you don’t allow it the video will not be played. Other videos will continue to work and until you come across another piece of content that needs to know where you are before it can be streamed, everything will work normally.

Most other apps that have streaming video, like Facebook or Twitter, work that same way here. They want permission to check your location to show you a video to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, granting location permissions also means the app can gather information about where you go and when.

Permissions can cover a thing you want as well as something you don’t — like location tracking — at the same time.

That’s how all permissions for Android apps work. An app will ask for permission when it needs something it can’t access without it, and if you choose to refuse, that part of the app will not work. This can have little effect on the rest of the app, or it can be show-stopping and the app won’t work. That depends on what the app is trying to do when it needs permission. Let’s pretend we live in a country that requires you to be an adult to watch any video on YouTube; nothing will work with Location permissions denied.

Should I deny permissions then?

Yep!

Any time you feel like you don’t want an app doing something it wants to do, just say no. The very worst thing that can happen is the app crashes and closes, but it will start right back up if you want it to. If an app wants a permission you’re not sure you should be granting, ask the developer why. You’ll find their contact information at the bottom of the app’s Play Store listing, and that is why it’s there.

It’s easy to just say no and see what effect that has. Try it next time you are leery about why an app needs something.

I make it a rule to deny everything. I can deal with a popup to allow for something like Location permissions in YouTube, and I’d rather have them that just grant blanket permission to do whatever. I’ve never encountered a case where that caused any harm, and can suggest that you do the same if app permissions are something you’re concerned about.

Plex adds podcasts to its refreshed mobile app

Add podcasts to your Plex Media Library as well as being treated to a nicer mobile application.

Podcasts are important to a lot of us, but if your personal media is organized with Plex then you’re still going off to another application to get your fix. That all changes as Plex is announcing the launch of podcast support for its users.

We’re excited to be launching Podcasts in beta inside Plex today on iOS, Android, Roku, and Plex Web, (more to come, of course!) and we’d like to highlight a few of the features available. Best of all, podcasts are free for all users and don’t even require a Plex Media Server to be set up.

The feature is rolling out slowly as a beta, but you don’t need to be a Plex Pass subscriber or even have a media server set up in order to try it out. You’ll be able to add your favorite podcasts to your home screen inside Plex as with any other content for quick access, and Plex’s machine learning will figure out what you like listening to in order to provide you with some intelligent suggestions on what you might like to listen to next.

The enhanced player also has staples of podcast playback baked in, like variable playback speeds and quick skipping forwards or backward.

The other big update from Plex is the refresh to the mobile application. The onus is on customization, having Plex “your way.” So now you can customize the home screen, reordering or removing sections entirely, with customizable tabs at the bottom of the screen for quick access to other sections.

What’s also really neat is that if you have content split across multiple Plex servers, you’re now able to customize the default locations to effortlessly glide between servers when you just want to relax and enjoy your content.

The update is rolling out today for both Android and iOS, and you can find out much more over on the Plex Blog.

Download: Plex (free)

Amazon’s new Toshiba Fire TV Edition sets now up for preorder

The Toshiba made Amazon Fire TV Edition sets are available for preorder now. (Starting at $329 at Amazon.)

The range — from 43 to 55 inches — ships June 22.

Amazon today put its new range of Fire TV Edition televisions up for preorder. The Toshiba-made sets start at 43 inches for $329, scale up to 50 inches for $399, and finally hit 55 inches at $479.

As the name implies, they use Amazon Fire TV as their operating system, which means you won’t have to plug in any other boxes or dongles and will still have access to pretty much every streaming service you can think of.

Hardware wise, each is an LED backlit TV with 4K UHD resolution (that’s 3840×2160) and a 60Hz refresh rate.

You’ll find a couple of HDMI ports, a single HDMI-ARC port, antenna input, optical audio out, two USB 2.0 ports, an Ethernet jack (10x100MB), and RCA audio out.

The included remote control also serves as an Alexa voice remote. (Because everything has Alexa these days, especially if it comes from Amazon.) It’s got a smattering of dedicated service buttons, so you have one-touch access to Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, PlayStation Vue, and HBO.

For everything else, there’s the Amazon App Store, which will give the TV access to a ridiculous number of applications that’ll run on the Amazon Fire TV OS.

The TVs are available for preorder now and will be delivered June 22.

See at Amazon

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Amazon Prime Exclusive Phones: Everything you need to know

Prime Exclusive Phones consist of quality handsets at discounted prices — exclusively for Amazon Prime subscribers.

