AfterDawn: Tech news

News written by Matti Robinson (January, 2019)

AfterDawn: News

Google bypassed App Store just like Facebook

Written by Matti Robinson @ 31 Jan 2019 11:52

Google bypassed App Store just like Facebook Earlier this week we reported how Apple was forced to revoke Facebook's Enterprise Development Program certificates after it was revealed that they had been violating the program's rules.

Now the scandal is expanding as new reports emerge claiming Google has been doing the same thing for years.

Facebook had been paying users $20 a month to install a data monitoring app which was distributed using the Enterprise Development Program. The program, which is a way to bypass App Store, is meant only for internal use, not for public distribution of apps.

Google has been using the same avenue to collect data, TechCrunch reports.

Google-owned Screenwise Meter app has been distributed using the Enterprise Development Program to users whose smartphone data they've been collecting.

Just like Facebook, Google has been paying the volunteers, in their case with gift cards. The app, and the corresponding gift card scheme, was introduced in 2012.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple replacing Lightning port on the iPhone?

Written by Matti Robinson @ 31 Jan 2019 11:32

Apple replacing Lightning port on the iPhone? As we all know, Apple loves proprietary technologies so much that sometimes it makes completely mundane feature sound like they are a new innovation.

Some of their own tech is pretty impressive, but others should be scrapped for a more universally accepted technology. One of these is of course Lightning port.

Apple has fought against universal chargers for ages, and although Lightning port is far from the worst of them, it still isn't USB-C.

Fortunately, according to Bloomberg, this is about to change. Report has it that Apple is already using USB-C, the first reversible USB connector found in most higher-end Android phones these days, in their current iPhone prototypes.

This doesn't come as a huge surprise after Apple moved away from Lightning port in the iPad line when they introduced the newest iPad Pro with USB-C.

Even though USB-C should technically reduce the need of adapters as more and more peripherals support the port out of the box, you have to remember that old iPhone accessories are compatible only with Lightning.

Bloomberg also reports that the upcoming iPhone will have a triple camera setup, like some Android counterparts. One of the lenses is supposedly a wide angle lens that allows expanding the photo afterwards.

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AfterDawn: News

Guide: Here's how to block people on WhatsApp

Written by Matti Robinson @ 27 Jan 2019 2:16

Guide: Here's how to block people on WhatsApp People are moving away from SMS to internet based messaging systems on their phones. Whether it is iMessage, Skype, or the world's most popular messaging platform WhatsApp, it certainly is cheaper than SMS.

Like with SMS, however, you might occasionally come across numbers and people that you would like to block. This is possible in WhatsApp just like it is in SMS.

In this guide, we'll walk you through how to block people on WhatsApp.

Blocking obviously can't send you messages but the target is also blocked from seeing your "status" or "last seen" information. Neither is he or she going to see changes that you make to your profile, and the same goes for you with regards to the blocked person's profile.

How to block WhatsApp contacts



There's two different ways to block contacts in WhatsApp on Android.

Method A
  1. Open WhatsApp

  2. From the Chats view select a chat with the person you want to block or use Search (magnifying glass) on the top right

  3. Press Menu (three dots) on the top right

  4. Select Block (might be behind More)

WhatsApp should now notify you that you cannot call or send messages to the contact no longer.

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AfterDawn: News

Nokia smartphones are making a comeback with three North American carriers

Written by Matti Robinson @ 25 Jan 2019 12:59

Nokia smartphones are making a comeback with three North American carriers Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone brand, has gone through all kinds of transformations in the 2000s, but it is making a comeback in North America with the newest Android iteration.

Nowadays Nokia's smartphone brand is developed by HMD Global, a small company located in Nokia's former office building. They develop Android phones, and good ones at that.

Now HMD Global has partnered up with three different U.S. and Canadian carriers to bring upcoming Nokia phones to the American market.

Out of the three the most significant is Verizon, which will bring its first new Nokia Android phone available starting at the end of January. Nokia 2 V is a budget smartphone with 2 day battery life, but other details are still sparse.

