News on the margin the week of February 19-25

Steve Jobs' birth anniversary, Google adds privacy, Huawei announces a new foldable phone, a leak of Samsung's AR glasses, Chrome consumes more RAM than Safari, complaints from MagSafe, Apple's handwriting support for other languages, and other exciting news on the sidelines ...

Apple celebrates Steve Jobs' 66th birthday

Boy Steve Jobs, Co-founder and former CEO of Apple on February 24, 1955, and if he's still alive, yesterday was his 1997th birthday. Under Jobs’s leadership from 2011 until his death from cancer in 1998, Apple went from a company on the brink of failure to one of the biggest tech companies thanks to the launch of iMac in XNUMX and the popular "Think Different" ad campaign.

The 1998 release of iMac‌ was followed by a host of other successful products, including the iPhone, iPod and iPad, along with the iTunes store. Jobs also oversaw the opening of the first Apple retail stores in 2001, establishing the corporate culture it still operates today.

As Apple CEO Tim Cook said, Jobs' thinking, dedication to hard work, and lust for innovation are "the foundation of Apple." And from what Cook said on Cook's 66th birthday on Twitter:

“Celebrating Steve on his XNUMXth birthday, although you are not with us, technology has brought us together in boundless ways. This is a testament to Steve's life and the legacy he left, which continues to inspire me every day. ”

IPhone production in India has been affected by tensions along the Chinese border

IPhone production in India has begun to feel the impact of geopolitical tensions between India and China, due to restrictions imposed on the issuance of entry visas, according to reports from the South China Morning Post.

India and China are experiencing heightened tension after border clashes earlier last year. India has banned a number of Chinese applications, and is now issuing visas to Chinese citizens to enter the country at a slower rate than usual. According to people familiar with the situation, India has been deliberately blocking the issuance of visas to Chinese engineers, whom Apple's suppliers in the country need to set up factories or start production.

Among the responses to that newspaper was that all countries of the world have strengthened border control measures amid the global health crisis. This could be the possible reason behind India's slowdown in issuing visas. Either way, strict controls at India's borders appear to be hampering production.

Tim Cook: 2020 has been the best year for innovation at Apple

In an interview with He Shiji, a student at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, CEO Tim Cook described the year 2020 as Apple's best innovation year ever. In this past year, Apple launched a number of new products, starting with the iPhone 12 lineup, as well as new iPad devices, Apple Watch 6 and iPhone SE, as well as new Apple Silicon Mac devices.

Shiji Kok asked about the effort and effort Apple takes every year to release new products. Cook replied that the effort was made by bringing together people with the skills and passion that would allow them to do the best work in their lives, and that “One plus one has always been more than two in Apple, We have a culture of creativity and a culture of collaboration, and together they create tremendous innovations. You put people with different skills together, and who see the world differently, maybe they are from different places, and they have different backgrounds, some are hardware and some are programs, some are services, some may be musicians and artists, but you put them all together in a common goal, to design Amazing and amazing product.

Apple is working on a MagSafe battery for iPhone 12

Apple is working on an accessory that is a magnetic battery for the iPhone 12, and Apple has been developing it for at least a year, and it is scheduled to launch in the following months, according to people familiar with the product. The magnetic battery will be attached to the back of the iPhone 12‌ using the MagSafe system. One person, who requested anonymity because the product has not yet been released to the public, said that some prototypes of the magnetic battery have a white rubber exterior. The new accessory may differ from Apple's battery add-ons for previous iPhones in that it provides additional battery life.

Some users of MagSafe have criticized the strength of the magnets used by Apple in the iPhone 12 and said that it is noticeably weak and its inability to keep MagSafe accessories such as the Apple leather wallet tightly attached, but Apple has tested the magnetic battery to ensure that its magnetic connection system is strong enough to stay in Her place.

Apple Maps expands the step-by-step directions for the United Arab Emirates

Apple has expanded step-by-step navigation in Apple Maps for the United Arab Emirates. The app now offers more detailed driving and walking directions, with options to book Uber rides also appearing within the app. Public transport information, traffic instructions, and speed limits are still missing for users in the UAE, although adding step-by-step directions is part of the continuous improvement of Apple Maps, it will likely follow these directions.

Apple seeks sales information on more than 30000 games from Steam in its lawsuit with Epic Games

Apple has summoned Valve in the ongoing lawsuit with Epic Games, demanding massive amounts of commercial data about Steam's sales and operations dating back several years, according to court files. Apple began the subpoena in November 2020 arguing that information about Valve Steam's digital distribution service would be crucial to building its case against Epic Games.