It’s hard to keep track of all the perks that come with an Amazon Prime membership, but if you’re an Android fan, one of the best ones is easily Amazon’s Prime Exclusive Phones.

Prime Exclusive Phones are sold exclusively to Amazon Prime members, and this program allows you to purchase quality phones from LG, Motorola, and others at discounted rates. Here’s everything you need to know!

May 30, 2018 — Motorola’s Moto G6 joins the mix!

The Moto G line is one of the most popular in the budget smartphone market, and the Moto G6 is one of the best entries yet.

Motorola’s retail price for the G6 is $250, but being a part of Amazon’s Prime Exclusive program, that price is lowered to just $235.

For that price, you’re getting a 5.7-inch Full HD+ display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, Snapdragon 450 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB of expandable storage (up to 128GB), 3,000 mAh battery, 12MP + 5MP dual rear cameras, and Android 8.0 Oreo.

Something that is unique to the Prime Exclusive Moto G6 is built-in Alexa. To get its attention, just double press the power button and start asking away.

See at Amazon

May 22, 2018 — The LG K30 joins the lineup with a price of $140

The latest phone entering the Prime Exclusive program is LG’s K30. It’s got a 5.3-inch 1280 x 720 screen on the front in addition to on-screen navigation buttons and a 5MP selfie camera. Plastic is the material of choice for the K30’s design, and on the back, you’ll find an 8MP shooter along with a fingerprint sensor.

Other specs include the Snapdragon 425, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage (expandable up to 2TB), and Android 7.1 Nougat.

You’ll pay $139.99 for the K30.

See at Amazon

What phones are available?

Amazon’s list of Prime Exclusive Phones is always changing, and as it does, we’ll be updating this list to reflect the most current lineup. As it stands right now, these are the phones you can get through the Prime Exclusive program —

• LG G6+ ($519.99)
• LG G6 ($419.99)
• LG Q6 ($189.99)
• LG K30 ($139.99)
• LG X Charge ($169.99)
• Moto E4 ($119.99)
• Moto X4 ($279.99)
• Moto G5 Plus ($204.99)
• Moto G6 ($234.99)

Can anyone buy the phones?

Nope.

In order to purchase Prime Exclusive Phones, you’ll need to have an active subscription to Amazon Prime.

Amazon Prime costs $119 for 12 months or $39 for 3 months, and along with access to these phones, you also get free two-day shipping, access to shows/movies on Prime Video, free Kindle e-books, and much, much more.

How are they so much cheaper?

Prime Exclusive Phones are considerably cheaper than their non-Prime counterparts, but how can this be?

No matter which one you choose, all Prime Exclusive Phones come with pre-installed Amazon apps, including Amazon Shopping, Prime Video, Amazon Kindle, Amazon Music, etc.

There used to be advertisements on the lock screen of every Prime Exclusive phone, too, but Amazon changed this is February by simply kicking the price up of all its phones by $20 and removed the ads.

Amazon Echo vs. Dot vs. Tap vs. Spot vs. Show: Which should you buy?

Updated 5/30/2018 — Add the Moto G6 to the list!

YouTube Music vs. Spotify: Which is the better streaming music service?

Can the biggest name in streaming video overtake the biggest name in streaming music?

If there is a throne to be won in music streaming, Spotify won it years ago. They’ve got a great selection, they’ve somehow gotten a better reputation for algorithms than Google, and with their Student pricing, they lure in younger listeners in droves and then hook them into staying long after they graduate. Not even Apple — the name synonymous with music players for the last 20 years — could make much of a dent. But there is a new challenger coming for the king.

If you’re going to try and fight Spotify, you need more than great value, superior selection, and fancy new features — all of which the all-new YouTube Music has. No, you need two things that aren’t found in an app’s feature-list or shiny, new web client.

You need brand power, and you need to have history. YouTube’s brand power and history are far more storied than Spotify’s, but how much of that will translate to YouTube Music this time around?

Plans, Pricing, and Device Limits

YouTube Music and Spotify both offer free versions and paid versions. Neither let you download music for offline listening, but YouTube Music will pause the music when free users turn off the screen or leave the Now Playing window, which means that YouTube Music Free will monopolize your screen and thus your battery while you’re listening to it.