Furthermore HMD Global is bringing Nokia 3.1 Plus, an affordable lower tier device with a large six inch display, to Cricket Wireless. This one will be priced at $159.99 and will be available January 25 on Cricket Wireless stores and online.

The company will also announce another product for Canadian carrier Rogers Communications in the upcoming weeks.

There's no word whether the already released higher tier devices, such as Nokia 7.1, will find their way to North America, but we are expecting at least some of the upcoming high-end releases in the U.S. and Canada.





AfterDawn: News

DeepMind challenged esports professionals – won nearly all matches

Written by Matti Robinson @ 25 Jan 2019 12:22

DeepMind challenged esports professionals – won nearly all matches Artificial Intelligence is touted as the future liberator of people or the ultimate oppressor of humanity. Likely the reality will be, at least for the longest time, somewhere in the middle, but each year we hear about new impressive achievements of AI.

We've seen amazing efforts especially from Google's DeepMind, a AI company the search giant bought in 2014. DeepMind's AI has won not only against the chess masters, and Go professionals, now it has taken over esports.

DeepMind has challenged professional gamers to StarCraft II matches, and managed to bet the players. Not only did it beat professional players, it managed to beat them nearly every time.

Only one out of eleven matches ended in the human players victory.

The success in StarCraft is determined by both the decisions you make but also how quickly you can execute the actions, often measured in action per minute (APM).

One would think the computer would performs the actions much faster, but it was in fact the better decisions that made AlphaStar win. The APM figures for professional gamers where around 559, while AlphaStar's were only 277.

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AfterDawn: News

Google hires long-time Apple manager to build Fuchsia OS

Written by Matti Robinson @ 25 Jan 2019 12:00

Google hires long-time Apple manager to build Fuchsia OS We've known for years that Google is developing a new operating system behind the scenes. Now Google has hired new talent from no other than Apple to lead the effort.

The operating system, developed under the name Project Fuchsia, might be replacing Google's mobile operating system Android in the future. According to earlier reports, over 100 engineers are already working on Fuchsia and it might come to smartphones as early as in the next five years.

Obviously 100 engineers isn't massive in the scale that is Google, so if Fuchsia is ever going to be able to replace Android, it needs new recruitment both from inside the company and out.

One of the most recent hirings is Bill Stevenson, who has worked for Apple nearly 15 years and ended his career in Cupertino as the Mac and Windows Program Management Senior Manager.

He revealed in social media that he'll be joining Google to help bring Fuchsia to the market.

Fuchsia is expected to be first implemented in IoT devices where Android isn't a staple like in mobile devices. Officially Google hasn't revealed any release information.





AfterDawn: News

Netflix the top streaming service in each country of a survey, except for Finland

Written by Matti Robinson @ 24 Jan 2019 1:06

Netflix the top streaming service in each country of a survey, except for Finland Netflix has become the Kleenex of streaming services, its rise to world domination has been swift and its recognized as the leading video streaming service all around the world.

Well, except in Finland.

You might know Finland as the country that doesn't exist, or the birth place of AfterDawn, but it happens to also be the one country that doesn't, yet, bow entirely to Netflix.

AudienceProject has gathered some interesting statistics about streaming services around the world. According to their data Netflix has managed to get themselves the top spot in each country surveyed, except for that one Nordic blind spot.

The top spot in Finland is taken by Yle Areena, a streaming service provided by the taxpayer and the national broadcasting company Yle. Public broadcasters' services do well all around but only in Finland is it able to beat Netflix.

56% of surveyed Finns watch Netflix weekly, compared to 57% in Germany, 67% in Denmark, 70% in Sweden, 70% in UK, 76% in Norway, and 79% in the United States. Yle Areena scored 65%.

