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AfterDawn: News

YouTube's TV portal shutting down

Written by Matti Robinson @ 15 Sep 2019 10:56

YouTube's TV portal shutting down YouTube has become immensely popular in the past few years. It might not be the TV killer everyone thought of, that's probably Netflix, Disney, and others, but it has stolen much of the time spent in entertainment from traditional tubes.

One of the ways to watch YouTube is the web interface designed specifically for TVs. The interface, called Leanback, is meant for big screens connected to PCs. For some reason or another, YouTube is not removing this feature.

YouTube has not given a specific reason for the removal of the interface, but like Android Police thinks it might be due to some manufacturers bypassing YouTube apps and instead using the web interface. Seems like a strong measure to right that wrong, though.

Another reason would be that no one is actually using Leanback as most people who watch YouTube have a smart TV or a smart device with a YouTube app connected to a TV.




AfterDawn: News

Apple releasing iOS next week, iPadOS last day of the month

Written by Matti Robinson @ 13 Sep 2019 2:14

Apple releasing iOS next week, iPadOS last day of the month Apple's new iPhones will be available in stores next Friday, but if you have a qualifying iPhone you can get the new and improved iOS 13 even faster.

It was revealed that Apple would be releasing the updated version of their mobile operating system to the public on September 19, the same day it will launch the new game subscription service Apple Arcade.

This is day earlier than you'd get your hands on a new iPhone 11 or the new flagship iPhone 11 Pro (or 11 Pro Max).

Unlike with previous iterations of the OS, this year you won't get an update for your iPad at the same time. This is due to the fact that Apple recently separated the operating system for their tablets from iOS. The iPadOS will update September 30th.

If you are wondering whether you have a new enough iPhone to get the update, you'll be probably happy to hear that support include every iPhone after iPhone 6S, including iPhone SE. Support is extended to 7th gen iPod Touch too.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple's new $329 iPad available on September 30th

Written by Matti Robinson @ 13 Sep 2019 1:18

Apple's new $329 iPad available on September 30th Apple's iPhone event on Tuesday was mostly consumed by the new iPhone models, name cheaper iPhone 11 and the new flasghip iPhone 11 Pro (and 11 Pro Max).

Even the new services got plenty of limelight, but there were other product releases too. One of them was the all-new seventh generation iPad.

I say all new, but in fact the iPad unveiled this week included some fairly dated hardware. While Apple calls it the first seventh generation iPad, it has a system-on-chip from 2016.

The new iPad comes requipped with a A10 Fusion chip, which means that it has the same processors as a iPhone 7. Not that A10 is a lousy chip, and you probably don't need anything better for your daily browsing and Instagramming &ndahs; or whatever the kids do these days.

Also, fortunately the slightly obsolete equipment means that you won't have to break into your nephew's piggy bank to afford it. A $329 starting price tag seems like a good deal for an iPad.

It comes with a new, larger 10.2 inch Retina display, and supports first-generation Apple Pencil as well as the full-sized Smart Keyboard. The charging port is still the Lightning type, though.

It will be available on September 30th in Silver, Space Gray, and Gold. Prices start at $329 for the WiFi model and $459 for the WiFi+Cellular model. You can choose between 32GB and 128GB storage options.




AfterDawn: News

Pandora Desktop app comes to Windows

Written by James Delahunty @ 13 Sep 2019 11:50

Pandora Desktop app comes to Windows Pandora has brought its Dekstop app to Windows systems, following its release earlier this year for Macs.

Whether the tier you are using is Free, Pandora Plus or Pandora Premium, you can download the Pandora desktop app for Windows from the Microsoft Store starting from today. Previously, you have to use a web browser to access the service on Windows so this will be an improvement for many.

Using the Pandora Desktop App has many benefits over the browser:

  • Keyboard controls that let you play, pause, replay, skip, shuffle, or thumb up/down songs right from your computer keyboard.
  • On-screen song notifications that graphically display the artists, albums, and song titles for the music that's currently playing.
  • App-based controls for our new Pandora Modes feature, which lets you customize the music you hear on your Pandora stations using selectable "modes" including Crowd Faves, Deep Cuts, Newly Released, Artist Only, and more.