Spotify Premium and YouTube Music Premium are both $9.99/month for a single user. Spotify offers a family plan of $14.99/month for up to 6 users at the same billing address, and a $4.99/month Student plan that bundles in a basic (ad-support) Hulu subscription. Spotify Premium can bundle with basic Hulu for non-students at $12.99/month. Spotify only has a device limit for downloads, which is 3 devices, each with a download limit of 3,333 songs, which is easy to remember and easy to hit for music addicts.

See at Spotify

YouTube Music Premium’s family pricing is still coming, but right now, users can still sign up for a family plan of YouTube Red/Premium for $14.99/month for 6 users, and get access to YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Premium on the main YouTube app, and Google Play Music’s unlimited subscription. Google has never offered a student discount on its music offerings, but if that changes, we’ll let you know.

The new YouTube Music is also only available right now in 5 countries — Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Korea, and the US — but Google says it intends to roll the service out to more markets like Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom down the line.

See at YouTube Music

Library and Selection

Spotify has over 30 million songs in its catalog, and while YouTube Music doesn’t have a hard number for the songs in its service, it doesn’t matter what the official number is, because that would only count the official songs YouTube Music hosts through its deals with record labels.

And there is so much more to YouTube Music’s selection than that.

YouTube Music has official songs and albums from the record labels, and to that it adds official music videos, live concert videos — both official and fan-uploaded, fan covers, remixes, and mashups. Then there’s also the millions upon millions of songs that aren’t in YouTube Music’s official library, nor any official streaming library, in many cases.

Some of this fan-uploaded content is illegal. When copyright holders serve DMCA requests, YouTube pulls that content, but that’s a constant game of whack-a-mole that most labels don’t have the time or resources to play. There are also labels that have folded, songs that have partially or entirely lapsed rights, songs that labels have lost, and much of that is only available via fan uploads, so YouTube Music will be the only legitimate streaming service that can even hope to have them unless the service has a personal music locker.

In short: Spotify has more official songs, but YouTube has far, far more music that’s actually available to listen to.

The one caveat to YouTube Music’s awesome library right now is that library management is still somewhat lacking. Everything you do in YouTube Music shows up in YouTube’s main app, from searches to added albums to every song you listen to cluttering up your watch history. YouTube has told Android Central they “are working on making it easy to separate YouTube Music & YouTube Main watch history and will also have a way to hide playlists/albums added from Music in Main.”

Stations and Mixtapes — A battle of algorithms

Spotify is known for its algorithms. From the Daily Mixes that will adjust and tweak their listening-based stations every day to the much-beloved Discover Weekly to everyday artist- and playlist-based radio stations, Spotify’s recommendations are consistently lauded by tech enthusiasts and music addicts alike. They even break out the algorithm-based Daily Mixes into several different mixes so that you can get more rock recommendations without the teeny pop you play for your daughter sneaking in.

YouTube Music’s algorithms don’t have the pedigree of Spotify’s, and they only have two main mixes for users: Your Mixtape and Offline mixtape. In the new YouTube Music, all genre radio stations have been completely hidden unless you explicitly ask for them. Once you get a station going, though, Google’s stations shine like the diamonds in the rough they are.

YouTube Music’s station offerings seem inadequate, but only until you listen to one.

Your Mixtape may be a bit diverse in its genres since everything in one mix, rather than separated by genre/type like Spotify, but Your mixtape dials into your tastes very quickly. YouTube Music has years of YouTube history to feed its radio algorithms as well as the recommendations that litter the Home feed. Spotify’s algorithms may package things a little better with Daily Mixes 1-7, but those 7 mixes still haven’t learned me as well in months as YouTube Music has in a week.

Then we have Offline Mixtape, one of the features of the original YouTube Music. Offline Mixtape takes the algorithm from Your Mixtape and uses it to generate a playlist that is regenerated and re-downloaded daily. You choose how many songs the playlist includes, up to 100, and it presents you with a new mix every day to rock out to during your commute. Offline Mixtape is a downloadable Daily Mix, something that not even Spotify’s many mixes can do.

Stability and Sound Quality

YouTube Music is in the “Early Access” stage right now, and it is quite clearly not a final product. There are serious UI bugs, especially when using the app offline, casting, and trying to manage or browse your own library, as every category in Your Library is sorted by date added rather than name.