Netflix popularity is trending upwards in all countries.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple reassigns 200 self-driving car workers to other jobs

Written by Matti Robinson @ 24 Jan 2019 12:38

Apple reassigns 200 self-driving car workers to other jobs Apple has been working on self-driving cars for who knows how long now. They admitted that they're working on self-driving car tech over two years ago, but now there seems to be a setback.

According to CNBC, and confirmed by Apple, the tech giant has dismissed a significant portion of its employees from Project Titan. More than 200 employees no longer work for the secretive self-driving initiative inside Apple.

According to Apple these employees have been reassigned to other duties in other machine learning efforts that need the manpower. Even though 200 employees is indeed a substantial amount of workforce, it doesn't mean that Project Titan is dead.

Apple says they still "believe there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems" and that Apple can be part of it.

Recent reports have uncovered that Apple is slowing down hiring, likely due to lower than expected iPhone sales.

Project Titan is lead by Apple veteran Bob Mansfield as well as former Tesla boss Doug Field who was recruited last fall. No changes to leading positions inside Project Titan have been reported.

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AfterDawn: News

Upcoming Chrome restricts ad blockers, some more than others

Written by Matti Robinson @ 24 Jan 2019 12:17

Upcoming Chrome restricts ad blockers, some more than others Google is planning major changes to its web browser, Google Chrome, later this year. Some of the more important changes have to do with how ad blocking software works within the browser.

The company, known nowadays as the leading online ad distributor, is going prohibit specific type of extensions to ensure user privacy. This, however, also affects some ad blockers, like uBlock Origin, Motherboard reports.

While the update is going to allow some, like AdBlock Plus, to still function, other filtering methods will be broken by the Chrome update.

More specifically methods like the dynamic blocking of uBlock Origin with webRequest API is no longer allowed. The proper way to do this in future Chrome versions is via declarativeNetRequest API.

Google claims that Chromium project's Manifest v3 update is part of their effort to help users with the privacy and control of their browser. It seems convenient, though, that it happens to break some of the ad blockers.

Google obviously makes bulk of its revenue via ads, which is at odds with ad blockers. Google has introduces its own ad blocking feature to Chrome in order for users to have a way to get rid of the most egregious adverts.

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AfterDawn: News

This smartphone has no holes for charging or speakers, and no buttons

Written by Matti Robinson @ 23 Jan 2019 11:23

This smartphone has no holes for charging or speakers, and no buttons Chinese smartphone manufacturer Meizu has unveiled a new flagship smartphone that is unlike anything we've seen before.

Minimalist design is obviously the thing these days, and companies everywhere are removing external fingerprint sensors, ports and buttons from their phones, but Meizu Zero has it turned up to eleven.

Meizu's new phone features a 5.99 inch OLED screen and a dual camera setup in the back, but the most striking feature is that there are no buttons and no headphone jack or speaker grills. In fact, there isn't a single hole in the phone except for a tiny pinpoint-sized hole for the microphone and another one for hard reset.

This means that the phone obviously supports wireless charging, with 18 watt energy transfer, and the sound is created by the display with what the company calls mSound 2.0 technology, unless you want to use wireless headphones. There's even no SIM tray.

Obviously having barely any holes in the design makes it very easy to make the phone waterproof, so to no surprise Meizu Zero is IP68 certified.

It's a radical move, or as Apple calls it, "brave", to not include any I/O or charging ports, rely on eSIM, and not have traditional speakers, all at the same time.

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AfterDawn: News

WSJ: No more LCD for iPhones

Written by Matti Robinson @ 23 Jan 2019 9:11

WSJ: No more LCD for iPhones According to new report, Apple is going to no longer use LCD displays in any of its new iPhones.

Apple is said to move all its smartphones to OLED panels, which are considered to be better in many respects.

Due to Apple's decision, Japan Display, the supplier of the panels for iPhone XR and others, will have to seek a bailout from foreign investors.

According to WSJ, Japan Display is in talks with TPK Holding Co. from Taiwan and Silk Road Fund controlled by Chinese government worth as much as 30% stake in the company.