You can download the new Pandora Desktop App for Windows 10 from the Microsoft Store.




AfterDawn: News

Apple TV launches with Jason Momoa's See on November 1st

Written by Matti Robinson @ 13 Sep 2019 11:45

Apple TV launches with Jason Momoa's See on November 1st In addition to the annual release of new iPhones, Apple had news about their upcoming subscription services.

Game service Apple Arcade is launching next week, but perhaps much more interesting Apple TV+ has now also a launch date.

Apple TV+ is the company's new subscription service with which it will compete against the likes of Netflix and soon Disney+.

According to Apple, Apple TV+ will launch on November 1st in a hundred countries around the world. One of the launch titles is a futuristic fantasy See starred by Jason Momoa. We also got the first look at the series in first ever trailer, shown below.

Apple TV+ pricing is fairly aggressive. A family subscription of the service is said to cost $4.99 a month. They'll even throw a full year of subscription with select Apple device purchases.

Without further ado, here's the trailer for See.

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AfterDawn: News

Google to pay $1.1 billion to settle French tax case

Written by James Delahunty @ 13 Sep 2019 11:35

Google to pay $1.1 billion to settle French tax case Google has agreed to pay almost a billion euros to settle a tax fraud case in France, which was initiated with a raid on its French offices four years ago.

Tax authorities in France had been seeking evidence that Google had underpaid its tax liabilities in the country by not fully declaring its activities in the country. Google, as part of Alphabet Inc., reports almost all of its sales in Europe in Ireland where its headquarters are located in Dublin. It is noted to pay very little tax in European countries and has provoked the ire of tax collectors all across the continent.

Google's French offices were raided in 2016 in a tax fraud investigation. Today, it is confirmed by Google that the company has reached a settlement with the French authorities to bring the dispute to an end.

The settlement - which will set a precedent in the country and may result in more actions taken against other multinational firms - will see Google pay a fine of 500 million euros and an additional 465 million payment in taxes. This falls short of the 1.6 billion the French finance ministry was hoping to win, but the precedent may be more valuable.

Google commented that this settlement addresses the past disputes in France once and for all.

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AfterDawn: News

Game subscription service Apple Arcade launches next week for $4.99

Written by Matti Robinson @ 13 Sep 2019 10:59

Game subscription service Apple Arcade launches next week for $4.99 Apple unveiled their new smartphone models earlier this week with iPhone 11 replacing last years cheaper iPhone XR and the new iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max replacing iPhone XS and XS Max.

However, there was a lot of other, smaller, announcement littered across the event as well. One of them was the gaming service Apple Arcade. The Cupertino giant had already briefly unveiled the service early in the year, but now we've got all the key details about it too.

The most important of them are of course availability and price. Both of them were announced, and we're happy to let you know that Apple Arcade is launching in less than a week.

It becomes available September 19 in 150 countries around the world. According to the company it offers over 100 titles in the following weeks of the launch, and costs only $4.99 for the whole family.

Furthermore, Apple revealed that it will include a one month free trial.

Some of the Apple Arcade developers joined Tim Cook et al on the stage. This included Konami with their classic remake Frogger in Toy Town as well as Capcom and Annapurna Interactive with their own titles.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple's new flagship is the iPhone 11 Pro

Written by Matti Robinson @ 10 Sep 2019 3:46

Apple's new flagship is the iPhone 11 Pro Apple announced today the iPhone 11. However, that is not the new flagship of the iPhone lineup, instead the cream of the crop is iPhone 11 Pro, and it's bigger sibling iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The successor to last year's iPhone XS features the same 5.8 and 6.5 displays with Face ID cutouts. The display's have been improved, though.

According to Apple they provide better brightness and color accuracy, and that is why they've adopted a new moniker Super Retina XDR.

The iPhone 11 Pro, just like the cheaper iPhone 11, is powered by the new A13 Bionic chip, which Apple says improves upon CPU, GPU as well as NPU performance up to 20 percent.

Not only is it more powerful but it's more energy efficient, which improves battery life. Apple says iPhone 11 Pro lasts up to 4 hours more than its predecessor iPhone XS.