YouTube Music’s audio quality right now is also rather average. Spotify offers audio streaming qualities up to 320 kbps via Spotify Premium’s “Extreme” audio quality option, whereas YouTube Music’s current music quality in the app is about 128 kbps. YouTube Music has told Android Central that more robust audio quality settings are coming in an upcoming update. Spotify also has Android Auto support, something every music subscription service should have in 2018, and video-based YouTube Music needs it even more than most.

For now, YouTube Music sounds fine unless you’re an audio snob, and it’s a bit buggy. We expect things to improve soon, but we have to compare what we have right now.

Why Spotify is better right now…

Spotify has almost a decade head-start over YouTube Music: a decade to build a loyal user base around the world, one of the best-known brands in music, and enough history with its users to deliver consistent and consistently awesome mixes to its users daily, weekly, and yearly. It’s also had a decade to smooth out its rough edges and refine their experience, while YouTube Music is still firmly in the growing pains stage of its development.

Spotify is still the clear winner for students, as $5/month for Spotify Premium and Hulu is pretty hard to beat, and by the time the Student discount ends, most users have too deep a library and history in Spotify to just pick up and move to a new service.

Read more: Everything you need to know about Spotify

…and why YouTube Music is going to dethrone it sooner than you think

Spotify has built itself up as one of the biggest names in music, but its brand power is still a drop in the bucket compared to YouTube, which is one of the most-visited sites on the internet. YouTube’s brand power even extends to music already — from the most viewed music videos ever to viral covers from upcoming artists, from mind-blowing remixes to that one song that you can’t remember the lyrics to.

Just look at those views.

You already use YouTube for music. Google just needs to convince you to pay for it.

YouTube Music has a few very compelling arguments already — if you’re a free user, you have to keep the screen on the whole time, which is a battery drain and keeps you from using your phone for anything else. You also can’t download music for offline playback without Premium, which is a more common practice. However, the most compelling reasons for subscribing aren’t even in YouTube Music — at least, not today.

YouTube Premium is $2/month more than Music Premium, and is the no-brainer for anyone considering paying for a YouTube subscription. For $2 more, you get offline and background playback on all of YouTube instead of just on YouTube Music content. You get rid of YouTube ads on all of YouTube, and you get access to YouTube Originals, should you need any more freebies thrown in.

Then there’s the news that Google Play Music is going to eventually give its best feature to YouTube Music: its music locker. Google Play Music’s free, 50,000-song music locker is something that doesn’t really have a rival on the market right now. If a user can’t find a song in Google Play Music’s subscription library, they can upload it to their library themselves. That’s invaluable, and it’s coming to YouTube Music, which will combine the biggest, baddest music subscription catalog on the planet with the ability to patch any conceivable hole in it a user finds.

Read more: YouTube Music review

If you’re willing to play the long game…

YouTube Music is going to be a major competitor soon, but don’t subscribe to YouTube Music Premium right now — or YouTube Red, since Music Premium’s new pricing tiers haven’t quite rolled out yet. Subscribe to YouTube Red, use Google Play Music as a stable music player and robust music locker, enjoy YouTube Red as it gets upgraded to YouTube Premium, and start playing with YouTube Music, building your library and dialing in its algorithm.

Then, when YouTube Music is ready for your full-time use, Your Mixtape will already know you to a T.

On the other hand, Spotify is experimenting with original content and podcasts, and has over 160 million customers, including 71 million paying users. Spotify is going to be the biggest player in the game for a very long time, even if companies like Google, with YouTube Music, are putting them under pressure.

How to sign up for YouTube Music

LG V35 ThinQ coming to AT&T on June 8 for $900

Preorders begin on Friday, June 1.

Shortly after the LG G7 was announced, it was said that AT&T wouldn’t be carrying/selling the phone in the U.S. and would instead offer “a new LG device this summer only from AT&T.” Now, it’s been confirmed that that phone is the LG V35 ThinQ.

AT&T and LG recently announced the new handset, and it lines up perfectly with a leak that surfaced in early May. The V35 ThinQ is essentially a modernized version of the LG V30 from last year and offers almost all of the same specs found with the G7.

The front of the V35 is home to a 6-inch 18:9 Quad HD+ (2880 x 1440) display, but it swaps out the G7’s LCD panel for an OLED one. Even better, there’s no notch to be found.

The V35 is almost identical to the G7 — save for the OLED screen.

Around back are the G7’s excellent dual 16MP rear cameras, the primary one using a standard 71-degree angle with f/1.6 aperture while the second one is a 107-degree wide angle sensor with f/1.9. For the selfie camera, you’ve got a single 8MP 80-degree sensor with f/1.9 for the aperture.