Apple has asked Valve to submit documents to show its total annual sales of in-app apps and products, annual advertising revenue, annual sales of third-party products, and annual revenue and profit from Steam. There are also more exact requests for each app's name on Steam, the date range when each app will be available, the price for all apps and in-app purchases.

Apple believes that Steam is the dominant distributor of digital games on the PC platform and a direct competitor to the Epic Game Store, so Valve has to provide information that is not available elsewhere about sales and digital marketing, especially as it is a competitor to the Epic Games store.

Handwriting converter for German, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese

In iPadOS 14, Apple introduced a feature for the Apple Pencil called Scribble, which allows users to write in any text field on the iPad, while automatically converting handwritten text into written text. Scribble was limited to English and Chinese, but with the iPadOS 14.5 beta, Apple is expanding support for Scribble to German, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, as users in these countries will be able to write in their native languages, and iPadOS can translate the text accurately. The language is enabled through the "Keyboard" section in the settings.

We hope that the Arabic language will be supported soon, and then it will be a great experience.

Complaints about Apple's MagSafe Leather Wallet

As mentioned above, there have been complaints from a number of users about the Apple Leather Wallet Attachment compatible with MagSafe technology due to the weak magnetic connection. And they use it separately from the iPhone because of the easy and frequent disconnection from the iPhone, as happened with Dan, the owner of the video.

Mitsubishi begins to adopt CarPlay wireless technology

Japanese car maker Mitsubishi this week introduced the redesigned Outlander 2022, the first vehicle to be available with CarPlay wireless technology that works over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, allowing an iPhone to be connected without a Lightning cable. In addition to being convenient, this wireless connection will soon become even more important, as analyst Kuo previously claimed that Apple will offer at least one iPhone without a Lightning connector this year, i.e. completely without ports.

The fourth generation Outlander model is equipped with a 9-inch touchscreen that provides access to both Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto. Wireless smartphone charging is also available along with the standard USB-A and USB-C charging ports.

Mitsubishi says the 2022 Outlander will be available from April 2021, with a starting price of $ 25795 in the US.

Wireless CarPlay technology is finally starting to see wider adoption, with several automakers now rolling out the feature in specific regions, including Hyundai, Honda, Ford, GM, Chrysler, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Chrome consumes XNUMX times more RAM than Safari

The first test was conducted on a dummy system, the second test was on the 16-inch 2019 MacBook Pro with 32 GB of RAM. In the first round of testing, you just need to simulate normal browsing like opening and browsing Twitter, then opening a new tab, using Gmail, and creating an email. The result was, that Chrome use reached 1 GB of RAM, while Safari used only 80 MB. With 54 tabs open, it was found that Google Chrome uses 24 times more RAM per tab compared to Safari.

As for the second test, it was on an actual MacBook Pro. According to the findings, Chrome used 290 MB of RAM per open tab, while Safari used only 12 MB of RAM per open tab.

Chrome is known to be a memory drain on Mac and Windows devices, a problem Google tried to solve recently.

WhatsApp clarifies what will happen to the user who rejects the upcoming changes to the privacy policy

WhatsApp has revealed how it will gradually limit the features available to accounts whose users do not accept the imminent changes to the privacy policy, which are due to take effect on May 15th. She added, if they continue not to accept the terms, "these users will be able for a short period of time to receive calls and notifications, but they will not be able to read or send messages from the application." WhatsApp's policy for inactive users states that "accounts are generally deleted after 120 days of inactivity."

An issue with pink boxes appearing on screens connected to the M1 Mac Mini

This issue has been reported by users since the M1 Mac mini launched last November, but the exact cause is not yet clear. And it appears that the problem may be more common when connecting displays via HDMI compared to Thunderbolt. Apple will solve this problem in the macOS Big Sur 11.3 update, and Apple mentioned suggested steps to solve this problem, namely:

◉ Put Mac mini to sleep.

◉ Wait two minutes and wake your Mac mini.

◉ Disconnect the screen from the Mac mini, then reconnect the display again.

◉ Adjust the display resolution with System Preferences Displays.

And if the problem recurs after restarting the Mac mini, Apple says to repeat the above steps. There have been several other external monitor issues with the M1 Macs in recent months, ranging from USB-C connectivity issues to unavailability of some resolution when using an ultrafast or ultrafast display.

Apple overtakes Samsung as the world's largest smartphone maker in Q2020 XNUMX

Apple overtook Samsung to become the largest smartphone seller worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2020, a feat Apple has not achieved since 2016.