Even better, it now comes with a faster charger out of the box, and you won't have to use your iPad charger no longer.

Clearly the biggest improvement over the previous generation, however, is the camera. In the back you now have three cameras instead of two. The new one being the wide angle camera, just like in iPhone 11.

The trio thus consists of a 12 megapixel optically stabilized main shooter, a 2x telephoto camera, and a wide angle camera with a 120 degree view, or as Apple calls it 0.5x camera.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple unveiled the new iPhone 11

Written by Matti Robinson @ 10 Sep 2019 3:31

Apple unveiled the new iPhone 11 Apple has today announced the new iPhone 11 in three different forms at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, Ca.

The cheapest of the bunch is the regular iPhone 11, which is actually the successor to last year's iPhone XR, not the XS.

The new iPhone 11 improves upon the cameras most importantly. In the back you'll now get two cameras instead of one and even the Facetime camera has been upgraded.

The new addition is a 120 degree wide angle camera next to the regular 12 megapixel shooter. The regular camera offers a f/1.8 and optical image stabilization.

Apple also upgraded the front camera from mere 7 megapixels to a 4K ready 12 megapixel camera. All cameras support 4K video recording at 60 frames per second as well as things like slow motion video and extended dynamic range.

Additionally, Apple announced the new Night Mode which is their version of Google's Night Sight that makes very dark conditions light up.

As you might imagine, there's also a new A13 Bionic chip underneath it all. It makes everything run even smoother and, better yet, even the battery life has been improved.

Prices start at $699 and the the phone will be available on September 20th with pre-orders starting this Friday.




AfterDawn: News

Apple is unveiling today a tracking device, and it's more precise than competition

Written by Matti Robinson @ 10 Sep 2019 10:22

Apple is unveiling today a tracking device, and it's more precise than competition Apple's fall event is starting in just mere hours, but we've still got you one last thing before the actual unveiling on new devices.

The rumors have it that perhaps the most unexpected device Apple is going to release today is a new type of wireless tracking device, MacRumors reports.

This iTag, or whatever they'll call it, is designed to be attached to items that you'd lose easily. With the wireless connection and tracking capabilities the new Apple device will tell fairly precisely where it is.

This isn't the first ever thing of its kind, but reportedly Apple has something up its sleeve that makes it more precise.

According to famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology to make locating your lost keys that much easier.

While Bluetooth might get you as close as 15 feet from the target, UWB allows precision of just 5 feet. According to the analyst new iPhones support UWB as well, which makes the dongle a perfect companion.

Apple event is set to begin 10 a.m. PDT, and we'll see whether Kuo was right.




AfterDawn: News

Where is the pickup truck Tesla promised?

Written by Matti Robinson @ 09 Sep 2019 11:33

Where is the pickup truck Tesla promised? Tesla has been productive this year by increasing the production and even announcing a new vehicle, the reasonably priced crossover Model Y, but there should be still another vehicle coming soon.

Or at least, that is what we were told to expect. Musk talked about the upcoming pickup truck in June, and even assured it would be unveiled around the end of the summer. I guess the summer is continuing in Palo Alto, CA, since there hasn't been any Tesla pickup events, or even invites yet.

One can imagine that some problems with the product has appeared, although even without any obstacles Musk's schedules can be called hopeful at best. Fortunately we aren't totally in the dark, as Musk himself has decided to clear up the situation a tiny bit on Twitter.

Responding to a Twitter user asking whether he could expect an October reveal, Musk stated that it would most likely be November. Most likely, though, means that there's a chance – in this case very real chance – that it will be December, or even later.

However, Tesla pickup truck is still in the works if you were wondering. The "Cyperpunk truck" might be delayed but if you are looking for a futuristic replacement for your F-150, keep your eyes peeled from November onward.

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AfterDawn: News

Top Apple analyst: Major iPhone design revamp happens next year

Written by Matti Robinson @ 09 Sep 2019 11:07

Top Apple analyst: Major iPhone design revamp happens next year Apple's new iPhone is just couple dozen hours away as Cupertino is readying for a celebration on Tuesday. Rumors and leaks have been circling the internet for weeks and months, and we've already got a fairly good and reliable guess at what to expect from the new iPhone 11.