Over half of Japan Display's orders have been recently from Apple. Bad outlook for the iPhone, especially iPhone XR, just has turned into an even worse situation, as Apple seems to rely solely on OLED panels in all its future iPhones.

There's still a tiny silver lining in that Apple will still have iPads and Mac products, likely for years, that will use cheaper IPS LCD panels.





AfterDawn: News

Wikimedia receives handout worth millions from Google

Written by Matti Robinson @ 23 Jan 2019 8:54

Wikimedia receives handout worth millions from Google Google started the year pretty generously, at least if you ask Wikimedia. The search giant has given millions in a handout to the online encyclopedia.

The non-profit Wikimedia, most known for the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, has received another $3.1 million contribution from Google, the company has announced at the World Economic Forum.

This isn't the first time Google is helping Wikimedia keep the boat afloat. Now the contributions total $7.5 million in the past decade, Wired reports.

Furthermore, Google is allowing Wikimedia to use some of its AI and machine learning tools for free, which might be invaluable.

One third of the $3.1 million will go into sustaining current operations while the rest, around $2 million, are meant for long-term viability.

Early in the game, Google tried to compete against Wikipedia with their own service, dubbed Knol, in which entries were made by hired professionals instead of the volunteers from the greater public.

Google uses Wikipedia in many of its products, so the donation isn't, of course, solely selfless.





AfterDawn: News

Microsoft wants Cortana to be Alexa's friend, not enemy

Written by Matti Robinson @ 20 Jan 2019 9:06

Microsoft wants Cortana to be Alexa's friend, not enemy Microsoft is working on some voice assistant changes, as is evident from recently revealing that search bar and Cortana are going to be separated in Windows 10.

There's much more happening behind the scenes, though. Not long ago, Cortana boss Javier Soltero left Microsoft, and perhaps that was beginning of the end for Microsoft's Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant competitor.

Now Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella no longer wants to consider Cortana directly opposite to Alexa and Assistant. According to Nadella, it is more important that Cortana is a service that works on all platforms and supports all kinds of devices, and more importantly even support the other assistants.

Nadella's thought of not competing but complimenting other assistants might be beautiful, but why would Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa user ever want to, or have to, use Cortana on their own platforms?

It does sound a little like Microsoft just threw in the towel because they couldn't or don't want to compete in hardware like the smart speakers.

Perhaps Microsoft does have some tricks up its sleeve on how to differentiate Cortana from the rest. Microsoft does have strong partnership with Amazon, so maybe it can warm Google up to some kind of collaboration.

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AfterDawn: News

Spotify preparing its first hardware launch

Written by Matti Robinson @ 19 Jan 2019 5:34

Spotify preparing its first hardware launch The world's leading music streaming service has managed to keep itself on a narrow path not expanding the scope of the operation beyond simple streaming service, and perhaps that is what's responsible for the company's continuing success in entertainment.

However, profits aren't exactly piling in, and there are signs that Spotify needs some innovation to reinvent itself.

The service has recently adopted Google Maps support, expanded more to podcasts, allowed Connect feature for free users, and more.

One thing Spotify hasn't expanded to is hardware, but that is about to change, according to reports by the Financial Times.

FT reports that Spotify is preparing a hardware launch, the first for the company, later this year. The device is said to be a music player for your car.

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AfterDawn: News

How to take screenshots in Windows 10

Written by Matti Robinson @ 19 Jan 2019 11:34

How to take screenshots in Windows 10 Screenshots or screen captures are an essential tools of any proper operating system. Every now and then you'll have to copy something on your screen for later use, and screenshots are the easiest and most versatile way to save important information or pictures.

Windows 10 of course offers screenshots out of the box, but there's more to it nowadays than just the Print Screen (PrtScn, PrtSc, PrintScr, etc) button. Here are a handful different ways you can take advantage of Windows 10's screenshot functions.

1) Perhaps the most known screenshot function in Windows is pressing simply the Print Screen button (sometimes with the addition of Function (fn) button) on your keyboard. This saves the entire, current, desktop view to the clipboard. You can then paste the picture to programs like Paint, and edit it as you see fit.