In the last quarter of 2020, Apple sold 80 million new iPhones, driven largely by the launch of 5G technology. Anchol Gupta, Gartner's chief research director, says 5G and improved camera features helped persuade customers to upgrade to iPhone 12 models in the fourth quarter of the year.

Compared to 2019, Apple sold more than 10 million additional iPhones in the fourth quarter and saw its share of the global smartphone market increase by approximately 15%. Samsung saw its market share drop by 11.8% and the percentage of device sales were down by about eight million devices compared to last year.

Leaked videos of Samsung's augmented reality glasses and lite glasses

A well-known 'WalkingCat' leaker has apparently shared official videos from Samsung depicting "Samsung Lite glasses" and "Samsung AR glasses."

The "Samsung Lite glasses" with 2D screens can be used as a virtual movie theater or computer screen, and the video shows many practical uses for this purpose, such as flying a drone with an overlay from the first person perspective. The glasses do not seem to respond to gestures, and instead rely on the Samsung smart watch to control, or even the keyboard and mouse in "Dex" mode, and it appears that it is unable to display XNUMXD objects or provide a wide field of view. The video also shows that the “Samsung Lite glasses” feature an automatic dimming feature to “place the sunglasses”.

Samsung's augmented reality glasses seem to be the most capable and top-tier augmented reality product like Microsoft's HoloLens. The device is able to display XNUMXD interactive objects and environments with a wider field of view and respond to hand and arm gestures. So, I wonder if you want to precede Samsung as it preceded it in tracking devices!

Huawei unveils a foldable phone

The Chinese smartphone company Huawei has unveiled its latest foldable smartphone, the Mate X2, at a special event in China. The successor to the Mate X for 2019, it received a radical redesign, and features an 8-inch screen that folds inward, unlike the original device. And when the phone is folded, a second 6.45 inch screen can be used. Both screens feature a wide color gamut and a very low reflection feature that surpasses the reflectivity level of Apple's $ 5000 Pro Display XDR, as Huawei claims.

In terms of camera, the Mate X2 features an Ultra Vision Leica Quad setup that provides a DSLR-level experience, with a 50-megapixel sensor, a 50-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 16-megapixel wide lens, a 12-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and an 8-megapixel SuperZoom camera with 10x optical zoom.

The Mate X2 is powered by the Kirin 9000 processor. 8 GB RAM and 4400 mAh battery. The device also supports dual 4G / 5G SIM cards and comes with a leather case with kickstand.

The Mate X2 was launched in China on February 25 and is available in either 256GB or 512GB storage capacity, for 17999 JPY (about $ 2785) and 18999 JPY (about $ 2940). Watch the conference

Miscellaneous news

◉ Apple announced that it is preparing to open its second store in South Korea next week in the busy business center of Yeouido in Seoul, where an inspection will take place on February 24th. The store is expected to open after a few days of inspection.

◉ It is unlikely that Apple will allow devices such as the Apple Watch, AirPods and iPhones to charge each other wirelessly in the near future, according to Mark Gorman of Bloomberg.

Apple has held discussions with multiple suppliers about LiDAR sensors suitable for a self-driving vehicle. The report claims that Apple is looking for sensors that will be considered "advanced" even four to five years from now.

◉ Shares of Energous, a company developing long-range radio frequency-based charging technology called WattUp, doubled due to a Bloomberg report that indicated that Apple was working on a MagSafe magnetic battery for the iPhone 12 lineup.

Mark Gorman of Bloomberg confirmed in his tweet on Twitter that Apple has no plans to hold conferences or events in March, denying the allegations made by the Taiwanese Economic Daily News website.

◉ A leaked image of the AirPods 3, shared by 52audio, is in line with what is known so far about the third generation of "AirPods".

◉ Apple's $ 10 million donation to COPAN Diagnostics from its Advanced Manufacturing Fund has led to the shipment of more than 15 million COVID-19 tests across the United States, according to an Apple press release.

Apple is looking into how to reduce the appearance of fingerprints and smudges on the metal surfaces of its products and has again hinted at the use of titanium for future Apple devices, according to newly granted patent filings.

◉ Instagram has announced the launch of new features to help support users on its platform who may be affected by a negative body image or an eating disorder.

◉ Apple Pay has been officially launched in Mexico, providing users with the ability to easily pay using the iPhone and Apple Watch, and online on Mac computers with supportive banks.

Apple plans to launch two new MacBook Pro models equipped with an HDMI port and an SD card reader in the second half of 2021, according to analyst Kuo.

◉ Google has quietly added app privacy labels to the Gmail app, marking the first of its major apps to receive privacy details other than YouTube.

Sources:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28