Some changes are expected to happen. For example, at least some of the new iPhone models are going to have a new triple camera setup which is setup in a square module, if leaks are to be believed.

However, while this might suggest larger design revamps as well, leading Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that is not going to happen this year, 9to5Mac reports. According to the former KGI Securities analyst, nowadays representing TF International Securities, Apple is going to wait until next year for a major do-over.

Thus it would be the third year in a row that Apple has the same, or at least very similar iPhone design. The design is of course based on the 2017 iPhone X that changed pretty much everything about the iPhone.

The iPhone X brought a full screen display, notch with Face ID, and a new industrial body design.

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AfterDawn: News

RIAA rejoices as streaming continues to grow music industry

Written by Matti Robinson @ 07 Sep 2019 2:09

RIAA rejoices as streaming continues to grow music industry Streaming music has been a thing ever since Spotify launched in 2006, but started off really, really slowly. It took years upon years for the service to get into the U.S., and other regions were even harder to capture.

Now it seems odd, that streaming music has been a dominant thing only for a few year. In fact, it was only in 2015 that streaming officially surpassed digital downloads as the number one revenue source.

Now, according to new report from RIAA, streaming constitutes 80 percent of the entire revenue of the music industry. Digital downloads are no longer a thing, and even physical copies have weathered the storm better.

Vinyl and CD sales actually went up in the first half of the year, 5 and 13 percent respectively. Although their share is still only around 13 percent with a combined revenue of just over $700 million.

The entire pie is worth $5.4 billion in the first six months of the year which means around $4.3 billion of that came from largely unfairly maligned streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

While one can already hear the wails of people who want artists to be compensated more fairly, you cannot blame Spotify, a company who pretty much single-handedly turned the waning music industry around.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple to stream iPhone event first time ever on YouTube

Written by Matti Robinson @ 07 Sep 2019 12:59

Apple to stream iPhone event first time ever on YouTube If you are like us, part of the tech press or even a fanthusiast of Apple, you've probably watched some of company's annual launch events online.

Streaming those things, whether it is the WWDC or the iPhone event, usually involves using your precious Mac, iPad or other Safari-powered device to watch Tim Cook do his best Steve Jobs impression.

But it's not always because you necessarily want to use an Apple product in one way of another, but it has been the way Apple has intended it to be.

At some point is was nigh impossible to watch Apple's press event streams without an Apple product, but they've slowly come around to welcome more people on the stream.

Now they've gone even further, and are truly welcoming everyone. Next week, Apple will stream their first ever press event, the launch of iPhone 11 if any of you live under a rock, on YouTube.

Never has Apple before streamed any of their events on YouTube, although they have used their YouTube channel to spread the word afterwards. In fact, you can watch whole launch events as far back as September 10, 2013 and the introduction of such gems as iPhone 5c.

Anyways, now you've been unofficially invited to join and watch couple hours of the best technology press event of the year next Tuesday right on YouTube.

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AfterDawn: News

Apple is looking into cryptocurrency and blockchain

Written by Matti Robinson @ 06 Sep 2019 2:47

Apple is looking into cryptocurrency and blockchain Apple is becoming more and more influential in the finance space, especially with the new Apple Card developed in partnership with Goldman Sachs. The company is not stopping there, and why would you?

According to Apple VP of Internet Services, Jennifer Bailey, the company is closely watching the cryptocurrency space. In an interview with CNN, Bailey says that Apple sees long-term potential in the virtual currencies.

The likes of Facebook are already developing their own strategies with virtual currencies, and considering Apple has payment systems like Apple Pay and within Apple Card, it is not out of question that Cupertino might be developing their on Bitcoin, or perhaps join another effort.

One has to remember that Apple is always "interested" in things that they will not invest in, and you probably shouldn't hold your breath waiting for the Apple Coin. It might be that actual virtual currencies are not the technology Apple wants to pursue, but instead the more general technology of blockchain that has applications elsewhere as well.

Blockchain could, for exampole, be harnessed to process Apple Pay transactions. This wouldn't make Apple Pay, or Apple Card for that matter, any more volatile or questionable, and could further embolden the security of their monetary service, an aspect that Apple often flaunts.

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