2) By pressing both Windows button and Print Screen simultaneously you can save the view as is to your computer's hard drive without having to edit or name it. Pictures are automatically saved to your Screenshots folder under Pictures.

3) You can take a screenshot of a single window by selecting the windows and pressing Alt and Print Screen buttons simultaneously. The picture of the windows is saved on your clipboard where you can paste it to your preferred graphics editor.

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AfterDawn: News

Netflix: We're competing against Fortnite, not so much HBO

Written by Matti Robinson @ 18 Jan 2019 12:52

Netflix: We're competing against Fortnite, not so much HBO Netflix has revealed new financials and other statistics during their fourth quarter earnings report, and by the looks of it Reed Hastings can continue smiling.

User base grew massively over the last year, especially outside the United States. Netflix added 33 million new subscribers last year, and an estimate-beating 8.8 million in the last quarter alone.

The company's smash hit feature film Bird Box was watched over 80 million times.

Even with the impressive growth numbers, Netflix slightly missed the revenue target, and that seemed to put the tiniest of dents to stock price.

One of the more interesting statements in the earnings report is where Netflix mentioned that the toughest competition comes from not other streaming TV services but video games.

"We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO," Netflix says. The streaming giant isn't worried about closest competitors in the TV and movie space, instead it has to share much more of people's time with interactive entertainment.

Netflix has already tried one type of answer to this challenge. Recently it released a new type of interactive movie, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which is a hybrid of video games and movies.

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AfterDawn: News

EU copyright directive could strip Google search, here's what it would look like

Written by Matti Robinson @ 18 Jan 2019 12:24

EU copyright directive could strip Google search, here's what it would look like Late last year European Parliament voted for a new copyright directive which would have massive implications to both EU citizens as well as technology companies when it comes to sharing information online.

One company that has been very vocal about the shortcomings of the new laws, especially Article 11 and Article 13 within the directive, is Google. The search giant would have to start paying license fees to share pictures, summaries, or even headlines of linked news stories.

To further make the point, Google has provided Search Engine Land screenshots to illustrate how ridiculous the proposed laws are.

The picture is perhaps the most extreme example since companies could, for example, agree to provide some information in order to improve their ranking in search. What that world would look like, no one knows as of yet.

EU directive is currently in the final stages of drafting after which it needs to be ratified by the member states. Alongside Google and other tech giants digital rights groups such as the EFF have expressed their concerns over Article 11 and Article 13.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple slowing recruitment due to low iPhone sales

Written by Matti Robinson @ 18 Jan 2019 9:04

Apple slowing recruitment due to low iPhone sales Apple has had a rough couple of months with bent iPads, court setbacks and financial troubles.

The latest being perhaps the toughest challenge, as Apple is used to increasing revenues and profits, and that won't be the case for previous quarter. The quarter will be the first in 16 years Apple has had to reduce expectations for.

Now Bloomberg is reporting, that Apple has to cut back hiring because of the problems.

According to Bloomberg's Apple analyst Mark Gurman, Apple CEO Tim Cook has informed employees about slowing down recruitment. This is likely due to unexpectedly low iPhone demand in China.

However, this doesn't mean that all hiring stalls or that any lay-offs are planned. Some divisions won't be hiring new people as much, but there will still be recruitment.

AI divisions are said to continue aggressive hiring as growth in that sector is expected.

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AfterDawn: News

Microsoft is separating search and Cortana in Windows 10

Written by Matti Robinson @ 17 Jan 2019 1:11

Microsoft is separating search and Cortana in Windows 10 Microsoft has revealed some upcoming features of Windows 10 on their official Windows blog. The update log is for Windows Insider test build but will soon be available to the greater public as well.

The features it showcases on the blog post are for Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18317, and are expected to hit the final Windows 10 update later this spring.

The largest change is separating Cortana from the search box. Microsoft is taking Cortana entirely out of the Windows 10 search box found next to the Start menu.