Under the hood of the V35 ThinQ is the Snapdragon 845 CPU, 6GB RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, and a 3,300 mAh battery. Android 8.0 oreo is present out of the box, there’s support for Band 14 for lightning-fast data speeds, and is AT&T’s latest phone to support the FirstNet service for first responders.

Pre-orders for the LG V35 ThinQ open up this Friday, June 1, with official sales opening online and in-stores Friday, June 8. The phone will cost $30/month for 30 months on AT&T Next, bringing the final price to a staggering $900.

Now that everything’s official, do you feel like spending that kind of cash for the V35?

LG G7 ThinQ hands-on preview: All about that bass

Samsung’s fast wireless charger is down to just $25 at Amazon

Give one a try!

If you have a phone with wireless charging capabilities and aren’t using a wireless charging pad, it’s time to change that. Amazon currently has Samsung’s Qi fast wireless charging pad on sale for just $24.99, which is the lowest price it has ever sold for. You can pick one up in either black or white right now. Recently, it’s been averaging around $35, but has sold for as much as $70 in the past. Best Buy has it priced at $50 right now.

This wireless charger works with any Qi-enabled device, including Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S9, the iPhone 8, iPhone X, and more. It will fast charge Samsung devices and charge others at standard speed. All you need to do is plug it into the wall using the included power brick, and then set your phone on top. There’s a multi-color LED to help you see the charging status. It’s time to stop fumbling around with cables in the dark and try out an easier way to charge your phone.

See at Amazon

21st Century Fox CEO Says Apple Still Just ‘Dabbling’ in Original TV Content

In early 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook described the company’s plans for original TV content on Apple Music as placing a “toe in the water” for its television ambitions at the time. Eventually, Planet of the Apps and Carpool Karaoke debuted on the service, but since then frequent reports have indicated Apple is now “completely all in” on original content, shifting from reality TV programs on Apple Music to high-quality, $1 billion investments in hour-long programs on par with shows like Westworld.

Despite Apple’s evolving plans over the past year and a half, 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch still believes Apple to be “dabbling” in the creative original content space. In an interview at Recode’s Code Conference this week, Murdoch was asked what advice he would give to companies who are not traditional TV content-creating companies, but who are getting into the original programming business.

Photo taken by Asa Mathat via Recode
Murdoch explained that 21st Century Fox’s angle is “a creative business” and “very entreprenurial,” where it empowers creators, creative partners, and creative executives to “push the envelope” in storytelling. He said that “being tolerant of failure is important,” leading into his statement about Apple and other companies looking into TV production and their potential fear of failure as an impediment to faster progress.

So, I think the one issue that we see with the kind of, you know, the dabbling, right? If you look at an Apple. Is it … Going piece by piece, one by one, show by show, et cetera, is gonna take a long time to really move the dial and having something mega. I do think that’s gonna be very challenging.

As of now, there are 13 original shows coming from Apple (although how exactly they will launch remains in question), including new episodes of Amazing Stories, an untitled space drama from the creator of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, a Kristen Wiig sitcom, and other projects from names like Damien Chazelle, M. Night Shyamalan, and Octavia Spencer. Apple has set aside a $1 billion “war chest” for the production of these shows, the first of which could launch as soon as March 2019.

Murdoch appears to think that Apple will roll out its shows “one by one,” leading into his argument that it will take a while for the company to have a hit on its hands. It’s unclear why the CEO believes that to be Apple’s plans, however, since neither Apple nor any rumors have suggested how exactly the company will launch its shows, and how many will hit at once.

One of Apple’s rivals in the market will be Hulu, which has its own original TV shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, Marvel’s Runaways, and the upcoming Stephen King anthology series Castle Rock. 21st Century Fox is one of the owners of Hulu, and according to Murdoch about half of the 20 million Hulu subscribers pay for the service’s $11.99/month No Commercials tier, upgrading from the Limited Commercials option at $7.99/month.

There’s an option for the limited-ad experience, and it’s about evens, I think.

I think they say, “You know, for four bucks, I’m getting a limited ad … Four bucks extra, I can do it this. For four bucks less a month, I’ll have limited ads. It’s not a terrible experience, the ads, it’s a much lighter load than you see in broadcast or cable generally.”