Windows 10 search will from now on be solely used for text search and a separate Cortana function next to the search bar can be used for voice search.

Other updates include improvements to Start menu stability (works now as a separate executable), drag and drop function to fonts tool and of course loads of smaller improvements and bug fixes.





AfterDawn: News

Leak reveals new, dark secrets about Android Q

Written by Matti Robinson @ 17 Jan 2019 11:37

Leak reveals new, dark secrets about Android Q The most recent version of Google's mobile operating systems, Android Pie, is still very much in the minority on Android devices, but we've already gotten past it and are getting leaks about the next version.

For those of us that have a Pixel or a phone from a manufacturer that truly respects Android updates, there are some exciting news.

New information about the upcoming Android Q reveals a few highly anticipated features. XDA-Developers reveals that the developer version of Android Q includes system-wide dark mode.

The feature has previously been rumored but this seems to all but confirm it's going to be on Android Q. Of course, Google could still axe the feature as Android Q is months away.

Dark mode turns the entire OS into a darker themed, and in OLED devices more battery friendly, Android phone. While you already can change the theme to a dark version, the new version will improve the support across the OS.

Some updates revealed by the developer version have to do with security. According to XDA, Google is making also system-wide changes to privacy.

One of these changes is to allow "only while the app is in use" permissions.

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AfterDawn: News

App sales goes up thanks to Netflix and Battle Royale games

Written by Matti Robinson @ 17 Jan 2019 11:14

App sales goes up thanks to Netflix and Battle Royale games Smartphone sales might have peaked already but app usage is likely going up for a few years still.

Research firm App Annie has released the most recent figures about app sales and downloads, and there are some interesting trends as well as predictable results.

China has become the dominating force in app markets as it became in smartphone sales. Nearly half of all app downloads are done by the Chinese, even though Google Play isn't available.

Chinese were responsible for 40% of money spent on apps. Worldwide people used just over $100 billion on a total of 194 billion app downloads.

Among video streaming YouTube took the first spot globally by time spent, but only seventh by revenue. Netflix, as expected, made the most money of any app.

While Netflix definitely made its fair share of money, worldwide people spent 74% of their app money in games. A lion's share was shared by global Battle Royale hits PUBG Mobile and Fortnite.

The trend is still clearly up, even if smartphone sales is slowing down, and app sales is up 75% since 2016 worldwide.





AfterDawn: News

Apple: iPhone battery replacements went from 1-2 million a quarter to 11 million

Written by Matti Robinson @ 16 Jan 2019 12:24

Apple: iPhone battery replacements went from 1-2 million a quarter to 11 million After the so called Batterygate, Apple started offering cheaper battery replacements for iPhone. Now report says over 10 million iPhone batteries have been replaced.

Batterygate was a controversy over Apple throttling the performance of iPhones after the battery started wearing out. Complaints in the social media pushed Apple to renew their software policy as well as offer a cheaper replacement option.

Battery replacement prices for iPhones up until iPhone 6 were dropped from $79 to $29. Combined with better knowledge of the deterioration of battery capacity and performance, even Apple was surprised how many people replaced their iPhone batteries.

According to Tim Cook, this even had an effect on the bottom line last quarter, although it probably wasn't the most significant contributor. Some people might have just replaced the battery instead buying a brand new iPhone.

Now, according to Daring Fireball, Apple has revealed in a meeting that they replaced 11 million iPhones under the $29 program. Usually Apple replaces batteries for around 1-2 million devices in a quarter.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple looked into Samsung as the provider of iPhone's 5G

Written by Matti Robinson @ 16 Jan 2019 9:13

Apple looked into Samsung as the provider of iPhone's 5G Apple is considering a couple different manufacturers for 5G chips, among which Samsung is an option.

The information was revealed from the court documents from patent dispute between Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm, reports Reuters.

Testimony by Apple VP of Procurement Tony Blevins discloses that Apple has been in talks with Samsung and Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek about 5G modems for an upcoming iPhone.

Currently Apple is receiving modems from Intel for their most recent iPhones after patent disputes have turned trade relationships with former partner Qualcomm sour.

Apple has stated that it doesn't want to rely on a single component provider, and as Qualcomm is not an option for upcoming iPhones they've been looking into both Samsung and MediaTek as options for Intel's chips.

Rumors late last year claimed that Apple has pushed 5G adoption back, and thus wouldn't be bringing the new wireless technology to iPhones this year.

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AfterDawn: News

Netflix raised prices in the U.S. for all tiers

Written by Matti Robinson @ 15 Jan 2019 12:18

Netflix raised prices in the U.S. for all tiers Netflix is a fairly affordable way to watch TV, but it was even cheaper a few years back.

Actually, the streaming giant has been steadily increasing the prices in the U.S. and abroad. Now another price hike has been implemented, which means a dollar or two more for every subscription, the number of which total 58 million in the United States.

Previously Netflix's Basic plan was sold for $7.99 a month, but after the most recent price hike it goes to $8.99. The second tier, Standard, is now $12.99 compared to $10.99 earlier, and the elite tier, Premium, also goes up two bucks to $15.99 from $13.99.

A 13 to 18 percent rise across the board is fairly significant, and in fact its the largest of four price hikes in streaming service's history.

Netflix's increasing Originals production, including shows and movies of all stripes, has put pressure on prices. One can assume that the spiral will continue, and further price hikes are in the future for other regions.

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AfterDawn: News

Qualcomm refused to sell Apple iPhone modems

Written by Matti Robinson @ 15 Jan 2019 11:42

Qualcomm refused to sell Apple iPhone modems Ever since iPhone, and perhaps even before, Apple has been fairly disputatious in the court rooms when it comes to patents.

For years we witnessed the fight between Samsung and Apple, and now Cupertino's own tech giant is challenging an American chipmaker Qualcomm to patent disputes.

The disputes have unearthed some new information about their trade relationship, and how toxic it was already last year, reported by CNET.

Apple boss Jeff Williams has testified that Apple tried to buy modems for iPhone XS and XR from both Intel and Qualcomm, but the latter refused to sell them the component.

When one of the options was off the table, Apple had to rely on Intel. Furthermore Apple's VP of Procurement, Tony Blevins, assured that Apple doesn't want to be in a situation where it has to rely on a single component provider.

Williams' testimony revealed that Apple pays Qualcomm $7.50 per device for royalties, which they consider unreasonable.

Up until iPhone 7 Qualcomm was the only provider of modems for Apple's iPhone. With iPhone 7 Apple had both Qualcomm and Intel chips and now Apple is using solely Intel modems.

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AfterDawn: News

HBO reveals the first teaser for final season of Game of Thrones

Written by Matti Robinson @ 15 Jan 2019 11:16

HBO reveals the first teaser for final season of Game of Thrones We know you've been hooked on Game of Thrones since the beginning nearly eight years ago. And now you are waiting for the ultimate climax both exhilarated and woeful.

The last hurrah will begin on April 14, but HBO has decided that it's the time for the first proper footage of the upcoming season to be shared.

The first trailer for Game of Thrones season eight was shared on YouTube on Sunday, and without further ado, here's the minute and a half teaser called Crypts of Winterfell.

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AfterDawn: News

iPhone Storage Almost Full? Here's how to free up some space

Written by Matti Robinson @ 14 Jan 2019 8:08

iPhone Storage Almost Full? Here's how to free up some space If you happen to own a 16 GB, or even a 32 GB, version of any iPhone or iPad, you are probably familiar with the Storage Almost Full notification. This might happen even as you are taking an all important photo, and it's something even Google has made fun of in its unlimited cloud storage ads.

So here are some ways you can make some room for new content on your iPhones and iPads.

Messages, media, and messaging apps


Apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, the two most popular ones around the globe, are used to share pictures and videos. This might over time fill your device's storage as they are saved for further use. However, you often don't need these files and there's a way to get rid of them.