So, I think they make a choice. And I think once you empower the customer, and you make it really transparent, that it’s really about how they’re valuing their time, and how they’re valuing and dealing with their priorities, then also they complain a lot less about the ads, because they’ve been given a choice and empowered. So a lot of, I think, what the whole industry is doing is trying to figure this out.

Murdoch also touched upon the company’s plans to sell parts of its media assets to Disney, which now could be complicated with an all-cash offer from Comcast. The CEO was expectedly reserved about specific details regarding what could happen with each offer, but made it clear that the company has given far more thought to the regulatory aspects of the Disney deal than it has to any offer from Comcast, saying Fox will “deal with that as we go.”

Tags: Fox, Apple’s Hollywood ambitions
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Analysts Cast Doubt on Report of Apple’s Transition to Full OLED iPhone Lineup in 2019

On Monday, a report from South Korea’s ET News claimed that Apple’s transition to a full OLED iPhone lineup will be complete in 2019. This would mark the first time Apple has relied entirely on the organic light-emitting diode panel technology and not included LCD panels in any way, but now a group of analysts have responded to the report and argued that the 2019 timeframe might be inaccurate (via Bloomberg).

Jay Kwon, an analyst with JPMorgan, said that it’s too early for a switch to OLED-only production for the iPhone. This is because the OLED screens would make the smartphones more expensive, removing the chance for a “low-cost” iPhone model like the LCD version believed to be coming in 2018, and Kwon argued that Apple likely needs more time to find additional OLED suppliers besides its current sole supplier in Samsung Display.

While Apple has embraced OLED, most analysts said they don’t see the switch happening in 2019.

“It is unlikely that Apple will be releasing three OLED models next year,” said Jeff Pu, an analyst at Taipei-based Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting. The other major OLED supplier, LG Display, has struggled to move into mass production and isn’t likely to boost OLED production for Apple in 2019 from 5 million to 10 million units expected this year, he said.

While rumors about Apple’s incoming shift to an entire OLED iPhone lineup have been around for over a year, shares of suppliers reacted quickly in response to the new report from ET News. Goldman Sachs analysts Daiki Takayama and Jie Dai believed that “share prices have overreacted” to the news, because they “think it is unlikely that all 2019 iPhone models will switch to OLED screens.”

Arthur Liao, an analyst with Fubon Securities, said he has not heard anything from his own supply chain sources in Taiwan regarding Apple moving to all OLED iPhone models in 2019. Most analysts repeatedly pointed towards pricing as an issue, including IHS Markit analyst Jerry Kang: “Apple hasn’t been able to expand on its iPhone X production because of market demand and price issues.” Kang said that while Apple’s plan is to ultimately “go full OLED,” the real “question mark” is determining what year the company will make that shift.

In an effort to reduce reliance on Samsung Display, Apple has reportedly invested billions of dollars to help LG get up and running with OLED technology, and LG has been rumored to be the supplier for this year’s “iPhone X Plus.” Besides that model, Apple is predicted to release two other iPhones in 2018: a second generation iPhone X and a low-cost, 6.1-inch option with a similar full-face display as seen on the iPhone X, but with LCD rather than an OLED display.

Tag: 2019 iPhones
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Plex Launches a New Podcasts Beta, Revamps Mobile Apps

Plex today announced the launch of Plex Podcasts, a feature that’s designed to provide Plex users with an intuitive, customizable podcasts experience on any iOS device or Mac with no subscription or media server required.

According to Plex, the new Podcasts feature offers cross-platform playback, so you can begin a podcast on one device, such as your Apple TV, and then pick it up later on another device like the iPhone.

The Plex Podcasts interface displays the latest unplayed and in-progress episodes, just as Plex does for television shows and movies. Podcasts are displayed right alongside your photos, videos, music, TV shows, and more, putting all of your favorite media right in one place.

Standard podcast controls are available to control playback, and there’s an option to add your own favorite podcasts that aren’t already in the Plex catalog by adding the feed URL.

As with other media, Plex Podcasts is designed to enhance the podcast experience with metadata, providing users with info about each episode and related podcasts.

The feature is available on iOS, Android, Roku and the Plex web platform, with support for other devices coming in the near future. Plex also plans to add improved metadata and smart downloading in the coming weeks.

Along with Plex Podcasts, the Plex mobile apps are being overhauled to focus on a more customizable media experience. Users are able to choose the types of content they want to see, adding select categories to the Plex home screen.

Plex for iOS devices can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

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