You should head to Photos app and delete all unused pictures that are stored by apps. While you are at it, you might want to go through camera roll too, you might have tons of failed photos and dozens of same shot, both of which you probably never will use.

Even after deleting the bad ones storing photos in the cloud is a good way to free up space from your device.

The aforementioned Google Photos cloud service works also on iOS and offers unlimited storage for photos.

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AfterDawn: News

Tim Cook: Apple Watch and wearables bigger than iPod ever was

Written by Matti Robinson @ 09 Jan 2019 10:06

Tim Cook: Apple Watch and wearables bigger than iPod ever was Apple CEO Tim Cook has been blamed for not bringing in new hardware innovation that would reinvent Apple, like Steve Jobs did.

Obviously it's hard to follow Steve Jobs as a CEO, and the products he brought us, like the iPhone and the iPod. However, Tim Cook has defended himself and his record with hardware innovation on CNBC.

In an interview with Jim Cramer, Tim Cook pulled revenue data to support his point. According to figures Apple no longer shares, products like Apple Watch and AirPods are huge successes.

In terms of revenue wearables have already surpassed the golden days of iPod. According to Cook, Apple Watch and AirPods generate now 50 percent more revenue than iPod at its peak.

So far wearables has produced revenue which is 4 to 6 times the revenue of iPod after the same amount of time after launch.

He claims to make no future predictions but you can hear a definite tone which points to declining iPod sales and increasing importance of wearables.

One could argue that as iPod gave a boost to the company, like Cook acknowledges it in the interview, so must wearables do for the company now.

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AfterDawn: News

Samsung follows Apple with declining profits of its own

Written by Matti Robinson @ 08 Jan 2019 12:10

Samsung follows Apple with declining profits of its own Apple had to issue a rare warning about its forthcoming quarterly results due to weak sales of iPhones. It seems like tech giants are in same difficult waters as Samsung reports similar concerns.

According to Apple, the problems were originating from China where economic growth had softened which in turn affected iPhone's sales figures. The culprit might loosely be the same, ie. China, although Samsung's problem wasn't smartphone sales.

However, the Korean conglomerate expects a dramatic decline from previous year in both revenue and operating profit, Bloomberg reports.

Samsung expects late 2018 quarter to produce a revenue of 59 trillion won, down 11% from previous year. Even worse, operating income declined nearly 30 percent year-over-year to 10.8 trillion.

One major reason for Samsung's slowdown is reduced demand for memory chips. This is likely to some extent due to the troublesome trade relations between China and the United States.

Even though smartphone sales isn't the reason for such a dramatic decline for the company's bottom line, Samsung is losing ground to Chinese competitors, who are managing to produce competitive products at lower price points.

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AfterDawn: News

These keyboard shortcuts every Windows 10 user should know

Written by Matti Robinson @ 07 Jan 2019 4:25

These keyboard shortcuts every Windows 10 user should know Most Windows users know at least a few common keyboard shortcuts that save some time and effort when opening up apps or performing tasks.

However, there are dozens of such shortcuts that can aid Windows 10 users and improve the efficiency, especially when you have to work on said platform.

We've gathered some of the more important shortcuts here that have helped us be more productive but you might not be aware of. Without further ado.

Windows + A: Open/close Notification Center

Windows + I: Open Windows Settings

Windows + D: Reveal/unreveal desktop

Windows + X: Open context menu (right mouse button) of Start Menu

Windows + R: Open Run dialog

Windows + L: Lock device

Windows + P: Choose screen projection (for external displays)

Windows + Pause: Open System information

Windows + number: Open application from the task bar (number from the left)

Windows + arrow: Snap windows to left or right edge, or minimize/maximize it

Windows + Tab: Open Task View (includes all windows and desktops)

Windows + Ctrl + D: Create a new virtual desktop

Windows + Ctrl + F4: Close active virtual desktop

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